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Snap, Crackle & Pop: Lost Gems of 1970s Power Pop

Power PopPosted on

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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Pulp :: More

Jarvis Cocker PulpPosted on

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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The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)

SIRIUSPosted on

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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Circuit des Yeux :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Circuit des Yeux The AD InterviewPosted on

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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Posted on Circuit des Yeux The AD Interview

Repetition Repetition :: Fit for Consequences: Original Recordings, 1984–1987

Repetition RepetitionPosted on

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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Stereolab :: Instant Holograms on Metal Film

StereolabPosted on

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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Posted on Stereolab

Weird Herald :: Just Yesterday

Weird HeraldPosted on

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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Dylan Golden Aycock :: No New Summers

Dylan Golden AycockPosted on

Though he’s released music in a variety of configurations and collaborations over the past few years (not to mention invaluable work behind the scenes with his ever-reliable Scissor Tail Editions label), Dylan Golden Aycock hasn’t released an album solely under his own name for quite some time. But the Tulsa-based guitarist comes back swinging with No New Summers, a seven-song effort that ably shows off his many talents — and even adds some welcome new vistas . . .

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Lifeguard :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Lifeguard The AD InterviewPosted on

Lifeguard emerged out of the doldrums of the pandemic period, when Chicago’s artistically-inclined young people found themselves forced to fall back on their own resources. Instead of sitting around, bored out of their minds, kids were forming bands, making zines, booking underground shows and connecting with each other outside the regular commercial channels. The scene became known as Hallogallo, a nod to Neu! but also a reference to the original German meaning of the term, “dance party.” It spawned a raft of scrappy young bands, Lifeguard, Horsegirl, Friko and Post Office Winter to name a few . . .

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Posted on Lifeguard The AD Interview

The Bug Club :: Very Human Features

The Bug ClubPosted on

The Bug Club’s fourth full-length (and second on Sub Pop) swerves giddily pop-ward. The two principals, Sam Willmett and Tilly Harris, toss out the previous album’s hard-charging rock sound like last week’s recycling and settle, instead, on a cuddly twee vibe that matches very well with their fanciful lyrics . . .

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Posted on The Bug Club

Car Seat Headrest :: The Scholars

Car Seat HeadrestPosted on

Car Seat Headrest’s 13th album is ambitious in every possible way, from the overarching conceptual framework to the exulting, triumphant sound to the sheer length of the tracks. The new record is that deeply unfashionable thing: a rock opera. Yet the theatricality, the sonic overload, the proggy construction do not, in any way, overburden the tunes, among the strongest and most anthemic of Will Toledo’s hook-laden career . . .

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Posted on Car Seat Headrest

Pachyman :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

Pachyman The AD InterviewPosted on

Another place, another time. Raised in Puerto Rico and based in Los Angeles, dub master Pachy "Pachyman" Garcia evokes both across the expanse of his latest platter of tricked out riddims, Another Place. His sound is undeniably rooted in the classic dub techniques of King Tubby, Scientist, and Lee "Scratch" Perry, but with the new album Garcia pushes things into new territory. He joins us to discus paying dues and pushing the genre forward . . .

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Posted on Pachyman The AD Interview

The Circling Sun :: Orbits

Jazz The Circling SunPosted on

New Zealand's cosmic jazz ensemble The Circling Sun comes forth with Orbits, the sequel to 2023's Spirits and, like it, deftly serves up Yusef Lateef vibes on a platter. The group has all the irreverence and joy that makes spiritual jazz so compelling versus its more competitive, virtuosity-obsessed co-genres—especially when delivered by a group this numerous (an undectet!), you can almost hear the musicians having fun . . .

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Posted on Jazz The Circling Sun

W. Cullen Hart and Andrew Rieger :: Leap Through Poisoned Air

Andrew Rieger Elephant 6 Will Cullen HartPosted on

Here's an archival gem for Elephant 6 heads: a collaborative EP from the late visionary Will Cullen Hart and Elf Power's Andrew Rieger. Though very brisk, the timing of this snapshot (culled from recording sessions circa 1999-2000) vividly conjures the opaque psychedelic sweet spot of the Olivia Tremor Control and beginnings of Hart's essential offshoot project Circulatory System . . .

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Posted on Andrew Rieger Elephant 6 Will Cullen Hart

Aquarium Drunkard Book Club :: Chapter 33

Book ClubPosted on

Welcome back to the stacks. It’s Aquarium Drunkard’s Book Club, our monthly gathering of recent (or not so recent) recommended reading. In this month’s stack: all things Roxy Music, some narco strung out street-lit by way of east Texas, the infinite puzzle that is the crack in the cosmic egg, the ever erudite and entertaining travels of the late Patrick Leigh Fermor, and more. Your librarians for this installment are Justin Gage, Tyler Wilcox, Ian Everett, and Mark Neeley . . .

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Posted on Book Club