Sharing the sharing.
Collaborators Nadia Hulett (Phantom Posse), Carlos Hernandez (Ava Luna) and Juian Fader (Ava Luna) also known as NADINE bring the smooth on their chilled-out, indie-pop debut Oh My.
Check out my favorite track from Oh My, the early Rilo Kiley-esque “Can’t Be Helped” (below) for a sampling. Oh My is out now via Father/Daughter Records. Enjoy.
New Zealand’s Salad Boys have returned with their newest long player This is Glue. Like previous Salad Boys’ releases, This Is Glue blurs the lines between in-your-face rock and roll and laid-back jangle-pop. Give opening tracks “Blown Up” and “Hatred” (below) a spin to see what I mean.
This Is Glue is out now and available from Trouble In Mind Records. Enjoy.
Philadelphia 3-piece, Droopies, are the definition of the term power-trio. Their sophomore release Responsible People is packed with in-your-face hooks as they bounce between shoegazey punk rock and jangly psych-pop, with one common denominator: fuzz and lots of it. These guys get pretty big sound for there just being three of them.
Responsible People is out now digitally via Droopies Bandcamp page and on a limited cassette release through Funny / Not Funny Records. Give “Gone Wrong” (below) a spin, then go get your hands on a copy of this bad boy. Enjoy.
Houston, Texas trio Khruangbin (for the phonetically challenged like me, it’s pronounced KRUNG-BIN) came together from a common love of ’60s, ’70s and ’80s Thai funk and soul music (you can listen to their “Essential Thai Funk Mixtape” here). Their new album Con Todo El Mundo is a smoking hot, groove-filled slab of funk, psych and soul. Give “Maria También” a spin below for a sample – you will not be sorry. Con Todo El Mundo is out now via Dead Oceans and I can not recommend it enough. Enjoy.
Massachusetts’ Prefab Messiahs are back with Psychsploitation, a new slab of psyched-out, fuzz-pop goodness. This time only taking 2+ years from their last release, Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive – compared to the 32 years between KYSDA and their first album, Flex Your Mind.
Psychsploitaion’s 10 tracks are politically charged and crammed full of all the reverb, fuzz and jangle you can handle. Give my favorite tracks “Having a Rave Up” and the appropriate album closer “Last Day on Earth” a spin below for a taste.
Psychsploitaion is available now on CD via Lolipop Records and on Cassette through Burger Records. Enjoy.
San Francisco’s Spiritual Cramp are a refreshing throwback to the snotty rock ‘n roll and punk rock days of the 70’s and 80’s. Their debut EP Mass Hysteria is a real stomper. Check out the shimmery (dare I say Clash-like?) “Tenderloin” and the in your face “Wrecking Machine” below.
Mass Hysteria is out digitally via Spiritual Cramp’s Bandcamp page and on vinyl through Deathwish.
Brooklyn (by way of Nashville) duo Sufis are back with the third LP, After Hours, out today (Jan 12) via Burger Records. It’s a groove-filled (seriously, this sucker is groovy as hell), psych-pop romp that’s been on repeat since it landed in my inbox. I highly recommend you spend some quality time with this album.
Give standout tracks “Till I Get Home” and “All Knowing (71)” (below) a spin to sample their goodness. Enjoy.
There are several albums from 2017 that have been on my list to get on the site for quite some time. Towards the top of that list is Ogden, Utah’s Josaleigh Pollett. Her latest, Strangers, is a top-notch country/folk album that showcases Pollett’s excellent songwriting, killer guitar picking and powerful vocals. Her backing band is pretty damn awesome too. Check out “Ghost” below for a taste.
Strangers is available now on vinyl or digital via Josaleigh Pollett’s Bandcamp page.
Here are my favorite albums/EPs from 2017, in no particular order…
Monster Rally Flowering Jungle (Gold Robot)
Spotting Spotting EP (self-released/Aarght)
The Rebel Set 4 Song EP (Hidden Volume)
Ty Segall Ty Segall (Drag City)
Molly Burch Please Be Mine (Captured Tracks)
Doug Tuttle Peace Potato (Trouble In Mind)
David Bowie No Plan EP (Columbia)
FRONDS Cold Across My Skin (Gold Robot)
Jake Xerxes Fussell What In The Natural World (Paradise of Bachelors)
Lilith Apology Plant (Disposable America)
Tall Friend Safely Nobody’s (Exploding In Sound)
Oh Sees Orc (Castle Face)
Bedouine Bedouine (Spacebomb)
UV-TV Glass (Deranged)
Destroyer ken (Merge)
Mountain States Whispers (Coaster)
Kevin Morby City Music (Dead Oceans)
Otoboke Beaver Love Is Short! (Damnably)
Century Palm Meet You (Deranged)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Soul of a Woman (Daptone)
RIP
Slowdive Slowdive (Dead Oceans)
Open Mike Eagle Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (Mello Music)
Milo Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?! (self-released)
Michael Nau Some Twist (Suicide Squeeze)
Thundercat Drunk (Brainfeeder)
Jack Cooper Sandgrown (Trouble In Mind)
Waxahatchee Out In The Storm (Merge)
OCS Memory of A Cut Off Head (Castle Face)
Once And Future Band Once And Future Band (Castle Face)
The Safes Tasty Waves (Hidden Volume)
Ted Feighan is back with his newest and strongest Monster Rally effort yet, Flowering Jungle. His cut and paste production skills are on point as he takes the listener on a groove-filled tour into his world of hip hop beats meets exotica from days past. As soon as the needle drops on track one, “Sunny Sloth”, your troubles are whisked away and replaced with warm thoughts of chilling on the beach in some far away land where Monster Rally is DJing and the Mai Tai’s are constantly flowing. Thanks for the escape, Ted!
Flowering Jungle is available now from Gold Robot Records – you need this record.