What I Am Listening To - Sheer Mag

Sheer Mag are a four piece band from Philadelphia formed in 2014. They have released three proper albums - the most recent being 2024s Playing Favorites. But like so many bands, their most epic tracks are their early ones. 12 songs collected released over 3 EPs through 2015 and 2016 collected on one album in 2017. These originals undoubtedly send critics reaching for numerous 1970s band comparisons- Cheap Trick and Heart with their musical journey taking them from more AC/DC territory on 2019s A Distant Call to a way more radio friendly and varied sound on their latest. But the EPs are the masterpiece. At times, a viable heir to Thin Lizzy- irresistible hooks and garage rock thud with the charismatic Tina Halliday on vocals. Alternately they can pull in that very specific 70s pop sound. A bit Disco, a bit KISS, a bit Big Star, a bit Slade. I recommend the EP collection for “Worth the Tears” being possibly the most perfect rock ballad (albeit one that is powered by a killer cowbell). Surely, they could be on Mike Douglas or Dinah Shores’s TV shows. But yeah there’s also a point for the band’s debut opener “What You Want”. Big thumping drums. Guitar heroics and that wonderful frontwoman. Sheer Mag is for people who listen to KISS ironically and people who listen to KISS unironically. They surely are akin to female led punk bands like Shannon and the Clams but would be perfect for the guys who read Classic Rock magazine and complain real rock is dead. At once, recalling the garage and also recalling the arena. A balm then for many who are looking for the next Thin Lizzy, KISS, MC5, Skynyrd or Sleater Kinney.

What I Am Listening to: The Eyelids

The Eyelids are one of my favorite bands of recent years. I am not sure where I first heard them, perhaps on streaming, but it’s also possible I read about them first and decided to check them out. Reading about the band is impressive given they are a bit of a indie rock supergroup. In many ways, the majority of that is the hefty resume of drummer John Moen. Like Prarie Prince or Jim Keltner, Moen has played with many bands. His resume includes not only being the drummer for The Decemberists, but also Black Prairie, Robert Pollard’s project Boston Spaceships, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Heatmiser, Elliott Smith, the Minus Five and most notably the Dharma Bums. 

That Portland band always felt like an undiscovered gem. One of those Frontier Records label bands that deserved a bigger audience. Like so many of those legendary unheralded bands, Dharma Bums has lore too- the band whose concert was where Kurdt and Courtney met. Along with Moen, the other principal member is Chris Slusarenko. Chris played bass for Guided by Voices for a time, and appears on 2004s Half Smiles of the Decomposed. Slusarenko - also a member of Boston Spaceships- fronts the band. Jim Talstra on bass also comes from Dharma Bums, Jonathan Drews played guitar for the afore mentioned Boston Spaceships, and Victor Krummenacher adds another list of indie greats to the collective resume - founding and long time member of Camper Van Beethoven and Monks of Doom as well as associated artists of that band like Eugene Van Chadbourne and Cracker. 

They have been incredibly prolific even if they don’t seem to have gotten the attention they deserve. I believe they have released six albums in the last 10 years but their Allmusic profile is frustratingly incomplete. 2024’s No Jigsaw was their third album (plus an EP and a live album) in four years. It was also a double album with the second half being covers. Some famous - “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode, “Good Times Roll” by The Cars “Seven Seas” by Echo and the Bunnymen. Some more obscure like songs by Jean Paul Satre Experience, Big Dipper and the Straitjacket Fits. Mojo gave it four stars and REM and Big Star comparisons. 2017’s “or” may be their master work. 

Produced by Peter Buck, it truly is a great “lost album” for fans of college rock or the great power pop bands of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Jay Gonzalez of Drive By Truckers plays piano and organ, and Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven also guests. Although social media is full of negativity, I will likely remember for awhile that I turned someone on to this band who hadn’t heard them, and that is an incredibly cool thing. Maybe you will be next.

Album Review- Pixies- The Night The Zombies Came

The story of the Pixies has taken some unusual turns. 

