Swervedriver - I Wasn't Born To Lose You (2015, Cobraside) - a brief review

Swervedriver’s reunion is one of those rare rock and roll rekindlings that’s not the least bit questionable.   No need to ponder over the integrity of the singer guy's (Adam Franklin) vocals, nor should one be suspect about the group’s motives.  In fact, the only circumstance where you'll be paying three-figures a pop to see them perform is if they've attached themselves to a music festival.  Simply put, there's no acrimony between this band and their humble legion of hanger-oners , and despite the decade long layover once a Swervies fan, always a Swervies fan.

I was absolutely besotted with their debut Raise, when it dropped in 1991.  A seemingly effortless (and perhaps unintentional) amalgam of ear-bleeding dream-pop rock, buttressed with grunge-worthy heaps of distortion that found this Oxford, UK quartet traipsing on the coattails of both disparate spheres in more than respectable fashion.  No question about it, Raise was a revelation - an often murky latticework of amped-out feedback, woozy pedal-ridden effects, and subrosa melodies.  Truth be told I pined for the guitarsy freak-outs of "Sandblasted" and "Son of Mustang Ford" to be remolded on subsequent Swervdriver albums.  That selfish “pining,” as it were, remains unfulfilled to this day, but even with the more noisome attributes tamped down, the band's sinewy and complex arrangements were retained on Mezcal Head, Ejector Seat Reservation, and 99th Dream, albeit in a measurably more lucid modus operandi.  So where and how does I Wasn't Born to Lose You stack up after such an elephantine wait?

Amazingly, I Wasn't Born... sounds like a bona fide Swervedriver album, and not merely a continuation of Adam's solo albums, or stretching back a bit further, his post-SD conglomeration Toshack Highway.  Perhaps we can chalk this up to three quarters of the '90s line-up still loyally intact, with lead six-stringer Jimmy Hartridge and bassist Steve George remaining in tow - almost as integral to the band's chemistry as Adam Franklin himself.  The tuneful and glistening opening salvo, "Autodidact" doesn't pick up where 1998's 99th Dream left off, so much as their sophomore 1993 platter Mezcal Head.  "Autodidact" is a remarkably good sign of things to come, leading into Born's... most sonically dense cut, "Last Rites," which is accented with washes of flanged guitars and sturdy sonic musculature.  Further in, "Deep Wound" is about as close as the Swervies come to replicating Raise's feedback-layered aesthetic.  "Setting Sun's" chiming interplay and the resonating "For a Day Like Tomorrow" could also pass for outtakes of yore.  Aside from the overlong "Everso" and "Red Queen Arms Race's" bluesy, slow-burning stride, I Wasn't Born... is near faultless.  It's tempting to refer to this as Swervedriver's "return to form," but the fact is they've deviated negligibly from their twentieth century formula.  Furthermore, one is left to wonder how many more terrific Swervedriver albums we'd have on our hands had it not been for their fifteen year dormancy between records!

The band have concluded a run of dates in the States, and will be visiting Canada in May and June.  Check out I Wasn't Born to Lose You from Amazon, iTunes, and Insound.  

VA - Teen Line No. 2. (covering letters S to U, 1979-86)

It appears a heck of a lot of you were down with my first Teen Line compilation offering from last month, making the presentation of volume two in the series a no brainer.  For those of you who wish to get caught up to speed, check out my write-up in the link above.  In a nutshell, the fan-curated Teen Line series was a Nuggets-esque assemblage of American DIY power pop singles with an emphasis on acts that opted not to tread in the more aggressive footsteps of punk.  Not much in the way of household name status here, dovetailing perfectly within the wheelhouse of this humble webpage.

Boasting 27 songs by nearly as many participants, certain cuts are unsurprisingly more prime than others on Teen Line no. 2.  There are no less than three compositions from a Santa Barbara act the curator was notably partial to, The Tearaways, who by the way still maintain a presence.  In fact I posted  a (mulleted) Tearways related project dubbed the Volcanos not too long ago, but I digress.  Another band featured here with an even closer brush with fame is Shrapnel, featuring a pre-stoner, pre-Monster Magnet Dave Wyndorf.  Damn, why they didn't go with the far more potent and visceral "Combat Love" instead of the comparatively flacid "Go Cruisin'" is beyond me.  Ponderous.  Other offerings on the heightened likability side of the fence include The Tyrants, Tiny Voices, Two Minutes 50, Buffalo's Toys and Milwaukee's invariably satisfying Squares.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Tweed's cult classic "I Need That Record," a Nick Lowe-induced three minute surge praising vinyl (and exclusively vinyl), earns it's rightful spot on the Teen Line roster to boot. The track list is to your left.

