Dean Sabatino - Augmenta Memoria

Dean Sabatino (aka Dean Clean) of the Dead Milkmen recently released his 3rd collection of "ambient electronic minimalist music." It's not quite the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Dead Milkmen, but all the members seem to play with other genres with side projects, so it makes sense. Dean's solo project is this eerie, creepy music that is so minimalistic that you'll almost forget it's on and it just blends in with whatever your surroundings are. It's not exactly music you supposed to listen to in the background at work, and it's probably not the best music to sooth you to sleep. According to his Bandcamp: " Listen in the car on a highway drive, or while walking in the woods. Try turning off all the lights and listening in a dark house at one in the morning. Put some nice headphones on and immerse yourself in these sounds." That sums it up pretty perfectly.

To check out Augmenta Memoria, head over to Dean Sabatino's Bandcamp. You should also check out The Dead Milkmen's website, since they recently announced somesummer and fall tour dates.

First Listen: New Releases for June 16

Christopher Paul Stelling - Labor Against Waste: One of this year's Newport Folk acts, Labor Against Waste definitely feels like a standard folk album, and sometimes delves into Mumford-style driving musical moments. It's a pretty good album, fairly able to be overlooked given the quality of music out this week, but still a pretty decent listen on a whole.

The Lonesome Trio - The Lonesome Trio: Album of the week, and true contender for album of the year, is the debut album by The Lonesome Trio. I looked this up for one reason, and that's because Ed Helms of The Office is one of the members of the band. It turns out that it's one of the better roots records of recent memory, and would be absolutely worthy even if one of the members wasn't famous. Just really great from start to finish, and highly recommended.

Lenka - The Bright Side: Lenka's fourth album sounds a lot like Lenka. It's poppy yet sparse, feels happy but nothing is terribly sticky. I can't say it left much of any impression on me at all, to be honest, which I guess is a condemnation in itself. If you like Lenka, this is worth a listen, but it's nothing special.

Heartless Bastards - Restless Ones: In an era with so many throwback rock bands, post-rock bands, and so on, Heartless Bastards tend to stand out for me because of how straightforward they are. The ambiguous vocals, the mid-tempo songs, it all always works for me even if it's not the greatest thing released at a given time. If I have a complaint about this album, it's that the production values feel a little too polished, which doesn't always work with the sort of dirty rock and roll we've come to expect, but this is still a quality listen this week.

Giorgio Morodor - Deja Vu: Iconic producer and disco artist Giorgio Morodor's first album in 30 years is surprising not only due to the fact that it exists at all, but that it's surprisingly modern. I suppose working with Daft Punk might have some influence, but the result (with the exception of the really bizarre Britney Spears collaboration on "Tom's Diner") is a wonderful experience to listen to. If you're into electronic music, you owe yourself to listen to this. If you liked old disco, this is worth your time, too, given Morodor's record. Just a good time all around.

Alpine - Yuck: I forget what got me into Alpine initially, but what's the most interesting about the latest album is how utterly unmemorable it is. On first listen, I can't recall a thing about it except it sort of sounds like Alpine? That's not really good news, especially for acts that try to do something a little off-center. I'll give this another listen, but nothing sticks out for me on this one.

Mika - No Place in Heaven: Mika's style of pop cabaret still works really well even though I find myself less into it as I get older. This new album is filled with a lot of good hooks, and whether there's a solid winner like "Grace Kelly" was a few years back, I'm not entirely sure. Still, if you're into the type of thing that Mika is offering, this is definitely worth a spin.

Ryn Weaver - The Fool: Last week I mentioned how Florence and the Machine have gone a little more mainstream, and then here comes Ryn Weaver to fill that Florence gap rather nicely. It's a pretty straightforward album, sometimes maybe a little too over the top, but that's okay - it's still a pretty good album and a fairly decent gap-filler in that regard. Whether this will have legs or staying power remains to be seen, though. Certainly worth a listen, especially if you were looking for something different from Florence.

