It’s been a busy month for Jack White. After being named to Nashville’s new Council On Gender Equity, he and Third Man Records are planning to put a record player into the cosmos to be the first to play one in space. Their choice for the mission, which will take place tomorrow, is Carl Sagan’s A Glorious Dawn. I’m still not entirely sure if this is all a joke, butI do want to know: are aliens more into vinyl, or cassettes?
Watch Prophets Of Rage On Jimmy Kimmel
The supergroup contains Rage Against The Machine members Tim Comerford, Tom Morello and Brad Will, as well as Chuck D and DJ Lord from Public Enemy and B-Real from Cypress Hill. For their TV debut, they played “Killing In The Name Of” in front of a “Make America Rage Again” banner as the crowd moshed. The protest band’s performance comes soon after they played in Cleveland, in stark contrast to the RNC events taking place there. Watch them play “Killing In The Name Of” below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7KGJUbsfiU
Watch The Strokes On Jimmy Kimmel, Too
On Tuesday, the NYC rock group played “Threat Of Joy,” with Julian Casablancas stumbling endearingly and almost making the whole performance without taking his sunglasses off. The song is from their new EP, Present Future Past, out now via Cult Records. Check the performance out below:
It’s a lucky day for us here at Audiofemme, as we’ve stumbled upon THE feel-good jam of the summer from a little-known Brooklyn-based pop artist nRCS, aka Fionn Knyper. “Shoot Stars”, Knyper’s second single ahead of his forthcoming EP, is out today and available for a first listen here. Produced by electropop powerhouses Memoryy and Brothertiger, the track is nothing short of anthemic high-gloss perfection. The intro trickles in organ synth and twinkling harp arpeggios before propulsive electronic drums make it clear it’s a dance song, full of potential and energy fulfilled only upon the moment when Knyper’s gorgeous falsetto vocals come in (we’ve be listening to those hooks on repeat today). The bridge nods strongly towards 80s synth pop goodness, and carries the track to a strong finish. Of the its inspiration, Knyper credits mother nature. “I wrote Shoot Stars shortly after a trip to Joshua Tree to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower. I spent the night with two close friends atop huge boulders, watching the sky light up with meteors for hours.” You’ll want to repeat it as soon as the last note plays! Take a listen here and look out for his EP (hopefully) coming out soon.
On Tuesday, Your Friend released a cover of James Blake’s “Radio Silence,” a haunting, dreamy rendition of the song. “I can’t believe that you don’t want to see me,” Taryn Miller repeats over and over. She leaves space for another to answer, but gets only echoes of her own thoughts that can barely be heard through a layer of thick fog. Taryn stays true to the original version’s melody, but ditches the piano for subtle sound effects that make it seem as if she recorded the song from the middle of some enchanted forest. Also credited on the song are Chase Horseman, who contributed bass, backing vocals and wurlitzer, and Teri Quinn, who played clarinet.
Your Friend released her impressive debut album, Gumption, earlier this year and is currently on tour with Kurt Vile. Check out “Radio Silence” below:
“I gotta lotta big dreams and I wanna see where they go”
Columbus-based alt-pop five-piece, Kid Runner, has been going strong since their 2013 debut EP came out to commercial and critical success. Today they’ve released their brand new single, “Don’t Change Me”, teasing out their forthcoming LP, Body Language, due 8/12. The track boasts whimsical vocals that harken back to 90s bubblegum pop, underpinned by what sounds like a distorted old Wurlitzer-style tinkering electric piano, adding a perfect element of charm and quirk. Toward the end of the track we get a burst of refreshing female vocal harmonies coming in at the middle of the bridge, lending weight to the composition as a whole, and propelling it forward. Take a first listen to this sparkling pop gem right here, and keep your eyes out for what’s to come from the band’s debut LP on 8/12.
Kiran Gandhi (aka Madame Gandhi) has been making some serious waves in the past couple of years. By her own right, she is no woman to trifle with; her resume includes drumming for M.I.A., advising companies such as Spotify and Stem, and receiving an MBA from, oh, ya know, HARVARD. Last year Gandhi raised awareness for period stigma by free-bleeding as she ran the London Marathon. I think it’s safe to say that while Gandhi is many things, she is most of all a total badass.
But a badass with a mission. Gandhi’s website brandishes the phrase: “Music and Feminism” so how could we here at AudioFemme not instantly fall in love? While the artist currently resides in L.A., she is bringing her beats and wisdom to NYC this weekend for a couple of events in the name of sisterhood.
The first of which is Girl Power Fair, which will occur from 11-6 on Saturday (7/30) as part of Hester Street Fair. Gandhi will start her set at noon, so don’t miss it. A press release for the event states that:
“The Girl Power Fair will feature special events and programming such as a Zine Corner featuring independent female-centric magazines, a showcase on female founders and female led businesses, tabling from female empowerment groups, workshops and more!”
10% of proceeds will be donated to Lower East Side Girls Club. Other performers include Alix Brown, Ariele Max and Rachael Pazdan.
On Monday (8/1) Gandhi is teaming up with GRLCVLT NYC for Fuck Rape Culture: A Benefit for the Campaign to Unseat Judge Aaron Persky. The night will start at 8pm at Baby’s All Right. Persky was the judge that so insolently let Standford rapist Brock Turner off on a measly six month sentence, despite the trauma he inflicted on his victim. It will be an evening of action, support, feminism, and of course, music. Get your tickets here while you still can!
It takes a lot of balls to wear a dress. Shit, I have a hard time with it, and I lack the pesky external organ complicating the endeavor to begin with. However, Ezra Furman’s ballsiness goes far beyond his ability to look excellent in a miniskirt. And he does look excellent.
The Chicago native has been on the music circuit for over eight years now, but has just begun to make international waves since the release of his 2015 LP Perpetual Motion People last spring. PMP was Furman’s inaugural release on the acclaimed Bella Union label, and its positive reception has had him touring extensively, including a few dates we covered in New York and a set at Glastonbury earlier this summer.
Backed by his band, the Boy-Friends, Furman’s sound is unlike anything else on the current scene. It is rock n’ roll at the end of the day, but a translation incorporating a love of everything from doo-wop to Lou Reed to the Replacements. The strength of Furman’s frenetic, wavering rasp and saxophonist Tim Sandusky’s screeching melodies truly distinguish their sound from contemporaries.
Recently, Furman has released a lone single off of his upcoming EP Big Fugitive Life, which will be out August 19 on Bella Union. “Teddy I’m Ready,” the EP’s first track is an absolute anthem, pairing thundering drums with delicate guitar builds, cooing harmonies, and of course, the requisite sax licks. It is a ballad that suggests Furman has stadium potential.
The EP itself is actually a collection of “orphaned songs,” as Furman put it in a press release. He continues to explain the relevance of this particular selection of work:
“They are focused on the theme of the mind unmoored–those of us who have been left to drift unsupervised through the modern world. Four of these tracks were originally intended for inclusion on ‘Perpetual Motion People’. Two of them were for ‘The Year of No Returning’. But they weren’t ready until now.
The first three songs are our vision of rock and roll. A madness that overtakes your mind and body. It’s wanting to go somewhere you’ve never been, knowing you’re on your way. The second side is acoustic guitar as open wound, a troubled mind on display. Emotional in a different way, tender like a bruise. It includes “The Refugee,” my first song entirely concerned with my Jewish background and present, a song dedicated to my grandfather who fled the Nazis as well as to all of the refugees desperate for a home today.
