New releases, Tuesday, July 14
I might actually spend some money on records today. There’s some good stuff hitting the shelves (or your iTunes account, depending on how you roll) today.
Today’s biggest release is definitely The Dead Weather‘s Horehound. With Jack White of the White Stripes and Alison Mosshart of the Kills, to say nothing of members of the Raconteurs and Queens of the Stone Age, this is a band that is pretty much the epitome of “supergroup.” And, as an added bonus, White’s not the lead singer, so by trading on Mosshart’s sultry slur, this is the first side project the man’s had that doesn’t sound like a variation on the White Stripes.
The pairing of Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles can’t rightly be called a supergroup, but it’s certainly a novel duo. Discovery release LP today. It’s straight-up electro-pop, which is always a welcome genre in the hot summer months. Pitchfork’s preview of album details was enough to get me salivating, and one can only hope that the reality is as good as what I heard in my head.
The Beastie Boys present a reissue of their 1994 classic, Ill Communication. There’s a bonus disc of b-sides and remixes, which is pretty much par for the course in terms of hip-hop reissues. The Beasties are readying their next album, Hot Sauce Committee Part 1, for a September release. “Sabotage” blowing out your speakers as you blast down the highway is a great part of summer, so this is definitely worth grabbing if your copy’s disappeared, as mine has.
Cobra Skulls are a band that really only has one parallel, in that they’re probably the only act that sounds like the Living End. Sure, there are plenty of psychobilly acts, but the Skulls and the Living End are the only two bands that I’ve heard who can mix rockabilly and punk rock into supercharged rock ‘n’ roll. Cobra Skulls are a bit political (as the album title, American Rubicon, might suggest), but even if that’s a turn-off, the music will grab you, especially if you’ve ever shouted along to “Prisoner of Society.”
There’s also quite a few albums I can’t really work up any sort of excitement for, but feel obligated to mention anyhow. Daughtry‘s Leave This Town is probably the most (and only) rocking release from an American Idol contestant. A Touch of Evil: Live is the fifth Judas Priest live album, and only counts as a necessary purchase if you’re a huge fan. Clutch‘s Strange Cousins from the West, DevilDriver‘s Pray For Villains, and Project 86‘s Picket Fence Cartel round out the new releases with a triptych of hard rock.
