Eyesore & the Jinx - "Leisure Time"

Photo by Kirsten Roberts

"Leisure Time," the latest single from Liverpool's Eyesore & the Jinx, brings the noise to post punk. Sure, "Leisure Time" is filled with that groove that is truly the trademark of post punk. But the single also has this underlying noise and menace. The guitar comes rattling in at a rate to be both disturbing and intriguing. And when it finally explodes? Pure uncomfortable bliss. 

Josh Miller of Eyesore & the Jinx has this to say about the song: “From the perspective of an unhinged holiday maker, ‘Leisure Time’ points a greasy, heavily lotioned finger at the care-free nature of the British expat. Whose enduring commitment to enjoying themselves, at the expense of other cultures, remains as visible and as grotesque as ever. It is, in short, a sun-stroked blather on the most miserable of holidays.” 

You can listen to "Leisure Time" below. The single is out now via Eggy Records. You can get a copy here. For more on Eyesore & the Jinx, check out their Facebook and Twitter. Current tour dates are below the song.

October

Friday 4^th – The Waiting Room, London

Saturday 5^th – DIALS Festival, Portsmouth

Sunday 6^th – The Prince Albert, Brighton

Saturday 12^th – Neighbourhood Festival, Manchester

Saturday 12^th – Smithdown Festival, Liverpool

Wednesday 23^rd – The Eagle Inn, Manchester (w/ Ice Baths)

Saturday 26^th – Drop the Dumbulls, Liverpool (OHMNS’ All-Dayer)

First Listen: New Releases for 25 September

Some catch-up along with the new releases...

Artist: The Wolff Sisters
Album: Queendom of Nothing
Quick Description: New album from a local favorite.
Why You Should Listen: The Wolff Sisters should be huge.
Overall Thoughts: We loved the debut album from The Wolff Sisters, Cahoon Hollow, and to say that this new album has been on our anticipated list for a while is an understatement. What I didn't expect was for this new record to be such a leap forward. There's no sophomore slump here: Queendom of Nothing is a gorgeous, confident record that improves on everything this band has already accomplished up to now, and, in a more just world, would propel them into greater stardom. For now, they'll have to remain our collective secret, but do not sleep on this. It's not only one of the best of the week...
Recommendation: ...it's one of the best of the year.

Artist: Sofia Talvik
Album: Paws of a Bear
Quick Description: Latest from the Americana-via-Sweden singer-songwriter.
Why You Should Listen: Sofia Talvik has been one of the most consistently great musicians of the last decade.
Overall Thoughts: Plenty of room on this bandwagon, folks. Talvik's latest is just another entry in her lush, beautiful brand of Americana, and it continually surprises me how well she embraces the sounds of a genre from the other side of the planet. If you like folk music and haven't gotten around to Talvik yet, this is as good a place as any to start out.
Recommendation: One of the best of the week.

Artist: Michaela Anne
Album: Desert Dove
Quick Description: Great roots music.
Why You Should Listen: Michaela Anne continues her growth as a great roots musician.
Overall Thoughts: There's definitely some polish and shine on Desert Dove, but there's no negative takeaway from this album. A solid, confident take on a whole from a musician who seemingly arrived on the scene with her debut a few years back, this third album is her best effort yet and has a lot of songs that will stick in your head long after you've listened. In a week with so much good roots music, this one shouldn't fall by the wayside.
Recommendation: A great listen.

Artist: Tegan & Sara
Album: Hey, I'm Just Like You
Quick Description: Indie-adjacent sister act back with a new album.
Why You Should Listen: Tegan & Sara have been great for decades, and this album is a return to form of sorts.
Overall Thoughts: Tegan & Sara deserve every accolade they receive, but even their recent shift toward more radio-friendly pop might have turned off a fan or two. As someone who really liked their earlier stuff, I feel like this new album comes closest to their superlative early work of anything they've released recently. This back-to-basics approach, however, still has a mainstream feel and flavor to it that, in my mind, achieves that difficult goal of straddling that line so many bands fail at. With that said? A great album, and worth the time in any week.
Recommendation: Give this a listen.

Artist: Sturgill Simpson
Album: Sound & Fury
Quick Description: Latest from the classic country crooner...
Why You Should Listen: ...even if this is completely out of left field for him.
Overall Thoughts: If early responses on Twitter are any indication, this is going to be one of the most divisive records of the year. There's little-to-no country music to be found here, and it comes across more like an alt-prog... something. It's hard to describe. If you can put aside that it's Sturgill Simpson putting this out, you'll find a super fascinating record that is easily one of the more challenging and interesting releases in recent memory. If you're expecting what made you love this guy to start, though, you'll find that the only thing to remind you of his past is his always-odd approach.
Recommendation: Be wary, but be rewarded.

