Fucked Up have released “Found,” the second single from their upcoming album, One Day. Damian Abraham’s scream greets us immediately as the song begins and then it’s off to the races from there, the song ripping and raging in only the way Fucked Up can. This song will also serve as the first track on the album, setting the immediate no bullshit tone this band is known for.
The song addresses the negative legacy of colonization and the poison of modern day gentrification head on with lyrics that mince no words and take full accountability: “All the names were erased, buried under a land that my people stole.”
On this guitarist Mike Haliechuk elaborated saying:
“I used to live on Davenport Road, which is one of the oldest streets in North America, and has been a First Nations trail for thousands of years, running along the north shore of Lake Iroquois, which receded after the last ice age. Just to the east was Taddle Creek, which was buried underground during the 19th century to build the streets I walk on. I thought about gentrification a lot, watching little stores get swallowed up by big buildings until I realized I am one of those big buildings. The name of the song comes from the Shadi Bartsch translation of The Aeneid, where she points out that the words “found” and “stab” open and close the book, which are two meanings for the same Greek verb. That discovery is actually conquest, and that settlement is always violence. And that any story I try to tell myself about the place I found to live can only be a story to justify the expansion of one people across the world of another.”
Listen to “Found,” below and on all major streamers. One Day is available for pre-order now and releases in full on January 27, 2023 via Merge.
Black Eyes, the influential experimental/art punk/post punk band, had a blink and you miss it career—only existing from 2001-2004—and thus are the kind of band many of us discovered posthumously, myself included. Having found them in the nascent ether of mp3 blogs not long after their breakup, I’ve been listening to them for a very long time at this point and their self titled debut is one of my favorite records of the early aughts, but I still never thought seeing them and their legendarily intense live show outside the realm of a low quality YouTube video was a thing that would be possible. I figured it was a footnote in history and they were just one of those bands I’d have to accept never having seen live. Flash forward to today, right here in the waning hours of 2022, and the band has re-emerged from retirement to grace us with their presence, the feverish and chaotic fury of their sound a much needed salve in these hellish times
They have announced a 20th anniversary re-issue of their 2003 self-titled debut on Dischord and three East Coast shows to coincide with the release: 4/7/23 Washington DC at Black Cat, 4/8/23 Brooklyn at Market Hotel, and 4/9/23 Philadelphia at First Unitarian Church. No word at this point if these shows and the re-issue are it, or there may be more coming, but either way, this is joyous news. Pre-orders for the record will soon be available directly from Dischord.
Their bio via Dischord reads:
Black Eyes are Dan, Daniel, Hugh, Jacob, and Mike. They began playing as Black Eyes in August of 2001, although most of the band had played together previously in Trooper and The No-Gos before that. The band’s first-full length was released on Dischord in 2003 following several singles on Ruffian Records and Planaria. Black Eyes created a unique live experience as the members made a symmetrical shape on stage, two drummers, one on either side of the stage, two bass players, one at the back and one at the front, and one guitarist in the middle. Their shows were chaotic and often melted down into frenzied, rhythmic jam sessions, with most of the audience partaking in the mayhem by the end of the set. After an extensive tour with Q and Not U, the band released their second full-length, Cough, in May of 2004. This album introduced saxophone to the mix and relied more heavily on improvisational and dub influences that were hinted at in their earlier work. The band broke up shortly before the album was released, at the height of their popularity.
See some of the aforementioned low quality YouTube footage:
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.
Hello and welcome to FTA’s list of what we are excited for this Bandcamp Friday, aka every music nerds favorite day! A bunch of us weighed in on what we’ve been into lately and we’ve got plenty of goodies old and new for you to dig into over a wide range of genres. But don’t take our word for it, dive into these tracks/albums and judge for yourself. Feel free to let us know what you think and tell us your suggestions.
Color Tongue– Sprouts. On the last day of a recent trip to the UK, I took the bus from Cardiff heading east bound to the airport and listened to this album front to back twice over, then dove into more of the Brooklyn based jangly indie/dream/psych pop foursome’s assorted singles; before I knew it the entire ride to the airport was done and I had barely noticed because I was transfixed. With a knack for the poppy and the experimental, they’ve tapped into something really magical, hitting moments of whimsy and sprite, which certainly improved my mood for when I found out my flight home was delayed.
