Swimming – MODERN STUDIES: Swell to great (Fire Records, 2017)

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“Inspired by an antique Victorian harmonium that eventually found its way from Northern Ireland to Scotland, Modern Studies’ debut album ‘Swell To Great’, aptly named after an organ stop, was unusually written with the malfunctioning instrument at the centre of their songwriting.
A stimulating approach that melds the old and new through their instruments, delicate harmonies and rich compositions that are steeped in traditional and contemporary folk music. The restrictive process even had their wheezy founding member, the harmonium, controlling the pitch as the intrepid band members tuned their tools accordingly.
Recorded in Harvey’s studio, Pumpkinfield in the rural surroundings of Perthshire, the quartet’s songs are embedded in the sea and the landscape of the shoreline.
Emily Scott’s tender lead vocals soar over the sweeping cello, bellowing harmonium and gentle percussive crashes on ‘Black Street’, ‘Bottle Green’ and ‘Sleep’, while hidden in its depths Rob St John, whose distinctive vocals recall David Thomas Broughton, experiments with tape loops that are buried within the layers of their orchestral arrangements. St John, known for his field recordings and art-science projects, cites as his guiding inspiration Brian Eno’s experimentalism and pop sensibilities.
Unfurling bucolic stories come with Scott’s lyrics for each song, ‘Supercool’ sets the tone with an immediate sense of yearning, moving into more contemporary folk-pop on ‘Father Is A Craftsman’ and ‘Dive-bombing’ evokes images of summer frolicking on the shore. The record includes an exceptional and haunting ode to Shirley Collins’ rendition of traditional song ‘Bold Fisherman’ that featured on the Earth Recordings ‘Shirley Inspired’ compilation” (Press Note)

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Stoned – OH SEES: Orc (Castle Face, 2017)

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El enésimo trabajo de las huestes de John Dwyer (ahora rebautizados como Oh Sees), es un esfuerzo del musico de San Francisco por no quedarse estancado en los límites del Garage-Rock, una obra algo dual, pues camina por igual entre el Garaje que entre la Psicodelia, el Rock Progresivo o el Kraut. Un disco de sacudidas emocionales y guitarreras en las que Dwyer demuestra que su espíritu aún continúa siendo inquieto y difícilmente clasificable o acomodaticio. Por decir algo negativo, añadir que una buena parte del mismo se dedica a largos desarrollos instrumentales que quizás descolocan algo al oyente habitual de los Oh Sees, pero que demuestran, insisto, esas ganas de Dwyer de sorprender y epatar siempre con detalles inesperados.

“On their 400th album in the last two years, one might assume that the Oh Sees might be running out of steam. Maybe they would be out of ideas, lacking fire or retreading ground previously trod to the point of being worn out. Nope, none of that. Orc is another classic Oh Sees album that shows no signs of wear and tear anyplace in the operation. About half the record is made up of songs that are a white-hot blast of blown-out guitars, dual drummers bashing the living snot out of their kits, a bassist trying to hold it all together in the middle of a hurricane, and John Dwyer yelping like he just put his hand down on a hot stove. The other half is split between thudding heavy metal that comes complete with proggy organ breakdowns (“Animated Violence”), creepy art rock that showcases Dwyer‘s spookiest vocals (“Jettison”), tracks that impinge on the synth rock of Dwyer‘s Damaged Bug alter ego (“Paranoise”), and two songs that feature long codas with violin (“Keys to the Castle”) and drum (“Raw Optics”) solos. Through it all, Dwyer and crew ride the dynamic shifts between quiet and loud, navigate the madly juxtaposed sections, weirdly complicated hard prog, and mindlessly bashed-out garage rock, and basically keep listeners on their toes as it’s almost impossible to guess what might happen next, even within such a singular world as the one Dwyer has spent years carving out for the band. No matter what shape or form the songs take, they are driven by Dwyer‘s non-stop energy and the band’s uncanny ability to transmit it through the speakers like sparks from a live wire. He’s truly an indie rock treasure and if he and the Oh Sees made a hundred albums a year, they’d all be worth listening to. Especially if they had the raging fire, killer songs, and unpredictable genius that Orc has” (All Music)

