As they have said since their inception, they want to be “the best band since Oasis.” As frontman AramisJohnson puts it, “In the lineage of rock, Oasis is the last band to go from some random dive bar to a stadium. And if we’re not selling out stadiums, we’re not doing it how I wanted to do it.”
It’s a lofty goal, but they’re already on their way to earning that moniker, drawing plenty of interest from the indie world with their “Jimbo Demo” EP. But when listening to “Save The Baby”, you begin to realize that for Johnson this band’s success isn’t just a goal – it’s a necessity.
Beneath the blown-out guitars and sun-lit hooks that colour the album, Johnson’s lyrics are restless and confessional, revealing a nervous desperation for salvation that only the band can provide. He says as much on “Park Lodge,” an early highlight that also doubles as a mission statement一 “’Cause in my life, I’ve prayed for change/About a thousand times/And in my life, I’ve wasted time/But I had to take what’s mine.”
If nothing else, Enumclaw understands the power of mythmaking.
Canadian-duo Softcult released their latest single/video, ‘One Of A Million’. The Twins Mercedes and Phoenix blend grunge, slowgaze, and dream-pop into their signature sound. With ‘One Of A Million’, Softcult continues to surprise and shows another side to their multifaceted talent.
Mercedes shares the following about ‘One Of A Million’: “Originally, I was writing from a frustrating perspective, expressing my feelings about the people in our society who think they are the exception and can justify repeating selfish actions, no matter who they harm in the process. As the song began to take shape, it also became about my own personal insecurities and fear of being ordinary and unexceptional, but the more I thought about it and wrote about it, I realized that accepting how similar we all are as human beings is a comforting sentiment, if not a vital one. The more we relate to each other and acknowledge our similarities, the more empathy and compassion we will have for one another. The more divided we are, the longer these issues get drawn out instead of solved. It’s important to not only celebrate our diversity and unique-ness, but also to remember that at a very basic level we are all more the same than different.”
‘One Of A Million’ is a hazy and cinematic track with soaring vocals and vulnerable lyrics.
Hailing from Church Village in Wales and now based in Cardiff, we’re introducing you to the lush sounds of CVC. The group have just announced that their debut album ‘Get Real’ is set for release on 13th January via Secretly Distribution. There’s a few good bands that have come from Church Village, our good friends Wynt and Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons, to name a few. And the Cardiff scene is bursting at the seams with great bands. A few more good venues in Cardiff and it would have one of the best scenes in the country!
“The album was recorded with love in the living room of a student house in Cardiff around one microphone, as we searched for a new sound,” they note. “We used pots and pans for percussion, Welsh thunder for atmosphere and 40p Ramen Noodle soups for dinner.”
When we initially moved to Cardiff, we were blown away by the music scene there. It was motivating for us to see other bands like Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and Boy Azooga playing in great venues across the city. This has faded a bit recently, for obvious reasons – so we’re hoping to play our part in doing what ever we can to bring back the good times!
CVC are David Bassey, Francesco Orsi, Elliot Bradfield, Nanial Jones, Tom Fry and Ben Thorne
Metronomy have announced “Small World” (Special Edition) due 29th November via Because Music. The first taste of the repackaged album is Katy J Pearson’s version of “Small World” standout track ‘Love Factory’.
Katy J Pearson’s reimagining of ‘Love Factory’ is a duet with Metronomy frontman Joe Mount that swaps the glorious groove of the original for her wistful Americana-tinged rock, while retaining all of its irresistible charm. The track is accompanied by a nostalgic video that stars Katy and Joe channelling iconic country performances of the ‘60s and ‘70s, framed against the distinct landscapes of Devon.
Katy shares: “I’ve been a huge fan of Metronomy for a long time. The records they made had a big influence on my music. I have fond memories of travelling up to Bristol to watch them play in when I was a teenager and the shows being so joyous. Brilliantly intelligent pop music. I met Joe after their show in Bristol and we got chatting. After this encounter I got asked to rework “Love Factory” for the special edition of their album “Small World”. I was so excited as “Love Factory” is my favourite song from the new record.
It’s so beautiful! So I was very flattered and honoured to have the chance to put my own spin on it. I wanted to strip it down to basics and make it a vulnerable duet. I’d been listening to a lot of Nancy Lee & Lee Hazelwood at the time so making it a pop duet felt really fun to do.”
