What’s this? It’s a Tuesday edition of Pressing Concerns! This one tackles an all-timer in Heavenly‘s recently reissued debut album, plus new albums from Gold Dust, Shaki Tavi, and Thank Your Lord for Satan.
If you’re looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
Heavenly – Heavenly Vs. Satan (Vinyl Reissue)
Release date: November 11th Record label: Skep Wax Genre: Twee, indie pop, jangle pop Formats: Vinyl Pull track: Lemonhead Boy
Amelia Fletcher and Robert Pursey of Heavenly didn’t found Skep Wax Records merely to revisit the past. Already, they’ve used the relatively new label to release new music from their current bands Swansea Sound and The Catenary Wires, as well as a record from their long-running indie pop peers The Orchids and a compilation of new material from many early-Sarah Records-era bands and musicians who are still at it. With that in mind, it feels like they’ve more than earned a look back towards what was their most beloved band, Heavenly. Skep Wax is planning to reissue all four Heavenly LPs on vinyl over the next two years, and it begins this week with their re-pressing of 1991’s Heavenly Vs. Satan, thirty years and change from its initial release on Sarah.
Although Heavenly Vs. Satan would eventually be released in the United States on K Records, and Calvin Johnson would sing on one of the band’s later releases, Heavenly always fell more on the “stately” side of twee music than their American counterparts’ ramshackle nature. The band already had a firm foundation by their first full-length—the steady rhythm section of drummer Matthew Fletcher and Pursey on bass, the bright, frequently arpeggiated guitar playing of Amelia Fletcher and Peter Momtchiloff, and Amelia’s conversational but melodic vocals, all of which are on display in the perfect pop of opening track “Cool Guitar Boy”. This version of the band excelled at this breezy jangle pop, with “Shallow” and “Don’t Be Fooled” particularly standing out as highlights.
Heavenly’s punk influences are a subtle but notable ingredient in the eight tracks of Heavenly Vs. Satan, mainly traceable through the lack of extra adornment on these songs (they were still a ways away from adding keyboardist Cathy Rogers) and the frequently brisk tempo with which they played them. The refrain of “Boyfriend Stays the Same” is particularly loud and punchy, and songs like “It’s You” and “Lemonhead Boy” are pleasing-sounding sprints.
The Skep Wax reissue of Heavenly Vs. Satan also includes the band’s first two Sarah Records singles, and seeing as it’s being done by members of the band themselves, it’s a case of collecting similarly-fitting material together rather than just slapping on some bonus tracks for the sake of bonus tracks. The zippy pop of “Over and Over” and “Wrap My Arms Around Him” in particular sound as good as anything from the LP proper. If you haven’t heard this record, it’s pretty essential listening for Rosy Overdrive readers, and even if you have, this is a good a time as any to revisit. See you next year for Le Jardin de Heavenly. (Bandcamp link)
Gold Dust – The Late Great Gold Dust
Release date: November 4th Record label: Centripetal Force Genre: Folk rock, psych rock, fuzz-folk Formats: Vinyl, CD, cassette, digital Pull track: A Storm Doesn’t Hurt the Sky
Last year, Kindling’s Stephen Pierce debuted his new solo project Gold Dust with a self-titled debut album, an intriguing record that retained the fuzz-drenched reverb of his old shoegaze band while directing this sound toward singer-songwriter folk rock. Pierce is back with a second Gold Dust album about a year after the first, and The Late Great Gold Dust finds the project being a bit bolder in combining noise and pop song structures. It’s not a huge departure from Gold Dust—if that record resonated for you, its follow-up absolutely will as well—but it feels like Pierce is more willing to let a crashing drumbeat or synth touches briefly rise up in the middle of the songs. The doom folk of the first half of opening track “Go Gently” exemplifies the project’s new sonic territory from the get-go, symbolically capturing the darkness in some of the record’s lyrics.
The second half of “Go Gently” contains a notable shift toward the cavernous, hypnotic, but catchy folk rock that’s closer in sound to Gold Dust—and side one highlights “Mountain Laurel”, “A Storm Doesn’t Hurt the Sky”, and “Larks Swarm a Hawk” are all great additions to this side of Gold Dust. The second half of The Late Great Gold Dust retains the flip side’s surface accessibility, even as Pierce doesn’t sound like he’s always in the spirits to match—“Life is bad, at least it’s short,” he sings gorgeously in “Unreliable Narrator”, and he uses the sugary sweet, TV-theme-esque melody of “All Things Aside” to remark that “time makes an ass of us all, it’s a remarkably embarrassing crawl”. Even late into the album, Gold Dust continues building intricate, ear-catching songs, like the western guitar swings that mark “Weird Weather” and the rolling country rock of “Catalpa Bloom”. The Late Great Gold Dust never stops requiring the listener to take in the breathtaking with the dour. (Bandcamp link)
Shaki Tavi – Shaki Tavi
Release date: November 4th Record label: Mutation Genre: Shoegaze, noise pop, fuzz rock Formats: Digital Pull track: Hopeless // Devoted
Los Angeles’ Shaki Tavi is a loud rock band led by Leon Mosburg, and the project’s self-titled debut record is a collection of eight in-the-red pop songs that are quite catchy underneath the fuzz. Shaki Tavi is being released by Mutation Records, who also put out the Clear Capsule EP at the beginning of the year, and that’s a good sonic starting point for this record, albeit with less 90s alt-rock revivalism and more straight shoegaze. Shaki Tavi is a six-piece group, featuring three guitarists and a keyboard player, and it’s apparent from opening track “Voices” that they’re going to make the noise of (at least) six people. It’s also apparent that Shaki Tavi isn’t merely content to be a blunt force instrument, judging by Mosburg’s calming, even vocals that sit right in the middle of the song.
Shaki Tavi continues the sonic barrage from that point, and it continues offering rewards for enduring it as well; “Believe in Everything” features melodic guitar leads floating over the instrumental storm, single “Hopeless // Devoted” contains a huge, stomping chorus, and the propulsive noise punk of “The Arm” is positively lean by Shaki Tavi standards. Although they’re still loud, some songs on Shaki Tavi probe different depths, like the dream pop of “Apple Eyes” and the desert psychedelia of “Crime” (featuring guest vocals from Emma Maatman of Dummy). Shaki Tavi is a heavy record that finds plenty of varied angles to present its core sound. (Bandcamp link)
Thank You Lord for Satan – Thank You Lord for Satan
Release date: November 4th Record label: Buh Genre: Neo-psychedelia, dream pop, psychedelic folk Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: A Million Songs Ago
Thank You Lord for Satan is the Lima, Peru-based duo of Paloma La Hoz and Henry Gates, both of whom have played in several Lima bands before this recent collaboration, and both trade off lead vocal duties in their newest project as well. Their self-titled debut record reminds me a bit, spiritually, of the Courtney and Brad album from earlier this year—it’s the sound of two talented singer-songwriters trying on several different musical styles, with compelling results. The sleepy guitar pop of “A Million Songs Ago” opens Thank You Lord for Satan with a crisp arpeggio that eventually builds to a shoegaze-evoking, fuzzy full band conclusion.
The mid-tempo march of “Wet Morning” is the other rock band peak of Thank You Lord for Satan, dipping its toe into heady psychedelia. The record’s quieter moments deliver as well. “Conversations Al Amanecer” finds a midpoint between dream pop and dub, riding a steady bassline across a handful of minimal but effective instrumental flourishes, and two of Gates’ songs—the lush chamber pop of “Text Message” and the unadorned folk of “Sad Song”—showcase the band’s subtlety. The album ends with “Divine Destiny”, a lightly-bouncing piano-based tune that, in true Thank You Lord for Satan fashion, doesn’t really sound like anything else on the record but is a successful journey. (Bandcamp link)
It is time for the first Pressing Concerns of November! In this edition: new albums from Kevin Dorff and Nick Wheeldon’s Demon Hosts, the debut EP from Jobber, and a reissue of the discography of Marvin Tate’s D-Settlement. The October Rosy Overdrive playlist went up earlier this week, so check that out too if you have not yet.
If you’re looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
Release date: November 4th Record label: American Dreams Genre: Funk, R&B, experimental rock, soul Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital Pull track: Turn Da Fuckin’ Lights Back On
From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Chicago poet, artist, and singer-songwriter Marvin Tate was the bandleader of The D-Settlement, a massive group that adorned Tate’s writing with everything from funk and rock to soul and reggae over three records, all the while remaining in relative obscurity. American Dreams Records has taken up the task of making 1997’s Partly Cloudy, 1999’s The Minstrel Show, and 2002’s American Icons available to a wider audience—an endeavor which feels overdue by the host of notable musicians who either contributed to or are quoted in the notes for the reissue (Ben LaMar Gay, Angel Olsen, Eli Winter) alone, to say nothing of the actual music contained therein.
Tate’s vision for the D-Settlement appears to already have been fully in place with Partly Cloudy, even as the record (in which only Tate and C.J. Bani receive writing credits, as opposed to the other two, which are credited to “The D-Settlement”) feels a bit more barebones than the following two. Lyrically, Tate was already hopping from strand to strand of the social fabric he was observing in Chicago, and The D-Settlement were already shooting out funk-hop (“Turn Da Fuckin’ Lights Back On”), piano ballads (“Insomnia in NYC”) and dub reggae (“Who Sold Soul”).
The Minstrel Show feels like more of a fully-realized band record from the get-go with the cosmic jazz of opener “Planet D-Settlement” and the stretched-out funk of “The Ballad of Corey Dykes” not too long after (and, by the time the amp-cranked “Governmental Wolf” comes around in the album’s second half, this notion has solidified), but Tate is still front and center for the most part, gospel-jazz chorus of “Yesterday” aside. The solidifying of the D-Settlement continues into American Icons, almost definitely the most musically-accomplished of the three.