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Esa Sensación – BLACANOVA: La Cabeza (El Genio Equivocado, 2018)

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“Blacanova son una banda francamente buena, y lo han ido demostrando disco tras disco hasta llegar al presente álbum, acertada continuación del también notable “Regiones Devastadas” (El Genio Equivocado, 15). De hecho, resultan tan destacados que son sin duda uno de los grupos más brillantes dentro del dream-pop y shoegazer hecho en nuestra geografía, puede que incluso el mejor de todos.
Los sevillanos manejan texturas sonoras, bruma hipnótica y voces insinuantes como pocos, y dominan siempre a la bestia resultante para guiarla con intencionalidad. Además, sus afilados textos en castellano los sitúan en el punto intermedio de gran atractivo, ubicado a medio camino entre maestros universales como Slowdive o Ride y mitos locales como Chuchoy Los Planetas. Las voces -alternadas o conjuntas- de Armando Jiménez e Inés Olalla hacen de “La Cabeza” (El Genio Equivocado, 18) un álbum críptico en el que merece la pena enredarse, siempre en busca de esa enésima arista colocada con determinación y sentido global.
El grupo ha anunciado un descanso indefinido tras la publicación de la presente entrega y, aunque siempre respetado por la prensa, dice adiós tal y como ha llevado toda su carrera: con las mismas dosis de fiabilidad y solvencia que de discreción y moderado reconocimiento genérico. Puede que el paso del tiempo termine por convertirlos en grupo de culto, tal y como tiende a suceder con ese tipo de bandas que estaban dotadas con indudable toque especial” (Mondo Sonoro)

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Recolectando – SOCCER MOMMY: Collection (Fat Possum Records, 2017)

Collection es el debut en larga duración de SOCCER MOMMY para Fat Possum. Un pequeño paso adelante para la carrera de Sophie Allison, el alma mater de este proyecto que comenzó como otros tantos en el dormitorio de casa registrando temas en una Tascam para, con el tiempo, evolucionar hasta un sonido algo más sofisticado dentro del entorno del Do it Yourself en el que se mueve como pez en el agua desde sus tiernos dieciséis años esta chica de Nashville. Una bonita mezcla en la que caben el Pop, el LoFi, los sonidos más cándidos del Pop neozelandés y esas pizcas de C86 que hacen de Collection un Mini álbum más que recomendable.

“Collection is the Fat Possum debut of Soccer Mommy, the solo project of singer/songwriter/guitaristSophie Allison. So titled because it gathers select songs from prior Bandcamp releases as well as a couple of previously unreleased tunes, all of the tracks included were newly recorded for the album. While Allison‘s introspective, guitar-centric songcraft carries a certain intimate, lo-fi quality, much of the material here falls on the more expansive end of expectations for the style. With guests on bass, drums, and additional guitar fleshing out a hazy indie rock, it makes for an ultimately breezy, charming set with subject matter that’s full of regret and heartache but doesn’t seem shallow. “Death by Chocolate,” for instance, opens with rich, extended chords across guitar, melodic keys, and background vocals before she describes her crush, sitting by her on the bus and smelling “like cigarettes and how chocolate tastes/It makes me wanna die, but I guess I can wait.” Still a teenager (and NYU student) at the time of its release, much of the album was written as a high-schooler, a fact that both explains some of the lyrics and makes others seem downright precocious. The more melancholy “3 AM at a Party” sleepily confesses to the heartache of unreciprocated love (“I wish we had chances to talk like this a little more often”), while the brighter “Benadryl Dreams” is more happily infatuated (“You’ve been spending all your time/Living on the backside of my eyes/Sleeping pills won’t clear my mind no way”). A brief teaser with only eight tracks that last less than half an hour, it’s enough to make the promise of the young Nashville native evident” (All Music)

