Today’s Sounds

 

Record:

Panoramic & True Wonderlust (Raymond Roussel)

 
Remember John Lennox? He was a local scenester circa 2005, then he disappeared in a puff of smoke. He re-emerged in Chicago a few years ago with a band, Panoramic & True, who released a 12-inch EP and made a couple of local appearances. Now they’re back with an LP, 14 of Lennox’s songs played by an eight-piece band.

But don’t let all the Arcade Fire and Hey Rosetta! comparisons mislead you. This is an altogether different sonic onslaught. It’s not a military aerial firefight or a street-gang swarming and mugging. It’s more of a long con. Intimate lyrics and warm but weary vocals are packaged with stark rock ’n’ roll guitars and complementary strings that support the songs without stealing the show.

It’s really more of a singer-songwriter record, the hook being the man and his music, not the power of the collective. (Live, this might be a different story.) It’s all in the songs, and the ease with which they’re unfurled. And before you know it, you’re conned.

Give the record a listen here.
 

Track:

Tame Impala “Elephant”

 
Assess the glammage in this preview of the Perth band’s upcoming album, Lonerism, out in October.

 

Video:

Black Lips “Noc-A-Homa”

 
No baseball on stolen native land? I don’t quite know what’s going on here, or exactly how racist it is, you’ll have to see it for yourself. (They’re at Osheaga next weekend, by the way.)