“Jet in Jungle”, Damaged Bug

This way: Jet in Jungle

John Dwyer (born October 3, 1974) is an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, visual artist and record label owner. He is best known as the founding member and primary songwriter of the garage rock band Thee Oh Sees, with whom he has released 23 studio albums. In addition to his work with Thee Oh Sees, Dwyer records solo material under the name "Damaged Bug", and is a former member of the garage rock acts Coachwhips, Pink and Brown and The Hospitals.

Dwyer is currently based in Los Angeles, California, although for much of his career he was based in San Francisco, California. Dwyer is originally from Providence, Rhode Island, United States.

[Spotify]  Jet in Jungle 

“Stimulus for Living”, Drahla

 This way: Stimulus for Living

Drahla is a Punk trio formed in Leeds, UK in November 2015 by Rob Riggs, Luciel Brown and Mike Ainsley. Their debut tracks 'Fictional Decision' and 'Dog Collar Guillotine', were produced by Hookworms' frontman and Leeds resident MJ. Their Collection EP A Compact Cassette was released in May 2018. 

[Spotify]  Stimulus for Living

“Gigantic”, Pixies

 This way: Gigantic

Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band comprised Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, backing vocals) and David Lovering (drums). The band disbanded acrimoniously in 1993, but reunited in 2004. After Deal left in 2013, Pixies hired Kim Shattuck as a touring bassist; she was replaced the same year by Paz Lenchantin, who became a permanent member in 2016.

Pixies are associated with the 1990s alternative rock boom, and draw on elements including punk rock and surf rock. Their music is known for its dynamic "loud-quiet-loud" shifts and song structures. Francis is Pixies' primary songwriter; his often surreal lyrics cover offbeat subjects such as extraterrestrials, incest, and biblical violence. This tune written by Kim Deal.

[Spotify]  Gigantic

“Help You Ann”, Lyres

This way: Help You Ann

Lyres are a Boston-area garage rock band led by Jeff Conolly, founded in 1979 following the breakup of DMZ. Their most popular songs included "Don't Give It Up Now," 'She Pays The Rent' and "Help You Ann". The original lineup of the band featured Conolly, Rick Coraccio (bass), Ricky Carmel (guitar), and Paul Murphy (drums).  

Former DMZ members Coraccio, Murphy, Peter Greenberg, and Mike Lewis all rejoined Connolly in Lyres at some point from 1979 to the early 2000s. The A-Bones drummer Miriam Linna, (a former drummer for The Cramps) and then A-Bones, Yo La Tengo and former Lyres bass player Mike Lewis filled-in with Lyres for a show in 1986. Stiv Bators of The Dead Boys and Lords of the New Church, and Wally Tax of The Outsiders also recorded with Lyres in the late 1980s.

Lyres were less active in 1989, due to Conolly living in California for a brief period. After a renewed period of activity in the early 1990s, the band went through a dormant period until 1999. The band has been playing regularly during the last two years. Conolly is the one member who has been in every lineup during the large number of Lyres personnel changes. In 2009, Lyres played at the Go Sinner So festival in Madrid and an additional date in Porto Nuovo. This line-up included a fill-in Peter Greenberg on guitar.

[Spotify]  Help You Ann

“Fortune”, Dog Faced Hermans

 This way: Fortune

Dog Faced Hermans were a post-punk band that formed in Scotland in the mid 1980s and remained active through the mid 1990s. They emerged from the UK anarcho-punk scene with a guitar/bass/drums line-up, but also incorporated trumpet and other instruments not commonly found in punk music at that time. Their composition style incorporated many genres of music outside of rock, including folk, jazz, ambient and noise music with often unorthodox instrumentation. 

From 1991's Mental Blocks for All Ages.

[Spotify]  Fortune

“In Context”, Field Music

 This way: In Context

Field Music are an English rock band from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, that formed in 2004. The band's core consists of brothers David Brewis and Peter Brewis, with Andrew Moore occasionally featured as keyboardist. Their line-up has at times featured members of both Maxïmo Park and The Futureheads.

