Tuesday, March 24, 2020

The Sound He Appears To Make

Considering how there hasn’t been much news regarding live performances, it seemed like a good time to experiment with a new feature designed to promote music being released by recording artists around the world. I’ll continue to post full album reviews as well.

This coming Friday, March 27, we’ll see the Gigaton abum from Pearl Jam and Aporia from Sufjan Stevens.

Futureman Records honors XTC in a big way with its 49-track compilation Garden Of Earthly Delights – An XTC Celebration. Most of the acts involved aren’t household names, but they obviously can appreciate and bring to life the simultaneously sophisticated and eccentric allure of the English trio. Among the numerous highlights are “Respectable Street” by Dot Dash; “Life Begins At The Hop” by The Kickstand Band; “The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead” by Chris Price; “Don’t Lose Your Temper” by Derrick Anderson; “Vanishing Girl” by Bepopalula; a “Rocket From A Bottle”/“That Wave” mashup by Plasticsoul; and “Love On A Farmboy’s Wages” by Jason Berk. Garden Of Earthly Delights is available in digital and CD formats; some tracks are digital only.

The Boomtown Rats recently released Citizens Of Boomtown, which is their first album in 36 years.

Ex-Norwegian, a Miami-based band I’ve been following since I heard their irresistible cover of the Bay City Rollers hit “It’s A Game” on a split single from the U.K. vinyl label Fruits de Mer back in 2015, have a new album coming out on June 5. Hue Spotting is now available for pre-order in digital, CD, and vinyl formats on Bandcamp. The song “Bloody Parrots!” from Hue Spotting can already be downloaded, and it suggests Ex Norwegian will be continuing with its quirky power pop/garage rock approach.

The Chicago-based psychedelic band Hushdrops will be releasing its first album in six years, according to a recent post on their Facebook page from founding member John San Juan. Fans can get a preview by checking out the lengthy song “I Had A Room” on YouTube.

Moby’s new album All Visible Objects is now available.

The American Laundromat indie label has been on a roll with tribute albums; starting with Juliana Hatfield honoring Olivia Newton John and The Police on separate releases. Tanya Donelly and The Parkington Sisters have a CD coming out in August with cover songs of The Go-Go’s, The Pretenders, Leonard Cohen, The Kinks, Paul McCartney, and other acts. It’s now available for pre-order on the label’s website. And, American Laundromat is offering Just Like Heaven - A Tribute To The Cure in cassette and CD format. 17 indie acts are featured covering classic Cure material.

Musician/producer Brian Eno and his pianist Roger have collaborated for the first time with their new album Mixing Colours. It came out last Friday.

The digital single “Last One Standing” is the first new music from the Boston-based punk band The Dents in quite some time, and it’s available as a free download on the Rum Bar Records Bandcamp page. The high-speed, guitar-driven arrangement and Jennifer D’Angora’s raw vocals bode well for an EP that’s due out this summer on the Rum Bar Records label.

Gregory Curvey, a founding member of the long-running psych/prog rock outfit The Luck Of Eden Hall, has another release on the way from his side project Custard Flux. Echo is being released on vinyl and will come with a six-song bonus CD. Curvey, who lives in Detroit but travels extensively across the astral plane, drifts easily across exotic songs such as “Holiday” and “It’s Just A Matter Of Time” on the CD.

California-based musician Richard Turgeon’s new single “Higher” is being used in April Abeyta and Kim Nucley’s new sports documentary After The Game. The film will have its premiere at the Piedmont Theatre in Oakland on March 26. Turgeon created “Higher” specifically for After The Game, which studies the positive effects competitive sports have on three athletes over two decades.

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