First Listen: New Releases for 31 May

A slowish week, so this week's highlights include some we missed recently:

Artist: Pip Blom
Album: Boat
Quick Description: Debut album from a favorite here.
Why You Should Listen: Feels like we've been waiting forever for this.
Overall Thoughts: Pip Blom has been releasing music for some time, but never as a cohesive package until now. The cohesive package? It's a great slice of fuzzy indie pop with the right balance of weird melodies and infection hooks, this is an album that was a fast favorite this week and might end up having some staying power for me. "Daddy Issues," an early single and the lead track, sets the tone with the most accessible Pip Blom track yet, and keeps its foot on the gas throughout. A must-listen.
Recommendation: Best of the week, and one of the best of the year.

Artist: Kitty Kat Fan Club
Album: Dreamy Little You
Quick Description: Indie supergroup with their first collective album.
Why You Should Listen: For a band put together just so a bunch of locals could play music together, this is great.
Overall Thoughts: There have been dribs and drabs of music put out by Kitty Kat Fan Club over the years, but this first full album is the sort of indie pop punk we look for. A tight group of musicians making tight music that will stick in your craw? Not much more to ask for here.
Recommendation: Highly recommended.

Artist: Fucko
Album: Social Climber
Quick Description: Boston-area indie rock.
Why You Should Listen: The name is more aggressive than the music.
Overall Thoughts: I am really into this album from earlier this spring. I tripped up on them in a Twitter thread about Halfsour (profiled last week), and found this album to be a really solid listen on a whole. Feels like the sort of semi-lo-fi alt-rock of the past, this just works on all accounts.
Recommendation: Give it a listen.

Artist: Kim Thompsett
Album: The Hollows
Quick Description: Spooky folky goodness.
Why You Should Listen: This has some dark underpinnings to go with the stark, interesting instrumentation.
Overall Thoughts: I loved my experience with this album. I hesitate to call it dark folk, but it's the closest comp I can make in many regards given how this is presented. While this won't work for everyone, I loved this often-minimalist effort quite a bit, and wanted to make sure it didn't fall through the cracks.
Recommendation: Worth your time.

Of note:

* Chris Brokaw - End of the Night
* J. Robbins - Unbecoming
* Jenn Grant - Love, Inevitable
* JR JR - Invocations / Conversations
* Her Wicked Heart - To Love To Live To Leave
* Rose Hotel - I Will Only Come When It's a Yes
* Doug Tuttle - Dream Road
* Gemma - Feeling's Not a Tempo
* ionnalee - REMEMBER THE FUTURE

Seven Song Albums:

* Fujiya and Miyagi - Flashback

EPs:

* Sarah Davachi - Pale Bloom
* Tiffy - Fire Sale
* Bloodshot Bill - Hang Ten with Bloodshot Bill
* TV COMA - Body Negativity
* Esya - Absurdity of Atcg, Pt. 1
* XYLØ - yes & no

Also out:

* The Gotobeds - Debt Begins at 30
* Apex Manor - Heartbreak City
* Left Lane Cruiser - Shake and Bake

Throwaway - "The Brilliant Society of the Illustrious Mule"

Throwaway is weird. Sure, we've covered a LOT of weird bands here. I tend to love bringing you the latest weirdo noise band, but what makes Throwaway truly odd is that they're noisy art rock that still follows traditional pop song structures... mostly. Plus, they're fronted by a woman wearing a paper bag on her head.

You know that "The Brilliant Society of the Illustrious Mule" isn't going to be the latest pop crossover hit based on the song title alone. For the most part Kristen Carey is singing for her vocals, or at least singing a little odd in the way that Kurt Cobain and Mike Patton made famous. And the song is strange, but still kind of a fun odd little quirky alt rock song. And then the screaming starts and the whole thing goes off the rails in the best possible way.

You can watch the video for "The Brilliant Society of the Illustrious Mule" below. WHAT?, the debut album from Throwaway, will be out on July 12. For more on Throwaway, be sure to check out their website. Current tour dates are below the video.

June 8 - The Pilot Light - Knoxville, TN

June 9 - Mother Bar+Grill - Atlanta, GA

June 11 - Art Rat Studios - Roanoke, VA

June 12 - Northside Tavern - Cincinnati, OH

July 11 - album release - El Club - Detroit, MI

July 17 - The Baby G - Toronto, ON

July 18 - L'Escogriffe - Montreal, QC

July 20 - Root Cellar - Greenfield, MA 

July 21 - Willimantic Records - Willimantic, CT 

July 21 - Crunch House - West Haven, CT

July 22 - Alphaville - NYC, NY

July 23 - Century - Philadelphia, PA

July 24 - Zissimos - Baltimore, MD

July 26 - Cafe Bourbon St - Columbus, OH

August 8 - Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL

August 9 - Communication - Madison, WI

August 10 - Ghost Light - Detroit, MI

August 24 - Moonlight Lounge - Albuquerque, NM 

September 2 - Brother's Lounge - Omaha, NE

Current Obsessions: "Godzilla" by Bear McCreary featuring Serj Tankian of System of a Down

I'm a big Godzilla fan. I still remember seeing the 1990s version with Matthew Broderick and being disgusted, and I made it a point to go to a Thursday evening showing for King of the Monsters, the latest installment.

Spoiler alert: it's awesome.

What's also awesome? The end credits feature Bear McCreary's take on the Blue Oyster Cult "classic" song "Godzilla," adding some epic orchestration and System of a Down's Serj Tankian on vocals. Whereas the Blue Oyster Cult version is reminiscent of a Spinal Tap gag, the McCreary version ends up having the epic scope that the big ol' lug deserves. I basically found excuses to put this on repeat all weekend long, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Go see Godzilla: King of the Monsters on the biggest possible screen you can, and check out this (and other) score from Bear McCreary when you have a chance. You won't regret it.

Salem Wolves - "Queen"

Photo via Facebook

Today saw the release of a new single from Salem Wolves, their first with a new line up. Does a new line up mean a new sound? Oh, yes.

"Queen" starts off as a dark metal New Wave/post punk song. Think DEVO heavily influenced by Black Sabbath. And then the guitars come sneaking in before smashing the walls down. "Queen" is ridiculously ferocious. I'd say this is still garage rock if your garage is filled with stolen car parts and occult artifacts. But still waving the flag of their New Wave influences. It's a huge dark rock song that still finds some way to sneak in just the slightest bit of an artsy edge. Plus, it features Nicole Marie Coogan of The Devil's Twins on backing vocals, just in case it needed to be cooler.

You can listen to "Queen" below. The song is currently available on Salem Wolves's Bandcamp page. If you happen to be in the Boston area, Salem Wolves are playing June 27 on a Mahi Mahi boat cruise out of Salem, MA (naturally). If you feel like travelling to Providence, they're playing the free PVD Fest at some point between June 6-9 (if PVD Fest ever decides to release a schedule...) For more on Salem Wolves, check out their website.

Trinary System - "When the Dust Settles"

Things have been very, very quiet on the Mission of Burma front lately, but members have been involved with other projects. Trinary System is Roger Miller's current project. Obviously we have to compare their latest song, "When the Dust Settles," to Mission of Burma, so here goes!

"When the Dust Settles" is decidedly more mellow than Miller's typical work with Mission of Burma. It's not a complete change in direction from Burma, but more of an extension. Instead of the punk edge we're used to, Trinary System is almost psychedelic and harmonious. It's significantly less dissonant, but most things are. I'd almost go as far as calling it groovy, but it stops just short of that.

You can watch the video for "When the Dust Settles" below. LIGHTS IN THE CENTER OF YOUR HEAD, the new album from Trinary System, is due out on June 1 via Feeding Tube Records. For more on Trinary System, check out their website.

Scott H. Biram and Jesse Dayton Cover David Allan Coe

The original version of David Allan Coe's "Monkey David Wine" is already bluesy, but when Scott H. Biram and Jesse Dayton covered it for a new single they made it even dirtier. All shreds of country have been driven out of the song, and it's just a crazy blues jam now. You might not think so when the song first starts, but the further on it goes, the more the guitars just lose all control and start freaking out. It sounds like Biram and Dayton tried their best to reign them in, but eventually gave up. And who could blame them.

You can listen to Scott H. Biram and Jesse Dayton's version of "Monkey David Wine" below. The song is currently available as a single with another cover: Gary Stewart's "Single Again." You can get your copy digitally via Bandcamp and vinyl via Bloodshot Records. For more on Scott H. Biram check out his website. For Jesse Dayton, check out his website.

