by FTA Staff | May 3, 2024
Bratmobile at Warsaw (photo by Kate Hoos)
Over 30 years after their first performances in 1991, riot grrrl pioneers Bratmobile still maintain the fun punk rock energy they started out with all those years ago, which they shared with an appreciative and enthusiastic sold out crowd at Warsaw this past weekend. This night also served as their first performance in NYC in more than two decades. Their simple but high-octane tunes are anchored by the hard driving percussion of founding member Molly Neuman and are still led by singer Allison Wolfe’s bubbly, charismatic presence. She thanked the excited audience for singing along since she was losing her voice, which honestly didn’t even feel obvious, as she seems to have only gotten better with age.
The current lineup of Neuman and Wolfe (original guitarist Erin Smith had other commitments) also includes Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, The Softies) on guitar, Marty Key (Ted Leo, Young Pioneers) on bass and Ladyfest co-founder Audrey Marrs (Mocket) on keyboards; the latter two also appeared on Bratmobile’s 2002 album Girls Get Busy. The setlist popped off right away with “Love Thing” and included a number of fan favorites across their catalog including “Cool Schmool,” “Cheap Trick Record,” “Bitch Theme” and “Panik.” Wolfe allowed the photographers to stay for two extra songs, which was certainly welcome as she pulled off some photogenic moves, including an almost split, a feat she tried again near the end to even more success.
Wolfe banters quite a lot in between the songs, bringing an adorable and lovable nervous energy to the set while adding funny anecdotes such as being a “pack rat” in life and in writing: “I hoard words, and make sure the entire song, every bit is filled with a word… it’s kind of exhausting!” Before “The Real Janelle,” the title track of their 1994 EP, she told the tale of how the band wrote the track in response to the Born Against/Ben Weasel song “Janelle,” a rude take on East Bay fanzine creator (“Tales of Blarg,” “Desperate Times”) and Bratmobile roadie Janelle Hessig; Wolfe mentioned they penned the song on the fly after Hessig played them the tape in the van on tour, and they had it ready to go before the next show.
Friends and family were a theme of the night, as Wolfe mentioned they’ve known Melberg since they traded mixtapes in the early 90’s and they covered a song from her band Tiger Trap, “Supreme Nothing” later in the set. (Also Melberg noted “might be a new Softies record coming out” which we are definitely here for). The band had family in attendance that they shouted out, including Wolfe’s little sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and her identical twin sister (who was wearing a Cheap Trick shirt presumably in fun reference to the Bratmobile song as much as to the band) and Marrs’ children who came out for “Cherry Bomb” during the encore to sing along on stage.
Bratmobile at Warsaw (photo by Kate Hoos)
Bratmobile were joined on the bill by local post-art-punk provocateurs cumgirl8 who signed with 4AD last year. They opened the show and came out hard with their groove heavy sound and wild stage presence, surely winning over many new fans in the process. Political dance punks Downtown Boys provided direct support and played in front of a backdrop of images detailing the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people with clips taken from the films Intifada: Road to Freedom and They Do Not Exist. The band has long been vocal about this issue and certainly did not hold back on this night either. Wolfe noted later in the evening that Downtown Boys are one of her favorite bands largely in part because of their unwavering commitment to social justice. Guitarist Joey DeFrancesco also minced no words on where the band stands with the corporatization of the music industry telling the audience “Fuck LiveNation” near the end of their set (Warsaw was bought out and taken over by LiveNation last year) who roared in approval. The band hasn’t released an album since 2017’s Cost of Living but has been working on new music and took the opportunity to debut a few new songs at the show.
It would be safe to say that this was a special night for most of the assembled and we at FTA would certainly be included; this was more than “just another show” on the calendar to cover for us. Bratmobile is a band that is woven deep into the fabric of these pages, their sassy take on life and punk rock serving equally for inspiration and more than a few laughs over the years along with their “fuck you we’ll do it ourselves” attitude cementing our outlook on the world. And without Erin Smith’s straightforward, no frills guitar riffs, FTA founder Hoos may never have felt confident enough to pick up a guitar, Smith’s approach helping to form the basis of Hoos’ style—she played their ear worm “Cheap Trick Record” for years in her band Lady Bizness and later formed a full on (though sadly short lived) Bratmobile cover band. So yes, this was a very special night indeed. The lyrics of their classic rallying cry “I’m in the Band” are a foundational part of our ethos and words we come back to again and again in our daily lives; we yelled them out with glee at the show:
We don’t listen to what you say
Girls get busy
Not in the way
Girls make music
We’re here to stay
We don’t need sophistication
We just make up things we like
Every reason to make music
9 to 5, don’t make you right
We’ll be playing every night
And I’ll be punk for the rest of my life
Scroll down for setlist, pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
Setlist: Love Thing, I’m in the Band, The Real Janelle, Cheap Trick Record, Cool Schmool, Eating Toothpaste, Kiss and Ride, Gimme Brains, Panik, Not in Dog Years, Bitch Theme, 90’s Nomad, Brat Girl, Come Hither Encore: Girlfriends Don’t Keep, Supreme Nothing (Tiger Trap cover), Queenie, Cherry Bomb (Runaways cover)
CUMGIRL8
DOWNTOWN BOYS
BRATMOBILE
by FTA Staff | Jun 9, 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 we have Chantal [CW], Emily [EA], Kate B [KB], Kate H [KH] and Ray [RR] weighing in on a big list of killer songs and they have the scoop on plenty of new tunes, give ’em a listen!
