Sister Wives - "Wandering Along / Rwy’n Crwydro"

Photo by Joe Singleton

Hailing from Sheffield, Sister Wives are described as "post-punk, prog-flecked psychedelia." Their songs are sung in both English and Welsh. This may sound like it could be a bit of a mess, but their new single is a masterpiece. "Wandering Along / Rwy'n Crwydro" is an intense, driving track that strides the line between post-punk and prog-rock perfectly, and we didn't even know there was a line between those genres. It's filled with haunting vocals, a driving beat, swirling guitars, and synths that are tasked with holding the whole thing together, which they do... barely, but in a spectacular way.

You can listen to "Wandering Along / Rwy'n Crwydro" below. Gweler Ein Gofid, the upcoming EP from Sister Wives, will be out November 6 on Do It Thissen. You can pre-order the album here. For more on Sister Wives, check out the band's Facebook.

The Queers - "Bubblegum Girl"

Photo via Facebook

The Queers have been wearing their Ramones fandom on their sleeves for almost forty years now. Their latest single, "Bubblegum Girl," continues that legacy. The new song sounds like the sweeter, more pop side of the Ramones. This is the side that loves The Beach Boys more than anything else. The Queers tend to make two kinds of songs: Either loud, fast, aggressive punk or songs that are so pop and upbeat that they can barely be considered even pop punk. "Bubblegum Girl" is the latter, and it's one of the finest examples of that sound.

You can listen to "Bubblegum Girl" below. The upcoming album from The Queers will be out on All Star Records. Expect an official album announcement and pre-sale in the next few weeks. For more on The Queers, check out their Facebook.

First Listen: New Releases for 30 October

Artist: Lunchbox
Album: After School Special
Quick Description: Lovely, fun indie pop.
Why You Should Listen: It's like a transporter to turn-of-the-century indie rock.
Overall Thoughts: Apparently it's been a while since Lunchbox shared anything new, but I was not expecting to have a 30 minute nostalgia episode. After School Special would fit right in with any of the early Elephant Six releases. I loved every moment of this, and I am really hoping the novelty doesn't wear off anytime soon.
Recommendation: Probably the most fun you'll have this week.

Artist: Luluc
Album: Dreamboat
Quick Description: New and lovely folk album from a personal favorite.
Why You Should Listen: Luluc is always a solid choice.
Overall Thoughts: There's plenty of folk music out there, and folk-adjacent stuff that's trying to make a case for itself. So what sets Luluc apart? It's sometimes that there's a haunting feel to the whole thing, it's sometimes the melodies that stick with you even after you're done with a song, and sometimes it's just the vocals that mesh perfectly with the instrumentation. This is a gorgeous listen, and one you don't want to miss out on.
Recommendation: A beautiful effort this week.

Artist: Puscifer
Album: Existential Reckoning
Quick Description: Maynard James Keenan side project with a new... something.
Why You Should Listen: This is likely an acquired taste?
Overall Thoughts: So I haven't generally liked this particular project, but there's something about this new release that really connected. It's like prog rock through some distorted prism, and the result is a strange hybrid of ideas and musical concepts that ultimately needs to be heard. There's just as good a chance that I'll listen again and hate it, but I can promise this much: it's much more interesting than the last Tool album.
Recommendation: Add it to your rotation.

Artist: Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou
Album: May Our Chambers Be Full
Quick Description: Heavy doom rock from a great singer and the perfect collaborator.
Why You Should Listen: Think if Marissa Nadler had a distortion pedal and a prescription for zoloft.
Overall Thoughts: I'm not a metal guy at all, but sometimes this sort of heavy stuff works perfectly for me, and this is one of them. It's not reinventing the wheel, but the overall effort is one that's compelling and remains something I'd like to get back to. It won't be for everyone, but if it's for you, you'll love it.
Recommendation: Give this a shot.

