Within the vortex grip of an industry caught in the self-congratulating cycle of self-sympathizing and perpetual self-analyses, Impose's Week in Pop provides some choice alternatives and exclusives. But giving us a glance at the headline feeders, don't miss the buzz over a Kanye pic where Yeezy does not look stoked about ziplining in Mexico, Chris Martin's recent “consciously uncoupling” with Gwyneth Paltrow, One Direction fanaticism, all the while readying the new Coldplay album Ghost Stories, meanwhile Warpaint's Theresa Wayman proclaims she really does “love and adore” Beyoncé and Rihanna, as Bob Dylan's lyric note writings for “Like a Rolling Stone” are being auctioned off for more than a million dollars, with Kendrick Lamar performing an inspirational cover of “California Love” at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, and the official leak of Michael Jackson's lost-song, “Love Never Felt So Good“, off the forthcoming posthumous album, Xscape, and Cascine has started a singles imprint labeled, CSCN. So help us celebrate the new month of May with Fury Things, Triptides, The Urge, Nicholas Nicholas, Tin Desert, Satan Wriders, and many more —in no particular order.
We caught word from Main Attrakionz/Green Ova soldier Squadda Bambino some weeks back that him and a bunch of buddies were puttting together an East Bay crew/league of friends called The Urge. The collaborative air on the West Coast whith Squadda's Dream Collabo work with Dan Casey of Yalls, who also curated our latest “Bay Area United Mix” for our fresh Friday Night feature. “[Oliver Monday of Dream Collabo] has been our mutual friend for years,” Dan told us, “I met Squadda a few years ago actually and he had been around once to hang but the Dream Collabo campaign itself finally got us working on tracks. We kept the beat making pretty minimal, we were both feeling that.” As collective artists in arms, Squadda described the urgency movement happening between friends like Casey, DaVinci, Ammbush, and many others working in solidarity to keep the Bay's bright ones shining in the minds and hearts of the people around the world.
In our introduction to The Urge, Squadda and the crew rock the neighborhood with 211s pouring Grey Goose, and keeping the filth fresh and funny with the dirty-deeds jesting ode, “Dirtymann”. Like the waves and archives of Green Ova tapes, Bambino keeps the crew's vibe like a family of siblings and friends that have grown up together, joking, reminiscing, pranking while raising a bottle to toast up that life. Taking turns on verse, and keeping the flow's progression varied, nasty, hillarious, spontaneous, and real, while Squadda leads push ups in cross walks, dives off dumpsters, and loitering liberally around every convenient store along the stretches of San Pablo Blvd. A song to pop an unwashed collar to, the vibe feels new, keeps you smiling, with stripped down electric funk-tech that echoes the old guards that continue to keep the Bay close from Ocean Beach in SF to Vallejo. Keep listening for more to come from the Bay's newest scraping bad boys of slap — The Urge.
Under the condition of anonymity and request to keep the names confidential, we bring you our exclusive interview with and all about, The Urge:
Alright, so The Urge; how did it all first begin?
Niggas just recording.
We sat back and came up with a plan for our boredom.
Just getting back into the music part with us making the beat.
How did you all meet?
Probably passing a blunt to each other we met in rotation.
All of us met in high school in North Oakland.
Who is everyone that is involved in The Urge?
Main ones is Squadda, Dope (G), and Lo and some Rob.
A little Rob here and there on the album, we cut it down to me, Dope and Lo…Mondre [M.A.N.] on a song too, no telling who makes it by the end.
All of you flows are really raw, real, and from some genuine honest places. From the throwback style of “Dirtyman” to the effective minimalism of “Pills”, what's the recipe for mixing the classic with the modern minimalism in that Green Ova blender?
We just make the beats at the same time of the song.
We let the beats make the sound of our flow, the sound of the beat make the flow, we come with our own story, it's always our story. We ain't spitting nobody else's life, not copy nobody's shit.
From childhood chums, old and new friends, why is that folks are pushing the camaraderie of local community these days now more than recently?
We can just tell we ain't dealing with some fake ass shit, we ain't trying to impress nobody, as far as chilling and shit.
The Her Vision Films gives some great East Bay backdrops for some ridiculous antics. Was this like a way to show you and the home crew living large on a budget, having a good time and bro-ing down?
Naw, we was trying to get as dirty as we can. We was just having fun.
We was just chilling everywhere, we filmed at where we be, them backdrops been there, we just filmed it.
Yerrrp.
What releases do you all have on deck right now?
I got hell songs on deck, I never put 'em in a mixtape form, just songs.
