Tancred "Nightstand (Polyvinyl)"
We sure loved the last album from Tancred Out Of The Garden, so we were over the moon when we got our grubby mitts (sorry, we were cleaning!) on Nightstand (Polyvinyl). Everything we loved about the last one, the candy coated melodies, the hooks, the emotional lyrics, are back, but better than ever. A beguiling mix of ‘80s power pop, ‘90s alt rock, ‘00s west coast rock, and ‘10s rock balladry has left the whole thing feeling timeless. It’s like Veruca Salt covering Hole covering Weezer. Does that make sense? You should decide for yourself and check out the jangly anthem rock of “Hot Star” or the infectious “Queen of New York.”
Las Rosas "Shadow By Your Side (Greenway Records/RTP)"
“Hey man…” you might say to yourself because you are a cool person who calls yourself “man” in like a ‘60s-esque hippie voice “I could really vibe on, like, some throwback chill rock tunes, you dig?” because you are REALLY committed to this character you’ve created. Well, tell your hippie character to mellow because we have the LP for them. Shadow By Your Side, the new album from Las Rosas is exactly what they (you) want. Think an edgier version of classic era Kinks mixed with uh… whatever we are calling this decade? Check out the head bopper “Christa.”
Hatchie "Sugar & Spice EP (Double Double Whammy)"
Sometimes a bit of music is released EXACTLY when it should be. Case in point? Hatchie’s debut EP for Double Double Whammy Sugar & Spice. Here it comes, right when its getting nice outside (assuming it actually is gonna be nice outside). Harriette Pilbeam’s music is a tonic for these hard times (also, if I did my googling right, it’s the middle of winter in Harriette’s Australia, so she did this for YOU!). Dreamy, positive, jangly, you couldn’t ask for a better antidote for the turdstorm that 2018 is turning out to be. At times the sounds are a little like if Best Coast was covering Kylie Minogue covering The Cure. I know, that’s a little confusing. But these sweet sounds are anything but confusing. In fact, in a perfect world, “Sure” will be THE summer hit. But as I alluded to earlier (see: turdstorm) its not a perfect world. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t be your summer hit. Check it out!
Ruler "Winning Star Champion (Barsuk)"
You want hooks? You want riffs? You want sing-a-long melodies and lyrics? You want the kind of rock that makes you triumphantly nod your head? You want fries with that? Well, minus the fries (sorry, BRM doesn’t have a fryer. Check out our Yelp page, we don’t serve wings either- much to the chagrin of our customers) if you’re looking for all of those things then you are looking for Ruler! Winning Star Champion (Barsuk) is Seattle’s Matt Batey’s latest offering, and it’s just about as catchy as you can get without needing a shot to combat the ill-effects. But fear not! There are no ill-effects here (except in the Beastie Boys meaning of the word). A little like those early few Death Cab records mixed with the current resurgence of pop-punk. It’s a ‘90s + ‘10s sort of thing. You know the deal, good influences in=good music out. So check out the first tune from the record “Petrified” and measure Ruler for yourself! (Sorry)