Staff Picks for April 2017
April 30, 2017
Machine-driven blues rock made by unshaven dum dums sounded like the worst idea ever in 1983 and it still sounds that way 50 years later. Still, ZZ Top made it work because the songs were genius-level stupid, sneakily underplayed and catchier than beard lice.
April 29, 2017
This glorious mashup from 2002 is a killer party starter. Tossing classics from ELO, the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, Dolly Parton, New Order, Salt-N-Pepa, and the Breeders into a blender with Peaches, Destiny's Child, Royksopp, Skee-Lo, Basement Jaxx, and many more, the Soulwax duo crafted a mix that stands tall fifteen years later. The Belgian siblings new Soulwax release, From Deewee, is a perfect reason to revisit this early aughts classic.
April 28, 2017
As New Jersey lunatics Dillinger Escape Plan wind down their career, it's a good time to flash back to their first masterpiece, a jagged, disconcerting collection of songs that sprinted by at hyperspeed but revealed multitudes upon closer examination. The first two songs have remained live staples, but further rewards can be gained from moody fragments like "The Running Board" and "4th Grade Dropout."
April 27, 2017
Easily one of the greatest industrial albums ever made, bar none, this hit like a bombshell and influenced more bands and songs than can be counted--check "Headhunter" and "Until Death (Us Do Part)." The overall feeling of militaristic, blunt efficiency encompasses music, artwork, and lyrics.
April 26, 2017
2017 marks the 20th anniversary of some of landmark albums -- Radiohead's OK Computer, Bjork's Homogenic -- but those weren't the year's only excellent releases. Case in point: Jonathan Fire*Eater's Dreamworks debut and final album, Wolf Songs for Lambs. Jonathan Fire*Eater was one of the more unlikely bands to benefit from major labels signing as many indie bands as they could in the post-Nirvana feeding frenzy, and this set of songs is arguably some of their densest, most challenging music. Defined by Walter Martin's Farfisa haze and Stewart Lupton's snarling vocals, the band's murky swirl of garage, punk and blues remains as disorienting and fascinating as ever.
April 25, 2017
Having already proven himself as the most worthy heir to the Texas blues throne -- or at least Guitar Slim reincarnate -- Doctor Velvet found the guitarist/vocalist channeling the spirits of Albert King, Freddy King and Otis Rush in one long, funky burst of late-'50s and early-'60s go-go blues ectoplasm. From the inspired reworking of garage rock icons the Sonics' "Shot Down" to the Louis Prima-meets-Fats Domino vocals on "Don't Be Angry," Curran deftly expanded his vision.
April 24, 2017
2017 marks the 20th anniversary of some of landmark albums -- Radiohead's OK Computer, Bjork's Homogenic -- but those weren't the year's only excellent releases. Case in point: Edith Frost's stark, heartbreakingly beautiful debut album. Thanks to its stripped-down sound and Frost's simple yet evocative singing and songwriting, it hasn't aged a day (and might even sound fresher now than some of those familiar classics). For anyone who loves heartache and twang without a lot of fuss, Calling Over Time is a must.
April 23, 2017
This is a superb, virtually unknown album by the Japanese vocalist Phew, formerly of the punk/no wave band Aunt Sally. Backed by members of Can -- Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit -- and recorded at Conny Planck's studios in Germany, it has the earmarks of an album Can could have made, had they taken a different path after Ege Bamyasi.
April 22, 2017
The Engineers' early-'90s shoegaze meets mid-'90s space rock is so reverent to its mistress, one wonders if the reels weren't pulled from a 4AD time capsule buried in the English countryside. Their attention to sonic detail, unabashed romanticism, and instantly engaging melodies should win them legions of fans who grow misty-eyed at the mention of the names Slowdive, Spiritualized, and the Pale Saints.
April 21, 2017
Norwegian composer/engineer Helge Sten released three albums of haunting electro-acoustic drone under the name Deathprod, and they're all set to be reissued on vinyl soon. 2004's Morals and Dogma has long been acknowledged as Sten's opus, and its eerie, hypnotic compositions for violin, harmonium, and musical saw are as transcendent as ever.
April 20, 2017
Arguably the best live heavy metal album of all time (and arguable only if the counterpoint is Unleashed in the East), Live After Death is Iron Maiden at the absolute pinnacle of their powers, on their mid-80s World Slavery Tour, when "Powerslave" and "Aces High" were fresh, and Bruce Dickinson still sounded enthused about singing songs from the band's first two albums.
April 19, 2017
It's difficult to know where to begin when approaching an artist as wonderful as Ella Fitzgerald, especially when covering a revered recording like this from the late '50s. The set includes 32 songs chosen from Berlin's collection of nearly 800 tunes, and the selections are perfectly suited for Fitzgerald's voice and her romantic sensibility: upbeat, occasionally sad, and full of swinging rhythm.
April 18, 2017
Though Jazzanova's underground credibility and respect among fellow artists never wavered during the late '90s, the German six-piece waited a long time to release a proper full-length (reportedly, it required five years of recording). In Between certainly proves the wait was worth it; the collective has not only a Teutonic efficiency for creating complex, precise, detailed beat tracks -- recalling the earthier side of house, hip-hop, and jazz fusion -- but also the wisdom to focus away from music that sounds like it came out of a laboratory.
April 17, 2017
By day, Steve Stein was a mild mannered advertising executive, but by night, he was Steinski, an obsessive hip-hop fan who redefined the mastermix with his joyous, maddening sonic collages that filtered decades of popular culture through dance-friendly beats. This essential collection brings together his underground hits of the '80s (including his legendary debut "The Payoff Mix") along with his album-length masterpiece, Nothing To Fear.