Nate Ruess - Grand Romantic: Nate Reuss, lead singer of Fun, former lead singer of The Format, offers his first solo album. Surprise, surprise, it sounds like a Fun album. I liked Aim and Ignite and found Some Nights to be insufferable, and this one is squarely in the middle, filled with both smart pop options and some excess to boot. I hesitate to call it a vanity project given how many things Ruess is involved with, but it sounds like a vanity project far too often, and perhaps that's the most damning part.

Mates of State - You're Going to Make It: Mates of State are back with a new EP, and it's definitely the most fun thing they've put out since their covers album about five years back. The leadoff track feels like classic Mates of State in many ways, and that's great, and this being a quick hit doesn't necessary hurt, either. If this is a teaser for a new album, consider me intrigued.

Toad the Wet Sprocket - The Architect of the Ruin: Toad the Wet Sprocket also dropped a surprise EP this week. The opening song is probably the most "rock" they've done since they got back together, and there's also a pretty straightforward take on Glen Phillips's solo song "Finally Fading" to go along with the six song EP. Overall? This is closer to what I've been hoping for from one of my all-time favorite bands. Assuming they continue to release music, here's to hoping we get more like this.

The Earnest Lovers - Sing Sad Songs: I hadn't heard of The Earnest Lovers prior to this week, but talk about a neat throwback country act, this one really hits the right notes for me. Not a ton to say except that you should check this out if classic country is your thing.

Kaia Kater - Sorrow Bound: Final new release today is from Kaia Kater, who is a young Canadian artist who has put out what is a fairly impressive, understated folk record. It's not an album that will hook you in immediately, but it's definitely one that I was a big fan of by the time it was over. I'm definitely looking to spend more time with it.

Brooklyn's 90s Fest is Ironic In the Worst Possible Way

Normally, something called 90s Fest would have any music fan in their late 30s thrilled with even the mere possibility. But the recently announced 90s Fest taking place September 12 in Williamsburg is disappointing and more than a bit confusing.

The main problem seems to be that it doesn't know what it is. It's as if it's trying to be both a tribute to 90s culture and also be tongue in cheek kitschy at the same time, which is nearly impossible to pull off. First of all, the headliner is whatever the fuck passes for Blind Melon in 2015. You can't really explore the fun side of a band that was derailed by the singer's tragic death 20 years ago. Maybe their just trying to cater to kids that have no idea Shannon Hoon died, or even who Shannon Hoon is. Then there's Lisa Loeb. It may be 21 years since she hit it huge with "Stay (I Missed You)" and she seems to have a sense of humor about it, but she's also had a perfectly respectable career as a singer/songwriter since then releasing 9 studio albums. I can't picture people showing up for their "Ha ha! The 90s!" laugh enjoying a serious singer/songwriter.

Then there's the less serious artists. Smash Mouth? You can't put on anything resembling a serious music festival and include Smash Mouth. Besides, sure their debut came out in 1997, but their real success was after the 90s were over. Is anyone nostalgic for them at all? Plus, I remember there being a band named Tonic that I hated, but I can't remember anything else about them. Then they have some cover band called Saved By the 90s. Uh... yeah. Ok.

Coolio and Naughty By Nature have the 90s fun nostalgia vibe down perfectly. They are perfect editions no matter which direction the festival decided to go in. At least they got that part right.

Another part they got right is having Pauly Shore host. It's cheesy, but what 90s nostalgia lover wouldn't want to see the Weasel introducing bands? The rest of the nostalgia line up is pure shit. I guess there's some Instagram thing called FuckJerry and a "social media star" called Betches hosting a 90s themed bedroom. This just pushes the whole thing down the ironic hipster wormhole of hell.

This could have been a great event if they could just pick what they want to do. They could have done it as a fun but serious tribute to all things 90s by including bands that aren't as universally hated as Smash Mouth, or they could have booked Right Said Fred or Aqua instead of Blind Melon or Lisa Loeb.

If you're interested for whatever reason, you can check out the event's website here.

Live Shows: Bad Religion, Plague Vendor, & No Trigger, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA 6/15/15

Bad Religion are one of my favorite live bands. Once I realized I haven't seen them since the 2002 Warped Tour, I realized I had to see them. Mainly because they've been hinting for the last few years that they could retire at any moment, but also because the Paradise is a fraction of the size of the venues they normally play when they come around. Also, this was part of their "Battle of the Centuries" where they play two nights in a city: The first is all music from the 20th century, the second is all from the 21st century. The first night is definitely the more popular of the pair, selling out far in advance while tickets for tonight are currently still available.

