by Kate Hoos | Feb 28, 2023
I’ve always had an affinity for two piece bands. This is partly because I’ve always loved the spartan nature of it, and partly because I also love seeing/hearing how bands are able to turn “less is more” into action. Another big reason is because one of my very first bands was a two piece bass and drums punk band (I played drums) and I just loved how raw and wild it felt at the time. Then later, the first band I played guitar in, Lady Bizness, was a two piece for a long time before we “sold out” and became a trio (ha!). We played the 2015 edition of the annual Two Piece Fest in Philadelphia, an awesome DIY festival that gives love to myriad two piece bands every year; I have the poster for the event hanging in my house to this day. The fest is still going strong, having recently held their “Sweet 16” for the 2023 edition.
All that being the case I figured, why not make a big ass list of duos I love?! And a little criteria here, this is for rock bands, mostly because that’s my favorite genre of music (“rock” being a very, VERY broad term here mind you), and it is also solely for bands that record AND perform as a two piece. This is not for a band of two members that records numerous layers in the studio via multitracking and then puts together a backing band on stage to perform it. No shade to those who choose to do that because plenty of great songwriting duos exist in that realm, but that is not what I’m trying to highlight with this list.
Left off this list are the biggies like The White Stripes etc because you all already know who they are, Jack White was just on SNL and he is doing just fine! I did hit on a few bigger artists, but mainly wanted to shine a light on some of the lesser known bands, current local NYC bands and some now defunct bands—several queercore bands in particular—that I wish had had more attention during their lifetime.
As with all of our lists, this is not ranked, as it is not our ethos to create a hierarchy. It features artists at a wide variety of levels of notoriety and all of them are treated as equals because again, we aren’t trying to create a hierarchy or a monolith, great music is great music, end of story. FTA is, and always will be, about sharing the music we genuinely love and care about first and foremost, we don’t need to assign a rank or a status to anything to do that. I’m also a grouchy middle aged punk and set in my ways, what can I say?!
SPIN also recently put out a list of two piece bands and there are some cool artists on that (with one or two crossovers here) so I recommend checking that out. There were a lot more bands I wanted to mention and I’m always on the lookout for more to discover, so I will definitely have more to talk about aside from these 28 picks (one for each day of February) for a future follow up list. It was important for me to start with these particular bands, but stay tuned because there will absolutely be more; if you didn’t see a band this time, don’t despair, they’re very probably already on my radar for the next one.
Alright, buckle up and get ready for a whole lot of great duos in the list to follow!
Big Business– It feels impossible to have a list of two piece bands without including these sludge metal greats, titans of the heeeeeeavy bass and drums style this format employs so well. They have at times over their nearly 20 year existence expanded to include guitars, but for the majority of their life they have remained the core duo of Jared Warren (Karp) on bass and Coady Willis (Murder City Devils) on drums so they remain firmly within the criteria for this list. Both Warren and Willis were also part of the Melvins for a time, and more recently, Warren has been playing bass with Unwound on their 1991-2091 reunion tour, replacing the late Vern Rumsey. (I’m also a sucker for bands with left handed drummers since there aren’t that many of us, but interestingly, there are no less than four on this list.)
Blacks’ Myths– The instrumental bass and drums duo combines elements of free jazz, heavy drone and a deeply experimental bent to create long and wide-ranging soundscapes, some reaching 20 minutes in length, showing the immense possibilities of this format and that a guitar is not the be all end all for a band. They have thus far released a stellar pair of albums, 2018’s Blacks’ Myths and 2019’s Blacks’ Myths II, as well as a 2020 collaboration with Moor Mother and Jamal Moore, Blue Chain. The band will soon support the legendary Dischord art rockers, Black Eyes, on their reunion tour and I’m very much looking forward to seeing them live again after having seen them open for Mdou Moctar in 2021.
Bob Vylan– The UK based punk/rap rock duo hits hard and puts on an incredible live show. I caught them when they opened for Amyl and the Sniffers last year at Terminal 5 and they practically blew the roof off the place, playing at the level of an arena rock band (see pics). They were also recently the recipients of the first ever Alternative Music award at the Mobo Awards in the newly created category to recognize Black performers in the realm of rock music, a category and an honor long overdue, since rock is a genre which never could have existed without the pioneering efforts of Black songwriters and artists.
Cinema Cinema– This Brooklyn based experimental art rock duo of cousins Ev Gold (guitar/vocals) and Paul Claro (drums) hits a lot of styles—jazz, hard rock, metal, post hardcore—and don’t have an easily pinned down sound. They also recently celebrated their 15th anniversary as a band. And while they did bring in collaborator Matt Darriau for vocals and woodwinds for their pair of albums CCXMD and CCXMDII, the heart of the band has always been the duo of Gold and Claro. They put on one hell of a fiery set live and will be touring behind a new album later this year. Cause for even more celebration!
Courtney Love– I know what you’re thinking but no, it’s not that Courtney Love, but rather this Courtney Love, the delightful lo-fi twee band made up of Lois Maffeo and Pat Maley of Yoyo A Go Go. (And yes, they were named after that Courtney Love.) They released three cutesy 7inches over their time together, all of which are favorites in my record collection to this day. Decades after its 1990 release, Snail Mail recorded a really cool cover of “The 2nd Most Beautiful Girl In the World,” giving it new life and bringing attention to this oft-overlooked duo, exposing them to a whole new generation of fans.
