Bradley’s Almanac

[Nac Faves Followup & Giveaway] My Favorite EPs, 7-inches, Reissues, & Live Shows of 2014

Posted on February 20, 2015 at 9:57 am | 2 Comments

As a post-script to my list of favorite full-lengths of 2014, I thought I’d (yes, belatedly) share a catch-all collection of everything else: The short-players, 7-inches, reissues, and digital releases that spent the most time in my ears, along with a run-down of the stand-out live sets I caught during the calendar year. Narrowing down that last list was… not easy. That was a bountiful dozen months of shows.

Seems a good time to dole out some free stuff, too: A couple of my favorite vinyl releases of ’14 along with a t-shirt from a (reunited) band who put on one of last year’s most welcome performances. Scroll to the bottom for the giveaway details.

Rather than write a bit about each release (and delay this post another month), some quick commentary…

  • David Bazan (Pedro the Lion/Headphones) is putting out some of the best songs of his varied career, but since they’re released monthly and 2 tracks at a time, they may be getting unjustly overlooked. Do yourself a favor and check out the now-finished 10-song “Volume 1” and the in-progress “Volume 2”. Hard not to imagine that if these were released in full-length form they’d get more attention, which is just silly. Same with Tanya Donelly’s wonderful “Swan Song” series, which finished up in March last year, and Kristin Hersh’s works-in-progress series with her band 50 Foot Wave.

  • Numero Group‘s stunning box sets continue to enrich my collection (and brutalize my bank account). The continued release of the comprehensive Unwound output was bolstered by their incredible Bedhead box set. Two of my all-time favorite bands, treated with absolute loving care.

  • Speaking of Unwound, Survival Knife‘s mere existence was enough to heal some old wounds. The fact that they’re so damn good is a major bonus. Getting to see them play live at Great Scott was a long-held wish fulfilled.

  • Another wish fulfilled: The Replacements in Boston. OK, not entirely fulfilled, as that wish included a venue with a roof over it, but the Mats overcame the festival venue handicap and rocked an appreciative audience of mostly-oldsters at Boston Calling. My memories of seeing them in their hayday (sorry) were dusty at best, so this refresher the perfect follow-up to catching them at last year’s Toronto Riot Fest. Hopefully this year brings them back to town for a headlining set at an indoor space, but I’m planning on heading to Philly either way.

  • There was sonic justice in the world thanks to a couple long-awaited Scruffy the Cat reissues. Thank you Eric, Pete, and everyone else involved in seeing that through. Setting those suckers on my shelf was satisfying indeed.

    Read on, and scroll way down if you want to try and snag some free vinyl from David Bazan, Survival Knife, or a Replacements t-shirt…


    (the star of The Daily Tater)


    My favorite EPs, 7-inches, & digital releases…


    David Bazan“Volume 1” monthly 7-inch/digital series

    [ Stream at Soundcloud / Buy at Undertow ]


    Kim Deal – “Solo Series” self-released 7-inches

    [ Sample songs & buy singles at her site / “Biker Gone” video ]


    Tanya Donelly“Swan Song” Series Vol. 5 (digital EP release)

    [ Stream & buy songs at Bandcamp ]


    50 Foot Wave“Night Blooming” digital works-in-progress series

    [ Download the tracks / Become a supportive ‘Strange Angel’ ]


    Girlpoolself-titled EP

    [ Buy from Wichita / “Jane” video on YouTube ]


    Heathers“I Know” (Wedding Present covers – Cassette EP)

    [ Buy & stream at Bandcamp ]


    Krill“Steve Hears Pile In Malden and Bursts Into Tears” EP

    [ Buy & stream at Bandcamp ]


    Krill / Lvl Up / Ovlov / Radiator HospitalSplit 7-inch

    [ Stream & buy at Bandcamp ]


    “Or Thousands of Prizes” – Merge Records 25th anniversary 7-inch series


    Palehound“Kitchen” 7-inch

    [ Buy & stream at Exploding In Sound’s Bandcamp ]


    Pile“Special Snowflakes” 7-inch

    [ Stream & buy at their Bandcamp ]


    Polyvinyl“4-Track Single Series” Vol. 1


    Survival Knife“Survivalized” EP

    [ Stream & buy at Chunklet’s Bandcamp / or try and win it below ]


    My favorite reissues & live LPs…


    American Analog Set“Know By Heart” vinyl reissue

    [ Buy from Barsuk ]


    Bedhead“1992-1998” vinyl box set

    [ Buy from Numero Group ]


    Camper Van Beethoven“Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart” vinyl reissue

    [ Buy from Omnivore ]


    The House of Love“Live at the Lexington 13.11.13”

    [ Buy from Cherry Red Records / Limited Vinyl ]


    Scruffy the Cat
    “Time Never Forgets: The Anthology (’86-’88)”
    and
    “The Good Goodbye: Unreleased Recordings 1984-1990”

    [ Buy the Anthology via Amazon / Buy the Unreleased Recordings from Omnivore ]


    Silkworm“Libertine” vinyl reissue

    [ Stream at Bandcamp / Buy from Comedy Minus One ]


    Slint“Spiderland” Remastered Box Set

    [ Buy from Touch & Go Records ]


    Songs: Ohia“Journey On: Collected Singles” 7-inch box set (RSD release)

    [ Buy digital version from Secretly Canadian ]


    Unwound“Rat Conspiracy” & “No Energy” vinyl box sets


    Yo La Tengo“Extra Painful” LP reissue

    [ Buy from Matador Records ]


    Reissue/box set I wish I’d been able to afford before it sold out…

    The Go-Betweens“G Stands For Go-Betweens Volume One” box set


    My favorite live shows of 2014…

    … along with links to photos from each.

