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The Lagniappe Sessions :: Big Bend

Big Bend Lagniappe SessionsPosted on

On their 2024 album Last Circle in a Slowdown, Big Bend took concert recordings and reconfigured them, bending that live energy into weird, spacious and intricate constructions. Leader Nathan Phillips does something similar for his project's first Lagniappe Session, turning these covers into loose, free and focused interpretations of the source material. Slowdown bore the light but pervasive imprint of Talk Talk, especially Mark Hollis' tentative yet determined phrasing and breathy, plein air timbre . . .

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R.E.M. :: Lifes Rich Pageant at 40

R.E.M.Posted on

R.E.M.'s fourth album may be 40 years old by the Gregorian calendar, but its cockeyed self-determination and wistful mistrust make it seem younger than many of the band's '90s records. Full of ambivalent emotions expressed in clear, ringing tones, the songs of Lifes Rich Pageant show a band waking up to its potential (commercial as well as artistic) and recognizing the extent of that discovery and what remained to be mapped out. Take a picture here, take a souvenir . . .

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Mildred :: Fenceline

MildredPosted on

An unassuming set of songs made by an unassuming four-piece, Fenceline rolls by in a little over thirty minutes. There is a certain sense of inertia to the record, the songs so strong and fundamentally enjoyable that you can’t help but listen to it in sequence, almost as if it were a real piece of wax on a turntable—or better yet, a scuffed CD in a six-disc changer. This is an album made for tooling around the streets of a town you don’t necessarily want to live in anymore, in a car that’s seen . . .

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Posted on Mildred

Adam Schatz :: A Test of Attention Spans and Contact Cleaner

Adam SchatzPosted on

Though he's known for his work with artists like Neko Case, Japanese Breakfast, and Hand Habits, and the prog-pop of Landlady, Adam Schatz steps fully into the role of spontaneous composer with his modal jazz and fractured bop-inspired forthcoming solo album Civil Engineering Vol. 1, out April 24 via Jealous Butcher Records . . .

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Radio Free Aquarium Drunkard :: April 2026

Radio Free Aquarium DrunkardPosted on

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, they’re both celebrating spring; Tyler kicks it off with mix of favorite jams old and new, followed by Chad’s hour of dream pop and art rock. Sunday, 4-6pm PT . . .

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Lee “Scratch”Perry & Mouse on Mars :: Rockcurry

Lee Perry Mouse on Mars Reggae/DubPosted on

Occasionally, a song breaks forth from the void and strikes you like a bolt of lightning. That's how it feels listening to "Rockcurry," from the late dub pioneer Lee "Scratch" Perry and electronic duo Mouse on Mars (Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma)'s forthcoming Spatial, No Problem, out on the June 5th on Domino Record Co. It feels a little like plugging a fork into the electrical socket. Shock. Boom. A whole new world . . .

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Posted on Lee Perry Mouse on Mars Reggae/Dub

Wendy Eisenberg  :: S/T

Wendy EisenbergPosted on

Wendy Eisenberg plays like a musical Bildungsroman. It's filled with mature reminiscences on old dreams (and their decay, and their radiance), the invisible coordination of a family, the constant mutations of life as it moves towards death, and the adventure of learning to embody yourself on the way there, while avoiding simple teleological notions of fortune and fate. It's a lesson in self-acceptance (or self-appeasement) as well as self-reinvention . . .

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White Fence :: Orange

White FencePosted on

Like an unwavering sonic horizon, Orange delivers a vibrant and jangly collection of songs that weren't just merely worth the wait, but feel like just the right amalgamation of musician Tim Presley's prolific career to date. The first White Fence record in over seven years, the chiming guitars and Ty Segall back behind the drum kit and console convey a warbly and mysteriously optimistic guiding light. Hence the record's namesake, the record offers a clear-eyed and bullish vibrancy in contrast to the downright foggy greys and blues of yesteryear . . .

