The Firehose #1

Welcome to The Firehose, where a guy who listens to too much music recommends the best albums he heard. You can follow me on Bluesky or RateYourMusic if you haven't already done so. Let's get to it.

The Most Important Thing

No Trend - Too Many Humans.../Teen Love

A few years back, I was going through a Moss Icon phase when some forgotten soul on Reddit suggested I check out No Trend. They were good enough to file away in my not-so-little backlog, and I finally got around to checking them out in earnest this week.

I decided to start with the Drag City combo reissue of two of their early releases, Too Many Humans... and Teen Love. Initially, I was more impressed by the Too Many Humans... tracks, which felt like they smashed 80s hardcore into No Wave in a really fun way. If you replaced the shrieking guitar with a saxophone on "Fashion Tips for the 80s," it wouldn't feel out of place on No New York.

However, when I returned to the Teen Love side and got to the title track, I was most impressed in a "text your music nerd friends about it right away" sort of way. "Teen Love" is this wandering "Ian Mackaye sings for Self Defense Family" track that maintains a consistent pace beyond a brief screeching break around the three-minute mark. For many people, that break in the song would ruin it, but the breakdown from order into chaos and back into order is one of my favorite musical tricks. Like a punk "The Creator Has a Master Plan." (I recognize I've compared this album to Fugazi, Self Defense Family, Teenage Jesus & the Jerks, and Pharoah Sanders. It will be like that sometimes on Born on Trash Day. I'm sorry).

I really enjoyed reading this Bandcamp Daily piece on them, to the point that it caused me to shell out too much money for a used copy of the vinyl box set on Discogs. Such is life.

Recommendations

Stephen Stills - Manassas

Whenever Steven Hyden tweets "Patio Hall of Fame" about an album I've never listened to, my interest is piqued. The other day was New Jersey's first warm, sunny day in 2024. I put this on and laid on the grass with my dog and had a lovely time. I'd say Manassas is a great record and a well-deserved entry to the Patio Hall of Fame. I'm also currently reading Hyden's book about Radiohead's Kid A. So, thanks for both of these things, Steve.

Hurray for the Riff Raff - The Past is Still Alive

I've been a Hurray for the Riff Raff fan since I first heard Small Town Heroes around 10 years ago. That album took me on a ride into the Americana/Country genre that I'm still neck-deep into today. While I loved the two albums between then and now (2017's The Navigator and 2022's Life on Earth), this is the first HftRR record since Small Town Heroes that took over my listening like this.

I always find their videos powerful (most notably Pa'lante from 2017), and I'm glad we've gotten ones for Hawkmoon and Alibi, two of my fav on the LP.

Noori & His Dorpa Band - Beja Power! Electric Soul & Brass from Sudan's Red Sea Coast

Taking inspiration from Hyden above, this is in my Patio Hall of Fame. My wife and I have been listening to this record a lot now that it's spring and the cruel anger of winter has ended. I forgot to save where I found this, but it was probably the excellent African Music Forum.

Bonnie Raitt - Bonnie Raitt

It's taken a while, but I've come around to Bonnie Raitt. Growing up, I primarily associated her with Something to Talk About, which, as a 90s kid very concerned with what was and wasn't punk, sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. Rightly or wrongly, I stuck her in the same mental file as Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, which isn't exactly catnip to someone who knows more NOFX lyrics than he'd like to admit.

Then, in my 20s, Paul Baribeau dropped a casual Angel from Montgomery lyric in one of his songs, which led me to John Prine, which led me to Bonnie Raitt's 1970s output.

Each of these '70s records is fantastic. Warm and rich in the way '70s albums are, they're good to put on and doot around your house on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I'm sensing a theme here.

Cuz - Tamatebako

I've been slowly going through the Mike Watt expanded universe over the last few years, which led me to Cuz. I went in blind and had no idea what to expect, which is fun as hell because Watt always surprises me. What I got was a collaboration between Mike Watt and The Go! Team's Sam Dook has this jazzy post-punk vibe that I enjoyed. Watt gives this early Tom Waits-esque rasp on songs where he sings, and Dook has a more Damon Albarn affectation. They unexpectedly complement each other quite well. The Go! Team was always a band I meant to check out, and I'll probably do so now based on how much I enjoyed this record.

Colour Revolt - Colour Revolt

Do any of you have a band or record you've been meaning to check out for years, but the moment never seems right, and you push it off, and suddenly you're balding, middle-aged, and live in the suburbs? Too specific? Just me?

Colour Revolt is one of those artists. Way back in the mid-00s, I remember this album floating around, either in the music blogosphere, MySpace, or my friend group (maybe all of the above). Whenever I'd hear "Mattress Underwater," I'd think, "Oh, that's cool. I should check them out sometime," and I never would get around to it. They weren't so ubiquitous that it was forced on me; I needed to seek them out. And I never sought.

Well, that changed this past Thursday, and I finally put on this six-song EP. It's a shame I waited so long because mid-aughts Chris would have eaten this up. It sounds like the missing link between late-era Brand New and Modest Mouse. That would have been great for me back then because I was desperately trying to get into Modest Mouse but found them a little too dissonant at the time (which is strange to say now).

Colour Revolt as a band seems to have petered out in the usual way, not with a rockstar-esque bang, but a slow whimper that leaves a Bandcamp page to collect any MP3 purchases that might pop up and a domain that lapsed and is now Chinese link spam. I'm glad I listened to them eventually, even if it was about 20 years too late.

Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

Predictably, I've been super into the new Waxahatchee album Tigers Blood since the LP came in the mail. I've been a fan of Waxahatchee since I first heard American Weekend around 2012, during an "I listen to everything on Don Giovanni Records" phase. To be around for her entire progression from AW to now has been fun to watch. Sometimes, I think the last few records never get out of first gear, offering a calm, slow spin on Americana for the album duration, but sometimes that's a feature, not a bug. This one is gentle throughout, but a perfect "rainy day with open windows" listen.

"Crowbar" is the song I find myself going back to most often, but "Right Back to It" is undoubtedly the best song on the album.

Here's a running Spotify playlist of everything I ever feature here.

And that's all I have for you this week. If you spent any time reading this, you fill me with gratitude. Take care of each other. We're all we got.