Cover of “Tomorrow Never Comes” by Rancid.
– Rancid, “Tomorrow Never Comes”
Who are you? 90’s American punk is back with NOFX offering a major farewell tour, Bad Religion playing festivals around the world and Rancid releasing a new album. All that remains is for Green Day to get started, and they will.
It is so good Tomorrow will never come? More Motörhead than the Clash; more The Pogues than Sex Pistols. Little ska, which they always threw in the beginning, and a lot of angry punk. For their tenth album (the first in six years) they condense 16 songs into 29 minutes. Imagine how fast that goes and how much it charges the batteries.
Cover of “Weathervane” by Dennis Schocket.
-Dennis Schocket, “Weathervane”
Who is it? A veteran musician from Baltimore who has been a member of power pop band Starbelly for over 20 years.
It is so good weathervane? Looking more at the guitars on Starbelly, Schocket strives for subtlety in the solo. You may remember the ELO of Jeff Lynne (Miracle) and by extension Paul McCartney or Roy Orbison. Festive themes will lift you off the sofa and ballads will move you. Highly (highly) recommended.
Cover of “Bravo!” by Sorry Girls.
– Sorry girls, ‘Bravo!’
Who are you? A Canadian duo consisting of a girl on vocals (Heather Foster Kirpatrick) and a boy on instruments (Dylan Kinrad Obront). This is his second album.
It is so good Bravo!? Indie is becoming more and more reminiscent of the eighties, even the seventies. Sorry Girls’ new record might remind you of Suzanne Vega and even Steely Dan. Good references. The duo doesn’t deny styles, and when a saxophone has to sound like Supertramp, nothing happens. Although this record starts with a ballad, the rest is beautiful mid-tempos, chiseled pop with simple instrumentation, no over-the-top productions. A pleasure.
Cover of “Lover’s Game” from The War and Treaty.
– The War and the Contract, “Love Game”
Who are you? A Michigan duo consisting of the Trotters, Tanya and Michael. They were looking for a name to launch their careers and got into a fight while defending their candidacy. Tanya said, “This isn’t a war, Michael, so let’s come to an agreement.” And hence the name: The War and the Treaty: The War and the Treaty. Sometimes it happens… This is the duo’s fourth album.
It is so good lovemaking? The album begins like Ike and Tina Turner did in the ’70s: a pounding beat sung by the two, setting off a rock ‘n’ roll storm. But things settle down over the next nine songs, where the Trotters teach a lesson in singing sensual soul, country-soul and pop ballads.
Cover of Consequences Coming by Glen Matlock.
-Glen Matlock, “Consequences are coming”
Who is it? A legend. Bass player for the Sex Pistols, who was later replaced by the hapless Sid Vicious. Marlock, 67, has played with Primal Scream, Blondie, Iggy Pop and even the reformed Faces. A good musician who serves for everything.
It is so good Are there consequences? One of the rock’n’roll records of the year. We’re talking about Rock’n’Roll in the most classic sense: lively guitar riffs, a hard-hitting voice, attitude, a desire to dance, a touch of soul and, above all, good songs. What good records are made by these seasoned guys with nothing to lose and a lifelong love of rock.
Cover of “I Thought I Was Better Than You” by Baxter Dury.
– Baxter Dury, “I thought I was better than you”
WHO? The son of the great Ian Dury, the man who infused punk and new wave with funk. Baxter already has eight albums.
It is so good I thought I was better than you? When you hear Baxter’s Cockney accent, you inevitably think of his father. But musically they have little in common. Baxter raps (or speaks directly) over some interesting percussive underpinnings, while—and here’s the kicker—a female choir builds beautiful melodies. The contrast between Baxter’s raspy voice and the lovely tones of her accompanists makes for a seductively atmospheric record.
Cover of “Casanova” by Recycled J.
-Recycled J, “Casanova”
Who is it? Jorge Escorial Moreno, a 29-year-old from Madrid and one of the mainstays of the Spanish urban sound.
It is so good Casanova? Like C. Tangana or Rels B, Recycled J evolves from trap and hip hop to a much more accessible pop concept. The Madrid man has been in this line for a while and Casanova is his definitive move. An album that asserts itself with electronics, soft Latin rhythms or straightforward pop. Also hip hop, but integrated into a non-exclusive concept. In the lyrics, Jorge tells of heartache and appeals to the pride of the neighborhood, to him, Carabanchel. “I am one of chickens and subtleties. / Where I grew up, I go to my grandmother’s on Sundays,” she sings. Casanova puts Recycled J in the same category as his friends from Natos and Waor: music that makes you want to walk around the neighborhood and with commercial vigor to appeal to a wider audience.
