Slipped Discs June 2019

Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd

Stef Chura

Stef Chura

Initial Thoughts

Summertime aside, June albums go dark this year. Emotional shade comes from posh goths COLLAPSING SCENERY’s cyber-shadowed love-letters, “Stress Positions,” soft-spoken gonzo-folkie TIM HEIDECKER’s, astute, white-boogie, “What the Brokenhearted Do…” and power-pop veterans SALT’s rainy, paisley thunder, “The Loneliness of Clouds.” Meanwhile, literal darkness parks beneath stalking indie-rocker STEF CHURA’s full-moon croons, “Midnight,” Americana foot-soldier JAKE XERXES FUSSELL’s roots boot-camp, “Out of Sight,” and astral-blasters PELICAN’s interplanetary anvil-splitters, “Nighttime Stories.”


Disc Reviews


Palehound - Black Friday

Palehound - Black Friday

Palehound

Album title: Black Friday
Record Label: Polyvinyl

United in jaunty indie-pop conjugation and earnest, burgeoning soul-searching, Palehound’s multi-tasking aspirations connect reflective second-guesses to thirsty curiosity where timid self-image tends tender envy with verbal caresses redressing fleshy blessings. Demonstrable confidence celebrating fragile valor through visceral descriptions hip to shared joys, the tangibly candid, “Friday,”  transforms humble, home-demo authenticity into sophisticated engagements balancing patient postmortem refrains alongside full-bodied rebuttals.

(884) Page Views

Palehound online:
WebsiteFacebookWiki


Purchase Black Friday on Amazon


Download Black Friday


Froth - Duress

Froth - Duress

Froth

Album title: Duress
Record Label: Wichita Recordings

Lacerated dashes crash pneumatic jags in effervescent post-rock shoe-gaze as, “Duress,” resets machine-pressed anomalies exploring microtonal drone-pop with tasty abrasive glazes and tart narcotic whispers coiled around stoic hypnosis. Engineered eeriness flows over Froth’s ominous somnambulists, liberating conflicted instincts tinged in methodical madness from mechanical hearts embracing industrial serenity. Froth along with Seattle heavyweights Versing play UW’s Terrace June 28th.

(915) Page Views

Froth online:
WebsiteFacebook

Download Duress from Amazon
Purchase Duress on Amazon



Dressy Bessy - Fast Faster Disaster

Dressy Bessy - Fast Faster Disaster

Dressy Bessy

Album title: Fast Faster Disaster
Record Label: Yep Roc

Armed to the teeth with svelte belters, double-shot taunts and slash-and-burn purrs, Dressy Bessy’s arresting endeavors spawn con-artist angels avenging club-house outcasts stripping pompous romps down to skin-tight skirmishes. Rabid doo-wop ballads trapping jagged scat-rap chit-chat, “Disaster,” matches fussy shrugs and feigned disdain to sweet-tart alt-rock cabaret, lusty tussles primed for devilish rebellions schooled in institutional foolishness and risk-free teases.

(824) Page Views

Dressy Bessy online:
WebsiteFacebookWiki

Download Fast Faster Disaster from Amazon
Purchase Fast Faster Disaster on Amazon



Mike Adams At His Honest Weight - There Is No Feeling Better

Mike Adams At His Honest Weight - There Is No Feeling Better

Mike Adams At His Honest Weight

Album title: There Is No Feeling Better
Record Label: Joyful Noise

Gentle intentions washed in romantic nostalgia and spun-dried with beat-driven finishes and hook-happy after-thoughts, “Feeling,” reels in love-sick folk-rock, adrift in half-forgiven bygones, soul-mate daydreams and self-indulgent sympathies.  Wrapped in casual harmonies, subtle bluster and spangled jangle, the exquisite MAAHHW riff on near-misses and forever-kisses to make persuasive vacations for world-weary peers; forward-facing escapes into trusted tropes and free-floating anecdotes.

(814) Page Views

Mike Adams At His Honest Weight online:
WebsiteFacebookWiki


Purchase There Is No Feeling Better on Amazon


Download There Is No Feeling Better


Mariee Sioux - Grief in Exile

Mariee Sioux - Grief in Exile

Mariee Sioux

Album title: Grief in Exile
Record Label: Night Bloom Records

Minstrel reminiscences quivering in glimmering intricacy, Sioux’s bewitching folk pitches pastoral allegories in cantering tempos, bird-call melodies and laced arrangements, tumbling somewhere between grazing fables and intimate myths. Flitting about in drum-less propulsion from supple wrists across finger-picked guitar, “Grief,” befriends darkness radiating calm, illuminating doubts and grounding fears, sprinkling discreet cheek-to-cheek incantations with courtly dormouse flourishes and unconditional kindness.

(802) Page Views

Mariee Sioux online:
WebsiteFacebookWiki


Purchase Grief in Exile on Amazon



French Vanilla - How Am I Not Myself?

French Vanilla - How Am I Not Myself?

French Vanilla

Album title: How Am I Not Myself?
Record Label: Danger Collective

Pogo-brash No Wave sax ricochets throughout, “Myself,” serving pumped punk-ska sabotage around unvarnished dance-friendly ear-benders bristling with testy intellect. Democratic rapscallions, French Vanilla packs people-backed politics into flash-mob mosh-pits, interpersonal dervishes slurping down street-savvy attitude where sweaty expressions, thrashy passion and hollered logic bounce around road-rage crusades fueled by funky grass-roots pursuits. Catch them Aug 10th at Milwaukee’s Back Room.

(817) Page Views

French Vanilla online:
WebsiteFacebook


Purchase How Am I Not Myself? on Amazon


Download How Am I Not Myself?


Final Thoughts

Countering the darkness, June offers hippie-jam space-rangers DIRE WOLVES trance-folk caravan, “Grow Towards the Light, rock stalwart KIRIN J. CALLINAN’s crafted theatrics, “Return to Center,” auto-modulators TENGGER’s absorbing cosmic floss, “Spiritual 2,” and ultra-smooth MATTSON 2’s jazz-infused soul-grooves, “Paradise.” Elsewhere, electro-pop glitterazzi HOT CHIP’s catwalk gala, “A Bath Full of Ecstasy,” alt-country chroniclers FRUIT BATS’ sunny-side highway symphonies, “Gold Past Life,” and savvy rabble-rouser MATTIEL’s cowpunk slam-dunks “Satis Factory,” keep things upbeat. Even Afro-Cuban psycho-fusionists DIVINO NINA’s woozy, sun-ripened, “Foam,” and synth-pop rhythmicist NAYTRONIX’s multi-tracked alchemy, “Air,” lighten our load.