'Oh so I'm so goddam young. Set me free...' Patti Smith, Privilege
Patti Smith was not actually so goddam young when she expressed this idea. Not that this mattered remotely. Her heart was in entirely in the right place. It still is. But CBGB's is no more. At least not as a physical reality. Chicago it seems is where it's at right now. Pubescent Turks and new Matador signings Lifeguards actually are so goddam young you wouldn't believe it. They don't comb their hair. Why should they? Like a belated young brother band to Horsegirl's older sisters, they explode from the traps with debut EP Crowd Can Talk / Dressed In Trenches.
Fired primarily, as Horsegirl were by the example of Sonic Youth, they're not concerned with niceties. This five track eruption is one loud ejaculation of energy and abandon after another. It doesn't let up. Quiet the most immediate release, you're likely to hear this year. It's brilliantly realised and Lifeguard are certainly ones to watch. Surrender to Punk once more. It's Friday after all. You won't regret it.
Strange, I was sure you had covered these before! Must have been thinking of Horsegirl, as I link them together in my mind. Anyway, will be listening to this soon. Have loved the singles so far. Will also be checking out albums by The Finks, Bedchamber, Your Heart Breaks and anything else that surfaces today... plus I still need to catch up on last week's releases, particularly Special Friend (no idea why I haven't listened yet!).
ReplyDeleteAlso, have been inspired by lots of mid-year lists to do my own this year. You will know a lot of them, but the ones you don't won't be too surprising! Chose 5 tracks from each month (although some were singles that would be on albums later) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4tuGKseSDS2McE6f9pfqvx
Brilliant Darren. Many thanks. More to work on. First I'd heard of Lifeguard this morning. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteI'm already in preparation for my 150 favourite albums of the year. This is getting ridiculous. That means I'm starting on it at the end of July and I've already got 139 albums I really like in contention. And there are still five months to go. Thanks for your own favourites. I only hope it doesn't confuse me further..
ReplyDeleteSorry about that! Rather you than me! I'm not hugely keen on ranking albums, partly because I'm indecisive and partly because I'm happy to like what I like without figuring out if I like it better than something else I like. I could probably do a top 5 but beyond that I would struggle. Perfectly understand why others do like ranking, plus I love reading end of year lists to find stuff i have missed...so looking forward to what you come up with!
ReplyDelete