Like The Cure, but wish they were updated with a 2010-style beat? Then this album’s AotW is for you!
The sophomore album by this Chicago band, who are influenced by the likes of Wire and Television, is a home-run. There’s truly not a bad song on the album.
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Also recently released is the solo album by Brigid Dawson of the Oh Sees, with a band called the Mothers Network (a tip of the hat to Frank Zappa?). Titled Ballet of the Apes, it’s still indie folk, but I found myself more deeply entranced by this record than by anything by Oh Sees. “The Fool” felt a bit like Nirvana’s Pennyroyal Tea, bringing a modern psych vibe to a grunge sound. Carletta’s in Hats Again has a ’60s British psychedelia flavor. When My Day of the Crone Comes also feels very ’60s, but more like Donovan. The title track recalls Pink Floyd’s work with Syd.
The album is almost a tribute (in sound–these are all originals, no covers) to the acid-dropping days of the ’60s. Very cool.
Runner Up Album of the Week: Empty Country’s eponymous debut is a solid collection of smooth Americana.
