A music blog trying to make great music (both new & old) known to a larger audience, by posting daily tracks and news. All this from the perspective of a Dutch biology student. Enjoy.
Arguably one of the best bands around right know. If they play slow and warm easy-riff tracks or the more high-tempo-ed explosive work, doesn't matter. They rock at it. Parquet Courts or whatever their name is these days, have had some milestones already, which is impressive considering their not so long career. The lyrics are crucial, the choice of sound intriguing. Always rough, never in-graspable. Sunbathing Animal is a punk album at one moment, the next it builds a one-riff neo-classic in 'Instant Dissassembly'. The album is rich in potential hits and for a band that produces quite a lot, that is another selling point. After this, nobody was able to convince me of anything other that this band is the real deal.
Parquet Courts - Sunbathing Animal, What's Your Rupture? Records.
Suddenly Death Grips is back, masters of the unexpected turns in their music, now this counts just as much for their career. The band quit and now they're back. With an instrumental album called ' Fashion Week'.
for today's pick, perhaps a bit of a random one. But i've been listening to their LP for the last week and it's sticking. I have no idea what the years in the track titles are referring to, perhaps famous sporting events? something with the olympics?
Anyway, I like the band's somewhat traditional style of punk music and I felt like sharing. Today's Pick:
So the real music season is in full effect. Great albums come raining down at a high rate, and I will onfortunately not be able to spot them all right away. But here is one I have been looking forward to for quite some time now. It's the new Wavves album, and a breakthrough is at hand. After being held in high regard on many blogs, this will have to prove if they can make the next step to the big festivals (for which they, by now, already have been confirmed).
I can already say, they absolutely can make this step, actually this should be one of the first acts on any festival program this year, if you ask me. When the first single of this album came out in December/January, it was already clear that they have made progress in their music. It all sounds a bit fuller, more intense, but also more synchronized. It's hard to put your finger on these kinds of differences, but something has happened in the last two or three years. And it is a positive change for sure.
This is the single I was talking about, and a very nice video to come with it:
Festival hit for sure. Done. Enough said.
Well, okay, maybe not. The singing is absolutely spot on, the voice of Nathan Williams has some edge to it. The guitarwork is catchy, but then again, also edgy. The lyrics are Nirvana-esque, among the best i've heard this year. There is much more to this band than meets the eye, or in this case the ear. The band has been compared to Nirvana on more than one occassion. For myself, I would not stop there, I hear some green day in there as well, just as some Arctic Monkeys on their earlier tracks. They mix up different styles and genres aswell. It does not all sound alike. A thing that happens a lot to bands in these kinds of genres.
Check this out:
or this:
It's not on spotify yet, so don't even bother trying. Spotify has yet again missed the boat, and is, to my honest opinion, still nowhere close to Youtube, as a medium for decent music. Perhaps this is a discussion for another time.
Back to the music, or the band. So they have some great tracks, is there still anything else to say? Well yes, this might not sound like the right statement for a alternative music blog, but these guys have the image of a real band. Drugs, fights within the band (has apparently happened) , and a trailer trash look, all helped create this raw image of a band that has yet to find their true identity. Or maybe they just have, with this album.
So to finalise, and I can be short about it, this is the best album in the Punk, Surf genre in a long long time. And probably one of the best albums of this year. Quite a statement in April.
Star Rating:
4.5/5
Enjoy and go check them out live. for example on Best Kept Secret Festival, in June, Hilvarenbeek, The Netherlands.
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