Main Attrakionz got 808s Dark Grapes 3 coming in summer, we also LFK's follow up to LoFi Til I Die “Lo-Fi Kingdom”, produced by me and Mondre. I got tenth grade dropout deluxe dropping on May 16, Rebel Music 3 dropping any day.
Can you share any working titles?
Check dat Lo-Fi Kings & Money Type of Hustle, LO4HUNNIT.
As a producer yourself, how do you describe all these wild created sounds that pinball from the 808s, 909s, and all sorts of MIDI synths that you and fellow East Bay producers work with like Yalls' Dan Casey, Glenn Jackson, Ammbush, Parentz, Matt Tammariello of Shortcircles, James & Evander, Nate Brenner, Mwahaha, and so on?
I don't know, I'm younger than everyone you named but what I listen to on the radio had a part in what I do, it's been diferent eras for everyone. Maybe somebody's mom was on something that only was made in that time.
It's been an open secret that Oakland and the East Bay has been the hub of some of today's best producers, electronic artists, emcees, DJs and more. Who are some of the folks out there putting in work that you feel aren't getting the proper recognition?
My nigga Squadda and whoever made all dat old Keak Da Sneak.
I gotta say us, Greenova Records.
Current state of the Bay's scene and solidarity? Thoughts, hopes, and prayers for the future?
That somebody else will get da urge, trying to urge people.
I pray every day, rest in peace, Ralow.
Happiness.
Twitter – @THEURGE4LIFE
The world is caught in the middle of an ideal driven movement to build from memory/memories the aesthetic foundation and tenets of re-tailoring 90s audio couture. Everyone is into it, we are into it, we can't help it, the electronic music breakthroughs, the way genres became hybrids before just breaking and splitting off all together, the way the decade wanted us to really feel things on an accepting, casual and cool level. But from the resurgence in Arizona Iced Tea pattern textiles, the overindulgent re-examinations of Kurt Cobain's death, the continued posturing artifices under the code of ABC Network's TGIF programming, and more, have left us yearning for those sublime glimmers and instances from that former decade that truly meant something. The moments, and all those 'one times' where a certain sound could incite an internal response —the recreation of these period specific sonic chemistry is a careful art and skill that many reach for and few achieve.
Delivering on the promise of their Dinosaur Jr. song namesake, Minneapolis, MN trio Fury Things are made from the ingredients of guitarist-vocalist Kyle Werstein, bassist Devon Bryant, and drummer Andrew Carson. Cutting the tension with the shiny clamor of, “Matter”, loud and lazy strings surround in tight form around Kyle's delivered song that attempts to move connections along into the future, describing the conversation that gets shattered, caught in the friction, and distractions of life's addictions, diversions, and hosts of other matters. From the song's opening chord progression, tone modification, rhythm, and vocal harmony; the former whatever-generation of apathy in excess get's dressed in something thicker than baggy and/or grungy apparel. No matter what obstacle, the guitars and overdubs soar above the recreated scenes are argued ambivalence like the repeated passages of, “and you say you don't care”, along with the substantive request to “just give me something.” Fury Things move the retro-loving lens to an anticipation of beautiful futures while giving a toast to all the songs that are unsung, the feelting youthful feelings, and answering the bored, state of nothing matters with a chance to maybe, possibly find something.
Fury Things joined us to talk about “Matters”, and more.
With the name Fury Things, I feel like there has been much done with that J. Mascis-“Little Fury Things” titles that counts labels and bands, and I curious as to what about what that title means to the three of you?
Kyle: “Little Fury Things” has always been one of my favorite Dinosaur Jr songs. It's probably the first Dino song I remember hearing as I really got into them in high school. It's always been one of those tracks where I'm like, “Ok…How the hell do I make that happen?” I like the title itself for the same reasons as the rest of the guys: it's fun to pronounce it both ways. We're scruffy dudes making scruffy music, so a scruffy name kind of works.
Devon: We spent a little while looking for a name that suited us, but there was always some other current band that had it, or else it didn't quite seem right in the morning. I think our favorite rejected band name was Hulk Park!, because we had an image in our head of The Incredible Hulk attempting to parallel park a Mini Cooper, and shouting “Hulk Park!” out of frustration, smashing his massive green or grey fist through the convertible top. In the end, FURY THINGS suited us partly because we legitimately love Dinosaur Jr and take a lot of inspiration from that era of music, and partly because of the awesome cognitive dissonance of whether or not the first word is pronounced Furry or Fury. The split between cute/cuddly and aggressive/angsty seems to speak to our songs which are loud and hit hard, but are also built around catchy and inviting pop melodies.
What is it about that old school 90s Dinosaur Jr. era in particular that keeps all of us coming back for more, and now finally coming around again in how we perceive today's current of state of garage rock?
