Hazel O’Connor, “Broken Glass” (A & M, 1980) Actually the soundtrack to a rags-to-riches movie about a female punk-type singer (think Mariah Carey’s “Glitter” with safety pins), this is actually more like Bowie’s glam-rock work (“Ziggy Stardust,” etc.) fortified with a cold, hard postpunk edge (“Ziggy” producer Tony Visconti produced this too). Excellent songs by […]
Neverever, “Shake-A-Body” (Slumberland, 2012) Slumberland puts out a lot of nice Spector/girl-group-inflected guitar-noise-pop, but this one is particularly intriguing. The lead chanteuse has a really powerful, expressive smoky/mysterious voice, and the songs conjure up subtle moods, from effervescent to darkly melancholic, in a sound that’s both genuinely “period” and contemporary. Try 4, 5 1/29/12
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 […]
La Luz, “Floating Features” (Hardly Art, 2018) Third album from these garage-punk/surf-rock PacNW women, and it’s definitely their best. The reverb-drenched tunes still hang dazed and hazy like swamp willows, but there’s an enticingly sharp melodic pop sensibility to them now that creates the emotional drama to pull off the mythic Americana they’ve always evoked, […]
K-Holes, “Dismania” (Hardly Art, 2012) Garage-punk with a sewage-thick guitar attack, pummeling rhythms, and no-wavey sax blasts. This one really stands in conjuring up the sense of gutter-level nastiness and desperation of its ‘70s sources. Try 2, 5, 7 7/12/12
Jacuzzi Boys, “No Seasons” (Florida’s Dying, 2009) These guys crank out exceptionally catchy garage-punk. Here it’s grangier, more pummel-oriented and less poppy than their recent LP in Hardly Art, but equally compelling in its own way. Try A/4, A/5, B/2 1/29/12
Iggy and the Stooges, “More Power” (Cleopatra, 2009; original recordings 1972-1973) Fairly comprehensive collection of unreleased studio cuts from the “Raw Power” era. Some of it is too ramblingly drug-dazed for its own good, but the best of it lives up to the legend, with some of the most psychotically frenetic punk rock they (or […]
Habibi, “Habibi” (Burger, 2014) More coolness from Burger, this features femme-voiced spooky/sparse surf-garage-pop with nifty Middle Eastern echoes. Try 1, 7, 9 7/15/14
Gap Dream, “Shine Your Light” (Burger, 2014) This has the sun-baked sparkle we’ve come to associate with this label, but in a distinctive mode — surging keyboards and space-age harmonies that recall the glammier/poppier side of ‘70s prog-rock. What makes it brilliant and kind of insane is that the whole thing is enacted in the […]
Fabian, “The Very Best Of” (United Artists, 1975; original recordings late 1950s/early 1960s) Any time someone tries to give you that jive about “in the old days, teen idols could actually sing,” remind him/her about Fabian. Compared to him, Bieber, Styles, Jonas et all are Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. And that’s actually Fab’s charm – […]