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Apr 8, 2024
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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Thanks for the lists! Have the Unhoused list cued up for later this morning. Out of curiosity, what platform/app/etc. are you using to build these?

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Terry Barr's avatar

No surprise: Kacey Musgraves' Deeper Well!

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Steve Goldberg's avatar

I was going to say this too! But all of her catalog as well....thanks for the impetus to do so, Terry!

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Terry Barr's avatar

You're welcome Steve!

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

No surprise indeed! Thank you again for hosting the Album of the Month meeting on Sunday! It was awesome to finally be able to make one.

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Terry Barr's avatar

So glad you were there, kevin!

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Yana Bostongirl's avatar

California Dreamin' - the vibe is something else - it completely transports the listener to a different time and place

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

100%

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Jack Roscoe's avatar

Currently delving into the complete catalogue of The Blue Aeroplanes - a mainstay of the Bristol (UK) art-new wave rock since the early 80s. Influential and distinctive. I saw them supporting REM in 1989 and hope to see them later this year in London. Here’s the complete: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0VkjrrHQ4h5cUQe2sLMi0j?si=Q_fWsPe3QaWIOr8xjcR7kQ&pi=e-ekm120-xR7-w Gig wise - go to see The Wedding Present on Friday night 🙏

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Right on! I'll bet it was a great show.

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Jack Roscoe's avatar

Amazing - and saw REM a few months later with Throwing Muses this time

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Wallytbm's avatar

Love The Blue Aeroplanes and they have released quite a bit of great music from their more arty earlier stuff to their more accessible music. An interesting tidbit of information is they have one member of the group who is a dancer Wojtec Dmochowski who happens to be the brother of Jedrjez who used to play in the mod band Tge V.I.P.'s - Jed also releases the fabulous record Stallions Of My Heart on Dan Treacy‘s Whaam! Record label - well worth searching for.

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Jack Roscoe's avatar

Thanks - did not know that 🙏

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Travis DeVore's avatar

Your playlist had me at INXS. Bought a Bags LP this weekend. Getting reading to read Alice Bag’s book.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I'm glad you liked it. I've been listening to 'Kick' quite a bit lately, and it just felt like a good opener.

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Abandoned Albums Podcast's avatar

The Call. ;)

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I hope this means what I think it means!

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Abandoned Albums Podcast's avatar

It does indeed... around 230p ET. It's REALLY good - I am biased, but even objectively speaking. New music WITH Michael Been's vocals.

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Rick Ellis's avatar

I've been tracking down tracks for an idea I have for a anthology collection and this track is one of my favorites right now. The demo version loses a bit of the vibrancy of the live, full-band version. But I absolutely love the song.

https://youtu.be/bGeNhEWNFxQ?si=vVBvx_elgyZObGXc

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Operation Plowshare's avatar

Fresh ear wax:

Midlife - Chorus. Once those songs get ear wax moving; the wax moves pretty good.

Four Tet - Three. Mood music.

Frances Chang -Psychedelic Anxiety. Dreamy.

Kim Gordon - The Collective. Kim always providing things that are just a little bit off.

Rosali - Bite Down. New to-me artist. Guitars and a bit of noise, my ear wax will be subjected to exploring more of Rosali’s discography.

Black Keys - Ohio Players. Attack and Release, Magic Potion, Rubber Factory, BlakRoc, Brothers: not meant to be in order of my favorites, but those are the records I return to in their catalog. Ohio Players one of their stronger ear wax movers vs their more recent efforts

Khruangbin - A La Sala. I assume Khruangbin translate to Ear Wax Noodlers in most language’s.

Mature ear wax:

Melody’s Echo Chamber - Unfold. Revisiting lists from 2022/23 sent me in MEC’s direction. Ear wax appears to be very happy. Four very good records to ‘splore if you haven’t before.

Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon + Mood Valiant. Lush. Delirious. Mind bending. Australia. Wear good headphones, your ear wax will thank you. New album in June.

Samsara Blues Experiment - Rock Hard in Concert. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit their catalog. Startle your ear wax with Long Distance Trip if you are looking for a proper record instead of live.

Kikagaku Moyo - Kumoyo Island + some shuffling. Saw these guys live in Denver on their retirement tour where they threw down a great set. Sad to see them go, but before they stopped touring they made sure we had 6 outstanding albums for us to celebrate with EAR WAX PARTIES 🎉.

LUMP - Animal - is one my favorite records of the 2020’s. LUMP - LUMP - ain’t too shabby in its own way. Laura Marling has 6 albums solo to add with these 2, i think that is a lot of ear wax movement if you haven’t tried any of these records out; a good place to start would be Animal.

Old ear wax:

Protomartyr - Ultimate Success Today turned into a spin through a couple of dozen tracks. There is a movement to most of their songs that tickles my ear wax in all the right ways.

