They look like Hemsworths, but they sing like they learned everything from the Motown songbook. Simple, straightforward, and to the point. The Teskey Brothers will be that wonder from Down Under for all the neo-soul fans out there. Backed by a capable band, "Run Home Slow" hits all the notes, especially when Josh finds that high, gritty, visceral range of his voice.
PENNY & SPARROW
Finch
(LP/CD)(I Love You)
Austin's Penny and Sparrow officially have been all things over the last decade; however, their harmonies stay intact. Andy Baxter and Kyle Jahnke still hit those notes with the same veracity as they likely did in their dorm room a decade ago. On "Finch" they sound less like the Mumford wave that brought them about and more like an R&B version of Bon Iver. Fortunately, their lyrics have grown more abstract, which presents the best places for both voices to rise and fall together. "Eloise" drowns them in reverb, while "Long Gone" revisits Yacht Rock with more lo-fi conceits.
Judy and the jerks
Friendships Formed in the Pit
(LP)(Neck Chop)
Hattiesburg's Punk scene thrives on an ecosystem of house shows and scrappy recordings that work impossibly hard to capture the fever and intimacy of their bands. Uber Punks Judy and the Jerks have finally assembled their first pair of cassettes into a vinyl-only release that reminds you of just how explosive music should be. Side One is six salvos of amphetamine pogo music that hints at where the band will be going (their 2019 EP "Music For Donuts" received a 7.7 in Pitchfork.) The consumerist/foodie side of the band is the most fun as rants like "Destroix" and "Slugarama" squeal to life. To their credit, the band always plays furiously but songs rarely get aggressive. Therefore what would be hard-edged and off-putting in other hands, here becomes something for everyone. "Friendships" (and "Donuts," for that matter) present Punk as the foundation for anyone being able to play or say what they want.
REISSUES
PETER LAUGHNER
(5 LP Box)(Smogbox)
Laughner could have been the voice of the Punk generation. In Cleveland's fleeting years as the home of Rock N' Roll, Laughner molded his Dylan-esque songwriting into a unique anti-Folk Lou Reed-meets-Bruce Springsteen shambolic rocker. He founded Pere Ubu and as a member of Rocket From the Tombs pushed Stooges-esque hard rock to its logical Punk conclusion. Still, he was a walking contradiction. At heart, his songs were living, breathing creations (Guns N' Roses would cover "Ain't It Fun") that sound best with just Laughner's plaintive drawl and acoustic guitar.
During the last 10 years, his estate has been working on the ultimate package of demos, live recordings and tracks that best fit his all-too-brief career from 1972 until his death in 1977. To characterize this mammoth accomplishment as "the missing link" is an understatement. The box represents music when it was not always recorded; the intros and talk make it like having Laughner in your living room (the very Big Star-ish Sam Cooke "It's Saturday Night (Dance The Night Away.)" Meanwhile, "Baudelaire," "Cinderella Backstreet" and the phenomenal "Take The Guitar Player For A Ride" take their place as missing standards.
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - Live at Woodstock 1969 [LP/CD](Craft)
1969 was the pinnacle year for CCR. The rare trifecta of perfect albums (January's "Bayou Country," August's "Green River" and November's "Willy and The Poor Boys." Three Top 10 singles, and a midnight spot at Woodstock. While live Creedence does not get as much love as their heroic run of singles and albums, they truly ramp up to their best in this set. Apparently, The Grateful Dead had just played a lengthy set that mellowed out the crowd. So CCR take a while to get revved up. However, once they do get to "Proud Mary," "I Put a Spell on You" and nine minutes of "Keep On Chooglin'" you will wonder why this year marks the second time John Fogerty has opted out of Woodstock coverage.
Various - COME ON LET'S GO : POWER POP [CD](Big Beat)
Various - NEW MOON'S TO THE SKY - BRIT PROG POP (Grapefruit)
ROY BUDD - GET CARTER (Score) EXPANDED (Cherry Red)
Here's to three art forms that are slipping away (but should not in our estimation.)
For the Power Pop comp, they hit all the right notes on the longtime faves (The Romantics, Flamin' Groovies, Dwight Twilley, Raspberries, Shoes and Big Star) and find some interesting ephemera to promote its localism (Robert Johnson from Memphis, Bill Lloyd from Nashville, even.) However, songs like The Tweeds "I Need That Record" and "Radio Heart" from The Secrets prove to be too timely in subject matter.
Progressive Pop did not stick around long enough to make a blip on the map of Rock genres. From 1970-1973, the lighter side of Prog tried to find its place on the Pop charts. This 3CD collection does its level best collecting music from ongoing successes (Procol Harum, The Move, Status Quo,) newly discovered finds (Atomic Rooster, (The) Sweet, and the mighty Hawkwind, ) and many unearthed treasures (Five Day Rain's hazy psychedelic pop, Irish mellotron-based jam Blues from Killing Floor and the Bowie-meets-Beatles power pop of Airbus) Lots of flute, mellotron and mystical leanings crammed into mostly three-minute songs.
Jazz-based scores in films were what made once staid film, hip again. Quincy Jones' score for another Michael Caine work "The Italian Job" framed the heist drama in a variety of styles and paved the way for more studied Jazz scores in Seventies films. British pianist Roy Budd was given 450 pounds and the limitation of three musicians to score Caine's gritty crime drama "Get Carter." Within time and studio limits, Budd composed 13 pieces, rehearsed a couple of times and then recorded to the actual playback of the film. The end result rises and falls beautifully with the film while existing as its own fascinating jazz trio album outside of viewing. Since its release, the Budd score has inspired Electronic artists (Portishead, Human League) and even sampled in a few Hip-Hop songs.