Death From Above 1979– I discovered this band in the ether of the nascent music blogosphere not long after the release their 2002 EP, Heads Up, though it would be many years—after their 2006 breakup and subsequent 2011 reformation—until I would get to see them live. I’ve long been a fan of the bass and drums setup for bands and DFA1979 is one of the best to try their hand at it, crafting catchy dance punk anthems built around Jesse F. Keeler’s huge distorted bass riffs and Sebastian Grainger’s dual vocal and drum attack. They’re still at it and wrapped up a North American tour at the end of 2022 in support of their most recent album, Is 4 Lovers (see my pics from the Brooklyn stop of the tour). I’m a fan of everything in their catalog, but Heads Up remains a special favorite to this day, the songs contained within both feral and foundational.
Death Goals– One of the newest discoveries on this list for me, the UK queercore duo plays a visceral and inspiring blend of screamo, math rock, punk and metal for a beautifully abrasive sound that explores queerness and what it means to exist in a society that (a good portion of) still wants us dead. They have a brand new album, A Garden of Dead Flowers, coming in May of this year and the first single “Faux Macho” is as catchy as it is raging aka my favorite kind of song.
Divide and Dissolve– Heavy instrumental doom drone metal, I saw this band play at Webster Hall last year with Low (on what would be the late Mimi Parker’s last NYC show, see pics) and they filled every single inch of space with their massive and all consuming sound. Despite being an instrumental band, their message is deeply political and challenges their listeners to examine and explore the continued toxic legacies of colonialism, white supremacy, nationalism and capitalism. Their name is also literal because alongside their message, is the imperative to work towards ways to divide and dissolve these poisonous plagues to our society.
El Ten Eleven– More than any other band on this list, El Ten Eleven really shows the levels that can be achieved with two people and traditional rock band instrumentation. Helmed by composer Kristian Dunn on bass and double neck, with his longtime musical partner Tim Fogarty on drums, and aided by a mountain of loopers and other pedals, the duo does it all without computers or click tracks. They make it all happen live on the spot and have used their exceptional musicianship to create sweeping and inspiring instrumental post rock. They’ve only seemed to have gotten more prolific with time, having released a triple album, Tautology, in 2020 which was followed up with New Year’s Eve in 2022 and the just recently released Valley of Fire (read my review). While their records are certainly a great starting point, this is a band you definitely need to check out live to catch the full effect of how impressively they craft their songs.
Empty Vessels– This uber DIY hardcore/noise/doom band from Connecticut had heavy fucking songs, supremely cool stylized art based on occult and horror movie images (I still have a patch of theirs on an old hoodie) and toured prolifically in the early through mid 2010’s, seemingly endlessly on the road crisscrossing the US. They released two stellar albums, 2014’s Seizures Within Reason and 2015’s Throw Your Shadow, and seemed poised for bigger things.
They posted on their Facebook in September 2017 to celebrate their five year anniversary as a band and mentioned that they were working on new material…and then that was it. Nothing further was posted, nothing was released, no more shows happened (that I am aware of) and no follow up post ever came. A few people later commented on that post asking if they were still playing which went unanswered. So it’s a mystery what happened to this band because they seem to have fallen off the face of the earth entirely, but I sure hope they someday post an update or make more music. In the meantime, the two albums they did leave behind are quite the legacy.
Fagatron– This is a band that is long defunct and that I never saw live; I’ve always been bummed about that. They hailed from Lincoln, Nebraska in the late 90s and early 00s, which incidentally was the end of the heyday of some “distro dude” with a table full of records at a show (though with the vinyl resurgence, maybe it’ll make a comeback). I came into possession of their self-titled 7inch at a show where another queer band had copies of albums and such by other queer bands much like the “distro dude” (but nicer). With a name like that, and a cool silk screened cover, I couldn’t resist. The bass and drums duo delivered on that release too, six gritty, heavily distorted punk rock tracks that sounded like they were recorded in a garbage can or at least a dark, dank basement in the middle of nowhere. I was in such a style band at the time, and a baby queer myself, so this one really resonated with me in a lot of ways.
The original was released in 1998 (yes, I still have my copy) and was re-issued in 2012 by Punk Start My Heart. This is also about the time it made it to Bandcamp with a download of all 36 of the band’s songs from across their 7inch EP, a split 7 inch with another queer two piece, Ninja Death Squad (more on them below), and their self tilted album. Today, just 9 songs are still up for download (not sure why on that) but their album is streaming on Spotify and a lot of songs are also on YouTube so most (though not all) of their catalog is readily available albeit in a bit of a scattered way. There’s also the treasure trove of Discogs where new stuff seems to pop up all the time. I may have never seen this band live, but they sure do hold a special place in my heart in terms of formative bands.
Gibbons– I have a ton of love for this endearing pop punk/emo duo and I’ve been going to their shows (and played on the same bill for a few of them along the way) since pretty much the beginning. They always make me smile, because after all, there’s not many bands that can so seamlessly incorporate the Air Bud franchise into a song. (Sadly that song remains unreleased as of now but has been one of their live staples for years.)
godheadsilo– I saw this band’s name for yeeeeaaaars, but it wasn’t until the Covid lockdowns hit in 2020 that I finally really explored them. That is a bit of a shame because of course I immediately fell in love with them (given that they are an heavy bass and drums outfit) and they rose to the top of the heap of my favorite duos. Better late than never I guess! One of the very first pieces I wrote for FTA (that was one of our “soft opening” posts before more widely announcing ourselves to the world) was about this band where I go into much more detail about things. You can read that here. Here’s hoping 2023 might finally bring me the chance to see them live.
