Posts Tagged ‘Pennsylvania’

CHRIS FORSYTH & The SOLAR MOTEL BAND – ” Rare Dreams ” Solar Live ​27th February 2018

Posted: March 25, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

May be an image of 1 person

On February 27th, 2018, Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band (comprised, in this iteration, of long-time SMB bassist Peter Kerlin and Kerlin’s Sunwatchers battery mate Jason Robira on drums) were close to wrapping up an 18-date tour of the EU and UK with a two-set, one hour and 45 minute show at Cafe OTO, London’s premier venue for adventurous music. Highlights of that show are included in this live release, “Rare Dreams: Solar Live 2.27.18, recorded before a packed house seated mere feet from the band’s amplifiers. These recordings reveal a band that is clearly in high spirits and high gear, operating with an expansive, improvisatory fleetness that allows them to stretch the material to almost ludicrous extremes and then let it to snap back to some semblance of form while somehow seemingly never wasting a note, a beat, a gesture.

The four tracks included here comprise material culled from (at the time) the two most recent Solar Motel Band records “Dreaming In The Non-Dream” (No Quarter, 2017) and THE RARITY OF EXPERIENCE (No Quarter, 2016) plus covers of two Neil Young songs – the autobiographical plaint “Don’t Be Denied,” lyrically relocated by Forsyth from Young’s Canada and Hollywood to the more personally relevant geography of New Jersey and Philadelphia, and encore “Barstool Blues” (they’d run out of material to play, so another Neil Young tune it was).

http://

While the covers establish Forsyth’s basis, serving as an homage to Young and the quest for self-realization, the long tracks’ jams showcase the trance-inducing power of the Solar Motel Band as a performing entity. Kerlin’s gymnastically propulsive bass playing locks in with Robira’s relentless thud, each serving as counterpoint to some of the most blistering guitar work of Forsyth’s career. The telepathically dynamic interplay of the trio explodes with whiplash intensity across the 15-plus minute takes of “Dreaming In The Non-Dream” and “The First 10 Minutes of Cocksucker Blues,” each song’s structure serving as a framework for extended lava flows of energy. At one point late in the “Dreaming” jam, Forsyth unplugs the jack from his guitar, dragging it across the strings and lashing the body of his single-pickup “parts” Esquire, producing a desiccated barrage of percussive static. This is music beyond the notes; it is an expression of pure electric ecstasy, a simultaneous negation and celebration of rock music’s (indeed all musics’) essential energy. In contrast to the expansive but meticulously detailed guitar arrangements of his recordings, here Forsyth’s unhinged live guitar sound positively roars with a barely restrained vocal intensity, from liquid melodic lines to gnarled blasts of free jazz scree, to pulsating lead/rhythm vamping. I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing this band up close for a number of years now and I can authoritatively attest that while every show is different, when the SMB is running down a steep hill at full speed (as on these takes), they become a single leaderless vibrating sonic tornado, possibly beyond the control and logic of the players themselves, picking up listeners along the way and taking them along for the ride straight into a solar furnace of sound.

“…one of rock’s most lyrical guitar improvisors,”
-NPR Music

Chris Forsyth and the rhythm section of the almighty Sunwatchers form an unholy power trio to absolutely scorch through a set of extended jams and Neil Young covers.

Chris Forsyth: guitar, vocal
Peter Kerlin: bass guitar
Jason Robira: drums

Recorded Live at Cafe OTO, London on February 27th, 2018

Releases April 23rd, 2021

REMEMBER SPORTS – ” Like a Stone “

Posted: March 15, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0
May be an image of 3 people, people standing, outdoors and tree