“Surprise! Slaughter Beach, Dog’s “Live at The Cabin” is out now! Recorded at home in the poconos in March of 2021 – this set has been mixed and mastered and is ready for public consumption. Enjoy!”
Hello friends, hope you’re enjoying hibernation. Dropping in with a couple updates here…
-We’re starting a Substack newsletter called “Pause for Effect.” It’s a monthly dispatch in which I write a short essay about whatever I’m into lately (topics range from shoveling snow to Tom Waits worship), and you’ll also get an unreleased demo from the Slaughter Beach, Dog archive every month (some songs you’ll recognize, others are old secrets). This month I’m writing about meditation, skateboarding, and talking to strangers, and there’s a demo of our unreleased song “More.” It’s $5/month to subscribe, and you can sign up right now: https://slaughterbeachdog.substack.com/
Girlpuppy is 23 year old Atlanta based singer-songwriter Becca Harvey. Following her first track For You and it’s success, she enlisted the help of Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers) to make her debut ep, “Swan”.
Girlpuppy releases her new single “Teenage Dream” ahead of debut record “When I’m Alone”out October 28th. On the track, Girlpuppy says: “I wrote “Teenage Dream” after I cried at an Atlanta United soccer game at Mercedes Benz stadium. The song’s about a guy I lead on who looks like Keanu Reeves, and it’s the first one we made for the album. It was, in part, inspired by Caroline Polachek, who said in an interview that her lyrics for “Bunny Is A Rider” make no real sense, and that they just sounded good to sing. Similarly, the chorus lyrics to teenage dream don’t make much sense, but I do enjoy singing them. An important detail: I’m talking to my puppy Obi at the beginning, and you can hear him barking at the end.”
Catch girlpuppy on tour with Hovvdy this November!
Her debut album, produced by Samuel Acchione (Alex G) and engineered by Henry Stoehr (Slow Pulp) is out October 28th.
Becca Harvey – Vocals, Tambourine, Claps Samuel Acchione – Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Slide Guitar, Keys, 12 String Guitar, Loop Drums, Drums, Tambourine, Shaker, Claps, Harmonies, Background Vocals, Wurlitzer John Michael Young – Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, 12 String Guitar, Bass Guitar, Bells, Drums, Keys, Shaker, Mandolin, Glockenspiel Henry Stoehr – Engineering, Harmonies, Background Vocals, Keys, Claps Tom Sinclair – Bass Guitar, Piano, Wurlitzer, Shaker Blaise O’Brien – Piano Molly Germer – Violin, string arrangements Tom Kelly – Engineering, Drums
One of our most anticipated releases of the year, Wild Pink’s “ILYSM”is finally out! The album has seen praise from outlets like The New York Times, Pitchfork,The FADER, and was named Album of The Week by Stereogum who say “it doesn’t do this album justice to merely call it a ‘level up.’ Paste Magazine described it as “one of the most surprising and satisfying musical moments of the year, the kind of thing you have to hear to believe.”
The fourth full-length from Wild Pink, “ILYSM” unfolds with all the fractured beauty of a dreamscape. Over the course of 12 chameleonic tracks, the New York-bred rock band build another world inhabited by ghosts and angels and aliens, inciting a strange and lovely daze as the backdrop shifts from the mundane (subdivisions, highways, hotel parking lots) to the extraordinary (deserts, battlefields, the moon).
But within its vast imagination lies a potent truth-telling on the part of singer / guitarist John Ross, whose lyrics closely examine his recent struggle with cancer. The follow-up to 2021’s “A Billion Little Lights” — a critically acclaimed effort praised by the likes of Pitchfork, NPR, Vulture, and Stereogum, who named it “one of the prettiest rock records of the past decade”—”ILYSM” emerges as a truly revelatory body of work, transforming the most painful reflection into moments of transcendence.
An intimate, coming-of-age memoir by legendary guitarist Kid Congo Powers, detailing his experiences as a young, queer Mexican-American in 1970s Los Angeles through his rise in the glam rock and punk rock scenes.
Kid Congo Powers has been described as a “legendary guitarist and paragon of cool” with “the greatest resume ever of anyone in rock music.” That unique imprint on rock history stems from being a member of not one but three beloved, groundbreaking, and influential groups–Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the Cramps, and last but not least, The Gun Club, the wildly inventive punk-blues band he co-founded.
Some New Kind of Kick begins as an intimate coming of age tale, of a young, queer, Chicano kid, growing up in a suburb east of East LA, in the mid-’70s, exploring his sexual identity through glam rock. When a devastating personal tragedy crushes his teenage dreams, he finds solace and community through fandom, as founder (‘The Prez’) of the Ramones West Coast fan club, and immerses himself in the delinquent chaos of the early LA punk scene.