Eat My Fear– New Era. The internet and specifically social media sucks a lot of the time, but it has become an almost unavoidable thing in today’s world. I tolerate it most of the time but then there are the times you discover the good shit and find things that previously would have been harder to access. Enter the Berlin based queer, feminist hardcore band, Eat My Fear, who I found on ye olde Instagram a few years ago and have been following ever since. They released their latest album, the fiery New Era a few months ago, which they describe as “Fast hardcore, aggressive, political and full of love!” I don’t know about anyone else but I need a whole lot of all of that in my life. (I’d also love an Eat My Fear show in NYC; here’s hoping 2023 sees my wish granted.)
Meatwave– Malign Hex. One of the first comments on the Chicago based band’s Bandcamp comes from someone named Jack Kelly who says “they never miss” and I’m inclined to agree, Jack. This is their brand new album, released just two weeks ago, and it nails everything this band is so good at—anxious vocals, driving bass, clever guitar and rock solid drumming. I hadn’t listened to them a lot prior to seeing them live earlier this year opening for PLOSIVS (see pics), but they blew me away that night so I fixed that mistake and got a lot more familiar with their music in a hurry. They’ve described themselves as “punk band trying to not always be a punk band” and I’ve felt that rings true as I’ve become now very familiar with their catalog, there’s a lot of indie and shoegaze peeking out in their sound and you can’t really pin it down to just one thing. Which is a-okay in my book.
Melkbelly– Nothing Valley. Even more love for Chicago with this, Melkbelly’s glorious 2017 debut full length. Described as “fusing dreamy vocal lines and cantankerous guitar racket,” it has always reminded me of The Breeders meets Hella meets a wild animal. And I mean that lovingly. I’ve been digging this one again lately, it’s a classic.
Middle-Aged Queers– Shout at the Hetero. This is the just released brand new album from the queercore band of my dreams who have been one of my favorite discoveries of 2022. I’ll repeat what I said in our September Bandcamp list because it still rings very true: Never has a band name felt closer to who I am. Proving us punx over 40 are still fun and dare I say flirty, this group hails from the Bay Area and has all the hallmarks of the classic Lookout! pop punk sound that I was obsessed with in the mid 90s (complete with a Green Day Kerplunk flower spoof t-shirt). And speaking of their merch, I’ve also very much enjoyed sporting my Golden Girls themed “go fuck yourself” MAQ shirt around town.
This new album feels a bit darker than their previous release, with the band confirming this fact, sharing that it was “written and recorded during the lockdown phase of the pandemic, our sophomore album takes a much darker turn than our debut release.” While that may be the case, the album still slays and it still fits perfectly within their body of work, the Insomniac to Kerplunk or Dookie if you will. Queer AF, sassy AF, punk AF. You all already know this middle aged queer can’t get enough.
Chantal- Contributing Writer
The Blankket– Be Your Own Boss. A now defunt project of Steve Kado that served as “a laboratory for performance ideas considered too weird for other musical projects,” The Blankket released a noisy, weird EP of Bruce Springteen covers in 2007, and you can still find it on Bandcamp.
Miguel Vela– Assorted Singles. I was handed a cassette containing many of these songs while working door at a show, and I’m happy I have a walkman again because these are fun, groovy dreampop tracks!
Noah Britton– I Love You. I caught Noah Britton at his birthday show recently, and I was impressed with his rich voice and his sincere folk-pop stylings. Truly this is some of the loveliest, most heartfelt songwriting I’ve heard in a while.
Edwina Hay- Contributing Photographer
billy woods x Messiah Musik– Church. woods released Aethiopes back in April, so I was very surprised (and thrilled) that he released another album entirely produced by Messiah Musik only a few months later.
Liars– Drum’s Not Dead. Liars third record is being re-released on vinyl by Mute on November 18th.
NNAMDÏ– Please Have A Seat. Chicago musician NNAMDÏ invites us to please have a seat with his latest release and I’m more than happy to accept this invitation.
Floatie– Voyage Out. I’m not into math rock, but really love this album by Floatie. It features fast riffs that you can never quite catch with your hands. It just keeps going like the Energizer Bunny if that thing played music and had great taste in guitar tones. I highly recommend this one to my fellow Alex G fans who love rock music with layers that run deep.
Jobber– Hell In A Cell. Jobber is a pro-wrestling themed post-grunge band new to Exploding in Sounds Records (home to Ovlov, Sour Widows, Pile, and many more). This EP has five super catchy tracks that take the listener back to 2008 in the best way. With a dynamic mixture of heavy riffs and a keyboard tone reminiscent of Motion City Soundtrack, I can’t stop listening to this one.