For a long time, as many bands from the 80s and 90s decided to reform, they were a holdout. Now, in 2024, it's easier to think of bands that reformed than bands who didn't Yet, there seems to be little gain in reforming. In a best case scenario like Dinosaur Jr- they have put out solid album after solid album but still don't get a ton of attention. The Pixies may be the worst case scenario. If you want a comparison, maybe it's the Smashing Pumpkins. Key members are missing. The music doesn't stand up to the select small discography that had been for years, a gold standard for decades now. Yet, nothing stops the band from not only recording but being quite prolific. 

The first reunion album - 2014s Indie Cindy probably remains the most popular. It felt very “by the numbers” to try and recapture the old spirit. It was derided by many but still still remains the high point of Pixies 2.0. I haven't given up on the Pixies for two reasons. One is that their first four albums feel very different from each other and they bring that same spirit to the new releases. Surfer Rosa and Doolittle aren't that much different but Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde were varied in sound. Also the Frank Black discography was lengthy and often surprising. He wasn't resistant to releasing a dud album, but at any time, he might turn around and put out a great one. 

2016s Head Carrier is one of my favorite albums of the last 10 years. Critics and fans didn't particularly love it. NME and Mojo Magazine being the only places who gave it positive reviews. A detractor said it was as if the Pixies were just a “Pixies cover band”. But I disagree with the majority sentiment on this one. It does feel like a Pixies album to me and the addition of Paz Lenchantin I think brings a great new energy. 

2019s Beneath the Eyrie got the band's best reviews to date. It's hard to argue that it's not a better album musically but as the Pixies drew tighter, they lost some of their personality. I like the album okay and yet never really felt I truly connected with it. 2021s Doggerel continued the trend but with less effect. There are a couple of good songs that will fit nicely on a Pixies playlist but the album itself is the type to quickly to fade away from memory. 

With 2024s The Night the Zombies Came, the second incarnation of the band has released five albums which is as many as the original band did (or more if you don't include the 20 minute debut Come On Pilgrim as a full album). Lenchantin has left the band which probably makes sense as her career has shown her to be someone who needs more creative outlets than just side person in a band. Her place taken now by Emma Richardson of UK Blues rockers Band of Skulls. 2024s The Night the Zombies Came is probably helped by the fact that it has a horror theme to unify the album. In many ways, the band shift from the sound of the last two albums to a more measured move to capture that original Pixies sound. 

At this point, I think most early Pixies fan have moved on, but I don't have a problem accepting this as a subsequent album to Trompe Le Monde. It is a shock that for many years the Pixies topped those “which band would you like to see reform” polls - pristine and stuck in time. But inevitably have taken a path we attribute to The Rolling Stones- a constant recording and touring band that will churn out a new album every couple of years. Which may inevitably be their true legacy. Longtime fans may be long gone and these albums may be unheard. But even if they never reach those early career peaks, there is plenty to enjoy. Cheesy horror movies play well to surf guitar, energetic rhythm and Black Francis's lyrical style. 

It's easy to believe if this had been a Frank Black album it might be hailed as some kind of comeback. It also seems inevitable to describe the album in ways that it most likely have been better with input from Kim Deal. Yes, I feel I should have likely moved on from those discussions as a Deal-Francis reunion doesn't even have the chances of the proverbial snowball in hell. But Deal released an album that is just as exciting a mere 28 days later. Pixies 2.0 inevitably will be classified as "Black Francis backed by Santiago and Lovering" but this album gives me hope that there's still good music ahead.

Album Review- Peter Perrett- The Cleansing

I originally wrote this in December of 2024

Like most Americans, I know Peter Perrett from his Only Ones’s hit “Another Girl, Another Planet” a song which may be my favorite and appears on my most streamed songs lists every year (along with Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes and Throwing Muses’s Not Too Soon). Like Wreckless Eric’s “Whole Wide World”, “Another Girl..” is a timeless song, better than the best single of many storied bands; timeless in a way that it still pops up on motion picture soundtracks from time to time. Perrett is one of greatest characters in the James Dean style self- destructive rock mythology. “I always flirt with death…” starts his most famous song while he exudes a sexy shambolic swagger with band following. 