Remember Sports was a self-categorized “basement rock band” when they formed as a group of Kenyon College students in 2012. The band’s electrifying pop punk bonafides and the inimitable vocals of frontperson and primary songwriter Carmen Perry found them quick acclaim and a home at Father/Daughter Records. 2018’s Slow Buzz, their first as Philadelphians, saw a new line-up of the band collaboratively writing, building depth and elaboration to their compositions and production. Heavy touring alongside high-energy art punk heroes like Jeff Rosenstock and Joyce Manor brought their tightly synced playing to a stronger level, while headlining dates supported by favourite artists like Lomelda, Trace Mountains and Pllush inspired them to embrace meandering flourishes in their songs. When they came off the road, they were ready to write, entering a meticulous pre-production and demoing process, rehearsing in sectionals to help every moment blossom. Like a Stone, the result of that work, contains some of the smartest performances and arrangements in contemporary indie rock. While they’ve maintained the warmth and immediacy that made the quartet so beloved when they first connected to one another years ago, it’s hard to imagine songs this huge relegated solely to the basement.

Remember Sports’ is the third album for Father/Daughter which builds on the promise of their last, with an elevated sense of space and sound. Taking a multi-instrumental approach, the band members—bassist Catherine Dwyer, guitarist Jack Washburn, drummer Connor Perry and guitarist and singer Carmen—traded instruments throughout, resulting in biting bass-and-drum grooves, entrancing percussion layers, saturated synths and drum machines, and found sound minutiae from Connor’s circuit-bent electronics the band calls “evil items.” Carmen’s singing, meanwhile, even more expertly turns on its heel from pop-perfect vocal runs to squirmy sneers. “I like mixing the pretty and polished with our vibe, which is more detuned and discordant,” says Carmen of their distinctive approach.

Remember Sports’ most influential rock forebears make compelling reference points, from the interlocking guitar sophistication of Built to Spill, the eclectic pop snark of Rilo Kiley, the blown-out might of Sleater-Kinney’s The Woods, and the catchy intimacy of Yo La Tengo, who the band went to see together on a tour field trip. Former tour mates also provided inspiration, especially Nadine, whose Carlos Hernandez and Julian Fader engineered and mixed the album while frontperson Nadia Hulett provided backing vocals. Catherine describes the experience of working with proper analogue out-fittings as “thrilling” and used the studio environment to channel another of the band’s co-writing heroes: Fleetwood Mac. “I love Tusk and tried to copy the lovely straight into the console tone they get on some guitars on that record,” she says. “I love when a guitar sounds like it has absolutely no air around it at all.”

Despite its sometimes heavy themes, Like a Stone’s twelve tracks riff better than your very best memories of MTV, and never quibble about shifting genres when it suits the song. Gates-storming opener “Pinky Ring,” road-tested by the band on its headlining 2019 dates, takes a teasing schoolyard melody and pairs it with bright tambourine. “Eggs” and “Odds Are” show off Nashville licks and croon-along vocals respectively, drawing from Carmen’s childhood love for Tejano music and country, including her uncle’s band Los Jackalopes; the latter has one of the album’s best examples of her darkly funny lyrics when she asks, “Why’d you lick those tongs – the ones you just got raw meat on?” With gated drums reminiscent of an aughties pop highlights comp, “Out Loud” sees the contributors trading lead vocals over portamento synth scoops, resonant strums and even bongo overdubs from Connor. “Carmen got to go full Ariana Grande,” Jack says of the diva-leagues vocal chops on display, “and the whispering she does on that last chorus is one of the most special moments on the record for me.” “Flossie Dickie,” composed by Catherine, nods to the band’s punk roots with untethered fretboard acrobatics. And “Coffee Machine,” with music written by Jack, manages to meld easy organs, muted surf guitar, and aloof group harmonies in an eerily cozy 39 seconds.

Releases April 23rd, 2021

Remember Sports is Catherine Dwyer, Carmen Perry, Connor Perry, and Jack Washburn

Music and lyrics by Carmen Perry
“Like a Stone” lyrics by Carmen Perry and Jack Washburn
“Coffee Machine” and “Like a Stone” music by Jack Washburn
“Easy” music by Carmen Perry and Jack Washburn
“Eggs” music by Carmen Perry and Catherine Dwyer
“Flossie Dickie” music by Catherine Dwyer

‘Like a Stone’ out April 23rd, 2021.

