It’s always great when a band that kicks ass live is able to kick just as much ass on a record, and Desert Sharks are locked in on their new EP, The Tower. Now including Cait Smith on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, the sound that lead singer and bassist Stephanie Gunther, lead guitarist Sunny Veniero, and drummer Rebecca Fruchter achieved previously is only sharper and tighter. That sound has been described as “gloom punk”—a moniker apparently bestowed upon them by Bandcamp, as noted by Gunther in an interview with Full Time Aesthetic—and it’s an apt name. Desert Sharks meld their grungey punk to dark tones, which when paired with Gunther’s compelling voice becomes rather catchy. Following their 2019 album Baby’s Gold Death Stadium the band made a foray into cover songs, releasing two singles in 2021 paying tribute to Til’ Tuesday with “Voices Carry” and T-Rex with “20th Century Boy.” The Tower is their first original material since then.
The Tower pushes off right from the gate with the single “Medusa:” no waiting for the good stuff, just 4 hits of the cymbal and boom—bass, guitar and vocals kick right in, “He wanted to show me the bottom of the ocean.” The lyrics were inspired by the myth of Medusa to create what Gunther calls “anthem of feminine rage and reclamation of power.” “I’ll turn you into stone,” she declares.
“Sleepy Pie” is a bit more frenetic. “If you wanna love me, how can you live without me?” the lyrics ask in this sweet yet sinister track. “You make me a flesh and blood fantasy.” The video finds the quartet in a sleepover gone wrong (I know we all remember at least one incident in our teens with a seance or a ouija board, right?) and cleverly uses the tarot card imagery. (The lilies from the video for “Medusa” also appear, and it’s cool to see the band using a cohesive aesthetic.)
The record moves around in tone, exploring sometimes a doomier sound (“Emotional Breakdown”) and sometimes a poppier one (“Ego Death”) but the band never stops rocking. Even the slowest feeling track, the 6/8 time “Shadows,” induces headbanging. Fruchter’s drumming really drives everything forward, and Veniero and Smith’s one-two guitar punch nails it down over Gunther’s bass, while her voice is beautifully complemented by Smith’s backing vocals.
Title track “The Tower” is a truly epic closer, full of rolling toms and grinding bass and guitar, complete with a wailing solo. “I know things will never be the same / still I’m holding on to what remains,” Gunther sings, and it all ends on a chant of “the end… the beginning.” It all fits perfectly with the theme of the Tower card, on which Gunther elaborated: “I dabble with tarot. I’m not going to act like I’m an expert. I had a tower year [in 2022]. The tower card is one of the most intense cards because it represents major upheaval, chaos, and destruction. But on the other hand, it offers space for newness, enlightenment, and change.”
The production by Jeff Berner hits the sweet spot, crisp and clear without being slick. Gunther notes that the recording process was a bit different this time around; with the band practicing less in person after the upheaval of the past few years, they learned new technology: “…all our previous times going in to the studio, we didn’t have demos really. Like, we had phone demos from the practice space. Being pushed to work with GarageBand more, we switched our writing style to where it’s like, let’s actually record it out how we want the final product to sound.” The band enjoyed their studio time with Berner, with Gunther saying: “The way it feels when you record with Jeff Berner is that you have this other member in your band who is just as excited and just as dedicated to getting the sound that you want.“
Desert Sharks in 2022 (photo by Kate Hoos)
Desert Sharks are sometimes compared to the greats like L7 and Veruca Salt, and it’s warranted: The Tower is Desert Sharks at the top of their game, able to hold their own with those beloved bands. As this is an EP (six tracks long), I’m reminded of Blow It Out Your Ass, It’s Veruca Salt, possibly that band’s best work. Sometimes shorter is better as a showcase.
The Tower doesn’t feel short, though. The EP is one solid track after another, and the songs are so fully realized that by the time those six tracks are over, the listener has had a complete experience. It’s the best work that Desert Sharks have put out to date, and it’s poised to be a breakthrough for them.
For those who’ve been following along with the rest of us, the Brooklyn quartet and champions of DIY sounds Low Presh have been dropping rockin’ low-fi singles leading up to the release of their third record and its been worth the wait.
Clean-ish guitars cranked to the point of signal overload, the songs feel sharp and heavy, due in part to underlying layers of bass and fuzz to fill the cracks. Following the release of inky and slithering “Dark Eyes” and big guitar banger “Blade Runner” (read our thoughts here), the rest of the record has now officially dropped into our laps and knocked the wind right out of us.
Low Presh—Nick (they/them), Mel (she/her), Nicole (she/her), and Pat (he/him)—are a Brooklyn four-piece that self describes their sound as “floating in a stew of rock/punk sounds ranging from Tropical Fuck Storm to Hop Along.” A lot of the record employs consistently overarching garagey/Hives-esque onslaught, blitzing front and center on tracks like “Seeming the Same.” Still they make make room to zig to the ominously slow bluesy leads offset by frantic guitar noise on “Twangy” and then zag toward something close to discobeat meets 80s retro funk on “Knight of Wands.”
