White Lung- "Paradise"

White Lung, the scornful banshee baby of Mish Barber-Way and her Vancouver-bred cohorts, have faithfully stayed true to the ride-or-die punk ethos passed down from generation to generation. They've slugged it out cross-country in countless vans, played practically every festival/dive bar/tent from here to hell, and managed to churn out a hearty fistful of vitriolically enrapturing albums.  2014's "Deep Fantasy" found the band branching out from the thrashing trappings of post-hardcore agony to delivering the musical equivalent of smashing soapbox antics and spearing the bystanders with the wooden shreds.  Their most recent offering, "Paradise" finds the band polishing & streamlining their sound for a surprisingly accessible album to newcomers.

The elements of their prior releases are all present and (brashly) accounted for- the concussive drum blasts and swirling machine gun guitars punctuate each throughout, but Barber-Way's shrill megaphone (sans megaphone) shout delivery is seemingly restrained.  Having practically shred her voice while touring "Deep Fantasy", the assertive front woman now embraces a more melodic (but recklessly so) approach- some songs even border on chorus-driven! This is a polished, aggressive record; indicative of a band with long-term potential- provided they don't kill themselves amidst the reckless abandonment.

Grab your copy of White Lung's "Paradise" RIGHT HERE!

Primal Scream- "Chaosmosis"

With over two decades under their collective belt, it's hard denying Primal Scream's status as a contemporary legacy band.  Culled from the depths of Brit-rock austerity and flavored to taste with a patented blend of gospel chorus and warehouse dance grooves, Bobby Gillespie and company have cultivated an ever-expansive 11 album library with rarely a detour.  Often brash, rarely subtle; each album executively demonstrates a confidence and panache so many bands flail to evolve toward- AND THEY COME BY IT NATURALLY, almost scoffing at the formative norm. 

Their latest offering, "Chaosmosis", finds the band venturing into familiar waters in modern ships.  The usual trappings and tropes are on full display- the half-in-the-bottle sauntering guitars, the textural synthlines- only this time there's a polished pop sheen in the execution. With the borderline hero-worship aid of newcomers like Sky Ferreira and the ladies of Haim, Primal Scream teeters on the edge of the youth market (while simultaneously making a healthy jab or two, as per usual).  Streamlined are the spacey, elongated instrumental musings of their prior work on "More Light"; finding them at their hookiest and most exuberant.  Let no words be minced on the subject- Primal Scream make Primal Scream records- and "Chaosmosis" is a prime example of them doing what they do best.

CLICK HERE to get YOUR copy of Primal Scream's "Chaosmosis"