First Listen: Mudhoney's The Lucky Ones

Few things in the world are finer than getting a promo ackage with not just one, but two Mudhoney records. One of them is a new record (pictured above) called The Lucky Ones. The other is this big fat fucking deluxe edition of the band's landmark EP Superfuzz Bigmuff. We all know that Superfuzz Bigmuff was a dark, soggy punk rock masterpiece with riffs so monstrous they ripped God a new butthole. But what of this new disc, The Lucky Ones?
I've spent, literally, about 20 minutes with this disc, but can safely say that the title track itself is worth the price of the record alone. It's dirty, raging blues-psych with a funky little breakdown in the middle...already one of my favorite Mudhoney tracks of all time. I'd rank it with "Sonic Infusion", it's that good. Alright, enough rambling, I'm gonna listen to the rest of this record. And spend most of my weekend with the below, for sure...

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First Listen: Keaton Simons' Can You Hear Me

Can You Hear Me, Keaton Simons
When: Recently
How: Through headphones, at my desk
In Stores: June 10
Listen Now on his MySpace
Notes: I was a fan of Simons' Currently EP when it came out in 2004. The EP's title track appears on this full-length, too. But, when I heard it, I swore that Simons had bastardized it, and I quickly purchased the original for confirmation. Nope, I was wrong. Truth is, the song has always been as weak and predictable as it is today. Tweaked a bit, but, as with the rest of the release, Simons hasn't moved on from the safe acousti-pop that was all the rage in 2004. Today, it all just sounds dated.

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New Releases: First Listen Edition (Atmosphere, Portishead 12", Flight of the Conchords)

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold

Does Atmosphere ever sleep? It's hardly been a minute since he unloaded a chunk of season-based EPs to tide his fans over while he put the touches on his follow-up to 2006's You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having. To avoid leaks, no advance copies of When Life Gives You Lemons... were available, and because of that, one didn't arrive on my door step until yesterday, on the eve of the release, sent first class direct from Rhymesayers. I'm barely a third of the way through it right now, and so far so good. MC Slug remains true to his poignant observations of self, gnawing on the open wounds of his soul ("I got a restrainin' order on Satan's daughter") and Ant's production is as strong and grim as it's ever been. Sure, Slug is practically becoming a truth-speaking hip hop messiah to the back-pack, flat-bill LRG cap, and big text/all-over-print t-shirt-wearing crowds, and those that consider Warped Tour to be the true alternative festival, but whatever. He's still a great lyricist with a titanium backbone and a mean left hook.

See them next: Tuesday, May 13 at Showbox Sodo (Tickets on sale now)

Portishead - "Machine Gun" 12" Single (from the forthcoming Third)

Another one that just came in yesterday is "Machine Gun," Portishead's first single off their much-anticipated third studio album (and first in the 21st century), aptly titled, Third. This is the first time I've heard the actual studio recording of the song (I first heard it on a youtube video with terrible audio quality of their performance at All Tomorrow's Parties in December.) But ho-ly shit. What a way to bring this band back. Wow. Could this be any darker than anything they've done before? Maybe. Portishead's music has always contained piercing, roaring artillery blasts, but this is as front-line as you can get to Beth Gibbons psyche. Where she went and what she saw, and how she came out terribly damaged, with absolute clarity. Ratatat-tat! Portishead shot me in the heart with this one. Bonus for collectors: This limited 12" single is single-sided, with a beautiful matte black screened image of a water tower and building tops on the flip-side.

See them next: This Saturday, April 26 at Coachella (Sold Out; Tickets not going cheap on eBay.)

Flight of the Conchords - Flight of the Conchords

Okay, I'm cheating a bit. I've listened to this a couple times already. But I've only seen one episode of their smash HBO show, which apparently, all these songs are taken from, so these songs are still newer to me than those who are familiar with the show and who will undoubtedly buy the record. Plus, I don't catch onto jokes so quickly, so every time I hear these zany New Zealanders do their musical comedy, I hear a new joke that I missed before. This is great - quirky, charming, totally not-to-be-taken-seriously, yet totally to-be-taken-seriously. I was warned not to dance and laugh at the same time, but I couldn't help it here. My stomach hurts so good and I have tears in my eyes. Also, the album artwork is AMAZING (tip of the hat to Jeff Kleinsmith).

See them next: Monday, May 26 at Sasquatch. (Tickets on sale now)

Topics: First Listen and Wax Watch

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First Listen: Jakob Dylan's Seeing Things

What: Seeing Things, Jakob Dylan
When: A few weeks ago
Where: My desk
Why: I'm a big fan of some of Dylan's work with his band, The Wallflowers, specifically their breakthrough, Bringing Down the Horse, which features some of my favorite drum work, courtesy of our own Matt Chamberlain.
Hear This Solo Debut: When it drops on June 10
Or get a Taste: Right now on iTunes
Sample: "Evil Is Alive and Well"

Notes: This record was produced by Rick Rubin, so it's supposed to be amazing, right? A back-to-basics, stripped-down affair, a la Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond, right? It's not. Instead, it's the adult contemporary sound Dylan's been flirting with for years. After Letters from the Wasteland, Dylan started melting into mediocrity with half-cocked riffs and rambling, nonsensical lyrics (and not in a good way). I'd like this album a hell of a lot more if wasn't affected at all, and it was just Dylan in a studio singing and playing guitar. If he's going to make a record of background music, please give it some personality.

But, I don't want the slow, boring Dylan. I want what you had on Horse. I want "God Don't Make Lonely Girls," "Josephine," and "The Difference." Everything you put out now is so monotone. Don't you remember what it was like to change things up, vocally, between tracks?

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Married To It.....

As I often tell anyone who'll listen, I loves me some Turn-Ons. Yesterday I got an email from DJ, Turn-On, producer, and all around honey-pants Erik Blood informing my his labor of love solo record has finally come to fruition. I'm especially excited because Blood's solo effort contains the track 'She's Your Everything' which he penned for yours truly and played at my wedding. (Insert a collective sigh here)

If you too are a fan of the Turn-Ons, you'll be excited to know frontman Travis DeVries also has a solo project in the works.

Oh, and the Turn-Ons have a spanking new record, Curse and It's FREE!

From the band's MySpace page:

After a couple of years of tracking, mixing, losing, starting over, and finishing, we are proud to present The Turn-ons 5th full length album "Curse." And it’s free.

xo

Ahh, boys, I love you too!

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First Listen: Pierced Arrows Debut LP

You know life is good when you recieve an envelope in the mail with a return address of "Clackamas, Oregon"

Fred and Toody Cole just sent me the debut long-player of their post-Dead Moon group, Pierced Arrows. It's called Straight to the Heart and I think it became officially available on March 29, but who the hell knows...they might've even had it (or the 12" vinyl version) for sale last time they were in Seattle.

Anyway, Straight to the Heart is just that...13 rock n' roll songs that cut through the bullshit and go right to the heart of what rock n' roll is all about. At first listen, one is inclined to say "Yup, sounds like Fred and Toody doing what they do!" This isn't to say it sounds like Dead Moon Redux...this is to say no one in the world sounds like Fred and Toody Cole and everything they do is guaranteed to rock harder than most everything you've heard in your life. A few tracks, such as "Shades" and "C-U" up the blues and jazz quotient a little. For the most part, though, Straight to the Heart is a sludgy, riff-driven rock album that sounds like early Crazy Horse hiding out in the Oregon woods.

Talking with a few friends about Pierced Arrows, it seems everyone is pumped to see Toody having a bigger presence in the band. She and Fred seem to be harmonizing a lot more and she's bolder and more adventurous with her singing. Her work on the ballad "Up On the Cloud" is like the realization of everything she hinted at being capable of on "I'd Rather Be Your Lover" all those years ago. "Caroline", another of the great Toody-sung songs, is destined to become a classic, and "Black Rainbows" and "In My Brain" are destined to be categorized with "Psychodelic Nightmare", "Black September" and "Fire in the Western World" as favorites among fans of all-things-Cole.

According to their Myspace page, Pierced Arrows will be on the road in Europe for a while, so you'll have to wait a bit before buying this one at a nearby show. But trust me, it'll be worth the wait. Also included on Straight to the Heart is their cover of Neil Young's Buffalo Springfield-era classic "Mr. Soul", a song they've been raging on since the first Pierced Arrows shows.

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Light In The Attic's Marketing Genius

This is marketing genius. Quite possibly the most genius method of delivering record advances to the press since Shim dropped off two sixers of Rainier a couple months back. In order to get my copy of The Saturday Knights upcoming full-length, Mingle, I have to give them a time and date convenient for me. Then, the Saturday Knights will swing by the office, pick me up, and take me for a 40-minute drive around Seattle...40 minutes being the length of their record, which will be pumping on the car's system. Too good to be true, boys...too good to be true.
An excerpt of the press is available after the jump...just so you know I'm not bullshittin'

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First Listen: Jim Noir's Latest on Barsuk

What: Jim Noir, by Jim Noir
When: Tuesday afternoon, and ever six hours since.
Where: Right here (desk)
Why: I found this gem in a bin in music ed Brian Barr's office while hunting for almonds. I settled for the record.
Hear the (Barsuk) Record: When it drops on April 8
Free MP3: Don't You Worry
Download: "All Right," "Welcome CJ"
Go to the store for: "Good Old Vinyl"
Notes: Oh, hell, there's nothing to hate about the smug Jim Noir. He's just so damn poppy and lovable. He opens the record with a one-minute barrage of noise, "Welcome Commander Jameson," which leads right into "All Right," a 21st Century tribute to Brian Wilson.

This self-titled ditty is the second time I've heard from this Barsuk busker. The first was "Tower of Love," featuring "Eanie Meany" and "My Patch," licensed to Adidas and Target, respectively. In fact, I have a hunch that the former was one of the most heard songs across the globe in 2006, considering the fact that it the Adidas ad was spun so heavily during earth's most popular televised event(s): World Cup.

More radio, er, TV-ready material here. If "What You Gonna Do," with the "What you gonna do when I find you?" chorus hasn't already been snatched up by eBay, Ask.com, or Amazon, I'll eat my hat.

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First Listen: Basia Bulat's "Oh, My Darling"

What: Basia Bulat's "Oh, My Darling"
When: Wednesday
Where: At my house.
Why: I was cleaning off my desktop, and happened upon a folder containing the album. I think I downloaded it from an email a while back, but never gave it a listen, till yesterday.
She's playing: Two shows at Austin's SXSW, tomorrow.
Free MP3: "In the Night"
Suggested Downloads: "Before I Knew," "Why Can't It Be Mine"

Notes: Opening track "Before I Knew" makes me think Bulat is the independent answer to British songstress Corinne Bailey Rae. She's not afraid to lean on her voice or guitar, even if it does occasionally flirt with campfire cliche.

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