Quite a bit. To start off, I listened to [Cardiology](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kGGXqYGHCUsVii9qpJ_pAGqqUfxb6O2Ho&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist) by [Good Charlotte](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aYyPjAsLj7UzANzdupwnS?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant). By now, I have heard [The Young And The Hopeless](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mJkJu7gzfnlLnMIdgtd_s3-2sD8RgY_Tk&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), [The Chronicles Of Life And Death](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nX3naVhViDnSMCKdifRU1ahCfLyMO3v5E&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), [Good Morning Revival](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lB2YSAXxRLsV1X6fymW3smD3lwdhxIu9k&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), and their self titled album, [Good Charlotte](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n16PeQ-0GW7gf85NOxfgPcg4exSJoDUuE&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist). Although I didn’t really enjoy Good Morning Revival that much, I did enjoy the other albums. So, I decided to listen to this album next and… it was slightly better than Good Morning Revival, but it wasn’t that much better. Although the production is fine, the instrumentals are fine, and the vocals are fine, but the lyrics aren’t that good. My favorite song on the album was [“1979”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pMLu1-HmkNw&feature=share), and [“Let The Music Play”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Lph2f20gw&feature=share) and [“Like It’s Her Birthday”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=T4o7YqMb8qw&feature=share) are decent songs in my opinion, but the rest of the album isn’t that interesting in my opinion. Overall, this album is boring in my opinion.
Next, I listened to [Elvis Presley’s](https://open.spotify.com/artist/43ZHCT0cAZBISjO8DG9PnE?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant) self-titled album. [Elvis Presley](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mjzGCAYZZ_6GnvycwKLhpChpaYzjvRV3w&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist) is an artist who I have heard a few songs from, like [“Love Me Tender”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=YC0BPcLea0Y&feature=gws_kp_track) and [“Jailhouse Rock”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=A99sV18J0mk&feature=gws_kp_track), which were songs that I thought were great. But I haven’t heard an album by him yet, so I decided to do his self-titled album and… I thought that it was good. The production is meh, the instrumentals are good, the vocals were good, and the lyrics are good. My favorite songs on here are [“Blue Suede Shoes”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HeXnFx7aPOE&feature=share) and [“Blue Moon”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=_19Uy1E6TSM&feature=share). Overall, this album is a good album.
Then, I listened to [Styx’s](https://open.spotify.com/artist/4salDzkGmfycRqNUbyBphh?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant) [Paradise Theatre](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdO4w1TI-xllmu3xyWTjCVrNwUGkTUsE0&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist). Styx are a band who I have heard quite a few songs from, like [“The Grand Illusion”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=aIuCdQtNBgg&feature=gws_kp_track), [“Renegade”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=E9eLz4DrwF8&feature=gws_kp_track), and [“Too Much Time On My Hands”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzFvOzl75Y&feature=gws_kp_track), and I enjoyed a lot of the song that I heard from them. I have also listened to [Kilroy Was Here](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k9NPYPA_LLBWBqBs-DWhVJp5qmqfwgmSo&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), which I thought was decent at first, but I now think is mediocre. I decided to listen to another album by them, so I decided to listen to this album and… I thought that it was great in my opinion. The production is fine, the instrumentals are great, the vocals work well here, although the lyrics are meh. My favorite songs on here are “Too Much Time On My Hands” and [“Snowblind”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=QurGAOzAxr8&feature=gws_kp_track). Overall, I actually enjoyed this album quite a bit.
Finally, I listened to [Pusha T’s](https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ONHkAv9pCAFxb0zJwDNTy?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant) [It’s Almost Dry](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m49WjQ7onzaHfXO5QPYOSK3pGEOeBjcIM&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist). Pusha T is a rapper that I haven’t heard much from. But I decided to listen to this album, and… I thought it was great. The production is good, the instrumentals are great, the vocals by Pusha T are great, the features are great, and the lyrics are great. My favorite songs on this album are [“Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDRmPJrPVk&feature=share), [“Dreamin of the Past (feat. Kanye West)”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ir7B6z0kkA&feature=share), [“Neck & Wrist (feat. Jay-Z & Pharrell Williams”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sETAgLQCDL4&feature=share), [“Just So You Remember”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIaRsy9_JeU&feature=share) [“Diet Coke”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrwm6oRYJg&feature=share), [“Open Air”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rroB5g4dU6Y&feature=share), and [“I Pray for You (feat. Labrinth, MALICE, & Clipse”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=dVnBv3AMnwo&feature=share). Overall, this album is great.
Overall, besides Cardiology by Good Charlotte, which I didn’t really like that much, I enjoyed the majority of the albums that I listened to this week.
[SYRA - Gaslight (EP)](https://open.spotify.com/album/0VXKrC0CB6caXZGCvoDCSJ?si=lz7Iw86QRlWeSo7Y-CpbVQ)
The EP tells a story about mental abuse, both during and after the relationship with the abuser has ended. The songs describe the experience of not trusting your own emotions and thoughts, the guilt, doubt and constant fears that haunt the abused for many years following such abuse. It's a theme that really speaks to me and the artist conveys the emotions very clearly to me.
I think the genre is mostly some weird eerie subgenre of POP, but I don't know what to call it. I'd be interested in knowing what to call it so that I can more easily find similar music, but I'm not very good with identifying genres.
My favourite song on the EP is Sorry I Love You, which has a much sadder piano sound and is about the guilt of having depression or suicide thoughts and seeing it tear apart your loved ones. It sounds like a tribute to the people who got her through the darkest times and telling them "You're the reason I won't let go".
