I wrongly panned the Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin in Alternative Press at the time of release, due mostly to the shift away from their guitar-based records and the absence of Ronald Jones (who filled in as the perfect foil for Johnathan Donahue's woozily trebly guitar sound). I was cool with Zaireeka -- what a great concept -- but now it seemed Wayne Coyne was relying too heavily on the songwriting of Steven Drozd, busily turning into a caricature of himself as this 'weirdo from Oklahoma!' billed as 'midwestern art genius,' who got just lucky enough to slip through the cracks to get funded on the backs of (Pops/Papa) Warner Bros. In hindsight, good for him/ them -- Wayne really was sorta an asshole the few times I got to spend a few minutes with him, but Michael Ivins is a sweet dude! For the most part, though, this is/ was the Lips' last great record, released 20 years ago now(!). I rescind my review (authored under the name Michael Segal, (thanks, Mike!, sorry, Mike) around issue #129-132 somewhere, if you have a copy)... highly recommended!
newer shit i have been digging &/or trying to take the time to check into/ check out:
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – Tracing Back The Radiance (Mexican Summer 256) July 2019
I Jahbar - Inna Duppy SKRS Soundclash (Bokeh Versions 27) July 2019
Sun Araw & Mitchell Brown – Fluid Array (Longform Editions 31) July 2019
Ride – This Is Not A Safe Place (Wichita 570) august 2019
Pan American – Nightbirds (Longform Editions 33) august 2019
Bitchin Bajas – Demeter (Longform Editions 34) august 2019
Deathprod – Occulting Disk (Smalltown Supersound 360) October 2019
Stereolab - Cobra & Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night [Expanded Edition] (Duophonic_Warp)
Stereolab - Dots & Loops [Expanded Edition] (Duophonic_Warp)
Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup [Expanded Edition] (Duophonic_Warp)
Pita – Get On (editions Mego 269) October 2019
Chromatics – Closer To Grey (Italians Do It Better) October 2019
Kim Gordon – No Home Record (Matador 1379) October 2019
Theodore Cale Schafer – Patience (Students Of Decay 122) October 2019
Ohio – Upward, Broken, Always (12k 2042) September 2019
VA – Total 19 (Kompakt CD154) September 2019
Saariselka – The Ground Our Sky (Temporary Residence) October 2019
Vetiver – Up On High (Loose 251) October 2019
VA – Place Language (Facture) October 2019
Pan American – A Son (Kranky) November 2019
Rafael Toral – Constellation In Still Time (Room 40) November 2019
Matt Valentine - Preserves (Beyond Beyond Is Beyond) November 2019
Ohio – Interludes (12k 3021) October 2019
Marcus Fischer – On Falling (12k 2043) October 2019
Moon Diagrams – Trappy Bats (“Wipeout Meets Jefre Cantu-Ledesma) (geographic north 54) august 2019
Luxembourg Signal, The - Are You Numb (ReMixes by Robert Hampson) October 2018
Bill MacKay & Katinka Kleijn – STIR (Drag City 756) October 2019
Alex Cobb – Abate Fetel (bandcamp) august 2017
2 comments:
Been in a Labradford / Rachel's zone, and just checked out the new Pan American - A Son. Man, that's nice. Nightbirds not bad neither. Happy Christmas! though Jesus was probably born in September so I hear.
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