The highlight of LP III for me, however, culminates wonderfully in the record’s final track, “99 Cents” which is full of the delightful quirk of the early aughts anti-folk, cut with a dash of 90s angst. It’s the smile and tension and brood and blow of The Moldy Peaches crossed with Toadies and is an extremely satisfying way to end the record. LP III gives the band the proper room they need to flex the spectrum of their musicality while reinforcing their current strengths and still flashing the guide-lights of what they are capable of doing next. It’s a really strong release from a band who knows what they want to make and how they want to get there.
LP III is out now and available on Bandcamp and all major streamers.
Last year, I had the pleasure of participating in weekly songwriting workshop with handful of other Brooklyn songwriters which was organized by the infinitely prolific chasm of creativity, Maggie Denning of Tetchy. So it’s indeed no surprise to me that she released an entire Tetchy EP recorded on her cell phone, and that it also holds up as a proper release in its own right. It’s also no surprise that it while it may not have been intended to be released in this format, it was at the behest of her friends and fans of the band who insisted it see the light of day. I’ve seen and heard firsthand what Denning is capable of creating in a mere seven days with nothing but a cell phone and a guitar week after week and it’s nothing short of amazing.
Smaller/Better, the EP and title track (read our thoughts here) may lack many of the elements you’d expect of your typical full band Tetchy release, most notably bangin’ drums and a bunch of distorted guitars. The band happened to be in the middle of a metamorphosis of sorts and I’m sure that provided them the uncomfortable space necessary to really dig into some raw places and the opportunity to turn that into something wonderfully vulnerable. Songs like “Crack the Yolk” (smattered with real life VHS audio from Denning’s early years) are heartbreakingly real and expose the layering complexities of familial identity, touching on childhood loneliness, confusion of memory and the utter devastation of loss.
Stylistically the whole EP plays out like a haunted music box, slightly warbled and detuned from from years of neglect, forgotten and buried deep in the traveling carnival trunk of a snake oil salesman. Much of the lyrics feel almost stream-of-consciousness or journaistic in nature. The songs are almost Schwarzenbachian in their lack of lyrical repetition. But that’s all because Tetchy’s not the kind of band that would drop your typical acoustic EP with a couple of guitars and standard vocal meter. Tetchy is the kind of band that uses the fact that they are going through something as an opportunity to GO THROUGH SOMETHING together and make something truly special in the process.
That’s not to say the entire record is an emotional onslaught of complex darkness. There’s levity and tongue-in-cheek humor in the hopeful “Next Generation” (read our thoughts here) and an ugly beauty in closer “To Give You My Heart.” Stacking up the broken human pieces of biological and emotional matter in a crescendo of crude dissonance and a perfectly-suited overblown guitar lead that settles nicely into the final vocal movement until it’s abrupt and awkward end, reminding us that this wonderful record was indeed recorded on a cell phone.
Smaller/Better is out now and available on Bandcamp and all major streamers.
Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week lots of the crew—Chantal, Kate B, Kate H, Kevin, Mike and Ray—weighed in on some killer songs and have the scoop on plenty of new tunes, give ’em a listen!
79.5– Our Hearts Didn’t Go That Way (feat. Durand Jones). The minute this song starts, you’ll be ready to groove and won’t be able to stop bopping the whole way through. From their upcoming self-titled second album, due out 5/5 via Razor-N-Tape, it arrives just in time to shake off the winter cold and usher in the warm promise of a dance filled summer just around the corner. [KH]
The Antibuddies– Like, Ya Know, Whatever. Our favorite Detroit grungy snark punks have a brand new single out, “LYKW,” which is also their first with their new drummer. It comes on the heals of the two excellent EPs they released in 2022, Oh My Goodness! (read our review) and that’s what I said (read our review). This dishes up some major Bleach era vibes and their trademark sarcastic lens is laser focused here lyrically too for a fun romp of a song that was inspired by none other than the timeless 90s queen, Lisa Simpson.
The band shares in a statement:
“Like, Ya Know, Whatever” was inspired by the infamous 1996 Simpsons episode “Summer of 4 ft 2” where Lisa learns her worst fear of being uncovered as a nerd is actually what allows her to experience authentic friendships.
It’s also the episode where Lisa wears an absolutely peak grunge outfit and practices a catchphrase she thinks will demonstrate the epitome of social coolness, “Like, you know, whatever.”
LYKW the song is about experiencing our worst social fears but finding defiant joy instead of shame in putting your imperfect self on display.
They have some tour dates throughout the Midwest for the spring, though nothing on the East Coast as of yet—come to NYC plz and thx! Follow them on Instagram to keep up with their happenings. [KH]
Bully– Days Move Slow. I loved Bully’s recent collab with Soccer Mommy, “Lose You,” which was the first taste of Lucky For You, which has just been announced with a single released alongside it. Musically, this new song sees Alicia Bognanno staying firmly in the scratchy 1994 era Veruca Salt/Belly territory explored on the previous single, and while I love Bully’s spitfire faster paced older material, I’m all for this new, more introspective pop grunge direction. This song deals with the heartbreaking loss of a pet, in this case her beloved dog, Mezzi, which is a pain that many of us can empathize with and know stings like no other. (Having lost two cats six weeks apart in 2021, this song struck a deep emotional chord with me and I found great comfort in it.)
