Here is another 5 Songs for your listening pleasure.
Low Culture
Nothing beats an old comfortable chair. You can sit in other chairs and they’ll treat you right, but you always go back to the comfortable one. I have a chair like this in my house. It’s way old, a bit tattered, and you can feel a couple of the springs when you sit in it, but man, when you need to relax it always does the trick. Punk rock is like the old comfortable chair. I can go far away from it, listening to music on the opposite end of the spectrum, but when I hear a good punk rock song, it’s like being back in the comfortable chair. When I heard Low Culture for the first time today, I was back in the comfortable chair. Low Culture just released their debut LP (vinyl only for now) Screens on Dirtnap. The band is made up of members of The Marked Men and Shang-A-Lang. The title track below is a great punk rock song. It’s quick, it’s tight, it’s kind of grimey–not over-produced. Hear for yourself, then hurry over to Dirtnap’s store and get you a copy of the LP, they only pressed a few hundred, or you can wait until the digital version is released on January 9th. Enjoy.
Low Culture – Screens from Screens (2012/2013)
5 Songs Vol. 2
Here is today’s 5 Songs. Enjoy
Todd’s Favorites of 2012
Here are the albums that pleased me the most in 2012. Followed by a mix of my favorite songs from each album.
1. Ty Segall & White Fence – Hair
2. Mac DeMarco – 2
3. The Fresh & Onlys – Long Slow Dance
4. The Limiñanas – Crystal Anis
5. Allah-Las – s/t
6. Monster Rally & RUMTUM – Coasting EP
7. Thee Oh Sees – Putrifiers II
8. Beach House – Bloom
9. Tame Impala – Lonerism
10. The Super Vacations – Heater Pt. II
11. Divine Fits – A Thing Called Divine Fits
12. The People’s Temple – More For The Masses
13. Ty Segall – Twins
14. Japandroids – Celebration Rock
15. Marco Benevento – TigerFace
5 Songs Vol. 1
I drive about 2 hours to and from work everyday. The drive is a drag, but it gives me the opportunity to listen to lots of music. I had the thought while driving home today, why not pick my 5 favorite songs from the daily commute, put them in a Spotify playlist, and share the mix with you? Enjoy.
Invisible Hand
There is nothing better than coming across a band that completely takes you by surprise the moment you click (or push) play. Charlottesville, VA’s Invisible Hand did just that. Their album was sent to me in October from one of my new favorite labels, Funny/Not Funny. It took me until November to finally load it up and listen to it. I had no idea what to expect, I had never heard of or read about this band before. Right from the beginning bass line and drumming of “Eating Out”, the first song on their new EP Aja, I was hooked. Aja is full of pop hooks, vocal harmonies, and complicated rhythms- everything that makes a good pop record. Check out the two songs below, I hope you are as pleasantly surprised as I was.
Daphni
Daphni is the new project of Caribou’s Dan Snaith. JIALONG (JOW-long), his debut release as Daphni, is out now on Merge Records.
As Daphni, Dan set out to record a more spontaneous album, without the careful attention to detail that goes into a Caribou release. The results are just as Snaith intended, a loose, spontaneous album perfect for the dance floor. Enjoy.
Daphni – Ye Ye from JIALONG (2012)
Daphni – Pairs from JIALONG (2012)
Mark Lanegan Band
I love Screaming Trees. One of my favorite concerts was seeing them with Poster Children back in 1993. They are one of those bands that I can go back to and never be disappointed.
Mark Lanegan, the former singer of Screaming Trees has always been busy releasing solid solo albums, even during his time with the Trees. Along with his solo work, he has released albums with former Belle & Sebastian member Isobel Campbell, and The Twilight Singers’ Greg Dulli under the name The Gutter Twins. His latest release, Blues Funeral, on 4AD is another notch on the “solid solo release” belt. The music is dark and powerful, and his voice is as smokey and gravely as ever. Have a listen to “The Grave Digger’s Song” below. Whether you were a fan of the Screaming Trees before or just hearing of Mark now, you will enjoy this song.
Mark Lanegan Band – The Grave Diggers Song from Blues Funeral (2012)
Peoples Temple
It’s probably obvious from most of my posts this year that I have been smitten by the resurgence of 60’s style garage and psych rock. Michigan’s own Peoples Temple (or The Peoples Temple) are no exception. Sounding like they traveled through time to the 21st century after wrapping up a summer tour in 1967 with Love. Peoples Temple recently released their second full length album, More For The Masses, with Hozac Records. We have two songs for your listening pleasure below, “Looter’s Game” and “Loose (Fire)”, both from their new album and both killer examples of their psyched out sound. Get comfortable and give these songs a listen. Enjoy.
Peoples Temple – Looters Game from More For The Masses (2012)
Peoples Temple – Loose (Fire) from More For The Masses (2012)
Mac DeMarco
Here is another great find from the Captured Tracks label, Mac DeMarco. Mac is out of Vancouver, British Colombia. He just released his first proper full length album, 2, back in October, and a 12 song EP called Rock and Roll Night Club earlier this spring. 2 is an excellent album, and I highly recommend it. The streaming track below, “My Kind of Woman”, from the album 2, with it’s jangly guitar and almost soft-spoken vocal delivery, is a great example of the entire album’s sound. Enjoy.