Kitchen– Town. The bedroom-iest of all bedroom pop, Town by Kitchen is quiet, eery, and feels like an old voice message kept from a lost lover. Filled with a lovely mixture of sonic textures, Kitchen really created something so familiar yet unique with this album. I want to draw lines to Kimya Dawson, modular chill hop, and shoegaze— but it’s so much more than that. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Through the Soil II– This 37-track compilation album acts as an amazing indie music sampler with everything from math rock to shoegaze. If you feel like you never have the time to find new music, Through the Soil II feels like a cheat code of an album. All proceeds go to the National Network of Abortion Funds, so be sure to check out individual bands that you like so you can support them, too.
Kate Bell- Contributing Writer
Attia Taylor– Space Ghost. I caught Attia Taylor’s live set during Radio Ravioli on WFMU this past month, and it was so good! This album released in July of this year, and Attia is also a writer, speaker, creative producer, and Editor in Chief of Womanly magazine (providing health information to women and non-binary people through literary and visual art). So basically she’s killing it on many fronts, and her music is sublime.
June McDoom– S/T. Again, big thanks to Olivia from WFMU’s Radio Ravioli for featuring yet another amazing live set this past month from June McDoom. Fantastic guitar work seeped in skilled atmospheric mixing and effects, and one of the most beautiful voices I’ve heard in a while. This gorgeous debut EP from June McDoom was released at the end of last month.
You Said Strange– Thousand Shadows Vol 1. I was introduced to You Said Strange a couple of weeks ago when I saw them open up for Slift at Elsewhere (AMAZING show, btw! See our coverage). They are from Giverny, France, and their music feels like 80s goth dipped in heavy psych. I like it!
Mike Borchardt- Contributing Writer
Beat Radio– Real Love. Singer-Songwriter Brian Sendrowitz writes heartfelt, literate pop songs and his latest release off Totally Real Records has a bit of punk wisdom mixed with anti-folk sensibilities.
Debbie Dopamine– Pets. Powerfully disarming, emotionally exposed, pink frosting and grungy guitars wrapped up in a sugar sour indie-pop spectrum of anger and sadness.
Granite to Glass– S/T. Sad musics for punks who like acoustic guitars and beautiful strings. It’ll make you cry whether you want to or not.
Kissed by an Animal– I Don’t Have to Explain Myself to You. The quartet’s second full length (on Handstand Records/EWEL Records) is just as unapologetic as it sounds. As much Walkmen as they are Dead Milkmen, this time around the band seems to take a softer, cooler, more calculated approach to their post-punk stoner dream surf hybrid musicality.
Venus Twins– Raxis. Cutting through the atmosphere like a machete in the jungle, the new record veers into some real sludgy jams but with lightning attack. Only in the moments where there’s a brief lull, do you remember that you’re listening to just bass and drums. The rest of the time you’re hanging on for dear life as everything devolves into a wall of noise.
Nick AD- Contributing Writer
Guest Directors– Oh, to be Weightless in the Sky. Like many bands, Guest Directors went about recording and writing while COVID kept them from being the same room. This latest EP represents their return to in-person playing and the exuberance is evident. While retaining their signature brand of darker-edge indie rock and shoegaze, there is an irrepressible energy to the songs, no doubt brought to the fore by legendary Seattle producer, Jack Endino. Julie D’s vocals seem particularly immediate and rich. Guest Directors continue to carve out their own path within the dreampop milieu—more edgy than ethereal, there’s a sonic spookiness and rhythmic grit that separate them from many of their peers.
Marlowe– Marlowe 3. The third full-length installment of the collab between rapper Solemn Brigham and producer L’Orange is fun, funky, and infectious as fuck. L’Orange pulls from a variety of sources to create a colorful and groovy soundtrack to the distinctive flow of Brigham. Where L’Orange’s production is warm and spacious, Brigham’s higher-range, slightly twangy vocal style contrasts beautifully, allowing his quick wit and quicker wordplay to shine through.
Sunik Kim–Raid on the White Tiger Regiment. Taking its title from a revolutionary opera during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, Kim expands on the Korean War origins of the original opera to offer a cacaphonous and chaotic dissertation on the intersection of that point in history, our current political and social existence, and the experience of immediate listening. Via the Notice Recordings Bandcamp page, Kim says: “The music is constructed with custom software I built with Max/MSP and SuperCollider that controls banks of free orchestral soundfonts at chaotic tempos.” It is at once deafening and soothing, noisy and melodic. A must-listen and one of the year’s best experimental releases.