HARMONY WOODS – ” Graceful Rage “

Posted: March 13, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , ,
0

Sofia Verbilla has always been good at telling stories in the songs she makes as Harmony Woods. On her 2017 debut Nothing Special and its 2019 follow-up Make Yourself At Home, the Best New Band honoree occupied narratives that let her navigate thorny situations from a distance, like on her pair of “Best Laid Plans” songs that depicted two characters who know a relationship has failed but are unwilling to meet its inevitable end.

Her third album, “Graceful Rage” which is being released this week is a good deal more personal, or at least it seems that Verbilla is finally ready to let down the shield of Harmony Woods, a name-like moniker that allows for some distance from what she’s singing about. From its very first track, Graceful Rage is withering and direct. “I’m tired of being led to believe things aren’t what they seem when they’re standing right in front of me,” 

Philadelphia’s Harmony Woods surprise-released a new album, “Graceful Rage”, on Friday. Produced by Bartees Strange, the newest LP follows 2019’s Make Yourself at Home. Power courses through Harmony Woods’ latest creation, an album that songwriter Sofia Verbilla describes in a statement as “a record about confronting the emotional rubble that this trauma leaves in its wake.” “Graceful Rage” the band’s third LP basks in the sheer magnitude of letting revelations and recoveries blossom on their own terms.

http://

Verbilla lyrically explores the great disappointment of having a personal idol fall from grace in your mind’s eye, and the rush of emotions that follows. Standout tracks include the haunting and raw ballad “Easy” which opens with chamber choir-esque layered vocalizations from Verbilla. The impassioned pop-punk of “God’s Gift to Women” is particularly scathing, with notable one-liners like “You’re not the person the world person the world pretend you are” and “I watch the skeletons fall / this is your wrecking ball.” Potent and gripping, Graceful Rage is an apt name for a record that so masterfully turns Verbilla’s bitterness into a work of art.

She frequently pulls from the geography of Philadelphia, in Rittenhouse Square with its cringing pigeons or the Fishtown row homes she walks by while trying not to fall apart. She likens public perception and her own relationships to cities, seemingly impenetrable fortresses until they come crumbling down. “Your city’s not as bright as you think/ Demons hidden inside all the buildings,” she sings on “God’s Gift To Women,” a song directed at that features some venomous put-downs like: “Keep writing those records about how you know best/ Like you’re a walking fucking copy of Infinite Jest.”

Produced by Bartees Strange, the songs alternate between sounding like billowing thunderclouds and the calm after a rainstorm. Verbilla’s voice has never sounded better and neither have the backdrops she surrounds herself with, filled with searing guitars and bashing drums. 

All songs written by Sofia Verbilla
Vocals/Guitar/Piano – Sofia Verbilla
Bass – Josh Cyr
Drums – David Juro
Additional Guitar – Bartees Strange

Cello – Kate Rears
Horns – Brian Turnmire
Lap Steel – Graham Richman

Skeletal Lightning released March 12th, 2021

WAXAHATCHEE – ” Great Thunder ” EP Best Albums Of 2018

Posted: March 5, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , ,
0

waxahatchee-great.jpg

Katie Crutchfield’s southern roots are undeniable. The name of her solo musical project Waxahatchee comes from a creek not far from her childhood home in Alabama and seems to represent both where she came from and where she’s going.  These are Katie’s 2018 re-recordings of some of her favourite songs by Great Thunder, a previous band of hers that is now dormant.

Katie Crutchfield knows her way around a rock album. In 2009, three years before the first Waxahatchee record, Crutchfield and her twin sister Allison released their first works as P.S. Eliot, a punk outfit they formed in Birmingham, Ala., their hometown. In 2016, they released a collection of other lost P.S. Eliot tunes, a wild, searing conglomeration of 50 rock songs and coinciding demos that sing of fleeing the South and pay homage to Sleater-Kinney.

On the heels of last year’s critically acclaimed Out in the Storm, Crutchfield found herself looking to take a sharp turn away from the more rock-oriented influences of her recent records towards her more folk and country roots. “I would say that it is a complete 180 from the last record: super stripped-down, quiet, and with me performing solo, it’s a throwback to how I started,” writes Crutchfield. “Overall, the EP is a warm, kind of vibey recording.”

http://

Katie would take a softer approach on her first Waxahatchee releases before returning again to rock and punk on her 2017 master work, Out in the Storm. But rather than release Storm b-sides or tarry further down a road to rock ‘n’ roll, Crutchfield slips back into her folk roots on “Great Thunder”, an EP so calculated in its quietness you wouldn’t dare utter a word during its slow-burning 17 minutes. Great Thunder is actually a reimagining of songs Crutchfield wrote while recording with an experimental-rock project of the same name, and while working on those early Waxahatchee releases, Cerulean Salt and Ivy Tripp, which certainly have more in common with this EP than Out in the Storm. On Great Thunder, Crutchfield swaps electric guitar and thundering drums for a single piano and the occasional acoustic guitar, turning all attention to her voice and lyrics.

You sense that following the loud success of Storm, this is really the EP Crutchfield wanted to make. It’s intimate and untarnished by production of any kind. It’s uplifting, spiritual and anti-chaotic, just what the doctor ordered in a year defined by mayhem. Crutchfield probably isn’t shelving her electric guitar forever, but, for now, her piano, voice and soul-bearing words are more than enough to keep us content.

EMILY RODGERS – ” I Will Be Gone “

Posted: February 15, 2021 in MUSIC
Tags: , , , , ,
0

 The new single, “I Will Be Gone,” is the title-track off her upcoming album out April 16th via Shimmy-Disc.

Per the press release: I Will Be Gone, which represents a collaboration between Emily Rodgers, her husband/guitarist Erik Cirelli and legendary producer Kramer, with whom she has worked for over a decade, was written and recorded in just six days. While the title track, “I Will Be Gone,” was fully formed before Kramer arrived, the rest of the album was written and recorded in Emily and Erik’s attic in Pittsburgh, utilizing lyrics by Emily and music by Erik. In addition to mixing, mastering, and producing the album, Kramer also serves as vocalist, bassist, pianist, and arranger, and the record belies an immediacy that is reflective of the time-limited nature of the recording process. Emily, Erik and Kramer plan to continue to write and record albums in this fashion, once the pandemic has passed and it is possible to be together again.

Emily Rodgers’s music has been compared to Mazzy Star, Cat Power, and Neil Young. Rodgers has shared stages with artists including: Magnolia Electric Company, Great Lake Swimmers,

http://

Via Shimmy-Disc: New LP of songs coming soon from Emily Rodgers, an artist Kramer has been working with for over a decade. “This is her very best work. The emotional range of these new songs is immeasurable”, Produced by Kramer (Galaxie 500, Daniel Johnston, Will Oldham), who has praised her music in a number of interviews, calling her “a songwriter in the classic sense of the term.”

Mixed/mastered/produced by Kramer
Emily Rodgers-vocals, guitar
Erik Cirelli-guitar, mandolin
Kramer-vocals, bass, piano
Megan Williams-violin
Mark Lyons-percussion

The OBSESSIVES – ” Monastery “

Posted: February 14, 2021 in MUSIC
Tags: , , ,
0

For their new EP, Philadelphia’s The Obsessives met up with producer Will Yip to get the best out of them in the studio. The result? A 3-song EP called ‘Monastery’ that finds the band settling on a mellowed sound after having gone through numerous stylistic changes over the years that ranged from grunge and alternative to more math-y endeavours.

