Top Moon Tunes 2019 Volume 7


Less than a month on from Volume 6 of the monthlyish Top Moon tuneage, here is Volume 7. Like Volume 6 it is dominated by rock n' roll, but with a slice of punky dub and a bit of folk.

As ever, there is a bit of guff on each artist beneath the Playmoss playlist and it is on Spotify




1. Alex Lahey  - Don Be So Hard On Yourself

This cracker is from The Moon album of the month and from yet another singer songwriter from the land of Oz. Ms Lahey was born in Melbourne and this is from her second LP. It is an album from which virtually every track could be a single that should be all over any half decent radio. With this track and a couple of others, she has managed to create a sound that is rather 80s soft rock, but it somehow works brilliantly. Elsewhere it gets a bit more punk, even a bit Britpoppy, but then ends with a couple of slices of Top Pop.

2. Wild Billy Childish and CTMF - Gary's Song

On The Moon on a Best of 17 and I wrote:

"CTMF is the latest incarnation of Billy Childish  an outsider artist who has produced a prodigious amount  of music and art since the late 70s.  This year he released his 5th LP since 2013 with CTMF and it is the most polished sounding record I have heard from him. The sound is reminiscent of the excellent 2015 Wave Pictures LP he produced and co-wrote. Some extra diversity is added by two of the best tracks being brilliantly sung by his wife aka "Nurse Julie"."

Earlier this year a compilation of tracks from the various incarnations of Mr Childish was released and it is very good, but does also show that he is taking rock n' roll a bit more seriously these days as CTMF have produced another seriously good LP. It is actually a bit less punk but more melodic than their last one and Nurse Julie takes the lead on 3 tracks, including this cracker.

3. Cool Flowers - Angry

This track and this band were first brought to my attention by being included in the 2018 singles of the year from The Finest Kiss. They are from Portland in the USA and have now released their debut LP and it does live up to the promise of their debut double A side of this track and Pig Charade. The single and the album are strongly reminiscent of the 2 Tone sound of The Specials and The Selector, but with more of a punk edge. Another similarity is between this track and The Lunatics are Taking Over the Asylum by The Fun Boy Three, which 2 of the 3 recently re-recorded for the excellent new Specials LP, as both just keep becoming more and more relevant ...

4. Gena Rose Bruce - Coming Down

More top singer songwriter rock n' roll from the land of Oz. She is also from Melbourne and this is from her debut LP which is described as "an intoxicating ride through love, lust self-destruction and surrender."

5. Kishi Bashi -  Summer of 42

Kishi Bashi is Kaora Ishibashi from Seattle USA, although his President would no doubt want him to go back to Japan as his new album is inspired by a documentary he was involved in which compared the treatment of immigrants today with the Japanese American internment during WW2. This is from his 4th solo LP and, like Andrew Bird,  he was initially a violinist, but has now become more of a folky singer songwriter, but, as highlighted by this track, he can make great use of his main instrument. The last track is another highlight, with a jig like sound and a song I thought must be traditional but it isn't as far as I can google.

6. Full Bush - Ray's

Back to 2018 again with a band I only got into thanks to an emerging artists from Philadelphia post from the NPR music feed in March. This is a highlight from a cracking debut LP of raucous rock n' roll. As this track illustrates they have the attitude,  sound, vocal range and tuneage of peak Hole.

7. The Flaming Lips  - Feedaloodum Beetle Dot

This is the fourth appearance on The Moon from this legendary band and it is from their 15th album which was originally a limited Record Store day release back in April, and is a soundtrack to the lead singer Wayne Coyne's art exhibition.  It is apparently just a stop-gap until a proper album due next year, but as this track shows, they are continuing their late period purple patch.

8. Ezra Furman - Calm Down aka I Should Not Be Alone

Mr Furman is a multiple Moon offender and this is the cracking lead track from his soon to be released latest LP. The LP was apparently recorded in a week and is his most punk record to date.

9. Bleached - Valley to LA

Another previous Moon offender and from a new LP that successfully continues their evolution from the punk of their debut LP. The single Hard to Kill is one of the Top Pop  moments of the year and then this track highlights their knack for some top melody.

10. Neutrals  - Technical College

I think this band was first brought to my attention by The Finest Kiss back in 2017 with the release of a cassette ep. And I then presume my Spotify new release feed alerted me to the release of their debut LP. They are San Francisco based, but the lead singer is from Glasgow, Scotland UK (for now). It is a fine album of tight post punk with some top lyrics.

11. Emily Fairlight -  Time's Unfaithful Wife

Back to 2018 again with an artist that I think must have featured on a recent Folk Radio UK Mixcloud transmission. She is another singer songwriter from the other side of the world, but this time from New Zealand and this is one of the more upbeat tracks from her second LP of  quality spooky folk.

12. Broken Down Golf Cart - Facts vs Stats

Brought to my attention by the VPME, this is the solo project of Jen Baranick  - a Liverpool based Canadian who also fronts the band Good Problems. She intend to release a new Broken Down Golf Cart track each month for the next two years, and also more Good Problems. There are currently 5 Broken Down Golf Cart tracks and 3 Good Problem tracks on Spotify with the bands tracks being a bit more rock than her solo stuff.

13. Summer Cannibals - Behave

This is from the 4th album from this Portland USA band which featured in the NPR and AV Club music feeds. It is a highlight from an album of top rock n' roll that the band say is about "doing the right thing, even when it is terrifying."

14. Jess Ribeiro - Love is the Score of Nothing

And another singer songwriter from the land of Oz and another brought to my attention by God Is In The TV.  It is from her 3rd LP and this is one of the more straight up rock n' roll tracks from an interesting and varied record.

15. Joy Williams  - Look How Far We Have Come

Ms Williams is from Santa Cruz, USA but is now Nashville based. She is best known as one half of The Civil Wars, but since they split she has resumed her solo career. The Civil Wars did not quite float my boat but this second LP since their split is very good indeed. I did initially think that this track and some of the others were covers of traditional American folk songs, but they are all self penned with  co-writers.


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