Bognanno shares:
“As someone who has spent the majority of my life feeling agonisingly misunderstood, there is no greater gift than experiencing true unconditional love and acceptance. I waited my whole life for the bond and irreplaceable companionship I had with Mezzi. She was my best friend and my only constant through some of the most pivotal moments and phases of my life. I was a stranger to the level of love I now know exists because of Mezzi. Love you forever; I’m lucky for you.”
Lucky For Youreleases in full on 6/2 via SubPop. [KH]
Chalk– Asking. This song from the Belfast post-punk group feels like it’s going to burst at the seams and fly apart at any moment. It’s part of their upcoming EP, Conditions, and each track feels tied together yet somehow different from the last, touching on noise, dark wave and dance punk for an intriguing collection. Only one song remains to be released to complete the EP, the title track, and that will arrive on 5/5. [KH]
Chat Pile– Cut. The Oklahoma City noise band has just announced a brand new split with the likeminded Nerver and shared the first song, “Cut,” a slow building tome that singer Raygun Busch says was inspired by the short fiction of Steven King. “‘Cut’ is an homage to the short fiction of King, particularly ‘The Man Who Loved Flowers,’ ‘Strawberry Spring,’ and ‘The Jaunt.’”
Bassist Stin also shares:
“These tracks were written and recorded after we tracked God’s Country. We wanted to use this release as a deliberate excuse to switch gears and fully lean into our more indie and alt-rock tendencies. Slint, Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices, and Starfish’s Stellar Sonic Solutions were certainly on our minds at the time.”
_Corvallis– Union. This is the first single from the instrumental post rock/shoegaze project of songwriter Matt Irving, who shares he is “all about spreading joy and inspiring music.” At times sweeping and more contemplative at others, it hits all the high notes of the genre and will definitely appeal to fans of bands like Caspian or Red Sparowes. I’m certainly excited to see where this project goes. [KH]
Dead Tooth– Electric Earth. It’s hard to argue against the point that Dead Tooth is one of the most engaging and singular bands coming out of Brooklyn right now. This is particularly true when the quintet/sextet (who knows anymore?) somehow keeps churning out quirky banger after quirky banger. The equitable distribution of artistic stagemanship divided amongst its members in itself is a unique occurrence and makes for one helluva live show. It also never hurts to have a saxophone player in tearing into the lead lines of a noisey post-punk project.
“Electric Earth” picks up right where “Sporty Boy” left off (read our review), with a tension in the guitar/vocal dance that allows us to boil and then drop at frontman Zach James’s command. What starts as a thumpy bass n’drum toe-tapper, by the end has you punching your whole foot right through the floor. Playing off concepts and complexities of emotional capitalism, it exposes us within a universe that feels very much like the Pink Panther on heroin. They will soon embark on tour supporting Bass Drum of Death which will hit Music Hall of Williamsburg on 3/31. Check out pics from their Market Hotel show together in 2022. [MB]
Dorthia Cotrell– Harvester. Dorthia Cotrell’s haunting new single, “Harvester,” weaves a disarming but mesmerizing atmosphere around you from its early surging chords awash with wind chime sounds. But it’s Dorthia’s beautiful and rich alto voice that draws you in and hyponotizes. There’s something upside down about the natural way of things in this song, and perhaps in our world, as Cotrell is pointing out. It’s cool in the summer, warm in the snow,” she sings, “Enough for my children’s, to keep them from coal.” This is the first single from her new solo release, Death Folk Country, due out on April 21 via Relapse Records. Cotrell already spreads dread with renowned stoner doom band Windhand, but “Harvester” demonstrates the creepy and more quiet beauty she can spread solo. [KB]
Erica Dawn Lyle– Sympoiesis/War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover). Erica Dawn Lyle has most recently been known as the touring guitarist of Bikini Kill from 2019-2022, but she has been making punk and experimental music as well as writing zines since the early 1990s. She recently announced a brand new solo album, Sympoiesis, which she shares on Bandcamp was “Recorded and edited at home from New Moon 1/21/23 to the Full Moon 2/5/23 mix of live improv and composition made from improv loops.” These songs see her in deeply experimental territory, the emotions of the songs very clearly communicated even without words, and the Sabbath cover in particular is as trippy as it is primal.
