Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week Chantal, Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer songs and have the scoop on plenty of new tunes, give ’em a listen!
Beach Fossils– Dare Me. The second single from the upcoming album Bunny is a song “about conflict, friendship and the intoxication of new love. Willing to let yourself be stupid, vulnerable, pissed off and forgiving” says Beach Fossils’ singer Dylan Payseur. In the familiar vain of their past work, this song is a fervent bedroom pop ear worm, the insistent guitars will swirl around in your brain long after the song has finished. Bunny releases in full on 6/2. [KH]
Big Bliss– A Seat at the Table. “We went on to be the first generation in American history to do worse than our parents,” Tim Race explains about the newest Big Bliss song. The song was written while suffering a particularly bad bout of Covid and was inspired by the media’s processed and packaged handling of tragedy throughout recent history. “Television offered us just enough distance that life appeared able to go on, only with another modicum more generalized mortal fear than the time before,” says Race.
Big Bliss is no stranger to pressing its thumb down on the necks of our society and searching for a pulse. Race (guitar, vocals), along with his brother Cory (drums) and Rose Blanshei (bass) shot a beautiful video spanning all corners of NYC that powerfully depicts both the eroding ugly decay and the sheer density and majestic wonder of our human experience despite the broken promises of elder generations. “Our greatest threat is being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Their new album, Vital Return, is expected later 2023 on Good Eye Records. [MB]
Chime School– Coming To Your Town. This upbeat janglepop tune feels very seasonal. But it’s not all t-shirt weather over here: “Coming To Your Town” is “a feverish attempt to describe the reactionary political moment that seemed to infect the Bay Area during the pandemic.” The b-side is a cover of the Buzzcock’s “Love You More,” a song well suited to Chime School’s style, and they update it well. The band is currently playing selected dates on the West coast. [CW]
Clairo– For Now. A brand new demo from the bedroom singer turned indie pop darling bringing her back to her roots. All proceeds go to benefit Everytown and For The Gworls. [KH]
Death Goals– Year of the Guillotine. Each single the UK based queer screamo noise punk band releases ahead of their upcoming album A Garden of Dead Flowers is louder and faster than the last, expressing deep rage at the injustice queer people face on a daily basis that continues to poison society and threaten our very existence. But Death Goals aren’t going to take shit laying down and aren’t afraid to let anyone in their vicinity know that. “Year of the Guillotine” announces itself with a gut wrenching scream, battering ram drums and skin tearing guitar, giving a sonic voice to the painful frustration daily survival in an often hateful world can be. The band wrote on their Instagram “This song is dedicated to the trans community in this time of unparalleled hostility,” and further shared:
“‘Year Of The Guillotine’ was a song written as a response to the UK Tory government’s neglect of the LGBTQIA+ community. Neglect that has continued to fester and sadly we are living in a time of incredibly vocal hatred towards our community, not just in the UK but worldwide. But, try as they may, we will not disappear. You can’t erase us.”
The breakdown of the song sees the band getting into some HEAVY chugging hardcore territory with a very clear message screamed again and again: YOU CAN’T ERASE, YOU CAN’T ERASE OUR EXISTENCE before the song falls off into blackness. A Garden of Dead Flowersreleases in full on 5/5. [KH]
The Drums–I Want It All. The Drums are a one man band these days, with only Jonny Pierce remaining, but the music remains much the same. “I Want It All” is an introspective piece about being strung along, with electronic drum beats, jangly guitars and Pierce’s voice full of longing wondering “tell me was it so hard / to give a little tenderness?” The Drums will be touring this summer, including a New York date at Webster Hall on 8/3. [CW]
Echo Moth– ‘Till You Merge. I’ve been a long time fan of experimental guitarist and composer Yana Davydova and the work she has created as both a solo artist and with Woodhead and the various musicians who move in and around that collective of artists. Perhaps my favorite though was the band she fronted, Echo Moth, which released the album Murmurs in 2016. I booked shows for and gigged with her and her various collaborators a lot in those days despite most of my bands being loud, much more rowdy punk bands; being a big group of true music lovers regardless of genre, it all worked. As life has taken other turns in the ensuing years, we haven’t played together in a long time and haven’t seen each other much of late but always stayed in some loose contact online.
