sit-and-spin

Artist: LPX

Album: “Bolt in the Blue”

Reason We’re Cranking It: The electro-pop progression of the EP is like a punk rock party with dancing. You’re walking a “Tightrope” at the start and then bowing down to the “Red Queen” by the end.

What The EP Tells Us About Her: The solo project of Ms Mr’s Lizzy Plapinger has legs that stretch beyond the duo’s existing fan base. The eclectic mix of tracks on “Bolt in the Blue” should appeal to listeners who have yet to find themselves already enamored by the London-born singer/songwriter. It’s artistic diversifying at its best.

Track Stuck On Repeat: “Tremble” builds into a fist-pumping anthem, delivering on a chorus that picks you up when you’re down, just as Plapinger reflects in the lyrics of the song.

Coming To A City Near You: Check back for LPX tour dates here.

And that means…

Artist: Slow Bloom

Album: “Hex Hex Hex”

Label: No Sleep Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: Because playing it quietly would be a fruitless endeavor. Johnny Andrew’s vocals, a hurricane of Gale-force howling, feel ripped from the CBGB’s stage circa 1975. This is music meant to be played loudly and proudly.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: Other than a rider filled with honey and lozenges for Andrew’s vocal chords? Well, it tells us that this is a band that could be a game changer for the post punk scene, which has seemed to be stuck on idle in recent years. If they play their cards right, they could be holding the entire deck when all is said and done.

Track Stuck On Repeat: “Neon Sequitor,” the opening track, is the best way Slow Bloom could have said hello with the EP. Aggressively catchy and instantly memorable, it would be a radio hit if radio actually played new music anymore.

Coming To A City Near You: Slow Bloom tour dates can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Ruby Boots

Album: “Don’t Talk About It”

Label: Bloodshot Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: Nomadic by nature and longing for the adventure of the road, we gravitate towards the kind of music that plays out like a multi-city soundtrack. If we were leaving on a trip tomorrow with nothing but horizons and questionable decisions laid out in front of us, “Don’t Talk About It” would be our musical accompaniment. Ruby Boots just called shotgun!

What The Album Tells Us About Her: Ruby Boots (real name Bex Chilcott) has a gypsy soul that she’s not afraid to leave exposed. Whatever she’s looking for, she’s searching for it through her music and taking us along on the journey with her.

Track Stuck On Repeat: There’s so much to like on this album, but the title track is a beautiful blend of old and new, a musical mosaic of different genres, including a sprinkling of 60s pop that has us feeling nostalgic and itching to hit the replay button.

Coming To A City Near You: Keep an eye on upcoming cities/dates here.

And that means…

Artist: Porches

Album: “The House”

Label: Domino Recording Co.

Reason We’re Cranking It: The Oomph! Oomph! Oomph! of the beats in our chest are a pleasant distraction from the pounding of the daily grind in our heads, but it is Aaron Maine’s whimsical yet identifiable lyrical presentation that keeps us invested.

What The Album Tells Us About Them: You can’t have a porch without a house and you can’t have “The House” without Porches. While Maine’s third album under the Porches name gives us impressions of artists who have come before (Sean Lennon’s “Into the Sun” comes to mind), it is wholly originally and entirely his.

Track Stuck On Repeat: The vulnerable vocal delivery by Maine on “Country” makes this flash of a track (clocks in at just 1:53) an instant replay. Beautiful and memorable from start to finish, we long for more time in the “Country.”

Coming To A City Near You: Porches hits the road in February. Check out the list of cities/dates here.

And that means…

Artist: Reggie and the Full Effect

Album: “41″

Label: Pure Noise Records

Reason We’re Cranking It: Seven albums and 20 years into this solo project, The Get Up Kids’ James Dewees is comfortable in his own sonic skin, delivering plenty of uptempo ups and very few downs for your digital download consumption. (Album drops February 23)

What The Album Tells Us About Him: Dewees isn’t afraid to experiment with his sound, but at the same time, never ventures too far away from what we think a Reggie and the Full Effect album should/would sound like. He manages to surprise us while also making sure that we’re comfortable on the journey.

Track Stuck On Repeat: The one we find ourselves continuously drawn to is the track that feels the most removed from the overall feel of the album. “Heartbreak” plays like a song in the opening scene of everyone’s favorite 80s comedy starring John Cusack or Anthony Michael Hall. Even without a stage to play on, it sets one. If being a teenager again had a musical feel, this would be it.

Coming To A City Near You: Check out the list of cities/dates here.

And that means…

Artist: Santa Cruz

Album: “Bad Blood Rising”

Label: M-Theory Audio

Reason We’re Cranking It: Because it’s music meant to play on the loudest setting possible. Let your speakers do what they were manufactured to do!

