Aug 16, 2016 Music coming in waves: Rachel Haden, Redd Kross, Side Eyes, Bernays Propaganda, Mike Watt + The Secondmen, The Little Richards
Music comes in waves, and I don’t mean sound waves out of a speaker. I’ll get a CD in the mail, be handed some records by a friend, and buy a 7″ single from merch table all at once, and then be forced to sit down in front of my stereo and plow through the stack of songs, recalling that music isn’t just for passing time in traffic or while going for a run. Sometimes you need to put the needle on a record, check out the sleeve, and pay attention.
Rachel Haden – July 6 LP
Rachel’s work with That Dog and The Haden Triplets is sublime pop and Americana–songs as smart as they are pure as they are joyful. And there’s something about her playing with family and friends that make those records especially honest and powerful. But this long-awaited solo collection produced by Warren Defever a.k.a. His Name Is Alive is something else. At first, the music comes across more like a glow emanating off her than songs being played. Waves of pure energy and warmth to bask in, it is not for dancing or even the tapping of toes but closed eyes, stillness, and appreciation. Even in a song like “The Devil’s In Me.” There are proper songs, too. “Absolutely Right” and “I’m Away” are so lush and perfectly balanced somewhere between pop and art, they will make you cry–and that’s only the first side. You’ll have to buy the record and hear the second half on your own, preferably in a comfy chair in front of big speakers.
Redd Kross – Oh Canada! Hot Issue Vol. 2: Show World Tour Live CD
Perhaps inspired by Steven McDonald’s current run in hardcore survivalists OFF!, the Teen Babes from Hawthorne have been reclaiming their place in SoCal punk history by dusting off their EPs on Posh Boy, Frontier, and Gasatanka. I’m stoked to see them celebrating their glam side, too, by releasing this concert perhaps recorded in the late ’90s by the CBC and retrieved through the WABAC Machine for our modern enjoyment. The perfect guitar hooks and unironic pop of songs like “Switchblade Sister” and “Mess Around” are timeless cuts that would be right up there with the hits of Cheap Trick or Blondie in a perfect world.
The Side Eyes/Redd Kross – Songs that Chargo Taught Us Split 7″ single
This is so cool. Redd Kross’s Jeff McDonald is married to Charlotte Caffey and Astrid McDonald from Side Eyes is their daughter. Each band covers early songs by Caffey including “Screaming” by The Go-Go’s and “Don’t Talk To Me” by her previous band with X’s DJ Bonebrake, A bootleg version of the former was included in the Return to the Valley of The Go-Go’s comp, and this cover is just as raw, fast and catchy–maybe extra heavy. The latter is featured on a legendary What? Records split with the Controllers and Skulls, and The Side Eyes really own it after making it a staple in their live set. I’ll probably be putting these songs on a mix tape alongside SoCal punk bands like The Gears, Zeros, and Crowd, which is perhaps the best possible thing I can say about any 7″ single.
Bernays Propaganda/Mike Watt + The Secondmen Split
The a-side of this 7″ single features a Macedonian band named after the Father of Public Relations. Dark humor from the famously political combo, I’m guessing, and the music itself is smart, moderately paced new wave in the spirit of early Factory singles by Abecedarians Duritti Column, and New Order but with cool female vocals that are not in English. Rad, and as much as I love Watt and the Secondmen playing Minutemen tunes it’s about time we got a new song from the combo on wax. This blue-collar ass-kicker is extra chunky and loose with equal time for heavy bass and keyboard jams between the mantra-like “wake up” vocals from everyone’s favorite corndog from Pedro.
The Little Richards – “The Girl Can’t Help It” b/w “Slippin’ and Slidin'”
This 7″ single came out sometime last year but I just bought it at a show last weekend. The Little Richards feature El Vez and members of The Schitzophonics playing tributes to you-know-who. What a team, and can anything be more audacious, bold, or foolish to cover than The Georgia Peach’s original songs which are so badass and out-of-control to begin with? Yet the San Diego combo pulls it off with an army of axes and rotating singers that are the musical equivalent of high-speed synchronized swimming in a pool full of beer. Yes, your dream jukebox would include this record and if the Little Richards come through town, cancel whatever plans you have to get blown away by their off-the-rails live revue.
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