Ray Rusinak- Contributing Photographer
Bim Skala Bim– Sonic Tonic. Having formed in 1986 in Boston, Bim Skala Bim are veteran stalwarts of the 1990’s third wave ska craze. But unlike their SoCal ska compatriots, they were never part of that cargo shorts and Hawaiian shirt crew which became synonymous with that scene and based their sound more on 2 Tone and the calypso rhythms of the West Indies vs the West Coast’s skate punk. Sonic Tonic is a UK only release out on Britain’s Specialized Records which came out last year. If you prefer your ska without the tom foolery of what became 1990’s popular third wave, then queue up Sonic Tonic and pull those Doc Martens out from the back of the closet and get ready to do some skanking.
Nora O’Connor– My Heart. Nora is a mainstay in the Chicago Americana scene but unless you’re paying serious attention, you probably don’t recognize her name all that much, if at all. But if you are paying attention, you might have seen her recently with Neko Case or The Decemberists, as she’s a touring member for both as a backup vocalist.
Her recently released solo album, My Heart, on Pravda Records, offers up a steady stream of relaxing peaceful tunes which will go perfectly while sipping on a hot beverage (or a sniffer of whiskey) by a warm fire on these autumn evenings.
Wild Pink– ILYSM. Hailing from Brooklyn, these guys create immersive sprawling dreamscapes much along the lines of War On Drugs. If that’s your thing this album is a thing of beauty to lose yourself in. If its not your thing I can see one being bored by it however. Oh, there are cameos from J. Mascis and Julien Baker amongst others for what it’s worth.
Fresh off of performaning at LEVITATION in Austin and with a show at Red Rocks Amphitheater with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard (with whom they share several members) tonight, 60s psych twinged punk band, The Murlocs, are kicking off their headlining North American tour with a bang and bringing their energetic and outrageous live show on the road, heading to Philadelphia on 11/7 and criss crossing the continent over the next three weeks. To celebrate, they released a video of “Living Under A Rock,” recorded live at The Forum in Melbourne this past February. The band will also take part in a Reddit r/indieheads AMA on Sunday, Nov 6 at 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific (Monday, Nov 7, 9am Melbourne, Aus).
Check out the video below as well as all 2022 North American tour dates.
The Murlocs 2022 North American Tour:
11/7- Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
11/9- Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
11/10- Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
11/11- Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount
11/12- Toronto, ON @ Axis Club
11/14- Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
11/15- Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
11/16- St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
11/17- Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
11/18- Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
11/20- Boise, ID @ Neurolux Lounge
11/22- Seattle, WA @ Neumos
11/23- Vancouver, BC @ Richshaw Theatre
11/25- Portland, OR @ Star Theater
11/27- San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Who doesn’t love a great cover song? We here at FTA loooove covers and a few months back three of us—Chantal, Hoos, and Rebecca—collaborated on a big list of covers which you can read here. We have all played in various cover bands over the last several years—all of us together in a Hole cover band and also in separate projects that have gigged together. We all know how fun it can be to interpret another artist’s work and make it your own, so here we are with a whole new round of cover songs that we adore. Crack on in to see what we picked in celebration of cover band season in NYC!
Chantal
The Dirtbombs– Sherlock Holmes (Sparks). This Detroit band is an enigmatic group, moving from style to style with ease and excelling at them all. They show their emotional side on this gorgeous rendition of Spark’s “Sherlock Holmes,” a strange song that feels more romantic in the garage rockers’ hands.
The Mountain Goats– Lucretia My Reflection (Sisters of Mercy). John Darnielle is a not-so-secret fan of goth music, even dedicating an entire album to songs about the gloomy rockers. His voice is surprisingly suited to this song. This one might be polarizing – if you like Sisters of Mercy and not TMG, well, you might find this sacrilegious. But I love them both, and I love this.
The Blankket-Badlands (Bruce Springsteen).I have a confession: this weird stripped down version of one of the greatest songs the Boss ever wrote was my first time hearing the song. Sorry, Bruce. This is a charming version that comes from Be Your Own Boss, a 4 song cover EP released on Toronto’s Blocks Recording Club.
Calexico– Guns of Brixton (The Clash). This cover of a Clash favorite is dark as all get out, exchanging the reggae flavor of the original for a Southwest twist.
Girls Aloud– I Think We’re Alone Now (Tommy James and The Shondelles). Girls Aloud were a British pop group formed from a reality show —not standard FTA fare. This is… not a great version, actually, of the oft-covered Tommy James and The Shondells song. But I love the strange descending synth line the arranger(s) of this alternate mix chose to use. BONUS: Arctic Monkeys actually tried their hand at a Girls Aloud original during a live performance on Radio 1, and it’s both charming and hilarious (they start cracking up near the end.)
