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Andrew Bird, “Pathetique”

Bird Songs collects all three of Andrew Bird’s early records, when he was still recording as Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire. The first two records, Oh! The Grandeur! and Thrills, have a very old-timey feel, very similar to what the Squirrel Nut Zippers were making. The third record, The Swimming Hour, was really his breakthrough record, melding his older sensibility with more modern songwriting, with pretty special results. If you haven’t heard the records, this collection is a monster deal. If you, say, already have all three records and then pre-ordered this compilation without knowing what it was, it’s less of a bargain.

Witchcraft, “The Outcast”

Doom metal can sometimes just be code for “wants to be Black Sabbath”, and while that’s not such a bad thing, bands definitely have differing levels of skill at it. Sweden’s Witchcraft have been at it for a long time, and as a result, they’re pretty good at it. By the time they hit this album (2016’s Nucleus), the truth is that they’re actually channeling a whole lot of 70s rock and not just Sabbath. There are distinct notes of, say, Jethro Tull going on here.

Rockabye Baby!, “I Shot The Sheriff”

Oh god.

Mary Wells, “Bye Bye Baby”

MUCH BETTER

The Frames, “Headlong”

This is the only record I have from The Frames, and I have zero recollection of this band ever existing. I sometimes think Plexasaurus Rex is gaslighting me. At any rate, this DOES sound like something I would have picked up, and a little bit of research suggests that Steve Albini recorded this, which is another reason. I can’t judge the entire album (because I don’t remember ever listening to it), but this has a little bit of a vibe similar to the Wedding Present’s slower tunes. Not bad!

The Miracles, “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”

The vocal R&B band the Miracles are mostly known for launching the career of Smokey Robinson, but they had a long string of hits in their own right as well. I mean, this is basically irresistable.

Hammerhead, “Once Again…With Feeling”

Can I just re-iterate how delighted I am that Hammerhead got back together and recorded a bunch of new material? Coming across multiple Hammerhead records that I’d never heard before at once was such a delight. Listen to this! The urgency of the rhythm, the noisy grumbling of all the guitar and bass, the spacey breakdown, I’m just so happy.

The Fiery Furnaces, “South is Only a Home”

Brother and sister duo the Fiery Furnaces kind of epitomize a certain quirky, challenging strain of indie band. They’re restless, always searching for new sounds, and often end up being kind of difficult as a result. It’s all for good reasons, it’s not just experimentation for the sake of experimentation, but it does require some concentration to really pick up.

Mudhoney, “Magnolia Caboose Babyshit”

A lively instrumental from their debut self-titled LP, this is actually one of my favorite songs on the record. Not that I don’t love Mark Arm’s singing, but they’re just in and out on this one, getting the point across in a tidy 1:07. Great stuff.

Negativland, “Announcement”

You know what? We’re trying it again today!

Keep of Kalessin, “Dark Divinity”

Better! WE DID IT, FOLKS

All You Can Eat, “Family Matters”

Long forgotten Bay Area punk band, they put out a couple albums in the early 90s and then disappeared. I’d characterize their sound as, uh, early 90s Bay Area punk. It’s fine, I listened to a ton of these bands at this time and a lot of them were pretty undifferentiated. This band included.

Less Than Jake, “Bridge and Tunnel Authority”

This was a companion piece for Anthem, one of the best Less Than Jake records. They took a bunch of unused material from that record, polished it up, and released it as an extra album. And, honestly, there’s not really that much drop off between the two albums. As another set of tunes from their strongest period, it’s a welcome addition to the library.

fIREHOSE, “Sometimes”

I know I bang on the drum every time fIREHOSE comes up, but I don’t care: it’s such a shame that people didn’t seem to give them a fair shake after the Minutemen. This is such a good tune! This album is really good (If’n)! fIREHOSE’s first three albums are all flat-out great.

Mogwai, “Heard About You Last Night”

Compare this to the Radiohead track from yesterday. Yeah, both contemplative, almost meditative. Plenty of space in both compositions. But this one feels like it has a point, like it’s going somewhere, not just an unfocused noodle.

The True Loves, “Kabuki”

Soul band from beautiful Seattle, this was one of those occasional finds from when I found myself trapped in a vehicle without Bluetooth and heard something good on KEXP. (Specifically, a U-Haul I was driving from Kingston to Bainbridge Island.) It’s a delight, of course, and I wish I had some way other than just serendipity to find something like this. Oh well!

The Slackers, “And I Wonder?”

In my mind, The Question is my least favorite Slackers album. I’m not really sure at this point exactly why. I adored Redlight (it’s still one of my favorite ska records), and I was super geeked for the follow-up. And something about it didn’t quite sit right with me. And I just kind of didn’t listen to it much and filed it away. It’s not that I fell off the band, mind you. The next studio record, Wasted Days, is ALSO one of my favorite ska records. I still eagerly buy everything they put out, love a bunch of their records, have seen them multiple times…but I’ve never really gone back to try this album again. Just one of those blind spots. I should really fix that!

Pop Will Eat Itself, “Bulletproof!”

After the anarchic fun of Cure For Sanity, which got some popular attention particularly on dance floors, their followup (The Looks or the Lifestyle) came out the next year trying to cash in on the popularity. But while there was a surface similarity, it all felt kind of pro-forma. Lots of chanting, repetitive lyrics gestured at being anthems, but nothing really lands on the record, and it should really be ignored.