by Amanda Meth | Feb 17, 2023
Cat Clyde Down Rounder
In her latest full-length release, Down Rounder, Canadian indie-folk artist Cat Clyde delivers a beautiful collection of songs guided by cycles of growth and renewal. A soulful respite from the hustle and bustle of life’s demands, this dynamic record offers plenty of meditations on what it means to embrace an existence that pauses to trace the outline of a bird’s shadow mid-flight rather than worrying about getting ahead in the rat race. Firmly rooted in matters of the natural and spiritual world, Clyde returns to themes common throughout her past discography—2017’s Ivory Castanets and 2019’s Hunters Trance—with pronounced intention and plenty of room for swaying softly. “Connecting with the natural environment around me inspired a lot of these songs, and sonically I feel like this record is very grounded as a result,” Clyde says while talking about the album’s thematic bend. “I wanted these songs to sound raw and rough, but also placed-together in a way that created—a simple beauty, like the changing seasons or a setting sun.”
The LP opens with “Everywhere I Go,” a song that sets a solid foundation for launching Down Rounder as a record that celebrates change. As she considers the many ways in which renewal occurs, Clyde gets expansive by making references to various cycles such as “tides that roll” and how “fire licks the wood to ash.” The lively chorus of “There goes my skin/Shedding again/I keep walking on a path that never ends” is layered against a lively array of instruments including tambourine and violin, steeping the song deep in an abundance that is representative of Clyde’s essence.
Cat Clyde (photo by Strummer Jasson)
Featuring ten songs in just over half an hour, this is certainly an album meant to be savored rather than sped through. From the glistening sounds of creek life in “The Gloom” to the softly strummed guitar licks accentuating “Hawk in the Tree,” there is a deeply vast soundscape supporting every song. The record’s pacing is well-balanced and by combining rich instrumentation with stellar lyrical composition throughout, Down Rounder lends itself to be an exquisite body of work.
The most upbeat song on the record, “Papa Took My Totems,” addresses the destructive nature of the patriarchy with a danceable melody (the track was released as a single at the end of January, which we previously covered here). According to Clyde, “Papa Took My Totems” explores the “ravaging effects of colonialism, the state of the environment, and masculine-dominated society at large,” and was inspired by in part by her Indigenous Métis heritage. “There’s a lot of sacredness that’s being destroyed in the world, and that’s difficult to deal with sometimes. Totems, to me, feel like places and things that are important and real, to witness the destruction of things like that is devastating.” The video for the song shows Clyde performing alone in an empty theater with clips of her sitting in various seats looking into the camera interspersed throughout, proudly reclaiming her own power as a woman and person of Métis descent.
Releasing “Mystic Light” and “I Feel It” as the other singles helps show how varied yet cohesive this album truly is. While “Mystic Light” is bright, rich, and airy, “I Feel It” is stripped down, with Clyde singing against a backdrop of piano and cello with the sound of rain sprinkled throughout. Both songs examine the topic of release in relation to illumination, with the sun shining brightly in the former track and setting in the latter single.
The illustrious imagery, brilliant instrumentation, and robust vocal delivery of Down Rounder is able to glisten thanks to the production work of Tony Berg, who has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music including Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, and Phoebe Bridgers. Recorded in Los Angeles’ Sound City Studios, Clyde laid down the entirety of the record in six just days, yet the album sounds far from rushed. The February 17th release date is fitting as well for the album’s ethos as the beginning of Spring is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere and many are about ready to transition out of Winter.
Down Rounder is a wonderfully lush album that rejoices in all the beauty that life can bring. We are so glad that Cat Clyde is continuing to sow her musical seeds in 2023 and just as the sun gives life, we can only expect things to grow bigger and brighter for Clyde in the coming days.
Find Cat Clyde on:
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube
Down Rounder is out now on all streaming platforms via Second Prize Records.
by FTA Staff | Jan 27, 2023
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!
Bodywash– Massif Central. The first single from the Montreal post punk duo’s just announced second album, I Held the Shape While I Could due out 4/14 via Light Organ. Chris Steward shares the inspiration behind the heavy subject matter addressed in the poignant and ethereal track:
“After eight years living in Canada, in the Spring of 2021, a government clerical error caused me to lose my legal status here,” Steward explains. “As a UK national, I lost my right to work. My savings trickled away during months where I could do little but pace the corners of my apartment. I was prepared to pack my bags and leave as the life I’d hoped to construct for myself seemed to vanish into a bureaucratic abyss.”
