Landowner - "Witch Museum"

Photo by Edwin Cubillos

Landowner are one of those bands I know by name, but I've never actually listened to them. The western Massachusetts band always seems to be playing with bands I like, and I mean to check them out, but I never quite get to it. If you're like me, their new single will have you wanting to dive straight into their back catalog. "Witch Museum" is this jerky and oddly intense indie rocker that is referred to as "abrasively clean minimalist punk" in their press release. It's a song that explores Massachusetts' dark history by mentioning multiple standard school field trip favorites. It is abrasive and aggressive, but there is an unexpected beauty to this song. My only regret with hearing a song like "Witch Museum" is realizing I could have been listening to Landowner for years before this.

You can listen to "Witch Museum" below. Escape the Compound is due out July 21 on Born Yesterday Records, and is available to pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on Landowner, check them out on Facebook and Instagram.

Perfectly Lethal - "Pissing in the Wind"

We loved the first two singles from Perfectly Lethal, comparing them to Superchunk and Cheap Trick. The Boston quartet are back with a new single, "Pissing in the Wind." The new single still has a huge, classic power pop song, but it's delving a bit more into the classic indie rock side of things. The song just starts with crunching guitars and goes into some killer harmonies and a terrifically catchy chorus. This one is reminding me more of bands like Guided By Voices and Superdrag. This one is going to appeal to fans of power pop and indie rock, especially if you have a bit of nostalgia for the mid 90's.

You can listen to "Pissing in the Wind" below. The song will be included on an upcoming EP. For more on Perfectly Lethal, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram. If you're in the Boston area, they're playing Faces Brewing Co. in Malden on Monday, May 22 with Dead Bars and Hell Beach. You can find more information on that show here.

Snõõper - "Fitness"

Photo by Pooneh Ghana

The latest from Nashville's Snõõper isn't going to be for everyone, and that's ok. "Fitness" is probably too fast and too noisy of a song. It's like noise rock meets hyper pop, and it's just a frantic mess of a song. But, that being said, it's a glorious mess of a song. It reminds me of a hyped up version of bands like Be Your Own Pet or Ex Models. For those of us that appreciate this kind of thing, "Fitness" is an absolute joy in the form of a ninety second song. It's fun and will make you want to move, even if it's most likely too fast to do anything resembling a dance to.

Vocalist Blair Tramel says of the band's new song:

“‘Fitness’ was written just for fun without much thought, which is exactly the way I think working out should be. This song is about competition, doing things for the validation of others, and how ridiculous that can be. Before our first show, I made a paper mache weight to use during this song. It was our very first prop and the only prop we used for a while. ‘Fitness’ is a special song to us because it is still one of our most fun songs to play live.”

You can watch the video for "Fitness" below. Super Snõõper is due out July 14 on Third Man Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Snõõper, check out the band on Bandcamp and Instagram. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.

Fri. June 2 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
Sat. June 3 - Savannah, GA @ Dog Days Fest ^
Sun. June 4 - Atlanta, GA @ Sabbath ^
Mon. June 5 - Nashville, TN @ Soft Junk ^
Fri. June 16 - Gold Coast, AU @ Vinnies Dive Bar #
Sat. June 17 - Brisbane, AU @ The Bearded Lady #
Thu. June 22 - Wollongong, AU @ La La La’s
Fri. June 23 - Sydney, AU @ Oxford Art Factory #+
Sun. June 25 - Newcastle, AU @ Hamilton Station Hotel
Thu. June 29 - Canberra, AU @ Sideway Bar
Fri. June 30 - Melbourne, AU @ Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar
Sat. July 1 - Melbourne, AU @ Nighthawks %
Sun. July 2 - San Francisco, CA @ Mosswood Meltdown
 Wed. July 5 - Vancouver, BC @ Green Auto
Fri. July 7 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Sat. July 8 - Seattle, WA @ Clock Out Lounge
Fri. Oct. 13 - Sun. Oct. 15 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
 
^ w/ Prison Affair
# w/ Gee Tee
+ w/ RMFC
% w/ Parsnip

The Rupert Selection - "I Saw God"

Photo by Peter McManus

Massachusetts has seen an influx in bands describing themselves as grunge lately, and one of our favorites has been The Rupert Selection. They've been adding some psychedelia into their neo-grunge sound, which ends up working perfectly. Their latest single, "I Saw God," is a loud, heavy, and trippy blast of a song. While the grunge label gets overused lately and is slapped on any song inspired by the 90's, "I Saw God" has that actual grunge sound of an extremely heavy song with fuzzed out guitars. Plus, it's as catchy as it is heavy. There are even some metal influences with The Rupert Selection (which most great grunge had), giving the song a Motorhead meets Mudhoney sound.

Guitarist and vocalist Reilly Somach says of the new song:

“I like the idea of keeping the interpretation of this one as vague and open-ended as possible. Whatever the listener perceives as being God within the song, that’s what it is.”