Kyle: I've always been about writing the songs I'd like to listen to. Ed Ackerson, who produced the track, has said that the genre's popularity may ebb and flow, but it'll always be there. Garage rock isn't a fad, you know? “You're Living All Over Me” came out in late 1987 and we consider it a “90s” sound and that was the same year that Cutting Crew released “(I Just) Died in Your Arms” in the U.S. Play the two songs side by side and they sound like they're from totally different eras. There's a lot to be said about three people in a room with some amps and instruments. It's visceral, honest and emotive. It pulls no punches and it doesn't talk down to you. That's why I think we all keep coming back to it.
Devon: We have a pretty wide range of influences as individuals, as well as ones that we can agree on as a band, like William Onyeabor, Metz, Kraftwerk, Foo Fighters blah blah…not that all of these come through in every song, but they do all inform the kind of tones we like, and things that get us excited about making music in general.
“Matter” is a great track, has all the perfect slacker-vibes in that 'doesn't matter' kinda attitude, while still doing the power-DIY-pop thing. What matters did you have in mind when this song first came to life for you guys?
Kyle: Sometimes I feel like I live in a perpetual existential crisis. The lyrics are intentionally ambiguous and I've heard a few people interpret them in different ways, but I was (and still am) dealing with the expectations that come with being a young adult, while trying to figure out who I am and what I want to do and balancing it with the idea that someday it won't matter because we'll all be dead. Grim, but whatever.
Devon: Well, the first thing to say is that, although our first two EPs were recorded very DIY in our acrylic fabrication warehouse practice space, the 7″ tracks, including “Matter,” were recorded by the very fabulous Ed Ackerson at his Flowers Studio in Minneapolis, which is a fantastic place where, among many other things, the most recent Replacements recordings were made. So the 7″ tunes are consciously more polished and punchier than our first two EPs.
Because we are endlessly fascinated with all the world's various independent, DIY, micro-communities: what the latest report from the scenes of Minneapolis, MN?
Devon: We're also fans of and friends with a lot of amazing bands in this town, who people outside of the Twin Cities should definitely look up, from Bad Bad Hats, Carroll and Strange Relations to Prissy Clerks, Whatever Forever, Frankie Teardrop, Gloss and France Camp. It's a very healthy and exciting music scene at the moment.
Can you give us the low down on recordings/releases in the works?
Kyle: We're currently in pre-production for our debut album right now and we'll start recording within the next month or so, if everything goes to plan!
Devon: We also hope to have a third EP out at some point later this year, which might be self-recorded again or might involve extra tracks from the forthcoming LP.
Listen to more Fury Things via Bandcamp.
We brought up Triptides the other week, the Bloomington group that keeps it real by recording in allegiance to the analog tape. The central members Glenn Brigman and Josh Menashe are a part of the bright fabric of independent artistry happening right now in Bloomington, IN. Lending a listen to their just released Colors EP cassette through Jaunt Records, the same water fountain spring that Jonathan Rado, Dub Thompson and all the Foxygen friends have been drinking from, reflected through the time-slipping psych trip sections of re-animated relic rock.
The tribal drums of ages set the tone for a note banging rhythm that rides to the title fanfare of, “Colors”. All the guitars, spells of vocals materialize in the mix like the flower-eyed pinwheel of lyrics that keep the mind-spin technique in guitar shredding rotation. The EP brings the listener to the clearing of “Destiny” which provides a moment's pastoral pause to reflect the opening's audio display of fireworks. The midway garden bridge brings you to the front door of “Throne of Stars', an already much mythologized song in it's own right. “Stars” breaks the solar systems and paints you a self-portrait of the band's proudest display of strengths and power to date. Vintage Volkswagen buses and love-ins for peace are administered as Triptides sanctifies a cosmic union of celestial planets, bodies, and fuzzy guitar narrative mouthpieces. So keep an ear on Triptides, and the rest of Bloomington just as a general rule.
Triptides' Glenn and Josh talked with us to bring us insde the trippy tide dynamics of their synergy.
Bloomington seems to be one of the nation's rising leaders in these new indie movements from bands, labels, support teams, etc. What is the Bloomington, IN report according to Triptides?
Glenn: We really dig a lot of the stuff happening in Bloomington; Landlocked is one of the best record stores in the midwest, theres a bunch of killer record labels and plenty of great musicians. It's a really relaxed atmosphere and a great place to cultivate your sounds with plenty of space to jam and record.
That being said, we've released most of our music (aside from an auris apothecary cassingle) on labels based outside of Bloomington like Stroll On Records out of London, Croque Macadam out of Paris and Jaunt Records out of Portland.
