UK band Swansong was formed in 2015, and have already released two albums and an EP. This month sees the release of their third full-length Happy To Be Here, a sharp album that punches hard and never drops the ball over the course of ten tracks.
Based out of Cornwall, the band is made up partly of current and former members of F. Emasculata and Rash Decision. The four-piece—Nat Gyll-Murray on vocals and guitar, Si Walker on guitar (who also does The Seabin Podcast), Dan Kitts on bass, and Jimmers Thomas on drums—are obviously inspired by classic alt and grunge rock of the 90s and bring their own hard-edged twist on these sounds, a mix fans of bands like the Pixies and the Distillers will enjoy. The band also cites the Cure as an influence, and while their own music is definitely harder, there is a darker edge to many songs, so I can see it.
The record takes off right out of the gate with lead track “Monster,” pummeling the ears with L7-worthy buzz guitars, solid basslines, and Gyll-Murray’s full-throated vocals. It’s a great choice to kick off the record. Highlights also include “Bitter,” “Frida,” and “Lump.” The album is mostly loud, although there are quieter moments within, while the band’s softer side is highlighted on the acoustic-tinged “Let Me Go.”
Happy To Be Here back cover (art by Nat Gyll-Murray)
Song topics range the gamut from unrequited love to anger to hanging in there through tough times and emotions (“You know I’ve been bitter / I left my smile at home / But I’m getting stronger / I don’t know how this will go / But I’ve got to let it go / Cause tomorrow I will have another go”). And lest you forget the band is from the UK, the last track “Barefoot Outside The Palace” relates a tale of being drunk and boisterous outside Buckingham, which is honestly hilarious and a great way to close the record.
The band doesn’t have any US dates planned, although UK readers can keep an eye on their Facebook for any upcoming shows. (F. Emasculata, Nat Gyll-Murray’s other band—which I am happy to tell you is X-Files themed—will be here in the States for some West Coast dates in March.)
In the wake of the events of 2020, there have been a number of albums released with hopeful, forward-looking vibes. That’s not the reality for everyone, however. That’s not to say there is no hope on Tungsten Beach’s newest EP The Dead City, but there’s certainly a dose of darkness to be found. Austin Fender, who handles vocals and all instruments except the drums, notes the songs on the record “are concerned with death, change, being mentally unwell, and finding the courage to accept oneself.”
Most of the music on The Dead City was already written when the pandemic hit, during which Fender was a delivery worker, but the band had to contend with a robbery and the loss of their instruments and recording equipment on top of everything. According to Fender “the events of the pandemic fundamentally changed the way the songs would be recorded. Everything became slower, more depressed, heavier and just different.”
And so now, lyrics rewritten, they have resurfaced. The album is characterized by sludgey, droning guitars that wend their way along slowed arpeggios. The doom and gloom of the seven minute first track eventually gives way to a chaotic, violent verse from Bronx rapper Todd The Surfer, before moving on to “Violence Is For Everybody (Non Binary)” where crashing slashing snare and cymbal work highlight the considerable talents of drummer Lukas Hirsch. Also included is a doom-driven cover of the Cure’s “The Drowning Man,” a track off Faith, one of that band’s darkest albums. “OK Rambo (PTSD)” is the final song on the EP, a chanting track that picks up the energy right at the end. Fender’s vocals are at their best here, and I think it’s a good direction for the band.
Following up their rocking single “Made To Love,” Australian band Sunfruits are back with a brand new single, “Believe It All,” and Full Time Aesthetic has your exclusive first listen. Building on their psych-pop garage sound, “Believe It All” finds the Melbourne group in 60’s tinged Beach Boys territory, and they do justice to the sound. It’s a bright track for these strange warm days we still have in November up in the Northern hemisphere (remember, it’s spring down under!) and one that fans of The Flaming Lips, King Gizzard, or the revivalist stylings of 90’s Elephant Six releases are likely to enjoy.
For “Believe It All,” drummer Gene Argiro swapped his place behind the kit with usual lead vocalist/guitarist Winter McQuinn. Argiro also produced the track, which was engineered by Theo Carbo and mastered by John Lee at Phaedra Studios. It’s Argiro’s first time being featured as lead singer, and his voice is perfect for the song, especially paired up with the layered choruses featuring bassist Elena Jones, rhythm guitarist Evie Vlah, and keyboard player Imogen Cygler. All those multi-tracked voices build to a suitably anthemic chorus. According to Argiro, the song is about “finding your inner child and rising above self doubt.” The music suits these themes, with a sunny, optimistic feel. The drums are laid back, and the bassline is super groovy and definitely a highlight for me. Everything is rounded out by some nice fuzzy guitars and glittery synth.
