Today Guppy’s new album ‘Big Man Says Slappydoo’ is out! Give it a stream, and if you enjoy it pick it up on translucent lime vinyl!. Guppy is the brainchild of four mostly-self-taught musicians (J Lebow, Marc Babcock, Ian Cohen, and Kabir Kumar), birthed in a sweltering Glendale garage circa 2017. Writer and guitarist/vocalist Lebow pairs laugh-out-loud absurdity with tender sentimentality, building upon bouncy, infectious rhythms by drummer Cohen and bassist Babcock, all creating Guppy’s signature sound. Kumar is the newest member and provides lead guitar and backing vocals.
The band’s lush, sunny vocal harmonies led them to expand their musicality, moving beyond their garage punk origins into the realms of power pop, disco, country, and surf rock, as can be heard on their newest album “Big Man Says Slappydoo!” produced by LA tenderpunk hero Sarah Tudzin(Illuminati Hotties). Tudzin brings Guppy to a new level sonically, building out whimsical bangers by weaving in sounds of theremin, autoharp, microwaves beeping, and band members belching. This all adds to the lush landscape of Power Pop, Surf, Rock, Country, and Indie that makes up the Guppyverse. When asked what genre they play, the band responds candidly – Secular Guitar Music.
Guppy has carved a deep niche for themselves in the LA punk scene with their energetic and joyous live shows, playing with the likes of Cheekface, Rosie Tucker and Sports Team. You don’t even need to keep your ear out for this band because they are actually right behind you. Haha got you.
Recorded in Berlin and remotely between 2020 and 2021, the opening track “The Real” is from the forthcoming album “Fire Doesn’t Grow On Trees” the second track “Where Do We Go From Here?” is exclusive to this release. With Anton Newcombe (Vocals/ Guitars), Ryan Carlson Van Kriedt (keyboards), Hakon Adalsteinsson (guitar), Hallberg Daði Hallbergsson (bass) and Uri Rennert (drums) playing on this offering.
BJM new single released today digitally. To coincide with the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s start of their North American tour with special guests Mercury Rev this is a digital release of two new tracks by the band.
It is 30 years since the release of their first single She Made Me / Evergreen. Released in 1992, the band continue to deliver the sound of the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Cover artwork by Anthony Ausgang.
NYC indiepop duo Jeanines are releasing their second album, “Don’t Wait for a Sign“, on April 22nd. The title track is another jangly gem.
Jeanines’ 2019 self-titled debut was an indie-pop tour-de-force that drew from a deep set of DIY pop influences, garnering attention from well beyond the international pop underground. Now they’re back with “Don’t Wait For A Sign” and it’s a real gem. With the band now divided geographically and touched by the isolation and uncertainty of the pandemic, Jeanines’ new album is deeper and a bit darker than their debut. The folk influences feel more pronounced, at times recalling early Fairport Convention or Vashti Bunyan as much as indie-pop touchstones like Dear Nora, The Aislers Set, and the many bands of Pam Berry.
The thirteen songs on “Don’t Wait For A Sign” show a band in total mastery of their idiom—a brilliantly compelling blend of timeless influences illuminated by distinctive song writing and sharp lyrics. The arrangements are always on point, full of interesting transitions and modulations but never fussy or in the way of the songs themselves. Alicia Jeanine’s vocals really take flight here, richer and more confident, and often layered in harmony. Second albums can be tricky, but but with “Don’t Wait For A Sign” Jeanines ably manage to build on their terrific debut with well-honed song writing, singular melodies, and unerringly sympathetic production.
Across her stunning debut album, “Stay in Touch”, Georgia Harmer captures ineffable moments with expressive detail: the euphoric memory of a summer’s day so perfect you want to live inside it forever, the dusty heat of a Texasafternoon, a tingle of melancholy on a solo walk home after a party. With a wisdom and poise that belies her twenty-two years, the Toronto-based singer-songwriter has penned an emotionally resonant collection of songs that articulate the ways in which even the most fleeting experiences can forge bonds between strangers, create families out of friends, and one by one form the joys and sorrows that make up a life.
“Stay in Touch” spans everything from intimate folk and strummy country to sophisticated jazz and pop-kissed rock. Crammed into the corner of a West Toronto garage, Harmer and her band created musical landscapes that live up to the lyrical richness of the songs. The record sparkles with the lightning in a bottle feel of a band in thrall to their musical chemistry, adding more depth to the record’s themes.
“Stay in Touch” is inspired both by the relationships of past and the joy of finding your people in the here and now. It’s an unforgettable statement from a new artist with a heartbreakingly simple message: when you stay in touch with the experiences that have shaped you, you stay in touch with yourself.
The closer you are to someone, the crueler you can treat them, but if they love you, they’re inclined to forgive you. Lily Konigsberg and Nate Amos forgive each other now, but they were in a bad way when they recorded “Cry Mfer” — which is not to say their debut album is some kind of sonic bum out. “Cry Mfer” proves you can still make pop music while spiralling, as evidenced by the existence of “Breathe You,” a bop all about fucking Nate constructed while “high as shit in my room making fun of Justin Bieber,” the vocals of which Lily tracked while “blindly sad” and “genuinely devastated.”
They’re best friends now, and they were best friends when they recorded “Cry Mfer” last year, but they didn’t know that yet. (“We definitely were like, oh, maybe we’re in love?” Lily recalls; it was a confusing time.) “Cry Mfer” is the sound of two people figuring out what they mean to one another “in the midst of,” quoth Nate, “a bunch of other chaos,” up to and including being drunk as skunks; when listening to the album, Nate can “smell” the aforementioned chaos. “Thank God we’re not those people [anymore],” Lily, with the clarity of newfound sobriety, marvels.
When not using the other party as an emotional punching bag, Nate and Lily used one another as a creative filter and sounding board pushing, prodding and challenging themselves to “mess with different sounds,” harkening to, Nate says, “song writing duos who seem to have their own language that other people don’t quite understand.” In life, as in art, they share a language, a hive mind, finishing each other’s sentences while lounging on Lily’s parents’ couch in the Hudson Valley. (Lily recently moved back to her hometown of Hudson in order to “get her life together;” it’s “definitely working,” she says.)
The duo joined forces in the Fall of 2020, when Lily, after a few years gobbing away in the punk trio Palberta, solicited Nate (who, at the time, was popping away as half of dance duo Water From Your Eyes) as a potential producer for her solo record; the subsequent song writing competition that followed resulted in dozens of tracks and one EP,
That’s My Idea. No strangers to productivity, Nate’s Water From Your Eyes recently released their fifth album, and Lily recently released her solo LP, both to high marks.
“Cry Mfer” is, true to the band’s vision, a beautiful mess of different sounds, completely and effortlessly genreless (though if pressed to label it, the band settles on “Truth or Dare Pop”). While a milieu of myriad styles, from folk to dance, the album’s main through line is truth, regardless of how much the expression thereof may hurt (after all, as Lily sings in the title track, “truth and life go hand in hand”). Its lyrics aren’t “particularly diary-ish,” Nate says, they’re “a little more…” “Diarrhea-ish,” Lily jokes.
The album, while permeated with lyrics about lying and crying and, well, hurting the one you love, has a palpable sense of humour and self-awareness, a testament to “rolling your eyes at something while acknowledging that it’s also still kicking your ass,” says Nate.
It’s a reaction against the self-seriousness that runs rampant throughout indie music, which comes as no surprise when you learn the duo originally wanted to call themselves The Grammys (Why? Because when the two of them started working together, “we were like, we’re gonna get a Grammy,” Lily says). They aren’t ashamed to admit they listen to Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber, in much the same way they aren’t ashamed to use a vocoder or lyrically play the heel. A perfect example is the song “Crutch,” an anthem to co-dependency from a self-described authority on the subject (“I’m sorry about this stuff, but it doesn’t really matter that much,” Lily breathily sings over bright guitars. “Truth is that I really miss your touch, and I’m hanging on you ‘cause you’re my crutch”).
