FAN "Barton’s Den (Polyvinyl)"
Meric Long has spent 10+ years as half of the duo the Dodos. But he put that on hold when life got in the way, he lost his father and he had a baby. His father had left him two lovely vintage synths, and so as a way to reconnect with his loved one, he started experimenting with the synths and thus his solo project FAN was born. And now, a note to all musicians in the future. THIS kind of quote is how you get me to love your music before I even listen to it. For his solo project, he decided to use the synths to “finally embrace a wealth of childhood influences: Nintendo soundtracks, Devo, Brian Eno, Prince.” Really, that’s just what this music sounds like. The angular guitars and unexpected prog-y-ness of Eno, the melodic wonders of early Nintendo games’ music, the weirdness of Devo, and the pop bliss of Prince. Frankly, if you haven’t already stopped reading and started listening to the first single “Bob1” already then we have very little in common.
Kat Edmonson "Old Fashioned Gal (Dunvagen)"
Back in my “wild” dating days I dated this lady who wore fun, full skirts, played the accordion and liked to watch only b&w movies. I was a jerk and that one ended but I’d like to find her now and play her Kat Edmonson(if only some sort of social media platform run by the Russians could be helpful). A super fun mixture of Cole Porter and at times indie folk (you could say SHE without HIM if you must). Now only if she would sing in Yiddish I could get her on the The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. So spin ”Please Consider Me”, “If” and the title track and enjoy the best Sunday brunch record since Yo La Tengo’s Fakebook.
Clint Michigan "Centuries (Kiam)"
Oh my, poor Clint Michigan, I had no idea…..What a traumatic life he has led, and none of that “oh my subway was late”, “why is this guy yelling at me while I’m eating a slice” stuff, real-life problems, which has lead to him being sober for 5 years and also producing this beautiful album Centuries. Imagine Elliott Smith and Sufjan Stevens hanging out – maybe not the most fun hang, but maybe they would come out with some beautiful sounding songs. Clint uses the term “trauma core” to describe his music, but nothing this beautiful could sound that traumatic. Check out “Knickerbocker Street”.
Dylan Carlson "Conquistador (Sargent House)"
The mighty Dylan Carlson of the oh so mighty band Earth has given us a solo electric guitar album in its purest form. One guitar (ok… at times two) – distorted – loud, with no other accompaniment – just guitars. A wall of sound that would make Phil Spector’s wig cry as all it takes is one man slowly playing his way around the frets with chords that ring out as slowly as the tumbleweeds blow across the desert. This record is a study in zen – just focus on the guitar and let Dylan take you to an awesome place. Check out “When the Horses Were Shorn of Their Hooves” and don’t forget to turn it up even louder then you know you should.