[Last NMN’s Playlist] June’s NEW MUSIC NIGHT at ONCE Somerville

Posted on June 19, 2017 at 9:01 am | No Comments

Let the record show that the following list of carefully-compiled new selections were spun last Monday at the June 2017 edition of NEW MUSIC NIGHT at the ONCE Lounge in Somerville, Massachusetts. Two hours of new music, locavore tacos, & ticket giveaways (last week’s winners got tix to see Ride, Land of Talk, Palehound, Now Now, & more).

Select songs are available to stream below, but for more new music, head to Soundcloud for my oft-updated monthly ‘Nac tracks compilations.

01. Iron & Wine – “Call It Dreaming”
     from their upcoming “Beast Epic” LP, out in August on Sub Pop

02. Japanese Breakfast – “Boyish”
     from “Soft Sounds From Another Planet”, due out 7/14 via Dead Oceans

03. Luna – “One Together” (Fleetwood Mac cover)
     off the forthcoming covers LP, “A Sentimental Education”, out in September

04. Big Thief – “Shark Smile”
     from their just-released new LP, “Capacity”

05. Stephen MacDonald (of the Okay Win) – “At Assembly”
     from his solo LP, “Locale Divide”, due out this week

06. Rob Crow – “Just Marking Time At This Point”
     the Pinback co-captain’s contribution to “Our First 100 Days“

07. People Like You – “Variations on an Aria”
     first taste of their upcoming “Verse” LP, out 7/28 on Topshelf

08. The Drums – “Mirror”
     from their just-released “Abysmal Thoughts” LP on Anti

09. Beach Fossils – “Tangerine”
     featuring Rachel from Slowdive, from the new “Somersault” LP

10. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “When I Dance With You”
     from “The Echo of Pleasure” LP, due out 7/14 via Painbow

11. Broken Social Scene – “Skyline”
     from their upcoming “Hug of Thunder” LP, out 7/7 on Arts & Crafts

12. Courtney Barnett – “How to Boil an Egg”
     from a new split singles 7-inch series

13. Swale – “Release Your Records!”
     from their upcoming double LP “There’s No One Here”

14. TW Walsh – “Dropout” (Alternate Version)
     alternate take on a track from his recent “Terrible Freedom” LP

15. Palehound – “If You Met Her”
     from their just-released “A Place I’ll Always Go” LP

16. Waxahatchee – “Never Been Wrong”
     from their “Out In The Storm” LP, out 7/14 on Merge Records

17. Alvvays – “In Undertow”
     first single from their upcoming “Antisocialites” LP, out 9/8 via Polyvinyl

18. Tancred – “Birthday Candles”
     a non-album track released as a new single

19. Now Now – “SGL”
     new single to tide us over until their next record

20. Lake Ruth – “Dry Salt In Our Hair” (Le SuperHomard cover)
     from a new EP of covers/remixes of this Le SuperHomard track

21. Land Of Talk – “Spiritual Intimidation”
     from their just-released “Life After Youth” LP

22. Andrew Cohen & Light Coma – “Your Biography”
     ex-Silkworm/Bottomless Pit member teams up with LC for the “Unreality” LP

