Tag: vinyl
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Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards – s/t LP (reissue)
Those who remember that time period when all those Southern California punk bands who broke through in the early nineties got huge (like the Offspring, Green Day, NOFX and Rancid) remember what a big deal it was when Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards released their first album in 2001. Granted, they were not the first…
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Dan Rico – Flesh & Bone b/w Gold Volvo (7-inch single)
On first play through Dan Rico‘s “Flesh & Bone” 7-inch single, many listeners will likely be struck and dazzled by what they hear. They’ll be excited by the tone and tenor of both “Flesh & Bone” and its B-side, “Gold Volvo,” because both tracks sound tightly and classically composed, in the finest tradition of the…
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Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Run, Stop & Drop (The Needle) EP
It’s not common for a jazz album which was made in a recording studio to really reach out and grab a listener’s attention. Let’s be honest here; jazz was originally music which was born onstage and developed there with the help of gifted players who spent hours crafting it, grooming it, refining it and making…
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Stuyedeyed / Birds – split 7-inch
It’s always kind of incredible how great a gamble a split 7-inch single release can be for the artists involved. Over the years, lots of bands have made great ones, yes, but there have been an equal or greater number of weak or soft efforts which feel lopsided because either one band or one song…
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NEEDLES//PINS – Good Night, Tomorrow LP
Such occurrences are rare but sometimes, all the tumblers just happen to align. A band doesn’t just produce the best damned music of their career, it also happens to get released in just the right place at the right time (and enough people just happen to be looking and listening just the right way) that…
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The Whistles And The Bells – Modern Plagues LP
If we can all agree that many of the best, most interesting albums are those which convey a particular image of its maker, then there’s little doubt of Modern Plagues‘ quality. From the very outset of The Whistles And The Bells‘ sophomore album, listeners are presented with the image of auteur Bryan Simpson toiling gladly…
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Suede Razors – Razor Stomp 12-inch EP
It might sound weird to say, but it’s about time Suede Razors got around to releasing more than just two songs at a time. To date, Bay area bovver band Suede Razors have managed to build a shockingly devoted following on the strength of a succession of seven-inch singles (see “Boys Night Out” and “Here…
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Jen Gloeckner – Vine LP
Anyone who has ever gone to therapy knows that it can take years to accurately qualify, articulate and compartmentalize feelings like anger, resentment, isolation, love, affection, confusion and emotional unease and then begin to deal with them in a healthy manner. It’s all a process and, in that regard, Jen Gloeckner has arrived miles ahead…
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Walrus – Family Hangover LP
When one considers the debut LP from Walrus, Family Hangover, the first stumbling block which comes up is where the music came from. As one listens, it quickly becomes easy to pick out little bits of ideas which were obviously originally the work of artists who initially inspired the band and, because those stylistic breadcrumbs…
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Reducers SF – Essentials (4-LP set)
Looking back, it’s pretty incredible how fertile punk’s creative soil was in the Nineties. Sure – everyone knows the mid-Nineties as being the period which broke punk into the mainstream pop punk and made bands like Lagwagon, Propagandhi, Green Day, NOFX, Offspring (I’ve written this list out several times before) and innumerable others household names…