The first is Rico Casazza‘s remix of “Reach the Nucleus” (and a shorter radio edit of it closes the EP). It’s a lush track with Fille’s breathy vocals mixed well with thudding bas and bright synths that burst like sunlight through clouds. Alienata‘s take on “Portals” is a bit spooky and might open a portal to a creepy (yet sexy) dimension if you play it loud enough.
Sestrica remixes “Time Is a Circle” with sizzling electric cymbals and just enough distortion to make the slick dance track a little trippy. Clouser takes “Thistles” and makes it into a somewhat goth track that sounds like a rare B-side you heard once in a club and have been searching for decades to find.
It’s a slick EP from start to finish. You’ll love it for your next workout or dance playlists.
Just Mustard‘s third album, We Were Just Here, opens with squalling guitar that sounds like an alarm that has a battery that’s slowly going dead. The band was looking for hope on the album, and I can’t help but think that its title refers to the deja vu (and dread) we’re all feeling right now in the political atmosphere.
“Pollyanna” is, in fact, named after a character who was eternally optimistic, and Katie Ball‘s vocals have a lovely bounce to them while her bandmates practically summon a UFO from outside our orbit. “Endless Deathless” roars off like a spacecraft designed in an Irish farmhouse going to meet that UFO and ask anyone inside how we can fix this place. It’s a stunner that will immediately go onto your cardio playlist. Guitarist David Noonan joins Ball on vocals for “Silver” – a song that bounces back and forth not only between their microphones, but also between Noonan’s guitar Mete Kalyoncuoglu‘s.
Ball’s vocals on “Dreamer” echo all around you, keeping on the theme of euphoria (and the healthy search for it – “I don’t wanna go where I can’t feel a thing.”) prominent across the record. The title track is another stunner with guitars roaring everywhere. “Somewhere” has Robert Hodgers-Clarke on bass and Shane Maguire on drums creating a neat, smoky, and slightly menacing atmosphere as the guitars swell and fall like waves.
“Dandelion” seems to be about perseverance, as dandelions can and do grow practically anywhere and Ball compares herself to one as she hopes she won’t be overlooked by a potential lover. “That I Might Not See” is a song about being so euphoric you’re not sure if what you’re experiencing is real or not. “The Steps” has Ball following her lover across unexplored territory, and the closer, “Out of Heaven,” has the band coming back down to Earth…but now the Earth has changed.
That’s what they hope for all of us: That the planet will change after we all take the time to have an out-of-body experience or two. Small actions create large changes. We don’t need to return to a place we’ve already been. That moment, that place, is gone and has been for a long while. Here is now. Just Mustard is now.
Keep your mind open.
[You were just here? The subscription box is just over there.]
“What if you could choose your fate like choosing a song on a jukebox? What if your finger slipped and you got the B-side instead? What if you misunderstood the meaning of the dang song to begin with?”
According to frontman and songwriter Ben Schneider, that’s the premise of Lord Huron‘s new album – The Cosmic Selector Vol. 1. The album hosts a stunning array of musicians backing Schneider exploring the idea of choosing one’s fate or just letting it play out and seeing what happens.
On the opener, “Looking Back,” Schneider just wants “nothin’ but a lonesome, quiet place where I can think” or “a noisy, crowded place where I can drink” – depending on the circumstances. It’s a sorrowful tale about loss, either from a breakup or a death. Speaking as a widower, this one hit hard (“Something changed the day you left and I’ll never know just what. I’ll spend my whole life looking up and wondering who I am.”).
“Bag of Bones” is a sharp standout as Schneider sings about how his former lover is better off without him (“I believed you’d never get far without me. How wrong I was in the end.”). The rhythm of the track is undeniable and gets deep into you. “I got everything I want and I’ve got nothing that I need,” he sings on “Nothing I Need.” It’s a tale of an ego trap, of chasing the Alan Watts “golden goodie” that never can be caught and never brings true happiness. The country twang builds into a foot-stomping beat that barely hides the blues lyrics.
“Is There Anybody Out There?” isn’t a cover of the Pink Floyd song of the same name, but rather a song about Schneider and his bandmates Mark Barry, Miguel Briseño, and Tom Renaud seeking fellow humans who might need help along their journey (“We haven’t met, but I wrote this song for you.”). “Who Laughs Last” features actress Kristen Stewart telling a tale of traveling through the American southwest through a series of places that might not be real. “The Comedian” is a tale of a faded star who only wants “to see my name in the lights again,” but knows deep down that time and fame are ephemeral.
