ALEXISONFIRE – Otherness
I never really got into emo so I wasn’t into these guys when they were sort of famous 15-20 years ago and I can’t compare “Otherness” to their previous albums, but as a standalone piece of work it fucking rules: Heavy, melodic, catchy and, well, emotional. Oh, and is it just me, or anyone else thinks that “Sans Soleil” could be a Sade song? (8)
AMENRA, CAVE IN, MARISSA NADLER – Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. III
Vol. III? Vol. III??? Why didn’t I know about the other two??? So, on this one, each band/artist tackles three Townes songs, and it’s on Neurot Recordings. Be forewarned though, it’s sounds more like Townes than like Amenra or Cave In. (8)
ARGENT – Hold Your Head Up: The Best Of
About time people rediscover this underappreciated progressive rock band from the late 60’s/early 70’s featuring Rod Argent and Russ Ballard – sounding in places like their organ-wielding contemporaries (Procol Harum, Uriah Heep), and in others like a cross between Queen and Kansas but predating both. (8)
NICK CAVE – Seven Psalms
Seven spoken-word “prayers” with Warren Ellis providing ominous ambient sonic background. Interesting, but not a must-hear addition to the Nick Cave canon. (7)
CONJURER – Pathos
Brilliant musical magpies, Conjurer pick up whatever they like from different metal genres (doom, death, black, sludge, post-hardcore) and create something totally their own. (8)
ERIC HILTON – Lost Dialect
For the most part, sounds like demos/ideas for the next Thievery Corporation album. (6)
RANDY HOLDEN – Population III
I discovered Holden’s LOUD proto-metal electric guitar monument “Population II” years ago via Julian Cope and his fantastic record reviews and, what do you know, a sequel comes along half a century later? This one goes to (11)
TEDDY & THE ROUGH RIDERS – Teddy & The Rough Riders
Produced by Margo Price, this album by a new country-folk-rock band will bring back memories of the Flying Burrito Brothers. (7)
ANDREW WEISS & FRIENDS – Sunglass & Ash
Taking his cues from Paul McCartney, Badfinger, and Elvis Costello, Weiss offers a 24-track double album filled with little power pop gems. (8)
VARIOUS ARTISTS – Blowing Free: Underground & Progressive Sounds of 1972
I love Cherry Red box sets! This 5-hour, 4-CD collection is a rocktastic affair featuring everyone you can think of from 1972: EL&P, Atomic Rooster, Edgar Broughton Band, Barclay James Harvest, Curved Air, Rare Bird, Family, Nektar, Hawkwind, Yes, and that’s just a partial tracklisting of CD1. (9)
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