Eliza Callahan and Jack Staffen grew up at the same time–and in the same zip code!–but as the harmony-happy folk pop outfit Jack + Eliza, the pair spans decades. “Hold The Line,” the first single off their forthcoming EP No Wonders (via Yebo Music), takes the seventies-era classic rock that Eliza was raised on and braids it with Jack’s boy-band background. Mellow and sunny, the EP touches on a wide range of influences as it ambles comfortably through its five tracks, underscoring the pair’s intricate vocal harmony with a gentle guitar line. No Wonders presents Jack + Eliza’s music in its simplest form. As you’re listening to the EP, you can practically close your eyes and pretend they’re in your living room–so intimate it feels like a personal introduction.
No Wonders will be out at the end of this summer, but you don’t have to wait until then to get to know them. I sat down for a chat with the duo, to discuss their backgrounds, their creative influences and how the NYC music scene is like no other. Here’s what went down.
AudioFemme: So both of you grew up in New York. How did you meet?
Eliza Callahan: Yes, we both grew up in downtown Manhattan. We actually have known each other since we were about ten or eleven. We weren’t really friends, until I had a friend who played guitar in the band Jack was singing in, and their drummer quit, so they asked me to play drums. I’m really not a drummer. I do not know how to play drums. But that’s how we met. We went to rival high schools in Brooklyn, and everyone kept saying that we should write music together. We were both too shy to approach the topic, but finally we wrote a song one day and we liked it, so we kept going.
AF: When did you write that song?
Jack Staffen: I guess it’s been two years now. We wrote that song the year before last, in August.
AF: How do you guys relate to the New York music scene?
EC: We’ve been writing a lot, and now one of our goals is to find a niche and a group of people we enjoy playing with. There’s just so much out there that there’s no one community that you can gravitate towards. There are definitely bands who we’ve played more than one show with, who we really like, and at our schools there are scenes, but we’re also looking to be part of a bigger scene. Hopefully that happens naturally.
AF: Have you ever wanted to live New York and live somewhere else?
JC: (laughs) No.
AF: Is that because of the musical opportunities here, or do you just love it?
JC: Both. The music scene here is like nowhere else, but I also just love New York City.
EC: I could definitely see living in other cities in the future. I love to surf, and I love the beach, but I’m really not goo with non-urban environments. I don’t like silence. I can’t sleep if there isn’t noise outside.
AF:Tell us about your musical backgrounds.
JS: I started playing guitar when I was five, and I hated it. Then I picked up the piano and I loved it. When I was about nine, I was still really into the piano, but I picked up the guitar again and just fell in love. Pretty much from then on I’ve been playing music, and I started writing music when I was eleven. I’ve never gone in for formal training, we just had a piano and I picked it up from there.
EC: I started on classical guitar–the Suzuki Method–when I was three years old. It was funny because my parents didn’t want me to start that young, but I had a friend whose mom really wanted her to play classical guitar. She ended up quitting, but I fell in love with the Suzuki Method. When I was six or seven, I started playing jazz, and then I decided to play rock and roll because like every child–and every human, I guess–I loved The Beatles. So then I started writing music. I had a little recording device and I would record these stream-of-consciousness, epic songs that went on for eleven or twelve minutes. I went to a school where we wrote a lot of poetry, so I would take the words that I had written and kind of yell them, or sing them, over these weird chords I was playing. As I got older I developed more of a formal approach.
JS: My first song was like…a Backstreet Boys song. Yours was totally different.
AF: Why did you decide to just go by Jack and Eliza instead of picking out a name for your band?
EC: We didn’t start with the intention of being a band. It was just a project we were working on, and our friends would say, you know, this is a song Jack and Eliza wrote together. We just kept on writing music, and we started playing shows, and it became really hard to find a name we could identify with after we had been playing together for so long. And also, we really did want a name. We did not intend to end up being Jack and Eliza, and I hope people can look beyond the boy-girl name thing. I think that has various connotations, and I don’t want that to affect our music, or people’s views of it. But we were also very happy with the ring. We like the ring. I have a whole list of band names that I’ve been making throughout my life, and we just did not feel that any of them fit.
AF: Growing up in the same circle of friends, does that mean that your musical tastes are similar? Do you have similar influences?
EC: No, I think our influences are actually pretty different, although our tastes are getting more similar. I was raised on a lot of old rock and roll. My dad listened to old rock and roll, so I listened to The Kinks, The Beach Boys, that type of thing.
JS: I listened more to what was coming out when I was younger. Radiohead, Fountains of Wayne, Rufus Wainright, that was the stuff I listened to. As I got older I started getting into what Eliza was listening to.
EC: It’s interesting, because Jack comes from a more poppy background, whereas I come from a more rock and roll or folky background, and I think we taught each other the positive things about both of genres.
AF: Tell us about your new EP, “No Wonders”. When is it coming out? How did you start recording it?
EC: It’ll be out at the end of summer or early in the fall. We recorded it here in New York City, with Chris Zane, at Gigantic Studios. We recorded it from December to February. We had completely written the EP before we went into the studio.It’s pretty stripped down. We wanted to keep it simple and have people listen to us first as us in our most “bare” form, and then build from there. We definitely want to add more sonic texture in the future, but to start out, we wanted to keep it very straightforward.
AF: You’ve been playing a lot of shows around the city lately. How has that been?
EC: It’s been a lot of fun. It’s weird, though: we’ve both been performing since we were really young, but I get more and more nervous every time I perform. I don’t know why. When I was younger I could care less.
JS: And I really love performing.
AF: It seems like you guys are kind of opposites, and you balance each other out.
EC: That definitely is true. Jack has a very clean, lovely voice and can sing way higher than I can. Jack takes the high harmony a lot of the time. So Jack will start doing these vocal runs, and then to counter his Backstreet Boy vocal runs, I’ll attempt to sound like Lou Reed. Well, that’s an extreme. But in rehearsal, that is our battle.
AF: Do you write songs totally collaboratively?
JS: It’s pretty much all collaborative. Occasionally one of us will bring a chord progression, maybe with the melody, maybe not, and we’ll work from there.
EC: I don’t know how we’re able to collaborate–I don’t want to say so well, but I don’t know how I would write a song with anyone else. It’s not something that I foresee being possible with anyone else. If anything, the chord progressions are usually collaborative. Jack usually writes most of the harmony, because his voice is better. I write a few more of the lyrics. But it’s pretty much collaborative.
AF: As a writer, I’m totally mystified by that. It seems horrifying sharing control over a project. Is working together sometimes difficult? Do you have any advice for people who want to learn how to collaborate?
EC: Well, I feel that way too, because I write a lot. I think about collaborating on my poetry, or my creative writing pieces, and that’s terrifying, but for some reason, with songwriting, I’m a lot more willing to let go and let something happen that I might not allow when I’m obsessing. I think it’s that I don’t obsess over songwriting the way I do with my other writing. I don’t know why that is, but I think that’s what allows for a hopefully successful collaboration.
If you had played “Hunger of the Pine” without telling me who it was by, I would not have guessed alt-J. In fact, James Blake might’ve been my first guess. As a lead single from the British band’s sophomore album, This is All Yours, “Hunger” seems a bit of a departure from the textured, intimate rock music that populated their debut album, An Awesome Wave. A bit more electronic, suspended in deep bass and cosmic sounds, with a vocal sample of Miley Cyrus’ “4×4” thrown in, it’s expansive, engulfing and more than a little moody. It’s just short of pure art.
Since releasing An Awesome Wave in 2012 to considerable acclaim, alt-J have toured heavily, steadily playing larger and larger venues that seemingly never cease to sell out, also hitting several festival circuits as well. In the UK, “Breezeblocks” charted in the Top 10, and the success in their native country has been echoed in the US and Australia. They’ve not only licensed songs to popular television shows like Weeds and Sons of Anarchy, but also contributed an original track for the Grammy-nominated Silver Linings Playbook. Earlier this year, the band announced the departure of bassist Gwil Sainsbury, but it has hardly slowed them down from completing their sophomore effort – while the remaining members have said that they may invite a replacement bassist on tour, the writing and recording process was undertaken as a trio.
Whether or not that’s changed the direction of the album overall remains to be seen. But, let me repeat: “Hunger of the Pine” sounds like nothing the band has done before which makes me even more excited about This Is All Yours. The song starts off with a monotonous, beeping tone that calls to mind a more subdued version of an emergency alarm, a more than appropriate intro for a song about the physical pain of pining for another. Combined with ethereal vocals and atmospheric instrumentals, listeners float as though sedated in this vast space of longing and despair. The Miley sample has a whole different connotation unmoored from the bubblegum of Bangerz; when she sings “I’m a female rebel” it takes on an indignant, haunted tone, the effect of seeming tough and unaffected yet quietly and surely breaking inside. Its appearance in the song heralds a methodical beat that churns through the rest of the track, clinking somewhat mechanically. By the song’s end, they’ve added words from the equally desolate and searching French poem “L’espoir en Dieu” by Alfred de Musset, sung in a much lower register than the swirling croon we’ve grown used to. The song is so chill, in fact, that alt-J’s US record label voiced concerns that the song didn’t have the potential to be “hit;” the band revealed in a recent Guardian interview that they cheekily delivered the cliché-riddled “Left Hand Free,” written in a mere twenty minutes – the irony is that the label loved it.
This is All Yours promises to be full of surprises.It’s available for pre-order now and will be released in the U.S. on September 22nd via Canvasback/Infectious Music. An extensive North American tour starts October 14th in Vancouver and ends November 19th in DC. Shows in Chicago, Portland, Montreal, and New York are already sold out but dates will likely be added in select cities; see below for the current schedule.
October 14 – Vancouver, BC – Orpheum Theater
October 15 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theater
October 16 – Portland, OR – Roseland Ballroom
October 20 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theater
October 21 – Pomona, CA – Fox Theater
October 24 – San Diego, CA – Soma
October 27 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
October 28 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
October 31 – Minneapolis, MN – Myth
November 02 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
November 04 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
November 05 – Dallas, TX – Southside Ballroom
November 06 – Houston, TX – Bayou Music Center
November 07-09 – Austin, TX – Fun Fun Fun Fest
November 10 – Detroit, MI – The Filllmore
November 11 – Toronto, ON – Kool Haus
November 12 – Montreal, QB – Metropolis
November 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Tower Theater
November 16 – New York, NY – Beacon Theater
November 18 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theater
November 19 – Washington, DC – Echostage[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Though it was released back in February, Marissa Nadler’s stunning sixth album July (on Sacred Bones/Bella Union) is very much rooted in the month it was named for. As she explained during an interview with AudioFemme, the record deals specifically with her personal experiences, lived from July of 2012 when her romantic relationship dissolved as she self-destructed, through her regret and pain to a place of healing and rekindling lost love in July 2013. The record’s emotional centerpiece, “Firecrackers,” deals with that fallout and subsequent recovery with stoic grace, its simple guitar chords nonchalantly lilting around what sounds like a dead-eyed challenge to unnamed “attackers” – it’s me, it’s me, it’s me you’re lookin’ for – but, for Nadler, was more of an admission of guilt on her own part for the troubles she found herself in back then.
