Vecka 44-45

Många spännande och förhållandevis okända artister/band. Det är extra kul att

få presentera akter, som inte alla känner till. Två av banden nedan kommer från

Grekland och Frankrike. Sen har vi ett göteborgsband, som det snackas mer och

mer om. Duon Barnett/Vile är dock redan omtalad.

1. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band (UK)  When thinking of all the great songwriters of the post-Beatles era, the name Michael Head might not come up unless the NME cover that proclaimed him the greatest artist of his time comes to mind. Or maybe the occasional brilliance of the Pale Fountains in the '80s will. Or the consistent brilliance of Shack in the '90s. Or the album he made in the mid-'90s under the name the Strands. His long, scattered body of work has shown him to be classicist (Byrds, Love, Drake) with a broken soul and a heart of gold. The Love-inspired "What's the Difference" is a highlight. AllMusic

2. Elf Power (US)  (skivkonvolut ovan) With more than ten albums to their credit by the time of its release, Athens, Georgia lo-fi mavens Elf Power return after nearly four years between records with Twitching in Time. An alumnus of the Elephant 6 collective, which also gave rise to acts such as Neutral Milk Hotel and Of Montreal, they stick to relatively coherent psych-pop for their third outing of the 2010s.  AllMusic

3. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile (US, Au) seem like natural creative partners, in theory. Both are troubadours prone to electric guitar freakouts, they’re each associated with the term “slacker” despite enviable productivity, and they find meaning in the mundane. Vile is the one you go to for heady vibes, but he has subtly drifted toward wry storytelling. Barnett, the one you go to for the stories and the wryness, has gravitated toward garage-rock and grunge styles more in Vile’s wheelhouse.“Over Everything” demonstrates how easy Vile and Barnett partner in reality, too. Listening to their duet, which Vile has said he started writing in 2015 with Barnett in mind, it’s wonderfully hard to tell where one’s mind ends and the other begins—  Pitchfork

4. Otherkin (US)   are a very exciting, Dublin hailing four-piece band, that have succeeded in blending together various rock genres for their debut album “Ok”, Everyone who listens to these guys will hear The Clash to Weezer. The band really needs to be given some credit for its originality though, it’s as if they’ve taken snippets of other artists but combined them together with their own style in a way that creates something really special and unique.  Puremzine

5. Colleen (FR)  A Flame My Love, A Frequency sees artist Cécile Schott putting aside her signature viola de gamba and instead focusing on small synthesizers and Moog pedals. She wrote the album after visiting a relative in Paris and barely missed being at the scene of November 2015 terror attacks, ruminating on life and death as a result. Residentadvisor.net

6. Acid Baby Jesus (GR) Greece's Acid Baby Jesus, simply titled, "LP" (702-110). A Mediterranean concoction of two of our favorite "Black" bands (Sabbath/ Lips), ABJ represents the future of heavy psych'n'roll from an isolated, ancient civilization. Combining the ruthless elements of American outlaw roots music and celestial glam rock, like fellow deconstructionists Demon's Claws, "LP" suggests the Rolling Stones at their wearied best, with the electrifying hi-jinks of Brian Eno bulldozing the swagger into the darkest corners of the cosmos. Slovenly Bandcamp

7. Joe Henry (US) Henrys nya album är ett av hans starkaste hittills. Och ett av årets bästa, enligt GP:s recensent Jan Andersson. Vet inte riktigt när Joe Henry gick från att vara en halvkänd men hyllad singer/songwriter till att bli en musikproducent med världsrykte. Kanske var det 2002 när han blåste liv i Solomon Burkes insomnade karriär med albumet Don’t give up on me. Efter flera höjdpunkter längs vägen visar nämligen avslutande Keep us in song att Joe Henry inte står självaste Tom Waits efter när det gäller att skapa midnattsblå ballader med svepande stråkar, jazzigt träblås och personliga texter. GP

8. Crocodiles (US) are a noise pop/indie pop band from San Diego, California, US. The group was formed in 2008 by core members Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell after the break-up of their former punk bands Some Girls and The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower. Crocodiles' sound has typically been likened to The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Archies, Tommy James & The Shondells, and Gary Glitter. Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell recorded Crocodiles sixth LP, Dreamless, in Welchez’s new home of Mexico City.  Wikipedia

9. Rome Is Not A Town (SWE) släppte nyligen debutsingeln ”Stupid”. En låt som kastar ut lyssnaren i ett Sonic Youth-liknande kaos, där medlemmarna gör sitt yttersta för att överrösta omgivningen. Det är många som fått upp ögonen för Göteborgsbandet och deras spelningar har tvingat publiken att ta lugnande. Under en konsert i Belgien blev recensenten totalt överrumplad, trodde sig se demoner och använde fler superlativ än ordboken erbjuder. Detta är Thurston Moores favroitband och han har tillsammans med dottern Coco Moore gjort skivomslaget. HYMN

10. The The (UK)  British new wave greats The The are releasing their first new single in 15 years. “We Can’t Stop What’s Coming,” which will be limited to 2000 copies, is a tribute to frontman Matt Johnson’s late brother Andrew, aka Andy Dog, who designed many of the band’s record sleeves and who passed away last year. The song features Johnny Marr on guitar and former The The members Zeke Manyika and James Eller on percussion and bass.  Stereogum

Som vanligt har ni två veckor på er att lyssna. Ni lämnar in era poäng senast söndag den

12 november. Här är länken.