On the third and final album- 1981s Baby’s Got A Gun, he would sing “Why Don’t You Kill Yourself”. Those who may want to mythologize rock n roll excess will point out Johnny Thunders’s 1978 So Alone album which puts Thunders, Perrett, Phil Lynott and Steve Marriott on a cover of “Papa Rolling Stone” (Perrett can also be heard on background vocals on the Thunders classic “You Cant Put Your Arms Around a Memory”). Or how about the fact that Perrett’s girlfriend/Only Ones manager was with Bon Scott on the night he died. Or maybe that Keith Richards was in talks to produce his band in their early days. In the battle with excess, excess often won. 

Perrett popped up briefly in 1996 as a solo artist and then in 2004 with his sons and another erstwhile rock wannabe casualty Pete Doherty in BabyShambles. Perrett would reunite Only Ones for a few appearances in 2007 and 2009 but he largely remained a rock n roll casualty until 2017 How the West Was Won was released that year to much acclaim. I have to admit I wasn’t drawn in by the promotional singles of the time. Humanworld, the follow up appeared in 2019 

 Five years later, the much acclaimed third album The Cleansing has appeared with even more critical success and a knock out single in “I Wanna Go With Dignity” As that song implies, thoughts of death are in the air, but then again they always were. At twenty songs, it feels like a CD size length, and I wonder if most artists wouldn’t have cut 20 minutes, but it’s never a bad listen, and I wonder if I should revisit the other two recent albums. 

Not surprisingly, he occasionally wanders off weird directions- there’s a song called Secret Taliban Wife for example or a Richard Pryor reference on Set the House on Fire. Still. If you find these charming, there’s not too many of this kind of great rock n roll characters still around with Thunders, Stiv Bators, Joe Strummer and Mark E Smith gone. But there’s still a few wisened elder statesmen like Marianne Faithful, Ian Hunter, Graham Parker, and David Johansen around making music and Perrett joins that class here.

Album Review - Mick Harvey- Five Ways to Say Goodbye

Mick Harvey has slowly made his way near the top of the list of my favorite musicians. 

Harvey’s career is often overshadowed by his association with Nick Cave which lasted from Cave’s early days in the Boys Next Door to the Birthday Party and then the Bad Seeds up and including until Dig Lazarus Dig. He also among many other things, produced and played on Anita Lane’s solo records and was a member of Crime and the City Solution during their 80s heyday. He played on and co-produced PJ Harvey (no relation) on 2000s Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea and again on 2011’s Let England Shake. (He appears on four songs on 2016s Hope Six Demoliton Project). Harvey has as a solo artist recorded four songs of Serge Gainsbourg covers (the first two released in 1995 and 1997 and the second two in 2016 and 2017). These albums are fantastic. 

 In 2018, Harvey teamed with Christopher Richard Barker, a British singer/songwriter who also writes supernatural fiction they created an album about Edgar Bourchier- a fictional World War 1 soldier and poet. It’s the kind of concept that normally either works or doesn’t, but I think it’s a strong album. Then in 2023, Harvey paired with Mexican singer/filmmaker Amanda Acevedo for her musical debut. The pairing recorded an incredible album called Phantasmagoria in Blue. Which if these are all excluded (including film soundtrack and score work) puts at Mick Harvey at solo album # 5 (2024s Five Ways to Say Goodbye is then the first since 2013s Four (Acts of Love)) even if he hasn’t truly been idle.

 Although Harvey has written some great lyrics, these affairs are cover heavy. Mick’s formula seems to pick songs by some great and varied songwriters- Cave, PJ Harvey, Van Morrison, Guy Clark, Tim Buckley, Lee Hazlewood, the Saints and Emmylou Harris. That doesn’t change here. There’s a version of the much covered Neil Young’s “Like A Hurricane”. It’s a worthwhile addition though. 

One of the best moments is a cover of Marlene Dietrich’s “A Suitcase in Berlin” which given Harvey’s history is a perfect combination. Otherwise, the choices tend to be homage to great Australian acts- the Saints, Ed Kuepper, the late Triffids leader David McComb, indie rocker Lo Carmen and Bruno Adams led goth country peers Fatal Shore. “Demolition” from deep in the former Saints guitarist Kuepper’s catalog (found on his 2009 album “Outtakes and Rarities”) is another highlight. 

Original composition “When We Were Beautiful and Young” sits comfortably with the rest of the album’s vibe. It’s a tribute to Harvey’s ear that all of these elements blend together so perfectly into one work. 

