27fm Album Jukebox – January 2018
Ty Segall – Freedom’s Goblin
Old mate Ty is never short a few songs so the fact that one of the lead singles for this one was a cover of the disco song Every 1’s A Winner was a little unexpected. Then again, he completely reinvents the thing. His version rocks heavy. He also reinvents a couple of his older songs on here, no spoilers tho. See, Segall’s got room to get funky on Freedom’s Goblin… it’s a double record with 19 tracks running 75 minutes and he makes good use of most of them, delivering an album that explodes with energy across a bunch of different sounds and ideas without it becoming disjointed or distracting. It’s his longest record and it might just be one of his best too. Keep on rocking, amigo.
Dream Wife – Dream Wife
Apparently they formed this group as a lark, bunch of art school kids from Brighton looking for something reflexive to do. Well it ain’t a lark no more. Dream Wife’s debut LP is legit. Three mates making quality punk/pop/glam rock and it’s fun and it’s furious and it’s catchy and it’s got this real Yeah Yeah Yeahs vibe to it. A bit of Elastica, perhaps, to bring it back to England. Taste is a quick ripper, Kids is a funky one too. And Let’s Make Out kicks things off on the right notes.
SiR – November
When the TDE crowd all change their profile pics in synchronicity, you know something good’s on the way. In this case it’s the bloke Inglewood SiR’s new record. Yeah, he’s part of the Top Dawg team now. SiR goes all in on the neo-soul thing, tinged with a touch of jazz like all the goodness from TDE, some of the little instrumental flourishes (piano here, woodwind there) are just gorgeous and the dude knows his way around a song. Not sure what the AI voice that pops up is doing but the album’s a strong one.
Jeff Rosenstock – POST-
“What’s the point in having a voice when it gets stuck in your throat?” Sure, fair point. Although Rosenstock’s voice is all over this bad boy, a distorted and anxious brand of punk fury, seething at the state of America and the anguish of those who wish they could save it. It’s definitely full of vitality. It’s also free on his Bandcamp page. His last record, Worry, was another quality serving of mature punk-pop, full of clever tunes and guitar so distorted it can barely fit through the speakers. A couple tracks are a little too on the nose (TV Stars, for example) but this thing sizzles all the same.
Dave East – Paranoia 2
This dude works, tirelessly. P2 is his third project in about six months and it ain’t like he isn’t already onto the next thing either. So you can forgive a few tracks for feeling kinda rushed or whatever but when the New Yorker hits the right chord, he’s onto something. East is a natural storyteller and it’s on songs like Corey (about an old mate left behind as Dave’s career soared) and I Found Keisha (a callback to Keisha from his 2016 mixtape) when he shines the brightest. That introspective Dave. Prosper goes well too, Annoying (with T.I. in tow) bangs hard, Maintain’s a bit of a jam, closing track Grateful is pretty moving stuff. There’s some filler yet the quality comes through.
Ron Gallo – Really Nice Guys
This guy dropped an impressive record last year (Heavy Meta), showcasing he and his band’s particular style of verbose punkish rock and roll. This one’s a tad different, although he stays hard on that self-aware vibe. It’s a reflection of life on the road as an indie band, getting ripped off and making fans but not much money. There’s an entire track, Pull Quote (ft. Jerry), where the only vocals are that Jerry bloke dropping sardonic and sarcastic comments over the top of an otherwise outstanding rock and roll track. “Yeah this song doesn’t even sound like it’s done in a studio – where’d they record that? Dunkin Donuts?” If it takes ‘til the end to get the joke then at least it finishes strong.
Sunny War – With The Sun
The blues was once the realm of young black men, working in the fields and living in unforgiving times. Then it was the realm of old black men. They went electric and pretty soon young white guys were playing with them… then those young white guys got old. But the blues is universal, it’s a human response to hardship and pain, a manner of channelling those things into art. So it’s only natural that, in the 21st century, the blues should evolve into the hands of young black women. Like Sunny War, for example. Brilliant finger-picking guitarist with an innate feel for the classics but the modern drive to take this sound somewhere new. More folksy ruminations than Howlin' Wolf stomps. This record is the real deal.
Quin Kirchner – The Other Side of Time
Here’s your first weird jazz opus of the year. An hour and a half of spiritual meditations from Chicago drummer Kirchner, who here lays down his first solo effort after being an esteemed feature on plenty of other projects (including as a member of the band NOMO). Half this stuff is original, half are covers from the likes of Sun Ra and Charles Mingus – you know, the obvious touchstones for exploratory musical venturings. The band plays tight and they keep it interesting. Pretty much a modern be-bop feel but with some funky twists. Long… but under the right circumstances it’ll take you places.
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