Activity– Careful Let’s Sleepwalk. Backed by an eerie marching snare drum that creeps along under Travis Johnson’s hushed chant and ethereal backing vocals descending down from some dark cloud, “Careful Let’s Sleepwalk” is the sound of looking over your shoulder. Johnson says that lyrically the song is “dream fragments, nights that all left me with the feeling of something being really wrong.” Activity will be touring starting in July, including a release show for their upcoming album Spirit in the Room at Baby’s All Right on July 16th. [CW]
Bush Tetras– They Live In My Head. The second single and title track off of the seminal NYC no wave/punk band’s first full album in eleven years, “They Live In My Head” begins as a ballad, with acoustic guitar underneath Cynthia Sley’s pained vocals. The sound here presents a very different Bush Tetras than what I’m used to, but showcases Sley’s dramatic prowess as a singer and lyricist. The chorus kicks in with panicked energy, speeding up, becoming more frantic every time we circle back to it, with RB Korbet’s bass line spinning and snapping like a viper. Sley escalates to a place of utter unhingery, practically barking by the end, repeating the words: “They live in my head / when they enter my dreams / life is not all it seems.”
The band has stated that “They Live In My Head” is “about people living in your head rent-free and how life is not all it seems—not quite a ballad, with its wild fast choruses, kind of like falling off a cliff.” Sley and fellow founding member/guitarist Pat Place lost drummer and longtime collaborator Dee Pop during the pandemic, and this new single reverberates with some of that grief. Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley joined as their new drummer last year, and produced They Live In My Head, which comes out on July 28 on Wharf Cat. Since recording the album, Cait O’Riordan (formerly of The Pogues) has taken over the duties on the bass. You can next catch the band live on September 15 at Le Poisson Rouge. [KB]
cumgirl8– gothgirl1. If you hadn’t told me this song was brand new, I’d think I was listening to a song birthed in a subterranean NYC nightclub at some point in the mid-1980s. Groovy, sexy, infectious and darkly weird, it’s an amalgamation of all the things this band does so well. This is the second single from their upcoming EP, phantasea pharm, and follows the awesome hazy post punk romp, “cicciolina,” a tribute to iconic Italian porn star turned politician Ilona Staller aka Cicciolina (read our thoughts).
On the EP, they share on their Bandcamp:
phantasea pharm was born out of an obsession with Ella Fitzgerald’s “Old McDonald” ahead of a show in Charlottesville, Virginia. The band decided to pay homage. [guitarist Veronika] Vilim dressed up in a cow leotard with pig accessories, [drummer Chase] Lombardo in a g-string and apron that read “The Grillfather,” [guitarist Avishag] Rodrigues became a lawn mower, and [singer/basisst Lida] Fox took on the role of a sexy rooster. “We went on stage that night and told everyone we were a ‘Fantasy Farm.’” They knew then that would become the basis of their new EP.
phantasea pharm will be released on 8/18 via 4AD.
Desert Mambas– In The Middle. This solo project of Foxx Bodies guitarist Bailey Moses is poised to release the debut EP …But It’s a Dry Heat later this month, and if the first two singles are anything to go by, it promises to be a slice of gentle, confessional dreamy pop. “In The Middle” finds Moses coming to terms with their identity as a trans nonbinary person. The bass is almost cloudy, while the guitar shimmers on top, making the production mirror the trepidatious uncertainty of the songs topic. Moses says “I wrote this song thinking I needed to be extra secure in my understanding of this identity in order to field all of the inevitably ignorant questions that would come my way. But the truth is, my gender is an ever evolving and beautiful thing. And as scary as it can be, existing in the nebulous middle space has been one of the most liberating parts of my life.” …But It’s a Dry Heat will be out on Kill Rock Stars Nashville on June 29th. [CW]
Ditz– Riverstone. These UK Noise punks put out one of my favorite albums of 2022 (and one of my most listened to), The Great Regression, and they have returned here with a brand new offering which is part of Suicide Squeeze’s “Pinks and Purples” digital singles series. It at first finds the band wading a bit more towards experimental electro territory, before tearing into the loud noisy punk they are known for at the 1:45 mark. Channeling the frustration of being burnt out on tour, vocalist Cal Francis shares:
“We wrote this track on a day off on our July tour. Caleb had recently bought this sub phatty and had taken it with him so we were trying to find anyway to make it fit in a track. I think we were listening to lots of death grips and hardcore that week. The lyrics were related to whatever we were talking shit about that day. Dirt cheap baccy and annoying invasive TikToks. It’s hard to recall.”
In addition to being available digitally, the band is releasing a very limited run 7inch which will feature a remix of the song on the B-side by BABii. Pick yours up now directly from the band. [KH]
JOHN– Service Stationed. I was introduced to the London based JOHN, the grungy punk duo of John Newton (lead vocals/drums) and Johnny Healey (guitar/backing vocals) a few years ago by FTA webmistress, Jenifun, and have been a very big fan ever since, the combination of Newton’s distinct, gruff vocals and Healey’s frenetic guitar style hitting all the right places. They recently just announced their very first US tour (hitting NYC in late October at Saint Vitus) along with the excellent single “Trauma Mosaic.” Now even more good news has come from the pair who have announced their next album, A Life Diagrammatic, along with another stand out new track, “Service Stationed,” which features guest vocals from Leona Farrugia of fellow UK band, Ġenn.