“Watch Me Go” is a story of someone walking away from a relationship, friendship, or some other bond that the protagonist no longer wants and won’t miss. It, like all the songs on the album, are mini-stories or characters who might be Schneider or his bandmates or might be fictional. After all, the band has built an entire universe of characters and stories based around their music.
“Fire Eternal” teams up the band with Kazu Makino from Blonde Redhead sharing the vocals on a sultry and quirky tale of fiery passion. “It All Comes Back,” with its simple yet powerful Radiohead-like piano chords, is a story of karma and might be the one that most encapsulates the “What if you could choose your fate?” theme of the album with lyrics like “I can’t be sure, but I’ve seen this before. When you walk through the door, which way will you go?”
“Used to Know” has Schneider begging a former lover to remember what they had together and to run away with it if they ever finds someone like that again. “Digging Up the Past” is a mournful story of someone who can’t (or won’t) move away from something long gone (another dominant theme on the album). The harmonica and slide guitar on it are outstanding. The closing track, “Life Is Strange,” seems perfect for the record. The album is full of weird stories, odd characters, and is about a jukebox in a mythical forest that you can use to determine your fate…but be careful what you wish for as it might not be what you expect.
The whole album isn’t what you expect, but then again it kind of is.
If you’re Go Kurosawa, former drummer and singer for psych-kraut-who knows? rockers Kikagaku Moyo, what do you do after your band’s final tour and album? You create an album on which you play and write everything and it becomes Soft Shakes.
It’s a lovely record of Kurosawa exploring his stunning talent to play anything by ear and to create whatever was in his head at the time without having to shape it with other people. “Moon, please” is a fun yet slightly haunting track layered with hand percussion, clarinet, and other stuff hard to define. “Sada no umi” mixes, I think, found sounds with trippy synths and Kurosawa’s vocal sounds.
Both “Soredesho?” and “Green Thing” show us how well Kurosawa can play acoustic guitar and mix them with various hand percussion instruments to create a relaxing effect perfect for zoning out like Kurosawa seems to be on the album’s cover. “Autowalk” is a good example of krautrock / kraut-electro’s influence on Kurosawa. The looping synths, robotic beats, and mantra-like vocals are already cool enough, but when the trumpet hits? Forget it. It’s almost not fair.
“Jungle Cooking” is downright groovy and would fit onto any trip-hop or 1990s rap album you’d like. Cypress Hill could easily drop several bars on this. “Rice Harvesting Day” almost feels Middle Eastern, and Kurosawa’s electric guitar work takes the main stage this time. Is there anything this guy can’t play well? “Cloud Rock” ends the album with a floating groove.
It’s a great solo debut from Kurosawa. I look forward to more.
Keep your mind open.
[Autowalk over to the subscription box before you leave.]
“The songs on this album were driven by the desire to come back from a complete mental breakdown.”
That’s a quote from Tombstones in Their Eyes‘ guitarist and vocalist John Treanor in the notes sent to me along with their newest album, Under Dark Skies. The opening riff of the title track blasts you with power and then Treanor’s lyrics like “Give me hope because I can’t find it. Give me truth so that I can deny it.” hit even harder.
“You Never Have to Love Me” is a plea for intimacy during a time when true connection is cast aside for digital, ephemeral feelings. “The Beginning” is a big, bold instrumental track with subtly groovy drumming by Stephen Striegel. “Sick So Sick” is a great title to sum up how tired everyone is of everything right now.
“Alive and Well,” on of the singles from Under Dark Skies, almost didn’t make the cut because one of the band’s guitarists, Paul Boutin, who played on it and other tracks, died from cancer in October 2025. TITE initially were not going to release it as a single, but remembered it was one of Boutin’s favorites and the lyrics about resiliency and moving forward instead of getting stuck carried even more meaning after his death. It’s a solid track, with Boutin’s guitar work shining throughout it.
The heavy psychedelic guitars on “I’m So Happy Today” and the slight eye-roll to the vocals add a bit of sarcastic dark humor to the record. You’re never quite sure if Treanor and co-vocalists Courtney Davies and Clea Cullen ever really mean it. “I See You Looking Out My Door” instantly reminded me of some of The Smithereens‘ heavier tracks. The guitar riffs are a nice blend of psych-rock and garage-rock.
“I’ve been avoiding myself for too long,” Treanor sings at the beginning of “You Can Run.” You can run from what’s bringing you grief, stress, misery, or even just exhaustion, but you won’t get far for long. You have to be present with it. It’s the only way to “find a way out,” as Treanor says.
