Twin Peak just released a nice hometown cover of “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”. The song was originally released on A ghost is born by fellow Chicago band, Wilco. Even though it is roughly two minutes shorter than the A ghost is born version, Twin Peaks do a good job with this one. A nice ode to Wilco here.
Twin Peaks are fresh off their Lookout Low release and are currently touring. It would be neat to see them give “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” a shot live on tour.
-HubieDubie
Coming Home is Leon Bridges’ sensational 2015 debut album. This album absolutely nails R&B and can actually draw comparisons to such artists as Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Standout tracks from the album include: “Smooth Sailin’”, “Coming Home”, and “River” among others.
For only $12.99, this is a steal of a price.
-HubieDubie
NME describes Egyptian Blue as “Promising upstarts; fuzzy, upbeat, and lethargic.” They nail the description as those adjectives are the very embodiment of this UK four-piece.
Back in June the group released their first music with Collateral Damage. This 4 song EP is a 4/4 – every song “brings it”. People began to notice including Foals’ frontman, Yannis Philippakis who shared a photo of their album on Instagram.
“To Be Felt” carries with it an excellent guitar thrashing through the entire almost 4-minute song. There’s almost a nervous buzzing or energy that makes the song one that you want to listen to over and over again. It’s addicting. It will be exciting to see where Egyptian Blue goes from here.
Anyway, you should listen to “To Be Felt” by Egyptian Blue.
-HubieDubie
Phoenix’s 5th album, Bankrupt! is definitely worth a purchase at $13.02 shipped. It was released in 2013 and followed the critically acclaimed and masterful, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Although it quite didn’t live up to the hype of the previous album, there are some songs on the album that can be regarded as some of Phoenix’s best. Those include tunes like “Entertainment” and “Bourgeois”
For the price, this is a no brainer pick-up.
-HubieDubie
Had to do a double take when I came across this. Björk 9th album Utopia is getting re-released with a limited edition boxset. The boxset includes a series of handmade wooden flutes used for bird calling. If this doesn’t scream Björk, I don’t know what does.
Posting an unboxing on her YouTube page, the artist wrote,
“utopia is so much about birdsong and sonically the mutation between synth/bird , bird/flute , flute/synth ……. air like that was a theme through all of the album . so i got very excited when i found these handmade wooden flutes imitating precisely particular birds . and i guess wanted you guys to have an opportunity to share that with me …….. enjoy !!! warmthness , björk”
Utopia bird call boxset
If you are literally dripping cash like I am, make sure to order at least 2 to 3 of these bad boys. Only a cool £500.00.
-HubieDubie
Whitney posted this gem recently on their Facebook page. Someone did a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” in the unique sound of Whitney. This is an over the top troll-job worth listening too.
The BandCamp’s description reads, ”
“Houston was born from a series of laidback early-morning songwriting sessions during one of the hottest summers in Texashistory, after Houston Smith and Whitney Western (former members of Western Smiths) reconnected – first as roommates splitting rent in a small Texas apartment and later as musical collaborators passing the guitar and the lyrics sheet back and forth”
Best part is if you are feeling generous you can purchase the track for a cool $100 dollar bill.
-HubieDubie
Thursday night was a late one with Idles taking the stage a little after midnight. The drowsiness of a late weekday night melted away like butter on a hot pan when the the Bristol group took the stage.
Before Lincoln Hall was blessed with Idles, A Place to Bury Strangers opened. Now I have listened to this group in the past, but have never seen them perform live. The sheer volume that came from the trio was absolutely over the top and terrifying. A NASA shuttle launch was coming out of the speakers right into my ear hole.
Outside of the skull shattering noise, A Place to Bury Strangers played an awesome set. The lighting was interesting with strobe lights going into the crowd and eventually with the trio setting up shop in the middle of the floor. There was some sort of wacky blue lighting going on as they played in the middle of the venue floor. I was afraid to take a real good look as I was convinced I was going to get sucked into a wormhole.
When it comes to Idles, Frontman Joe Talbot was the star of the show. Connecting and interacting with the crowd again and again. Never afraid to speak his progressive attitudes or what was on his mind. When someone asked Joe’s thoughts on new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Talbot responded by saying that “Boris is a racist piece of shit”. Later in the show before “Mother” Talbot told that crowd that on in front of us on the stage were five feminists. Love it or hate it, there’s something special about someone who isn’t afraid to say what is on their mind and what they believe in.
Idles are really a special group. Terrific eye opening songs about issues that cut deep and mean something. There’s a reason why their album was among Sleep So Late’s Favorite Albums of 2018. Idles performed 13 songs and each one had more energy in it than the last. Highlights included “I’m Scum”, “Mother” and “Danny Nedelko”. When the group closed with “Rottweiler” it felt like the perfect ending to a perfect night.
It will be interesting to see what direction Idles will continue in. Whatever it is, we have something really unique on our hands with this group. Do yourself the service and see them play if you can.
-HubieDubie
American Football will make their way over to Asia for a series of shows in late July. None other than, Chinese Football will open for them on 3 nights – Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. I had to do a triple take when I saw this come up on my Facebook scroll. Thought it as a meme, but this is in fact a real thing.
Two Footballs Three Nights.
-HubieDubie
“Concentration” by Bleu Nuit screams Joy Division or Preoccupations to me – and it does so in French. The vocals are completely in French. The nursery rhyme “Frère Jacques”, is the extent of my French language knowledge or skillset.
The song absolutely shreds. The swinging guitars and occasional synths that bounce in are fundamentally post punk. The last minute or so is instrumentally something that perhaps could have been on Closer. Language doesn’t matter here. Anyone can enjoy and appreciate what these Montrealers have cooked up. Their album, le jardin des mémoires is packed full with tunes like “Concentration” and is definitely worth checking out.
Anyway You Should Probably Listen to “Concentration” by Bleu Nuit.
-HubieDubie
For just $10.19 delivered you can own Beach Slang’s second album, A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings. A really solid price for a nice sophomore album from the Philly group. Songs like “Spin The Dial” and “Future Mixtape For The Art Kids” are great pieces of this punk-pop album. For 10 bucks this is too good to pass up.
-HubieDubie
Sleep So Late 