Field Music have been called one of the few bands to outlast the indie guitar band explosion of the mid-2000s. Describing the band as "a truly artful proposition in the pseudo-filled landscape of contemporary Brit art-rock", music blog The Fantastic Hope puts this down in part to their "un-self-conscious anti-fashion stance", arguing that Field Music's "wayward pop from the fringes of academia is one of the most worthwhile ways in which rock//indie/guitar music/white pop/whatever might evolve".[2] Critics have compared their music to acts as diverse as Steely Dan, XTC, Prefab Sprout, Peter Gabriel, Scritti Politti, Talking Heads and Todd Rundgren. They have also been nominated for the Mercury Prize. 

[Spotify] In Context

“Heave Away”, The Fables

This way: Heave Away

If you don't like a good sea shanty, well that could be a personal problem. The Fables are a Celtic rock band formed in 1997 in St. John's, Newfoundland, by Glenn Simmons and D'Arcy Broderick. The original lineup of the band consisted of Simmons, Broderick, Billy Sutton, Dave Fitzpatrick, and Clyde Wiseman. In addition to extensive touring, the band released four studio albums from 1998 to 2007.  

[Spotify]  Heave Away

“Rise”, Public Image Ltd.

This way: Rise

Public Image Ltd (abbreviated as PiL) are an English punk band formed by singer John Lydon, guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker in 1978. The group's personnel has changed frequently over the years; Lydon has been the sole constant member. 

Following his departure from the Sex Pistols in January 1978, Lydon sought a more experimental "anti-rock" project and formed PiL.That year PiL released their debut First Issue (1978), creating an abrasive, bass-heavy sound that drew on dub, noise, progressive rock and disco. PiL's second album Metal Box (1979) pushed their sound further into the avant-garde. 

By 1984, both Levene and Wobble had departed and the group was effectively a solo vehicle for Lydon, who moved toward a more accessible sound with the commercially successful albums This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get (1984) and Album (1986). After a late 1990s hiatus, Lydon reformed the group in 2009 and has released several further albums, including What the World Needs Now... (2015).

[Spotify] Rise

“I Heard Wonders”, David Homes

 This way: I Heard Wonders

David Holmes (born 14 February 1969) is an electronic musician and composer. Born in Northern Ireland, Holmes worked as a DJ before releasing several solo albums that have incorporated elements of trip hop, big beat, electronica and rock. In the late 1990s, Holmes also began composing film scores, establishing a long-standing collaboration with director Steven Soderbergh that includes Out of Sight (1998) and the Ocean's trilogy. He is currently part of the band Unloved, whose music has been used extensively in the television series Killing Eve, for which Holmes is the composer. Holmes has remixed songs for numerous artists and produced albums for Primal Scream and Noel Gallagher. He is also known for his BBC Radio 1 Essential Mixes.  

[Spotify]  I Heard Wonders

“China”, Red Rockers

This way: China

This really isn't a proper post. So apologies, but such an ear worm. This would make a great split single with “Africa” by Toto.

Red Rockers were an American musical band from New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, active from 1979 to 1985. Originally formed as a hard-charging punk rock band, they changed their style to a smoother, more melodic sound and released two albums in the new wave vein of their record label, 415. They are best known for their 1983 hit single “China”.

[Spotify] China

“Lovely Gold”, Michael Yonkers

 This way: Lovely Gold

Michael Yonkers (born 1947) is an American rock musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. His work has been praised for its groundbreaking and highly experimental nature; Cole Alexander of psychedelic-rock band Black Lips said that Yonkers “kind of invented noise and drone guitar techniques," stating further that "when you think of how The Who, Jimi Hendrix and The Velvet Underground were pushing feedback at the time, he was more extreme than all three combined in terms of what he was doing.” However, his work did not reach a wide audience until decades after he began recording, due in part to a debilitating spinal injury that kept him in constant, lifelong pain. 

His most well-known work is a psychedelic rock record from 1968 called Microminiature Love, which was released on vinyl by De Stijl records in 2002, and later Sub Pop, who released it on CD in July 2003. This led to re-releases of other early albums, including the psych-folk album Grimwood, originally recorded in 1971 and reissued in 2007, as well as the early 1970s works Michael Lee Yonkers and Borders Of My Mind, both reissued on Drag City in 2014. Yonkers' most recent work includes three collaborations with Minneapolis indie-rock group The Blind Shake, Carbohydrate Hydrocarbons, Cold Town/Soft Zodiac, and Period.

