One of the bands with the best names around – King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – have released their fifth album this week. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the latest from this Australian group "an often-fiery blend of propulsive garage-punk and trippy psych-rock, combining fuzzy guitars, often-motorik rhythms and catchy song hooks."
The latest release from Brooklyn band Cult of Youth is "an intense blend of dark psych-rock, goth-tinged post-punk, industrial and folk-rock, combining buzzing electric and energetically strummed acoustic guitars, solemn cello, fierce rhythms, fervent, ominous vocals and dark lyrics." Mark Perro and Nick Chiericozzi of Brooklyn band The Men unveil their new project, Dream Police. Their debut release "is a mesmerizing blend of synth-driven post-punk, German prog and shoegazer psych-rock."
Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic team up again as Hail Mary Mallon, and the sophomore release "finds the duo trading witty rhymes over banging hip hop beats, supplemented by lots of turntablist cutting and scratching from DJ Big Wiz." On their ninth release, Austin, TX group …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead "does a fine job of balancing the band’s post-hardcore intensity with prog-rock grandeur." And UK sister duo 2:54 share "another fine set of dark, brooding post-punk."
Look for these and other releases from KEXP favorites like Antony and the Johnsons, Damien Rice, Hookworms, Jon Hopkins, Marianne Faithfull, and Parkay Quarts (a.k.a. Parquet Courts), plus a gorgeous Bedhead box set, in record stores today.
Seattle's own The Young Evils return with a new EP this week. KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes it as "a strong set of dark, ‘80s-influenced pop-rock with buzzing guitars, energetic rhythms and noirish male/female harmonies."
November spawned a lot of good releases this week, including the debut release from Les Sins, a side project of Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bundick. KEXP's Music Director Don Yates notes the album "is a smartly constructed blend of house, techno and hip hop beats with warm synths and repeated vocal hooks."