Ending Buck Gooter upon Terry Turtle’s tragic passing would have gone against everything that made them a DIY dynasty, and if anything, Billy Brett’s desire to honor his lifelong friend’s wishes to “keep on playing my music” will drive the project further. Case in point, Ghost Brain, their upcoming album, due out April 4th, on Turtle’s 71st birthday.
A stellar collection of nine fuzzy, muscular anthems, Ideal Conditions mines similar ground as their debut – hazy, midtempo slacker rock. Silkworm is an easy reference point; the tracks are driven by a beefy rhythm section with blasts of distorted guitar setting up soaring solos, each song rising to a dramatic crescendo before crashing down.
Robert Pollard, the frenetically brilliant leader / creator of Dayton’s cult heroes Guided By Voices, writes a lot of songs. A lot of songs, a lot of albums, a lot of music, even a countless array of alter egos. La La Land represents a direct follow-up to Tremblers and Goggles By Rank, or as Pollard says, “somewhat of a companion piece.”
Big Blood have been called psychedelic folk, and freak folk, and other things like “avant-folk” and “gothic country.” Driven by Colleen Kinsella’s powerful, keening vocals and amorphous, hazy instrumentals, the Weird Road EP is the newest installment in a 16-year line of wonderfully wonky songcraft.
While their bio makes it clear they aren’t here to rest on their past achievements, this ain’t their first rodeo, and when your past work includes Grass Widow, Preening, and Girlsperm, it’s worth noting. Past aside, Max Nordile, Lillian Maring, and Marissa Magic come together as one throughout Lost To The Fantasy, their debut LP.
The Eurosuite (mems USA Nails, Nitkowski) return with Sorry, a new record due out March 3rd via Human Worth, an album that feels like a sonic tour-de-force with the intention of rearranging our brains like a jolt of electricity to the skull. Lead single “BODY” doesn’t exactly build tension but instead arrives at full blast, already deep in the carnage.
Leaving is the second full length release from Midwest indie folk band Fran (aka Maria Jacobson), continuing on the path of heartbreaking longing and beautiful melodies powered by her stunning vocals. Jacobson's ability to weave entrancing tales is jaw-dropping, reinforced by the very compelling material throughout the album.
On Into the Couch, the second LP under the Disheveled Cuss moniker, Nick Reinhart continues to stay weird in all the right ways. The album as a whole is flush with moments that bait you into thinking a pop hook or familiar change is on the way, yet he manages to zag at every zig, keeping both his melodies and thematic elements surprising.
Florry has grown from a quartet to a septet, upping the guitars while adding fiddle, pedal steel, and additional vocals, adding muscle to their twang with as much weight to the easy going structures as the impeccable lyrics. Led by Francie Medosch, Florry return with Sweet Guitar Solos, a new EP due out via Dear Life Records.
For Frankie Cosmos’ fifth studio album, growing pains give way to the shaky legs on which the indie-pop quartet takes its first steps into real life. After over a decade at work, their primordial beginnings as a home-based solo project are gone but not forgotten. Inner World Peace totes the patient deliberateness that comes with maturity.
