The Hard Quartet - The Hard Quartet 2xLP

Matador (2024)

With all of the Pavement-mania the last few years as they were going on their reunion tour victory lap, it was difficult to avoid imagining the potential release of new music.  But I kept reminding myself that it probably wouldn't be that great.  None of the Steven Malkmus solo records are anywhere near as good as any of the Pavement records.  Even the last Pavement album, Terror Twilight, isn't all that exciting if we're all being honest with ourselves.  It has a few moments for sure, but it can't compare to what came before.

So to say I was skeptical of The Hard Quartet when they were announced would be an understatement.  Here's Malkmus again, this time playing with a new cast of characters with respected indie rock pedigrees, but none from bands I really listened to all that much (Chavez, The Dirty Three).  Still, I'm an obedient fan and I always give every Malkmus project a courtesy listen or two before lamenting that it isn't 1995 anymore.

Imagine my surprise when I found myself being kind of intrigued by the sounds I was hearing.  There was something here drawing me in, asking me to listen to it again.  And I found that the more I listened to the album, the more it grew on me.  I started picking up on little things that just made the songs.  There's something interesting going on here that combines the ramshackle nature of Pavement with the more polished work that Malkmus has been doing with The Jicks.  It sort of sits perfectly in between the two.

That's not to say I couldn't nit pick a little.  The songs that Malkmus doesn't sing are still good, but for me they always kind of feel like interludes that just make me want to hear the next song where Steve gets to stand in front of the microphone.  The album's also a bit too long.  It would probably be better if it was tightened up a little with maybe three or four less songs.  That said, this is the best album that Steve Malkmus has been involved in since the 90s.  It rewards repeated listens and and is engaging in a way that a lot of his solo work hasn't always been.  

The Hard Quartet - The Hard Quartet:
https://thehardquartet.bandcamp.com/album/the-hard-quartet

House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was LP + 7" - Yellow Vinyl

Tommy Boy (2024, Reissue)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

I had been looking for a decently priced copy of the second House of Pain album for a few years when it was finally announced a reissue was coming.  And a colored vinyl LP with a bonus 7" reissue to boot for the album's 30th anniversary.  This is one of those albums that has aged really well for me.  When I originally bought this on CD in 1994 I was kind of disappointed in it and really didn't listen to it very much.  I remember a high school buddy Scott who liked it more than I did.  The album was fine, but it didn't really keep me interested enough to warrant repeated listens.

But as the years have gone by, I've been able to really appreciate this record in a way that I wasn't able to initially.  Most of that is based around the production of the album, which is really stellar.  Same As It Ever Was is the last great Soul Assassins record.  The next year they would lose the plot for me with Cypress Hill's Temple of Boom and Brothas Doobie by Funkdoobiest.  Both of those sound like they were produced by completely different human beings than the ones responsible for five pretty classic albums from 1991 to 1994.  So this House of Pain album was their last stand, at least when it comes to hip hop production that I like.

And man are there some good beats on Same As It Ever Was.  The bass lines drive the album with the Soul Assassins trademark horn screeches wailing in to emphasize the point.  Sonically, it's just a joy to listen to and it really elevates Everlast's rhyming.  And let's be honest, Everlast is something of a cartoon character when he's rapping in House of Pain.  He's totally fine and I'm not in any way insinuating that he doesn't have skill, but the character he plays is silly at times.  Luckily the whole package makes it easier to overlook some of the inherent ridiculousness of rhymes like "I got skill kid and I'm gonna milk it."

I'm just glad I was finally able to add this record to the collection at a reasonable price.  This is an affordable version of the album to pick up if you don't already have it.  And if you haven't listened to it in a few decades, give it a whirl.  I think you'll be surprised how well it holds up.

House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n5SBoH3Ms3ti3LD5MFON23aa-LhARsF0Q

Short Straw Fate - Forgotten But Begotten CD

Self Release (2024)

Back in 2017, Short Straw Fate released For The Heroes In My Record Rack, and album that I have just loved ever since.  This year, we finally have a new release, Forgotten But Begotten.   At seven songs, it's a little long for an EP and a little short for a full album and it mostly makes me wish there were just a few more songs on it, but boy oh boy do I dig the songs that are here.

I think if you made a ranked list of people in America with extensive Japanese melodic punk rock releases in their collection, I'd have to think I would end up in the top twenty at least.  I bring this up because I absolutely adore the Japanese take on the sound that bands like Snuff and Leatherface brought to prominence.  They've never given up on that sound in Japan and over the years so many incredible albums have come out of this wonderful country.  Short Straw Fate do it as well as any of them, which is me trying to say this is pretty much the exact kind of music I want to listen to.

The songs have the energy and passion that is so difficult to replicate.  The songs are all upbeat, the vocals are delivered with passion and I'm just obsessed with the hooks.  The band named themselves after a Broccoli song, so chances are I'm going to like the music they put out (see also: Chestnut Road).  This was one of my favorite releases of last year and I can only hope that it's not another seven years before I get to hear more from them.