[Spotify] Lovely Gold

“The Flow”, Willis Earl Beal

This way: The Flow

Willis Earl Beal was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. In his early twenties Beal joined the U.S. Army, moving to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Beal was medically discharged from the army due to intestinal and visual problems. He then returned to Chicago where he worked at Sears Tower, following a five-month hospital stay. In 2007, Beal moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here Beal spent some time homeless, and working entry-level jobs, notably as a night-shift security guard. During this time Beal began to record music, leaving CD-Rs in public spaces around Albuquerque. Beal would also leave self-illustrated flyers around the town in the hope of finding a girlfriend. One of these flyers was discovered by Found Magazine who put Beal on the cover of their magazine. Found later released a limited-edition box set called The Willis Earl Beal Collection, which included Beal's poetry, artwork and a 17-song album.

In 2012, Beal signed a recording contract with Hot Charity, an imprint of independent record label, XL Recordings. Beal's first single for the labels, "Evening's Kiss" was released on February 17, 2012 and the accompanying music video was illustrated by Beal. Beal's debut album, entitled Acousmatic Sorcery was released on April 2, 2012.

[Spotify] The Flow

[Also, I posted this awhile ago, and it still rates as one of the most amazing performances ever recorded, from Jools Hollands show, 2012] Evening's Kiss

“The Weather Song”, Ought

This way: The Weather Song

Ought is a punk band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band consists of Tim Darcy (vocals, guitar), Ben Stidworthy (bass), Matt May (keyboards) and Tim Keen (drums).

Ought formed in 2011 when its members began living together in a communal band practice space and recorded their earliest material. Their debut EP, New Calm, was released in 2012. After signing with Constellation Records, they released a full-length, More than Any Other Day, in 2014. The album achieved critical acclaim, including a Best New Music accolade from Pitchfork Media.[1] It was noted in numerous year-end lists for 2014 including Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Drowned In Sound, Loud and Quiet, Exclaim!, Crack Magazine, and Paste. The album reached #20 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in the United States. 

[Spotify]  The Weather Song

“Necessary Spining”, Translator

 This way: Necessary Spinning

How did I not know of this band? Fantastic.

Translator is an American, San Francisco rock band, that had success during the 1980s, and that continues into the present day. The group created a sound that spanned updated British Merseybeat and stripped-down punk-like rock to psychedelia. Inspired by the Beatles, Cream and 1960s California folk rock bands such as The Byrds, their guitar-based music had wide exposure during the early 1980s on non-commercial campus radio and new wave music stations. The group's stripped-down music and sometimes ironic and disturbing existentialist lyrics may have been a precursor to alternative rock.   

[Spotify]  Necessary Spinning

“Hey Moon!”, Molly Nilsson

This way: Hey Moon!

Molly Nilsson (born December 14, 1984) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and musician. She is the owner of an independent record label, Dark Skies Association, founded in 2009. As of 2004, Nilsson resides in Berlin.

Nilsson moved to Berlin to pursue music. She worked in the cloakroom of Berlin nightclub Berghain, while saving money to write songs on weekends. She released her first album in 2008 titled These Things Take Time, which she released on CD-R with just 500 copies. In 2009, she released another self-produced album, Europa. Nilsson gained more visibility in 2011 when her song "Hey Moon" from These Things Take Time, was covered by John Maus for his album We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves.

[Spotify]  Hey Moon!

“Kansas”, The Wolfgang Press

This way: Kansas

The Wolfgang Press was an English post-punk band, active from 1983 to 1995, recording for the 4AD label. The core of the band was Michael Allen (vocals, bass), Mark Cox (keyboards), and Andrew Gray (guitar).

The group is best known for its 1992 international hit single "A Girl Like You (Born To Be Kissed)". 