Rasputina– If Your Kisses Can’t Hold The Man you Love (Then Your Tears Won’t Bring Him Back.) (Sophie Tucker). Rasputina have adopted a vintage style and sound, so it’s only fitting they put their own spin on this Sophie Tucker song about the joys of catting around town for revenge. Neglected girls shouldn’t worry, that’s what God made sailors for!
Lana Del Rey– Heart-Shaped Box (Nirvana). Sorry, I fucking love her voice on this song, and I wish she would record an album version. (Although I’ve got a (new) complaint- brush up the guitar solo, it’s a classic.) Courtney Love also tweeted at Lana to remind her this song is about her vagina, and I’d expect nothing less.
Hole– Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac). Speaking of Hole, you didn’t think I’d leave them off here, did you? It’s the spooky season and this Fleetwood Mac cover from the Crow City of Angels soundtrack is a suitably grungier version. (The soundtrack was better than the movie.)
Kate
Atom and his Package– Alpha Desperation March/Going to Georgia/Seed Song (The Mountain Goats). It’s a bold move to include three covers by another artist on one of your albums, but that’s exactly what Atom did on his 2001 album, Redefining Music, when he played three Mountain Goats songs over the course of the record. I absolutely LOVED Atom at the time (I still do) so I definitely took notice and dug up the original songs as fast as I could. I had previously been totally unfamiliar with the prolific and captivating songwriter John Darnielle/The Mountain Goats, but I pretty quickly fell in love and started grabbing up as many CDs as I could.
While I’m not the super fan that Chantal is (see her recent MG coverage), I am a huge lover of all of Darnielle’s very early work, aka the songs that you can hear the gears/motor of the tape recorder running on as they play. Adam Goren aka Atom and his Package delightfully recreated these songs in the awkward, geeky, synth punk/new wave way he approached his own songs too and I still count them among my favorite covers more than 20 years after the fact.
Big Joanie– No Scrubs (TLC). I absolutely love a cover that changes things up and Big Joanie has taken the R&B/hip hop classic (which was a number one hit for TLC in 1999) to a lofi punk rock ripper with perfectly executed “NO!” screams in the background, reinterpreting this era defining song into their own instant classic version.
Green Day– Outsider (The Ramones). I famously am not much of a Ramones fan, but they have a few songs I really dig, I mean how can you not love the biggies like “I Wanna Be Sedated” “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Sheena Is A Punk Rocker”? This is one of them too. Green Day does a faithful note for note recreation here but for some reason it just hits different than the original and I actually like it more. I think probably because the recording quality is better and I love Billie Joe Armstrong’s voice much more than Joey Ramone’s (don’t hate me for that one but it’s true).
Ibeyi– Rise Above (Black Flag). I love Black Flag and I think anyone who has devoted their life to punk rock can say the same. So I don’t take covers of their music lightly. This version though….this stopped me in my tracks, an absolutely breathtaking version that gorgeously reimagines a song that is foundational to punk and hardcore. The twin sister duo of Naomi and Lisa-Kaindé Díaz make it sound absolutely nothing like the original and sure, a lot of punk/hardcore fans probably (definitely) wouldn’t like this version, but I could not shake it for weeks after first hearing it. Trinidadian rapper BERWYN also adds some new lyrics with a short verse in the middle of the song for an emotional gut punch.
Interestingly, the sisters admitted in an interview that they had never heard the song before making their version, so unlike legions of crappy punk bands who bashed through covers of this long before they did, they were not fans of the band and had no stake in them whatsoever. (And yes, I played drums in a Black Flag cover band so I’m among those legions of crappy punks.) So why do a cover of an iconic song at all if you don’t know the artist or the role they played in shaping an entire genre of music? It turns out that the sisters were captivated by the lyrics alone, which they first learned of in the studio while recording with producer Richard Russell; they were moved enough by the words to want to record their own version. Read more to see their process and why they chose not to listen to the original even after learning of its existence, a pretty bold and unique move.
This was my first introduction to Ibeyi’s music and I now firmly count myself as fan. Punk rock is the lens through which I have interpreted so much of my life so it’s pretty cool when it can also lead to discoveries like this through it too. Ibeyi will perform at Brooklyn Steel on 3/23/23 and I can’t wait to hear this song performed live.
