Lily Mao may have done it. “It” being having delivered a near perfect pop record. And along with the help of their backing band, The Resonaters, the Brooklyn singer-songwriter just may have indeed done it.
Mao’s Human Being Animal is the latest release from Vanessa Silberman’s A Diamond Heart Production and it rises to the likes of The Promise Ring’s Very Emergency or even The Carsself-titled from songwriting to production to execution. It’s really really good.
Mao leads out front on vocals and guitar and is backed by The Resonaters—Nate Jasensky on guitar, Gabby Borges on drums, and Tui Jordan on bass. For a number of years now, Mao has continued to stand out as one of Brooklyn’s most unique voices, and we here at FTA have obviously been keeping tabs on the band as they dropped their two singles “Wolves” and “Tiger” late last year.
Lily Mao and The Resonaters in 2021 (photo by Kate Hoos)
The guitars throughout the entire record (apart from the ripping lead on “Tiger”) are pulled back a little to let their strange cool voice poke through in all the perfect places. Chock full of quirk and teeming with skilled implementation, Mao knows the way around their own vocal chords in a way most pop-rock singers can only dream. But while the vocal takes center stage for the most part, it’s truly the band that provides all the framework to really make these songs shine. The drums punch, the bass is locked tight, and the guitars are delicate when necessary and big right where you want them. It’s a really good record.
And I’m no stranger to the themes highlighted on Human Being Animal as my own band, Nihiloceros, covered very similar ground on our last record. The line that separates the human species from the rest of the animals on this planet can be hazy and often imaginary. Mao says the song “Wolves” specifically questions “what it means to be a human within a society overrun by disinformation…how capitalism is a pillar of many human rights issues intertwined with white supremacy, misogyny, and homophobia. It’s a warning cry that the ruling class cyclically take away the working class’ rights using deception. [It attacks] all the powers that recurrently suppress and de-humanize human beings for profit. At times we tried to show compassion to humans who have fallen to disinformation using a calmness in our tone, while other times we were intense and loud as acts of self-compassion and truth.”
Mao indeed calls attention to these societal ills while satirically tiptoeing around classic idioms on “Wolves” and “Tiger.” They are rife in clever animal word play and nuanced metaphor and indeed function as a strong opening to the EP (see our previous thoughts/coverage here). But for me the secret standout is “Chewed Food,” sitting in the middle of the back half booked in its guitar hammers, and “Summertime Blues” pop delivery. A rather grotesque take on fleeting happiness and heartbreak, the chorus run and catch-up turnaround vocal mid-phrase gives me goosebumps every time. It’s a song that makes you feel ok about not feeling good.
Alternatively, “Pills” closes out the record by pulling feelings of discomfort to the surface. There’s an ultra specific tension that is almost tactile as Mao croons “the pills make me interesting. My guard is a puddle. If you were here right now, I’d probably get off if we cuddled. I feel a rainbow latching on my spine. But I’m in trouble as the bottle gathers air, I start biting myself as I become more aware.” And it continues to spiral downward along a dark helix of religion and pain and addiction. Wrapped in sharp images it stretches taut over the melancholy of the instrumental strings that complement their voice in a way that feels almost Fiona Apple or Tracy Bonham in mood.
Lily Mao and The Resonaters in 2021 (photo by Kate Hoos)
Lily Mao & the Resonators are continuing to help carve out the reputation of Silberman’s A Diamond Heart Production. Recognized by Alternative Press as one of the top new LGBTQIA+ and women-owned labels that are changing the music industry, Silberman’s extensive experience in multiple facets the industry puts her in a unique position in developing artists and offering a space for any and all artists to have the opportunity to be a part of a music-driven community. Human Being Animal is just another shining example and like I said before, it’s a really really good fucking record.
Human Being Animal is out now via A Diamond Heart Productions and available on all major streaming platforms.
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!
Algiers– 73%. The third single from the upcoming album, SHOOK, is as lithe as it is intense. You never quite know what you’re going to get from one song to the next with Algiers—each single from the album released so far has had a different feel/vibe—and I mean this as a supreme compliment as it is a direct reflection of their strength and skill as musicians and songwriters. Rare is the band that can do so much without getting lost along the way and be so impactful in the process. SHOOKis out 2/24 via Matador. They will next play NYC at Racket on 4/6. [KH]
Bartees Strange– Tisched Off/Keekee’in. feat. Daniel Kleederman. For Sub Pop’s singles series, the indie power house has released a pair of songs that deftly show the range of his songwriting. These songs come as a mini follow up of sorts to his second lauded second album, Farm To Table. On “Tisched Off” he shares: “As an up and coming musician, there’s a very special pain that comes with realizing a huge chunk of the artists you’re competing with have way more money and resources than you. This song takes little digs at them. It’s cute. Tisch is like the fashion school at NYU. When I was living in BK I ran into a bunch of young punk bands and experimental acts that rose quickly from that school. I remember feeling like damn—how do you compete with people like that? They’ve got some very real resources. Anywho—it’s just me making fun.” (Having known Strange since his DIY days and time in BK, and having dealt with many of the very same issues in the BK music community, I couldn’t help but chuckle—and agree!)
