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Angel Olsen New Vinyl Thursday

  • Vinyl Underground
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September 22, 2021

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By ll_7th_heaven

It’s Angel Olsen New Vinyl Thursday at The Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven. Check out this week’s list of new vinyl arrivals:

Angel Olsen- Aisles

Billy Harper- Antibes 75

Billy Idol- The Roadside

Weekly Review:

When we last heard from Billy Idol, he had just published his autobiography and released an introspected companion album (well, introspective for Idol, at least). That was seven long years ago. Now Idol is back with a four-track EP written during the pandemic. 

Opening track “Rita Hayworth” will get fists pumping, but has more going on underneath the arena-ready melody. What sounds like a celebration of a beautiful woman is really a cautionary tale. “Bitter Taste” is a ruminating tune that lies somewhere between Chris Isaac and lounge lizard Iggy Pop.

The other two songs aren’t as memorable, but still a lot of fun. “U Don’t Have To Kiss Me Like That” is a throwback to Idol’s ‘80s heyday. The presence of Idol’s longtime guitarist Steve Stevens adds a great deal to the song’s old-school appeal. Finally, the ballad “Baby Put Your Clothes Back On” is the weakest – and least convincing – song on the EP. Are we really supposed to believe that Mr. “Rebel Yell” would ask a woman to pump the breaks on a physical relationship?

The Roadside is the first of three Idol Eps planned for release over the next year. It’s a nice way to start again.- Joel Francis

Bob Marley- Legend

Bob’s Burgers- The Bob’s Burgers Music Album Vol. 2

Brittany Howard- Jaime

Corinne Bailey Rae- Corinne Bailey Rae

DJ Shadow- Endtroducing….. [Half Speed Remaster / 25th Anniversary Endtrospective Edition]

Digital Underground- This is an E.P. Release

Weekly Review:

With the recent untimely  passing of MC Shock G the world is taking a second look at the traveling hip-hop circus that was Digital Underground.
In 1991, a year before Dr. Dre would release The Chronic, dominating hip hop charts and bringing Gangster Rap to the masses, an Oakland based artist named Gregory Edward Jacobs known professionally as  Shock G (and his alter ego Humpty Hump) was melding hip-hop with the pioneering space-funk sounds of George Clinton’s Parliament- Funkadelic. Aside from a previous track from Kurtis Blow, Digital Underground was the second band to ever sample Clinton.
DU’s second release “This is ans E.P. Release” is a great way to dip your tow back into funky world of this legendary act.
The opening single Same Song centers around a theme that Shock G and crew have been “All around the world” and everyone’s singing the “same ‘ol song” but DU’s here for the party.
Jacob’s genius interplay between himself as Shock G. and alter ego Humpty Hump is so believable one might be hard pressed to tell they are the same guy.
“Same Song” also has the auspicious title of being the very first record that Tupac Shakur rapped on.
“Tie The Knot” is a hap hazard hip-hop take on the institution of marriage while “Nuttin’ Nis Funky” lives up to its name with a truly infectious groove that features some amazing scratching by DJ Fuse.
“Packet Man (worth a packet remix)” is an awkward and hilarious rap about peddling “sex” in small individually wrapped “Packets.” And “Arguin’ on the Funk” is a diatribe that explains DU’s love and respect for their talented peers and their P-Funk inspirations.
“This is ans E.P. Release” really packs a punch for just six songs. And it’s a nice price for new vinyl.  This a great chance to snag a staple from the golden 90’s of Hip-Hop.
– Major Matt