“‘Massif’ is the sound of wailing into a cliff and not knowing if you’ll hear an echo,” continued Steward. “The spoken word is inspired by a squirrel that was trapped in the wall behind my bed, clawing its way to salvation. With the help of friends, family, music, and a few immigration lawyers (and the rest of my savings), I’m now a permanent resident here. But this song remains as testament to my experience with an exploitative institution.” [KH]
Cameron Castan– Two Point Oh. Cammy is back with another synth driver, “Two Point Oh.” On the first release following their beautifully executed 2022 LP Show Me, Castan has indeed come back with the upgrade installed. Chunkier keys command attention over airier melodies, so the beat feels heavier this time around. Castan somehow once again manages to perfectly capture the feeling of being young in Bushwick. “Kissed me in the bathroom. Could never keep a secret… All I do is fuck off. Go and take my shirt off. See somebody I don’t like, and I’m about to mouth off. Told me that I’m too raw. Caught me with a new broad…” Whether you’re dancing all night in the club, stumbling through the bars, or awkwardly alone in the corner at the back of the show, it’s the same limitless freedom mixed with a crushing vulnerability that makes this track so damn authentic and relatable. [MB]
Cat Clyde– Papa Took My Totems. Coming in strong with the third single from her upcoming album, Down Rounder, this one is a bouncy and catchy offering with killer drums, hot guitar licks, and sexy organ accentuating the focal instruments. The previous two singles, the piano driven “I Feel It,” and the folky, country indie “Mystic Light,” each have a different feel and these three songs nicely show the range of Clyde’s songwriting skills. But don’t let the peppier nature of this song fool you to think it’s not about a serious subject as it explores the “ravaging effects of colonialism, the state of the environment, and masculine-dominated society at large.”
Clyde says she was inspired in part by her Indigenous Métis heritage and elaborates: “There’s a lot of sacredness that’s being destroyed in the world, and that’s difficult to deal with sometimes. Totems, to me, feel like places and things that are important and real, to witness the destruction of things like that is devastating.” Down Rounder will be out 2/17 via her own label, Second Prize Records. [KH]
Coffee Nap– Pet Sounds! The Song!/Future Project. A departure from previous releases that tended toward acoustic storytelling and instrumentals, the new single from Coffee Nap (Greenpoint-based musician Mike Nowotarski) is a synthy, narrative song that does indeed namecheck the Beach Boys, with a speak-singy intro that gives way to a bop about watching a friend move to California. (“You’re a New York girl at heart I know, but for now I’ll let things be.”) The second track is a slice of experimental pop, just over a minute and a half in length but lovely. Nowotarski notes he was inspired by Terror Pigeon, and that the guitar sounds were mostly created “using household objects like a spoon or matches.” [CW]
Deep Wimp– Too Much. Too much is never enough when it comes to Deep Wimp. Bringing me back to all my late 90s indie feels, it’s just dirty enough to be cool, but clean enough to play for your mom. The Brooklyn quartet has been knocking it outta the park the past couple years consistently dropping fun guitar hook driven singles at a time when we can all use some fun. Check out our thoughts on their previous single, “Plume” another catchy slice of awesome. [MB]
Deary– Fairground. The debut single from this UK band is a quirky slice of dream-pop that looks backward but also remains quite present. The production feels nostalgic, particularly the breakbeat drums, while Dottie’s Cocteau Twins-esque vocals swirl around like a carousel. “As a kid,” Dottie says, “I found fairgrounds incredibly overwhelming, an entanglement of anxiety and perplexity. This is how London feels to me now.” Stateside, they’ll be in Chicago on Jan 28th, and if you happen to be in London, catch them Feb. 2nd at The Waiting Room. [CW]
Fake Names– Expendables. This post-hardcore supergroup is back with another single, this time the title track from their upcoming second album, and they are just as fun and catchy as ever. We covered their last EP here and Fake Names have kept what works from their previous music, presenting here a punchy, drum driven track with a chantable chorus. A band whose members have Minor Threat, Bad Religion, Refused, Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Rites of Spring, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and more on their resumes obviously know what they are doing! Producer Adam “Atom” Greenspan has brought the pop influences forward but there is more than enough punk in this track to satisfy. Expendables is out on Epitaph March 3rd. [CW]
