Bevis Frond– Little Eden [SILVER VINYL IMPORT 2xLP MARKED DOWN] – New LP

Tim Sendra: After 35 years of making records under the Bevis Frond banner, 2021's Little Eden is rousing proof that the group's main man Nick Saloman hasn't lost a step. He's gotten older, sure. Maybe a little more bitter, granted. But over the course of 20 songs, he delivers a set of mostly blistering guitar workouts that show him as the missing link between Jimi Hendrix and J. Mascis, but one who's able to toss off an overdriven folk-rocker as hooky as anything this side of the Byrds. The album is divided into the aforementioned melodic rockers like "Cherry Garden" and "They Will Return," where the jangle and fuzz meet like opposing storm fronts and Saloman croaks out bittersweet lyrics that revolve around heartbreak, getting older, and other fun stuff like that. Mixed in are romping blues-rockers ("Brain Fatigue"); semi-acoustic ballads that are played and sung with a rare fragility ("As I Lay Down to Die" being the highlight); moody garage punk rippers that sound like lost Wipers s