As for “Keekee’in” he shares “This song is extremely special to me. During our tour with Car Seat Headrest the band had Covid. I was bunkered down with my guitarist Dan at his family’s house in the basement. I figured it would be cool to write something using only the tools we had. All of the instrumentation was done with stuff from that room. Matchsticks, pillows for drums, very random keyboards, etc. I wrote this song to get some feelings out I had about some business people I was considering working with—they ended up being shady and I was feeling very betrayed. I was thinking about how valuable it is to have people you can really trust. And how few those people are.” [KH]
Bruise Control– Dead on Arrival. A nice slice of gritty, dancey post punk from the Manchester group who were one of our recent Bandcamp Friday picks. Their debut album, Useless For Something, will arrive this spring via TNS Records. [KH]
Cheater Slicks– Fear. This venerable band is in their 4th decade and still ripping tunes. We love to see punks keep at it! “Fear” features their classic garagey sound, still as immediate as ever, with a percussive trudge behind buzzing guitars. Their album Ill-Fated Cusses is out now on In the Red Records. [CW]
The Dog Indiana– Hydroxydramaqueen/Loaf. This noisy, sludgy stoner-ish noise trio from Vancouver recently came to my attention and I was immediately drawn to the pair of singles that have been released from their upcoming album, Burnt Ends. With heavy grunge overtones, these are two very solid noise punk rippers in the vein of some UK faves, Dead Arms and USA Nails. I loved what I heard and absolutely can’t wait for the album to release in full in April. In the meantime, I’ll be digging into their previous releases, 2018’s full length Fractured, Murky and Liquid (which based on its description on Bandcamp may or may not be a cheeky concept album, I still have to find out!), and the handful of singles they put out in 2020. Pre-orders for Burnt Ends are up now. [KH]
Drahla– Lip Sync. The UK post punk band has released a new single, which follows last year’s “Under the Glass” and their 2019 debut full length, Useless Coordinates. No word yet if this is a stand alone or part of a larger body of work to come but the band shares the song “is a biographical social deflection. It explores the idea of syncing to social norms, conversation and expressions to converse without being fully present – taking on a converged guise to fit different interactions. Inspired by Bruce Nauman‘s ‘Lip Sync,’ 1969.” [KH]
Dream Wife– Hot (Don’t Date A Musician). The London grunge pop trio are set to release their third album in June, Social Lubrication, and have shared the second single which is a snarky and hilarious cautionary tale about dating musicians. Singer Rakel Mjöll minces no words when she says: “Dating musicians is a nightmare,” and goes on to say the song is about “Evoking imagery of late night make-outs with fuckboy/girl/ambiguously-gendered musicians on their mattress after being seduced by song-writing chat. The roles being equally reversed. Having a laugh together and being able to poke fun at ourselves is very much at the heart of this band. This song encapsulates our shared sense of humour. Sonically it is the lovechild of CSS and Motorhead. It has our hard, live, rock edge combined with cheeky and playful vocals.” [KH]
FACS– When You Say. The Chicago post-punk art rockers have announced their 5th album, Still Life In Decay, and released the driving, hypnotic first single “When You Say.” Read more here. [KH]
Godcaster– Vivian Heck. The latest single from the NYC band’s upcoming self titled album is an “ecstatic and hypnotic vision of romance, passion, and heartthrob.” As intense as it is indeed hypnotic, it hits an explosive high as the crescendo of the song kicks in just before the four minute mark. The album releases in full on 3/10. The band will soon embark on a tour to support the album and will play a release show at Union Pool on 4/1 with Venus Twins and Dirt Buyer. [KH]
Miss Grit– Nothing’s Wrong. The final single from the upcoming album Follow The Cyborg (out 2/24 on Mute) is a slow, steady tune that builds consistently to the end under Margaret Sohn’s lilting voice and twining synths as they sing “it’s been too long / I’ll normalize what’s going on / so I won’t have to make things right / I’ll sing that song I didn’t write / nothing’s wrong.” Miss Grit will be at Baby’s All Right on Feb 22. [CW]