[Spotify] Kansas

“Mind Your Own Business”, Delta 5

This way: Mind Your Own Business

Delta 5 was an English post-punk band from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The original members of Delta 5, Julz Sale (vocals/guitar), Ros Allen (bass) and Bethan Peters (bass), formed the band "on a lark", but soon became a part of the thriving Leeds punk scene, and later added Kelvin Knight on drums and Alan Riggs on guitar. Combining feminist politics with a two-bass funk-punk sound (much in the style of another, more famous Leeds band, Gang of Four), they released their debut single in 1979, "Mind Your Own Business". This song was later covered by Chicks on Speed, Le Shok, R. Stevie Moore, Pigface and Dum Dum Girls. Bethan Peters went on to play on Fun Boy Three's second album, Waiting. 

The members of Delta 5 were also important figures in the Rock Against Racism movement, and were the subject of a highly publicized assault at the hands of a right-wing group affiliated with rival movement Rock Against Communism.

After the release of second single "You", the band went on a successful tour of the US, and soon thereafter left Rough Trade for Charisma Records imprint Pre. They recorded their debut album, See the Whirl, which suffered from overly clean production, and received low marks both critically and commercially. Due to the failure of the album, the group disbanded. A cover of "You" (with Japanese lyrics, and renamed "Saboten" (Cactus)) was recorded by Shonen Knife and released on the band's 1982 debut Minna Tanoshiku.

[Spotify]  Mind Your Own Business

“Hungry, So Angry”, Medium Medium

 This way: Hungry, So Angry

Medium Medium was a band from Nottingham, England, initially active between 1978 and 1983. 

Emerging in 1978 out of the Nottingham punk/rhythm & blues band The Press, Medium Medium's first single was "Them or Me", which was released in late 1978 and was still selling well enough in 1980 to appear in the UK Independent Chart. The second single, "Hungry, So Angry", was released in February 1981 on Cherry Red Records. Featuring the slap bass - a technique borrowed from black funk music - "Hungry, So Angry" reached #48 in the Billboard Disco chart - the single and the album were released in 1981 on the New York-based indie label Cachalot Records - and has appeared on over a dozen compilations over the years.   

[Spotify]  Hungry, So Angry

“Rhythm Empty”, Get Smart!

This way: Rhythm Empty

Stellar release at the end of last year by my old pals Get Smart!

In January, 1987, the band began work on their third album with seminal recording engineer, Iain Burgess. These recordings were archived for 33 years until Get Smart! reformed this year.

With the aim of matching their live sound, the band commissioned Steve Albini to craft the final mixes with them. These six songs prove that the tension and inspiration shown on their first LPs was no idle promise.

  Get Smart! was a three-piece post-punk band formed in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1980 consisting of Marc Koch, Lisa Wertman Crowe and Frank Loose. The band released 2 studio albums along with some singles and EPs over a 10-year career.

[Spotify]  Rhythm Empty

[Bandcamp]  Get Smart!

[Band site]  Get Smart!

“Here Comes Comus!”, Arab Strap

This way: Here Comes Comus!

Arab Strap are a Scottish indie rock band whose core members are Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. The band were signed to independent record label Chemikal Underground, split in 2006 and reformed in 2016. The band signed to Rock Action Records in 2020. Vocalist Aidan Moffat and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Middleton grew up in Falkirk, Scotland, and bonded over their mutual love for Drag City recording artists such as Will Oldham (who at the time recorded under the name Palace Brothers) and Smog. They began collaborating in 1995, and their debut album, The Week Never Starts Round Here, was released the following year. At this point Gary Miller and David Gow joined the band and became the rhythm section, creating a more dynamic live experience when the band started touring.  

Over the course of their ten year existence Arab Strap worked with numerous musicians, including Jenny Reeve and Stacey Sievewright, as well as Adele Bethel, who went on to form Sons and Daughters. Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian featured on the album Philophobia, but the Belle & Sebastian album/song "The Boy with the Arab Strap" would later create something of a feud between Moffat and Murdoch.

Arab Strap's marked characteristics include sordid, personal, yet honest, lyrics – described by the NME as "fly on the duvet vignettes". Like fellow Scottish band The Proclaimers, their lyrics are sung in their native Scots tongue. At first essentially an electro-acoustic band with a brooding, spare sound, later albums and gigs saw them develop a fuller sound that drew deeply on both indie and dance music.

[Spotify]  Here Comes Comus!