 Australian gothic country is so overshadowed by Nick Cave- the most critically and commercially successful artist of the genre, in a way the Beatles or Cheap Trick loom over power pop, or the Big Fours own their respective genres of Metal and Grunge Rock. Even more so for Harvey who has been so closely associated with Cave. Still, new listeners shouldn’t worry about that. He has created his own sound and is one of the best to do it.

Album Review: Cheekface- It's Sorted

For some reason, probably age, I like to categorize music using the usual factors of geography, year and so on. 

I feel like in recent years, music is starting to transcend the rigid genre divisions in ways that it hadn’t previously. That said, I doubt I will change my mindset which is probably the human emotion of departmentalizing things. 

So when I think of SoCal trio Cheekface, I think of the first song of there’s I heard - the pop-punk 2022s “When Life Hands You Problems” and immediately I categorize them with bands like Green Day and Blink 182 and though they are LA based, they seem the next in a lineage of Lookout (San Francisco) Records and Cargo (San Diego) Records. 

After hearing that particular song and moving onto their other output, it’s probably better to lump them with the sing-talk bands of today- Yard Act, Wet Leg, Dry Cleaning, Sleaford Mods and so on. In fact, in the same song, Cheekface can start out with the aloof, detached haughtiness of Yard Act and then end up in goofy Jonathan Richman style territory a la Bug Club. 

 Music has changed over the years and so it’s all Reddit, YouTube and Streaming and Anthony Fantano (surely the closest thing to Robert Christgau in 2024). Allmusic doesn’t even have a Cheekface entry even though they have millions of streams and vinyl available through Bandcamp. 

Interestingly, as I checked out online reviews, there is one band that pops up on comparison more than any other and I didn’t expect it and that’s They Might Be Giants. Paste says about the new album “slinging songs about late capitalism and social anxiety, and (none of their peers) can match the LA indie rock trio’s sheer winsome They-Might-Be-Giants goofiness. 

 New Noise says “Katz’s half-talking delivery (bringing to mind the deadpan wit of Cake or They Might Be Giants) perfectly sets the scene, while the music scuttles along, usually culminating in some of the most irresistibly catchy pop-rock choruses you could wish for.” 

Zerovu blog says it’s a lineage that begins with Young Fresh Fellows then goes to TMBG then Weezer before arriving at Cheekface. In any case, this band might be too quirky for some people but the combination of hooks and quirks has definitely found it an audience

Best Albums of 2024

As I usually do this time of year, please enjoy my list of Top 20 albums of 2024, which are all artists I featured last year.

Sam Barber- Restless Mind (Lockeland Records/ Atlantic) -21 year old releases 28 song debut album with as much ambition as early Zach Bryan with a similar set of talents too.

Brigitte Calls Me Baby- The Future Is On the Way Out (ATO) - I am going to tell my children this debut from Chicago based five piece is the Smiths.

The Bug Club - On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System (Sub Pop)- Quirky Welsh duo continue to thrill with their multi-genre influenced indie rock.

Zach Bryan- The Great American Bar Scene (Belting Bronco/Warner)- Bryan finally reaches his full potential making an album that gets played on country radio but in line with Springsteen mythos, even featuring the Boss himself.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds- Wild God (PIAS)- As if Ghosteen-era Nick Cave would meet pre-Ghosteen era Nick Cave and they made a record.

Cheekface - It's Sorted (Cheekface)- Somehow pulling from the slacker pop of Jonathan Richman and Steven Malkmus and quirky alternative like the B-52s and Devo to make music that is somehow both and also neither Blink-182 style Pop-Punk and modern day Crank Wave.

Decemberists- As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again (YABB)- With a six year hiatus, Colin Meloy returns with an album that pulls from all of the eras from the band from the bookish, 19th century-obsessed quirky folk of the early albums and the melodic prog rock-loving straight forward Americana of recent years.

Mick Harvey- Five Ways to Say Goodbye (Mute)- The first "solo" album in a decade from the hardly idle Harvey is a fantastic curation of mostly covers that fit well into his catalog.

Libertines All Quiet on the Eastern Esplenade (Casablanca/Republic/EMI) Surprising fourth album is a fan favorite from Barat and Doherty’s gang.

