Tag: reputante

SAVANNAH STOPOVER: The Femme’s List of Who to See

Savannah Stopover
A precursor to SXSW, Savannah Stopover takes place March 5-7 in downtown Savannah, a haunting and iconic boutique neighborhood. As far as music getaway’s go, we couldn’t be more stoked to attend the 5th incarnation of Savannah Stopover. Check back for full festival coverage as it unfolds, and make sure to follow AudioFemme on Instagram and Twitter as we abandon the brutal Brooklyn weather for warmer scenery with one fantastic soundtrack. We’re still anxiously plotting our schedules to see how we’re going to catch as many acts, including some featured local bands, as possible, but here are five that we’re sure to see.
Grab a pass here before they’re all gone!

Ryley Walker
Thursday, March 5 10:00pm 
The Chicago-based folk artist Ryley Walker has been causing the music scene to bat their eyelashes. We can’t wait to tap our feet to these tunes in agreement. His sophomore release Primrose Green, the follow-up to the well-received full-length debut comes out next month. Rambling and soulful, inspired both by jazz and noise music, the 25-year-old creates a collage of the Chicago music network to come up with a sound that’s wholly his own.

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Fort Lean
Friday, March 6 11:00pm

We’re going to want a front and center spot for Brooklyn’s Fort Lean. The vastness of their sound can surprise you they’re from Brooklyn, as if the city is too crowded to produce such chill expressions. Play into type, grab a craft beer, and see if you can fight through the seduction to stick around for the late-night shows rather than back to your motel room with a lover after listening to these dreamers.

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Amythyst Kiah and Her Chest of Glass
Saturday, March 7 5:00pm
Friday, March 6 7:00pm (solo show)

Tennessee singer-songwriter and roots artist Amythyst Kiah is joined with friends Her Chest of Glass for the ultimate Saturday afternoon cocktail hour time slot. “Gothic Southern Folk” is about the most exciting mix mash of adjectives I’ve ever seen to describe music, in researching artists Mythyst has to be one we’re most thrilled for (not to mention she’s got killer style).

Parlour Tricks
Saturday, March 7 7:00pm

Parlour Tricks have made the AudioFemme front page before, and this editor thanks her lucky stars (as Parlour Tricks might say) to see how the New York City pop rockers translate their buzzed-about stage presence to serene Savannah.

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Diarrhea Planet

Saturday, March 7 12:00am
After you’ve shaken off any visuals invoked by their name, Nashville’s Diarrhea Planet are downright delightful. The punk rockers promise to deliver the climax of the festival with their Saturday late-night time slot. With bold vocals, wild lyrics, and grimy guitars, we’re sure to get sweaty for this one.

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Full 2015 Savannah Stopover Lineup:
Generationals, Southern Culture On The Skids, San Fermin, ASTR, Matthew E. White, Computer Magic, Diarrhea Planet, Reptar, All Them Witches, French Horn Rebellion, Donald Cumming (of The Virgins), Dumpstaphunk, Parlour Tricks, Hiss Golden Messenger, Heavenly Beat, Gap Dream, Rocco DeLuca, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, ISHI, Bombadil, Rose Quartz, Family and Friends, Capsula, Tall Tall Trees, Born Cages, Beach Day, Fat Tony, Horse Thief, Fly Golden Eagle, Mothxr, Young Buffalo, Jack + Eliza, SALES, Mainland, Christopher Paul Stelling, Clear Plastic Masks, Ryley Walker, Buxton, Fort Lean, Corners, PitchBlak Brass Band, Cobalt Cranes, Alanna Royale, Baby Bee, Lilly Hiatt, this mountain, Dreamers, Reputante, Caleb Caudle, Axxa/Abraxas, Suburban Living, Avers, Amythyst Kiah + Her Chest of Glass, Adia Victoria, Margo and the Pricetags, The Prettiots, Guthrie Brown & The Family Tree, ELEL, Grounders, BLKKATHY, Blank Range, White Violet, What Moon Things, Fire Mountain, Emilyn Brodsky, Needle Points, Lace Curtains, Music Band, Las Rosas, Semicircle, Ruby the RabbitFoot, Little Racer, Bedroom, Grand Vapids, Bond St. District, 100 Watt Horse, Cusses, Triathalon, Velvet Caravan, Damon & The Shitkickers, Penicillin Baby, Wet Socks, Crazy Bag Lady, Sunglow, Coeds, Wave Slaves, Beneath Trees, Paving Gravy, Nightingale News, Saint Corsair, A.M. Rodriguez, Boy Harsher, Blackrune, Black Water Choir, Heavy Boots

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EP REVIEW: Lolawolf

lolawolf

“…I wanna know what love is//I really hope that it’s not you.”