Suffering is mitigated a little bit when you turn it into, ahem, art — pain is temporary, but music is forever (or, at least, until the grid goes down). You’ll be pleased to know the “something” Lily was needing in the chorus to “Cry Mfer” she now has — “In the moment I thought I was needing a big life change and shift, like I had been stuck in something, and I was right, I just went about it in a very wrong way,” she says. “And now the thing that I’m needing, I’m getting, actually, which is through being sober and getting my life together.” “I was telling myself a lot of stuff through those lyrics that was subconscious,” she continues. “I thought I was talking to other people, but I was talking to myself.” My Idea has only just begun, but already misery is in the rearview. “Cry Mfer” is a punisher, to be sure, but it’s also a banger; reflecting on the time period during which it was recorded, Nate breathes a sigh of relief: “Oof. Well, we made it, and we got something out of it, too.” And so, dear listener, have you.
Fresh off a series of dates with Wet Leg, the band’s new full-length is a tightly stitched collection that is magnetic & dynamic. ‘Household Name’ reveals an unfettered vulnerability elevated by serious alt-rock bombast.
Now the band based in Brooklyn, New York, after relocating from hometown Los Angeles, the duo have already released two well-received albums on a small Los Angeles. based indie label whilst still in high school.
Now Allegra Weingarten and Etta Friedman are ready to take things to the next level. the production keeps it feeling comfortingly diy whilst still expanding the sonics. the 90’s alt influence is apparent – for sure, you’ll hear pavement, nirvana, smashing pumpkins, the Breeders, Liz Phair etc – but there’s a real gen z youthfulness to it, which has instantly won over a wide range of young resident ears. ‘Household Name’ name’ perfects a balance of heavy riffs, deep emotions, inviting sonic production, and a light-hearted, wry sense of humour.
“Speeding 72” is taken from Momma’s new album, “Household Name“, out July 1st, 2022. Momma is Allegra Weingarten, Etta Friedman, and Aron Kobayashi Ritch.
Hold Steady frontman Craig Finn has announced a new solo album,“A Legacy of Rentals“, that will be out May 20th via Positive Jams/Thirty Tigers. He made the album with regular collaborators Josh Kaufman (Bonny Light Horseman) and engineer D. James Goodwin, and he’s backed by Joe Russo (drums) and Michael Libramento (bass), with Stuart Bogie on saxophone and Cassandra Jenkins and Annie Nero on backup vocals.
The Hold Steady’s frontman Craig Finn announced a new solo album, “A Legacy of Rentals“, and shared its first single, “Messing with the Settings.” As with a lot of Finn’s work, “Messing with the Settings” tells a compelling tale, with his vocals alternating between storyteller mode and singing. He’s aided by a string section and backing vocals from Cassandra Jenkins.
Finn recorded “A Legacy of Rentals” with long time collaborators, in May 2021. The album also features saxophonist Stuart Bogie, backing vocalists Cassandra Jenkins and Annie Nero, and the rhythm section of Joe Russo (drums) and Michael Libramento (bass), as well as a 14-piece string section arranged and recorded by Trey Pollard at Spacebomb Studios.
Finn’s last solo album was 2019’s “I Need a New War“, although in 2020 he put out “All These Perfect Crosses” for Record Store Day (it featured outtakes, demos, and acoustic tracks).
“Memory is a major theme through “A Legacy of Rentals” says Finn of “Messing with the Settings” in a press release, “and I wanted the first song on the record to open on that note. This song is literally a eulogy. It’s delivered by someone who has lost touch with the recently deceased but still finds them important. Musically, it really explores the line between talking and singing, which was something we leaned into on this record. We wanted to make this song an incantation of sorts.
