Oh, aren't you the lucky ones? Over at The Line of Best Fit you can read my reviewof turntablist/sci-fi/surf rock crazy type James Pants' new album, cleverly titled James Pants.
You can also check out the revivalist alt-rock sounds of Woe, the new album from Londoners Wet Paint by clicking right here
Californian slackers/mystics The Donkeys have just released their second album Born With Stripes on the Dead Oceans record label. Over at The Line Of Best Fit you can read my review and check out the psychedelic artwork.....fried my brain, man.
Right, let's get straight down to business. If you want the perfect pop album for the summer months, then Oh Land is your woman.
Her eponymous second album isn't out until July here, but I think we all know how to find stuff on the internet, no? Over at The Line Of Best Fityou can read my review and ponder on just how right I am!
Where is it, you ask? Click on the big feature picture on the homepage, or here.
After the successful (in my humble opinion at least) e-mail interview with Papercuts, I've taken the step of graduating to phone interviews...and what a giant step I've taken!
I recently got the marvellous honour of speaking to Guillermo Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73, who turned out to be a wonderfully engaging gentleman! We spoke about his latest record The Only She Chapters, and managed to touch upon world events, studio recordings, collaborations and of course that lovely new album.
You can read the transatlantic chat over at The Line Of Best Fit, and next week you can read my review of the new record right here at 78sDW!
Fancy a bit of Gallic soft-pop? Well, French outfit Orwell have just released new album Continental, and as you might be aware by the construction of this intro that you can read all about it at The Line Of Best Fit.
As usual, you can take a leap of faith by clicking here!
There's been a lot of reviews recently for the reissues of Pearl Jam albums Vs and Vitalogy, and to my surprise even the more hipster end of the online press (hello, Pitchfork) have been rather kind in their reviews. I'll happily admit to being partial to a bit of Pearl Jam, and see those aforementioned records as the high points in a career that's still continuing.
I always thought it a bit harsh that you either had to like Nirvana or Pearl Jam - never both! - in the grunge wars of the early 1990s, and PJ were always seen as the commercial, money-grabbers to Kurt Cobain's more "real" band. Sure, Eddie Vedder was often prone to daft statements but I truly believe he was utterly sincere in his motives for forcing whatever direction his band went in - just look at their admirable attempts to hold the appalling Ticketmaster to account in the way they priced their ticket sales.
Vedder, I think, wanted Pearl Jam to be like The Who, Led Zeppelin and The Grateful Dead, all bands who had a desire for independence whilst being part of the music machine. Vs and Vitalogy, 18 and 17 years on, stand the test of time and are a testament to a band that was sticking two fingers up to both the media and, to an extent, some of their fans, refusing to buy into the commercialisation of a scene that would ultimately spawn the likes of the hateful Puddle Of Mudd, Staind and Limp Bizkit, albeit through genre offshoots.
Ok, so Pearl Jam aren't as good as they used to be, but from 1993 to 1996 they were a great band, and I remember staying up til 2am to listen to a live concert of theirs being broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and being exhilarated by the passion of the band. Below are two of my favourite Pearl Jam moments: first 'I Got Id', and then 'Corduroy'.
If gently unfolding psych rock is your thing, or you like the sound of mixing northern Englishness with west coast LA folkism, then head over to TLOBF to read the review of Ten Songs, the debut album from Yorkshire's Horse Guards Parade.
And before Colin Bell says anything, yes I do realise that I'm out of my comfort zone referencing Superman. But hey, all my knowledge comes from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.....
Here, pure remember that time The Morning Benders came ninth in my albums of the year list for 2010? Well, they're kind of back with a series of low-key covers of The Cardigans, Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon to name but three. It's a really lovely listen, and you can check it out below, via Soundcloud: Bedroom Covers by themorningbenders