Feb 3, 2018	Constellation Room	Santa Ana, CA
Feb 5, 2018	Soda Bar	San Diego, CA
Feb 6, 2018	191 Toole	Tucson, AZ
Feb 8, 2018	Three Links	Dallas, TX
Feb 9, 2018	White Oak Music Hall: Upstairs	Houston, TX
Feb 10, 2018	Antone’s	Austin, TX
Feb 12, 2018	The Syndicate Lounge	Birmingham, AL
Feb 14, 2018	High Watt	Nashville, TN
Feb 15, 2018	Aisle 5	Atlanta, GA
Feb 16, 2018	The Mothlight	Asheville, NC
Feb 17, 2018	Kings	Raleigh, NC
Feb 20, 2018	Rock & Roll Hotel	Washington, DC
Feb 21, 2018	World Cafe Live Philadelphia	Philadelphia, PA
Feb 22, 2018	Music Hall of Williamsburg	Brooklyn, NY
Feb 23, 2018	Music Hall of Williamsburg	Brooklyn, NY
Feb 24, 2018	Great Scott	Allston, MA
Mar 3, 2018	HEADROW HOUSE	Leeds, United Kingdom
Mar 4, 2018	The Castle Hotel	Manchester, United Kingdom
Mar 6, 2018	Moth Club	London, United Kingdom
Mar 7, 2018	The Hope and Ruin	Brighton, United Kingdom
Mar 8, 2018	Supersonic (Free)	Paris, France
Mar 9, 2018	Sugar Factory	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mar 23, 2018	The East Room	Nashville, TN
Mar 27, 2018	The Burl	Lexington, KY
Mar 28, 2018	The Bishop	Bloomington, IN
Mar 29, 2018	Schubas Tavern	Chicago, IL
Mar 30, 2018	The Raccoon Motel	Davenport, IA
Mar 31, 2018	Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater	Minneapolis, MN
Apr 3, 2018	The Bartlett	Spokane, WA
Apr 4, 2018	Barboza	Seattle, WA
Apr 5, 2018	Doug Fir Lounge	Portland, OR
Apr 7, 2018	Bottom Of The Hill	San Francisco, CA
Apr 10, 2018	The Echo	Los Angeles, CA
Apr 11, 2018	Valley Bar	Phoenix, AZ

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Silvertonic – ULRIKA SPACEK: Modern English Decoration (Tough Love Records, 2017)

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Bajo ese título tan ´Kinksiano´se esconde un trabajo (el segundo) de ULRIKA SPACEK. Una especie de larga jam session que en realidad poco tiene que ver con esa página gloriosa del Pop Británico. Si acaso por su aproximación a las cosas cercanas. Modern English Decoration es un tratado de auténtico DIY adornado de guiños como por ejemplo, a ese Pop experimental de Olivia Tremor Control; al Kraut o sencillamente al LoFi más noventero. Un álbum preñado de guitarras a volumen convenientemente distorsionado que es una auténtica delicia, y que no se para en concesiones comerciales.

The relatively short amount of time between their first and second albums is testament to the band’s self-contained creative environment and the productivity it encourages. There’s a tendency to label this degree of self-reliant creativity ‘DIY’ – and the band do certainly feel emboldened by that ethos – yet to consider Modern English Decoration solely in these terms is a disservice. Their craft is considered and purposeful, the means of its production reflecting the band’s overall vision rather than the value system of an often haphazard and accidental DIY culture. “We enjoy listening to music through the album format and want our records to reflect that”, says Rhys Edwards (guitars, vocals, synthesiser). “Though we may explore this in the future, our records are not ‘jam’ records. We’re fans of collage based art, and create music in the same way“ (Press Note)

• Feb 09
  Ekko
  Utrecht, Netherlands
• Feb 09
  Grauzone festival
  The Hague, Netherlands
• Feb 11
  Le Consortium
  Dijon, France
• Mar 03
  Brudenell Social Club
  Leeds, UK

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Illusions – LOOMER: Deserter (Midsummer Madness, 2017)

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Más huestes Shoegazers. LOOMER vienen del Brasil, algo menos curtidos, este Deserter es su segundo trabajo. No les asusta la distorsión, si bien sus temas son algo menos compactos y con no demasiado poso, se dejan oír y tienen la inmediatez del Power-Pop de guitarras.