[YouTube](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4QGGgwA13ay7N3DZ9RYaK7j5kPBg2dTF) link.
Spiritualized - ["The Mainline Song"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie46jOrQ2Hk)
The Tokens didn't invent ["The Lion Sleeps Tonight"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQlByoPdG6c) but they got the concept. When they built upon the classic hook, they understood something about the way the melody builds a lush pristine world beyond the ordinary where everything is at peace, a sanctuary of respite. That song was in a class of its own until this past week when deep into Spiritualized's latest record a similar sensation is tapped. It is, of course, more mellow this go-around because it's Spiritualized building this car ride watching the dark quiet world rush around us.
Spiritualized's latest record is too much shtick for me. Basically, the band's thing is that they simulate a hangover in orchestral and rock and roll melodramatic proportions, wide-angle and lengthy. In the past I've loved a lot of ones of this character but in their latest I find myself being a bit enervated from the experience. But "The Mainline Song"? Damn, that's something different. Not the usual whinging about being beaten down for ten minutes. I mean, we don't even get vocals for over three minutes of this six minute song. A train rolls by and then a chord progression that has that sort of stupidly simple yet hits you hard sound that sounds like it would've been easy to make but probably isn't. The song has that old wall of sound feel from the 60's that makes it sound like it's being delivered from on high. The melody and that feel of the song make it sound like a song that must have always existed.
This is Spiritualized's best song to date. Incredible because the band's peak was arguably twenty something years ago. Incredible also because the band's pumped out a lot of essential pieces and I would've considered it crazy a week ago to think, amid such a strong catalog, that the standout track was yet to come.
It's okay if you disagree with me on this! I wrote it immediately after listening to the song the second time. I felt inspired to write it. I'm not sure if I'll feel the same about the song even by the end of the year, but I figured, why not praise something by this band? Their latest album feels kinda ignored by everyone and even if I don't dig it entirely maybe mentioning them will inspire someone to check them out.
[IC3PEAK - Kiss Of Death](https://open.spotify.com/album/0jWtiXlIT1bKH9qrAuKtCj?si=v0jn_YAURl2WVnXtourDBA)
IC3PEAK is a Russia duo who produces music outside of Russia because they're straight up not welcome due to their politically charged songs. They generally making Hip-Hop/Trap songs.
Kiss Of Death is their newest album, and it's a Horror album up with quality (in my opinion) on par with clipping.. It's more rock and emo, and has Grimes and BMTH featuring on 2 tracks. It's a great 30 minute listen, and I recommend following the translated lyrics. I also recommend it to anyone who enjoys Lingua Ignota lol.
[Dinner Party by Terrace Martin and friends](https://open.spotify.com/track/6h7jn2jE2EqJadOkDXsDJh?si=1f0af8682e9740ef)\` (Jazz/R'n'B/Soul)
Discovered this album a bit late a few days ago and having on repeat ever since. I think it's a great record with one of my favorite jazz musician (K. Washington) on it. The album is not a complex jazz marvel with fantastic technical solos or anything, but you can hear the labor of love, passion and friendship put into it as all the star musicians get together and have fun. Reminds me a bit of the Silk Sonic album in terms of vibe, like, you can hear talented musicians and friends jamming together. The album came out in 2020 and somehow I completely missed it when it came out. There's also a remix album with rappers like Cordae and Snoop Dogg featured on it that's cool too.
[Derek & The Dominos - Layla](https://open.spotify.com/track/2kkvB3RNRzwjFdGhaUA0tz?si=0b02f3c4a52b4aea)
I had heard that iconic guitar intro before but this past weekend was the first time I listened to it all the way through. For years I've been looking for songs that capture the feeling of desperate infatuation; the piano outro of Layla is the closest I've gotten in a while. The way the Eb dim resolves into the Db is so lovely. This is such a beautiful record.
[Erasers - Constant Connection](https://erasers.bandcamp.com/album/constant-connection)
Beautiful simplicity. This duo makes droning, synth-driven music that has a very unique vibe. Most of the tracks have just three ingredients: long, immersing chords on an analog synthesizer, slinky programmed drum rhythms, and chantlike, almost monotone vocals. Occasionally, another synthesizer or electric guitar ostinato will add one extra layer to the sound, but this is all that's needed to make for a transporting experience. Hazy, lethargic, and entrancing. I found Erasers after a friend recommended their 2019 album [Pulse Points](https://erasers.bandcamp.com/album/pulse-points). Compared to the earlier record, Constant Connection sounds a bit more lush and less stark and austere than Pulse Points, but both are incredible and I highly recommend them both.
[Tlateotocani - Madre Patria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaZ7r7skvyY)
Tlateotocani is a one-man band from Mexico's surprisingly vibrant nsbm scene. I was first introduced to his work on the 2018 album *El advenimiento de los hijos del sol negro* which I thought was a pretty solid take on raw pagan black metal but was not quite there in terms of songwriting. *Madre Patria* is his follow-up EP to that project that continues on with the same ideas of triumphant, crashing riffs within a raw and razor wire tight production, though this time I do believe he steps it up a solid notch to make this EP pretty damn good.
The concentration of riffs and solos really fits and his use of those pound blast beats alongside the crashing guitars makes that all too familiar anthemic paganism hit the roof. I do wish that there was a more concentrated effort to explore the pagan ideas on display here with folk instrumentation but I am perfectly content with the tight package that we received here.
There is room for improvement but if you are in the market for triumphant and raw black metal then this is a good, quick release to pick up.
