Prawn - North Lynx

I've been distracted and distant
And I'm all out of ideas
The bees keep swarming around me
The sun starts running on empty

I guess you'd call New Jersey band Prawn emo. They've got all the hallmarks of that classic 90's emo sound; weeping guitars, slow melodic progression, confessional lyrics, etc. Where they differ a bit, in a great way, is the application of complicated sonic arrangements, strings, horns and an occasional Midwestern garage aesthetic that somehow offers a bit of edge, character, and polish to their music. I loved their 2014 release Kingfisher and I'm looking forward to their new album, Run, which is out in a couple weeks.

RIYL: Buffalo Tom, Signals Midwest, Pity Sex, Saves The Day

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Strange Relations - Say You

Say you want
Say you want
To cut me down
To cut me down
To size now

Here's another nice find from Tiny Engines: Minneapolis group Strange Relations. "Say You" is the lead single from their upcoming album Editorial You and it's dreamy, ethereal and catchy. The follow up "LIN" leans a bit more of the shoegaze side, and they both remind me a lot of that 4AD sound; Cranes, Cocteau Twins, Lush, Slowdive and the like.

RIYL: Slowdive, Cranes, Strange Ranger, Land of Talk

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Jeff Rosenstock - Pash Rash

I've been doing this for half my years;
I've been mouthing off in bars, trading shame for self-respect
My trajectory is crystal clear
I can see it in the stars that frame the shame above my neck
And the sky is always pitch black
When I sneak away, I only wanna come back and see your face, see your face again

Long Island's Jeff Rosenstock's 2016 album Worry is a beautiful garage-pop tribute to dorm rooms, DIY, breakups and a staggering variety of musical styles. "Pash Rash" is quick anthemic rock and perfect to pick you up as we close out the week and head into the weekend. The video is also a lot of fun.

RIYL: Fake Problems, Cayetana, Ted Leo, Signals Midwest

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Brand New - Can't Get It Out

We speak in tongues and start to teethe
Lift your voice and scrape your knees
Kids in love will plant a seed
Resurrect and start to breathe

Brand New's brand new album Science Fiction sounds like a throw back and I'm loving it. I saw them several years ago at ACL (Kerri was with me, but I doubt she remembers as she was fairly unimpressed with them) and I was impressed how they'd been able to keep their sound over the years. That's clear on tracks like today's Most Important and holds mostly true through the album. 

RIYL: Manchester Orchestra, Saves The Day, Tigers Jaw, Crica Survive

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Sebadoh - On Fire

My opinion could change today, 
but I'm responsible anyway
For second or third hand information
That complicates the complication
And I don't think before I speak
And I don't know how far my words reach
So wrong nearly every time,
that I'm sorry I speak my mind
If what I said was unkind

I got to thinking about Sebadoh the other day whilst listening to The Cribs' new album. In 1996 Sebadoh released my favorite of a series of terrific albums, Harmacy. There are several classic songs on it, but "On Fire" represents the best of that era to me.

RIYL: Build to Spill, Folk Implosion, Dinosaur Jr., Hüsker Dü  

Upcoming Shows