Welcome to another edition of our regular Monday stream-a-thon (delayed for a day because, like you, we were busy getting drunk yesterday). Happily, the extra day’s wait has allowed for the arrival of the new Liars album, which is the best thing we’ve heard in ages and which we’re thus vary happy to be able to share with you. There’s also the new Scissor Sisters album, which is perhaps not the musical extravaganza that the Liars record is, but is a bit of fun nonetheless. Elsewhere, there’s Neil Young and Crazy Horse exploring the history of Americana, Marissa Nadler being suitably mellow for a hazy Tuesday, and Japandroids being all shouty. Click through and get in on the action!
Liars — WIXIW
If your post-Memorial Day return to the working week is as much of a struggle as ours has been, then rejoice — this might just make you feel a whole lot better. The excellent sixth studio album by the excellent Liars is streaming at excellent music site The Quietus. Yay. WIXIW is really, really good — we won’t say much more, beyond advising you to click here and start listening.
Scissor Sisters — Magic Hour
Less inspiring but still worth hearing is the new Scissor Sisters record. There’s nothing to match the promise of Azealia Banks-helmed first single “Shady Love,” but there’s still enough of interest to make this a reasonably enjoyable listen, even if every bit of sonic experimentation seems to be counterbalanced by a Scissor-Sisters-by-numbers track. Also, track six, “Let’s Have a Kiki,” may well be the single most camp piece of music that Scissor Sisters have ever recorded. Listen here.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse — Americana
The title here rather speaks for itself — this record finds Neil Young and Crazy Horse reinterpreting a series of American classics (and, curiously, the English national anthem). The track selection is interesting, spanning a breadth of Americana, from Woody Guthrie (“This Land is Your Land”) through doo-wop (“Get a Job”) to traditional folk (“Oh! Susanna” and “Gallows Pole”), and Crazy Horse are as cacophanous and ragged as ever. Listen via Rolling Stone .
Marissa Nadler — The Sister
If you’re in the market for something a bit more sedate, you could do worse than the new album by Marissa Nadler, which is streaming via AOL’s Spinner site. It’s stark and beautiful, with only piano and the occasional acoustic guitar accompanying Nadler’s voice, and it’s pretty much exactly where we’re at as far as post-Memorial Day hangover action goes. Listen right here.
Japandroids — Celebration Rock
And finally, we’ve always found it difficult to get past Japandroids’ rather silly name, but if you’re partial to raucous Williamsburgian drinking anthems, then Celebration Rock could be right up your alley. Japandroids’ second album is streaming all week at NPR, and it’s just as noisy, shouty, and exuberant as you might expect. And hey, Pitchfork liked it, so it must be good, eh? Decide for yourself here.