// Category Archive for: Current Faves

Robyn Hitchcock, Chronolology

By Cait Brennan

Robyn Hitchcock has spent most of the past 40 years creating some of the most inventive, funny, poignant, and pointed songs of our time. From the “psychedelic punk” of his work with the Soft Boys to his clever, lyrical solo albums to the neo-garage Venus 3, few artists have been harder to pigeonhole. He’s produced surreal classics like “The Man With the Lightbulb Head,” “Sometimes I Wish I Was A Pretty Girl,” and “Do Policemen Sing?” as well as spare, melancholy acoustic gems like “I Used To Say I Love You” and “I Feel Beautiful”.

Two recent Yep Roc box sets—I Wanna Go Backwards and Luminous Groove—chronicled his best-loved solo albums and rewarded fans with lavish rarities. But for those new to his work, finding an “easy in” to Hitchcock’s formidable catalog might seem daunting.

Even listing it is daunting: depending on what you count and how you count it, Hitchcock’s body of work includes at least seven albums and EPs with the Soft Boys, 18 “solo” albums (including those with the Egyptians and Venus 3), about 20 “rarities” and live albums, three very incomplete best-of’s, a Jonathan Demme-directed concert film, and countless one-off appearances—all on a wide variety of US and UK labels, and until recently, much of it out of print. Newcomers could be forgiven for not knowing where to start.
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FIX: The Ministry Movie, Directed By Douglas Freel

By Danny R. Phillips

From the wind-ravaged land known as Chicago, Ministry and its lead freak Al Jourgensen, were key in the creation of the soul-rattling, abrasive form of rock known as Industrial.

FIX, a behind the scenes, eyes wide open look at the band during their 1996 SphincTour, is informative and unsettling all at once. So unsettling that Jourgensen tried to stop its release. Luckily for us fans, he recently dropped the lawsuit.
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Rob Crow, He Thinks He’s People

By Jemiah Jefferson

Once in a while a full-length album comes out that is nearly flawless; every track is worthy and exciting, the songs get stuck in your head and you don’t mind, and it demands regular re-listenings. Sometimes this is the culmination of an artist’s career, or maybe the opening salvo. With his latest solo record, part of the excitement comes from knowing that this is just another mile post in Rob Crow‘s journey. If his songwriting, vocals, and musicianship continues growing exponentially as they seem to have done over the course of his 18-years-and-counting history of making music, there will be even more joys to discover in the future.
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Electric Six, Heartbeats And Brainwaves

By Megashaun

With the release of its eighth studio album, Heartbeats and Brainwaves, Electric Six shows us its mastery of time, its appreciation of punctuality, and most importantly, its musical relevance.

Heartbeats and Brainwaves introduces us to a different sound than what we’ve come to expect from Electric Six, yet it’s exactly what we should have expected. Whereas Zodiac was gleefully deranged, Heartbeats and Brainwaves sits somewhere between seductive and downright weird (yes, weird even for Electric Six).
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Oh Honey Watch That Man: The Chain Gang Of 1974 In Toronto

By Less Lee Moore

The Phoenix, Toronto ON
October 6, 2011

If you haven’t yet heard of The Chain Gang Of 1974, that’s likely to change very soon. Based on last night’s Toronto show at The Phoenix, they’ve got a big future.

Sandwiched between the exceedingly earnest (and exceedingly fresh-faced) White Arrows and New Zealand’s The Naked and Famous, Chain Gang were almost anachronistic. White Arrows sound a bit like The Strokes with a more sunny-California, reggae quality; while they weren’t exactly my cup of tea, they were so obviously thrilled to be on stage, it was fun to watch them. They made their own tie-dyed T-shirts for the merch table and singer Mickey Schiff encouraged everyone to “come talk to us after the show; we’ll be around all night.” It was quite sweet and endearing. I’m sure that The Naked and Famous played a great set, but I didn’t stick around to see it (no offense, guys and gals).

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Catching Up With The Chain Gang Of 1974

By Less Lee Moore

Photo © Taylor Boylston

Wayward Fire is the latest album from The Chain Gang of 1974, which is the brainchild of singer/songwriter/musician Kamtin Mohager. It’s an eclectic, intriguing, and downright addictive mix of influences and styles with some of the catchiest songs you’re likely to hear this year. (Read our review here.) I caught up with Kamtin when he was en route from the West to the East coast for the band’s upcoming tour dates with The Naked and Famous.
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Craig Wedren, WAND

By Ben Sullivan

Craig Wedren has patiently, tastefully, and with seeming ease produced one of this year’s strongest albums in WAND, and I’d like to dispense with any scant appeals to critical distance or reportorial objectivity and simply enthuse about it.

In our cultural moment of diminishing attention and mile-long listening queues, WAND‘s 16 songs have me enthralled and inspired (and my last.fm account will testify to this). From the ringing Andrew Bird-isms of “Fall In” to the liminal bedroom contours of “Lady Ghost” and all points in between, I have retraced the album’s swift 48 minutes from their immediate impact—like hearing Wedren’s importunate falsetto for the first time—to the warm blanket of familiarity.
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Buck Owens, Bound For Bakersfield

By Melissa B.

A couple of months ago, I bought a compilation album of old country music artists because the first track listed was by Buck Owens. The song “Rhythm and Booze” was unlike any Buck I’d ever heard: jangling, frenetic, and rock and roll, all slinky and naughty. I was mystified, and not at all sure it was Owens. This was kind of amazing.

Imagine my delight to find “Rhythm and Booze” on the brilliant collection of Buck Owens’ pre-Capitol Records demos Bound For Bakersfield. I can’t lie: I was freakishly excited to hear this CD and I am delighted to report that it has not disappointed. This is an often-surprising collection of songs written and recorded by a 21-year-old Buck Owens, who had not yet found the sound that would make him famous and define the “Bakersfield Sound.” However, there are little flashes here and there of the man and musician that Buck would become later in his recording career.
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True Blood: Music From The HBO Original Series, Volume 3

By Melissa B.

There are some songs so perfect for TV shows, that when I hear them, I wonder why on earth the producers haven’t picked them to be on the soundtrack. The producers of True Blood have so far not needed my help and have done an amazing job of choosing evocative and intriguing music that enhances the show. The songs on Volume 3, the latest soundtrack release, are in so many cases the perfect True Blood songs.
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Halloween Nation: Behind The Scenes Of America’s Fright Night, By Lesley Bannatyne