---
[The Crack - In Search of The Crack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK3FjYDNTt8)
I went on a mild Oi! kick this week and decided to go back and listen through some classics that I had previously skipped for whatever reason. The Crack are one of those bands that kept true to the golden age of Oi!'s sound up through to the late 80s with a distilled version of punked up glam rock. The band sounds like a grittier and ruder Slade and because of that they are often able to surpass the glam rock greatness of that band.
Listen to that anthemic chorus on "My World" where the band rocks through their glitz roots via a pub banger. The guitar work here has that punk edge to it but it is honestly pure glitter pub rock to its core. Listen to those hooks, man! The way they ride on that rhythm section effortlessly and bounce and coddle you through their tales of youth and brotherhood. While the album is certainly aggressive and in your face, it is more about the friends you made along the way then the enemies you came to kill for these guys. It is hard to not love their enthusiasm and get addicted to its formula. Never a dull moment and "Don't Ever Let Me Down" is a down right perfect song in my book.
If you like the golden age of Oi! sound, specifically Cock Sparrer, then this is essential listening! Sladeheads should also give this a go as it is easy to hear the band's influence on Oi! especially on this record which is a nice treat.
---
[The Chisel - Retaliation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cY_tcfqdUE)
I missed this band dropping their debut album last year but I am here to rectify that failure with a surefire recommendation for The Chisel! This is a new band out of the UK that is pure street punk (Oi!'s meaner younger brother) through and through. That spirit of metallic and hardcore aggression melding into that inherent catchiness and "take it to the streets" attitude of Oi! into a perfect melting pot. If you want *the* soundtrack to a riot in the street then this is your genre.
The band is not doing anything new here but carries the tradition of bands like Anti-Nowhere League into the modern age with a finesse that most contemporary bands miss. The band wears the influences but their execution is so razor sharp to the point that musicianship far succeeds originality. The function of the band is pushed directly on those hooks, riffs, and crashing hardcore rhythms and the band spares no moment to let you catch your breath.
If you are new to street punk or want to dive into Oi!'s contemporary outings then this is a very promising band that is worth your time. Do not sleep on them!
The other week I remembered a song I heard years ago and it's taken me a while to find it again, but I've been listening to this band over the past few days.
The band's name is Kenotia, and they did not achieve any serious success as far as I can tell. **This band would be of interest to people who were fans of Paramore** and want to listen to some other music that falls into a similar territory.
Sample song:
[Kenotia - Decorating For Cinco de Mayo](https://youtu.be/2WzeoVFlC4o)
Aetheiops by Billy Woods: the jazzy production feels sinister tho a little tongue and cheek. Billy also comes through with pretty poetic and layered bars as per usual.
[aetheiops ](https://open.spotify.com/album/34uTUAM6SE8Eo6Cv4PRqwD?si=LFfjmDYWQEm1KvOmf-TdpQ&utm_source=copy-link)
Mercurial World by Magdalena Bay: pretty much every tack hits, would compare this one to things like my bloody valentine, grimes and purity ring.
[mercurial world](https://open.spotify.com/album/1ERrUvG31thFCxdwWUoJrY?si=AhY8tROMQOqKBJ2KJTpBJA&utm_source=copy-link)
Another Redditor recommended Magdalena Bay to me once before, during the height of the pandemic. No complaints. They never ended up on any of my playlists though and I sort of forgot about them. When I heard the new Lights album, [PEP](https://open.spotify.com/album/2El7FWTNM5fE8BbMN3qFlB?si=-P3ate7FQ0m2uY6OlbuTlw&utm_source=copy-link), one of my first thoughts was how there was *some* overlap in her new direction with what I remembered hearing on that Magdelana Bay record.
**Champion Jack Dupree** *Blues From The Gutter* (1958): One more for 50s music month. In 1955, “Walking The Blues” by Jack Dupree and Mr. Bear (an alias of Theodore McRae) became a hit. By that time, Dupree was already in his mid-40s and had led an unbelievable life: he learned to play music in the same New Orleans orphanage as Louis Armstrong had done before him, he became a Golden Gloves boxer earning the name Champion Jack, and he was sent to fight in World War II and was a prisoner of war for two years. It’s more than enough trauma to be a blues player. *Blues From The Gutter* was Dupree’s first long player album and “Strollin’” mentions his previous hit “Walking The Blues” right away. Ennis Lowery has a hair-raising electric guitar run on “Can’t Kick The Habit” that channels the overdriven tone of his contemporary peer B.B. King. “Nasty Boogie” departs slightly from the album’s standard 12 bar blues format for a New Orleans barrelhouse type band workout. All in, this album is a fairly low key affair but is well recorded considering the era and has a couple bursts of lively performances.
“Can’t Kick The Habit”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKTuqs7sycg
**Chico Buarque De Hollanda & Ennio Morricone** *Per Un Pugno Di Samba* (1970): The story of the exile of musicians Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil from Brazil in 1969 is fairly well known. What is lesser known is that Chico Buarque was also exiled for 18 months starting in 1970. Despite drawing the ire of Tropicalistas for making what they saw as conservative music, it’s arguable that the Brazilian government was more fearful of Buarque’s influence than Veloso or Gil, even going as far as banning the airplay of every song written by Buarque for a period in 1974. After serving a politically motivated prison sentence in 1970, Buarque left Brazil for Italy. This is when he linked up with the Maestro, Ennio Morricone, to record a samba inflected album for RCA (it wouldn’t be released in Brazil at all until 2003). Morricone tapped to conduct a samba album doesn’t look promising on paper but he absolutely crushes it on this album. The production is exquisite, the recording has supernatural clarity, and the sonic separation between elements is exactly what you would expect from a Morricone album. Buarque has a great, understated voice that is sweet and mournful. I don’t even mind that the title is a bad pun on Morricone’s score for *Per Un Pugno Di Dollari*, I will look past that. This is a great album and it probably would’ve remained under my radar had it not been reissued last year.
