A few weeks ago we presented a selection of ten tracks taken from some of our favorite releases of the year so far. As we are getting closer to the actual mid-point of the year, the list of excellent new albums increases and it looks that 2017 is going to be one to remember! Soon we'll have a more thorough presentation of all the albums that stood out for us in the last six months, but 'till that time comes, here are seven more great tracks you should lend an ear to, among them "Cleveland", the latest track to surface off Algiers new album "The Underside of Power", out next week, and Waxahatchee's "Silver" from the album "Out in the Storm", out on July 14th. If the strength of these two songs is any indication of what to expect from the respective LPs, them it seems we have already found two of the Albums of the Year for 2017!
Algiers - Cleveland (from the album The Underside of Power)
Waxahatchee - Silver (from the album Out in the Storm)
Priests - Pink White House (from the album Nothing Feels Natural)
Jay Som - Baybee (from the album Everybody Works)
Girlpool - It Gets More Blue (from the album Powerplant)
Cherry Glazerr - Nuclear Bomb (from the album Apocalipstick)
Amber Arcades - It Changes (from the EP Cannonball)
In the second part of our coverage of Plisskën Festival2015 you'll find our impressions, photos and videos from the performances we've enjoyed the most at Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center on June 6.
Waxahatchee, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
Our Saturday started very early in the afternoon with Waxahatchee playing an excellent set in front of just a handful of festival-goers who had the good sense to be on site in time for Katie Crutchfield's band live debut in Athens, coming just a couple of months after releasing one of the best albums of this year, the wonderful "Ivy Tripp".
The highlights of Waxahatchee'sperformance included also tracks from their previous, equally great, "Cerulean Blue" album and despite a few sound hiccups, the strength of the material elevated their set among our favorites of the festival, certainly deserving of a much better place in the line-up.
Sleaford Mods, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
The other great set of Plisskën's second day came several hours later, around midnight, when idiosyncratic punk-hop Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods took over the second stage of the festival for a mind-boggling, totally awesome performance, full of entertaining, anger-fueled tirades against everything and everyone who gets Jason Williamson's goat.
The songs from last year's excellent "Divide and Exit" formed the
backbone of their set list, including "Tied Up in Nottz", "Middle Men" and "Tweet Tweet Tweet", but we also got a first taste from
forthcoming album "Key Markets" which is expected in July. Looking
forward to it.
Mikal Cronin, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
The last performance we attended at Plisskën Festival in the small hours of Sunday came from Mikal Cronin and his band and was also among the best ones of the festival. Cronin has a knack for creating memorable, psychedelic garage-pop melodies and his three solo records so far have provided us with plenty of great songs, a lot of which were present in his set, including "Made My Mind Up", "Say", "Shout It Out" and "See It My Way".
Earlier in the day, we got to see a super-charged set by San Francisco's Thee Oh Sees, powered by a thundering duo of drummers.
Thee Oh Sees, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
John Dwyer's band has just released its new album "Mutilator Defeated At Last",
the latest link in an admirably strong chain of powerful, psychedelic
garage rock releases and looked fired-up on the main stage of the
festival.
Ariel Pink, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
The same, sadly, cannot be said about Ariel Pink's short set which came a little later on the main stage and didn't satisfy the majority of his fans who were certainly expecting much more from the eccentric, experimental musician who recently released the adventurous, acclaimed "pom pom" LP.
Steve Gunn, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
An early afternoon performance that left us a good impression came from singer-songwriter Steve Gunn and his band. Although we are not very familiar with his work, his melodic set convinced us that we should take a closer look to his extensive discography.
Perfume Genius, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
The second day of the festival included also appearances by Perfume Genius (as Waxahatchee, also too early in the day to attract a larger audience, but quite a stir nonetheless), rapper Pharoahe Monch, noise-makers Liturgy, eccentric noise-popers Pow, local garage heroes Acid Baby Jesus and Mogwai who were the headliners of the main stage but lost us to Sleaford Mods.
Pharoahe Monch, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
Check out below some of the live action on the stages of Plisskën Festival2015 on June 6th and click here for the highlights of June 5th.
