As we so often find with the relics of the 1960s, Jim Glover resurfaced in the eighties with a private press disc. Released under the one-off Fang Records, No Need to Explain finds the songwriter in true folky form with just a man, a set of strings, and his words at the microphone.
Author: Justin Gage
Alex Izenberg & The Exiles
Through numbly whispered vocals and mushy mellow vibes, Alex Izenberg & the Exiles attempt to distill from 1970s radio rock the elixir of heartbreak and its philosophical innards, mindfully administering the pharmakon of despair here and there: inexorable solitude and oneiric unveilings of being; emotional parallaxes of all sorts; love as a function of time and time as a function of love; and the good old fear of death.
The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)
Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
The Congos :: Heart of the Congos
Hyperbole is near impossible when critiquing Heart Of The Congos, from the untouchable Lee “Scratch” Perry production to the unparalleled vocal harmonies, seamless flow and monumental influence on music within and outside of the realms of reggae. Yet it’s also a record whose magic defies scrutiny. It is inscrutable, effervescent and like the ocean upon which the Fisherman toils, its beauty, power and impact shifts according to environmental factors and the mood of the observer.
Lee Underwood :: California Sigh
Ambient, post-fusion jazz, minimalism, field recording, electronic extravaganzas and musique concrete manifestos — all could be sold as New Age with the right kind of window dressing and perhaps a little bit of sweetening. California Sigh, Underwood’s self-released 1988 cassette now issued on LP for the first time by Drag City, dips slightly into field recording and electronic spheres, but otherwise sticks to another major venerable New Age pathway: solo acoustic guitar.
Bandcamping :: Summer 2024
We’re back in the thick of another wild summer — political unrest, insanely high temperatures, shark attacks, etc. For some aural AC, dig into a selection of highly recommended recent releases that run the gamut: private press folk from the 1980s to acoustic guitar Kraftwerk to sweet sounds from Senegal.
Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: July 2024
Freeform transmissions from Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard on dublab. Airing every third Sunday of the month, RFAD on dublab features the pairing of Tyler Wilcox’s Doom and Gloom from the Tomb and Chad DePasquale’s New Happy Gathering. This month features DePasquale’s sweet mix of psychedelic rock, samba, MPB, and highlife, followed by Wilcox’s selection of rarities / demos / outtakes / faves by the legendary Linda Thompson. Sunday, 4-6pm PT.
Videodrome :: The Last Party (1993)
Shot during the contested 1992 presidential election between George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, The Last Party is both an American time capsule and a disheartening case of déjà vu.
Jake Xerxes Fussell :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
The quality of Jake Xerxes Fussell’s output has stayed remarkably consistent over his first five albums, but his confidence in his abilities as an interpreter and the audacity of his song selection continue to grow. The nine songs on his newest, When I’m Called, gather out of the vastness of the past few centuries of sung songs to talk to one another, elaborate on one another, and thread each other through with intertwined meaning.
Herbie Hancock :: Fat Albert Rotunda
A pivotal transitional piece for Herbie Hancock, there are some crucial factors that have kept Fat Albert Rotunda perpetually under the radar. And while Head Hunters this is not, Fat Albert Rotunda is more of a prophetic, transitional piece in the keyboardist’s storied jazz-funk evolution than most realize on the surface. There’s no mistaking that these arrangements are decisively more R&B than the electric, synthesizer-laced fusion sounds that would soon follow, making the record a peculiar bridge gap.
The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)
Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W
Anne Phillips :: Born To Be Blue (1959)
Released in 1959, Anne Phillips’ debut album takes listeners on a journey through the melancholic twilights of a bygone New York City, one that you can only find in bar-stool memories of young love and innocence lost. If there ever was an album for the wee small hours of the morning, it’s Phillips’ Born To Be Blue.
Color Green :: Fool’s Parade
Rusty, dusty, good ‘n’ trusty, Color Green are back at it with Fool’s Parade, their second long-player which furthers the band’s evolution from songwriting/studio project to full-fledged rock’n’roll road dogs.
Cassandra Jenkins :: My Light, My Destroyer
This is a larger, more polished piece of work than Overview, with cleaner, more enveloping production and one or two blow-out rock songs. Yet, as is her custom, Jenkins slips thoughtful social commentary into even the most hedonistic tracks.
Lijadu Sisters :: Horizon Unlimited
Numero Group has just announced a high fidelity release of the Lijadu Sisters’ beloved 1979 album Horizon Unlimited, This is the first in a multi-year series of records (including unreleased material!) in a campaign to bring the pioneers of Nigerian afro-pop to a wider audience, a project that the label calls “equal parts reissue and reparation.”