Curtis Roush "Cosmic Campfire Music (Modern Outsider)"
Curtis Roush from the popular Ausin band The Bright Light Social Hour is here with his solo debut Cosmic Campfire Music (Modern Outsider.) “Fusing bedroom soul with the ambient expanses of shoegaze, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Curtis Roush explores love and loss” is a great way to describe the ‘70s AOR feel of this album. Thankfully the excellently written press for this album did just that, hence the quotation mark! It’s like The Flying Burrito Bros meets Hall And Oates-and if that doesn’t whet your whistle then you have one dry whistle my friend. Try fixing that with “Real Love.”
Hockey Dad "Blend Inn (Kanine/Gaga)"
Sometimes the press for a new album makes defining the band’s sound easy. But even then, it can be are to come up with the band comparisons these blurbs are famous for (wait… they’re NOT famous!?!). Anyway, the press for Australian band Hockey Dad’s sophomore album Blend Inn made the sound-alike part of this blurb super easy. In an interview with Consequence Of Sound, Zach Stephenson specifically listed the songs that directly influenced the writing and recording of this LP. AC/DC’s “Jailbreak” Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” Twin Peak’s “Butterfly ”Iggy Pop’s “I’m Bored ”The Growlers’ “Neverending Lin.” All that PLUS the band’s name is an excellent Simpsons reference? Plus, is it just me, or does Zach’s voice sound like a modern day Billy Squire? Ignore my gratuitous use of the word “plus” and decide for yourself how huge a Hockey Dad fan you are when you check out “Homely Feeling.”
Anna Burch "Quit The Curse (Polyvinyl)"
In the summer of 2017 longtime Polyvinyl mainstay Fred Thomas sent his buds at PV Anna Burch’s demos along with a note that read “This is not a drill. You need to hear this.” Thank god Fred did what he did, because here we are 6-ish months later listening to her debut. Quit The Curse finds Anna’s subversively sunny songwriting skills in full form. Sometimes the guitars are warm and inviting, a la Best Coast. Other times they are angular and strange, like Sonic Youth (especially the positively late-era SY sounding “Asking 4 a Friend”). Anna’s vocals are a little bit like Zooey’s from She & Him in their up-front and center plainspokenness with a little bit of Alvvays first album thrown in for good measure. But really, she kind of reminds you of lots of stuff all at one while also not really sounding like anything. It’s quite a trick. Let her work her magic on you and check out “Tea-Soaked Letter.”
Miles Francis "Swimmers EP"
Multi-instrumentalist Miles Francis has been one of NYC’s best kept secrets over the past few years. Able to play just about any instrument you give him, and having collaborated with everyone from Mark Ronson, Sharon Jones, Allen Toussaint, and Will Butler, and Bob Newhart (ok maybe not Bob), but now is his time to be secret no more. Swimmers, his debut EP, is a wonder. Written and recorded entirely my Miles himself, with minimal edits and redubs, this is the sound of Miles finding his sound. And what a sound it is! Left field pop rarely sounds as exiting as this. Think turn of the century alt-pop releases from Self crossed with current soul revivalist Matthew E. White and your starting to get the picture of this singular release. Check out the introspective, exceedingly modern quirk-pop of “Complex.”