Naked Raygun, “All Rise” (Homestead, 1985)Second full-length with their signature lineup, and the rumbling/roaring Buzzcocksesque pop-punk aspect is at its most classic. But there’s still plenty of turn-on-a-dime postpunk rhythmic/textural trickery to supply grit and keep you pleasantly out-of-joint.Try 1/ 1, 1/ 3, 2/ 17/11/18
Natural Child/Guantanamo Baywatch, “Surf ‘n’ Turf” (Suicide Squeeze, 2013)I’m not sure the world was ready for a garage-punk answer to Jimmy Buffett, but here it is, and I quite like it. The beat is that familiar loping mid-‘60s shuffle, but the guitars are sleepily country-fried, and everyone involved sounds ready to pass out on the […]
Nearly God, “Nearly God” (Island, 1996)Robert Christgau wrote that this Tricky side project “achieves the stasis true Tricky albums only flirt with,” and while he meant this to indicate that the man had gone off the rails here, I actually think it captures the thrillingly creepy way Tricky used the freedom of not having his […]
Neighborhood Brats, “No Sun No Tan (Deranged, 2013)Current, female-fronted punk band in a late-‘70s West-Coast style – compressed, snarling, and melodic, with serrated guitar sound and a snotty attitude. Excellent stuff with a tossed-off sensibility that actually feel really contemporary.Try 1/3, 1, 5.9/6/13
Neighborhood Brats, “Recovery” (Deranged, 2014)New full-length from this female-fronted act plying the borderlands of garage-punk and old-school-L.A.-style melodic hardcore. Wall-rattling treble guitar driven by frantically caroming drums provide a backdrop for feral vocals telling tales of urban desperation.Try 1/ 4, 1/ 5, 1/ 6, 2/ 1, 2/ 2, 2, 68/16/15
Neo-Boys, “Sooner or Later” (K, 2013; original recordings 1978-1983)At last the work of this pioneering PacNorthwest punk act is issued, and I had no idea there was this much of it, or that it was this great. It has the manic choppiness and rad-political edge of similar all-female acts in the post-punk diaspora (Liliput, Au […]
The Neon Philharmonic, “Brilliant Colors” (Wounded Bird, 2016; original recordings 1969-71)In the mold of VanDyke Parks, maybe even Randy Newman, a couple of studio pop pros with roots in the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition take a leap into psychedelia, but what makes this particularly wild is that both the Tin Pan Alley and the […]
Lunachicks, “Pretty Ugly” (GoKart, 1997)Fourth and best album from these ‘70s-inflected NYC scum-punk women. Big holler-along hooks and a gonzo/trash-culture bad-girl sensibility that’s halfway between the Dictators and the Shangri-Las adds up to a big, beautiful hard-rocking, Bronx cheer in the face of the world. Try 9, 131/23/14
Luscious Jackson, “Fever In Fever Out” (Grand Royal, 1997)Featuring a founding member of the Beastie Boys and released on their label, this all-female quartet offered its own version of the Beasties’ pan-NYC bohemian funkateering. But LJ’s take was more lyrical and elusive – where the Beasties wanted to be Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, […]
Kirsty MacColl, “The One And Only” (Metro, 2001)MacColl was a cult favorite among fellow musicians in the 1980s. Morrissey, David Byrne, Elvis Costello and the Pogues numbered among her devout admirers. Her work is similar to Costello’s in its blend of ‘50s country, ‘60s Brit-pop and punk/new wave, but her warm, piercing voice is one […]