No big crazy screeds this week, just some thoughts on seven cool songs I heard this month and added to my July 2025 playlist (now streaming exclusively on Tidal). Hope you're having a nice summer!
Cyrus Pireh - “Tim”
Reminiscent of the early work of both Mark McGuire and The Durutti Column, Cyrus Pireh’s Thank You, Guitar is a hypnotic collection of solo guitar pieces with substantial conceptual heft behind it. The Bandcamp page for Pireh’s 4th album of “transcendental shred electric guitar music” is accompanied by a few thoughtful essays that bring added context and insight that elevate an already enjoyable listen into something even more rewarding.
cootie catcher - “Dumb lit”
I’m really liking the new cootie catcher record, the mix of twee songwriting and chaotic DIY aesthetics reminds me of the best of the mid 2000s upstate New York indie/punk scene that helped shape my taste fifteen or twenty years ago. “Dumb lit” is one of many bangers from the record that have been stuck in my head for the last few weeks.
Mess Esque - “Light Showroom”
Had another moment of introspection recently upon discovering there was a new album from a Dirty Three side project released on Drag City back in March and I hadn’t heard about it until just recently. If I’m not keeping tabs on what Mick Turner and the Drag City corporation are cooking up, who will? Anyways I love this Mess Esque record, I’m glad its existence was finally revealed to me.
Neu! - “ISI”
Neu! ’75 is another hall of fame “time to lock in at work” records. I love sitting at my desk doing my tasks listening to music that sounds like the intro credits to a 1970s instructional video.
Jim O’Rourke - “End Of The Road”
I am famously now on Tidal and have Jim O’Rourke’s full Drag City catalog available to me on a streaming platform for the first time in my life. I remember liking Simple Songs a lot when it came out back in 2015 but haven’t spent a ton of time with it since. Now that I’m free to listen to our friend Jim on demand any time I want I was really knocked out by the record, especially the penultimate track “End Of The Road.”
Incandescent Luminaire - “Famous Names”
One of the coolest tracks from the overall pretty cool compilation All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985! This song is like if Devo was like 20% more normal or at least weird in a more subtle way.
Barry Walker Unit - “High in the Hummocks”
Aquarium Drunkard ran a great interview with Rose City Band's Barry Walker Jr. in conjunction with the release of his mesmerizing, endlessly listenable new live album Barry Walker Unit - At the 13th Moon Gravity Well. Regrettably I've grown weary of the whole “cosmic Americana” thing, it has increasingly been co-opted by some of America’s least interesting bands, another collection of lazy signifiers to rotate in for an album cycle before moving on to some other tired aesthetic shorthand, BUT sometimes a couple of real heads zoning out on ten minute long jams full of floaty slide guitar and motrik rhythms still hits.
Full July 2025 playlist embedded below, I'll see you here next week with part three!
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