Scott H. Biram - "Long Old Time"

Photo by Nate Burrell

Country music is huge right now. I know I'm not really saying anything that hasn't been known for the last 25 or so years, but somehow one of the oldest forms of popular music is bigger now than it ever was. But there are two distinct branches of country fans: Those that like modern top 40 country and those that long for "real" country. I fall into the latter, since I really could care less about bros in cowboy hats rapping about their trucks. There is very, very little that can be appreciated by both types of fans.

Scott H. Biram might be the rare artist that everyone can agree on. He falls into the Jason Isbell/Sturgill Simpson category of country that has that old feel to it while still being mainstream enough for pop country fans. "Long Old Time" feels almost ageless. You can't figure out when it was recorded. It has a bit of an effect on the vocals so it feels a bit more aged than it is, but not enough to detract from the song. Plus, it has that dark feel to it that is required for anything to be considered "real" country.

Scott H. Biram's 10th album, The Bad Testament, will be released February 24 on Bloodshot Records. You can listen to "Long Old Time" below. For more on Biram, check out his website. 

Uncle Space & The Boys - "Space's Blooze"

The latest song from Uncle Space & The Boys is the rare ten minute song that you wish was longer. It's an old style country rambler mixed with some 60s psychedelia, which is sort of the rage these days. What makes "Space's Blooze" different from the rest is this bizarre amount of 90s aggressive indie rock that is spread throughout the song. It's like post Washing Machine Sonic Youth decided to play around with country. It even has a few moments where microphones start to get overloaded, which appeals to my lo-fi fandom needs. "Space's Blooze" might be the finest psychedelic post-punk lo-fi noise country song you'll hear all year. 

You can listen to "Space's Blooze" below, and get your very own copy at Uncle Space & The Boys' Bandcamp. I can't find much of a web presence for Uncle Space & The Boys, so you may have to stick with Bandcamp for more information on them.

First Listen: New Releases for January 20

Lots to cover this week.

Album of the Week:

Artist: Cherry Glazerr
Album: Apocalypstick
Quick Description: Great, hooky alt-rock.
Why You Should Listen: Best release this week and will scratch that traditional alternative rock itch.
Overall Thoughts: I fell in love with this band thanks to "Had Ten Dollaz" from a few years ago. The new album builds on their sound while showing a lot of musical improvements throughout, and there's a good deal of fun to go along with it, too. "Nurse Rached" is a highlight, but their crazy "Nuclear Bomb" video shows where they're coming from. Overall? Best of the week, for sure.
Recommendation: A must listen.

Artist: Foxygen
Album: Follow the Leader
Quick Description: Retro rock band with another fun, puzzling effort.
Why You Should Listen: Foxygen definitely keeps me on my toes.
Overall Thoughts: I don't ever think I like Foxygen until I listen to them with an absurd, goofy smile on my face. With a name like that, I shouldn't be surprised, but this is a fun rock record nonetheless. Won't win any awards, but if you're looking for some 80s excess to start your day, you could do worse.
Recommendation: Worth a listen.

Artist: Kid Koala and Emiliana Torrini
Album: Music to Draw To: Satellite
Quick Description: Collaboration between the deck artist and the European alt-popper.
Why You Should Listen: Both artists are interesting...
Overall Thoughts: ...but this doesn't really work for me. I don't feel like we get the best of either person here, and the result is a bit of a long drag of an album that never truly takes off. It might be a little too chill (both in genre and in tone) for my liking, so if you're a definite fan of either artist, you might get more out of it, but for me...
Recommendation: ...a hard pass.

Artist: Mr. Tophat and Robyn
Album: Trust Me
Quick Description: Disco/techno featuring the most underrated pop singer out there.
Why You Should Listen: You like old-school techno and/or Robyn.
Overall Thoughts: At three songs, this isn't much to run on, but Mr. Tophat is a great producer and these songs had me grooving in my seat from the moment I heard them. Robyn's contribution is both solid and understated (which doesn't always happen for her) and the result here reminds me of when I got into techno music back in high school.
Recommendation: Really well done, give it a shot if you like the genre.