Of note:

* Surfer Blood - Covers (Some solid and interesting covers in here.)
* The New Pornographers - In the Morse Code of Brake Lights (Maybe their best in a long time.)
* Test Meat - Enjoy
* Billy Strings - Home
* Charlie Parr - Charlie Parr
* The Hussy - Looming
* Beth Hart - War in My Mind
* Moon Duo - Stars Are the Light
* Temples - Hot Motion
* Girl Band - The Talkies

EPs:

* Rosier - Rosier (Looking forward to more from these guys.)
* The Comet is Coming - The Afterlife
* Keep Shelly in Athens - 9 Years
* Free Love - Extreme Dance Anthems
* Abbie Ozard - Growing Pains EP
* C/OR, Joy Orbison, Herron - Gudrun


Also out:

* Brian Eno and Robert Fripp - Evening Star
* Becky Hill - Get to Know
* Merzbow, Keiji Haino, Balasz Pandi - Become the Discovered, Not the Discoverer
* Steel Panther - Heavy Metal Rules

Medicine Covers Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac doesn't sound like it would lend itself to shoegaze very well, but Los Angeles's Medicine do an amazing job with "Sentimental Lady." Medicine originally formed in 1991, and are belt known for their role in the film The Crow (and the inclusion of "Time Baby 3" on the soundtrack. The band broke up in 1995, reuniting as a duo in 2003, and are now back with an album of covers and rejoining with original singer Annette Zilinskas. 

While it might initially seem like a strange pairing, a shoegaze Fleetwood Mac cover works surprisingly well. Both Fleetwood Mac and shoegaze have a certain dreamlike feel, although they both use different methods to get there. I've personally never been much of a fan of the classic rock band, and I enjoy this purely as a shoegaze song.

You can listen to Medicine's take on "Sentimental Lady" below. Scarred for Life, the upcoming covers album from Medicine, will be out October 4 on Drawing Room Records. You can pre-order your copy here. For more on Medicine, check them out on Facebook.

Lauren Balthrop - "Your Time Will Come"

Nashville's Lauren Balthrop released her debut album, This Time Around, a year ago, and she's back today with a brand new single. "Your Time Will Come" is smooth mainstream folk/Americana, and when Balthrop does it that's hardly a bad thing. Regular readers will know I hate things that can be described as "mainstream" or "encouraging." "Your Time Will Come" is both of those things, and I love this song. Balthrop has this playful quality and her voice couldn't possibly be more charming and captivating. Even the biggest music snobs will be melted by this song.

You can listen to "Your Time Will Come" below. The single is out now via Tone Tree Music. You can get a copy at Bandcamp. For more on Lauren Balthrop, check her out on Twitter.

Rosa Bordallo - "Citadel"

Photo by Varvara Mikushkina

While we loved the gorgeous simplicity of Rosa Bordallo's debut single, "Lost on the Coast," her follow up is decidedly more rock. "Citadel" isn't quite a punk rager, but compared to the previous song this one shreds. Beneath Bordallo's vocals creeps a growling guitar just waiting to be unleashed throughout the song. When it finally does it absolutely tears away, barely in control. The aggression within the song is due to the subject matter. According to Bordallo:  

"'Citadel' is about Capitalist vultures in the concrete jungle. A balls-to-the-wall angry eff you to the 1 percenters who suck us dry. I wrote this out of frustration with the myth of New York ('if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere') that attracts bright and ambitious folk who may not realize what they're getting into until it's too late."

You can listen to "Citadel" below. Reef Walker, the debut solo album from Rosa Bordallo, will be out October 18 on Time Castle Recordings. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Rosa Bordallo, check out her Facebook.

Three Free New England Festivals This Weekend!

Summer is over, which usually means the end of free outdoor concerts. Somehow New England decided to squeak out three more free shows this weekend, with something for every fan of rock based music!

Boston Local Music Festival
September 28 and 29
City Hall Plaza, Boston MA
To me, this seems like a direct response to Boston Calling. It's right at Boston Calling's first location, and Boston Calling previously included a September show. This one features fifty Boston based bands over three stages for two days! With any festival this large, there are a lot of bands we're not hugely familiar with, but there are a bunch we know and love! You get the mainstream alternative rock of blindspot, the synth pop of Pyramid Thieves, the experimental hardcore punk of DNZL, the garage rock/pop of Carissa Johnson, the glam punk of The Knock Ups, the garage rock of Salem Wolves, and the Celtic punk of The Gobshites!