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Grandiosidad – TOMBSTONES IN THEIR EYES: Fear (Send Me Your Head, 2017)

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TOMBSTONES IN THEIR EYES es una de esas bandas que engrosan la aparentemente grandiosa nómina de grupos de esencias Shoegazer que probablemente nunca van a a gozar de una gran repercusión, pero que, seguro que oyendo sus álbumes, les dedicas varias horas de tu atención.
Han conseguido elaborar un distorsionado artefacto sonoro a base de capas y de guitarras muy afiladas, apuntando lo mismo al Stoner que a la Psicodelia más rabiosa. Let them your ears…

“Stoner rock, neo-psych, subtle flavours of shoegaze and rolling slowcore melded with fluttering dark frequencies, intense melody and those totally addictive vocalisations of John Treanor make up the collective sonic melting pot of musically astute L.A based quartet ‘Tombstones In their Eyes’. Back inMay 2016 they literally blew me away with their ‘Bad Clouds’ EP, so much so that I have been waiting with baited breath to see what these guys could come up with next. The band are made up of John Treanor – Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards, Josh Drew – Bass/Backing Vocals, Stephen Striegel – Drums/Percussion & Samuel Sherwood – Percussion  and they have just announced their third EP entitled ‘Fear’ (Primal Music Blog)

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Fixing a Hole – THE PROPER ORNAMENTS: Foxhole (Tough Love Records, 2017)

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THE PROPER ORNAMENTS no han perdido su gusto por el Pop de raigambre sesentera en este segundo trabajo: Foxhole. Quizás por momentos se relajen algo y tiren hacia un lado más sosegado con ese empleo de pianos y medios tiempos que acompaña a una buena parte de los cortes; pero continúan con sus influencias velvetianas/byrdsianas/psicodélicas en otro buen puñado de canciones como Cremated (Blow away), Back pages, 1969 o I know you know, con lo que damos por bien empleado el esfuerzo creativo de este Foxhole.

“Listening to the calm and steady indie pop of the Proper Ornaments‘ second album, one would never suspect the struggle and turmoil that went into its creation. After releasing their excellent 2014 albumWooden Head, the two guys leading the band, James Hoare and Max Oscarnold, pursued other musical venues, Hoare with Ultimate Painting, Oscarnold as a member of TOY. When they got back together to work on another album, they enlisted drummer Robert Syme and bassist Daniel Nellis from their live lineup and headed into the studio. After finishing work on another batch of quietly jangly and peacefully autumnal tracks, they realized the tape machine had malfunctioned somewhere along the way and left the songs warped and unusable. The setback put a strain on the members’ relationship and they went their separate ways for a time before decamping to Hoare‘s home studio to begin work again. The resulting tracks show none of the underlying strain or unpleasantness; instead, Foxhole is the kind of record that spreads out of the speakers like a warm wave of melancholy. The hushed voices, sweetly sung harmonies, quietly interlocking guitars, and gently rollicking tempos never break the quietly sad mood as song after song hits the sweet spot of midtempo beauty. It’s a change fromWooden Head, which had a slightly more unpolished feel. This album has been burnished, waxed, smoothed, and buffed until its woody surfaces glow like a September sunset. Both Hoare andOscarnold bought pianos during the songwriting process, and though the songs rarely feature piano in their arrangements, many, like the almost painfully pretty “Memories,” have the feel of classic singer/songwriters like Harry Nilsson. Other tracks have the same relaxed lope as Ultimate Painting; some, like “Bridge by a Tunnel” and “Backpages,” would have been highlights on their most recent album. Others point toward new directions their collaboration could take. The strummy country-rock of the regretful “I Know You Know” and the acoustic ballad “Jeremy’s Song” show them stretching a bit in positive ways. It may have been born out of frustration and strife, but Foxhole‘s inherent peaceful beauty and restraint make it a perfect companion for moments of reflection” (All Music)

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Lucy Dacus: Addictions (Video-Single, Matador, 2017)

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From the new album ‘Historian’ out March 2nd on Matador Records.