With these newer songs, the band has shown they are ready, willing and able to branch off into exciting new directions from their earlier work and to break out of the traditional rock band mold. Healey saying plainly “We’re not just a rock band. There’s more to it than that” with Newton adding “We wanted to further explore the space and ambience of our instrumentation, to offer an album that deliberately pushes and pulls in a multitude of directions throughout its duration.” A Life Diagrammatic is due out 9/22 via Brace Yourself and the band’s own label, Pets Care. You can find all dates of their debut North American tour here; you already know where to find me on 10/26. [KH]
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard– Dragon. King Gizz just Do! Not! Stop! And we don’t want them to, not if they keep putting out bangers like this one. Frantic guitar stylings and harsh vocals find the band in metal territory, while they sing of the “PetroDragonic Apocalypse” with “flapping wings weaving through / crocodile obsolete / flattened raze / spraying flames / blood curdle screech.” The ten minute song moves through various sections, including verses, chanted breakdowns, and Latin. Jason Galea provides the music video [warning for flashing imagery], saying “I wanted to explore a harsh distorted visual palette using my live visual setup mixed with PS1 cutscene inspired animation and studio footage I filmed of the band.” I’m going to be headbanging to this one for a while. PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation is a double LP (like I said, they don’t stop) and will be out June 16th on their own label KGLW. [CW]
Locations– Better Days. The Brooklyn based duo have released an emotional plea aimed at bringing attention to fighting climate change and pushing for climate justice. Using the framework of an emo-ish, alt rock song, the band is using it as an extension for their planned actions to take on one of the greatest crises of our generation. Check out their website to find out more information and how to get involved. [KH]
Mad Honey– Fold. On this track, singer Tiffany Sutcliffe’s rich voice is woven into the tapestry of fuzzy, moody guitars. Sutcliffe says the song “is about feeling like you don’t have control of your own mind and trying to surround yourself with the right people to keep you grounded,” which is reinforced by the lyrics “pirouette in a strange formation / don’t wanna get caught in the fold / don’t think too clear so I keep you with me / it’s good but nobody knows.” The music video is made up of candid footage and features some very nice cat and dog moments. This Oklahoma City band’s debut album Satellite Aphrodite (you know how sometimes you just really like an album title? I like this one) will be out on Sunday Drive and Deathwish Inc. on September 22nd. [CW]
PJ Harvey– I Inside the Old I Dying. The legendary PJ Harvey has announced a European tour, and with it she’s released a brand new single. “I Inside the Old I Dying” is just as strange and eerie as its unsettling title. The three-minute track, which will be featured on Harvey’s upcoming album I Inside the Old Year Dying, is ominous yet tranquilizing, with lyrics that are simultaneously biblical and occult. Accordingly, the animated music video, directed by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña, is equal parts heartwarming and horrific, from its gorgeous, crude paper-on-paper stop motion (though I swear that dog was real for a sec!) to the harrowing tale it tells. Harvey says the song is meant to capture an “ethereal and melancholic longing,” and that it does, with its soft arpeggios and Harvey’s yearning, beseeching vocals drenched in reverb. The new album is out July 7th on Partisan Records [EA]
Pons– Coral King. The Brooklyn based no wave noise punks are hands down one of my favorite live acts currently gigging in NYC. After moving here from Vermont in 2021, they quickly established themselves as a group to watch with an intense, enthralling live show and a work ethic to match. They have played in just about every venue in NYC since it seems like and have toured all over the Northeast and beyond, always honing and refining their charismatic stage show, keeping it tight and nimble. While they remain a favorite band to see live, their recorded output has not been as frequent as their shows have been, something I have hoped would change.
It looks like that change may be on the horizon now as they recently released a new single, “Coral King,” and announced they have signed with Oliver Ackerman’s, Dedstrange. The label is home of course to Ackerman’s A Place To Bury Strangers as well as bands like GIFT, The Pleasure Majenta and Plattenbau (so clearly, some really good company). The band says the song is an “off-the-wall mix of theatrical noise rock and surreal psychedelia” and that sounds like the perfect way to not only describe the song but also the band as a whole. (I’ve also described them in the past as “frantic noise punk band that sounds like Brainiac and Hella had a baby that was raised by no wave wolves on acid.”) While the band has not yet announced a full length (fingers crossed for that for real), the single does coincide with a 10 week tour which will see the band bringing their killer live performance all over the US. We’ll unfortunately have to wait until August to see them again here in NYC, but I’m for sure looking forward to it. [KH]
PUP– How To Live With Yourself b/w Smoke Screen & Kill Something. Toronto’s favorite sons dropped a trio of songs this week and fans of the band ought to be ecstatic. All three are out takes from the 2022 LP, The Unraveling Of PUP The Band. To these ears, the highlight of the three is easily “How To Live With Yourself.” Oddly enough, it was the first song singer/guitarist/principal songwriter, Stefan Babcock wrote for Unraveling and its a pure unadulterated PUP punk rocking blast. Written in the band’s classic mold, it ultimately didn’t fit with where the band was going with the rest of the album, which to an extent was a premeditated break from the traditional PUP mold.
“Smoke Screen” starts off with a very sludgey death metal(y) intro before Babcock moves in with his dirgelike lyrics “When it all feels like it’s moving too fast / Light the fuse and lean into the blast” a throwback, in my opinion, to “Scorpion Hill” and the classic line of “and if the world is gonna burn, everyone should get a turn to light it up.” The last if the three, “Kill Something” is a slow burner that builds and builds at a snail’s pace before it finally reaches its crescendo, only to be punched in the gut when Babcock rolls into the chorus of “I want to killed something I love,” with the band chanting quietly in the background, “over and over and over.” Once again PUP knows exactly what buttons to punch to the make their cavalcade of fans very very happy. [RR]
Ratboys – It’s Alive. Opening up with a reverb heavy guitar strum and a pounding drum beat before vocalist, Julia Steiner jumps in with her lilting yet gritty singing of the opening lyrics, “Outside my window /The birds dance alone / I sit back and take it in / Like some sort of medicine”.