The Haggard– A short lived queer hardcore duo from Portland, there’s not much out there on this band these days, but in their brief few years of existence I was able to catch them live a few times (35mm negatives are in a box in a closet in my house) and they managed to release a few 7 inches and two albums, A Bike City Called Greasy in 1999 and No Future in 2001. Their music is not all that readily available currently because it isn’t on streamers, but I did find a full stream of No Future on YouTube that I recommend checking out for the grit and the growl. (I magically still have my old 7inches and the CDs which, if you feel like shelling out a few bucks on Discogs, you can pick up too.)
Hella– The first time I saw this band was late fall 2001 in Olympia, WA and it was right before they released their explosive debut album, Hold Your Horse Is. I was immediately completely gobsmacked and it began a long love affair with instrumental bands and also with weird, experimental, complex music that defied easy categorization. The band would go on to release numerous albums and EPs over the next ten years and drummer Zach Hill in particular would have a prolific output with myriad other projects.
It all started with the three song Leather Diamond demo CD in 2001; it is one of my great regrets that my original copy of this was not more closely guarded and got lost over the years. Fortunately for me though, ye olde internet is a cornucopia, and today the audio is readily available on YouTube. Cleaner recordings of all of these songs would go on to appear on Hold Your Horse Is but the versions here feel downright primal.
Heavens to Betsy– Before she contributed her signature howl to Sleater-Kinney, going on to become an indie rock icon, a very young Corin Tucker fronted her first band, Heavens To Betsy. They hit right at the heart of feminine rage and were part of the original wave of riot grrrl bands alongside contemporaries like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. They left behind a legacy of several comp tracks, 7inches and their lone full length from 1994, Calculated. The comp tracks are a little harder to track down these days, but both Calculated and the 1993 7inch These Monsters Are Real are readily available on streamers.
Japanther– The feral art punk band was prolific over their 13 year career and famous for their telephone receiver mics. They are a band I always kept an eye on from afar, sadly never seeing them live because much of their career coincided with me trying to do the “adult” thing and also having a “career.” (And a boring one at that. I fortunately abandoned this foolish notion around 35 and have been living my best life ever since.) While I do regret that, they left behind a lengthy discography and there’s plenty of live videos of them out there. And with all the re-unions going on these days, you can never say never anymore.
John (Times Two)– So named because both of the members of the band are called, you guessed it, John. Billing themselves as “Four arms, four legs, two heads, wood, metal and plastic. A band of two Johns from Crystal Palace, London, UK” this duo features one John on drums and vocals and the other on guitar, for a gruff voiced, punk grunge attack. My first intro to them was via their 2019 album, Out Here on the Fringes, and I quickly dove in on the rest of their catalog which includes two more albums and an EP. They recently released a double single “Theme New Bond Junior”/”Hopper on the Dial” and they’re very high up on my list of bands to see live. Hopefully a new album is on the way for 2023.
Keefchamber– I discovered this awesome NJ sludgy stoner, doom duo in the place many great discoveries of my life have been made, at a house show in the middle of the afternoon. Their recorded output is still limited but I’ve enjoyed everything they’ve done. Their past releases leaned heavily into a dirgy and slow drone bass style but their latest release, Ingurgitate Reality, has seen them shift to a faster tempoed sludge punk with guitar instead of bass, still relying on their strong metal chops.
Lightning Bolt– I’ve said before in the pages of FTA that you can’t have a conversation about experimental/noise music without mentioning Lightning Bolt and that feels true of any conversation about two piece bands as well. “The Brians” aka Brian Chippendale on vocals/drums and Brian Gibson on bass, have been at it since 1994, forming when they were students at RISD in the creative hotbed of Providence, RI. Three decades on and their music and their shows are as incendiary and wild as ever, and the truly berserk energy of their sound has some kind of magic healing power over me as was proved by a live set I caught at the end of 2022. I walked in the room in a bad mood (because of other life BS) and left feeling refreshed and renewed, the icky feelings quite literally rattled out of me. See pics/vids from that night here.
Lung– This cello and drums duo from Cincinnati is an absolute powerhouse of heavy riffs and lush, operatic vocals courtesy of singer/cellist Kate Wakefield, backed by her longtime collaborator, Daisy Caplan on drums with plenty of massive beats that perfectly complement the compositions. I was floored from the moment I first heard them—at a show in 2016—and have been continuously awed by them as their catalog has grown to now include four exceptional albums and a split EP. They are also one of the hardest working bands currently making music, touring prolifically and maintaining a strong DIY ethos. Read our review of their most recent album, Let It Be Gone, which was also one of our favorites of 2022. (Their previous album, Come Clean Right Now, made our 2021 list.)
