In a effort to keep up with A Forrest, I present my list of some recent purchases this past month. I should note there haven't been a lot of good new releases this year, so I've gone back and picked up some oldies from some great bands.
The Brothers Martin The Brothers Martin
So far this has been my favorite new album this year. It sounds like what you would expect when Joy Electric and Starflyer 59 come together- a great electronic rock album. Not a bad song on the album. The Martins never disappoint.
Teenage Fanclub Howdy!
Back in 1991, these guys beat out Nirvana's Nevermind for Spin's album of the year. Sadly, America never picked up on them. These guys write perfect jangle guitar pop songs. All three sing beautiful harmonies and you can hear the Beach Boys Pet Sounds influence in all their material. Can't say enough good things about this band. Howdy! was not much of a commercial success but songs like "Near You","I Need Direction", and "Cul De Sac" are so catchy that you will sing them all day in your head all day.
The Church Sometime Anywhere
The Church's sound have been described as beautiful, dreamy, mystic, ethereal , and elegant. All of which are apparent on this album. I have nearly all 19 of their albums and I can't understand why they remain a relatively unknown band. Most people would recognize their hit in the 80's "Under the Milky Way", but that was just a taste of what this band is capable of. Steve Kilby's voice is light and airy but very grounded. Marty Wilson Piper is a phenomial guitarist and has perfected the jangle guitar sound. On this album, the duo open with the mystical "Day of the Dead" and then dive into a Middle Eastern sound. "Authority" has a beautiful guitar riff.
Catherine Wheel Ferment("Catherine Wheel" is the name of a torture device in the middle ages, not a person.)
Another band that never caught on here in the states. This band has been described as "shoegazers" which they rejected. There guitars are out front with Rob Dickenson's vocals just a tempo behind them. Rob's vocals are breathless and they are surrounded by lush and swirling guitars. This is Catherine Wheel's debut and their second album Chrome is equally good. Unfortunately, they would then shift to more of a standard hard rock sound.
3 comments:
You're going to have a hard time keeping up with Forrest.
There's nothing wrong with a standard hard rock sound. :)
I don't know. "Shoegazer" or what Forrest would call "Dream Pop" remain my favorite musical styles.
Good job, B. We used to talk music all the time at Homer's. Now we do it virtually. It's nice to see what albums you have.
I still want to get the Church's best of... album.
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