And thus, I was thrilled to discover this week via the cesspool of the internet (it’s not all bad all the time!) that she is back under the Echo Moth moniker, releasing under that name for the first time since Murmurs and has a new album on the way later this year. The first single “Till You Merge” serves as a beautiful continuation of the journey of the first album, lush layers of guitars and dreamy vocals backed by her longtime collaborators, bassist Dmitry Ishenko and drummer Charles Burst. The as of yet unnamed album doesn’t have a release date yet, but it instantly has become one of my most anticipated records of 2023. Catch Echo Moth performing at Bushwick Public House on 4/20. [KH]
Holy Wave–Cowprint. A languid, dreamlike song full of atmosphere and harmonies, “Cowprint” is “a story of instant connections and missed opportunities” and comes across like a fading memory. The single has a pleasing, 70’s AM radio sound that also puts me in mind of the Clientele, and gets a little synthy and weird at the end, like any good dream should. The band recently signed with Suicide Squeeze and are planning an album in the later half of the year. [CW]
Louise Post–Guilty. This is a really fun track, and a little poppier than much of her work under the Veruca Salt moniker in the 2000’s after the departure of Nina Gordon (Post kept the band name). It’s probably a good thing Post is putting out fresh music under her own name, as “Guilty” does have a nostalgic 90s fuzz but also feels very modern, proving she can still keep up with the times. Bass driven and catchy, “Guilty” is a certified bop and a great addition to spring playlists. After a three decade career, she will be releasing her first ever solo album, Sleepwalker, out June 2nd on El Camino. Post shares:
“I have always identified as a sleepwalker. I slept-walked around my house routinely when I was a child, and even down the street. I believe in hindsight it was me trying to process what was going on in my home with my parent’s troubled marriage. As far as I know, I stopped sleepwalking after the divorce when I was eight, but it has always been a part of me that I feel protective of a little girl who I feel sad for.”
Post will launch a tour in support of the album which will hit NYC at Bowery Ballroom on 7/15. [CW]
Phantom Signals– basement. Proving sometimes all that’s necessary is an acoustic guitar and nice set of pipes, Melody Henry, delivers a sweet simple vocal over a soft strum that in itself invites you to pull in closer. But very quickly, the voices start to layer like choir of uncertain angels, joining and stacking their waves of sound until the intensity reaches a crescendo of euphonic resonance. With “basement,” Phantom Signals continues to over-deliver by simply releasing uniquely unassuming and authentic music that taps right into the human experience. [MB]
Pink Mexico– Dungeonhead. We wrote this up in Single Serve 036 and this week, the band released a brand new video to go along with it which we were very excited to premiere. Check the video out and pre-order the album on Bandcamp now. [MB]
Proper.– Milk & Honey (Luna Tunes remix). The latest track by eclectic collective trio, Proper., came out last week. A remix of the popular “Milk & Honey” from last year’s The Great American Novel, it’s a peppy reimagining of their original anthem and a banger reinterpretation. Often dancing across the lines of emo, prog, and even hardcore, the trio made up of Erik Garlington (guitar, vocals), Natasha Johnson (bass, vocals) and Elijah Watson (drums) borders on chill-wave here but they always keep the Black American identity at the core of everything they do.
Garlington recently talked to Rolling Stone who was covering the release of their video for “Jean” which celebrates the life of Jean Jimenez-Joseph, who died in ICE custody. He shared:
“From the jump, I wanted to be really punk and make white people uncomfortable. But as I got older and exited my early twenties, I would rather express the Black experience and show how beautiful it can be as a southerner, as a Black person, as a queer person, as an autistic person—and through the roots of rock music, that would be the best way to do it. I grew up listening to rap also, but I really wanted to see what I could do with a guitar and a band behind me.”
I had the pleasure of catching Proper. perform live last month at Purgatory on the Brooklyn stop of their tour with our mutual friends, Toronto band, Pseudo for their final tour and there was so much love and respect in the room. Jonathan Lyte (Pseudo frontman) who was also filling in on second guitar with Proper, took a moment to speak about what the band meant to him growing up. He said that as a kid, seeing someone who looked like him up on a stage performing this kind of music was the game changer that made it seem possible that he could start a punk rock band. [MB]
Pynch– Tin Foil. The latest from the London based indiepop group who are just about to release their debut album, this song deals with “how complex and overwhelming the modern world can be” and shit if I don’t feel that hard. The band’s Spencer Enoch shares:
“When we play live I always jokingly introduce ‘Tin Foil’ as being about conspiracy theories but really, I think it’s about how complex and overwhelming the modern world can be. It feels like we’ve been in one form of crisis or another for my entire adult life and this song is about our over-exposure to that level of stimulation and the need to escape it all and ‘get lost forever. It’s definitely one of our most upbeat and irreverent song so it feels right to be releasing it at the beginning of spring and just before the album comes out.”