Sunfruits (photo by Kalindy Williams)
“Believe It All” is accompanied by a new video as well. Rather than starring the band outright, the video follows Australian artist Our Carlson as he hands out fliers and psyches himself up for a show, confronting his doubts and eventually rocking out with Sunfruits as his backing band. The members pull double duty by also acting as the audience. Argiro notes that Carson’s character is “a burnt out ‘Rockstar’ who is trying to relive his glory days by performing his new single… he teaches these young musicians how to be a rockstar just like he was when he was young.” The video features a joyous ending and will put a smile on your face. They also get some more mileage out of the vintage red Ford Mustang that previously appeared in the video for “Made To Love” (cue me pausing repeatedly to determine the year—what can I say, I’m a car guy. I’m pretty sure it’s a ’66.)
So far, Sunfruits have only released some singles, remixes, and one EP, 2020’s Certified Organic. This latest single will have listeners clamoring for a full length record. In the meantime, you can find all their music on Bandcamp, and watch the videos on their YouTube channel.
Another year, another Mountain Goats album—and fans are nowhere near tired of them, nor should they be. John Darnielle’s finely tuned pen has never faltered, even as the band gets up there in years. The songs on their 21st studio album Bleed Out do all tread the same general ground—revenge fantasies conjured up from the depths of vintage action flicks—and if one song about that doesn’t compel you, then perhaps twelve of them is a hard sell. But Darnielle’s listeners have come along for a focused ride before, on albums like Goths or Beat The Champ or Tallahassee. Thus we trust Darnielle to find his footing, and indeed he has. Whether “Training Montage” becomes a cultural touchstone like “This Year” remains to be seen, but it doesn’t matter. Mountain Goats fans aren’t here for hits, we are here for Truth. No, not facts—I’m talking about Truth. We may not be out here exacting bloody revenge on our enemies, but we Understand it all the same.
It’s helpful that nearly every Mountain Goats album can be an entry point—there aren’t any I would classify as “difficult.” Some have rougher edges than others (especially in recording techniques), or song titles that send you to Wikipedia, but all wear their musical heart on their sleeve, and Bleed Out is no different. (It’s an interesting contrast to Darnielle’s novels, such as his latest Devil House, which was full of nuance and questions and frankly left me unsettled.) Mostly filled with mid-to-uptempo grooves interspersed with legitimate bangers like “Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome,” it’s a seriously catchy record, with lyrical musings punctuated by chantable hooks—in other words, it’s a Mountain Goats record, and a damned good one at that.
Revenge isn’t a new concept in Mountain Goats songs, either: only look to “The Day The Aliens Came.” But The Sunset Tree recordings are well known as being very personal to Darnielle, and although many listeners have found solace in them and identify with his childhood experiences, there will always remain at least a hint of voyeurism for me in those songs. Bleed Out instead centers anthems with characters pulled from the annals of pop culture, and it cuts deep in its simplicity, with many of the songs hitting full throttle like a punch to the face. I’ve seen some shock expressed that this band could rock quite so hard, and to the doubters I would point out such hard-hitting songs as “See America Right” and “Lovecraft In Brooklyn” in their back catalog. But if any naysayers exist, they were absolutely silenced by the performance given this past Wednesday 8/31 at Webster Hall.
The Mountain Goats have only grown more popular as time goes by, and it’s well earned. I’ve seen them in tiny venues that I myself played; I’ve seen them in mid-size rooms. I’ve seen them enough that I genuinely cannot remember each venue’s name. But the crowd never fails to wear their hearts on their sleeves as well, and even in such a large space (the capacity at Webster is around 1400 people but it always feels far bigger to me) it seemed just as intimate as the first time I saw them over a decade ago. Mountain Goats shows are a dialogue between Darnielle and his audience, with the rest of the band as facilitators.
The Mountain Goats (photo by Edwina Hay)
The energy in the room was palpable from the very first song, “Aulon Raid,” and continued to electrify the crowd through songs both new and old. The Mountain Goats have a famously massive array of songs to choose from when touring—over 600, from a glance at their discography and my hard drive—and older tracks like “Minnesota” from Full Force Galesburg sprang to life with the full band treatment, silencing critics who may find older lo-fi records to be superior. They are in my opinion simply different. While some bands who have been active since the 90’s rely heavily on older material, The Mountain Goats always present a well-versed mix, and the audience seemed to know the words to the Bleed Out tracks just as well as the ubiquitous “This Year,” despite the recentness of the release. We all have our old favorites of course, and high points for me in the set were “Estate Sale Sign,” “The Diaz Brothers” (on which I hurt myself headbanging), and “Alpha In Tauris,” which came during the familiar solo acoustic portion of the set.
