March Madness

March '16 turned out to be a fairly good month for new music. Here is a playlist with my picks.

Feel free to skip the words I write and just follow the tunes.

March 2016 playlist
https://open.spotify.com/user/fluid3sally/playlist/6llMwHgnl5szCJiRGfUIQe


Top Picks
approximate order of ass-kickery


Icon For Hire - You Can't Kill Us
This isn't a new record so much as a few singles from a new record coming this year. They have a kickstarter for the new record, and are dropping it a few tracks at a time, to be complete by the end of the year. An obvious candidate for best of 2016. Any new Icon is big news here at Spunk Rock.
These are not on Spotify and hence not on my playlist. But you can check out audio here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzffIT79Xlo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3-CLP5zxss



Tonight Alive - Limitless
a cool band with a cool new record, one of the best so far this year. A relatively young band from Australia that has just found their voice with this release, in my opinion.
separate review here: http://joelspunkrock.blogspot.com/2016/03/new-record-tonight-alive-limitless.html


Cilver - Not the end of the world
Cilver is new to me, and appears to be new in their journey as a band, and showing a lot of potential! These songs kick ass. Throwing down some heavy riffs with great vocals. Recommended for fans of Flyleaf, The Dirty Youth, and New Years Day. From New York City with a southern Cali spunk sound.


The Joy Formidable - Hitch
TJF is a cool Welsh band that I've been listening to for some time, but this is the first time I've put in the effort to study a full record. Glad I did. Their songs take a little time to develop, but are worth it. There is something up with this record on Spotify, so I added an older one of theirs just in case.


Kung  Fu - Joyride
some good ole' jazz-funk for dat ass. play it!
check out my buddy Jack's review here: http://jackwillowbee.blogspot.com/2016/03/2016-kung-fu-joyride.html



The Struts - Everybody Wants
A promising new band from London. This guy has spunk in a throw-back glam pop-rock way. The record still sounds fresh though.This is not a typical selection for Spunk Rock; it has an area frat-guy feel that I don't usually go for. But it is among the interesting music this month nonetheless. It's getting good press, I expect we'll hear more from The Struts.


Lucius - Good Grief

A walk on the lighter side, Lucius has good song-writing with trace of oldies feel. A good listen that is not your typical NYC punk sound. Warning: some songs quite slow.



The Thermals - We Disappear
I saw the Thermals open for Sleater-Kinney is 2004. So this band has been around the sun a few times. I was never blown away by their sound, but they are pretty good. Very Portland. Recommended for fans of Dinosaur Jr and the Rondelles.



Singles refer to playlist

• Ladyhawke
• Summer Cannibals
• Lizzo
• The Nearly Deads
• D.A.R.K.

Blues Rock
a few cool records this month with an old-school bluesy southern rock feel. One sample each on the playlist.

• Record Company  - Give It Back To You
• Joe Bonamassa - Blues Of Desperation
• Jeff Healey - Heal My Soul

 

Heavy
a few more cool records this month that violate my "no screaming" policy, but still rock. worth checking out if you swing that way. One sample each on the playlist.

• Walls Of Jericho - No One Can Save You From Yourself
• Heck - Instructions
• The Word Alive - Dark Matter

noteworthy
Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression
Punk's step-father is back with something new. My reaction to this record is similar to what I said about David Bowie's Blackstar. I hope Iggy is ok.

Gwen Stefani - This is what the Truth Feels like
disappointed. separate review here
http://joelspunkrock.blogspot.com/2016/03/new-record-gwen-stefani.html

Violent Femmes - We Can Do Anything
soft and folky. some good songs, but you won't find another Blister in the Sun here.

Face to Face - Protection
one of the quintessential 80's punk bands. Not my cup of tea, but noteworthy. Recommended for fans of Social Distortion and  Pennywise

New Record - Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani - What the Truth Feels Like

Gwen Stefani is a pop star with "punk-ish" roots who is also a star in the spunk rock universe. She scored 51 on the ass-kicking factor..
http://joelspunkrock.blogspot.com/2016/02/top-20-bad-ass-rocknrole-models.html
..not the highest score, but among the greats. At times I've thought of her in the lineage from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna to today. I had been looking forward to this record.. it is her first in some time, and some of the early singles sounded pretty cool. well.. I was disappointed.