Homeboy Sandman - "West Coast"

New York's Homeboy Sandman is back with a new single, "West Coast." "West Coast" is a perfect summertime song. It's fun and laid back, even though it has a surprising edge for a laid back song. Plus it's a pure hip hop song. There's no R&B chorus. In fact, there's virtually no chorus at all. For nearly the entire 2:38 length of the song it's just Homeboy Sandman rapping in an almost stream of conscious way. Plus, there are a few shout outs to hip hop classics sprinkled in.

You can listen to "West Coast" below. The song is currently available as a single from Mello Music Group via Bandcamp. For more on Homeboy Sandman, be sure to check out his Twitter and Facebook.

Dad Brains - "Father's Day" and The Ramoms - Problem Child

Every so often there are bands just destined to be joined together. The Queers and Screeching Weasel, Harry and The Potters and Draco and The Malfoys for example. The latest are Dad Brains and The Ramoms.

Dad Brains are a Ventura, CA based dad themed punk band. It includes members of No Motiv, The Missing 23rd, Creep Division, and The F-ing Wrath. They just released a video for their song "Father's Day." The song came about primarily since there aren't any other Father's Day songs out there. It's a thrashy, skater punk style song... about Father's Day. Is it great? Nope. But it's certainly not terrible. "Father's Day" isn't a song that's going to change anyone's life. It's silly fun, and isn't that what skater punk is all about?

You can watch the video for "Father's Day" below. Dadditude, the new EP from Dad Brains, will be out digitally June 7 and on vinyl June 14 on Pirate Press Records. You can pre-order your copy here. For more on Dad Brains, check them out on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Next up is Philadelphia's The Ramoms. The Ramoms take Ramones songs and re-purpose them as parody songs a la "Weird Al" Yankovic. On their latest EP, Problem Child, they redo "Judy Is a Punk" as "Gritty Is a Punk," an ode to the Flyers's Gritty, aka the greatest mascot the world has ever seen. They also do "Boogie Not Snot," which is a redone version of "Blitzkrieg Bop" about boogers. Finally it's just a straight up cover of "Rockaway Beach." These are just three insanely fun and insanely ridiculous songs.

You can listen to all of Problem Child below. The EP is also available from Pirate Press Records here. For more on The Ramoms, check them out on Facebook. Also, if you happen to love both Dad Brains and The Ramoms and love Christmas music, you're in luck! The bands just so happened to have released a split 7" of Christmas music called MERRYXMAS. That can be found here.

The Mooks - "Let It All Fall Down"

From what I am about to write, I should hate the latest single from The Mooks. According to the band, "Let It All Fall Down" is "is a sunny, uptempo song that captures the feeling of newly discovered love and the desire for reciprocation. It’s a reminder not to sweat the small stuff of everyday life and to find happiness from love." The song is an indie rock dance track with the singing being done in a modern crooning style. This is the kind of thing that typically irks me for some reason. But The Mooks nail it. "Let It All Fall Down" is the kind of song that could easily have ended up hokey, or far too mainstream for my liking, but somehow this works. It could be the fact that despite how sunny and positive the song is, there seems to be a sense of melancholy behind it.

You can watch the video for "Let It All Fall Down" below. It will be included on The Mooks's upcoming EP, which will be released this summer. For more on The Mooks, check out their Facebook and Twitter.

Charming Disaster - "Blacksnake"

For anyone that knows me, you know that "love, death, crime, ancient mythology, and the paranormal" are kind of my things, so it's safe to assume that I'm going to like any band that includes those things in their Bandcamp bio. Charming Disaster are that band, and they're back with a new single!

"Blacksnake" is this hauntingly hypnotic folk adjacent song that is mysteriously catchy. It's a song about murder and death, but is remarkably upbeat. It might be the cabaret feel that Charming Disaster infuse into the song, but that's kinda their style.

You can watch the video for "Blacksnake" below. For added fun, it was shot in the Kreischer Mansion on Staten Island, which is rumored to be haunted and the sight of a mafia murder! SPELLS + RITUALS, the new album from Charming Disaster, will be out June 7, and can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp. For more on Charming Disaster, check out their website.