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Posted on White Fence

Matching Mole :: S/T (1972)

Matching Mole Robert Wyatt Soft MachinePosted on

Following his departure from Soft Machine in 1971, Robert Wyatt's short-lived second outfit Matching Mole was a cohesive, progressive quartet of fellow Canterbury scene talents. Partly recalling early Softs sensibilities with Wyatt back behind both the drum kit and microphone, part furthering the avant-prog, free jazz and "voice as an instrument" sensibilities of his solo debut The End of an Ear. From clinically narrating the deconstruction of a pop song to experimental, improvisational mellotron jams, the band's 1972 eponymous debut is representative of the signature talents and eminent stroke of wit of Wyatt . . .

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Posted on Matching Mole Robert Wyatt Soft Machine

All One Song :: James Jackson Toth on “Thrasher”

James Jackson Toth Neil Young Podcast UncategorizedPosted on

And here to talk with us about “Thrasher” is ⁠James Jackson Toth⁠, a terrific songwriter whose career matches Neil in terms of eclectic, exploratory and highly personalized vibes. He’s been a man of many monikers over the years; there are records under his own name, there are records under the ever-morphing Wooden Wand designation; there’s DUNZA, there’s James and the Giants, there’s One Eleven Heavy and more. Whatever you end up checking out, you’re guaranteed to be transported to strange, funny and powerful places. The man who has a "What would Neil Young do . . .

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Posted on James Jackson Toth Neil Young Podcast Uncategorized

Aquarium Drunkard 21: June 26 & 27

Aquarium Drunkard PresentsPosted on

Two nights commemorating 21 years of long-form listening. Come blow some candles out with us on our birthday at the Teragram Ballroom here in Los Angeles on June 26th and 27th. On deck: LA's own SML, Fabiano do Nascimento, Genevieve Artadi, Reverberation Radio DJs, and more . . .

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Twisted Teens :: S/T & Blame The Clown

Twisted TeensPosted on

CPN Hollywell has a voice like a cat’s tongue, raspy but soft, with the rough-edged blues-i-ness of Greg Cartwright, the anthemic rock burr of Royal Headache’s Shogun Wall, the frenetic garage-roots energies of Thee Retail Simps. His band, out of New Orleans, plays a cracked, county-tinged punk rock, crusted in fuzz and zinging with frantic slides . . .

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Posted on Twisted Teens

The Lagniappe Sessions :: Shane Parish

Lagniappe Sessions Shane ParishPosted on

No stranger to transformation, Shane Parish has built a career that moves fluidly between original composition and interpretive work, distilling and reimagining inspired source material—from the intimate lyricism of Chet Baker to the transcendent soundscapes of Alice Coltrane—while continually expanding his own voice, most recently on Autechre Guitar. This installment of the Lagniappe Sessions finds Parish taking on late 90s southern gothic Cat Power, the croon of Lana Del Rey, nascent Bjork, and the nearly lost hushed brilliance of German folk singer Sibylle Baier . . .

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Posted on Lagniappe Sessions Shane Parish

Videodrome :: Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary (2023)

VideodromePosted on

At its best, Hung Up On a Dream examines how The Zombies sculpted their distinctive sound — not so much the abrasive rebellion of rock and roll that their fellow British Invasion peers took part in, but the cool croon of romance and mystique, best exemplified by Argent’s jazzy pop arrangements and Blunstone’s breathy vocals. Drawing on The Zombies’ own memories of being tenacious, starry-eyed kids navigating the topsy-turvy world of show business to reflections on the legacy they’ve left behind, the documentary provides an approachable, high-level overview of the band and their enduring influence . . .

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Terje Rypdal :: Odyssey

ECM Terje RypdalPosted on

Odyssey is the point where it all came together for Norwegian guitarist, composer, and ECM mainstay Terje Rypdal. Released in 1975, just as the “ECM sound” was beginning to smooth out, Odyssey delivered a searing double album of deep and moody jazz-rock from the land of the midnight sun. If Gateway and Julian Priester’s Love, Love are your ECM jams of choice, this is definitely one to add to the rotation . . .

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Posted on ECM Terje Rypdal