Showing posts with label Art Brut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art Brut. Show all posts

Sunday, December 02, 2018

I Got a Rock


At a moment in which the world’s most lauded rock band can’t be bothered to play rock music, I suppose it’s not surprising that the form will make a poor showing in my year-end rankings.  It’s not as if I’m not trying, but I fail to be moved by most rock recordings.  The most exciting music is being made elsewhere.  A few 2018 rock releases that had yet to receive mention at There Stands the Glass are ranked in order of my preference below.

Shame- Songs of Praise
It’s taken me all year to grasp Shame’s rowdy exceptionalism.  Here’s “One Rizla”.

Art Brut- Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!
Eddie Argos is still the funniest man in rock.  The cautionary “Hospital!” is among the songs that compel me to laugh out loud.

Parquet Courts- Wide Awake!
Garage rock done right.  “Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience” is close to perfect.

Drug Church- Cheer
I’m not embarrassed to admit that I’ve always liked Puddle of Mudd.  Drug Church combine the Kansas City band’s commercial post-grunge with the geeky mania associated with Weezer.  Here’s “Unlicensed Hall Monitor”.

Snail Mail- Lush
Lindsey Jordan is a sad sack.  I ordinarily don’t have much patience for whiners (unless I’m the one doing the fussing), but I can relate to her bad mood.  “Heat Wave” is among the songs that kinda/sorta rock.

Idles- Joy as an Act of Resistance
The breathless praise heaped on this entirely ordinary album is a classic case of embarrassing group-think.  Blood-and-thunder songs like “Colossus” are merely adequate.

Oh, and that new 1975 album?  While it has its moments, I continue to maintain that the British band sounds like One Direction in the midst of a month-long bender.


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I yacked about a few of my best-music-of-2018 selections on 90.9 The Bridge’s Eight One Sixty last week.

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I ponder Pat Metheny’s de facto boycott of Kansas City at Plastic Sax.

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I write weekly concert previews for The Kansas City Star.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Review: Bentcousin- Everybody's Got One

Everybody's Got One, the new six-song EP by Bentcousin, is a mess.  And I love it.  The bum notes and questionable production values make the British duo's ramshackle project all the more charming.

On the opening track "Bentpaperboy," Amelia Innit gently croons lines like "I never met a Catholic that I didn't like."  The ingratiating acoustic piece recalls the dry wit of Belle and Sebastian.  Amelia's twin brother Pat admires a girl named "Susan" and "my favorite LP" on the chaotic rocker "Slade."  "I Quit You" is a feisty duet in which a modern-day Eliza Doolittle asserts her independence.  "You went out drinking when she had the flu!" Amelia sneers on the delightful "I Think I Like Your Girlfriend More Than You".

The modest Everybody's Got One is precisely the type of hidden gem that replenishes my faith in the giddy power of popular music.  I recommend it to aficionados of Billy Bragg's love songs, the lighthearted side of the Mekons and the enthusiasm of Frank Turner.  Everybody's Got One will be released in February.


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Cowboy Indian Bear's new four-song single is very impressive.

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"I'm Hustin'" is the latest video from Rich the Factor.  (Tip via Tony's Kansas City.)

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B-Sides And Confessions Vol. 2, the new album by former Kansas Citian Jeff Black, was released on January 15.

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Here's a tease from Kanrocksas.

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My friend K.S. turned me on to Wichita's The Travel Guide.  RIYL: Indie kids bashing away in a basement.

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Jimi in Salina.

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Steve Pick's insightful review of Jimbo Mathus' White Buffalo suggests that the album resembles an inferior version of Exile On Main Street.  It reminds me of a Joe Grushecky album.  That's a good thing.

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I first heard the Eddie Fisher Quintet's The Third Cup this week.  RIYL: Wes, Grant and George.  (Via Euclid Records.)

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ASAP Rocky's LoveLiveA$AP is the most immediately sonically rewarding album I've heard in a while.  It's a fun listen but I'm not convinced that I'll still be enamored of it come December.

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I've been riding shotgun on the Emily Armstrong bandwagon for about a year.  Hear what she does with "Gone Away".

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Big Jay McNeely is alive!

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Yes, I'm a hypocrite.  I'm offended by this promotional video for Jazz Fest.  It seems wrong to use a brass band's music to pitch the likes of Billy Joel, Fleetood Mac, DMB and Maroon 5.

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Forget Dirty Projectors- Bahamas is where it's at.  This stunning live performance is RIYL Alan Jackson, Dirty Projectors, Bruce Springsteen.

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Here's the sonic representation of my Facebook news feed.  (Not that I didn't sign up for it…)

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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.

(Original image by There Stands the Glass.)