Yet although the Mountain Goats have been Darnielle’s since the inception, the band he has gathered around him are no mere afterthought, and when they returned to the stage for the final set of songs they were greeted with rapturous applause. Truly the Mountain Goats are a four-piece now for real, made up of longtime collaborators Peter Hughes on bass, Jon Wurster on drums, and Matt Douglas on keys, guitar, and saxophone, and I can’t imagine the lineup getting any better.
Darnielle is notorious for his hilarious and poignant banter between songs, and his wit was no less sharp at this performance, from introducing “Before I Got There” (“this song has less sex but it has more dead bodies, so it’s kind of a wash”) to a commentary on divorce against the backdrop of a jazzy intro to “No Children” (“spite attains the speed of sound”) and a shoutout to Celtic Frost. It was also an absolute treat to see Darnielle pick up an electric guitar—he’s always shredded on the acoustic, but this was like a trip to a mirror universe, only one with less evil and more rock.
The last song on Bleed Out closed the night out here as well, and the title track was as cathartic live as the surrender declared by the protagonist in the lyrics: “I’m gonna head into the darkness / I’m gonna head into the light.” There is indeed both light and darkness in the Mountain Goats, beauty and tragedy and the unfathomable mixture of the two, and after years of seeing them I’m convinced it’s just as potent to share that with each other before the stage like supplicants as it it to experience it alone, hands clutched over headphones. They’ve been there for us before, and they’ve proven they will be there for us again.
(Speaking of being there for each other, shoutout to the tall dude in the balcony who moved so myself and another short person could see. May you get tickets to every show you ever want.)
The Mountain Goats (photo by Edwina Hay)
The opening band for this show was Garcia Peoples, who offered up chill music that was jammy without being boring. They were a good choice for opener as they kept a nice vibe going that kept the crowd primed but didn’t wear them out. Of particular note was the very intuitive drumming, which lifted the songs along rather than taking over the spacey feel. They will be at Webster Hall again on October 3rd, opening for Tinariwen.
Scroll down for setlist, fan shot videos and pics of the show (photos by Edwina Hay)
Setlist: Aulon Raid, Make You Suffer, Minnesota, Mark on You, Estate Sale Sign, Extraction Point, Tidal Wave, Liza Forever Minnelli (with Matt Douglas)**, Alpha in Tauris**, Feed This End**, I’ve Got the Sex**, Before I Got There, The Diaz Brothers, Guys on Every Corner, Choked Out, Bones Don’t Rust, No Children, Training Montage Encore: The Slow Parts on Death Metal Albums, Palmcorder Yajna, Up the Wolves, This Year, Bleed Out
Efrem Czajkowski, Wren Krisztin, and Aaron Batley (aka The Janes)—have been together since 2016. The Corruption of What Cheer?, their new full length, is a culmination of their creativity and hard work over these last two tumultuous years.
In 2020 they released the single Pink Liquor/Respect, recorded in 2018. Both tracks have found their way onto their new full length LP in fresh forms. “Pink Liquor” is the perfect leadoff track, demonstrating much of what makes the band so compelling and unique. An ominous song, the swirling guitars and synths coupled with sharp percussion involve a dark carnival atmosphere. There are many interlocking parts here that fit a lot of complexity into only 4 and a half minutes.
This sets the listener up for much of what they can expect through most of the record, although there are quieter moments as well (the re-recorded “Respect”) and some songs with a genuinely danceable beat (“Can You Ever.”) The Janes make great use of their harmonized vocals, especially on songs like “Miscommunication Department.” Sometimes the vocals are very present in the mix, at other times moved into the background for a truly 3D quality.
Multi-instrumentalist experimental music can easily go in the direction of jam band meanderings. (Which isn’t to put down jam bands, but it’s nice to know if that’s coming or not.) Yet even on the longest track “What is Left is Also What is Right,” which flirts with jamminess, the music seems to be moving towards a deliberate destination.
The Corruption of What Cheer? truly feels like a collaborative effort, and it’s easy to tell the members are having fun even while they take their craft seriously. According to the band, the album was the result of “enthusiastic, zealous single-day recording followed by months of loving, careful bedroom mixing” and it shows.
Watch their latest video here and see several more on the band’s YouTube, or you can look them up on Instagram and Twitter. Jane Doe Ensemble are a compelling live act and they will be at Pete’s Candy Store on September 3rd and Hart Bar on September 10th.