Dougie Stu- Familiar Future

Drive-By Truckers- Go-Go Boots

Drive-by Truckers- The Dirty South

Elliot Smith- Elliott Smith

Eric Dolph- Out To Lunch

Fleetwood Mac- Greatest Hits

Heartless Bastards- A Beautiful Life

Herbie Hancock- Maiden Voyage

Hockey Dad- Brain Candy

Holly Golightly- All Her Fault

Horace Silver- Song For My Father

Jackson Browne- Downhill From Everywhere

Jungle – Loving In Stereo
 A lot of people might assume, incorrectly, that just because I’m a middle aged white guy who fancies loud guitar music that I don’t like to cut it up on the dance floor once in a while.
Perhaps one of the most unfortunate publicity stunts in American music history took place on July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois when 97.9 WLUP shock jock and rock music stalwart Steve Dhal exploded a large crate of disco records, in center field, during the break between a double header between the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers.
The misguided, testosterone driven, media fabricated, divide between fans of “Rock Music” and fans of “Disco” (the newer and increasingly more popular genre of the time) was unfortunate.  Homophobic overtones aside, what would come to be known as the “Disco Sucks” movement successfully inhibited a lot of insecure young American music fans from exploring and enjoying some of the best party music of all time.
From Berlin’s techno scene to the tripped out rave culture of Manchester, England the  “un-macho” stigma relating to dance music always seemed less prevalent amongst European cities.
Jungle is a British electronic music project founded in 2013 by childhood friends, Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland. Loving In Stereo is the group’s third LP released on their own label Caiola Records.
From disco… to hip-hop… to house, Jungle is an unabashed embrace of music forms that get the body moving.  Their love and respect for dance is seen through their trademark videos consisting of intricately choreographed, single shot, dance pieces.
After the string drenched opener, Dry Your Tears, track two of Love In Stereo is the infectious disco number Keep Moving, complete with Jungle’s trademark falsetto, reminiscent of another legendary act who’s name rhymes with The PG’s.
Romeo is a reggae/ hip hop inspired track featuring American MC Bas. Though Jungle has always been an evolving cast of musicians under the direction of Watson and McFarland this  is the first Jungle record officially featuring guest singers.
It’s kind of amazing how well this record hangs together considering g the diversity of sounds.
Side two kicks in with the big beat scorcher, Fire, followed by one of the holiest tracks in the album : the house drive Let’s Talk About.
The Truth is a straight up pop rock tune complete with searing guitar solo. The other guest feature is Tamil-Swiss singer Pryia Ragu on the jazzy down tempo chill out track Goodbye My Love.
Loving in Stereo is my pic for best summer wind-down dance record of 2021. As Long as we keep the beats hopping’ and the music flowing I think we’ll get through this. Peace everyone!
– Major Matt

Kacey Musgraves- star-crossed

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Butterfly 3000

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard- Willoughby’s Beach

Lump- Animal

Lynyrd Skynyrd- (Pronounced ‘Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’)

Modest Mouse- The Golden Casket

Modest Mouse’s first album in over 6 years was long awaited but well worth the patience and hardwork. It ranges from psychedelic, to post-punk, to indie, throwing in some experimental sounds along with it. 

With a lot of time between albums, comes a lot of change, learning, and growth, and that is certainly reflected in this album. Track two, “We Are Between,” talks about being in the middle of conflicting thoughts, and duality. To me, with the way the instruments are used, I interpret this track as more of a happy, accepting song. Though saying, “somewhere between dust and the stars,” can sound existential, I think their goal was to approach confusion with optimism and gratitude. This ties in perfectly with track #3, “We’re Lucky,” rather than being focused on the negative, daunting aspects of existence, he’s honing in on why we should be grateful to even exist at all. This theme continues throughout the album, which they do in interesting but definitely apparent ways. “The Sun Hasn’t Left,” ties into this theme with playful synths and whimsical tones. “Not everything’s gonna be the best, but there’s still something left…I don’t know you, you don’t know me,” they basically walk through the idea that despite who you are, despite what you’re going through, there’s always something good to look at; you’re always a deep breath away from a positive perspective. 

Overall I think this album is more than worth the listen. It’s definitely different from their past work; it gives them a more modern sound that I like. Most of the time I don’t like when artists change their sound, but Modern Mouse did it in a way that not only keeps their staple sound, but gives them more to their name. -Nova Stebbin.

MONO- Pilgrimage of the Soul

Weekly Review:

The 11th studio album from Japanese experimental/post-rockers MONO is one of those records that makes you wonder if there is something wrong with your speakers. After lengthy quiet sections – which cause the listener to gently and repeatedly nudge up the volume – the entire band kicks in, exploding out of the over-amplified speakers and knocking a hole in the other side of the room.

