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• July 8, 2008
• Reviews

07/08/08

Allez Allez—Best of Allez Allez

Jay Reatard—Singles 06-07 Despite what his name implies, Jay Reatard is a very competent pop songwriter. His music builds on the sound of throwaway '60s garage rock, which means that there's plenty of distorted guitars and Farfisa organs. But there's also some relatively stripped down songs that give you a good opportunity to hear how catchy and perfect his pop songs can be when they're left relatively unadorned. He's an unexpected addition to the legacy of Memphis music, though there's absolutely no chance you'll ever see this record in the Stax Museum.

Ponytail—Ice Cream Spiritual This album is a very raw and tribal take on prog rock from a Baltimore group that was born long after the demise of that much loved and hated subgenre. Over the course of the album, the band members shred and scream their way through polymorphous songs that sound like they're about to fall apart. Of course, it takes a lot of practice to teeter on that edge between order and anarchy. Recommended for fans of Deerhoof, Animal Collective, or any other band that's learned all the rules and chooses to forget them.

Allez Allez—Best of Allez Allez We just found out about this compilation of the best tracks from Belgian post-punk group Allez Allez. Somehow this group missed out on the trend a few years back when every single album that sounded remotely like Gang of Four was being reissued and declared a lost classic. These guys play funky new wave in the vein of ESG and have great female-led vocals. The remixes by some of our favorite new DJs (Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, Quiet Village, and Optimo) are an added bonus, if not the main draw.

We just found out about this compilation of the best tracks from Belgian post-punk group Allez Allez. Somehow this group missed out on the trend a few years back when every single album that sounded remotely like Gang of Four was being reissued and declared a lost classic...