Author: Michael

Posted in Goodbyes

Goodbye Mani

Posted on by Michael

At just 63 years of age, it was sadly reported today that Mani, bassist from The Stone Roses and later Primal Scream passed away. The Stone Roses are one in a long line of iconic Manchester bands that spread their influence far and wide. Their self titled debut released in 1989 is my all time favourite album. Through the mid-late 90s it was a personal tradition to listen to it on the way to university during the first week of school every year, all while sitting on the bus and watching the sites pass by.

The debut album is still a formidable album. Released during the “second summer of love”, for many it was the comedown album after going to the rave. Mixing sixties guitar pop, Mancunian swagger, indie beats, and a touch of Simon & Garfunkel lyricism – it is a perfect mix of sounds. Iconic in music and look, The Roses captured the sound of young UK while wearing flared jeans and bucket hats, paint splattered across guitars and album covers ala Jackson Pollock. The band burned brightly for a short time. In his early 60s, Mani still had years to go. Never to be topped, Mani and The Stone Roses will never be forgotten.

Posted in Album Reviews

Wednesday – Bleeds (2025)

Posted on by Michael

Led by singer-songwriter Karly Hartzman, Wednesday had a breakthrough with 2023’s album Rat Saw Good. Several months later, guitarist MJ Lenderman had an underground hit with his solo album Manning Fireworks.  As he divides his time, Lenderman appears on Wednesday’s sixth album Bleeds but will not be touring with the band. On their newest album, Wednesday continues to mix a modern take on 90s indie rock with country, tied to a slacker vibe.

The stories that Hartzman sings on Bleeds are like ones taken from a podcast.  A homeless woman with the sweetest voice wearing Juggalo make-up, the Murdaugh murders from the perspective of a neighbour, and her old landlord telling the craziest Appalachian stories. Around crashing guitars, “Wound Up Here (By Holdin’ On)” tells the story of a body being pulled out of a lake.  Mixed into the serious and absurd is a re-recording of “Phish Pepsi” with the laugh out loud line – “We watched a Phish concert and Human Centipede/Two things I now wish I had never seen”.  “Townies” looks back at the more hurtful rumours that spread about high school sex scandals.

A key aspect to the Wednesday sound is the steel/lap guitar played by Xandy Chelmis that adds a country dimension to the band’s sound, this is done to great effect on the excellent “Elderberry Wine”. The band does a fine job of telling the stories of the colourful people around them and amplifies their stories to a wider audience. Capturing the murkiness of the backwoods of North Carolina along the way.

7.5/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Big Thief – Double Infinity (2025)

Posted on by Michael

Since forming in 2015, Big Thief have been busy with their latest, Double Infinity being their sixth studio album. This also follows up singer Adrianne Lenker’s excellent solo album from last year, Bright Future. Songs such lead track “Incomprehensible” and the meandering “No Fear” layer on effects on top of very good indie rock songs. “Los Angeles” keeps driving but in a laidback way, singing about the city where “the ocean is bright and blue”, “Words” adds fuzzy guitar to the sound.

The ten verses of the title track rollout easily before the album closes with three very good tracks including “Grandmother” that features the vocalizing of Larraji and the repeated lines of “Happy With You”. The band’s first without original bassist Max Oleartchik is an easy album to listen to, drifts along while also pulling up some weeds in its crystal waters.

8/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Grizzly Bear – Shields (2012)

Posted on by Michael

After extensively touring the Veckatimest album, Grizzly Bear took time off before regrouping to work on their fifth studio album, Shields. The band reconvened in Marfa, Texas before scrapping those sessions and starting again at singer Ed Droste’s family’s house in Cape Cod with bassist Chris Taylor once again producing. The foursome created an album that was a bit more raw and in your face than previous efforts.  First track and single, “Sleeping Ute” is dramatic with crashing guitars and drums and “Half Gate” gets darker, more sinister as it wears on.

On several tracks, it’s the drumming of Christopher Bear that really stands out.  His work on “Speak in Rounds” stands out amongst in the intricate guitar work, and the rhythm section really lock in during the excellent “A Simple Answer”. Both Ed Droste and fellow singer Daniel Rossen both have their moments among the album’s 10 tracks. A true collaborative effort, Shields was the band’s highest charting album in the US (#7) and is another excellent piece of work.

8.5/10

Posted in Paper Chase

Cormac McCarthy – The Road

Posted on by Michael

The Road, the acclaimed novel by Cormac McCarthy, was originally published in 2006.  The plot takes place in a burned-out America and follows “Papa” and his young son as they head out in search of the coast. Steering clear of the burned out walking corpses; the two deal with freezing weather, marauders, lack of food, and little warmth. They find tins of food along the way as they carry all their belongings in a shopping cart, searching for that elusive coast on a taped together map.

McCarthy is a master of making the entire endeavor intense and foreboding as the two wander across the country side.  There is a sense of dread throughout but the reader will root for the two to make it to their seaside paradise.  The Road won several awards including The Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was later made into a movie and is listed as one of the best books of the 21st Century by the New York Times.

9/10