The eight instrumental tracks on Pilgrimage of the Soul clock in at just under an hour and take the listener on an incredible journey. Over the course of their 22-year career, MONO have mastered how to successfully milk a long crescendo, but the quartet also adds new elements to their sound by incorporating electronic elements and textures.

The delicate, glacial “Heaven in a Wild Flower” almost sounds like something Sigur Ros would do. Album closer “And Eternity in an Hour” is stunningly beautiful and emotionally moving. On the other hand, “Riptide” feels almost punishingly intense after an extended quiet and gentle introduction.

Pilgrimage of the Soul is an album that opens a sonic world for the listener to get lost in and explore, with each new listen revealing new layers and dynamics.- Joel Francis

—

The four piece post rock group from Tokyo, Japan known as MONO are celebrating their 22nd year of existence with their 11th studio album: Pilgrimage Of the Soul (on limited edition colored orange vinyl).
The band’s bio claims the album was created “cautiously, anxiously, yet optimistically — during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 with one of the band’s longtime partners, Steve Albini.”
Much like their contemporaries, Mogwai and God Speed You Black Emperor, MONO’s sound often moves at a glacial scale from quite to loud… from minimal to incredibly dense. In the best sense it is soundtrack music with electric guitars!
“Riptide,” the first track on Pilgrimage displays the band’s strong connection to shoegaze music with a descending three cord guitar progression that pummels the senses like a sonic waterfall. The remainder of the side dissipates into a more atmospheric realm complete with droned out string arrangements.
“To See a World” opens up side two with about a minute of drum-less guitars until a relentless beat accompanied by what feels like an ocean of swirling guitar strings slowly lifts the mothership into the atmosphere… and beyond.
The final track “And Eternity in an Hour,” plays like a simple and beautiful epilogue with just a single notes piano and hovering strings.
MONO is the kind of band that makes music that is meant to be felt as much as it is to be listened to. It can be slightly challenging  but the rewards are many for those up for the trip!
– Major Matt

Nick Lowe- The Convincer

Nick Lowe- The Old Magic

Weekly Review:

In the back half of the 1970s, British singer/songwriter Nick Lowe was releasing power pop/new wave gems like Jesus of Cool and Labor of Lust, writing hit songs for Elvis Costello and producing records by the Damned and the Pretenders.

Careers that blaze this hot at first are often forgotten by the final chapters, but a pair of reissues show that Lowe’s flame still burns bright. 

On the cover of 2001’s The Convincer, Lowe looks laid-back and relaxed, smoking a cigarette without a care in the world. The bemused confidence in Lowe’s eyes reflects his satisfaction with the sturdy songs he’s written as a quasi-homage to the songwriters at the Brill Building. Songs that could be delivered country or R&B or Top 40 numbers and work just as well. Lowe has opted to perform most of the material as undemanding and unhurried rockabilly numbers, delivering just enough kick to keep them moving out of the gate. Three bonus tracks – including another stellar original – are appended to the end of this 20th anniversary edition.

Ten years and a couple more albums later, Lowe was still mining the same mature style on The Old Magic. The rockabilly leanings have been smoothed out with a lounge panache. There is nary a note – or hair – out of place on this album. In other hands, this might stifle all the fun from the performance, but a good portion of the joy on The Old Magic comes from listening to the songs unfold at their own pace and being swept up in their vignettes and moods. There are no bonus cuts on this 10th anniversary edition, but the album has been remastered and is presented at 45 revolutions per minute.- Joel Francis

Paul McCartney- Wings Greatest

Pixies- Trompe Le Monde

Plasmatics- Beyond the Valley of 1984

Porcupine Tree- The Incident

Weekly Review:

I was born in ’67 – the year of Sgt. Pepper – and ‘Are You Experienced?’ 