Newski– Chemicals feat. Matthew Caws (Nada Surf). The opening scene of the accompanying music video for this song features footage of the day Ronald Reagan was shot which immediately grabbed my attention (I’ll let readers take a guess on my personal feelings about Ol Ronny Raygun) and the rest of the video continues on with vintage footage with the band playfully inserted overtop in a very comical way. The song itself is a bubbly indie pop rock song, complete with saccharine harmonies, fun sing-along “da da da da’s” throughout the first half of the song and features a guest appearance from Matthew Caws of Nada Surf. This is a catchy first taste of the new album, Friend Rock due out 4/7, and I’m ready for more. [KH]
Pile– Lowered Rainbow. The final single from the upcoming album, All Fiction, is a departure for the band, less a wall of noise and more an ethereal, delicate jazz fueled sound exploration. The album releases in full on 2/17 via Exploding In Sound and the band will play a pair of shows at TV Eye on 3/1 and 3/2. [KH]
Poison Ruïn– Härvest. The lead single from Poison Ruïn’s upcoming album is also the title track, and it’s a hard-hitting noisy tale of a peasant revolt, juxtaposing the timeless story of workers rising up against a fantasy backdrop, with member Mac Kennedy saying “I’m all for protest songs, but with this band I’ve found that sometimes your message can reach a greater audience if you imbue it with a certain interactive, almost magical realist element.” Härvest is out on Relapse Records on April 14th. [CW]
Samiam– Crystalized. Having been going strong as a band since 1988, Samiam is still swinging for the fences as the quintet continues to pump out melodic guitar driven bangers that faultlessly toe that line between emo and pop punk. Their latest single “Crystallized,” released ahead of their first album in 12 years and ninth overall, Stowaway (due out next month), is the perfect track to blast while showing your kids you can still kickflip with the best of them. [MB]
Scowl– Opening Night. The Santa Cruz hardcore band has just announced a brand new Will Yip produced EP, Psychic Dance Routine, and shared the first single which sees the band less in hardcore territory and veering more towards a cool alt-rock indie vibe. Read more and see the album art/tracklisting here. [KH]
Shalom– Soccer Mommy. The second single from Shalom’s upcoming debut full length, Sublimation, is a emo grunge twinged rocker and she shares: “This song is about a time in my life that I used to be very upset and embarrassed about, but now I’m like, wow, I feel so much better after writing this song. It’s called ‘Soccer Mommy’ because I got my driver’s license in late 2019 and spent my first year on the road listening to Color Theory and thinking about my 20-year-old self who didn’t deserve the things that happened to her. I love Soccer Mommy. I’m terrified of driving, but I always felt brave listening to ‘Circle The Drain’ on 287 south.” Sublimationis out 3/10 via Saddle-Creek. [KH]
Shonen Knife– Mujinto Rock. The Japanese punk and roll icons have been a band for more than 40 years and continue to pound out cool jams you’ll want to pogo all night to. They have a new album out on 2/15, Our Best Place, and have shared the opening track, “Mujinto Rock,” which comes paired with a really fun stop motion video. [KH]
Squid– Swing (In A Dream). UK post punkers Squid have announced a brand new album, O Monolith, and released the first single which singer/drummer Ollie Judge says was inspired by a dream he had about the painting The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, “In my dream, I was in the painting but it was flooded and everything was floating away.” Read more and see the album art/tracklisting here. [KH]
Truth Cult– Clearskin. A little psych punk, a little post hardcore, a lot late 80s early 90s Dischord. And you know that gets two hearty thumbs up from me! From the upcoming J. Robbins produced album, Walk The Wheel, due out 3/3 via Pop Wig. [KH]
Zulu– We’re More Than This. The esteeemed powerviolence band has released the latest single from their upcoming album, A New Tomorrow, and this one is not a powerviolence song or heavy at all rather a hip-hop song which features guitarist Dez Yusuf rhyming over relaxed, nimble jazz instrumentation. Yusef shares:
“When we first started writing for the record Anaiah and I had bounced the idea of maybe doing some jazz or R&B songs and putting some raps on the record,” Yusuf commented. “I know Satchel and Anaiah had jammed out some different ideas that I hadn’t really been present for. We were actually ending our tour with Sasami when I first heard the music for ‘We’re More Than This’. We were in the van at a rest stop and Anaiah played it off a video of him and Satchel jamming. It just hit me all in an instant.
