Day 3 - The Posies

The Posies, at the height of their early 90s commercial appeal, were one of those bands that I always kind of considered a fine power pop outfit (Who doesn’t like “Dream All Day” or “Solar Sister?”) and nothing more until hearing Ken Stringfellow’s 2001 album, Touched, followed by Jon Auer’s 2006 album, Songs From The Year Of Our Demise, at which point I realized the error of my previously held belief. The Posies’ latest full-length and first in five years, Blood/Candy, is easily their best album out of a twenty-one year recording career…by miles. I love it when a band that I’ve continuously taken for granted over the course of their lifespan comes out and belatedly “WOWS” me with a new recording and boy, oh boy does Blood/Candy wow.

Drawing from such 60s/70s classics like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966), Love’s Forever Changes (1967) and Big Star’s #1 Record/Radio City (1972-74) as well as more contemporary works like R.E.M.’s Life’s Rich Pageant (1986) and Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend (1991), Blood/Candy is a perfect tapestry of everything Stringfellow and Auer have accomplished musically, on both their solo releases and as the Posies. The perfect crunch of pop tunes like "The Glitter Prize" and "So Caroline" are magnified in their intensity when surrounded by the majestic baroque grandeur of "For the Ashes" and "Accidental Architecture." With a sound this lush and this deep, it’s no wonder that this album sits squarely amongst my Top 5 favorite new releases for the year. Believe me; you will be missing out on something really special if you don’t hear this album.

The Posies “She’s Coming Down Again!” (mp3)

(from the Rykodisc CD, Blood/Candy, 2010)

Day 2 - Fixed Up

Many years ago, I received in the mail an awesome compilation titled The Violence Inherent in the System that contained 22 killer European garage and punk rock tracks that were compiled by the ever resourceful Steve Gardner of NKVD Records. It’s certainly one of the better compilations that I’ve ever heard and the last I checked Steve was all but giving them away (although in some cases he was doing that as well).

Anyways, out of all the bands contained on the comp., the ones I gravitated towards the most were put out by a French label called Closer Records, a label of which the internet provides precious little information although over the years I’ve been able to obtain some of their record (e.g., Scuba Drivers, Chameleons Day, City Kids). One of their releases and bands I only recently discovered earlier this year was Fixed Up and their absolutely stunner Vital Hours LP.

This power trio plays a mix of 60s RnB and 70s punk with an underlying swing of rockabilly to their songs, miming a fair bit from pub-rock bands like Eddie & The Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood. There also seems to be an allegiance to the 80s Aussie Rock scene and bands like the Sunnyboys and the Stems which is probably no great stretch as Radio Birdman’s Rob Younger produced a fair bit of Fixed Up’s material, Vital Hours included. This probably explains why the album is meant to be played LOUD which I did all throughout this past summer.

The Vital Hours LP was given the…ahem…expanded treatment a couple of years ago by the folks over at…ahem…Sons of the Dolls by tacking on all of the non-album tracks released around the same time, this song included. While guitarist Francois Lebas’ power chords gives the song its thrust, the real melody that’ll have you humming comes from Mephisto’s intricate basslines. The female backing vocals only add to the fun.

Fixed Up “Who Is Innocent” (mp3)

(from the Closer Records via Sons of the Dolls blog LP, Vital Hours (Expanded), 1987 (2008)

Day 1 - The Carson Mcullers

In an effort to jump-start the idle activity this blog has seen in recent months, I thought it might be kind of fun to count down daily to Christmas Day some of my favorite musical discoveries that were made throughout 2010 in lieu of doing any kind of “best-of” list. Let’s face it, many of these lists all look the same and since I also discovered a fair number of not-so-current acts in an effort to round out my constantly growing collection, I though it might be worthwhile to include some of those as well. That being said, I have no illusion that I’ll actually get through each and every one of the next 25 days but it’ll be fun to give it a whirl.

The Carson Mcullers, named after the early-to-mid-20th Century author and playwright, are a Chicago collective who specialize in grandiose rock akin to Catherine Wheel’s 1997 LP, Adam & Eve, as well as what The Verve and Spiritualize did throughout their careers; shoegazing without really shoegazing. That being said, these guys come off as being not-so-crisp sounding as those aforementioned groups as there’s a grungier, swamp-sounding element to their music that suggests some 60s Byrds/Pink Floyd/Neil Young inspired folk and psychedelic roots as well. Suffice to say, there’s a lot going on with there latest album, For Esme (see songs such as “10 Best Things,” “Brother” and “Cub Scout”), that I’m still trying to wrap my brain around as I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks but so far this is one of the more inspired new releases I’ve heard this year.

The Carson Mcullers “Tom Jones” (mp3)

(from the Rainy Day Collective CD, For Esme, 2010)