Parquet Courts - I don’t need motivation to tune my ear wax to PC under any circumstances, but Matt Berenson gets the assist this week! https://open.substack.com/pub/mattberenson/p/in-praise-of-parquet-courts-and-a?r=ax9p1&utm_medium=ios

Tenacious D - Tenacious D. Ear Wax Pushups.

Nirvana - Nevermind. Smells like ear wax.

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Steve Goldberg's avatar

That's a lot of listening! Great stuff. I've also been playing the Mildlife (who I often type as Midlife too) album, and it's got such hypnotic grooves. I can see it making my best of list at year's end. Also been playing Black Keys and Four Tet as well. Haven't had a chance for the new Khruangbin yet. Hoping for some new Parquet Courts soon!

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Operation Plowshare's avatar

Sorry for the misspelling, great catch!

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Matt Bull's avatar

An immense list. That's tonight's plans sorted!

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

That's a ton of great records! Lots of new stuff for me to check out, so thank you for those as well. I listened to 'A La Sala' on Qobuz w/decent headphones, and it was just as fantastic as I'd hoped it was going to be!

P.S. Huge +1 to Matt's article. His newseltter is on my "never miss" list.

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Operation Plowshare's avatar

I upgraded headgear last year and moved to Apple Music after being with Tidal for a year and Spotify for years (Sony WH-1000XM5; although during the day usually have Shockz OpenRuns so I can hear our cats + bunny snore). Big difference in sound quality with both sets of ‘phones.

Haven’t tried Qobuz yet, but that is on the list for a trial at some point!

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I'm really enjoying it!

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Dave Purcell's avatar

Great playlist, as always. Did any of you see INXS live? I was fortunate to see them twice in the late 80s, once with The Del Fuegos opening and the other with PiL opening. They were fantastic live and Michael was such a mesmerizing, sexy front man.

My last week was about:

- Alejandro Escovedo's new record, Echo Dancing. That led me to revisit his entire catalog. While Al is a big influence on my writing and is never far from my stereo, it was fun to revisit his catalog in chronological order.

- A Mekons bender -- in similar fashion, I revisited most of their catalog in order. I also learned about a documentary from around 2012 that I have cued up. "Just not to be consumed by rock n' roll!"

- The Ghost Ranch Festival lineup was announced for northern New Mexico in September with the headliners being Lucinda Williams, Courtney Barnett, Mavis Staples, and Vance Joy. The festival was brilliant last year -- beautiful music and a relatively small crowd compared to most festivals in a gorgeous setting where Georgia O'Keeffee lived and produced most of her great work.

In checking out the lineup, I discovered some new-to-me artists including: DakhaBrakha, an intriguing band from Ukraine, and Nick Mulvey, a former member of Portico Quartet who went in a sort of Paul Simon/Graceland direction. I put together a quick playlist if anyone is interested:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5AR9OT4kLpOxf0SHEADYcR?si=lvVbM6cFREWHznDFV943Yw&pi=u-6iTmXJUDRdGX

Looking forward to everyone's recommendations. Have a great week!

-

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Apr 8, 2024
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Dave Purcell's avatar

Agree -- I've seen them twice and they were great both times.

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Senor Fix's avatar

Saw them at Radio City Music Hall.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I never got the chance to see them, but both of those bills sound fantastic! And thank you for the playlist!

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Senor Fix's avatar

Out the door, ready for the day, with your playlist loaded!

FROM THE CRATES: Deeeep dive into late 60' The Mothers / Zappa - from 'Freak Out!' to 'Weasels... Oof, ridiculously good!

NEWISH STUFF:

* The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis - S/T

Free-improv, rock infused jazz?!

* Lo Moon - I Wish You Way More Than Luck

Quality altrock a la Trashcan Sinatras.

* Pernice Brothers - Who Will You Believe

Absolutely worth the wait.

* Fabiana Palladino - S/T

80's hyperslick club flashback, in a good easy.

* Good Morning - Good Morning Seven

Lush... smart, chamber pop.

* Halo Maud - Celebrate

French, indie, dreampop.

* Newmoon - Temporary Light

Echoes, delays, shoegaze, oh my!

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Bjorn Brunsberg's avatar

I've only heard a few of these titles you've mentioned, so I'll have to check out the rest. Thanks for sharing!

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Matt Bull's avatar

Looks like an awesome list. Thanks for the recommendations!

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Steve Goldberg's avatar

Been listening to Lo Moon and Pernice this week as well! Both so good. I'm gonna have to check out the rest of your list.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

You had me at French Indie Pop!

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Stygi's avatar

"HYPER HOUSE" album by Biicla ✨ seriously hyperenergetic vibes https://open.spotify.com/album/2qrdKTn7a9aPNDPA0NGJVU?si=KGEw5BFESq6v6McpTC2nLw

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I'm here for it!

