"Queer cowboy poet, populist folk singer, and viral video star" Willi Carlisle has released a new single. "Life on the Fence" is "... about the struggles of being queer in a world that's terrified of your identity." It's a classic cowboy country ballad that could have come out anytime in the past fifty or so years, except for the subject matter. It's a killer heartfelt country song, the kind people say don't get made any more. "Life on the Fence" is the perfect level of twang, and anyone who truly loves country or folk won't be able to resist this one.
You can listen to "Life on the Fence" below. Peculiar, Missouri is due out July 15 on Free Dirt Records. The album can be pre-saved/pre-ordered here. For more on Willi Carlisle, check out the artist's website.
London punks Sniffany & The Nits are definitely a punk band, but they don't sound too much like classic punk. Their latest single, "Chicken Liver," is a just under two and a half minute burst of noise that will barrel straight over you if you're unprepared. It's not an aggressively fast song. If anything, "Chicken Liver" is just faster than mid tempo. But between Sister Sniffany's manic vocals, buzzsaw yet at times beautiful guitars, and crashing cymbals, the song feels much faster and out of control than it actually is. This is that next generation noise punk that is rooted firmly in noise and discordant as hell, but still has some odd pop hooks directing things.
Sister Sniffany says of the new song:
"In 'Chicken Liver' I'm deeply jealous and competitive, desperately trying to present myself as vulnerable, served up on a platter like a chicken dinner as if helplessness is all that counts in order to make myself seem appealing, hiding the wrathful, egg-smashing fury of envy and self loathing."
You can watch the video for "Chicken Liver" below. The Unscratchable Itch is due out July 8 on PRAH Recordings. For more on Sniffany & The Nits, check out the artist on Twitter and Instagram.
It's crazy how three teenagers from Chicago are making music that sounds so much like my college years. Horsegirl just released a new single, and like so much of their music "Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)" sounds like classic Matador Records releases. It's this gloriously disjointed song that wanders around in its own direction and is as noisy as it is pop filled. This one is reminding me of Pavement meets Harmacy era Sebadoh. Horsegirl are a group that knows the history of indie rock better than most middle aged fans, and their music is a celebration of all of our favorite indie classics.
Horsegirl says of their new video:
“The three of us filmed the ‘Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)’ video over one day in Penelope’s elementary school. The video provides a small look into our Chicago youth scene—it includes members of bands like Lifeguard, Friko, Dwaal Troupe, and Post Office Winter all grouped into oddball bands with weird gimmicks. We always have the best time making our videos with our friends in spaces we feel connected to. All of our friends showed up with various assortments of clothing and props, like wooden spoons, a bowling shirt collection, and an accordion. We wanted to harness the strangeness of everything that was brought to us, and wanted to showcase all of the people and bands that mean so much to us.”
You can watch the video for "Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)" below. Versions of Modern Performance is due out June 3 on Matador Records. The album can be pre-saved and pre-ordered here. For more on Horsegirl, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Sun. May 29 - Allston, MA @ Boston Calling Festival Sun. Jun. 5 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (RECORD RELEASE SHOW) ^ Fri. Jun. 10 - Giessen, DE @ Stadt ohne Meer Sun. Jun. 12 - Mannheim, DE @ Maifield Derby Thu. Jun. 16 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix Bar Fri. Jun. 17 - Paris, FR @ Pop Up Du Label Sun. Jun. 19 - London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage (EARLY SHOW) - SOLD OUT Sun. Jun. 19 - London, UK @ Paper Dress Vintage (LATE SHOW) - SOLD OUT Tue. Jun. 21 - Manchester, UK @ YES (Basement) Wed. Jun. 22 - London, UK @ Bermondsey Social Club - SOLD OUT Thu. Jun 23 - London, UK @ The Dome Sun. Jun. 26 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol Tue. Jun. 28 - Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn Wed. Jun. 29 - Berlin, DE @ Monarch Fri. Jul. 1 - Denmark, DE @ Roskilde Festival 2022 Sat. Jul. 2 - Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Upstairs Fri. Jul. 15 - Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall * Sat. Jul. 16 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos * Sun. Jul. 17 - Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall * Tue. Jul. 19 - San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop Thu. Jul. 21 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon * Fri. Jul. 22 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * Sat. Jul. 23 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room * Tue. Jul. 26 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line * Wed. Jul. 27 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon * Thu. July 28 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club * Fri. Jul. 30 - Sat. Jul. 31 - Detroit, MI @ Mo Pop Festival Sat. July 31 - Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza Music Festival Tue. Aug. 2 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe * Wed. Aug. 3 - Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop * Fri. Aug. 5 - Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground * Sat. Aug. 6 - Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus * Wed. Aug. 10 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom * ^ w/ Lifeguard, Friko, Post Office Winter * w/ Dummy
Artist: Tray Wellington Album: Black Banjo Quick Thoughts: Every once in a while you trip up on an album that you didn't expect, and find it to be an absolute gem. That's what happened with Black Banjo, a roots record with such a great mix of music and musical styles that it just kept me in awe through its runtime. Great, great tunes throughout and one I'm really looking forward to getting back to. Songs of Note: "Crooked Mind," "Saw a Little Boat," "Wasted Time"
Artist: Elephant Gym Album: Dreams Quick Thoughts: Another band I didn't know before Ken sent this over, and holy crap is this good. Elephant Gym makes some progressive-leaning stuff with excellent musicianship and a sound unlike anything else I've heard. It absolutely wowed me in a week with a lot of wow power, and if a song like "Deities' Party" doesn't absolutely nail it for you, I don't know what else to say. One of the best of the week. Songs of Note: "Witches," "Deities' Party"
Artist: Say Sue Me Album: The Last Thing Left Quick Thoughts: Say Sue Me feels like they've been bubbling under for ages, and The Last Thing Left really feels like it could potentially be a breakout effort. Very Beths-esque at times, it's a perfect indie rock record in a lot of ways. If you haven't gotten on board yet, you have no excuse. Songs of Note: "Still Here," "Around You, "No Real Place," "The Last Thing Left"
Artist: The Smile Album: A Light for Attracting Attention Quick Thoughts: In terms of Radiohead side projects, this is probably my favorite one in a while, and is probably my favorite Radiohead-related effort in over a decade. The Smile is Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, and UK percussion stalwart Tom Skinner, and it truly does feel like Radiohead's natural extension from A Moon Shaped Pool in many regards. Still, it is its own thing - songs like "A Hairdryer" and "Free In the Knowledge" are both challenging in all the right ways. Still, this isn't like Yorke's solo work or Atoms for Peace, either. It's a middle ground of sorts, and it's great. Songs of Note: "The Same," "Pana-vision," "The Opposite," "Free in the Knowledge," "A Hairdryer," "We Don't Know What Tomorrow Brings"
Rainn Byrns was born in Texas and now lives in South London, and his latest single embodies his odd geography. "Never Ending Story" is going to remind you of artists like The Kinks. It has that distinctly British feel and is just dripping with 1960's groovy cool. But it also shows off his Jonathan Richman influence with a bit of Richman's charm and easygoing confidence. But, being as Byrns is from Texas, there are the hints of a drawl and some country ramble thrown in here. It's an interesting mix of sounds Byrns is borrowing from that is going to be easy to love.
Rainn Byrns says of his new single:
“It’s the embodiment of giving up, but then there’s a freedom to that, when all is said and done. When you relinquish any expectations you can sometimes surprise yourself”!
You can watch the video for "Never Ending Story" below. For more on Rainn Byrns, check out the artist on Facebook and Twitter.
Mountain Time is a project of Chris Simpson of Mineral and The Gloria Record. As with many solo-ish projects, this one goes a little folkier than Simpson's other projects. "Meet the Kid" is the latest single, and it's solidly a folk rock song. There isn't much of Mineral's emo sound on this one. "Meet the Kid" is a little ramblin', but it rocks just a little too hard to truly be that kind of folk song. It's a gorgeous, lush, and heartfelt song that includes some interesting little flourishes you don't normally get in the world of folk rock or even indie folk.
