Playlist of the Week

October 17, 2014

Teddy Eisenberg, Staff Reporter

“From The Night” — Stars
This year marks 15 years since Stars debuted as a band, and “From The Night” bears the masterful seal of indie pop veterans. Despite the flamboyant disco of on this track, the heartfelt songcraft and dueling vocals of singers Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell make “From The Night” an intimate anthem to be danced to alone or with friends. “No One Is Lost” is the Canadian outfit’s seventh album, released Oct. 14 on ATO Records.

“Mesmerize” — Temples
“Mesmerize, analyze everything that you need,” sings Temples’ frontman James Bagshaw on this track, imploring the listener to enter a world of velvety wailings, guitars and walls of vocals. The band’s debut album “Sun Structures” would be iconic had it been released in 1968; now, it’s merely the best psych-rock has to offer. Making quite a splash across the pond in their home country of England, Temples will be at the Grog Shop on Monday Oct. 20, supported by Nowhere and The Districts. The show starts at 8:30 p.m. and tickets are $18.

“Workin’ The Job” — Sallie Ford
“Workin’ The Job” is a tough song to place, jumping from electronica keyboard to muscular alt-rock guitars to a pop hook in just the first 30 seconds; but the fun that vocalist Sallie Ford imbues it with is not. Indeed, the most impressive element of this tune is Ford’s strong and idiosyncratic lead vocals, giving it a clear definition and concrete purpose. “Workin’ The Job” is the third track off of Sallie Ford’s latest record, “Slap Back,” and was released Oct. 14 on Vanguard Records.

“End Of Time” — Uno Lady
Uno Lady is quite literally just the work of Christa Ebert, one of the most unique talents to arrive on the Cleveland scene in the past five years. Deriving all of the sounds heard on her new album with just her voice, Ebert is a bewitching one-woman choir on the lighthearted “End Of Time.” Uno Lady will be formally releasing her new album “Amateur Hour” at the newly opened Happy Dog at the Euclid Tavern this Saturday, Oct. 18 starting at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover charge.

“How Can You Really” — Foxygen
Foxygen approach rock music with a childlike wonder, conjuring songs from the imagination of someone who has just discovered the Rolling Stones or the Velvet Underground for the first time. The group continues their rock and roll trope borrowing on their latest effort, the sprawling and somewhat misguided double album “…And Star Power,” released Oct. 14 on Jagjaguwar Records. “How Can You Really” is the record’s first single, driven forward by perky piano, bright horns and an abundance of camp.

Retro Pick of the Week:
“(Don’t Worry) If There Is A Hell Below, We’re All Going To Go”— Curtis Mayfield
In many ways, Curtis Mayfield’s “Curtis” is the apex of soul music in the ’70s, opening the genre to broader and richer musical canvases than ever before. “(Don’t Worry) If There Is A Hell Below, We’re All Going To Go,” the album’s only hit single, crafts all of Mayfield’s life and musical experience into a stirring call to action on the immediate need for social and political change. Even if it weren’t a landmark album in the history of soul music, the hypnotic horn line and funk bass still render this extended jam an instant classic.

Teddy Eisenberg is a third year programmer at WRUW-FM 91.1 Cleveland. He hosts The ’59 Sound, an exploration of rock music, every Thursday morning from 8-10 a.m. and co-hosts the variety talk show Max and Teddy in the Morning at Night (Sometimes) on Mondays from 5-6 p.m. The crackle of vinyl warms him on cold Cleveland nights.