Fred Thomas "Changer"
There can’t be anything left to say about Fred Thomas that hasn’t been said a hundred times already, even by me in blurb form. From his Saturday Looks Good To Me releases, to his self-titled solo stuff, the man is ultra-prolific. Which is why it’s so shocking that every time a new Fred Thomas record comes in the office braces itself for Pete’s excited yelps. But he has reason to be excited, because as prolific as Fred is, is as good as he is, and Changer (Polyvinyl) does nothing to change that fact. Frankly, this album sees Fred stretching out in ways that will only be familiar to the most devout of Thomas-heads. Take, for instance, the arpeggiated synth harps and Beck beats running headfirst into the Portisehead majesty of “Echolocation.”
Rubblebucket "If U C My Enemies EP"
Rubblebucket may be new to the BRM roster, but they certainly aren’t a new band. Formed in college in 2006, Alex and Kalmia formed the band in an effort to combine psych-rock, danceable beats, hook-y horn lines, and art-rock arrangements. They did exactly what they set out to do. Here we are in 2016… I mean 2017 (sorry, first blurb of the new year) and hot off of their performance at Radio City Music Hall it was announced that they had signed on to release music with our pals over at Yebo. Their new EP If U C My Enemies is a small tantalizing slice of their infectious, danceable, candy coated art-pop. Think late-era Talking Heads mixed with ‘80s B-52’s mixed with the indie-rock exuberance of Arcade Fire (with whom they have performed) and you’ll get an idea of what’s what here. Or, you could skip the middle man (me) and check out the title track from the EP.
Julie Byrne "Not Even Happiness"
Having a wife from Buffalo means my love of Buffalo knows no bounds, so Julie Byrne (a Buffalo resident at one time) goes to the top of the heap. Yes, she is a wistful Joni Mitchell meets Bon Iver in a cabin (Kanye, you aren’t invited). This is a soothing record to play as you drive from your house in Laurel Canyon up Highway 1 to hang out in Big Sur. I hate being THAT GUY but she is total NBT so dig into this NOW and tell everyone at the next music supervisor mixer at that secret supervisor club that I’m not invited to that you discovered her first! Dig into “Natural Blue.”
V/A "Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl"
You wanna have some fun? They you want Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl (Polyvinyl), the label’s celebration of their 20th anniversary. This is the kind of fun you can have when you’ve never let your roster be defined by one genre. They asked 20 of their bands to play songs by 20 of their other bands. The results are an absolute blast. You want proof? Then how about Deerhoof covering Xiu Xiu’s “Hi” in the style of White Reaper? Right? What are you waiting for? Check it out!