MORE SENSELESS ACTS OF BLOGGERY

Well, maybe it won’t. But it seems the more interesting new music releases I’ve come across in the last few months fit that description.

First there’s Tricot, a math-rock band from Japan who has released their second EP, Kabuku. The angular jazz chords and shifting time-signatures are kind of standard, but it’s the multi-layered vocals that help Tricot stand out, for my money.

Here’s the lead-off single, “Setsuyakuka”:



And then you have Korean band Jambinai, which combines traditional Korean folk instruments with post-rock, heavy metal and hip-hop. The result is surprisingly hypnotic and surreal.

Here’s the closing track from their second album, A Hermitage, out now:



To defy the laws of tradition,

This is dF

Since the previous installment of this series covered David Bowie’s final album, it’s only fitting we should follow that up with Post Pop Depression, Iggy Pop’s final album

Well, maybe. He’s suggested he will likely retire after this. If so, he’ll go out swinging.

What fans will make of it may depend in part on how they feel about (1) the rest of Iggy’s solo catalog (i.e. is it as good as Lust For Life?) and (2) Josh Homme, who is Iggy’s musical partner here, along with Dean Fertita (of Homme’s main band Queens Of The Stone Age) and Matt Helders (drummer for Arctic Monkeys). As such, musically it bears a slight resemblance to Queens Of The Stone Age and/or Homme’s various side projects or desert-jam sessions.

But it would be a mistake to call this a QOTSA album with Iggy as frontman. It’s much more than that. Musically it’s more reflective than heavy, the sound of a guy who gave his all for the rockinrolls and lived to tell the tale. Which pretty much sums up Iggy’s career.

And of course Iggy dominates the set as only Iggy can, with lyrics that range from languid and sentimental to sputtering rage and the occasional venture into self-aware goofiness. They’re not all classics but I think several tracks here hold up against even the best of his back catalog.

All up, it’s a solid and often spellbinding album. More importantly, it’s the sound of Iggy Pop doing what he’s always done – whatever he wants, and on his own terms.

Here’s one of the better tracks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THm7TIOK8ks&nohtml5=False



Slick as a senator’s statement,

This is dF

Or, “Rocket From The Tombs is legend”.

In certain circles, anyway. RFTT is one of the few bands where people are more likely to be more familiar with the bands that it spawned after breaking up (Pere Ubu and Dead Boys) than the original band itself. RFTT Mk 1 had a rep for being a fiery force of nature onstage, and their original lifespan was so short and sharp that they never made it into a recording studio. Bootlegs of their live shows circulated for years until they finally got a proper release in 2002.

Since then, RFTT has reconvened in various forms for three studio albums, the third of which – Black Record – is out now.

I missed the first two, partly because I didn't hear about them, and also because I’m one of those people who knew Dead Boys and Pere Ubu more than RFTT. I’ve been hipped to the new one, and I have to say I like it.

I will say it’s a little disappointing in that David Thomas and Craig Bell are the only original members left, so the line-up is not quite as impressive as the previous album, which included Cheetah Chrome and Richard Lloyd. On the other hand, there’s a lot to like here, including a killer version of “Sonic Reducer” (which may be better known via Dead Boys, but it was originally an RFTT song).

I can’t say how all this holds up to the previously released stuff, but on its own merits it’s reasonably solid.

Listen to the single.



Going bad,

This is dF

Band reunions seem to be an inevitable thing these days – possibly because there aren’t many “new” bands that are generating the same unique magic as bands that came together in the 60s, 70s and 80s, when the music business was a much different animal than what it is now.

Still, there are some bands you can’t imagine getting back together, if only because their split was so acrimonious. The Replacements come to mind. And also Violent Femmes.

Both bands have reunited in the last couple of years, although The ‘Mats have reportedly already broken up again (of course). The Femmes are still more or less together – Victor DeLorenzo did some reunion shows then quit, but Gordon Gano and Brian Ritchie have managed to keep it together enough to actually record an EP, which came out on Record Store Day.

It’s called Happy New Year. And it’s pretty good.

Try the title track.



“Pretty good” is of course a relative term – the Femmes are one of those bands who made one of the greatest and most influential debut albums of all time, then spent the rest of their career in its shadow – possibly deliberately, since Gano and Ritchie have said in interviews that they’d had no interest in doing the same record again.

Is the new EP as good as “Blister In The Sun” or “Add It Up”? Probably not. Is it better than most of Why Do The Birds Sing? An argument could be made (depending on whether you think that album is underrated or not).

