Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 128

Secret Colours: Peach (2013)

Chicago-based Secret Colours have released four fine albums of neo-psychedelic indie rock since 2010. Peach, their second, is particularly great, drawing equally from late 60s garage bands as well as British revivalists like the Stone Roses, Charlatans, and Ride. So you get crunchy guitars and organs as well as melodic pop hooks, mashed up in a headphone-friendly array.

Opener "Blackbird (Only One)" is fantastic, driving rhythm section backing the chiming guitar riff and reverbed vocals, with a f...

The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

Magical Mystery Tour never seems to get the same love as other Beatles albums. There's probably (or should be) broad consensus that 1966-1969 quartet Revolver/Sgt. Pepper/White Album/Abbey Road is the greatest run of records ever produced (yes, I realize Let It Be was recorded before Abbey Road, but it came out later, so let's not go there). Yet you don't usually see Magical, which came out smack-dab in the middle, on that list.

Some of the bias stems for the hodge-podge nature of the collection....

The Hanging Stars: Hollow Heart (2022)

Yeah, I've been chatting up some great new releases lately (Superchunk's Wild Loneliness , Ex-Vöid's Bigger Than Before ). And I'll get back to some great lost classics soon enough, but one of my absolute favorite bands of recent years just let loose with their 4th LP, and I've gotta share it while it's on constant rotation here at home.

I've talked about the London-based Hanging Stars here before, and the new one doesn't stray far from past work: Gorgeous, laid-back cosmic American music drawing f...

Ex-Vöid: Bigger Than Before (2022)

Sorry for the absence over the past week... been traveling. But does that mean I haven't been listening to new music? No, friends, it does not!

An online friend turned me on to the recent full-length debut from London's Ex-Vöid. And I gotta say, I was dubious, based on appearances. You've got the metal-friendly band name, umlauts and all. And a cover photo that makes 'em look somewhere between metal and hardcore. But inside the chewy center? Pure, joyous pop songs! Fizzy & fast, fun little hooks ...

Phish: The Covid Jams (2021)

Another homemade compilation of instrumental-only Phish jams, this time culled from the band's rescheduled tour from fall 2021. A return to performing after a 17-month pandemic lockdown showed no signs of wear and tear; if anything, their extended explorations of outer-space grew even more frequent than in the past.

I've whittled the late July and August shows down to 2 CDs of wigged-out non-vocal passages (a few introductory exclamations aside), making this ideal for everything from work-day bac...

The Monochrome Set: Eligible Bachelors (1982)

This quirky, wonderful UK indie band has been kicking around in one form or another for over 40 years, but I'll admit I've only just recently discovered them, trying to make up for lost time with a piecemeal dive through their back-catalog.

Though they date back to the early days of UK post-punk (some of their members previously played with Adam Ant), their sound is far more whimsical, a post-Ray-Davies oh-so-British, lyrically clever, joyous (but intermittently melancholy) pop that most closely ...

The Who: Lifehouse (1971)

Another recreation of a Great Lost Album which I thought I'd pass along. The tales of Pete Townshend's failed efforts to create a sweeping epic production in the wake of Tommy are, like Neil Young's Chrome Dreams and the Beach Boys' Smile , the stuff of rock legend. Suffice it to say that Pete's vision of a futuristic sci-fi musical interwoven with audience participation and some sort of universal spiritual vision never quite gelled to the satisfaction of his bandmates, and the project was abando...

Brian Eno: Music For Films (1978)

Having shared the U2/Eno imaginary soundtrack collaboration last week, I figured I'd head back to the original blueprint--one of the most-played records in my collection (owing in part to its being one of my go-to insomnia cures, but only in the best way).

By 1978, Eno had completed his run of brilliant and eclectic vocal records and moved into full-time instrumental ambient work, where he'd remain for the remainder of his career (with, sadly, only intermittent forays into vocal music). While Mus...

Superchunk: Wild Loneliness (2022)

There have been some really good albums so far this year (I've spent time with Band of Horses, Beach House, the Minders, the Rave-Ups, Mild Orange, Elvis Costello, Jazz Butcher, etc.). But finally we get a really great one. And yeah, it's a ringer, from the always reliable Superchunk. But not a lot of bands pull off such a winner this deep into their career. Sure, a few great bands keep making solid records for decades (R.E.M., Wilco, Yo La Tengo), but in most cases I don't find myself returning...

Flaming Mercury: Deserter's Bulletin (1999)

Of all the "imaginary" albums I've created, this is my new favorite. It's a merger of two of the greatest albums of the '90s (or ever, for that matter), both of which I've written about previously--Mercury Rev's Deserter's Songs and the Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin . The records have long been linked for fans. They were recorded at the same time, in the same studio, by the same producer (Dave Fridmann), and Fridmann was porting studio tricks and sonic textures he was developing between the two ban...