Listening Habits 2015 03-04

Every month we present the latest new releases that have piqued our interest, but what were those albums and songs that we've listened to the most and have rightly earned a place in C.M.C.'s record collection? This is the question we answer every other month in our Listening Habits posts and the time has come for the second one of the year, which is actually the first consisting entirely of 2015 releases.

The top of our March - April album list belongs to the excellent debut by Melbourne singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett, whose killer single "Pedestrian At Best" was also number one in our previous Top 20 Tracks list. The compilation "The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas" introduced us to her unique songwriting talents a couple of years ago and now her proper full-length debut "Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit" provides further proof that Barnett is able to transform her influences in witty, infectious songs that describe in a captivating manner intriguing characters and personal thoughts and insecurities.

"Untethered Moon", the eighth album by Built To Spill and their first since 2009, finds the Boise, Idaho, rockers in fine form, rocking out with the same passion as in their best records from the '90s and early '00s. They say that change is essential to survival, but sometimes it makes a lot of sense to stick to your winning ways and play to your strengths, and this is exactly what's going on here from the very first guitar riff to the last.

Other excellent records we've enjoyed in the last couple of months include "Escape From Evil", the third and best album so far by Lower Dens, "Ivy Tripp", also the third full-length by Waxahatchee who I'm looking forward to seeing live in the upcoming Plisskën Festival in Athens, "Foil Deer" by the increasingly wonderful Speedy Ortiz and the notable return to action by longtime favorites The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Modest Mouse and Blur with their first work in twelve years.

Here's the complete Top 20 list of highly recommended albums:

Top 20 Albums

1.  Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit - COURTNEY BARNETT
2.  Untethered Moon - BUILT TO SPILL
3.  Escape From Evil - LOWER DENS
4.  Ivy Tripp - WAXAHATCHEE
5.  Foil Deer - SPEEDY ORTIZ
6.  "Freedom Tower" No Wave Dance Party 2015 - THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
7.  The Magic Whip - BLUR
8.  Strangers To Ourselves - MODEST MOUSE
9.  Hinterland - LONELADY
10. Another Eternity - PURITY RING
11. Short Movie - LAURA MARLING
12. Fast Food - NADINE SHAH
13. The Race For Space - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
14. I Want To Grow Up - COLLEEN GREEN
15. Kintsugi - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
16. Shadow Of The Sun - MOON DUO
17. To Pimp A Butterfly - KENDRICK LAMAR
18. Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper - PANDA BEAR
19. Transfixiation - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
20. Edge Of The Sun - CALEXICO

Top 20 Tracks

1.  Lampshades On Fire - MODEST MOUSE
2.  Nobody Really Cares If You Don't Go To The Party - COURTNEY BARNETT
3.  Raising The Skate - SPEEDY ORTIZ
4.  Fool - NADINE SHAH
5.  False Hope - LAURA MARLING
6.  Under A Rock - WAXAHATCHEE
7.  To Die in L.A. - LOWER DENS
8.  Straight - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
9.  Living Zoo - BUILT TO SPILL
10. Do The Get Down - THE JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION
11. Groove It Out - LONELADY
12. Go! - PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING
13. Push Pull - PURITY RING
14. Lonesome Street - BLUR
15. Black Sun - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
16. Deeper Than Love - COLLEEN GREEN
17. Slow Down Low - MOON DUO
18. Boys Latin - PANDA BEAR
19. Cumbia de Donde - CALEXICO
20. Winter (Warpaint Remix) - DAUGHTER

Modest Mouse - Lampshades On Fire

You can listen to our Top 20 Tracks on Spotify here:

New Releases: October 2014

Round-up of the most interesting albums and singles released in October 2014:

Albums

THURSTON MOORE - The Best Day
MARK LANEGAN BAND - Phantom Radio
EX HEX - Rips
ICEAGE - Plowing Into The Field Of Love
FOXYGEN - ...And Star Power
ALLO DARLIN' - We Come From The Same Place
PEAKING LIGHTS - Cosmic Logic
CARIBOU - Our Love
FLYING LOTUS - You're Dead!
RUN THE JEWELS - Run the Jewels 2
ZOLA JESUS - Taiga
JULIAN CASABLANCAS AND THE VOIDZ - Tyranny
…AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD - IX
ULTIMATE PAINTING - Ultimate Painting
KEVIN MORBY - Still Life
JOHNNY MARR - Playland
THE CHILLS - Stand By
LOLA COLT - Away From The Water
PHARMAKON - Bestial Burden
MEATBODIES - Meatbodies
THE TWILIGHT SAD - Nobody Wants to be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave
THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE - Mended With Gold
BASS DRUM OF DEATH - Rip This
MELVINS - Hold it in
WEEZER - Everything Will Be Alright in the End
CHICKS ON SPEED - Artstravaganza
MECHANIMAL - Secret Science
LEE RANALDO AND THE DUST - Acoustic Dust
THE CORAL - The Curse of Love
THE FALL - Live - Uurop Viii-Xii Places in Sun and Winter, Son