We dedicate this record to refugees of all kinds, all over the world. May all the wanderers find the homes they seek, and and may those with power welcome them as fellow citizens of humanity.”
It may have been while reading these words, in simply reading a press release, that something finally clicked for me regarding Furman: this is an artist who actually gives a shit. Pop culturally speaking, we’ve long been on hiatus from making political statements. Irony has pervaded, the urge to be nonchalant and, god help me for saying it, chill has been rife, and it’s still pretty rare for an independent artist to speak in earnest about the sort of topics Furman tackles. A few of those being, but not limited to:
Gender Identity/Body Positive Issues
In a beautiful piece that Furman wrote for The Guardian last year, the artist explains the struggle he’s faced understanding his own sexual orientation and gender identity. He credits musicians like Bowie, Lou Reed, Antony Hegarty, and Grace Jones (to name a few) for helping him accept his own ambiguity. He elaborates on his current state of pleasant uncertainty:
“The full list of musicians who don’t conform to traditional gender roles, of course, would be nearly endless, and more and more appear every year, whether by debuting their work or coming out as trans or gender fluid.
Over the past few years, I’ve added myself to this list, performing more and more often in clothing, makeup and jewellery traditionally intended for women and girls. I’d like to set the record straight (so to speak): this behaviour is not just part of an onstage persona, nor is it a gimmick to get people’s attention. Gender fluidity is very much a part of my life offstage, though I am still exploring what it means. I’ve not quite decided on a gender identity, I may never decide, and that’s all right with me. I am proud to exist in an ambiguous, undecided state.”
Mental Health
Furman has been equally open about his struggles with mental health and depression since the inception of his career. Perpetual Motion People comes with a lengthy letter from Furman, admitting a very dire time he faced after graduating college. He goes into detail about a period of time when he wanted to kill himself, and then leads the reader out of that darkness into his recovery, sharing a long poem called “FOAM FACTORY” directly after. It seems as though whatever difficulty Furman has grappled with in the past, he wants to share it, and he wants to be a device in the healing of others afflicted with similar issues. And that’s no small thing.
Social Unrest
Before he signed with Bella Union, Furman was still churning out an admirable amount of material, some of it highlighting admirable topics. Shortly after the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, Furman released the song “Ferguson’s Burning” to exhibit his solidarity with the Brown family, which goes thus:
When the fires burn out/And the tear gas disperses/When the work is all done/For the doctors and the nurses/The cops may stop shooting/And the street get less wild/But Michael Brown’s mother/Will never get back her child/And the hatred and fear/That America harbors/Will only grow bigger/Beneath big body armor/So keep a close eye on our laws and our leaders/No justice for Mike Brown/There’s none for you either
Ferguson’s burning/And the world’s turning away/Turning away
It isn’t too often that you come across an artist like Furman. He is swiftly becoming much more than a musician – he is becoming a movement – a fully rigged artistic piece complete with a mission statement. A truly unique songwriter, performer, and character, one of the best things Furman leaves one with is a sense of confusion.
When I think of Ezra Furman, my music critic reflexes always ask: “Who can I lump him in with? What trend did he sprout from?” But there is no answer. He is not the last cry of the folk-revival scene, or the latest electro-pop outfit, or another fucking “dream pop” act. He is, undeniably, Ezra Furman. And he’s not going anywhere.
AMARA, formerly known as Viola Ellis, is a Los Angeles-based haunting new sadcore star fans of Banks and Lana Del Rey will go gaga for.
“True Romance” comes from her debut EP Kaolin, which will be released August 1. Over the course of the year, AMARA plans to release her debut album Porcelain as a trio of three-track EPs, so watch this space for more of the eerily beautiful music AMARA creates.
Along with the creation of nostalgic and beautifully morbid tunes, AMARA is a sorcerous songwriter who creates dark and humble songs that feel woven from your inner demons. “True Romance” gifts a tune to be your new favorite song, perfect for those who find the film starring Patricia Arquette to be their favorite movie. “I think I loved you from the start…” AMARA purrs, a gut-wrenching experience of love, that despite the tears that accompany, we’d all be so lucky to experience.
Most things begin, but all things must end. No one knows this better than Milford-based sonic artist and former undertaker, Sean Lynch: founding dreamer of the eternally unearthed post-punk, Macabre rock formation, 800beloved. Lynch has spent the last decade conjuring romantic hauntings taken from real life, sleep life, and the afterlife, turning them into a body of music that is unabashedly nuanced with a rawness that would perturb anyone less than willing to face living ghosts the way he has. A cryptic career that produced three full-length records, all of which speak to a perpetually kinetic dance between atmospheres following a trajectory that was as driven by numerology as it was by words and sounds, comes full circle next month when 800beloved silences themselves by means of a self-induced funeral. Eight years after their debut release, Bouquet, Lynch is ready to move on. This isn’t a throwing in of the metaphorical towel or a waving of a white flag, rather a perfect and poetically suited demise for a band that was, in a lot of ways, born to die. Here lies 800beloved; the band you missed (and the band I will miss.)
“I’m not interested in entertaining some immortal non-aging version of ourselves,” Lynch says. “I don’t want to be talking about the bipolarities of life and death anymore, not in that context. I’m done with that. I feel that if there were ever a way to take a Teen Vogue magazine and burn it and bury it…we were that and we did it; that strange combination of two things that should never meet.”
This timely death is almost a year to the day that 800beloved surprise released their third and final album, Some Kind of Distortion; a shimmering display of nostalgia and present tense veiled by their signature allusions of dreamscapes and tortured surrealism. “I’m not going to spell it out to a disinterested audience.” Lynch says. “We’ve never been as elusive as we’ve been made to feel. In any camp, we have always felt like a black sheep.” Lynch, of course, is referring to the bands umbrellaed reputation and whispered notoriety both in the local scene and the dream-pop/shoe gaze/post-punk formula at large. You can’t find the band on Spotify and you will never see them solicit for gig slots or editorial recognition. Hell, you’d probably mistaken their name in conversation for a phone number because, well, yeah, it is.
Torn between wanting to be heard and trying not to be found, 800 dug a grave all their own, filling it with symbolic talismans and deeply personal confessionary relics that speak to only those who are listening. From the eery reincarnation of the coffin featured on their debut album art work featured, now open and empty, as the promotional/emotional imagery for their farewell to the symbiotic marriage of numbers and private timelines all the way to poster fonts, live-performance projections and the names of colors used; none of which feel like a contrived stretch for meaning, more so a peephole into the inner workings of someone who is as intricately woven as these artfully shrouded pieces of postscript. “To our credit, everything we have done has been with the utmost thoughtfulness and we want our funeral to be done the same way. If we wanted a Hot Topic funeral we would have just gone to the mall.”
Having spent most of his life painting the faces of the dearly departed, consoling the families of transcending loved ones and writing the words that would immortalize the legacies of the expired, I ask Lynch if he anticipates going through the strangely unique motions of a real live death this time as the corpse, the coroner and the afflicted surviver. “I was restringing my guitar when we opened up for Modern English a couple months ago and I was thinking that this is the last set of strings I’m going to play with this band. I know that sounds minimal but to me the strings, the guitars, the amps, the pedals…I have such a relationship to everything.” Lynch explains.”I have to remind myself that at the end of the day this is going to matter the most to me even though I am comfortably numb to it now. But there have been countless things tapping at my window telling me that this is it. And I know it is.”