23. No Hope / No Harm – “Roger Ailes Is Dead”
     another Bandcamp-released single from this Boston-based band

24. Burglary Years – “Fake Flowers (Try Harder)”
     their latest single, recorded at Converse Rubber Tracks Boston

25. Spiral Stairs – “Dundee Man”
     from the former Pavement guy’s latest record, “Doris & the Daggers”

26. David Barbe – “Portuguese Door”
     from the former Sugar member’s upcoming solo LP, “10th of Seas”, out 8/18

27. Lo Tom – “Another Mistake”
     D Bazan, T Many, TW Walsh, & J Martin made an LP, out 7/14 on Barsuk

28. Pet Symmetry – “Stare Collection”
     from their recently-released “Vision” LP on Polyvinyl

29. Rainer Maria – “Lower Worlds”
     first single from their self-titled comeback record, out 8/17 on Polyvinyl

30. Jason Loewenstein – “Hey Hey”
     from his brand new solo LP, “Spooky Action”, out now on Joyful Noise

31. Superchunk – “I Got Cut”
     from their new 7-inch, released to benefit Planned Parenthood

32. Gogol Bordello – “Saboteur Blues”
     first taste of upcoming “Seekers and Finders” LP, out 8/25 on Cooking Vinyl

33. Downtown Boys – “A Wall”
     from their upcoming Sub Pop LP, “Cost of Living”, out 8/11

34. Hot Water Music – “Never Going Back”
     from their “Light It Up” LP, due out 9/15 on Rise Records

35. Dead Heavens – “Isn’t Wrong”
     from their just-released LP, “Whatever Witch You Are”, out on Dine Alone

36. Camorra – “Roosevelt Champion”
     off “Mourning, Resistance, Celebration” 10-inch EP, out 7/14 on Arctic Rodeo

37. Oh Sees – “The Static God”
     They dropped the “Thee”, and are releasing “Orc” on Castle Face on 8/25

38. Touts – “Political People”
     off of “Sickening & Deplorable”, newly-released on Hometown Records

39. Taiwan Housing Project – “Veblen Death Mask”
     title track off their new Kill Rock Stars LP

40. A Giant Dog – “Photograph”
     from their upcoming Merge Records LP, “Toy”, due out 8/25

41. Able Baker Fox – “Drift”
     from their long-awaited sophomore LP, “Visions”, out 8/25 on No Sleep

42. The New Year – “The Party’s Over”
     from their new record, “Snow”, available from Undertow

43. Ride – “Lannoy Point”
     Lead-off track from their just-released “Weather Diaries” LP

[Last NMN’s Playlist] May’s NEW MUSIC NIGHT at ONCE Somerville

Posted on May 30, 2017 at 2:24 pm | No Comments

The May 2017 edition of NEW MUSIC NIGHT came and went on the 15th at ONCE Somerville, with ticket giveaways galore and a playlist of new songs obsessively compiled and presented by yours truly. That very playlist is below, with a few embedded tracks for your aural pleasure. For a longer listen, hit up Soundcloud for my ever-growing, monthly ‘Nac tracks compilations, and join us on Monday, June the 12th at ONCE for the next NMN…

01. Wye Oak – “Wave Is Not The Water”

02. PJ Harvey – “A Dog Called Money”
03. Ty Segall – “Black Magick”
04. Broken Social Scene – “Hug of Thunder”
05. Girlpool – “Sleepless”
06. Coco Hames – “When You Said Goodbye”

07. Stephen MacDonald – “Basic”
08. Filthy Friends – “Editions of You” (Roxy Music cover)
09. The Hayman Kupa Band – “No More Bombs”

10. The Dears – “1998”
11. The National – “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”
12. Land of Talk – “Heartcore”

13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – “Anymore”
14. Phoenix – “J-Boy”
15. Mountain Goats – “Rain In Soho”
16. Shout Out Louds – “Oh Oh”
17. TW Walsh – “Terrible Freedom” (Alternate Version)
18. Will Johnson – “Filled With A Falcon’s Dream”
19. Wilco – “Peace Love & Understanding” (Elvis Costello cover)
20. No. 2 – “Who’s Behind The Door?”
21. Pilkington – “All Around The Neighborhood”
22. Charly Bliss – “Black Hole”

23. Fireworks – “Dream About You”
24. Factory Edge – “Ay Chi Chi”
25. Jason Loewenstein – “Superstitious”

26. Psychic Dog – “In The Dark (Pissin)”
27. Lo Tom – “Overboard”
28. The New Year – “Homebody”
29. Helium – “XXX” (2017 remaster)
30. Kestrels – “Octavio”
31. Elder – “The Falling Veil”