Fat Heaven– Quarter Life Crisis. The Brooklyn trio who’s better at being unapologetically pop-punk than almost anyone in the business is back with a new catchy as hell song and accompanying music video off their new Pete Steinkopf (Bouncing Souls) produced record,Trash Life, coming out Feb 24 via Sell the Heart Records. Stacked with so many friends who’ve come up with band over the years, the video plays out like a Fat Heaven basement show, which if you’ve ever been, you know is one helluva party! Hopefully all the partying doesn’t catch up with them too hard, as we indeed hope they all live to the ripe old age of 120 years old. [MB]
Jess Kallen– The Knife. A country twinged, laid back folk rocker that addresses Kallen’s “competing desires for freedom and stability,” and I don’t know about anyone else, but that feels reeeeally relatable. The chorus packs an emotional gut punch as they declare “the knife in my back is coming out clean.” This is the second single from their upcoming debut album which is due out this spring and we are anxiously awaiting more details on that. [KH]
Junior Bill– Boys From Jungle. The Cardiff based band are known for their slick dub grooves in the vein of UK legends The Clash, and while that is the case here too, they have cleverly combined it with a with a bit of a grittier and punkier sound for an infectious and angular post punk jam. Big beats announce the onslaught of catchy guitar and this one will having you rocking in your chair like I was typing this up or better yet, bouncing around the dance floor.
The long running group led by frontman Rob Nichols have released many singles and EPs over the years which have garnered the band praise—and opening tour slots for Supergrass in 2019—and now they are ready to release their proper debut full length, Youth Club!, later this year. I’m certainly ready to hear more and look forward to catching them at a show either here in the US, or in one of my annual UK journeys because I already know this band is going to be a load of fun live. [KH]
King Bug– Lights. The debut track of the newest live incarnation of Brooklyn shoegaze project (former solo bedroom pop) straight from the mind of multi instrumentalist/composer Eddie Kuspiel, the king bug himself, is quite the infectious earworm. The guitar hook will have you bopping and humming for days while the bassline/kick drum sucks you into the vocal and before you know it, you’ve been hooked. It’s like TVOD, Cult of Chunk, and Color Tongue got together and wrote a party anthem…and that’s actually not too far from what actually happened since members of all those groups (and more) make up the newly assembled live band. A release show will happen tomorrow Sat 1/28 at Brooklyn Made with The Silk War, Sharkswimmer and Real Burn. [MB]
Pearla– Unglow The. The final single from Pearla’s upcoming debut album is a lilting folk country romp with poetic lyrics exploring anxiety over mortality, until it gives way to a massive crescendo, all swirling guitars and riotous drumming. It occupies a space between the more traditional composition of “About Hunger, About Love” and the somewhat unstructured “The Place With No Weather” (which we covered here and here); if these and the other singles encompass what to expect from the album, it should prove to be a gorgeous debut. Oh Glistening Onion, The Nighttime Is Coming will be out Feb 10 on Spacebomb Records. [CW]
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs– Ultimate Hammer. Are you ready to headbang? I’m ready to headbang. Good thing the stoner/psych/doom noise kings have us covered here with the second single from their upcoming new album, Land of Sleeper. The riffs are heavy, the vibes are highhhhh and I for one can’t wait to feel the full force of them playing this live at their upcoming show at Saint Vitus on 3/11. [KH]
Sally Hatchet– Habitat. Katie Glasgow’s alter-ego has finally taken its form in the physical world by way of Sally Hatchet. Furthermore breaking into digital realm as well with their debut release “Habitat,” an ethereal dark indie track that rocks just as hard as it does float through the air. Falling somewhere near the intersection of Tracy Bonham and The Breeders this is a proper introduction to Glasgow’s cool new project and nods hopefully to more vulnerable and nostalgic feels to follow. [MB]
Semaphore– Smother. Semaphore may take inspiration from the classic shoegaze sound, but there’s a lot more emoting in these songs than you might expect. Singer Siddhu Anandalingam says “there’s a disaffectedness to a lot of shoegaze… We want to actually reach our audience.” This single off the upcoming I Need A Reason To Stay certainly cuts like a knife, buzzing guitars underpinned by a hard-hitting rhythm section, with Anandalingam’s voice ranging from soft to an almost scream, as he pleads “quit claiming it’s temporary.” The album is out March 24th. [CW]
by FTA Staff | Jan 13, 2023
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 Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer songs— give ’em a listen!
