The Fat Angel Sings

“On December 1st,1983 Pylon and Love Tractor played what we thought would be Pylon’s final show,” Vanessa Briscoe Hay, singer of Athens, GA post-punk greats Pylon, tells us in regards to video we’re premiering today. “Pylon were keeping a pact we had made at the outset of the band—to quit while we were still having fun. The concert was documented and packaged by local filmmakers The Aguar Brothers with funding from a local group of businessmen for a public TV pilot not unlike the fairly new at the time Austin City Limits. Athens Shows premiered locally in February of 1984 and quietly disappeared.”

Vanessa continues: “Years later the audio reappeared on the 2016 album ‘Pylon Live’ put out by Chunklet’s Henry Owings. Owings showed an unrestored version of this video at the release shows for that album in Atlanta and Athens. While working on the video “Flowers Everywhere” by my current band Pylon Reenactment Society, I reconnected with director Dan Aguar. Dan broached the subject of restoring The Athens Shows — if we could find it. I knew the 40th Anniversary for this show was coming up, so I contacted the parties involved in the 2016 transfer and, long story short, the video had been left behind at an Atlanta company who had gone under during the pandemic. It was retrieved by our friend Tom Branch and per Dan’s direction taken to another company in Atlanta who specialize in film restoration for entities like Turner Classic Movies. Aguar worked remotely with them on restoring the video. The audio mix was retrieved from Derek Almstead who had worked on ‘Pylon Live’ and then mastered by Jason NeSmith. My hope of having the full video ready in time for our 40th Anniversary obviously hasn’t worked out and it is still not finished. Dan will be going to Vietnam soon to work on a documentary about activist Chuck Searcy. Further work on finishing the restoration will have to wait until he comes back in March. In the meantime,we would like to offer this portion of the video as a holiday present to you all — ‘Beep.’”

“Beep,” of course, is one of Pylon’s classic singles (their last of their original run) and they sound great here — and the video looks (and sounds) great as well.

These days, Vanessa leads The Pylon Reenactment Society, who will release their new album “Magnet Factory” on February 9th via Strolling Bones. 

“Jason Isbell’s songs are filled with ghosts. They’re haunted by spirits both welcome and unwelcome, by the personal and historical legacies that make us who we are. Nowhere Is this more evident than on his 2013 breakthrough album “Southeastern”. Isbell offers confessions. reflections. and promises that confront and make communion with those who have come before and remain with us still. Its 12 tracks represent an extended meditation on the concept articulated by another celebrated southern storyteller, author William Faulkner: “The past is never dead. It isn’t even past.”

Jason Isbell opened an important new chapter with the release of 2013’s “Southeastern”, his fourth solo album. Ten years on, he revisits the album with an expanded set which includes a full performance of the record captured in Tennessee and demo versions of every track on the album. A booklet for the set features reproductions of some of Isbell’s original lyrics for the songs on the album as well as an essay written by noted country music expert Charles Hughes. Bringing things full circle, Isbell also posed for an updated version of the cover photograph.

2013’s ‘Southeastern’ is the fourth studio album from American alt-country icon Jason Isbell, and his second without the backing of his regular band The 400 Unit. Highly personal and deeply moving, addressing themes from cancer to childhood abuse, it’s often regarded as Isbell’s finest ever album, and this tenth anniversary edition comes with demo and live versions of these acclaimed songs.

Father John Misty occasionally releases official live albums, and a new one out today includes a previously unreleased song. Josh Tillman recorded “Live At The Sunset Cultural Center” just 10 days ago at the Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA. The solo gig’s 18-song setlist featured “Corpse Dance,” a seven-minute epic that will presumably will appear in a studio iteration on some upcoming FJM LP. 

Recorded just days ago, on December 15th, the live album features an 18-song setlist, including the unreleased cut, ‘Corpse Dance’. The newly unveiled tracks clocks in at over seven minutes. On the track, Father John Misty – real name Joshua Michael Tillman – croons: “She is patient/ The act of creation / May one day produce a happy man / Won’t have to do the corpse dance with these arms”

released December 25th, 2023

Under the moniker Hibou, Seattle-born Peter Michel’s latest EP Arc is a nostalgic journey through shoegaze and dream-pop. The spiraling guitars and luscious sweep of lead track ‘Night Fell’ are wonderful, framed in shimmering guitars and Michel’s sighing vocals that recognise the pain of the past, observing the moments of nature, that make the struggle of a life worth living. Consumed by the rush of love he surveys the vastness of the vista the soaring glorious chorus, its the sound of birds spinning across the sky as the sun sets.

Hibou is the indie dream-pop solo project from Paris based Peter Michel. His latest release ‘Arc’ delivers 5 strong numbers of ethereal pop bliss. Self-engineered, self-produced, and solely performed by Michel save the drums provided by Jase Ihler; the project is a labour of love. Within seconds the opener “Night Fell” immerses listeners into a sonic palette of comforting textures and pulsing rhythm that consistently carries throughout the record. The drums pulse and push without being overpowering. Michel’s vocals function as a wonderful texture that blends beautifully with the instruments while still providing clarity in key moments to allow the songs to shine melodically. Standout track “Upon The Clouds You Weep”, features a thunderous drum performance from Ihler supporting a wall of lush distortion and glittery vocals from Michel. ‘Already Forgotten’ closes out the record in synth driven, heartfelt melancholy.

