I think they have six or more albums out at this point, but Sleaford Mods are new to me as of this year. Their latest album, Spare Ribs, is a lot of funky; slightly awkward, overly serious at times, too silly at others and generally easy to love but hard to categorize. There are quite a few good tracks on Spare Ribs, so it was a bit tough to pick one. I went with “Mork n Mindy” for a few reasons, not least of which is the terrific guest vocal performance by Billy Nomates. Her latest, especially “Petrol Fumes”, is great.
Black Country, New Road - Track X
Black Country, New Road (which I’ll shorten to BC,NR from here on out) made an impression on me right away. “Sunglasses” which is a crazy, cool song, popped up in one of my playlists and when I heard it I did a double-take and went right black and listened to it again. And then I texted it to a few friends and my brother. A good sign.
As far as I know, BC,NR didn’t have anything else out at the time but have released a few other singles and a short LP, For the last time, which arrived in early Feb. Here’s the deal, they don’t have a lot of music out, but what they do have is awesome and very well evolved. I read somewhere that they’ve been playing together for a while and that shows. They are a bit hard to pin down, but “jazz-infused garage punk” might work, though, as always, labels are a bit limiting. They’re good and today’s song, “Track X” is a good example of what they do well, mixing melody, a variety of instruments and a lot of frenetic creativity. It’s a little on the mellow side but serves as a nice intro. Give it a listen and then check out their other stuff.
Fun note: their name came from a random Wikipedia generator and their album cover was sourced from Unsplash. Nerds. :)
Tune-Yards - Look at Your Hands
Is this the first time we've had Tune-Yards on the Most Important? Looks like it is; that's surprising. Well, she (Merrill Garbus) has a new album out, I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life, and while it can be a hard listen at times, as it's both sonically and thematically confrontational (by design, I think), there are some good cuts. My favorite is "Look at Your Hands" which captures nicely all that Tune-Yards does really well.
RIYL: YACHT, Dirty Projectors, Animal Collective, Yeasayer, Tennis
Upcoming Shows
Field Music - Count It Up
I've been a little bit obsessed with Field Music lately. They have such a fun, quirky sound that hits all the right spots for me. If you've never heard them, I highly recommend checking out 2016's Commontime, particularly "Disappointed" and "The Noisy Days Are Over" - they're hard to explain or categorize, so just listen. Or, just jump into today's Most Important, a terrific new track with a solid message about Brexit.
RIYL: Of Montreal, Talking Heads, Neutral Milk Hotel, Islands, Dirty Projectors
Upcoming Shows
Club Night - Rally
This brief stubborn trek through the seasons
You're undeniably lost without a meaning
You were young once
Racing down to the edge of our house
Questioning it all
Club Night is another interesting band on Tiny Engine's growing roster. I'm not sure how to describe their music, maybe noisy experimental indie pop. Both their recent singles "Well" and today's Most Important, "Rally", sound a bit chaotic, with complex arrangements, frenetic vocals, and dense layers that somehow work really well together. I'm eager to hear more.
RIYL: Sugarcubes, Cocteau Twins, WHY?, tUnE-yArDs