You can watch the video for "I Saw God" below. The song is available as a single via Bandcamp. For more on The Rupert Selection, check out the band on Instagram and Facebook.

Live Shows: Matt Charette, Micah Schnabel, Michael Kane, and Christian Marrone, Hotel Vernon, Worcester, MA 5/16/23

At its very best, music can foster friendships and a true community. That was the case Tuesday night, for a quadruple bill of three Worcester musicians (Matt Charette, Michael Kane, and Christian Marrone) playing with Columbus, OH's Micah Schnabel. All four musicians have played together before and are all friends, and it was no secret that it was a show put together at Hotel Vernon to give Schnabel a place to play and make some cash on his way through. Virtually everyone in attendance knew at least one of the musician playing, and the community was truly showcased.

Each of the local musicians played shorter sets to give more time to Micah Schnabel. Matt Charette played five songs, mostly from his excellent new album Lo-Fi High Hopes. I've been trying to get out to see him for months now, and he did not disappoint. He has a certain working class punk rock infused take on folk rock with a heavy emphasis on rock that came through perfectly even playing solo acoustic. His songs are undeniably catchy, and after hearing the in between set music that included Fountains of Wayne, The Hold Steady, and The Replacements, Charette embodies all three of those artists spirits and sounds. I've had his song "4x4" stuck in my head since I saw it played, and I have no complaints.

I had never heard Micah Schnabel before Tuesday night, and if you haven't either, you need to change that immediately. The theme of the night was working class folk-ish acoustic punk rock, and no one was more folk-punk than Schnabel. Playing a set of lefty, anti-capitalist songs, Schnabel softened the politics in songs that were awkwardly catchy, probably because of how engaging a performer he is. Songs like "Remains Silent" and "How to Ride a Bike" may be political, but it's wrapped in a level of personal experience that it's impossible not to love them. He was joined by Vanessa Jean Speckman for one of their Call Me Rita songs, and now I have yet another band I'll need to check out ASAP.

Fresh off his appearance at the Rock & Roll Rumble with his band The Morning Afters, Michael Kane played a solo set of his working class punk inspired rock and roll. A song like "Dark Nights" translated perfectly to this format. If Kane's songs were this intense and engaging solo, I can't imagine how they would sound with a full band. Every performer was playing a set of mostly dark songs, and Kane was no exception, but his songs have a certain joy to them to mask the darkness. It's kind of a cliche to compare every working class rock musician to Bruce Springsteen, but Kane's songs have that darkness masked by anthemic rock thing going for them, so it's basically impossible not to.

Christian Marrone opened the night, and he was the one I was most surprised by. He played a fun set of acoustic rock that stood right up with the nationally touring musicians he played with. A highlight was a cover of Green Day's "Jar," which he dedicated to a friend who had recently passed away. I always like when an artist covers one of the more forgotten songs from a band, and "Jar" is the kind of song I haven't thought of in years. It's always a good sign when a cover makes you want to go back to the original. Let's hope we hear more from Marrone sooner than later.

Dream Wife - "Who Do You Wanna Be?"

Photo by Sophie Webster

London's Dream Wife have a new single that is an angry party jam just waiting to break out. "Who Do You Wanna Be?" shows the trio railing against capitalism and faux-activism. The song is undeniably dance friendly and has an interesting Elastica meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs sound to it. "Who Do You Wanna Be?" is a little more modern day pop sounding than either of those two bands, but the basic structure is still there. It's a fun and exciting sound with roots in the 90's and early 00's, but still has the capability of blowing some minds with its freshness. 

Dream Wife says that their new single is "... “about running on the capitalist treadmill and falling face first on the pavement. Hollow slogans, social media activism without action, leftist infighting, monetising feminism, 'girl boss', all soul crushing nonsense. Capitalism consumes everything. We should tear down the unreachable anxiety filled idea of perfectionism and move from hyper individualised narrative to collective action to create hopeful, rebellious, collective, systems of care. This is a call to arms for change.” 

You can watch the video for "Who Do You Wanna Be?" below. Social Lubrication is due out June 9 on Lucky Number, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Dream Wife, check out their website.

Maple Glider - "Don't Kiss Me"

Photo by Bridgette Winten

Hailing from Naarm/Melbourne, Maple Glider's (the musical project of Tori Zietsch) latest single is going to remind you a lot of fellow Australian Julia Jacklin. "Don't Kiss Me" has that light and breezy sound that contains country, folk, indie rock, and pop that we cover a lot here (and that seems to be emanating from Australia lately). But as the song goes on, you're going to be thinking of other musicians less and less. Sure, "Don't Kiss Me" stays in that same genre, but Zietsch has her own sound. The song just builds and builds into this glorious epic, with the vocals keeping the same intensity while the music crescendos around her. Maple Glider is going to be one of those artists we'll be watching closely throughout the rest of 2023.