“Better Somehow” is a twisting, winding track that feels like incense smoke coming from a sound booth at the back of a small rock venue while TITE blast you from the stage with waves of sound. The album ends with a heavy one – “Take Another Piece of Me.” Nic Nifoussi‘s bass growls and prowls around like a dangerous wolf as Paul Roessler‘s keyboards add almost a gothic-gospel sound to it.
It’s another good record from TITE, and I’m intrigued by the second album in a row with a nautical-themed cover (Asylum Harbour being the first). The band went through rough seas in the last couple years to be certain and Under Dark Skies helps them, and us, navigate them.
Coming back with their first new music since 1999, Lowsunday bring you a lot of heavy shoegaze riffs, post-punk bass, and psychedelic reverb on their Low Sunday Ghost Machine – White EP.
“Nevver” (Or is it “Newer?”) has lead vocalist Shane Sahene musing over how apathy has overcome him (“I used to care too much. Now I can’t care less.”) while Bobby Spell‘s near-disco bass line rumbles around him. “Call Silence” is a slick track of gothic shoegaze about missing a loved one after a breakup or a death when you realize they’re no longer going to answer your call.
On “Soft Capture,” Sahene realizes he’s the problem with lyrics like “I wish I believed you and I weren’t sick of me.” The Joy Division influence on the track is evident with its thick bass, spacey guitars, and distant vocals. “You Lost Yourself” reminds me a bit of early stuff from A Place to Bury Strangers, and has sharp lyrics about games played in relationships like “Some pretend to love while others love to pretend.” The bass and drums work especially well together on this track, too.
The EP closes with the sharp yet heavy “Love Language.” It could be a new darkwave smash. The wall of sound it creates is impressive and a bit intimidating, and Sahene’s hope that learning to love someone will at least slow down the pain inside him resonates with anyone who’s been lonely (AKA all of us).
It’s a good return for these chaps, and an EP that will help you drift into a different headspace for a little while.
Keep your mind open.
[You’ll be speaking my love language if you subscribe.]
Way back in August 1976, “Fast” Eddie Clarke (guitar), LemmyKilmister (bass and vocals) and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor (drums) got together at the famous Manticore Studio in Fulham, England. That new, classic Motörhead lineup was recorded for the first time there, and now those recordings have been released nearly fifty years later.
Starting with an instrumental intro, the band wastes no time with “Leavin’ Here.” They put down a fast, heavy rocker that might make you quit your job or current relationship. The swaggering groove of “Vibrator” is matched well with Kilmister’s pub-punk vocals. “Help Keep Us on the Road” has Clarke’s guitar at the front and Kilmister’s vocals at the back.
“I’ll give you a chance to do the right thing,” Kilmister warns on “The Watcher.” Taylor’s drums are sharp on the track, as is Clarke’s solo. The new lineup’s take on “Motörhead” is as gritty and growling as you hope it will be. The album closes with two great instrumentals, “Witch Doctor” (with Clarke and Kilmister going bonkers) and “Iron Horse / Born to Lose,” and then alternate takes of “Leavin’ Here,” “Vibrator,” and “The Watcher.”
The LP version of The Manticore Tapes comes with a bonus recording a live show from 1977 in Birmingham that includes live versions of all the “Manticore” tracks as well as “Train Kept A-Rollin’,” “City Kids,” and “White Line Fever.”
This is an unearthed gem for not only fans of Motörhead and NWOBHM bands, but also metal, rock, and music historians.
Chicago rapper, producer, an all-around cool cat Ric Wilson finds and speaks many truths on his newest EP, America Runs on Disco. The title alone is accurate, whether you want to believe it or not. Wilson wrote the record during his bafflement over the 2024 election results and wanting to shake off the doldrums he was feeling.
He comes up with the funky, fresh, and frisky “They Can’t Get Next to You,” which blends rap with house music and Italo-disco touches. “Blah Blah Blah” (with Kiela Adira helping out on vocals) sizzles and snaps and will slide right into your next house party mix. Party Pupils join Wilson on “Missin’ My Window,” a fun track about not opening the door when opportunity knocks and offers you love or at least a fun night. It sounds like he missed a lot of opportunities while on tour, and “Chicago to London” is a bit of a sequel to it (“Come and get deez these disco balls.”).