The album is being released in response to, and in support of, the protests in the Atlanta Forest which has been ongoing since 2021 and has seen cops ruthlessly escalating their violent tactics in recent months, leading to the murder of a protestor, Tortuguita, in January of this year. Lyle shared a lengthy statement on her Bandcamp page about the album and the protests which you can read here. Sympoiesis will release in full on 4/26 and all proceeds from pre-orders will go to the Atlanta Forest Defenders. [KH]
Fruit Bats– We Used To Live Here. Nostalgia of place is one of my weaknesses, and this song sent me into a bit of an emotional spiral. An ode to dwellings past, “We Used To Live Here” is a stripped down, acoustic tale that recalls the odd feeling of seeing a home you once occupied with your feelings, possessions, and lives, now empty — or perhaps worse, occupied by someone else. This is the final advance single before A River Running to Your Heart releases in April. [CW]
Geese– 3D Country. Geese return this week with new single “3D Country’ and accompanying seven minute hallucinatory video. And it’s a trip in every sense, as singer Cameron Winter envisioned a cowboy on psychedelics making his way through the backwoods. Winter shows his full range as he starts with a lower baritone before moving to the more full throated raspy mid-range section which blends well with the almost 70’s Steely Dan jazz-tinged female background vocals. It’s an upbeat jam that throws country, rock and honky tonk piano into the mix and you can just imagine them letting loose when they play this one live. [KM]
Handcuff– The Judge. The third single from the brand new London no wavey noise punkers who describe themselves as a band who make “short songs for bored people” that “[came] together from different corners of the South East’s [England] DIY punk and indie scenes, they find a home somewhere between noisy indie rock and fast punk and hardcore.” Their debut self titled EP comes out in full on 4/14 and will contain one more track that has yet to be released. Read our review of their previous single “El Ganso,” a very fun punk rock bop. [KH]
Hills To Height– Expired Benzos. The latest from the Brooklyn indie band, I’m a big fan of the soaring vocals here and the solid 90s vibe. (A leopard can’t change her spots and as a teenager of the 1990s, I’m always down for the vibes/sounds of that era.) This makes me think that it could be members of Catherine Wheel and Hum getting together to make a side project and you’ll hear no complaints from me on that (see previous parenthetical insert).
The group has been around since 2010, first as the solo project of songwriter Mike Dautner along with a rotating cast of characters, and which has since expanded to include the permanent membership of Joe McCaffrey, Casey Rabito and Jay Bernard. This was my first taste of their music but I look forward to digging back into what they have done in the past. [KH]
Immortal–War Against All. I’ve always preferred the “underproduced” albums of black metal to cleaner sounding ones, and Immortal’s newest is in the latter camp. And I’m not sure they are a “band” anymore, with original member Demonaz Doom Occulta being the only member listed on the release. Still, if you’re a fan of Immortal and their demon filled realm of Blashyrkh, this should satisfy, with rapid-fire percussion and guitars running to catch up to Demonaz’ tale of fantasy warfare (“strong is the hordes thunderous march / rise from the shadowlands / the power of northern darkness, wrath rides / into the unleashed Fimbulwinter.”) War Against All will be out via Nuclear Blast Records on May 26th. [CW]
The Japanese House– Boyhood. Brand new music from London based singer songwriter, Amber Bain, this is her first release since her 2020 EP, Chewing Cotton Wool, and it’s a nice slice of effervescent indie pop.
Bain shares:
“When my best friend Katie and I were young and in love, we dreamed of riding off into the distance on her horse Bam Bam, away from all the problems that came from being gay and in love back then. This song talks about how sometimes, however hard you try, you can’t help but be a product of the things that happened to you or held you back earlier on in life. But also, and more importantly, it’s about hope for overcoming those things. And look at us now. Not riding away, but towards… something. This horse was very lovely to us, but I think deep down Bam Bam was the horse we were riding all along, and wherever I’m recklessly galloping off to in my life, Katie will be riding bareback behind me like a lunatic, arms around me, like we’d always planned. Rip Bam Bam xxx.”
The single has been released as a standalone for now but hopefully more new music is on the way. [KH]
Jeromes Dream– South By Isolation. I don’t tend to be a big screamo person in general, but there are a few bands of the genre I really dig and Jeromes Dream is definitely one of them. I love that this song starts out with their signature feedback before kicking into some sick blast beats paired with Jeff Smith’s wailing scream and pounding bass riffs. This is the second single from the upcoming album, The Grey In Between, which follows their 2019 reunion album, LP. (If FTA had existed then, that album absolutely would have been on my favorites of the year list.) The new record is due out 5/5 via Iodine Recordings and the band will hit NYC on 6/2 at TV Eye. [KH]
Josie Cotton–Disco Ball. “What would James Brown do?” Josie Cotton asks at the beginning of the video for her newest single “Disco Ball.” If the answer is croon over a funky beat, Cotton has the question answered. The groovy guitars and organ synths add a nostalgic tinge to the song, which has a rather cinematic feel. The video is wacky and wild (are those… crab yetis?) and brings the 60’s and 70’s vibes. Day Of The Gun will be out May 2nd on Kitten Robot Records. [CW]
Mesheel Ndegeocello– Virgo (feat. Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez). The legendary bassist/singer/composer has announced her 13th studio album, The Omnichord Real Book, and shared the first single which features harpist, Brandee Younger, and Julius Rodriguez. The song is an eight minute epic that touches on soulful jazz, electro, trippy futuristic pop, funk and more with Ndegeocello excellently leading the charge, tying it all together with her collaborators.
Ndegeocello shared in a statement:
It’s a little bit of all of me, my travels, my life. My first record I made at 22, and it’s over 30 years from then, so I have a lot of stored information to share… This album is about the way we see old things in new ways. Everything moved so quickly when my parents died. Changed my view of everything and myself in the blink of an eye. As I sifted through the remains of their life together, I found my first Real Book, the one my father gave me. I took their records, the ones I grew up hearing, learning, remembering. My mother gifted me with her ache, I carry the melancholy that defined her experience and, in turn, my experience of this thing called life calls me to disappear into my imagination and to hear the music.
