I’m going to ignore all the Christmas music I was serviced with this week–too SOON, people!–and just focus on rock and alt-rock for New Music Friday. There will be plenty of time for holiday music down the road. Or not.
Singles
1. The Cure, Alone (Fiction)
After a lot of teasing, The Cure has released the first single from what will be their first studio album in 16 years. Songs of a Lost World, due November 1, features Robert Smith at his unhappiest, which is good news for Cure fans. His best music always comes when he’s miserable. Note the super-long (3:30!) intro to this song. That, in the era of streaming, is a lost art.
2. and 3. U2 , Country Mile and Picture of You (X+W), Universal
Bono and The Edge have been going on for some time that U2 wants to release a balls-to-the-wall rock album. That has yet to materialize, but in the meantime, there will be new take on How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb for the November edition–i.e. the Black Friday version–of Record Store Day November 29. How to Res-assemble an Atomic Bomb will include ten songs, five previously unreleased and five remastered tracks, all of which were found in The Edge’s personal archives left over from the original sessions 20 years ago. Two songs were released yesterday.
4. Haircut 100, The Unloving Plum (Independent)
Yes, THAT Haircut 100 from the 80s. This is the first single from them since 1984. That’s a FORTY year hiatus. Nick Heyward sounds great on vocals. Cool video, too.
5. Arlene Kaytor, Casualties (Independent)
Not a person but a band from Vancouver named after the lead singer’s late mother. This is their first-ever studio track.
Albums
1. Fairground Attraction, Beautiful Happening (Raresongs Recordings)
Remember a perfect little gem of a pop song called Perfect from 1988? That’s was about all anyone ever heard of Fairground Attraction. This is just their third album and first in 34 years. All the original members are here, including vocalist Eddi Reader. If you’re going to listen to one mellow song this week, this might be it.
2. Maximo Park, Stream of Live (Lower Third)
More from England. Newcastle’s Maximo Park has been with us for almost 25 years but has never been promoted from the Champions League to the EPL, if you get my metaphor. This is too bad because they’ve got a knack for writing catchy alt-rock songs with a Britpop spin. This is their eighth album.
3. Shed Seven, Liquid Gold (Cooking Vinyl)
Speaking of Britpop, Shed Seven is remembered as a solid second tier band from back in the day. They were born in 1990, hung on until 2003, and then reformed in 2007. This is their seventh album and second this year. This time, though, they’re reimaging old songs from their catalogue with lots of orchestration with one new song.
4. Soul Asylum, Slowly But Shirley (Blue Elan)
Soul Asylum has been with us since 1991 (this is album number 13) and Dave Pirner is still out front. The name of the album is a tribute to Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney, a legend in the world of drag racing. She was the first to compete professionally with the big boys. She gave her blessing to the band, too. Freak Accident, the first single, is a longtime fan favourite.
5. Leif Vollebekk, Revelation (Secret City Records)
Vollebekk has a rep of being one of Canada’s most fascinating multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriters. For the first single from his fifth album–a record inspired by his research into the lives of Carl Jung, Isaac Newton, and Dmitri Mendeleev (you know your periodic table, right?), he shot the video out in the Norwegian countryside. Some of the drums on this record were supplied by the legendary session man, Jim Keltner.
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