Waxahatchee - Lips and Limbs, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
Sleaford Mods - McFlurry, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
Mikal Cronin - Say, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
Thee Oh Sees - Encrypted Bounce (A Queer Sound), live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
Steve Gunn - Milly's Garden, live @ Plisskën Festival 2015
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 favoritesThe 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
We’re expecting quite a few highly anticipated new releases between now and September (from Factory Floor, Julia Holter, Julie Ruin, Sebadoh, to name a few names), but before we start dealing with the exciting proposals of early fall, let’s have a look and another listen to the best albums and songs that made the summer months just a bit cooler.
"More Light", Primal Scream’s tenth studio album, comes five years after their last effort (2008’s "Beautiful Future") and it is undoubtedly their most accomplished work since the early '00s period, when the band hit a creative peak with "XTRMNTR" and "Evil Heat". The long gestation period gave Primal Scream the chance to regroup and replenish their creative energy, giving "More Light" an urgency and passion that is truly remarkable. Three decades down the road, this Primal Scream sounds louder and more necessary than ever - a voice of dissent for all of us, the 21st century slaves!
"Trouble Will Find Me", The National’s follow up to "High Violet", their top work in my opinion, might lack the highs of their previous effort (no new song has the immediate punch of "Bloodbuzz Ohio", for example), but, given time, it proves to be just as addictive, creating a melancholic atmosphere that slowly but surely draws you in and keeps you under its spell. I’m expecting it to be an even better listen for the autumn months ahead.
Our summer Top 5 also includes "Cerulean Salt", Katie Crutchfield’s sophomore work as Waxahatchee, a lo-fi gem that follows in the footsteps of '90s songwriters like Liz Phair or Cat Power, "Personal Record", the excellent second solo effort by Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces, who goes even further back, to her '70s pop idols, to find inspiration, and "Wakin' On A Pretty Daze", the melodic guitar epic by Kurt Vile. Here are the lists with all of our favorites for this summer:
Top 16 Albums
1. More Light - PRIMAL SCREAM
2. Trouble Will Find Me - THE NATIONAL
3. Cerulean Salt - WAXAHATCHEE
4. Personal Record - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
5. Wakin On A Pretty Daze - KURT VILE
6. Ghost On Ghost - IRON AND WINE
7. Strange Pleasures - STILL CORNERS
8. Desire Lines - CAMERA OBSCURA
9. …Like Clockwork - QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
10. Modern Vampires Of The City - VAMPIRE WEEKEND
11. Vanishing Point - MUDHONEY
12. Run The Jewels - RUN THE JEWELS
13. Yeezus - KANYE WEST
14. Olympia - AUSTRA
15. Monomania - DEERHUNTER
16. Hard Coming Down - GUN OUTFIT
Top 20 Tracks
1. Culturecide - PRIMAL SCREAM
2. Stare at the Sun - ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER
3. Coast to Coast - WAXAHATCHEE
4. Tiger Tank - SPEEDY ORTIZ
5. Don’t Swallow the Cap - THE NATIONAL
6. The Trip - STILL CORNERS
7. Do It Again - CAMERA OBSCURA
8. Diane Young - VAMPIRE WEEKEND
9. My God Is the Sun - QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
10. Black Skinhead - KANYE WEST
11. Home - AUSTRA
12. Low Light Buddy of Mine - IRON AND WINE
13. Wakin On a Pretty Day - KURT VILE
14. The Missing - DEERHUNTER
15. Family - HANNI EL KHATIB
16. I Like It Small - MUDHONEY
17. Flyin Low, Maria - GUN OUTFIT
18. Dreambuilding - GOAT
19. DDFH - RUN THE JEWELS
20. Astral Projection - LAWRENCE LINDELL
Primal Scream - Culturecide (studio session)
mp3 links via KEXP blog, Stereogum and Sub Pop (right click to download). You can get a free download of the Run The Jewels album, a collaboration between EL-P and Killer Mike, via the Fool's Gold site.
"Cerulean Salt", Katie Crutchfield's second solo effort as Waxahatchee, is finally getting its European release next Monday. Here's the new and very summery video for "Coast To Coast", one of the album's highlights and a current Cool Music Central favorite:
Waxahatchee - Coast To Coast
It's an interesting coincidence that this week is also the 20th anniversary of an album that will certainly come to your mind as you listen to "Cerulean Salt"; Liz Phair's awesome 1993 debut LP "Exile in Guyville" has just turned twenty and Spin has a very interesting interview about its making here. And this is what I would have been posting as a Killer Track back in June of 1993, if the world wide web existed as we know it today:
