Ear Relevant

Damn, last week was a busy music week. Writing and going to shows. Recap time:

Monday:

First part of Frontier Psychiatrist's timeline of the 22 years between between My Bloody Valentine's Loveless and the new album, mbv. My pieces include albums by the Lilys, the Swirlies, and Spiritualized' smashterpiece Ladies and Gentlemen We're Floating in Space. 

That night, I saw the Ex Cops at the Empty Bottle. A short set, a little sloppy, but definitely a band with potential. Like a shoegaze version the Go Betweens, more melodic, than wall of noise sound. Songs are short and sweet, and their new album True Hallucinations gets better with each listen.

Tuesday:

Part two of FP's timeline. I reviewed Autolux, and discovered I didn't hate No Age as much as when I first heard them.

That night saw Bosnian Rainbows at the Bottom Lounge, then hightailed it over to a basement in Logan Square to catch the end of Dada Trash Collage's set. Wish I caught more. New EP just came out. Surprise hit of the night was catching Selectronics, also with a new album. Very visual live show with projections, a red light-up cube, tapedeck rapping, hip-hop beats and lo-fi analog aesthetics. Definitely one to catch if you see the name around.

Wednesday:

Nearing exhaustion, managed to catch Mountains at the Hideout with White/Cream and Bitchin Bajas. Recap up on Windy City Rock. Mountains' experimental/ambient Centralia is one of the best this year so far, although they unfortunately didn't perform any of it.

Thursday:

Reviewed the new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Push the Sky Away for Frontier Psychiatrist as well as previewed Conductive Alliance's upcoming album, Opticks, on Windy City Rock.

Sunday Funday (#fuckyourgrammys Edition)

It is raining outside. I ate a sandwich earlier from a Mexican restaurant. I finished reading A Moveable Feast last week (yes I know it's by Hemingway; no, I'm not including it in my 52 books). I have a hangover today. What that means is I rewatched multiple Arrested Development episodes and prowled the Internet for new music. So here's some musical treats for you:

Beck. Covers David Bowie. With a 167 piece orchestra. Some stupid car company had something to do with it, so I can't embed, but I promise it's worth the extra click. SOUND AND VISION. Stupid car company actually had a cool idea though; this is the first in a series. Consequence of Sound has full details.

Netherfriends x Fess Grandiose. Hot jams, funny opening, and a silly little video.




I didn't post this Jamaican Queens video last week, so here you go:



Three and a half years ago, I stumbled across a bizarre and surreal singer/songwriter named Natti Vogel at a venue in Beijing. Weird mix of Amanda Palmer, Fiona Apple and Oscar Wilde. It was just him and a keyboard, and was exactly what I needed at that point in my life. Having rediscovered him, I found out he is a part of something called the Bushwick Book Club, which writes albums based on books. Their most recent session was about Slaughterhouse Five, my first favorite book. Natti is featured on the compilation.





And oh, some guy named Nick Cave is releasing a new album. It's streaming on NPR right now.