Lee Reed, Movieland, Vicious Cycles, and No Museums
Lee Reed - Pitchforks and Torches
“This ain’t rap, man. This is a class war.”, barks former Warsawpack frontman Lee Reed. He’s right, sort of. Tense, often droney, sometimes noisy beats and samples provide a perfect backdrop for Reed’s words, which are delivered with a practiced precision and vocal clarity. As always, he’s anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-billionaire, anti-corporation. He’s angry and he should be. Beneath the surface, there is an optimism, though. Pitchforks and Torches is as much a warning as a condemnation, because despite being anti-alloftheabove, he’s mostly pro-people, pro-kindness and pro-equality. This album shows why good art should be political.
Movieland - Now & then
Last year, 604 Records re-released compilation of songs by 90s Vancouver shoegaze band Movieland on their new 604 Decades imprint. This year, Movieland followed it up with Now & Then, an album of new material for the first time in three decades. The new Movieland material shifts away from the shoegaze into a more eclectic mix. Posies style power-pop, psych-rock bangers, Sparklehorse style stuff. It’s a very cool record.
The Vicious Cycles - Get Wrecked
There is a lot of beauty in the simplicity of Get Wrecked. Grown up punks play Rock and Roll songs about riding motorcycles, killing bankers, partying, being naked on the beach and other things that grown up punks think about. The songs are simple, fun, tight and well executed, with catchy hooks and fun solos. Vicious Cycles are experts at this point.
No Museums - Pale Blue Eyes and Folk Terrors
Michael Betmanis has been making experimental pop records for 20 years under the names Public Library, Twin Library and No Museums. Pale Blue Eyes and Folk Terrors are two records from 2022 that have been re-issued as on big double album. All of Betmanis’ stuff is doing a bit of Bob Pollard worship, but with touches of Donovan, Toy Love and Elephant Six and Shrimper Records stuff. It’s lo-fi. It’s noisy. It’s occasionally folky and always poppy and it’s absolutely excellent.
