CRX - Broken Bones

Get it before
It goes to waste
Lick on my knife
And honor the taste
Taking my time
Running in place
Leaving the house
Was a mistake

Nick Valenci, lead guitarist for The Strokes, has a new side project, CRX. Their debut album, New Skin, dropped today and it's solid. It has a clean, straight ahead and classic rock sound. Think a bit Cheap Trick, a bit The Cars and a bit The Strokes. Who, by the way, clearly have a solid individual game with Albert Hammond, Jr's stuff being stellar as well.

New skin was produced by Josh Homme, and you can hear his influence on most of the tracks. Good, good stuff.

Oh, and, AWESOME, the word on the street is our very own Donald J. Trump is going to produce The Strokes' next album.

RIYL: The Cars, The Strokes, Cheap Trick and Queens of The Stone Age

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Mainland - Permission Slip

I'm pissed, I'm stripped
Of all my faith in everyone I miss
You talk, big talk
Like your so right and I'm so wrong
But I don't need no permission slip
I don't need no kiss on the lips
I'm doing fine, doing my time
Buying wine and drinkin' all alone at night

California grown Mainland mix a fun and carefree west coast attitude with polished yet gritty east coast heart, style and vibe. Their body of work, as far as I can tell anyway, is limited but very promising. They've got a couple of EPs out, and a few recent singles, which I expect means an album is on the way.

Today's Most Important, "Permission Slip" is a catchy indie rock anthem that brings a terrific "oooh weee oooh" hook to skippy dance beats. If that doesn't do it for you there are other options. Try "Beggars," a polished, sophisticated groove matched with an anthemic hook or "Outcast" for a nice, well-executed and upbeat indie pop cut.

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Day Wave - Drag

And I know that I still hang around
And I bring you down
And I'm just like that
You say that I'm too hard to find
And I don't make time
And I'm just like that

Hold me back
I don't wanna be a drag
It'll just make you mad
Turn me around
I don't wanna make a sound

I have always loved New Order, such a unique sound they have been able to carry from Joy Division days through the 80s, 90s, 00's to today. So of course I super dig Jackson Phillips, aka Day Wave, with his dreamy, low-fi sound and ability to perfectly cover one of his main inspiration bands (bonus track). 

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