Just in time for Independence Day, Nadler has released a haunting, black-and-white clip directed by Ryan Hamilton Walsh. Over the brutal opening lines July Fourth of last year / We spilled all the blood / How’d you spend your summer days? Nadler’s ghostly image performs destructive, if inconsequential actions – smashing glass bottles, throwing her guitar to the forest floor, pouring water from buckets. Everything happens in rewind, the grainy footage recalling home videos, or how we might imagine our memories would look if others could view them. The symbolism lies in Nadler “undoing” her ruinous behavior, and as the clip progresses, overlays of oozing liquid wash away her pointless sins and obscure her devious past. We’ve all been the kid sticking a bottle rocket in our neighbor’s mailbox, and we’ve all been the adult committing crimes we felt were victimless that lead to our own demise. Nadler puts the two on par by juxtaposing the innocuous imagery in the “Firecrackers” video with her real, lived experience in the song’s lyrical content, reminding us that no matter how calamitous our lives, there is no rewinding or rewriting history – all that’s left is to forge ahead.
Marissa Nadler heads to Europe in the fall; she’ll be playing throughout the US this month (see dates below).
Jul 8 – Rock N Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
Jul 9 – Pinhook – Durham, NC
Jul 10 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
Jul 12 – The Beatnik – New Orleans, LA
Jul 13 – Holy Mountain – Austin, TX
Jul 14 – City Tavern – Dallas, TX
Jul 15 – White Water Tavern – Little Rock, AR
Jul 16 – The Stone Fox – Nashville, TN
Jul 17 – Mike N Molly’s – Champaign, IL
Jul 18 – Rumba Café – Columbus, OH
Jul 19 – Cattivo – Pittsburgh, PA
Jul 20 – The Ballroom at Outer Space – New Haven, CT
Aug 1 – Northern Routes Festival – New Salem, MA
After opening a Los Angeles storefront for their mostly cassette-based label last summer, the founders of Lolipop Records clearly wanted to go big in terms of celebrating its birthday. Thus, the first-ever Lolipalooza took over the Echoplex last weekend, flooding the popular venue with stylish music junkies whose passion for dream pop, surf rock, and seventies psych throwbacks clearly matched the label’s own. The all day festival featured over thirty bands, including acts from like-minded labels Burger Records and Pizza Party Music. There were three different stages – one upstairs, one downstairs, and one on the Echo outdoor patio. With the constant stream of live music happening, it was nearly impossible to review each and every wonderful band, but there were some definite standouts.
So Many Wizards, a local four piece with a strange ability to meld surf and shoegaze, played on the dynamic of break-neck cymbal crashes and mellow, jangly guitar, the changes of rhythm within songs adding an overall complexity to their poppy song structure. Of the lyrics I was able to catch, I’m pretty sure I heard the phrase “being fucked by love;” even if it was just my imagination it’s a great summary of their general sound. Wandering to the next stage, I caught a set by Corners, whose surf-tinged synth pop had a dirtier and crunchier spin. Fans from the crowd joined them on stage, shimmying like go-go dancers around the band. Out on the Echo Patio, I was introduced to Adult Books, a lo-fi punk outfit featuring Daniel Quintanilla, one of Lolipop’s founders. Their fast-paced set, which was fed by their exquisite sense of interesting rhythm, got the pizza eating, cat-shirt wearing crowd very riled up. People were crowd surfing and hanging off the poles meant to keep the outdoor tent standing.
One of my personal favorites of the day was Santa Barbara-based band called Dante Elephante. As a huge fan of 2012 release German Aquatics, I was elated to hear them play sunny, easy-going surf jams like “All the Time,” as well as the record’s title track. Krunch, Rube, Chips, and Johnny, as their names might imply, are pretty laid-back dudes, but they’re also wildly talented musicians with clever and sharp songwriting skills that made for a moving set built upon instantly catchy and hummable guitar licks and lively drums.
I made sure to be in the very front row at the outdoor patio for Santoros – I’d been friendly with them ever since my band played a house show with them in Santa Cruz. Santoros has no fewer than seven members and has been gaining fans and notoriety at a rapid pace amongst both Burger and Lolipop Record fans. During conversations with the band members, they’ve mentioned that bands like Shannon and the Clams (who were slated to play later that evening) and The Growlers have influenced them greatly. Their set created a hyperactive energy that rippled through the crowd, causing the packed house to jump, twist, and shake. For their encore song they performed their classic jam “She Doesn’t Love Me Anymore” from 2012 release Ancestros, announcing that a new album is currently underway.
As the sun started to set, another Lolipop Record favorite, Froth, played a killer set. Consisting of four members, Froth’s sound is an attractive combination of grunge-rock and lo-fi garage surf music with a hint of sixties pop thrown into the mix. The smooth and deep voice of singer JooJoo Ashworth is a perfect contrast to the gritty, yet crisp sound of the guitar. Although their usual omnichord player Jeff Fribourg was “modeling in Paris” (according to Ashworth) JooJoo’s sister took over and rocked all of his parts. Following Froth were audience favorites Shannon and the Clams, and the special “secret” guest of the evening, Thee Oh Sees. Both bands unsurprisingly delivered incredible, rollicking performances that ended the already stellar evening on an ever higher note. With labels like Lolipop cementing themselves as quirky tastemakers, here’s hoping they’ve got more successful years (and Lolipaloozas!) ahead of them.
About a month ago, Kimbra released her latest song, “90s Music” in preparation for her sophomore album The Golden Echo, out Aug. 19 in the U.S. via Warner Bros. Records. The official music video for the track that followed a few weeks later is so loaded with nostalgic imagery and bubblegum goodness that it has taken me this long to process everything into a coherent review that does not just include me flailing about and emitting high-pitched squeals.
To many, Kimbra might be known as “that one girl who was on that one Gotye song that really blew up” but to others, she’s the singer-songwriter from New Zealand who released a stunning debut album in 2011 that was full of retro vibes and soul-pop perfection. Vows showcased Kimbra’s vocal and songwriting prowess and her music videos and live performances revealed her eclectic style and confident yet quirky dancing. The album climbed to the top 5 in charts in both New Zealand and Australia and in the US, it reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200. She was slated to tour with Janelle Monáe, an artist also known for her eccentric style, but it was cancelled after Monáe fell ill. It’s a damn shame that all we have to remind us of what could’ve been is this swoon-worthy promo video for the tour, but we’ll take what we can get.
There’s little anyone can do to prepare for the sensory overload that is “90s Music;” Kimbra’s last single from Vows, “Come into My Head,” shares elements of having a fresh take on soul throwback, with lots of trumpets and funky bass, but is practically minimalist by comparison. On this latest single, auto-tuned references to 90’s pop stars like Aaliyah, Mariah Carey and TLC sound like a cassette tape rewinding several decades, Kimbra’s forceful voice squeezed into a rapid-fire falsetto.
On “90s Music,” there’s little hint of the somebody we used to know, and that’s why I’m 100% in love with this song. It’s a delight to see her pushing musical boundaries, exploring new styles and dabbling in wordplay, and having fun as well. Both the song and the video work well as an homage to a Lisa Frank-ified era, but at its core, we see how absolutely enamored Kimbra is with music, making it, and performing it, and it’s infectious.
The video seethes with an uncontainable energy: all bright colors, animated Trapper Keeper patterns, kinetic dancing reminiscent of Missy Elliott’s bombastic offerings. Kimbra’s crazy wardrobe takes some definite cues from the “Supafly” rapper, her over-the-top outfits paired with vibrant makeup and equally uniquely dressed backup dancers. Not only does this correlation bring out some of the hip-hop influence at work on the track, it successfully references the hey day of the big-budget, blockbuster videos that dominated MTV’s TRL and cast performers as larger than-life superstars, from Biggie and Puff in “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” to Gwen Stefani in No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs” video, to Busta Rhymes in… well, everything. But Kimbra is smart when it comes to stylistic appropriation, updating her brand of nostalgia when necessary, and providing ample shout-outs to her major sources of inspiration. Throughout it all, Kimbra’s carefree spirit, dynamic originality and exceptional talent take center stage.
You can pre-order The Golden Echo on iTunes and get an instant download of “90s Music,” “Love in High Places” and “Nothing But You.” These songs are sure to top every summer jam playlist, but don’t be surprised if the album becomes a critical favorite of 2014.
As far as I’m concerned, Hannah Lew–though she plays the bass–is first and foremost a vocal magician. Admittedly that’s because of her work with Grass Widow, the wondrously spooky San Francisco female trio that operates as a kind of tapestry, weaving all three of its members voices together. The result? A cloud of effortlessly harmonized soprano that rises up over post-punkish, surfer-rockish, guitar jangling. The voices are so effervescent that the harmony they make is weightless, and they’re so firmly interlocked that they sound like one big instrument.
They aren’t, though. Lew, who has been writing songs both on her own and with Grass Widow for years, began performing as Cold Beatin 2013 in order to develop on independent voice to run alongside her collaborative one. The full-length Cold Beat debut Over Me, while not quite our first taste of what Lew sounds like solo–she put out a two-song EP called Worms last November–is the first chance we’ve had to see her experiment with her full range as a songwriter.
While she was making it, Lew envisioned Over Me as a catharsis album tinged with paranoia.“Mirror,” the first single to be released, represents Cold Beat at the height of its over caffeinated anxiety, and the blood-letting doesn’t stop with high-energy freak outs. “Abandon,” coming squarely in the middle of the record, plunges us down low to new depths of bleak self-loathing, and then dissolves mid-track into an understated and moody instrumental breakdown. It’s worth noting, by the way, that while the album is unmistakably trauma-centric, I’m extrapolating each track’s particulars from the way the music sounds, not what the words are saying. Cold Beat’s lyrics, like Grass Widow’s, are often difficult to understand, beyond being ominous.