But it does feature that trademark mix of angst and dark humor that the Femmes are remembered for.

If nothing else, it sports the best album cover I’ve seen so far this year. And finally we have another good alt.new year song to turn to during the holidays.

Good for / at nothing,

This is dF

MOTÖRHEAD ALERT: Motörhead is releasing a new Motörhead album by Motörhead.

Judging from the leadoff Motörhead single, it sounds a lot like Motörhead.



Motörhead: the most reliable name in rock.

PRODUCTION NOTE: It may sound like I’m making fun of Motörhead here. I’m not really. I’m a fan, and I respect the fact that Lemmy has never really messed with the formula after 40 years at the helm. Very few bands can get away with doing essentially the same thing for three albums, let alone 22.

A couple of interesting extra tidbits:

1. It’s got Brian May of Queen on one track.
2. It also has a cover of “Sympathy For The Devil” which was done at the request of WWE star Triple H.

The new album, Bad Magic, comes out August 28.

Get yr Motörhead running,

This is dF

The term “supergroup” may have commanded a kind of respect back in the days when it applied to any late 60s band that had Eric Clapton in it. These days, “supergroup” is the equivalent of a warning label – what sounds great on paper may not work well in practice. Sometimes you get something truly more than the sum of its parts (Traveling Wilburys, Audioslave, Them Crooked Vultures). Sometimes you get Bad English, Velvet Revolver and Chickenfoot. They may sell well, but how many people still listen to that first Asia album?

(There’s also a question of what counts as a supergroup – I’ve seen Journey, Bad Company, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Foo Fighters listed as supergroups, but I’m not sure they count. It’s probably a generational thing – for people my age, a supergroup should be comprised of members of other groups that are famous and successful enough on their own. Like Damn Yankees. Or Power Station. Or Temple Of The Dog or something.)

Anyway, all of this is to say that Sparks and Franz Ferdinand have teamed up for an album. Which may sound like an odd mix, but it’s actually not. Both have a knack for social observation that you can dance to. And … well, that’s good enough reason, isn’t it?

They’re calling themselves FFS (which is both an acronym and an in-joke), and the resulting album – which apparently has been in the works for years – is a lot more than FF simply serving as the Mael brothers’ backing band. Sometimes it sounds more Sparks than FF, and sometimes vice versa, and yet it all flows more or less seamlessly.

Take the lead-off track, which honestly would be at home on a new Sparks record or a new FF record.

Listen.



So on the whole, it works rather well, though with the usual caveat that some songs are a little stronger than others. Also, opinions will probably vary based on how you feel about both bands – I know people who dig Sparks but can't stand FF and vice versa, so who knows what they’ll make of this.

For myself, I’m a fan of both bands, and I’m digging it.

Paging Mr Delusional,

This is dF

You would think that the first great release of 2015 might be the new Sleater-Kinney album.

And it might well be. But I don’t have a copy of it yet.

I do however have the debut album from John Carpenter.

Yes, that John Carpenter.

Technically it’s not a debut album, since Carpenter has been releasing music for years via the soundtracks he composed for most of his films. But this is the first time he’s recorded music just for its own sake. According to Uncut, most of it was improvised along with his son Cody and Dan Davies (son of Dave, who worked with Carpenter on a couple of soundtracks) after staying up all night playing video games, until he realized they had about an hour’s worth of music done.

What you make of it will depend on three factors: (1) whether you like John Carpenter films, (2) whether you like the soundtrack music of John Carpenter films (besides Halloween), and (3) if yr enjoyment of soundtrack music depends on having seen the film it accompanies.

If you can't tick at least one of those boxes, then this probably isn’t for you.

For fans, the good news is that for the most part the music sounds exactly the way you’d expect a Carpenter album to sound – pulsing beats, 80s synths, and sinister overtones. It really does sound like a collection of themes for movies Carpenter hasn’t made yet – hence the title, John Carpenter’s Lost Themes (see what he did there?).

Listen to this. This could be straight off the Christine soundtrack.



I have to say, I dig it. But then I’m a fan of both Carpenter’s films and soundtracks. It’s not all great, and much of the greatness is fueled by nostalgia, but I’m 49, so I think I’m entitled.

If it helps, the album also comes with some remixes, although the only really interesting ones are the ones involving Zola Jesus (extra spooky) and JG Thirlwell (if John Carpenter scored The Venture Brothers …).

Turn out the lights,

This is dF

When I first came across The Bombay Royale, they reminded me a bit of the recent revival of Cambodia 60s rock, thanks to bands like Dengue Fever and Cambodian Space Project.