IDLES– Damaged Goods (Gang of Four). The brash five piece punk/garage/post punkers interpretation of the masterful 1978 debut single by legendary post punk group Gang of Four is a wonderful and abrasive rendition of the classic song. They change it up with the structuring of the guitars to keep it to a highly motorik syncopated approach that mimics the intro of the original, pulsing around that while Joe Talbot growls the lyrics over top, never breaking into the more intricate bass groove or flashier guitar lick like the original. But it’s no matter, it more than gets the point across. With the high energy blast of the guitars bouncing back and forth and Talbot’s distinct vocal delivery, they make the song their own.
It was initially released on a compilation album, The Problem of Leisure, which is a tribute to the late guitarist/founding GOF member, Andy Gill. At the time of the release the band said “IDLES does not exist without Gang Of Four. ’Damaged Goods’ still sounds new and exciting after the millionth listen. We jumped at the chance to just to play it, let alone record it. It was an honour, a joy and a privilege.”
L7– Let’s Lynch the Landlord (Dead Kennedys). How many boxes can one cover song tick? As it turns out, many! One of my favorite bands…covering one of my favorite songs….by one of my other favorite bands, how can I not love it?! L7 amp it up from the already zippy original and make it grungier, but largely keep to the same structure. The song was released as part of the Virus 100 comp of Dead Kennedys covers released on Alternative Tentacles in 1992 to celebrate the 100th release on the label. I recently scored a copy off Discogs when I was reminded of it by FTA contributing photographer, Ellen Qbertplaya, after we shot L7’s Bricks Are Heavy anniversary show in NYC (see my pics). There are some solid offerings on it including Sepultura doing “Drug Me,” and Napalm Death‘s interpretation of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” as well as another radically different take on “Let’s Lynch the Landlord” by Faith No More. I’ve included that one too so you can enjoy them both back to back.
Bonus fun: An old band of mine, Lady Bizness, learned this song to play specifically at one of the final shows at Trash Bar, a Williamsburg bar that was home to some of the first shows I ever played in NYC and many great punk shows during its lifespan. But like many other small music venues in New York, the landscape around it drastically changed over the years as gentrification took hold and the location grew exponentially in value, so it fell victim to a greedy landlord who quadrupled the rent when it came time to renew the lease, forcing it to close in 2015. But karma is, as they say, a bitch, and the spot sat empty for the next few years when no one could afford to take it over, earning them zero dollars in the interim. Serves ’em right for trying to suck the blood of small business owners! As for the band, we had so much fun with this song we kept playing it for the rest of the time we existed. (Sadly a recording does not exist or I’d share it here.)
Los Bitchos– Tequila (The Champs). This has been the closer of the Bitchos set both times I’ve seen them (see pics from NYC and Bristol, UK) and they do a fun, punked up version of the 1958 party classic. They’re also a (mostly) instrumental band like The Champs, but for their take, they add a twist of actually including lyrics on it for an extra bit of flair. I’m hoping a studio recording of this eventually happens but for now, this live YouTube video hits the spot.
MXPX– Take On Me (A-ha). I have very fond memories of loving both the original 1985 one hit wonder (and it’s iconic video that was a cornerstone of the 80s) as well as this cover that came ten years later from the Washington pop punkers. A little kid turned teenage love. Though in retrospect, and upon re-listening with more mature ears, I have to say that the execution and recording of this cover both leave a bit to be desired. But hey, they were barely out of high school when this was released, so I think we can cut them some slack.
Rebecca
Nilüfer Yanya– Rid of Me.(PJ Harvey) This is a new artist to me, and I’m delighted to see that PJ Harvey still resonates with the youths. I love the alto sax player mimicking the high vocal parts.
Screaming Females–Because the Night. (Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen) Jesus fucking christ. Two amazingly energetic, dynamic bands cover a song co-written by two likewise energetic, dynamic performers. Check out the ripping solos by super-shredder Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females.
Shonen Knife– Top of the World. (The Carpenters) This cover by Shonen Knife never fails to cheer me up when I’m having a bad day. They keep the light poppiness of the Carpenter’s version but give it a punky punch.
Wye Oak– Running Up That Hill. (Kate Bush) Indie rockers Wye Oak cover what is undoubtedly the comeback song of the year, thanks to its prominence in Stranger Things. This one isn’t as synthy as the original but the duo usher it into the bedroom pop realm with minimal instrumentation.
Yola– Yellow Brick Road. (Elton John) Yola explores the depths of her voice on this Elton John cover. I have absolute chills when she soars into the chorus.