The Need– I absolutely loved this freaky queer metal/punk duo of Rachel Carns (of Kicking Giant) on vocals/stand up drumkit and Radio Sloan on guitar/vocals (who would go on to play with Peaches among others) and was recently absolutely delighted to discover in my research for this piece that their cover of the Judas Priest epic “The Green Manalishi” was available on Bandcamp after I long ago lost my copy of the comp it originally appeared on in 2001, The Structure Of Scientific Misconceptions / The System Of Scientific Misconstructions, which contained a number of experimental and art rock tracks. (I may or may not have taken a minute to stop what I was doing to re-acquire a copy of it on Discogs while writing this entry.) They released a couple of 7inches and EPs over the years, most of which I still have, and today their two albums, 1997’s The Need and 2000’s The Need Is Dead, are easily accessed on streamers or Bandcamp.
Ninja Death Squad– Another short lived queer hardcore band, NDS released a few 7inches and two full lengths over their life, 2001’s Appreciate Our Art (which is not available on streamers) and 2004’s Bridge 12 (which is). I know very little about this band overall (and it seems a lot of other people don’t either since the 2004 album isn’t even listed on Discogs) and never saw them live. I learned of them because they had a split 7inch with Fagatron; years later I picked up a copy of Appreciate Our Art on Discogs and was happy to finally dig into more of their music (and the VERY 2001 “first time laying this out on a computer in MS Paint” style CD booklet).
It’s also very easy for me to draw a line from foundational bands like Fagatron, NDS, The Haggard or The Need—all crucial yet little known queecore duos of an earlier era— to a band like Death Goals who are exploding with queer energy in 2023. Even if they never heard any of those bands (I don’t know since I haven’t asked them), the parallels are certainly there for me and I’m happy to see this legacy of my youth continuing.
Peter & Craig– The long-running duo makes catchy and raw punk rock songs and have a discography that dates back to 2005 with a number of fun, lo-fi releases to dig into. More than that though, they are also the brains (and brawn) behind Two Piece Fest, keeping the festival going for many years in both Philadelphia and Chicago, celebrating hundreds of dynamic DIY duos over that time.
Quasi– You can’t have a list of two piece bands without Quasi, end of story. The sardonic duo of Sam Coombs and Janet Weiss released their first album, R&B Transmogrification, in 1997 and recently released their 12th—and first in ten years—Breaking the Balls of History, proving they still got it even after 25 years. Read our review.
Royal Blood– Probably the most well known band on this particular list, the UK duo personifies rock star swagger and “big riff energy,” but they’ve always been a band I’ve loved purely because they make loud, heavy music with just bass and drums, a thing—you might have picked up on by now—that I love. I was first turned onto them in spring of 2014 when someone sent me an MP3 of “Out of the Black” along with a few more songs that would go on to be included on their (at that time) not yet released debut album, 2014’s Royal Blood, and I was lucky enough to see them at one of their very first NYC shows (if not the first) at the tiny Mercury Lounge in 2014. (A show that, if the rumors I heard that night were true, Jimmy Page was in the audience for.)
I was surprised when I found out that they were getting really big because I didn’t pay attention to any of the growing hype around them, and wasn’t really paying much mind to music press in that era either. I just rocked them on my iPod classic and kept it at that. Things came full circle last year when I was able to catch their headlining show at Terminal 5 (and get paid for it to boot, a double win). They do get some occasional live assists on keys so that did blur the criteria a little bit, but for the most part they still operate purely as a duo so I allowed it.
Trophy Wife– The post hardcore duo from Philly hasn’t released anything since 2015 and I have not seen them play since 2016 (at the same show I discovered Lung), but they remain one of my all time favorite bands. With only two people, they achieved a poise and a power with their music that some bands of even five or six people can only hope to match. I once risked getting caught in a snow storm to see them at the late great venue, Silent Barn, as a blizzard was bearing down on the city in 2014 and was lucky enough to share the bill with them at Two Piece Fest in 2015, a true highlight in my many years of playing shows.
Venus Twins– The only band on this list that may actually leave you seeing double because they are the truest duo of all, identical twins. Brothers Jake and Matt Derting—on drums and bass/vocals respectively—know how to crank the noise and own any stage they step foot on. I’ve seen this band live many times and that really is the absolute best way to experience the unbridled noise punk fury they unleash, in the live setting, an untethered raw chaos in your face. The are like the twin babies of Lightning Bolt and Hella combined, with DFA 1979 as their cool uncle, for a sonic explosion that can barely be contained. See pics from some of their recent shows here and here.
by FTA Staff | Feb 17, 2023
Each week a ton of new music comes out, and between our weekly singles column that gets posted every Friday, and the full album reviews throughout the week, plus live show reviews and news announcements, we get to a lot! Here’s a quick fire list of even more great albums and EPs that came out this week(ish) that we dug and think you should get on your radar too.
Big Laugh– Consume Me. Released last week via Revelation, this is some no fuckin nonsense hardcore that rips and rages, with plenty of BIG riffs, dirty bass lines and drum fills. The Milwaukee based band ticks a lot of heavy boxes for me and packs ten songs into 19 minutes. “Shadow Figure,” “Square One” and the title track are all strong standouts. [KH]
Free Range– Practice. The project of 18-year-old Chicago-based musician Sofia Jensen, this is their debut full length after a series of demos and singles. Laid back indie with a nice dose of alt-country to create an album which makes for perfect company on a long afternoon stroll. “Keep In Time,” “All My Thoughts” and “Traveling Show” are the standouts for me and represent the best of Jensen’s subtle touch and pop sensibilities. [KH]
Grade 2– self-titled. Out today via Hellcat, this is some classic 90s pop punk meets high energy Britpop in all the right ways. I’m also a big language nerd so was very excited to learn the meaning of the word “brassic,” which apparently is Cockney rhyming slang for being “skint,” which for us Americans who don’t spend a lot of time in the UK, is yet another slang term and it means being broke. The song “Brassic” is also pretty damn catchy as is the album, which is packed with songs that will sure to be sing along favorites at their live shows. [KH]
Keefchamber– Ingurgitate Reality. The two piece doom metallars from NJ have released a brand new four song EP, Ingurgitate Reality, and this one sees them changing up their sound. They’ve moved away from the slow drone bass dooooom dirges of their earlier releases to a faster paced guitar driven sludge punk that still leans heavily on their strong metal chops. I’m totally here for it and you should be too. [KH]
Narrow Head– Moments of Clarity. I said this in an earlier review I wrote for the single “Gearhead,” and it still rings true so here we go again: “This band does the hazy grungegaze sound so well, I almost swear I’m back in the waning days of summer 1995 when I got my first taste of You’d Prefer An Astronaut. While this band does draw heavily on influences from the 90s and I hear a lot of Hum’s (and Deftones) influence in their sound, they are firmly of the now and stand shoulder to shoulder with the earlier pioneers of heavy shoegaze.”
Of course I mean this as the utmost compliment because I have loved Hum for a really long time and to see their legacy live on in newer bands is a real treat. The full album does not disappoint and aside from “Gearhead” and the title track, “Sunday” is a real winning highlight for me. I’m definitely looking forward to catching them live in 2023. [KH]
Negative Blast– Echo Planet. My first intro to this San Diego band was the single “Trauma Bond” which I loved. The band shares that the song “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.” The rest of the album also rages equally as hard and other standouts are “Carbon Copy” and “No Trust” which features some of the catchiest guitar work on the record. This one was a great head clearer and I definitely need to hit the pit the next time they head out to the East Coast. [KH]
Nhomme– 一種の過音 This one is a bit of a roller coaster of feels and styles and plays out as mathy jazz meets frantic screams with rapid fire rhythms that at times seem to be fighting one another before suddenly spinning back around to be perfectly in sync. Reminds me of if a more intense Volta Do Mar had a baby with Hella and made it listen to a bunch of screamo. I just wish this was longer than three songs. The band has thus far only released singles and EPs but here’s hoping a full length is in the near future. [KH]
Pile– All Fiction. The latest from Rick Macguire’s Pile is out today via Exploding In Sound and features a wide variety of feels across its ten songs. From the woozy album opener “It Comes Closer” followed by the trippy “Loops” to the heavier “Poisons” and the ominous and disjointed “Nude With A Suitcase,” there’s a little something for everyone here. The band will play a pair of shows at TV Eye on 3/1 and 3/2. [KH]
Posh Swat– Posh Swat. The ever prolific Osees band leader John Dwyer always seems to be up to something creative, and during the pandemic unleashed a number of experimental releases. He is back with another new experimental group, Posh Swat, which sees him rejoining forces with drummer Ryan Sawyer and percussionist Andres Renteria both of whom he collaborated with in Gong Splat. Today their self titled debut is out and the instrumental songs blend elements of jazz and trippy improvisations, with the drums and percussion taking a lot the central role throughout. There’s definitely a lot to take in here and it’s going to take me a few listens through with headphones to absorb a lot of it but I can already tell this is going to be a strong contender for a spot on my favorites of 2023 list. [KH]
Screaming Females– Desire Pathways. The venerable NJ band released their 8th album via Don Giovanni today and we can’t wait to dig in. We’ll have more to say soon but you definitely need to get this in your ears ASAP. [KH]
Shonen Knife– Our Best Place. The Japanese punk n 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. Our Best Place is full of super fun in the sun bops and has me longing to shake off the doldrums of winter to hit some summer outdoor haunts with this as my soundtrack. [KH]
Still Depths– Best plan for your life. The name of this band is a lie because they do anything but “stay still,” rather vacillating wildly through styles—noise, post punk, glitchy electro— and this Canadian trio has made some deeply arty and experimental shit. They’ve also made some shit that’s really interesting and really good. My favorites are the pairing of “Outsmart Aging” and the title track which together close out the album. This one will leave you gasping for breath and definitely wanting more. [KH]
Stormo– Endocannibalismo. Equal parts noise, metal and with a healthy dash of screamo and punk, this Italian band pours all of these elements into a math rock blender and hits the highest setting; the result is Endocannibalismo, their first new album since 2019’s Finis terrae. Aside from a cover they did for the brilliant Fugazi tribute comp, Silence Is A Dangerous Sound (they covered “Break”), this was my first full intro to the band and I most definitely will be hitting that back catalog very soon. As for this record it is unflinchingly intense, I can only imagine the feeling of the chaos that their live show must be. Hopefully they’ll get over to the States soon so I can find out. [KH]
Unwed Sailor– Mute The Charm. The latest from the long running post rock band from Seattle came out last Friday on Spartan Records. Building on their existing body of work, Mute The Charm, gets right to the core of what this band has always done so well—hit you in your heart strings with the sweeping instrumentals. From the hopeful album opener “Windy City Dreams” to echoey “London Fog” (the longest song on the album) all the way through the title track which closes the album, there’s a lot to dig into and reflect upon while listening. [KH]
Check out these other recent reviews for even more new music:
Single Serve 030
Single Serve 031
Beat Awfuls- PAWS
better living- crush
Black Belt Eagle Scout- The Land, The Water, The Sky
Cat Clyde- Down Rounder
El Ten Eleven- Valley of Fire
Lily Mao & the Resonaters- Human Being Animal
M(h)aol- Attachement Styles
Pigs x 7- Land of Sleeper
Quasi- Breaking The Balls of History
Yo La Tengo- This Stupid World
by FTA Staff | Sep 16, 2022
Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of some new things that we dug this week, 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, so give em a listen!