The final line-up includes Anastasiya Metesheva on bass, Ben Collins on drums and Lynch on vocals, guitar and production. Metesheva, an artist and radiant expressionist, has been an integral part of 800 since 2007. Collins, though having only joined in ’13, is no stranger to collaboration and brought life to Lynch’s compositions. There has been a revolving door of talent throughout the years, but this particular assembly is colorful and vibrant in all the ways 800 has come to embody. “If someone is looking for tabloid surrounding 800beloved they won’t find it. We don’t do that. The band members live three virtually very separate lives outside of this project. Stacy is painting and working to help support her family, Ben is in three other bands and has a career and I’m barely scraping by,” Lynch admits. “I just want to try to get one last hurrah while surmising any bit of sacredness that I can indulge in.”
The funeral, as Lynch described, is not a play on kitsch or satirical irony, as he of all people understands the weight of tagging something as a funeral. The remaining trio will bid farewell by performing Some Kind of Distortion in it’s entirety along with some undisclosed surprises.
So, yes. We are invited to celebrate life, art and a body of work that surpasses both rather than reading a half-hearted Facebook post about why a band has decided to “break-up.” The spectacle of theatrics surrounding a band throwing the first handful of dirt on their own grave is grandiose but not without substance. 800beloved will tread on territory they have spent a decade mapping out and although infrequently traveled, has left a passageway in their wake. “Something I wanted to bring out in this experience is that there are very fine lines between sex and death. And that fragility is not a new revelation but there is a certain liveliness that comes from experiencing a close proximity to death and a sexual experience being close to recreating or feeling as good as being reborn.” Lynch explains. “But what I really hope people take away from our funeral is the shock that a band can depart elegantly. Oh and that it’s also going to be fucking loud.”
800beloved goes silent on August 13th, 2016 at Detroit’s Marble Bar, admission is $8. Read 800beloved’s obituary here.
It’s hard to be weird, but embracing your weirdness can be the key to happiness. Or at least, the key to a solid album. Sad Baxter, a duo from Nashville, knows this; their debut album Weirdy comes out on Friday via Cold Lunch Recordings and explores the strangeness of love, like, and existing.
The duo is from Nashville, TN and consists of best friends Deezy on guitar and vocals and Alex on drums (though Ellen Angelico played bass on the album). Their tough pop sound leans heavily on grunge, with a nod to Nirvana that shows itself in dissonant choruses and lyrics that radiate self awareness. “I hate you, but I want you,” Deezy sings on Weirdy‘s “The Drip,” a song that crunches along pleasingly despite the conflicting emotions it contains: “I don’t want you to be someone else/ But I can’t watch you go be with someone other than me.” On “So Why,” they tell us that “brainwaves change” and it’s ok “to want to feel all the chemicals making you insane.” Sometimes the melody can be the most expressive part of the their songs, the lyrics dissolving into wordless vocalizations as chords swell and crash. This is especially true on “The Big One;” check out the video below, which shows the duo playing with dogs and cats, and performing in various locations (sometimes without realizing the guitar cable isn’t plugged in).
A friend recently mentioned something that’s never occurred to me before. He said that making music requires an enormous amount of restraint. That, whether it be at the songwriting or recording stages, holding back is of utmost importance.
Restraint. Patience. Modesty.
These may not be the first words that spring to mind while listening to the screeching sprawl that is Girl Band’s music. However, if you zoom in on their 2015 LP Holding Hands With Jamie, which was meticulously written and self-produced, you can hear the discipline. It is a methodical record; each stab of guitar and gurgle of bass strategically placed to maximize discomfort.
That same level of focus was evident at Baby’s All Right last week, where our own Emily Daly covered the group’s rapturous gig. The Irish foursome, comprised of guitarist Alan Duggan, vocalist Dara Kiley, drummer Adam Faulkner, and bassist/engineer Daniel Fox, were on point throughout, delivering a streamlined spike of rage in sound only.
At times, his feet obscured by heads in the crowd, Duggan looked as though he was kicking someone’s head to the curb. Snapping at the waist and convulsing slightly against his own instrument. Turns out, that’s just how he plays guitar.
But for all of their sonic violence, the guys in Girl Band are an amicable bunch. I sat down with Duggan and Fox before the show to chat about concept albums, Glenn Branca, and a winking dog.
Audiofemme: It seems like people have finally come to grips with your sound. Have the horrible comparisons to grunge you’ve faced in the past stopped yet?
Alan Duggan: Yeah it’s finally stopped.
Daniel Fox: Yeah, like Pearl Jam references and stuff…
Oh! I didn’t see a Pearl Jam reference! It was a Nirvana reference I think…
DF: Yeah, it was a Nirvana reference.
Which is worse? I think Pearl Jam.
DF: Of course, Pearl Jam! I really like Nirvana. I hate Pearl Jam.
What are you guys currently working on?
AD: We’re just writing new music. Pretty much.
DF: Got some songs, yeah. We’re not going to play any of it today, (laughs) but uh, yeah we’ve got loads.
I know you guys have said in the past that techno/electronic music has been more of an influence than people might assume. What electronic musicians have been listening to lately?
AD: At the moment I actually haven’t listened to much techno in a while. I’ve been listening to a lot of Tim Hecker for ambient electronic stuff. That new Factory Floor song sounds pretty cool. It’s called “Yah.” They’re really cool. They’re on DFA Records. They’re from London. I think. But yeah just really good techno, kind of early techno sound. I don’t think they still have a live drummer, but they had a live drummer and weird guitar sounds-all very stylized as far as the visual aspect…I don’t know. They’re just really, really good.
That’s an area of electronic music that the mainstream doesn’t always grasp: that there are sects of it that are outside of just trying to make people dance…something more orchestrated than just “four on the floor.”
DF: I’ve been listening to early electronic music people. The BBC had a lab where they were basically figuring out how to do it, called “The Radiophonic Workshop.” It was in the ‘50s. There was this woman Delia Derbyshire who wrote the theme for “Doctor Who.” So it’s all these weird like (makes space noises). A lot of those kind of people really set the tone for what ended up being electronic music. But there’s a lot that can be done with it as opposed to just dance music. It’s a whole sonic palette that people just associate with dancing, really. Which I always thought was weird.
Since you signed to Rough Trade and you started touring internationally, have things changed with your place in Dublin? Are you still accepted in the local music scene?
AD: Yeah, it’s always like a real warm welcome when we go back and play Dublin, you know what I mean? Ireland’s pretty supportive.
I know you guys produced this record, which sounds fantastic. Is there a dream producer you’d love to work with? Or do you think you’ll continue to do it yourselves?
DF: I like producing. I mean, it’d be cool to get peoples’ perspectives, but-
And you worked as an engineer, correct?
DF: Yeah. That’s what I do in my spare time. So yeah…sometimes working with a producer could be-especially for the first record, could probably be a hindrance really, to have to re-explain something…
It [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”][the record] would be covered in horn sections…
DF: Yeah, like a string orchestra.
I find that it rare that bands truly collaborate as a group, but it seems like every little detail has gone through everyone’s hands at this point. How do you guys write songs together?
DF: Sit in a room and hammer it out for ages.
For you guys personally, what were some of your earliest urges to make music? What brought you to it?
AD: For myself, all of my brothers were in a band. All of my family has always been really into music, so when I was a kid I used to sit down and watch them play, when I was about four or five, and just be like, “oh, that’s really cool.” They were real bad. They were terrible. They used to rehearse in my sitting room and face like they were playing a gig, so they wouldn’t even face each other, it was like real funny if I think back to it.
DF: They did it in the front room?
AD: Yeah, in the sitting room. But they’d set the PA up and face it out that way.
Oh, they had a PA?
AD: Yeah, it’s actually the PA that we use.
DF: It’s survived a long time.
AD: Yeah, cuz that would have been like, early nineties. It’s crap as well.
DF: It’s really not a very good PA.
(to Daniel) And what about yourself?
DF: My dad was a musician, like played bass as well, and I was around music a lot as a kid.
What aspect of what you guys do brings you the most joy?
AD: For me, I don’t really think it’s one – because you know usually you could be touring and it’s really, really fun, and you really enjoy it but-
I was wondering if someone would say touring because I don’t know if I’ve ever heard anyone say that.
AD: Oh, I love it.
DF: Yeah it’s a lot of fun.
But it sounds like it’d be a lot of fun, or like, really awful. Correct me if I’m wrong…
DF: Depending on the people.
AD: Yeah, if you’re with people that don’t get along I’d imagine it’s hell, but we don’t fight, we’ve never raised a voice to one another, so we work, we just kind of function really well.
DF: They all have their different perks. It’s like a meal, you know they all have their different things that are good about them. You know, like, touring you get drunk for free a lot, but then when you’re writing it’s like, writing songs is something fun, and then in the studio it’s just, it’s fun as well, so…
We’re supposed to negate the Irish stereotype. Come on!
(all laugh)
DF: Yeah, “get loadsa cans!”
That’s gonna be the header: “Get Drunk For Free.”
(all laugh)
What kind of milestones, or, maybe it’s just kind of an in-the-moment thing for you guys, but do you have artistic milestones that you want to achieve, that you strive for?
AD: I mean, I just wanted to put out a record that I was really proud of.
Well you did that. You’re done!
DF: Double album
(all laugh)
DF: I want the fifth record to be a double-
Concept?
DF: Yeah a double concept record. I just want to rip off Rick Wakeman and do one about Excalibur.
Oh yeah, and then like, it will be a pop-up in the center?
DF: Oh yeah.
AD: That would be pretty cool actually…
Just an idea. Just throwing it out there. Your prog rock record, ha. I know I just condemned comparisons only a moment ago, but when I was listening to your guys’ stuff I was thinking: are you guys fans of Steve Reich or Glenn Branca?
AD: Yeah, big time.
Ok, I was thinking you must be.
AD: Yeah, hearing Steve Reich for the first time was a real kind of eye-opener, so that kind of just-
DF: “I can do one thing for ages…”
Glenn Branca?
AD: Yeah, that whole No-Wave scene in New York.
Yeah, he’s incredible. I saw his orchestra live a few months ago and he’s a real…I mean he’s kind of like a Tom Waits, he’s just a weird guy-
AD: Did you meet him?
Oh, god no! No I was just there, I didn’t cover it, but…what a weird dude!
When they were tuning he just went on this rant about the best hot dog he’d ever eaten…
All: (uproarious laughter)
Anyway, just checkin’. I’m glad you guys are fans, me too. So, can you talk about the role of humor in your music? It seems like it’s something that’s very important to you guys.
AD: Yeah, just always like, I mean…Dara with the puns, I mean the guy can’t stop making puns all the-
AD: Interesting! But yeah humor’s very important. I always think humor is a very strong way of conveying a maybe very meaningful thing.
DF: Especially since some of this stuff is quite dark. Like the music’s so bloody angry sounding anyway, so it kind of like, negates that a little bit so it’s not just like, “I hate you mom!” you know?
I think I was reading something about when you did the KEXP performance you were like, “this is our poppy song!” which I thought was hilarious.
AD: Yeah, heh.
I listen to it, and I’m someone who listens to music that some people might deem “difficult,” and I hear a lot of melodic things in it…but I understand some people might not feel that way (laughs).
AD: Especially if you’re rehearsing, and then you’re touring it, and then you’re recording it, which is what we were doing, when it came time to put it out, you really lose context of how-
DF: Aggressive it might be.
AD: Yeah, we were like, “oh, this is a radio smash!”
Top Of The Pops! Another thing I picked up from an interview with DIY Magazine, was something about how on “Umbongo” you threw around some car parts and someone threw a spoon…
DF: (to Alan) you threw the spoon.
I tried to hear it today and…
DF: (laughs) It’s in there!
I don’t want to disappoint you by saying I couldn’t hear it, but I was trying…
DF: It’s buried in the mix.
AD: It was actually just like, a slam-dunk from across the room.
DF: Yeah we played parts of like, big huge springs…
Have you guys ever thought of going even further to create specific sounds? Maybe even building your own instruments?
AD: Yeah, definitely. We really want to try getting in touch with this guy called Yuri Landman. He’s built guitars for Lee Renaldo and…
DF: He’s a Dutch guy.
AD: Yeah, we played a show with him in Amsterdam, about two years ago now I suppose…but he built all these insane instruments, and he’s obsessed with noise. It is something that I think all of us would be really keen on doing. Like, Adam’s drum kit is very creative. He’s got loads of different cymbals like, stacked up on one another…that kind of stuff.
DF: Yeah, pipe cleaners…
Pipe cleaners?
AD: Yeah.
Like the fuzzy ones?
DF: No, no. Like, long springs (laughs).
Ohhh. Lastly, what do you both plan on doing, for leisure or work, when you return home?
DF: (to Alan) What are you going to do? Walk your dog?
AD: Yeah, probably walk the dog. I got a little puppy.
(gasps) what kind?!
AD: Uh, it’s a Collie cross. He’s quality. He can wink as well.
Really? On command?
AD: No, but soon though! Check it out…
It’s just a twitch…
AD: No, well, it is a twitch, but
DF: His dog is adorable.
AD: It is a twitch but it will soon not be a twitch.
What’s the dog’s name?
AD: Boomers. Check that out: (shows winking dog pic) What a wink!
Oh muh lord. He is just always winking though…
AD: No he just-
That’s a moment you caught?
AD: Yeah.
He looks kinda badass when he does that.
AD: Yeah. This is him when he was just a little pup: (shows fluffy, adorable puppy pic)
(requisite squealing)
AD: He’s really cool. But he’s gettin’ a snip soon.
(to Daniel) And what about yourself?
DF: Me? Ehh, I have to mix a record for a guy when I go home.
Nice. That’s fun.
DF: Yeah, it’ll be very fun, because I thought I’d have it finished ages ago, and uh I don’t! (laughs) So I’m going to finish it when I get home.
[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”]Featured in “LIFEFORCE” Exhibit, Untitled Space Gallery, New York
Bourgeoning art gallery, The Untitled Space will be launching a group show on 7/26 featuring the work of 24 female artists curated by Kelsey and Rémy Bennett. The show will run through 8/6 and is absolutely not to be missed.
Peep below for more info!!
LIFEFORCE
A Group Show of 24 Female Artists
Curated by Kelsey and Rémy Bennett
DATES: July 26 – August 6, 2016
Opening Reception:Tuesday, July 26th 6:00pm – 9:00pm
THE UNTITLED SPACE GALLERY
45 Lispenard Street Unit 1W NYC 10013
The Untitled Space and Indira Cesarine are pleased to present LIFEFORCE, an all female group show that explores the feminine in the context of a genderless future curated by sisters Kelsey and Rémy Bennett. Inspired by Donna Haraway’s essay, A Cyborg Manifesto, the feminist science fiction and Afrofurturists of the 1970s; the exhibit will feature performance, sculpture, painting, comics, and photography that aim to re code normative expectations celebrating the LIFEFORCE that is beyond human matter and closer to it’s essence. The work focuses on the all encompassing power of “the female” on both physical and metaphysical levels- transcending constructs of race and gender, reclaiming representation, & exploring intersections with science & technology.
Stemming from fears of female dominance, throughout history strong women have been depicted as evil or monstrous; from Salome in The Bible to Medusa. The artists in this exhibit reclaim these grotesque depictions with defiance and a sense of humor; satirizing traditionalism and standards of feminine allure. By choosing fantasy and irreverence over realism the future of the feminine is birthed. In these vivid utopias and dystopias, the viewer is invited to play with social possibilities that are otherwise deemed impossible by the culture of fear that has reigned in the past.
“I strive to depict not just the physical, but also the complex. I often depict my subjects as monsters or aliens in order to satirize the traditional ideals of femininity.” –Artist Taira Rice
“I am inspired by all things gross and human… my work challenges the misogynistic ideals of beauty. By working in a hedonistic way, I make work that is erotic, visceral and always inspired by the fluidity of sexuality and gender…I like to create beautiful satisfying images from disgusting mess.” – Artist Maisie Cousins
ABOUT THE CURATORS:
Sister curatorial team Kelsey and Rémy Bennett have been creating art together since they were children. When Kelsey started taking photos at the age of 12, Rémy, who later became an actor and filmmaker was always her subject. It was only natural for them to continue working creatively together throughout their lives. Their professional collaborations include the group show “Glory Hole” at Springbreak Art Fair that was featured as the “Top 5/Must See” shows by The Gothamist and W Magazine, solo shows “War Wagon by B Thom Stevenson”, “Last Chance Salon” for artist Heather Morgan, and “Another You” for the Lu Magus gallery. Kelsey’s artwork has been shown in solo and group shows in New York, LA, and London and she recently curated a show featured in the Todd Solondz film, Weiner Dog. She has contributed to Interview Magazine, Dazed, Polyester Zine, and VICE. Rémy Bennett wrote and stars in her directorial debut feature film Buttercup Bill that will be released in the U.S. in 2016.
Founded in 2014 by Indira Cesarine, The Untitled Space gallery features an ongoing curation of exhibits of emerging and established contemporary artists exploring conceptual framework and boundary pushing ideology through mediums of painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, video and performance art. The gallery is committing to exploring new ideas vis-à-vis traditional and new mediums and highlights a program of “Women in Art” as well as special events aligned with our creative vision.
Recent press: Huffington Post, AnOther, Vice The Creators Project, Bullett, ArtReport
The new project, which features Jenny Lewis, Tennessee Thomas and Erika Forster stands for Nice As Fuck. The trio made their network television debut on Tuesday by performing the sparse but hopeful “Door” and the anti-firearm song “Guns.” Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvHLKldiFuc
RIP Alan Vega
Alan Vega, the singer of the New York band Suicide, passed away on Saturday at the age of 78. NPR has called him “one of the founding fathers of punk” and his death has prompted covers from Pearl Jam and MGMT, and statements from Henry Rollins and Bruce Springsteen. Read AudioFemme’s Only Noisecolumn dedicated to the singer, and learn more about his life here.
Get ready for some new David Bowie… eventually. A release date hasn’t been announced, but a new box set will include The Gouster, an unreleased Bowie album that was the prototype for Young Americans. The set, Who Can I Be Now, will also cover his releases from 1974-1976.
“I think all art comes out of conflict.” It was the American novelist Joyce Carol Oates who spoke these words, but it was Alan Vega who lived them.
Vega, who fronted the indescribable proto-punk duo Suicide from 1970 to Saturday, has unfortunately passed away over the weekend at 78. His death lengthens a devastating list of artists we’ve lost this year. Henry Rollins broke the news with a statement from Vega’s family.
I woke Sunday morning to word of his death, and instantly that phrase sprang to mind: “all art comes out of conflict.” Art is not only born of chaos, it is chaos. Art is conflict. And what artist exemplified this truth more than Alan Vega? His 46-year partnership with Martin Rev as Suicide (they never called it quits) produced a body of work that is sublimely discordant-like an Edgerton snapshot of fruit being eviscerated by a bullet. An explosion made delicate by means of destruction.
Vega’s music is a monument to the avant garde, the dark, and the soulful. And it is, for me, the embodiment of everything I look for in art. Something dangerous, yet repulsively gorgeous. Something that makes you fear for your own sanity. Suicide’s eponymous debut from 1977 is as awash with this kind of dissonance as it is sounds of the future. Its severity is matched only by its simplicity-Vega’s croons and shrieks loping over Rev’s unrelenting synths and drum machine. That record predicted post punk before punk had learned how to spell its own name. You can hear its influence in Throbbing Gristle’s work, and Sonic Youth’s and even Bruce Springsteen’s; the latter admittedly an enormous Suicide fan. The Boss has not only attributed “State Trooper” off of 1982’s Nebraska to Suicide’s influence-he also covered the duo’s song “Dream Baby Dream” throughout his career.
Springsteen recently paid homage to Vega with a eulogy he published on his website:
“Over here on E Street, we are saddened to hear of the passing of Alan Vega, one of the great revolutionary voices in rock and roll. The bravery and passion he showed throughout his career was deeply influential to me. I was lucky enough to get to know Alan slightly and he was always a generous and sweet spirit. The blunt force power of his greatest music both with Suicide and on his solo records can still shock and inspire today. There was simply no one else remotely like him.”
It might seem a stretch that one of America’s most successful musicians would have such obscure tastes, but if you listen to Suicide tracks like “Ghost Rider” and “Frankie Teardrop,” the influence might not be so shocking. Springsteen is known for his pointblank narratives of working class drudgery. That same desolation can be found in “Frankie Teardrop,” a disturbing tale of a disgruntled factory worker who massacres his family in a fit of insanity.
Suicide is an album that still sounds treacherous today. This cannot be said of much from its era. It is a difficult thing to admit, as it was an exceptional period in American music. However, I am aware of its historical relevance-that perhaps a Television gig in 2016 might not be as reckless as it was in ’77. Suicide on the other hand, has remained a lung-splintering scream frozen in time. A photograph taken with a rapatronic shutter. But don’t take my word for it. Go ahead. Cut the jams at your next party and put on “Frankie Teardrop” instead. See what happens.