Artist: Austra
Album: Future Politics
Quick Description: New album from the buzzworthy electro-pop artist.
Why You Should Listen: Austra's previous efforts have been outstanding...
Overall Thoughts: ...but something is missing on first listen here. There's a bit of a starkness initially, and the lack of something truly catchy that grabbed me the way so much of Olympia did is a step backward for me on a whole. I'm going to need to spend more time with this, but there's a chance this just won't meet expectations at all.
Recommendation: Be wary in a busy week.

Artist: The Proper Ornaments
Album: Foxhole
Quick Description: Soft, pleasant indie pop.
Why You Should Listen: They're not breaking any new ground, but it doesn't feel like we're getting a ton of this twee-adjacent stuff lately.
Overall Thoughts: The Proper Ornaments are a band I know I like but I never remember until they have new music out, and then I hear their album and I think "oh, yeah, I like how this sounds." Thus the experience in a nutshell - they're not going to blow your mind, but they'll occupy 40 minutes of your time and you'll enjoy it until you fire it up again. This greatness is also their flaw.
Recommendation: Nothing crazy great, but a nice listen nonetheless.

Artist: Reyna Gellert
Album: Workin's Too Hard
Quick Description: Solid folk music.
Why You Should Listen: Nothing else like it this week, and Gellert is quite good at what she does.
Overall Thoughts: While there's a quiet, deliberative quality to this that doesn't always work, Gellert is such a good songwriter that the songs here stick in your craw a little longer than the album does. At only 7 tracks, the big negative is how short this is, but I'm hoping we'll hear more from Gellert soon.
Recommendation: A great listen this week.


Also out this week:

* Bash and Pop - Anything Could Happen (first album in 25 years from the duo)
* Michael Chapman - 50 (new album from the prolific British songwriter)
* Rubblebucket - If U C My Enemies (great glitchy indie pop, a too-short EP)
* Joan of Arc - He's Got The Whole This Land is Your Land in His Hands
* AFI - The Blood Album
* The McIntosh County Shouters - Spirituals and Shout Songs From the Georgia Coast
* No Sun - If Only

Hurray for the Riff Raff - "Hungry Ghost"

Photo by Sarrah Danziger

With the latest song off their upcoming album, The Navigator, Hurray for the Riff Raff move even further away from their folk/Americana roots. While "Rican Beach," the previous song they brought us from The Navigator, was a slightly harder, punk influenced roots song, "Hungry Ghost" is a pure pop song. Granted, it's not quite in the realm of Britney Spears or Kylie Minogue, but "Hungry Ghost" is the most mainstream thing Hurray for the Riff Raff have released to date. We're not talking about a huge about face like Lydia Loveless' Real was last year, but this is close. I'm going to reserve judgment until I listen to the song a few more times. I think we'll all need to move away from our expectations on what we want from a Hurray for the Riff Raff song before we can decide on "Hungry Ghost."

The Navigator will be released March 10 on ATO Records. You can watch the video for "Hungry Ghost" below. "Hungry Ghost" and "Rican Beach" are also available as part of the Hungry Ghost Tour EP which you can download for free via Noisetrade. The EP also features five of Hurray for the Riff Raff's older tracks. For more on Hurray for the Riff Raff, check out their website.

Bad Boys Club - Inauguration Day

Celebration last Friday's Inauguration most likely wasn't the purpose of Bad Boys Club releasing their debut four song EP, Inauguration Day, on Inauguration Day. Bad Boys Club are kind of a Boston rock scene supergroup made up of members of Dirty Bangs and These Wild Plains. Considering both those bands share a fairly upbeat and light aesthetic (Dirty Bangs are a pretty straightforward poppy alternative rock band while These Wild Plains rock Tom Petty meets early Wilco Americana), it's quite striking how heavy Inauguration Day is. The sound is a less experimental and heavier At the Drive In, or maybe a less screamy Refused. I love when bands form side projects that sound like nothing you'd expect, and Bad Boys Club delivers in that regard. 

You can get your copy of Inauguration Day at Bad Boys Club's Bandcamp. All proceeds from the purchase will be donated to Planned Parenthood. You can listen to the first song on Inauguration Day, "SHUT DOWN/SHOT OUT," below. For more information on Bad Boys Club, check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Julia Jacklin Covers The Strokes

Photo credit: Nick McKinlay

Rest easy readers: Our long fifteen day streak of not bringing you a cover song is finally over! Julia Jacklin, who is quickly becoming one of our favorites for covers thanks to her covers of Leonard Cohen and Big Thief, recently stopped by Australia's Triple J. They do a thing called Like a Version, which we apparently need to pay more attention to. She broke out a version of The Strokes' "Someday." While the original is a rambling, fun rocker, Jacklin's version is a much more slower paced dreamy version. Unless you were paying close attention, it would be easy to not even realize it's a Strokes cover since it's such a huge departure from the original, and is transformed to a laid back power ballad.