No Trigger opened the show, and once they announced they were from Worcester, MA I assumed they were just some newfangled local opener. Turns out they have 21,000 Facebook followers as opposed to Plague Vendor's 7000 followers. Never having heard of them made me feel old. Then again, they are part of the "melodic hardcore" subgenre which I've never gotten into. Melodic hardcore, to me, is more of a louder emo. It still includes melodies, but also more screaming and harder music. It's not my preferred music, but it was good for what it was.

Plague Vendor seemed much more compelling. Fronted by a singer who was equal parts Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, and Michael Jackson, they brought a bizarre version of trashy punk metal to the stage. Both punk and metal are genres that can get pretty repetitive. It's refreshing to see a band with a unique sound come from that. They seemed to confuse a decent portion of the crowd, particularly with the singer's dancing, but I'll take confusing over boring any time.

Regardless of the openers, this was Bad Religion's show. They owned the stage and the crowd's enthusiasm was more fervent than I've seen in a long time. Greg Gaffin hasn't looked like a standard punk rock front man in decades, and he looks it even less than he did in the 13 years since I saw them last. But the man can still spout some fierce vocals, which is all that truly matters. Pulling exclusively from their 80s and 90s material, you got to hear songs that would have been all but forgotten at any other show. One of the highlights is when they'd play a block of songs from one particular album, like 1989's No Control. They seemed to stick with their late 80s/early 90s catalog in particular, but no complaints from me. 

Gaffin also told some fantastic stories, which was just about the only time the crowd wasn't moshing. He admitted that his moshing days were behind him, and now he's the type to sit in the balcony sipping his brandy. He also told about missing their first ever Boston show at the soon to be closed TT the Bear's since they didn't realize it was an afternoon matinee and they arrived at 6:00. All in all they played for almost 90 minutes, which came to roughly 100 songs (obviously exaggerating). It was such a great set of songs that even if they missed your favorite, you hardly cared.

If this tour is coming to your city, you truly need to go. Bad Religion have been hinting at a break up for a few years now. You'll regret not checking them out one last time. Plus, it was the oldest crowd I've ever seen at an all ages show, even in the pit, so there is relatively no shot of being the Creepy Old Guy. Go to their website to see if you have another shot.

Green River Festival Announces Daily Schedules

The Green River Festival is now less than 4 weeks away, and they've announced their daily schedule, and as always, there are some decisions to be made. While I love the multiple stages of festivals, and I love having options for when there's an artist on I can't get into, I hate having to decide between two favorite artists.

The biggest for me is deciding between J Mascis and Lydia Loveless. J Mascis is a decades long favorite of mine, and Lydia Loveless is a year long absolute obsession. I've seen Mascis solo a handful of times, and I've never seen Loveless, so you'd think this would be an easy choice. But this is J Mascis we're talking about. Luckily, they only have a 15 minute overlap so it'll just have to be a last minute decision on what to miss. 

Of course, there's also the overlap between Polaris and Langhorne Slim & The Law, which is almost a complete time for time overlap. I discovered The Adventures of Pete and Pete in my 30s, so I don't have that sense of nostalgia people slightly younger than I will have for Polaris. But Langhorne Slim seems to tour a lot more than Polaris does. This one might have to be a 50/50 split.

There are still some other tough choices. The Milk Carton Kids overlap slightly with Lydia Loveless (she wins) but completely overlap with Arc Isis. The end of Lydia Loveless will overlap with Booker T. Jones (again, she wins), and half of tUnE-yArDs overlaps with half of The Wood Brothers. But I guess having too much to see is better than being bored while waiting out a disappointing live set.

You can check out the full schedule for this year's Green River Festival on their website. Also, make sure you buy your tickets sooner than later since last year's festival sold out in advance.