In fact, maybe the blurry lyrics have something to do with the sense of distance you can hear in Lew’s voice. She’s constantly far off on the horizon; she’s aloof in the most punk rock possible way. She soars like a flying superhero across the convulsing, repetitive music beneath her. Her voice is ethereal but bloodless, and about halfway through this album, it occurs to me that the lack of three voices on Over Me translates to a subtle lack of humanness. The aesthetic is aces, after all. The contrast of a faraway voice over a cleverly collaged mashup of retro and DIY sounds, the vague sense of anguish–all fantastically rendered.. The problem lies in that, though both vocals and music are compelling, one is forever floating above the other. Put more plainly: I like Over Me for its loveliness, but it doesn’t hook me by the guts.
Over Me is out on July 8th on Hannah Lew’s own label Crime On The Moon. Preorder your copy here! Check out the subtly bizarre video for “Mirror” below:
Philly’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah recently saw a change in lineup after the departure of three of its members, but do not fret, they are back as a duo and as good as ever. The band now consists of guitarist/vocalist Alec Ounsworth, and bassist Matt Wong, featuring Sean Greenhalgh as drummer on their newest project. CYHSY is currently on tour promoting their fourth album, Only Run, and played a spectacular show Saturday night at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, with funky brother-duo Stagnant Pools as opener.
CYHSY’s self-titled, self-produced and self-released 2005 album was nothing short of brilliant and made them beloved amongst bloggers of the day, heralding their instant indie-rock stardom. Tracks like the wildly fun “Clap Your Hands!” to the sweet (and personal favorite) “Blue Turning Gray” and the uber cool “Gimme Some Salt” had the makings of classic feel good, dance-like-nobody’s-watching tunes. Two albums and a few solo offerings from lead vocalist Ounsworth later, CYHSY have returned to prove that they still have the same energetic vibe that made them darlings early in their career.
Only Run features an array of synth-tunes, full of head bopping beats that will make you sway. “As Always” is a rhythm roller-coaster that alternates between simplicity and melodic chaos. Though you can hear slight differences on Only Run compared to their 2005 gem, the simplicity of this new album is marvelous enough that you don’t really notice the missing links.
On stage, Ounsworth’s voice radiates around a room like no other. His desperate, disheveled tone sings tunes that haunt and move. There’s no doubt that CYHSY is phenomenal on stage – they work a crowd like their lives depend on it, with enthusiastic strumming, drumming, and dancing; it’s difficult to not be blown away by their boundless skill. The vibe at MHoW was undeniably bustling, with everyone either rocking out or singing along. I invited a guest that had never heard of CYHSY before to accompany me, and by the time we left the venue she had fallen in love and was an instant fan. While the setlist drew heavily from Only Run, there was a healthy mix of perennial favorites like “This Home on Ice,” “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth” from their debut and “Satan Said Dance” from Some Loud Thunder, a song they’ve played live since their earliest shows and a terrific showcase for Ounsworth’s signature warble.
When it was time for the encore, the crowd wasn’t ready to say goodbye, and it seemed as though the guys weren’t either. They launched into a shimmering rendition of their latest single “As Always,” moving into “Heavy Metal” with such a great, loud and contagious energy that it shook the house, proving that they can hold their own as a duo just fine.
CYHSY are taking a brief break from tour before embarking on another three-week journey, beginning in Pittsburgh later this month. See dates and watch the video for “As Always” below. Only Run is available now.
07-24 Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
07-25 Cincinnati, OH – Fountain Square
07-26 St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House
07-27 Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
07-28 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
07-29 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
07-30 Boise, ID – Neurolux
08-01 Vancouver, British Columbia – Biltmore Cabaret
08-02 Seattle, WA – The Crocodile
08-03 Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
08-05 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
08-07 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour
08-08 San Diego, CA – Casbah
08-09 Scottsdale, AZ – Pub Rock Live
08-11 Austin, TX – The Mohawk
08-12 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
08-13 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks
08-14 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree
08-15 Chattanooga, TN – Miller Plaza
08-16 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
08-17 Richmond, VA – The Camel
In 2002, guitarist Hayden Thorpe and guitarist Ben Little met in the charming town of Kendal in the Lake District of England. After eventually outgrowing their small town, they exchanged the rolling hills of the Lake District for the industrial streets of Leeds, where their careers began to kick off after picking up percussionist Chris Talbot and bassist Tom Fleming along the way. Christening themselves Wild Beasts, the band has since moved to London, and have put out four records with Domino Records: Limbo, Panto (2008), Two Dancers (2009), Smother (2011), and now, the aptly Present Tense (2014).
Present Tense marks some serious artistic progression for Wild Beasts. While its eleven tracks won’t reach out and grab the casual listener, serious fans will love the album, which demands an attentive listen lest the details that make the album great be lost. The poetic lyrics that blur the line between sarcasm and genuine romance and the stylized and theatrical vocal interplay craftily incorporated into the album could easily be missed while listening on the subway going home from work, distracted by busking acrobats swinging from the handrails. There’s so much here that should be absorbed carefully and slowly, much of which is owed to the fact that the band composed digitally, painstakingly programming and piecing each element together.
The record doesn’t stray too far from the pop tenets that marked their previous albums; rather, it strikes a balance between the obvious and the subtle. While some tracks might swing in either direction (the melodic pop contours of “Sweet Spot” and the slow-moving “New Life” best represent the record’s polarities), the rest fall somewhere in the middle, providing the goods to satisfy one’s aesthetic and philosophical palate. There’s a considerable amount of vocal interplay; Fleming, Thorpe and Talbot, all with their trademark stylistic vocals, both compliment and contrast each other, something that the band uses to their advantage. During the darker, more guttural “Nature Boy,” Fleming’s baritone intensifies the atmosphere and adds to the masculinity of the track. “Palace,” however, the most romantic track on the album, sounds sweet and fanciful coming from Thorpe’s higher register. While most tracks highlight one vocalist over the others, most of them include at least some interaction, filling each track at some point with rich texture and harmonic complexity.
As the title of the record would imply, the most refined intricacy on Present Tense is the sense of nowness and balance that builds subtle suspense throughout the album. While all of the songs have a slow to moderate tempo, there is rarely a shortage of excitement. Wild Beasts artfully create grandiose expectancy without the least bit of flash, a feat that is best exemplified on “Pregnant Pause.” The song begins with a tentative keyboard section while the vocals whisper over the skeleton melody. The guitar peeks its head in, softly picking away at a fuller melody, indicating that the slow build is reaching its climax. Sometimes it seems like a lost cause, Thorpe coos, breathe a second, feel that pregnant…pause. The music doesn’t explode, yet we know that we’ve arrived. This compositional mastery of tension is also evident on “Mecca.” Again, Wild Beasts utilizes a stripped down introductory section, this time with no instrument to mark the tempo, and when the main melody arrives, we cherish it all the more.
Like the previous work of Wild Beasts, Present Tense is a dense album, with endless intricacies accentuated by the personal, yet mystic lyrics. The concept of balance is an overwhelming motif throughout the album, one that manifests itself both thematically and musically. The band strives to strike a balance between sarcasm and sincerity, between accessibility and mysticism, literal and figurative, soprano and bass, and the list goes on. This point is perhaps most poignantly articulated in the lyrics for “Sweet Spot”: There is a guardless state, where the real and the dream may consummate. Maybe this guardless state is what the gang had been searching for during the making of Present Tense; now, it seems, they’ve come very close to finding it.
Check out the video for “Mecca” and Wild Beasts’ US tour dates below.
WILD BEASTS US TOUR DATES:
Thu July 10 – New York, NY @ Hudson River Parks’ River Rocks (Pier 84)
Fri July 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer w/ Mutual Benefit
Sat July 12 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club w/ Mutual Benefit
Mon July 14 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair w/ Mutual Benefit
Tues July 15 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre w/ Mutual Benefit
Wed July 16 – Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
Fri July 18 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Sat July 19 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Music Festival
Denver indie pop group Tennis is back with their newest single “Never Work for Free” from their third album Ritual in Repeat, due out September 9 via Communion Records. With the help of Patrick Carney (The Black Keys), Jim Eno (Spoon) and Richard Swift (the Shins), the husband-wife duo return with a sound that is still completely theirs but more developed and perhaps more daring. In preparation for the release of this album, the band went on tour with sister act HAIM last spring. Once the new album is out, they will headline a North American tour in the fall.
Active since 2010, Tennis’s debut album Cape Dory was released with critical acclaim, especially with the origin story surrounding it. Inspired by their time sailing around the Atlantic together, the story has since been romanticized and restructured, often to the ire of the band members. Their second album, Young & Old, was the first to be produced by The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, which has more concrete, mature themes but still showcases the band’s nostalgic pop sounds.
For “Never Work for Free,” Alaina Moore’s voice is the clearest it has ever been, with no filters or layers to distract from the bright vocal harmonies that highlight her saccharine voice. It’s a vibrant, fresh song, appropriate for coastal road trips in a red convertible and impromptu dance parties during late-night grocery trips. Vocally, Moore is at her strongest, boldly reaching new heights during the chorus and then sinking to mellow tones during the verses and bridge. The repetitive percussion and dreamy synths mixed with her soothing singing ensure that this song will not leave your head nor will you want it to. The track is available for free download from the band’s website, and you can stream it via Souncloud below.
During a weekend visit to Montreal, I happened to catch fellow Concordia University Alumni Spencer Krug, a.k.a. Moonface, playing live at La Sala Rossa. Having recently fallen hard for his 2013 album Julia With Blue Jeans On, there was no way I would miss the chance to see him play in the city that I called home for two years. Krug’s began recording as Moonface nearly four years ago, after stints in Wolf Parade, Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown, and Swan Lake. His solo records tend to revolve around a singular musical motif, often given away by his record titles; 2011’s Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped is exactly what it sounds like, also serving as a footnote to his process as sole songwriter, while 2012’s With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery gives a titular nod to the Helsinki-based outfit that performed on the record. Cryptically titled by comparison, Julia With Blue Jeans On is composed entirely of his voice and his piano, but it’s far from minimal – not only are the songs lyrically vivid and his signature vocal style arresting, the piano lines are intricate, emotive, and dynamic. As Moonface, Krug brings it all together with such ease and undeniable raw talent it’s almost ridiculous.