Which got me to wondering if either of those bands had any new music this year?

Dengue Fever doesn’t. But Cambodian Space Project does. It’s their third LP. And man, is it good.

It’s half covers and half original material, including the psychedelic title track.

Just listen to this.



Oh, and it was recorded in Detroit and produced by funk-guitar legend Dennis Coffey, who also plays on it.

If that doesn’t get you off, there’s nothing we can do for you.

Detroit Rock City,

This is dF

Leave it to Primus to do an album covering the entire soundtrack to Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory.

Some may be surprised to see Primus is still active. They were on hiatus for over a decade before their 2011 “comeback” album Green Naugahyde, which I confess I missed. I loved Primus in their heyday, but at the time I was skeptical of any band getting back together and trying to live up to their own legacy. Also, Antipop was admittedly not that good a note to go on hiatus. 

However, when I saw their new album in a music store in Stockholm, I was intrigued for two reasons: (1) the Willy Wonka film was as seminal to me as it has been for Les Claypool, and (2) Primus generally do very interesting cover versions of songs.

And by “interesting” I mean “twisted and bizarre”.

Suffice to say the album exceeds my expectations. Claypool bends the songs completely out of shape, but not to the point of making them unrecognizable. And the material suits both his musical style and his cartoonish drawl.

I think this track gives you a good idea of what to expect.



Primus has always been an acquired taste that was arguably most accessible with Tales From The Punchbowl, so I doubt this will win over the haters. But this is their best album since the underrated The Brown Album.

Or not. Anyway, it’s a late contender for Album Of The Year for me.

You can even eat the dishes,

This is dF

You probably know by now that U2 has a new album out. And odds are you already knew that because it suddenly appeared in your iTunes. Or, if you don’t have an iCloud account, you knew about it because of all the iCloud users going insane on Twitter about finding some f***ing new U2 album on their f***ing iTunes and how the f*** do I f****ing delete it and BTW what the f***ing f***, Apple?

I think the outrage is a little overdone, but I can see why people are annoyed. I admit I didn’t, at first – my first thought was, “It’s in the cloud – it’s only on yr device if you download it. Don’t want it? Just delete it. What’s the big deal?”

This is because my own iTunes account isn’t set for automatic downloads of purchased items. Many people do set their iDevices for auto download, which means an album they didn’t ask for just ate up some of their data plan and is now taking up valuable storage space on their iDevice. So I can see why that would bug people.

Many users are also bugged that Apple is sticking things in their iCloud account without at least asking first, which is also understandable – especially given recent revelations about iCloud’s security issues. It’s sort of like U2 sneaking into yr house and slipping their new album into yr record collection – or, for the auto download people, sticking it in the CD changer of yr stereo.

Of course, it seems a lot of the complaints are based on the premise that U2 fucking sucks and I don't want their fucking albums even for free, fuck you U2. Which suggests that they might object to it less if Apple had given them a free album by a band they actually like.

Anyway, the whole episode is a bit strange, as new album promotions go. Reportedly Apple, U2 and Universal were negotiating this for about a year. U2’s motivations are pretty obvious – Apple’s are less clear. According to Forbes, it’s probably a tactic to beef up iTunes (which saw music sales drop last year, due to more popular streaming services like Spotify and Pandora) and a way to promote Beats Music (the streaming music service Apple bought a few months ago).

Whatever Apple in mind, they clearly didn't really think it through in terms of how users would react to it. I guess you can look at it as an interesting consumer experiment in music distribution. Lesson learned: if you want to give away music online, ask first. I mean, the deal with U2 included a $100 million marketing campaign. Surely some of that money could have covered the cost of sending every iTunes user an email with a link to the album if they wanted to download it. The reaction probably would have been more favorable.

Of course, if they did it that way, then Tim Cook wouldn’t be able to say that Songs Of Innocence is the “largest album release in history” (on the grounds that Apple’s 500 million iTunes users “purchased” it). But Billboard has said it isn't playing along with that tactic.

And so much for that.

As for the actual album … is it any good?

I’ll let you know when I listen to it. I will say two things in advance:

1. I do like U2, but not all of their albums are great. That’s particularly true of their previous album No Line On The Horizon, IMO.

2. The preview tracks I heard on iTunes before I downloaded it weren’t very inspiring. But you can’t always tell with previews. And hey, free album.

Well, we’ll see. Stay tuned.

All that you can't leave behind, 

This is dF