Howling At A Concrete Moon is out 4/14. [KH]
White Beast– Fencewalker. This Richmond duo ticks a lot of boxes for me, those boxes being a two piece bass and drums band that makes sludgy, noisy loud rock music. (If you missed my recent list of my favorite two piece bands, this was a major recurring theme of my favorite bands. You can read that list here.) This song sees bassist/vocalist Jeffrey Rettberg teaming up with a new drummer, Sam Roberts (Private Hell, Fried Egg), releasing the follow up to the 2021 White Beast EP.
It’s a mid tempo rager that pulls back the curtain on things being “just fine” on the hellscape rock we live on, orbiting through time and space pretending we don’t see the world burning around us, the emperor’s clothes long gone Rettberg screaming Goddamn / Everything is fine / Goddamn /When is it your next time? in the chorus. This is the first taste of their upcoming full length, Suffering Time, though no release date has been announced yet. I also love the video which perfectly pairs with the song, melted dolls and all. I can’t wait to hear what the rest of the album has in store. [KH]
Hi! Hello! Here we are with some bite sized goodies and a taste of a some new things that we dug that came out in the last week (ish), quick fire responses to some great new music we think you should check out. This week Kate and Mike weighed in on some killer new songs— give ’em a listen!
Ben Folds– Winslow Gardens. After not releasing an album in eight years, the alt rock piano man is back with “Winslow Gardens,” the first single from the upcoming What Matters Most and it’s a slice of classic Ben Folds. [KH]
Bully– Lose You (feat. Soccer Mommy). Two of the most vital songwriters/voices in indie rock—Bully’s Alicia Bognanno and Soccer Mommy‘s Sophie Allison—have come together for a cool collab and made a song that would have felt right at home in 1994 next to Veruca Salt or Belly. It’s a mid tempo rocker full of low-key grit in the verses, making way for big grungy swagger in the choruses and a ripping guitar lead that hits at the 3/4 mark to mark the crescendo before the loud gives way to quiet introspection and acoustic guitar to bring the song home. The song appears to be a one off for now, but could perhaps be the first exciting taste of the follow up to 2020’s SUGAREGG.
Of the collaboration Bognanno shares “When ‘Lose You’ came about it was the first time I’ve considered having someone else sing on a Bully song. I love Sophie’s voice and have always admired everything she does so to me it was a no brainer. Watching her soar out of the Nashville scene and dominate indie music world wide has been a joy. Writing ‘Lose You’ was a way for me to work through the pain and reality of impermanence. It doesn’t make it any easier but reflection is often followed by growth and to me that’s what life is all about.” [KH]
Death Goals– Faux Macho. The London based mathy, noise punky queercore two piece are poised to release their second album, A Garden Of Dead Flowers, this spring (via Prosthetic) and have released the first single “Faux Macho,” a choatic rager of a tune that sees the band building upon the power of their first full length, 2021’s The Horrible And The Miserable. The duo shares that “‘Faux Macho’ is one of our favourite tracks we wrote for this record, wearing our love and appreciation for queer culture with pride on our sleeves for the world to see.” And if this is the first taste of what is to come, then I’m already anticipating this one is going to be a serious contender for one of my favorite releases of the year. The album releases in full 5/5. Read more about it here. [KH]
Deerhoof-Wedding, March, Flower. Showing off a much softer side, Deerhoof has released a very tender piano ballad which sees a role reversal of drummer Greg Saunier on lead vocals and piano while singer Satomi Matsuzaki helms drum duties. On the song Saunier shares: “I was flirting with my partner Sophie and sent her a video of me humming and playing the piano. Deerhoof was starting to get songs together for our next record. No one had suggested we needed any tender piano ballads, but Sophie convinced me to show it to my bandmates anyway. I was so touched when they were into it. The real kicker came when Satomi wrote lyrics. They were in Japanese, so when we first rehearsed it, I wasn’t even sure what I was singing. But Satomi had written a love song about a wedding. Satomi and I ended our marriage over 10 years ago, and it hasn’t always been easy for any of us to keep the band going. Our songs have always been one way that we all process our feelings with each other. Co-writing and performing ‘Wedding March Flower’ with her was really intense.” [KH]
Dry Cleaning– Swampy/Sombre Two. The UK post punk band just wrapped their North American tour (see our coverage) and just announced a new EP, Swampy, which will include bonus tracks, remixes and a demo from their second album, Stumpwork. They have released two songs from the EP this week and said via a press release: “These two songs were recorded in the Stumpwork sessions and they feel like good companions to us. They share a dusty, desolate and spacey atmosphere. On the eve of this release we have been touring through the southwest US, where these songs feel at home in the arid, Mars-like landscape of the Arizona desert.” Swampy releases in full on 3/1 via 4AD. [KH]
