I hope some of you enjoyed listening to side 1 of my driving mixtape. Side 2 will be coming in a few weeks.
This week has seen my injured left knee finally come good. It wasn't anything dreadful, just some patellar tendinopathy, and a few sessions with a good physio followed up with exercises was the solution. Now I can gradually reintroduce hill climbing back into my cycle training. Hills hurt but I really like them. Onwards and upwards!
Deafheaven are a band I hadn't heard of until this week. I read a review that described them as everything from indie-pop and shoegaze all the way to screamo-metal. I was intrigued and so had a listen to one of the singles from their new album, "Ordinary Corrupt Human Love". The track starts off dreamy and almost introspective before launching into and anthemic, melodic style with black metal vocals. It's not an especially easy listen but it is musically quite dense. As a result I'll definitely give the whole album a decent listen.
Deafheaven - Canary Yellow - https://youtu.be/w5eQuhBfDE0
Eddie Van Halen is making the most of being a guitar hero and pioneer by releasing a whole swag of items bearing his signature. Guitars, amps and pedals are all available should you want to look or try to sound like the master. He's an innovator there is no doubt and they aren't just produced for him; he's involved in the development. The latest release is a chorus pedal designed to sound like his setup on albums such as 1982's "Diver Down". That's quite a polarising album as there are so many cover versions on it. Here's a well known song with a good dose of chorusing on the guitar...
Van Halen - Oh Pretty Woman - https://youtu.be/3z1CdiWQLqE
Lily Allen has a brand new album, her fourth, called "No Shame". Her earlier efforts were poppy efforts with lyrics so personal and raw that you'd either laugh, cringe or both. This single is called "Lost My Mind" and it's Lily at her best; electro-poppy, very English, and honest. I really like Lily's previous releases and on the strength of this I'll get a copy of the album soon. For those of you with kids you may be relieved that this song doesn't require a language warning!
Lily Allen - Lost My Mind - https://youtu.be/XQi0ORxEyRA
Snail Mail - Heat Wave - https://youtu.be/-d91Qn8QUks
Lindsey Jordan (vox/guitars) from the band Snail Mail has a dreamy voice that is remeniscent of Klara and Johanna from First Aid Kit. Snail Mail released their debut album, "Lush", last month. I read about them on "The Consequence of Sound" website and the review made me think that they'd be worth a listen. I guess if you like Veruca Salt or The Lemonheads you'd not be disappointed with this. It also sounds a bit like The Clouds who were a fantastic Australian band from the 90s.
Snail Mail - Heat Wave - https://youtu.be/-d91Qn8QUks
The Clouds - 4pm - https://youtu.be/ntE4WaCGHU4
I was cleaning up some of my CDs last week and came across one that I'd totally forgotten about. It's by J. Mascis and is called "Tied To A Star". I remember buying it on the strength of one song and because I really liked the cover art! Here's a track from it that I hope you like. J. Mascis is well known for very distorted and loud guitar work and this is quite different.
J. Mascis - Every Morning - https://youtu.be/KJjfv2xkcK0
The Decemberists are a band who manage to play a wide variety of styles and still sound a bit unique. This song has elements of folk, indie and electronica. The pulsing bass line is infectious. Colin Meloy has a very distinctive voice which I think is essential for success in popular music. There is no doubt that this song is political. Being serious without sounding like a bunch of tossers can be quite a challenge and The Decemberists pull it off admirably here.
The Decemberists - Severed - https://youtu.be/ksTFj6L0mao
I read a book last week called "Out of the forest". It's by an Australian author called Gregory Smith. The book is an autobiography and tells his story growing up being abused at home, in various institutions, becoming homeless and then living in a forest in North Queensland for a number of years. It's a fairly damning indictment on the Catholic Church in Australia among other things. The book pulls no punches about how difficult Gregory's life was and it's explored in detail that often had me close to tears. What it really brought home to me though is no matter how tough your circumstances are you can find a way out. Gregory went from years of physical and mental abuse to a life as a recluse living in the bush as an alcohol and drug addict (he made and grew his own). These days he has a PhD an is a lecturer at a university. This is a book I'd thoroughly recommend. It's eye opening, brutally sad and also inspiring.
I can always count on my mate DJ Plooky to point me in the right direction of good punk music. This track is no exception. If The Decemberists were hoping you'd notice their political statement in the previous song then Anti-Flag have put it right in your face so you can't miss it. Stamp your foot, shake your fist....
Anti-Flag - Racists - https://youtu.be/A1wB9kZ2dnA
I haven't commented much about anything political lately. For one thing it's just too depressing to look at the majority of politicians lately regardless of their party affiliation. And whilst our Australian politicians aren't covering themselves in glory of late there's no doubt that President Trump has to be close to one of the most polarising politicians ever. In the midst of his UK visit he apparently said that he didn't feel all that welcome. Billy Bragg responded on Twitter that perhaps the message seems to be finally getting through.
Billy Bragg - Help Save The Youth of America (live) - https://youtu.be/NJ2QOwQdHL8
Great looking guitar that Billy is playing there...
Have a great weekend,
Rob
"The rain is nothing to fear, when you become the storm...", Become the Storm, Dee Snider, 2018.
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