It is important for music, or at least some music to incite panic. In their earlier years Vega and Rev did just that, and drank up the repercussions firsthand. Their shows bear the deviant legacy of hell raisers like Iggy Pop and GG Allin. In 2008, Vega recounted an especially perilous gig to The Guardian:
“That would be the show in Glasgow in 1978 when someone threw an axe at my head. We were supporting the Clash and I guess we were too punk even for the punk crowd. They hated us. I taunted them with, ‘You fuckers have to live through us to get to the main band.’ That’s when the axe came towards my head, missing me by a whisker. It was surreal, man. I felt like I was in a 3-D John Wayne movie. But that was nothing unusual. Every Suicide show felt like world war three in those days. Every night I thought I was going to get killed. The longer it went on, the more I’d be thinking, ‘Odds are it’s going to be tonight.'”
I sometimes feel that Suicide were the Dylan-going-electric of punk rock. And while I suspect that thought would cause Vega to roll in his grave, it’s a comparison I find comfort in. When the world cried “Judas!” at Dylan’s new noise, it wasn’t the sound they were screaming at-it was the icon he burned and the bird that rose from it. Punk was so busy edifying its defiant image that it was out-defied by Vega and Rev…the ultimate prank. It’s pretty funny, if you think about it.
But despite all the mayhem in Suicide’s history, all the near-death evenings and endless assaults, Vega remained a sincere artist, a loving family man, and a hilarious interviewee. In the same interview from ’08 he recalled the shift between being public enemy #1 and becoming an “entertainer”:
“People were looking to be entertained, but I hated the idea of going to a concert in search of fun. Our attitude was, ‘Fuck you buddy, you’re getting the street right back in your face. And some.’
The axe in Glasgow was just one of many weapons hurled at us. When we played in Metz, someone scored a direct hit on me with a monkey wrench. I’ve still got the scar on my head. Supporting Elvis Costello in Brussels, we provoked a full-scale riot and the venue was stormed by police letting off tear-gas canisters. Then something very strange happened. We headlined our own tour of Britain and ended up in Edinburgh. Two songs in and there was no riot, which was very, very unusual. Then we started to see people move around. I turned to Marty and said, ‘Here we go – watch out for flying objects.’ To my amazement, people started dancing. I turned back to Marty and said, ‘We’re finished, our career is over.’
We’ve turned into fucking entertainers. It was never meant to turn out that way. But what can you do? People are completely unshockable now. Even if you brought a fresh corpse out on stage and started eating it with a fork, no one would bat an eyelid. Still, one of the things about playing live these days is that at least we know we’re not going to die on stage. That’s kinda nice, man.”
Vega’s wry sense of humor always peeked through his work, even when veiled with the most hideous snarl. It surprisingly wasn’t always doom and gloom with Suicide; their fragility surfaced on cuts like “Girl,” “Dream Baby Dream,” and “Child, It’s a New World.” The former being my personal favorite-and not a bad tune for a romp might I add. In spite of the band’s propensity for violence and distortion, they were also vulnerable…far more than they’d have liked you to believe. This diversity was apparent to those who took time to listen between the crashing beer bottles. For them, Suicide were a beacon of possibility; a manifesto for undefined sound.
Alan Vega may have not wanted to be an entertainer; that’s just what happened over time. More accurately, Vega was an artist. A real conflicted motherfucker.
LA-based soul-pop artist, Alexis Keegan is releasing a new track today, following up her breakthrough single, “Worry No More” which came out last year, placing her on the Billboard and Mediabase radars as well as propelling her into the commercial radio realm as the number one most added independent artist at indie radio. “Everything”, out today, boasts Keegan’s soothing vocals and songwriting prowess, striking a balance between bubblegum goodness and soulful, anthemic indiepop . Of the meaning behind the track, she gets back to the basics of falling in love – an experience simultaneously tried and true and novel all the same. ” ‘Everything’ was written about that “oh crap” moment when you realize you have feelings for one of your friends. My few serious relationships have all started out as just a friendship and very slowly progressed into more… Literally waking up one day and being like ‘…Oh man…’ ”
I think we can all relate to that moment.
Take a first listen to “Everything” right here, and try your damnedest to not go catching feelings for a friend ;-)
I’ve recommended Girl Band to a few people who were skeptical before they even listened – because of their name. I understand, because I felt that way too. According to an interview with the Quietus, that’s intentional, as they admitted “it’s a stupid name” they came up with to annoy someone at a bar. There are some other implications the name applies, whether those are intentional or not. like, is four dudes calling themselves Girl Band an attempt at self-deprecation, a compliment to the female sex, or a statement on how gender can define a band? But their debut album Holding Hands With Jamie washed all those thoughts away in a wave of noise, and it no longer bothered me.
The only things that worried me before their show last Thursday at Baby’s All Right were if their live show would be comparable to the amazing chaos of their album (especially after they had to cancel their previously scheduled Brooklyn shows due to health issues), and that I had decided that the sold-out crowd was going to be one giant mosh pit.
I was wrong; most people stood totally still, fixated on what was happening onstage. “Ooh, I think this is what they call a noise band,” someone behind me said a few songs into the set. And yeah, that’s a good place to start if you’re trying to describe Girl Band. They are definitely noisy, Alan Duggan’s guitar sounds like a machine, and some songs like a musical car crash. For most of the show Duggan and bassist Daniel Fox were just two bowed heads of messy hair, elbows moving mechanically, while singer Dara Kiely kept his head upwards, directing his tortured lyrics in the form of shouts and howls towards the ceiling above him. In the middle of it all, drummer Adam Faulkner looked oddly serene. Though they’re intense, there’s a sense of humor buried under their music. This is especially apparent in their cover of “Why They Hide My Bodies Under My Garage,” which is basically its own genre of scary dance music. The only lyrics are the title of the song, repeated endlessly over an increasingly frantic techno beat until they lose all meaning.
Holding Hands With Jamie is based on a psychotic episode Kiely went through, which is bold enough as the subject matter of an album, but something else entirely when they sing about it in front of you. It’s almost shocking to see someone bare their feelings like he does, briefly embodying insanity without totally becoming consumed by it. For a weirdo like me, watching Kiely dance around the edge of the abyss, looking in, and then reporting back on what he found was one of the best performances I’ve even seen from a frontman. I just wonder how he does it night after night.
You need to know Kamau. His Gorgeous Fortune EP, which found its way to this writer’s ears by way of a dinner party and was subsequently obsessively streamed with a fervor not personally manifested since Lemonade, is a must-listen. One of the album’s merrier singles, “BooDha,” worships a girl that can do both, she’s got the booty of a goddess and a mind of a Buddha. In the video, which dropped today on VIBE, we’re enchanted by the talents of a mesmerizing gymnast, and yes, there are awesome booty shots. Yet not to dismiss the power of the butt, which is insurmountable, don’t pigeonhole Kamau as an artist who solely makes songs about women’s bodies, Gorgeous Fortune is both a beautiful work of art and a brilliant manifesto on the state of the world in 2016, with especially notable commentary on the evil the police force has shown towards Black lives. There are also some songs that are perfect for dancing in circles under the full moon, my witches. Listen to “BooDha” below and head over to Tidal to steam the EP in its entirety.