You are of the few artists these days next to White Fence and Mac Demarco talking about The Cleaners from Venus, which Captured Tracks has been reprinting recently as well. What does the music of Martin Newell mean to you guys?
Glenn: Martin Newell is rock and roll truth. He inspired us to record at home and revealed to us the power of the cassette tape. The delay on his vocals will echo through the ages.
Josh: I like to think he was doing the same sort of thing we're trying to do now but a few decades prior. He really nails the mentality of doing more with less, basically using any instruments he had lying around and not relying on a professional studio.
Did you ever hear his old one-hit wonder glam rock band, The Plod? They had that one single, “Neo City” that kills.
The Brotherhood of Lizards project destroys, too.
Glenn: I heard “Neo City” a little while back and really dug it — it's cool to hear Newell's vocals in a more power pop setting. I really like the Brotherhood of Lizards as well, it feels a lot like the Cleaners material but a touch more pastoral. I really dig the track “April Moon”.
Your music trips that nostalgic-modern approach to recording and production, heard all throughout Colors, like on “Throne of Stars”, “Moonbeams” and more.
What is the key to translating the sounds of 64, 74, and underground cassette recordings from '84, into 2014 terms?
Josh: It helps that we record on cassette, so no matter how hard we try we can't get it to sound modern.
Glenn: Basically we just try to record the kind of music we would want to listen to. I think the influences come through naturally because we've been listening to older music for so long that it's become embedded in our musical vocabulary.
How does the Triptides songwriting and development process work between the four of you?
Glenn: The songwriting and recording process is usually undertaken entirely by Josh and myself.
Josh: Yeah the writing process is pretty collaborative between us. Glenn or I may write a song, and the other usually helps fill in the details, add things, etc. For the live sound however, the other members definitely help add a certain sound and spice it up here and there.
What recording the Colors EP like?
Josh: It started by us re-recording a batch of demos to try and reach a better fidelity. It was our first time experimenting with multiple mics on the drums (revolutionary right?) so its cool hearing the drums in a stereo spectrum. Out of the batch of about 30, we chose 6 that sounded most cohesive together and created the EP. It took place over about a 6 month period and it was a really great experience!
Glenn: We tracked bass and drums live and then overdubbed everything else. We did all of the recording on a Tascam 488 and a Tascam 414 and then sent the tracks into Ableton to to mix them.
How did you all sync up with the Portland, Oregon folks over at Jaunt?
Glenn: Our manager lives in Portland and is connected to the people that operate the label.
What connections do you all feel repping midwest, nu-psych indie pop, with the Northwest, Portland/Seattle scenes? Seems like you all are doing a host of wonderful things right now in the world.
Glenn: We're happy to represent the scenes we participate in. I'm not sure how well we represent the Midwest (I'm from Atlanta originally and Josh is from San Diego) but it has been really nice honing our skills in Bloomington while at the same time working with awesome people around the world like Stroll On Records in London, Croque Macadam in Paris and Jaunt in Portland.
What all will you be doing to celebrate the release of Colors?
Glenn: We're going to playing a show at our favorite local venue The Bishop on May 17.
Josh: I'll be doing cartwheels.
Tours in the works?
Glenn: We'll be playing a few shows in NYC in May before we head to Lisbon, Portugal for Rock in Rio fest.
Josh: Hopefully we'll plans some sort of tour around the states this summer!
Collaborations in the making?
Glenn: We share members with another band called Frankie and the Witch Fingers and both bands we're on a four-way split 7″ via Stroll On Records with The See See and The Young Sinclairs.
Albums in the works?
Josh: We have an absurd amount of unreleased songs that will be made into one, or two, records.
Glenn: We hope to have another album out by the end of the year — stay tuned.
Triptides' Colors EP is available now from Jaunt Records.
Sometimes there's a song that makes your surroundings dissolve, and suddenly a greenbelt pasture unfolds in a grand unveiling. Brooklyn's Nicholas Nicholas took us there on, “Meet Me In The Park”, the threepiece's first single off their forthcoming album coming this summer. The single was already a hit in the Impose offices, where we then caught up with the central figure, Chris Masullo, in a brief interview featured in this edition.
“Meet Me In The Park” takes us from the artist's Comfort Falls debut to a recording built like a well designed public recreation space, adorned with light urban forestry. The sentimental scratches of tape noise and beloved imperfections clasp a followed sequence of note strings that tie the heart to park benches, and idling cars in the heat of awkward situations of life altering discussions. The feeling rings from the underlining pen of the guitar strings that make up the core and dimensions of depth that makes up the dimensions of “Park”. Masullo's instruments move about the remembered registries of places in the mind, completed by mastering courtesy of Warren Hildebrand from Foxes in Fiction.
