Slipped Discs
Discs You May Have Missed
by John Noyd
Jennifer O'Connor - Surface Noise
Jennifer O'ConnorSurface Noise
Label: Kiam Records
Coated in dark sparkles and slippery ripples, the calm, self-assured, “Surface,” circles common ground with a keen eye and steady hand commanding savvy spins on contemporary opinions to spawn sing-song conversations within warm folk-pop poetry. Radiating extra-special perspectives with well-rehearsed purpose, O’Connor crafts casual parables through economic thought as savory displays of uncontested impressions negotiate gentle questioning beneath matter-of-fact compassion.
• Jennifer O'Connor Website • Jennifer O'Connor Facebook • Jennifer O'Connor WikiMark Mallman - The End Is Not The End
Mark MallmanThe End Is Not The End
Label: Polkadot Mayhem
Cheeky synth-rock blockbusters sprinkled in pop-culture touchstones uncoil panoramic calamities as Minnesota’s Mallman conjures ranting ear-candy fantasies from intricate survivalist’s instincts wielding studio-rattled razzle-dazzle. Lathered in flashy bombast, belittling wit and circumvented tension, “End,” sends lavish gadget-packed nostalgia into post-modern quandaries, constructing crushing sounds of heartfelt meltdowns from irreverent, cross-referenced intelligence marinated in daring flair, satirical lyrics and combustible hustle.
• Mark Mallman Website • Mark Mallman Facebook • Mark Mallman WikiEmmy the Great - Second Love
Emmy the GreatSecond Love
Label: Bella Union
Honeycombed moments dipped in pastel wishing-wells, “Seconds,” beckons elegant merry-go-round melodies around fairy-tale philosophies for tender feminine remembrances painted in dainty flames. Deep beneath meticulous whispers, nurturing curtsies and enchanting candor, ETG’s gift-wrapped happiness addresses strong ideas vacillating between empowered lounge whose underlying architecture plunder graceful modern-pop sophistry and perceptive serenity wrenched from creamy calypso, pixie-kissed minuets and space-age lullabies.
• Emmy the Great Website • Emmy the Great Facebook • Emmy the Great WikiMy Gold Mask - Anxious Utopia
My Gold MaskAnxious Utopia
Label: Moon Sounds Records
Cellophane strumpets barreling through tough, buffed triumphs crunch sinful cyber-zipped dins into shiny futuristic visions; “Anxious,” fires glamorous anthems into transistorized extravaganzas packed with barracuda moves hammering risky disco-pop tonics into sublime electro-rock harmonics. Surging with combative techno-driven New Wave rage, Chicago’s MGM’s solid-state flood-gates open groove-glitched passion pits to power-hungry participants, subduing unrestrained campaigns through vigorous, sinister patch-bay subterfuge.
• My Gold Mask Website • My Gold Mask FacebookWintersleep - The Great Detachment
WintersleepThe Great Detachment
Label: Dine Alone Records
Buffeted in brawny downbeats, arc-welded hooks and driving rhymes, Wintersleep’s wide-awake pop-rock earthquakes ride galloping ballads with strenuous tendencies into cruise-controlled crusades. Recorded live in the studio, “Detachment,” taps into an inexhaustible reservoir of palpitating percussion rushing over expansive working-man landscapes to brew soothing communities where toiling joy joins pure, earnest urgency for restless manifest destinies carved from hardy camaraderie.
• Wintersleep Website • Wintersleep Facebook • Wintersleep WikiCullen Omori - New Misery
Cullen OmoriNew Misery
Label: Sub Pop
Effervescent sketches plastered in pillowed reverb and psychotropic commotion, “Misery,” rumbles with sumptuous alt-pop wonder, manufacturing haunted Phil Spector wet-dreams lacquered in heart-breaking infatuations. Streaming tear-stained refrains with prepubescent chemistry while drenching heaven-sent intentions in lollipop optimism, Omori layers tasty two-ply sighs over sugar-coated keyboards and triple-decker guitars. The former Smith Western frontman hits Madison’s High Noon Saloon March 25th.