32. Mogwai – “Coolverine”
33. Slowdive – “30th June”

Again, be at ONCE for next month’s installment of NEW MUSIC NIGHT on June 12th, with taco time at 5pm and NMN kicking off at 8pm. Keep an eye on the Facebook event page for the eventual list of ticket giveaways…

[Tonight in Somerville!] NEW MUSIC NIGHT at the ONCE Lounge (new tunes, tacos, & free tix)

Posted on May 15, 2017 at 9:12 am | No Comments

The May 2017 edition of NEW MUSIC NIGHT is going down this very evening at the wonderful ONCE Lounge in Somerville starting at 6pm. For the uninformed: Two hours of nuthin’ but new songs spun between free ticket giveaways for a bunch of upcoming Boston-area shows, all while you chow down on some super-tasty tacos. It’s a fine time indeed, a nice way to start the week, and I say that not just because I’m your sonic selector. I simply love hangin’ at the place.

So what can ya win? How about pairs of tickets for imminent local appearances from Will Johnson (Centro-matic), John Moreland, Mary Timony (as Helium!), Land of Talk (!!!), Psychic Dog (album release!), When Particles Collide, PowerSlut, The Knock Ups, Charly Bliss, Yucky Duster, Lost Dog, Coco Hames (of the Ettes), and Little Bandit. Just show up, throw your entry in a Chinese take out container, and cross yer fingers that I call your name.

For the curious, below lies a look at last month‘s playlist, and if you want to dig deeper, check out my past & future ‘Nac Tracks monthly streaming Soundcloud playlists of newly-discovered songs. If you can’t make it tonight, shoot for next month’s NMN on June 12th from 8-10pm.

NEW MUSIC NIGHT playlist
April 2017 Edition – 4/24/17
ONCE Lounge, Somerville, MA

01. Marissa Nadler – “Rosemary”
02. RRing – “100 Dollar Heat”
03. Tara Jane O’Neil – “Blow”
04. Thurston Moore – “Smoke Of Dreams”
05. Will Johnson – “Predator”
06. Doug Tuttle – “Can It Be”
07. Adopted Highways – “Up”
08. Eyelids – “Falling Eyes”
09. Waxahatchee – “Silver”
10. Big Thief – “Mythological Beauty”
11. Sheer – “To Love And Feel Alive”
12. Flock of Dimes – “Potential”
13. TW Walsh – “Terrible Freedom”
14. The Vacant Lots – “Night Nurse”
15. Beach Fossils – “This Year”
16. The Drums – “Blood Under My Bed”
17. Land Of Talk – “This Time”
18. Coco Hames – “Tiny Pieces”
19. Happyness – “Bigger Glass Less Full”
20. The Jesus and Mary Chain – “Always Sad”
21. The The – “Can’t Stop What’s Coming”
22. The Mountain Goats – “Andrew Eldritch is Moving Back to Leeds”
23. Future Teens – “Party Ethic”
24. Chain & the Gang – “Certain Kinds Of Trash”
25. Guided By Voices – “Dr. Feelgood Falls Off the Ocean”
26. Broken Social Scene – “Halfway Home”
27. Black Helicopter – “And I”
28. Angus – “I’m An Idiot”
29. Kestrels – “Thorn” (MBV cover)
30. The Van Pelt – “His Steppe Is My Prairie” (2017 remaster)
32. Helium – “Hole In The Ground” (2017 remaster)
33. The New Pornographers – “Whiteout Conditions”
34. Andrew Cohen & Light Coma – “Repack”
35. The New Year – “Myths”
36. Slowdive – “Sugar for the Pill”
37. Sharon Van Etten – “The End Of The World” (Skeeter Davis cover)

[Track Debut] Andrew Cohen (Silkworm/Bottomless Pit) & Light Coma’s “The Usual”

Posted on May 11, 2017 at 8:49 am | No Comments

Never underestimate the impact of a well-chosen analogy. Seems we owe the welcome return of songwriter/guitarist Andy Cohen to a timely turn of phrase from Light Coma drummer Jim MacGregor, who one night caught Cohen in the midst of an existential “should I keep making music or not?” crisis. After more than 25 years of playing with incomparable, incredible rock trio Silkworm and its worthy successor Bottomless Pit (both with co-songwriter/guitarist Tim Midyett), Cohen found himself with dwindling freetime and a side-man role in Midyett’s excellent Mint Mile project. On the verge of packing it in, as so many (and sometimes not enough) middle aged rockers do, it took one tempting offer from MacGregor to keep him in the game: “We could be your Crazy Horse“.

