The problem with The 3 Stars is that… there are only three of them. There has been some great new music that has come out in the last couple of weeks that makes this selection an incredibly difficult choice. There’s new music from Guided by Voices, Neil Young, and a posthumous Johnny Cash recording. These may come up later this month, but it may be a crowded July with albums from Ani DiFranco, Cigarettes After Sex, and Travis, to say nothing of a new live Blur album and all of the other hidden gems I find along the way.
This is going to be a great summer.
So, without further ado, here are your week’s three stars…
The Number 3 Star: Keep (Moving Bodies) – Chest
This little gem is the fourth single from the Norwich band Chest. “Keep (Moving Bodies)” has a throwback sound, blending shoegazy guitars with an impeccable driving beat. If you’re looking for a new song to throw onto a summer night drive playlist, “Keep (Moving Bodies)” should be your new number one draft pick.
The Number 2 Start: Hot Sun – Wilco
The new Wilco EP, Hot Sun Cool Shroud, is the perfect summer soundtrack. According to Jeff Tweedy on the Wilco website, “It starts off pretty hot, like heat during the day, has some instrumentals on it that are a little agitated and uncomfortable and ends with a cooling breeze. There are tracks on Hot Sun Cool Shroud that are more aggressive and angular than anything we’ve put out in a while, and a song about love melting you like ice cream into a puddle of sugary soup. All the pieces of summer, including the broody cicadas.”
The Number 1 Star: Frogs – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
It’s been nearly five years since we’ve had a new album from Nock Cave and the Bad Seeds. While we must wait until next month for the full-length album, Cave and Company have released the album’s forerunner, “Frogs.” A word of warning…this video contains flashing background lights.
Ian Shane is the author of In Ten Years, Postgraduate and Radio Radio and creator of the blog, Liner Notes. His “almost memoir,” Sundry Notes of Music, is now available in paperback and Kindle. He currently lives in Denver with his cats.