Oozing Wound "Whatever Forever"
“So refreshingly anti-bullshit are Oozing Wound that they could conceivably turn out to be the Nirvana of thrash.” So said Noisey. That is some heavy praise. But it totally works. These dudes love music, love making music, and have no pretensions about themselves. They write songs about nonexistent Rambo movies, their favorite episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space 9, late cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov, and other awesome things for dudes to write songs about. All the while, the drums roll, the guitars buzz, and the vocals are screamed. This is not a passive listen. Whatever Forever (Thrill Jockey) is thrash metal at it’s punishing best. Check out the relentless “Tachycardia.”
Sybarite "Waver The Absolute"
Look, being ex-Silver Apples would likely be enough awesomeness for any musician. But not for Xian Hawkins. His output under his solo moniker Sybarite is the kind of exciting, abstract, experimental electronic music record collectors drool over. Those collectors mouths must be rather dry, as it has been 10 years since there has been a Sybarite release.Well, wait no more dry mouthed record collectors!! Waver The Absolute (Temporary Residence) is here to break that hiatus (and the dry mouth syndrome). Organic and electronic, it shares some of the same sonic space as Dan Deacon or even fellow labelmate Paul De Jong. Check out the swirling vibes of “Valence.”
Purling Hiss "High Bias"
Philly psych rockers Purling Hiss are back! High Bias (Drag City) is everything you love about the trio. 6 albums into their career, and they are only getting better with each release. Fuzzed out garage rock a la Cali’s Ty Segall scene, plus a bit of the new/old brit-psych a la The Apples In Stereo (note to self: you aren’t allowed to say “a la” for at least 30 blurbs) and the gauzy reverb rock of Black Mountains. Check out the albums first track, the viral symptoms of “Fever.”
Hiss Golden Messenger "Heart Like A Levee"
If I was a younger man, I would likely accuse the new Hiss Golden Messenger album Heart Like a Levee (Merge) of getting me “right in the feels.” But then again in the NYT crossword puzzle yesterday the following was a clue: “Right in the _____ (deeply affecting, in modern slang)” -so all bets are off. Although “deeply affecting” does apply well to this HGM record. Mike Taylor started out writing this album as an art project for Duke University. He was tasked with writing a cycle of songs to accompany a series of black and white photos of life in an Eastern Kentucky coal-mining camp from 1972. He started out doing so, but eventually those photos started staring back… into his soul (I know, sounds scary. But it’s not nearly as scary as all those weird clowns popping up these days). Eventually the photos just served as a bit of a creative jumping off point. Imagine John Mellencamp having taken songwriting classes from Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, and Randy Newman all during one semester, and his final project might sound a lot like this singular album. Check out Mike at his most New Morning-era Dylan with “Biloxi.”