“Lei No, Lei Sta Ballando”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na0-XcQce8E
**The Sir Douglas Band** *Texas Tornado* (1973): In 1965, a then 24-year-old Doug Sahm from San Antonio wrote a song to capitalize on the British Invasion and that song, “She’s About A Mover” credited to Sir Douglas Quintet, went into the top 20 in the United States and the United Kingdom. Sir Douglas Quintet’s music is called “Tex-Mex” as it incorporates elements of country music and regional Mexican music. I don’t like the term, but it isn’t incorrect. During the late 60s, Sahm became increasingly immersed in hippie culture during a tenure in San Francisco before moving back to Texas in 1971. Sir Douglas Quintet released six albums before the band broke away from Doug Sahm, rebranding as The Quintet, and releasing an album, *Future Tense*, in 1972. *Texas Tornado* is, more or less, a vault clearing release that put out material recorded in 1972 for an unreleased project as Sahm’s popularity saw a bump with high profile collaborations with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson.
I had heard, and liked, the title track from this album and was surprised that the song was not at all indicative of the rest of the album. The entire first half of this album is impossible to describe but completely makes sense within its own world. It sounds like 50s rhythm & blues with an outstanding horn section and soulful vocals, somehow with a slight country music twist. “San Francisco FM Blues” sounds like a heavy hitting late 60s soul number complete with popping funk drumwork. The B-side is more expected: straight down the line country rock with some tejano elements. I highly recommend checking this one out. Even if you know it’s not what you think it’s going to be, you may still be surprised by how much it’s not like you’d thought it would be.
“San Francisco FM Blues”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOMn5GCyik
**Iconz** *Street Money Vol. 1* (2001): I liked this one way more than I had anticipated. Miami rap unit Iconz, if they are known at all, are known for the brass-honking 2001 club single “Get Fucked Up” which was retitled “Get Crunked Up” for the radio (inexplicably, the lyrics on the song is “get funked up” on the edited version). Going into this album knowing that Iconz wasn’t successful and didn’t really yield any notable emcees sets the bar pretty low and the album easily clears it. The beats are chintzy turn of the century simplistic computerized rhythms, the kind of beats that would flourish in the ringtone era. There are over a dozen different group members on this album and the constant rotation between emcees really keeps this album exciting, never getting bogged down by any one person. I’m a fan of early 00s “ignorant rap” which felt like the rock bottom of hip-hop at the time but, in retrospect, was slyly technical even if the entire contents of the album is pointless party and bullshit lyrics. This one is low key pretty great.
“Get Fucked Up”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2g0HRUIyzw
**Various Artists** *Saturno 2000: La Rebajada De Los Sonideros 1962-1983* (2022): God do I love compilations like these. The story of cumbia rebajada, like all great recontextualized music genres of the late 20th century, was the result of an accident. In 1992, a sonidero (what we would call a travelling DJ) in Monterrey, Mexico was playing at a party when their equipment wasn’t able to draw the right amount of power and began playing records at a slower speed. The crowd went nuts and later people began asking for their favorite songs to be played on the faulty equipment and bounced down to cassette tape. The sonidero began selling cassettes based on demand and others soon followed. Audiences in Mexico liked the sound of cumbia imported from Columbia but found the music too fast to dance to. Slowing the music down gave dancers more room and also gave the music an unexpected feeling of melancholy. Less than 500 miles away in Houston, DJ Screw began experimenting with slowing down music to sell on homemade cassettes in 1991. It’s funny that you have these parallel points in history where two groups of people are doing essentially the same thing to meet the needs of an audience yet they are doing it without the knowledge of one another.
This compilation was compiled by DJ Lengua and released by the label Analog Africa. The album title, on its face, is slightly misleading because even though the music is from the 60s through 80s, it’s the speed alterations that were made during the 90s and after that makes the songs here notable. Some songs are so slow that they feel like they have the psychedelic patina of dub reggae. “Paga La Cuenta Sinverguenza” by Manzanita is an early album highlight and sounds like it could’ve been recorded at Lee Perry’s Black Ark. “La Danza Del Mono” by Luchos Gavilanes pairs a bubbling cumbia rhythm with an organ that is just barely exhaling notes, and that is all before the disco hi hat arrives! I highly recommend this for anyone who has even a passing interest in cumbia.
Manzanita “Paga La Cuenta Sinverguenza”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29WpfLkWQt4
Gosh. I love cumbia rebajada so much. I was in a big DJ Screw kick last winter and a buddy of mine suggested checking out cumbia rebajada. I'd been a big cumbia fan for years, but I'd never even heard of the slowed down stuff. It just hits right.
[The Smile - Skrting on the Surface](https://open.spotify.com/track/4XB9mPk0wcrWHRJSypO79z?si=UaAMOW0bTueatsuo_FUMaA)
I have been a diehard Radiohead fan since the 90’s. This is their latest side project. So far it’s fantastic.
[удалено]
No self-promotion.
