Sunday, November 18, 2018

Live: Big Sexy Noise @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)


Big Sexy Noise, the blues-punk band that came to be about a decade ago when Lydia Lunch joined forces with Gallon Drunk, is on the road again, preaching their sexy, noisy and indeed big rock 'n' roll gospel to the faithful!


Without a new record, at least for the time being, the tight, raunchy hour-long set the band presented at their second Gagarin 205 gig (read all about their first one from 2011 here) comprised of songs their fans already knew from their two older releases, 2009's "Big Sexy Noise" and 2011's "Trust The Witch", with highlights including "Your Love Don't Pay My Rent", "Kill Your Sons", "Cross the Line", "Collision Course".


The explosive rock energy coming from James Johnston's guitar and Ian White's drums was truly remarkable, making you forget the lack of other instruments and mainly that of Terry Edwards saxophone who was not part of the band this time. The focus of attention though could not be anyone else than Lydia Lunch and her ferocious voice who commanded the stage like a rock witch who you don't want to cross, sipping her wine and orchestrating the big sexy noise of her band.



Big Sexy Noise, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)
The night opened with a set from Omega Ray, a new psych rock band led by George Karanikolas of The Last Drive, who presented songs from their 2017 album "Ω-Ray", a different, more trippy experience from what we've heard over the years from his other projects.


Omega Ray, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)
Check out below the set list and videos from two of the highlights of Big Sexy Noise's performance in Athens:

Big Sexy Noise - Collision Course (live @ Gagarin 205, November 10th, 2018)

Big Sexy Noise - Kill Your Sons (live @ Gagarin 205, November 10th, 2018)

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Listening Habits 09-10.2018

It won't be long until the endless scroll of the "Albums of the Year" lists for 2018 begins on your screens and as we consider our own two cents on the matter, here are the latest new albums with the most spins on C.M.C.'s record player for the first couple of months of the fall season:

Anna Calvi's "Hunter", her third and probably best album so far, is at the top of our list and is certainly a strong candidate for 2018's year-end Top 5, while Martin Phillipps continues his songwriting rejuvenation with "Snow Bound", the second album for New Zealand's legendary The Chills after their comeback in 2015.

Six years ago Cat Power claimed the top of our 2012 Albums of the Year list with "Sun". Her return with "Wanderer", the 10th album in her amazing 23-year career, finds her returning to a more acoustic sound with minimal arrangements where her voice is the center of attention and shining as always.

Other notable releases this fall which also deserve prominent positions in the coming year-end lists are "Possible Dust Clouds", Kristin Hersh's latest solo release and first for Fire Records, where her electrifying sound reaches the fever pitch we usually find in her Throwing Muses records, and "Marauder", Interpol's sixth album who have collaborated with producer Dave Fridmann to give us perhaps their best work in this decade.

Add to these five excellent new albums, the strong releases by newcomers Bodega from New York, who have one of the best debuts of 2018 with "Endless Scroll", Australia's The Goon Sax who share some of the same DNA with The Go-Betweens (both literally and metaphorically as Robert Forster's son Louis is one of the founders of the band), Bristol's positive punks Idles, Denmark's Iceage and Japanese-American songwriter Mitski and you have a pretty solid Top 10 for September-October 2018. And, of course, there's more...

Check out our Top 15 below and listen to a playlist with some of the standout tracks from these albums:

Top 15 Albums

1.   Hunter - ANNA CALVI
2.   Snow Bound - THE CHILLS
3.   Wanderer - CAT POWER
4.   Possible Dust Clouds - KRISTIN HERSH
5.   Marauder - INTERPOL
6.   We're Not Talking - THE GOON SAX
7.   Endless Scroll - BODEGA
8.   Joy As An Act Of Resistance - IDLES
9.   Beyondless - ICEAGE
10. Be The Cowboy - MITSKI
11. Sparkle Hard - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
12. The Church of Simultaneous Existence - THE AINTS!
13. Pinned - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
14. Hell-on - NEKO CASE
15. Goners - LAURA GIBSON

Top 15 Tracks

1.   As a Man - ANNA CALVI
2.   You Get  - CAT POWER
3.   Make Time 4 Love - THE GOON SAX
4.   Complex - THE CHILLS
5.   Breathe In - KRISTIN HERSH
6.   The Rover - INTERPOL
7.   How Did This Happen?! - BODEGA
8.   Danny Nedelko - IDLES
9.   Pain Killer - ICEAGE
10. Nobody - MITSKI
11. Refute - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
12. Last Lion of Albion - NEKO CASE
13. Domestication - LAURA GIBSON
14. Never Coming Back - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
15. Red Aces - THE AINTS!