Elliott Fullam– A Hopeful Ending. When I hit play on this track, mind was immediately transported to hearing Elliott Smith’s stirring self titled album for the first time (which for the record was definitely before Elliott Fullam was born) or more recently, finding myself lost in the depths of Julien Baker’s debut, Sprained Ankle. It’s hard not to make the comparison with Baker or Smith, Fullam definitely draws influence from the somber realness of both of those artists, and here the 18 year old singer-songwriter from NJ creates a beautiful song built around finger picked acoustic guitar work that he says “expresses the experience of finding beauty in someone while fearing the inevitable vulnerability that comes with it.” This is his first release for Kill Rock Stars, having signed with the label (who also released Smith’s iconic first three albums in the 90s) after self releasing his first full length, What’s Wrong, in 2022 along with a handful of singles and EPs. Fullam will make his NYC debut at Mercury Lounge on 2/22 (the site of one of Baker’s early NYC performances, too) along with Screenager and Joe Allocco. [KH]
Fat Heaven– Doomsday Clock.Hanging on the corner of Rancid and Social Distortion, counting down from their “Quarter Life Crisis,” Brooklyn trio Fat Heaven dropped another bit of crunchy pop-punk goodness right into our laps just ahead of their latest release Trash Life out Feb 24th. It’s everything you love about the lovable scamps and like everything else in their catalog will have you singing along for days. [MB]
Iguana Death Cult– Sensory Overload. A slice of jittery sax fueled no-wave post punk from the Rotterdam quintet, try not to let this one get stuck in your head. The song deals with the anxiety of *gestures around at the world* and the reality of living in a semi-dystopian present that we can’t ever seem to get away from (a theme I’m coming across in more and more of the new music I listen to and review each week). It is the first single from their upcoming album Echo Palace (5/12 via Innovative Leisure). The band self produced the album which was then mixed by (Sasami’s brother) Joo-Joo Ashworth (Sasami, Dummy) at Studio 22 in Los Angeles and mastered by Dave Cooley (Tame Impala, Yves Tumor). [KH]
Mediocre– To Know You’re Screwed is to Know A lot. A sharp slice of gritty indie pop from this self deprecating duo who are rocking out as if everything is fine even as the Dumpster fire of life rages around them, a feeling we can all relate to. They share “We wanted to capture the chaotic and futile experience of running away from your own mess—literally and figuratively. Sometimes the awareness of being screwed is comforting, but sometimes ignorance is bliss.” This is the first taste of their latest EP, To Know You’re Screwed, which arrives on 4/7 via Dangerbird. [KH]
Not-Anxiety. If you hadn’t told me this wasn’t ALL, I wouldn’t have believed you that this at least didn’t contain some members of ALL or the Descendents, most notably bassist Karl Alvarez, who in particular has made a very clear influential mark on this band who is in fact, not ALL (or any of the members of it). While it flies a little closer to the sun influence wise than I probably would go for in one of my own musical projects, and at times feels indistinguishable from the source material, it is a project that was born out of deep love and true DIY fashion. As their Instagram reads “What do you do when ALL stop making records? You form a band with your friends and make your own.” Indeed, you do. Read an interview with the band where they talk about how they are in fact NOT ALL. [KH]
Omat– Daisy. I caught this band opening for L7 a few months back (see coverage) and really enjoyed their set. At the time the band had no recordings to dig into after the show which was a bummer but fortunately that has changed as they have just released their debut single, the infectious “Daisy.” It’s a fun upbeat romp that meets right at the intersection of post-punk, indie and gritty shoegaze and the studio definitely captures their essence well. I’m definitely ready to hear what else lies in store for this exciting new band. [KH]
Phantom Signals– Slow Burn.Straight from inside the mind of Melody Henry comes a brand new solo project, Phantom Signals, who just released a beautiful whisper lullaby of a second single. With a lovely drifting melody (pun intended) that feels somehow almost familiar but a touch askew, its soaring chorus sweeps you up into crescendo and then drags you across the delicate framework of tin drum piano percussion like a ballerina music box exploded into a pile of crunchy distortion and broken springs. In a twist of cosmic fortune, Melody won the recent BandNada band lotto jackpot by being paired up with Joey Russo (Castle Black) and Mike Petzinger (Pocket Protector) who Mel quickly recruited to round this project out to a quartet. Inspired by the old Car Seat Headrest recordings and bands like Hop Along, we here at FTA are excited to see what’s next from Brooklyn’s newest indie band. [MB]