Tori Zietsch says of her new single:

“I didn’t think much of this song when I wrote it. I had a terrible recording of it on my voice memos where I wailed out of key, and it got buried somewhere in there for two years or so before I uncovered it again. I felt so connected and ready for it when I found it again that I started playing it regularly at shows. It’s a song about consent, and the experience of being predated on by older men as a girl/young woman. I think many of us are aware of that strong urge to say ‘fuck off’ and be left to our own."

You can watch the video for "Don't Kiss Me" below. The single is out now via Pieater/ Partisan Records. For more on Maple Glider, check out the artist on Facebook and Instagram.

Deer Tick - "Once in a Lifetime"

Photo by CJ Harvey

This upcoming album from Deer Tick is shaping up to be one of their finest yet. While the legend of Deer Tick states that John McCauley came up with the sound while snowed in with a bottle of whiskey and albums from Nirvana and Hank Williams, that song is pretty much gone with "Once in a Lifetime." This new song has a sense of ease and joy throughout. It's a straightforward alt-rock song that is just begging to be heard during the summer, especially with the vocal harmonies that are straight out of the 1960's. The song feels like a New England working class version of a more California sound. It's the sound of a beach with cold water and less surfing. "Once in a Lifetime" is the soundtrack to drinking your Dell's frozen lemonade.

You can listen to "Once in a Lifetime" below. Emotional Contracts is due out June 16th on ATO Records, and is available for pre-order here. For more on Deer Tick, check out their website. Upcoming tour dates are below the song.

6/5 - Deerfield, MA @ Tree House Brewery (SOLD OUT)

6/7 - South Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground

6/8 - Canandaigua, NY @ Lincoln Hill Farms

6/9 - Woodstock, NY @ Levon's Barn (SOLD OUT)

6/10 - Woodstock, NY @ Levon's Barn (SOLD OUT)

6/12 - New York, NY @ Rough Trade (Limited Space)

6/14 - Portsmouth NH @ Cisco Brewers

6/15 - Matunuck, RI @ Ocean Mist (SOLD OUT)

6/16 - Matunuck, RI @ Ocean Mist (SOLD OUT)

6/17 - Matunuck, RI @ Ocean Mist (SOLD OUT)

6/19 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird

6/21 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom

6/22 - Indianapolis, IN @ HI-FI Annex

6/23 - Milwaukee WI @ Summerfest

6/24 - Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow (SOLD OUT)

6/25 - Wisconsin Dells, WI @ Showboat Saloon (SOLD OUT)

6/27 - Ft Collins @ Washington's

6/29 - Stanford, CA @ Frost Amphitheatre*

6/30 - Quincy, CA @ High Sierra Music Festival

7/1 - Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater*

7/2/23 - Canby, OR @ Clackamas County Fairgrounds*

7/4 - Bonner, MT @ KettleHouse Amp*

7/5 - Seattle, WA @ Woodland Park Zoo*

7/6 - Spokane, WA @ Martin Woldson Theatre*

7/8 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden*

7/9 - Dillon, CO @ Lake Dillon Amphitheatre*

7/11 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre*

7/12 - San Diego, CA @ Humphrey's*

7/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre*

7/15 - Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles Amphitheatre*

7/16 - Las Vegas, NV @ Wynn Las Vegas*

10/12 - Charleston, SC @ Music Farm

10/13 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West

10/15 - Nashville, TN @ Basement East

10/17 - Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre

10/19 - New Orleans, LA @ Chickie Wah Wah

10/20 - Houston, TX @ The Heights Theater

10/21 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk

10/22 - Ft Worth, TX @ Tulips

11/8 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line

11/9 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall

11/10 - Ferndale, MI @ The Loving Touch

11/11 - Toronto, ON @ The Opera House

11/12 - Homer NY @ Homer Center for the Arts

11/14 - Washington DC @ 9:30 Club

11/15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw

11/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

11/18 - Boston, MA @ House of Blues

11/24 - Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre

11/25 - Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre

* Supporting Jason Isbell

Sapling - amor fati

I normally don't wait ten days after an album is released to write about it, but with the latest from Sapling I wanted to make sure I spent some time with it before overly gushing. After multiple listens, amor fati just keeps getting better and better.