You can watch Julia Jacklin perform her cover of "Someday" below. The first minute or so of the video is an interview, so skip to 1:00 if you just want to hear the song. For more on Jacklin, check out her website.

Idle Bloom - "Hive"

I first discovered Nashville's Idle Bloom about a year ago when they came up to Boston to open up for Those Darlins on their farewell tour. At that point they only had a single and an EP to their name, and it looks as though they are about to release their first full album next month.

The first single from that album, "Hive," is yet another early contender for song of the year. It's a light and fun psych-pop (as they have dubbed their sound) song, but it's fast as hell. Usually when songs are this light and bouncy with dual female vocals, it's pretty soft and bubblegummy. "Hive" absolutely rocks with a ferocity that will shock you by how fun this song is. Despite being just over three minutes in length, "Hive" is an epic.

Idle Bloom's full length album, Little Deaths, will be out February 17. You can pre-order your copy at Bandcamp. For more info on Idle Bloom, check out their website and Facebook.

Fuzzystar - "High Friends"

Andy Thomson is an Edinburgh based artist who has been working either solo or with various other musicians under the name Fuzzystar for a while now. The name Fuzzystar is a tribute to Big Star and Mazzy Star. Set to release their new album, Telegraphing, the band have made their first single available. "High Friends" is an absolute masterpiece. There is no other word for it. It starts out as a fairly mainstream sounding singer-songwriter piece, albeit a slightly left of center version of mainstream. Slowly the song builds and builds, much like a Pulp song, and adds elements of Britpop as well as indie rock. The build then drops off back into singer-songwriter territory, and then just explodes into an indie rock burner. It's all of my favorite things put into one song, and I truly can not wait for more.

Telegraphing will be out April 28 on Satellite Sounds. You can listen to "High Friends" below. For more on Fuzzystar, find them on Facebook and Twitter.

Michael Chapman - "Winter in Memphis"

Photo by Constance Mensh

Following the trend of an elder statesperson of rock/folk pairing with a younger artist as a producer, Michael Chapman has paired with Steve Gunn for his upcoming album, 50. The first track from that album, "Winter in Memphis," also features Steve Gunn's band. The song sounds dark... probably because it is. "Winter in Memphis was written way back in 1999 when Chapman ended up being stuck in Memphis during a blizzard. It's about how many poor and homeless were dying on the streets during the storm with most citizens not seeming to care. It's a rambling folk song, but Gunn brings things indie rock noise into it that fits the subject matter and Chapman's voice perfectly. It's a nearly seven minute folk song that chugs along at an angrily medium pace and occasionally devolves into feedback heavy guitar solos, but it leaves you needing to hear more.

50 will be out January 20 on Paradise of Bachelors. You can listen to "Winter in Memphis" below. For more on Michael Chapman, check out his website.

Funeral Advantage - "CEOT7K"

We were pretty big fans of Funeral Advantage's 2015 release Body Is Dead, and judging by the first single of their upcoming album, Please Help Me, this is an early candidate for album of the year. "CEOT7K" isn't a huge departure from The Smiths meets The Stratford 4 dream pop sound of Body Is Dead. In fact, it's not a departure at all, but instead a giant leap forward. "CEOT7K" is gorgeously lush. I have always had a connection to music that sounds light and pretty but is actually sad and dark. Please Help Me comes from a much darker place than Body Is Dead. Allow me to quote Funeral Advantage's Bandcamp page for the album:

If 'Body Is Dead' came from a place of hope, 'Please Help Me' comes from a place of desolation and confusion. Written during the disintegration of a long term relationship, the record works through the existential feelings of hopelessness and meaninglessness that followed. 

Please Help Me will be available on February 24. You can pre-order a copy via Bandcamp. Make sure to listen to "CEOT7K" below, and check out some tour dates below that. For more information on Funeral Advantage, check out their website.

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