It makes all the sense in the world that Gregory Alan Isakov owns and tends a farm on Boulder, Colorado’s outskirts when he’s not touring. He’s a man who appreciates the peace of mind one finds only in nature; “Nature is a reference point for sanity, I draw a lot from it, just like every other living thing,” he mentioned in an interview back in 2016. You get the sense of his ideology listening Evening Machines, his latest album, a piece of work written in the language of the natural world. Isakov strikes as too humble to claim fluency in that language, but he’s well versed enough. Environmental imagery peppers the album, from the earth beneath us all the way up to the galaxy. “Those bright crooked stars, man they’re howlin’ out,” he muses on the record’s closing track, “Wings in All Black.”
The sky is a recurring image throughout Evening Machines, as seen in the title of “Wings in All Black,” the lyrics of “Caves” (“I used to love caves / Stumble out into that pink sky”), or the lyrics of “Dark, Dark, Dark,” where he sings about Maria, who’s “got wings, she’s got legs for the sea.” Maybe Isakov has destinations in mind other than the open plain; maybe he’s a drifter, or a bit of a loner. The album cover hints at the truth, depicting Isakov keeping vigil among fields of grass, staring ahead at a gathering storm, but even so he remains an elusive, almost capricious figure. He likes his quiet, and he’s clearly prone to reflection, but in Evening Machines he finds himself at home, contemplating his past and present in modest spirit. It’s an album of small intentions with a grand sweep, intimate and boundless at the same time.
Courtney Barnett started Milk! Records in 2012 to release her first EP I’ve Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris. Soon aftercame the second EP How To Carve A Carrot Into A Rose. She took her band overseas with a condensed back catalogue called The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas. In 2015 Barnett released album Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit to worldwide critical acclaim.
“Small Talk,” is an outtake from Courtney Barnett’s 2018 album Tell Me How You Really Feel sounds a lot like most songs on the LP: an expansive, vamp-based affair with sunny choruses. Barnett’s hook-writing has only gotten sharper as time goes on. Where her early work would have been satisfied to let the interlocking organ/bass line groove ride for the entire runtime, here she injects an immediately felt, warmly rendered chorus of group singalongs. Her lyrics are, as always, sharp as a tack.
She takes the title seriously, regaling us with the shaggiest of shaggy-dog stories about whatever seems to float into her mind. “I’ve got a brother, Blake / he’s four years older than me / and I guess he always will be,” she sings, somehow managing to be both hilarious and weirdly philosophical. If she never got into business as a musician, Barnett could roundly kick all of our asses at this writing thing.
‘Charity’ is taken from Courtney Barnett’s album ‘Tell Me How You Really Feel’
Aside from a pit-stop at Desert Daze Festival (at 5AM as the sun arose, no less!) Wand‘s forthcoming European tour is THE most Wand-ificent event remaining in 2018! Beginning in early November, Wand kick it off in Bristol and continue the journey throughout the UK and beyond. Not a road less traveled for the seasoned band, but every performance in towns new and old blossom into trans-formative experiences!
To celebrate such an occasion, Wand have dropped a terrific cover of Brian Eno’s “Here Come The Warm Jets”! The band says: “This tune has been a favorite live cover over the years, the way it tumbles after a distant horizon. This scrappy live version is a little lit match we rescued off the cutting room floor at Bauer Mansion, and dates back to early 2015. We’re sharing it as a banner of some flailing joy we’ll be flying on this final leg of our ‘Perfume’ tour.”
With such a constant evolution of material, any attendee will be transported into one of Wand’s many worlds. With a roadmap like that leading the way, how could you ever go wrong? Prep yourself by having a listen to “Here Come The Warm Jets”, then hurry and grab your tickets–they won’t be Wand-ering around forever!
Black Dresses is the collaborative effort of the artists known as Dei Genetrix (formerly Girls Rituals) and Rook, and we named their debut album Waste Isolation one of the best albums of 2018 so far. Not long after that, BlackDresses put out the Hell Is Real EP. The duo’s noisy dark-pop is as ferocious as it is fun, even when they’re singing about traumatic experiences. Catharsis is this band’s driving force; if you don’t have anything to scream about, they’ll give you something to scream about.
This is like lesbian Death Grips…. On second thought, these women make Death Grips look like Bryan Adams. Synths that can abrade away cities and lyrics that will send violent shivers down everyone’s spines. It’s painfully honest, horrifically brutal, and definitely one of the best things I heard this year!
Iowa’sGiving Up (with members in both Minnesota and Kentucky) like to play it loose. It’s kind of their gift. On the band’s sophomore album, Garner Cardinals, the band’s ramshackle punk is, intentionally, coming apart at the seems, and it’s exactly what makes them a great band. Developing their sound over the past decade, it’s tightly wound slop-perfection, an intimate look into trash-pop that wriggles with a twitchy disposition and enough charm to choke us all. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s essential for flavor. The more you listen, the better it gets. Led by Mikie Poland and Jenny Rose, the band’s harmonies tighten around simple progressions, expanding what often seems askew into something poetic
It’s strange to believe that Giving Up’s latest and greatest effort Garner Cardinals is only their third official full-length since forming over a decade ago in the unfinished basement bedrooms of rural Iowa. For a band that’s toured no less than semi-actively around the calendar and self-released no fewer than too-many-to-count cassette and CD-R transmissions throughout the course of some Bush Deuce, double Obamas, and whatever the fuck is happening now…one would be misled in thinking the scarcity of their studio output would imply any lack in overall drive.