“Guilty” was recorded at the same time as Harvey’s latest album, The Hope Six Demolition Project. It’s a political shuffle that tackles subject as a corrupt judicial system and drones. Check it out:
Let’s Get Political
Breaking news: The world sucks, guys. Here’s a brief roundup of musical responses to the tragedies of the past few weeks:
My Morning Jacket: “Magic Bullet” – The lightly funky song was posted on Soundcloud on Monday with a long message condemning gun violence, which reads in part: “It does not matter your race/creed/sexual orientation we are all filled with the same beautiful blood- a mix of old and new generations… past present and future…we are all in there somewhere…in the blood lines together…all of humanity.”
“23 Ways To Die” – Alicia Keys organized celebrities and artists such as Beyoncé, Chance The Rapper, Rihanna, Common, Chris Rock and Taraji P. Henson for “23 Ways You Could Be Killed If You Are Black In America.” The video, which premiered on Mic.com, opens with a sparse piano track. The powerful video shows clips of those mentioned before, and others, stating the reasons Black people have been killed by police in America; simple things like wearing a hoody, failing to signal a lane change, and walking towards or away from the police. Watch it here.
Wahsa: “Justice” – The experimental Brooklyn band shared the song “Justice” on Facebook Sunday, with the following message: “A year ago, Max Mellman approached several artists and I in support of the Baltimore riots to compose songs around field recordings taken during the protests. Although the songs were never released, I feel now is a more relevant time than ever to share in support of those whose lives have been lost. My thoughts and prayers are with you.” The ambient track features the sounds of chanting in the background, and becomes suddenly intense at the end as the voices chant “justice.”
Love. Loss. Heartache. Pop music. These four things, among others like adultery, arson, and death, have all found homes in The Love Song. The tumultuous narrative has scored popular culture from the moment man could mouth words. Consider Helen of Troy, whose tale could be looked at as a large-scale “Jessie’s Girl” long before Rick Springfield ever sang to himself in a mirror. Kate Bush literally lifted her inspiration from the written word with her breakout hit “Wurthering Heights” in 1978. The song, like the novel, recounts the turbulent relationship of literary Sid and Nancy Heathcliff and Cathy. A personal favorite is Aaron Neville’s “Over You,” in which Neville threatens to kill his lover should she deny him, so that no other man may have her. Perhaps a bit of Henry VIII in there, no? All of this drama is unavoidable in storytelling because, well, drama is enticing. It keeps people on the edge of their seat; there’s a reason soap operas still exist after all.
But what about when you do the work, and grow up, and want to reserve the drama for your television set? What love songs can you turn to that aren’t jealous, or sexist, or murderous? Those are, after all, for the breakup. This week, while listening to Townes Van Zandt’s 1969 LP Our Mother The Mountain on repeat, a record packed with unruly love songs, a levelheaded track caught my ear. “Second Lovers Song” is, perhaps one of the sanest cuts I’ve ever heard, and a progressive one at that.
As the song commences, Van Zandt sings of waking next to a woman who whispers that he “ain’t the only one” softly in his ear. The male narrator responds by cooing: “Do you think I really care? Do you think it matters?” It might not sound so revolutionary, but if you consider the artistic canon-especially that of country music-it’s pretty damn forward-thinking. “Second Lovers” is a song about acceptance, realistic expectations, and removing the perceived ‘angel-woman’ from her heavenly pedestal. Van Zandt’s narrator is seeing his lover as a human being, not as an untouched virgin child who’d be a whore if she’d ever bedded another man. In the song’s last verse he croons: “My lady can’t you see I love not jealously? But for all you are to me and all you’ll be tomorrow.” If only there were more voices in contemporary pop music like Van Zandt’s, singing of a woman’s past without resorting to words like “bitch” or “ho.”
I was in the mood for more. More love songs that extol the virtuous aspects of relationships, even if that means knowing when they must end. Don’t get me wrong; I like to relish in gritty breakup numbers by the likes of Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello too, (especially if you can’t tell immediately just how mean they are) but every once and awhile it’s nice to hear some sense coming out of those speakers.
Below is my guide to a few love songs without all that baggage.
“Kentucky Avenue” by Tom Waits
Puppy love. Could another love be more pure? The final cut off of Tom Waits’ 1978 masterpiece Blue Valentine is a real showstopper. While the song is technically about Waits’ childhood friend Kipper (who was wheelchair ridden due to polio), and not a grade school crush, the same foundations of loyalty and unconditional love apply.
There is a strong sense of “us against them” in this track, as the narrator dotes upon his companion with gifts and acts of care-taking: “So let me tie you up with kite string and I’ll show you the scabs on my knee. Watch out for the broken glass, put your shoes and socks on and come away with me.” Waits goes on to promise that he’ll “get a dollar from my mama’s purse and buy that skull and crossbones ring, and you can wear it around your neck on an old piece of string.” “I’ll take the spokes from your wheelchair and a magpies wings. And I’ll tie ‘em to your shoulders and your feet. I’ll steal a hacksaw from my dad and cut the braces off your legs and we’ll bury them tonight in the cornfield.”
It is a song that revels in shameless adoration; the kind of worts-and-all romances that occur so rarely in adult life, and so often when we are naive enough to let them happen.
“Wannabe” by Spice Girls.
Though we may always be eluded by the etymology of “zigazig ah” the mission statement of 1996’s “Wannabe” is pretty straightforward and commendable. I speak from personal experience when I say that dating a socially inept log who, literally cannot “get with my friends,” is nothing short of excruciating. Some never talk. Others you just wish would never talk. Critics in the mid ’90s may have been skeptical of the miniskirt wearing Fab 5, but the Spice Girls’ message was always unabashed, unapologetic Girl Power. Their breakout hit is exemplary of that ethos; stating that they’d be fine to take a lover, but they’re not about to halt their lives for one.
“I won’t be hasty, I’ll give you a try. If you really bug me then I’ll say goodbye.”
And who could forget the simple power in the words:
“If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends. Make it last forever, friendship never ends. If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give. Taking is too easy, but that’s the way it is.”
It’s not exactly Chaucer, but I’m behind what they’re saying.
“Praise You” by Fatboy Slim
Another simple, cut-to-the-chase track. While lyrically the song owes nothing to Fatboy’s Quentin Leo Cook (the repetitive lyrics are taken from the introduction to Camille Yarbrough’s “Take Yo’ Praise”), the unrelenting loop of words grows with meaning each repetition: “We’ve come a long long way together, through the hard times and the good, I have to celebrate you baby, I have to praise you like I should.”
“Praise You” relays a dense message via omission. The repeated phrase is enough to build an empire of love and understanding upon, but what the song does not say is just as fortified. Lyrically it is void of so many codependent tropes that plague love songs.
Things you do not hear:
“I need you”
“I can’t live without you”
“I was nothing before you”
Whether or not it was intentional, Fatboy Slim’s lyrical restraint has left us with a simple, healthy, and drama-free mantra.
“Take Time To Know Her,” by Percy Sledge
The tragic tale of a man who commits a supreme mistake while conducting his romantic life: not listening to his mama. Percy Sledge’s “Take Time To Know Her” is a ballad exalting the value of taking things slow, not rushing it, and really getting to know the (wo)man you love. Contrary to his mama, and the preacher’s advice to “take time to know her,” the song’s narrator beelines into a marriage with a beautiful woman, only to find her cheating on him not long after their vows.