The Omnichord Real Book is out June 16 via Blue Note and is her first release on the label. [KH]
The Murlocs– Initiative. The Melbourne, Australia based band recently announced they have a new album, Calm Ya Farm, due out on May 19 (ATO Records) and released new single “Initiative” this week. It’s a big departure from their more garage/psych rock sound from previous albums as they introduce a brighter, cleaner, country rock sound. It’s a fun rollicking jam that finds Ambrose Kenny-Smith acknowledging he’s “mad as a hatter, officially off my rocker” but he’s ready to take some initiative and make a commitment, provided he’s taken back. By the time the la-la-la-la’s kick in you’ll be clapping your hands and singing along. Check out our live coverage of their last NYC show. [KM]
Pink Mexico– Dungeonhead. It’s only been a couple years since we’ve heard from Robert Preston Collum and the crew, but either way it feels like way too long. “Dungeonhead” is the lead single off their upcoming record Mirrorhead (out May 2023 via Quiet Panic Records) and feels like a slightly new direction for the band. There’s a sleepy element here that works wonderfully with their heavy components that are still present, but buried just below the surface. It’s almost Dandy Warhols in nature, which is a really cool turn for Pink Mexico and we are really curious to hear how the rest of the new record unfolds. [MB]
Romi O– M2M. You know Romi Hanoch as the front-and-center, bundle of energy goofball singer/guitarist of garage-punk trio, Powersnap. You also know Hanoch as the sultry voice among the ensemble cast of Ghost Funk Orchestra. But you may not know (yet) the Shakespearen-influenced Romi O, who just dropped her second single from her upcoming debut album expected to be released later this year.
Accompanied by a bare-bones but beautiful and simple music video, the song wonderfully marries electronic components and indie-rock sensibility to explore the complexity of one’s own identity and the ways in which different paths of expression can play out in how we approach choices we make as a person. [MB]
Roni– Don’t Look At Me Like That. The NYC singer-songwriter has a brand new single out this week which we premiered. Read more here. [CW]
RVG– Squid. The Melbourne-based post-punk band plunges into deep waters with their single, “Squid,” where guitarist/singer/lyricist Romy Vager steps on something on a beach and morphs into a squid-like form. From there, RVG reveal that squid are time travelers. Under the water, Romy is trapped in the past. “Don’t go back in time,” her raspy voice sings, “it’s not worth it.” Her vocals, like her lyrics, are raw and brilliant, and the lush and urgent music behind her from guitarist Rueben Bloxham, drummer Marc Nolte, and bassist Isabele Wallace spin a gorgeous goth soundscape reminiscent of the best of Siouxsie and the Banshees. “Squid” is the second single (following “Nothing Really Changes”) off of the forthcoming album, Brain Worms, due for release on Fire Records on June 2. [KB]
Shiverboard– Amphibian Fruit Punch/Stain Remover. A nice double blast from the Brooklyn punk/metal/noise doomsters. Despite them both being short, there’s a lot going on in these tracks with a wild and rapid shifting through genres from one moment to the next. But these guys never end up flailing blindly and make it all work seamlessly despite the at times seemingly disparate genre mashing. I’m more partial to the quick punk attack of “Stain Remover,” but both songs are solid and show off their chops as a band and as denizens of all things heavy. They’ll next hit the stage on 3/27 at Saint Vitus. Check out our coverage of one of their recent shows. [KH]
Wednesday– TV In The Gas Pump. Wednesday released their last album, Twin Plagues, a bit of a breakout album for the Ashville, NC band,back in April of 2021. It didn’t take long however for lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter Karly Hartzman to start writing the material for their upcoming album, Rat Saw God (out April 7th on Dead Oceans). “TV In The Gas Pump” is not only the 4th single released so far from the new LP, but also the last track on the album itself. “TV,” unlike the previous three singles released thus far is a very soft, almost delicate dream pop ballad. If it weren’t for the repetitive guitar feedback which is omnipresent throughout (and even this is buried way down in the mix) you’d be hard pressed to recognize this as a Wednesday tune.
That being said, “TV In The Gas Pump,” is a gorgeous song from a musical flow perspective. Lyrically, we are treated to what feels like a band’s eye view of touring through the American hinterlands and the mundaneness of the life it begets. But as I said, it’s the closing track on the LP and I have to imagine that Hartzman purposely wanted a soft tender lilting ballad to finish it off. The bottom line is that while this new single is quite a departure from the self described country-gaze which we’ve grown accustomed to from Wednesday, Hartzman and their amazing band has a winner with this one which makes me super excited to hear the complete LP when it drops. [RR]
Worriers– Never Quite Kicks In. I’m a big fan of Worriers, the Los Angeles-based (but formerly Brooklyn-based) project of singer/songwriter/guitarist Lauren Denitzio. “Never Quite Kicks In” delivers a whole new sound and vibe that is much more “chillwave” than the Worriers records I’ve heard in the past. The brief but withering song clearly demonstrates the 90s throwback vibe and critique that Denitzio is going for throughout the forthcoming record, Warm Blanket (to be released by Ernest Jenning Record Co. on April 7).
Denitzio shared in a statement:
“I’m all for a good nostalgia trip but nothing gets me twitchy like apathy and a too-cool-for-school attitude. I wanted to make something that reminded me of the indie songs I grew up on that could talk about something more significant while sounding fun and maybe a little bit silly.”
