I am happy to say that the same stretch of road now features no less than seven yard signs supporting progressive Beto O’Rourke, four more than his conservative opponent Ted Cruz. Of course, yard signs don’t vote, but it is encouraging to see this longshot Democratic candidate gaining a foothold in a relatively right-leaning area. It makes me feel more hopeful than I have since the election.
My increased presence in this area indicates that summer is over and school is in session, and predictably. I am struggling to juggle time with my family with the demands of marching season. Before time slips away, I need to log the music that was in rotation during the summer months. Many of these albums were vetted on the road, while others became new music for the family to enjoy over dinner or at bedtime. I will not parse them out as per their function as I did earlier this year, but I instead lump them all together to represent the Summer of 2018.
Don Caballero - Punkgasm: I actually ordered this in my holiday stash, but it took nearly six months for hardcopy to arrive. The presence of occasional vocals were cause for concern, but don’t distract nearly as much as I had anticipated.
Vulfpeck - Fugue State: Fugue State might be more properly categorized as an EP due to its short length. Despite this, it has evolved into a favorite soundtrack for after-school family dance parties.
Seabuckthorn - A House With Too Much Fire: This follow-up to last year’s album of the year feels much more open-ended and improvised than its predecessor. It retains, however, the engulfing resonance and atmospherics that made Turns so compelling.
Brian Eno - Taking Tiger mountain (by Strategy): This early album by Eno shows how his sonic thumbprint was stamped across a broad spectrum of 70’s art-rock. Listening to it, I often wonder what might have happened if Syd Barrett had stayed in the game long enough to develop a partnership with Eno.
Venetian Snares - Traditional Synthesizer Music: A disarming but ultimately lyrical display of modular synthesizer potential. The potential for exhaustion is very real by album’s end, but the ride is engaging enough to keep listener interest high.
Soen - Lykaia: Soen is often criticized for sounding like Tool, which, in my opinion, is hardly a criticism if it is well-deserved. There are some tonal similarities, but I would throw a heaping dash of Opeth’s liminal prog-metal as a distinguishing characteristic.
Soup - The Beauty of Our Youth: For some reason, I received a promotional copy of The Beauty of Our Youth when I ordered Remedies earlier this year. It is quite an album in its own right, but it will stand in the shadow of Remedies for quite a while.
Spock’s Beard - Noise Floor: I have been a proponent of the current incarnation of Spock’s Beard since Ted Leonard came on board as lead vocalist. Despite the return of Nik D’Virgilio of drums, however, this has been the first release from this iteration of the band that I have had trouble getting behind.
Legends of Et Cetera - Coyote: An acceptably good but sometimes bland collection of jazzy jangle-rock that I mostly like but don’t love. Really attracted to the album art, though.
The Wagakki Band - Vocaloid Sanmai: Well-crafted J-Rock with the added twist of incorporating traditional Japanese instruments and vocal styles. I finally have an album that really satisfies my secret desire to jam to anime theme songs and a justification for liking them.
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children: This is a classic piece of 90s electronica that I have circled for years. It’s an immediately accessible and distinctive work that lives up to its reputation.
Cayucas - Bigfoot: An easily digestible slice of sunny pop music goodness. Bigfoot brings the intimate cleverness of Peter, Bjorn, and John alongside the cheery ambience of the Beach Boys to immediate and consistent effect.
Van Halen - Women and Children First: The last album in the Van Halen back catalog that has eluded capture all these years. Certainly, the band’s initial steam had begun to wane slightly by this third release, but Women and Children First still features several of the band’s defining moments (not the least of which was featured in the stop-motion hamburger animation in the classic 80s movie Better Off Dead).
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther: Fans of early Radiohead, Jethro Tull and the more arcane aspects of Fleetwood Mac will have a very hard time finding anything to complain about with this album. Although it shares a thread with The Amazing, a favorite from last year, Midlake is immediately distinctive and nuanced, with engaging lyrics to boot.
Various Artists - African Scream Contest V.2: Although as a rule, I avoid compilations, carefully curated collections of ethnic pop from yesteryear often find their way into my listening and can make a clear and intriguing statement. This particular collection fits that description well, featuring a variety of psychedelic pop from the 70s in West Africa.
Brian Eno - Taking Tiger mountain (by Strategy): This early album by Eno shows how his sonic thumbprint was stamped across a broad spectrum of 70’s art-rock. Listening to it, I often wonder what might have happened if Syd Barrett had stayed in the game long enough to develop a partnership with Eno.
Venetian Snares - Traditional Synthesizer Music: A disarming but ultimately lyrical display of modular synthesizer potential. The potential for exhaustion is very real by album’s end, but the ride is engaging enough to keep listener interest high.
Soen - Lykaia: Soen is often criticized for sounding like Tool, which, in my opinion, is hardly a criticism if it is well-deserved. There are some tonal similarities, but I would throw a heaping dash of Opeth’s liminal prog-metal as a distinguishing characteristic.
Soup - The Beauty of Our Youth: For some reason, I received a promotional copy of The Beauty of Our Youth when I ordered Remedies earlier this year. It is quite an album in its own right, but it will stand in the shadow of Remedies for quite a while.
Spock’s Beard - Noise Floor: I have been a proponent of the current incarnation of Spock’s Beard since Ted Leonard came on board as lead vocalist. Despite the return of Nik D’Virgilio of drums, however, this has been the first release from this iteration of the band that I have had trouble getting behind.
Legends of Et Cetera - Coyote: An acceptably good but sometimes bland collection of jazzy jangle-rock that I mostly like but don’t love. Really attracted to the album art, though.
The Wagakki Band - Vocaloid Sanmai: Well-crafted J-Rock with the added twist of incorporating traditional Japanese instruments and vocal styles. I finally have an album that really satisfies my secret desire to jam to anime theme songs and a justification for liking them.
Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children: This is a classic piece of 90s electronica that I have circled for years. It’s an immediately accessible and distinctive work that lives up to its reputation.
Cayucas - Bigfoot: An easily digestible slice of sunny pop music goodness. Bigfoot brings the intimate cleverness of Peter, Bjorn, and John alongside the cheery ambience of the Beach Boys to immediate and consistent effect.
Van Halen - Women and Children First: The last album in the Van Halen back catalog that has eluded capture all these years. Certainly, the band’s initial steam had begun to wane slightly by this third release, but Women and Children First still features several of the band’s defining moments (not the least of which was featured in the stop-motion hamburger animation in the classic 80s movie Better Off Dead).
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther: Fans of early Radiohead, Jethro Tull and the more arcane aspects of Fleetwood Mac will have a very hard time finding anything to complain about with this album. Although it shares a thread with The Amazing, a favorite from last year, Midlake is immediately distinctive and nuanced, with engaging lyrics to boot.
Various Artists - African Scream Contest V.2: Although as a rule, I avoid compilations, carefully curated collections of ethnic pop from yesteryear often find their way into my listening and can make a clear and intriguing statement. This particular collection fits that description well, featuring a variety of psychedelic pop from the 70s in West Africa.
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