The lyric is a beautifully written and leaves one with a cathartic resolve. Michel notably sings: “I should’ve known, forever won’t take too long. Tomorrow’s almost gone. “Already forgotten”. We are honoured to be the first to present this release to you in the vinyl format. Enjoy” – Salton Sea Sound System

Reminding me tenderly of the mid-period lushness of M83‘s dream pop, or the anthemic ‘Regret’ by New Order. Fall under its spell.

Written and Produced by Peter Michel Performed by: Peter Michel – Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Jase Ihler – Drums

released January 13th, 2023

Lael Neale has released a new album, “Star Eaters Delight”, today via Sub Pop Records. She shared its fourth single, “Must Be Tears,” via a self-directed video. Neale had this to say about the video in a press release: “Even though I’ve lived through many springs, the season never fails to disappoint me with its lingering cold and dreariness. Flowers are nature’s apology.”

Previously Neale shared the album’s first single, “I Am the River,” also via a self-directed music video. Then she shared its second single, the over eight-minute long “In Verona,” via a self-directed video in which Neale plays a newscaster. The next and its third single, “Faster Than the Medicine,” also via a self-directed video.

“Star Eaters Delight” is the follow up to 2021’s “Acquainted With Night”, which was her debut for Sub Pop and was recorded in 2019. The new album was recorded after Neale moved from Los Angeles to her family’s farm in rural Virginia in April 2020.

“Acquainted with Night” was a focusing inward amidst the loud and bright Los Angeles surrounding me. It was an attempt to create spaciousness and quiet reverie within. When I moved back to the farm, I found that the unbroken silences compelled me to break them with sound. This album is more external. It is a reaching back out to the world, wanting to feel connected, to wake up, to come together again,” explained Neale in a previous press release.

The follow-up to Lael Neale’s folk fuelled and Omnichord driven “Acquainted With Night” is somehow even better. Though Neale set out on her own path with the preceding album, here she takes things further and wagers on risks that handsomely payoff. “If I Had No Wings” and “Must Be Tears” stick with her prior approach, but the album’s most stunning moments come on tracks such as the eight-minute single “In Verona.” Neale exudes a post-punk air of detachment in a chilling retelling of the tale of Shakespeare’s star crossed lovers.

“Faster Than the Medicine” has the bass thumping rush of New Order’s best. While, the closing track “Lead Me Blind” pushes a heartfelt and piano-driven ballad through layers and layers of tape hiss like some long forgotten outtake from the Smithsonian Anthology of American Folk Music.

Half Happy released their brand new single, “Say This Twice” this week and we are in love with one of their finest moments yet. With the awesome kick of drums and twanging distorted guitars opening the way for Rose’s spoken word it vividly sets the scene of a tale of a relationship that might be falling apart. This speaking/sung dynamic harks back to their previous single, ‘Runaway Girl’ yet depicts this exciting band quickly evolving their shimmery indie pop into new realms.

Rose starts by dishing out honest advice to a friend, which spins into an open-armed chorus. It’s a tale of love turned old. A different take on that relationship song that says all the things we all want our friend to hear. It’s a pre-break-up song.

Blondshell is the mononymous debut LP from Sabrina Teitelbaum as Blondshell and it is – much like everything this week – another magnificent set of songs and deliveries. There is a lot of restraint on the songs, which makes it all the more impactful when she really lets go and screams it out. This record really deserves to be heard far and wide.

Months ago, I thought it was obvious that Sabrina Teitelbaum—better known by her stage name, Blondshell—was going to be a big deal by April. However, I might have undersold Blondshell’s starpower potential at the time, as she just performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon before her self-titled, debut album is even officially out. Her rise to indie stardom has been impressive, and joyous, to watch from afar. Not only is she a no-brainer Best of What’s Next; she’s also a no-brainer future festival headliner, Saturday Night Live musical guest and critical darling. It’s hard to do anything but root for her in every sense of the word, as she exudes a mountain of cool and is malleable enough to fully embrace whatever contemporary indie’s current, or her own eclectic, evolving taste, warrants from her song writing.

‘Salad‘ is a standout, a rollicking tune that rattles with barreling drums, chugging guitars and pianos, and quivering and cathartic vocals that simmer with rage before exploding.  Echoing elements of Sharon Van Etten or The Replacements, but has an infectious sound all of its own and gives a sneak peek into her world. A vengeful fantasy about poisoning a sinister abuser that got off with a slap on the wrist. “Look what you did, you’ll make a killer of a Jewish girl,” she sings confessionally. It’s an earth-shaking, empowering anthem that turns trauma into triumph.