New England Roots Festival
September 28
Downtown Nashua, NH
Now in its fourth year, the New England Roots Festival is taking over downtown Nashua, NH. This festival focuses on the mainstream folk side of things, with The Ballroom Thieves, Parsonsfield, GoldenOak, and Town Meeting taking turns on the main stage. I've been a couple of times, and it's always a laid back event. Despite the enormous talent that has played here, the crowds always seem fairly small, especially for a free downtown event. But, that can be a much preferred way to see bands for many of us, so this one is highly recommended!

Skate Park Rager
September 28
Trinity Skate Park, Providence, RI
This one we're probably (definitely) too old for, especially since it takes place at a skate park, but it's a free show featuring Providence noise legends Lightning Bolt! It also features Baby Baby and The Hammer Party, both of which we aren't familiar with at all, but if they're playing with Lightning Bolt they've gotta be at least kinda cool, right?

The Springfields - "Sunflower"

Since the band featured Ric Menck and Paul Chastain of The Velvet Crush, I feel like I should be familiar with The Springfields. However, they only released five singles between 1986 and 1991, so I can forgive myself. Slumberland Records is reissuing these singles as Singles 1986-1991, and we can listen to "Sunflower" right now. "Sunflower" is a gorgeous, shimmering indiepop song. It has equal parts the sunny pop of The Byrds and the twee feelings of Belle & Sebastian. It's a gorgeous song that sounds perfectly of its time and like it could have been released for the very first time last week. 

You can listen to "Sunflower" below. Singles 1986-1991 will be released on Slumberland Records on November 15. The reissue can be pre-ordered here. For more on The Springfields, check out Slumberland Records's website.

The Devil's Twins - "Love Vigilante"

Photo via Facebook

We're a little late to The Devil's Twins bandwagon, but consider us fully on board. Their latest single, "Love Vigilante," is a bit more organic and rootsy than their typical releases. It's more Americana/blues, but Nicole Coogan's voice brings the metal, despite how laid back the song may be, especially at the beginning. Jeremiah Louf's vocals have a more laid back feel, giving the song a great intensity in comparison with Coogan's. And then the song brings in a killer hard rock electric guitar solo, melding the whole thing into a roots/blues/metal hybrid we all need right now.

You can listen to "Love Vigilante" below. For more on The Devil's Twins, check out their website. If you're in the Boston area, they have an upcoming show at Atwood's Tavern with Carissa Johnson on October 12. That show cannot be missed.

Suitcase Sam - "Growing Up"

Suitcase Sam has completely nailed the country/rock genre with his latest single, "Growing Up." Even though the song hearkens back to the early 70's glory days of that style, it feels completely timeless. According to the press release, Suitcase Sam wanted to make an album that sounded like it was released in 1972. Well... he accomplished that goal. "Growing Up" is a rambling country rocker in a style that doesn't quite get made like this anymore, and that's kind of a shame.

Suitcase Sam says about the album: "When I was compiling the songs for this record, I was searching for sonic cohesion, a body of work that sounded like...a body of work. But looking back, in hindsight, I realize each song is about fucking off. Whether it’s jumping on a train or a bus and taking off without a care, or seeing that your situation is going sideways and having the insight to remove yourself before it all goes ka-bloo-iee!"

You can listen to "Growing Up" below. Goodnight Riverdale Park, the debut album from Suitcase Sam, will be out October 11. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Suitcase Sam, check out his website.

The Sheila Divine - "Kurt Cobain"

On the anniversary of the release of Nevermind, The Sheila Divine released a new single, "Kurt Cobain." According to a Facebook post from singer Aaron Perrino:

"I remember the first time I heard Smells Like Teen Spirit on WBNY in 1991. I drove to the record store the following day, which was September 24th 1991, as they were unboxing Nevermind. Nirvana was my favorite band after that for quite some time. I wrote this song called Kurt Cobain imagining what he might be like if he were alive today."

"Kurt Cobain" is a mid-tempo song that sound optimistic, but asks if Cobain were alive today "Would he be a middle aged legend slightly balding / Railing against corruption and the greed / Or a millionaire rock star with a winery / Island hopping on a yacht at sea." It also asks if Jimi Hendrix would be "An elder statesman with a sound of rage / Railing against all that we’ve become / Or a baby boomer me too what is mine is mine / Damn this world I’ll take it all with me." It's a question I always wonder, especially since so many of their contemporaries seem insistent on tarnishing their legacies to the point of ruining the connection we have to the music of our youth. It's a fitting song to be included on what is most likely The Sheila Divine's final album. It's a time of reflecting on what could have been and reminiscing about what was.

You can listen to "Kurt Cobain" below. Beginning of the End, the upcoming album from The Sheila Divine, will be released sometime this fall. For more on The Sheila Divine, check them out on Twitter and Facebook.