2nd Quarter 2012

Loving:

Japandroids - Celebration Rock
2:54 - Self-titled
Marissa Nadler - The Sister
mewithoutyou - Ten Stories
Alejandro Escovedo - Big Station
Future of the Left - The Plot Against Common Sense

Liking:
Fiona Apple - way too many words for a title
Beach House - Bloom
Sara Watkins - Sun Midnight Sun
King Tuff - self-titled
Alex Winston - King Con
dBs - Falling Off the Sky
Patti Smith - Banga
Amanda Mair - self-titled
Marty Stuart - Nashville Vol 1: Tear the Woodpile Down
Kimbra - Vows
Ultravox - Brilliant

Not heard yet: Dexys Midnight Runners, Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, El-P



Post Edited (06-25-12 11:29)

Not sure what came out when....

Loving:
Cloud Nothings - Attack On Memory
Japandroids - Celebration Rock
Sinead O'Connor - How About I Be Me and You Be You?
Loudon Wainwright - Older Than My Old Man Now

Liking:
Beach House - Bloom
Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball
Chromatics - Kill For Love
El-P - Cancer For Cure
The Men - Open Your Heart
Lotus Plaza - Spooky Action At A Distance
Robert Pollard - Mouseman Cloud
Todd Snider - Agnostics Hymns and Stoner Fables

Disappointed:
Big K.R.I.T - 4Eva N A Day
GBV - Lets Go Eat The Factory
GBV - Class Clown Spots a UFO
Hallelujah The Hills - No One Knows What Happens Next



Post Edited (06-25-12 12:14)

Eight and a Half's self-titled debut is still hanging strong as my album of the year.

Allo Darlin'

"Allo Darlin'"

Saw it had a write-up in the current RS. . .

I only read it for the nude photos.

They are good - Australia via UK wistful ukulele-pop, with plenty of twee bonafides, but lots of pop smarts and humor too.

Wow - that description doesn't make them sound appealing to me in the slightest, and I'm already predisposed not to like them because of their name. But I trust you dudes, so I suppose I'll hafta check them out.

The words "twee" and "ukelele" have struck them from my curiosity list.

Zwirnm's earlier post about Allo Darlin' gave a much more flattering and accurate description of them, as residing somewhere in the neighborhood bounded by the Go-Betweens and Camera Obscura.

So when he says it's "twee," it's in the Postcard Records sense of the word, and ukelele is only one instrument in a full ensemble, and it's not the main focus - you notice Rickenbacker guitars in the mix a heck of lot more than the ukulele, which truly has become Satan's instrument of choice over the last couple of years.

"Twee & ukulele" as keywords make one expect someone like Flo the Insurance Lady onstage strumming a ukulele and singing about shopping lists and knitting sweaters for kittens while listening to NPR. That isn't what the band sounds like, thank God.

Is this the right thread to post a link to the website for my band Tweekelele?

I've heard of mathrock...but is that meth rock Mr. Manager (or is it just Manager?)

Richard Papiercuts - A Sudden Shift
Baddat For Trubbel - Vardighet
Timmy's Organism - Raw Sewage Roq
FNU Ronnies - Saddle Up
Constant Mongrel - Everything Goes Wrong
dB's - Falling Of The Sky
King Tuff - s/t
Ancestral Diet - Official Waste
Neneh Cherry and The Thing - The Cherry Thing
Ty Segall & White Fence - Hair

Noh Mercy - s/t
feedtime - Today Is Friday
Dan Russell - s/t
Tronics - Love Backed By Force
Sedition Ensemble - Regeneration Report

Martyr Privates - Bless 7"
Tropical Trash - Fear of Suffering 7"
Red Mass - Television Personalities 7"

I streamed som of that new Neil Young. It's probably more fun to play than listen too. Also I could see it might be fun to hear live... "Wow, Neil's playing 'The Entertainer' inbetween Cortez and Powderfinger!"

There's also a bonus covers CD w/ the Allo Darlin' that incl. their version of "Dive For Your Memory," among others. Definitely one of the 'sleepers' of 2012 that deserves Best of 2012 status.

Someone @ Fortuna POP! was kind enough to post Allo Darlin's Go-Betweens cover on Soundcloud:

[soundcloud.com]

What is this Allo Darlin' you guys speak of (Did Ian Hunter name them?) I just checked 'em out and they are good.

Can't believe nobody has mentioned Royal Headache's self titled debut yet. Absolutely killer garage punk.

Somebody mentioned they hadn't heard the new Neil Young. It's a bit of an enigma. At times it sounds horribly amateurish. It gathers steam as it goes along though, and ultimately it won me over on guts and charm. Your mileage will definitely vary.

The new Beachwood Sparks picks up right where they left off.

I also picked up Lightships, which is the side project of Gerard Love of the Fanclub. Recommend to anyone who likes TF's recent albums.

The Royal Headache lp is a killer, it would've made my 2011 list if I'd bothered to make one.

It took me a while to fully embrace it, but Evans the Death's debut LP has really grown on me. . . It's good (I suppose) to see the young bands embracing the Smiths influence.

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