They kick things off with single ‘Lala,’ a breezy slice of dream pop with a synth solo, big hooks and warm layers of twinkly guitars that make the song feel weightless. Equally easy-going is ‘I’ll Always Love You,’ a song that benefits especially from its simple yet highly effective chorus. Rounding things out is a cover of the Breeders’ 1993 classic ‘Divine Hammer,’ which The Obsessives have not only slowed down, but only stripped down. An unfortunate choice, as the result is a rather lifeless shell of a song that does not hold up to the original, leaving the listener behind on a bit of a sour note.

http://

Released February 12th, 2021

May be an image of 4 people, people standing, food and text that says 'THE OBSESSIVES A MEMORY-MUSIC 7" EP MONASTERY AVAILABLE 2.12.21'

The MENZINGERS – ” From Exile “

Posted: January 31, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
0

‘From Exile’ is a reimagined stripped down version of The Menzingers 2019 release “Hello Exile’. ‘From Exile’ was recorded from the band’s respective homes while in isolation during COVID-19 stay at home orders.

The Menzingers were on tour in Australia when the world seemed to abruptly stop due to COVID-19, forcing the band to cut their tour short and make their way back to Philadelphia. “The live music industry vanished before our eyes, and just like that we were out of work like tens of millions of others,” notes singer/guitarists Greg Barnett. “As the weeks progressed the upcoming tours got rescheduled, then rescheduled again, then effectively cancelled. There were times when it all felt fatal. There’s no guide book on how to navigate being a working musician during a global pandemic, so we were left to make it up as we went along. We wanted to document and create in the moment, and though we couldn’t be in the same room together due to social distancing lockdowns, we got creative.”

Over the next few months, the band would re-record ‘Hello Exile’ from their separate locations. “We would track the songs from our own home studios, share the files via dropbox, and pray it all made sense when pieced back together. Initially, we planned for the album to be similar to our acoustic demo collection ‘On The Possible Past,’ but we quickly found out that this batch of songs benefited from more detailed arrangements,” adds Barnett. “We rewrote, and changed keys and melodies. We blended analogue and digital instruments in ways we never had before. We dug through old lyric notebooks and added additional verses. We got our dear friend Kayleigh Goldsworthy to play violin on two songs. No idea was off limits. Hell, I even convinced the band to let me play harmonica on a song (no small feat!). The recording process ran from mid-March till June, and upon completion we sent it over to our dear friend and close collaborator Will Yip to mix and master.”

released September 25th, 2020

The Menzingers are:
Eric Keen – Bass
Greg Barnett – Vocals, Guitar
Joe Godino – Drums, Percussion
Tom May – Vocals, Guitar

Recorded in isolation in Philadelphia, PA Spring of 2020.

CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH – ” New Fragility “

Posted: January 15, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , ,
0

While the days when you might spot David Byrne at a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah show are behind us, Alec Ounsworth has continued to hone his skills as a songwriter. Born out of a dark year, “New Fragility” finds Ounsworth inspired and the songs shared so far are terrific. If it doesn’t end up being Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s best since 2005 it definitely will be the best to feature a song called “CYHSY, 2005.” New single “CYHSY, 2005” isn’t about the days when David Byrne would come to their shows, it’s about home. “Part of being away so often is leaving people behind, and never feeling you’re able to establish conventionally meaningful relationships,” says Ounsworth. “You can be searching for stability – being in one place – and discover that that’s an illusion.”

In any discussion regarding songwriters and lyricists of 21st century indie music, Alec Ounsworth and his moniker, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, will feature prominently. Few have been as consistently brilliant, eclectic, and intimate; fewer still remain defiantly independent, refusing to sign deals that compromise artistic vision. That is what characterizes Ounsworth’s oeuvre, especially the lifetime project he initiated sometime in the early 2000s, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. And with each release since its landmark self-titled debut, he has refined and broadened his sound, indulging an ever wider set of influences.
Prolific and enigmatic as ever, his recent works marry the quirky, left-field spirit of the early years with a well-earned confidence, and grander sense of scale and ambition. Always heading down new avenues of song arrangement and organic connection to his audience, after nearly two decades Ounsworth remains one of music’s most distinctive voices.