“It’s Alive” is the first single from the band’s upcoming 4th full length LP, The Window, but the first they’ve recorded start to finish with the current lineup. (Bassist Sean Neumann and drummer Marcus Nuccio are both relatively new-ish additions to the band.) The album itself has been a labor of love, having been worked on since 2020 with Steiner sharing “We spent 2020 demoing the songs, and spent 2021 practicing them.” Lyrically, “It’s Alive” feels very much to be a personal reaction to the isolation and forced solitude of the lock down period from which it was written. A reaction devoid of any anger or bitterness, instead one can’t help but feeling a bit hopeful hearing Steiner sing of being frozen in her house but looking to the stars above and knowing that there is still life to go on. [RR]
Shamir– Oversized Sweater. Acoustic guitar brings us into this steady mid-tempo alt-pop winner, with Shamir’s uniquely gorgeous countertenor voice rising above. Featuring an awesome sliding bass line, the instrumental break at the end will have you bouncing around, as his voice glides up into even higher falsetto territory. “Oversized Sweater” is the first single off of Homo Anxietatem, the ninth album from the Philly-via-Las Vegas-based eclectic musician, to be released on August 18 as Shamir’s debut on the venerable Kill Rock Stars label.
Shamir explained the history of “Oversized Sweater” in a statement:
“The first quarter of 2020 before lockdown I felt a lot of anxiety. I was fresh out the psych ward and had quit smoking weed and cigarettes cold turkey. I spent the first couple months of 2020 knitting this huge baby blue sweater. It’s basically a wearable security blanket that I used to channel all my anxiety into. I wear it all the time.”
The song is beautifully explored in an intimate video where Shamir dances around in his underwear in what feels like his childhood bedroom, the walls covered with posters of various music idols: Selena, The Buzzcocks, Snoop Dogg, Amy Winehouse. Shamir appears so beautifully vulnerable here, in both the video and the music; I want to wrap him up in that Oversized Sweater and just hold on. But that vulnerability fuels this prolific powerhouse of an artist, and I’m excited to hear the entirety of Homo Anxietatem later this summer. [KB]
Sharon Van Etten– Quiet Eyes. Sharon Van Etten works her lush emotional magic once again with this new single that’s featured over the end credits of the A24 film, Past Lives, a story of childhood friends reuniting in South Korea, directed by Celine Song. The beautiful ballad washes over you with shimmering vocals swelling with flickering harmonies. The expansive instrumentation includes acoustic guitar strums that provide the rhythmic bones for a repeated ascending piano line that’s echoed by what sounds like cello as the song builds. Van Etten’s lyrics stand strong and reflective as always: “Is this really a mystery life? / Where we only learn from our own mistakes.” On Twitter, Van Etten shared her love for the new film, which inspired the song: “The idea of past lives, who I used to be, what I could have been, people I lost touch with, parts of myself I lost along the way… is a beautiful, intangible, relatable concept that Celine Song so gracefully explores in her story, Past Lives.” Van Etten co-wrote the track with Mini Mansions’ Zachary Dawes, and Grizzly Bear members Christopher Bear and Daniel Rossen provided the film’s score. [KB]
Sweeping Promises– You Shatter. An ethereal synth line slinks above many layers of guitar and electronic patterns, with Lira Mondal’s ever-present bass groove deep in the underbelly. This second single off the forthcoming Good Living Is Coming For You (due out on June 30 via Sub Pop and Feel It Records) will get you bouncing and dancing around the room, but there’s an edge of malice driving the party. Mondal and Caufield Schnug offer only this statement about the song: “‘You Shatter’ is our ode to being a hammer.” Mondal’s fantastic voice achieves a sharper edge here than I’ve heard from her before, and it works perfectly with the violent suggestion of the lyrics: “How you are to me / You shatter / A distant memory /You shatter.” I didn’t think I could love the brilliant duo from Lawrence, Kansas more, but both this track and the previous single, “Eraser,” are showing them exploring exciting new territory with synthesizers and how they’re recording. I cannot wait to get my hands on the full record on June 30! Also, they’re gonna be at Music Hall of Williamsburg on August 10, and it’s not sold out…yet. [KB]
Teenage Wrist– Still Love (featuring Softcult). A duo since 2020, Teenage Wrist are still making grungey shoegazey alt-rock. On “Still Love” they are joined by fellow alt-rockers Softcult, also a duo (twin siblings Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn, who bill themselves as “music for mall goths”) who share songwriting credits. The song switches direction near the end, moving from lyrics that seemingly deal with self doubt (“I talk big shit / I got nothing to back it up / I’m the shame and the sin of men / the mistakes of my future son / but I still love“) over to an environmental theme (“will our children kill for water, will they ever see the ocean / when the oil runs out we’ll go deeper down the well“). Still Love is out on Epitaph on August 4th. [CW]
TVOD– Poppies/Since You Been Away. Brooklyn disco post punks and fan faves TVOD have just released a new double single, which pair nicely with the three previously released stand alone singles “Goldfish,” “Mantis,” and “Alien” from earlier this year. In addition to their time in the studio, they’ve been gigging hard around BK and beyond, really ramping things up over the last year or so, touring frequently and are indeed about to hit the road again supporting Thick (a band they also used to share members with in their earliest iteration). These songs have been staples of their live set and are always super fun to dance to, and now you can do it in the comfort of your own living room in your undies with your cat if you want (my preferred way to dance really) or on your morning commute bashing your way through slow walkers on the subway. No word yet on a full length from this crew, but I am primed and ready for when they lock that down. [KH]
Wombo– Thread. A far more laid back track than the preceding single “Slab” (read our thoughts), “Thread” finds minimalist guitar twirling around an easygoing yet persistent bass and drum line while singer Sydney Chadwick weaves a vocal thread of her own, breathy but not becoming lost in the music: “Wanted to be so small you could fit me into the palm of a hand, but there’s only so many things that can happen. Who was singing about loneliness?” The Slab EP will be out June 9th on Fire Talk. [CW]
by FTA Staff | Apr 21, 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 two weeks (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. Chantal [CW], Kate B [KB], Kate H [KH], Kevin [KM] and Mike [MB] weighed in on some killer songs and have the scoop on plenty of new tunes, give ’em a listen!