Songwriter and singer Chris Masullo from Nicholas Nicholas talked to us about evoking places and feeling with song. We were so moved by “Meet Me in the Park”, that we wanted to know everything we possibly could.
The happenstance occurrences and literary allusions like “you’re like a wolf reading Jack London” to the emotional conversation and connections, “I want to write your name in chalk, then wash it off with a cloth.” How do you connect all these disparate forms in song-written prose?
I tend to have objects from the past in my mind when I'm making music. I've heard fixating on the past can be a bad thing, but what ya gonna do. There's a bit of a dream and a real story happening at once. The line about the baby with one arm was sort of the nexus of the song. That was very real.
The park itself becomes a very charged setting, where the setting itself of the park takes on it's own central character. It is a meetup place, a place to talk, a place to write a loved one's name in chalk, a place to have one of those 'talks,' etc. Is there an actual park that this is based on, or was it really just one of those well developed expanses of creating a strong sense of place for the song to evoke?
I guess I'm referring to the proverbial 'park.' It's a hard word to say without three or four things coming to mind.
How do the three of you develop songs that have this kind of electric energy coursing through all the ingredients you all contribute in the mix?
The tracks are recorded entirely by myself in my apartment. But all the people I play with live have brought more to it than I ever could. Recording that way in the future would be fun.
Did you name yourselves Nicholas Nicholas after any Nicholas in particular, or was it just the way it sounds when spoken twice in a row?
People have called me Nicholas by mistake my whole life. It was my dad's name and his dad's. But yeah, it's mostly just how it sounds.
We're getting fired up for the release of the EP this Summer, what other places do you all plan on bringing us with your music?
I'm working with some new live members that I'm excited about. We'll be playing some shows together starting in June. I'm playing a couple solo sets while out on tour with Heavenly Beat 'til then.
Thoughts on the Brooklyn scenes, and it's impact on the sound of Nicholas Nicholas?
Scenes are pretty elusive to me. But I do like Brooklyn and Jerry Paper.
The Nicholas Nicholas debut EP will be available this summer.
Tin Desert is the experimental audio production project of Brooklyn by Nashville's, Sarah Kim. In the post-structural spheres that enjoy the work of Holly Herndon, Lady Lazarus and other notable self-made artists; Tin Desert creates the spaces connect the dots of a shared patience, on “Wait”.
Sarah keeps a loop of whirling ambiance that spins like bee-swarming emergency sirens muffled as patience is practiced through vocal measures that question the pertinence of patience. Kim's calls of “why must I wait” beg vocal patterns that are timed with repetitions of violin strings that sends the audience into a cylindrical wind tunnel hive. The trials of waiting are created through experimental concentrations of repeated recitations that stir the barrel rolls of the accompanied samples that are turned to the disorienting and unsettling mode of tumble-dry. “Wait” takes you out of your comfort zone, while Kim tests the strength of the wait and it's worth in weight.
Sarah Kim talked to us about the various post-academic aspects at work behind her project, Tin Desert.
What first inspired you to start making your own music and atmospheric productions?
I’ve been singing as long as I’ve been talking; it just always seemed natural for me to make music. In regards to atmosphere, I am attracted to the idea of making something grand sounding.
When did Tin Desert begin?
I think the general idea of Tin Desert was sort of what I had envisioned even seven years ago, but I didn’t use the moniker until about a year and a half ago. I wanted to create an all-encompassing project.
I’ve always been a solo artist… probably just out of necessity because I was a loner-nerd. Don’t worry, I’m not a loner anymore. Still a nerd though.
Like the portrait of longing you create with “Wait”, what is your sonic secret of creating that kind of resonance between the piano timbre, sonic soundscapes and your own keep hold on vocal harmonies?
During my formative years, I was really into noise and I sort of fell in love with texture — but singing is still really important to me. I developed my own way of conceiving melody that isn’t dependent on chord progressions. It’s more exciting for me that way and I think for the listener, too.
How can these kind of empathetic experiences be relayed through experimental song craft?
Ever since I started making music, I’ve been interested in weird song structures. My songs are certainly very personal, but I think that’s something you can have without being a confessional singer-songwriter. Not to say I don’t love some confessional singer-songwriters! It’s just not who I am.
In what ways have you found your own Nashville by Brooklyn influences and environments to have impacted your art work?
Both Nashville and Brooklyn are very musical, but in different ways. Nashville’s influence on me has been more of a subconscious one. One of the most important things I took from growing up there is to sing from the heart — even if that’s a corny statement, but it’s genuine. Brooklyn, on the other hand, is a good place for weird music. I tend to just feel like an outsider wherever I go. But in New York it’s great to be around a lot of creative people.