The venue, La Sala Rossa, is a Spanish restaurant and bar that hosts a variety of events (including Flamenco performances), right in the heart of Montreal’s infamous Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Equipped with charming chandeliers and a small center stage, the venue sets a perfect atmosphere for artists to play a more intimate set. Sea Oleena, a fellow Canadian musician also based out of Montreal, opened the show. She played a quiet, short set with only her guitar, the audience sitting at her feet in awe. Her voice can only be described as wispy and enchanting, and she was so charming that I wasn’t even bothered by the fact that there were several French Canadians practically sitting on top of me (heads up: if you’re in Brooklyn, you can catch her when she plays Silent Barn on July 11th).
It was nearly 10pm when Moonface took the stage to an audience was bursting with anticipation, considering the show had started at eight o’clock. Opening with “Black is Back in Style,” Krug played feverishly with his eyes closed, as if there was no one else in the room with him, his left hand dancing out a slow and steady melody while his right pounded out a desperately fast rhythm as though attached to a mad genius. Moonface wields the kind of talent that you can sit and watch for hours on end without noticing that time is passing by. Watching him play was kind of an entrancing experience for me, one that can be compared to going to a church service and being captivated by a sermon. Then again, I have a bit of a flair for the dramatic. What followed was an hour of the most intense and beautiful cuts from Julia, including “Eveyone is Noah, Everyone is the Ark” and “Love The House You’re In,” a personal favorite.
Off stage, Krug seems like someone you could chill and have a cheap beer with at a grungy bar. During his performances, he is a force to be reckoned with. It’s those aforementioned hints of madness that are particularly captivating, his ferocious concentration and artistry bordering on revelation. As it was my first time seeing him play, I found myself wondering how it’s possible for any one person to be so talented and focused, how someone could deliver such a vibrant performance with an essentially limited palette. Maybe it’s my Canadian pride amplifying my admiration. But his roots don’t really matter; coming from anywhere, he’d still sound amazing, and his voice and piano are all he really needs.
I sometimes forget just how much I love Sia. Then she puts some new music out into the universe and the feels just come flooding back to me. The Australian songstress could really do no wrong in my eyes, and I can hardly contain my excitement over the release of her sixth album, 1000 Forms of Fear, available July 8th. As a preview of what to expect on her new album, the immensely talented singer has shared another single, titled “Big Girls Cry.” The track is reminiscent of Some People Have Real Problems-era Sia and is nothing short of awesome.
Despite achieving mainstream success via collaborations with everyone from Christina Aguilera to Eminem to Celine Dion, as well as penning one of the most heartbreaking songs of the 2000s that you just couldn’t escape, “Breathe Me,” Sia has always held onto her eccentric vibe. It’s well worth noting that she also puts on one hell of a vibrant live show. Sung in her raspy, breathy voice, Sia’s lyrics have a way of pulling deep empathy out of a listener. If you don’t believe me, just listen to “Lullaby” from Some People and let me know how it goes.
That Sia’s back catalogue might leave you feeling like you’ve just had your heart ripped out (whether you have or not) is fine, really, especially with the delivery of “Big Girls Cry.” It’s Sia’s gift of absolution, a reminder from the artist herself that it’s always okay to let out a big, ugly cry, no matter what Fergie told you in 2007. It’s also a big “up yours” to all those in the music industry and beyond who keep telling women to toughen up. Sia charmingly reassures us that you can be a big girl and still break down in uninhibited vulnerability, especially when your heart is breaking. And if Sia tells you that it’s okay to cry, then it’s gotta be okay. In some ways, that stance is a lot tougher than stifling emotions and sucking it up.
I won’t confirm nor deny whether the song actually made me cry – maybe I just had something in my eye – but you can check it out for yourself below, totally unafraid of judgement should you feel the need to weep. If you pre-order 1000 Forms of Fear on iTunes, you get an instant download of “Big Girls Cry,” and that’s certainly nothing to be upset about.
Ever since their psych-pop debut album Dry Land is Not a Myth (2012), White Arrows’ sound has proven to pervade the alt-rock scene, particularly in their native Los Angeles. The premiere of their newest track “I Want a Taste” precedes the release of their sophomore album In Bardo, due out in September. The new album’s namesake represents the band coming into a new stage in their career, a liminal state for the band in which they must bridge the gap between being an “up-and-coming” act and a seasoned one, and that involves a great deal of introspection. Experience-wise, they’ve transitioned easily, touring as support with bands like Cults, The Naked and Famous and Santigold. These perspectives are precisely what we get with “I Want a Taste,” a slight enough departure from their regularly up-tempo, pop-oriented sound to demonstrate that the band is coming into their own.
The song opens with a whirring bass, contrasting starkly with vocals harmonies that ring clearly through the steady electronic beat that backs most of the track. About halfway through, a wildly unexpected heavy guitar interlude interrupts the pensive quest of the track up to that point – a raw, ragged burst entirely new to the band’s repertoire that enhances the psychedelic subtleties at the foundation of the song. Its grandiose scope reflects both the buzzy whirlwind that White Arrows came up in as well as their practiced ability to project dynamic sonic textures to wide audiences, like those they’ve played to at Coachella and Sasquatch.
Much like debut single “Leave It Alone,” “I Want a Taste” is a well-produced, unifying track that promises strong momentum for a band with a lot to offer going into their second album. White Arrows is currently on tour with The Neighborhood and will embark on a headlining tour very soon. Check out visuals for the song below:
When I met the Banshee Bones crew my interest was immediately sparked. They looked like 1970s rock stars that had joined a funky motorcycle gang, freshly beamed from a time machine into 2014. So when they invited me to their gig at Bar Sinister I couldn’t refuse, even though I had never heard their music.
I was excited and a little nervous for the show, especially since the locale seemed to be part music venue and part fetish bar. Needless to say I was glad I wore black. The stage was set up on the back patio, already drawing a peculiar crowd of apathetic Goths, old-fashioned punk rockers and possible witch doctors. Banshee Bones’ lead singer Eugene Rice wore a bright white pantsuit (bell bottoms included), in stark contrast with the black clothing and creative makeup of the band’s fans. A fountain of candles glimmered near the red-lit stage, reflected off of the disco ball hanging over the band. It was Banshee Bones second time at Bar Sinister and the cheering of the crowd proved that they were happy to have the band back.
In addition to Rice, Banshee Bones consists of his brother Ryan on drums, Salem Romo on bass and Joe Perez on guitar. The Rice brothers hail from Vermont, and met Joe at Hollywood’s Musicians Institute when Joe complimented Ryan’s Aerosmith tee. Joe, originally from Indiana, began jamming with the pair, and their search for the last member began. As if by an act of fate, Ryan sat next to Salem at a free mastering clinic. They started talking about music, specifically Salem’s interest in playing bass, then ended up going their separate ways, but throughout the next month Ryan continuously bumped into Salem, who’d spent most of his life in the L.A. scene. Eventually, Ryan’s bandmates encouraged him to invite Salem to join the group for a jam session; his playing rounded out the overall sound and the band was at last complete.
Over the last three years Banshee Bones have toured throughout the West in a Coachmen trailer, further proof they came (almost literally) out of a time machine. They’ve also released Life & Limb, a self-produced EP, and their debut album Birds of Prey, with no plans to stop touring or recording. At their shows, they often wear Venetian style “plague doctor” masks, half black and half white, to represent the dualities in personal identity. They believe that every person can choose good or evil but they must know what lies underneath their mask to discover their true nature.
As midnight rolled around the ensemble took the stage. Banshee Bones’ ever-shifting sound and energetic set kept the attention of the audience piqued. Eugene’s serious pipes gave the performance an air of pure rock opera with some metal-style screams mixed in. They moved seamlessly from head-banging rock with haunting undertones to grimy, almost punkish abandon. Billing themselves as “experimental heavy rock,” the band’s style is at times a bit hard to pin down. A more descriptive phrase from their Twitter bio that reads “Rock and Roll married your dark progressive side” goes a little further in accurately assessing their whole vibe. In the grand tradition of hard rock performers, almost all of the band’s members had stripped to just their pants by the middle of the set, but none could seem to truly keep their cool – when their hair wasn’t covering their faces the wide smiles they all wore were obvious to the crowd.
Banshee Bones a scheduled to play a handful of dates in local Los Angeles clubs over the next month. The video below is a few years old but still gives a sense of their showmanship, though you’ll want to catch them live for the full effect; you can keep tabs on Banshee Bones via Facebook.
No one could accuse LA outfit The Peach Kingsof making records that are too long or boring. Since 2011, the group–cornerstone members Paige Wood and Steven Dies, along with a revolving assortment of friends and drummers–have put out three releases, the longest of which is six tracks. The most recent release, the Mojo Thunder EP, stays true to the template: it’s a brisk listen at five tracks, though this is the first Peach Kings release that hasn’t left me wanting more.
The group’s discography is filled with tiny masterpieces of carefully crafted simplicity. The Kings marinate doo-wop in the loneliness blues of Wood’s voice, then fleck it with surprising dub step highlights; they make meaty, complex songs crammed with different influences and nods to various eras. Who wouldn’t want a full-length album of that hotness? . But Mojo Thunder concentrates on developing one sound–a cinematic, glamourpuss groove–instead of spinning through the band’s wheelhouse. The single “Be Around” is all electric guitar riffs and cymbal shimmers as Wood sings the first verse, “Every silver lining’s got a razor’s edge/ We are victorious, now off with their heads,” at the high end of her register. The drama continues with the rockabilly-tinged title track and the understated but lust-driven “Say What.” The tunes are good–groovy and infectious on first listen–but if you’ve listened to Handsome Moves, you can’t be satisfied with Mojo Thunder. There isn’t a single example on this EP of the sort of stripped-down track that, on both the previous records, gave Wood a chance to stretch and flex her shape-shifting, powerhouse voice. Consider “Lonely,” off Handsome Moves: when The Peach Kings play to the more vulnerable end of their spectrum, they make some of their best songs.Though Mojo Thunder is fun to listen to, the EP focuses on being hooky and theatrical at the expense of bearing soul.
Check out “Hold On,” my favorite track off the Mojo Thunder EP, below!
These days, it seems no one is impervious to nineties nostalgia, least of all Burger Records, who release Whoop Dee Doo on July 29th, the first album of new material from grunge-pop aficionados The Muffs in ten years. The three-piece, consisting of lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Kim Shattuck, bassist Ronnie Barnett, and drummer Criss Crass, is scheduled for several West Coast Burger-sponsored bashes, including this past weekend’s Burger Beach Party USA at the Del Monte Speakeasy located in the heart of Venice.