You can listen to "Meet the Kid" below. The song is available as a single via Spartan Records with a full length coming in 2023. For more on Mountain Time, check out the artist's website.
New Haven, CT based Hellrazor started off as a songwriting and cassette recording project back in 2006. Michael Falcone (Speedy Ortiz, Ovlov) posted demos on MySpace and passed around CDRs and cassettes to friends. Now a full fledged band with bassist Kate Meizner and drummer Michael Henss, the band is set to release a new album this summer. "Jello Stars" is their new single, and if you have a certain fondness for the kind of heavy but tuneful alt-rock that came out of Massachusetts in the 90's, this one is going to appeal to you. The song is heavy with that post grunge sound that still has a foot in grunge. But, it's insanely poppy at the same time. It's reminding me a lot of a mixture of bands like Dinosaur Jr, The Lemonheads, Tugboat Annie, and with maybe just a little early emo thrown in there. This is a massive song that a lot of us are going to get really into.
Hellrazor says of their new song:
"We've played "Jello Stars" in our live set since 5 years ago, and most of the song was tracked around then. We recently added more guitars and re-tracked the vocals. Some of the lyrics were revised to align with the dystopian themes on the next record. Most of the song is about ghosts in the machine and paranoia over potentially uncontrollable A.I."
You can listen to "Jello Stars" below. Heaven's Gate is due out sometime this summer. For more on Hellrazor, check out the band on Twitter and Bandcamp.
Spring Summer is the musical project of San Francisco based artist Jennifer Furches, who you might know from films like The Darjeeling Limited and Fasntastic Mr. Fox, as well as her time in Coconut Records. Her latest single, "Mountaineer," is that kind of alt-rock singer/songwriter sound we got in the mid-90's if musicians then embraced synths. It's a mid-tempo rock song that feels like it's going to erupt at any moment but never quite does. By defying that expectation, "Mountaineer" remains a completely lovely and personal song you won't be able to resist.
Jennifer Furches says of the new song:
“There’s a running theme on the album of losing yourself in another person, and this song is about the push-and-pull between the feeling of ‘I would do anything for you’ and ‘I can’t do anything for you, I need to be strong and do things for me.'"
You can watch the video for "Mountaineer" below. T.E.A.R.S is due out July 15. For more on Spring Summer, check out the artist's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Boston dark electronic duo Ex-Hyena just released "Fractured," a song that amplifies the dark side of their sound. It's a slow song that is just dripping with a sense of dread. If this was being played in the chill out room of a rave back in the day, it would be an ominous hint that it was time to leave. That's not to say that "Fractured" is a negative listen. What truly keeps the song sounding unique is how often the song morphs into a completely different sound while keeping it a cohesive unit. It builds by adding layers and removing layers with the listener hardly noticing. Ex-Hyena have their own sound, especially in the realm of the Boston music scene.
You can listen to "Fractured" below. Moon Reflections is due out June 24 on Hush Club Ltd. and Brutal Resonance Records. For more on Ex-Hyena, check out the artist on Facebook and Instagram.
New York/New Jersey's Winter Wolf list their influences as Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Motorhead, and Biohazard. (It's rare that I know I'll like a band just based on influences, but...) The trio's latest single, "Blue Lights," is about police brutality, summer protests, and the riots during the 2020 pandemic. It's a heavy and loud perfect mixture of punk and metal (they nail that middle ground like no other band since Motorhead), but add a surprisingly strong groove to the song as well. There is an unexpected soul influence in the song while still being hard as hell. Jehiel Winters (bass/vocals" calls their sound Harlem Rhythm Punk. "Blue Lights" is the kind of song that is going to have you leaping to get on the Winter Wolf bandwagon sooner than later
You can listen to "Blue Lights" below. Winter Wolf's debut EP is due out July 2 on Academic Punk Records. For more on Winter Wolf, check out the band's Facebook and Instagram.
