This is fine.
Yo. We forgot last week. Sorry. Please forgive us. Here’s a great way to start off your Monday with a playlist of last week’s hits. We added a few from some of the records we were jamming like Mope City and Phantom Handshakes…not to mention a hit from the great album ATH Records just dropped from Space Tan! Just a nice easy hour of listening to get you in through the morning Monday blues. So yeah, no need for more…just jam to some hits.
There’s always tons of stuff to stream and check out on a Friday, and I’m sure there will be lots of buzz around the new Crumb album, and its a solid jam for sure…but here’s a few of the records I’m stoked on today, so maybe you’ll get a chance to jam something else on the outside.
Space Tan – Inti Raymi (ATH Records)
Okay, so we’re putting this out on our ATH Records label, doing a fresh to death cassette designed by the band. Musically, its a blend of modern indie pop with dashes of psychedelia thrown in to expand your mind.
Phantom Handshake – Be Estranged (Z Tapes)
We’ve covered all the singles from this record, so that should suffice to say that this New York duo have crafted a wonderful collection of dream pop tunes that we can solidly support day in and day out.
Rosie Tucker – Sucker Supreme (Epitaph)
Rosie Tucker has been one of my favorite songwriters since the drop of Never Not x 3, and they don’t miss a beat with the new LP. You’re not likely to find a lyricist as clever, at least not today, so save yourself the trouble, if that’s what you’re looking for in your jams!
Mope City – Within the Walls (Tenth Court)
Imagine being in a band and loving Lift to Experience, Low and Bedhead, then throwing all that in a bowl and stirring it up with an inclination to fit into the Aussie pop scene, and that’s what you get here. This is one of those bands I wish more folks in the US got into, but you can’t save ’em all.
I’ve spent the last few days in anticipation of this new track from Rosie Tucker, knowing we’d get it in our hands today. There is just something about the songwriting that always seems to work for me; they take some artistic liberties in the songwriting formula, which for me, gives enough distinctive flavor to keep me coming back to their work. Opening with an analogy to my least favorite pepper, you immediately get introduced to the clever wordplay, and for all intents and purposes, it starts in some familiar territory. But, just after the 2 minute there’s a momentary instrumental breakdown, beginning to toy with their own established sound. Still, the musical turns aren’t over, as they slow the whole tune down to a crawl at 2:40, leaving us with this emphatic thematic push that closes the song in an utterly charming fashion. A new LP, Sucker Supreme, is on its way in April via Epitaph!
I’ve admitted my adoration for Rosie Tucker‘s hit LP Never Not Never Not Never Not, and one of my favorite tracks on the record “Lauren” is getting the cover treatment from fellow Angeleno outfit Cheekface. They keep the core of the song’s infectious pop chorus, but they ramp up the rock side during the verses, giving a touch more punch. The vocal combination in the chorus does a great job of adding in that added layer of melody that pop fans crave. Plus, it gives me another reason to write about a Rosie Tucker jam, and I rarely shy away from that…thus why you can also stream the OG version below.
If you read our blog, there are two things you surely know by now: 1) I’m a big fan of Rosie Tucker these last few years; they played our SXSW show, and I’ve tried to hype the music up as much as possible 2) I also am a big fan of Jeffrey Lewis in all his forms (Voltage, solo, Jrams), but even more so his 2003 LP It’s the Ones Who’ve Cracked That the Light Shines Through. Man, long winded run-on, that. So, why do these two things matter? Well, Rosie Tucker covers “Arrow” from said Lewis album, with a lyrical version so you can sing the words. It’s been a live staple for a bit, though I can’t confirm that as life got in the way and I totally forgot when they came to Austin and regrettably did not get a shirt, sized fat-kid. Alas, the song’s are great, both the OG version and this new one, plus it gives us a reason to keep you current on Rosie Tucker and encourage you to keep listening.
If you pay attention to this little blog here, you would have heard me raving about Rosie Tucker‘s Never Not Never Not Never Not, so a new song in 2019 is very much welcome. This new track is a perfect pop experiment in brevity; it feels like it packs your average song into a quick 1:38. It opens up with a seemingly muted guitar and Rosie Tucker delivering their vocals, almost hopping on syllables between the various riffs. Then the song the song erupts on the line “you don’t even eat me out,” bursting forth with the insatiable pop nugget that was visible throughout last year’s LP; it’s these simple little hooks that always keep me coming back to their songs time and time again. No word yet on a new LP, but this is the second new single we’ve heard, so let’s hope they’ve got something big on the horizon.
This is the list you’ve all been waiting for, well, sort of. This is my Top 20 LPs of the year. Admittedly, there’s none of the high profile hitmakers on here, but that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy those albums. I loved Purple Mountains just as much as the next person, same with Weyes Blood, but in a pickle, would I choose it over that Martha LP? Uh, absolutely not. Plus, I ran a lot this year because I got tired of being fat, so the majority of this stuff is pretty upbeat and “runnable.” There’s no order because all are equal under my ears.
Really excited to know that Rosie Tucker will be making their way to Austin here in a few weeks; I loved Never Not Never Not Never Not quite a bit, as you can tell if you visit this site. They share a new song titled “Ambrosia,” spinning a story of longing around everyone’s favorite salad; it seems fairly mundane, but the wordplay is so spot on that it’s hard not to fall head over heels for everything here. For me, there’s something in the vocal enunciation that just wins; I’m glad all I have one more song to sing at the top of my lungs when the band blast off on a huge West to East tour through all of October, including a stop in Austin on October 9th at 523 Thompson.
Not more than a few weeks ago I claimed that Rosie Tucker‘s Never Not Never Not Never Not was the album you wished Jenny Lewis had written this year; that’s not a dig, this record is really that great. Today, the band have just shared the video for standout track “Habit,” just giving me another reason to continue the unending love for this LP. This track works back in forth between the melodic voice and spoken word delivery, brandishing a chorus that never leaves your head. The video is a lemon-themed visual, with Rosie playing the star among the little yellow fruit. Like I said, just keep giving me reasons to listen to this LP and I’ll gladly abide; you can get it for yourself at New Professor.
It’s super-hard to really nail down your favorite albums, especially when its only July and the whole thing seems pretty arbitrary, to put it lightly. But, like all your favorite sites, hits matter; they make you feel cool. So, I have concocted my own list of the Best Albums of 2019…so far. This in no way is a representation of the whole of the site contributors, and merely exists as poor commentary by a blogger with too much time on his hands. Enjoy!