What releases do you have in the works?
My full-length album is near completion. The release date for that is TBD. But in the meantime, “Wait” will be available for download on May 12 [via Soundcloud].
We helped break news of Model Clocks, and now we give you a stream of their new Mabel album from TechnoFunk Enterprises. The duo takes their Alberta beginnings into worlds traversed with songs to match those kinetic landscapes of translated sound transfers like, “Glimmer of Hope”, “Scribblers”, “Dizzy,”, “The Lange Twins”, “337”, and others that fly to the post-warehouse dance pop know-how. A project from Terrace's Simon Lock, the Vancouver based artist continues to compact the energy of turbines into a mason jar of global atmospheric valence-stratospheres.
Italy's Shad Shadows lurks from behind the projected darkness as the duo, Luca Bandini and Alessandra Gismondi who command machines of rhythm, synthesization, simulation, and vocals. In a track that progressively moves upward, get down to the futurism fast-time echoes of, “Down”.
Directed by Christin Turner, check out the video from SF rising group, The She's “Dream Girl”, off the girl-group's forthcoming technicolor dream EP, Dreamers.
Tijuana Panthers bring the party with the Ashley and Megan Fenton video for “Cherry Street”, off the upcoming album, Wayne Interest, available June 3 from Innovative Leisure. Jangle down to the indie sounds with dragnet cop, coffee, and donut visuals.
Antwon drops a candid display of care but fronts on the title with the Cali Thornhill Dewitt video for, “Don't Care”, off the Heavy Hearted In Doldrums album available May 6 from UNIF/Nature World. Antwon and the Nature Boy gang share some ridiculous sappy to sentimental stories about trying to make it up to their girls, where the Big A patches things up in the end with steamed up shower and a bottle of Korbel.
In breaking news from the week, New York trio Lemonade has signed to Cascine, marking the occasion with a remix of Brett's new single, “Chalon”. With the Brett LP slated for release May 20 also from Cascine, Lemonade explores the further cloud talk based on the high-rising spaces created by the D.C. duo's sound. The vocals are all but absent, left only as a melodic compass for under-current steerage as new digital designs are dotted in the mid air fields of air. We can look forward to discovering new layers and precise digital unfoldings of perpetual skies on Lemonade's upcoming album available later this year.
Out of the blue, Secret Colours dropped their Positive Distractions full album which comprises the EPs “I” and “II”. The full-length is available the group's Bandcamp, and check out Secret Colours' headlining feature/interview here.
Having joined up with us a few months back for an interview, and dropping a recent self-titled EP; check out Jeremy and the Harlequins' babe screen test video for, “Cam Girl”, from director Maya Fuhr. On May 14 find them playing Asbury Park, NJ's Asbury Lanes, May 15 in Brooklyn at Union Pool, May 16 in D.C. at DC9, and May 17 in Philly at Ortlieb's.
Mirror Travel dropped the Lauren Klotzman video of kaleidescopic distortions for their title number, “Mexico”, off the album of the same name available from Modern Outsider Records. Elaborate reflections and glamor poses get squeezed into the visual effects that blur the eyes and visions that are brought by the spirit summoning forces of guitars. The rising of the band's phoenix, post-Follow That Bird, provides new sky heights to fly toward. Mirror Travel will be hitting up SF May 10 at the trusty old, Hotel Utah.
Never Young brought some welcomed acts of cathartic tolerance on, “Tolerable”, with newes of them appearing at Father/Daughter curated show on May 14 at SF State's The Depot with Happy Diving, Void Boys and the Down House. This is the Bay brought post-post-post-post punks, and maybe a few more adjective and hyphens somewhere in-between.
Sylvan Esso prepares for a wild tour with tUnE-yArDs running from May 12 through June 23, while their self-titled will be available May 13 from Partisan. Originally a song from Mountain Man, check out how Amelia Randall Meath and Nick Sanborn translate it into a new dance dedicated to making it right, with the Remedy asissted visuals for their title track, “Play It Right”. Follow all of our SE coverage, here.
Our old buddy Toby Goodshank dropped this funky little video, “The Internet”, directed by Nathan Smithe. Keeping it disco-novelty slick, it gives you another reason to love the dudes who helped give us the 3MB collective, his work with Moldy Peaches, Adam Green, and so forth. Toby's upcoming album is called Piper Laurie and will be playing with a full band at Radio Bushwick in Brooklyn on May 8.
With a lot of head-shifting vibrations, Jacques Greene dropped the cut, “Feel What”, off the Phantom Vibrate EP available now from LuckyMe. This might be what feelings sent into the future spaces may sound like in five years.
