Ultraviolet is a garden of earthly delights for six-string psych lovers, from the twin EBow'd leads on "The Chronicles of You" to the textured atmosphere of "My Lazy Mind." Wynn also drops a couple of his catchiest songs in years with the sunny "Everytime You Come Around" and the slashing "Trying to Get Over." Wynn and the rest of the band seem invigorated and inspired throughout, making for what is arguably their best since their first (which turns 40 later this year).
("Little" being a relative term, VU courses through Wynn's blood.) Wynn does still love the sound of the guitar and finding new tones within, but here he's filtering it through glam, prog and shoegaze. Many would be happy for them to make More Days of Wine and Roses* but there's little Velvet Underground worship from these once kings of the Paisley Underground scene on Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions.
Unlike most groups who come back after a long absence, though, Steve Wynn shows little interest in recreating the past. The Dream Syndicate have now made as many albums since reuniting in 2012 as they did during their original '80s heyday. Paisley Underground vets' fourth post-reunion album is their best since their debut The Dream Syndicate - Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions (Fire) If it's loud enough you won't hear them complain. Another mantra for this band might be "more is more," as the longest songs - the Morricone-esque "The Failure of Stiff, Tired Friends" and epic closer "Feet Together, Face Up, On the Front Lawn" - tend to be the best, allowing them to really get out there and explore the galaxy. This is one of those albums that makes you want to turn the volume way up, sit on your couch and let the waves pound against you till the neighbors complain. There's not a lot of singing on this album - that first song is about it, actually - but it's no less memorable without voices. "Say Less, Do More" is not only the opening song on the band's second album, A Murmur, To The East, it is also seems to be their credo. Named after a Can song, Montreal's Yoo Doo Right don't try and hide their influences, pulling much from krautrock, but also post-rock and shoegaze. This trio are mountain builders, carefully constructing massive monoliths of sound atop motorik rhythms, layers of skyscraper synths, burrowing bass and soaring guitars. Montreal trio craft towering, proggy, shoegazy post-rock on their second album Yoo Doo Right - A Murmur, To The East (Mothland) That manifests itself best on songs that tilt back to '70s AM, like "Cold World," "Is There Anything Better Than This, Babe" and the wonderful, breezy closing track, "My Island." Kelly calls this album an "inbetweener," a bridge "out of one thing towards something I haven't fully grasped yet." What could Kelley do with reggae or tropicalia? Let's hope he sails further out to sea on Album #18.
#Builders skip hire in abridge how to
Of course, Kelley works at a very high level and knows how to turn cheesy synth sounds into velvety sonic fondue. He's always got the tunes, but The Stylist may catch you off guard when his reference points are Loverboy ("In the Night") and Steve Miller Band ("Change") instead of Echo & the Bunnymen and XTC. For the most part The Stylist leaves post-punk, folk and '60s psych on the shelf in favor of the kind of pastel-colored rock and pop that was all over the radio in the early-'80s, by way of the melted modern dreampop currently found on "chill" Spotify playlists. Twenty years and nearly as many records into his career, you might think Kelley Stoltz has dabbled in all the genres he's likely to, but his 17th album finds him trying on some new looks. ALBUM OF THE WEEK: Kelley Stoltz - The Stylist (Agitated)įor his 17th album, Kelley Stoltz successfully adds '70s/'80s soft rock to his bag of tricks.