Hello and welcome! It’s time for your weekly dose of bite sized musical goodies from Hoos and Nick AD. We’ve both been very busy so the list is a little shorter this week but these are some of the good songs Nick and I have listened to over the last week(wish) and absolutely had to make sure we shared. Don’t forget to tune in to Nick’s radio show, Radiant Point, every Wednesday night for even more music both new and old.
As always, if you’re in a band or from a label, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know about you! If we dig ya, you’ll get a nod in the column. Read on to find out what we dug the last week or so:
!!!- Here’s What I Need to Know. I’m a big fan of !!!’s older work, particularly 2004’s Louden Up Now and 2007’s Myth Takes and can always count on them for an attitude laden groove to get me moving. Their latest track starts out purely electro before diving into their familiar pulsing feel, the perfect jam to head into spring time. [KH]
Jane Weaver– Oblique Fantasy. Jane Weaver continues her exploration into pop and indie rock with her latest single, “Oblique Fantasy.” Her incredible 2021 record, Flock, demonstrated her knack for pop songcraft alongisde the signaure experimental style she’d honed over her career. This latest single is part of Speedy Wunderman’s single series and shows she is still on fire creatively after Flock. Here, Weaver incorporates In Rainbows-era Radiohead atmosphere, with a krautrock pulse pushing tune and a spacefunk bass hook syncopating throughout. Her voice is warm and slightly daring—“You can do what you want, this time.” As her voice rises into a higher, airy register for the chorus, layers of synths build around her, the rhythm never deviating. This compact tune showcases many attributes of Weaver’s brilliance as a musician and songwriter. She’s an experimenter, no doubt, but she brings an impressive sense of dynamics and taste to her songs. Her choices are impeccable. Bringing her sound more into the pop realm shows the endless possibilities someone with her creative vision can bring to the pop paradigm. Weaver is in the zone right now and it’s awesome to hear. [ND]
Rudy Stone– Life of Luxury. This song seems to unfold in slow motion. A muted drum machine fill leads us right into a beautifully hazy guitar hook. AR Plovnick’s voice reverbates from the clouds: “Groovin’ to the music/When you pulled me in close/Said ‘We ought to spend the night/Making love…” Plovnick is somehow able to make a programmed drum track swing into a warm, slow groove. A touch of spaceage lounge music, a dash of shoegazery, and full-on stoner bliss, the tune forces you to slow down and get lost for a couple minutes—a true luxury in life these days. [ND]
Soccer Mommy– Shotgun. Whenever I need some chill indie with just a tiny bit of crunch to vibe out to, Soccer Mommy is where I turn. This is her first new song since her stellar 2020 album, color theory, and if this is the first taste, the new album Sometimes, Forever is going to be a strong follow up. I love the way the song starts out with just an overly gainy, yet not full on distorted bass (which is not a complaint, I love this sound and love the bass tone on many Soccer Mommy songs) and drums paired with just Sophie Allison’s pleasing voice. Not until the chorus does the full band hit its loudest peak with the guitars kicking in with a rush of sound that augments but never over powers the vocals, Allison’s yearning plea of “So whenever you want me, I’ll be around/I’m a bullet in a shotgun waiting to sound” shining through loud and clear. The full album arrives 6/24 via Loma Vista. [KH]
Soccer Mommy performing in 2017 (photo by Edwina Hay)
Sudan Archives– Home Maker. The always exciting and fresh Sudan Archives is back with a new single, “Home Maker,” which explores the singular, often unappreciated beauty of making a living space into a home and sharing that space with the exactly the person you want to. Sudan Archives subverts the outdated patriarchal notion of who and what a homemaker is by being in full control of the space and having full agency in her actions. Her distinctive voice is direct and bold:
I just gotta run up on my plants and
Hoping that they’ll thrive around the madness
Won’t you step inside my lovely cottage
Feels so green, it feels like fucking magic
Only bad bitches, and mad trellis
And baby, I’m the baddest
Sudan Archives is the project of Brittney Denise Parks, a self-taught violinist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter. It’s been three long years since we’ve heard new tunes from her, following the amazing Athena record that came out on Stones Throw in 2019. With “Home Maker,” Parks folds her experimental sound into a tune that could be jammed at the club. A simple beat throbs throughout, and hooks abound in the verses and chorus. Near the end, Parks switches the rhythm and harmonizes herself, repeating ” Don’t you feel at home when you’re with me?” You can practically see everyone’s hands in the air. Hopefully, more new music to come this year from this brilliant songwriter carving out new territory. [ND]
Winter Wolf– Blue Lights. Truly some of the most exciting performers in the NYC punk underground today, and hands down one of the best bands you’ll see live, Winter Wolf took some of that stage prowess into the studio and have released their first single in a few years, their first as a trio, “Blue Lights.” The song will be a part of their upcoming EP due out this summer on Academic Punk Records and is a really strong first glimpse at what is to come. Huge bass and drums drive the song, accompanied with perfectly matched dual vocals from Tony $ixx, providing the high falsetto, and bassist/vocalist Jey Winters serving up the full low end with intense growls to match his killer riffs. A sharp condemnation to cops and police violence, they mince no words when they yell FUCK YOUR BLUE LIGHTS! This is 100% one of my most anticipated releases of the summer. [KH]
Winter Wolf performing (photo by Kate Hoos)