In the past few years, Sabrina Teitelbaum AKA Blondshell has transformed into a songwriter without fear. The hook-filled songs on her self-titled debut are clear-eyed statements of and about digging your way towards confidence, self-possession, and relief. All of this is powered by brilliant, crystalline melodies, and gigantic choruses that are wrapped with shredding guitars.

To accompany her self-titled debut record, Sabrina Teitelbaum, aka Blondshell, has already released the single “Joiner,” a tender, soaring paean of glittering acoustic wonder. “Joiner” is hypnotic, with hooks that stick with you for the long haul. What makes Teitelbaum’s work so compelling is how she is able to inject such poignant, specific imagery atop arrangements fluttering with such a recognizable alchemy and groove. “You’ve been running around L.A. with trash / Sleeping in bars with a gun in your bag / Asking, ‘Can I be someone else?’” she sings with the grandeur of a seasoned veteran who’s mastered a perfect verse. It’s clear that Teitelbaum is fixing to be a powerhouse in indie rock, and, if “Joiner” is any indication, the trajectory of Blondshell knows no ceiling.

The hype behind Blondshell is real. At SXSW last month, she stole the show—so much so that she took home the festival’s Grulke Prize for Developing U.S. Act. With over 1,500 acts in town, all vying for stage time, label notice and new fans, taking home that award has only become a bigger accolade in recent years. It’s no surprise that Blondshell won it, though.

Blondshell was born in New York City and raised across Midtown Manhattan by a single father. Early on, he introduced her to the wisdom of Bob Dylan and his influence helped her develop a childhood obsession with the Rolling Stones. She started writing breakup songs as a kid and, even back then, she thought she had the chops to make it as a real musician. But of course, with childhood dreams came rose-tinted glasses and, by the time Blondshell was old enough to drive, doubt crept in about whether or not she could get her music noticed based on her talent alone. “When I was a kid, I was like, ‘If you’re able to sing, that’s it,’” she tells me over the phone. “I didn’t know enough. Then, when I got older, I was like, ‘Oh, it requires really hard work, a ton of luck and lots of things that are really out of your control.’ It set in that it was definitely not a given and was actually unlikely that I would get to do it as a job.”

Chroma are one of Wales’s best-kept secrets, this fearsome Welsh three-piece have been producing righteous bilingual noise pop for the last few years, powered by visceral riffing, pummeling drums, and Katie Hall’s powerhouse vocal performances. They signed to Alcopop! Records for their debut album “Ask for Angela” this year, and shared the single ‘Don’t Mind Me’ .

Laced with chunky fuzzy bar chords, and twitchy drums, it serves as a platform for Katie’s incendiary vocals that chart her struggles with mental health, magnifying her personal experiences and raging at the unfairness of the mental health system, it’s a universal struggle and offers an “I’ve been there too” lifeline to many who have suffered with their mental health, especially since lockdown. “Oh my head is hazardous!” she exclaims repeatedly, over this most explosive chorus, ‘Don’t Mind Me’ hits hard in more ways than one! 

Australian alt-punk dust have released their fantastic new single ‘Joy (Guilt)’ via Brooklyn based Kanine Records, off their debut EP “et cetera etc”. Skeletal post-punk fired by an irresistible scorched and laconic spoken word delivery from dual-vocalist Gabriel Stove as, ‘Joy ( Guilt )’ gallops across the Australian outback, with echoes of Birthday Party and Fontaines DC, meditating on the themes of mortality, family and social commentary with a hypnotic look inward that reflects the catharsis of aimless driving. Unstoppable.

“The band channel raw, razor-sharp intensity through a broad range of filters – with textural, saxophone-assisted atmospheres and off-kilter rhythms bordering new wave at times. A thrilling first release.

Formed against the backdrop of the pandemic in 2020, the project of Awabakal land/ Newcastle-based dual guitarist-vocalists Gabriel Stove and Justin Teale, bassist Liam Smith, guitarist and saxophonist Adam Ridgway, and drummer Kye Cherry. 

‘Joy (Guilt)’ off the EP “et cetera, etc” out now Via Kanine Records

The eponymous debut EP by London-based dreampop duo deary on Sonic Cathedral. The six-track release is available on several vinyl variants, plus a CD with five additional bonus tracks and remixes.

A carousel of organs, oscillating ethereal vocals, and languid breakbeats, this is ‘Fairground‘ the first sublime and transportive offering from London duo deary released on Sonic Cathedral. A lullaby in technicolour they say it was “an attempt to replicate My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Soon’ but ended up somewhere in between Portishead, Felt Mountain-era Goldfrapp and early Saint Etienne.”

‘Fairground’ was produced by the band and deftly mastered by Slowdive’s Simon Scott. I can also hear the faint traces of the Cocteau Twins Treasure- era as singer Dottie’s sumptuous dream spins amidst the twinkling lights: at once soothing and disorientating, capturing the sensory overload and anxiety of London’s teeming cityscape, standing on the edge of being besotted, taking in the wonder of and wistfulness of it all. Glorious.

This London duo’s debut single hits you right in the early-’90s, laying down Cocteau Twins-style dreampop over a funky drummer beat and baroque touches. A wonderful introduction.