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Andres's avatar

Happy Monday(s)! 😉 I recently got Marcus King’s “El Dorado” on vinyl and I’ve been spinning it quite a lot these last few days!

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Listening to this as I type; I'm really liking the vibe here!

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Andres's avatar

Glad you dig! It’s so good isn’t it?

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Yes!

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Kim Nelson's avatar

INXS’ NEW SENSATION!! What a great way to start my day. Gonna keep the list playing through my morning sketch session.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Right on! I'm happy to hear it. :)

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Let's argue about these:

https://www.pandora.com/playlist/PL:208988575285381102:74638688

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

How am I supposed to argue against a playlist with both Pharcyde and Slayer on it?! That said, everyone knows that Jurassic 5's best song is "Red Hot." :)

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Andrew Smith's avatar

Top five for sure. J5 have so many great songs!

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miter's avatar

Listening to the new Khruangbin and Mt. Kimbie.

Love that Tobin Sprout tune! Had only ever heard the GBV version until now...

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

New Khruangbin is already marking it's spot on a bunch of year-end lists, I think...

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Steve Goldberg's avatar

Lots of new stuff this week, all excellent:

Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

Mildlife - Chorus

The Church - Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars

High Llamas - Hey Panda

Wye Oak - Shriek: Variations

Lo Moon - I Wish You Way More than Luck

Bruce Dickinson - The Mandrake Project

A bit eclectic, and I would have it no other way!

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I'm glad you liked the new one from The Church; I was happily usrprised by it. Was also really nice to hear everyone's take on 'Deeper Well' on Sunday!

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Dan Pal's avatar

New to my Top Ten this week of current songs:

Bodyguard - Beyonce

How 2 Dance - Kaiser Chiefs

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Matt Bull's avatar

Just shared my Recent and Decent playlist https://recentanddecent.substack.com/p/recent-and-decent-15 but I think I've mostly listened to Wild God by Nick Cave, Mary Boone by Vampire Weekend and a night time playlist I'm working on!

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Thanks for sharing your list here!

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Punit Thakkar's avatar

https://soundcloud.com/justin_meeks/i-heard-you-like-polyrhythms-virtual-riot

I Heard You Like Polyrhythms by Virtual Riot. A delightful arpeggio of twinkly sounds set to a bopping beat. Just can't stop listening to it!

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Sounds right up my alley!

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Benjamin Woodling's avatar

Hi Kevin. Country from Jack Guthrie's 'Oakie Boogie' to Lady B(eyoncé)'s 'Cowboy Carter.' Struggled through half of Elvis Costello's 2022 'A Boy Named If.' Sunday was sunshine and Super Furry Animals fun. Monday the world is round but the sky cannot decide what colour it wants to be at all so The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' is somehow fitting for this changeable weather. Thanks :)

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Hi Ben. Some great picks here! The sky here is undecided too. In the last week we've had everything from snow, to a monsoon, to beautiful t-short weather.

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Bob Tooker's avatar

Looking at old concert stubs and decided to listen to Joe Jackson this weekend. For me, Blaze of Glory is one of the best concept albums of all time. Although I guess it's not technically a concept album, but then again, maybe it is.

This is one of the most underrated albums of the '80s.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I'm not sure I've ever heard this one! Gonna change that ASAP.

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Bob Tooker's avatar

Please let me know what you think of the album. It falls in and out of my top 10 albums on a desert island list.

It also ranks in my top five of best concerts I've seen.

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Sean Patrick Little's avatar

Karmic Juggernaut's "Phantasmagoria."

They sound like King Crimson being fronted by Jon Anderson.

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jasonelambeth's avatar

Discovered Electrelane a couple weeks ago and haven’t stopped listening to their discography since. How did I miss this band!?

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Good question, but I did too! Listened to The Power Out yesterday, and am really liking it.

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jasonelambeth's avatar

Ohhh that makes me feel better that I am not the only one! I love their krautrock Stereolab vibes!!

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Tom Williams's avatar

Adore the song "Best Kept Secret" - need to revisit that whole album ASAP. Still heavily spinning the recent Waxahatchee and Hurray For The Riff Raff albums this week. Have also been binging Nina Simone's music - particularly Wild Is The Wind.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Best Kept Secret showed up in miy head, and for a few days never really left. I need to check the rest of the record out again too.

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Norman's avatar

Albums

Radiohead - OK computer

Robert Fripp and Brian Eno - No Pussyfooting

Then Comes Silence - Trickery

Ben Goldberg - Plague Diary Selections Vol.3

Three Dod Night - Harmony

Julian Lage - Love Hurts

The Black Keys - Ohio Players

The Veldt present their much-anticipated live session at Seattle's KEXP

Mzansi Jazz - Apple Jazz

Singles

Garth Hewitt - Where is the Land of Palestine

Star Collector - Feel It Comin' On

The Church - Realm of Minor Angels

Pull of Autumn - Beautiful Broken World

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Great list!

