Pile Odds And Ends Exploding In Sound Records [2018] Who: Boston-based Pile please their fans with an essential compilation of their twisted, genre-defying songs. Sound: Odds and Ends is a tidy collection of Pile songs that span 2010-2017. TFN Final Take: It’s no secret that I am a big Pile fan. Odds and Ends does … Read more
Big Bite Big Bite Pop Wig Records [2018] Who: Seattle, Washington based Big Bite have released a stunning debut album. Sound: Big Bite’s debut is a bold and satisfying mix of Wipers and contemporaries such as Pardoner and Baked. TFN Final Take: I have been a Big Bite tear for the past month. Their self-titled … Read more
Brian Owens Soul Of Cash Soul Step Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Brian Owens shares his soul with Johnny Cash! Album Review: I think in today’s vast music scene, cover records are merely blown off as a novelty or simply overlooked. Even for established artists, a cover record is typically assumed to just be a … Read more
Doffing Tower Of Ten Thousand Miles Self-Released [2018] Who: Montreal’s Doffing may have released one of 2018’s best albums. Tower of Ten Thousand Miles is flying under the radar, but try your best to lock on and engage. Sound: Doffing emulate and honor 90’s indie rock with an entertaining blend of weirdo rock that is … Read more
Ovlov Tru Exploding in Sound Records [2018] Who: Newtown, Connecticut’s Ovlov return after 5 years to release a vibrant, noisy and fascinating album. Sound: Ovlov’s brand of melancholy muscle fuzz soars high on their new LP. TFN Final Take: It’s been a few years since the last Ovlov LP, am, came out, but time has … Read more
The Coke Dares Fake Lake Third Uncle Records [2018] Who: Bloomington, Indiana’s, The Coke Dares return with a 35 track album that will delight and amuse listeners. Sound: The Coke Dares blend humor with oddball catchy power-pop that falls somewhere in the realm of Guided By Voices meets DEVO with a dash of Ween for … Read more
Tony Molina Kill The Lights Slumberland Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Concise perfection. Album Review: Tony Molina does not mess around with tracks. His ripping guitar mix of fuzz that was his 2013 record, Dissed And Dismissed, ran 12 songs in just over 11 minutes. His Confront The Truth EP (2016) contained 8 songs in … Read more
Kamasi Washington Heaven And Earth Young Turks [2018] Who: Kamasi Washington is a multi-instrumentalist and producer born and raised in Los Angeles. He grew up playing jazz in the city’s storied Leimert Park neighborhood. Forming his first band, the Young Jazz Giants, with Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, Ronald Bruner, Jr. and Cameron Graves in high school, … Read more
Canshaker Pi Naughty Naughty Violence Excelsior Recordings [2018] Who: Having spent the last few years supporting artists such as Car Seat Headrest, Parquet Courts and the Cribs, Amsterdam-based rock quartet Canshaker Pi have released their sophomore record, Naughty Naughty Violence. Sound: Blistering indie rock that fits in with Parquet Courts while bringing back memories of … Read more
Johnny Marr Call The Comet New Voodoo Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Johnny Marr, groundbreaking guitarist with The Smiths, The The, Modest Mouse, delivers all the goods – solid songs, satisfying vocals, and of course great guitar sounds – on his 3rd solo album. Album Review: During The Smiths short brilliant career they released 4 … Read more
Father John Misty God’s Favorite Customer Sub Pop Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Father John Misty narrows his scope with improved results. Album Review: Josh Tillman is once again a music writer (and thinker’s) dream. He provides material in each song, each album, that invites a strong reaction and curious reflection. While his 2017 LP … Read more
Richard Edwards Verdugo Profound Discomfort [2018] Fire Note Says: Verdugo is a dreamy, free-floating work of moody melodies and emotional release. Album Review: The twelfth song on Richard Edwards’ towering 2017 release Lemon Cotton Candy Sunset is called “Pornographic Teens.” It’s a tune that moves along nicely and showcases Edwards at his moody best, combining … Read more
Neko Case Hell-On ANTI- Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Indie rock icon, chanteuse and auteur, Neko Case returns after 5 years with a strong self-produced collection of songs, her best yet. Album Review: It’s been five years since Neko Case’s last album, but it’s not as if she’s been silent since the release of The … Read more
Wire Pink Flag (Special Edition Reissue) Pinkflag [2018] Chairs Missing (Special Edition Reissue) Pinkflag [2018] 154 (Special Edition Reissue) Pinkflag [2018] Fire Note Says: Influential British punk band Wire is re-issuing their three earliest albums, including special editions that unearth b-sides, demos, rarities and previously unreleased recordings. Album Review: I think it was Brian Eno … Read more
Parquet Courts Wide Awake! Rough Trade Records [2018] Who: Indie rock icons, Parquet Courts shift gears and deliver a fresh and vital album. Sound: Parquet Courts join forces with producer Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse and come dangerously close to recording their best album. TFN Final Take: When I heard that Parquet Courts were teaming … Read more
Sleep The Sciences Third Man Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Follow the smoke once more to the riff filled lands. Sleep now presents you with the riff tree Album Review: Over dunes, you’ve walked many miles, your entire body is heavy from the punishing journey. You’ve done as Jerusalem’s sacred texts have said, you followed … Read more
Laura Veirs The Lookout Raven Marching Band Records [2018] Fire Note Says: Laura Veirs is indie folk’s best-kept secret, and she delivers one of her most rewarding records with The Lookout Album Review: Laura Veirs music effortlessly evokes the cool, misty forests of her Pacific Northwest home-base of Portland, Oregon. Her music has always been … Read more
Astral Swans Strange Prison Tiny Room Records [2018] Who: Calgary’s Astral Swans sophomore LP, Strange Prison is a haunting and stark look into the imaginative psyche of songwriter Matthew Swann . Sound: Matthew Swann’s quirky blend of lo-fi melancholic folk rock stays with you long after the album finishes playing. TFN Final Take: 2015’s My … Read more
Archie And The Bunkers Songs From The Lodge Dirty Water Records [2018] Who: Archie and The Bunkers are the Cleveland-based duo of Emmett and Cullen O’Connor, brothers who have been playing music together for as long as they can remember. Songs From The Lodge is the groups sophomore album. Sound: Described as “Hi-Fi organ punk,” … Read more
Amen Dunes Freedom Sacred Bones Records [2018] Who: Freedom is Amen Dunes (aka the project of New York-based Damon McMahon) fifth album, and the follow-up to 2014’s Love. Sound: Amen Dunes brings a high level of sophistication to its psychedelic indie and at time folkish tracks. Freedom has a War On Drugs, Kevin Morby, and … Read more
David Byrne American Utopia Nonesuch Records [2018] Fire Note Says: David Byrne brings his years of musical experimentation, as a primary creative force in Talking Heads, and through his ten studio albums, collaborations with Brian Eno and others, as well as his work on various film scores into conversation with American pop culture, and has … Read more
Tim Easton Paco & The Melodic Polaroids Campfire Propaganda [2018] Who: Tim Easton is an Ohio-raised singer/songwriter, now firmly based out of Nashville, which has a solid catalog of alt-country/Americana/folk recordings that span over two decades to his rowdier days with the Haynes Boys in 1996. Sound: Tim Easton can give you all different sides … Read more
Greed Island Nest Egg Salty Speakers [2018] Who: Dover, New Hampshire’s Greed Island 7-track EP, Nest Egg, is one of the best things I have heard in 2018. Sound: Greed Island generate a heady buzz with their brand of indie guitar rock that will remind listeners of Archers of Loaf, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. TFN … Read more
The Decemberists I’ll Be Your Girl Capitol Records [2018] Fire Note Says: This one is a keeper. Album Review: When The Decemberists’ first single for I’ll Be Your Girl, “Severed” showed up on the appropriate alternative-friendly satellite radio stations a few weeks ago, I bet I wasn’t the only fan to begin worrying that the … Read more
Guided By Voices Space Gun GBV, Inc. [2018] Fire Note Says: Robert Pollard and his band of merry men use every trick in the book and create a masterpiece. Album Review: I have been a fan of Guided By Voices since I first heard Bee Thousand way back in 1994. It seemed timeless yet still … Read more