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:
Algiers– Bite Back (feat billy woods & Backxwash). Algiers is a band that can’t be pinned down by any one sound, constantly pushing boundaries and making music that is bold and defiant. Band leader Franklin James Fisher goes back back and forth and trades verses with rappers billy woods (of Armand Hammer) and Backxwash, with all three vocalists pulling imbalances of power into sharp focus. On the song multi-instrumentalist and producer Ryan Mahan said: “Shit’s been so real the past few years, we really needed to grow our community of collaborators and make solid the bonds we’ve always felt, particularly with rap heads. And to have the two best rappers around, billy woods AND Backxwash, on the same Algiers-produced track? Pinch me, for real.”
Fisher followed up with “Ryan showed up one day with this beautifully epic instrumental and said, “I’ve got this song and I want to call it ‘Bite Back’. It immediately reminded me why I joined this band and the rest of the song seemed to write itself. It’s a classic example of our Lenin-McCartney dynamic.” With woods adding “Working with Algiers was a dope experience on many levels, and I was even more excited when they said they were shooting a video. Plus knowing Backxwash was involved, I had to do it,” and Backxwash: “This feels like the soundtrack to revolutionary struggle. I am honored to participate side by side with an incredible array of artistry.” While as of now this appears to be a one off and no album was announced along with it, the band teased on Instagram with the song announcement “so much more to come,” exciting new indeed. [KH]
Angel Olsen & Sturgill Simpson– Big Time. Fresh off the success of The Wild Hearts tour with Sharon Van Etten and Julien Baker (see our coverage), Angel Olsen has released an updated version of the title track of her superb new album, Big Time, this time collaborating with celebrated songwriter Sturgill Simpson for a gorgeous new rendition of the song. Of the collaboration Olsen said “It’s crazy to write a song and then watch someone you really admire sing your words; kinda turns the whole thing on its head,” continuing, “I loved the song already, but hearing Sturgill’s take on ‘Big Time’ made me smile ear to ear, he made it come alive on a different level.” Olsen will soon head to the UK and Europe for a month of tour dates, with Tomberlin supporting. [KH]
Babehoven– Stand It. “Stand It,” the second single from Babehoven’s upcoming debut album Light Moving Through Time, is a bittersweet little slice of shoegaze with 90’s vibes. The lo-fi look of the video leans into this, as the visuals evoke the album title. There’s an autumnal feel to this song, perfect for moving into that season. [CW]
Bass Drum of Death– Say Your Prayers. Brand new music from the garage rock greats who just announced a brand new album Say I Won’t (1/27/23 via Fat Possum), it’s a more low-key and nuanced affair than the fuzzier chaotic rock n roll the band is known for. It was co-written with Mike Kerr of Royal Blood, his influence being very obvious on the track, but also a welcome presence in the mix, pushing BDOD to a whole different level.
On their website the band says of the new album “The music still rips, with blown-out guitars and drums that sound like bombs going off, and the melodies are catchier than ever, hollered in [John] Barrett’s trademark yelp. But the music hits differently now, more at peace with itself, propelled by a new swagger,” and that is absolutely evident here in this first offering. This album will also mark the first time the entire touring band was in the studio in the process of making the record rather than singer/guitarist Barrett completing the recordings alone. A compelling change for sure and one I’m very excited to hear the end result of when the album drops next year. See our coverage from their recent show at Market Hotel. [KH]
The Bobby Lees– Ma Likes To Drink. Full of fuzzy mega riffs, nasty bass and busy drums, this last preview taste of their upcoming album, Bellevue (10/7 via Ipecac Recordings), is full of goddamn attitude with an assload of swagger and we are HERE for it. The garage punk wizzes will play a sure to be raucous release show at Baby’s All Right on 10/25 with support from Native Sun and Dead Tooth. [KH]
Dehd– Eggshells. On the heals of their album Blue Skies which was released this past May, Dehd have returned with a brand new stand alone single, “Eggshells.” Expanding upon their bedroom pop aesthetic, they touch the edges of alt country and indie gloom, soaking everything in reverb along the way. Via a press release they also share that they took cues from “escapist fantasies and Jodorowsky films,” and that their “melancholic euphoria turns off all the lights and lets the Utopian tableaux come to life, with the band roaming the desertion search of catharsis and freedom.” The band will soon embark on a lengthy tour that will see them criss cross North America and Europe; they will hit NYC on 10/21 at Brooklyn Steel. [KH]
Hammered Hulls– Rights and Reproduction. The first single from the debut full length by this post hardcore/punk supergroup and it’s already one of my most anticipated records of the final quarter of the year. Read more here. [KH]
Heavy Lag– Splitting Headache. A hot and fresh two minutes from the Brooklyn power pop meets pop-punk wunderkinds. This song is part of their debut full length, Another Year Closer to Whatever, which arrives 10/31 via Bloated Kat and though brief, it’s chock full of hooks and packs a melodic punch. Just try and listen to this without it running around your head for hours afterward. Catch the band on 9/22 at No Aloha. [KH]
Ian McCuen– Lonesome Homesteader. Buffalo based singer songwriter Ian McCuen has released “Lonesome Homesteader,” the thoughtful first single from their upcoming album, Westward, To Nowhere. McCuen tells us the album “Combin[es] elements of history, folklore, current events, and personal experience, Westward, To Nowhere is a concept album with a loose narrative that follows a drifter on a futile journey across the country; it deals with themes of isolation and searching for purpose against the desolate reality of American life.” Pulling from the deep well of Americana music, this first single shows off not only McCuen’s chops as a songwriter but also their beautifully subdued voice which is layered in parts and a single presence in others, set against the backdrop of lovely finger picked acoustic guitar, fiddle and mandolin. The full album releases on November 11th and is highly anticipated here at FTA. [KH]
