Papa M "A Broke Moon Rises (Drag City)"
What a meditative, reflective tonic of an album A Broke Moon Rises (Drag City) is. Not surprising… Dave Pajo has been through some shit. But let’s not focus on that, let us instead focus on the beauty that is his new Papa M LP. Frail, hypnotic, mostly acoustic post-rock is the name of the game here. Ok. It’s not really a game, so much as it is a record… and a good one at that. Makes sense, seeing as how Pajo has worked with Tortoise, Will Oldham, Stereolab, Zwan, and tons of others-as well as his former main gig as a member of Slint. Check out the autumnal swells of “Walt’s.”
Cosmic Invention "Help Your Satori Mind (Drag City)"
In 1997, Ghost mastermind Masaki Batoh decided to form a new band to indulge his love of ‘70s rock from Britain, the US, and his homeland of Japan. So he borrowed a few Ghost members, added a few other Japanese heavy hitters, and thus Cosmic Invention was born. Help Your Satori Mind is now nearly old enough to drink legally but sounds like it should be preparing to run headfirst into a mid-life crisis. This is as 70s as it gets. Progressive and psychedelic, this reissue is a heady good time. Check out “Blue Link/Sky Was Falling.”
STRFKR "Being No One, Going Nowhere Remixes (Polyvinyl)"
On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, what would you rate your fandom of 2016’s STRFKR LP Being No One, Going Nowhere. If you’re anything over like… say… 6, then do I have good news for you! (and if you’re lower than a 6 I have some bad news for you… you should reexamine your tastes in music.) The cool peeps at Polyvinyl are releasing a remix collection of that aforementioned album, featuring reimaginings from artists like Chrome Sparks, Xiu Xiu, Juan MacLean, and tons more. Check out the silky smooth Chrome Sparks redo of “Open Your Eyes.”
Spider Bags "Someday Everything Will Be Fine (Merge)"
Spider Bags are back with their second record on Merge Records. But really, it feels like their first. Having left behind the trappings of modern recording, Someday Everything Will Be Fine was laid to tape a legendary Tascam 388-warts and all. The result is a garage rock take on crafted songwriter-y artists a la Tom Petty and Bob Dylan (ESPECIALLY Dylan on the whiskey soaked “My Heart Is A Flame In Reverse.” So if you’re looking for a rough around the edges, classic rock ‘n’ roll time-I’m talking like period piece about the ‘70s-then look no further than this! Check out the aforementioned best Dylan song Dylan didn’t write, “My Heart Is A Flame In Reverse.”