The D-Settlement had never shied away from an extended jam, but the songs on American Icons seem especially likely to balloon to six and seven minutes—and the prominence of electric guitars makes it tempting to call it their most “rock” album as well, although songs like the unclassifiable, eternally-shifting “Gerald” are the D-Settlement sounding like only themselves. By necessity, this overview only really touches on a fraction of what’s going on in these three albums—I’d recommend checking out all that I’m missing here as well. (Bandcamp link)
Kevin Dorff – Silent Reply
Release date: September 16th Record label: Self-released Genre: 90s indie rock, singer-songwriter, folk rock Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: Just Like That
Kevin Dorff is a Brooklyn-based, Des Moines-originating singer-songwriter and playwright who is just as detailed in delineating his non-musical influences (Rachel Cusk, Alice Neel) as he is with the literary indie rock musicians (Craig Finn, David Berman) that are the most obvious touchstones for his debut record, Silent Reply. The seven-song album is a crystal clear concept record—Silent Reply is a meditation on death and how the people left behind view those who’ve passed. Every track (or, at least, the six that have lyrics) is about a friend or acquaintance of Dorff’s who died between 2010 and 2015. As such, Silent Reply is one of the thematically heavier records I’ve covered in Pressing Concerns, but these songs are tempered by Dorff’s pleasing 90s indie rock, alt-country, and folk rock-indebted sound and a writing style that declines to focus solely on the darker moments.
Silent Reply opens, appropriately enough, with a song called “DABDA”, a multi-part tribute to a friend that soars when it reaches the specifics of its remembrances (“We drove like maniacs, like the park was our personal racetrack / And we were Dale Fucking Earnhardts”) and dives into the grief—as Dorff puts it, “a swimming pool of shit”—elsewhere. The grunge-y alt-rock-tinged “Just Like That” is just as impactful, with Dorff balancing the “that’s just how it is” attitude of the titular sentiment with his parting lines (“I wish that I had cared for you / I wish I could have caught you”). The way Silent Reply is crafted, every track towers in its own right, containing a whole world in five or so minutes—choosing further highlights is something of a fool’s errand, but I’ll nod to the rolling folk rock of penultimate track “Family Friend”, which is enhanced by its cello-and-piano adornments and features a big, all-out, exhausted finish. The real ending to Silent Reply is a bit more humble but just as memorable, with Dorff making a declaration to a friend from beyond the grave in “Ghost Mind”: “I’m listening now”. (Bandcamp link)
Jobber – Hell in a Cell
Release date: October 21st Record label: Exploding in Sound Genre: Fuzz rock, punk rock, alt-rock Formats: Cassette, digital Pull track: Entrance Theme
New York’s Jobber contains a couple of familiar faces to Rosy Overdrive readers—guitarist/vocalist Kate Meizner and drummer/vocalist Mike Falcone are both in Hellrazor, who released the underrated Heaven’s Gate earlier this year. The duo (who have since added Maggie Toth on bass and Michael Julius on guitar and keyboard) play nearly everything on the five-song Hell in a Cell EP, their impressive debut release under the name. In contrast to the Falcone-led Hellrazor, Jobber features Meizner on lead vocals and (for the most part) she’s credited as the sole songwriter—but those who enjoyed the noisy and catchy alt-rock of Heaven’s Gate will find plenty to enjoy here as well.
After an amusing throwdown of an introduction (oh, did I mention that Hell in a Cell is wrestling-themed? Well, it is), Jobber offer up nothing but incredibly strong grunge-y fuzz rock tunes. The title track saunters in a particularly 90s-influenced way, with Meizner’s vocals grounding the verses in between a cranked up chorus. The EP surprisingly veers into straight power pop with “Entrance Theme”, which lobs Rentals-esque keyboards and handclaps at the listener, even as it doesn’t lose any of the rest of the EP’s bite. If there’s a slow-burner on Hell in a Cell, it’s probably closing track “Heel Turn”, which takes a minute to fully rip into its hook (which is maybe the strongest one on the EP, all things considered). It’s a front-to-back success of a first release, and if Meizner and Falcone want to start any more bands together, I’m all ears. (Bandcamp link)
Nick Wheeldon’s Demon Hosts – Gift
Release date: November 4th Record label: Le Pop Club Genre: Folk rock, jangle pop Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: Paint the Town
Nick Wheeldon is a Paris-based, Sheffield-originating singer-songwriter who’s played in many bands over the past decade, although Gift is only the second record under his own name following last November’s Communication Problems. Wheeldon cites Gene Clark and Alex Chilton as influences, and Gift is subsequently a record of breezy pop songs that fall towards a more American-sounding version of folk rock. His band for the record, The Demon Hosts, give the songs on Gift a fully-developed sound—the piano playing of Sebastien Adam in particular adds an extra layer to these nine tracks.
The melancholic, Sixties-esque, almost-psychedelic pop of opening track “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” is something of a red herring, as Gift then moves into the rollicking folk rock of “No One’s Never” and “Hail & Thunder”. Wheeldon’s jangle pop influences are best felt indirectly through his melodies, but the pensive “I Am the Storm” and (especially) the steadily uplifting “Paint the Town” place this side of him front and center. The Demon Hosts, who were put together specifically for this record, show their mettle in the murky instrumental back half of “Saint Marie”, but Wheeldon brings everything back together for one last wide-eyed pop song in closing track “I Stole the Night”, a strong and fitting closer for a record specializing in such. (Bandcamp link)
The October edition of the Rosy Overdrive playlist is here! For once, it’s actually being published in October, so, happy Halloween to you all. You’ll find a lot of great new music here, some already covered in Pressing Concerns, some not, as well as some archival selections (mainly from 1997).
Idle Ray has three songs on the playlist this time, and Jim Nothing has two.
Here is where you can listen to the playlist on various streaming services: Spotify, Tidal, BNDCMPR (missing a couple songs). Be sure to check out previous playlist posts if you’ve enjoyed this one, or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
“In Time”, Midwestern Medicine From The Gold Baton (2022, Website)
Midwestern Medicine is a Portland, Maine indie rock group led by Brock Ginther, who also plays in Divorce Cop, Lemon Pitch, and probably more bands. The Gold Baton (engineered by and featuring musical contributions from Bradford Krieger of Courtney and Brad) is the band’s second record, and it opens on a strong note with the ramshackle indie rock of “In Time”. Ginther’s quietly commanding Jason Lytle-esuqe vocals lead a stop-start instrumental featuring mid-tempo power chords and a humbly anthemic chorus.
“Decades”, Fluung From The Vine (2022, Setterwind/Den Tapes)
Fluung’s The Vine is a revelation for those of us who are susceptible to loud, guitar-heroic-heavy 90s-inspired indie rock, and “Decades” is, in many ways, the peak of that record’s sound. Coming right in the middle of the album, “Decades” maxes out both the loudness and the catchiness—it begins with Donald Wymer shouting the hook out over fuzzy guitars, and it doesn’t let up from that moment. Read more about The Vine here.
“White Collar”, Convinced Friend From Convinced Friend (2022, Relief Map)
Convinced Friend is the solo project of the New Orleans-originating, Rhode Island-based A.S. Wilson, and the lead single from its self-titled debut record is an earnest piece of fuzzy folk rock that centers Wilson’s lyrics. “White Collar” dives right into the crushing world of a crumbling work-home life balance, student loans, and the resultant burnout—and stares it all down. Wilson’s second-person narrative feels strongly like it earns the “I love you, you are alright” repeated outro.
“Windowpane”, Aluminum From Windowpane (2022, Dandy Boy/Discontinuous Innovation)
The debut EP from San Francisco’s Aluminum is a compelling listen, hitting the ground running with its opening title track. “Windowpane” is hypnotic noise pop at its finest, starting with the excellent dual vocal team of guitarist/synth player Marc Leyda and bassist Ryann Gonsalves and a steady, motorik indie rock instrumental before erupting into a massive wall of sound that nevertheless doesn’t bury the song’s memorable melody.
“Never Come Down”, Jim Nothing From In the Marigolds (2022, Meritorio/Melted Ice Cream)
Coming after In the Marigolds‘ dreamy, psychedelic opening track “It Won’t Be Long”, “Never Come Down” displays the other side of Kiwi pop band Jim Nothing’s sound. It’s pure in-your-face, Pixies-eque pop stomp, beginning with both vocalists (James Sullivan and Anita Clark) chanting the hook (“We should get lost ‘cause at least that’s something to do”) and never coming down from that high. Read more about In the Marigolds here.
“Dreamed You Were a Dog”, Idle Ray From Idle Ray (2021, Life Like/Half-Broken)
Idle Ray showing up on streaming services seems like a good enough reason to revisit one of the best records of last year. “Dreamed You Were a Dog” is the platonic ideal of a Fred Thomas song—vaguely urgent-sounding, incredibly melodic, and smartly affecting lyrically, in this case by using the titular dog dream as a way to long for basic compassion and affection (“They’re never sure what’s happening / But everyone is so happy for you”). Read more about Idle Ray here.
“Left in the Sink”, CLASS From Epoca de Los Vaqueros (2022, Feel It)
Tucson, Arizona’s CLASS jump between different sides of garage and punk rock throughout their captivating debut full-length, Epoca de Los Vaqueros, and single “Left in the Sink” shows off the best of their high-octane, barreling-forward power pop side. The song gallops over an incredibly catchy, deceptively polished two minutes of rock-and-roll—there’s a moment where bells ring for a couple seconds and it doesn’t sound out of place. Read more about Epoca de Los Vaqueros here.
“The History of the Wild West”, Nervous Twitch From Some People Never Change (2022, Reckless Yes)
One of the best attributes of Some People Never Change, the fifth record from Leeds’ Nervous Twitch, is that it’s a catchy indie pop record that sounds made by a real, solid rock band. The trio’s abilities are on full display in the runaway train of an opening track, “The History of the Wild West”, which is indie pop punk at its finest, with guitarist Jay Churchley slicing through the bright chords and Erin Hyde delivering a dry but commanding vocal performance. Read more about Some People Never Change here.
“The Bright Light”, Tanya Donelly From Lovesongs for Underdogs (1997, Reprise/WEA)
It turns out I needed to listen to Lovesongs for Underdogs to be reminded how much of the real deal Tanya Donelly was in the 1990s. Sure, “Not Too Soon” more or less invented the genre of indie rock that’s still effectively the dominant one today way back in 1991, and Belly (reunion album that didn’t really grab me aside) still holds up very well, but this solo album sounds like she went even more all-in than normal in trying to make huge pop songs, and I challenge you to not get “The Bright Light” stuck in your head after one listen.