“I didn’t think much beyond the lyrics of ‘must I only share my pain,’ which is a running theme throughout the album. But it’s ironic because I go forward with sharing glimpses of pain and trauma, but that’s really the setup to show the things I’ve (we’ve) become in spite of that pain. This is really a song of resilience and encouragement. Saying that we can still be more than the tropes that are Put on us. That we are more than commodified versions of our trauma.”
During the tumult of 2020, Swinomish musician Katherine Paul returned to the Skagit River from Portland, and her newest album under the name Black Belt Eagle Scout, The Land, The Water, The Sky, reflects that journey. She shares: “I created The Land, The Water, The Sky to record and reflect upon my journey back to my homelands and the challenges and the happiness it brought.” There is a spaciousness to the music, open like the sky, and an ebb and flow of loud and quiet moments like the tides, which narrate—along with Paul’s lyrics—a story of her connection to the land and her community. Paul grew up in the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community surrounded by the music of her culture, and was later inspired by the rock music that emerged from the Pacific Northwest. Now Paul is making her own mark on the musical landscape.
On The Land, The Water, The Sky (the follow-up to 2018’s Mother of My Children and 2019’s At the Party With My Brown Friends) we find the sensibilities of a singer-songwriter style wedded perfectly to grunge and shoegaze sound. Paul handles the guitar, drums, and vocals on the album, as well as occasional omnichord and vibraphone, with bass mostly provided by Grace Bugbee. Numerous other musicians appear, including Nicholas Wilbur on Mellotron, Swil Kanim on violin, Gibrana Cervantes on violin, Takiaya Reed (of Divide and Dissolve, who also co-produced the album with Paul) on soprano saxophone, and Lori Goldston on cello. (Goldston famously played with Nirvana during the In Utero tour and for their iconic MTV Unplugged set in 1993.) Paul’s multi-instrumental talent is considerable: never does her work on the guitar or drums feel like an afterthought to her voice. She is a skillful percussionist— “Fancy Dance” is a particular highlight—and both her cleaner, plucked parts and wall of sound distortion work on the guitar is exquisite.
The record starts off with a bang, Paul’s vocals soaring over the gritty, gutsy guitars of “My Blood Runs Through This Land.” “I know you speak through me / I feel it in the sound of water touching all the rocks / I feel no one can take this moment away cos my blood runs through this land.” It’s a fitting statement to lead off the record, and a gorgeous slice of pure rock.
The album is also punctuated by quieter tracks like “Salmon Stinta,” which features guest vocals from Phil Elverum (of The Microphones and Mount Eerie). Paul makes wonderful use of her emotive and narrative lyrical skill here, while the song’s musical qualities flow along as the salmon in the river: “In the Stinta / gray and white salmon swim upstream / yellow underneath the stream / through the window / all I see is driving me away / screaming in the distant sea.”
On the very catchy “Nobody,” Paul tackles Native representation in media, or the lack of it, saying “When I was growing up, I didn’t have very many Native role models to look to on TV or the radio. It was within my own community that I found inspiring role models through our elders and our community leaders. With Native representation in music and television slowly growing, I often ask myself where I stand within representation in music and how I want to be seen. This song is about the relationship I have with my own representation in music.” As she croons “Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you” we are reminded of the importance of her perspective—that of a queer Indigenous feminist—and the joyousness of elevating voices like hers.
The closing track on The Land, The Water, The Sky is the lead single “Don’t Give Up,” which according to Paul is “about mental health awareness and the importance that my connection to the land plays within my own mental health journey,” adding “I wrote this song for me but also for my community and anyone who deals with challenging mental health issues to remind us just how much of a role our connection to the environment plays within our healing process. At the end of the song when I sing ‘the land, the water, the sky,’ I wanted to sing it like my late grandfather Alexander Paul Sr. sang in our family’s big drum group—from the heart.”
For me, two other highlights on the album are the tenderly-constructed “Sčičudz (a narrow place)” with its sweeping guitar lines, and the darker sounding “Treeline.” For all the epic feel of some tracks, none clock in over five and a half minutes, and even the shorter songs (such as “On The River,” coming in at under two minutes) make an impact over their duration. Always front and center is Paul’s connection to the land and her heritage. This is not an album only looking to the past, to Paul’s ancestors, but the very present here and now. Fittingly, Paul’s parents Kevin and Pat accompany her voice on “Spaces,” whose video features the Coast Salish style carving work of Paul and her artist father. The line running from then to now to the future is quite evident.
