Hits – Sediment Seen (Paisley Shirt Records)

It’s harder than ever to be a broke musician in the Bay Area, but for my tastes this is the best time. Freak folk and lo-fi garage eras were fine, but let’s move on cuz the bands right now are killer. Case in point: this tape from HITS. The press release says RAINCOATS, which is fine, throw in SARA GOES POP, DOLLY MIXTURE or even FAMILY FODDER, the art rock side of 80’s DIY pop. This is melted and mysterious in all the right ways. The guitars and bass sound like they are oozing, definitely indulging in modulation effects. The beats flow sideways with sweet and sour vocals confidently soaring on top in just the right amount of reverb. An excellent tape, but this is definitely vinyl-worthy.

Wednesday – I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone (Orindal Records)

The 90’s are now like the 60’s: a musical genre. That’s fine with me, I often like the revival of things more than the originals. I couldn’t handle most of it at the time, but the youths in Wednesday have taken the best of grunge, ALT and slowcore and left the cringe-y cultural baggage behind (Sadgasm anyone?). A rock band with a bonus lap steel player, they a create thick lumbering sound worthy of BAILTER SPACE but with strong clear vocals instead of buried murmurs. Singer Karly Hartzman has an interesting melodic twang that could be a North Carolina thing or might come from consumption of too much CRANBERRIES and SINEAD. I have no problem AT ALL with either. The bandcamp page mentions The SUNDAYS, I am more than fine with that too. This is a tight record, no weak songs, full of passion and melody, on repeat over here.