Black Eyes - Cough

Genre: Noise, Punk

Sounds like: Mi Ami, maybe Q and Not U?

No more half-hearted apologies about not posting. All two of you who read this blog are just going to have to get what you deserve, which is an uneven posting schedule. As pretty much anybody who ever talks to me about music says: Max I want to hear more noise. And why the hell not? Here it is babies. The  second Black Eyes record starts where their first one left off, incorporating two bass players, two drummers and lots of falsetto screaming and putting a nice glossy layer of guitar wreckage on top. This album adds some ugly Ornette Coleman-style saxophone shrill too. Black Eyes is so awesome. They are so good. Black Eyes is so good.

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Vehicle Blues - 177

Genre: Shoegaze, Bedroom Pop, Real Loner Shit

Sounds like: Nothing else out there

Some things in life are obvious, or at least they seem that way in retrospect. When watching late night infomercials or seeing “As Seen On TV” products on department store shelves, I stop and wonder why I didn’t invent them. They seem so simple and so obvious. But if so, then why am I sitting here writing about music instead of raking in the Benjamins? I think the idea behind this is a phenomenon in psychology called Hindsight Bias, which explains that people have a tendency to overestimate their ability to predict the outcome of an event after being exposed to the outcome.

For me, Gabe Holcombe provides another source of hindsight bias. I find myself wanting to hit my forehead in frustration when listening to music he produces as Vehicle Blues. That’s so simple, why didn’t I think of that?! Though in reality, Holcombe’s music is far from simple. It’s easy to confuse perfection with simplicity, and that’s exactly what Holcombe creates: perfection. He’s a master of parsimonious bedroom pop. His music is neither too flashy nor bland, and every detail makes perfect sense. Take 177 for example: Though I don’t know a single lyric to this song, it resonates a feeling of hopelessness to which I can relate. I have felt the feelings that I imagine influenced this song. And it’s hard to imagine that something with such unambiguous meaning didn’t originate from my own mind, but it didn’t. It didn’t because I am not Gabe Holcombe and I’ll never be able to write music as perfect as his. And that’s when the feeling of hopelessness sets in.

Note: If this is your first time hearing Vehicle Blues, then I feel a little sorry for you because all of his amazing Bridgetown Records releases (e.g., Koz Park) are sold out. If you dig 177, you can find it on his split with Jen Paul/No Lakes released on his very own Lillerne Tapes. While you're at it, you should also try to pick up a copy of his split with Trudgers as it’s also a gem!

Kickball - ABCDEFGHIJKickball

Genre: Indie, Pop

Sounds like: Beauty Pill, Rainbow Tornado

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Kickball make cute, vaguely math-y pop music. They pull off a hard feat by taking what are essentially stripped down three-piece songs and making them sound energetic and full. I played this once with my roommates home and one of them said that the lead singer's voice is one of the most annoying things he's ever heard. I disagree. It's nice and airy, high pitched and he gets some pretty good yells in sometimes. Plus they have a cute, talented, female drummer which would basically vault them into my good graces no matter what music they played.

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Marble Sky - No Matter How Close

Genre: Ambient, Drone, Experimental

Sounds like: Cream of the crop drone

It never snows in California, or at least in any city in which I’ve ever lived. If California were ever hit by a blizzard I imagine that our daily lives would halt and we’d be forced to slow down and live simply for a few days. I’d really like to see this happen someday as I think it would do us all some good.

No Matter How Close is about as close an experience as I’ll ever have to a debilitating snowstorm. I don’t mean to suggest that the album is filled with cold drone songs, as it’s actually a very warm and gentle album, but that it always slows me down like no other. When listening, I close my eyes and picture myself in a cabin in the woods. I am alone and snow is falling gently outside. I find comfort beyond the warmth of the fireplace in knowing the freezing temperature outside. Time becomes an arbitrary concept when you don’t have anywhere to be and nobody looking for you. I’m simply living in the moment and not thinking about tomorrow or next week. I have finally found patience.

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Note: Get at me if you have a copy of this bad boy on cassette and want to sell it. This is my favorite of Jeff Witscher’s projects. I don’t think he’s doing anything under the Marble Sky moniker anymore, but you can check out what he’s currently up to as Rene Hell. If you like this album you should pick up a copy of Sway from Monorail Trespassing.

Neil Young - On the Beach

Genre: Neil Young

Sounds Like: Neil Young

To put it very bluntly, I have a lifelong obsession with Neil Young. My father played him continuously throughout my childhood. I can honestly say that I heard Neil Young while I was in the womb. It's actually a little hard for me to talk about Neil because I can't tell whether I'm being a critical music lover or just getting caught up in nostalgia.

Most honest reviews of Neil Young's career will mention that he's hard to categorize. This is a) lazy writing, and b) true. He's got a long career with some significant success, although most people know him because of his early CSNY stuff and his first few albums. His journey as an artist is an interesting story and worth reading. The short summary is that after 1972's #1 hit Harvest he got too famous. Drugs followed and eventually took the life of both his guitarist and roadie. It's during this period that he made the Ditch Trilogy, a series of three albums significantly darker and looser than his previous work. Of these, On the Beach probably represents the most solid artistic work. Neil flows seamlessly from haunting electric guitar to more traditional, stripped down acoustic ballads. He's always been his best writing low-key, sad songs and this album presents a treasure trove of music that really hits home. People will argue whether Neil Young is actually a technically good musician but they miss the point: he's an emotional artist and he puts himself into his music. Every song on On the Beach packs a punch and leaves you drained.

Belong - October Language

Genre: Ambient, Electronic, Shoegaze

Sounds like: Infinite Body, Mountains

I felt extremely isolated in my small studio apartment when I moved to the Bay Area a few years ago. Though the loneliness typically didn’t bother me, I found a lot of comfort in desolate sounding music that other people created in their bedrooms. I assumed the people creating this music were also lonely, and I found solidarity in that assumption. So anyway, be prepared to read about a lot of introverted bedroom music!

I’m not sure whether Belong recorded October Language in a bedroom, and come to think of it, they must not be very lonely since they are a duo. Regardless, this album is absolutely gorgeous. Much of this album contains thoughtfully orchestrated music buried beneath layers upon layers of rubble. Recorded in New Orleans just before Hurricane Katrina, I can’t help but think that the apocalyptic soundscapes on this album were an omen that should have been listened to more carefully. Put on some headphones and give this album an attentive listen and you might be surprised by what you hear.

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NOTE: I will generally not post albums that are still in print for download, but this one has been out for about five years and I just can’t help it.

Joe Pass - Virtuoso

Genre: Jazz

Sounds like: Django Reinhardt

Ask almost anybody and they'll tell you that above all things, I am a man of pure class. The perfect gentleman. Whether I'm throwing a dinner party or trying to tastefully seduce a woman of intellect, I put on this album. Joe Pass is, to put it bluntly, a ridiculous guitarist. He also looks like a grimy Italian used car salesman. His use of weird jazz chords gives my wrist carpal tunnel by proxy and he can out-shred almost any metalhead. The real brilliance comes when you realize that he never over complicates things or tries to make them too dense. In the end it's just a really talented dude that loves playing the shit out of some top-notch jazz guitar. I'm gonna post a ton of videos below because he's just as much fun to watch as he is to listen to.

 

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