Cover of “Darkfighter” by Rival Sons.
-Rival Sons, “Dark Fighter”
Who are you? The 15-year career of this Californian band that, along with Greta Van Fleet and others, represents the new generation of hard rock.
It is so good Dark Fighter? The album opens with “Mirrors,” a song in which Jay Buchanan exhibits a vocal tone close to that of Paul Rodgers: powerful and meaty. The song is sensational, almost progressive. Rival Sons arrives on their seventh album in great form. They’re based on the heavy guitar chords of ’70s rock, but they know how to give them today’s sounds. Everything is invented in rock, it only remains to update the lyrics and look for personality. These guys get it.
Cover of “Joy’All” by Jenny Lewis.
-Jenny Lewis, “Joy’All”
Who is it? American Jenny Lewis celebrates two and a half decades of musical career, first before Rilo Kiley and then in a solo career, reaching her fifth album with this Joy’All.
It is so good Joy’All? Jenny Lewis’s music just can’t be liked. That’s impossible, because he composes songs with a pleasant rhythm (some with hard stories, yes) and interprets them with a captivating voice. His new album integrates almost exclusively mid-tempo with some country influences. It’s this folk-country-pop conglomerate that Lewis masters perfectly.
Cover of “Hey!” by The Guapos.
– The guapos, ‘Hey!’
Who are you? A band made up of three Mexicans and a famous Spanish rocker from Madrid, Leiva, who is in charge of drums and some vocals, although he isn’t the lead singer. An uninhibited attitude and a great sense of humor both on behalf of the group and in the lyrics and aesthetic.
It is so good Hey!? It’s not the first time that Leiva has started playing drums in a small group (he’s great at it), probably to counteract the pressure he has to feel as he fills arenas with his main project. In the guapos, everything is light, carefree and underage. From the drum chair, the man from Madrid watches his three Mexican buddies rock: Adán Jodorowsky, Jay de la Cueva and David Aguilar. They recorded a rock ‘n’ roll record from the fifties/sixties. Rock en Español connoisseurs will spot influences from Los Sirex, Micky y Los Tonys, Enrique Guzmán’s Teen Tops and even the Dúo Dinámico. Do the guapos contribute something to music history? No, but they’re damn funny and urge us to look for the old pioneer songs.
Cover of “In Times New Roman…” by Queens of the Stone Age.
– Queens of the Stone Age, “In Times New Roman…”
Who are you? Josh Homme’s band, a rude guy who’s been falling apart lately: an ugly divorce, the death of his friend and musician Mark Lanegan, and cancer. The result of all that turbulence is this album, Queens of the Stone Age’s first in six years.
It is so good In Times New Roman…? Foo Fighters (But Here We Are) and Queens of the Stone Age’s new albums coincide, and we’re left with Hommes Band. Beyond the value of some lyrics that tell of the singer-guitarist’s dark times, there’s that glowing atmosphere that the group brings to their albums. It’s a record that can be listened to in one go (running 47 minutes), the best way to enjoy the stoner rage it induces. When it’s all over with a straitjacket that’s clearly influenced by The Doors, you’ll want to start it all over again.
Cover of “Before Ameri” by Duki.
– Duki, “Before America”
– Who is it? The most important head of urban music in Spanish. A boy who came off the street of hip-hop cockfights and now fills stadiums. The 27-year-old Argentinian’s real name is Mauro Ezequiel Lombardo.
– It is so good Before America? Looking for a rival to outshine him, Duki has found him in high technology. “Artificial intelligence so they copy my songs. / And they don’t have my DNA, not even with four hundred clones,” she sings in Rockstar 2.0. This represents the Argentinian: the pop star of the time who is breaking traditional concepts. Duki’s new album focuses on trap (a fork of rap) from its early days. It rhymes with aggressiveness and is its forte in crafting witty and intelligent lyrics, brief chronicles of our time from the perspective of those who had nothing and now have everything. There’s nothing better to sum up its story than this bar: “We sell, but nobody here is for sale.”
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