in my ear – Atomic Ned

The Lickerish Quartet – “Lighthouse Spaceship”

I’ve never owned a Jellyfish album and, to my knowledge, have never even listened to one in passing. And now, listening to the first single from The Lickerish Quartet – which is 3 members of Jellyfish (Roger Manning Jr, Tim Smith, Eric Dover) – I realize how stupid I’ve been as, even back in the mid-90s, this wonderfully melodic pop sound is something I’ve always been drawn to even if my preferred genres changed over time. It’s pretty easy to say nothing more than “a mix of the Beatles, ELO and Cheap Trick” when describing this track – if I read that description, I’d click a link in record time. I’ve always been a fan of bands like Redd Kross, Enuff Z’Nuff and the Posies and while “Lighthouse Spaceship” won’t be confused for songs by any of those band (or will it?), I’d happy toss this into a “Power Pop” Spotify playlist (in fact, I think I’ll start that playlist now so that I can continue to add when I run across other cool tracks).

What I’ve learned by listening to this song on repeat for the last 20 minutes is that it’s time to go back and dig into the short Jellyfish catalog because I imagine I’ll hear a lot of music that I really dig.

Video: Never Young – “Like a Version”

I never got into ’80s DC punk so the references to Fugazi and Rites of Spring don’t mean much to me but Never Young’s definitely got a ’90s vibe and I hear Seaweed, Superchunk and For Love Not Lisa in the band’s sound. Really digging “Like a Version” from the band’s debut 3-song EP though the video is a bit creepy.

In My Ear – Week of September 26

Here’s some things I listened to last week. Feel free to tell me what you listened to by leaving your list in the comment section below.

No Age
Saw these guys open for Pavement a few weeks back, can think of a few different ways to describe them:

1) “Like Times New Viking but with tuned instruments”
2) “Nirvana covering My Bloody Valentine”

Stream the new CD here.

Bad City
Love it when kids play homage to ’80s glam rock – sounds a bit like Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) fronting a heavy Winger. These guys have already toured with KISS, Slash, and The Smashing Pumpkins this year. I’m kind of hoping they don’t blow up and wind up playing in the hard rock/cover bar in the strip mall a few miles from my house sometime before the year is over.

Forgetters
My compatriot over at The Big Takeover, Matthew Berlyant, reviewed the Forgetters EP this week and thus turned me onto a band I didn’t even realize existed. How I missed this band, I’ll never know as it features Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker/Jets to Brazil fame.

LA Guns
A last minute LA Guns show was booked this week at the same club that I’m hoping Bad City will play 🙂 This version of LA Guns features founding member Tracii Guns (guitars) and Jizzy Pearl (ex-Love/Hate, Ratt). I pulled out the self-titled LA Guns debut to get in the mindset for the upcoming show (photos/review to come later this week).

Everest
Still one of my favorites of 2010. These guys are currently on tour with Guster so check ’em out if they’re coming to your town.

In My Ear – Week of September 19

Here’s some things I listened to last week. Feel free to tell me what you listened to by leaving your list in the comment section below.

The Gracious Few
Candlebox singer backed by members of Live in a Zeppelin-sounding band. Much better than I would have thought based on description alone.

The Posies – Blood/Candy
As with other bands, my favorites Posies CD is the first one I heard by the Seattle power-pop band, Frosting on the Beater. But, after years of making The Posies their second and third priority, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow have reunited and put out an album that holds it’s own against Frosting on the Beater. Can’t wait to see these guys on tour (w/ Brendan Benson and Aqueduct) in November.

Kelly Kneiser
This is the first solo recording from Glossary member Kelly Kneiser. She doesn’t fancy herself a songwriter so all the songs on this EP were written and donated by friends but Kelly delivers the charming vocals providing further evidence why she’s the secret weapon in the band led by her ex-husband Joey. The EP is available for free over on Glossary’s website.

The Organ Beats
Another freebie – not sure how long this will last so grab now if you’re interested – The Organ Beats are led by ex-Damone frontwoman Noelle LeBlanc. While Damone also flirted with an ’80s hair metal sound, The Organ Beats are a bit more straight-up rock with just a small dash of pop … probably a more marketable sound than Damone. (Click on “Buy” below and name your own price for the CD)

Massy Ferguson
Remember the early Son Volt material, the stuff when Jay Farrar had just split from Uncle Tupelo and was trying to make a name for himself as a solo artist? Massy Ferguson remembers that and their second full length, Hard Water (out on Oct.19), is a hearty tribute to the alt.country sounds of bands like Son Volt and Drive-By Truckers. Sample tracks on Massy Ferguson’s website (the player is on the top of the page – I highly recommend starting with “Long Time No See”).

In My Ear – Week of August 23

Here’s some things I listened to last week. Feel free to tell me what you listened to by leaving your list in the comment section below.

The Henry Clay People
Seems like an odd choice to be the opening act on the upcoming Drive-By Truckers tour but that’s what they are doing for most of September and October.

The Wildbirds
Found their 2007 CD Golden Daze in the dollar bin at Half-Price Books, definitely worth a buck (and more!). Kind of a rawer/bluesier Kings of Leon.

The Dollyrots
More to come on The Dollyrots show that I attended earlier this week but I’ve been playing their new CD, A Little Messed Up, non-stop around the house for the last week or two. My kids have caught The Dollyrots bug and my youngest knows more of the words to the songs than I do!

“Rock Control” by The Dollyrots, filmed at Skully’s in Columbus, Ohio on August 30, 2010. Intro by my 5-year-old, Piper.

Pantera
Can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Cowboys from Hell was released. The massively influential CD is getting the deluxe reissue treatment later this month with a 3-CD package that includes a bunch of live material and a disc full of demos (some of which are early versions of songs that would later be released). Seriously, how incredibly bad ass – even 20 years later – are songs like “Cowboys from Hell”, “Primal Concrete Sludge”, and “Domination”?

Bruce Springsteen – “I’m On Fire”
Not really sure why I had this song in my head all week but I love Springsteen when he’s a little bit darker/somber.