Monday Mix: Highlights from Hefner and Darren Hayman

I pulled up a playlist of Hefner/Darren Hayman songs on Sunday and forgot how much I really loved Hefner back in the day. While some of my favorites when I first got wind of the band were the more risque fare like "May God Protect Your Home" and "Seafaring," I still find myself going back to "Christian Girls," to "Hymn for the Cigarettes," to "She Can't Sleep No More" today. Hayman has transitioned into a fairly good solo career as well as a number of different collaborations, but this is definitely stuff you'll have wanted to hear if you haven't had the opportunity yet. Even as I was putting this quick post together, I was substituting different songs out to keep things under 20 songs.

Hopefully you find a couple gems to enjoy here.

The Cairo Gang - "Be What You Are"

Photo by Rachel Cassels

The Cairo Gang is mostly Emmett Kelly, who recorded most of their upcoming album, Goes Missing, on his own while travelling. "Be What You Are" is pure pop gold, reminiscent of British invasion bands like The Kinks and The Zombies. It features jangly guitars and some of the most infectious layered vocals you've heard in years. Luckily the beauty of this style of music is that it never quite sounds dated. It might sound like it's from a certain era that happened 50 years ago, but everything you've ever listened to since then borrows so heavily from it that it always sounds current. It's the kind of music you wish you hadn't missed, only now you haven't.

Goes Missing is due out June 23rd on God? Records. You can pre-order the album now, and be sure to check out The Cairo Gang's Facebook. Listen to "Be What You Are" below, and below that are tour dates, many opening for Mikal Cronin.


Sat. Sept. 5 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios $ 
Mon. Sept. 7 - Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret $ 
Thu. Sept. 10 - St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club $ 
Fri. Sept. 11 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon $ 
Sat. Sept. 12 - Ames, IA @ Maximum Ames Music Festival $ 
Mon. Sept. 14 - Cleveland, OH @ Happy Dog #$ 
Tue. Sept. 15 - Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place # 
Wed. Sept. 16 - Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall #$ 
Thu. Sept. 17 - Montreal, QC @ Pop Montreal at Fairmount #$ 
Fri. Sept. 18 - Allston, MA @ Great Scott #$ 
Sun. Sept. 20 - Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater #$ 
Tue. Sept. 22 - Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall #$ 
Sat. Sept. 26 - Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace $ 
Sun. Sept. 27 - Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s $   

$ w/ Mikal Cronin # w/ Calvin Love

Smokey - "Leather"

Photo by John van Hamersveld

Having been considered "too gay" back in the 70s and 80s, Proto-punk icon Smokey is finally getting a proper reissue later this month. I wrote about "How Far Will You Go...?" earlier, and now you can hear another track off How Far Will You Go?: The S&M Recordings 1973-81. "Leather" reminds me a lot of David Bowie's "Suffragette City" and Iggy Pop's The Idiot, which was produced by David Bowie. It has the same feel that Bowie, Iggy, and Lou Reed all have when they're showing their R&B influences. Considering the time and scenes Smokey was a part of, the sound makes perfect sense.

How Far Will You Go?: The S&M Recordings 1973-81 is due out June 23rd on Chapter Music. You can listen to "Leather" below. You can pre-order the album on Amazon. For more information on Smokey, head on over to their official Facebook page.

First Listen: New Releases for June 9

An interesting week overall.

Jenny Hval - Apocalypse, girl: Jenny Hval is described in a few places as an experimental singer-songwriter, and that's a fairly good description of this album, which definitely balances the line between access and excess. It's got some cool moments, but unless you have tolerance for being firmly off the beaten path, you might not get this. Listener be aware.

Morgan Page - DC to Light: I've been a fan of Morgan Page for a while, and his fourth album feels very natural and right in line with the sort of dance music he's good at. What's interesting, though, is how uninteresting it is at times. It does what it does quite well, but the result isn't anything that really stretches any boundaries, as compared to other music in the genre. In such a competitive genre, artists need to do more than this to stand out, and good-but-not-great singles like "Open Road" won't get you there.

Ash - Kablammo!: Oh, Ash! Remember them? They never quite got there in the US, although they came close with "Burn Baby Burn" and "Shining Light," and then their epic Meltdown didn't do a thing here and then Charlotte Hatherley left the band and I kind of lost interest (by the way, her solo album is amazing and "Bastardo" is an amazing song and the video is directed by Edgar Wright and I'm way off topic now). So anyway, new Ash album! The album feels a little more subdued and lo-fi in a lot of ways, but the second half of the album is a lot better than the first and makes it a pretty worthwhile listen at the end of the day. Definitely worth some of your time this week, but your overall enjoyment of it could go anywhere.