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Take them to the city – TERRY: Remember Terry (Upset The Rythm Records, 2017)

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El segundo trabajo de TERRY es una confirmación del mejor LoFi-Pop hecho con pocos medios pero con mucha inventiva, un puñado de canciones llenas de frecura, inmediatez y honestidad musical y sonora. Infinidad de pequeños detalles que te evocan las mismas huellas sonoras fáciles de identificar y de degustar. Una banda la australiana a reivindicar por parte de la muchachada hypster y demás tribus urbanitas.

“After the Australian micro-supergroup TERRY released their first album, TERRY HQ, to much acclaim among those who like their pop music homey, spare, wry, and tuneful, they went on tour. When they were done touring, they started work on their next album, Remember Terry. That’s the way bands used to do it: not taking time to swan about changing their sound or wasting effort by revamping their almost-already-perfect approach. Just write more songs and put them on tape. That’s why so many band’s second albums sound like continuations of their first, though often with a sudden drop-off in quality as they quickly run out of ideas. No worries about that with TERRY, as the quartet turn in a batch of songs just as hooky, simple, and witty as those on their debut album. They don’t add much of anything new to their stripped-down sound, maybe a drum machine on a couple songs, and they stick to the mix of sing-song indie pop tunes, scrappy punk rave-ups, acoustic campfire ballads, and lo-fi chants that worked so well for them on their debut. But that’s alright, because the combination of players and voices found among the members of TERRY is magical and shouldn’t be tampered with or altered, and Remember Terry is basically the equal of TERRY HQ — if not exactly so, then pretty darn close. Maybe it’s lacking a song as flat out hooky as “Chitter Chatter,” but the loping “Take Me to the City” isn’t far off. Neither is the ramshackle charmer “The Colonel,” which actually does introduce some synth play into the mix. Maybe it’s missing a little bit of the thrill that came along with hearing TERRY for the first time, but there isn’t much anyone can do about that. All the band can do is keep cranking out these kinds of smart and snappy pop songs an album at a time, hopefully for as long as possible” (All Music)

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Gafas Caleidoscópicas – ROBYN HITCHCOCK: Autumn sunglasses (Official Video, Yep Roc, 2018)

Así es como ve ROBYN HITCHCOCK  la vida con sus gafas otoñales…

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La Unión hace la Fuerza – GIORGIO BASSMATTIS: Trencadís (Discos de Kirlian, 2017)

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“Me gustaría contaros en secreto. Una vez “creado” el sello con el lanzamiento de Doble Pletina me propuse seguir con Coach Station Reunion y Giorgio Bassmatti. Ha costado un pelín pero por fin se hace realidad…
“Primero hay que hablar del nombre el disco, que hace referencia al arte ornamental popularizado por Gaudí de pequeños azulejos que se van pegando para hacer una obra más bella según te alejas y ves el conjunto.Esa era la idea del disco: juntar los pequeños cachos de cosas lentas/animadas/íntimas/pruebas/experimentos/canciones que iba grabando en casa y meterlas en un CD para, desde la lejanía, o desde el aglutinado, poder mostrar lo que es Bassmatti hoy en día. Algo hogareño, como un hobby sin más pretensiones que la de hacer canciones. Como un arte feliz, libre y casi privado.Complementaria a esta idea viajaba la taza que Arrate GR me hizo para el cumpleaños. la cual cumplía casi todas las características buscadas para la idea de mi “Trencadís”: Casero, hecho con cariño, identificable con Bassmatti, bonito y personal .Miguel “El Tipo Gráfico” supo captar la idea y realizar primero el single -a juego- y esta portada que tiene un desarrollo en el interior del disco. Un trabajo de libreto sencillo y precioso” (Giorgio Bassmatti)

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Retro-Artefactos – GLORIA: In Excelsis Stereo (Howlin Banana Records, 2016); The Rain is out (Ample Play, Single, 2017)

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Están en la órbita de Ample Play Records (el sello de Cornershop). Esta banda francesa factura un Retro-Pop de lo más interesante y apañado, aunando al mismo tiempo Motown con Psicodelia y elementos e instrumentaciones muy del gusto Retro.