http://

The upcoming album New Fragility (February 12th, 2021 CYHSY/Secretly Distribution), including the advance singles Hesitating Nation / Thousand Oaks and Where They Perform Miracles, was produced by Alec Ounsworth, with additional production from Will Johnson, 
 
New Single of upcoming album ‘New Fragility’

SORAIA – ” Tight​-​Lipped “

Posted: January 13, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

Philadelphia rock quartet Soraia are giving fans new music for the start of the New Year: The single Tight-Lipped, with a B-side cover of Aerosmith’s Angel, featuring a cameo by Jessie Wagner. Frontwoman ZouZou Mansour says, “Tight-Lipped is about a woman who politely refuses to challenge the status quo and direction of her life. It’s a final recognition of the part she has played in her own oppressive censoring — a soulful rebuke of her former beliefs on how to live. But by the end of the song, it becomes a triumphant declaration of who she now is: Meet Ophelia — no more promises. I refuse to be so tight-lipped.”

some fun hard rock with some really good vocals.

http://

Side A: Tight-Lipped
(Soraia Mansour/Travis Smith) Green Eyed Lady Publishing (BMI)/Real
Bad Music Publishing (BMI)
Side B: Angel (ft. Jessie Wagner)
(Steven Tyler/Desmond Child) Primary Wave Steven Tyler/Universal
Polygram International Publishing

ZouZou Mansour: Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Organ Nick Seditious: Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar Travis Smith: Bass Guitar Brianna Sig: Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals John Hildenbrand: Organ Geoff Sanoff: Backing Vocals, Organ Jessie Wagner: Featured Artist singing on “Angel” Soraia Released January 8th, 2021

COREY FLOOD – ” Hanging Garden “

Posted: January 2, 2021 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

There’s a vague sense of unease that permeates Corey Flood’s debut full-length, “Hanging Garden”, It came out September 4th via Fire Talk. From the surface, the record appears to break through the dark fog of the band’s 2018 EP, Wish You Hadn’t, but just below lay themes of ambivalence, uncertainty, and anxiety, layered elegantly in fuzz. Recorded in Philadelphia by Jackie Milestone, mixed by Natasha Jacobs, and mastered by Sarah Register, Hanging Garden pushes through feelings of discomfort and repressed emotions to discover what truly lies beneath.

Born in Philly circa 2017, Corey Flood began as the post-grad bedroom project of bassist Ivy Gray-Klein (formerly of Littler) and drummer Juliette Rando. A month after their first show with guitarist Em Boltz, the band signed with New York’s Fire Talk Records and turned four planned demos into a full-fledged, delightfully menacing debut EP. Now, after two years of intense growth and collaboration, the trio continues their “whirlwind trajectory” with the long-awaited, nine-track LP, “Hanging Garden”.

Inspired by Throwing Muses, Helium, Pale Saints, and Brix Smith-Start’s work with the Fall, Gray-Klein calls Hanging Garden “a reckoning with internal discord.” Through soft melodies, lush guitars and churning rhythms, the dual vocals of Gray-Klein and Boltz recall relatable experiences with gaslighting, imposter syndrome, and repetitive thoughts. Hanging Garden feels intimate and familiar but is strewn with playful surprises, like 70s krautrock guitar work and samba-influenced drum parts. Hanging Garden is a mature stride forward, and a bewitching amble towards the unknown. 

From Corey Flood’s debut album ‘Hanging Garden’ Out September 4th 2020 on Fire Talk. “Blissfully nostalgic and compelling lo-fi guitar-pop.” – Noisey/Vice

“Their abstract, evocative lyrics are deeply contemplative cyclones—just like how their saw-toothed guitars will rattle around your brain, thoughts swirling until they begin to fester, gnawing at one’s psyche.” –  Paste

Released September 4th, 2020

Guitar + Vocals: Em Boltz
Bass + Vocals: Ivy Gray-Klein
Drums + Vocals: Juliette Rando

Older Entries