The Land, The Water, The Sky truly is an album from the heart, and through her voice and music Katherine Paul has written a vibrant and impactful record, one she calls a “love letter to Indigenous strength and healing, and a story of hope.” It’s early in the year, but I have a feeling this will make some “best of” lists (likely mine.)
I’ve had PAWS, the third full-length recording by Beat Awfuls, on repeat all week. The album’s lo-fi power-pop makes me want to jump up and down one minute and burst into tears the next. Or more accurately, all the feelings are swirling together pretty damn cathartically as I lose myself in these nine songs on each listen. The pain of Dave Vicini’s lyrics is filtered through infectious jangly hooks, until dancing while weeping seems like a perfectly reasonable response to being alive. From the band: “PAWS is an acronym for ‘Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome,’ an affliction of the after-effects of substance misuse. While the title may pinpoint Vicini’s location during the recording process, it doesn’t bind him; this album isn’t a slow, dour reflection on drug addiction and abuse; it’s an earth-clawing grasp to regain ground.”
The album’s opening track, “Interstate Skeletons,” provides a perfect example of Beat Awful’s fuzzy pop poignance. Vicini provides both lead and backing vocals in tight harmonies on the song, singing: “I never knew what it costed / I only knew what it cost us / Feeling technicolor fade / As I bury it away like skeletons.” The mid-tempo bounces cheerfully underneath, with unexpected synths amidst the guitar hooks (skillfully played by Russell Lacy on lead guitar). The good feelings of the music itself sit in ironic tension with the emotional heaviness of the lyrics, and that enticing irony continues throughout PAWS.
“Punks on the Dance Floor,” once again, offers a hazy, invitingly danceable groove (with Kelly Queener really shining on this track on bass, and Tommy Allen plinking out a simple but catchy hook on keys). But the lyrics reveal the roiling destruction that’s threatening underneath the buzzed effervescence of the instruments: “I will turn into a twister / and blow apart our lovely life,” Vicini laments. Even as the song’s narrator bounces up and down in his Docs, “like punks on the dance floor,” deep down he knows he’s in trouble. The song ends abruptly with these words: “Lava lips always spill secrets / As warm low key wind whispers quietly / ‘I really need some help please.’”
Other standout tracks include the lovesick plea of “Espree Baby” and the high-energy “Ego Death Kult,” which points to the hypocrisy of all the shit-talkers out there, be they politicians or the guy sitting next to you at the bar. But my favorite song on PAWS is “Forever Lonely,” the most directly melancholic of the album. Kelly Queener provides gorgeous vocal harmonies to Vicini, with both of them pining away in the verses: “Gone / Forever lonely / I can’t give up / I can’t find a reason / to let you go.” But the chorus breaks through the sadness, with the drums picking up the mood (wonderfully played by Allison Apperson), and suddenly the guitars turn toward a major key for a moment and “Forever Lonely” becomes just a pure declaration of love for a breath.
Dave Vicini started Beat Awfuls in 2005 as a 4-track bedroom recording project while living in Boston. They are now based in Richmond, VA (after a few years in Lexington, KY), and recorded PAWS in Richmond and Mechanicsville, VA (produced and engineered by Vicini, except for “Forever Lonely,” produced and engineered by Russell Lacy). I sincerely hope that Beat Awfuls will be touring to NYC soon to promote PAWS. I’m excited to join the “punks on the dance floor” while quietly dying a little inside. It’s the human condition after all. Beat Awfuls, you have a new fan in Brooklyn! Come visit!
PAWS is out 2/10 via Cocoa Beach Tapes/Youth Kulture.
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!