NewDad- Madra (Atlantic/Fair Youth) - Long awaited debut from Irish band that blends shoegaze and indie pop in the ways those great groups of the 1990s often did.

Old 97's-American Primitive (ATO)- As the title implies, the Old 97's keep it pretty raw here, and continue their streak of great albums.

Peter Perrett- The Cleansing (Domino) - Third solo album from the other side of a career that started with the glorious self-destructive leader of the Only Ones still with the qualities that made him so compelling with the gravitas of approaching the final years.

Real Estate - Daniel (Domino) - Sixth album from one of the great bands of that made their recorded debut in the same magical "indie rock" era with Passion Pit, Florence and the Machine and Titus Andronicus, still going strong mixing surf sounds, jangly guitars and dream pop.

Charlie Risso -Alive (T3) Hugo Race produced Chanteuse from London via Genoa delivers cinematic third album that deserves to be heard.

Still Corners -Dream Talk (Wrecking Light) - Dreams are the theme on the sixth album from long time neo-psych ethereal pop UK/US duo.

Swami and the Bed Of Nails- All Of This Awaits You (Swami)- Out of the sadness of losing friend Rick Froberg, John Reis gives us this immensely enjoyable songs about things as diverse as condiments, Banana peels and Harbor Freight tools. Suck it, writer's block.

The The- Ensoulment (Cineola/Earmusic) -For a brief moment, Matt Johnson and Warne Livesay team up again and capture some of that Infected/Mind Bomb magic.

Tindersticks - Soft Tissue- (City Slang) - Album # 14 is a short one but contains the elements like Stuart Staples's soulful voice to add some excellent new songs to their lengthy catalogue.

Vacations- No Place Like Home (Nettwerk/No Fun) -Third album from Australian indie poppers bridges classic college rock and millennial pop influence.

X- Smoke & Fiction (Fat Possum)- Much heralded final album from legendary band gives us what we want- Billy's fantastic guitar, DJ's thump and those wonderful harmonies with lyrics that look back at their career, leaving us wanting more even if all we get might be solo work.

Album Review- The Cure- Songs of a Lost World

Listening to the Cure as a teenager was life changing for me. 

While I always loved the new wave bands that made it to radio, my musical journey took a significant change in routes. The Cure hit the kind of commercial and artistic heights that few bands can achieve with 1989s Disintegration and 1992s Wish. Over 30 years later, it's not surprising these achievements overshadow everything else. Contemporary fans may have had a hard time realizing this at the time, but everything is possible when you are young, and if we are being honest, rock was still new. The U2 or REM (or Beatles-Stones) conundrum is real. Continue to churn out albums that are pale imitation of predecessors or break up and keep the legacy intact? 

The Cure chose to continue. The band's trajectory was unusual though. By the time they had mainstream radio play, they had been around 15 years- a string of iconic singles compiled in 1986 for Standing on a Beach. In my mind the preceding albums 1985s The Head on the Door and 1987s Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me are every bit as great as the more well known two that followed. And that's my opinion. 

Heck- those early Cure albums (along with their compatriot Siouxsie and the Banshees) essentially created genres that followed and are considered cult classics. Even the debut of Three Imaginary Boys (resequenced and released in the US as Boys Don't Cry) is shockingly timeless and likely more regarded now than it was 30 years ago. 

But following their peak, the Cure could never quite find that next great recipe. It's funny that at the time, Disintegration was considered an instant classic and Wish was weirdly upbeat for a band known for depressive songs. I think most Cure fans have come around to Wish, but subsequent albums are largely unloved. I have a soft spot for 1996s Wild Mood Swings which strived to do what it said on the cover- jumping styles and emotions. It feels overlong (though it's surprisingly shorter than Wish) and maybe a more selective edit could have saved it. 

The Cure strives to advertise 2000s Bloodflowers as the final chapter of a trilogy of classic albums with Pornography and Disintegration. Try as I might though, I never found much to like about the album. Reviews varied and though it had the traditional sound, it was to some ears, uninspired. 

In 2004, the band tried something new that sounded intriguing on paper, working with Ross Robinson who had produced the biggest Nu Metal albums of all time, working with Limp Bizkit, Korn and Slipknot. 

