Have You Heard This (Yet)?: Dinosaur Jr. and Yaz
Have You Heard This Yet?
What albums should you be listening to this week?
If you like listening to albums but don't have time to listen to check out all of the new releases each week (and enjoy my musical taste), let me do the curating for you.
Each week, I share one link to an album that is "new to the world" and one old album that I have recently found or rediscovered (and that might be new to you).
Enjoy, Explore, and (most important) SHARE new music!
New To The World: Dinosaur Jr. Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not
If you have been reading me since 2013 you might remember how much I loved the album "Lost In The Dream" by The War On Drugs. Usually, when pressed, I would say that it reminded me of riding down a desert highway in a convertible with the top down.
Kind of crazy that the album gave me this romantic image since I have never actually ridden across a desert in a convertible with or without its top down. Riding across a desert with the top down might actually be a total disaster but in my head, as long as "Lost in the Dream" was playing, it would be awesome. I guess this is how romantic imagery works, it replaces the rough edges with real or imagined nostalgia.
Anyway, the point I am taking way too long to make is that "Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not" transplants me much like "Lost In The Dream" did two years ago. It sounds like one long song to me, more like a long journey than a bunch of places that I visited. It feels like sun and relaxation and reflection on a warm day.
It might not seem like it, but that was a strong endorsement!
Rediscovered: Yaz - You and me Both
I used to do a series of articles about my relationship and history to the albums that meant the most to me throughout my life. One of the albums that I highlighted in that series was "Upstairs at Eric's" by Yaz. Yaz (aka Yazoo for early adopters) was the combination of Alison Moyet (she was kind of the Adele of the 80's IMHO) and Vince Clarke fresh off quitting Depeche Mode and just prior to forming Erasure with Andy Bell.
Alison and Vince did not always get along but they put out two great albums that hold up very well to this day. I would strongly suggest checking them both out. But this week I am highlighting You and me Both which was their second album. It includes classics like Nobody's Diary, Good Times, Sweet Thing, and Walk Away From Love.
Back in the day, there was a decent chance this album was being played on my hall in the dorm at least 5 times a day.
Time to bring that feeling back :)!
Three Bonuses From This Week
There were some very cool new singles released this week by bands that I really like;
One of my absolute favorite bands in the world, Detroit's Protomartyr released this single for Adult Swim called "Born To Be Wine"
Ex-Cult, one of my favorite contemporary Punk bands released a single from their upcoming new album. The single is called "Attention Ritual." It really kicks much ass and has me very excited for the album. If you are not familiar with Ex-Cult, singer Chris Shaw was the singer for the recent Ty Segall project GOGGS.
Mass Gothic just released this maxi-single with 5 songs called "Sup Goth." I am a huge fan of the Self Titled album released earlier this year and wanted to share this as a sign of support (in other words, I have not listened to it all the way through yet). If it is as good as the last album, look out!
That is it for Have You Heard This (Yet)? Hope you enjoyed it.
What do you think of these two albums? Let me know, leave a comment!