I’ve been lax about writing new columns, just got overwhelmed with my own musical projects and day job, but I still have my greasy ear to the ground and hope to keep writing when I can gather the mental strength.

Galore – Blush (Paisley Shirt/Safe Suburban Home)

Huzzah…the return of the Paisley Shirt label and the return of a great SF band, Galore. They had an LP on Sonny Smith’s Rocks in Your Head Records in 2020, but here they are with a new tape EP that I like even more. It’s rough pop that you can’t pin down as this or that, maybe C86, maybe Olympia ’90s, definitely part of the Bay Area strumming continuum. If there’s an element here that makes it stand out, it’s the strong melodies. “Ladders” has soaring vocals that wouldn’t be out of place on Free Design’s Kites are Fun. Another stand-out is “Fire” with droning VU-type strings hanging over lumbering psych pop, reminiscent of short-lived Dreamworld label band Hangman’s Beautiful Daughters. This brief 5-songer might be a teaser for a future masterpiece.

The Strange Girls – It’s Ok to Be Happy (Fördämning Arkiv)

The Strange Girls emerged from the same smoke-filled late 90s practice space as Armpit, one of the best post-Xpressway/Dead C acts for my taste. Supposedly the concept was to get away from mangled noise jams and play “clean country rock”,  but they landed nowhere near that. What we get on these early recordings is sludgy droning guitars that vaguely form themselves into Crazy Horse-ish folk rock dirges captured on murky cassettes (thank god!). Armpit was completely deconstructed rock music, just amp noise, feedback and banging the neck of the guitar on things, maybe some mumbling in the distance. Strange Girls manage to play actual chords and occasionally sing in forlorn fashion. The arrival of this great comp is bittersweet because guitarist/vocalist Motty passed away in 2019. Strange Girls left behind a large catalog of folk and noise on cassette, which hopefully will see some more vinyl pressings. There’s a 2021 cassette release on Soft Abuse that I also highly recommend.

Alien Boy – Don’t Know What I Am (Reprise) (Get Better Records)

I also wanted to mention this little three song EP from my current fav Portland, OR band. “Nothing’s Enough (Reprise)” is an acoustic take on a song from last year’s alt pop rager Don’t Know What I Am. This is hands down my favorite track in a long while, a gorgeous love ballad. We also get a minimal drum machine version of “Ache #2” and a darkwave-ish interpretation of the Wipers’ “Don’t Know What I Am” (which does not appear on the Alien Boy album titled Don’t Know What I Am, confusing I know!). It’s a unique interpretation of the song and fits the mood of this dour single perfectly. I have a feeling this band could be huge; the songwriting is just so strong.

Sanctuary of Praise – Hours (INFOrmatiON!)

I gather this project is from the UK. S.O.P. is digging deep into early Factory Records. I’m talking Royal Family and the Poor and Kevin Hewick level stuff, pet favorites of mine. It’s all built on the unmistakably wooden analog groove of the old rhythm boxes that had limited controls (Korg Minipops etc). The rest of the music is chorus pedal bass and vague murky shimmer. The DIY tape sound is part of the magic yes, but S.O.P. has songs and a confident but maudlin baritone vocalist leading the charge.

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