Music of ‘Grand Ole Men’ is more rockin’ than ever
Bob Mould
Sunshine Rock
[LP/CD](Merge)
GUIDED BY VOICES
Zeppelin Over China
[LP/CD](GbV)
The grand old men of alternative rock just will not let up. For his 13th solo album since dissolving Husker Du, Mould proves that his ear for crunchy riffs and sunshine melodies has not diminished. The terse, muscular "What Do You Want Me To Do" richly deserves to be a single. Mould, bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster can crush like a battering ram while never abandoning that melodic edge.
Robert Pollard's reconvened GbV is tougher, tighter and more rockin' than ever. "Zeppelin" marks the band's 27th album and easily competes with their classic lineup. The irony of this being that the 2019 GbV (Doug Gilliard, Bobby Bare Jr., Mark Shue, and Kevin March) came together after the classic lineup did the collapse.
All consummate musicians, "Zeppelin" reels off 32 memorable songs in 75 blistering minutes without feeling overlong or overstuffed. Like "Bee Thousand," the sequencing is almost everything, like "Under The Bushes Under The Stars" it is just one anthemic track after another ("My Future In Barcelona,"The Rally Boys") while dipping into Prog ("Lurk of the Worm"), New Wave ("Questions of the Test") and just crystalline Pop ("Einstein's Angel"). Then again, they have not ever made a bad record.
VARIOUS
Music inspired by film Roma
[LP/CD]
Seeing the words "music inspired" generally is a signal for a vanity project. However, Alfonso Cuaron's deep, selfless creation is more a labor of love.
Patti Smith presents "Wing" as poetry masquerading as song. Beck covers Colourbox's "Tarantula" with just the right touch of instrumentation. The locale music of Sonido Gallo Negro and Quique Rangel is beautiful, as are tense twin beauties from Billie Ellish and Cuaron's daughter, Bu. By the time you reach Laura Marling's wonderful Mary Hopkin cover "Those Were The Days," you feel as if you too have been on a journey.
CASS mccombs
Tip of the Sphere
[LP/CD](Anti)
McCombs is one of those artists that exists on the periphery of today's songwriters. While very prolific, he is a chameleon readily changing the atmosphere for his words. Unlike "Mangy Love," McCombs skips the rock textures in favor of a more winding, circular musical narrative. Like Kurt Vile or Steve Gunn, once he weaves the main pattern, he threads his words and phrases in the most unexpected places. "Sphere" is at its best when it feels hippy-dippy, but McCombs offsets it with caustic words.
Jessica Pratt
Quiet Signs
[LP/CD](Mexican Summer)
Pratt has a unique voice. Part wounded angel, part carefully cradled baby doll, "Quiet Signs" is constructed to simply bathe her voice in reverb and allow her heavenly trills to dance around your head. These songs are so simple and straightforward, a handful of lightly-strummed chords or twinkling piano is all they need to spring to life. Part Brazilian pop ("This Time Around"), part British Folk ("Crossing") - "Quiet Signs" dresses her delicate songs just as much as necessary to travel the path of least resistance.
DISCOVERIES OF THE WEEK
CALVA LOUISE
Rhinoceros
[LP/CD](Modern Sky)
Venezuelan, Maori and English in their lineage, Calva Louise come together to return Pop/Punk from its perjorative phase. The first rule they smash is that it has to be grunge-y. "Tug of War" floats along on Jess Allanic's fizzy singing until they briefly out riff each other in the chorus. The second rule they obliterate it has to be angst-y. The Buzzcocks-ian "I Heard A Cry" rolls between saccharine harmonies and defiance. With the hard charging "Outrageous," Calva Louise place Pop/Punk back on the map.
SPACE DAZE
Too Mystical
[LP/CD](Lost Sound Tapes/Jigsaw)
On break from Seapony, Danny Rowland has found a fascinating blend of Real Estate pastoral guitar pop and the motion of Shoegazer. "Too Mystical" introduces a woozy Farfisa organ into the mix of winding guitars and whispered vocals. Unlike his other releases (all found on the compilation "Waves Collapsing,") Rowland jangles more this time now bringing back to mind the hazy heyday of the Paisley Underground in the Eighties.
