Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel (Car) (1977)

"When illusion spin her net / I'm never where I want to be / and liberty she pirouette / when I think that I am free"

Shortly after leaving Genesis in 1976, Peter Gabriel recorded a string of four self-titled albums between 1977 and 1982, all of which are generally referred to by what image is on each of their respective covers; given the short length of time for that transition to take place, it makes sense that these albums (and this first one in particular) sound strikingly similar to Genesis's work during that period, but there are certainly pronounced differences. With the stigma of being part of a progressive rock band no longer hanging over him, Gabriel was free to make music that, while certainly having some of the trademark bombast of prog, as well as experimentation with electronic music (it was recorded by Robert Fripp, after all) and large orchestration, was remarkably poppy and concise for an artist who not too long before was writing massive rock operas. Depending on how you look at it, Car is either a brilliant example of accessible, digestible, yet still immensely respectable prog rock or a boundary-pushing pop album that still sounds fresh and resilient over 30 years later. Either way, it's not something you should pass up on.



1. Moribund the Burgermeister
2. Solsbury Hill
3. Modern Love
4. Excuse Me
5. Humdrum
6. Slowburn
7. Waiting for the Big One
8. Down the Dolce Vita
9. Here Comes the Flood

Myspace
Try It

Cuttlefish - Marble (2008)

This 5-piece group is from Tennessee, and they make groovy, jammy, funky punk-tinged desert rock that reminds me of Spindrift, and at times Josh Homme's various projects (Queens of the Stone Age and Desert Sessions specifically); they don't have much of an audience, so let's do something about that, eh?

This album is in .m4a (that's how it was sent to me and I can't find another copy), so if you're not down with that, you're shit outta luck, sorry

Myspace
Try It

GUILTY PLEASURE WEEK: Damone - Out Here All Night (2006)

If you keep up with the iTunes Singles of the Week, you might remember this band from a few years ago. They make me think of what it might sound like if Paramore were less influenced by Jimmy Eat World and Sunny Day Real Estate, and more influenced by Cheap Trick and Heart (or, in non-namedropping terms, they have a female vocalist and make energetic pop-rock/punk but with a hard-rock slant). They're kinda cheesy, and hard to take especially seriously, but they're a good time.

Myspace
Try It