That eponymous 12th album is better than its reputation with “The End of the World” worthy of inclusion on a greatest hits compilation, and in general, it's a pretty good end-to-end listen even if it doesn't break any kind of new ground. Which brings us to the last time we had a Cure album. 

It's hard to believe it was in 2008 when we got 4:13 Dream. While it has some fans, I found it, as many did, a fairly generic album that tried to recapture some past glories but is ultimately one of the worst albums of their career. Songs of A Lost World comes not only with much delay but also a ton of positive reviews out of the gate. The shock may be that it's as good as advertised. The 2024 version of The Cure has added Reeves Gabriel of Tin Machine on guitar (Of note, the band also re-added Roger O'Connell and Perry Bamonte who were major contributors to Disintegration and Wish respectively but had been jettisoned for the four piece outfit on 4:13 Wish). This feels like a cheap review but there does seem to be a lot of truth to the fact that Gabriels's guitar work is the element to make the band sound fresh. It's maybe even a little jarring upon initial listens, but in quick order, it feels like an important ingredient in the final product. It's also probably a bit unfair to the rhythm section too, who are equally captivating here. While from a quality control point of view, paring down to eight songs as opposed to 14 or 15 as the last two records, means we get the “all killer, no filler” vibe.

 I think some of the newness will wear off - a New York Post review calls it the Best Rock of the Album of the year- but it should also stand up. After a couple of decades or more of trying to recapture a sound, it seemed that everything just fell into place.

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Album Review: Tindersticks- Soft Tissue

Whenever I talk about the Tindersticks, I tell the same story. I listened to their 1993 debut and hated it. 

You can just look at it and see it is weird. Uneven song running times-:41, 4:00, 1:08, 6:03. 2:07. Weird often one word titles - “Nectar”, “Pt. 1” “Marbles” “Jism” “Piano Song” “Tyed”. Although it was similar in many ways to Nick Cave's work, it was even more cinematic, more orchestrated. It is fair to say now, bands like Lambchop, Belle and Sebastian and Portishead had not released their debut albums. 

 Hearing a single off of their second album (1995, originally an UK-only import) and hearing them through a more traditional 4 minute 51 song duet, I immediately got it. 1997s Curtains was the kind of indie gamble that bands could make then. The band brought in Isabella Rossellini and Ann Magnuson for duets. A mix of the band's strengths and a wider accessibility, it's a masterpiece of an album in my mind. 

 I have followed the band off and on ever since. They did have some detours - a hiatus between 2003 and 2007, lineup changes, soundtrack work and Stuart Staples's quite wonderful solo career. But for me, it really was 2019s No Treasure But Hope that reignited my passion for the band. It was heralded by the Critics. Standout tracks like “The Amputees”, “See My Girls” and “Pinky in the Daylight” highlight an album as good as that early work. 

 The follow up 2021s Distractions was short at seven songs- three of which were covers, and though I don't rate it quite as high as its predecessor, undoubtedly is one of the albums that I listened to the most that year. I have similarly spent a lot of time with 2024s Soft Tissue. 

It's hard to believe its album 14 as the band sounds as fresh as only legendary acts do at this point in their career. It does have the monster earworm here in Always A Stranger and the similarly haunting Nancy. Turned My Back has a rousing chorus- the band always having a spiritual kinship to Nick Cave's Bad Seeds, but always retaining their own sound. New World- the song that opens and closes the album similarly with a R&B feel that is part of the many sounds that find their way into the band's resume. 

 Soft Tissue is a standout album for a band that at this point had a ridiculous amount of output but like Cave, somehow manage to keep it fresh.

Album Review: The Rifles- Love Your Neighbor

Out of that mid-aughts explosion of the (mostly British) “the” bands, the Rifles were one of my absolute favorites. Sitting aside in most critics minds with The Kooks, The Cribs, The Zutons, The Fratellis, The Wombats, The Rakes, The Ordinary Boys and the Libertines and the not “the” bands Razorlight, Arctic Monkeys and Maximo Park

On one hand, the band wore their influences on their sleeves like a few others- the Jam, the Kinks and the Buzzcocks. On the other hand, 2006s Ian Broudie produced debut album No Love Lost is a truly great album. Then of note, the follow up 2009s Great Escape was nearly as good. No sophomore slump there. 