 

Formed mere months ago, Lolawolf is already one of the most anticipated acts of the new year. Lead singer Zoë Kravitz may have inherited her father’s last name, but he has generously bequeathed her with a fiery voice and rebellious attitude. When not circulating the tabloids for allegedly locking lips with Drake, she makes unruly music with her brand new but far from naive project. Don’t be fooled, for Zoë  and her brilliant bandmates have crafted their new EP with a sound entirely unique unto itself.
 Contrary to what one may conjure up when they read that Zoë  has an already-signed band who is about to release its first EP, there is nothing Lenny Kravitz-y about Lolawolf. In fact she has managed to beat her dad at his own game (making music whose sex appeal is inherent to it’s structure) by quite a wide margin. “Drive”, which we have on repeat in our office, possesses a chilled-out synth pop/R&B foundation and irresistibly raunchy (yet subtle) sentiments, touching on themes of fucking, drinking and avoiding emotional breakdowns (“Would you take me to the west side// would that be alright?// I could stare out your window, and fuck you tonight”).  With this track, she announces to the world that she’s neither riding the coattails of her famous father, nor is she interested in playing nice, nor does she lack talent. By the end of the song we’re nodding in agreement.
“Chainz” is the danciest track of the bunch, initially hitting you over the head with 80s pop references. Yet ironically, and what saves it from campiness, or confusion with a Paula Abdul jam, is that it’s the most emotionally fraught song of the five,  exploring tropes of turmoil and intimacy, falling for someone whom you perhaps loathe, the trouble with disentangling love and hate, and happiness and sadness… and…well, bondage. “I’d put you in chains if I could change you”, she intimates, yet the drum machine and looping upbeat synth melody lines obfuscate the seriousness of its tone, and in turn create a sort of tension that keeps the listener gripped all the way through.
 On “Wanna Have Fun”, the band (which consists of Jimmy Giannopoulos, James Levy, and Raviv Ullman, all formerly of Cult records’ project Reputante) takes a turn for the darker. Musically, it’s the closest to straight up electronic that they get, with low, driving bass lines, fuzzy beats and heavily reverbed vocals. Conceptually it’s elusive, perfectly mirroring its more sinister aesthetic underpinnings. Once again the listener is kept on edge, with lyrics like “you and I and she just could not be”–leaving eyebrows raised.
“What Love Is” is by and far the EP’s masterpiece, which they aptly placed as the last track, pointing us toward what we should expect from a full length. Structurally it follows suit with the synthy, dance-based thematic underpinnings of the set. However we start to hear a little bit of grungier sounding bass lines toward the middle of the song that add dimension and dynamism to each verse, letting them sonically build only to delve back into purist electropop for the choruses. Lyrically it does not betray the sweet and peppy melodic conceit. Kravitz once again reveals her preternatural maturity, delivered with a deadpan, “stoned and sexy” ethos, with the lyrics  “When you and I get a little bit older, I’ll get caught telling a lie // Why can’t I get a little bit older ? // I hear it happens all the time”, and in questioning her capacity to remain faithful, remarking “Feeling all your whispers soaking in my skin // would it make me faithful? Why couldn’t I be faithful?” The kicker though is the chorus, in which she sweetly croons “I wanna know what love is // I really hope that it’s not you.” It’s both a kiss off and an intimate peek into the psyche of a young person struggling with the juxtaposition of the tenderness and carnage of love. This level of honesty  is rare to say the least.
All in all, their debut is a risque, rebellious exploration of losing and find  love, and of  lust, distortion, and discovery. There’s no shortage of bands emerging who take stabs at the whole 80’s-synth-pop vibe but few have done it as effortlessly, and with as much balance as Lolawolf has with this damn-near flawless EP.
I guarantee they will be the band to look out for in 2014. Colossal things are in store for them.

Listen to Lolawolf’s two releases, “What Love Is”, and “Drive (Los Angeles)” off their self-titled debut EP which comes out February 3rd on Innit Recordings: