Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 142

The Wackers: Wackering Heights (1971)

Ah, yes, the Wackers--and, c'mon, really, the Wackers???--fit neatly into my obsession with largely forgotten early 70s pastoral Americana. The first of 3 albums (4 if you count the late 60s release by the band Roxy, mostly the same guys), Wackering Heights is a lovely blend of harmonized folk/country-rock reminiscent of CSN and the Byrds with touches of British pub rock (early Brinsely Schwarz, Help Yourself). (See also Starry Eyed & Laughing.) Despite the band's glammy look on the cover (and, ...

Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel II [Scratch] (1978)

My favorite post-Genesis solo Peter Gabriel album tends to rotate among the first three self-titled records (though the fourth, Security, is right behind; I'm much less enamored of his big breakthrough, So, despite--or maybe because of--its immense popularity). I think the second, nicknamed Scratch owing to its cover art, is the most eclectic, perhaps lacking the killer stand-out track of the debut's "Solsbury Hill" but still packed with some excellent songs.

The album was produced by Robert Frip...

The Hanging Stars: Over The Silvery Lake (2016)

This London band somehow makes some of the finest cosmic Americana of recent years. Silvery Lake is their excellent debut (they've since released two fine follow-ups), joining bands like Beachwood Sparks and Rose City Band in blending Byrdsy late-60s country rock twang with shades of psychedelia as well as hints of Paisley Underground/Elephant 6-styled retro pop. The music is laid back, just catchy enough to keep you hooked, with lovely harmonies.

Opening track "Floodbound" sets the stage, coming...

The Apples In Stereo: A Top 10 List

My latest submission is up today on Toppermost: My picks for the Top 10 songs by the wonderful indie pop band Apples in Stereo, accompanied by a career overview.

Meanwhile, here's my more extended Apples playlist:

 

Died Pretty: Free Dirt (1986)

Heading back once again to my college radio jangly guitar days--good lord, will we ever run out of these records? Died Pretty were an Australian band who released a half-dozen or so albums in the 80s and 90s, part of the indie scene alongside bands like the Go-Betweens and the Church, rocking a rustic Americana sound with a harder post-punk edge and some garage band organs, calling to mind everyone from Dumptruck to the Dream Syndicate to Dylan (and those are just the Ds). Their 1986 debut is da...

Pete Yorn: Sings The Classics (2021)

It's another Bandcamp Friday, when you can buy an album (physical copy or download) with all the proceeds going straight to the artist. And my recommendation is a brand new release from indie singer-songwriter Pete Yorn.

Yorn's been releasing reliably great music for the past two decades, combining classic rock traditions with infusions of Americana and power pop; think Freedy Johnston or Ryan Adams or Josh Ritter. His original music is great (I'm partial to 2003's Day I Forgot, but also check ou...

Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

Growing up in the suburban Midwest, our exposure to the early punk and new wave bands was pretty haphazard. We'd hear the occasional song from the Clash on the radio, or a friend would turn you on to his copy of a Ramones album, but for the most part you were on your own. The Talking Heads didn't really get much traction until Speaking in Tongues broke them open in '83. Somewhere along the line I picked up Remain In Light (on a cassette from the chain music store at the local mall), which remain...

Kenny Feinstein: Hurts To Love (2013)

Sure, it's a novelty album aimed at a particularly targeted audience, but it's pretty great if you're part of that audience. Hurts To Love recreates My Bloody Valentine's legendary Loveless as a stripped down, acoustic album. For many of us, Loveless is one of the most innovative, striking, and personally affecting records ever, setting the bar for shoegaze impossibly high with its squalls of feedback and disorienting studio effects turning the underlying electronica/psychedelia nuggets into emo...

Dum Dum Girls: Only In Dreams (2011)

Dum Dum Girls are one of a number of woman-helmed bands who blend the classic sound of 60s girl groups (abetted by Spector's wall of sound) with noisier Raveonettes-like post-punk buzz. The L.A.-based band (fronted by Kristin "Dee Dee" Gundred) released three albums (plus a few singles), all solid. The 2010 debut was pretty raw, lo-fi garage rock with lots of surf rock twang and killer riffs; 2014's Too True had a lot more studio polish, still rocking but with touches of lusher dream pop. Only I...

Aguaturbia: Psychedelic Drugstore (1970)

Taking another trip back into the psychedelic backwaters of my collection, here's a little obscurity from an unlikely Chilean band. They were a little on the harder-rocking blues end of the garage band milieu, but with plenty of trippy psychedelic explorations as well. From what I've read, the band was fronted by guitarist Carlos Corales and his wife Denise Corales, who rocked a definite Grace Slick (albeit heavily accented) wail.

The album (a compilation of a couple Chile releases) is highlighte...