Like their label co-conspirators and spiritual siblings State Champion, Giving Up is a geographically challenged unit. With membership ranging from Minnesota to Kentucky plus a couple places in between, a bulk of the creative grunt is handled by head songwriter / visual artist Mikie Poland and his key collaborator / key boarder Jenny Rose (w/ additional contributions by Sean Roth, Aaron Osbourne, Dusty Van Ness) – trading ideas over the years by phone, mail, smoke signal, psychic will, home recordings, home visits and the like.
But very much un-like their earlier outings in the LP format – the charming yet head-scratchingly produced debut Gthrowing Up (2009) and better but nearly aborted follow-up [peace sign / frown face] (2012), both cursed with more coincidental oddities and studio mishaps than a tragi-comedy classic rock mockumentary – Garner Cardinals is a statement made on the band’s own desired terms. Engineered by their touring drummer Dusty Van Ness in the comfort of his Minneapolis home, the record is a best-of-both whirlwind delivering DIY bedroom grunge aesthetics with a self-puffed studio sheen. Serving not only as a natural stepping stone from the dumpster-fi fog of a Jad Fair-fronted Screeching Weasel tape boiled to perfection in a roadside hotel tub exhibited on recent tour trinkets, but also as a “coming of age” mark for Poland’s idiosyncratic song-kraft.
From the album opener “My Body” a gate-blast of jangled energy lighting the stage for skeptically optimistic dandelion punk to follow – through the motoric schoolyard kraut-pop of “April Showers” to the memorably off-kilter closer “People’s Records,” rounding out the album in a sizzling glory of rambling narrative poetics, the band’s bar is undoubtedly raised over the course of these ten tracks. And if you ask me, we’re all better for it.
Garner Cardinals is both littered with and colored by images of Giving Up’s own little America – an unknowingly large yet strangely intimate midwestern wasteland layered with spray-painted alters, misoriented gravestones, natural beauty, body dysmorphia, hamburger sunsets, small-town bad news, battery-operated memories, haunted mansions, shameless fantasies, forever-friendships, and an ultimate sacrifice of going deaf for what they love. By the time we’re flipping it over for a second listen, the Cardinals‘ song is already wormed deeply into our ears en route to our skeptically optimistic dandelion hearts, if not a larger collective midwestern sub-conscious awaiting. Rural Iowan rock music in the almost-2020s. What the fuck could it even sound like? Is it good? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s a familiar song – catchy, sweet, abstract, loud…”pretty bird, pretty bird…”
Christina Schneider returns with a new album and yet another new moniker as Locate S,1, the latest iteration of her perfect avant-pop constructions. Healing Contest‘s discordant washes of guitar and fuzzy production hint at psych and surf pop, blurring the two with Schneider’s jubilant rhythmic funk, forming new shapes and patterns. Recorded with Of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes, Healing Contest is one of Schneider’s most hi-fi records, adding a layer of glistening sheen to her infectious vocal melodies as they pop from the many layers of good vibes. Dance along with the record, you just may have a great time.
Christina Schneider is back with a futuristic palette of electronic drums, funky bass lines, and quietly hyperactive chord progressions that are sure to impress even the most learned musical millennial. Locate S,1 is the result of a seasoned songwriter cum lo-fi home-recorder delving into the world of mid-fi pop, with results that are pleasantly difficult to define. U.S. Maple / Dead Rider’s Todd Rittman could only describe her songs as having “too many chords to be pop, too catchy to be anything else.” Behind Christina’s deceptively soft vocals, Schneider’s lyrics seem to always circle back to an examination of the disparity between her own will and what people expect of her ultimately unveiling a hidden well of self-confidence and power. As the final track puts it, “it’s better if they don’t believe in you / then you can show them what you can do.” Be warned, Schneider and her band can do a lot: in fact, Locate S,1 is a technical tour-de-force that extrapolates high-brow jazz harmonics and prog-rock time signatures into a whole menagerie of new forms—all while still passing as pop. During a tour together last autumn, Deerhoof’s John Dieterich wrote, “Such incredible musicians, and the songs are these perfectly constructed little jewels that feel like they’ve been around for thousands of years.” (Tidal) Recorded in Athens, GA with the production and accessory input of Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal), plus a wrecking crew of some of the Georgia’s most practiced, each song on Locate S,1 really is a gem, layered with facet after facet of shimmering ear candy. A polished statement from a songwriter who is truly in a class of her own.
