CDs:
Airbourne – Black Dog Barking CD (Roadrunner)
There’s something about the kind of potent rock & roll fury that Airbourne cranks out, all cylinders firing, that makes you want to chug a beer straight down your throat and punch the air as though it’d touched your wife inappropriately.
Alpine – A Is For Alpine CD (TNO/Turnout)
“The angular meets the angelic with Alpine, a Melbourne-based band of art-pop Aussies who have delivered one of the most original and eclectic albums of the year. A Is For Alpine melds the dual-harmonized, pixie-ish vocals of frontwomen and longtime friends Lou James and Phoebe Baker with brisk, scattered beats and some ridiculously inventive guitar play” – Direct Current Music
Baptist Generals – Jackleg Devotional To The Heart CD/LP+MP3 (Sub Pop)
The Denton, TX band, known for its haunting, claustrophobic take on drunken folk, needed ten full years to bare its hearts for this sophomore LP. The band’s vibraphones, guitarrons and ambient feedback combine like a mess of ventricles, aortas and veins.
Bazooka – Bazooka LP (Slovenly)
Bazooka is a severely crusty unit from Athens, Greece. Perhaps the most savage crew of the incredibly corrosive rock & roll scene that includes Acid Baby Jesus and Gay Anniversary, they have concocted an evil, grungy stomper of an album.
The Beach Boys – Live: The 50th Anniversary Tour 2xCD (Capitol)
Double-disc, 41-track live collection culled from the 50th anniversary reunion tour of The Beach Boys (Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks).
JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – Howl CD/LP (Bloodshot)
New release from Chicago’s modern soul band. Throughout Howl, the dark side of love and longing is explored by frontman JC Brooks’ starkly personal lyrics and the Uptown Sound’s willingness to bare all their influences and let the grooves fall where they may. A collective evolution has been made where influence meets experience, and this organic progression results in 11 songs that are more open than ever both in message and vibe.