What I’ve Been Listening to in Feb. 2020

OK, already at part two this year! Including today is yet another one of my Mark Koz reports because you guessed it, he’s released even more new music this month! This latest one for everyone who really can’t keep up with him? I’ve been doing this on my blog every few months since starting it in someway or another because I love this man! So it’s the second Mark Kozelek, Jim White & Ben Boye album entitled simply Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White 2 with seven tracks following the first one which was out in Oct. 2017. Off course Koz has had about half a dozen releases since then. The seven tracks come in at a little under 80 minutes so it fits all on one CD, not a double like some of his latest albums over the last couple of years. The very best place to stream it is his own website with a cool interview all about this album too, linked here or it’s on YouTube:

I think, I did missing blogging about Mark having his second lyric book late last year which at times is like reading his personal diary. This year he’s also is publishing a two volumeset of yearly correspondence with his mate who’s an actor Kevin Corrigan entitled The Panther and The Honey Badger (A Correspondence) + Zhao Tao (A Correspondence) released in May. Hopefully being published this year sometime which was suppose to be out last year is longtime project of his photo book of payphones. He’s been taking photos for years since early 2000’s of payphones everywhere he tours, he describes as a document the decline of the payphone. So that’s adding up to four books or well, in near future. Also Mark Kozelek’s All The Best, Isaac Hayes (A Spoken Word Album) is up for release on April, 24 too which could at least be very interesting? I think, at this moment that is all the Koz stuff for this coming year 2020 but I wouldn’t be surprise if he release another ten albums by the end of it, you know?

Bong Odyssey by Gareth Liddiard and Rui Pereira is not really new but very old are recordings of 1993 to 1998 is out now digitally on Bandcamp, the only place you can get it I think? Before these two blokes formed the band The Drones they did this, everything was recorded in Fremantle W.A. before they moved over to Melbourne. Off course Liddiard is now the front man of the band Tropical Fuck Storm which recently he called by far his most successful thing he’s ever done, saying something like “I’ve finally made it in my forty’s!”

LIVE Vol. 1, 2001-2004 by The Drones early live recordings are also up on the same bandcamp profile too! Both these have been released before, you know? Bong Odyssey was vinyl only out in 2018 and The Drones live was bonus extra download stuff with vinyl reissue of their debut album Here Comes The Lies in 2015 which was original released back in 2002. The last track is not a song but one of the most ridiculous interviews ever recorded, you know?

Truckload of Sky – The Lost Songs of David McComb Vol. 1 by The Friends Of David McComb is mainly Rob Snarski singing with some members of The Triffids and The Blackeyed Susans plus Angie Hart of Frente, Alexander Gow of Oh Mercy on vox etc. McComb was singer-songwriter of The Triffids who passed away back on 2nd Feb. 1999 and his B’day would have been on 17th Feb. He wrote so much, whole pile’s of songs were never really recorded so here’s 11 tracks and guessing they’re more coming soon:

Spur by Ov Pain are a duo from Dunedin, New Zealand which you most likely never heard of but I love them and this is the follow-up to their amazing epic self-titled debut album, linked here. The male/female dueling vox are gone on this one and they go sci-fi jazz on couple of long synth-sax tracks which was put out last year:

Self-titled by Coriky is a couple of members of 90’s American indie rock band Fugazi Ian MacKaye and Joe Lally which I think, we are never going to get a reunion so this might be the closest we’re going to get? Third member is drummer Amy Farina which she is married to MacKaye and they have been playing together forever as a duo under the name The Evens, you could say it’s just The Evens with a bass player Joe who’s play with singer/guitarist Ian a very long time ago. Clean Kill is the opening track from their debut album, out at the end of May:

Beaten Down by Sharon Van Etten only a little over one year on from Sharon’s wicked great album we’ve got a totally brand new song this month:

Skeleton Key by Mark Lanegan like only six months since his last album and we’ve got a new track and release date for his next album entitled Straight Songs of Sorrow out on May 8th: