Thick And Sticky
Like the muddy Maryland waters from which crabs are spawned,
there is a gleaming sweat to Old Bay’s hot sauce. Paprika, cayenne, celery salt, black pepper, dry mustard, cinnamon, allspice and whatever else McCormick tosses into that glorious spice mix — now bottled as limited blink-and-ya-missed-it liquid smoke. (I just barely nabbed the second edition online, which sold out quicker than a bootleg Bolt Thrower t-shirt.) It’s a vinegar-based hot sauce, but surprisingly thick and sticky, distilling the salty mess of a fly-swatting, summer-beaten Chesapeake crab feast down to a few drops… or a bottom-of-the-bottle-smacked gob of red goo splashed on eggs or plantain chips.
I’m in love. — Lars Gotrich
Note: When I miss one week of the newsletter, the playlist climbs to 4 hours worth of music, which is too much for anyone to ingest. Got a lot going on at the moment, so the Bandcamp 6-Pack and RIYL sections will return next week.
The Playlist
28 tracks. Opens with Psychic Temple’s “Why Should I Wait?” an organ-grinder of a rock and roll rave-up featuring The Dream Syndicate as Chris Schlarb’s backing band. Produced by Slowdive’s Neil Halstead (and adding looped guitar to “Sometimes He’s in My Dream”), the ambient harpist Mary Lattimore dances around a circular melody that captures both of their essences with a beautiful bittersweetness. Wu-Tang affiliate Killah Priest offers a beat-less rap meditation that I find extremely moving. Baltimore’s Angel Du$t has pivoted from hardcore to power-pop in recent years, and now goes full A.M. pop. Three sides of solo guitar from Tashi Dorji, Mason Lindahl and Marisa Anderson. Looped drum-and-upright-bass hypnosis from Makaya McCraven (some organ and sax sneaks into the clatter). Kath Bloom’s voice will break your heart (more on that album later). Lots of new metal (Pallbearer, Undeath, Voidceremony, Skeleton), but gotta note that nutty, brass-forward Voivod epic — it’s kinda hokey, but awesome all the same.
Stream the playlist via Spotify. Did you miss a previous playlist? Get thee to the archives.