Past Releases

Laura Jean "Devotion (Chapter Music)"

Oh Australia – when will I ever take the 232 hour flight to taste a real John Dory or hang out with Mel Gibson? Until then, Laura Jean’s Devotion is better then any trip to Outback Steak House.  Imagine the XX with the stepchild of Lana Del Rey and Florence (without the machine) and you can start to imagine the downtempo beauty of Laura Jean.  If you need a female empowerment jam (sans over the top bravado), check out the winning “Girls On The TV”.

M. Ward "What A Wonderful Industry (Merge)"

OH, WHAT? Is this what the kids call a surprise drop? An unexpected rain shower (oofa) or the new record from M. Ward. Look, you know you love Mr. Ward and What A Wonderful Industry continues in the fine tradition of Transfiguration Of Vincent and Post War. Sure he is sounding a little obsessed with sharks (sorry Jets), but either way, I’m cranking up “Motorcycle Ride” or perhaps the best “we are really broken up” jam “Kind Of Human.” Wanna hear an instrumental that mixes Joe Meek and surf? Give “Return To Neptune’s Nest” a spin. I wish every day had a surprise like a new M.Ward album (maybe then I wouldn’t be so scared of Twitter), but for today I’m happy to dig into What A Wonderful Industry.

The Get Up Kids "Kicker EP (Polyvinyl)"

If you know anything about BRMer AJ, you know that he is seeing a band live nearly every night. If you know two things about BRMer AJ, then you also know that he has a pop punk streak that would likely make back issues of Alternative Press blush. So when our pals at Polyvinyl announced the signing of The Get Up Kids, well… I bet you know who was excited, and why not? After all, this is THE GET UP KIDS! Kicker, the new EP from them, is a return to form if ever there was one. I mean, sure, these are Get Up Men writing these songs (they are probably older than you at this point) but they sure don’t sound it. I mean, they are confident in their songwriting, but they still rock, they are still snarling, angsty, and a blast. I’m not gonna try and compare them to another band here, I respect you too much. I’ll just recommend that you check out “Maybe.”

Young Widows "Decayed: Ten Years of Cities, Wounds, Lightness, and Pain (Temporary Residence)"

Wondering how long the band Young Widows has been around? Well, they’ve made researching that fact easy with the name of their new odds and sods collection on Temporary Residence. Decayed: Ten Years of Cities, Wounds, Lightness, and Pain. But unlike a lot of b-sides and one-off collections, not only does Decayed coalesce like a natural album, but it somehow excels as a collection. For a band that has a sound that’s hard to nail down, they’ve done a great job of gathering a grouping of their noisy, heavy, psych-heavy post-punk together. Brutal and beautiful at the same time, these songs are all stand-outs. Half the time it’s like The Jesus Lizard is covering Bonnie “Prince” Billy songs. At other times they are the obvious peers of other modern metal masters like MY DISCO and Coliseum. Check out “Checked In/Out” and marvel how one band’s ephemera could be another band’s stand out tracks.