“Loveless”, Siouxsie

This way: Loveless

Siouxsie Sioux is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. She is best known as the lead singer of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees (1976–1996). They released 11 studio albums and had several UK Top 20 singles including "Hong Kong Garden", "Happy House", "Peek-a-Boo", plus a US Billboard Top 25 hit "Kiss Them for Me".  

Siouxsie also formed a second group the Creatures (1981–2005). With the Creatures, she recorded four studio albums and the hit single "Right Now". After disbanding the Creatures in the mid-2000s, she has continued as a solo artist, using the name Siouxsie, and released the album Mantaray to critical acclaim in 2007.

AllMusic named Siouxsie as "one of the most influential British singers of the rock era".

[Spotify] Loveless

“Mirage”, Tommy James

This way: Mirage

Known professionally as Tommy James is an American rock, psychedelic rock musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, widely known as leader of the 1960s rock band Tommy James and the Shondells.

In 1959, at the age of twelve, he formed the band "The Echoes", which eventually became "Tom and the Tornadoes". In 1964 the band changed its name to The Shondells. That same year, Jack Douglas, a local DJ at WNIL radio station in Niles, formed his own record label, Snap Records. The Shondells were one of the local bands he recorded at WNIL studios. One of the songs was the Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich ditty "Hanky Panky", which the pair had recorded under the name The Raindrops. The song was a hit locally, but the label had no resources for national promotion, and it was soon forgotten. 

In 1965, a local dance promoter, Bob Mack, found a copy of "Hanky Panky" in a used record bin and started playing it at his Pittsburgh dance clubs. Soon after, a Pittsburgh area bootlegger made a copy of the song and began pressing copies of it, speeding it up slightly in the process. Sales of the bootleg were estimated at 80,000 in ten days. It became number one on Pittsburgh radio stations in early 1966. Douglas heard about the record's sudden popularity in Pittsburgh because his name and location always appeared on Snap Records labels. Numerous calls from Pittsburgh convinced James to go to Pennsylvania, where he met Mack and Chuck Rubin, who handled the talent bookings for Mack's dance clubs. Before long, all three major music trade papers, Billboard, Cashbox and Record World, were listing "Hanky Panky" as a regional breakout hit. Rubin, who had music industry connections, said it was a good time for the trio to travel to New York City in search of a record deal.

[Spotify]  Mirage

“Kangaroo”, This Mortal Coil

This way: Kangaroo

This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating cast of supporting artists, many of whom were otherwise associated with 4AD, including members of Cocteau Twins, Pixies, and Dead Can Dance. The project became known for its gothic, dream pop sound, and released three full albums beginning in 1984 with It'll End in Tears. 

[Spotify] Kangaroo

“Los Angeles”, Frank Black

This way: Los Angeles

Frank Black is the debut solo album by American alternative rock musician Frank Black. The album was recorded in 1992 and released on March 8, 1993 via 4AD and Elektra Records, after the breakup of Black's band the Pixies. 

 

The album is similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' last album prior to their 1993 breakup, Trompe le Monde. Frank Black is characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction. Two singles from the album—"Los Angeles" and "Hang On to Your Ego"—were released in 1993.

[Spotify]  Los Angeles

“Rich Man's Dreams”, Neo Boys

This way: Rich Man's Dreams

Neo Boys was an American punk band from Portland, Oregon, United States, active from 1978-1983. Considered Portland's first all-female punk band, Neo Boys are noted for their political and feminist lyrics. Hannah Lew, of Grass Widow, wrote: "They created a world I have taken refuge in during times when I felt the effects of narrow attitudes about gender and women's voices in music."   

[Spotify]  Rich Man's Dreams

“You Must Build A Fire”, Crooked Fingers

 This way: You Must Build A Fire

Crooked Fingers was an American North Carolina-based indie rock band, led by the former Archers of Loaf lead singer Eric Bachmann. The band was previously based in Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Denver. The band released albums on WARM Records and Merge Records before going completely independent in 2008. They tended to have a rotating lineup, with Bachmann the only constant. Bachmann retired the name Crooked Fingers in January 2016 with a pair of shows in New York City and Durham, NC, playing the first two records in their entirety with a string ensemble and has since been releasing albums under his name.  

[Spotify]  You Must Build A Fire