• Cullen Omori Website • Cullen Omori FacebookBleached - Welcome the Worms
BleachedWelcome the Worms
Label: Dead Oceans
Snarky guitars and battering bass stab and grab in no-nonsense consequence rocking caustic mosh-pit kisses thundering under sledgehammer glamour; the turbo-charged, “Worms,” burns through brawny taunts, ego-crushing struts and brash pop stomps. Baptized in electric bluster and flanked by shameless hanky-panky, the heavy L.A. trio’s bitchy transcriptions pitch peppermint grit from pepper-spray kitchens while pin-up kitsch whips salty curve-ball come-ons.
• Bleached Website • Bleached FacebookSam Beam and Jesca Hoop - Love Letter for Fire
Sam Beam and Jesca HoopLove Letter for Fire
Label: Sub Pop
Post-modern Americana weaving dreamy roots music around cantering beats, rustic shuffles and jaunty pop acoustics, Beam and Hoop’s sharp, sophisticated songs integrate rich frisky duets casually serving tender poetic truths ladled from unvarnished hearts. A vivid revision of simple traditions devoted to poised metaphors, musical intuitions and blossoming literary imaginations, “Fire,” flows in sweet country soul and wise urban folk.
• Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop WebsiteSharks in the Deep End - Killin Machine
Sharks in the Deep EndKillin Machine
Label: AWAL Music Distribution
Flushed in lusty muscle, prowling scowls and unrequited insights “Machine,” teams howling prowess to cheeky pleads with champagne luster and leather-stitched wickedness. Hedging edgy alt-rock cockiness against roving pleasure-domes tinted in shiny club-house angst, the snappy, savvy SITD’s relentless pretense hatches feisty bites buoyed by black-ops bop, flirty bursts cursed in broad-stroked boasts and impressive confessions packed with unbendable obsessions.
• Sharks in the Deep End Website • Sharks in the Deep End FacebookBen Watt - Fever Dream
Ben WattFever Dream
Label: Unmade Road
Meditative jazz-folk sparking cathartic bargains through lyrical hindsight smoldering in glowing rhetoric, Watts’ ruminating gait and understated majesty fosters placid magic casting subtle mercy alongside quiet grace and fond bygones. Bottomless thoughts voiced in soft-spoken emotions, the mahogany melancholy beneath, “Fever,” feeds nameless longing through slow-boiled solos riding gentle reverence for life’s inventories, sorting redemptive memories into semi-fictional rescue missions.
• Ben Watt Website • Ben Watt Facebook • Ben Watt WikiCate LeBon - Crab Day
Cate LeBonCrab Day
Label: Drag City
Rube Goldberg Krautrock washed in quirky punch-drunk waltzes and swimming in bristling Escher-like connections, “Crab,” scuttles unfiltered, off-kilter pop wringing giddy riddles from cryptic figments stuttering kinder-goth subplots. Tinkering in slinky kismet while staging sly cock-eyed comedies, LeBon’s Welsh elf gifts brisk asymmetrical riffs to stiff prickly rhythms while gleeful secrets pirouette around deliberately splintered binges scooped from untamed left-brains.
• Cate LeBon Website • Cate LeBon Facebook • Cate LeBon WikiWoods - City Sun Eater in the River of Light
WoodsCity Sun Eater in the River of Light
Label: Woodist Records
Hippie-dipped alt-pop constructed from snakey paisley voodoo, WOODS’ swinging indie-rock releases mountain stream micro-jams tapping into an upbeat bohemia scampering in soulful falsetto and Bakersfield twang. Brass injections punctuating jangle-infused ska, “Eater,” seeks Cheshire cat cat-naps through skulking psychedelic-boogie, capturing secret-agent daydreams in sunshine-primed get-togethers. The blissful quintet play Madison’s High Noon Saloon with baroque-folk retro-rockers Ultimate Painting April 25th
• Woods Website • Woods FacebookView More
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