(January 2022) Episode 383 is THE BOO RADLEYS. As I continue my (second) tour of 90s UK bands, I come to The Boo Radleys, who trod the crowded path from shoegaze to Britpop. Their songs never settle on a singular style, both within and across albums, which makes them both an interesting listen but also hard to characterize.
Favourite album: C’Mon Kids
Favorite song: What’s in the Box? (See Whatcha Got)
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: should be on your 90s British rock list
(January 2021) Episode 380 is COURTNEY BARNETT. Conventional yet enjoyable singer-songwriting, delivered in a somewhat laconic, sometimes Sprechgesang Australian accent. I was drawn to her by the grungy fuzz of “Pedestrian at Best” but that was more exception than rule.
Favorite album: Sometimes I Sit And Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit*
Favorite song: Pedestrian At Best
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: enjoyable but not spectacular
* one of my favorite album titles of all time
(January 2022) Episode 375 is DENGUE FEVER. I had no idea there was such a thing as Cambodian psychedelic rock until I was introduced to this band. Dengue Fever combines a couple of indie hipsters from LA and a Cambodian immigrant singer. Their music recreates the sound of that scene from the 60s and 70s (until undone by Pol Pot), a mix of surf-style guitar, fuzzy keyboards, world music rhythms and lyrics sung (mostly) in Khmer in a Eastern pentatonic style. It’s an odd mix that works.
Favorite album: Escape from Dragon House
Favorite song: One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: if you like hearing styles you’ve never heard before
(December 2021) Episode 373 is RIDE. Their debut album Nowhere was a landmark of shoegaze, albeit more melodic than My Bloody Valentine, and that’s what made me take notice. But they quickly discarded that sound for unremarkable (IMO) alt rock and later lush pop.
Favourite album: Nowhere
Favorite song: Black Nite Crash
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: just Nowhere
(November 2021) Episode 368 is THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. It’s impossible to summarize the ever-evolving sound of Anton Newcombe’s ever-evolving project. As the name suggests, at its heart it pays homage to the departed Rolling Stones’ innovator, and much of the music (especially the guitar tone) seems an attempt to pick up where he left off. Lots of neo-psychedelia and shoegazer/slacker rock recorded in undisciplined arrangements, but also experimental, pseudo-soundtrack and other hard-to-characterize stuff.
Favorite album: …And This Is Our Music
Favorite song: Sailor
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: not for everyone but yes to those who like artists who don’t give a f**k what anyone else thinks. I suggest starting with “Take It From the Man!”
(November 2021) Episode 366 is GORE GORE GIRLS. Nothing quite refreshes the palate like good garage rock. I so present Gore Gore Girls out of the Detroit garage rock revival, so named after member Amy Gore and a 1970s slasher film of the same name, highlighting their retro kitsch vibe.
Favorite album: Get the Gore
Favorite song: Casino
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: if you listen to Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius XM, you’ve heard Gore Gore Girls, and by definition, you like Gore Gore Girls
(October 2021) Episode 365 of the “opus project” is STEVE VAI. I’m not into shredder rock, but I’ve always liked Steve Vai due to his early work with Frank Zappa, not to mention his “we’re not worthy” transcription of Eddie Van Halen’s “Eruption.” In fact, his first solo album sounds as much like a Zappa album as anything else. Much of the rest is axe-man virtuosity stuff, which is not as interesting to me, although there is an occasional weird gem in there.
Favorite album: Flex-Able
Favorite song: The Attitude Song
Compared to expectations: same
Recommendation: for Zappa fans and guitar aficionados
(October 2021) Episode 364 is TEENAGE FANCLUB. Their early 90s shoegazing albums put me in their fanclub. The rest is pleasant but unremarkable harmony-rich power pop and chill rock. When they get the guitars going, though (like the one-off second album), they sound like Crazy Horse, which is cool.
Favorite album: Bandwagonesque
Favorite song: What You Do To Me
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: just Bandwagonesque will do
(September 2021) Episode 358 is THE DECEMBERISTS. I listen to little aughts indie rock, so I was unprepared for how pretentious it can get, as exemplified by The Decemberists with their precious song titles and knowingly literate lyrics delivered in an affected voice. Somewhat counter-intuitively, it gets better when they move into concept albums, featuring guest singers and an occasionally heavier sound.
Favorite album: The Hazards of Love
Favorite song: Everything is Awful
Compared to expectations: ↓
Recommendation: nah
(September 2021) Episode 356 is ASH RA TEMPEL, along with ASHRA and MANUEL GÖTTSCHING solo albums. It started as a classic avant-garde Krautrock collective leaning toward the spacey side (Kosmische Musik). But it became a vehicle for Göttsching and reached a peak when he put his guitar at the center. He gets the most Mike Oldfield-like guitar tone I’ve heard elsewhere. The best stuff sounds like a blend of Oldfield, Tangerine Dream and Discipline-era Fripp.
Favorite Ash Ra Tempel album: Schwingungen
Favorite Ashra album: Blackouts
Favorite Manuel Göttsching album: Inventions for Electric Guitar
Favorite song: Echo Waves
Compared to expectations: ↑
Recommendation: If you like the artists listed above, this is a must.
Opus Project 