“Shadows”, Dear Nora From Human Futures (2022, Orindal)
Dear Nora’s fifth record, Human Futures, features a host of different musical styles, hopping from minimalist to busy, from synths to guitars—highlight “Shadows” is unambiguously a gorgeous folk-country tune carried heavily by Katy Davidson’s self-harmonies. Davidson’s original home of Arizona figures heavily in the song (Tucson, Lake Havasu, and Flagstaff’s Weatherford Hotel get a mention), but “Shadows” isn’t static—in perhaps the record’s most memorable line, Davidson observes that “What was once America is now just a place to drive”. Read more about Human Futures here.
“I Killed the Cuckoo”, The Geraldine Fibbers From Butch (1997, Virgin)
I’d listened to The Geraldine Fibbers’ country rock opus, 1996’s Lost Somewhere Between Earth and My Home, for the first time last year—but that did not adequately prepare me for their follow-up, the following year’s Butch. It’s a frantic, snarling garage rock record that eliminates a lot (but not all) of the previous album’s empty spaces (who would’ve thought adding Nels Cline to their line-up would result in that?). “I Killed the Cuckoo” is an extraordinarily potent 90s punk song that deserves to be remembered more than a lot of stuff that’s been overly canonized (I’d liked to have seen [censored] begin a song with, uh, that opening line).
“Keep Your Name Alive”, Sloan From Steady (2022, Yep Roc)
The new Sloan album is (from the couple of times I’ve listened to it so far) a very good late-career highlight, and closing track “Keep Your Name Alive” is, even in that context, a particularly surprising way for the four-piece band to end things. It’s from the Jay Ferguson camp, and its chorus is pure, vintage Sloan, but there’s a looseness to the verses (like when Ferguson stops singing to remark “Well, I guess I had to find out for myself”) that feels like a great place for the band to be at this stage.
“I Believe She’s Lying”, Jon Brion From Meaningless (2001, Straight to Cut-Out/Jealous Butcher)
Jealous Butcher’s vinyl reissue (well, issue, as it’s only ever been released on CD before) of Jon Brion’s Meaningless has brought out a lot of praise reflective of a record that’s been building a cult following for twenty years, and I will not attempt to fully capture why that is here. But I will give you “I Believe She’s Lying”, a killer pop song that is also extremely weird and shows off Brion’s studio skills. I’m not sure what to focus on here—the ridiculous percussion, Brion’s really odd choices of vocal effects, the guitar accents that jump in and out of the song—but it all works perfectly.
“People Watching”, Ganser From Nothing You Do Matters (2022, Felte)
Ganser’s latest EP (following 2020’s Just Look at the Sky full-length and last year’s Look at the Sun remix EP) only features two all-new songs, but “People Watching” alone is worth the price of admission. The EP’s lead single expands upon Ganser’s dense, multi-pronged post-punk sound, with a dread-provoking instrumental underlining Nadia Garofalo’s particularly droll lead vocals (the way she delivers the EP’s title line, “Yeah, the world is big / And nothing you do matters” says a lot more than a few certain post-punk revival bands do in full albums).
“Paved”, That Hideous Sound From Wasted Life (2022, Repeating Cloud)
I highlighted the debut single from Portland, Maine’s That Hideous Sound last year and remarked on its lo-fi garage rock, Wavves-indebted sound at that point. With the release of their first full-length record this month, the Elijah Crissinger-led project has expanded its depth to offer up downbeat 90s indie rock, fuzzy power pop, and basement psychedelia. My favorite song from Wasted Life, “Paved”, is a mid-tempo indie rock groover, sounding kind of like Alex G if he had dug further into his initial alt-rock influences instead of moving away from them.
“Lonedell Wildflower”, Ace of Spit From Ace of Spit (2022, Sophomore Lounge)
St. Louis’ Ace of Spit are runaway-train garage rockers who embrace a proto-punk wildness and maximum amp-cranked distortion on their self-titled debut record, although mid-album highlight “Lonedell Wildflower” congeals their pure spirit into two minutes of fuzzy, loud power pop. The opening guitar lead careens into a pleasing hook in a way that reflects but isn’t beholden to the band’s surf influences, before rushing through an excellent mess of a pop song.
“J Bird”, Ded Jewels From Big, Big Wave (2022, Feral Kid)
I love a good various-artist, all-original-tunes compilation, and Feral Kid Records has served up a great one with Big, Big Wave, a survey of Hattiesburg, Mississippi’s surprisingly (or, perhaps not so, given the Magnolia State’s rich music history) fertile garage rock and punk scene. One of the standout tunes, “J Bird” by Ded Jewels, emphasizes the Mississippi inherent herein with a roaring southern punk rock tune that’s equal parts 50s rock-and-roll and early Drive-By Truckers fuzz rock.
“Asking Price”, Dazy From OUTOFBODY (2022, Lame-O/Convulse)
OUTOFBODY is pretty much exactly what you’d want from Dazy’s debut album: it retains the core of what made James Goodson’s early releases under the name so exciting (the Britpop/power pop/punk-pop/fuzz rock combo) but stretches out a little bit. “Asking Price” almost flies under the radar hidden in the middle of side two, but it’s effectively just one giant chorus and the sentiment (“Seems so wrong, seems so right / Sold my soul for the asking price”) feels appropriate for a long-awaited debut record. Read more about OUTOFBODY here.
“Youth Without Virtue”, The Sylvia Platters From Youth Without Virtue (2022)
Youth Without Virtue is the first I’ve heard from British Columbia’s The Sylvia Platters, but they appear to have been around since 2015 at least. Judging from the six songs on their latest EP, however, they’re right up my alley—these tracks are expertly-written Teenage Fanclub-esque power/jangle pop touched (but never overwhelmed) by a bit of noise and dream pop distortion. The title track to Youth Without Virtue is a big-sounding number, riding wistful, melancholic melodies all the way to a genuinely jaw-dropping moment: the giant chorus hook gets saved for nearly the end of the track.
“Throw a Smile Toward Me”, Winded From Schwartz Provides (2022, Community)
The latest record from the Florida-originating, upstate New York-based Winded is a charming sub-twenty minute lo-fi indie rock cassette that displays the songwriting skills of bandleader Thrin Vianale in several genres. “Throw a Smile Toward Me” is one of the more immediate tracks on Schwartz Provides, a mid-tempo, barely emo-tinged fuzz rocker that skips through verses to get to Vianale’s titular plea (why don’t you throw one toward them?).
“Barrier Reef”, Old 97’s From Too Far to Care (1997, Elektra)
Very savvy of the Old 97’s to release their best record in 1997. Well, I can’t say that definitively, as I still haven’t heard a bunch of their post-90s albums, but Too Far to Care really does feel like their country-power-pop peak. “Barrier Reef” isn’t as flashy as “Timebomb” or “Big Brown Eyes”, but it’s a stealthily great album track, and Rhett Miller’s charmingly incredulous delivery (“She said ‘I’m already dead’’ / And that’s exactly what she said”; “She said ‘Do you have a car’, and I said / ‘Do I have a car?’”) is particularly memorable.
“Terms”, Idle Ray From Idle Ray (2021, Life Like/Half-Broken)
Idle Ray is a full band now, but the songs on Idle Ray were recorded almost entirely by Fred Thomas alone. It is, somewhat ironically, a more straightforward and barebones effort than the last couple records he released under his own name, but it serves songs like “Terms” well—the guitar leads and vocals are strong enough melodically to stand on their own, and Thomas lets them do so here. Read more about Idle Ray here.
“Channel Master”, Glazer From CivilianWhiplash (2022, State Champion)
The latest release from New Jersey’s Glazer is a six-song cassette EP on their longtime home of State Champion Records (Noun, Snakeskin) that delivers a brief but welcome dose of their heavy but frequently hooky fuzz rock. My favorite track on Civilian Whiplash, “Channel Master”, falls squarely into the “hooky” category—although the song’s verses find Glazer in anxious mode, the song then rolls into a beast of an anthemic alt-rock chorus.
“Le Vampire”, Death Hags From The Alice Tape (2021, Big Grey Sun)
Death Hags’ The Alice Tape originally got a Bandcamp-only cassette release last Halloween, but it’s seeing wider availability this spooky season. Like many of the prolific Lola G’s releases under the Death Hags name (which also includes a Christmas-themed album, Frozen Santa), it’s a mix between ambient dreaminess and more grounded guitar pop—with an appropriate goth/darkwave twist this time. Inspired in part by The Sisters of Mercy’s goth classic “Alice” (of which the tape features a very good cover), The Alice Tape also features the bouncy, French-sung pop rock of “Le Vampire”, one of the cassette’s brightest and strongest moments.
“10th and J 2”, Enumclaw From Save the Baby (2022, Luminelle)
Following their excellent debut in last year’s Jimbo Demo (one of my favorite EPs of 2021), Tacoma’s Enumclaw make it clear that they’re shooting for something higher from the get-go of their gigantic-sounding first full-length, Save the Baby. My current favorite song from the record, “10th and J 2”, falls somewhere between the relative simplicity of the EP and the extra layers of Save the Baby—lead singer Aramis Johnson’s vocals are clear in the mix, atop a swirling shoegaze-inspired instrumental that builds nicely.
“Yellow House”, Jim Nothing From In the Marigolds (2022, Meritorio/Melted Ice Cream)
In the Marigolds is packed to the brim with humble guitar pop songs that reflect both Jim Nothing’s home country (New Zealand, the land of the Dunedin sound) and the various members’ other bands (Wurld Series, Salad Boys). “Yellow House” picks up the tempo a bit in the middle of the record, but it retains something of a melancholy vibe—and I don’t know what exactly to call the chorus, in which fuzzy guitars, Anita Clark and James Sullivan’s vocal harmonies, and Clark’s violin all come together beautifully. Read more about In the Marigolds here.
“My Work Here Is Dumb”, The Intelligence From Lil’ Peril (2022, Mt.St.Mtn./Vapid Moonlighting)
Lil’ Peril is, very loosely speaking, a pop record—although its second half dives particularly into garage rock experimentalism, and even the more accessible songs feature plenty of left turns. Album centerpiece “My Work Here Is Dumb” is probably the most “traditional” garage rock song on the album, with a sneering vocal hook delivered by Lars Finberg, even as it stomps and twitches its way to a creepy ambient outro. Read more about Lil’ Peril here.