The Deslondes - The Deslondes: Ken sent this one over to me earlier with four simple words: "You will like this." And he was right! Easily the best release of the week, The Deslondes provide a pretty solid roots/blues mix combined with some New Orleans-style flair that just hits my sweet spot perfectly. Fits right in with a lot of our favorites here, and I can already tell that this one is looking to be a grower. Absolutely worth a spin in your rotation this week, if only for "Fought the Blues and Won." I haven't been to a live show in a while, so these guys might have to be an exception.

FFS - FFS: FFS is a collaborative project between Franz Ferdinand and Sparks, and the most surprising thing from this collaboration is how much the two groups match up sonically. I'm basing this on overall limited knowledge of Sparks that's based more on a mixtape from a friend than a deep dive, but the entire time I was thinking about how much it sounded like a slightly different Franz Ferdnand album/slightly different Sparks songs. The most unique song, even more strangely, is "Piss Off," which feels more Sparks than Franz but still has a hook that is missing from time to time on other songs. It's not a bad record by any means, but it's definitely one that defied my expectations. Worth a try.

Institute - Catharsis: I feel like a lot of bands have tried to ape the sounds of old punk, old garage rock, and such with limited success. Institute's album, however, was the first one to truly trick me. It passes very well as an old punk record in a lot of ways, and that's basically where its strength lies. I can't really say much more about it, but you'll know within the first song whether it worked for you as well as it worked for me. Very well done album, though.

Prinzhorn Dance School - Home Economics: More an EP than an album, I had not heard of this group prior to listening to this, and the best way I can describe it is an album that plays to a very minimalist mindset, perhaps to its detriment? I found this album to be interesting in how uninteresting it seemingly intends to be, and there's something to that. At 22 minutes and 6 songs, the investment is as minimal as the instrumentation, so it's worth a listen, but it's a strange one, for sure.

Sharon Van Etten - I Don't Want to Let You Down: Sharon Van Etten's most recent album didn't entirely work for me, but I don't know what's so different about this EP that's making it work so much better for me. A solid, quick hit of songwriting with a great leadoff track, this is the type of Van Etten I've come to enjoy over the years. Great release.

Muse - Drones: Muse has been toeing the line of being that strange, sci-fi loving dude a few lockers down from you for a few albums now, and Drones brings us full immersion into what feels more like self-parody than anything else. The album feels so on the nose and over the top that it stops being fun entirely for me, and I'm not even sure if there's any sense of self-awareness there that would indicate that it's all purposeful. While they've long since shed the "Radiohead clones" lable, they've now become the closest thing we have to mainstream prog rock these days, so this one might be a fans-only affair.






Also out this week:

* Ryan Adams - Live at Carnegie Hall

Dot Dash - Earthquakes & Tidal Waves

Dot Dash are a pop punk band from Washington D.C. that lean heavily on the pop side of the spectrum. By pop, I mean bands like The Jam and Beach Boys more than the typical pop punk of Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory. The band features former members of Minor Threat, Swervedriver, Youth Brigade, and Julie Ocean.

Their latest album, Earthquakes & Tidal Waves (produced by Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Dinosaur Jr, Wilco)), is a collection perfectly crafted edgy pop songs. It's like a less polished or jokey Fountains of Wayne, even though "Flowers" does reference the Harlem Shake. It's the sort of album that used to be released in the spring in preparation for releasing the perfect summer song. This entire album can be an ideal summer album for you this year.

You can listen to and purchase Earthquakes & Tidal Waves at Dot Dash's Bandcamp. You can also listen to "Rainclouds" below.





Sat. Aug. 29 with The Fleshtones at Creative Alliance, Baltimore

Wed. Sept. 16 with Tommy Keene, Metro, Baltimore

Thu. Sept. 17 with Tommy Keene at Bowery Electric, NYC

Fri. Sept. 18 with Tommy Keene at Iota, Arlington, Va.