April 16, 2017
Recorded in glam metal dominated Los Angeles in 1989, Steve Earle's third record was his first outright foray into rock and yielded strong material and powerful performances in the form the moonshining title track and the Pogues-assisted "Johnny Come Lately."
April 15, 2017
One of the most savage albums in the Death catalog, the band's second LP was the first death metal album produced by Scott Burns, who would go on to define the style's sound on record. The complexity was taken up a notch, making for a slightly less meat-and-potatoes affair than its predecessor, but Chuck Schuldiner's later progressive tendencies hadn't yet taken control.
April 14, 2017
Mona Bone Jakon was dominated by images of death, but the album was also about survival and hope. Stevens' craggy voice, with its odd breaks of tone and occasional huskiness, lent these sometimes sketchy songs depth, and the understated instrumentation further emphasized their seriousness.
April 13, 2017
The all-girl metal band was pals with Motorhead, which is cool enough, but they made some pretty good records on their own. This one from 1980 features lots of guitar riffs and gritty vocals, plus at least one classic tune, "Emergency."
April 12, 2017
Easily one of the best entry points in the sprawling Swans discography, The Great Annihilator contains some of the most immediate songs they've ever written. Rather than the 30 minute epics of their last few albums, this one gets straight to the point with its normal-length tracks, and it just keeps delivering hit after hit. It's due to be reissued this month, appearing on vinyl for the first time since its original release, and also as a double CD including Michael Gira's debut solo album Drainland.
April 11, 2017
The second collaboration between this California rocker and producer Lindsey Buckingham -- with backing vocals by Stevie Nicks -- netted the smash "Magnet And Steel," a number eight hit universally considered one of the finest singles of 1978. It may have condemned the songwriter to one hit wonder status, but shouldn't have. It's a flawless collection of sunny, hooky rockers and glossy ballads about the good life in Southern California during one of its most celebrated -- and coked out -- eras.
![The Virgin Suicides [Original Soundtrack]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0000001306/front/400/V-qE9PQa233fPOCi8YTc7VWnbEN5fCjifro6xhIBuB4=.jpg)
April 10, 2017
The French duo's enchanting score for Sophia Coppola's 1999 film was perhaps an odd choice to follow up their acclaimed debut, but it stands on its own as a beautifully layered slice of minor key lounge pop.
April 9, 2017
If you ever wished Little Richard wasn't so darn shy, you should investigate the work of Esquerita, who taught Richard his percussive keyboard style and was by any standard a wilder and more manic performer (though Richard had the edge in songcraft). Vintage Voola is a collection of rare demos preserving some of Esquerita's wildest and most pounding sides; an excellent companion to the numerous reissues of his (slightly) more polite Capitol Records sessions of the '50s.
April 8, 2017
The Irish band's fourth effort might just be their best and last great album. While it doesn't have the hits found on the first three LPs, it's home to some of their best singles ("Animal Instinct," "Just My Imagination," and "Promises") and deep cuts ("Delilah," "Desperate Andy," and "Fee Fi Fo"). Their acoustic hits album arrives at the end of the month and Hatchet is a good reminder of the Cranberries at their peak.
April 7, 2017
Before he helped launched the roots rocket that is JD McPherson, former-Mighty Blue Kings bassist/vocalist Jimmy Sutton mapped out McPherson's trajectory with his own swinging combo The Four Charms. Featuring guitarist/vocalist Joel Paterson, as well as baritone saxophonist Jonathan Doyle, and drummer Jim Barclay, the Four Charms' debut, Flatland Boogie, plays like a TNT-packed love letter to juke joint-ready, post-war rockin' R&B.
April 6, 2017
Taking its name from a passage in Scottish author, poet, and minister George MacDonald' fantasy novel Phantastes: A Faerie Romance for Men and Women, Room to Roam extends the scope of the group's previous effort, the remarkable Fisherman's Blues, by integrating that album's Irish and Scottish folk elements further into the rock and pop nether regions.
April 5, 2017
There's a warm, wistful, melancholia to the fourth Egyptians album that wasn't as present on the band's previous releases. Songs like the beautiful "One Long Pair of Eyes" and the gently obscure "Veins of the Queen" hint at the type of material Robyn Hitchcock would deliver a year later on his classic 1990 acoustic solo effort Eye. With Queen Elvis, the band was at their classiest and Hitchcock's excellent songs were well-served by Andy Metcalfe's tasteful fretless bass parts and Morris Windsor's artful drumming.
April 4, 2017
Taking a break from St. Etienne to record her first solo album, Sarah shocked her fans by taking a detour into ambient death metal! Or....she made an album that upped the pop breeziness and sunny charm of her day job with none of their rampant pop culture references and nostalgia. A minor pleasure, but still something to turn to when you're in the mood for something warm and bright that won't tax your aching brain.
April 3, 2017
The members of this Canterbury supergroup -- hailing from Caravan, Egg, Matching Mole, and Gong -- didn't merely rest on their laurels on this debut disc from 1974 and, with plenty of help from the likes of Robert Wyatt, Henry Cow's Geoff Leigh, and the lovely Northettes, they turned a new page in the Canterbury story.
April 2, 2017
This all star version of the Lounge Lizards included the John and Evan Lurie, Steven Bernstein, Michael Blake, David Tronzo, G.Calvin Weston and Ben Perowsky. Perfectly illustrating John's "non-jazz" approach, it is an album filled with hypnotic tunes based on circular rhythms and a near magical lyricism.
April 1, 2017
This 1986 release would be worth the price of an album if only for its infectious single "Happy Hour," a Top Three hit in the U.K. Instead, it offers a full lineup of tuneful, peppy guitar pop. Lurking amongst the jangle are sardonic, socio-politically aware lyrics, also a trait of leader Paul Heaton's solo material and his post-Housemartins group, the Beautiful South.