Artist: Soft Black
Album: The Witching Hour
Quick Description: Some deliberative indie rock we missed earlier this fall.
Why You Should Listen: Has some post-rock qualities without feeling too out there.
Overall Thoughts: This, in a way, reminds me of a more chilled out Band of Horses, if that makes sense. Soft Black is less concerned with soaring melodies and musical crescendos and instead looking toward well-crafted midtempo rock songs with a bit of stickiness to them. I liked this quite a bit, and this is one that should have some staying power.
Recommendation: Worth your time.

Artist: War on Women
Album: Wonderful Hell
Quick Description: Perfect protest punk for (hopefully) the end of the Trump era.
Why You Should Listen: Especially today, you want this.
Overall Thoughts: War on Women isn't holding back, and this album is exactly what the doctor ordered as we wait on the results of recounts. For most, this is largely going to preach to the proverbial choir, but it's difficult not to listen to a song like "Her?" and not understand the raw emotion that flows from these songs.
Recommendation: Does what it says on the tin.

Artist: The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick
Album: Ways of Hearing
Quick Description: A quiet debut with a lot of weight.
Why You Should Listen: This is not much like anything else on the musical market right now.
Overall Thoughts: Back in the late 1990s-early 2000s, there was a folk rock band named Fuck. In spite of the up-front, profane name, they made very quiet folk rock that could never be played on the radio thanks to their name. This band, with an unweildly name from a novel and movie from a generation ago, is not the same as Fuck, but gives a similar vibe. The quiet instrumentation with the quieter vocals means a record that feels really intimate, but at a distance. If you're into the folky-type stuff or more acoustic emo efforts, you owe it to yourself to give this one a listen, but anyone who likes interesting music should check this out.
Recommendation: One of the more compelling releases this week.

Artist: Nothing
Album: The Great Dismal
Quick Description: Darkish, reverby rock.
Why You Should Listen: Nothing seems to always fly under the radar, but few bands do what they do as well as they do.
Overall Thoughts: I don't have a ton to say about thuis, but I did want to make sure I highlighted the latest effort from Nothing, which continues their understated reign as the best providers of their type of dark shoegaze. If you've liked their stuff so far, you'll love this.
Recommendation: Make some time.

Artist: Junk Magic
Album: Compass Confusion
Quick Description: Interesting techno-tinged jazz.
Why You Should Listen: I liked this, and I'm not much for jazz.
Overall Thoughts: We don't cover much jazz in these parts, but I tripped up on Junk Magic this week and was impressed. The crucial difference between this and what you might have in mind is that the instrumentation isn't afraid to veer into techno and electronica. The result, for me at least, was a very interesting listen with a lot of layers. It's a good challenge, for sure, but one worth taking on.
Recommendation: Not for everyone, but worth giving a shot.

Of note:

* Sarah and the Safe Word - Good Gracious! Bad People. (Indie rock for theatre kids. Thus, I liked this.)
* Mega Ran, Richie Branson and Kadish Flow - Ghouls & Ghosts 4 (Nerdcore video game rap, but the Among Us-themed "You Look Sus" is great.)
* Mr. Bungle - The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo (It's what you'd expect from Bungle.)
* Kate Miller-Heidke - Child in Reverse (A surprising and fun listen.)
* Andrew Bird - HARK! (It's early for Christmas music, but save this because Andrew Bird doing Christmas is a great gift.)
* Small Bills (E L U C I D and The Lasso) - Don't Play It Straight
* Sinai Vessel - Ground Aswim
* Middle Class Fashion - Scary
* Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche - I Can Still Hear You
* Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never
* TOBACCO - Hot Wet & Sassy
* Creature Comfort - Home Team
* Amy Macdonald - The Human Demands
* Eels - Earth to Dora
* Dizzie Rascal - E3 AF
* Khruangbin - Mordechai
* Mourn - Self Worth
* Autechre - PLUS

EPs:

