Alright May, way to go. Aside from the many, many days of rain we’ve gotten here in central Texas, I really can’t complain too much about May (and even then, the rain has kept it from getting oppressively hot, so hey, silver lining). School is out (well for me and my wife and my boys – my daughter’s district still has a week and a half), we’re getting nearer to closing on our new house (like, 45 days or so, but who’s counting), and the Padres are winning more games than they are losing.
Oh, also, there’s been some really good new music, AND I’ve been getting into some new-to-me music as well. I mentioned it before (and I’ll mention it again), Salinas Records had a 20% sale for their 18th anniversary and if you didn’t get anything, you missed out. I mean, the good music is still probably there, just at a full price, which is still fine. Anyways, here’s the new music:
Quaker Wedding – Russian Hill (May 7th, self-released)
Quaker Wedding released one of my favorite records last year, and I am stoked that they are already working on releasing new material. I don’t know if this was recorded from the same session that their LP was cut from, but if you told me it was, I’d believe it. More Jawbreaker meets Face to Face tunes to feel sad to. Not quite as catchy as “Jilted Lover”, but still so, so, so good.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – When God Was Great (May 7th, Hellcat Records)
Let’s Face It was a big deal record for young Marcus. “The Impression That I Get” is a banger that still holds up, and other songs on that one like “1-2-8” and “Never Mind Me” were key gateway-to-punk tracks. Ska and ska-punk are not genres that I’ve followed much after the heyday of the Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, and Less Than Jake, but this record is a fun listen. There’s been five records between this and my first introduction to this band, and outside of a few tracks, I haven’t listened to many of them, but I dig this one.
PURONYLON – FICHITA (May 11th, self-released)
Do you ever get a craving for lo-fi punk en espanol? I can’t say that it’s an itch that I’ve felt like scratching that often, but for what sounds like a bedroom demo, this one is a decent spin.
The Black Keys – Delta Kream (May 14th, Easy Eye Sound/Nonesuch Records)
I don’t know how I really feel about the new stuff from The Black Keys. At this point, they’ve already done the “covering old blues guys that influenced them” bit (the Chulahoma EP, along with some scattered tracks on other full lengths), but I like them, uh… getting back to their roots, I guess? All told, I’m not really sure why this was created and released, and I don’t really see me playing it as much as, like, Rubber Factory or some of the singles off El Camino, but it’s still an enjoyable listen, even if it’s not incredibly original.
KRONSTADT – Quai de l’ouest (May 16th, self-released)
France is almost as big as Texas (only about 8,000 square miles smaller) but has way more cool bands than Texas. Too much country music in Texas. I mean, some of it is okay (c’mon, expand yr mind, get beyond what you already know), but most of it sucks. Anyways, idk what KRONSTADT or “quai de l’ouest” mean, but this is a good record, solid jams throughout.
Misgivings – Dream Neighbour (May 25th, self-released)
When my first girlfriend broke up with me, I had just gotten my first Face to Face CD, and it took me like a decade to fully separate that feeling of being dumped with some really good songs. I feel like I might’ve done that (to a less uh, traumatizing extent?) with this one by Misgivings, as I listened to it nonstop during the last week of school, so I might connect this to cleaning out my room and packing everything into a storage unit for a while. I guess it’s good music to clean to while feeling a bit nostalgic. It doesn’t sound like The Loved Ones, but it feels like they could’ve opened for them on their Build and Burn tour. A little Gaslight Anthem and Replacements influence. I like this one.
Needles//Pins – Needles//Pins (May 28th, Dirt Cult Records)
I’ve been waiting for this one for a while. I’m usually hesitant to pull the trigger on a vinyl purchase before I can listen to the whole thing (or unless it’s a band I already really like and there’s a cool color variant or something), but as soon as I heard the first single, “A Rather Strained Apologetic”, I knew this was gonna be good. And I was right! It seems like all of a sudden Canada has all the cool new-to-me bands. Thank you Canada, I hope Montreal gets the Expos back soon.
Bruce Lee Band – Division in the Heartland (May 28th, Asian Man Records)
Is there anybody in music that is cooler than Mike Park? Outside of John Reis and Brendan Kelly, I’m not sure that there is, and least in my worthless opinion. If you had told me at any point, this year or last, that I’d have not one, but TWO ska-related releases on a monthly countdown, I’d have thought you had lost yr mind. But it’s like when I was in high school, people would ask if I was a surfer, and I would say that I could surf and went surfing occasionally, but I wouldn’t consider myself a “surfer”. I wouldn’t say that I love ska (or even like it that much), but I’ll listen to it once in a while and I like some of it.
Alright, well, there you have it, eight good releases from May. Here’s a Spotify playlist if you wanna jam to it.
Radio Marcus 