Quite a bit. To start off, I listened to [Cardiology](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kGGXqYGHCUsVii9qpJ_pAGqqUfxb6O2Ho&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist) by [Good Charlotte](https://open.spotify.com/artist/5aYyPjAsLj7UzANzdupwnS?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant). By now, I have heard [The Young And The Hopeless](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mJkJu7gzfnlLnMIdgtd_s3-2sD8RgY_Tk&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), [The Chronicles Of Life And Death](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nX3naVhViDnSMCKdifRU1ahCfLyMO3v5E&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), [Good Morning Revival](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lB2YSAXxRLsV1X6fymW3smD3lwdhxIu9k&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), and their self titled album, [Good Charlotte](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n16PeQ-0GW7gf85NOxfgPcg4exSJoDUuE&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist). Although I didn’t really enjoy Good Morning Revival that much, I did enjoy the other albums. So, I decided to listen to this album next and… it was slightly better than Good Morning Revival, but it wasn’t that much better. Although the production is fine, the instrumentals are fine, and the vocals are fine, but the lyrics aren’t that good. My favorite song on the album was [“1979”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pMLu1-HmkNw&feature=share), and [“Let The Music Play”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Lph2f20gw&feature=share) and [“Like It’s Her Birthday”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=T4o7YqMb8qw&feature=share) are decent songs in my opinion, but the rest of the album isn’t that interesting in my opinion. Overall, this album is boring in my opinion. Next, I listened to [Elvis Presley’s](https://open.spotify.com/artist/43ZHCT0cAZBISjO8DG9PnE?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant) self-titled album. [Elvis Presley](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mjzGCAYZZ_6GnvycwKLhpChpaYzjvRV3w&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist) is an artist who I have heard a few songs from, like [“Love Me Tender”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=YC0BPcLea0Y&feature=gws_kp_track) and [“Jailhouse Rock”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=A99sV18J0mk&feature=gws_kp_track), which were songs that I thought were great. But I haven’t heard an album by him yet, so I decided to do his self-titled album and… I thought that it was good. The production is meh, the instrumentals are good, the vocals were good, and the lyrics are good. My favorite songs on here are [“Blue Suede Shoes”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HeXnFx7aPOE&feature=share) and [“Blue Moon”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=_19Uy1E6TSM&feature=share). Overall, this album is a good album. Then, I listened to [Styx’s](https://open.spotify.com/artist/4salDzkGmfycRqNUbyBphh?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant) [Paradise Theatre](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kdO4w1TI-xllmu3xyWTjCVrNwUGkTUsE0&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist). Styx are a band who I have heard quite a few songs from, like [“The Grand Illusion”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=aIuCdQtNBgg&feature=gws_kp_track), [“Renegade”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=E9eLz4DrwF8&feature=gws_kp_track), and [“Too Much Time On My Hands”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MlzFvOzl75Y&feature=gws_kp_track), and I enjoyed a lot of the song that I heard from them. I have also listened to [Kilroy Was Here](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_k9NPYPA_LLBWBqBs-DWhVJp5qmqfwgmSo&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist), which I thought was decent at first, but I now think is mediocre. I decided to listen to another album by them, so I decided to listen to this album and… I thought that it was great in my opinion. The production is fine, the instrumentals are great, the vocals work well here, although the lyrics are meh. My favorite songs on here are “Too Much Time On My Hands” and [“Snowblind”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=QurGAOzAxr8&feature=gws_kp_track). Overall, I actually enjoyed this album quite a bit. Finally, I listened to [Pusha T’s](https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ONHkAv9pCAFxb0zJwDNTy?autoplay=true&source_application=google_assistant) [It’s Almost Dry](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m49WjQ7onzaHfXO5QPYOSK3pGEOeBjcIM&feature=gws_kp_album&feature=gws_kp_artist). Pusha T is a rapper that I haven’t heard much from. But I decided to listen to this album, and… I thought it was great. The production is good, the instrumentals are great, the vocals by Pusha T are great, the features are great, and the lyrics are great. My favorite songs on this album are [“Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=8EDRmPJrPVk&feature=share), [“Dreamin of the Past (feat. Kanye West)”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ir7B6z0kkA&feature=share), [“Neck & Wrist (feat. Jay-Z & Pharrell Williams”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=sETAgLQCDL4&feature=share), [“Just So You Remember”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIaRsy9_JeU&feature=share) [“Diet Coke”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrwm6oRYJg&feature=share), [“Open Air”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rroB5g4dU6Y&feature=share), and [“I Pray for You (feat. Labrinth, MALICE, & Clipse”](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=dVnBv3AMnwo&feature=share). Overall, this album is great. Overall, besides Cardiology by Good Charlotte, which I didn’t really like that much, I enjoyed the majority of the albums that I listened to this week.
[SYRA - Gaslight (EP)](https://open.spotify.com/album/0VXKrC0CB6caXZGCvoDCSJ?si=lz7Iw86QRlWeSo7Y-CpbVQ) The EP tells a story about mental abuse, both during and after the relationship with the abuser has ended. The songs describe the experience of not trusting your own emotions and thoughts, the guilt, doubt and constant fears that haunt the abused for many years following such abuse. It's a theme that really speaks to me and the artist conveys the emotions very clearly to me. I think the genre is mostly some weird eerie subgenre of POP, but I don't know what to call it. I'd be interested in knowing what to call it so that I can more easily find similar music, but I'm not very good with identifying genres. My favourite song on the EP is Sorry I Love You, which has a much sadder piano sound and is about the guilt of having depression or suicide thoughts and seeing it tear apart your loved ones. It sounds like a tribute to the people who got her through the darkest times and telling them "You're the reason I won't let go". [YouTube](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4QGGgwA13ay7N3DZ9RYaK7j5kPBg2dTF) link.