And though we can’t possibly cover all the music that is released each week (we wish!), we do get to as many songs as we can. As always, if you’re in a band or from a label, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know about you! If we dig ya, you’ll get a nod in the column. Read on to find out what we dug the last week or so and check back every Friday for more:
Big Laugh– Shadow Figure. Hardcore that rips and rages, with plenty of BIG riffs, dirty bass lines and drum fills, this one from the Milwaukee based band ticks a lot of heavy boxes for me. I’m more than a little bummed their soon to commence tour with Gel won’t be hitting NYC, but hopefully they’ll make it out this way sometime in 2023. From the upcoming album, Consume Me, due out 2/10 via Revelation. [KH]
Cat Clyde– I Feel It. The Canadian indie folk singer has a new album, Down Rounder, due out 2/17 and has just released the second single, a beautiful piano led contemplation with string accents which she says is about her experiences—both positive and negative—with being an empath. [KH]
Death Valley Girls– Sunday. “I need a sign” shit, me too. “I just want to lay down and never get up again” also, me too! The always effervescent LA garage punks have released the second single from their upcoming record, Islands in the Sky (2/24/23 Suicide Squeeze), and it’s a bit laid back, a soulful plaintive meandering til around the last minute when they amp up the tempo and hope springs eternal once more. The song is REALLY relatable for any of us who have existed at any point lumbering through the last few years and lead singer Bonnie Bloomgarden says “Over the past few years I learned you have to feel and move through your feelings or they get stuck, and then you become a vessel or container for all the feelings you are trying to avoid! If you acknowledge, feel, and process them, you get to release and move them out of you! This song is to honor that process! Feel your feelings, be so sad you wanna cry forever, and then move on, you gotta keep moving!” [KH]
El Ten Eleven– Not Even Almost. The instrumental post rock duo only seems to get more prolific with time—in the last three years they have released a triple album,Tautology (2020) and its follow up, New Year’s Eve, which came out last year. They are heading into 2023 full steam ahead with yet another new album, Valley of Fire, due out 2/10 via Joyful Noise. The thing I have always loved about instrumental music is that you can certainly take the intentions of the creators to heart while listening to it, but you can also find your own meaning in it much more so than music with lyrics. I have been a fan of El Ten Eleven for a very long time now and the things I have always found and loved in their music is the undercurrent of hope and a sense of calm that always seems to find me in the moments I need it most.
Bassist/composer Kristian Dunn explains that the album was inspired by “visiting Valley Of Fire State Park in Nevada,” “Overwhelmed by the beauty and surreal nature of the place, I found myself in the rare state of actually living in the moment and feeling awash in true tranquility. There was a sense of not getting close to something transcendent but actually experiencing it, thus the title. It wasn’t almost transcendent, it WAS.” About this song specifically he shares “If you listen closely, you’ll notice the melody repeating but the bass parts changing underneath. It’s a very Bach-inspired idea, but fits the metaphor perfectly (the anchor of your identity shifting under a truly moving circumstance).” The group hit NYC twice in 2022, once for their own headline show and again opening for Peter Hook and the Light (both phenomenal shows for the record), so here’s hoping 2023 sees them grace the Big Apple once more. [KH]
Fucked Up– I Think I Might Be Weird. The long running Canadian legends are due to release their latest album, One Day, so named because it was recorded in the span of 24 hours by each member (read more on that here) and have shared the third single from it this week. This one sees them step back from the edge of frenetic hardcore a bit, blending elements of classic rock and dance punk in with their signature sound and Damian Abraham’s ever satisfying screams along with the trill of some sweet violin accents. They have also announced tour dates in Canada, the UK and the US in support of the album which will hit Brooklyn on 4/28 at Brooklyn Made. [KH]
