Anonymous - Tomahawk:
If the sight of garbage strewn across the highway brings a tear to your eye, then this is the album for you. When asked about the decision to record an album full of authentic Native American songs, Mike Patton had only this to say- The strangeness of this life cannot be measured. In trying to produce my own death, I was elevated to the status of a living hero. And then he made horns with his fingers and began to poke me with them while repeatedly saying Tatonka.
Three Netflix stars.
Orchestra of Wolves - Gallows:
On first listen, I wasn’t too impressed with this UK punk band- and then I looked down and noticed my balls had been rocked clean off. The events that followed could best be described as a Benny Hill inspired interpretation of On Top Of Old Smokey, complete with fast motion action and zany music. That’s a spicy meat-a-ball!
Four Netflix stars.
Zookeeper - Zookeeper Ep:
That whiny dude from Mineral and The Gloria Record is back with more of his patented whinyness, only this time with a bit of an alt-country edge. He apparently still loves Jesus, though. And before you ask, yes, Jesus he knows me, and he knows I’m right. I’ve been talking to Jesus all my life.
Three Netflix stars.
Planet of Ice - Minus The Bear:
Does it make anyone else uncomfortable when this guy gets all sexy with his lyrics? Like he’s Prince and shit? It just seems out of place, to me. This slightly toned down version of MIB’s mathy dance rock is still chock full of finger tapping guitar solos and slapback echo and is sure to have critiques throwing around words like “maturity.”
Three Netflix stars.
Prog - The Bad Plus:
Tears for Fears, David Bowie, Burt Bacharach and Rush all get the Bad Plus treatment with varying degrees of love and irony. Oh yeah, and there are some damn fine originals here, too. Sometimes they seem to get overshadowed by the band’s playful renditions of popular rock songs. Overall, another tasty batch of accessible experimental jazz rock.
Three and 1/2 Netflix stars.
A Love Of Shared Disasters - Crippled Black Phoenix:
Crippled Black Phoenix is a UK “supergroup” featuring a revolving door of musicians from a bunch of bands I don’t care about and Mogwai. They are signed to Invada Records, which is run by Geoff Barrow of Portishead. They sound like a slightly more Britpop version of Mogwai at times, with some soundscapey stuff thrown in for good measure. They sound nothing like Portishead.
Three Netflix stars.
Era Vulgaris - Queens of the Stone Age:
What happened to the bombastic rock songs with huge hairy balls? QOTSA needs to get Dave Groll back, or at least that bald dude with the goatee who beat his girlfriend. This album just seems to- *Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… Oh, wait here’s that song they released as a single that kinda rocks, it looks like things are- *Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Two and 1/2 Netflix stars.