Finn had this to say about the album as a whole: “The title “A Legacy of Rentals” acknowledges that we can never completely hold any of our possessions, and that our bodies are merely a temporary residence for our souls. All moments are fleeting. After the destruction of the past few years, I believe that there is joy in each and every living action, however mundane—walking to the kitchen, missing a train, spilling coffee, cleaning it up, meeting a friend for a meal. We all want to be remembered. We all want our time here to be consequential. In taking these daily actions, we engage in hope, and we guarantee our unique place in history.”
The first single from the album is the swaying “Messing with Settings.” “Memory is a major theme through “A Legacy of Rentals” says Finn, “and I wanted the first song on the record to open on that note. This song is literally a eulogy. It’s delivered by someone who has lost touch with the recently deceased but still finds them important.
Musically, it really explores the line between talking and singing, which was something we leaned into on this record. We wanted to make this song an incantation of sorts. It also features the beautiful 14-piece string section that played on a lot of these songs. I wanted to it have a cinematic feel, like Gone With The Wind or something like that.”
“A Legacy of Rentals” due out May 20 via Positive Jams/Thirty Tigers.
If you’re wondering why you have an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, then fear not: you’re not alone. This coming Friday, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard will unleash their most ambitious and diverse record to date: “Omnium Gatherum“. The sixteen-track, eighty minute long double album is the result of King Gizz at their most explorative, and it’s the sound of a band who have found comfort in never being comfortable. Over the years, Stu Mackenzie and co. have dipped their toe in dozens of different genres, generally succeeding before moving on to the next experiment. “Omnium Gatherum” is unlike anything which came before it, jumping between genres, time signatures and subject matter at their own pace and in a way only they know how. It’s always been hard to define King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s music, and “Omnium Gatherum” has just made it a whole lot tougher.
The record spans sixteen songs, making it their longest record to date with a runtime nearly that of a feature length movie. Had the album been a feature length movie, you’d probably spend far too much time explaining all the different plot lines. Opening track “The Dripping Tap” is an absolute behemoth, taking up a quarter of the album’s entire length with spastic garage rock flourishes, soulful vocals and enough guitar pedal fuckery to last a lifetime. It’s the result of a full band jam post-COVID, remaining uptempo and vicious as soon as multi-instrumentalist Ambrose Smith’s vocals fall away. It’s in a similar vein to 2016’s “Nonagon Infinity“, which you can’t say about recent single “Magenta Mountain”. The album’s second single borrows its synth tone from last year’s colourful “Butterfly 3000“, with frontman Mackenzie singing over subtle grooves and wispy melodies. It’s a strong track by King Gizzard’s standards, setting the bar stratospherically high for the fourteen (unreleased) songs to follow.
Does the rest of “Omnium Gatherum” match the quality of its first two singles? In short, yes. In fact, it only takes a few seconds for Kepler-22B’s smooth jazz undertones to surpass it “Kepler-22b” samples “Yemaya One,” by Australian jazz pianist Barney Mcall..
“I actually found Barney’s record at a store in New York,” says King Gizzard’s Cook Craig in a press release. “I hadn’t heard any of his stuff before, but remember putting it on and being blown away straight up. I remember thinking damn this is literally a sampler’s dream. It took me a while before I actually realized he was from Melbourne too. I guess it’s funny like that, sometimes you gotta travel halfway around the world to discover an inspiring piece of music made by someone who probably lives on the same block as you.”
McLaren had this to say about the video: “Sean and I wanted to have a mix of different animation styles. The initial aesthetic inspiration was taken from classic abstract painted jazz album covers, then fused with a Cruise ship aesthetic that came to us once Ambrose sent some reference footage through of the band in longing around in Hawaiian shirts.”