Clocking in under two minutes, the song shows Denitzio flexing their lyrical prowess with more irony than the earnest honesty I’m used to from them, and their signature guitar-driven hooks are toned down for more synth-driven pop here. But I’m happy with the unique vibe of this song and this record; I’ll follow Denitzio and Worriers wherever they want to go. [KB]
San Francisco’s Acid King just released Beyond Vision, their first full-length release since 2015’s Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere. If their Bandcamp pre-sales were any indication, the band’s heavy churn of stoner/doom metal has been sorely missed by many fans. Beyond Vision takes the listener on a time-defying escapade that fluctuates between head-banging and floating down through pulses of color and light. This album encapsulates a very good trip: you touch the stars without hurtling into depths of despair and it never gets so speedy that your teeth grind. It takes you to space, but the ride is smooth, even if your limbs suddenly feel like they’re weighted with hundreds of pounds of glowing galaxy goo. Time is bending and you’re lit from within. It feels good…just go with it.
The seven tracks on the album run together, meant to be listened to straight through, like one profoundly pulsing forty-three minute song. In a statement, guitarist and vocalist Lori S. explained the new turn in Acid King’s music:
“The band was never really that psychedelic, but this is definitely more trippy because we’ve got keyboards and synthesizers. That’s something we’ve never had before on Acid King records. The songs really have no beginning or end—they all just flow into each other. It’s meant to be listened to as one piece. The whole point was to have the listener feel like they’re on a journey. If you put headphones on, it’ll take you to whatever places you’d like to go to.”
The instrumental Krautrock-esque opening song, “One Light Second Away,” launches you into the spacey drift and throb immediately, with foreboding synth sounds rising throughout. Lori S.’s smoky vocals don’t start to blend into the mix until about three and half minutes into the second track, “Mind’s Eye,” when the vibe of Beyond Vision really grabs you, like walking really stoned into a smoky club (back when there were smoky clubs) to find a room full of sweaty bodies slow-motion moshing. Do we call this chill-thrashing? Stoner thrashing? Unison would-be violence that is slowed way the fuck down to a place where the urge to be violent isn’t violent anymore…that is the vibe of “Mind’s Eye” and really, the entirety of Beyond Vision.
The third song, “90 Seconds,” begins with metallic banging, like we’re trapped in an off-galaxy mine of some kind, as the lyrics give way to the anxiety of leaving your home world: “Transmissions from the sky / Is someone left behind / Or is it just a sign?”
“90 seconds” burns away into (or is swallowed by the fourth track, “Electro Magnetic,” where judging from the electronic flurry of sound at the beginning, the off-world mine has exploded and is now floating in space in chunks, as a repeated guitar hook spins out through the cosmos toward anyone who might be listening.
And many of us are listening. We’re listening with eyes wide (or squeezed shut) as the album shifts into light speed with its last three songs, “Destination Psych,” “Beyond Vision,” and “Color Trails.” But light speed here, again, doesn’t move too fast, you just know you’re shooting forward quicker than you ever have, and time is reinvented in how you feel the giant guitars, stretching synth lines, and locked-in bass and drums in your blood, in your beating heart. You’re flying with Lori S., Jason Landrian (guitar and synths), Bryce Shelton (bass and synths), and Jason Willer (drums). If you need a visual manifestation beyond what’s happening in your own head while you listen, check out the video for “Beyond Vision,” which conjures both 60s lava lamp acid culture and 80s arcade-style games like Galaga:
Engineered and mixed by Billy Anderson, with fantastic cover art by Peder Bergstrand, and released by Blues Funeral Recordings, Beyond Vision launches a new era for Acid King. They’ve been rocking hard and heavy since the nineties, but this most recent album shows their sonic adventures are far from over.
Beyond Vision is out now and available on Bandcamp and all major streamers.
Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week Chantal, Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer songs— give ’em a listen!
Anareta– Black Snake. This blackened-orchestral doom band hails from New Orleans and blends western classical instrumentation with brutal and intense metal. “Black Snake” is the third single from their upcoming debut album, Fear Not.
The band shares:
“‘Black Snake’ is a recognition of the horrific and destructive forces of the oil industry and the commercial infrastructures that are imposed on our lands and across our waterways. The title stems from a Lakota prophecy of a black snake that would cross the land causing destruction and poisoning waters, and was widely used during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests to refer to the toxic contamination that oil pipelines produce across our land. These issues are not isolated, but global, as industry everywhere continues to contaminate and compromise our natural resources. This song is about water. Water is life, and through water everything is connected. With rage and grief we recognize what we have lost as water turns black.”
The song is an 11 minute sweeping opus, starting out with the metal side of their sound before giving way to a gorgeous, string led instrumental interlude that lasts for several minutes before building back up again to a huge crescendo to drive the song home. Fear Not, is due out on 4/28. [KH]
Bo Gritz– Stored In The Sky. It’s been five years since the noisy London trio released their Tape EP and we hadn’t heard from them during all that time until earlier this year when they released the single “Observes and Selects.” Now they’re really back and not just “back” but BACK and with the announcement of their debut album, Chroma, in hand. Its first single, “Stored In The Sky,” came out today and it’s a ball of industrial grit wrapped in acidic, glitched out post punk sensibilities; it will snarl at you harder than someone bumping into you on the London Underground during rush hour. (Or maybe I’m NYC projecting here, in my experience people are much nicer on the Underground than on the NYC Subway!)