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A lo Grande – RIDE: Pulsar (Wichita, Single, 2017)

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RIDE cerraron un año glorioso con un álbum memorable que les trajo de nuevo a la más rabiosa actualidad Shoegazer. Un trabajo que contendría pequeñas gemas escondidas como esta Pulsar, a buen seguro uno de los descartes del mismo, y que pasaría perfectamente la prueba del algodón sonoro.

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A lo Carlos Cano – FLAMARADAS: Flamaradas (El Genio Equivocado, 2017)

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“En su nuevo trabajo, la banda barcelonesa liderada por Daniel Magallón, presenta la versión más ambiciosa de su folk psicodélico.
‘Esta vez hasta hemos ensayado’ dice Daniel Magallón, la cabeza y la voz detrás de Flamaradas, intentando resumir lo que supone en su carrera su trabajo homónimo editado por El Genio Equivocado. El tercer disco largo del de Sant Joan Despí, recoge todo aquello que había sembrado en sus discos anteriores “Cancionero Saturnino” y “Pasaje entre las cañas”, pero poniendo de relevancia sus muchos aciertos con una producción más cuidada.
Flamaradas es una rara avis del panorama de la música alternativa española. Podría ser, a la vez, un cantautor, un cantante folclórico y un rockero psicodélico. Aunque probablemente, tal y como refleja fidedignamente en su nuevo disco, es la música de un tiempo y de un lugar muy concretos. En “Flamaradas” encontramos un catálogo de las melodías con las que ha ido creciendo Magallón: desde la jota navarra a Elvis pasando por The Doors. Todas ellas viajan desde su bagaje emocional a las canciones que canta con una voz que, después de dos discos y un EP, ya le es totalmente propia y le sienta como un guante. Es la copla que trajeron los emigrantes andaluces al área metropolitana de Barcelona, que chocó con el punk de La Banda Trapera del Río, que creció con el folklore de las músicas latinas de Atahualpa Yupanqui y que se distorsionó con el post-punk Joy Division. Todo eso pasó allí y Daniel Magallón estaba para escuchar sus ecos.
Que nadie piense que el esfuerzo en la producción, a cargo de Ferran Resines y Cristian Pallejà, ha hecho perder a las nueve canciones que componen el disco la frescura que caracterizaba los anteriores trabajos de Flamaradas. En esta ocasión los temas han sido compuestos en su práctica totalidad en el propio estudio, lo que les proporciona inmediatez y naturalidad a las ocho canciones originales que se completan con una versión de “Juramento”, del Trío Matamoros.
El disco tiene su adelanto en “Agitando los brazos”, una de las melodías de un regusto folclórico más marcado y, a la vez, una de los más accesibles. Por el camino nos encontramos también con temas con un pie en cada continente, como “Cerca de aquí” que nos acerca a una versión castiza de los Calexico, y otros que nos remiten tanto a las canciones de la posguerra (“El día en que vuelan las alúas”) como al tango sui géneris de Alberto Cortez “El puente”. En todo caso el disco suma a la herencia tradicional todas las fuentes de las que ha bebido Magallón: el Nick Cave que asoma la cabeza en “La luna llena y el vendaval” o el Tom Waits que saluda desde el ritmo de “La vía láctea descansa”. La grabación se completa con una confesional “Todas las vidas que no viviré” y con la inquietante “Regreso con los animales”, que nos ofrecen una de la cara más accesibles de un disco redondo” (Nota de Prensa)

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ImPONDerables – POND: The weather (Marathon Artits, 2017)

Pues el ya ¡séptimo! trabajo de los aussies POND, es un disco que, sinceramente, no aporta demasiado al Pop de hoy en día. Su audacia psicodélica de antaño la han sacrificado en pos de un supuesto riesgo sonoro e instrumental que en realidad no es tanto: unos saxetes por aquí, unos arreglos setenteros por allá, referencias a la Elo, al inevitable Bowie… pero en conjunto una obra que no se sustancia demasiado. El efecto sorpresa se diluye poco a poco…

“A reference to a once mundane subject that’s come to be loaded with the realities of climate change,The Weather is the seventh studio LP from Australian psych-pop outfit Pond. The album was produced by Tame Impala‘s Kevin Parker, bandmate and former bandmate of Pond founders Jay Watson and Nick Allbrook, respectively. The title also refers to the sociopolitical climate leading up to its release in the spring of 2017. In fact, the band’s otherwise often inscrutable lyrics openly address these topics, alongside an also somewhat transformed sound. Still trippy and shambolic, The Weather carries an epic, sometimes otherworldly luster, with a synth-poppy psychedelia that takes a half step out of deep fuzz toward ELO. All of the above is on display on the theatrical single “30000 Megatons,” which contemplates the nuclear threat (“pointed at her and him and you and me and everyone we know”). It does so with dramatic synths and pleas for sanity amid references to Xanax, Tinder, and Australian morning-radio personalities before the vocals are drowned out by a cacophony of guitar, thudding drums, and spoken-word clips. (Of note, the single was released on the day ofDonald Trump‘s inauguration.) The present and future are explored further on songs like “Colder Than Ice,” a new wavy tune replete with saxophone, and the glitchy “Zen Automaton.” Elsewhere, “A/B” is a chaotic rock-out that transforms into a piano meditation before the midway point. According toAllbrook, it contrasts overindulgence with the recollection of a girl he met at a train station. Written byWatson, the more playful “All I Want for Xmas (Is a Tascam 388)” wrangles stomping beats, meeping synths, and animal calls. While still typically madcap, The Weather may be the band’s most coherent release to date, especially with a song like “Sweep Me Off My Feet,” the record’s AOR-friendly lead single. Taken as a whole, it works as both a flamboyant acknowledgment of and release from volatile times” (All Music)

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Eight Days a Week – THE BEATLES (Live at The Hollywood Bowl, EMI, 2016)

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“Capitol Records initially planned to release a live album from the Beatles in 1964, recording the band’s August 23 concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Nobody at the label found the results satisfactory so they attempted it again almost exactly a year later, taping the August 29 and 30, 1965 shows at the Hollywood Bowl but, once again, it proved hard to hear the Fab Four from underneath the roar of the crowd, so those tapes were also shelved. They remained in the vaults until 1977, when Capitol president Bhaskar Menon asked George Martin to assemble a listenable live album from the two sets of Hollywood Bowl tapes, all with the idea of combating the rise of bootlegs and quasi-legit Beatleslive albums. It was a difficult task, yet Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick managed to assemble a 13-track LP of highlights that was quite well received upon its 1977 release yet managed to earn a reputation as something of a disappointment in part due to the screams that overwhelmed the band. Whenever the Beatles catalog saw a digital release — either in 1987 or in 2009 — it was always left behind, not receiving a revision until 2016 when Martin‘s son Giles remastered the recordings, including four bonus tracks, for a CD/digital release to accompany Ron Howard‘s documentary Eight Days a Week: The Touring Years. Giles Martin‘s remastering does Live at the Hollywood Bowl a world of good, managing to somewhat suppress the thundering cheers without excising them at all, then boosting the Beatles so it’s possible to focus on their crackerjack interplay. Perhaps the Beatlesweren’t able to hear themselves well on-stage but that’s hard to discern from these performances, which are tight and swinging with the band clearly deriving energy from the audience. That’s the primary difference between Live at the Hollywood Bowl and the two volumes of Live at the BBC: no matter how excellent those BBC collections are, there’s no sense of the kinetic connection betweenthe Beatles and their fans, something that’s in ample display on Live at the Hollywood Bowl. Decades later, it’s still thrilling to hear the band and the crowd feed off the excitement of the other” (All Music)

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