As recounted in the latest episode of the Crashing Your Planet podcast, that’s exactly what lead to the team up of Andrew Cohen & Light Coma, who will issue their debut LP, “Unreality”, on June 2nd through the esteemed Comedy Minus One record label. It’s a fitting home for the album, as CMO has become the defacto source of all things Silkworm-centric during the past decade, with several Bottomless Pit releases, SKWM reissues, and related projects scattered among other top-notch rock records.

As a longtime admirer of Andrew Cohen’s songwriting and guitar playing, it’s a massive honor to debut a track from “Unreality” here on the Almanac. “The Usual” is one of three acoustic songs from the record, laid down before he hooked up with Light Coma. Stream it here…

Comedy Minus One previously shared the track “Repack”…

“Despite my intention to retire, it didn’t let itself happen.” – Andy Cohen

Pre-order Andrew Cohen & Light Coma’s “Unreality” LP here, and if you want to celebrate its release in person, make your way to the Township in Chicago on May 28th for a special Comedy Minus One show with OUT, The Rutabega, Mint Mile, and of course, AC&LC. My Boston -> Chicago flight has already been booked.

[Tonight in Somerville!] Gold Muse, SAVAK, & Lake Ruth at the ONCE Lounge

Posted on March 25, 2017 at 8:37 am | No Comments

Lend me yer eyes and ears, Boston-centric people, and allow me to tell you about a pretty special show happening tonight in Somerville: A three-band bill at the ONCE Lounge on Highland Avenue, featuring the return of a local fave, the first-ever area appearance by two excellent NYC-based combos, and a pre-and-between set soundtrack spun by a certain DJ Bad Squirrel. (uh, that would be me)

Headlining is Boston’s own shoe-pop-dream-gaze quartet GOLD MUSE, who rose from the ashes of the much-beloved Soccer Mom in 2015, and haven’t played out since last September. The foursome spent the winter months hibernating in their practice-cave, fine-tuning a slightly new lineup that now includes ex-Soccer Mom drummer Justin Kehoe (last seen playing in the touring config of New Dog). So, yes, that means Gold Muse is officially 3 parts Soccer Mom and 1 part Deb Warfield (Swirlies/Shenzou 5/Broken River Prophet). Great things await.

In the center spot: The mighty SAVAK, whose debut LP was one of my favorite records of last year, and are finally making the drive north from NYC to share their songs with us. I’ll forego descriptors and give you their peerless pedigree: Ex-members of Obits, Holy Fuck, Nation of Ulysses, Edsel, and The Cops. If that ain’t to get you there, just check out the video for “Alive In Shadows” and stream the track “Reaction” below. That should do it.

Easing us into the evening will be NYC’s LAKE RUTH, also playing their first-ever Boston-area show. They made their recorded debut last year with a couple singles and June’s “Actual Entity” full-length, and have already released two new songs this year: The lead-off track from The Blog That Celebrates Itself‘s latest dreampop compilation, and the Broadcast-esque single “Pictures From Home“. Have a listen to both below…

I’ve been wanting to catch SAVAK on stage since I first heard ’em, so the fact that they’re playing a tonight in ONCE’s cozy upstairs lounge with one of Boston’s best, and bringing another great NYC band with them, is a true treat. To be able to fill the before-and-between set hang time with some of my favorite songs will be my pleasure. Advance tickets here, doors (and DJing) at 8pm, bands on at 9. Join us tomorrow night, won’t you?