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Kenn Richards's avatar

I'm loving the Ederlezi LP. If you like records like Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra or Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, this will be familiar territory. It’s not a rehash. It indeed nods toward those records, but I think it’s solid on its own merits.

https://ederlezi.bandcamp.com/album/ederlezi

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

With a description like that, I'm all in. Thanks for the rec!

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Mark Nash's avatar

Wow thanks for this rec!! I do love me some Lee and Nancy and had a period of being quite into Gainsbourg and Birkin about a decade ago so this is intriguing and exciting. I’m liking what I’m hearing so far!

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Paco Jurado's avatar

Listening to Rob Luft's Dahab Days, love at first sight. Man, why didn't I know about Rob Luft?!

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Lou Tilsley's avatar

The new Libertines album - All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade. It’s been a really long time coming but definitely worth the wait!

Also, the new EP from Wilt is well worth a listen

https://open.spotify.com/album/3kmDFMtB0dcW12p62brgKG?si=fp2oSzSQQ0e7qTCipF1F4A

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Oh, I need to check both of these out!

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Bryan Padrick's avatar

'Open Soul', by Tomorrow's People. Originally released 1976 and re-released in 2017. Amazing jazz/soul/funk that you just know you've heard before. And anything by Khruangbin right now. They're mesmerising.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

They sure are!

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Pete Riddle's avatar

The sitar is not my usual cup of tea, but I picked this up for Bandcamp Friday and have really been enjoying it:

Two Improvisations by Joshua Massad & Dylan Aycock

https://joshuamassaddylanaycock.bandcamp.com/album/two-improvisations

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Not ususally my thing either, but now I'm curious to hear it!

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Thea Wood's avatar

Beyoncé’s “American Requiem” is on heavy rotation. It feels like Woodstock 2024.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I love it! You mentioned The Ruiners in a note earlier. They're new to me. Anywhere in particular you think I should start?

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Thea Wood's avatar

I’m gonna say start with their new release: https://open.spotify.com/album/5oq22XwPi7QyQpoy5lWe2P?si=1dvfMwT1TayldsE1CdDyuw

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Jamie Ward's avatar

Played so far this week:

Pig Eyes—S/T

Steve Roach—Structures From Silence

Darvaza—Ascending Into Perdition

Herman Chin Loy—Aquarius Dub

Rudimentary Peni—Death Church

Fluisteraars—De Kronieken Van Het Verdwenen Kasteel II: Nergana

Stereolab—Little Pieces of Stereolab

Darkthrone—Panzerfaust

Chubby and the Gang—Speed Kills

Hiroshi Yoshimura—Surround (as well as Green)

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Billy Cuthrell's avatar

Spotify - A heavy rotation of The Black Keys' catalog. 2019's "Let's Rock" is probably my favorite album by the band, but I dig most all of their work. Primus and A Perfect Circle since I just saw them with Pusifer Sunday night at the local amphitheater.

On my turntable - Still digging through a crate of albums I picked at an estate sale a few weeks back. Among the treasures are Wes Montgomery's Round Midnight and an album I had not seen/heard before from Papa John Creech that features Grace Slick, Jack Cassidy, Jerry Garcia, and others.

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Beth Lisogorsky's avatar

Larkin Poe did a really sweet, soulful cover of Shania Twain’s “Forever and Always” (yes I just said that) and also their “Bad Spell” / Maggie Rogers “Don’t forget me”

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I spent a lot of time today with the new Maggie Rogers record. It's incredible.

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Beth Lisogorsky's avatar

Have you heard her collaboration with Mumford and Sons? https://youtu.be/kOIToXn5Fww?feature=shared

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

I had not! Thanks for this!

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Mark Nash's avatar

Absolutely LOVE the inclusion of the Case Lang Veirs track on this week’s playlist. That album is just stunning and is extremely close to being a Desert Island Disc for me, with Behind The Armory also being one of my favorite songs of all time.

This week I’ve been enjoying the latest release by Still Corners which is delivering the goods in line with their last couple albums.

I’ve also been all over Real Power by Gossip which I recommended to you last week (I think). That’s shaping up to be a top ten for me this year.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

You did! I really like it.

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Justin Steiner's avatar

It's been a busy week and I haven't listened to as much as I wanted to, alas. I'm still working my way through Apr. 5 releases by Old 97s, Pernice Brothers, Vampire Weekend, and Phosphorescent.

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Kevin Alexander's avatar

Hate to add onto your plate, but this week saw another blitz of great releases as well!

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Justin Steiner's avatar

Trying my best. I also need to write about everything I was into from mid-February to the end of March.

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