Hear

The Continentals - Fizz Pop (Modern Rock) ep (1980, Epic)

Recently had a request for this one.  The Continentals Fizz Pop... 10" ep was released in conjunction with two other 10" eps by New Musik and Propaganda on Epic Records as part of their "Nu Disk" series which I opined about in 2009.   This trio was said to be of American descent, but were apparently stationed in the UK.  Indistinctive, but largely effective power pop/AOR in the mold of contemporaries The A's and Tommy Tutone.  Per Discogs this was ostensibly The Continentals parting shot, and was produced by Tommy Erdelyi (Ramone). 

01. Fizz Pop (Modern Rock)
02. Walking Tall
03. Housewives Delight
04. Two Lips From Amsterdam

Hear

Now the phone can ring and ring...

Twenty tracks of singles, rarities and dysfunctional glory from one of the best kept secrets in Athens, GA indie rock, with an emphasis on rock.

Here

Guided by Voices - Beer Thousand Insects Of Rock Tour 10" - Threadwaxing Space, New York, June 25, 1994

This one is pretty cut and dry.  2014 saw the twentieth anniversary of Guided By Voices breakthrough masterstroke, Bee Thousand.  Considering the onstage antics of figurehead Robert Pollard go hand in hand with booze, it was only a matter of time that the tradewinds of cross-marketing would propel the man in question to unite with a hip distillery to craft a hearty new brew.  An expanded Director's Cut reissue of Bee Thousand dropped on the album's tenth anniversary in '04, and I suppose the only fitting way to up the ante ten years later was to let the sweet amber flow.

You can peruse some pertinent details about the collaboration with Dogfish Head brewery here, where you will learn (if you haven't already) about a special 1000 pack bundle of the drink that was paired with an exclusive GBV 10" ep, featuring ten songs from a 1994 gig at New York's Threadwaxing Space.  This particular combo has long sold out, and to my knowledge the music hasn't been made available elsewhere.  That's about to change right about now.  Behold, a veritable dream setlist from the band's storied Pollard/Sprout/Mitchell et al incarnation, and a performance that can ironically be described as...sober.  Go ahead and get hammered.  I'm making this available in FLAC and MP3.

01. Shocker in Gloomtown
02. Non-Absorbing
03. Gold Star for Robot Boy
04. 14 Cheerleader Coldfront
05. Break Even
06. Postal Blowfish
07. Drinker's Peace
08. My Impression Now
09. Echoes Myron
10. I Am a Scientist

MP3  or  FLAC

The Stockings - Red Tango (1981, Rough Diamond)

I've got an Aussie import for you today that I was compelled to track down upon stumbling across an MP3 of The Stockings' "(She's a) Devil."  Hailing from Australia's left coast, this Perth combo indulged in driving, albeit straitlaced power pop/wave without resorting to any obvious gimmicks, not unlike contemporary country-mates the Serious Young Insects, who I featured a spell or two back.  The title track, which opens this thing up, is less than substantive, but once it passes, Red Tango is predominantly if not completely good news.  In addition to the aforementioned "(She's a) Devil," "Good Luck,""Boy Girl," and "Limbo" persuade me just as much.  I'm detecting negligible traces of XTC and Joe Jackson among others, but your results may vary.  An ep and some singles surrounded Red Tango, but it appears the album's track list overlaps heavily.  At any rate, enjoy (or not).

01. Red Tango
02. Limbo
03. This Girl That Girl
04. Make You Cry
05. Mercy Man
06. Good Luck
07. Boy Girls
08. Tiny Voices
09. Relief
10. (She's a) Devil
11. On My Knees

Hear

The Windbreakers - I'll Be Back 12" (1986, DB)

You know 'em, you (should) love 'em, Tim Lee and Bobby Sutliff, the duo aka The Windbreakers, one of the most genuine and consistently gratifying guitar pop acts to emanate from the deep south, circa the Reagan-era.  I've dedicated no shortage of space to them over the tenure of this site, be it via their Electric Landlady and At Home With Bobby and Tim cd reissues, not to mention a couple of Tim Lee side projects.  I have one more morsel from the Windbreakers oeuvre to impart, namely this 12"/ep, featuring the sitar-flavored "I'll Be Back," an emphasis track from the band's 1986 Run LP.  Like the Plimsouls?  You'll be totally down with this tasty jam.  It's backed with two exclusive tracks.  First up it's "Don't Take Her Out of My World," a cover of an early, pre-stardom Katrina and the Waves song.  The final selection, "Things We Never Say" was penned by Lee collaborator Howard Wuefling. 

BTW, in case you weren't aware, Bobby was critically injured in a 2012 car accident, which you can catch up to date on here.  While he was on the mend, a tribute CD, Skrang! Sounds Like Bobby Sutliff was curated to raise funds for his recovery.  It's still available through Paisley Pop. 