The title track drops enough groovy bass to power a couple hip hop albums and comes with plenty of wisdom (“The only way to live is to accept you’ll die.”). “Everybody Red in the Face” has Wilson looking for calm in the storm of rage that’s grabbed the country by the throat, and wondering if he’s the only person searching for it (“Is anybody else out there, or am I alone?”). “When Pigs Fly” closes the EP with bright synth notes while Wilson drops bars that call out people who are embracing that anger or pretending to be hard because they’re afraid to be vulnerable or admit admit they’re wrong.
Wilson continues to drop sweet records like this. He knows the country needs to have a good time. He’s getting up early to make the disco. Don’t disappoint him by not getting any.
Mars Red Sky returned in 2023 with Dawn of the Dusk (which I can’t help but wonder if the title is a riff on Dawn of the Dead), which brings us down from outer space and plants us firmly on and underneath the Earth.
As seems customary, MRS open the album with a sonic blast that is led by Jimmy Kinast gravity well-like bass line. “Break Even” is a cautionary tale of selling out just to keep up with everyone else when you’re secretly miserable (“He’ll quit and join the race, the rank and file for normality. If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere. Just what you’d be making exactly is anyone’s guess.”). “Maps of Inferno” is a collaboration with Queen of the Meadow and has that band’s Helen Ferguson and MRS’ Julien Pras sharing vocals about guarding a sky-high tower (perhaps one of the ruins on the album’s cover) while the empire below lives in ignorant bliss while Pras’ guitar melts everything around it.
Kinast takes over lead vocals on “The Final Round” – a song that seems to be about that aforementioned tower guarding coming down to fight some horrible menace. The instrumental track “A Choir of Ghosts” is aptly named, as it’s spooky, heavy, and menacing. Mathieu Gazeau‘s drums take front stage on “Carnival Man,” moving from stoner metal rumbling to almost jazz-rock cymbal work.
After the brief instrumental “Trap Door,” we have “Slow Attack.” It encapsulates many of the album’s lyrics and themes of vigilance, combat, loneliness, isolation, ruin, and emergence from that ruin. Pras and Kinast’s guitars unleash fire from above on it while Gazeau’s drums bring to mind structures crumbling under that assault.
Mars Red Sky have begun dabbling in prog-rock with Dawn of the Dusk, which isn’t a bad thing. It will be interesting to hear where they go next. They’ve been to space and returned to an altered planet. What’s next? Back to Mars? A journey within the self? It should be a wild journey.
Melenas‘ Dias Raros (Strange Days) gets off to a great start with “Primer Tiempo” (“First Time”) – a song that hums and buzzes (thanks in great part to synths and keyboards from members Oihana and MariaMelenas). “No Puedo Pensar” (“I Can’t Think”) hits the theme of the album – days when you’re questioning decisions and even if you should worry about them. Oihana’s guitar strumming on it is top-notch.
The soft reverbed vocals and guitars of “29 Grados” (“29 Degrees”) are outstanding. Laura Torres‘ drums on “Despertar” (“Wake Up”) will certainly shake the cobwebs out of your head…but be warned that the synths and psychedelic guitar effects might lull you back into dream land. “El Tiempo Ha Pasado” (“Time Has Passed”) has lovely vocal harmonies from Oihana and bassist Leire Melenas and beautiful church organ-like sounds from Maria.
“Los Anemales” (“The Animals”) brings in krautrock elements and shows how well the Melenas can pull off mantra-like beats and bass (Leire’s groove on it is slick.) and mix them with psych-rock riffs. “3 Segundos” (“3 Seconds”) is one of the best rockers on the record. Leire locks down the track with her heavy bass tone and Laura drives it like she’s racing through the Pyrenees. Meanwhile, Maria’s keyboards and Oihana’s guitar chase after you like wailing police cars.
“Ciencia Ficción” (“Science Fiction”) does this cool switch about halfway through it from krautrock riffing to Lindsey Buckingham-like guitar work. “En Madrid” (“In Madrid”) has this lush feel to it that reminds me of Dum Dum Girls tracks. “Ya No Es Verano” (“It’s Not Summer Anymore”) will go on your “End of Summer” playlist from now on, because it has a brightness to it but the vocals have you pining for the start of summer now that you were just in the groove of having fun in the sun.
The album ends with the Velvet Underground-inspired “Vals” (“Waltz”), a great way to send us off with almost a caress and hopeful dreams.
It’s a beautiful record that feels otherworldly at times. We’re all living in strange days. This album will help with that if you need it.
