Savak "Cut-Ups (EJRC)"
Everytime someone says “guitar rock is dead” a band like Savak jumps up and say – “HEY WE ARE HERE!” And thank the gods that they are – mixing ever record i loved when i was in my ’20s (ok… and my ‘30s… ’40s and–sigh–50’s), Savak love the crap out of such bands as WIRE, The Saints and R.E.M. If you like any of those bands or at least one of them (and i assume you do?) Cut-Ups is the record for you. Plus who doesn’t like horns and rock? I mean i’m not talking about late Chicago (early I’ll give ya for sure), but tracks like “Natural Light” and “Loma Prieta” will actually make you happy when the horn guys step on stage (a first for everything). Check out the aforementioned “Natural Light.”
Godspeed You! Black Emperor "Luciferian Towers (Constellation)"
It’s not easy to be a political, revolutionary band while also being an instrumental post-rock orchestra. Somehow, Godspeed You! Black Emperor have figured out how to do just that with their latest, Luciferian Towers (Constellation). Full of their “most melodic and powerfully positive-sounding music to date” (Pitchfork) LT also includes political screeds via liner notes and press releases demanding “An end to foreign invasions. An end to borders. The total dismantling of the prison-industrial complex. Healthcare, housing, food and water acknowledged as an inalienable human right.” Not an easy trick to be hauntingly beautiful and mad as hell, is it? Well GY!BE certainly pull it off here on their latest majestic, atmospheric release. Check out the first single from the album, the sprawling “Undoing A Luciferian Towers.”
And So I Watch You From Afar "The Endless Shimmering (Sargent House)"
Belfast post-rockers And So I Watch You From Afar are back! 2 years out from their last collection of instrumental rock mayhem, they have gifted the world with The Endless Shimmering (Sargent House). Recorded over 9 days while they were snowed in at Machines with Magnets in Rhode Island, the band emerged with a completed album just as the snow had begun to melt. Now that album, with a sound that is a combination of The Fucking Champs, Grails, and Yes, is here to melt your face, and your ears, and your stereo. Don’t worry, not in a real way–although don’t turn it up TOO loud, after all I did see Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” once turn a speakers tweeters into a black viscous goo when turned up too loud, and this is just as punishing as that… Anyway, let the heavy metal triumph of “A Slow Unfolding Of Wings” get you to where you need to go. Enjoy!
Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker "SpiderBeetleBee (Drag City)"
If you asked anyone who is interested in American primitive guitar who the leaders in that field are these days, their list wouldn’t get too far before both Bill MacKay and Riley Walker were named. Which is why it’s so exciting that both of these men have teamed up for SpiderBeetleBee (Drag City), their second record as a duo. Both of these performers are known for their excellent solo acoustic guitar recordings, and having them both working together here is a treat! So treat yourself to the autumnal sounds of “Lonesome Traveler.”