“And then I came home a little early one night and there she was kissing on another man. Now, I know what Mama meant when she took me by the hand and said, ‘Son, take time to know her. It’s not an overnight thing. Take time to know her. Please, don’t rush into this thing.'”
Even Elvis (and wise men) knew that “only fools rush in.” But so did mama. Please listen to mama.
“To The End,” by Blur
A big part of a healthy relationship is knowing when to call it quits. Maybe you bring out the bad in each other, or the sex has gone sour, or worse, there isn’t any sex to go sour anymore. No one knows that breaking up is hard to do more than songwriters, but some breakup tunes are less vicious than the rest.
A favorite is Blur’s “To The End” off of 1994’s Parklife. The song is a reprimand of both players in the relationship, citing the faults they’ve committed together:
“All those dirty words, they make us look so dumb. We’ve been drinking far too much, and neither of us mean what we say.”
The narrator goes on to honor the relationship’s good moments, while unfurling its inevitable demise.
“Well you and I collapsed in love. And it looks like we might have made it. Yes, it looks like we’ve made it to the end. What happened to us? Soon it will be gone forever. Infatuated only with ourselves, and neither of us can think straight anymore.”
There will never be a shortage tear jerking, wrathful and jealous love songs. Love is hard. Being a romantic is hard. But being a sensible romantic is the hardest.
Brooklyn-based indie-folk duo, Stabwounds(comprised of Amanda Brooklyn and Emma March Barash), are releasing the lead single off their forthcoming EP, “Goody Goody”, due 8/16. “Kills” which you can take a first listen to today on Audiofemme, boasts whimsical harmony-driven vocals which captivate the listener both for catchiness and impish lyrical content. With quirky percussions floating atop a soft bass drum beat that drives the track forward, the ladies strike a perfect balance between serious musicianship and compelling songwriting. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for us down the road. Take a listen to “Kills” below, and peep them live at their EP release show on 8/2 at Rockwood Music Hall stage 2, at 9PM.
The return of Adam Pressley (Prussia, Jamaican Queens) and Sam Swinson’s beloved project, Ohtis, is really good news. Formed and broken-up in Illinois while currently reunited and divided between LA and Detroit, Ohtis premiered the first track “Runnin'” off of their forthcoming album Bobo, Dad, and Holy Ghost.
“Runnin'” feels like something out of 2008. A story-driven, soft spoken Fleet Foxes-esque tale or a sad desert realization with dampened slide guitar wading in and out circa Wilco’s self-titled record. Ohtis brings us a track that feels like a hand floating out of the window of a silent car ride, the wind pushing back against a palm telling it what direction to go, the only conversation being the sound of air escaping between parted fingers.
The track opens with: “The expression you were wearing of emotional pain / Like anybody struggling to keep themselves sane,” that set the tone of Ohtis’ painterly Americana breed of misery. It’s a song about surrender, drunk driving through the plains and crossed fingers for a lovers return. The chorus drifts away from uncertainty and sways towards an invitation into a new past with the line: “We together will be better than me.”
With“Runnin’,” Ohtis has delivered an atypical strain of heartbreak that hones in on what’s to be gained, not what has been lost. The experience feels as it was seen through two sets of eyes, although only one voice remembers everything the eyes had seen. It isn’t until a female voice sneaks into the final reprise of the chorus that you feel that resolve is near and the next adventure even closer.
Ohtis plays a set in Ferndale this Saturday, July 16 at 6:30 p.m. as part of Pig & Whiskey Festival.
“Black Marble is music for outsiders,” Chris Stewart, the project’s creator said in a recent Facebook post expressing mixed feelings about releasing a new song in such a tumultuous time. “Iron Lung” is the first track Black Marble has released since the 2012 EP A Different Arrangement; The Brooklyn synth-wave artist’s upcoming album, It’s Immaterial, is coming out September 30 via Ghostly International.
“Iron Lung” does have an outsider quality to it- Stewart’s vocals sound like they come from the shadows, obscured by darkness. I can’t help being reminded of New Order’s “Ceremony” while listening to the track, as they share similar qualities that draw me in: A driving dance beat with repetitive, stair-step guitar riffs, and the bittersweet feeling of hope mixed with inevitability. “Iron Lung” inverses the formula, though, creating something that leans slightly more to the positive side, with just a hint of darkness. Toward the end of the song Stewart breaks the form altogether with a classical-tinged organ bridge. It adds a “light at the end of the tunnel” quality to the song that works perfectly.
Preorder It’s Immaterial here, and listen to “Iron Lung” below.
This week’s New Music Monday features the single “7th Sea” from “tribal fusion” stars Cordelia & The Buffalo. Lead by Mexican-American front woman and vocalist Cordelia Vizcaino, the infectious single “7th Sea” features dance-ready electronic beats and exceptional vocals. One listen and you’ll understand why the song served as the official anthem for the 2015 Copa America international soccer tournament,.
Vizcaino was born and raised in Houston, and according to a press release, summons her muse from native Mexican tribes of her homeland, as well as others. There’s a variety of cultures to celebrate, her band, aka the Buffalo, is made up of Rodrigo Gramitto (guitar), Diego Diaz (drums), Dan McCallum (bass), Dag Hanken (percussion), and herself (vocals, percussion, and synths/keyboard). The six members hail from Mexico, Japan, Norway, Alaska, and Venezuela, birthing a truly eclectic listening experience.
Popping with goddess-ready clothing and makeup to match the intensity of the music, at first glance the video for the track is obviously a masterpiece in costume design, but according to Vizcaino, there’s even more to it than what meets the eye, a chakra-inspired journey of manifesting freedom.
From the band’s press release:
“Each color represents the different stages and sensations one has to go through to let go of the past and make way for a greater purpose,” Vizcaino explains. “It’s like being in a long distance relationship with your past and future. The White shadows portray the past that still craves to manifest itself. The Orange phase represents the present yearning for a future that feels far from reach. Finally, the Green phase is the prosperous “grass-is-greener-on-the-other-side” future that we all work to attain, and the full identity of my tribal Mexican heritage that inspires my work everyday. This is all meant to motivate people to bloom from their own Green phase into who they want to become.”
The world isn’t feeling too positive lately, so a grungy garage rock song feels like just the thing we need to get these emotions out. It’s the sort of track where you can choose to head bang and shout your heart out, or just sit and soak in it, letting it fill you up and expand inside. We have just the right song for these types of moods and circumstances: Lié’s “Failed Visions.”
This trio of Vancouver badasses are cooking up some deliciously grungy post-punk music. Their debut album, Consent, provided social commentary about rape culture as told from the perspective of these three rockin’ ladies. It’s pretty damn relevant to some recent events, and great to hear the voices of strong women speaking their truth and not backing down from some of the more infuriating parts of our system.
“Failed Visions” is a single from their upcoming sophomore album Truth or Consequences, out August 12. Check out their single and let these tunes fill you up rather than rage, disappointment, and the slew of other negative feelings many of us are holding onto lately.
NYC-based electropop producer, Mickey Valen, released a brand new track this week, featuring Nashville-based pop production/writing duo, Lyre. “Who Do You Love” delivers a perfect blend of insistent, innovative beats with an exultant, melodic vocal track. The result is a perfect summer anthem, simultaneously chill and and dance-y. Take a listen below!
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.