“Command Performance”, Noah Roth From Breakfast of Champions (2022)
The latest record from Philadelphia’s Noah Roth, September’s Breakfast of Champions, is a Slaughter Beach, Dog-esque folk/alt-country-tinged singer-songwriter record that has a surprising experimental/studio rat streak as well. For instance—although “Command Performance” is very much a pop song, Roth steers it all over the place, adding and dropping a host of instrumentation to the track as it twists and turns underneath their melodic vocals. Read more about Breakfast of Champions here.
“Behind the Smile”, Matthew Sweet From Blue Sky on Mars (1997, Volcano)
Blue Sky on Mars is a good record—it doesn’t have the darkness of Altered Beast, the Brian Wilson overdrive of In Reverse, or the monster pop single that headlines 100% Fun, but what it does have are twelve smartly-written power pop tunes. The brief, straightforward “Behind the Smile” is sneakily one of the best on the album—Matthew Sweet has used the earnest charm of his vocals to get away with all sorts of things over his music career, but here he simply wants to say “I haven’t been a good friend / For a long, long time”.
“Runner”, Alex G From God Save the Animals (2022, Domino)
Alex G is doing a lot these days, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the songs that still do the most for me personally are the pretty pop rock tunes like “Runner”. Not that “Runner” is one-dimensional—the song’s lyrics are, as is frequently the case, an interesting cypher, and Alex acquits himself nicely as a unique vocalist here as well (his shriek on “I have done a couple bad things” is what’ll get the attention, but I’m thinking more of his delivery on “They hit you with a rolled-up magazine”).
“Polaroid”, Idle Ray From Idle Ray (2021, Life Like/Half-Broken)
Idle Ray is a record preoccupied with Fred Thomas’ fractured and fading friendships—I’m not sure if “Polaroid” wins the sweepstakes for the strongest portrayal of social anxiety, but the opening lines (“I used to have a Polaroid camera, I took it with me everywhere / I used to take pictures of people so they’d remember I was there”) has to be up there. At the very least, “Polaroid” describes its damage in the past tense, and it’s also one of the catchiest songs on a record of very catchy songs. Read more about Idle Ray here.
“What Would You Like Me to Do?”, Meat Wave From Malign Hex (2022, Swami)
Alright, Malign Hex is out, and it’s a solid 35-minute document of Meat Wave’s particularly lean brand of noise rock/post-punk. I remember reading somewhere that it was actually recorded (or at least written) before last year’s excellent Volcano Park EP—either way, I hear a lot of similarity in the two, especially in the more atmospheric songs like the chilly “What Would You Like Me to Do?”, which builds into a nervous, bass-driven rock song over four minutes of pure cauldron-stewing.
“Hangman”, Picastro From I’ve Never Met a Stranger (2022, Stoned to Death)
For their latest release, Toronto’s Picastro take five cover songs and make them wholly their own by applying their stark, beautiful slowcore and the distinct vocals of singer/guitarist Liz Hysen. Opening track “Hangman” (originally by Fire on Fire) is probably the sparest track on I’ve Never Met a Stranger, a hauntingly simple tune that really lets the refrain from Hysen (“Even the worst of men has friends / Even the hangman has friends”) impact the listener. Read more about I’ve Never Met a Stranger here.
“That Kid”, Cash Langdon From Sinister Feeling (2022, Earth Libraries)
For the first full-length under his own name, Birmingham, Alabama’s Cash Langdon embraces a folk rock sound that retains the pop sensibilities present in his other bands (the shoegaze of Caution, and the power pop of Saturday Night). “That Kid” opens Sinister Feeling with a sweet, jangly sound, and Langdon’s vocals deliver a gorgeous melody. Read more about Sinister Feeling here.
“Like the Last Time”, Will Sheff From Nothing Special (2022, ATO)
I did not like Nothing Special when I first heard it. It’s growing on me. It might be my favorite front-to-back record Will Sheff has done since The Silver Gymnasium; check back with me in a month or two on that. I’ve got no hesitation on “Like the Last Time”, though—this is clearly Sheff reaching the heights he’s always good to hit at least once even on his lesser records. Since this is my website, I’m forcing all of you to be patient like I was and let Sheff meander through the track’s first two minutes before unleashing the catharsis of the rest of the song—powerful on its own, even more so in the context of Nothing Special.
“Another Round (An Echo)”, Guest Directors From Oh, to Be Weightless in the Sky (2022)
The latest EP from Seattle reverb-rock band Guest Directors opens with “Another Round (An Echo)”, which draws from shoegaze and psychedelia in its dramatic instrumental to match the impassioned, clear vocals and lyrics of singer/guitarist Julie D. Although “Another Round (An Echo)” doesn’t tip its hand with any specifics, it draws on the band’s hometown’s recent musical past in its description of a musician trapped in a dark spiral of addiction and hurt.
“Senseless”, Nightmarathons From Hidden Vigorish (2022, A-F)
The second record from Pittsburgh’s Nightmarathons is a particularly spirited collection of mid-2000s-era Against Me!-indebted melodic punk. The AM! comparisons hit particularly close in the verses of “Senseless”, my favorite song from Hidden Vigorish, which combines chiming, three-chord power pop with a potent vocal and lyrical bite. The giant chorus is too busy grabbing the listener for one to care too much about trying to place influences, however.
“I Should Have Helped You”, The Reds, Pinks & Purples From They Only Wanted Your Soul (2022, Slumberland)
The first four tracks of the latest Reds, Pinks & Purples record, They Only Wanted Your Soul, were initially released as the I Should Have Helped You EP, and it’s easy to hear why Slumberland Records and Reds, Pinks & Purples leader Glenn Donaldson thought these songs deserved a second look. The record begins with an instant classic in the aching, wistful “I Should Have Helped You”, in which Donaldson captures a world of emotion with the simple title statement. Read more about They Only Wanted Your Soul here.
“See You Better Now”, Wild Pink From ILYSM (2022, Royal Mountain)
I’m not one of the music writers who’s an easy mark for John Ross’ widescreen heartland rock as Wild Pink (I still think the shimmery slowcore of the band’s self-titled debut is their peak), but I always find something special on their records. For ILYSM, most of the highlights for me are hidden in its second side, including the triumphant “See You Better Now”, a just-jangly-enough, just-folk-enough shiny pop rock tune that makes me understand why this kind of music hits home for so many people.
“Johnny Appleseed”, Guided by Voices From Scalping the Guru (2022, GBV, Inc.)
Example number five-hundred and eighty-something of how any old Robert Pollard song can reach out and grab you at any given time. Scalping the Guru is a trip—trying to combine 1993-1994-era Guided by Voices EPs into a full-length creates something inarguably weirder than any of their records from that period, in a fascinating way. “Johnny Appleseed” is one of the most “pop” songs from the compilation (coming behind the two genuine “hits” on there, “My Impression Now” and “Big School”), and its charm is how wrong it sounds. Pollard and Tobin Sprout’s “harmonies”, the out-of-tune guitar, the random piano stabs—I can’t imagine this song being any other way.
It’s the Thursday edition of Pressing Concerns! Today we look at three albums coming out tomorrow (Dazy, CLASS, and Emotional Response’s latest Typical Girls compilation), plus the Fluung record from two weeks ago. If you missed Tuesday’s Pressing Concerns, featuring Dear Nora, Mt. Oriander, Puppy Angst, and Austin Leonard Jones, you can catch up here.
If you’re looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
Dazy – OUTOFBODY
Release date: October 28th Record label: Lame-O/Convulse Genre: Power pop, fuzz rock Formats: Vinyl, cassette, digital Pull track: Asking Price
2021 was truly the year of Dazy. Although James Goodson began the project the year before, last year was the one where it truly came to a head, resulting in a couple of substantial EPs and culminating in MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD, which compiled Goodson’s first 24 songs as Dazy. MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD served, among other things, as proof of the potency in the familiar yet singular sound Goodson developed as Dazy—an enthusiastic and (yes) loud form of power pop that’s equally driven by pop punk, Madchester, Britpop, and fuzzy noise pop. That compilation is better than many bands’ debut records, but it isn’t one—that would be this year’s OUTOFBODY, Goodson’s first attempt to present Dazy in a dozen-track, one-statement format.
It doesn’t take long for OUTOFBODY to establish that Dazy is still at the top of their game. The first three songs on the record all offer up big, hooky fuzz rock, even as they sound fairly distinct from one another—the opening title track holds back enough to feel like a dramatic, even cinematic starting point, the driving “Split” has a breezy jangle pop core underneath the distortion, and the effortless cool of “On My Way” is a bit of every part of Dazy’s influences. The rest of OUTOFBODY keeps the hooks coming, but seems more interested in spreading out over the course of an LP and less concerned with delivering a pure sugar rush (although if you want that, “Choose Yr Ramone” and “AWTCMM?” are there as well).
Goodson’s sound is unique enough that an entire record embracing it wholeheartedly would feel far from stale, and while OUTOFBODY doesn’t deviate from it wildly, it also finds different corners of it to lean into, like the melancholy of mid-record highlight “Motionless Parade” or the extra Madchester touches in “Ladder”. The biggest departure is the acoustic-and-synths pin-drop sound of the delicate “Inside Voice”—if Goodson wanted to make more songs of that nature, it’d be fine by me; as it would be if he went the other direction, as he does in closing track “Gone”. The latter is particularly multi-layered, but Goodson’s voice and the jaunty core of the song aren’t lost in the noise that is still somehow only being made by one person. It’s all still exciting. (Bandcamp link)
CLASS – Epoca de Los Vaqueros
Release date: October 28th Record label: Feel It Genre: Garage rock, power pop, punk rock Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: Left in the Sink
Epoca de Los Vaqueros is the debut full-length record from Tucson’s CLASS, following a cassette EP that came out in June, and it’s eight tracks and twenty minutes’ worth of exhilarating garage-y punk rock that show off the full range of the band (guitarist-vocalists Andy and Rick, bassist-vocalist Jim, and drummer Ryan). Are CLASS a nervy, Devo-core egg punk group? Are they a rough-and-tumble, glam-inspired power pop group? Are they sneering, dangerously-loitering 70s punk devotees? Epoca de Los Vaqueros has a little bit of all of it.
