The Useless Critic 2.0

This is just a very quick post today to share that a singer-songwriter I have a soft spot for, Landon Pigg, is going on tour (mostly hitting up spots in the American West). You might not remember him, but he's a soft rocker with a good voice who had a song on "Grey's Anatomy" as well as the Shrek soundtrack (or one of the several Shrek soundtracks). Which is, you know, iconic. Plus he played Elliot Page's love interest in "Whip It." Anyway Landon will be at the Rhythm Room (a venue I've never been to!) on November 30th with Jesse Daniel Edwards. You can grab a ticket here . And here's a throwback to a song off Landon Pigg's "LP" that I still love all these years later:

Today I'd like to quickly share a song by the dreampop/shoegaze band Letting Up Despite Great Faults I have really enjoyed. It reminds me a bit of the apex of chillwave/dreampop we had back in the early 2010s - kind of vaguely like Wild Nothing (one of my favorites). This track is off the album "IV," which is their first in eight years.  On April 27th, they'll be playing with indie band Blushing at Linger Longer Lounge in Phoenix. See you there!

Like the lyric in the Radiohead song "No Surprises" off their classic "OK Computer" ("a job that slowly kills you" for the plebez* out there), The Parrots' recent single "You Work All Day And Then You Die" strives for a similar ethos - except with considerably less melancholia. In fact, the Madrid-based duo hearkens back to the golden era of early 2000s garage rock (think The White Stripes, The Strokes, etc.) in the truly irresistible song. Seriously, after a listen, I was hooked. Their aptly titled second album, "Dos," will be out on October 29th on Heavenly Recordings, produced by Tom Furse of The Horrors fame. They'll also be doing a short tour of the UK in early 2022, see below: 1/25/2022 - Elsewhere, Margate 1/26/2022 - The Joiners, Southampton 1/27/2022 - The Louisiana, Bristol 1/28/2022 - Moth Club, London 1/29/2022 - Esquires, Bedford 1/30/2022 - Hare and Hounds 2, Birmingham 1/31/2022 - Yes (Pink Room), Manchester 2/1/2...