Keefchamber– The Smoke Deity/Hands of a Wizard. NJ’s Keefchamber comes at you with a brand new two song demo that sees the band expand beyond their blackened stoner doom sensibilities. Normally a duo of bass and drums, these two songs feature guitar which adds a depth to the band’s already heavy sound and really shows off their songwriting prowess. “The Smoke Deity” recalls some of the psych drone qualities of a band like Queen Elephantine, while “Hands of a Wizard,” hits a straight up punk feel before heading into a slowed down psychy interlude before swinging back again to driving punk. I love this turn in their sound and am very much looking forward to an eventual full length from this group. [KH]
Laurel Canyon– Drop Out/Tangiers Laurel Canyon’s newest double single “Drop Out/Tangiers” would fit in well on an 80’s Sonic Youth record, with distortion, fuzz and a bit of jangle pushing forward under the shouted vocals. In fact, the cover art was done by Savage Pencil of “Death Valley ’69” fame. Their Steve Albini-recorded debut album will be out next year on Agitated Records. Catch them live on 10/1 at Sovereign. [CW]
Mauskovic Dance Band– Bukaroo Bank. A spacey, funky post punk meets dub jam from this Dutch outfit (who are all IRL family and related), it is the wonderfully weird title track from their upcoming album, Bukaroo Bank, due out 10/28 via Bongo Joe Records. Synth, sax, guitar and bongos all weave together with an incredibly infectious bass line, recalling the late 70s collision of no wave and post punk as it careened full on into the new wave of the 80s; there’s a little something for everyone in the mix here. This band is known for their unique take on post punk and “make madcap music intent on expanding musical universes,” and “ecstatic music for the body” that can be “escapist if you wish it to,” all of which feel totally on point and the most apt descriptors for this eccentric band. Keep your ears ready for this full length which is sure to be a wild ride. [KH]
Metz– Come On Down (feat. Joe Talbot)/Heaven’s Gate. Any day there’s new music from Metz is a good day for me. And combine that with IDLES, then life has just gone and made my week as both of these bands are massive in my life. The band said via their Instagram “‘Come On Down’ was originally recorded during the Atlas Vending sessions but never fully finished. During the pandemic collaboration was a way to fill the void left by the loss of live music and get that feeling of community that gigs provide. We reached out to Joe Talbot (IDLES) who is a longtime friend and who METZ has shared the stage with many, many times, and this song was a very natural and fun way to catch up with him and do something positive with our time off the road.” For fans of both groups, it is quite the treat to hear the signature raging noise of Metz with Joe Talbot on the mic, with Alex Edkins jumping in with his urgent yells on the choruses for the cherry on top. The song is accompanied by a striking music video directed by Arturo Baston.
The flip side of comes in the form of “Heaven’s Gate,” which the band says is a song they “wrote back in 2019 that was originally released in the Cyberpunk 2077 video game, we’re super excited for it to be widely available now.” Both songs fit in neatly within the Metz canon and come just ahead of their tour in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of their self-titled debut album. The tour will hit Warsaw on 10/22. [KH]
My Son The Doctor– Mesh. Brooklyn’s favorite power punks, My Son The Doctor, are back with a fresh new track this week. Chock full of smart lyrical humor, quirky delivery, big guitar highs, and rhythmic valleys, all wrapped up in gang vocal hooks, and neatly packed into two minutes, it fully delivers on what’s become a signature sound for the quartet. Complete with a super satisfying stop-go a quarter way thru, “Mesh” will be your go-to for all your playlists this Fall. [MB]
Niño– Call Your Number. This synth disco pop track is the latest from drummer/vocalist/producer Roger Cabrera aka Niño. An infectious bop that recalls the disco grooves of the 1970s blending seamlessly with the new wave glam of the 1980s, this is a mini party ready made for the dance floor or for getting yourself pumped up on your morning commute. [KH]
Salamander– Water. A combination of synthy glitch core meets laid back indie rock styling, Brooklyn’s Salamander brings us an ode to drinking water. Yes water—though my take is, perhaps, it’s actually a self care anthem because hydration is important after all! The band tells us “it is a unique spin on the sort of experimental pop songwriting and production that has gained momentum in the 2020s,” and indeed, it does contain a deep vein of experimentation and the nuanced layers of texture to match. They will soon release a four song EP, tooth/waste, so keep your eyes peeled on their social media for announcements. [KH]
Show Me The Body– We Came To Play. The genre bending hardcore band just announced their third album, Trouble The Water, and have shared the first single, “We Came To Play.” The song is built around acrid guitars and nu-metal inspired bass for heeeeavy feel and plenty of floor punching in the pit vibes. [KH]
by Kate Hoos | Jul 22, 2021
WORLDSUCKS (photo by Kate Hoos)
Anyone who knows me (or reads this blog) knows I go to a lot of shows. Between playing, shooting, and (soon to be again) working shows, I’m at shows almost every night of the week. And I see shows in a wide variety of venues- from the old tennis stadium I sometimes pick up shifts at, to local dive bars and popular spots in the punk scene, to working at 1400/2800+ cap NYC venues that the latest hot mid sized bands play at. But out of all of those- and I’ve seen some cool shows either in part or in full at all of them- nothing quite does it for me like a house show. I’m now 40 years old and have been in this shit for close to 25 years of my life…and while you’d think maybe I’d have grown out of that by this age, I haven’t and I very happily don’t see that changing any time soon.