A Very Special Episode–Heaven’s Gate. The Brooklyn based band has turned a fascination with the history of cults and their manipulative ways into this dark, throbbing banger of a track, where the music and haunting vocals build to a climax, then to a strange ominous ending. They’ll be promoting the release of the single with a show at Purgatory on February 24th with Leathered, Shadow Monster, and Debbie Dopamine. The video features appearances/cameos from several local musicians including our very own Mike Borchardt. [CW]
Aggressive Soccer Moms– Darling. Another spontaneous banger by the Swedish electro-post-punk duo that will have you confused as to whether you should pogo, or bang your head, or toss your arms in the air and just move your body. Whatever way you choose to go, it’s sure to elevate your mood and your day will be better for it. [MB]
Black Belt Eagle Scout–Space. The latest single from Swinomish musician Katherine Paul is a spacious song with interweaving guitar and strings, overlaid by Paul’s gorgeous voice. On the chorus she is backed by her parents, and notes she intended the song “for an audience as a way to sing melodies of healing and care for them.” The touching, meditative video depicts Paul and her father, a carver in the Coast Salish style, creating an eagle head from yellow cedar. The Land, The Water, The Sky will be out February 10th on Saddle Creek. She will perform in NYC on 4/15 at Baby’s All Right. Read some of our past coverage on her previous singles here and here. [CW]
Badge Grabber– The Tin Foil Hat Brigade. Aggressive digital hardcore about “DUMBASS FUKKIN CONSPIRACY THEORISTS LOL.” Singer/producer Riley Ponce certainly minces no words in the lyrics either, scathingly taking down Q-anon-eqsue fools and their ilk bent on the destruction of our planet. From an upcoming “nu album” due out next month. I’m ready for more abrasion from this project, how about you? [KH]
Beat Awfuls– Punks On The Dancefloor. The third single from the upcoming album, PAWS, features our narrator over top of a jangly mid-tempo indie pop, being self reflective (and perhaps a bit self deprecating) in a fuzz laden voice as he admits in the opening moments of the song: I will spin into a tornado / And destroy what lays in my way. And does he know why? Do we? The chorus perhaps gives us some insider knowledge but ultimately asks more questions? Do I really wanna tear it all down / What for / Because I’m bored / Or should I slam it on the ground / Bounce up and down in my Docs some more / Like punks on the dance floor. The album will release in full on 2/10. [KH]
ChumHuffer– Wasting Away. The NYC/Long Island punks have just announced their new album, Orgy of Hate, and released the first single, “Wasting Away.” Read more here. [KH]
Death Valley Girls– Magic Powers. This one is a bit moody, seeing the band leaning into the dreamy, gothy side of their sound which I’m all for. And while singer/guitarist Bonnie Bloomgarden does not take lead vocals on this track (she provides backups while bassist Sammy Westervelt does the lead), she shares the inspiration behind the lyrics which were penned together with Westervelt: “I was walking down the street, and all of the sudden it dawned on me that almost all the things that kids bullied me about, or I got in trouble for in school, or was told would make me never amount to anything, were actually my magic powers! My voice isn’t too high, or funny, it’s how I cast my spells! I’m not a bad student, I love learning, and being a seeker! And I’m not a crazy person with weird ideas, that will never fit into society, I’m a witch, and I have magic powers!” Did I say I was all for it before? Because being a cool goth garage punk witch with magic powers?! I’m really all for it.
The song comes paired with a video directed by Westervelt and recalls the pixelated video games of ye olden times of the 1980s. This is the third single from the upcoming album Islands In The Sky which will arrive in full on 2/24 via Suicide Squeeze. [KH]
Ducks Ltd– Invitation (Feelies cover). The band turn their trademark jangle and breezy vocals towards paying homage to The Feelies and say on their Bandcamp that it was “inspired by a Halloween performance in a Feelies cover band by guitarist Evan Lewis and several members of the Ducks Ltd live band.” Featuring Mo Troper and Julia Steiner of Ratboys, the harmonies and guitar work are a fitting tribute to the original from the 1991 album Time For A Witness.The single is part of a cover series called “The Sincerest Form of Flattery” and is out on Carpark Records. [CW]
[Editor’s note: I had a part time job working at Michael’s in Wayne, NJ almost 15 years ago now, and none other than Dave Weckerman of The Feelies was my co-worker. We unloaded trucks together every Thursday morning at 5am and it was a time!- KH]
Elita– She Bangs Like A Fairy On Acid. Described as a “Goth bedroom-pop band,” what really captured my attention when this came across my desk this week was this quote from guitarist/keyboardist Tim Rypien “I made this song at my parents house on Christmas Day. I was messing around with their digital piano trying to recreate the Unsolved Mysteries theme song. I missed the mark but thankfully the beat for “SBLAFOA” was born.” Being a huge fan of the 80s true crime show, I knew I had to take a listen. The music does certainly recall that iconic theme and is in the same dark vain, but definitely stands on its own, ominous yet nimble at the same time. On the lyrics, vocalist Elita shares “Timmy and I tried mushrooms for the first time before writing this song. I felt like I was living in a little fairy world and that totally inspired this song. I wrote the lyrics on Christmas too.”