The Rifles released three more albums in 2011, 2014 and 2016, and although I found the Magic gone, they all continued to chart in the UK. While so many bands fade away, the Rifles kept busy- an Unplugged album in 2017, a live album in 2020, and in 2023, frontman Joel Stoker released his solo debut. 

While a solo debut disc generally means curtains, in this case, it just seemed to create more buzz for the band and an upcoming album. 

 2024s Love Your Neighbor shows that the Rifles can still sound vital. Although I wouldn't personally rank it with their first two albums, I am shocked at how well it captures their sound and would imagine it would grab new listeners in a way most band's sixth albums could. They have evolved over the years more from that initial Jam sound to a more mature Kinks/Madness sound that is evident here. 

It is like those recent Madness albums - a “keep your chin up, every thing's going to be alright” album. Such bands have remained “Cult” in America and it's a shame the Rifles likely won't get played on American alternative radio or even something like Sirius XM's Pop Rocks channel as they have a great radio sound here.

 

Album Review: The Bug Club- On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System

I put “Bug Club Review” in a seach engine and these are some of the bands mentioned in some of the top results: Jonathan Richman, Violent Femmes, T Rex, Daniel Johnston, Moldy Peaches, the B-52s, the Modern Lovers , Cheekface, Dry Cleaning, Buzzcocks, AC/DC, The Fall, the Kinks, the Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, Velvet Underground, Bach, Half Man Half Biscuit, Lovely Eggs, Dr Feelgood, Tiny Tim, the Guess Who, the Beatles and the Strokes. 

I agree most with the Northern Transmissions blog- Bug Club have one leg in the so called “crank wave” movement - the UK post punk movement inspired by the Fall that include Yard Act, Dry Cleaning and Sleaford Mods, but they also could fit in the nerd rock world of Cheekface, Ween, and They Might Be Giants. 

 I fell in love with “Green Dream in F#” the 2022 full-length that came after two EPs. I have to admit that I thought that could be it. Last year, they released “Rare Birds: Hour of Song” and a live record of material from Mr Anyway's Holey Spirits (a band who opened on tour for the Bug Club, but were in fact, the Bug Club themselves) Now signed to Sub Pop, new album On the Intricate Inner Workings of the System is quite enjoyable. 

Songs like “We Don't Care About That” and “Quality Pints” bring the same formula and energy as before. I don't know that the Sub Pop deal has much influence but I do like this album quite a bit which has a similar feel to their debut and adds a little bit more fuzz with some catchy songs which makes it one of the more fun albums you will hear all year.

 

Album Review- BLITZVEGA- Northern Gentleman

I am a huge Smiths fan so it's no surprise that I have an interest in the late bassist Andy Rourke's career. Besides some amazing bass tracks on the Smiths discography, he appears on a few songs on Sinead OConner's “I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got”, the Pretenders “The Last of the Independents” and Ian Brown's “The World is Yours” 

 Rourke's relationship to Morrissey and Marr would end up being overshadowed by the post breakup lawsuits, initial 40-40-10-10 band split and Morrissey calling the rhythm section “spare lawnmower parts” and purposely misnaming them “Bruce (Foxton) and Rick (Buckler of the Jam). What's of interest is that Rourke was a major part of Morrissey's post- Smiths solo band prior to the rockabilly makeover and then addition of the co-writing team of Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte. And yes, this includes while lawsuits were going on. 

Rourke plays on seven of the 13 tracks on the Bona Drag compilation album including singles “Last of the Famous International Playboys” “Interesting Drug” and “November Spawned A Monster”. While in those early solo years while Moz was trying out creative partners, Rourke even co wrote two songs- the B-sides (but incredible songs) “Girl Least Likely To” and “Yes I Am Blind”.

A lot of Rourke's last day output seems a bit gimmicky. Most famously he was part of a group called Freebass- which released one album in 2010- and was on paper at least, a Spinal Tap-ish collection of Manchester's greatest bassists- Rourke, Peter Hook and Mani from the Stone Roses. He next formed a group with Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries and New York based DJ Ole Koretsky called DARK and they released an album in 2016. (O'Riordan's last record released in her lifetime) Rourke passed away in May of 2023 but had started another band in 2016 called Blitz Vega - which was a partnership with Kav Sandhu (who was the guitarist for the 2004 reunion lineup of the Happy Mondays). 

