I am sitting here listening to Bahamas new album Earthtones, which is a great listen, and thinking to myself about the music that 2018 has started with. First up was Daniel Romano in concert in a new venue called The Aviary. It is a cosy little room that worked really good for the band to work out in. It was a rocking good start to the year.

This last week has been crazy with new music. First Aid Kit came out with a new full-length album called Ruins. They are a pair of young women working out relationships and the confusion and pain of youthful romance and heartache. They are darn good at working all of that into very likeable songs. The problem for me is the irreconcilable fact that I left my teenage angst and broken hearts behind me many years ago, and these songs, as good as they are, simply do not resonate with me on a personal level. What does resonate with me is the music that First Aid Kit back up all of their writing with. They say on their bio that they listened to the likes of Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Carter Family and The Louvin Brothers and I can hear overtones of all that and more in their songs. There is a lilt, a sway, a dos-e-do, and a vintage to their music that harkens back to these great musicians of the past that we should not forget. I am grateful for First Aid Kit and their nod of appreciation to the foundation builders of Americana music.

The Shins pulled out all the stops with their newest old release, The Worms Heart. I confess that I have listened to them only casually in the past but this release has demanded repeated listens from me. This is art rock in that it is a flipped version of their last album Heartworms, the order of the songs if reversed and all of them are played in a different style than the original. I know that this doesn’t work for some folks but I found that I liked the end result of this endeavour. This album has a more grunge/garage rock feel to it. Jangling guitars and moaning organs that often sound heavy-handed manage to rumble on and create something new and interesting. I like the concept, and contrary to many of the reviews that I have read online, I actually like the end product. Yes, it is sloppy and uneven at times but I take that as part of the process of reinventing the songs so I give it a thumbs up.

Unfortunately, I have to throw in thumbs down review, well, actually a palm flat out and then brought slowly up to your forehead area. They Might Be Giants are rated as one of, if not the most, prolific music writers of all time and this is their nineteenth album if my counting is correct. The unfortunate part is that prolific does not always bring quality along with it. The bottom line on this album is this: if you like They Might Be Giants you will like this recording. If you are new to TMBG’s you might or might not find this a good listen. I found it to be less than engaging. I often overlooked the cheesy music and listened to the lyrics but on this recording, called I Like Fun, I couldn’t have fun listening to more of the same old.
A slight bump on the road of music we find ourselves on. On a different wavelength, I have revisited some old albums and I did have fun with that. Abbey Road, by nonother than The Beatles. It has not lost any of its charms or listening quality over the years and it still gets me singing in the car to myself.
Dave Edmunds, often overlooked but a classic from the new wave era. I have a fistful of his albums but I shook the dust off of Repeat When Necessary and found that I still liked it as much now as I did in 1979 when it was released. It was released at the same time as Nick Lowe’s Labour of Lust which is another personal favourite of mine and both records feature the same lineup of musicians: Edmunds, Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams, collectively known as Rockpile. A couple of stand out tracks are Crawling From The Wreckage and Queen of Hearts. Good Stuff.
Well, that is a wrap for this week, I look forward to what lies in store next week. For concerts, we are going to see Daniel Romano again, this time with Ancient Shapes at The Empress Ale House. For album listening, I have no idea what the future holds. Until next time, keep your needle in the groove and fingers on the fretboard/keyboard.