Palehound "A Place I’ll Always Go (Polyvinyl)"
A Place I’ll Always Go, the second LP from Palehound but their first for Polyvinyl, is an indie rock wonderland. Spindly guitar lines, plunky bass, shuffle-y drums and Ellen Kempner’s hushed, melodic vocals. It all adds up to a throwback to the ‘90s heyday of the indie craft a la The Breeders (with a little Folk Implosion percussion thrown in for good measure), plus a softer take on the modern sounds of Speedy Ortiz. Having recorded the album after a period of great personal loss, Ellen and Co. have come out the other side with an introspective blast of blurry rock. Check out the earworm “Room.”
The Peacers "Introducing The Crimsmen (Drag City)"
There you are, you just built yourself a shortwave radio that you are sure will pick up frequencies from space. You tune it all over the dial (do short wave radios have dials? Admittedly, I didn’t do a whole lot of research for this…) and come upon some alien sounds. But suprisingly, the aliens speak English. Also, this sort of sounds like rock and roll music, but like none you’ve ever heard before. That’s because it’s The Peacers! Spilling out from a split in the fabric of the universe is their strange, frazzled garage rock from space. Introducing The Crimsmen (Drag City) is like if you pushed the Kinks down the stairs mid-practice, and they never stopped playing. Half way down the steps, they tumble into Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd who was working on some Monkees covers, and the whole thing winds up this alien-sounding supergroup before they hit the landing. Cool origin story right? Check out the stonned shuffle of “Jurgen’s Layout.”
Moby & the Void Pacific Choir "More Fast Songs About The Apocalypse (Mute)"
When last we heard from Moby & the Void Pacific Choir (on last years These Systems Are Failing) he was (to quote our blurb from last year) “mad as hell.” But things have gone so great since then, right? Moby is probably totally chill in 2017, just like the rest of us, no? Well, seeing as how this surprise album was announced via a press release written by “John Miller,” the fake name Trump used to use act as his own spokesperson in the past (seriously people, how many warnings do you… deep breath…), I’d think the answer is pretty obvious. More Fast Songs About The Apocalypse (Mute) is more of Moby’s reactionary, anthemic techno-punk. Full of guitars, frazzled beats, and anger. Check out the haunting strains of the new wave-ish “All The Hurts We Made.”
Cigarettes After Sex "Cigarettes After Sex (Partisan)"
You can pretend that everything you’ve heard from Cigarettes After Sex before now was just a hint of what was to come. It’s true! Even frontman Greg Gonzalez says so: “This is like the novel or feature-length version of Cigarettes. I wanted it to feel like a complete work, where some of the imagery repeats – like it’s all in the same world. It’s very much a fulfillment of the feelings in the short works.” This thoughtful approach is apparent throughout the ambient pop sounds of the self-titled album (Partisan). Nods to obvious influences such as Mazzy Star and Portishead, and also the reverb-soaked instrumentals of Angelo Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks score (I am speaking only of the original run, I haven’t had a chance to check out the new season yet… My queue is miles long at this point… I’m *almost* up to 2012). Check out the spaced-out longing of “Each Time You Fall In Love.”