A chance encounter with another superfan, in the line outside the Whiskey-A-Go-Go to get into a PereUbu concert, changes the course of his life entirely. Jeffrey Lee Pierce, a misfit Chicano punk who runs the Blondie fan club, proposes they form a band. The Gun Club is born. So begins an unlikely transition from adoring fan to lauded performer. In Pierce, he finds brotherhood, a creative voice, and a common cause, but also a shared appetite for self-destruction that threatens to overwhelm them both.
Quirky, droll, and heartfelt, with a pitch-perfect evocation of time and place, and a wealth of richly-drawn supporting characters, Some New Kind of Kick is a memoir of personal transformation, addiction and recovery, friendship and belonging, set against the relentless creativity and excess of the ’70s and ’80s underground music scenes.
Everybody compared us to King Crimson and Pink Floyd,” Slint bassist Todd Brashear told Prog magazine way back in 2014, when “Spiderland”, the band’s second album, was reissued. Originally released in 1991, “Spiderland” is as good an early example as any of the quiet/loud dynamic beloved of most post-rock bands. In a twisting maelstrom of time signatures, angular rhythms and the kind of space afforded music by latter-day Talk Talk, the influence of Sonic Youth is as evident as the proggier bands mentioned earlier.
“Spiderland” was the second and final studio album by the American rock band Slint. It contains six songs played over 40 minutes, and was released by Touch and Go Records on March 27th, 1991. Slint’s line-up at the time of recording comprised Brian McMahan on vocals and guitar, David Pajo on guitar, Todd Brashear on bass guitar and Britt Walford on drums. “Spiderland” was engineered by Brian Paulson and recorded over four days in August 1990. The music and vocal melodies were composed throughout the summer of 1990, while lyrics were written in-studio.
Forming in 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky, Slint had met as teenagers playing in the Midwestern punk scene but soon diverged sonically from their hardcore roots. By the time they recorded “Spiderland” in late 1990, the band had developed a complex, idiosyncratic sound characterized by atypical rhythmic meters, harmonic dissonance and irregular song structures. McMahan’s vocal delivery on the record alternates between spoken word, singing and shouting. The lyrics are presented in a narrative style and cover themes such as unease, social anxiety, loneliness, and despair.
The album’s guitar work is noted for its roomy sound, angular rhythms, dramatically alternating dynamic shifts, and irregular time signatures. McMahan’s singing style varies among mumbling, spoken word, strained shouting, and a written-narrative style. Influences on the record included Gang of Four, Black Sabbath and Sonic Youth.
Spin summarized the album’s sound as “mid-’70s King Crimson gone emo: screeching guitar chords and gorgeous note-spinning in odd-metered instrumentals speckled with words both spoken and sung”. Melody Maker described the music as “structurally and in tone”, saying that the band “recall[s] Television circa Marquee Moon and Crazy Horse, whose simplicity they echo and whose style they most certainly do not”.
Slint broke up shortly before the album’s release due to McMahan’s depression. In the US, “Spiderland” initially attracted little critical attention and sold poorly. However, a warm reception from UK music papers and gradually increasing sales in subsequent years helped it develop a significant cult following.
“Spiderland” is widely regarded as foundational to the 1990s post-rock and math rock movements, and is cited by critics as a milestone of indie and experimental rock, inspiring a myriad of subsequent artists. Slint reunited in 2005 to perform the album in its entirety across three international tours.
From the beautiful to the jarring, intrepid explorer Bill Callahan charts a passage through all kinds of territory, pitting dreams of dreams against dreams of reality. When he makes it back to us, his old friends ‘n acquaintances, we are reminded how much of a world it can be out there – and in here as well, where we live everyday. “And we’re coming out of dreams / And we’re coming back to dreams” is the first thing you hear Bill say as you remake your acquaintance on “YTI⅃AƎЯ“. Right out the gate, he’s standing in two places at once: meeting up with old friends behind the scenes and encountering them on the record, finding himself coming round the bend and then again as someone else on down the line. Like the character actor he played on “Gold Record“, writing stories about other people, telling jokes about everyone, and in singing them, becoming the songs.
Released October 14th, 2022 2022, Drag City Inc. The LP Version will be released on February 24th, 2023.
The Fat Angel Sings 