* Salem - Salem (A really fun one.)
* Pretty Sick - Deep Divine (This was quite good as well.)
* Lauren Hulbert - Superbloom
* Billy Dean Thomas - For Better or Worse
* Jasmine Guffond and Erik K. Skodvin - The Burrow
* Bing and Ruth - Divergence: Species Remixes
* Krakow Loves Adana - A Night to Remember
* Tom Morello - Comandante
* The Lathums - Ghosts
* Latrell James - Under
* Jessie Baylin - Pleasure Center EP

Also out:

* King Khan - The Infinite Ones (Some interesting instrumentals here.)
* Magic Shoppe - Live in London
* Ariana Grande - Positions
* Busta Rhymes - Extinction LEvel Event 2: The Wrath of God
* Mud City Manglers - Give Me The Hammer
* Elvis Costello - Hey Clockface
* Ane Brun - After the Great Storm
* Midnight Oil - The Makarrata Project

Diablogato - "Blasphemy"

Photo by Pat Piasecki

We don't typically post about a band releasing a video for a song on an album that was released last year, but every now and then we have to make an exception. Diablogato released Old Scratch way back in 2019, and was one of my favorite EPs of that year. A stand out track from that release was "Blasphemy," which now has a brand new video. It's a throwback to when videos would actually get airplay and a single hit video could make a band's entire career. "Blasphemy" is the type of song that is rooted in rockabilly, but just rocks too hard to quite be that genre. It's just straight up loud rock 'n' roll deeply rooted in early rock music, but still a modern song with a punk edge.

You can watch the video for "Blasphemy" below. Old Scratch is available now via State Line Records. You can get a copy via the label's Bandcamp. For more on Diablogato, check them out on Facebook and Twitter.

Grace Gillespie - "The Child"

Photo by Sophie Greenidge

The latest single from Grace Gillespie is almost painfully quiet. "The Child" may have some folk elements, but it is far from a folk song. It starts out with some barely played acoustic guitar accompanying Gillespie's voice, which is just shy of being a whisper. The song is gorgeous with harmonizing vocals and impossibly soft instrumentation, even as it builds. At the end, "The Child" morphs into an electronic swirl that is as dreamlike as it could possibly be.

Grace Gillespie says if the new song: "I wrote 'The Child' to console myself in my 28th year on earth, this year. When I was born, my mother was 28 and some strange part of me thought that I would have a child aged 28, or at least hold some kind of significance to that year. It turns out that this particular year has brought with it the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit, and my own personal discovery that I had become somewhat of an anxious wreck.

"I wrote the song as a reaction to this chain of thought: I don't want to close my eyes on the possibility of 'The Child' but I will let time decide and try to trust that things will change both globally and personally."

You can listen to "The Child" below. After the Harvest Moon, the upcoming EP from Grace Gillespie, will be out on November 27. For more on Grace Gillespie, check out her website.

Grace Gillespie · The Child

Science Man - "Give the Ghost to Me"

His album is due to be released this Friday, but we couldn't wait to bring you this new single from Buffalo's Science Man. "Give the Ghost to Me" is the kind of insane blast of noise punk we have come to love with the previous two singles we've heard, but the song is definitely the most mainstream of the three. That's not to say that "Give the Ghost to Me" is all set to become a crossover hit played between Green Day and Pink Floyd songs... mainstream is relative. But with this new song Science Man is getting as close to a mainstream punk song as he possibly can. It's even almost catchy? Almost. It's hammering beats plodding along with buzzsaw guitars and driving vocals. It's not going to be for everyone, but for those of us that love this kind of thing, "Give the Ghost to Me" is going to be nearly a religious experience.

You can listen to "Give the Ghost to Me" below. Science Man II, the upcoming album from Science Man, will be out November 6 on Big Neck Records. You can pre-order a copy via Bandcamp.

