Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of some new things that we dug this week, quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week was pretty busy for everyone with real life stuff, so this list is brief, but Kate and Mike still found a little time to weigh in on some new songs we dug so give em a listen! See you again next week with more.
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:
Babehoven– I’m On Your Team. Talk about an uplifting motivational pep talk, the latest release by Babehoven takes the duo’s typical slowcore melancholy and flips it on its head. The lead single “I’m On Your Team” from their upcoming debut LP Light Moving Time (due out Oct 28) gives us all the warm and fuzzies we can use in these uncertain and scary times. Tucked between the sleepy shuffle and cozy guitar, singer Maya Bon wraps you in her arms and stacks melodies that slowly soar in and out of whispered lullaby. “Even if you feel so alone/Someone’s going to listen/Give you back what you’ve given.” Living lightly in the grey areas of existence when everything today has become so heavily polarized, she invites you into ambivalence with powerfully subdued harmonic crescendo to “Make a choice and then change it/ respect where you’ll take it/ In these end gamеs, we’ve got to Creatе a life that’s liveable.” It’s nice to hear a track offer up such emotional support and promote healthy life balance, and know that after a rough week or a shitty day, Babehoven’s got my back. [MB]
BLKVAPOR– Proxy. There’s a lot to BLKVAPOR’S sound—emo, punk, noise—and it all coalesces into something that is uniquely them. This Baltimore based outfit also puts on an explosive and enthralling live performance and are without a doubt a band you need to be keeping your eyes and ears on. “Proxy” was originally released in 2021 as a Bandcamp exclusive and on it they lean pretty firmly into their emo side. The song now comes with a fun music video that was just released. [KH]
Botch– One Twenty Two. Math metal greats, Botch (which features members who went on to be in Russian Circles, Minus the Bear, These Arms Are Snakes and others), have just released their first new music in 20 years, the absolute ripper, “One Twenty Two.” The band will be re-issuing their catalog on vinyl this year via Sargent House, and as of now this new song appears to firmly be a one off. Bassist Brian Cook elaborated on things on his Twitter, addressing why now and some of the apparent backlash as well as some of the hopes for more from the band. He also addressed things on Instagram saying the song is “a bit of a fluke. Originally written by David Knudson for his solo album, it eventually morphed into a Botch song as former bandmates were brought on board to add their distinctive flair to the piece. No… we’re not back together. No… there isn’t more material in the pipeline. This was just a random thing that happened over COVID and we decided to share it with the world as part of the upcoming reissue of We Are The Romans.” [KH]
The Casual Dots– Frequency of Fear. The indie punk supergroup featuring Christina Billotte (Slant 6, Quix*o*tic), Kathi Wilcox (Bikini Kill, The Julie Ruin) and Steve Dore (Deep Lust) have just released their first new music in 18 years which was quite the welcome surprise to me and I’m sure a contingent of deeply nerdy music fans of a certain age. Read more here and listen to the awesome first single, “Frequency of Fear.” [KH]
Future Teens– Team Sports (feat. Dan Campbell). This is the latest single from Boston “bummer pop” aficionados Future Teens and will be on their upcoming album Self Help (out 9/23 via Triple Crown). “Team Sports” is as catchy as the crescendo is gigantic and they also got some help from The Wonder Years vocalist Dan Campbell who really helps drive the final chorus into the stratosphere. Regarding the song, guitarist/vocalist Amy Hoffman said “The first time I bleached my hair, a surprising number of people asked if I was doing okay. I know they were just razzing me, but it struck me as such an absurd barometer for wellness, like, no! I’m not okay, but that’s not why I’m blonde now! I think it’ll always be challenging to ask for help, or to be honest when my best friend gently checks in about the motivation for my latest self haircut, but I’m grateful I’m not always white knuckling it until my next therapy session anymore.” Elaborating on Campbell’s involvement, Hoffman went on to say that the last chorus “was originally a wordless, rock out ending, but Andy [Park, who is producing the album] felt like there was something missing. Dan happened to visit us as we were working through it and was kind enough to sing on that section. All of our jaws hit the floor as soon as he started, it was such a memorable part of recording the album.” Future Teens will next be in NYC on 10/13 at The Meadows. [KH]
Wild Pink– Hold My Hand (feat. Julien Baker). The second single from the upcoming Wild Pink album, ILYSM (due out 10/14 via Royal Mountain), this one is a tear jerker about singer John Ross undergoing cancer surgery. On this he said “I wrote that song right after my first surgery, about lying on the operating table where a member of the surgical team held my hand right before I went under. It sounds kind of arbitrary, and like it shouldn’t have been as impactful as it was, but I felt very comforted and wanted to capture that loving feeling in the song.” The vulnerability of the subject matter is heightened by the subdued beauty of the music—piano, lightly strummed guitar, with subtle drums played with brushes accompanying—and the addition of the master of heart wrenching songs herself, Julien Baker, who sings a verse and on the choruses. On how the song came together Ross said “I knew pretty quickly that I wanted it to be a duet, and I’m super grateful to Julien for joining me on it. This was one of the first songs we rehearsed together as a band in the studio and David’s piano part felt great almost immediately. There were a couple moments like that in the recording process where a song just immediately fell into place as soon as we started playing it.” [KH]