The Decemberists, “Mistral”

I wonder what’s next up for the Decemberists. The last three albums haven’t been very much like each other - The King is Dead is like R.E.M., What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World is like Hazards of Love but without a theme, and I’ll Be Your Girl is like a bad record. How will they mix it up next time?

Man or Astro-Man?, “DNI”

Man or Astro-Man? were insanely productive in the early to mid-90s, cranking out basically two albums a year before arriving on Touch and Go records, where the recording budgets got a little shinier but the sound remained the same. The productivity slowed a bit, they were only doing an album a year at this point, but these years are probably a little more reliable, so this record (the first of them) is probably a good starting point.

Forest Swords, “The Weight of Gold”

Always nice to heart from Forest Swords! I’d like to hear a new album from him, actually, although I suppose the wait between the first two albums is about what we’ve waited since the second album. So maybe soon! I’ve convinced myself!

Negativland, “Either Or”

True False, the 2019 record from Negativland, is something of a return home for them, although without some dearly departed members. It’s based around the same kind of collage work that they used on their biggest albums, and the sound is in the same vein as those records. For people like me who have been listening to them for decades, it’s comforting in a way to hear it. But, of course, as befits Negativland, it’s not wholly comforting, as the material on the record is mostly downer stuff around the media’s negative effects on the well-being of society and our own minds. As always, it’s a thoughtful record, and the world would be a better place if something like Negativland was more prominent.

The Roots, “Make My”

Geez, it’s been more than a decade since undun was released. Every now and again, I go look up a band that pops up on here and discover that there are albums they’ve released that I was unaware of. Always a treat! But alas, I was unable to manifest any new Roots records I didn’t already have. I’m sorry I failed you all.

Big Boi, “Apple of My Eye”

Oh, and I am aware of …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, I just realzed that that might not be clear.

The Minders, “Pass It Around”

Have I done the zalgofied text gag before? Feels like I have. Look folks, I ran out of material about a thousand of these ago. And it’s not like it was good material back then.

The Mono Men, “I’m Hangin'”

Just pure garage rock from the Mono Men, with a tune that closed their second album Wrecker!, although it comes to us courtesy of the comp Back To Mono! Yes, they used a lot of exclamation points. This record collects the first two Mono Men albums into one release, with some minor changes in track order, so it’s a solid pickup. You know, if people still bought CDs or anything. Because it’s not like any of this stuff is available on streaming. Unless you’re in my house. Come on over! We have garage rock and Chex Mix!

Ex Hex, “Hot and Cold”

There’s an extremely 80s feel to Ex Hex. I get a false sense memory of sitting in the back of Monza when we pick up the college radio station at Washington State University, and being intrigued by hearing something a little different from the usual classic rock.

Weezer, “Butterfly”

Where are we at on the “the only good Weezer album is Pinkerton” cycle? Seems like we’re due for a reaction to it at this point.

NoFX, “I Wanna Be Your Baby”

A misfire from this record, I just really don’t want to hear Fat Mike singing this, you know?

Unsteady, “Breaking Up”

A real treat! Unsteady put up a handful of unreleased tracks onto the web in 2001 or so, and I managed to grab them and hang onto them for forever. They never released a followup to their masterful Double or Nothing, so these four tracks are the only things we have. More than I think anybody else in the third wave, they’re the band that I wanted to hear more from. Alas.

Dr. Ring-Ding & The Senior Allstars, “Bad Company”

I wonder what the Junior Allstars sound like?

The Orb, “Close Encounters”

I think last time, we talked about ambient, and how it doesn’t always work that well for me. Well, let’s see if anything has changed, because we have ten minutes of it to listen to together! I’ll see you on the other side, if I’m still awake.

Death Grips, “Spikes”

What’s the opposite of ambient? Anyway, I’m awake now!

Polvo, “Bridesmaid Blues”

I just looked and realized that Cor-Crane Secret, the first Polvo album, is missing fromy my library. I’m not sure where it went, I absolutely had the CD back in the day. Lost? Never got ripped? Dropped on the floor during one of the library’s migrations from place to place? Who knows? But thanks to the magic of Bandcamp, I can replace it. And Shapes, which was also missing. It’s Polvo day here!

The Magnetic Fields, “Meaningless”

Pretty sure this is a repeat!

The National, “Afraid of Everyone”

This is also a repeat!

(That’s a lie, I just don’t want to figure out anything to say about the National. Don’t want to make people mad!)

La Gritona, “Jack Passion”

La Gritona were a noise rock band out of Boston, active in the second half of the 90s, who put out one album and some EPs before ending things. And they smoke, all heavy skronk and yelling, exactly the kind of stuff that’s up my alley. But I had no idea they existed, because by the time their album came out in 1997, I was out of college and slowly losing touch with music. Luckily, their entire catalog was compiled together into a re-release in 2010, where a postiive review brought it to my attention. And maybe this will bring them to someone else’s attention, because this stuff rules.

Nicole Willis & the Soul Investigators, “Light Years Ahead”

With the strings here, this is reading very “late Stax” to me, or perhaps Curtis Mayfield. Interestingly, it’s an era of soul that for the most part hasn’t seen as much of a revival as earlier Stax or Motown. I’m not sure why that is, exactly, although perhaps the lusher arrangements are just harder to put together for independent artists.

The Queers, “Drop The Attitude Fucker”

You first, the Queers!