Black Joe Lewis "Backlash"
The good stuff. That’s what Black Joe Lewis plays (it’s also most likely all he listens to). His guitar-centric potpourri of garage rock, blues, soul, and funk is a music-lovers mishmash of all things rock and roll. From his evocative vocals to his blistering axe mastery, BJL knows how to get a party started. Songs are rounded out with vintage organs, horn hits, and bouncy beats. Backlash finds him sounding like a combination of Wilson Picket and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Like I said. The good stuff. Check out “PTP.”
Moon Duo "Occult Architecture Vol. 1"
Occult Architecture Vol. 1 (Sacred Bones), the new album from Moon Duo finds the, uh… duo, indulging their darker side. But I guess when the word “occult” appears in your record title, things are likely to get pretty dark (or pretty ironic if all the songs are happy funtime). Swirling psychedelia mixes with a minor key version of the Dandy Warhols (with all the pop bliss nods intact). Throw in some heady, spaced-out Thurston Moore-esque guitar experimenting, some two part harmony vocals, a little sinister synth work; and if you can figure out a way to stop yourself from nodding along then you are stronger than I am-but i could probably beat you at Connect Four. I should have gone pro… Enough about my lost dreams, fuel tomorrow’s dreams with the drum machine doom of “Cold Fear.”
Allison Crutchfield "Tourist In This Town"
Apologies to Allison Crutchfield, as I cannot figure out a way to write this blurb without letting you know that she is the sister of Merge-lablemate Katie Crutchfield (she of Waxahatchee). But this is no Gallagher/Gallagher II situation, but rather an Albert Brooks/Super Dave Osborne situation. Sure, Allison has been in the Waxahatchee live band, as well as in her bands Swearin’ and P.S. Elliot, but her solo career started in 2014 with her first self-titled EP. This year is when she releases her Merge Records debut. Tourist In This Town features some great west coast twang, along with some east coast grit, indie-pop. At times synth-y, always with a rock beat, and lyrical stream of consciousness and conversationally not whole unlike Fred Thomas. Check out the Cure-esque guitars of “Dean’s Room.”
Mark Eitzel "Hey Mr. Ferryman"
Hey Mr. Ferryman is Mark Eitzel’s latest solo album on Merge Records. You may recall Mark’s work with his original band American Music Club. If If you do not recall that band you have a lot of good listening ahead. This is definitely grown-up rock, a la recent efforts by Jim O’Rourke and Holy Sons. A lot of that “mature” sound comes from Eitzel’s cohort here, Bernard Butler. Beside producing the album, he also played all the electric guitar, bass, and keyboard parts. That immediate sounding confidence mixed with Mark’s inquisitive vocals. This is a tongue-in-cheek, low key masterwork. Check out the lead off track “The Last Ten Years.”