Having spent the past five years releasing increasingly great albums, perfecting their vision of tattered indie rock with sharp stabs of post-punk, psych, twangy hardcore, and their own unique go at jangly art pop, Over Everything, is a sweeping collision of opposing forces, a menacing blend of explosive dynamics and infectious melodies. Opening with the blur of “On Dogs,” the picture slowly comes into focus, disorienting your senses before exploding into a sugary sweet melody on top of increasingly shaky ground. Superteenprove once again to expect the unexpected. There’s a disarming sense of calm when their songs are slow to unravel, but they do so with a majestic fury. Stinging guitars and stuttering polyrhythms crash around the doubled vocals of Sam Robinson and Meryl Schultz, their voices working together in ragged harmony and spastic abandon. From there, the carnage ensues, a sound that Superteen do better than most – like a tornado running through a small town and everyone just shouting rather than taking cover.
This is without question the best Superteen record so far. Each of their previous releases have been at least partial departures from the sound of the last one. “Over Everything” feels like an amalgamation of all of the best moments on prior releases, and yet is wholly unique and full of surprises. I seriously cannot recommend this album (and band) enough.
Superteen is:
Patrick Dunning – Bass
Chris Faria – Percussion
Jackson Martel – Guitar
Sam Robinson – Vocals
Meryl Schultz – Vocals
Additional vocals in Leaks and Sweet Tooth Part Two provided by Henry Maclean and Tyler Zizzo
Additional vocals in On Dogs and Tasteless Universe provided by Katie Dube
Additional guitar in Peace Line provided by Cory Best
Methyl Ethel share ‘Scream Whole’; the first new music from the Perth act since their second record Everything Is Forgotten was released in March 2017.
Premiered yesterday on Australia radio station triple j’s Drive with Veronica & Lewis show, ‘Scream Whole’ is a nimble art-rock cut which Jake Webb describes as, “That cold sweat. That swollen throat. That sick feeling bubbling up from your guts. When midday moves dredge suppressed memories that scream for closure. What to do?”
The video was premiered via Consequence Of Sound – ““What’s the point/ Undo, undo again,” Webb wails against crystalline synths that electrify the senses and, upon disappearing, conjure a sense of chilly, awestruck isolation. Each word feels careful and deliberate, emerging with a concentrated effort from Webb’s mouth, which, fittingly, serves as the centerpiece of “Scream Whole‘s accompanying video. By the time the song descends into its woozy, drunken bridge, it’s stained in dirt and restrained with rope.”
Methyl Ethel is the musical project of Jake Webb with a five-piece live band that includes Thom Stewart, Chris Wright, Lyndon Blue and Jacob Diamond. Methyl Ethel has enjoyed phenomenal success in its native Australia in recent years. ‘Ubu’ along with fellow Everything Is Forgotten single ‘Drink Wine’. Methyl Ethel also won in the Best Album and Best Pop Act categories in 2017
‘Scream Whole’ is the new single from Methyl Ethel. Out now on 4AD Records:
For her third album Quiet Signs, Jessica Pratt offers up nine spare, beautiful & mysterious songs that feel like the culmination of her work to date. “Fare Thee Well” and “Poly Blue” retain glimmers of On Your Own Love Again’s hazy day spells, but delicate arrangements for piano, flute, organ and strings instill a lush, chamber pop vim. The record’s B-side, meanwhile, glows with an arresting late-night clarity; the first single, “This Time Around,” pairs the Los Angeles artist’s intimate vulnerability with a newfound resolve. Ultimately, this confidence is what sets Quiet Signs apart from Pratt’s previous work, the journey of an artist stepping out of the darkened wings to take her place as one of this generation’s preeminent songwriters.
Releases February 8th, 2019
Jessica Pratt – “This Time Around” from the new album ‘Quiet Signs’ Released by Mexican Summer and City Slang Records.
Fleet Foxes’ “Icicle Tusk” from The Fleet Foxes EP in First Collection 2006–2009, out November 9th. The special edition First Collection 2006–2009 honors the tenth anniversary of Fleet Foxes’ eponymous debut album. It features content spanning the early days of the band’s career, including the self-titled full-length debut album on 12″ vinyl, as well as the Sun Giant EP on 10″ vinyl, and the first vinyl releases of both the very limited-edition, previously only self-released The Fleet Foxes EP on 10″, and B-sides & Rarities on 10″. Also available in a four-CD set. In addition to its musical offerings, the special edition features a 32-page booklet with show flyers, lyrics, and artwork from band’s early history.
Fleet Foxes’ debut album made a tremendous impact on the international musical scene, topping numerous “best of” lists, including Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Albums of the 2000’s and Pitchfork’s 50 Best Albums of 2008, and earned the band Uncut’s inaugural Music Award Prize. Fleet Foxes is certified Gold in North America and Platinum in both the UK and Australia.
Fleet Foxes‘ most recent release was the critically acclaimed full-length, Crack-Up, released June 2017 on Nonesuch following a six-year hiatus. Additionally, the band sold out notable venues including Red Rocks Amphitheatre and the Hollywood Bowl, performed on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert as well as CBS This Morning, and earned year-end recognition from Esquire, Consequence of Sound, Paste, Uproxx, Vulture, and more.