Arriving a bit late for sets from labelmates Audacity, The Tyde, The Aquadolls, and Collen Green, my peers and I descended into the dimly lit bar decorated with twenties style lamps and red leather couches. The crowd consisted of people of all different ages, sporting every style from summertime surf grunge to bohemian fifty-year old mom swag. Once The Muffs took the stage it became clear that they’re touring veterans; you could tell immediately that they have been performing together for years. Perhaps best known for having had their cover of “Kids In America” (originally by Kim Wilde) featured in one of my most favorite movies, Clueless, the band has gone through numerous lineups and released five records via Warner Bros. and Reprise Records, but have always retained a bouncy, feel-good vibe.
Kim had a huge smile on her face the whole show, aggressively singing upbeat surfer rock songs to a crowd of moshing admirers. Their new material, much in the vein of their early catalogue, is comprised of perfect riffs made with power chords we all know and love, hard hitting bass lines, and drum beats that make for some truly inspired head-banging. Though The Muffs’ set was about 45 minutes long, it felt like only fifteen minutes in which both the band and their audience had a blast. Kim’s banter in between songs consisted of making fart jokes and recalling times on past tours where she “made out with a lot of girls.” Their onstage presence perfectly accompanied their clever, humorous, and emotion- driven songs, which made for an incredibly enjoyable and satisfying show. There’s no word yet on whether a national tour will happen, but The Muffs are playing a few more Burger shindigs, listed below. In the meantime, check out lead single from Whoop Dee Doo, “Up And Down Around.”
THE MUFFS // UPCOMING SHOWS:
Sunday, July 6 – Oakland, CA @ Burger Boogaloo (Mosswood Park)
Saturday, July 26 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
Saturday, Aug. 2 – Santa Ana, CA @ Burger a-Go-Go (The Observatory)
Justin Vallesteros began Craft Spells as a bedroom pop project, so it’s only fitting that for the band’s sophomore release, he’s returned to those reclusive roots. With the 2009 release of some enigmatic demos that would go on to make up the bulk of highly-anticipated debut Idle Labor in 2011, Vallesteros built buzz amongst bloggers, signed to Captured Tracks, and assembled a touring band. Craft Spells also released an EP, Gallery, in 2012, seemingly predicting that such prolific output would continue. The band toured while moving its home base up and down the West Coast, but Vallesteros found himself distracted and uninspired by surroundings in Seattle and San Francisco. He moved back in with his parents, spent his days writing and skateboarding, and completed Nausea, a deeply introspective album more orchestral, ambitious and accessible than anything Craft Spells has released to date. In the midst of a brief tour that included a stop at Brooklyn’s Northside Festival, Vallesteros answered some questions about the new directions he’s taking with his project.
AudioFemme: It seems like your aesthetic has changed slightly since Idle Labor; do you feel like that’s true? In what ways has the band evolved over the last four years?
Justin Vallesteros: Yes, it’s been four years. A lot has happened to me personally and the new record is a good representation of what I went through. The aesthetic changed cause I change, we all change. It wasn’t a conscious decision, I’m just a different person. Evolving like a Pokemon.
AF: Did you feel a lot of pressure in making a second record in terms of how critics would inevitably compare it to the first?
JV: I knew a lot of the fans of Idle Labor would tilt their head to it, it was definitely a side bust. I’m gonna make what I want though, so there was no stopping what I was writing. I can’t be that guy who makes pastel-like music all my life. I’m a real person with feelings. Maybe the next release will be the happiest shit I’ve written, or the saddest, who knows?
AF: It’s been two years since you’ve toured with the band. Anything you’re nervous about or excited to get back to?
JV: Excited to take people out of their night life, putting their phones away and bringing them into our world for an hour. It was cool playing to packed show at the Warsaw in Brooklyn and looking up midway and didn’t see one phone and everyone in silence. That rules.
AF: The new record has some great orchestral flourishes and also some really pretty quieter moments, particularly in the juxtaposition of the last two tracks. How did arranging it all come together?
JV: It’s good to take the album through different worlds and landscapes as it goes. It’s better than writing a whole album of single guitar line jangle pop.
AF: You’re releasing the demos alongside the album in a special edition. What’s your reason for that?
JV: If you like J Dilla or Nujabes, you will love these demo versions of Nausea. It’s gonna sound awesome on cassette too.
Stream single “Breaking The Angle Against The Tide” below, order the LP on Captured Tracks, or, if you’re on the West Coast, you can catch Craft Spells on tour in July at the dates below:
7/16 – Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst Atrium
7/17 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
7/18 – San Diego, CA – The Hideout
7/19 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
7/20 – Los Angeles, CA – Part Time Punks at the Echo
A gourd is a good omen. It was strung off the mic stand on stage left of the Highline Ballroom like a nectar-heavy plum, latticed with beads and primed to drop any second. I was trying to sort out the stage set-up…guessing how many band members would be waltzing out to accompany Seun Kuti come set time. I could identify most of the instruments despite a whale-sized hand drum lying on its belly with two-inch block letters carved in the side. It was clearly a percussion instrument, but like none I’d ever seen. The behemoth cylinder summed up the evening to come: I had a vague idea of how everything would go, but I didn’t really know what I was getting into.
When I first heard Seun Kuti’s name, I figured he was related to the late Afrobeat pioneer and political activist Fela Kuti. What I came to discover was that Seun is in fact Fela’s youngest son, and he’s been touring with his father’s original backing band Egypt 80 for half of his life. Only 14 when his father passed, Seun immediately became the lead singer of Egypt 80, and his 17 years of performing have made an enviably captivating and gifted musician of him.
When I arrived at the Highline Ballroom, I waded through the venue’s usual crowd of young urban professionals sipping Stella Artois. DJ Rich Medina was spinning both traditional and revivalist Afrobeat tossed in with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and other bands I wished my LG flip-phone could have Shazammed. There was a buzz in the crowd–a sort of communal knowledge that the moment Egypt 80 came out, we’d all be dancing far too hard. I kept staring at that beaded gourd, grinning with the kind of anticipation that brews right before an energetic performance. I mean, how often do we get to see a 12+-piece ensemble these days? We see a guy with a laptop and an effects pedal and we call it a band, but this is a fullband.
Medina’s set eventually dies down. Egypt 80’s 73-year-old keyboardist Lekan Animashaun steps on stage in a boldly printed tunic with matching hat and pants. “Good evening, gentlemen and ladies” he says in a thick Nigerian accent.
I immediately see where this is going.
“I say gentlemen and ladies, because, where I come from, the man comes first.”
It was like a record scratching. Lekan’s culturally-fueled, tepid sexism immediately watered down my state of elation. It doesn’t help that I write for a feminist music outlet, but after unavoidable wincing I managed to refocus on becoming excited again, despite the unnecessary remark.
The remainder of Egypt 80 poured onto the stage. 11 musicians and a pair of back-up singers/dancers, both scantily clad beauties with Crayola-hued face paint and beads dripping off every bit of them. The group played a song written by Lekan, a bit more on the traditional side of Nigerian music than what I’d heard from Seun’s recordings. Naturally this number served as an intro for Seun, who came prancing out shortly after its conclusion.
He practically flew onto stage, an alto sax slung around his neck, decked out in slate blue digital camouflage pants, a matching button-up, and of course, loafers of the same print and color. I was dumbstruck by how attractive he was. He has a powerful, feline face with a wide set nose and flaring nostrils that suggest fury even when he’s grinning.
Seun was performing in overdrive from minute one. When he wasn’t singing, he was wailing on sax, never ceasing to dance in either scenario. It was a small stage for 14 people to occupy, and he managed to make it microscopic considering how much space he monopolized. He moved in staccato, ass-out, flailing gyrations that were as sexy as they were foreign. His particular style of dance exemplified the charm and arrogance that make up his character: at one point he referred to himself as “a very beautiful man.” You’d like to argue, but he’s not wrong in the least.
With the help of his back-up singers Seun removed his shirt, revealing a “Fela Lives” tattoo across the width of his shoulder blades. Throughout the set he paid respects to his deceased father, interspersed with political diatribe denouncing the Westernization of African women and the IMF, or “International Mother Fuckers” as Seun coined it. Though as impassioned as his speeches were, his geriatric band seemed to be rolling their eyes behind his bare back. Few of them under 60, they responded to Seun’s energy like cynical uncles that used to babysit him. It was as if they were saying: “You think you’re a hotshot now, but we’ve all changed your diapers.” To make matters worse, Seun was literally flicking sweat all over them with every gesture-I saw the bassist flinch several times, just slightly dodging bullets of perspiration.
Though the subject matter driving Kuti’s music is far from cheerful, his music is undeniably upbeat and danceable. Steady drums anchor searing horns and jubilant vocal melodies…it’s truly music anyone could enjoy. But Afrobeat’s contagiously kinetic nature doesn’t deny its origins; this is protest music, but not the sort that is sung as a device of nostalgia or Western ennui. The issues Seun describes are current and severe, dealing predominantly with the exploitation of African resources and the attempted bleaching of Nigerian culture. The most exhilarating aspect of Kuti is his ability to relay these political messages with a shameless rage that is lacking in most contemporary music, and then move an entire room to dance at the same time. It’s the kind of magnetism his father had, and would no doubt be proud of. “Fela Lives” indeed.
Decade-defying, dance-inducing electronic music has always been LCD Soundsystem’s signature calling card and it’s an ethos that obviously extends to the latest collaborative project from founding member Pat Mahoney and The Juan MacLean’s Dennis McNany.
Dubbed Museum of Love, the duo channels a glimmering discotheque groove with a brand of electro-punk funk that’ll be familiar to any diehard DFA fan. Case and point is the latest offering from their upcoming self-titled LP called “In Infancy,” which combines the best of signature DFA-esque distortions with a dash of whimsical wonk and transcendental swoop. Filled with scuzzy synths, croon-embracing choir vocals and an unstoppable drum machine, it’s a shimmering, funk-loving spin on the duo’s past musical endeavors as groove-inducing, avant-electro staples.
Relaxing in its hazy dance floor drift, “In Infancy” coddles your ears. Swaddled by sweeping angelic harmonics gradually melting into an ethereal polyphony of sound, it invokes a series of blissful ideas content in their otherworldly leanings. But that’s not to say it lacks direction, as the entire track is driven by an incessant beat that could make even the sourest of four-on-the-floor adherents sway back and forth a bit. And it should, as it’s a gentle disco-influenced lullaby for the glamorous, cowbell-obsessed embryo within you.