This record lacks luster and spunk. Most of the songs are anti-climatic and boring. Nearly every song shows promise and potential, but just never gets groovin. All the elements you would expect are there.. cool beats and tunes, nice clean vocals with her distinctive voice, catchy poppy songs. but some how, they (almost) all seem to come up lacking in follow-through


Make Me Like You was an early release. I enjoyed that when it appeared, and I was looking forward to more (hopefully better) songs. Unfortunately, this is probably the best song on the record.Red Flag has some interesting hip-hop beats and vocals. Would/could have been a cooler song with a even a slightly harder edge. There are a few other songs with some cool build-up effects and rap-like vocals such as Asking For It, Naughty, and Rocket Ship. But these songs never quite connect to the funky dance tunes that she has pulled off in the past.

There is a personal component to this record that some may appreciate, but for me it just pulls it down further. I know she has been through some issues lately, with Gavin Rosdale and all. I don't know a lot about that, and I don't want to know. I just want her to kick ass again. If she needs to write a journal entry to get it out for her own mental health - great - share it with your shrink. I sincerely wish her the best. But it is not cast her in a form of good art, but rather in the tacky form of a high-school journal keeper. The Sonic Youth song Skip Tracer comes to mind, "we watched her fall over and lay down, shouting the poetic truths of high-school journal keepers."  Good song writing often draws on personal experiences and hard-ships, I have no problem with that. But a good song takes this experience and casts in it a general form that others can relate to without having that very same experience. These songs are just too blunt lyrically, lacking the subtle craftsmanship of a good pop song. Fans of Adele and other pop light-weights may appreciate this, but I don't.

I still like me some Gwen on occasion, but I won't be play-listing any of these, except may Make Me Like You.

New Record: Icon for Hire - You Can't Kill Us

This is an unusual new record review because the new record is not fully available yet. As of today, there are 3 songs, one of which can be found on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzffIT79Xlo
with a total of 12 to drop by the end of the year. 

Icon for Hire are one of the definitive Spunk Rock bands. Singer Ariel was listed #3 on the top-20 bad-ass Rock'N'Role-models list,
http://joelspunkrock.blogspot.com/2016/02/top-20-bad-ass-rocknrole-models.html
And the aptly named guitar player / instrumentalist Shawn Jump would be near the top of that list also, except that I chose to focus on "front" people to keep it simple. These two embody the Spunk Rock aesthetic. Ariel is a fiery free-spirited type overflowing with spunk that erupts up through her voice. Shawn drops phatt riffs with a thunder from way up above.

Several things have changed since the previous Icon recordings, most notably the departure of their former drummer Adam. I'm not sure if there is a replacement, but it sounds like so far it has just been the two of them on these songs. I expect we'll see a touring drummer added at some point. There is something missing without Adam, the beats here are not quite as clever and it's not quite as easy to dance to these.

Here We Are has a brooding survival feel with some deep booming beats and soaring vocals. Supposed to Be has some of those phatt riffs and some of the poppy-hip-hop vocal stylings Ariel has been throwing down lately. While the older ("classic"?) Icon songs are more straight-ahead rock'n'roll, they have expanded the sound in recent years to mix rap/pop vocals and beats, and, I would say, have done so successfully. I think this gives their sound a more distinct identity and gives them opportunity to explore more interesting song compositions. This song and the next are good examples of that. Both well put together.

There is a sense of strength and independence in these songs lyrically.. the sort of strength that comes from struggle. This, I think, is what music should be, a life experience and not just a catchy tune. That said, the melodies are memorable and the song writing is strong.

So far I think this album is off to a good start and I will be looking forward to the rest of it. These are good songs with lots of feeling and good riffs. I hope future line-ups will be able to keep the funky jump-along edge we're used to.