Album opener “The Way It Goes” in particular rides pent-up rage in its verses up to a robotic, Q: Are We Not Men?-worthy chorus, and the dark “Incomplete Extraction” matches it for post-punk atmospherics. Elsewhere, CLASS offer up high-octane, barreling-forward power pop with “Box My Own Shadow” and “Left in the Sink”, and the mid-tempo “Light Switch Tripper” takes their pop skills even further, sounding like Flying Nun Kiwi pop filtered through the most accessible moments of 90s indie rock bands like Pavement and Guided by Voices.
The punk rock of Epoca de Los Vaqueros is probably best exemplified in “Cockney Rebel”, a seething put-down of a number, but also in true original punk fashion, CLASS end the record on a note of despair and nihilism. “Unlocking Heaven’s Gate” is their “Final Solution”, an alarm-sounding empty tune describing a deadly, destructive virus (well, I guess that’s a reasonable substitute for 70s punk’s Cold War-era nuclear dread). What more could you want? (Bandcamp link)
Various – Typical Girls Volume 6
Release date: October 28th Record label: Emotional Response Genre: Indie pop, post-punk, hardcore punk, synthpop Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: Thin As Flags
Arizona’s Emotional Response Records initiated their Typical Girls series in 2016 with the simple yet welcome goal of highlighting vital and perhaps under-appreciated women and female-fronted bands in the punk, post-punk, and indie pop landscapes. The sixth volume of Typical Girls features sixteen bands from seven different countries, and it’s geographical diversity is matched by that of genre as well. On the heavier end of the spectrum, we have the garage rock/classic punk bands that are perhaps closest in spirit to the Slits song for which the series is named (Fake Fruit, Sweeping Promises, Luu Kurkkuun, Squid Ink), not to mention the couple of hardcore songs that appear on the compilation as well.
The other, softer extreme of Typical Girls Volume 6 is its indie pop side—Cindy’s sleepy-sounding “Thin As Flags” is another gem from the Karina Gill (Flowertown) project, Lande Hekt’s “Lola” is a slice of emo-tinged indie rock from the British songwriter, “Abraxas” by New Zealand’s Wet Specimen is a thorny but accessible piece of 90s-inspired indie rock, and Ukraine’s Glass Beads offer up the goth-adjacent dark pop of “Music Box”. It’s a fairly packed compilation—some of the less flashy contributions (specifically a couple of skewed indie rock tunes from Persona and Body Double and a minimalist synthpop track from Naked Roommate) didn’t grab me at first but stuck out on multiple listens. Effectively, if you like the kind of music Rosy Overdrive covers, you will find a new band to like here, and most likely multiple ones. (Bandcamp link)
Fluung – The Vine
Release date: October 14th Record label: Setterwind/Den Tapes Genre: 90s indie rock, fuzz rock Formats: Vinyl, cassette, digital Pull track: Decades
Seattle three-piece band Fluung are an electric-sounding group whose recently released second record, The Vine, features eight tracks displaying the best-case scenario for a band making 90s alt/indie-rock-inspired music today. Effectively trading in loud pop songs, Fluung offer up fuzz and hooks in equal measure, and it’s a toss-up whether guitarist Donald Wymer’s clear, melodic vocals or blistering solos are the attention-grabbers at any given point in The Vine.
The Vine fails to let up or take a breather throughout its first half—it stomps through crunchy opening track “Hold On”, it slides into the sun-drenched “Run with You”, and then unleashes the choppy, power chord-driven “Truck Song”. “Decades” is in some ways the perfect Fluung song, in that it maxes out both the loudness and catchiness for a completely unforgettable mid-record song. The second half of The Vine is, perhaps, slightly less immediate and more moody, but songs like the title track and “Sunburnt” rival the record’s poppiest moments in the midst of their maelstroms. And Fluung offer up a genuine mountain-scaler of a closing track in the weary but determined “Crooked Road”, making the whole thing seem bigger than it relatively modest sub-30-minute runtime. (Bandcamp link)
It’s a Tuesday, and we’ve got four new records to look at today, by Dear Nora, Mt. Oriander, Puppy Angst, and Austin Leonard Jones. We’ll have four more on Thursday.
If you’re looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
Dear Nora – Human Futures
Release date: October 28th Record label: Orindal Genre: Indie folk, experimental folk, indie pop Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: Shadows
Human Futures is the fifth record under the Dear Nora name, which singer-songwriter Katy Davidson has been using to make music since 1999. It is also, notably, the first album of theirs made in a recording studio, and subsequently features a more collaborative approach between Davidson and the other current members of Dear Nora (drummer Greg Campanile, piano/synth player Nicholas Krgovich, and bassist/drummer/synth player Zach Burba). Davidson still takes the lead and contributes all lyrics and vocal melodies, which results in an accessible but varied experimental pop record that veers between Dear Nora’s recognizable indie folk and some stranger moments.
Human Futures displays its studio origins in the opening of the record—the first two tracks are the bizarre stop-and-start “Scrolls of Doom” and the bright, minimalist narrative synthpop of “Sedona”. Both of these songs work in no small part due to Davidson’s vocal melodies and self-harmonies, which are equally centered in the album’s various musical detours—from the gorgeous folk of the rambling “Shadows”, the piano ballad “Mothers and Daughters”, or the surprising groove of “Flowers Fading”. Davidson’s lyrics also work towards connecting the various moods of Human Futures. Their original home state of Arizona is all over the record, from Lake Havasu and Tucson in “Shadows” to the title town of “Sedona” and eatery in “Sinaloan Restaurant”.
As much as Arizona factors into Human Futures, the record isn’t stuck in one place, either—traveling and transience also factor heavily into the album (hotels pop up multiple times, and one of the songs is called “Airbnb Cowboy”). It serves the purpose of reminiscing (“Five Months on the Go”, in which Davidson’s family travels from San Francisco to El Paso to across an ocean, sees hoodoo goblins, and eats disappointing pizza) or is very much meant in the present tense (“Shadows”, which contains the realization “What was once America is now just a place to drive”). Towards the end of the record, Davidson quietly sings “I think I know it all, but I don’t know,” in “Flag (Into the Fray)”—Human Futures covers more than enough ground to shine a light on everything we all don’t know. (Bandcamp link)
Mt. Oriander – Then the Lightness Leaves and I Become Heavy Again
Release date: October 21st Record label: Count Your Lucky Stars/Friend Club Genre: Midwest emo, slowcore Formats: Vinyl, cassette, digital Pull track: Lilliput Steps
Keith Latinen has done more than enough to make his mark on emo music between running Count Your Lucky Stars Records and his time in Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate). 2021 found Latinen asserting he still had more to say, however, debuting a new band in Parting and a new solo project, Mt. Oriander. Latinen introduced Mt. Oriander with the appropriately low-key This Is Not the Way I Wanted You to Find Out EP, a record that emphasized the project’s downcast, slowcore-influenced side. Coming almost exactly a year later, Then the Lightness Leaves and I Become Heavy Again, the debut LP from Mt. Oriander, appropriately feels like a bigger and grander statement. It’s more wide-ranging—at times it’s louder in a way more reminiscent of Parting, while songs like “A Drawing of a Bird You Have Never Seen Before” wouldn’t have been out of place on the debut EP.
Then the Lightness Leaves and I Become Heavy Again begins as fully as possible—“What We Have Is You”, the record’s first non-instrumental song, tumbles out of the starting gate with Midwest emo horns and math rock riffs, and the sturdy alt-rock background of “We Measure Our Distance in Time” rises and falls under Latinen’s voice. Latinen’s distinct, eternally youthful-sounding vocals sound as good as ever leaping from world-weary to on-the-brink-emotional from song to song, and one can tell he’s re-energized even without “We Should Get Out of Here Before Something Goes Terribly Wrong!”, an autobiographical story of how Latinen dug himself out of the ashes of the end of his last band to become an active singer-songwriter again.
Then the Lightness Leaves… is compelling throughout; later track “Lilliput Steps” finds Latinen in less-is-more mode, as guitar leads drift in and out of the bass-driven song. Guest vocalists and musicians pop up throughout the record, perhaps most prominently in the last two songs: Brian Carley’s voice on the dramatic-building “We Are Not in This Alone”, and Elliott Green’s in the final exhale of “You Don’t Have to Keep Trying Anymore”. Between the appearances of Latinen’s peers and the range of musical styles, a lot of what’s special about Then the Lightness Leaves… is right there in those two final tracks. (Bandcamp link)
Puppy Angst – Scorpio Season
Release date: October 24th Record label: Self-released Genre: Indie rock, dream pop, power pop Formats: Cassette, digital Pull track: Yellow Paint
Philadelphia four-piece band Puppy Angst have a sound that’s an amalgamation of reverb-heavy, cranked up guitars, the emotional vocals and lyrics of frontperson Alyssa Milman, and plenty of pop hooks. Their debut full-length record, Scorpio Season, subsequently has one foot in both the hazy shoegaze/dream pop and emo/indie punk sides of their city’s music scene (and indeed, the various members’ pedigrees reflect this dichotomy, having played with everyone from Kississippi to Alex G). Frequently, the songs on Scorpio Season begin with a somewhat subdued dreamy rock instrumental, and then simply get louder and bigger as they go. Milman is an unafraid and commanding singer, and even in the most reverb-heavy moments of the record, Scorpio Season correctly places their voice front and center.
Puppy Angst really go for it early on in the record with the hard-charging power pop punk of single “Yellow Paint”, with both Milman’s vocals and the rest of the band soaring and also featuring a ripping guitar solo. The synth-colored “In Sensitivity” and “Bedhead” start off less overtly noisy before adding plenty of in-the-red fuzz and, for the latter, a big, multi-layered finale featuring impressive bass work from John Heywood. “Bedhead”’s giant sound contrasts with Milman’s lethargy-inspired lyrics—Milman’s writing rarely gets lost among the loudness. Their performance comes to a head in the frantic “Eternal (Stream of Consciousness)”, in which Milman delivers an increasingly unmoored spoken word vocal over a boiling instrumental. Scorpio Season then ends with one last all-in pop statement, “The Pattern”—and one last moment of realism from Milman, who repeats “I keep repeating all the patterns / I’m in a loop of my bad habits,” eternally as the rest of the band act out this circular motion with them. (Bandcamp link)
Austin Leonard Jones – Dead Calm
Release date: July 29th Record label: Perpetual Doom Genre: Country rock, singer-songwriter, folk rock Formats: Vinyl, cassette, digital Pull track: Don’t Cry Sylvio
Austin Leonard Jones is a Texas-based singer-songwriter whose latest record, Dead Calm, both evokes its title and finds some intriguing depths behind its titular sentiment. Jones and his band have clearly taken inspiration from traditional country music; every song on the record features prominent pedal steel and Jones’ gentle crooning vocals. Jones’ songwriting is too potent to get bogged down in any kind of stale reverence, however.