Singles & EPs

SPEEDY ORTIZ / CHRIS WEISMAN - LAMC #14 

ALLO DARLIN - Bright Eyes
THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART - Abandonment Issue EP
INSTITUTE - Salt EP
SLEAFORD MODS - Fizzy
DANNY BROWN - Smokin and Drinkin
VINCE STAPLES - Hell Can Wait EP
EAST INDIA YOUTH - Hinterland
KING CHAMPION SOUND - Songs for the Golden Hour EP
THEPARADE - Connector
THE POPGUNS - Lovejunky
JOHNNY MARR - Easy Money
THE CHARLATANS - Talking in Tones
PETER BUCK - Opium Drivel
CHUCK PROPHET - Tell Me Anything (Turn to Gold)
THE WYTCHES - Burn Out the Bruise
DRESSMAKER - Glass EP
ADVENTURES / PITY SEX - Split
KODE9 & THE SPACEAPE - Killing Season EP
RED SNAPPER - Card Trick EP

Thurston Moore - Speak To The Wild

The Hit List: January '14

To start off 2014 on the right foot, here's a Top 5 of highly anticipated new releases coming to a store near you in the next few weeks:

St. Vincent - St. Vincent

St. Vincent - Digital Witness

"Digital Witness" is the second track to surface online from St. Vincent's self-titled fourth album, out February 24th. Sounds awesome, as did "Birth In Reverse", the first track we've listened from the new album back in December, available as a free download by signing up on the mailing list here.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Wig Out At Jagbags

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Lariat

"Wig Out at Jagbags", the sixth Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks album, is already out. The title of the first cool release of the year is inspired by Dag Nasty's LP "Wig Out at Denko's" (according to this interview).

Warpaint - Warpaint

Warpaint - Biggy / Love Is To Die

It's now more than three years since the release of Warpaint's excellent debut album "The Fool", but on January 20 the wait for its highly anticipated follow up is finally over. Get psyched up with "Biggy" and "Love is To Die", the first two tracks to become available for streaming.

Dum Dum Girls - Too True

Dum Dum Girls - Lost Boys and Girls Club

We are already psyched up for Dum Dum Girls third album (out at the end of January) after seeing the girls presenting live several of the new tracks at their Athens gig last month (more about that here). Our new favorite? "Rimbaud Eyes", but I'm sure there will plenty more to love. In the meantime, let's take another look at the slick looking video for "Lost Boys and Girls Club"

Speedy Ortiz - Real Hair EP

Speedy Ortiz - American Horror

Speedy Ortiz was one of the best new bands we've come across in 2013, with their album "Major Arcana" landing at #21 of our year-end Top 30 list and in the Top 5 of our debuts of the year. The band is returning in February with the new EP "Real Hair" and the excellent "American Horror" is  one of its highlights.

Killer Tracks... Now & Then edition: Speedy Ortiz vs. Helium

I don't know why, but it seems that most of the exciting, new music I'm discovering lately shares a strong bond with some of my '90s obsessions. So, after our recent Waxahatchee vs. Liz Phair friendly "showdown", here's another one: Speedy Ortiz vs. Helium!

Northampton, Massachusetts indie rockers Speedy Ortiz have been recently gaining rave reviews for their debut album "Major Arcana", and rightly so. Their sound brings together some of the finer elements of '80s and '90s guitar rock, drawing inspiration from the likes of Pavement, Sebadoh, Liz Phair and, of course, fellow Massachusetts rockers Helium, whose beloved 1995 single "Pat's Trick" was one of the first tunes to pop into my head while listening to Speedy Ortiz's excellent "Tiger Tank", the first single off their album.

You can download a free mp3 of "Tiger Tank" here, while below we have the official videos for the two singles that may have an 18 year gap between them, but they do share the same adventurous, noise-pop spirit:

Speedy Ortiz - Tiger Tank

Helium - Pat's Trick

For a deeper insight into Speedy Ortiz's influences, here's a tribute mixtape they've made to the Massachusetts scene, with songs ranging from 1966 to 2012 from their local heroes that include Folk Implosion, Sebadoh, Swirlies, Come, Blake Babies, Helium and many more (including Bell Biv Devoe!):