What The Album Tells Us About Them: This is a group built for the stage. As much as we’re enjoying the retro reminder of what a high octane rock ‘n’ roll vibe should sounds like on a record, seeing a band like Santa Cruz in a live setting is how your ears were meant to enjoy not only their music, but the experience. See you in the front row!

Track Stuck On Repeat: There’s a lot to like here, but we can’t seem to escape “Fire Running Through Our Veins,” a song crafted for a Monday morning repeat session when you’re looking for more than a cup of coffee to get you amped for the week ahead.

Coming To A City Near You: The band is setting out on the road in support of Fozzy. Check out the list of cities/dates here.

In Their Own Words: The recent TrunkSpace interview with Santa Cruz can be found here.

And that means…

Artist: Jocelyn & Chris Arndt

Album: “Go”

Label: Self-Released

Format Reviewed: Digital Advance

There are very few power-driven vocalists in music today. There are even fewer in rock. Jocelyn Arndt is on a path to change all of that.

“Go,” the latest album from Jocelyn and her brother Chris, is a sort of punch to the gut of the music industry… a reminder that you can sometimes fix what’s not broken. Just because pop is at the top (at least in terms of the mainstream), it doesn’t mean that every music fan is being represented. Given the versatility of this album, there’s never been a better opportunity than right now for an act like Jocelyn & Chris to rip their share of the pie from the pie pan.

An auditory stimulant, “Go” sucks you in with the first track “Footprints on the Moon,” a wondrous showcase of Jocelyn’s vocals that, like the title suggests, is out of this world. Her voice is straight up mesmerizing and it deserves every bit of the attention this album could (should) bring it. Accompanied by Chris’ take-no-prisoners guitar play, Jocelyn’s bluesy warble continues to hypnotize throughout the entire album (“Home” is particularly spellbinding), infecting your brain with its breathy sultriness.

Do not pass “Go.”

No. Buy it instead.

And then read our exclusive interview with Jocelyn & Chris here.

Artist: Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors

Album: “Souvenir”

Label: Magnolia Music

Format Reviewed: Digital Advance

Lyrics of Note:
It’s a unique set of circumstance
Once a stranger and now a friend
I only know the miles and the chances
I always wondered where the sunset ends

In listening to the latest offering from Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors, it’s easy to take the title at face value and transfer the concept of what a souvenir is back on the listener. For those who follow Holcomb and have embraced his career, new music from the Tennessee-native is, in fact, a souvenir. It’s your gift for taking the journey and it’s a hell of a lot more rewarding than any tourist trap kitsch.

Compelling in every nook and cranny, “Souvenir” is driving a flag into the “Best of 2017” ground, challenging any and all other artists that will follow. An album built for vinyl because there is no song worth skipping, Holcomb has done the musical version of a political tagline and made Americana great again.

Add this album to your collection, because if you do, it will become THE album of your present and one you carry well into the future.

Read our exclusive interview with Drew Holcomb here.

Artist: Western Addiction

Album: “Tremulous”

Label: Fat Wreck Chords

Format Reviewed: Digital Advance

Lyrics of Note:
Gusts of filth slit the wintry air
We stood where trains won’t even dare
When the call comes in you know
What’s going on in that home

It’s been over a decade since Western Addiction released their debut, “Cognicide,” and while a lot can change in the course of 10 plus years, the San Fran natives have maintained their melodic hardcore sound, bringing solid, innovative songwriting to every track on “Tremulous.”

Singer Jason Hall attacks each song with an audible passion, combining classic hardcore vocals with a harmonic snarl that is entirely his own. While the album lacks a single song worth the skip button’s attention, “Honeycreeper” and “Taedium” are the most addictive, both rising and falling with interesting progressions and unexpected pace changes that would fail in the hands of other bands, but work surprisingly well with Western Addiction in the driver’s seat.

Artist: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Album: “The French Press”

Label: Sub Pop Records

Format Reviewed: Digital Advance

Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever may be a mouthful to say, but the latest EP from the Melbourne-based quintet, “The French Press,” is an earful of groovy goodness. Filled with catchy tunes and summer-inspired surf guitar that crashes in and out of the songs like gentle waves, the six-track offering is an oyster packed with pearls.

“Julie’s Place” strikes a rhythm built to stream from earbuds on a barefoot beach run while “Sick Bug” seems inspired by the surroundings of a 90s dorm room where R.E.M. posters hung proudly over double bunks. Fran Keaney’s vocals have a calming effect, an unintended audio-therapy session that can be revisited over and over again. The only negative to “The French Press” is that there isn’t more of it.