We’re at the end of this historic crappy year. Still, there’s a good handful of albums that we kept coming back to at the Little Lighthouse. So, let’s take a look back and try to list those albums. Before the complete list of top 30 albums is complete in a week for now, let’s dig into the lower end of that list. For a crappy year, overall, the music was really good.
Datura4 – Mother Medusa;
Fuzz – Close Your Eyes;
X – I Gotta Fever;
All Them Witches – Lights Out;
The Third Mind – Claudia Cardinale;
Levitation Room – Stars Speak Softly;
The Sonic Dawn – UFO;
Bob Dylan – False Prophet;
Fred And Rose – In The Pines (Where Did You Sleep Last Night);
Nicole Atkins – These Old Roses;
Saba Lou – Penny Roll;
Natural Child – Farm;
The Berries – Passing Scene;
Honey Radar – Almanac Singer;
Bipolaroid – In My Cave.
Today we have an excellent selection of new songs that come from some amazing ladies. Solvej Schou comes from Pasadena CA, and she just announced her new album. Katarina Pejak is from Belgrade, Serbia and has her first US release out. Then we take a short train ride West, to a nearby town of Vinkovci, Croatia where we catch the new PunÄke single. Kerri Powers comes travels between Massachusetts and Connecticut and there she is at The Little Lighthouse too. We also introduce Lonesome Shack from Bellingham, WA and Vandoliers from Dallas, TX. Baby Spiders may be a new name for us, but two members of Lotion are hiding behind it: Tony Zajkowski and Rob Youngberg. Robert Forster, the legendary Go-Between is back with the new record too. We wrap things up with a live in Cleveland recording of All Them Witches. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Scott Walker.
In our year end review (part 3) we hear exceprts from some really good albums that somehow didn’t make it to our top 25 list and we also hear samples from singles, 45s and downloads that did not end up on any album. Still, we enjoyed them a lot! Next week – new stuff!
We have a new tune from the productive band out in Nashville called All Them Witches. Paul Kelly out in Australia is also back with a new record called Nature. Peter Holsapple has a weird new album, which was recorded back in the 70s as a demo in Memphis at the same time when Alex Chilton was recording Like Flies on Sherbet so his record label decided to combine demos from both works on a single album. Å umski from Zagreb also have a new record and we introduce new names for us Les Lullies, Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe. Out in England we check out stuff out on Roadkill records, Weird Sex and Projector.
The Little Lighthouse presents best albums in 2017. A good way to usher the new year is to put together a list of best albums in the previous one. We’ve been doing this for a long time with more or less discipline, but the criteria is always personal and the lists simply collects albums that I’ve kept coming back to most frequently. This time we cover positions 35-15 and tune in next week for the top 14. Today we cover one of four albums that was put together by the productive and controversial Matthew Melton (Warm Soda), heavier rock records from The Obsessed, Elder, Motorpsycho All The Witches and Ruby The Hatchet show a modern approach to head banging, twisted Americana of Ethan Daniel Davidson, Yawpers and My Buddy Moose represent a fresh approach to a genre that needs reinvention badly. Strong lyrical works from Daniel Romano and John Wesley Coleman III are the best to enjoy while reading and musing on the inner sleeves. Bully, Lost Balloons, Sheer Mag, Needles//Pins show that indie rock still has something to say. Beautiful vocals of Dead Rock West are to admire. Ty Segall had an album of his career. Baby Shakes simply have short and fun record that makes you wanna play on and on. Newcomers Improbables and experienced Golden Boys hail from their garages with high octane garage rock and of all experiments from King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, their Microtonal Banana was the most fun.
Today, we bring you back All Them Witches from Nashville, legendary Godfathers from UK, John Wesley Coleman III from Austin TX and Afterhours from Italy. New names are Mind Meld from LA, California Camp Koala from Budapest, Hungary.
Today we start off with Sheer Mag from Philadelphia with their new, third EP. Then we go to Australia and check the new album for The Murlocs, lead by Ambrose Kenny Smith from King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. Then we visit Moscow, Russia and their new quartet Nikola Tesla and Thee Coils. All Them Witches from Nashville have a new album called Lightning At The Door. Bob Mould from Hüsker Dü also has a new record, called Patch The Sky. We are still very excited by Lilly Hiatt’s new record Royal Blue, and she surprised us pleasantly with four previously unavailable songs. We pay respect to Keith Emerson and George Martin. And, we also have a special announcement, my sister Snežana Žabić has a new book out on Punctum – get it! There’s a lot of incriminating stories involving yours truly inside the book.
Today we check out the new album from Thee Melomen from Zagreb called Chinatown. Also, we have new music from the legendary Pretty Things, All Them Witches and Kropotkins. Lilly Hiatt, daughter of John Hiatt is back with a very good new album (great drum sound and lovely songs on it!). Bernays Propaganda from Skopje also have a new record called Politika and looks at the politics from a female view point. Royal Headache is a new band for us from Australia and their latest album called High rocks. Finally, a tribute to Lemmy.
Today we introduce Nikki Hill – singer from North Carolina with a special brand of passionate soulful voice and hard rocking music. Also, from Lille, France, we have a new band with Polish last names The Arrogants. Another new band is All Them Witches from Nashville with fresh sound and long songs. Our friend Kim Simpson helped Jesse Sublett (ex Skunks) on his new record. Kelley Stoltz from San Francisco has a new record too, as well as King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard. Legendary power pop band from Ohio, Blue Ash recently got a nice retrospective album with previously unreleased demo songs. All of this and more in our new show today!