Lace Curtains

A Signed Piece Of Paper

Female Fantasy Records

Lace Curtains is the band of ex-Harlem member Michael Coomer. Whereas Harlem was modern garage rock, Lace’s album is much more pop, almost lounge-like, and absolutely made for late nights.  Lyrics, nice and terse, are about relationships, romantic and otherwise. The title comes from an old warning to girls being scouted at talent shows by Hollywood types who would encourage them to come to Hollywood to be a star. At the time, actors were contract players for studios. If the girls weren’t signed by a studio, they had very few options.

This easy listening pop is a good debut.  It goes down nice and easy, and is always sincere, never ironic. Let’s hope there is more to come from Coomer. 

https://www.facebook.com/LaceCurtains1

Andrea Weiss

Swearing At Motorists

While Laughing The Joker Tells The Truth

A Recordings

This is the first album since 2006’s Last Night Becomes This Morning, and the first for Anton Newcombe’s A Recordings.  Like that album and the ones before it, the Dayton, Ohio duo produced another good one, with the same minimalist instrumentation and droll lyrics about life and love.  Frontman Dave Doughman sounds as good as ever, his deep voice adding emphasis to the lyrics.

SAM have elements in them of other Dayton bands like The Breeders and Guided By Voices, but they always occupy their own space.  And what a space it is. This band is a lot of fun to listen to, especially on “I Likes Your Style,” the album’s best track.  Perfect for late night, early mornings, and quiet times at any time of the day.  https://www.facebook.com/swearingatmotorists

Andrea Weiss

Electronica

Ultramarine

Every Man and Woman Is A Star

Rough Trade

Lovely, beautiful, relaxing, calming and smooth sailing. These are some of the words that come to mind while listening to this album.  Made in the early 90s, before electronica was a genre, this reissue pointed toward fusion jazz and progressive rock and used both for its own sound. 

The original album came out in 1991 on Brainiak Records and then in expanded form in 1992 on Rough Trade.  This reissue adds four tracks that originally were a 1992 Peel Session, where the energy of the band shines through, and caps a fine debut.  This is a must hear for electronica fans and for those who want good music to chill to or to think. 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultramarine/356138807807022

And for a a very good short film using thew band's music, it's here:

http://everymanandwomanisastar.com

Andrea Weiss

Game Theroy

Game Theory

Blaze of Glory

Omnivore Recordings

They were young, punky, and had it even then. That is, flashes of brilliance even on their first full-length album. But in 1982, who knew how great Scott Miller really was? His confidence here shows you that he knew.

Blaze of Glory was the first album from Game Theory, and it is back in print after being out of it since the early 1980s.  The album includes many bonus tracks, outtakes, live cuts, and a few from Scott’s first band ALRN, all of which are every bit as good as Scott was later with GT.

From ALRN’s “Beach State Rocking,” to “Bad Year At UCLA,” from GT, there is a lot here to savor.  And there isn’t a bad track in the bunch, which is amazing for a debut. If you’re a Scott Miller fan, or are curious about what GT sounded like and, like me, can’t wait for the rest of the GT catalog to be reissued by Omnivore, then this is a natural, and a good starting point.

http://omnivorerecordings.com/music/blaze-of-glory/

Andrea Weiss

The New Pornographers

Brill Bruisers

Matador

The Pornographers at their most pop, with a hint of electronica for a modern touch, an ELO feel, with some of Sigue Sigue Sputnik ‘s Love Missile F11, and the Xanadu soundtrack for sweetness.

Pop in TNP’s case means their second album Electric Version, my favorite TNP album. Pop as opposed to the rock of Twin Cinema or Mass Romantic.  There are too many synths for that, and not as heavy as the latter two albums.

But BB isn’t lightweight by any means. Carl Newman has said in interviews that he was at a happy, contented place in his life, and he wanted BB to reflect that. And that is evident here, no matter who’s singing, or Dan’s Bejar quirkiness.  Neko Case and Kathryn Calder take star turns, especially Neko on Champions of Red Wine and Kathryn on Dancehall Domine, both very upbeat tracks.

At the end things turn poigant. You Tell Me Where is a tribute to Scott Miller, who was a big influence on Newman. I’ve thought for a long time that if anyone could take up where Scott left off, it would be Newman, and here he proves it. This track is very Scott-like, as we Miller fans would say, with Neko and Kathryn channeling Donnette Thayer, and Alison Levy, from Game Theory and the Loud Family respectively, while still sounding like themselves. The music is a combination of both GT and LF, making for a very heartfelt tribute.

Is this the album of the year?  With so many others in contention, like St Vincent and Spoon, time will tell, but my money’s on TNP.

https://www.facebook.com/thenewpornographers

Andrea Weiss

The Young

Chrome Cactus

Matador Records

This is a different sound than 2012’s Dub Egg.  It’s harder, darker, and wilder, musically and lyrically, but just as good. The sound on here, crunching, clanging, dirty guitars, with the singer sounding peeved about one thing or another, make for a trippy good time, as the band has not lost their psychedelic edge. If you loved Dub Egg as much as I did, give this album a chance, and it will grow on you. It did with me, and now I love this album. https://www.facebook.com/TH3.YOUNG

Andrea Weiss

Merchandise

After The End

4AD Records

At first glance, the apparent influences, the Smiths and U2 might make you shake your head:  how can they put those together.  But they can, and to me, you can add in some late period Roxy Music and the Psych Furs’ Talk, Talk, Talk.  What you have is a terrific debut, one that is very 80s, but also very modern, without being postmodern.

Their lyrics are much darker than Bono ever wrote, but not as dark as Morrisey.  They’re less jaded than what Richard Butler wrote, but still withering in their assessments of people and situations.  They’re a little decadent in the Roxy style, but not so much that they don’t care.  Their music helps itself equally to all of these bands, but in a very smart way. Too much slicing and dicing to call themselves clones of anything. 

This is why I like them so much.  They don’t pin themselves down in a time where it’s increasingly hard to sound like yourself against all that has gone before. But they are very much themselves, and that’s more than good enough for me.

 https://www.facebook.com/wmerchandise 

Andrea Weiss