    (my goal of trimming this down to 10 faves failed miserably)


    Throwing Muses and Tanya Donelly at The Sinclair in
    Cambridge, MA on Friday & Monday, March 7th & 10th, 2014
    [ Photos from March 7th / Photos from March 10th ]


    The first night of Chickfactor 22 at The Bell House in
    Brooklyn, NYC on Thursday, March 20th, 2014
    with Amor de Días, Lilys, King Creosote, Jim Ruiz Set, and Withered Hand


    The second night of Chickfactor 22 at The Bell House
    in Brooklyn, NYC on Friday, March 21st, 2014
    with Saturday People, Barbara Manning, Versus NYC, & The Clientele


    Rocket From The Crypt and openers Ex Hex at Brighton Music Hall
    in Allston, MA on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014


    Barbara Manning, Dump, and The Bevis Frond
    at WMBR DJ Jon Bernhardt’s “Midlife Crisis of Champions”
    at TT the Bears on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014


    Tim Rutili of Califone – live solo in an
    Allston living room on Monday, April 21st, 2014


    Hallelujah The Hills’ album release party with openers Tallahassee
    at Great Scott in Allston, MA on Friday, May 30th, 2014


    Gold-Bears, Soccer Mom, Bent Shapes, & Rye Pines at the
    Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge, MA on Monday, June 2nd, 2014


    Dean Wareham & his band with openers Quilt
    at the ICA Boston on Friday, July 11th, 2014


    Guided By Voices at the Paradise in
    Boston, MA on Saturday, July 12th, 2014


    Merge 25th Anniversary Fest
    Wednesday, July 23rd through Saturday, July 27th, 2014 in North Carolina.
    [ Photos Set 1 / Photo set 2 / Photo set 3 / Photo set 4 ]


    The Lemonheads and Parks at RadioBDC’s “Island In The Sun” event
    on Thompson Island in Boston Harbor on Saturday, August 23rd, 2014


    The Replacements live at the Boston Calling Music Fest
    in City Hall Plaza on September 7th, 2014


    The Afghan Whigs at the Royale in Boston, MA
    on Tuesday, September 30th, 2014


    Green Magnet School, Orbit, The Red Telephone, & Hullabaloo
    on Friday, October 10th, 2014 at the Pipeline anniversary show
    at Cuisine en Locale in Somerville, MA



    Caspian’s 10th Anniversary show at the Larcom Theatre in Beverly, MA
    on Saturday, October 18th, 2014 with openers Derek & Jay of Defeater


    Wheat performs two sets at Atwood’s Tavern in
    Cambridge, MA on Saturday, October 11th, 2014


    Low live at the Columbus Theatre in Providence, RI
    on Friday, October 24th, 2014


    Slowdive with openers Asobi Seksu at the Royale
    in Boston, MA on Sunday, October 26th, 2014


    David Bazan & the Passenger String Quartet at the Regent Theatre
    in Arlington, MA on Thursday, October 30th, 2014 with opener David Dondero


    Robyn Hitchcock with special guest Tanya Donelly at Arts at the Armory
    in Somerville, MA on Wednesday, November 12th, 2014


    Girlpool, Slutever, Saralee, & Ursula at the Blaq Lodge
    in Allston MA on Tuesday, October 21st, 2014


    Survival Knife, Pink Avalanche, & Hungry Ghost at
    Great Scott in Allston MA on Thursday, November 20th, 2014


    Best shows that I should probably exclude because I played in one of the bands,
    but were great independent of our inclusion…

    Sleepyhead, Heathers, The Spook School, & Let’s Whisper
    at the Skinny Pancake in Burlington, VT on Saturday, June 7th, 2014

    Allo Darlin, Swale, & Let’s Whisper at the Monkey House
    in Winooski, VT on Wednesday, November 5th, 2014

    Allo Darlin & Let’s Whisper at the Middle East Upstairs
    in Cambridge, MA on Thursday, November 6th, 2014

    I’ll finish up this long-overdue post with some free stuff: A vinyl copy of David Bazan’s gorgeous team-up with the Passenger String Quartet, Survival Knife’s killer “Survivalized” EP on wax, and an XL-sized Replacements t-shirt (the “Hate Us On Facebook” edition). Each will go to a different (North American) reader, so drop me a note at giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com, and choose one of these three email subjects: “BAZAN”, “SURVIVAL KNIFE”, or “REPLACEMENTS”. Make sure it hits my inbox by next Friday, 2/27 at 10am, when I’ll pick one winner for each and get in touch for your mailing address.

    Up next, and hopefully soon (yeah, yeah), my big ol’ annual list of records I’m looking forward to hearing this year. Some of which are already out and are fast favorites. Yeah, I’m lookin’ at you, Krill.

    Comments

    2 Responses to “[Nac Faves Followup & Giveaway] My Favorite EPs, 7-inches, Reissues, & Live Shows of 2014”

    1. earthdog70
      February 21st, 2015 @ 1:00 pm

      Nice post. GBV, The Mats, and Hitchcock were definitely up there as my faves as well. I have a signed version of that House of Love release, maybe I will pop the DVD in tonight!

    2. Sawyer Lawson
      March 12th, 2015 @ 1:43 pm

      Thanks for turning me on to David Bazan. “Little Landslide” is a very cool tune!

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