Sunday, November 04, 2018

New Releases: October 2018

Round-up of October's most interesting new releases including albums by Julia Holter, Cat Power, Kristin Hersh, Kurt Vile and Ed Kuepper's The Aints! plus a new EP by Public Service Broadcasting about the Titanic:

Albums

JULIA HOLTER - Aviary
CAT POWER - Wanderer
KRISTIN HERSH - Possible Dust Clouds
KURT VILE - Bottle It In
THE AINTS! - The Church of Simultaneous Existence
CLOUD NOTHINGS - Last Building Burning 
TY SEGALL - Fudge Sandwich
PHOSPHORESCENT - C’est La Vie
LAURA GIBSON - Goners
SWEARIN' - Fall into the Sun
FUCKED UP - Dose Your Dreams
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA - IC-01 Hanoi
TVAM - Psychic Data
ADRIANNE LENKER - Abysskiss
JOHN GRANT - Love Is Magic
THE KVB - Only Now Forever
THE OSCILLATION - Wasted Space
FACTORY FLOOR - A Soundtrack For A Film
GOATMAN - Rhythms
EXPLODED VIEW - Obey
TESS PARKS AND ANTON NEWCOMBE - Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe
BAXTER DURY, ETIENNE DE CRECY, DELILAH HOLLIDAY - B.E.D
ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS - Look Now
WILL OLDHAM - Songs Of Love And Horror
ST. VINCENT - MassEducation
CALVIN JOHNSON - A Wonderful Beast
JIM JAMES - Uniform Clarity
CURSIVE - Vitriola
KINSKI - Accustomed To Your Face
BLUE ORCHIDS - Righteous Harmony Fist
THE NIGHTINGALES - Perish The Thought
MALCOLM MIDDLETON - Bananas
MICAH P HINSON AND THE MUSICIANS OF THE APOCALYPSE - When I Shoot At You With Arrows, I Will Shoot To Destroy You
SAY LOU LOU - Immortelle
EMPRESS OF - Us
HOW TO DRESS WELL - The Anteroom
SOAP AND SKIN - From Gas to Solid / You Are My Friend
THE DODOS - Certainty Waves
CONNAN MOCKASIN - Jassbusters
NENEH CHERRY - Broken Politics
RICHARD ASHCROFT - Natural Rebel
THE RESIDENTS - Intruders
THOM YORKE - Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film)
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - The Stars, The Oceans and The Moon

Singles & EPs

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING - White Star Liner EP
GABE GURNSEY - You Can (The Hacker Remix)
DJANGO DJANGO - Winter's Beach EP
SOCCER MOMMY - Henry / I'm On Fire
BOYGENIUS - boygenius EP
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS - Some Mutts (Can't be Muzzled)
TOY - The Willo / Energy
DRENGE - Autonomy EP
TITUS ANDRONICUS - Home Alone on Halloween EP
THE NATVRAL - Know You More
LAPS - Who Me? EP
MINUS THE BEAR - Fair Enough EP
COMET GAIN - If Not Tomorrow / I Was More of a Mess Then
FALSE HEADS - Less Is Better EP
RUBBER JAW - Feeling Funny
HOVVDY - Easy / Turns Blue
MUSH - Gig Economy
MYSTERY JETS - Live To Vinyl
THE TWILIGHT SAD - Videograms
PETITE NOIR - La Maison Noir / The Black House EP
STONE FOUNDATION - Next Time Around / Carry The News
THE SHADRACKS - Oh Bondage Up Yours! / I Am A Cliché
KEVIN MORBY - Live at Third Man Records
THE PASSENGERS - All Through the Night / New Life
THE PASSENGERS - Queen of Weird / Danger Zone


Julia Holter - I Shall Love 2


Public Service Broadcasting - White Star Liner