Angel Olsen– Forever Means. The title track from Angel Olsen’s brand new EP is a delicate song, featuring her classic lovely voice over a strummed, echoing, electric guitar. Olsen calls the song a “nod to George Harrison” and says the EP comes from questions like “What does forever really mean? What are the things Iʼm seeking in friendship or love, and how can forever be attainable if weʼre always changing?” Forever Means is out now via Jagjaguwar; Olsen will be appearing with The Strokes at Forest Hills Stadium on August 19th. [CW]
Bar Italia– Punkt. This is a seductive and slightly creepy track from the London-based indie rock trio of Nina Cristante, Jezmi Tarik Fehmi, and Sam Fenton. The song features vocals from all three of them, and it’s almost as if we’re hearing three perspectives on a love triangle (or that’s my interpretation at least). The music itself here is infectiously simple and slinky: repeated chiming guitar hook, an undulating bass line, steady mid-tempo drums. “Punkt” is the second single off Bar Italia’s forthcoming LP, Tracey Denim, out on Matador on May 19. The trio will be playing their first US shows in May as well. You can catch them in NYC at TV Eye on May 13, or at Mercury Lounge on May 15. [KB]
Bully– Hard to Love. The third single from Alicia Bognanno’s Bully is out now and sees the artist getting vulnerable. Built around a big dirty bassline, it pushes the song as the rest of the instruments settle in on top, rocketing things to a soaring alt rock banger. Lyrically, it explores some deeply personal subject matter and Bognanno, who also directed the video, shares:
Growing up never fitting into society’s constructed gender stereotypes and expectations, I often felt as though different equals bad or wrong. I was confused about my place in the world, not fully identifying with any one particular gender or sexuality. I was ashamed, and I blamed myself. Though I’m still in the process of understanding and accepting my identity, I’m glad to be surrounded by people who love and accept me for who I am regardless of the clothes I wear and the labels others use to define me.
Lucky For You releases in full on 6/2 via SubPop. Bully will be in NYC at Racket on 6/6. [KH]
C.O.F.F.I.N– Cut You Off. The long running, hard rocking punk n rollers from Down Under have a brand new single—their first release for Goner Records—as well as a new album on the way (release date tba). The song finds them in the brash and brawny sonic territory they are known for with singer/drummer Ben Portnoy’s signature growl trading off the spotlight with red hot lead guitar licks. Portnoy also directed the video. The band will appear at Goner Fest 20 in Memphis this September; I may or may not be currently saving up for a plane ticket. [KH]
Cosmic Kitten– Songbird. The latest single from Laugh of A Lifetime (their fourth LP, not counting cover albums) is a mid-tempo, thoughtful track, which according to the band is about the struggle of expressing emotions and using art as a medium to communicate. Cosmic Kitten are well known for their harder grunge tunes, but this song shows they are adept at taking it a bit easy as well and ends in a gorgeous melodic guitar solo. Laugh of A Lifetime will be self-released on May 5th. [CW]
cumgirl8– cicciolina. The NYC based post punk quartet has been making waves both on the music scene and in the fashion world over the last few years, along with hosting their own talk show, and have now signed to 4AD, releasing their first single for the venerable indie label this week. Paying tribute to Italian porn star turned politician, Ilona Staller aka Cicciolina, the band shares:
Cicciolina is an Italian icon, porn star and former politician that was elected to parliament in the 90s. She advocated for human rights and the eradication of nuclear weapons. Cicciolina said “make sex not war” and used her divine power of femininity to troll the status quo while disrupting it from the inside. We feel her ideals are foundational to the cumgirl8 philosophy of subversive change, peace, and strength in vulnerability. We hope she loves our song, we love her very much. Cicciolina is cumgirl1.