We premiered the MS MR remix of their track “Talk Shop”, and now London's Duologue presents their recently released Memex EP from their Wild Game Records label. The extended player provides a blueprint for what is next to come with their upcoming album available in August with a coinciding tour of the States. On the EP, the title track coasts on cathedral atmospheric synth arrangements, and the midnight switchboard vibes of “Operator”, the bottomless trap-doors of “Traps”, leaving you with the body-language dialogues, “Bodylog”.
Damn Right shares some of that celestial electricity with their single, “Halo”, off their album Frozen Sun available May 19, with appearances June 6-14 at the Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga, TN, along with a show at the Silopanna Music Festival in Annapolis, MD August 16.
Beverly, the project between Drew Citron and Frankie Rose, shares the fuzzy pop brilliance of, “You Can't Get It Right” off the forthcoming album, Careers, available July 1 from Kanine Records. So get it right, and pick a proper career, and let all of your bright tomorrows begin today.
Vanish into the ether with Jon Hopkins in an advance listen to the new single available June 30, “We Disappear feat. Lulu James”, plus a Moderat remix from Domino.
Check out “All the Way Down”, that feature the vocals of Nathan Willett from the Cold War Kids, joining up with Matt Maust and Nathan Warkentin of We Are Barbarians, to form French Style Furs. Off the upcoming Is Exotic Bait available July 8 from Frenchkiss; also be sure to check out the other dirty synth-decaying numbers, “(World in My) Bloodstream”, and “Solitary Life”.
With a European tour running from May 16 through June 7, Shannon and the Clams bring a rocking red-striped party in the visuals for, “Rip Van Winkle”, from the group's own Cody Blanchard. The dance party plays it strange and fun with the rocking absurdest soiree we imagined when first hearing this song off Dreams In the Rat House from Hardly Art.
Richmond, VA's White Laces tie those guitar chords tight, with the production assist from Jeff Zeigler, on “Skate or Die”. This is the alternate modern day soundtracks for everyone truant at heart, the notes to accompany them while making way from the skate park, to the record shop, the arcade, and then do it all over again the next day. White Laces will be dropping their album Trance later this year, with an appearance slated at Hopscotch as well.
From Montreal's Catherine Debard released the ambient post-new age head-realms of, Pyramid Island / Parallel Beaches under the moniker of YlangYlang. Evocative and meditative songs for the spirit, body and mind float through the phantasmagoria of “Phototropism Days”, “Lushly Bored”, “Strange Daze”, “Possible Tropical Fun”, the ecstacy embers of “Twin Dreamers, Unite!” and more. An opening wonder-cover ode to Underworld is made with a curious lead-in rendition of, “Born Slippy”, to Cold Cave nods on the hushed ethereal breaths on, “Cool Cave”.
Mogwai remixed Yann Tiersen's “∞ (Infinity)”, delivering the first single “A Midsummer Evening” lit through electronic feeders that expand and illuminate the brain. Tiersen's new album, ∞ (Infinity) will be available May 20 from Mute.
The Mikael Kennedy video for “Needles River” takes you down the silhoutte stricken lonely landscapes of water, roads, and misty dirt paths; all painted by Melaena Cadiz.
Soaring with organic heartbeat percussion, Mimicking Birds' “Owl Hoots” grabs the listener in for a night-flight that jumps from one guitar strumming tree-trunk-abode to the next. Their upcoming album EONS will be available May 13 from Glacial Pace Recordings.
Serengeti's alter-ego, Kenny Dennis, dropped the Alex Beh video for, “Rib Tips”, where barbecue-sauced smothered meat becomes fabled and exalted to the highest degree. You can find Serengeti on tour with Anticon labelmate Yoni Wolf from May 6-22.
The Red, Gold & Green Machine dropped the Daniel Anthony video for their Selecta Kram produced irie cut, “The Look of Love.” Dr. Oop and Tonye “Magic T” Aganaba and company will release their album, Planet Africa June 9 through the artist collective / label Water The Plants.
J. Gardner is behind the project, I'm An Island, a Nashville by New Orleans labor of love that shares the song, “iamurhome”, to give you a twanging slice of home no matter where you are. The debut EP is scheduled for release this summer. Inspirations await.
DeGreaser brought the squelch and scuzzed up amp attitude on the single, “Words In Your Mouth” off their upcoming album Rougher Squalor coming soon on Ever/Never Records. The New Yorkers turn up the distortion and the watts to levels that out-blast and out-shine the confines of stuffy garages and modly practice rooms and spaces.
