August Roundup: Look Blue Go Purple, Kibi James, L.A. WITCH
We are gathered here today to discuss the cream of the crop of the New and New To Me albums I listened to in August. Let’s not waste any time.
HIGHEST RATED: Look Blue Go Purple Compilation, Look Blue Go Purple (1991)
Look Blue Go Purple is a rock band from New Zealand, active from 1983 to 1987 and comprised of Francisca Griffin (FKA Kathy Bull), Norma O’Malley, Kath Webster, Denise Roughan, and Lesley Paris. The group is known for the quintessential ‘second wave’ Dunedin sound, a style unique to Dunedin, New Zealand birthed from ’60s psychedelic pop influences (think the organ-like keys of The Doors, the jangling guitar of The Byrds, and the mystical lyricism of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd all wrapped into one, plus flute). LBGP was under the local Flying Nun Records, like most Dunedin groups at the time (drummer Paris eventually went on to manage the label after LBGP’s split). The band released three EPs in its lifetime: Bewitched, LBGPEP2, and This Is This, before breaking up in late 1987. The Compilation was released in 1991 and is exactly what it sounds like: a compilation of all 14 tracks from the group’s three EPs put together on one release. It’s technically not so much an “album” as it is the band’s literal studio recording discography up to that point in 1991, but for the sake of music discovery, it was allowed on the spreadsheet.
Interestingly, you’d expect the tracklist to go chronologically by EP (the later Still Bewitched reissue from 2017 opts for this setup), but EPs 1 and 2 are instead pieced together and scattered throughout the A side. The first nine tracks of the Compilation bounce back and forth in pairs from the first and second EPs, before ending with the This Is This tracks exactly how they appear in their EP release. Playing with the tracklists like this offers up a new way to listen to the punk-leaning songs from Bewitched and the folk-pop sounds of LBGPEP2, and gives fans the opportunity to explore the tracks from different angles, combining the different sounds instead of keeping them distinct and individual. It also could mean absolutely nothing at all, but I like to think all tracklists have their reasons.
Aside from the clear ’60s psychedelic rock, folk, and pop influences, something that stuck out to me even more upon first listen was the foundations the group set for the riot grrrl and grunge groups that were to come. At a time when disco and heavy metal/punk were taking over both sides of the music spectrum, LBGP took themselves out of the binary entirely by revitalizing old sounds that had been put aside at the turn of the ’80s. That move alone, especially coming from five women, especially in a scene where stadium rock megabands of cis white men had removed any last semblance of California rock roots, was a signal of rebellion and dedication to a certain type of sound (a sound that was then only elevated by the group’s personal renditions of it). And it paid off, too: “Cactus Cat” off LGBPEP2, a perfect marriage of Joni Mitchell folk and The Raincoats punk, got the group’s second EP to № 26 on New Zealand’s Top 50 pop charts.
The Compilation itself is a spacey and warbling 45-minute psych rock, beach rock, punk, folk, grunge, and pop crossover. Genres are bent, twisted, combined, diddled with, hinted at, and whispered, with driving flute (“As Does the Sun,” “Vain Hopes”) and heaven’s gate-opening vocal harmonies (“100 Times”) guiding you from beginning to end. When first listening, I found myself comparing certain sounds to groups that came after LBGP, thinking “The vocal tones and harmonies in ‘Cactus Cat’ sound a lot like the Cranberries,” or “The melody of ‘I Don’t Want You Anyway’ reminds me of something from the Vaselines.” While this is all true, I had to switch my thinking a bit. Even though “In Your Favour” is ‘giving Liz Phair,’ there’s a which came first?-type reframe that has to happen when thinking about the fact that “In Your Favour” was released at least three years before Phair wrote Exile in Guyville. So if anything, all these ’90s artists I’m reminded of are cut from the cloth originally made by LBGP. This foundational influence on grunge, I think, makes this record an important listen in and of itself.
Influences and inspirations aside, the Compilation is just an enjoyable, relatively inoffensive record. It has all the sounds you would want or expect from a Dunedin group and then some, offering something for all moods. Whether you want massively consuming sound or stripped-down basics, LBGP shows that they can deliver on all styles, and make it all sound good together in the process. There’s something to enjoy in each song on the tracklist, which in its most basic sense is all you could ask for from a good album.
Top tracks include: “Safety In Crosswords,” “Grace,” “Conscious Unconcious”
August Honorable Mentions
delusions, Kibi James (2023)
Another rising star from Bayonet Records, Atlanta-based Kibi James’ debut album delusions is, in my opinion, the perfect end-of-summer release. The trio uses glittering synths, fuzzed guitars, and leveled-up versions of their classic layered vocals found on 2019’s Azúcar EP to create a bright, sharp, playful album that sounds like frolicking through a field. The album exudes versatility, allowing it to sit perfectly on the cusp of seasons and making for the most fitting soundtrack to my end-of-August / beginning-of-September.
Top tracks include: “i know,” “testament”
Listen if you like: skipping, that high you get after hanging out with your best friends all day, that emoji with the little twinkly stars in a little group (like specifically the emoji, not just stars in general), “me and the girls when” memes, butterflies, Big Muff guitar pedals
Play With Fire, L.A. WITCH (2020)
Off the same label as Death Valley Girls, L.A. WITCH brings psych western with a punk flare on Play With Fire. Riffs and hooks galore, hard surf rock with a country twang, in your face and knows it, this album is a half-hour head bopping foot stomping ripper that takes itself to all of the extremes.
Top tracks include: “Fire Starter,” “Dark Horse”
Listen if you like: the desert, arson, Dick Dale, yelling, the simplicity of a good country song that’s not about tractors, “Acid Western” and the like
And there we have it! Nothing too shocking to see this month.*
*Except for the fact that I was really disappointed by Hozier’s new record, but I’m choosing not to set myself up for the repercussions of sharing my unfiltered opinion about that album on the internet. I’ll just say while the man can still write a hook and no one can take that away from him (and of course he can sing), he didn’t need to spend over an hour trying to riff on the greats of Wasteland, Baby! and Self-Titled. He should just know he might never outdo his 2014 self, and that’s okay. That’s true for a lot of us. He can redeem himself with a 10-year anniversary Self-Titled reissue next year.
Maybe there’s a “Worst of 2023” in my future, but probably not.