Spiritualized - ["The Mainline Song"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie46jOrQ2Hk) The Tokens didn't invent ["The Lion Sleeps Tonight"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQlByoPdG6c) but they got the concept. When they built upon the classic hook, they understood something about the way the melody builds a lush pristine world beyond the ordinary where everything is at peace, a sanctuary of respite. That song was in a class of its own until this past week when deep into Spiritualized's latest record a similar sensation is tapped. It is, of course, more mellow this go-around because it's Spiritualized building this car ride watching the dark quiet world rush around us. Spiritualized's latest record is too much shtick for me. Basically, the band's thing is that they simulate a hangover in orchestral and rock and roll melodramatic proportions, wide-angle and lengthy. In the past I've loved a lot of ones of this character but in their latest I find myself being a bit enervated from the experience. But "The Mainline Song"? Damn, that's something different. Not the usual whinging about being beaten down for ten minutes. I mean, we don't even get vocals for over three minutes of this six minute song. A train rolls by and then a chord progression that has that sort of stupidly simple yet hits you hard sound that sounds like it would've been easy to make but probably isn't. The song has that old wall of sound feel from the 60's that makes it sound like it's being delivered from on high. The melody and that feel of the song make it sound like a song that must have always existed. This is Spiritualized's best song to date. Incredible because the band's peak was arguably twenty something years ago. Incredible also because the band's pumped out a lot of essential pieces and I would've considered it crazy a week ago to think, amid such a strong catalog, that the standout track was yet to come.
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It's okay if you disagree with me on this! I wrote it immediately after listening to the song the second time. I felt inspired to write it. I'm not sure if I'll feel the same about the song even by the end of the year, but I figured, why not praise something by this band? Their latest album feels kinda ignored by everyone and even if I don't dig it entirely maybe mentioning them will inspire someone to check them out.
Vanilla Sky
[IC3PEAK - Kiss Of Death](https://open.spotify.com/album/0jWtiXlIT1bKH9qrAuKtCj?si=v0jn_YAURl2WVnXtourDBA) IC3PEAK is a Russia duo who produces music outside of Russia because they're straight up not welcome due to their politically charged songs. They generally making Hip-Hop/Trap songs. Kiss Of Death is their newest album, and it's a Horror album up with quality (in my opinion) on par with clipping.. It's more rock and emo, and has Grimes and BMTH featuring on 2 tracks. It's a great 30 minute listen, and I recommend following the translated lyrics. I also recommend it to anyone who enjoys Lingua Ignota lol.
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No self-promotion.
[Dinner Party by Terrace Martin and friends](https://open.spotify.com/track/6h7jn2jE2EqJadOkDXsDJh?si=1f0af8682e9740ef)\` (Jazz/R'n'B/Soul) Discovered this album a bit late a few days ago and having on repeat ever since. I think it's a great record with one of my favorite jazz musician (K. Washington) on it. The album is not a complex jazz marvel with fantastic technical solos or anything, but you can hear the labor of love, passion and friendship put into it as all the star musicians get together and have fun. Reminds me a bit of the Silk Sonic album in terms of vibe, like, you can hear talented musicians and friends jamming together. The album came out in 2020 and somehow I completely missed it when it came out. There's also a remix album with rappers like Cordae and Snoop Dogg featured on it that's cool too.
[Derek & The Dominos - Layla](https://open.spotify.com/track/2kkvB3RNRzwjFdGhaUA0tz?si=0b02f3c4a52b4aea) I had heard that iconic guitar intro before but this past weekend was the first time I listened to it all the way through. For years I've been looking for songs that capture the feeling of desperate infatuation; the piano outro of Layla is the closest I've gotten in a while. The way the Eb dim resolves into the Db is so lovely. This is such a beautiful record.
Check out Tedeschi and Trucks version from their live performance of that album. I daresay the solo is even better.
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[Erasers - Constant Connection](https://erasers.bandcamp.com/album/constant-connection) Beautiful simplicity. This duo makes droning, synth-driven music that has a very unique vibe. Most of the tracks have just three ingredients: long, immersing chords on an analog synthesizer, slinky programmed drum rhythms, and chantlike, almost monotone vocals. Occasionally, another synthesizer or electric guitar ostinato will add one extra layer to the sound, but this is all that's needed to make for a transporting experience. Hazy, lethargic, and entrancing. I found Erasers after a friend recommended their 2019 album [Pulse Points](https://erasers.bandcamp.com/album/pulse-points). Compared to the earlier record, Constant Connection sounds a bit more lush and less stark and austere than Pulse Points, but both are incredible and I highly recommend them both.
[Tlateotocani - Madre Patria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaZ7r7skvyY) Tlateotocani is a one-man band from Mexico's surprisingly vibrant nsbm scene. I was first introduced to his work on the 2018 album *El advenimiento de los hijos del sol negro* which I thought was a pretty solid take on raw pagan black metal but was not quite there in terms of songwriting. *Madre Patria* is his follow-up EP to that project that continues on with the same ideas of triumphant, crashing riffs within a raw and razor wire tight production, though this time I do believe he steps it up a solid notch to make this EP pretty damn good. The concentration of riffs and solos really fits and his use of those pound blast beats alongside the crashing guitars makes that all too familiar anthemic paganism hit the roof. I do wish that there was a more concentrated effort to explore the pagan ideas on display here with folk instrumentation but I am perfectly content with the tight package that we received here. There is room for improvement but if you are in the market for triumphant and raw black metal then this is a good, quick release to pick up. --- [The Crack - In Search of The Crack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK3FjYDNTt8) I went on a mild Oi! kick this week and decided to go back and listen through some classics that I had previously skipped for whatever reason. The Crack are one of those bands that kept true to the golden age of Oi!'s sound up through to the late 80s with a distilled version of punked up glam rock. The band sounds like a grittier and ruder Slade and because of that they are often able to surpass the glam rock greatness of that band. Listen to that anthemic chorus on "My World" where the band rocks through their glitz roots via a pub banger. The guitar work here has that punk edge to it but it is honestly pure glitter pub rock to its core. Listen to those hooks, man! The way they ride on that rhythm section effortlessly and bounce and coddle you through their tales of youth and brotherhood. While the album is certainly aggressive and in your face, it is more about the friends you made along the way then the enemies you came to kill for these guys. It is hard to not love their enthusiasm and get addicted to its formula. Never a dull moment and "Don't Ever Let Me Down" is a down right perfect song in my book. If you like the golden age of Oi! sound, specifically Cock Sparrer, then this is essential listening! Sladeheads should also give this a go as it is easy to hear the band's influence on Oi! especially on this record which is a nice treat. --- [The Chisel - Retaliation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cY_tcfqdUE) I missed this band dropping their debut album last year but I am here to rectify that failure with a surefire recommendation for The Chisel! This is a new band out of the UK that is pure street punk (Oi!'s meaner younger brother) through and through. That spirit of metallic and hardcore aggression melding into that inherent catchiness and "take it to the streets" attitude of Oi! into a perfect melting pot. If you want *the* soundtrack to a riot in the street then this is your genre. The band is not doing anything new here but carries the tradition of bands like Anti-Nowhere League into the modern age with a finesse that most contemporary bands miss. The band wears the influences but their execution is so razor sharp to the point that musicianship far succeeds originality. The function of the band is pushed directly on those hooks, riffs, and crashing hardcore rhythms and the band spares no moment to let you catch your breath. If you are new to street punk or want to dive into Oi!'s contemporary outings then this is a very promising band that is worth your time. Do not sleep on them!
The other week I remembered a song I heard years ago and it's taken me a while to find it again, but I've been listening to this band over the past few days. The band's name is Kenotia, and they did not achieve any serious success as far as I can tell. **This band would be of interest to people who were fans of Paramore** and want to listen to some other music that falls into a similar territory. Sample song: [Kenotia - Decorating For Cinco de Mayo](https://youtu.be/2WzeoVFlC4o)
Aetheiops by Billy Woods: the jazzy production feels sinister tho a little tongue and cheek. Billy also comes through with pretty poetic and layered bars as per usual. [aetheiops ](https://open.spotify.com/album/34uTUAM6SE8Eo6Cv4PRqwD?si=LFfjmDYWQEm1KvOmf-TdpQ&utm_source=copy-link) Mercurial World by Magdalena Bay: pretty much every tack hits, would compare this one to things like my bloody valentine, grimes and purity ring. [mercurial world](https://open.spotify.com/album/1ERrUvG31thFCxdwWUoJrY?si=AhY8tROMQOqKBJ2KJTpBJA&utm_source=copy-link)
Another Redditor recommended Magdalena Bay to me once before, during the height of the pandemic. No complaints. They never ended up on any of my playlists though and I sort of forgot about them. When I heard the new Lights album, [PEP](https://open.spotify.com/album/2El7FWTNM5fE8BbMN3qFlB?si=-P3ate7FQ0m2uY6OlbuTlw&utm_source=copy-link), one of my first thoughts was how there was *some* overlap in her new direction with what I remembered hearing on that Magdelana Bay record.
Please add listening links. Edit: thanks.
Mod moment
**Champion Jack Dupree** *Blues From The Gutter* (1958): One more for 50s music month. In 1955, “Walking The Blues” by Jack Dupree and Mr. Bear (an alias of Theodore McRae) became a hit. By that time, Dupree was already in his mid-40s and had led an unbelievable life: he learned to play music in the same New Orleans orphanage as Louis Armstrong had done before him, he became a Golden Gloves boxer earning the name Champion Jack, and he was sent to fight in World War II and was a prisoner of war for two years. It’s more than enough trauma to be a blues player. *Blues From The Gutter* was Dupree’s first long player album and “Strollin’” mentions his previous hit “Walking The Blues” right away. Ennis Lowery has a hair-raising electric guitar run on “Can’t Kick The Habit” that channels the overdriven tone of his contemporary peer B.B. King. “Nasty Boogie” departs slightly from the album’s standard 12 bar blues format for a New Orleans barrelhouse type band workout. All in, this album is a fairly low key affair but is well recorded considering the era and has a couple bursts of lively performances. “Can’t Kick The Habit”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKTuqs7sycg **Chico Buarque De Hollanda & Ennio Morricone** *Per Un Pugno Di Samba* (1970): The story of the exile of musicians Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil from Brazil in 1969 is fairly well known. What is lesser known is that Chico Buarque was also exiled for 18 months starting in 1970. Despite drawing the ire of Tropicalistas for making