The band released the single “Strong Forever” in 2022 which featured Johnny Marr on guitar. It's been the closest thing to a Smiths reunion since Rourke and Joyce backed Aziz Ibriham circa 2001. The band's full length debut finally arrived in Fall of 2024 produced by DJ Z-Trip who has worked with Public Enemy, Meat Beat Manifesto and Beck. It always seems like “swan song” albums manage to sound special as if otherworldly forces bring out the best out of an artist. 

While I don't think it would have the same effect on everyone, it should resonate with Rourke fans. Like Johnny Marr's recent output (or his band with Bernard Sumner called Electronic) it's classic Britpop with strongly pronounced electronica and glam influences. That said, I feel like I am underselling the album a little bit which on paper sounds like a Wikipedia footnote, because like Marr's recent albums- it's a gem of the Britpop sound and holds up for repeated listens. 

Rourke never got around to touring because of the pandemic and had been working on the album for 8 years, but he left a gem of an album that is a real treat for his fans. 

 

Album Review: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Wild God

Perhaps there is no such thing as a bad Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album. 

 Looking back, his first four albums may be some of the weakest in his catalog, but sitting in 1992 when I first became a fan, it seems incredible that this is the case. They were so ahead of everything else. The band has been incredibly consistent to a label that only the best of the best achieve. 

What’s funny for me is that some of the albums that aren’t as highly regarded on lists are my favorite - Nocturama. Henry’s Dream, and No More Shall We Part. Like Dylan or Neil Young, I don’t think two people will rank the catalog in the same order. 

I don’t know if there is a 90s/00s album I don’t like. I probably listen to Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus least but it’s still a fantastic album with some great songs. The band’s sound changes on 2013s Push the Sky Away when longtime member Mick Harvey leaves the band. 

You can probably read up on the personnel.. and personal changes since then if you have not already. I really enjoy Push the Sky Away but it is my last of my favorite Cave albums. 

Now to be fair, this is my personal opinion. Others may say Cave got even better with a change in sound. The subject matter is clearly influenced by something deeper- his 15 year old son died in 2015 from a fall off a cliff. His 31 son Jethro died in 2022 and his long time partner Anita Lane died in 2021. 

2016s Skeleton Tree and 2019s Ghosteen are more ambient, using loops and less narrative storytelling. Universally loved, both are undeniably good albums, if not my favorites of the catalog. In 2021, Cave and Ellis released Carnage as its own album (both men have done quite a bit soundtrack work). Still widely praised, I find this easily the least of recent Cave albums in my estimation. 2024s Wild God feels like a mix of recent changes and the more usual signs of the band’s 1990s/2000s style.

 I don’t feel like Wild God is quite among the best album of Cave’s career as a recent Guardian review claimed. But like any long time artist like say Dylan, Costello or Waits, the quality is good but there might not be an element of surprise, so comparison is difficult. That said, I do think Wild God is particularly good. 

Not that the Bad Seeds haven’t had some surprise lineup additions (Cave acolyte and Gallon Drunk frontman James Johnston joining from 2003-2008, early Bad Seed Barry Adamson rejoining in 2013-2015 and the addition of tour support from drummer Toby Dammit (Iggy Pop, Swans) and Saints guitarist Ed Kuepper) but the fact that Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood has joined as a bit of an associate seems significant here. The piano ballad feel of much of the album reminds me a lot of The Good Son, The Boatman’s Call and The Lyre of Orpheus and while manic Nick Cave is still a preference, the slow introspective Goth songs do hit that part that caused me to fall in love with the band many years ago. 

“Oh Wow Oh Wow (How Wonderful she is)” a tribute to Lane is a standout track with an old voice mail playing over the end of the song is at once sad, uplifting and even silly (not in a bad way) depending on the mood of the listener. It’s opening line, I think is a stinker, but I can look past it. The title track has something of the epic of the defining album track following opener Song of the Lake which serves as introduction to the piece of art. It ends with As the Waters Covers the Sea- a proper curtain close as you might find on Murder Ballads, Let Love In or Tender Prey.