So what were Damo Suzuki and Can, as Tow Waits would say, “building in there,” with their incredibly exciting music and puzzling words in ‘Future Days?’
“I just think that room's to end, how commend them from your dreams?
Save that money for a rainy day for the sake of future days
You better have nothing for me, you better move year on your face
You have to help apologise for the sake of future days.”
It could have been a stream of consciousness, or it could have been deliberate (or both), but what they did was come up with music some fifty years ago that still stands out as valid, fresh, and, yes, futuristic.
Basically, they were building a future in what was present at that very moment. Conscious or subconscious (or both), makes no difference, but it keeps standing the test of time - being continuously futuristic.
Amenazar - Miss U Like I Should
On the first listen, it might seem that there’s something more classic than futuristic in what this Kansas City band is doing here. But, coming up with a sound that stands the test of the decades can be quite futuristic, in a way.
Fences - Thin Legs
Christopher Mansfield, aka Fences, and his melodic take on anything that has a connection between pop and rock has been around for a while, always on the verge of turning ‘bubbling under’ into something big. He certainly deserves that big break.
Nevaris - Dub Sol
For a long time now, dub as a genre has moved away from being just the property of Reggae, but doing it right is never an easy thing, New York’s Nevaris though manages to do it justice here, anywhere between reggae itself and some form of mutated Latin jazz.
Goat - Do The Dance
As with dub, psych rock, from its inception has taken so many shapes and forms, and psych purveyors Goat (through this Shit & Shine Remix) seem to try and take as many of its forms within one song as they can.
Tape Runs Out - 90oC
Liam Goodrum-Bell and his Tape Runs Out seem to be re-tracing the steps of Radiohead and Elbow, the prog rock of sorts, but these are actually very good steps to follow, particularly if you do not follow them strictly, and make your own imprint of sorts.
Big Joanie - Your Words
These three friends usually have other ideas they pursue, but intriguing, activist words seem to be something they share, and here they do it so well and luckily share them with all of us.
GAZOOTA - Dukkha
This is the more beat-oriented side of psych, with heavy bass, and subdued vocals, taking on inspiration from krautrock stalwarts like Neu! and Harmonia, and yes, they should do that if it os as good as this.
Mute Duo - Trust Lanes
Ok now, let's see how the combination of the two above ideas works - take the Nevaris dub approach with the GAZOOTA krautrock fancy and combine it with some jazzy touches by this Chicago duo of pedal steel guitar and drums, and you’re somewhere in space, for sure.
Thee Sacred Souls - Running Away
The name of this band should be the giveaway to their combination of their ‘old-fashioned’ soul with some nifty Ethiopia sounds added. Yet there’s nothing old-fashioned here, as they sound new and fresh as they would have a few decades back, or as they will a few decades from now.
Lusitanian Ghosts - The Long Train
This Canadian, Swedish, and Portuguese crew takes a number of what some may call ‘classic’ sounds fix them over a very good melody, and give you two choices - try and decipher where it all comes from or just enjoy (you could possibly do both, I guess).
Ben Copperhead - Moon Rabbit
You can through good, old production master Kramer, any curve ball you wish, he will always come up with the good by himself or by bringing us another act very few people have heard of that should definitely make it big. Copperhead plays something called ‘celestial banjo’ and that is exactly what it sounds like.
Daisies - Goin’ in Circles
What is sophisticated pop? If you are struggling to put the words behind that definition, you just might find them listening to this one from one of the currently more underrated bands around. Not for long, hopefully.
The Soft Walls - True Love
Being from Britain, Dan Reeves, aka Soft Walls, is quite obviously submerged in the British sounds, but the thing is, he has latched himself to some very good ones, and obviously knows how to combine them in a good way.
HalfNoise - Baby
Zac Farro, the man behind HalfNoise is not ashamed of his infatuation with some good pop sounds, and he has absolutely no reason to be, as coming up with some good ‘sounds of the summer’ is a specific art in itself.
REBENN - Maybe I’m Psycho
Is this K-pop or not? REBENN works as an Apple marketeer during the workweek and is a pop producer in South Korea on weekends. What he comes up with is definitely (good) pop, with the K in front of it or not.
Hecq - Redom Solid
Modern drum & bass with touches of the accordion? Not your everyday stuff, and Ben Lukas Boysen, the man behind this project is obviously somebody who likes to do things the ordinary way. Based on this, he shouldn’t be, anyway.
Eddie Floyd - 634-5789
Just a bit more proof of why some music has that ‘classic’ tag in front of it- even as a demo, a classic soul song, by a classic soul singer sounds blissful, no matter what. From an upcoming collection of unheard Stax demos, they are certainly a hearing must.
Elf Power - Filming the Sequel Before All the Actors Die
Not many people are talking about the Elephant 6 collective from the nineties, and Elf Power was one of the bands at the core of that movement. Yet, Elf Power is still around, and still very good, whether you list them as Elephant 6 or not.
Cosmo Sheldrake - Bathed In Sound
Sheldrake is known as a multi-instrumentalist and a producer who likes field recordings, but here it is his mellow vocals that shine, and the melody he applies it to doesn’t lag behind in any way. Of course, the production doesn’t either.
Sam Zalta - My Prayer
Not everybody has the vocal capabilities of Nick Cave or his poetic inclinations but good songwriting capabilities with some dark touches like his will take you a long way, as they do Zalta here. A good introduction to Zalta’s new album.