The heir apparent to the Human League’s brand of decade-straddling balladry, it’s as if Mahoney and McNany squeezed all of the disco-embracing essence lingering within MTV’s New Wave playlists from between 1977 and 1983 and put it all into one genre-spanning track. And while some purists may argue otherwise, in all honesty, what better time in musical dance history is there to distill? After all, tracks that glide through time, space and external dimensions are the backbone of pop music. And in my opinion, it’s all for the better if this post-modern dance-punk can turn into something as fun and surprising as “In Infancy.”
“Snakes and Hawks” is not your typical track about a predator seeking out its prey; sure, the song sticks its talons into our brains with its catchy opening synth riff, but it doesn’t sweep us off to an untimely end.
Instead, the six piece San Antonio band sing along to a tune that is all too convincing about being seemingly innocuous. Musically, the song is plain ol’ fun. The Hawks have a straight-out-of-the -garage appeal to them that is apparent in their ability to maintain a high energy track for a little over four minutes (pretty unusual for a punk band). Every member also does vocals, giving it an anthemic aesthetic that makes one feel like they are in the middle of the pit at one of their shows. Its variety of musical breaks is what makes it last through the repetition and progression of the lyrics, from its sing along vocal melodies to the bridge where it breaks down with a sludgy guitar riff and male and female vocals singing back to one another.
What makes this song stray into the pop punk category is its MIDI like synth that pervades the whole track and its seemingly sweet lyrics. Thematically, it’s all about predation, but not in the “Hungry Like A Wolf” kind of way. Rather, it’s about being wily, tricking a person into believing you’re harmless. Its got the nice guy appeal initially but takes a turn when the line “you’ve got snakes, I’ve got hawks” turns into “she’s the snake and I’m the hawk.” By the time the bridge arrives, he’s sneaking into the girl’s bed and the song comes to a catchy close with its last melodic sing along.
Whether or not it dupes us into believing its intention is more sweet than it actually is, it forces you to see through to the end of the prowl. The song is the first track off of the band’s sophomore album What Team Am I On? via Texas is Funny Records July 22nd
Innovatively-minded, Luna Aura is a part of a generation of artists who strive for societal change through their creative endeavors in the music industry. Her songs, all self written and co-produced, are filled with hypnotic beats and catchy lyrics. Each track is a singular and organic exploration of Luna’s sound, which makes the EP fascinating and keeps us on our toes. If her music in and of itself didn’t make her cool enough in both her daily life and in her creative work, let me add that she is a serious advocate for gender equality. Luna has a strong and dazzling personality, quirky and self-aware in equal measure. Last week I had the delight of talking to Luna on the phone about her musical career and the path to her forthcoming debut EP.
AF: When did you first get into making music?
LA: I first started singing at a really young age, about 3 or 4 and then I started writing songs when I was about 10 I was a dramatic little one, writing about relationships and all these things that I have never experienced, that I’ve just observed in other people. I learned how to play guitar around the age of 15 and started going out and performing my own music and that’s what I’ve been doing for the past 5 years or so and just over the last year I’ve been producing all of my own music and all of the music that you hear today.
AF: Did you run into any nay-sayers in your family or were you supported?
LA: I was so lucky as a kid because I had loving parents. We weren’t well off by any means you know my dad was a cop and my mom was a stay at home mom and I have four other siblings so it was kind of a packed house. We each have our own individual quirks and talents but no matter what they are our parents always said that they will support us 100 percent in whatever it is that we want to do. For this I think it was difficult for my parents because I didn’t want to go to school and I didn’t want to go to college, I just wanted to focus on this. I’ve always had a pretty entrepreneurial spirit, I’ve never wanted to be the person that waited for someone else to tell her that she was ready to do something, I just wanted to do it. I think once my parents saw this drive in me and saw the success behind it and of course the talent that was leading it they’ve been nothing but supportive. And my whole family has been so loving and supportive throughout the whole journey from when I was so small until now.
AF: You have a very unique sound; how did you develop that?
LA: When I was younger I listened to three things: pop music, hip-hop & rap or country. I was obsessed with all three of those genres growing up so a lot of my influences are from those three genres. I think I just love the shininess of pop and the fact that so many people love it and it’s so infectious. For rap & hip-hop I love the way it feels and the way to made me feel when I was growing up and with country I love the storytelling behind it. I appreciate all the storytelling in country music and all the songs that I have loved. I think today I’m just blending all of that together so with the synths and the beats and all of that, the rhythm comes from my hip hop & rap background, the storytelling comes from my country background and the ultimate big picture of it is very much pop. I’m going with what’s natural to me. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve done that. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to immerse myself in different genres none of them ever worked because I was forcing it. Now with this EP it’s 100 percent natural and from me; it’s everything that makes me feel right.
AF: What is your writing process?
LA: When I’m producing I am always with my buddy Sean and we’re always at his place doing it. I tend to write in my room a lot. I think it is only due to habit though because when I was younger I wasn’t showing people these songs that I was writing. I was just doing it by myself in my room and then hiding my little notebook so I think as a habit being in my room and just kind of being by myself and being in my own space with no distractions just becomes “my home” when it comes to song writing.
AF: You live in Phoenix right? Describe the music scene there.
LA: It’s definitely, because it’s so small, somewhat of a family. When there are artists out there or bands that are really doing a good job and you know kicking butt, I feel like everyone likes to come together and collaborate. This person wants to meet this person and that person wants to meet the next person and do all these ‘collabs’. So I feel like, more than anything, it’s like a small little family.
AF: What is your experience as a female artist?
LA: I don’t want to say it’s difficult but it is kind of difficult. I think that there’s a lot of social pressures when it comes to being a female artist. People expect you to be sexy and they expect you to be sultry and always be beautiful and to never really show any side other then that, especially as a pop artist. For me I have always been obsessed with people like Joan Jett and Gwen Stephani and Janis Joplin and these women that were just owning it. They weren’t being feminine by any means they were just performing and they could hold the stage like any other man. And I feel like for me that’s where I come from, that’s where I’m going and that’s where I am. So when it comes to live performing you can see that side more. When it comes to the promo photos and all of that I am very feminine and brightly colored and all of that, but you’ll really see the tomboy in me while I’m performing. You have to prove yourself definitely as a female artist, more so then a man would have to prove himself.
AF: So what do you do outside of making music, any hobbies?
LA: Just like crime fighting, basic stuff like that. I like working out, kind of but not really, never mind I don’t like working out. There’s not much you can do in Arizona cuz it’s like 110 degrees at all times. I read and write music and I like coloring my hair a lot. Which is why in like every picture you see of me my hair is a different color. So part time crime fighter, part time hairdresser.
AF: Who, dead or alive, would you want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with?
LA: Maya Angelou, for sure, who just recently passed away and which was completely heart-breaking for me because she was somewhat of a mentor for me.
AF: In what way?
LA: With a lot of her writings and she’s just one of the most amazing women to ever exist and I would do anything to have had a cup of coffee with her.
AF: Dream collaboration for a song?
LA: That’s so hard! Right now, you know what I am so in love with Twenty One Pilots right now. So inspired by Twenty One Pilots – I just think that they’re both just so talented and when it comes to the writing and all the elements within it they are just geniuses. I love those guys. You’ll actually see an influence they have on me in the music videos that are coming out this summer too.
AF: Anything else you wanna divulge? State secrets?
LA: I don’t know. I’m eating pizza rolls right now. My EP is going to be released on August 26th of this year. My song “Radio” is available on ITunes, Spotify and Amazon currently. I’m going to be performing at the Summer Ends Music Fest in September with Foster The People, Kittens, Fitz and the Tantrums and bunch of other really cool people. So I guess I’d want people to know that.
Luna Aura’s self-titled debut EP will be released on August 26th and will be followed by her performance at the Summer Ends Music Festival on September 28th. Watch her debut video here via Youtube:
On June 18, Florida duo SALES played an intimate and charmingly awkward set at tiny venue Comet Ping Pong with local Maryland band Go Cozy as the opening act. The DC show was their second stop on their small east coast tour in preparation for the band’s debut album out later this summer. Their understated music fit perfect with the low-key atmosphere of the space.
I’ve been to my fair share of live shows in DC but this was my first time going to Comet Ping Pong, a full-time bar and restaurant known for its handmade pizzas. It was out of the way from my usual music stomping ground of U Street, tucked away in Northwest DC that was far from a metro stop but at least had one bus stop in front of it. The low-set stage was at the back of the restaurant, partitioned by a flimsy curtain. To say the area was intimate is an understatement; the exposed brick and open ceiling beams made me feel like I was catching a secret show in a hidden barn.
The band – comprised of Lauren Morgan and Jordan Shih – shuffled on stage with their equipment, setting everything up by themselves. There were some shy waves and forced small talk as the members tried to make themselves at home on the personal stage.
Both Morgan and Shih seemed uncomfortable in front of the modest crowd but at times, there were real moments of ease and calm that hit both musicians once they really got deep into a song. Unfortunately, their set was plagued by technical difficulties but they pulled on through, even if they had to restart some songs several times. The crowd was generous and forgiving, encouraging the band to keep going and dancing along. Morgan’s pizzicato vocals matched her precocious guitar playing and were a joy to hear live, her notes flitting up and down erratically but endearingly. At times, their songs felt one-dimensional – there’s only so much you can do with pre-recorded beats and two guitars – but the pair’s personal approach to songwriting translated easily to their live performance, making each track a sort of precious event. Both performers were focused on their music rather than the audience but there were moments of playful banter that seemed genuine. It was only their second show on this brief tour, and it seems likely that SALES will get more comfortable with each experience.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]Lauren Morgan of SALES before she does her “famous” guitar switch.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Only New York City could have produced DAMEHT. This is a trio of musical omnivores, and they’ve soaked up influences in new-wave, electronic, top-40 radio, house and classic rock. Even elbows-deep in a dirty punk guitar riff, their songs ooze Michael Jackson-esque, big-stage pop glamour. In a nod to their Hispanic backgrounds, the group injects plenty of salsa and merengue beats into their songs.
Rivington Starchild, Lucas Garzoli and Roman Lewis have been playing together since 2007 as The Mad. DAMEHT, their current project which launched in 2012, is a homage to their previous moniker, only reversed. The trio will release their debut EP called In Perfectothis coming July. It’s hard to talk about DAMEHT without mentioning their high-octane performances, but based on what we’ve seen so far from the new EP–such as the flashy first single “I Love You Too!” and corresponding video, which collages cellphone-filmed footage crowd-sourced from the grungiest and most impossibly cool underground parties across New York City–much of the group’s energy will translate into studio recording.