In our ongoing coverage from the Stockton section, we gave early warning of Satan Wrider's upcoming Black Eyed Kids album, available now from Harlot. The trio of Eli, Sam and John work within a tight network of supportive friends from MLTD, Surf Club, Bilinda Butchers, Monster Treasure, and more —their debut album was also made under the auspices of the venerable, Justin Paul Vallesteros.
The self-proclaimed “Majestik Mystery Males Supreme” begin the album's ride down the lo-fi interstates of “Freeway”, before boogie boarding on the wave rolling rocker of “She's Not Right” about who “can't sleep at night” or socialize. With a sound that has been noted to fly in directions from the west coast's recent breakthrough of new sun-pop sounds, “Reality's a Bitch” is the song that burns with the fuel indicative of the Satan Wriders sound. But don't get ready to pigeon hole them yet, as “Hot Sidewalk” becomes an experimental exercise in making a sound that bounces like a rubber ball on the concrete turf that is caught in a distorted sample-beat-looper. The holiday road has a piss-take run on the coastal cruising song form on “Goes To The Beach”, revving up and raising hell on “Wrider's Journey”, before hitting you with their pig infectious power single, “Sun Coma”, to the classic nightmare sound collage of the title track. The album ends on a heavier note with the somber and explosive brilliance that sparks off the ballad, “Dead Children”, closing with the on-the-couch bound easy-rider(wrider?)-rocker, “Therapy”. More than another gem from the Yung Stcktn collective's clique of growing influence, they capture a variety of different sides (exhilaration, freedom, freewheeling, heartsick, hopeful, humor) from one of Northern California's lesser-represented communities. The real questions that arise and remain from this full-length is where this group will focus their upcoming energies and focuses into which directions, as a band that steers and veers expression in wild directions.
Closing out the week, helping us say goodbye to April, hello to may and their new album; Satan Wriders took over the reigns for the remainder of Week in Pop:
Hey Week in Pop readers,
April was kind of a bummer month, but there been worse. Cade is in the hospital, there ain’t enough water and there’s a new tech bubble in Silicon Valley. No matter what, there’s always something good to Wride to – for one thing, our record is finally out. Here are four April highlights to keep you doing your thang:
1. Only Five Months until Pono drops. “Pono” is a Hawaiian word for 'righteousness.' What’s righteous about Pono, you might be asking? Well, Pono has been advertising itself as a high-quality music listening device, with its 24-bit, 192 kHz sound but the real cards are in its revolutionary elderly-friendly interface. Neil Young wouldn’t endorse shit had he trouble using it. The three-edged PONO player is no-frills and hard-to-lose. We’re glad to see the elderly being represented in the burgeoning mp3 player market.
2. Rob Ford rules. Someone recently leaked an audio recording of Rob Ford having fun at the bar. While the Wriders do not approve of public surveillance (we stand for Snowden) we’re glad to have heard the audio of Robby riffing at his favorite local bar. Now we can all imagine ourselves slightly blitzed listening to this guy’s endearing tangents at our own local bars. Mr. Ford: hook up with Pono after you’re through with the politics junk and record a high-fidelity spoken word full-immersion Pono exclusive. I can’t wait to listen to “The Rob Ford Experience” loud as fuck on my hi-fi while I drink craft beer alone in my room.
3. The Obnox album rules. A little late with this one, but Louder Space is the only rock’n’roll album that doesn’t sound like a crock of shit in 2014. It’s so good that it even broke the e-barrage of PR-slave music blog mouthpieces that churn out fake reviews of the same neo-industry-backed shit day in and day out. Satan Wriders was supposed to open for OBNOX this month but we couldn’t do it. We’ve had to give up a lot of choice shows this spring but that one was a particular bummer. OBNOX: get at us!!
4. Lean is off the market. Soulja Boy’s petitioning to bring back Actavis, and Lil’ Boosie says good riddance. Who do you side with? Lean’s a fun drug but too many rappers are falling off because they’re always getting hit with that sledgehammer-ass Actavis. This feels like the end of a rap era, one whose seeds were planted in Houston twenty years ago (RIP Pimp C, RIP DJ Screw). You can really hear the end in Young Thugga Mane LaFlare. One time one of us drank a bottle of lean before bed and threw up at work the next morning. The song “Need” really articulates that feeling.
Last but not least, Goldmine Sacks is the anti-national bank superforce perennially fighting for the reader’s right. His track record against the PR Conspiracy is flawless. One of us broke a beer bottle on his floor last month and he didn’t even care. Keep him around, Impose! What a stand-up dude and class-A Wrider. We’re beyond honored to take over this week’s “Week in Pop” and we’re happy to say that it’s May.
Till next time,
Satan Wriders
