Staff Picks for October 2017
October 31, 2017
Nailbomb's first and only studio album combines the thrash-metal fury of Sepultura with the robotic industrial clangor of Fudge Tunnel in more or less equal proportions. There isn't much here by way of melody, but Nailbomb does have a mean punk streak, a full complement of relentless grinding riffs, and an industrial-strength percussive roar. Max Cavalera is currently performing the album live on tour with Soulfly.
October 30, 2017
A insightful and largely understated collection of songs, this album is a departure from both Walsh's muscular James Gang dude-rock and from what the Eagles were doing at the time. Side two's floating atmospheric tunes "Inner Tube" and the spectacularly named "Theme from Boat Weirdos" give way to the top 10 single "Life's Been Good," capping the album with a good-natured jab at the rock star lifestyle.
October 29, 2017
When Bis broke up in 2005, all of the original members reformed under the name Data Panik, along with ex-Kenickie Drummer Graham Christie and Manda Rin's husband, Stuart Memo. While technically a compilation of the tracks the band recorded during this period, it feels more cohesive than some of their previous outings. The songs are more inline with the band's new wave and post-punk tendencies than their later europop ones, while at the same time bringing out some of the enthusiasm that felt during earlier records like New Transistor Heroes.
October 28, 2017
Freddie Hubbard could make anything sound hip. Case in point, his 1976 commercial jazz effort Windjammer. Produced by Bob James, the album is the perfect soundtrack to a candle-lit date at a semi-classy stakehouse full of polished oak tables and red-naugahyde booths, or an after-dinner cruise down the Sunset Strip in your brand new Cadillac Eldorado. Even Hubbard's backing vocal-heavy version of Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver" grooves like a work of juicy, pure funk.
October 27, 2017
A finely-assembled anthology from one of Kiwi Pop's lesser celebrated groups, Songs From the Departure Lounge culls the brightest highlights from Able Tasmans' decade-long run on the Flying Nun roster, encapsulating their career quite well.
October 26, 2017
What's impressive about the final album from metallic hardcore band Premonitions of War is the way it communicates its heaviness without sounding sludgy or ungainly; on songs like "Black Den" and the frankly unbelievable "Stolen Breath," the tempo and rhythm changes are executed with impressive agility and precision, proving that music can still get a little faster, a little more aggressive, a little angrier, and a little more dense.
October 25, 2017
The Decemberists' early albums brought them well-deserved recognition for the literary preciousness of the lyrics and the maudlin maritime themes. In an abrupt left turn, The King Is Dead found the band teaming up with Americana sweethearts Gillian Welch & David Rawlings and R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, successfully changing the focus to the song with less emphasis on their thesaurus or old scrimshaw carvings.
October 24, 2017
One time I lived in this duplex that my landlord was in the process of selling. I would have to leave on and off so the real estate agent could do showings. I would leave this record on quietly on loop in my apartment in the hopes that potential buyers would think the house was haunted and I wouldn't have to move. It didn't work.
October 23, 2017
Since his death from cancer in 2012, Nick Curran's legacy as one of the most maverick and urgent roots artists of his generation has only grown deeper. His vintage, time-hopping aesthetic and raw, punk-informed energy are evident in the work of contemporaries like JD McPherson and the Black Keys. Still, listening to his exuberant yawp on Lloyd Price's "I'm Glad, Glad," it's hard to imagine anybody nailing post-war R&B with as much no-holds-barred gusto and charisma as Nick did.
October 22, 2017
Serving as a b-side bookend to the band's Head Full Of Dreams era, this EP surprises by reminding listeners of a younger, less poppy Coldplay (the distracting inclusion of the Chainsmokers' song aside). The Big Sean collaboration is upbeat, sure, but typically inspirational. Fans of X&Y and Ghost Stories should enjoy the remaining trio of songs that get dark, weird, and experimental, especially the Brian Eno reunion, "ALIENS."
October 21, 2017
A master class in the use of rhythm, dynamics, and energy, the Feelies' superlative debut album, 1980's Crazy Rhythms, is the thrilling sound of a bunch of hyper-caffeinated nerds who have surrendered to rock & roll abandon without ever losing control of their music. Gloriously intense and strikingly precise, this is the point where Philip Glass and garage rock meet, and the lean, wiry rush of this music still packs a wallop.
October 20, 2017
This stark and haunting collection of Nordic fusion compositions blend traditional instrumentation with contemporary song structures and progressive studio techniques. The result is something along the lines of an avant garde jazz ensemble spontaneously appearing fully-formed in the Swedish wilderness.
October 19, 2017
The Scottish singer/songwriter's fourth solo album is one of the finest things he's done, rivaling his best work with Aztec Camera and showing that even after over 30 years writing songs, he's not even close to running out of gas creatively.
October 18, 2017
Even though "Bust a Move" was such a massive hit, Stone Cold Rhymin' on a whole feels like an under appreciated gem of its era. The record boasts stellar production and shares many characteristics with the Beastie Boys' seminal Paul's Boutique, which also came out in 1989 and featured production by the Dust Brothers.
October 17, 2017
The third studio long-player from the Norwegian black metal scene's most accessible and unapologetically fun-loving purveyors of sonic brawn, Nattesferd finds Kvelertak flexing their greasepaint-lined NWOBHM muscles via a savage nine-track set of Valhallic party anthems. The album's most compelling moments go straight for the jugular, with taut, riff-tastic beasts of might and melody
October 16, 2017
Recorded in 1958 by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder, Cool Struttin' maintains a steady drive throughout, riding the balance between bandleader Clark's understated piano playing and Art Farmer's blistering trumpet. All of the players deserve recognition, but a particular highlight is saxophonist Jackie McLean leaning in on "Lover." A hard bop classic.
