"Stoned & Dethroned" - the Jesus & Mary Chain

1994. Blanco y Negro.

On first listen:

I used to have this album on CD back about the time it first came out but this is the first time I have listened to it on vinyl, not to mention the first time I've listened to it in years. I guess you could say it's the first time I've listened to it with educated ears. Those songs that stuck out the first time are still there sticking out and familiar: Hope Sandoval still sings and  hippy chicks want to shoot heroin and Shane MacGowan sings and you can still feel it in his voice and you want to drink along with him. Not as dense sonically, more folksy than shoegaze, but a more "mature" JMC album. Not my favorite album, but still a great rainy day record.

"Standing Alone" - White Wolf

1984. RCA.

On first listen:

Look at that cover...man it's got it all: A scary mouse..oh wait...that's a wolf..ok, a wolf head with a forked snake tongue. And like wings and some kinda lizard lady body or something. And a full moon. I bet that was some real satanic  "s" word. You know, back in the day.

"Brer Rabbit" - Gross Ghost

2012. Grip Tapes.

On first listen:

Fuzzy, garagey, and shoe-gazey indie pop from NC's triangle area. Like a more up beat Jesus & Mary Chain with touches of early R. E. M. and 90's Chapel Hill indie rock deities like Superchunk and Archers of Loaf. (It must be in the water.) Less Gang of Four stagger dance post wave than Mike Dillion's former band Spader and less Thurston Moore than their earlier recordings, a more focused and polished work. Very nice indeed.

"Crushes (the Covers Mixtape)" - Mates of State

2012. Polyvinyl Rec. Co.

On first Listen:

Q: Who puts out a limited to 1500 album with covers of Girls, the Mars Volta, Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Fleetwood Mac, Vashti Bunyan, Dear Nora, Daniel Johnston, and Belle & Sebastian?

A: Mates of State.

I love covers, not all covers, but a majority. To be honest, I would have bought this for the Belle & Sebastian cover alone, but there is some cool stuff here. This vinyl pressing was a Record Store Day release for this year, but the digital version has been out a couple of years. I like Mates of State, not the biggest fan by a long shot, but this bumped them up a little in my book.

"No Certain Night or Day" - Home Video

2006. Defend Records.

On first listen:

So the first thing that kind hits me it kinda sounds like M83 mixed down through the electro-pop album that Smashing Pumpkins did that most Smashing Pumpkins fans try to forget about. Maybe a little Depeche Mode atmosphere, maybe they took notes on Radiohead's more experimental / electronic albums. Nothing very aggressive, it's all very chill, like if Scissor Sisters took downers. Maybe a good late night background record.

"Beatle Country" - Charles River Valley Boys

1966. Elektra

On first listen:

There must be thousands of Beatles cover albums out there by now, but one from mid-career era Beatles sparked my interest by the title and what it suggest alone. The cover art didn't hurt either. If this were released today it would fall into the "Pickin' On..." series of tribute albums, so it is decidedly bluegrass not quite the country versions of these songs I was expecting. That it's bad either. Infact it's probably better, as the earlier Beatles songs tend to lend themselves more for the bounciness of bluegrass. Stand outs are "Norwegian Wood" because of the vocal harmonies and mandolin and "Yellow Submarine" which in this case is more of a "Yeller Submarine."  

"Ritual Union" - Little Dragon

2011. Peacefrog Records.

On first listen:

Hmmm...female vocals on lo-fi synth tracks. Sometimes it reminds me of a striped down New Order, but less European (even though the band is European). Other times it's like Prince. It also has hints of the early bedroom recordings of TV On the Radio and Le Tigre.  The B-side of the album was the stronger side to me.