Doc Hopper, "She's a Cokehead"
Canadian pop punk band Doc Hopper is really following in the footsteps of many other bands, especially Screeching Weasel here. Ask Your Mom is a really solid record, but this one (Zigs, Yaws and Zags) is just fine.
Zoom, "Flunkie"
This record, the 1992 self-titled release from Lawrence, Kansas rock band Zoom, was one of my white whales for a long time. I used to play the album on my radio show pretty often, but never picked up a copy for myself. By the time I realized that I hadn't gotten around to it, they were almost impossible to find. I just got in the habit of checking the "Z" section of every record store I went in, in the hopes that maybe a copy of this album would show up. Their followup record, Helium Octopede, was not too hard to track down, but this one eluded me. Eventually, Megan finally found a copy of it, and I was reunited. In the intervening years, the stature of the record had built up in my mind. Could it live up to those memories?
Absolutely! This shit rocks! It's kind of math-y, but with some real tunes behind it. This is one of the lost classics of the early 90s, and I'm delighted to say that it's now readily available on Bandcamp. Sometimes the future rules! Listen to "Ernst & Son", it's so good.
Trenchmouth, "Hit Men Will Suffocate the City"
Early 90s represent! Art punks out of Chicago, Trenchmouth played the sort of music that gets described by critics as "taut". It definitely borrows heavily from folks like Gang of Four. After four pretty good albums, they finished things up. I suppose the claim to fame of the band is that Fred Armisen was their drummer, but nobody remembers him for this stuff.
Squarepusher, "I Wish You Could Talk"
Squarepusher went back to his roots with Go Plastic, putting out another record of drill'n'bass in the vein of Hard Normal Daddy. While inventive-jazz-bonkers-fusion Squarepusher is fun, it's nice to hear this as well. It's sort of comfort music.
Aceyalone, "I Never Knew"
Love the dusty drums on this, and that piano loop.