Voggue, “Voggue” (Atlantic, 1981)From Montreal this group appears to have occupied the exact spot where disco blended into synth-dance, and the music reflects the best of both worlds – elegant, bright, propulsive, infectiously catchy.Try 1/1.11/12/12
W-X, “W-X” (Castle Face, 2015)Side project from Tim Presley of White Fence. Sounds like a side project, too – lots of doodling, general fragmented quality, etc. Still, Presley is a very inventive dude; his doodles range from diverting to genuinely excellent, and it’s dotted with garage-punk nuggets that measure up to his highest standards. As […]
Waitresses, “Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful?” (Polydor/ZE, 1982)They come from the same Akron scene as Chrissie (Pretenders) Hynde and Devo, and this is somewhere in between the two – alienated-but-catchy post-punk-funk/pop with hyperactive female vocals/lyrics dissecting the comlex weirdness of the modern world. Bears a passing resemblance to the B-52s, Talking Heads (ZE labelmates) the Contortions, even […]
Tom Waits, “Closing Time” (Elektra, 1973)His debut, and the most vocally/musically “normal” work he’d ever do, but the lonely late-night weariness of this couldn’t be anyone else, and these are some of his straight-out best tunes, in a melancholy acoustic guitar/piano mode.Try 2, 4,64/19/13
Tom Waits, “Foreign Affairs” (Elektra, 1977)With its casual late-night piano-bar feel, this one hews more to the cool (rather than crazy) end of Waits’ ‘70s spectrum, but it’s got plenty of wigged-out stuff, along with some genuinely affecting balladry.Try 5, 6, 7.2/16/13
Tom Waits, “The Heart of Saturday Night” (Elektra, 1974).His second album, delving unreservedly into the jazz/beatnik/wasted-at-4AM territory the rest of his ‘70s work would explore, but still with a reservoir of his debut’s singer-songwriter pop melodicism. All in all, one of his best.Try 1, 6, 11. 2/16/13
Wapassou, “Wapassou” (Lion Productions, 2015; original release 1973-74)Eccentric French prog, mostly drumless and minimal/droney, but in a peculiarly rickety, rustic/folky way, like a cross between Neu! and the Shaggs.Try 2, 411/10/16
Watery Love, “Decorative Feeding” (In The Red, 2014)Musically and emotionally dissonant garage-punk that staggers around in a mid-tempo migraine that effectively imparts to the listener their sweeping disgust with contemporary life. Like Tyvek waking up in a cold basement wearing nothng but urine-soaked briefs.Try 1, 97/15/14
Jody Watley, “Jody Watley” (MCA, 1987)Ex-Shalamar vocalist’s debut album, the first r & b record to assimilate fully the sounds of contemporary (late -80s) hip-hop. The result: slamming beats and subtle, insinuating melodies carrying Watley’s cool, nasal, sensual voice.Try A/1, B/211/26/11
Wavves/Cloud Nothings, “No Life For Me” (Ghostramp, 2015)Definitely a just-for-fun side project but the tossed-off vibe adds in raw impact what it subtracts in full realization. Sound is what you’d expect, halfway between Wavves’s surf-brat post-HC singsongisms and Cloud Nothings’s Stooge-Ubu-derived Midwest angst-drive grid-screams.Try 3,711/10/16