October 15, 2017
The debut full-length by the self-proclaimed Darkwave Duchess is one of the decade's best bedroom-recorded pop albums. Combining the longing and sensuality of Miami freestyle and '90s R&B with the coldness and isolation of '80s synth pop, the album is full of should-be-hits. After receiving acclaim as a digital-only release in 2015, it's now being pressed to vinyl courtesy of Ninja Tune.
October 14, 2017
A gem of idiosyncratic indie rock, this was the sole album by the former band slash performance alias of Jeff Taylor, who now records under his own name. Since its release in 2012, contributors that have expanded their own fan bases include drummer Mark Guiliana (David Bowie's Blackstar) and bassist Cole Whittle (DNCE). The athletic crooner himself was featured on Donny McCaslin's post-Blackstar LP Beyond Now, singing Bowie's "A Small Plot of Land."
October 13, 2017
Often overlooked in favor of Television's masterful debut album Marquee Moon, 1978's Adventure is a less forceful and more playful portrait of the band. But if it doesn't hit quite as hard as the first LP, Adventure still has everything that made this band great -- superb guitar work, a killer rhythm section, and brilliant songs, especially "Glory," "Carried Away," "Days," and "Ain't That Nothin'."
October 12, 2017
A contemporary jazz cult classic album if there ever was one, this merges the heart and soul of Detroit jazz and rhythm & blues while also tossing in a little Latin music. With guitarist Ron English, saxophonist Norma Jean Bell, drummer Leonard King, and percussionists Lorenzo Brown and Bud Spangler, keyboardist Woodard provided solid, head-nodding groove music punctuated by heady, at times spacy jazz improvisation that set the standard for any rival or modern-day jam band.
October 11, 2017
This live recording was made at Martyrs in Chicago, Illinois in May of 2006. Vocally, the innovative '80s MTV icon had not only seemingly failed to age a day, but he had become more expressive with age. Included are early hits such as "Europa and the Pirate Twiins," "Hyperactive," and, of course, "She Blinded Me With Science."
October 10, 2017
Rockpile's long-awaited 1980 masterpiece pooled together the efforts of power pop dynamos Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and Billy Bremner, going song-for-song with help of drummer Terry Williams. While this same quartet was also responsible for recording two Edmunds solo releases and another one credited to Lowe, Seconds of Pleasure would be the band's only official release.
October 9, 2017
This band of dorks from Jersey really nailed it on their first attempt. Breezy power pop with hard rock guitars, all hooks and sticky melodies. At least half the album sounds like AM radio hits and the rest is just plain old good rock & roll.
October 8, 2017
Circa 1976, this is a particularly effective effort with several numbers that remained in the guitarist's on-stage repertoire for quite some time -- "Telephone Angel," "On My Knees," the jumping "Four Full Seasons of Love." The addition of a brisk horn section enhances his staccato guitar attack and uncompromising vocals.
![One Hell of a Ride [Box Set]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0001664920/front/400/s88OUun5yrPmGl-Js5TTcZhUoDg0hsvx4F4sL4oO-nA=.jpg)
October 7, 2017
This is the first box to ever attempt a thorough overview of the artist's career, beginning with his earliest singles for Sarg and D, running through the countrypolitan Nashville productions for Liberty Records and wonderfully rambling RCA recordings of the '60s, then settling into the star-making sides for Columbia in the '70s and '80s and runs through his albums for Island and Mercury in the '90s and 2000s
October 6, 2017
I Am A Bird Now wasn't Antony and the Johnsons' first album, but it was the one where Antony Hegarty (now known as Anhoni) well and truly found his voice in the studio. A powerfully evocative set of songs about life, love, disappointment, and the search for hope, I Am A Bird Now is as fragile and and powerfully strong as the human spirit, and Hegarty's near-operatic control of his vocals is truly stunning in this context.
October 5, 2017
Often lumped in with early 90s nostalgia flotsam, the Gin Blossoms' second album stands out from the pack with its avoidance of irony and daring to create sincere jangle pop during the heyday of grunge. The album's biggest hits -- "Hey Jealousy" and the stealthily unsettling "Found Out About You" -- take on a darker pallor in light of the subsequent suicide of their writer, founding member Doug Hopkins.
October 4, 2017
One of those rare albums that is as genius as it is accessible, this delves deeply into the woozy style of glitch-dub Vladislav Delay made an art of with his Chain Reaction releases, yet it also has a steady rhythmic backbone rooted deeply in good old-fashioned (albeit heavily sedated) house music. Delay works some softly sung vocals into the mix -- here-and-there snippets that remain true to the clicks + cuts ideal -- to grand effect.
October 3, 2017
Various Artists
Cherry Red have been releasing multi-disc compilations exploring nearly every sub-genre of post-punk and college rock, and while they all seem ace, the Noise Floor ones, focusing on minimal-synth, proto-techno, and industrial, are easily my favorites. This one is entirely devoted to the U.K., which means that there's early tracks by synth pop stars like the Human League and OMD in addition to complete obscurities which previously only saw the light of day on cassette.
October 2, 2017
The Motorhead/Melvins-loving, Savannah, Georgia-based stoner/sludge/punk metal unit's much anticipated sophomore studio outing, Pillars of Ash is a straight-up haymaker of an album; an oil-stained middle finger rising out of the brackish water of a swamp forest.
October 1, 2017
As the deluxe reissue of the New York trio's seminal 2003 debut looms on the horizon, it's a good time to revisit this blast of pure energy. With her unbridled wail, Karen O wouldn't sound this wild again, like on "Tick," "Pin," "Black Tongue," and "Date With The Night." The album's closing comedown -- home to "Maps" -- is the clearest indication of the band's eventual evolution, an exciting reminder of how far they've come.