Deniece Williams, “Niecy” (Arc/Columbia, 1982)
Williams was one of the great singers of her time, a sweet, resonant soprano capable of swooping and spiraling with sinuous force, and this is one of her best sets, at a perfect spot between pop sparkle and r&b depth and presence.
Try 1/ 1, 1/ 2
7/11/18
Donna Summer, “The Wanderer” (Casablanca, 1980)
Her Rock Move, taking off from the amped-up Moroder pulse of the previous LP’s “Sunset People,” and it works to great effect. There’s something almost Germs-like in the cool, streamlined L.A.-desperation-drive of these grooves.
Try 1/ 1, 2/ 1, 2/ 3.
7/11/18
Doug Snyder And Bob Thompson, “Daily Dance” (Lion Productions, 2010; original release 1973)
The guitarist on this 1972 session was one of the earliest Ohio fans of the Velvet Underground, MC5 and Stooges; the drummer a student of Coltrane and Third-World polyrhythms. The result is exactly what you’d hope for: a fluid, massive sound, heavy punk verging into free improv, decades ahead of its time. Picture the MC5 at their most relentless, rising to a torrential roar and bursting through recognizable song structure.
Check out 1, 3
Diana Ross And The Supremes, “Greatest Hits” (Motown, 1967; original release 1963-7)
The Supremes are up there with the Beatles, Beach Boys and Velvets as the most musically important groups of the ‘60s, the grandest and most ambitious flourishing of Motown’s project of a synthesis of jet-set sophisto-pop and the most gracefully kinetic r & b. This is the beginning of disco, house and much more, but most crucially, it is just beautiful, brilliant rock and roll.
My favorites as of today: A/1, B/3, C/1, C/3, D/1, D/2, and, oh yeah, B/2
4/4/11
David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights, “Left by Soft” (12XV, 20120)
The founder of great New Zealand postpunk/indie pioneers returns with an album as fine as any of his solo work. His brand of jangle-psych-pop, simultaneously warm and estranged, is designed to age well.
Try A/1, A/3, B/2
5/5/12
Debbie Harry, “Koo Koo” (Chrysalis, 1981)
A fine underrated effort from Ms. Blondie. She did this with the guys from Chicag, but this is colder and more angular than anything they (or she) did apart. Some of it is disorienting minimal funk, but there’s some rock and pop too, all with the same dreamlike menace as the (great) cover art.
Try A/5, B/1
7/29/14
Dressy Bessy, “Little Music: Singles 1997-2002” (Kindercore, 2003)
Collection of early singles from this much-loved indie-pop combo. These songs find their ultra-melodic bazooka-buzz-guitar-and-backbeat sound at its most pure, as bright and stark as an empty swing-set on a spring morning.
Try 2, 4, 6
5/12/11
Dunes, “Noctiluca” (Post Present Medium, 2012)
First heard these guys & gal on a fine 7” somebody compared to Best Coast, and this is in the same jangle/fuzz indie-guitar-pop universe, but with a strong Anglo/post-punk vibe that’s lush yet angular. Imagine if Bethany Cosentino had fallen in love with Robert Smith instead of Brian Wilson.
Try 1, 7, 8
2/28/12
Dum Dum Girls, “Only In Dreams” (SubPop, 2011)
I’m told the Dum Dum Girls’ flavor-of-the-month status has well and truly worn off by now, but that’s actually good news, because it gives us the chance to approach this as “mere” music, and it turns out to be great music this time. The charming but skeletal attack of the first LP has been fleshed out with louder guitars and lusher melodies, its ‘60s/girl group structures now palpable resemblances as much as brilliant allusions. The band’s trademark machine-tooled beats now command real rock and roll thunder. DeeDee’s vocals have thickened into a powerful wail, and the impact of her mother’s death called forth a spectacular set of songs that connect like nails on the chalkboard of your soul. Highly fucking recommended.
Start with 1/5, 2/4
10/22/11
Dum Dum Girls, “He Gets Me High” (Sub Pop, 2011)
This band/person stands out among the post-garage indie crowd for her distinctive blend of cold, chrome-sheened precision (almost akin to synth-pop) and rough-cut rock-and-roll passion, as well as her sharp songwriting. A/2 represents a further advance in melodic/textural complexity, but B/2 is the real killer – a gurious, rousing version, comparable to Hüsker Dü’s take on “Eight Miles High.”
4/11/1