So was I…and so was Porcupine Tree lyricist and band leader, Steven Wilson. The above lyric is the beginning of the nostalgic yet poignant song “Time Flies” contained on Porcupine Tree’s 10th and final studio LP entitled The Incident, originally released in September of 2009, and being reissued on Snapper Classics label. I can’t believe the time that has flown – 12 years – since it’s initial release, and it’s equally difficult to accept the fact that this band is no more, and we have to rely on their past existence in time to enjoy them. There is a lot to enjoy here.

This album consists of a whopping 18 tracks, 14 of which comprise a 55-minute song cycle named “The Incident”. The concept came to Steven Wilson when he was stuck in traffic due to what a sign delineated as a ‘police incident’. Steven was taken with how impersonal the word ‘incident’ was in conjunction with the tragedy. In his own words: “The irony of such a cold expression for such seismic events appealed to me, and I began to pick out other ‘incidents’ reported in the media and news. I wrote about the evacuation of teenage girls from a religious cult in Texas, a family terrorizing its neighbors, a body found floating in a river by some people on a fishing trip, and more”. He figured writing the songs in first person would humanize what the media tends to dehumanize. From the opening, thundering power chords of “Occam’s Razor” to song cycle ending lullaby of “I Drive The Hearse”, the listener is immersed in an atmospheric aural exploration of weighty subject matter through melodies that are both haunting and holistically consoling.

The four separate-from-the-song-cycle tracks that round out the album are 20 minutes of Porcupine Tree flexing their musical muscle. Check out Gavin Harrison’s merciless drum assault on “Bonnie The Cat” juxtaposed to his finesse in “Flicker”. He is a drummer worthy of all the accolades he has garnered. Keyboardist Richard Barbieri and bassist Colin Edwin provide their own textures to Steven Wilson’s melancholic yet sometimes bombastic guitar passages.

Some have called Porcupine Tree’s ‘The Incident’ their finest hour. Some have called it a sprawling dramatic beast. I call it an ambitious and triumphant musical exposé on human tragedy. The magazines Classic Rock and Eclipsed named it Album Of The Year, and it was nominated for a Grammy in the category for Best Surround Sound Album, which makes all the sense in the world since Steven Wilson has become the master of 5.1 Surround mixes of classic albums by classic artists. If you even remotely enjoy the music of Rush, Yes, Pink Floyd, or Tool, you will find something to love in this album…it’s just too bad it was their last.

Time flies. ~ David Lombardo

Rare Earth- Ma

Sade- The Best Of Sade

Samantha Fish- Faster

Weekly Review:

Samantha Fish started her career cold-calling bars around Kansas City and asking for gigs. It was an ambitious plan that led to her becoming arguably the biggest blues guitarist in the city. More than a decade after her self-released debut album, Fish is celebrated nationally. Her latest album works from a palette that stretches well beyond the blues.

Looking to swim in a bigger pond, Fish brought in producer Martin Kierszenbaum, known for her work with Lady Gaga and Sting, and drummer Josh Freese, who has played with Guns N Roses and Nine Inch Nails. As a result, Faster often feels akin to David Bowie’s Let’s Dance – a pop album with blues dressings and accents.

Built around a serpentine guitar riff and programmed drums, “All Ice No Whiskey” could be a country song. “Loud” opens with quiet piano introduction before exploding into guitars, drums and organ. The track’s biggest surprise, though, is another KC music ion, rapper Tech N9ne. I’m not sure what is more astonishing, Tech N9ne’s feature or that it works so well. Fish throws a bone at her longtime fans with “Twisted Ambition,” which showcases her six-string skills against a pulsating synth bass line.

Let’s face it, the blues purists most likely to be rankled by Fish’s broader horizons, weren’t likely to buy this album based on the artist’s race and gender alone. So drop the needle on Faster and enjoy the party.- Joel Francis

Seam- Headsparks

Shinedown- Leave A Whisper

Slothrust- Parallel Timeline

Weekly Review:

A little more than halfway through the fifth album from Boston alternative rock trio Slothrust, singer Lea Wellbaum makes a confession: “My only crime/was pretending I’m tough.”

The lyric, from the song “King Arthur’s Seat” is a bit jarring, because there’s little on Parallel Timeline that’s tough. The album’s heaviest moment comes on single “The Next Curse,” when singer Lizzy Hale from Halestorm stops by to bring a little bit more of the apocalypse to a song about our planet catching fire. The buzzy “Once More for the Ocean” is another rocker guaranteed to get the crowd moving.