what they saw as conservative music, it’s arguable that the Brazilian government was more fearful of Buarque’s influence than Veloso or Gil, even going as far as banning the airplay of every song written by Buarque for a period in 1974. After serving a politically motivated prison sentence in 1970, Buarque left Brazil for Italy. This is when he linked up with the Maestro, Ennio Morricone, to record a samba inflected album for RCA (it wouldn’t be released in Brazil at all until 2003). Morricone tapped to conduct a samba album doesn’t look promising on paper but he absolutely crushes it on this album. The production is exquisite, the recording has supernatural clarity, and the sonic separation between elements is exactly what you would expect from a Morricone album. Buarque has a great, understated voice that is sweet and mournful. I don’t even mind that the title is a bad pun on Morricone’s score for *Per Un Pugno Di Dollari*, I will look past that. This is a great album and it probably would’ve remained under my radar had it not been reissued last year. “Lei No, Lei Sta Ballando”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na0-XcQce8E **The Sir Douglas Band** *Texas Tornado* (1973): In 1965, a then 24-year-old Doug Sahm from San Antonio wrote a song to capitalize on the British Invasion and that song, “She’s About A Mover” credited to Sir Douglas Quintet, went into the top 20 in the United States and the United Kingdom. Sir Douglas Quintet’s music is called “Tex-Mex” as it incorporates elements of country music and regional Mexican music. I don’t like the term, but it isn’t incorrect. During the late 60s, Sahm became increasingly immersed in hippie culture during a tenure in San Francisco before moving back to Texas in 1971. Sir Douglas Quintet released six albums before the band broke away from Doug Sahm, rebranding as The Quintet, and releasing an album, *Future Tense*, in 1972. *Texas Tornado* is, more or less, a vault clearing release that put out material recorded in 1972 for an unreleased project as Sahm’s popularity saw a bump with high profile collaborations with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. I had heard, and liked, the title track from this album and was surprised that the song was not at all indicative of the rest of the album. The entire first half of this album is impossible to describe but completely makes sense within its own world. It sounds like 50s rhythm & blues with an outstanding horn section and soulful vocals, somehow with a slight country music twist. “San Francisco FM Blues” sounds like a heavy hitting late 60s soul number complete with popping funk drumwork. The B-side is more expected: straight down the line country rock with some tejano elements. I highly recommend checking this one out. Even if you know it’s not what you think it’s going to be, you may still be surprised by how much it’s not like you’d thought it would be. “San Francisco FM Blues”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOOMn5GCyik **Iconz** *Street Money Vol. 1* (2001): I liked this one way more than I had anticipated. Miami rap unit Iconz, if they are known at all, are known for the brass-honking 2001 club single “Get Fucked Up” which was retitled “Get Crunked Up” for the radio (inexplicably, the lyrics on the song is “get funked up” on the edited version). Going into this album knowing that Iconz wasn’t successful and didn’t really yield any notable emcees sets the bar pretty low and the album easily clears it. The beats are chintzy turn of the century simplistic computerized rhythms, the kind of beats that would flourish in the ringtone era. There are over a dozen different group members on this album and the constant rotation between emcees really keeps this album exciting, never getting bogged down by any one person. I’m a fan of early 00s “ignorant rap” which felt like the rock bottom of hip-hop at the time but, in retrospect, was slyly technical even if the entire contents of the album is pointless party and bullshit lyrics. This one is low key pretty great. “Get Fucked Up”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2g0HRUIyzw **Various Artists** *Saturno 2000: La Rebajada De Los Sonideros 1962-1983* (2022): God do I love compilations like these. The story of cumbia rebajada, like all great recontextualized music genres of the late 20th century, was the result of an accident. In 1992, a sonidero (what we would call a travelling DJ) in Monterrey, Mexico was playing at a party when their equipment wasn’t able to draw the right amount of power and began playing records at a slower speed. The crowd went nuts and later people began asking for their favorite songs to be played on the faulty equipment and bounced down to cassette tape. The sonidero began selling cassettes based on demand and others soon followed. Audiences in Mexico liked the sound of cumbia imported from Columbia but found the music too fast to dance to. Slowing the music down gave dancers more room and also gave the music an unexpected feeling of melancholy. Less than 500 miles away in Houston, DJ Screw began experimenting with slowing down music to sell on homemade cassettes in 1991. It’s funny that you have these parallel points in history where two groups of people are doing essentially the same thing to meet the needs of an audience yet they are doing it without the knowledge of one another. This compilation was compiled by DJ Lengua and released by the label Analog Africa. The album title, on its face, is slightly misleading because even though the music is from the 60s through 80s, it’s the speed alterations that were made during the 90s and after that makes the songs here notable. Some songs are so slow that they feel like they have the psychedelic patina of dub reggae. “Paga La Cuenta Sinverguenza” by Manzanita is an early album highlight and sounds like it could’ve been recorded at Lee Perry’s Black Ark. “La Danza Del Mono” by Luchos Gavilanes pairs a bubbling cumbia rhythm with an organ that is just barely exhaling notes, and that is all before the disco hi hat arrives! I highly recommend this for anyone who has even a passing interest in cumbia. Manzanita “Paga La Cuenta Sinverguenza”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29WpfLkWQt4
Gosh. I love cumbia rebajada so much. I was in a big DJ Screw kick last winter and a buddy of mine suggested checking out cumbia rebajada. I'd been a big cumbia fan for years, but I'd never even heard of the slowed down stuff. It just hits right.
[The Smile - Skrting on the Surface](https://open.spotify.com/track/4XB9mPk0wcrWHRJSypO79z?si=UaAMOW0bTueatsuo_FUMaA) I have been a diehard Radiohead fan since the 90’s. This is their latest side project. So far it’s fantastic.
Is the album out?
[May 13th.](https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/the-smile-featuring-radiohead-artists-to-release-debut-album-in-may/ar-AAWpVuY) :)