The song itself is a hazy post punk romp, a style the band has perfected well over the last few years in dingy DIY spots and dive bars around Brooklyn. The video sees the various band members dancing in some scenes, portraying Cicciolina herself as a “video game version” of the iconic figure in others, wreaking havoc on parliamentary proceedings. The band will soon embark on a tour of the UK and Europe before joining Le Tigre for a few dates on their summer tour in the US. [KH]
Elisapie– Taimangalimaaq (Time After Time cover). The Inuk artist, Elisapie, recently released a stunning version of the Blondie classic “Heart of Glass,” taking it from its original disco roots to a contemplative folk song, singing the lyrics entirely in the Indigenous language, Inuktitut. A full covers album, Inuktitut, has now been revealed with the artist sharing on Bandcamp:
Inuktitut is Elisapie’s fourth solo effort. It’s a covers album that sprouted in the artist’s mind in the winter of 2021, when songs by artists such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, Metallica, Queen, and Cyndi Lauper, whose music once took over the community radio airwaves throughout Nunavik, Northern Quebec, triggered a flood of tears. Many of these songs were an escape as the community and cultural references were being challenged by colonization. Elisapie began a mental archaeological process: finding songs associated with emotional memories and people from her past. She followed that with a second, more prosaic quest. She sought the permission of the original artists to translate and adapt the songs that are now on this album.
Elisapie reinvigorates the poetry of these 10 songs thanks to the raw sounds of the thousand-year-old Inuit language and gives each track a unique and deeply personal quality. The tracks range from rock & roll and pop classics from the 1960’s to the 90’s. Every song is linked to a loved one or an intimate story that has shaped the person Elisapie is today. Through this act of cultural reappropriation, she tells her story, offers these songs as a gift to her community, and makes her language and culture resonate beyond the Inuit territory.
Like the previous single, this version of the Cyndi Lauper classic transforms the era defining new wave song into Elisapie’s own, both musically and lyrically, and has again revealed an entirely new way of listening to a song I thought I knew so well. The album releases in full on 9/15 and she will tour extensively in Canada throughout 2023 into 2024. Pre-orders are available now via Bonsound. [KH]
Josie Cotton– Painting In Blood. Inspired by iconic film composer Ennio Morricone – particularly his work in Giallo movies – “Painting In Blood” evokes those films with a go-go club beat, organs, and surfy guitar, not to mention lyrics like “the naked truth is she’s in stranger danger / he’s a murderer / she’s overacting / the room is spinning / the knife is glinting.” Cotton’s new album Day Of The Gun will be out May 2nd on Kitten Robot Records. [CW]
Joudy– Tail End. NYC heavy psych-grunge outfit, Joudy (pronounced “Howdy”) just dropped the lead single off their forthcoming release and US debut Destroy all Monsters (out via Trash Casual June 2023). Hailing originally from the mountains of Los Andes, Venezuela, cousins Diego Ramirez (Vocals/Guitar), Gabriel Gavidia (Bass) and Hulrich Navas (Drums) are known for their wildly volatile live-stage performances. Though much of that storm often exists tamped down to simmer just below the surface. Reminiscent at times of early Highly Suspect, “Tail End” shows that expertly controlled restraint as its beat ambles and lumbers at a slow chop beneath wonderfully ugly guitar lines that build around a densely focused and soaring lyrical delivery.
The band, displaced by political unrest in their home country, tells Wonderland Magazine that the new record “marries their history with the impossible challenges they’ve overcome both personally and professionally.” If the new single is any indicator, we will be clenching our fists and grinding our teeth in seething anticipation of this summer release. [MB]
Junior Bill– Teeth. Earlier this year, the UK based project of Welsh songwriter Robert Nichols released the insanely catchy “Boys From Jungle” (read our thoughts) and now are back with a more laid back offering, a groovy dub soaked track that tells the tale of a “lonely, isolated society where sugar passes for joy and life stays stagnant around a tiny cul-de-sac in post-Brexit Britain.” The song comes paired with a video that compliments the song nicely, hitting the mood and feel of the track, giant lips and teeth framing various scenes of vintage every day life footage, stop motion animation and more to weave the narrative of the song into a visual reality. This is the third single from the upcoming debut album, Youth Club! due out later this year. [KH]
The Linda Lindas– Too Many Things. The teenage powerhouses strike again with yet another incredibly catchy power pop song with a punk aesthetic. You’ll want to jump around to the chugging guitar riffs as the girls lament about the many overwhelming emotions that are a part of coming of age (perhaps especially when you’re going through adolescence as a rock star). The lyrics reflect the longing to stay a kid while all the shifts of growing up are happening so fast: “What would happen if we all stayed the same / now I’ve changed but everything’s still out of place.” This is the first single released by The Linda Lindas since their much-lauded full-length debut record in 2022, Growing Up (Epitaph Records) and they celebrated by rocking Coachella. They plan to tour extensively through the summer, you know, after school’s out. [KB]
Mandy, Indiana– Peach Fuzz. The singles from Mandy, Indiana’s i’ve seen a way continue to surprise and befuddle me in the best way. You can dance to this music, but you could also contemplate it alone in the dark in your bedroom. Even the visualizer video for “Peach Fuzz” is hypnotic—what is that strange little tentacle thing that keeps appearing at the bottom of the screen? “We are told yes, we are told no / They take us for idiots / We go around in circles.” Valentine Caulfield sings (albeit in French.) Layers, man. The new album will be out on Fire Talk Records May 19th. [CW]
