End of the Month New Music list: Oct. 2021

Happy Halloween, trick or treat? I don’t think it’s really that spooky or scary stuff but it’s that time again for my selection of new stuff but happens to be on that day toooo! Only picking ten of the very best for this month but I really could have made it so much longer, you know?

Open Fire by Mike Noga has to be at the top this month’s releases. His fourth solo LP which is sadly a posthumously release by the old Drones drummer but could be his best tooo! In the kind-of liner notes/album’s credits he’s quoted saying something like it’s the hardest album to write, he worked with LOW’s Alan Sparhawk as producer in Duluth, Minnesota also Mimi Parker guests as well. I’ll say the closing track Holding On is the best/my fave. BTW if you need to check out his old stuff now? I blogged a couple big lists last year after he passed away of most of his past projects/bands/albums, linked here and here.

I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken by Hard-ons with re-jigging band line-up by adding You Am I’s Tim Rogers as lead singer on something like their thirteenth album. Cracking the mainstream ARIA charts for the very first time in their very long career plus going top 5, I guess it’s never too late to hitting the big time? Punk rock never sounded so wicked great tooo so please do check out the whole album, if you can? But let’s say Shoot Me in the Back closing track again as the best/my fave.

Modern Condition by Mod Con is their second album under that name but the band members of Erica Dunn, Sara Retallick and Raquel Solier but did previously do Palm Springs together but that seems to be ED solo project name now. Following 2018’s Modern Convenience LP so, yeah it’s a bit of theme going on and I’ll say the longest track Is Your Heart a Joke as my fave, if you’ve NOT got time for whole album/s or something?

Self-titled by Mess Esque is collaboration between Helen Franzmann (McKisko) and Mick Turner (Dirty Three) is the second release of 2021 by them, now adding bass and drums but now I know it’s just MT playing everything. Picking the song called Jupiter as my favorite which is ten mins. plus long but a shorter version can be found else where? I think, I’ve embedded the video clip for that track on previous end of the month post or just look it up yourself, if you want to see/hear the edited down one? But this longer one just above is much better!

Video clip of the month: Out of Athens by Bitumen going to be on their second album entitled Cleareye Shining which is coming on Nov. 26.

The Viaduct Love Suicide by Springtime is the second vid from self-titled debut out Nov. 5 which that’s Gareth Liddiard, Jim White and Chris Abrahams. So these lyrics on this are written by GL’s Irish uncle Ian Duhig, as a poem originally.

Best new song without video clip of the month: Folterkammer by My Disco that’s German for torture chamber which is from sixth forthcoming album entitled Alter Schwede out on Nov. 29, you know?

Cover song of the month: A Pair of Brown Eyes by Cat Power, originally by The Pogues in 1985. From her third album of cover songs simply entitled Covers which is for Jan. 2022 so yeah, it’s already time for release dates for next year.

Cover album of this month: All the Way with Spencer P. Jones – Volume One by Various Artists which a collection of newly recorded and old covers all in one place with the title implying second one coming sometime? Great tribute the late great Aussie songwriter and guitarist who’s most well-known playing in bands like Beasts Of Bourbon and Paul Kelly’s band but sung in his own band like The Johnnys and as a solo artist tooo. Naming just a couple of the greatest new covers here is track number 11 She Walks Between The Raindrops by Magic Dirt’s Adalita and ex-The Gun Club/The Cramps/The Bad Seeds Kid Congo Powers with When He Finds Out as track number 13 and old one would be The Drones‘ Slammin’ on the Brakes as track listing number 12 but the Violent Femmes is the biggest name here. The whole thing is a wonderful tribute even the lesser well-known artists do a wicked job for Spencer P. Jones.

B-Sides & Rarities (Part II) by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds is kind-of reissue of this month but some songs have never been released before, you know? Going into a little more details: Really the only “B-Sides” are from 2008’s Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! and 2013’s Push The Sky Away albums because 2016’s Skelton Tree and 2019’s Ghosteen albums never did have any singles like in the old fashion ways! I absolutely love Hey Little Firing Squad, Accidents Will Happen and Fleeting Love which that last one should have been an album track really those are three from 2008. On the track listing the next track I really wouldn’t call it a Bad Seeds song but it’s the very last recording of Mick Harvey playing a very sweet acoustic guitar for Nick Cave plus it’s got Blondie’s Debbie Harry. Free To Walk song written Jeffery Lee Peirce of American band The Gun Club, both Harry and Cave did a couple other of Peirce’s tracks as duets on three full length various artists album of JLP tracks and I don’t know the other couple weren’t included here? I guess, it’s Harvey’s last song! Then we move into the start of a huge pile of NC and Warren Ellis tracks next with new-ish Cohen cover of Avalanche for TV show Black Sails is just piano, violin and vox by just the duo. BTW that song but different recording opens the debut Bad Seeds album way back in 1984, you know? Following is one and only Grinderman track, the late-2000’s side project does have a few very hard to find songs but Votex is all that’s included here. Then it’s time for songs that missed out on being on the Push The Away album which is Needle Boy, Lightning Bolts, Animal X and Give Us a Kiss which once again absolutely love them. That last one could really have been on that album too but I guess, the other three really wouldn’t be right for it. One and only “Live” track included here is a recording of that title track with Melbourne symphony orchestra from gigs when NC & WE did their film scores live which to me seems a bit out of context, don’t get me wrong because I would love to have a copy the whole show/s or something? Just getting the encore/last song with NC saying “Thank you” to everyone I feel a little ripped of but I guess, he has a lot of live albums already! Then we finally get what hell else was recorded at the time of Skelton Tree. The demos of both the title track and Girl In Amber plus seven more songs which just reminding you, that was an eight track album. So we get another album worth of songs here which any could really have been on that tooo made it a longer album. Off course they didn’t fit right or something but we do get them all now! Worth to note: Euthanasia was released last year for his solo non-crowd live album/live stream Idiot Prayer, Hell Villanelle but a non-vox version was on the Hell Or High Water soundtrack under a totally different title/name and Steve McQueen spoken word song was in the One More Time With Feeling movie plus the King Sized Nick Cave Blues lyrics were published in his book The Sick Bag Song in 2015. Some reason a few are in the wrong or out of order the Glacier song is an outtakes from Push The Sky Away, Big Dream (With Sky) is from Ghosteen sessions and the very short Sudden Song was done around Skelton Tree but mostly it’s in the correct order. So much to love and dig here but I think, all big fans would have heard it by now? Saying Vortex is the very best song of the whole thing, OK?

Yeah, I guess it’s another top ten for October! So what have you heard or haven’t?

It’s MN back a couple of years ago for this month featured image!

Cheers! 🙂