A. I'll Be Back
B1. Don't Take Her Out of My World
B2. Things We Never Say

Hear

Your first impression begs for one last try...

Two albums from a late '90s Midwest combo you've likely never heard of...but that's about to change.

Semion - Get a Grip mLP (2000)

The following blurb was taken from issue 49 of Big Takeover magazine.  I remembering liking this one at the time and still do, as well as a full length that followed a few years later.  Semion's website is dormant, and there's not much further info to be had on 'em it appears. 

These indie-Brit power-poppers have a knack for jangly pop that runs the gamut from The Ropers (“Paul Loves Derek”), Teenage Fanclub (“Dumb”), early Sloan (“Sunny”), and even Eugenius (“Year of the Monkee,” which cops a few lines from the Replacements “Talent Show”). While Get a Grip finds Semion cutting their teeth on all the aforementioned, it’s pretty apparent that the band has yet to grow into a fully distinctive sound that they can claim as their own.   Still, with what they presently aspire to, they’re off to a fine start.

01. Paul Loves Derek
02. Theme From Semion
03. Sunny
04. Under the Sea
05. Dumb
06. I Can Dream All Day
07. Year of the Monkee 

Hear

The Straight A's - Scientist tape (1999)

The Straight A's, a co-ed San Diego trio were one of several predecessor bands entailing guitarist Jimmy LaVelle, who would eventually make a name for himself with/as The Album Leaf.  Nonetheless, the focal point of this particular project was Leilani Marie Clark whose emotive vox and clangly chords resonating through the lead-off track "Wash It All Away" make for a blissed-out, two minute surge of peerless indie pop.  The remainder of the cassette doesn't quite maintain "Wash's..." melodious momentum, but the Straight A's tempered angst is still worth delving into.

01. Wash it All Away
02. Bad Habits
03. Queen
04. Linear Regression

Hear

Right as Rain - Undertown (1988, DB)

Hard to believe I dismissed this after one listen.  Were it not for a recent request I may not have given Undertown a second thought.  So far as their earlier material is concerned Right as Rain's straight-shooting take on power pop, emanated undercurrents of everyone from Fire Town to Guadalcanal Diary.  Striking a balance between sturdy riffs and some well apportioned janglier maneuvers, this Atlanta quartet dispenses taut and assertive morsel, including but not limited to "Highway" and "Understand," alongside relatively contemplative pit stops like "Undertow."  There ain't much mystique to Undertown, but it's plentifully persuasive on it's own terms.  It was also released on CD, however this rip was taken from a very clean vinyl copy.  A previous ep is available for the taking here. 

01. Rain
02. A Girl Like Jesus
03. Highway
04. If the World
05. I Believe in You
06. Our Town
07. Undertow
08. Judson Choir
09. Understand
10. Something Happened

Hear

…the water is gasping for your mouth.

From 2007.  My latest addiction.  Time to get in touch with your feminine side.

http://www2.zippyshare.com/v/e4JSVJTE/file.html

Light Sleeper - s/t (2003, Shmat)

I do believe this is the first Wilfully Obscure entry for an Alhambra, CA based band.  It's also one of the mellowest items I've offered in quite some time.  There's no info in the accompanying booklet as to whom comprises Light Sleeper, but I can confirm there's at least one boy and one girl, sharing and trading off on the mic.  Lightweight but not fluffy, twinkly yet barely twee - eight words that describe LS's chilled-out indie pop to a T.  You can find a few further details on this homespun outfit via Shmat Records site, who are apparently no longer vending CDs of this or anything else.

01. Febrile in February
02. Pop Song
03. Melting Point
04. Spellbound
05. Come on Baby
06. Go
07. Indian Giver
08. Leonid Sky
09. Where's My Happy Ending

Hear

Dot Dash - Earthquake & Tidal Waves (2015, The Beautiful Music) - a brief overview.

Between 2011 and '13 Dot Dash released three albums in as many years: Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash, Winter Garden Light and Half-Remembered Dream in that succession.  All stylistically concurrent, those records reliably presented us with approachable, Anglophile indebted post-punk, with a front-loaded pop emphasis.  Dot Dash prime-mover Terry Banks has his formula down pat by now, which largely spills over to album number four - albeit with a few tweaks.  First, the band decamped in North Carolina to track Earthquakes... with the ineffable Mitch Easter.  Secondly a new lead guitarist joined the DD ranks, specifically Steve Hansgen, formally of Minor Threat and Government Issue.  Neither of these developments are tantamount to a quantum leap for these fellows, yet Earthquakes... is indeed distinguishable from the band's trio of precursor albums.  And for the life of me, I can't quite point my finger on what that is.

Sonically, Hansgen contributes some wailing guitar salvos into the mix, predominantly on the leadoff "The Winter of Our Discontent" and "Rainclouds."  Not guitar magazine worthy shredding mind you, but a noticeable change of pace in DD-land.  The first half of Earthquakes... isn't weird or quirky, so much as hackneyed with Banks witty couplets hovering a few notches shy of trite.  "The only feeling left is a dull ache" he quips on "Tatters," and while it's not directly or even indirectly referencing his own combo, that's the sensation I'm left with to varying degrees here.  But not so fast.  Towards album's end we have a fine trifecta of tunes that go a long way in charting Dot Dash back on course.  The buzzing "Transparent Disguise" is downright visceral, "Thru the Dark" lights the way with passionate, pounding resolve, and "Semaphore's" fluttering axe squalls had me wondering if they enlisted the assistance of J. Mascis.  In the grand scheme of things Earthquakes... isn't a major shakeup for Banks and Co., but nor is it of the consequence it's cataclysmic title suggests.

Earthquakes &Tidal Waves is available direct from The Beautiful Music, or iTunes, Bandcamp and Amazon. 

Slanted - Forever (2015) - a brief overview.

As long as there are purveyors of lo-fi, pastiche ridden indie rock like Nashville's Slanted, you can bet I'll be willing to lend an ear (maybe even two).  Their debut, Forever is a gauzy mesh of Polvo guitar tunings, half-smothered vox (courtesy of ex-Diarrhea Planet's Casey Weissbuch) and a grab bag of enchanting foibles and techniques, batting many an eyelash to the "masters": Guided by Voices, Pavement, early Dino J, etc.  The highlight here, "Little Pocket/Bread House Bonanza," attaches scuzzy guitars to a skewed pop context, not unlike another one of my faves I've presented to you before, further.  Elsewhere, the hooks are tucked inside tunes with a subtler bent - "Sign," "Disc," while the going gets considerably more noisome on "Dog" and "Chris Takes."  I wish I had a more eloquent way of conveying that Forever is a promising debut, but I suppose I'll leave it at that.  Go get it from a price of your own choosing on Bandcamp.

Sammy "Babe Come Down" 7'' (1993, Smells Like)

In June of 1992 I remember buying Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted without hearing a note beforehand.  The only things informing that purchase were reviews and personal recommendations.  It proved to be a safe bet, even if I wasn't as bowled over as some of the press was.  Pavement had something genuinely indigenous and fresh to offer, so much so that I would never guess that in merely two years time that a trio of New Yorkers dubbed Sammy would belly up to the bar with a full length that sounded more like an appropriate follow-up to Slanted than Pavement's own Crooked Rain.  Sammy, bearing their Debut Album in 1994, were a seemingly slavish imitation, right down to Jesse Hartman's virtually total usurpation of Steve Malkmus' vocal prowess...which perhaps wasn't so indigenous and unique after all.

Truth is, Sammy had some incredible moments in their own right, first and foremost "Babe Come Down."  Steve and Co. had "Summer Babe," and Sammy elected to keep up with the Joneses, sporting a "babe" of their own, sans the minerals, ice deposits, and nibbling on fingers.  With it's bittersweet melody, subtly bendy guitar line, and doleful but none-too-maudlin verses regarding a fading romance, "Babe Come Down" is indescribably evocative of an era that was yet to be tainted by social media, ubiquitous cell phones, and yes, blogs.  A spellbinding perfect ten, despite it's near-plagiaristic tendencies.  The flip, "Roach Girl," was exclusive to this record.  Another good 'un, albeit illustrating Sammy were considerably more pedestrian than their telltale heroes.  I made a later Sammy single available here some moons ago. 

A. Babe Come Down
B. Roach Girl 

Hear

Clay Idols - Every Day Starts Like This ep (1988, Genius)

Every Day Starts Like This is the ep that preceded an LP by the Clay Idols I posted a few years ago called Falling Down Backwards.  Thoughtful, strummy guitar pop dangling toward the acoustic end of the spectrum, with some occasional crunch.  Perhaps not left enough for left-of-the-dial outlets, the Idols took themselves slightly seriously, a la Miracle Legion, and to a lesser extent early Toad the Wet Sprocket.  It's obvious from the get go that frontman Steven Schayer (brother to future Bad Religion drummer Bobby Schayer) is the immensely determined driving force propelling this band.  His timbre is none-too-dissimilar to that of John Faye, the crooner for The Caulfields and Beat Clinic (my apologies for such an arcane reference point).  I've noticed, the Clay Idol's were at their most rockin' when Schayer tamped down his more introspective inclinations, but by and large, Every Day's... every moment is worthwhile.

01. Nothing Lasts Forever
02. I Told the World
03. It's Raining Voices
04. The Blind Go Quietly
05. A New History Book

Hear