Mint Royale -

Five Songs, 7/21/2022

Posted on July 21, 2022 | Joshua Buergel

David Mead, “Girl on the Roof”

I picked up this record because it was produced by Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and…uh, yeah, you can tell. As Fountains of Wayne light, sure, why not? I have a limited appetite for this kind of pop rock, but hell, I can’t say anything bad about it either.

Skavoovie & the Epitones, “Cat Juice”

I can’t say for sure, but I believe that Skavoovie & the Epitones are the only band in the ol’ library featuring a euphonium. Skavoovie are one of my favorites from the third wave because the horns are so fat and up front, the tunes are bouncy, and while they’re not serious, they’re taking the music seriously. They also tend towards the more traditional sounds of ska rather than a ska-punk hybrid, which has always appealed to me more. Of the three albums, the first two are my favorites, with Ripe probably the pick of the litter.

Five Songs, 10/7/2020

Posted on October 7, 2020 | Joshua Buergel

Czarface & Ghostface Killah, “Back At Ringside”

Czarface is Inspectah Deck, 7L, and Esoteric, making the sort of superhero/villain inspired hip-hop that MF Doom and Ghostface used to make. So, of course, they have teamed up with both Doom and Ghostface, which makes all the sense in the world. Ghostface managed to outshine the other folks on this album, but it’s still kind of a fun romp.

The Olympians, “Sirens of Jupiter”

The Olympians are a Daptone act featuring a remixed set of the same kind of usual suspects, with members of the Dap-Kings and Menahan Street Band, among others. They’ve put out just one album thus far, and it’s a fine slab of instrumental soul, if not at all groundbreaking. If you need more of that Daptone sound, you can certainly do a lot worse.