Linens– Forest Fire/Grunge. This double single actually came out in December 2022, but just dropped on Spotify last week and came to my attention at that point so here it is! The band says on their Bandcamp that “this is a two-song introduction” and I for one am ready to hear more from this Toronto post hardcore quartet. If you dig anything at all that came out on Dischord in the late 80s into the 90s, chances are you’ll dig this too. [KH]
Negative Blast– Trauma Bond. Sometimes all you need to clear the cobwebs of life is some ragey hardcore. Negative Blast has you covered with the first single from their upcoming debut album, Echo Planet (2/10 Quiet Panic), which the band says “is a pulverizing punk ripper about the human machine that trades life for profit through control, trauma and warfare. The words explore what fuels the parasitic nature that compels those to hold power and subjugate others into a life of violence and suffering.” [KH]
Quasi- Nowheresville. You know what? I freaking love Quasi, there’s just no two ways about it. I also love bike riding, street wandering, band practice invading gorillas/Sasquatch like creatures (I mean, who doesn’t?) and they deliver on that in the cheeky music video too. All that being said, don’t let the groovy aesthetic or the cheek fool you, the song doesn’t say it outright, but it’s not hard to read between the lines that it’s about the atrocious state of affairs when it comes to gun control and mass shootings in the US and how our elected “leaders” continuously throw their hands up in the air while offering “thoughts and prayers” as a means to justify the blood on their hands. “Here they come now thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers won’t get ya there but I guess they do make a pretty pair.” Indeed, the cryptozoology themed video does make sense in the full context, our hairy beast riding off to nowheresville with the empty words of politicians and their promises to do something tangible as much a myth as a real Sasquatch is. And given that the subject matter is something I myself feel very strongly about, maybe I even love Quasi more after this one.
So given all this, you also can imagine that I’m pretty damn excited for the new album, Breaking The Balls of History, due out 2/10 via Sub Pop which is also their first in almost 10 years. Indeed, I am and I’m also very much looking forward to getting to hear these songs played live when they head out on tour, making a stop at TV Eye on 3/16 (with the equally as awesome Bat Fangs) which will mark my first time seeing the band in almost 20 years. Perhaps before then, I’ll dig up my circa 2004 35mm negatives from the old Knitting Factory while I anxiously await the show. [KH]
shame– Six-Pack. Have wah, will travel! On their latest single, the second from the upcoming album, Food for Worms (2/24 Dead Oceans), the UK post punkers lean heavily on the wah pedal to accent the angular guitar along with some pretty frenzied drumming. In his review of their previous single, “Fingers of Steel,” Mike said “It’s obvious shame makes music for them, and everyone else just happens to be on board.” I’m inclined to agree AND be fully on board. [KH]
We Are Scientists– Settled Accounts. On their 8th album, Lobes (1/20 Masterswan), the long running NYC indie greats are leaning hard into a dancy disco funk feeling and I’m here for it. This pairs perfectly with the disco romp of previous single, “Less Than You,” both with straight out of the 70s nightclub bass lines, and both more than delivering the grooves. A perfect showcase of what this band has always been great at—big emotions and deep grooves all wrapped into one. They will play a release show at Brooklyn Made on 1/20. [KH]
WifeKnife– Dead Ringer/Blackout. Birthed directly from everything good and unholy from deep within the bowels of cherished Brooklyn mainstay, Our Wicked Lady, Wife Knife rose onto the scene last year and just dropped a double single to ring in the new year. Though the quintet is OWL DNA thru and thru, their unique brand of Sabbath meets Fugazi riffage on “Dead Ringer” belongs front and center on the Saint Vitus stage. While the dynamic “Blackout” carries with it the soul of Stevie Nicks and Ann Wilson on the back of a dark unicorn to the ends of the flaming sea swallowed up by The Nothing. It slays. It melts your face. [MB]
Zulu- Where I’m From. This is the second single from the forthcoming debut full length, A New Tomorrow (3/3 Flatspot) by the epic LA based powerviolence band and like the previous song, it will shake your skull and rattle you all the way down your spine. This one features guest vocal spots from Pierce Jordan (Soul Glo) and Obioma Ugonna (Playytime) over top of heavy riffage and rock solid drums. They will head out on tour in support of the record with Show Me The Body, the tour hits Brooklyn Steel on 3/24. [KH]