Rebelmatic– Amnesia. Rebelmatic, the NYHC scene champions and tireless advocates for our music community, are one of most respected Black hardcore/punk groups in all of New York and have gained national attention with their relentless drive and work ethic. Now they have unleashed a killer new single ahead of their upcoming Southern US tour with Weedeater. And indeed it delivers on all fronts. In true Rebelmatic style, the song opens with a gang vocal chant “Shut Up! Shut Up! Shut Up!” (an homage to Little Richard playfully shushing his fans at shows) over Alkatraz’s heavy guitar work just as bassist Kreature and drummer Ramsey Jones immediately blitz with a thunderstorm of rhythmic onslaught. Vocalist Creature cues with his distinctive booming vibrato “I don’t need no therapist” and before you can say their oft heard call and response chant at shows, “REH-BULL-MA-TIC,” you’re swinging your arms and caught in a circle pit having the time of your life. [MB]
Snayx– Buck. I recently discovered this brash UK based duo and fell in love with their snotty ode to fucking off and telling your boss to shove it, the insanely infectious “Work” which features a video of the two chugging beer and being well, very British. Now they are back with “Buck,” which is still driven by their signature distorted, heavy bass sound but is decidedly more subdued and reserved to the more hyper affair of “Work” or their other recent single, “Deranged.” All three of these songs are part of the upcoming EP, Weaponized Youth:Part 1, which is due out on 3/10 and will include two more tracks. [KH]
Stimmerman– House Party.Chronically stuck between band and solo project, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Eva Lawitts, and their project Stimmerman, just released new single “House Party” (from their upcoming record Undertaking out 5/10) which really punctuates the nature of their split personality. Well known for absolutely abandoning all the rules of pop sensibility and conventional rock formula, the track for the most part stays stripped to the bones. Showcasing a dynamic vulnerability in Lawitts’s voice we don’t often get to hear, the lyrics are dark and visceral poetry stretched over the clicks and squeaks of a lonely acoustic guitar. And apart from some subtle atmospheric tension smoldering in the background, we are left with this delicate raw nerve exposed for almost three entire minutes. It isn’t until the final 45 seconds that the entire thing blows open into mayhem. The bottom drops out, and the sky rips open as the massive drums tear in under the weight of the bass blown out guitars raining down full Stimmerman! [MB]
Tired Radio– Dead and Gone.The melodic mid-tempo hard rock band made up of “1 big guy, 1 small guy and 2 medium guys,” just released another new single to follow up on their lead single “Old Keys” which has been making the rounds following a European tour last year where they opened for The Get Up Kids in Germany. For fans of band like The Menzingers, Hot Water Music, and Jawbreaker (alternatively Sharkswimmer or Heavy Lag for local Brooklyn comparison), this is definitely the song you want to bump in anticipation of their new EP Lousy, thanks. out everywhere March 10th. [MB]
Tits Dick Ass– Girlfriend From Hell. The Brooklyn based band has made quite the splash on the NYC scene in the last year with their live shows attracting bigger and bigger crowds and for good reason, they are unabashedly queer as fuck with a stage presence that is massive paired with a ferocious sound; they hit in all the best ways. Now they have released their debut single, the no-wave punk ripper, “Girlfriend From Hell,” which is also the first taste of their upcoming debut album, Burn A Bitch, due out this spring on House of Feelings. Despite not having synths, it reminded me a bit of the synth punk nightmare classics of Screamers and definitely is a kindred spirit to the freaky outsider no-wave and punk of the late 70s and early 80s. The song features a video that was filmed at local venue Rubulad and directed by filmmaker Dylan Mars Greenberg️️️. A companion remix was also released alongside the song for acidic and cool re-interpretation that feels downright dystopian. Read an interview with the band here. [KH]
The Tracys– Soviet Mistake. In true Tracys fashion, tongue-in-cheek Cold War era tropes throwback to a different age on their latest single which comes ahead of their upcoming record Welcome to the Land of Nothing due out later this year via Shotgun Nature. Delivered in the style of The Ramones with a twist of The Lillingtons, the pop-punk quartet (Dave Klym-vocals/guitar, John Payne- guitar/vocals, Larry Mancini- bass/vocals, Matt Ernst-drums) continue to deliver the big hooks and humor. Chock full of 1980s spy-era imagery and even more 80s guitar solos, you won’t even care whether or not The Tracys took your baby away. [MB]