DAMEHT’s synth-based new single “The Greek” keeps pace with “I Love You Too!” as a party anthem. Though it doesn’t necessarily possess the same instantaneous catchiness as the latter–a testament to ILU2’s structural integrity–it still gets our blood pumping, and leaves us stoked for what’s to come next from these dapper gents.
In Perfecto will be out next month, and you can go hereto learn more. Listen to “The Greek” below via SoundCloud.
Everyone’s had a broken heart. That’s why songs about love gone wrong are so ubiquitous; as listeners, we crave relatable lyrics telling tales of liars and cheats and unrequited crushes. We make playlists to deal with love’s letdowns, and as we sing along and we might have a good cry or hit the gym to take it out on a punch bag with our ex’s name on it. Either way, there’s no denying the catharsis inherent in woeful ballads and sassy bangers alike. Lovelorn listeners take heed: Emmy Wildwood has arrived with her debut EP Mean Love, a smoldering new crop of post-breakup jams. Over the course of four songs, she skewers toxic relationships, calls out distant lovers, and offers up a healthy dose of how to get over all that and move on.
Wildwood is a force to be reckoned with, and it goes way beyond her savvy, straight-for-the-throat anthems. She’s performed in a wide range of musical projects, fronting punk-rock outfit VELTA and alt-country band The Stone Lonesome and appearing regularly as “Lizzy Strandlin” in all-girl Guns N’ Roses cover band. And that’s just her sonic resume; she’s worked in fashion for years, both as a stylist and as proprietor of Tiger Blanket in Williamsburg. She also operates a record label of the same name, which will release Mean Love on June 24th. Not only did we chat with Wildwood about her EP, her songwriting process, Alfred Hitchcock, and the harsh realities of dysfuntional relationships, AudioFemme is pleased to present an exclusive streaming premiere of the record. Check it out below while you read Emmy Wildwood’s words of wisdom.
AUDIOFEMME: Congrats on the EP! We can’t wait to share it with the world; the songs have such irresistible hooks, and your voice is incredible. In your words, what describes the sound you’re going for on your solo project?
EMMY WILDWOOD: Well, I have a primarily punk background – I am from Tuscon, Arizona, and there’s not a lot of people, kids particularly, playing music. Except for boys, and boys played punk, where I was from. So I learned to play power chords and punk stuff early, so that I could be in bands because there was no one else playing in any other kind of band back then. So I’ve always played punk, and then I got into more distinguished music later, so there’s sort of an influence of pop singer-songwriters and things like that. But for me it always comes back to rock n’ roll and punk so I would say that that’s pretty prevalent in the voice. Even though there’s a pop sound it’s always pretty driven by a lot of nasty electric guitar sounds. I would say it’s electronic pop with a very punk feel.
AF: It definitely hearkens back to the era that produced great punk rock-inflected pop acts like Cyndi Lauper and Blondie. You use vintage drum machines to achieve that sound?
EW: We sure do. I had this idea that I wanted to just do electric guitar and electric drums, [/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][particularly] LinnDrum, which is like a seventies big honkin’ horrible hugely heavy drum machine. Prince used it on his Dirty Mind album which is the one he made in his living room and it sounds really gnarly and grungy and I wanted to make something like that. LinnDrum is a big part of where this project started.
AF: So when you’re recording these songs, is it primarily you at home, alone? I know you’ve had some producers come in and work on it as well, but as far as the recording process, how do you go about that?
EW: I cut a bunch of demos on my own over the last couple of years, just electric guitar and voice. And I sent this new set of songs to my friends Zach Jones and Greg Mayo. Zach and I were in a three-piece garage rock trio called VELTA. He’s in this big pop band called Great Big World – they have that song “Say Something” with Christina Aguilera – and he got this huge drumming gig and has been touring a lot, and Greg plays with everybody in New York. They’re both amazing producers, they both play a bunch. They’re really good friends of mine. I’ve known them for a long time and they knew I wanted to do this and they’re huge Prince fans, huge pop fans, and I’ve played with them for so long I felt like they knew me so well so I called them up to help me make this particular sound happen cause I knew it wouldn’t take too much to make them understand what I was trying to do.
AF: So it made sense to approach them because you’d had so many prior conversations about how you wanted your solo stuff to sound?
EW: Yes. And just like, having been friends with them, we had common love of the same sort of stuff. It was one of those things where you don’t really have to have a conversation, somebody just knows you, and knows what you’re trying to get across, it was a lot of that cause they’re such good friends. And I respect them both musically so much. They both have amazing taste. I understand melody, and rhythm and ideas, and I’ve been doing this a long time, but they’re like really studied. They have all the stuff in the library, they can make anything I wanted to happen, happen. They’re really amazing musicians and they were incredibly important cause I definitely couldn’t have done that on my own. Especially some of the weirder, more creative stuff that’s on there that’s bizarre-sounding.
AF: Well how about the writing process? You mentioned that you had demoed the tracks before you even went to them, and I think there’s a lot of really interesting concepts and themes within the record, so can you tell me more about where you were as you were writing this and influenced the material?
EW: I had a lot of demos from sort of a tumultuous last two years. Definitely driven by breakups, I will say that. Also a lot of changes. I moved out on my own for the first time after a big breakup and I wrote probably 35 or 40 songs that weren’t being put to use. I had this sort of collection it was really hard to choose; I picked three of those songs that I wrote and I demoed those out. “RVR LVR” was the fourth one which I brought to the space. We were gonna do another, sort of heavy tune that I had written called “Rosewater,” and they were like, “Man, do you really want this EP to be like, this heavy? Don’t you want something like, super fun on the record?” And I was like, “Well… I have half of a super fun song.” I didn’t have a lot of “super fun songs” written, you know what I mean? I was dealing with some health stuff too. So it could’ve been this really really heavy EP but they sorta helped me put this more fun spin on the whole entire thing because they co-wrote this fourth song with me. Because of them of them I have an EP which made my life a little bit more fun that what was going on.
AF: I think lyrically, these songs are definitely dark and heavy in subject matter, but I feel like they’re written so poetically. That’s maybe too flowery a term, because there’s also a lot of anger and bite there, but its not like you’re calling anyone specific out. A lot of times you’re blaming yourself in these situations as much as you‘re blaming another party. And it’s so straightforward, so uncomplicated – just a collection of these charged phrases that feel very powerful as a whole.
EW: Lyrically, I’m always really honest. Some people worry about things coming off a certain way. I don’t like to be shocking on purpose, but if my honesty is shocking that’s cool to me. I like to say things in a way no one’s ever heard before, I like to play things in a way people haven’t heard before. I mean I guess that’s what we’re all trying to do. Lyrically I was just really honest and really proud about that and lyrics are something that I’ve always put a lot of time into. It’s something that’s really important to me because I listen to lyrics very intensely. The words make me feel much deeper about the music. I didn’t even know that I was blaming myself as much as I was blaming myself until you said that but that’s totally true.
AF: Well a lot of what you’re referencing on this record, particularly on the first two tracks “Mean Love” and “Stung,” are really relatable scenarios. We’ve all been in a dysfunctional, toxic situation, either with a lover or a friend or even in business relationships. There are a lot of sycophants out there. And if you spend enough time in those kinds of situations, you risk becoming a sycophant yourself. The lyrics to “Blondes” in particular kind of talk about that. It’s layered under poppy, rock-driven production but the words are very sinister and violent. Can you talk a little bit about the metaphors you’re using? Or should I call the cops?
EW: [laughs] You probably don’t need to do that! I read this article actually, on Alfred Hitchcock, his movies and how he always cast blonde girls because they looked “better in blood” on screen, cause the red stood out better. And it stuck with me for a long time but then it sort of became this thing, this imagined scenario, this song. This one I would say is less autobiographical, although it always becomes that, somehow, for me, relating it back to a personal situation. The song tells a story of a relationship where one partner is angry at somebody besides the person they’re taking their anger out on. I just used that metaphor of the blonde girl as the other girl. It’s a violent song because I’m comparing that to a horror film, but that’s where that metaphor came from. Don’t call the cops, it’s all good.
AF: I have read a little bit about Hitchcock’s relationship with Tippi Hedren, who starred in The Birds and some of his other movies and the reality of his behavior toward her is more terrifying than most of his actual movies I think. He was really obsessed with her, and did terrible things to her…
EW: Yeah, he pushed her. That’s the whole thing. I feel like we sort of do this to each other in relationships, it’s this recurring theme. He pushed her to get an emotion out of her that he needed to draw power from, that the movies maybe drew power from. Just to make it more passionate, more emotional, he pushed her to these extreme places to get something out of her, and was also totally obsessed and in love with her. I was totally fascinated by that whole concept of pushing somebody and all of that sort of obsession and craziness that follows love.
AF:Obviously it’s a painful thing to have a romantic falling out with someone or a separation, but especially having now channeled all of that into the EP, do you feel like that’s a thing that has pushed you and been transformative?
EW: It did push this EP. I had a really significant twelve-year breakup. I was with someone since I was a teenager. But “RVR LVR” is actually a happy song, and “Stung” is heavy but it’s a happy song too in the sense that it’s [about] falling in love again and learning to trust somebody again and somebody loving you even though you’re, sort of, to put it UN-poetically, screwed up, or not as strong as you feel like you were. It’s really hard to go into a new relationship when you had an idea of what your whole life was gonna be like, constantly evaluating every new thing, [thinking] is this hard because this is not right, or is this hard because I thought it was gonna be another way and it’s a different way? And someone being patient with you through that. “Stung” is definitely about being in love again and someone loving you through something hard like that.
AF: You mentioned “RVR LVR” – that’s a definite favorite of mine. It almost gives the whole EP a fairy-tale ending, not just for the mythical imagery of someone rising out of the mist so-to-speak, but it’s also a breath of fresh air after all the weightiness.
EW: Good! It wasn’t the last one we did, but it was the last written. I was so excited to have it because it just sort of rounded off the EP in a way. I hadn’t seen a close to where it was gonna finish off. I didn’t know if we should do five songs or six songs or three songs or a mixtape. And then we wrote “RVR LVR” and I was like “Oh! It’s these four. That’s it.” And the guys felt that too. It was just understood, and we all felt the same way. So it was sort of a breath of fresh air to the EP in general just sonically. “RVR LVR” is about the fun stuff. It’s about like, going out and getting someone and winning someone over, so there is happiness to it. There’s a lot of honest things about what it is to break up and fall in love again and evaluate yourself through it and evaluate your partner through it.