Early highlight “Night Parrots” drives forwards cautiously but confidently, with Jones suggesting “Pick yourself back up and move along,” amidst lyrics populated by golf courses, Cadillacs, drug dealers and someone getting shot “right between the balls”. “The Australia Song” alone is responsible for knocking Dead Calm out of the past and into the present day, with Jones weaving an autobiographical, sung-spoken tale about traveling through the titular continent and being disillusioned by songwriters who’d rather cosplay decades past to the point of becoming a “weak and watered-down Ian MacKaye” than forge ahead.
Jones can be a witty songwriter, to be sure, but that doesn’t detract from the rest of his craft on Dead Calm. When he hits the chorus of “Don’t Cry Sylvio”, it’s as moving as any country ballad one could name, and his humble declaration that “My life has been exotic after all” in “Exotics” is delivered with the pure sincerity (and an organ as punctuation, as well) that it needs to fully blossom. (Bandcamp link)
It’s a classic Thursday edition of Pressing Concerns! Today, we look at albums coming out tomorrow from Jordaan Mason & Their Orchestra and Non Bruises, plus recent records from Noah Roth and Peel Dream Magazine.
If you’re looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
Jordaan Mason & Their Orchestra – Rewrite the Words Again
Release date: October 21st Record label: Unelectric Sounds Genre: Experimental folk, singer-songwriter, orchestral folk Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital Pull track: No More Metaphor
Jordaan Mason has carved out a place for themselves in indie music. They’ve been making records for most of this century, with their sound taking shape in the mid-2000s—2009’s Divorce Lawyers I Shaved My Head is their most well-known one, although it took a few years after its release for it to get there. Their most recent album, Rewrite the Words Again, takes me back to that wide-eyed, big-tent era of indie folk and rock in which Mason got their start—it evokes, at various points, the expansive-Neutral Milk Hotel-adjacent sound of early John Vanderslice, the anti-folk of Jeffrey Lewis, and the delicate steady-building of The Microphones. But it sounds, first and foremost, like Jordaan Mason album.
Rewrite the Words Again is an hour of stretched-out odysseys of songs brightened and elaborated upon by their “Orchestra”—an appropriate term for the twenty-something musicians and vocalists that contribute to the record, featuring everyone from Chad Matheny of Emperor X to Sean Bonnette of AJJ. Rewrite the Words Again truly sounds massive, and the record’s opening songs really set the tone, although in different ways. The piano-pounding, seven-minute opening track “No More Metaphor” starts the record by hitting the ground running, while the drum machine backbeat and triumphant guitar leads of “The City We Loved In” make it one of the record’s most “pop” moments, even as pushes towards six minutes.
As packed as Rewrite the Words Again is with capable musicians, Mason doesn’t overwhelm for the sake of overwhelming—a few songs lean on just one instrument, particularly the accordion in “Another Storm”, but the harp in (of course) “Play the Harp Badly” towers over the rest of the instrumental as well. Some parts of Rewrite the Words Again trend towards ambient music, like parts of album centerpiece “Hot Burning Stove” (serving as a gentle counterpart to the song’s heavy, suicide-referencing lyrics) and the end of the eight-minute “Temporary Wild”.
The traumatic event at the center of “Hot Burning Stove” is an integral part of Rewrite the Words Again, to be sure, but it’s just one end of the record’s range, which also features the deliberate joy in the reminiscing of “The City We Loved In”, the more measured but still palpably warm “Amsterdam”, and the cartoonish but incredibly sincere closing vow of “No More Trauma”. The latter—the final song on Rewrite the Words Again—makes explicit Mason’s desire for all of us to “build a future that is better, can’t do nothing about the past”, a reflection of the community-based worldview that’s both necessary in breaking the chain of marginalized artists only being allowed to speak through suffering and, frankly, is exemplified in this record’s very DNA. (Bandcamp link)
Non Bruises – Non Bruises
Release date: October 21st Record label: Self-released Genre: Indie rock, garage rock, psych rock, post-punk Formats: Cassette, CD, digital Pull track: Our Intentions Are Good
Non Bruises is a four-piece band comprised of a group of Cleveland music veterans—guitarist-vocalists Mike Uva (who released the very good Are You Dreaming last year) and Andy Stibora, bassist-vocalist Carol Yachanin, and drummer Elliott Hoffman. Their self-titled debut album does indeed sound like a record made by indie rock ringers—the kind of humble but incredibly capable rock music that can shift from all-encompassing and wide open to short and punchy without fundamentally changing its sound. Fans of bands like Oneida, Yo La Tengo, Eleventh Dream Day, and Silkworm will find a lot to appreciate in Non Bruises. Opening track “Housebroken” is a particularly Kaplan/Hubley-esque exercise in restraint, letting a simple, minimalist pop song unfold itself without any kind of rush.
From there, Non Bruises then barrels into the psychedelic workout of “Full Flask”, which remains an instrumental for almost its entire length until giving way to a captivating refrain towards its end. In its more accessible moments, Non Bruises offers up “Our Intentions Are Good”, a breezy, Flying Nun-evoking tune that’s easily the most straightforward pop song on the record, as well as the swirling melancholy of “Everyday” (one of the two Stibora-penned songs, along with the subtle pop charms of “Fainter”), which still finds time to let a meandering guitar solo ride over much of its length. These songs are mixed in which the likes of the six-minute, bass-heavy, slow-building “Cracker Jack”, as well as closing track “Audubon Tim”, another lengthy number which ends up mirroring the rest of the record as a whole—it paces itself languidly, casually slipping in and out of an unhurried, almost folk-rock structure and extended instrumental jams. (Bandcamp link)
Noah Roth – Breakfast of Champions
Release date: September 16th Record label: Self-released Genre: Alt-country, indie folk Formats: Digital Pull track: Candlewax
Chicago-originating, Philadelphia-based singer-songwriter Noah Roth has been putting out music under their own name for several years now, but September’s Breakfast of Champions feels like a particularly well-realized introduction to a promising up-and-coming songwriter. The record was recorded in several locations over a period of three years, but it still retains a cohesive feeling due to Roth’s writing and presence. It comes off as a subtle alt-country- and folk-tinged indie rock record; the most obvious comparison point for Breakfast of Champions to me is fellow Philadelphia solo project Slaughter Beach, Dog. Roth embraces an unadorned, talk-singing vocal style that’s reminiscent of Jake Ewald—and this is driven home by none other than Ewald himself contributing vocals and drums to Breakfast of Champions (among other notable faces such as Greg Mendez of Devil Town Tapes and Glenn Kotche of Wilco).
Speaking of Wilco, they are another useful point of comparison for Breakfast of Champions. It’s a singer-songwriter album first and foremost, and while Roth never gets in the way of the songs with too much studio meddling, they do make some interesting choices that stubbornly let the record settle into “chill” or “easy listening” territory. As much of a pop song “Command Performance” is, Roth steers it all over the place, adding and dropping a host of instrumentation to the track as it twitches in between the (mostly) soft opening of “Cold Revenge” and the lilting folk of “Goodnight”. “No God” similarly veers into experimental sonic climes after beginning as a fairly typical alt-country number. But the voice of Roth themselves is what leaves the biggest impression on Breakfast of Champions—whether they’re singing about waking up with someone whose middle name they don’t know, hanging out in dimly-lit bars, or blowing $400 on who-knows-what, they’re leading a compelling listen of a record that’s nevertheless unafraid to be challenging. (Bandcamp link)
Peel Dream Magazine – Pad
Release date: October 7th Record label: Slumberland/Tough Love Genre: Baroque pop, chamber pop Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital Pull track: Jennifer Hindsight
I’ve always thought of Peel Dream Magazine as a nü-shoegaze band, and while this hasn’t been wrong necessarily up until now, it hasn’t exactly told the whole story either—for every “Pill” and “New Culture”, records like Agitprop Alterna and Moral Panics have songs like “Brief Inner Mission” and “Life at the Movies” as well. It’s this quiet, warm, minimalist pop side of Peel Dream Magazine that the Los Angeles project has embraced with their third record, Pad. The Stereolab comparisons that the act previously garnered still make sense on Pad, but now it’s more thanks to retro, bossa nova pop stylings than fuzzy krautrock—and, combined with Joseph Stevens’ delicate voice and an instrumental arsenal of strings, chimes, and flutes, the record is squarely in Belle & Sebastian territory as well.
Songs like “Wanting and Waiting” flutter about incredibly lightly in bright synths and vibraphones, while “Self Actualization Center” adds banjo to a cult-leader-inspired tune (“easy listening”, “good vibes” music—good for indoctrination, no?). Several songs on Pad are instrumentals, but the record floats along with such singular casualness that trying to neatly sort songs like the underwater-sounding “Walk Around the Block” into an “interlude” pile seems like missing the point—and tracks like the hypnotic “Reiki” are as substantial as anything else on Pad. “Jennifer Hindsight” is a second-half highlight thanks to a toe-tapping tempo, but it doesn’t betray the minimalist pop charms of the whole of Pad. (Bandcamp link)
We’re back on a Tuesday with Pressing Concerns, looking at four brand new records–debut EPs from Ecstatic International and Private Lives, a half-reissue, half-previously-unreleased album from The Reds, Pinks & Purples, and the latest full-length from Brat Sounds.
