Record reviews roundup: Neneh Cherry, Ty Segall, Best Coast, Bobby Womack
By Jim DeRogatisRecord reviews roundup: Neneh Cherry, Ty Segall, Best Coast, Bobby Womack
By Jim DeRogatisRecord reviews roundup: A bounty of goodies
As Greg Kot and I enthusiastically gushed on this weekend’s episode of Sound Opinions, recent weeks have brought a bounty of fine releases in addition to oppressive temperatures. Here are my brief recaps of what we covered this weekend (minus Patti Smith’s Banga, which I reviewed here last week).
Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man in the Universe (XL)
Rating on the four-star scale: 3.5 stars.
Even if you’re previously unfamiliar with the prolific output of Bay Area garage-rocker Ty Segall, the title of his first disc of 2012 (following a mind-blowing four releases in 2011 alone) tells you exactly what to expect: No sonic quarter. As a lo-fi bedroom recording artist, he’s alternated between nasty garage-punk a la the Stooges, the Standells and the Sonics and twisted psychedelic folk in the mold of Syd Barrett, Skip Spence and John Lennon at his wiggiest. Here, he merges the serpentine melodies of the former with the noisy intensity of the latter, upping the wattage by working for the first time with his own hard-hitting band, and yielding the strongest set he’s given us. Think of Captain Beefheart on speed (Segall covers “Diddy Wah Diddy”) playing what he calls “evil space rock,” but which we can simply say is brilliant and ferocious.
Ty Segall, Slaughterhouse (In The Red)
Rating on the four-star scale: 3.5 stars.
Best Coast, The Only Place (Wichita Recordings)
Rating on the four-star scale: 3.5 stars.
Neneh Cherry, The Cherry Thing (Smalltown Supersound)
Rating on the four-star scale: 4 stars.
Still in Heavy Rotation
Patti Smith, Banga (Columbia)
Spiritualized, Sweet Heart Sweet Light (Fat Possum)
Kelly Hogan, I Like to Keep Myself in Pain (Anti-)
EI-P, Cancer 4 Cure (Fat Possum)
The dB’s, Falling Off the Sky (Bar/None)
Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls (ATO)
Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music (Williams Street)
Dr. John, Locked Down (Nonesuch)
Cloud Nothings, Attack on Memory (Carpark)
Screaming Females, Ugly (101 Distribution)
Jack White, Blunderbuss (Third Man/Columbia)
Andre Williams & the Sadies, Night and Day (Yep Roc)
Andre Williams and the Goldstars, Nightclub (Pravda)
Neil Young, Americana (Reprise)
Japandroids, Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)
Beach House, Bloom (Sub Pop)
The Shins, Port of Morrow (Columbia)
Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe (Atlantic)
Bassnectar, Vava Voom (Amorphous Music)
Willis Earl Beal, Acousmatic Sorcery (XL)
Sinead O’Connor, How About I Be Me (And You Be You)? (One Little Indian)
WZRD, WZRD (Universal Republic)
Mark Lanegan, Blues Funeral (4AD)