Slipped Discs
Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd
Magnetic Fields - Distortion
Magnetic FieldsDistortion
Label: Nonesuch
Fuzzed-out and corrosive, MF’s alt-pop honky tonk bangs up against a rusted wall of sound. Misogyny, zombies and mistletoe figure in the swamp of serrated guitars and overloaded amps as lonely robots and goth girl groups play droll love songs and tales of romantic woe. Encased in metallic caverns, Distortion seduces with moody splendor.
• The Magnetic Fields Website • The Magnetic Fields WikiSuper Furry Animals - Hey Venus!
Super Furry AnimalsHey Venus!
Label: Rough Trade Records
Smug and subversive, cool and calculating the courageously contagious confections from Wales’ most excellent power-pop pranksters clears a well-constructed road between dazzling RASPBERRIES-era posture and cheeky 10 cc seizures. Sequined synths ply rhinestone riffs as the clownish FURRIES shine, combining post-modern playfulness with devilishly ironic nostalgia. SFA play Chicago’s Metro Feb 16.
• Super Furry Animals Website • Super Furry Animals WikiJoe Jackson - Rain
Joe JacksonRain
Label: Rykodisc
Despite a stripped-down sound of voice, piano, drums and bass, JACKSON nevertheless concocts an immaculate universe of sour sages and bittersweet sentimentalists. Sorrowful soliloquies brush against steely social indictments as Rain broods smoothly over classy jazz piano, fires up pounding Memphis soul and turns new wave sophisticated through cutting lyrics, clever irony and consummate razzle-dazzle. Joe is slated to play Milwaukee’s Pabst on April 21st.
• Joe Jackson Website • Joe Jackson WikiKate Nash - Made of Bricks
Kate NashMade of Bricks
Label: Geffen Records
Pulling no punches in her melodic bobbing and street savvy weaving, this cocky British bird is a sweet beat poet camouflaged as a flippant pop princess. The bold and brassy NASH grabs bohemian panache, adding jaunty piano and folky trip-hop to make Made a frank yet bubbly cabaret bursting with thrills and sport.
• Kate Nash Website • Kate Nash WikiEric Matthews - The Imagination Stage
Eric MatthewsThe Imagination Stage
Label: Empyrean
A bold, smoky-voiced balladeer sauntering through lonely harmonies, grand, sweeping themes and sentimental melodies - Matthews rolls out the big guns with casual gallantry crafting smoldering symphonic spaces and subtly blustery jazz for evocative philosophy at the Heartbreak Hotel. Enveloping the listener slowly, Matthews’ foggy phosphorescence attracts vagabond songs sprinkled among romantic temptations.
• Eric Matthews WebsiteLightspeed Champion - Falling Off the Lavender Bridge
Lightspeed ChampionFalling Off the Lavender Bridge
Label: Domino Records
Shining folk-soul pop washed in unabashed confession, acoustic fragments sprinkled over dreamy lyrics and warm, twangy arrangements - Champion’s charming inventiveness spins personable homespun theatrics that conjure honest and palatable feelings. An easy-chair and sunlit window, Bridge spans intimate inspirations and open invitations, mixing universal moods over laid-back grooves taking flight.
• Lightspeed Champion Website • Lightspeed Champion WikiFlowers Forever - Flowers Forever
Flowers ForeverFlowers Forever
Label: Team Love
Partying with a vengeance, Tilly and the Wall’s Derek Pressnall toss urgent and eclectic thought bombs for a monster block of wild-eyed vaudeville, sonic torpedoes and toreador flourishes. Shouting and soldiering righteously before bouncing along in unconditional whimsy, woozy brass circle sinister syncopation as gypsy sparks collide against prankster jams and shredded regalia.
• Flowers Forever WebsiteJason Collett - Here’s to Being Here
Jason CollettHere’s to Being Here
Label: Arts & Crafts
Friendly ambling narratives and slippery rhymes highlight a lyrically lubricated troubadour of sophisticated fictions. Here jumps a blues train that moans and sputters winding behind fickle hobo hearts while Collett’s rockin’ roots beats propel hip bohemia against the shuffling lilt of ghostly folk and the novel application of cock-eyed pop.
• Jason Collett Website • Jason Collett WikiYoav - Charmed & Strange
YoavCharmed & Strange
Label: Verve Forecast
Opening for Tori Amos, Yoav proved a versatile and electrifying performer. Layering sparse loops without ever becoming overcrowded, the agile and empathetic, Strange busks and bobs its diabolical ditties in ghostly echoes and tip toe tempos. An engrossing one man music machine, live or on disc Yoav slyly snaps, crackling with cosmic pop.
• Yoav Website • Yoav WikiDawn Landes - Fireproof
Dawn LandesFireproof
Label: Cooking Vinyl
New York based Kentucky native Landes tweaks conventions on her combustible Fireproof. Throwing odd instruments, pop afterthoughts and the occasional alt-rock muscle into her skewed waif folk, Dawn draws from both country and city sources. A recording engineer as well as singer-songwriter, Dawn’s refreshingly low key approach makes Fireproof, intimate, quirky and wonderfully brazen.
• Dawn Landes Website • Dawn Landes WikiDavid Saw - Broken Down Figure
David SawBroken Down Figure
Label: Iris Records
Tastefully melodic, Saw shines best at his simplest – quietly penetrating into the heart of the matter armed only with an acoustic guitar and a gentle voice that comforts as it questions and confides. Deceptively innocent, Broken rocks its wise lullabies in melancholy overtones, waltzing between introspective dramas, sage advice and patient romance.
• David Saw WebsiteHaale - No Ceiling
HaaleNo Ceiling
Label: Channel A Music
A paranormal panorama swimming in foreign palpitations and oceanic orchestration, Ceiling stretch and pulls, enchanting in dancing trances, Persian seductions and prog-pop pomp. New York born with Iranian roots, Haale incorporates her unique position between cultures in a mesmerizing maelstrom of ancient traditions and modern tastes, making transcedent music that stirs the soul.
• Haale Website • Haale WikiView More
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