Indeed, the song is dark and trippy, but the imaginary world contained within is less forbidding than it is a sexy and beguiling place, the lyrics recounting the tale of a drug fueled tryst in the woods with a fairy (which will no doubt appeal to many sapphic fans in particular). The song is part of the upcoming debut album, Dysania, due out on 3/22 via Opposition; the band will embark on a tour in early April that will see them hitting NYC on 4/8 at Elsewhere. [KH]
Gel– Attainable. The NJ hardcore band has released some killer EPs over the last few years (that made both our faves of 2021 and 2022 lists) and now have announced their debut full-length, Only Constant (3/31 Convulse), and released the first single, “Attainable.” The song sees them in the well hewn, raw and crusty hardcore territory they are so good at, but building upon their hallmark sound, adding in dance-punk choruses that have an almost electro feel to them for a really cool vibe.
In a press release, vocalist Sami Kaiser shared: “A lot of this record is about trying to live more of a happy and healthy life. I’ve been in recovery for alcoholism for the past couple years and really taking it seriously. I’ve learned a lot about myself and how to address negative feelings, and the album is about trying to let go of those self-destructive tendencies and embrace change.” [KH]
Lovecolor– Dangerous. I’ve been a big fan of songwriter/producer Vanessa Silberman since we first met shortly after she moved to NYC in early 2019 and we became fast friends. She’s been playing music alongside her musical partner, Ryan Carnes, for just as long, and while the world was sleeping and we’ve all been slowly coming back to life the past few years, the duo has been hard at work creating what would become Lovecolor.
The pair has an undeniable musical chemistry writing catchy dark pop/dance rock magic, and their debut single under the glow of its fluorescent retro-futuristic music video directed by Cosmos Kiindarius makes quite the first impression.
It’s important to Silberman that they do something special and say something meaningful. “Dangerous,” Silberman says “is about a few things—one being attraction and being so completely drawn to someone that it’s almost dangerous, in a way. On the other hand, its message is really about exposing your entire self and being completely fearless and vulnerable, by embracing every aspect of who you are.” Carnes adds: “To me, ‘Dangerous’ speaks to the idea of being fully awake, aware, alive and sharp in a world where parts of society and culture wish us to remain dull and asleep.“ [MB]
Middle-Aged Queers– Anal Beads. The sassy Bay Area queer-core band has released a brand new song just in time for Valentine’s Day and it leaves little to the imagination! Read more here. [KH]
Model/Actriz– Amaranth. The Brooklyn based experimental industrial band are releasing their debut full length, Dogsbody, soon and have shared the third single, the delightfully abrasive “Amaranth.” Be prepared to be pummeled with rapid fire beats and jittery, gasoline doused guitar for three minutes straight. In other words, this song is not for the faint of heart but certainly for the adventurous among us. Dogsbody will be released on 2/24 via True Panther. The band will play new NYC venue, Racket, on 4/20. [KH]
Tami Hart– Thanks For Saying Hi. Many moons ago when I was a baby queer in the early aughts, I became familiar with Tami Hart’s work via Mr. Lady Records, a now defunct lesbian run label that released some crucial albums in my life (and countless other queers I’m sure) between 1996 and 2004. Two of those albums were Hart’s No Light In August (2000) and What Passed Between Us (2002). I saw her play a few times from 2000 to around 2003ish and over the years I would dip back into those albums from time to time, both having remained personal favorites to this day, but no new solo music arrived from Hart after 2002. (Making Friendz was a 2011 solo project yes, but as a lo-fi electro project, it had a distinctly different vibe than the singer-songwriter, country twinged feel of the earlier releases.)
And though she wasn’t releasing solo music, she was hardly idle musically after those first two records either and has been involved with a number of other projects. Via Spotify her bio states “From the mid-2000’s-2010’s Tami could be found in bands like Winning Looks, MEN, and Sextional, as well as solo project Making Friendz. In 2017 Tami co-founded Teen Vice with Joshua Ackley of Brooklyn-based punk band The Dead Betties. 2022 saw Tami return to solo releases and performances.”
Indeed, 2022 saw her starting to release solo music under her own name again, with a collection of demos and a single, “Sorry For Your Heart,” coming over the course of the year. I was unaware of this until I recently saw her name start to pop up on show flyers and realized “oh shit, new music!” Now Hart is preparing to release a brand new EP in April on Cruisin Records and has released the first single, “Thanks For Saying Hi.”