 

The Peawees - One Ride LP - White Vinyl (/500)

Wild Honey (2024)

I bought a Peawees album back in 2008 when It's Alive Records released Walking The Walk.  That was the first time I had come across The Peawees and I have a weirdly specific memory of listen to the MP3s that came with that album in a rental car while in a parking lot in Missouri, when I was there for the wedding of one of my wife's friends.

If I'm being honest, the band fell off my radar after that, until I got an email several weeks back alerting me that they were back with a new record.  I was then very generously sent a copy of that record, and here we are with One Ride.

I assumed I knew what to expect, since I had one of their other albums, but I was still kind of surprised by how much I liked this the first time I played the record through.  It's so catchy, the hooks always work and the choruses are tight that I kind of get annoyed that I don't know the words yet because I reflexively just want to sing along.  Sadly, I can only mutter vague melodies currently.

The Peawees are also one of a few number of bands that can work a decently long guitar solo into a song without completely annoying me.  That's typically a gigantic turnoff for me, but they have a way of making it work.  It never feels unnecessarily showy, it's just there to get you to the next part of the song.  It's utilitarian in a way and I like it when a band is grounded like that.  Just a really fun, solid record.

The Peawees - One Ride:
https://thepeawees.bandcamp.com/album/one-ride

Yall So Stupid - Van Full Of Pakistans 2xLP + 7"

90s Tapes (2024)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

Yall So Stupid isn't a group that I was on board with when they were originally out in the 1990s.  1993 in particular was one of those years where there was a classic being released about every three hours or so, and a lot of really great groups flew under the radar during that time period.  I discovered Yall So Stupid many years later, but quickly fell in love with that quintessential 90s sound that they brought to the table.  It took me a while to finally track down the original pressing of that LP and I wrote about it a couple of years ago.

I sometimes hem and haw about whether I need to write about a reissued album when I've so recently written about another pressing that I picked up.  Often I will skip it as I don't want to be repetitive, but sometimes the reissue is so great that I just have to go again.  Such is the case with Yall So Stupid, which was my favorite reissue of last year year.  But as always, I mismanaged time and didn't get to write about this one before the year ran out.  Makes only logical to be the first Ed Lover Dance Day write-up of 2025.

90s Tapes does an absolutely impeccable job with all of their reissues and there are times where I think they should be the only people allowed to press hip hop records that I want.  This pressing of Van Full Of Pakistans is no exception.  It sounds amazing, with rich, full bass that can withstand me turning the volume up on my stereo to wife-annoying levels of loudness.  Unlike the original pressing of the album, this version has every song from the CD on it (the original was missing four) plus an extra 7" with bonus remixes.

Expertly redone artwork in a gatefold sleeve just seals the deal.  This is such a well done package and quite honestly, I can't think of anything that could make the record itself better.  I mean a bundle with a shirt would make me even happier, but it's not like that would improve the record itself at all.

That's a lot of words about how great the reissue is, but let's not forget that the music that Yall So Stupid put out is the very definition of a classic for me.  This is the soundtrack of my early teenage years, even if I wasn't able to hear this specific record at the time.  When I refer to my golden era of 1988 - 1994, this is the sound I'm taking about.  Killer production with killer lyrics.  Sign me up for more of that.  I just hope 90s Tapes can eventually get in on the second and third Maestro Fresh Wes albums at some point.  For me those are the grails that need a treatment like this.  Plus, I'm not about to pay $500 for an original pressing of Black Tie Affair...

Yall So Stupid - Van Full Of Pakistans:
https://90stapes.bandcamp.com/album/van-full-of-pakistans

Bad Year - Bad Year LP - Red w/ Black Splatter Vinyl

Snappy Little Numbers (2024)

Five Years after a 12" EP, Bad Year are back.  As I mentioned last time I wrote about them, if you're naming yourselves after one of my favorite Sicko songs, there's a better than average chance I'm going to be into what you're doing.  And I am into Bad Year.  While they don't really sound like Sicko, you can hear the influence as the band builds off of that.

I tend to think they sound more like something from the No Idea roster of the 2000s.  There's that fleeting base of a Leatherface sound, with gruff, but still melodic vocals.  Off With Their Heads a bit maybe, Dear Landlord is probably closer, but it's a sound that doesn't strike me as being too dissimilar from bands like that, but with those big Sicko influenced hooks.

The entire record is really strong all the way through, particularly in a year that hasn't been very giving with this kind of punk rock.  If I were to point to a single song to check out to get a vibe of what this band is all about, I'd recommend "Idle Hands."  It's got a great chorus and that catchy, but energetic sound that is a common thread in the punk rock that I tend to like the best.  This was an album that was on my top records of the year list for 2024, I just wasn't able to get this write up posted before that.  Regardless of when this is read, Snappy Little Numbers has a winner once again.

Bad Year - Bad Year:
https://snappylittlenumbers.bandcamp.com/album/s-t-sln-254