If you’re looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
The Reds, Pinks & Purples – They Only Wanted Your Soul
Release date: October 14th Record label: Slumberland Genre: Jangle pop Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: I Should Have Helped You
Followers of modern jangle pop music have most likely encountered the work of Glenn Donaldson before—perhaps via his collaborative efforts The Skygreen Leopards, Painted Shrines, and The Art Museums, but as of late, he’s gained notice with The Reds, Pinks & Purples, his prolific solo project. By my count, They Only Wanted Your Soul is Donaldson’s sixth album under the name since 2019, and his third of this year, following February’s Summer at Land’s End and July’s Bandcamp-only Still Clouds at Noon. They Only Wanted Your Soul is technically not a “proper” record—the album’s first four tracks originally comprised the I Should Have Helped You EP, and Slumberland has combined them with some previously-unreleased tracks to create a “mini-LP length grab bag” of, well, something that sounds as good as anything else I’ve heard from Donaldson.
It’s easy to hear why the previously under-the-radar tracks from the EP were selected for reissuing—it begins with an instant classic in the aching, wistful “I Should Have Helped You”, in which Donaldson captures a world of emotion with the simple title statement. All of the other I Should Have Helped You songs shine too, from the bright “Keep Your Secrets Close” to the sparse, mostly-acoustic “They Only Wanted Your Soul”. The new (to us) songs are strong enough to resist the “bonus/extra” label as well, continuing Donaldson’s humble, drum machine-aided guitar pop in no less compelling fashion. The breeziness of “Poems & Pictures” works in tandem with a particularly heartfelt, emotional delivery from Donaldson to create what ends up as a pleasingly archetypal Reds, Pinks & Purples song.
Right after “Poems & Pictures”, however, is a genuine surprise in “Workers of the World”, both in its musical structure (in which Donaldson, instead of obscuring the “machine” part of his drum machine, embraces it and places its beat prominently in the track) as well as in Donaldson’s fervent belief in indie pop as a vehicle for a radical pro-labor message (To those workers, he says: “Don’t give it all away—it’s not theirs to take”). From there, They Only Wanted Your Soul veers into a Christmas-themed song—so, sure, maybe it’s not a traditional full-length statement of an album, but “We Won’t Come Home at Christmas Time” is excellent, and earns its place as one of ten gleaming pop songs. (Bandcamp link)
Ecstatic International – Ecstatic International
Release date: October 14th Record label: Sister Polygon Genre: Post-punk, dance punk Formats: Digital Pull track: High Violence
Ecstatic International is a new Washington D.C.-based post-punk supergroup headlined by G.L. Jaguar, formerly of the sorely missed Priests, and Laura Harris of Ex Hex, and also featuring Anno (Olivia Neutron-John), Jacky Cougar Abok (Des Demonas), and Nikhil Rao (Bottled Up). Released on Priests’ Sister Polygon label, Ecstatic International’s self-titled debut EP delves into the same strain of danceable but smart post-punk music that Jaguar’s former band seemed to be sauntering towards before their breakup—there’s more groove to Ecstatic International, perhaps suggesting and predicting where Priests may have gone had they stayed together after their underrated 2019 swan song The Seduction of Kansas.
The five songs of Ecstatic International are all sleek, polished, brim-filled dance-punk tracks. “High Violence” kicks off the EP driven by a simple but effective rhythm and spare, unemotional spoken vocals, and then “Disrupter” laughs off the subtlety of the opening track by accelerating the vocals, lyrics, and the music almost (but not quite) into parodic levels. The frantically bubbling prominent synths that ride along the rumbling bass groove of “Corridor” recall the best of new wave-era Wire, but the music is counterbalanced by surprisingly soulful vocals. Closing track “Premium Vision” feels particularly 80s-inspired with its liberal synth coloring and its occasional bursts of wide-eyed melody in the midst of jerky post-punk. Ecstatic International is sturdy to a tee, but it knows when to bend just enough as well. (Bandcamp link)
Brat Sounds – Nothing
Release date: October 14th Record label: Gain Castle Genre: Power pop, alt-rock Formats: Digital Pull track: Every Worry Like a Pet
Milwaukee’s Brat Sounds have been around for the better part of a decade at this point—Nothing is the four-piece group’s fourth (and, unfortunately, possibly final) record, not counting a covers collection from late last year. The record sounds like the band has grown quite comfortable in settling into a blend of slacker rock and power pop—Nothing is a very hooky record, but it isn’t overly showy about it. Brat Sounds have a “typical” two-guitar, bass, and drums setup, and lead singer Scott Cary has a deceptively straightforward, unadorned voice, which makes it all the more effective when he pushes out of his “zone”. Similarly, Corbin Coonan’s lead guitar parts subtly fade into the songs of Nothing as well, primarily serving the tracks rather than grabbing attention on their own.
Album opener “Every Worry Like a Pet” is a flawless pop song, like the platonic ideal of a lost 90s pop rock one-hit wonder, and Nothing is packed up front with the surprisingly bass-led “You Do As You Like” (in which Cary really lets loose towards the end), the vintage slacker ballad “King of the Mountain” (“…eating hot Cheetos on the throne” follows the title line), and the bouncy “The Hollow Men”. Nothing is far from a “punk “album, but Brat Sounds do zip through fast, sub-two minute pop songs very well, as the motor-mouth “Comedy” and the retro-flavored “Shakedown Shimmy” demonstrate, and closing track “Never Over” has a fuzz rock heaviness that isn’t really present on the rest of the record (and features another ace performance from Cary, who again pushes himself to match the music). “Never Over” ends with the amps dropping out, followed by a callback to the beginning of the record—it’s one of Nothing’s most obvious flourishes, but far from the only one. (Bandcamp link)
Private Lives – Private Lives
Release date: October 11th Record label: Feel It Genre: Garage rock, post-punk Formats: Cassette, digital Pull track: All the Queen’s Men
The latest addition to the Feel It Records roster is a new band, but one that’s comprised of members of several notable Montreal garage rock and punk groups—singer Jackie is from Pale Lips, guitarist Chance is from Priors, and drummer Frankie plays in Lonely Parade. The resultant Private Lives is a pandemic-originating four-piece which sounds energetic and locked-in on their five-song, self-titled debut EP. Private Lives begins with the barreling “Misfortune”, a blatant garage rock ripper reflecting the band’s pedigree.
There are already signs of the band’s depths in “Misfortune”, however—Jackie’s vocals are clear and melodic and Chance’s guitar tone is surprisingly chorused, recalling a different side of post-punk. Private Lives moves into a mid-tempo strut with “All the Queen’s Men” and the title track, with Josh’s bass noticeably helping the latter achieve its bouncy sound. The final two tracks on the EP match the opener in terms of rock; “Get Loose” is probably the clearest reflection of the band’s surf influences on the record, although it’s the moody closing track “Head/Body” that best combines the band’s punk energy with the darker, subtler edges of their sound. (Bandcamp link)
The second Pressing Concerns of the week looks at two albums that come out on Friday, October 14th (Cash Langdon and Cozy Slippers), and two different covers EPs (Picastro and Say Sue Me).
If you’re looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory. If you’d like to support Rosy Overdrive, you can share this (or another) post, or donate here.
Cash Langdon – Sinister Feeling
Release date: October 14th Record label: Earth Libraries Genre: Folk rock, psych pop, power pop Formats: CD, cassette, digital Pull track: That Kid
I’d previously been aware of Cash Langdon as one half of the D.C./Baltimore shoegaze-ish noise pop duo Caution (along with vocalist Nora Button), although Langdon (who’s now moved back to his native Birmingham, Alabama) has dabbled in everything from power pop to straight-up electronica. Sinister Feeling seems to be Langdon’s first full-length under his own name, and it’s a more singer-songwriter-based effort that takes inspiration from Langdon’s return to his home state of Alabama. The album does feel like Langdon embracing his version of southern music, even if it’s not the “stereotypical” variety—I hear the power pop of Big Star and Alex Chilton’s solo work, the jangly college rock of bands like The Windbreakers and Primitons, and the breezier parts of the Elephant Six collective in Sinister Feeling.
Although Sinister Feeling is loosely a folk rock record, it retains the pop sensibilities that shone through the reverb of Caution and the rock band setup of Saturday Night. “That Kid” opens the record with a sweet, jangly sound, and Langdon’s vocals deliver a gorgeous melody. The power pop strut of “Ten” doesn’t feel out of place on the record, with Langdon’s voice shifting only slightly to match the soaring alt-rock of the track—it sits nicely along the indie pop stroll of “Birds” and the rambling southern rock of “Magic Earth”. “Hate Is an Object” swirls through trippy psychedelic folk rock, practically ascending in its second half. The rockier songs on Sinister Feeling are the immediate attention-grabbers, but the record is balanced by acoustic ballads “Dichotomy” and “Etowah”, and mid-tempo melodic vessels like “Hearts Feel Wild” and “A Certain Place”. It equals out to a complete-sounding, smartly-written pop record. (Bandcamp link)
Cozy Slippers – Cozy Slippers
Release date: October 14th Record label: Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten/Subjangle Genre: Indie pop, jangle pop Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital Pull track: Bee Sting
The debut full-length from Cozy Slippers has been several years in the making—their first EP came out in 2017, and I wrote about a song that ended up on this record when it was initially released as a single last May—and they’ve put together an indie pop record that pulls from several distinct guitar pop groups and genres but still sounds confident and original in its own right. Vocalists Barbara Barrilleaux and Sarah Engel are prominent throughout the record, allowing the hooks shine through the already-sunny instrumentals. Cozy Slippers recalls the cleanest and most melodic moments from college rock like The Sundays, American indie rock like The Spinanes and Velocity Girl, and the polished end of twee like Heavenly.
Album opener “Haunting Her” and second track “When Will When Come” both feature something of low-key, laid-back verses before shifting into explosive pop choruses—impressive bass work is not frequently something that sticks out in this kind of music, but both songs have that working in their favor. “Underneath Us All the Time” and “Boat House” add bright power chords somewhat subtly to the jangling guitar and Engel and Barrilleaux’s harmonies; “Remi”’s secret weapon is a mid-tempo, jaunty acoustic guitar. It’s hard to pick a single defining feature for a song like “Bee Sting”, which just sounds natural and hits the nostalgic beat at its center perfectly. By the time the album gets to the curious synth wash-led closing track “First a Girl”, it feels like its earned a subdued moment. (Bandcamp link)
Picastro – I’ve Never Met a Stranger
Release date: January 7th (digital)/October 7th (cassette) Record label: Stoned to Death Genre: Slowcore, folk rock Formats: Cassette, digital Pull track: Hangman
Quietly flying under the radar for the entirety of this century, Toronto’s Picastro have been making stark, beautiful slowcore music marked by the distinct vocals of singer/guitarist Liz Hysen, who is the one person who appears consistently on the group’s latest record. I’ve Never Met a Stranger was self-released by the band at the beginning of the year, and the five-song EP of cover songs has been given a recent cassette release by Czech label Stoned to Death Records. All songs on the record have Picastro’s sprawling folk-orchestral instrumental sound—with one exception, the five songs chosen by the band to cover here are fairly obscure, but I feel confident in saying that Hysen and her collaborators have put their own spin on these tracks.
