I dunno, feels like we've had a good mix recently. Today is no different.
Sebadoh, "New Worship"
Sebadoh's Sub Pop debut, Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock, would prove to be a transitional album. Taking the sprawling, brilliant mess of III and at least partially taming it, the focus and professionalism that Sebadoh started exhibiting here would eventually result in much more coherent albums. This period is my favorite one of the band, as I like a little chaos in my music, so when they mostly worked that stuff out of their sound, I stopped paying as much attention. So, the three album stretch from III through Bubble and Scrape is where I mostly listen.
Crimpshrine, "Construction"
Kind of feels like I've done a couple potted bios of Crimpshrine. So, insted, let's just take the time to admire how forward and aggressive the bass is on this song. It's a real presence in a way that unfortunately can be kind of rare.
Company Flow, "Funcrusher Scratch"
Have we had Company Flow on here before? I don't think so. Company Flow kicked off the revival of the rap underground, both by providing sounds that the community hadn't really heard before, but also by helping turn Rawkus Records into a vital force, one that would release many great records (Black Star, for instance). Company Flow also launched the career of El-P, a stalwart who is still helping blow people away even today. You can hear some of that El-P touch in the production of even this pretty early stuff.
Less Than Jake, "Call To Arms"
EP ALERT (siren.gif)
Uh, anyway, if you've wondered what Less Than Jake sounds like in 2017, you have your answer: basically like what they sounded like in 2003. That's not a terrible thing or anything, it's just true.
Palace Brothers, "You Will Miss Me When I Burn"
Palace Brothers is Will Oldham, who has released music under a bunch of different names. This album (Days In The Wake), despite beind credited to a band, is almost entirely just Will and a guitar. It mostly avoids the preciousness and twee profundity of so many sensitive-guy-with-a-guitar records, though. For starters, it's not too long, which is an often overlooked factor in albums that don't suck. Beyond that, it doesn't ever sound like Oldham is just trying to work out his issues. Well, I mean, more than would be seemly.