This one is a delightful full circle moment, returning to the sound of her very early releases, full of sweet harmonies and twang. Via Bandcamp Hart says the EP is “a game of country mouse and city mouse, as both love letter to New York City with twinges of post punk as well as a deep bow to her Southern upbringing with heart on sleeve echoing of country melodies.” I for one am looking very forward to hearing more and catching a live show for the first time in over 20 years! (I personally missed her recent show with Ted Leo because I had to work, but our very own Ray Rusinak was on hand and you can check out pics here.) [KH]
Whenwolves– Minutes. We premiered the band’s latest electro groove this week from their upcoming EP, Recon For The Weirdos, and you can read more about that here. [MB]
Irish post-punk band, M(h)aol (pronounced “male”), wrote and recorded their debut full length album, Attachment Styles, over the course of seven days in one rehearsal room using a sparse set-up with “no headphones, minimal drum mics, and only a PA for vocals.” The album was produced, mixed and mastered by band member Jamie Hyland. The superb result is a truly eclectic record that rages against patriarchy and heteronormativity, while also reveling in the transcendent power of finding joy despite oppressive sexist bullshit. The Tulle Collective (a women-led independent record label focused on working with and for underrepresented voices in music) released Attachment Styles and describes it as “a record about social connection, queerness, and healing.”
The eleven songs explode and whisper in turn, featuring vocalist Róisín Nic Ghearailt’s intense lyrics, which are both contemplative and defiant. The band shares: “When Róisín was writing the lyrics, she used the theory of attachment styles as an overarching theme which is a theory that looks at the impact our inter-familial relationships and society have on how we relate to one another.” As Attachment Styles shows, our society and inter-familial relationships hurt us plenty, but if you’re like M(h)aol, you’ve got good friends to create raucous music with, and thus, you’ll not only survive, you’ll thrive.
The album is “a journey of healing,” beginning with “Asking For It,” a song exploring the pain, self-doubt, and anger survivors of sexual assault have to navigate. It’s the one track on the album that existed before the group came together to write and record the album. Ghearailt started writing the song years before to attempt to process her feelings about rape culture: “I wrote it initially in 2016 then revisited it in 2020. I was shocked by how much internalized victim blaming there was in the lyrics. I rewrote it, then we recorded it and it was released to raise money for Women’s Aid in 2021. The album version is a lot angrier than the 2021 one and almost satirical insofar as it’s highlighting how ludicrous the notion of anyone ‘asking for it’ is.”
The song also has a beautiful and moving video directed by band member, Zoë Greenway (who also created the album’s haunting cover art), and she shares: “This has been the most difficult video I’ve made for M(h)aol to date. There’s so much power and emotion in Róisín’s lyrics and performance, so we worked really hard to create a responsible and sensitive portrayal of this experience she’s conveying, do it justice and make people care.”
Other standout songs on Attachment Styles include the spoken word “Bisexual Anxiety,” where, Ghearailt speaks honestly over simmering noise and subtle distorted guitars: “I’m worried I’m doing this wrong. The other day when you asked me was I just gay…oh honey, I’d love to be gay. Or straight even. I mean, not really. I’d love to be anything other than what I am. Fluid. Ambiguous. Subversive. If you’re being kind…greedy, indecisive, untrustworthy, if you’re not.” I’ve never heard declarations of the realities of bisexual experience that were so direct and true, all over such a mysterious soundscape.
Attachment Styles closes with “Period Sex,” which smashes all taboos about shame connected to menstruation. “Let’s have period sex / It’s time to make a mess…I’m in a mood to eat,” Ghearailt purrs. The seductive and triumphant mood echoes in the danceable drums from Constance Keane that build to a frenzy within a storm of guitar sound, a slinky bass line, and intermittent spikes of synthesizers. Like all good sex, things reach their climax, and the afterglow shimmers with sounds of a broken piano that the band members found in the days leading up to recording the album.
Ghearailt shares that “Prior to writing the track I’d had a lot of eye-opening conversations around period shame with people of all genders and from all walks of life, and I wanted to write almost an anthem for everyone who had ever had a period or loved someone who had one. It felt like a hugely powerful thing to be in a position to create a song as a band that was unequivocally sexy. I’m a cis bisexual woman in a queer, sapphic relationship. Periods and period sex are a part of my reality, and my girlfriend actually helped me with the lyrics in the first verse.”
Only 16 months after releasing their stellar debut EP, Gender Studies, M(h)aol’s Attachment Styles now brilliantly continues their defiant feminist post-punk style (no small feat considering that the quintet live in five different cities, including Dublin, Bristol, and London). The group will be at SXSW this year, and hopefully will grace the rest of the United States with a full tour soon. In the meantime, those of us stateside can work toward freedom, equity, and joy for people of all genders and sexualities while listening to Attachment Styles.
Attachment Styles is available now via Tulle Collective and on all major streamers.