After loving 2020's No Sequoia, I thought I knew what to expect with this new album. And amor fati is more of what we love about Sapling. It's both aggressive and fun punk rock with a biting sense of humor and an artfulness you don't see a lot in the genre. But then the songs on amor fati start going off in these unexpected directions. Songs like "A Fox Upon the Tomb," "Inaction in Action," and "11:37" are the more traditional Sapling songs, but something happens during "UK Modern is Soft" that changes the whole trajectory of the album. It starts off pretty standard, albeit a bit poppy by Sapling standards. Then, it just veers off into this epic burst of gorgeous noise, keeping this insane combination of art rock and pop intact while just building and building into this monster of a song. From there, the album grows into an unexpected masterpiece. From there you get a song like "Taboo" that starts off as this lovely, chilled out alt-rock song and then bursts into a heavy funk track. "The Werewolf of Nikola Tesla: A Musoem" is a spoken word/noise song that feels far more epic than its under four minute run time would suggest. "The Devil, The Witch, and The Nightmare" is a masterclass in loud/quiet/loud and is perfectly disjointed. (Also, I really hate to ruin a hidden track, but amor fati has my favorite hidden track in at least twenty five years...)

You can listen to "11:37" below. amor fati is available now via Bandcamp. For more on Sapling, check out their website.

First Listen: New Releases for 12 May 2023

Artist: Mathilda Brink
Album: Glimmingen
Quick Thoughts: This one was a surprise for me. Yes, I'm highly likely to take a flier on anything that says "Nordic folk" on it, but this Gothenburg native put together an album of music that is the best of all worlds. It's indie, it's rock, it's folk, it's interesting in so many different ways, and all of them great. This would be a mandatory listen in a busy week, so you have no reason to skip this one.
Songs of Note: "Victory," "Sista Vandningen," "Spela Hogre"

Artist: Alison Goldfrapp
Album: The Love Invention
Quick Thoughts: It's almost a shame that this came out so close to the Jessie Ware album, as this is an absolutely wonderful dance record in every way. Even as a fan of Goldfrapp over the years, there's something special about this record that made me a nearly instant evangelist. The first two songs are really killer efforts, and the rest of the album keeps up through its whole runtime. Easily my favorite listen of the week.
Songs of Note: "Love Invention," "Digging Deeper Now," "In Electric Blue," "Gatto Gelato"

Artist: Boogey the Beat
Album: Cousins
Quick Thoughts: There has been a pretty sizable increase in the amount of modern indigeonous music hitting the airwaves in recent years. Part of it, for sure, is that the internet makes it easier to find it. The other part, though? It's just really, really good. We're fans of Snotty Nose Rez Kids here, and their guest spots on Boogey the Beat's latest brings a little additional street credit to its traditional influence. They aren't club bangers the way Otyken tries to make it work, but it's unabashedly indigeonous while still remaining fun and accessible for the rest of us. Check this one out.
Songs of Note: "Run for Cover," "Tapwe," "Cousins," "The Sage is on Fire," "My Bike"

Artist: Dropkick Murphys
Album: Okemah Rising
Quick Thoughts: I know that living in Massachusetts requires me to at least enjoy "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by statute, but the Dropkicks and their brand of New England working class Irish punk has never truly grabbed me. It's fine - different strokes and all that. With all this said, I did not anticipate enjoying this album as much as I did. It's a little low-key and softer than what their reputation would tell us. It's also built around unused Woody Guthrie lyrics and yeah, "Run Hitler Run" is a fun anti-fascist romp that acts as a nice reminder that the Dropkicks haven't lost their punk cred even if a twang-influenced "Shipping" follows eight Guthrie tunes. Check this out.
Songs of Note: "Gotta Get to Peeskill," "Run Hitler Run," "I'm Shipping Up to Boston (Tulsa Version)"

Of note:

* Savannah Conley - Playing the Part of You is Me (Many great moments throughout this listen.)
* The KVB - Artefacts (Reimaginings from the Original Psychadelic Era) (Gloomwave covers of 1960s tunes.)
* Libby Rodenbough - Between the Blades
* Daisies - Great Big Open Sky
* Magic Wands - Switch
* LONE WOLF - HAZE WAVE
* Eluvium - (Whirring Marvels In) Consensus Reality
* MindsOne and RizzyBeats - The Time Space Continuum Redux
* Iguana Death Cult - Echo Palace
* Charlotte Cornfield - Could Have Done Anything
* Oval - Romantiq
* Emma Frank - Interiors
* Waterbaby - 22° Halo
* Overmono - Good Lies
* Island of Love - Island of Love
* Colin Stetson - When we were that what wept for the sea

EPs:

* Reklama - Who Swallowed Who?
* Midwife and Vyva Melinkolya - Orbweaving
* DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ - Something New and Doubts
* Madeline Goldstein - Other World
* Rezzett - Boshly
* Sister Ray - Teeth
* Planet Loser - Anyone But Me
* Njomza - Stages

Live albums/Compilations/Reissues:

* Moby - Resound NYC
* Grandaddy - Sumday: The Cassette Demos

Also out:

* Simon and the Astronauts and Gustaf Ljunggren - Simon and the Astronauts and Gustaf Ljunggren
* Bobby Harden and The Soulful Saints - Bridge of Love
* RP Boo - Legacy Volume 2