KMA505 Boston Spaceships – Camera Found The Ray Gun

New EP from Mr. Pollard project that’s only on order from Jackpot Records, so look it up if you want one (and you should!). The Way Out is a sweet fist-pumper punker song, Rival GT is a hybrid weirdo rock out and acoustic space out all rolled into one, Pluto Is Polluted Aquarian rambles straight at you like a GBV outtake circa Universal Truths And Cycles, and Aquarian Hovercraft is a herky jerky thumper of total cool. In other words, this is a totally worthy addition to the sprawling discography. Get it.

KMA432 Now In Haiku! Amanda Palmer, Belle and Sebastian, Boston Spaceships, Kevin Drew and Jeff Healey

Further to a recent conversation with James, I have (lately) been feeling the urge to try to write haiku. Don’t ask me why, just accept the spasms of my brain. Mind you, it does tie in nicely with my attempt to encapsulate my thoughts in a more succint manner.

Of course, I am terrible at haiku but, of course, this does not stop me. So, here are the first ever haiku for the KMA, comprised of stuff that’s been in my ears this week.

You’ll probably read these in 20 seconds and think I’m copping out, but this was a fun project and you’d be doing yourself a disservice to so quickly dismiss them. It’s difficult to get an album’s-worth of impressions into 17 syllables. Any comments would be appreciated (even in haiku!), so let’s hear it from you, Faithful KMA Readers…

Amanda Palmer – Who Killed Amanda Palmer?

piano freak girl
same, but now solo from Dolls
redeeming poems

Belle And Sebastian – The BBC Sessions

twee gods live and free
open, bright spare gorgeous tracks
as it is heard best

Boston Spaceships – The Planets Are Blasted

Spaceships overhead
dropping rawk bombs on the weak
as ever, genius

Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew – Spirit If

gleeful noise and pop
full indie affectations
played to great effect

Jeff Healey – Mess Of Blues

posthumous release
only makes me miss him more
sweet covers and blues

KMA402 Boston Spaceships – Brown Submarine

In the growing list of excellent releases Robert Pollard has given us since striking out on new ventures post-GBV, Brown Submarine is one of the best yet. It is, if I may say so (as a proud fan of all of the man’s output), a pretty much perfect pop-rock album.

And what makes it so? First, you need whip-smart arrangements, music, lyrics , and delivery. There’s no shortage here, not by a long shot. Everything is in it’s right place and it’s impeccable. But even within that framework there’s that unmistakable, essential second ingredient that Pollard mastered for himself long ago: fun and irreverence. Underneath all of that experienced sound is a smirking kid creating mischief as often as possible, and it makes the songs completely infectious. You can just tell they’re having a blast playing this stuff – the band is right into it, and Pollard really sings his ass off with an energy that shames much younger bands. Awesome.

There’s not a bad song here. I could listen to this record for days and never get tired of it. If you’ve been hesitant about the post-GBV releases, buy this one with confidence.

Track Listing:
01 Winston’s Atomic Bird
02 Brown Submarine
03 You Satisfy Me
04 Ate It Twice
05 Two Girl Area
06 North 11 A.M.
07 Zero Fix
08 Psych Treat
09 Andy Playboy
10 Rat Trap
11 Soggy Beavers
12 Ready To Pop
13 Still In Rome
14 Go For The Exit