Outré California. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays. RIP Sly Stone.
34.1090° N, 118.2334° W . . .
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Summertime, summer sounds. Since 2015 the Villard De Lans, France based label Heavenly Sweetness has been dropping semi-regular sonic island soaks into the digital sphere and beyond via their ongoing Antilles Series. Curating from a wide swath of French Caribbean gems, the series saw the release of its seventh installment this April via a reissue of Luc-Hubert Séjor's 1979 polyrhythmic LP, Mizik Filamonik - Spiritual Sound. The Séjor release also serves as a welcome return to the series, its first post-Covid, following 2019's Chinal Ka 1973 -1995. Dive in, the water's warm . . .
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A new compilation excavates the curious history and powerful sound of Repetition Repetition, a 1980s L.A. guitar/keys duo that merged the transcendental dissonance of the avant-garde with the serene pulse of new age and the limber nerves of rock ‘n’ roll. Surviving member Steve Caton recalls the scene, hanging out with a Toto guitarist, meeting with Harold Budd and a wedding-reception run-in with Jon Hassell . . .
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The universe isn't hurting for more albums filled with gorgeous waves of melody and pillowy drones produced by synthesizers. But when the person behind said music is Peter Baumann, you'd be right to sit up and pay attention to it. He joined us to discuss Nightfall, his recently-released studio album that sets an appropriately dusky tone over nine tracks of smoldering ambient and gently experimental pop . . .
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The moniker of Berlin-based musician and visual artist Miro Denck, TWÏNS weaves a comforting medley of warmly obtuse, jazz-rooted artifacts. The stitched, fragmentary palette of sophomore effort Healing Dreams feels equal parts Soft Machine jazz-psych and Brazilian MPB (with echoes of golden seventies AM pop). The subtleties of the record's sequencing function as a revolving framework that allows for each exploration to pivot and manifest rather than crafting a feeling of jumbled excess . . .
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From the moment Lonnie Liston Smith's tantalizing piano chords are joined by the unmistakable vocals of Leon Thomas on "Prince Of Peace" it's clear that Izipho Zam is going to be a very special recording. Liston Smith is on fire and the yodelling strains of Leon Thomas backed by a host of percussionists elevate the material to the spiritual jazz equivalent of an apex predator. It nearly swallows you whole. While Karma and Thembi get a disproportionate amount of attention in the Pharoah Sanders canon, the alchemical Izipho Zam is right up there with the very best of . . .
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In summer 1977 the Charles Mingus Quintet rolled into South America on tour. It was the second time he’d been there and these shows would be among his last. As such Mingus in Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts would be essential listening for anyone interested in his music. But thankfully it’s more than just that . . .
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I’ll Be Waving As You Drive Away is the culmination of Hayden Pedigo’s Motor Trilogy, an album cycle documenting an unintended journey of becoming that has seen the guitarist step firmly into his own as a both player and composer, evolving from fingerpicking wunderkind to one of the foremost ambassadors of modern guitar soli. Pedigo sounds assured and perfectly at home here, his lithe picking at once deliberate and full of surprises, augmented with delicately arranged electric guitar, pedal steel, synth, and strings that imbue each micro-narrative with a pastoral psychedelicism . . .
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Power pop is a genre built for mainstream appeal—big hooks, catchy riffs, ear-worm melodies—yet dominated by bands that never broke through, making it the most radio-friendly music that rarely made it to the radio.
Here are just a few unsung bands from the second-wave era of 1970s power pop. While these artists may be lesser-known, they’re just as bittersweet as Big Star, as rollicking as The Romantics, and as melodic as Eric Carmen . . .
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Maturity is a tricky thing for pop stars. There’s nothing more ridiculous than a middle-aged, culturally relevant millionaire spouting verses about teenage romance and frustrated lust. But on the other hand, you don’t really want to hear the idols of your youth opining on tax strategies and expensive schooling options for their offspring. Jarvis Cocker, here in his first album as Pulp in a quarter century, navigates this difficulty with skill. He still oozes rock star charisma (“I was born to perform/It's a calling/I exist to do this/Shouting and pointing” from “Spike Island . . .
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Outré California. 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 . . .
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We caught up with Haley Fohr in a late spring break between tours to talk about her album, Halo On The Inside, her collaboration with the producer Andrew Broder (aka Fog), her journey in developing her voice and her collaborations with artists including Bitchin Bajas and Bill Nace. Fohr sees her work on Halo as among her most accessible, but it remains an extraordinary document of artistic fearlessness. And that courage and willingness to experiment is at the heart of what she looks for and strives for in music . . .
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Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987 is the first ever archival release from Repetition Repetition, the “two-man electric minimalist band” consisting of Ruben Garcia and Steve Caton and is high point in the Freedom To Spend label's catalog. Originating from Los Angeles in the mid 80s the duo self released tapes in tiny editions with nary a live performance. Drawing on a wide breadth of influences the music presented on this set exists at a liminal space where a number of impulses intersect. Hints of This Heat and Popol Vuh's reveries appear as well as chant . . .
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When it comes to Stereolab, the fact that nobody else can make music quite like them should be justification enough for their return. Instant Holograms on Metal Film is a record for the faithful: stately, relaxed, flush with rhythmic and instrumental detail. To slip inside is to rejoin our previously scheduled program with minimum interruption . . .
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OK, so not every northern California band that played the Fillmore West or the Family Dog back in the late 1960s needs to be rediscovered and given a deluxe reissue treatment. But Weird Herald deserves your attention — and anyway, barely anyone heard them during their brief lifespan. On the scene from 1967 to 1969, the group released just one promo-only 45 and didn’t even see too much success on the Bay Area club circuit. But Just Yesterday, a new compilation drawn primarily from ancient, nicely toasted reel-to-reel tapes, proves beyond reasonable doubt that Weird Herald had . . .
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