AF: So what ended up happening to these other songs? Will they go onto an album or is it time to put that phase of your life behind you and move on? I’m sure you’re still writing new things.
EW: Where do all the lost songs go? You know, a lot of people in their lives have concentrated on being like, the best guitarist in the world or being the best singer in the world. I wanna be a great singer and I’m always trying to get better at guitar, but for me it’s always been about writing the song. I wanna have the perfect ‘song moment.’ I write so much – that’s really what I spend my time doing, almost to the point that it doesn’t feel like a choice. I don’t sit down and practice, I sit down and write. [I have] a lot of songs that I just have never produced. They’re just floating somewhere in my hard drive. I don’t know if they’ll be significant to any particular project in the future, but you never know. Actually, [with] “Mean Love” I had the chorus for a long time, and it just shaped up two years ago. But there are a lot of songs that maybe will never be heard by anyone besides my pug, Pilot.
Pilot the Pug, Keeper of Lost Songs
AF: Then again, maybe you have something that’s rolling around in the ether that will be a huge hit.
EW: That would be great. You know, I feel like things like that are always surprises. There are songs that are still my favorites that I wrote, you know, seven years ago, that I think are cool songs that maybe I’ll use an idea from eventually. With the EP, to bring it back to the theme behind it… for me it’s like I’m only able to reflect on things once they’re processed. I’m like a lot of emotional human beings [in that] when things are really difficult I can’t even pay attention to them. I went through this breakup a while ago, like three years ago. I had trouble even talking about it for a really really long time. It’s something I will never forget because it has shaped a lot of these last few years for me but I’ve moved forward in a really great way. I like to reflect on the dark things and my innermost secrets and my weird feelings. I’ll always be a little dark in my writing but as far as that chapter being closed, it’s closed, and it’s cool to have this EP, listen to the songs, and be like “Holy cow, did I write that?!”
AF: Would you play these songs to your ex? Do you think he’s heard them?
EW: I have no idea. That’s pretty funny. What’s funny is these songs aren’t even particularly personally about him but more about what resulted because of him, and things that have happened since him. I don’t even know what he’s thinking. I don’t really care. I have a boyfriend now who is amazing. Actually, he co-wrote “Stung” with me. He’s a singer, too and a music writer, like you. He gets it.
AF: So I’m really interested in what you’re doing over at Tiger Blanket. It’s both a record label and a clothing store?
EW: Tiger Blanket is a label that I started a really long tome ago. It was just sort of a fantasy. Any record I made on my own or with friends we would put out under the Tiger Blanket label, but it really came into fruition a few years back with a country music project that I was in, believe it or not, called The Stone Lonesome, that we put out on vinyl. And then I realized that this label needed to be a vinyl label, because I love vinyl, and no one was buying CDs. People were collecting things in limited runs which were something that I liked in particular. Then when I opened my store in Williamsburg it all just came together. I’ve always worked in fashion to make money – cause we all know how profitable music is – so I’ve always worked on styling and [finding] vintage stuff. It became a lifestyle concept – you buy the outfit and you buy the record that you wanna listen to while you get ready to go out to see the show that you’re gonna go see. Unfortunately our landlord has followed the trend of this neighborhood and bumped it all up. So we have to find a new home, location TBD, so right now we’re focusing primarily online. But we’ll have a new release in August and out first piece of clothing specific to the brand that is our own in-house design in August as well.
AF: What records, other than your own, have you released so far?
EW: Last year we released Mother Feather, do you know that band?
AF: I actually do, we booked them for our Scene X Sound event! They’re playing June 26th in LIC on the roof of the Ravel Hotel.
EW: Oh, awesome! They’re kick ass. We also put out Erin Mary and the West Island, sort of a sixties-sounding vibe. She wrote the whole record from the voice of a dead little girl ghost.
AF: Ooooh, creepy.
EW: Yeah, it’s very creepy. I love these sort of conceptual groups and bands, and it has been all girls so far which was not necessarily my intention, but I just put out what I liked and what came in front of me, and what I created a bond with, music I fell in love with and I put it out. I have a few bands in the works, but we’re just seeing how those projects shape up right now and we’ll probably do another release in the Fall.
AF: I have no idea how you find the time to do all this! You’re also in a pretty cool cover band, I hear.
EW: Oh, right! Guns N’ Hoses! Yeah, we play a lot, our next show is June 28th at Bowery Ballroom. I joined two years ago, maybe more that that now. We started by playing all of Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction album and now we’re doing Use Your Illusion as well. It’s wild, because I liked Guns N’ Roses… it was on the radio when I was a kid, I loved their performance, I loved Axl – I thought he was frickin’ bad ass. But joining this band made me get way deeper into their music and see how cool they really were and what they were doing was super innovative. I got way deeper in the catalogue and if anything it’s made me a way better guitar player. It’s harder stuff than I was used to playing – punk rock songs and Nirvana and Weezer – it’s not the same stuff. So it made me a better guitar player, that’s for sure.
AF: GNR, and that type of hair metal rock n’ roll in general, has been pegged from the get-go as both innately masculine but also sort of goofy. It’s macho but almost to such an extreme that it’s kind of a joke. As a group of women playing that music, how do you feel that changes it?
EW: We put on a show, we try and play our characters. We curse at the audience, we drink, we jack on stage, it’s all part of the show. It can be incredibly goofy. As far as us being girls doing it? I don’t know, maybe it sheds light on how ridiculous it really is. But really I think things always sort of come back to the spirit of that band. They were just nuts. They were crazy, they were living up what people really think is the insane rock n’ roll lifestyle and they fully embraced that and they were super proud to be gross and wild and addicted and promiscuous… I mean that’s what half the songs are about. It is a novelty because we’re all girls and they weren’t, but we hope that people come and they’re impressed by the playing, which they usually are. We do it because the songs kick ass, and we do it cause it’s funny and because people like it. We didn’t think it was gonna be as big of a deal when we started it as it turned out to be.
AF: People love their cover bands. Particularly with the era GNR came from, playing that genre… there aren’t a lot of modern bands that have that sound, and people who listened to bands like that in their heyday are barely interested in new bands doing that anyway. They want to hear those classic albums.
EW: Oh Yeah, I mean it’s fans of Guns N’ Roses coming. They don’t care… I mean, they think it’s cool we’re girls, but it’s fans that wanna hear the songs played live, that’s for sure.
AF: That sounds totally awesome. In terms of your solo project, though, what are your hopes for the EP? Where do you want to see it go, who do you want to hear it?
EW: This! These conversations are what I would like to have happen. Someone to hear something, think it’s cool, spend the time actually reading the lyrics and seeing that maybe it’s surprising compared to how it sounds sonically. If this happens like twenty times or ten times or five times, that would be really satisfying to me. And if the songs go somewhere else, sneak into a television show or a commercial, that would be wonderful too. I won’t make any big plans for them because I believe they will find their audience. I think we’ll be playing them [live] in July. That’s the first show.
AF: What will your live performances entail? Will you play with a full band or will it be a more stripped-down solo performance?
EW: It’s definitely me, Zach and Greg. Zach plays drums and synth stuff, Greg’s a guitar player and plays some synth stuff, and I’m gonna play a little electric guitar, some songs with and some without. But I will tell you that all three of us are fairly raucous performers and the live show is always fun when we get together. I like to lose myself a little bit on stage and get a little gnarly and eat my hair and sweat, all the good punk rock stuff.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]
Nostalgia is a sentiment twice as easy to conjure as it is to exalt. Though Zach Condon’s ability to summon wistfulness for something never experienced is a talent all its own. Beirut’s hiatus from the American tour set has left us all ripe for pining, and their return to Brooklyn for the headlining spot at Northside Festival quenched the long dry mouths of fans. It was the first time the band had played together live in the past six months, and their most recent show in Brooklyn since 2011 – I’ve been kicking myself ever since I missed their last gig here, waiting impatiently for them to come back.
Though nostalgia is prone to distort, my memory did not deceive me; Beirut hasn’t withered a bit in their absence. If anything they’ve roused more desire from listeners than ever, and this was tangible in the moments before they came on stage. I got to 50 Kent only seconds prior, and managed to weave through the crowd with shocking ease until I was twenty feet from stage left. Condon appeared in a mild-sheened slate gray suit upholstering the frame of a 28 year old whose disposition is well beyond his age.
With a band as full-bodied as required by Condon’s compositions, one can find security in knowing that Beirut will always put on an exceptional show. Condon switched between trumpet, ukulele, keyboard, and of course his satiny vocal style, while his band supplied textural elements via upright and electric bass, trumpet, trombone, drums, and accordion.
Despite being a group of overwhelmingly talented musicians, there was not a speck of ego coating Beirut’s performance. They played as many fan-favorites as they could cram into an hour and a half long set without seeming rushed or impersonal. These included “Elephant Gun,” “Nantes,” “Sunday Smile,” “East Harlem,” and countless others. Condon was largely reserved the entire night and kept his banter to a humble minimum. His focus on the music was impenetrable, and the joy he was extracting from it palpable. He seemed reticent yet giddy, as if playing these songs alone in his room would bring him as much satisfaction as the ears of thousands.
Condon’s body of work and attitude towards his craft are marks of the truest incarnation of musician. This man did not choose to write music – it simply was not an option. Composing is as vital to someone like Condon as an appendage, or even nourishment. This isn’t his day job, it’s his very means of digestion. His brand of sound is one sodden with longing for a bygone era, one he never lived through. Yet his passion for the timeworn tunes of the Balkan, Mariachi, and Francophone persuasion sustains itself void of irony. There is high romanticism in Condon’s pieces, but no detachment. What he has to offer as a songwriter is the interpretation of world folk music as filtered through the bugle of a contemporary herald, one whose respect for these genres is only matched by his love of them.
As the night wound down, Condon was bashfully dodging the long-stem roses being flung at him, eventually picking one up and bowing graciously. It takes a rare human being to accomplish so much at such a young age while still retaining a polite, boyish charm…though somehow Condon simultaneously seems to harbor the heart and mind of a 97-year-old sage. Where this balanced demeanor comes from I’ll never know. What I do know is, I’ll be waiting evermore impatiently until Beirut’s next Brooklyn performance.
Ticket Giveaways
Each week Audiofemme gives away a set of tickets to our featured shows in NYC! Scroll down to enter for the following shindigs.