DeVotchKa featuring Amanda Shires Cover "The Neverending Story"

Photo via Facebook

Now this one is the kind of absolute delight we all need right now. Despite it scarring all of us in childhood, The Neverending Story is one of the most beloved children's movies of all time. And we all know and love that theme song that has spent years lodged in our brains. Enter DeVotchKa. The gypsy punk/dark cabaret band has teamed with modern country queen Amanda Shires for a remotely recorded cover of the theme song. For good measure they even bring in Tami Stronach, the Childlike Empress from the film, and her daughter for the song. This cover has brought me a ridiculous amount of happiness since I stumbled upon it late last week, and I can't imagine you won't feel the same way.

You can watch the video for DeVotchKa and Amanda Shires's cover of "The Neverending Story" below. All proceeds from the song will benefit MusiCares. For more on DeVotchka, check out their website (where you can also purchase the song on vinyl). For more on Amanda Shires, check out hers.

Wyn Doran Covers The Beatles

Photo via Facebook

Wyn Doran is known around these parts for her gorgeous and absolutely heartbreaking songs. "Eleanor Rigby" is already a sad, mopey kind of song. Put "Eleanor Rigby" in Doran's hands, and it becomes even more sad, almost soul crushing. Gone is any shred of the sappiness in any McCartney song (I'm a huge, huge Paul McCartney fan, but the man does love his songs dripping with sap) and instead it's injected with Doran's trademark gloom. But Doran's gloom almost feels a little tongue in cheek here, kind of like how The Smiths and The Cure had fun with their reputations and made some of the most fun sad music of all time. 

Wyn Doran explains her cover and the accompanying video: "Things got weird in my apartment Friday when I last minute asked my husband if we could cook up a Halloween The Beatles cover video of 'Eleanor Rigby'... I quickly scrambled to lay down a live audio take with my iZotope Spire, dug out my Beatles costume from a few years back, and within 24 hours we presented this."

You can watch the video for Wyn Doran's version of "Eleanor Rigby" below. For more on Wyn Doran, check out her website.

Answering Machine Covers Bruce Springsteen

Photo via Facebook

This is a weird, weird day. I can't imagine anyone out there doesn't have some level of anxiety, and posting about something like music seems really trivial. But I think we could all use some distraction and happiness today, so I'll be bringing you some cover songs today, since they're something that brings me joy.

Earlier this year we became smitten with Answering Machine, a Brooklyn band featuring two school teachers that play a grown up version of pop punk. They've released a cover of Bruce Springsteen's 1978 song "The Promised Land." I've been a late convert to the music of Springsteen, and I haven't made it to Darkness on the Edge of Town yet, but the first surprising thing about Answering Machine's cover is how faithful it is to the original. For a band that doesn't typically use harmonica, theirs is spot on to Bruce's original. The main difference between the two is Answering Machine's is filled with joy and you can't help but feel the fun they're having with this song.

You can listen to Answering Machine's version of "The Promised Land" below. For more on Answering Machine, check them out on Facebook.

STL GLD and members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra - "With Me"

I had heard rumblings earlier this year about a collaboration between STL GLD and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. And then the pandemic happened and it seemed like that would go away like everything else had. But then STL GLD and members of the BSO decided to jump on Zoom and make a remote session. They chose the STL GLD track "With Me," and after hearing it with a live string section I may never be able to listen to the album one ever again. This collaboration is pure perfection. It doesn't take anything away from STL GLD's edge, and this is still pure hip hop, just with strings. Things like this are why I truly love the Boston music scene.

According to the description of this video on YouTube: “'Us: A Celebration of Community' was originally envisioned as a live performance featuring a fluid set of artistic collaborations between STL GLD, members of the BSO, hip-hop and spoken word artists, DJs, video artists, beat-makers and dancers. The goal of the project was to explore the synergy between artists of different genres, in pursuit of a new and inclusive artistic vocabulary."

You can watch the video for the collaboration between STL GLD and members of the BSO below. For more on STL GLD, check out their website. For more on the Boston Symphony Orchestra, check out theirs.