Miranda and The Beat– Concrete. The video (featuring an intro from the 1959 version of House On Haunted Hill) may be more suited to Halloween, but this upbeat dance-punk offering from Cali-turned-Brooklyn rockers is primed and ready for summer, and serves as counterpoint to the more soulful first single “Sweat.” Their s/t debut (produced by Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s) is out on King Khan’s Khannibalism and Ernest Jenning Record Co. on May 26th. [CW]
Monarch– No Vacancy. Leave it to a band of punks from the Hudson Valley to bring sultry lounge cool back to NYC. They just dropped new live track single “No Vacancy,” and it’s got all the chops of a jazz ensemble sidled by an indie-pop smoothness that you’re probably not quite ready to handle. Donning dapper colors and immersed in a velvet elegance, the quartet led by Sarah Hartstein’s powerful pipes, plays straight to Nick Pappalardo’s masterful guitar work settled against the rhythmic foundation laid by Alex Alfaro (drums) and Oswalt Jenters (bass). Think Fiona Apple meets Amy Winehouse, and you’d be getting warm. They’ve been packing dark clubs more and more all over the city so make sure you’re keeping up and don’t sleep on getting to a show. [MB]
The Murlocs– Undone and Unashamed. The tireless Aussie group return this week with the latest single from their upcoming album Calm Ya Farm (out 5/19 ATO Records). Hot on the heels of the first album single “Initiative,” “Undone” finds Ambrose Kenny-Smith and the gang rockin’ out to an upbeat honky-tonk jammer. The track, written by keyboardist Tim Karmouche, not only sports some great guitar work but also a sax solo from Kenny-Smith. And check out the gravity defying video with a down on his luck couch potato who’s clearly undone and unashamed. [KM]
Panchiko– Portraits. “Portraits” is a math rock song turned on its head, becoming a soft, glitchy, fuzzy tune that glides along while also throwing angles into the mix. The band says the track is “based around the thought that each of us is the culmination of the generations that precedes us. Every experience and encounter shapes us and adds to our story,” and the accompanying video from animator Shunsaku Hayashi completes the picture. Panchiko will be in NYC at Le Poisson Rouge on May 30th (sold out) and May 31st; Failed At Maths will be out May 5th. [CW]
Snõõper– Pod. Snõõper blend garage rock and art punk into a fast paced mix on this lead single from their upcoming debut LP, Super Snõõper. Singer Blair Tramel notes the track stems from the anxieties of forming “‘pods” during the pandemic, and it certainly is a nervous feeling song, with high energy guitar and frenetic vocals, proving in a bit less than two minutes their claim they are a band who “in a 33 ⅓ RPM world, make 45 RPM music they play at 78 RPM.” Super Snõõper will be out via Third Man Records on July 14th and has already earned advance praise from none other than Henry Rollins who said “Speaking selfishly, I want Snõõper to hurry up and make another album. Super Snõõper is a really cool record.” [CW]
Squid– Undergrowth. This week, Squid released their latest single “Undergrowth” from their upcoming sophomore album, Monolith (Warp). The follow up to “Swing (In A Dream)”, “Undergrowth” finds the guys in Squid contemplating reincarnation but as an inanimate object such as a bedside table and what a colossal disappointment that would be. The track, which was accompanied by a video game release, is a heady mix of dub bass over mid-tempo beats, Ollie Judge’s sing-speak delivery, plucky guitars, blasts of brass and synths, all of which culminate in a bell ringing, orchestral ending. [KM]
The Dog Indiana– LOAF. The Vancouver based band recently released a new album, Burnt Ends, which I loved and included on my April Bandcamp Friday picks. A video has now been released for the lead single, “LOAF,” and it’s got a really trippy, psychedelic feel (and maybe some UFOs along the way). Read our review of the album and watch the vid below. [KH]
Tinariwen– Kek Alghalm. This latest single and opening track from the upcoming Amatssou is both meditative and upbeat, buoyed by a simple yet bouncy bassline. But it’s not all smiles here: the song is a plea for unity among the Tuareg tribes: “Why so much silence, all over the world / Only spilt blood / Only brave men killed.” A live favorite, the recorded version here features Wes Corbett on banjo. Catch Tinariwen yourself at Webster Hall on June 5th. [CW]
Ugli– Crybabi. As if we needed yet another reason to love Philadelphia’s Ugli, they just released the first single from their forthcoming EP girldick. It’s the first new music from the band in what seems like forever so we couldn’t be more excited for it to drop just in time for this warm weather weekend. The Philly alt-grunge quartet, fronted by Dylyn Durante and grown out of the DIY punk ethos of the Philadelphia house scene, delivers the “type of song that made you fall in love with bands like Weezer and The Pixies. It’s hook after hook and it never lets up.” Durante’s powerful voice lands somewhere between Kim Shattuck and Justin Hawkins, and the band’s perfect execution of loud-quiet-loud harkens backs to the type of authentic quirky dissonance and controlled chaos guitar-pop that hasn’t been heard since the days of The Muffs and Presidents of the United States of America. In less than three short minutes, “Crybabi” will swaddle you up in it’s ragged edges, blow out your speakers, and leave you screaming it’s always Ugli in Philadelphia.
by Kate Bell | Aug 17, 2022
Death Valley Girls at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos)
I had the pleasure of seeing Death Valley Girls for the first time at St. Vitus in August 2019, and it was electric. Pandemic living being what it is, I haven’t had the chance to see them again until last Thursday’s show at TV Eye, with Cumgirl8 starting off the night. Both bands were in the mood to celebrate and seemed truly thrilled to be sharing a stage. The crowd was transported by the raucous love fest of it all.
I had heard some of Cumgirl8’s music before, but seeing them live is essential for the full experience of what they’re creating. The self-described “sex-positive alien amoeba entity” were a feast for the eyes, sporting outfits that offered a mix of lingerie, bikinis, leather pants, and very high heels. When they’re not rocking out, these multi-talented superwomen design their own club-inspired fashion line, recently featured in Vogue. So there you go! Veronika Vilim (on guitar) and Lida Fox (bass) are also models, and the whole band (including Chase Lombardo on drums and Avishag “Avi” Cohen Rodrigues on guitar) have special projects galore: a webseries, other bands, activism, you name it! It’s obvious Cumgirl8 is more than a band—they are punk rock meets very sexy performance art meets multimedia tycoonery, and all of it is infectious fun. The crowd at TV Eye were falling down while dancing and trying to get a good shot of the action on their phones. By the end of their last song, “I Wanna Be,” the band piled on top of each other, a Jenga-like structure of limbs and alluring chaos.
All of that might’ve been a tough act to follow, but not for Death Valley Girls. TV Eye’s signature velvety red stage curtains parted again, as guitarist Larry Schemel and drummer Rikki Styxx began to stir up a spell of driving beats and noise, while singer/guitarist/keyboardist Bonnie Bloomgarden and bassist Sammy Westervelt clung to one another, turning upstage to watch Styxx begin the magic with her drums. I remember this moment of embrace and centering from Bloomgarden and the band back in 2019 as well. Death Valley Girls shows have a vibe of ritual about them, and if you’re in the room, you will be intoxicated by the otherworldly alchemy of their music.
Fittingly, Bloomgarden wore a dress printed with what seemed like old movie posters about aliens. I only own one Death Valley Girls album (their most recent full-length release) Under the Spell of Joy, which I adore, but strangely songs from that record were missing from their set. But no matter, Bloomgarden and company shook me into a trance anyway, with a mix of songs from older albums and newer material. Bloomgarden and Westervelt fell to their knees at one point, drifting into paroxysms of rock calling to extraterrestrial visitors. Bloomgarden also leapt off the stage near the end of the set to get closer to as many people in the crowd as she could, hugging many people and singing right into the faces of her fans, who sang along in adoration, like believers at a tent revival.
Hopping back on stage, Bloomgarden saw the women of Cumgirl8 dancing in the wings, and she beckoned to them. Suddenly the stage held both bands, the Cumgirl8ers jumping around like they were possessed as DVG kept on with the relentless drive of their frenzied music. My only complaint was that it was over too soon! Death Valley Girls left me wanting more…hopefully they will be back in NYC pretty damn quick, and maybe their friends Cumgirl8 will share the stage with them again.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
CUMGIRL8
DEATH VALLEY GIRLS
by Kate Hoos | Mar 9, 2022
Surfbort at Market Hotel (photo by Kate Hoos)
Who here among us doesn’t love a punk show? You’ll never catch me saying “not me” to that question and so you won’t be surprised to know I was thrilled to be at this show, packed from top to bottom with heavy hitters. I always seem to find myself at Surfbort shows in the middle of the winter and they always warm up my heart when nothing else seems to crack the icy veneer enshrouding it.
Energetic garage punks Dog Date took the stage first, setting a fever pitch right from the get-go with their song “Frog.” As their dual drummers smashed and bashed through the quarter note triplets at the mid point of the song, the audience was snared, ready to party hard for the rest of the night. Having only recently seen them for the first time (see pics here), I was doubly thrilled to find out they were on this bill. (I never want to miss any of their shows ever again in fact but alas, adulting must happen and so I will take what I can get.)
Pussy Gillette took the stage next and brought the tempo down a notch with a set of smoldering garage. Lead singer/bassist Masani Camacho telling the audience at one point “If you’re a sad motherfucker, this one’s for you baby!” I don’t know about anyone else, but I felt seen in that moment. Their special brand of old school punk swagger was the perfect counter point of the hyper fuzz of Dog Date, both garage acts but on different ends of the spectrum. Camacho also had the very best iteration of “see us in the back for merch” that I’ve ever heard, declaring “You can’t buy our record at Wal-Mart so come see me at the merch table suckas!”
Experimental no wave outfit cumgirl8 were in the direct support spot and played a set of raw goth twinged post punk, pulling from their 2020 self titled debut and 2021’s RIPcumgirl8. They perfectly blend crunchy with groovy for a mesmerizing and unique sound. At the very end of their set, on the brink of coming undone, they asked “is there time for one more?” before putting down their instruments and completely changing things up, playing a several minutes long glitchy techno rave outro, complete with a toy keyboard in the mix.
cumgirl8 at Market Hotel
By the time Surfbort took the stage, the room had grown hot and steamy, and the crowd was right on the edge of erupting into chaos. And when the first notes rang out, erupt they did, a pure frenzy ensuing for much of the next hour. Bodies flying, lyrics lovingly shouted back and forth from singer Dani Miller to the crowd and from the crowd back to her, the band raging on stage behind her, there’s no other way to go than hard when in the midst of Surfbort.
This was my first time seeing them in the “after times,” and as such the first time with their new five piece lineup. The songs sounded as tight as ever and the tempos even punchier than I remember from the last time I saw them in 2019. They pulled largely from their kickass 2021 album Keep On Truckin’ but they also pulled out some classics like “Slushy,” “Bedbugs,” and “ACAB,” along with two personal favs, “Les Be In Love,” and “Hippie Vomit Inhaler.”
Times in 2022 are weird and fucking hard, but nights like these are what make me want to keep going. Afterall, there’s nothing quite like the rowdy shenanigans of a Surfbort show, and paired with three smoking openers, from start to finish this was one for the books AND the soul.
Scroll down for more pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
DOG DATE
PUSSY GILLETTE
CUMGIRL8
SURFBORT