Other songs are considerably more subdued. “Strange Astrology” is a heartfelt love song, while the closing title song is a tender acoustic number. The album opens with “Cranium,” a song equal parts seductive and repulsive, where a romantic line like “I want to French braid your hair with honey on my hands” is followed with the head-scratcher (and mood killer) “I want to pluck your eyebrows for you with my grandma’s antique tweezers.” 

Parallel Timeline points in a new direction for Slothrust, moving away from the walls of guitars that marked earlier high points “Like a Child Hiding Behind Your Tombstone” and “7:30 a.m.” It can take some time to get used to this new, nuanced approached, but once acclimated the songs linger happily.- Joel Francis

Spiritualized- Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

Weekly Review:

In 1997 the British music magazine MME voted the Spiritualized album: “Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space” Album Of the Year, beating out Radiohead’s “OK Computer” and The Verve’s “Urban Hymns.”
Whether you agree or not with the NME, there is no denying that the scope and impact of “Ladies and Gentlemen…” greatly exceedes anything Jason Pierce, the driving force behind the band, had ever attempted.
The record is a journey of wanting, loss and coping. It beautifully and tragically illustrates the longing to be healed and the peace that comes with the resignation that being broken is synonymous with being human.
Like any good Spiritualized record, “Ladies and gentlemen…” is riddled with drug references and swirling repetitious guitar patterns but Pierce also makes use of  the Balanescu Quartet, The London Community Gospel Choir and legendary New Orleans, boogie-woogie piano player and songwriter Dr. John to great effect.
The first and title track was originally edited for containing the lyrics and melody of Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” By 2009, they were allowed to use the Presley version, on the reissued edition of the album, under stipulation the song be titled “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (I Can’t Help Falling in Love).”
Great musicians are often able to perform in a number of musical styles but great artists are able to take those styles and make them their own. On “Ladies and Gentlemen…” Pierce uses the forms of Gospel, Jazz, Rock and the Blues like paints on a pallet to create a dynamic picture of what it’s like to chase love through an addiction.
There are a lot of theories about the inspired heartbreak aspect of the album. One that Pierce adamantly disputes, is the ending of his relationship with Spiritualized keyboard player Kate Radley soon before recording sessions began.
The pinnacle of “Ladies and Gentlemen…” is the final track, Cop Shoot Cop, a seventeen minute heroin infused opus that climaxes with an extended free jazz freak out that resolves, just as the album begins, with a comfortably numbed out call for love.
This is a great chance to grab a true classic, reissued with new artwork on double 180 gram Neptune Blue vinyl.
– Major Matt

The Go-Go’s- Beauty And The Beat

The HU- The Gereg

The Rolling Stones- Let It Bleed (50th Anniversary Edition)

The Rugged Nuggets- Odds & Ends

Various Artists- I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground & Nico (Vari)

Wayne Shorter- The All Seeing Eye

Weekly Review:

Just under a year after John Coltrane released his spiritual masterpiece A Love Supreme, his contemporary Wayne Shorter a musical portrayal of “the meaning of life, existence and the nature of God and the universe” (according to the liner notes).

Shorter rounded up an impressive ensemble to help with this feat. In addition to Shorter on tenor saxophone, Freddie Hubbard plays trumpet, Grachan Moncur III contributes trombone and James Spaulding is on alto sax. For the rhythm section, Shorter brought in two of his bandmates in the Miles Davis quintet, pianist Herbie Hancock and bass player Ron Carter. Longtime Bobby Hutcherson and Archie Shepp drummer Joe Chambers completes the group.

As expected with such an ambitious concept, the music on The All Seeing Eye is intense and confrontational. This is not an album to be played quietly in the background of a dinner party. Rather, it is a guest who lectures passionately, causing the others around the table to question their preconceived notions on life, God and the universe. Pull up a chair, stare into the eye and see where it takes you.- Joel Francis

Weezer- Weezer (Blue Album)

 

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