In their press release this was compared to “Snapped Ankles at their most industrial extremes” and being a lover of their weirdly wonderful forest too, I can certainly see the juxtaposition here. Chromareleases in full on 6/9 and the band has some UK tour dates throughout the spring, though nothing on our side of the pond just yet; we’ll certainly be keeping our eyes peeled for that. [KH]
Crazy & the Brains– Open Eyes. The band released this Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls) produced single last fall but today released a brand new video for it which we premiered. Check out more here. [KH]
Desert Sharks–Medusa. Kicking in immediately with growling bass and guitar and the powerful vocals of Stephanie Gunther, this is full throated rock and roll, an “anthem of feminine rage and reclamation of power” inspired by the mythological Medusa. The video blends images of blooming flowers and slithering snakes with live performance footage filmed at Econolodge. Desert Sharks’ new album will be out on Substitute Scene Records March 31—watch this space! [CW]
The Dilators– Cop City. The Brooklyn queer punx and driving force behind Brooklyn Transcore have been on a relentless push over the last year, their live shows cathartic, community affairs that continue to grow in size. Now they are here with their debut single and if you’re a cop or a bootlicker, they don’t have time for you or your fucking bullshit. Not one ounce of a word is minced on “Cop City,” and it just so happens to be one of the ragiest and most refreshing slices of hardcore I’ve heard in a while. The song comes paired with a powerful music video of live performance clips alongside protest footage.
Lead singer Saoirse shares:
“The cops and Hollywood are working together to bulldoze hundreds of acres of forest in Atlanta, the largest urban forest in the country, to build a mock city/pig training facility. People all over the world are standing up to this atrocity. But the cops are cracking down hard, holding dozens of peaceful forest-defenders in jail on trumped up charges. Over 40 people have been wrongfully charged with domestic terrorism. And on January 18, during a violent raid, the police murdered a tree defender. Tortuguita was a peaceful warrior. They were a nonbinary person of color. They were fighting for everything that is good and right. They were sitting cross-legged with their hands up. They were shot 14 times. We made this video to raise awareness about the great sacrifices people are making so that we can have clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, and real freedom. Rest In Power, Tortuguita.”
The band has a tour coming up around Reclaim the Stage Fest and will be in Brooklyn next on 4/21 at The Meadows with Adult Mom and 5/13 at TV Eye with HIRS. “Cop City” is from the forthcoming album, Die Later, due out later this year. [KH]
Fenne Lily– In My Own Time. The latest single from Fenne Lily is a gentle and soothing acoustic contemplation, but while it is delicate, it explores big feelings, existential quandaries of life and the general state of confusion that can bring. Who among us can’t relate to the realism of lyrics like “sometimes I feel like I’m just killing time here // or maybe it’s killing me” and the feeling of wondering what else might be out there? Lily is joined by Katy Kirby on harmonies for some added saccharine that hits just right: in the heartstrings. For the accompanying video that features ventriloquist dummies and rowdy bar patrons she shares:
“This song’s about the weight of stasis — about time moving too quickly and too slowly and every mistake feeling both permanent and inconsequential. When it came to writing this video concept, I wanted it to reflect the twisted aspects of a love that’s found in the midst of chaos and the subsequent feeling of being inanimate in your own story. All that, in the style of Terminator 2.”
“In My Own Time” is from the forthcoming album Big Picture (4/14 Dead Oceans). Fenne Lily will embark on a lengthy tour in the UK and Europe followed by US dates which will see her hit Music Hall of Williamsburg on June 2nd. [KH]
Friko–Crimson to Chrome. Singer and guitarist Niko Kapetan’s confessional lyrics (“I’m sitting here writing the same sad song / with the cogs on fire / spinning on and on / till I’m old and tired / even then I’m on fire”) and earnest yet forceful voice paired with classic indie distortion and sharp percussion puts me in mind of a more rollicking Bright Eyes. There’s an energy here you could certainly enjoy in the comfort of your own room but is perhaps better experienced with a crowd singalong. Indeed, their video for the track is comprised of clips from their first headlining tour. Currently they are appearing at SXSW and moving on to a West Coast tour through April. [CW]
Grampfather– Rot In Bliss. The Kingston, NY quartet is back with a brand new single “Rot In Bliss,” which follows up their 666G EP released in summer of 2022 (read our review). This band sure as hell knows how to bring the jangle and how to get in your head with some catchy and fun indie rock. You can catch them live on 3/31 at Our Wicked Lady for even more fun. [KH]
Jesus Piece– Silver Lining. The Philadelphia metallic hardcore band is set to release their upcoming album …So Unknown soon and have released the centerpiece of the album “Silver Lining,” a song the band says was inspired by vocalist Aaron Heard’s son. The song is epic, heavy and yet atmospheric, showing off many sides of their muscianship. They are currently on tour with Show Me The Body, Zulu, Scowl and TRiPP JONES and will hit NYC on 3/24 at Brooklyn Steel. [KH]
Low Presh– Blade Runner. For those keeping track and counting down the days until LP III (which is a pretty cool subtle double entendre btw), Low Presh just dropped a trompy stompy banger new single called “Blade Runner.” Between sliding walls of big guitars, punctuated with moments of hanging silence and big fuzzy choruses, the track is stung together beautifully by verses bent by metallic clink. It offsets wonderfully last month’s “Dark Eyes,” a brooding ripper full of dark spacey imagery and ominous slither. The quartet has proven themselves over recent years to be quite skilled at balancing discord and resolution, and these new songs prove nothing to the contrary. We are pretty excited to dig further into the new record which comes out on all platforms March 31st. [MB]
NEWSKI–Airplane. A midtempo lo-fi rock song featuring Guster‘s Ryan Miller that flows along pleasantly and strikes a nostalgic tone, or as NEWSKI says, “a magical time when MTV still played music videos…when prank calling truckers on CB radios was top-shelf entertainment, and when MGD was still considered a good beer.” FRIEND ROCK releases on April 7th and features appearances from Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Brian Vander Ark (the Verve Pipe) and more. [CW]
OK Cool– nissanweekends. There’s a lot going on here and I like that. Got some emo, some indie, it gets mathy, it gets loud, it’s in 6/8, I’m feeling all of it. I was previously unfamiliar with the Chicago duo who bills themselves alternately as “two pasty little music muppets” or “two tiny tiny rats with a dream of one day becoming human,” but I’m very ready to hear more.