Michael Cavanaugh’s percussion are the backbone of this track, remaining prominent enough to add distinct grooves but never overdoing it. Mackenzie and guitarist Joey Walker engage in quirky vocal harmonies and loosely structured call and response as seedy lounge bar vibes enter the frame thanks to some smooth piano work. There’s plenty to dissect, even if the song at its core sounds like it may be pretty straightforward. Then again, when have the King Gizzard guys ever been straightforward? Prog metal juggernaut Gaia has long been anticipated by fans, and the studio version certainly lives up to the hype created during live shows. It’s a monstrous slice of noise which borders on thrash metal territory, complete with throat shredding vocals from Mackenzie. If 2017’s “The Great Chain of Being” had been on the band’s manic “Infest the Rats Nest”(2019) album, it would sound a bit like Gaia – soaring solo and all. It’s taken King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard just four songs to throw plenty of curveballs at the listeners, jumping from garage rock and psych pop to experimental jazz and prog metal in just half an hour.
“Ambergris” (named after a substance found inside Sperm Whales) dips its toes into soulful territory, serving as perhaps the first truly sexyGizzard song. The funk is ever present throughout, echoing Thundercat in places whilst still sounding quintessentially Gizz. There’s an effortless sense of nonchalance which “Ambergris” never lets go of, even when its mouth watering finale abruptly calls it a day in order to let “Sadie Sorceress” confuse fans even more. It’s the first time we’ve ever heard Stu Mackenzie rap, but it works. Cavanaugh’s hip hop beats and a collection of wah-heavy guitars form the backbone, with occasional synth melodies adding a modern flourish to proceedings. It sounds like The Avalanches covering Grandmaster Flash in his heyday; this may sound odd on paper, but boy does it work against all the odds. Evilest Man removes all happiness you may have picked up during the previous two songs, employing pulsating synth patterns and Mackenzie’s classic “woo!” chant for another foray into psych pop. The band sing of (you guessed it) an evil man, questioning his actions and wondering how long his arms must be to “span the distance he can reach”. The halfway point allows for “Evilest Man” to enter jam-mode by way of sickly sweet synth melodies, all of which seem to be working in harmony while Cavanaugh’s shifting percussive passages provide rhythmic backing. Cook Craig takes the lead on “The Garden Goblin“, a curious slice of obscure dream pop highlighted by dreamy melodies and Craig’s unmistakeable (and often overlooked) voice. It’s become a recent favourite during live sets and it isn’t hard to see why, with an ever so slight hint of Animal Collective-esque quirkiness adding yet another new dimension to the band’s sonic palette. Fellow fan favourite “Blame It On the Weather” is perhaps the poppiest and most accessible song on the album, with Mackenzie and Smith alternating vocal duties over a combination of dreamy keys, shuffling drums and wavy guitars. The classic elements of psychedelia seep through the cracks here and there, giving “Blame It On the Weather” this vintage yet nostalgic feel.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard have never shied away from making music which urges you to shake your hips (albeit unintentionally), and on “Persistence” they take this to the next level. King Gizzard have never sounded this groovy, operating on a sleazy wavelength spearheaded by slick vocal harmonies and double drumming passages aided by Cavanaugh’s wife, Amy Findlay (of Stonefield). Beastie Boy-esque “The Grim Reaper” is the closest the band have come to recreating the party starting chaos of 2020’s Intrasport, with Ambrose Smith rapping in and among a mix of Arabic flutes, erratic urban beats and subtle microtonal guitar lines. “Presumptuous” places Ambrose centre stage for a soulful outing akin to 70s soul and lounge music, allowing guitarist Walker to whip out the flute as the drums flitter between laid back and upbeat. By Gizzard standards, “Omnium Gatherum” has an uncharacteristically high amount of happy songs, a trend the band dispel on the thrashy “Predator X“. It’s four minutes of pent up aggression, complete with gnarly vocals, drop-B guitar chugs and overwhelming sense of impending doom onset by a snare drum which sounds like it’s trying to shoot you. It ticks all the thrash metal boxes, harmonics and all. “Red Smoke” heads down a far less vicious route, opting for wurlitzers and shuffling percussive passages which serve as soothing accompaniment for Smith’s sultry vocals. As has been demonstrated on multiple occasions throughout this album, Gizzard have grown a real penchant for dreamy psychedelia. Ambrose’s vocals almost feel like a cloud, swallowing you whole while you sit there and take it all in. Penultimate track “Candles” is a perfect slice of psych pop, with beautiful harmonies demanding your attention. It borders on yacht rock in certain moments, Mackenzie’s voice without a care in the world. If “Candles” doesn’t make you want to sway from left to right with a cocktail glass once its funky finale enters the frame then you’re doing it wrong. “Candles” is one of the highlights on this diverse album, leaving “The Funeral” to call the curtain on eighty wonderful minutes. It’s a finale laden with hints of microtonal music, fully instrumental for its brief run time as its focus remains on guiding two jangly guitar lines to the finish line. You kind of have to call the end of this album a finish line, even if the time really does fly by on a full listen.
