Hovvdy "Heavy Lifter (Double Double Whammy)"
Heavy Lifter is the 3rd full-length LP from Hovvdy, but the first one that I listened to today. I know, that doesn’t mean much to anyone-but you try to come up with a new intro sentence for all these blurbs! It can be hard! Thankfully, coming up with stuff seems to be far easier for Charlie Martin and Will Taylor of Hovvdy. Their ideas congeal so well, its as natural a fit as can be expected for 2 drummers that met at a baseball games. This a warm, nostalgic sounding collection of bedroom-ish singing and songwriting. Confessional, conversational, and introspective. Sonically, its hard to pin down-tunes run the full spectrum to acoustic guitar and vocals to more roundly produced with piano, bass, drums (once a pair of drummers, always a pair of drummers). The easiest thing to do is to call this a (gasp!) indie record and let your mind fill in the gaps. OR! You could check out the reflective “1999” or the almost alt-country swing of “Watergun” and let your ears fill in the gaps instead.
Cursive "Get Fixed (15 Passenger)"
A scant year since the release of Vitrola, Cursive are back with a whole new album! Also, I don’t use the word “scant” enough. In fact, I don’t think the word “scant” makes it out of cookbooks and into general language enough. Its a nice word. You know what else is a nice word? Get Fixed (15 Passengers)! Yeah, I know its two words. But with a release schedule as furious as Cursive’s newly found ferocity, its hard to keep up! What you need to know here is the band had some songs that were written during the sessions for their last album (remember, scant year?) and fleshed out for what feels like a companion album yet stands alone as a WHOLE NEW CURSIVE ALBUM ONE YEAR LATER. Check out “Barricades” and see what I mean!
Chris Farren "Born Hot (Polyvinyl)"
Few artists have equally keen ears for melodies and humor-Chris Farren definitely belongs in this category. No, his Polyvinyl debut isn’t a comedy album or anything-but with a name like Born Hot you have to expect at least a little humor. Well, if you do you won’t be disappointed. But if you are only expecting jokey songs then you will be disappointed as Chris is a gifted songwriter/performer and Born Hot is the record he was born to record. Quirky arrangements, pop punk attitude, singable choruses, this is a feel-good record about feeling bad about yourself. A tricky balancing act to be sure, but he does it with aplomb. Check out the positively danceable “Search 4 Me.” This really harkens back to a time (the 80s) when taking yourself too seriously was a no-no. So have some fun and dig in!
The Building "Petra (Concord Records)"
Multi-instrumentalist Anthony LaMarca, best known as the guitarist for The War On Drugs, has returned with another album as The Building-his main solo project. Though the recording of this album was not ideal (it was during the sessions that his Multiple Myeloma returned) Petra is, in fact, an ideal record. Stunningly beautiful songs with autumnal arrangements are the name of the game here. Like the frame of a building (Pulitzer please), The Building’s music is fragile like acoustic Neil Young and Bill Callahan. Recorded in his hometown of Youngstown, OH and bonus points for the album being named for his dog, Petra (the album) as pretty as music can get. Check out “Life Half Lived.”