Band member Haley Blomquist shares:
“nissanweekends” was written about the monotony of work and the stress that comes with balancing your time around it. It can feel like a waste of time to not be productive when there’s so many plates I’m trying to balance at once, ultimately making it hard to ever relax without feeling like ‘if I lay down, the earth will open up and leave me.’”
It is the second single from the upcoming album, fawn, which is due out 4/28 and follows several other singles and EPs, plenty for me to get to know them more with. Let’s get this band to NYC for a show, stat! [KH]
Snooper– Waste. Blink and you might miss this frenzy of a song. 1:24 of disorder is packed into this lo-fi banger and just as you’re settling into the chaos, BAM! there it goes, finished and done, just watch out it doesn’t take your head off in the process. The band is just wrapping up a tour around SXSW, here’s hoping they make it to NYC soon. [KH]
Semaphore– Stay2gether (Blink 182 cover). A shoegaze cover of Blink 182 was certainly unexpected, but being someone who loves a cover that changes things up, this one hit the spot. Singer/guitiarist Siddhu Anandalingam shares that “Stay Together For The Kids” is his favorite Blink song and it started out as an experiment with new gear which then evolved into this cover. This version keeps the moody spirit of the original, making it even darker along the way particularly since Anandalingam’s voice more closely matches the deeper pitch of Mark Hoppus who only sings the verses in the original, while Tom DeLonge sings the chorus in his much higher voice to make it soar; the deeper voice throughout works much better for this slowcore electro gaze take, keeping it grounded and more subdued. The band will release their album, I Need A Reason to Stay, on 3/24 and celebrate with a release show on 3/26 at Gold Sounds. [KH]
Teen Mortgage– Sick Day. Got 2 minutes? Then Teen Mortgage has this heavy garage rock ripper to tear apart your mind! This one looks like a stand alone for now but I’m reeeeeeaaal ready for a follow up to their 2019 EP Life/Death (which was a recent Bandcamp Friday pick for me) and hope that’s coming down the pike soon. As well as some live show action here in the swampy bowels of Brooklyn, too, of course. [KH]
Tetchy– Next Generation. Whether you are a die hard Trekkie, a Wesley Crusher fan, or just a being of any sort wishing for a better world, Tetchy’s newest single is for you. Aptly titled “Next Generation,” Maggie Denning and crew daydream of being friends with the young Crusher aboard the Starship Enterprise while binge watching TNG and hopelessly crestfallen over the disparity between relative future utopia of The United Federation of Planets and our current state of existence. Tetchy is currently at SXSW and will play their next Brooklyn show with my band, Nihiloceros, on 3/30 at Alphaville. [MB]
Tinariwen–Tenere Den. Tinariwen were my (and many others) first introduction to “desert blues,” which blends traditional Tuareg music and West African and Malian influences with an electrified guitar sound. Their new single “Tenere Den” displays their mastery of the craft, with intricate guitar work, meditative rhythms, and call and response lyrics that speak of the dualities of the desert (“white at times, and at other times / red with the blood of the martyrs / the desert where everything is far away / Inkilal heard the sound of gazelles / or of a Toyota roaming the vicinity.”) Their ninth album Amatssou is out on May 19th, and they’ll be at Webster Hall on June 6th. [CW]
waveform*–Lonely. I heard this song via a flyer on my street here in Brooklyn, walking home at 3 am not entirely sober, and let me tell you those are *exactly* the vibes for this track. This is gorgeous, country tinged (get a load of that guitar solo) dream pop with a surreal feeling, courtesy of songwriting duo Jarett Denner and Dan Poppa. Their album Antarctica will be out on Run For Cover on May 12th. [CW]