Fans will likely conclude their first listen of “Omnium Gatherum” with more questions than answers. At eighty minutes it’s the kind of listen which really demands your attention, but at the end of the day it’s worth it. Its sixteen songs perfectly highlight the band’s ability to hop genres without a) fucking it up or b) losing sight of themselves. It may not have the feeling of an instant classic which previous albums “Nonagon Infinity” and “Polygondwanaland” had, but over time it wouldn’t be surprising if “Omnium Gatherum” was the album fans used to introduce their friends to King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Nearly every facet of the band’s diverse skillset is touched upon, from garage rock and psych pop to thrash metal and a whole spectrum of soul, jazz and RnB. You may need some time getting into it, but by the end you’ll be glad you stuck around for the ride.
“Omnium Gatherum” comes out this Friday (22nd April) via KGLW.
We are so excited to announce the official Record Store Day 2022 release of Frankie and the Witch Fingers’ sophomore Self-Titled album! ,For the first time via Greenway Records, the record is newly re-mastered and re-packaged with brand new art, the jacket features a UV-Gloss treatment like we’ve never seen before. Totally re-imagined for Record Store Day 2022.
This simmering psychedelic garage rock brew looks and sounds better than ever before! Run to your local record store and make sure they order a copy! Record Store Day exclusive “Busted Guts” Splatter will be available in the US, Canada, UK, EU and Australia.
Out of print for years, and remastered from original source tapes, this RSD First release comes on coloured vinyl with new art and new full color inserts. For the first time via Greenway Records, the record is newly re-mastered and re-packaged with brand new art, the jacket features a UV-Gloss treatment like we’ve never seen before. Totally re-imagined for Record Store Day 2022.
This simmering psychedelic garage rock brew looks and sounds better than ever before!
Tracks: Flower Pedals/Knife Fight/Revival/In Your Head/Diamonds/Vibrations/Electric Séance/Lou Reed/Motorcycle/Smiling
Liam Gallagher is back and still having it large with his third solo album. Liam Gallagher is here to lift your spirits with “Better Days,” the latest preview of his forthcoming solo album “C’Mon You Know.”The former Oasis frontman’s new single arrives today with an accompanying music video.
“Better Days” feels like a natural progression for Gallagher, evoking the thrill of ’90s arena rock while cloaking it in a modern sheen. Switching between mellow verses and a bombastic, soaring chorus, the Britpop icon urges you to see the light. “If you’re lost, I’ll find you there/ With the sunlight in your hair/ And the sadness washed away by the rain,” he sings just before the breakneck drums come in.
The music video for “Better Days” channels a similar nostalgia. Tuned-in Oasis fans might notice the parallels between this rooftop location and the set used in the visual treatment for Oasis’ 1994 classic “Supersonic.” Even if it’s purely coincidental, it feels like a heart warming nod to the past.
“C’Mon You Know”is slated for release on May 27th. Gallagher has previously teased it with the Dave Grohl-featuring “Everything’s Electric,” as well as the album’s title track. In February, Gallagher performed the former song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, just weeks after siding with Taylor Swift in her beef with Damon Albarn over writing her own music.
At a London gig last month, Gallagher also dedicated the Oasis hit “Live Forever” to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who tragically passed away in Bogotá, Colombia hours before.