Now that we’ve set the scene, then you know that when my friends- the political thrash metal band WORLDSUCKS (which features FTA contributing writer Nick AD on drums)- told me that their first live show in over a year was going to be a house show in NJ, I made sure my schedule was clear and that I was there. I listed this as “someone’s garage,” which was slightly meant to be cheeky but also it is quite literal as it was in a garage (and as per house show etiquette, I’m not going to reveal the address of the space). The show was organized by Fknundrgrnd who has been organizing pop up shows in the Rahway, NJ area (I drove there but it is also easily accessed by NJ Transit from NYC) and it was very obvious a tight knit and passionate community of friends and fans was in attendance as is often the case at house shows. This is easily one of my favorite parts of house shows too, being invited into their own little slice of the world by like minded weirdos and this day was no different as I (and Chantal from FTA who came with me) was welcomed with open arms.
Rube was up first (also featuring members of Keefchamber and Fang Gang) and I found out later this was in fact their first show. I am a very big fan of vibing out to instrumental jams and really locked in with what they were doing. Their tunes had a funk rock groove to them and never got too heavy for a nice intro to the show. I am definitely going to keep an eye on what they get up to to see how they develop and for what they record.
Nikki Nailbomb is a veteran/still active member of several Trenton, NJ bands (Molly Rhythm, Uranium Party and more) who has a pretty prolific multi genre output. On this day, she was performing a solo acoustic set which was comprised of songs from the 2019 album Tyrannical mixed in with songs from other releases. Side note that I actually stayed at Nikki’s place on tour with an old band in 2019 which I realized about halfway through the set, but this was the first time seeing them perform so that was nice to finally get to do that!
As mentioned, WORLDSUCKS are good friends of mine and I was so happy to be at their first show back in the semi after times. They are a two piece thrash band that sits right in that sweet spot between metal and hardcore punk; they also make absolutely no bones about their political leanings or their stance on any right wing bullshit- their tagline of “loud fast and pissed” isn’t so much a declaration as a way of life. Their music is played at warp speed, punishing riffs paired with machine gun fire double bass drum punctuating some of the heaviest parts of their songs, all wrapped up with a chugging ferocity that can vibrate an entire building never mind just the room.
Not wasting any time to get things kicked all the way up to 100, they started their set immediately firing on all cylinders with the anthem “Punch Yr Local Nazi” which features on their 2020 album A Reckoning. And to make things truly fucking metal, someone in the audience promptly puked as they wrapped up the song for the ultimate crescendo- and trust me, nazis make me want to puke too (it was likely due to the heat rather than the metal AF vibes but who can really say?!) Not letting anything like the expulsion of bodily fluids slow them down**, they lived up to the other part of their tag “unrelenting and unapologetic,” with a blistering set of political ragers that included the debut of the absolutely blazing and brilliantly titled new song “The 1312 Overture,” which featured the repeated screaming of “FUCK NAZI COPS” that had the audience immediately joining in on the chant.
(**note: in all seriousness, all vomit was quickly and thoroughly cleaned up by the folks running the space)
“Punch Yr Local Nazi” music video
Keefchamber played the final set of the day and damn did they knock me right on my ass. I was unfamiliar with them before the show but became an instant fan barely halfway through the first song. I have always been a lover of two piece bands and seeing what can happen with this limited set up because often times, it results in something more intricate and surprising than a band of five musicians could come up with. I particularly love bands that accomplish this sans guitarist and feature bassists that play heavy distorted basslines. Their bassist/vocalist Taco expertly utilized drone techniques, often paired with chords and intricate patterns played over top of the drone strings to create a vast wall of sound.
That sound is firmly in the blackened sludge vein, and reminded me of a slower and even doomier godheadsilo, the creeping tempos creating the vibe and the giant bass tone filling every inch of space in the room. They don’t appear to have a large recorded output at the moment, Taco told me after the set they are just getting back into the swing of things after well…everything, so I will be for sure on the lookout for when they release something new. This was my first time seeing or meeting this band, but I can assure you it will not be the last.
This is the culture I love and live for and every day I get to do something like this, I feel just a little bit more alive.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
RUBE
NIKKI NAILBOMB
WORLDSUCKS
KEEFCHAMBER
