Has your new summer jam hit the racks? This week, we see new releases from Toronto-collective Broken Social Scene. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the group's fifth album (and first in seven years) is "an often-buoyant set of maximalist, psych-tinged pop-rock with a lush, densely produced sound featuring soaring harmonies, exuberant melodies and lyrics celebrating community in the face of technology-abetted narcissism and the current toxic political environment."
Peter Perrett, the former frontman for The Only Ones, shares his debut solo album and first new music in decades. (Check out an exclusive interview with Perrett on the KEXP Blog here.) "He sounds remarkably together here, joined by his sons (who are also in the band Strangefruit) for a diverse set ranging from hypnotic, psych-tinged rock to surging power pop on songs of survival pairing his offhand vocals with often-sardonic lyrics."
Seattle band Great Grandpa launch their debut, "a promising set of emotive, '90s-steeped rock with a dynamic sound featuring grungy guitars, soaring vocals and catchy pop hooks." Another local fave, Pickwick, release their second full-length, "an impressive blend of moody soul-pop, gritty psych-funk and eerie psychedelic soul ballads." The third LP from UK trio Public Service Broadcasting "chronicles the rise and fall of the Welsh coal-mining industry and the decline of working-class communities, with a cinematic post-rock sound featuring atmospheric guitars and synths, lush strings, samples from vintage public information films, broadcasts and other sources, occasional guest vocals and surging melodies." This Is The Kit -- a project led by Paris-based British artist Kate Stables -- shares their fourth LP, "a strong set of expansive folk-pop incorporating elements of rock, jazz, various African styles and more. Produced by John Parish, the album combines inventive arrangements and a rich variety of instrumentation with her warm, serene vocals and evocative, sharply crafted lyrics."
Last Friday saw the release of not one, but two albums from local duo Shabazz Palaces. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star "an impressive set of adventurous hip hop combining an ominous, shape-shifting sound with often heavily processed and reverbed vocals and dysto…