Opening track “Hangman” (originally by Fire on Fire) is probably the sparest track on the EP, a hauntingly simple tune that really lets the refrain from Hysen (“Even the worst of men has friends / Even the hangman has friends”) impact the listener. The band trend a little bit towards more traditional folk rock with “Tell Me White Horses” (The Slit) and “Man Has Been Struck Down by Hands Unseen” (Richard Dawson, whose loose-fitting songwriting style suits the band well). The one recognizable song on I’ve Never Met a Stranger is its centerpiece, a seven-minute version of The Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes”, which feels like it needs its whole time to both pay tribute to the pop nature of the original song and give it a Picastro-style feel—a wholly welcome addition. (Bandcamp link)
Say Sue Me – 10
Release date: October 10th Record label: Damnably/Beach Town Genre: 90s indie rock, shoegaze, noise pop Formats: Digital Pull track: Season of the Shark
Let’s do a second covers EP in this edition—why not? Busan, South Korea’s Say Sue Me have been having a 2022 to remember—they released their third record, The Last Thing Left, in May, they’re touring North America, and it’s the tenth anniversary of their formation as a band. Their eight-song 10 EP is a victory lap of sorts that updates two older Say Sue Me songs and also features six covers—and, unlike the Picastro EP discussed above, all of these songs will likely be familiar to Rosy Overdrive’s core demographic. If their 90s indie rock influences weren’t abundantly clear from their original material, 10 makes it even more explicit—indie royalty Yo La Tengo, Pavement, Guided by Voices, Grandaddy, Silver Jews, and Daniel Johnston comprise Say Sue Me’s selections for the EP.
Even though they’ve effectively chosen indie rock standards to cover, 10 doesn’t feel redundant thanks to Say Sue Me’s fresh reading on these songs. The EP opens with two rockers—an inspired take on Yo La Tengo’s “Season of the Shark” from the under-discussed Summer Sun record that reimagines it as one of the band’s “Sugarcube”-esque fuzz pop numbers, and a pop punk reading of their own “Bad Habit”. The one other song they shift into “ripper” status is, surprisingly, Silver Jews’ “Honk If You’re Lonely”—and just as surprisingly, it works. Because this isn’t just “punk goes 90s Matador Records bands”, 10 also goes the other way, turning Pavement and Grandaddy songs into slow, jazz- and bossa nova-influenced tunes, and ending with an acoustic version of Guided by Voices’ “Smothered in Hugs”, instead of taking the obvious route and embracing the original’s basement-shoegaze sound—one last fresh read. (Bandcamp link)
There will be two Pressing Concerns again this week! You cannot stop it! This is a bit of an odds-and-ends one–we look at new albums from Jim Nothing and Corrosion., a new EP from My Favorite, and a cassette reissue of Self Improvement‘s debut record.
A couple of housecleaning things: one, you may have noticed that I finally just dropped the .wordpress from the blog, which has been long overdue. And second, Rosy Overdrive now has a Ko-fi page, where you can tip the author of this blog. I expect nothing, and Rosy Overdrive will continue to exist regardless; but if you’d like to see Rosy Overdrive update more regularly, or add more features, or just want me to be compensated in some way for the work I put into this (which is, uh, a lot), this is a way to tell me/do that. Also, the site has a new header, which is pretty cool.
Release date: October 6th Record label: Floating Mill Genre: Post-punk Formats: Cassette, digital Pull track: Visible Damage
Self Improvement is a Long Beach, California-based post-punk group made up of British expat Jett Witchalls on vocals, Jonny Rza on guitar, Patric “Pat” Moonie on bass, and Reuben Kaiban (who joined after the recording of their debut album) on drums. Visible Damage was quietly self-released by the band on Christmas Eve last year, but Pittsburgh’s Floating Mill Records (who, up until now, had been known for re-releases of a morearchivalnature) are bringing it into the physical world via cassette. It’s a compelling debut record of the garage rock side of post-punk—it’s on the Wire/Pylon side of things in terms of the genre’s original wave, and in line with modern labels like Feel It Records—but it still has an unmistakable post-punk, bass-led groove.
Self Improvement emerge fully-formed on the record’s opening track, which is also called “Self Improvement”—Jonny and Pat put together a barreling egg punk instrumental, and Jett’s mantra-like sung-spoken vocals go from robotic to unhinged and back again in the song’s under-90-second runtime. Jett also takes up this mode in “Filling Time”, in which she declares “I will not be bored / I will be happy” until it sticks. The rumbling title track is a showcase for both the band’s dexterity in delivering a dark surf rock instrumental and for Jett’s vocals, which go from a whisper to a shout on a dime.
The mid-tempo, crawling “Shapes” also features an ace performance from Jett, who practically spits out the lyrics at points. The atmospheric “Ashes” shows that Self Improvement can be subtle, and the delightfully weird “Asylum Seeker” (which features Pat on lead vocals) is another intriguing left turn. The songs zip by at around two minutes, with the exception of closing track “Fetishes” which lists off a few of what its title suggests before ending the record with a cacophony of noise. Visible Damage takes plenty of steps like that to ensure that it’s a memorable entry into the world of modern post-punk, even as the core trio’s performance is enough to guarantee that on its own. (Bandcamp link)
Jim Nothing – In the Marigolds
Release date: September 15th Record label: Meritorio/Melted Ice Cream Genre: Jangle pop, Dunedin sound Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: Never Come Down
Upon seeing that Jim Nothing hail from Christchurch, New Zealand and make guitar pop music, one might be inclined to make some assumptions about how they sound—and that would land you in the right ballpark, at the very least. The trio certainly recall plenty of music from the original wave of Dunedin groups that put New Zealand on the map for indie rock—they pull from the breeziness of The Bats, the haziness of The Clean, the fractured pop of Chris Knox, and the prominent violin from vocalist Anita Clark reminds me of music from Alastair Galbraith and the Jefferies Brothers. Jim Nothing also puts itself in line with modern Kiwi bands taking inspiration from this music, even discounting their pedigree—both guitarist/vocalist James Sullivan and drummer Brian Feary play in Salad Boys, and Feary also plays in Wurld Series.
In the Marigolds clocks in at under 28 minutes, and it doesn’t waste time in its dozen pop songs. Jim Nothing hit both ends of their sound in the LP’s opening duo—the dreamy, psychedelic, expansive-sounding “It Won’t Be Long”, and the in-your-face, Pixies-esque pop stomp of “Never Come Down”—but the rest of the record settles in somewhere between the two, in a catchy but unhurried way. The band breeze through pleasing mid-tempo tunes like “Seahorse Kingdom”, “Nowhere Land”, and “Fall Back Down”, and even when they crank up the amps a bit more in “Yellow House” and “Borrowed Time”, the songs retain a melancholic vibe, and only come off as slightly busier. The record doesn’t lose steam, with the chugging “Only Life” featuring a particularly inspired violin part from Clark, and “Back Again” saving one of the best melodies on the album for the near-end. (Bandcamp link)
My Favorite – Tender Is the Nightshift: Part One
Release date: August 5th Record label: HHBTM/wiaiwya Genre: Synthpop, post-punk, New Romantic, new wave Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: Dean’s 7th Dream
Michael Grace Jr. has been leading the New York-based indie pop group My Favorite since the mid-1990s, and the band (who now features pianist/synth player Kurt Brondo and bassist Gil Abad, as well as a host of collaborators) is still ambitious and full of musical ideas, as evidenced by their latest release, Tender Is the Nightshift: Part One. That it features only five songs (one of which is a dub version of a track earlier on the record) plus its tentative place as the first in an upcoming trilogy makes the “EP” label make sense—although, at nearly a half an hour, it could pass for a full-length.
Tender Is the Nightshift: Part One opens with the eight-minute “Dean’s 7th Dream”, a massive number that contains moments of synthpop, guitar-based new wave, sophisti-pop saxophones, and Grace’s distinct, emotive New Romantic vocals. Starting with something of that magnitude risks overshadowing the rest of the EP, but the remaining tracks acquit themselves nicely as well—the soulful 80s pop of “Princess Diana Awaiting Ambulance” nearly matches the opener, and Jaime Allison Babic’s vocals on the downcast jangly “Second Empire (Second Arrangement)” and the drum machine-led “Blues for Planet X” add welcome shades and touches to the rest of the record. In the third decade of their music career, My Favorite are beginning something with Tender Is the Nightshift. (Bandcamp link)
Corrosion. – Pinhead
Release date: September 8th Record label: Stotrojka Genre: 90s indie rock, fuzz rock Formats: Digital Pull track: Daisy
I wrote about Macedonian jangle pop group Rush to Relax last month, and it appears that this has brought the Macedonian indie rock world out of the woodwork, because I learned about Corrosion. not long after. The Bitola-based band appears to be part of a new generation of bands like their American counterparts in Horsegirl and Lifeguard—teenagers making music directly inspired by 1990s indie rock. They describe themselves as a “noise pop” band, and they do hit both sides of that from a rock standpoint: the one end of Pinhead is tuneful, upbeat light indie rock, and the other is loud, amp-cranked fuzz rock.
The band’s mixture of pop and loud rock, combined with as Andrej Siveski’s casual vocals, sounds particularly Dinosaur Jr.-esque. Opening track “Daisy” is alt-rock power pop in a Weezer-y way, and songs like “4600” jump between loud and soft excitedly. Although they are firstly a tuneful, pop-structure band, Corrosion. can also wade into extended jam territory—it shows up in the first half of Pinhead with the winding “P.E.D.S.”, and they then stretch out in the second half with “Холандија” and (especially) the title track. Corrosion. already have their sound down with Pinhead, and are even reaching beyond it at points. (Bandcamp link)
Welcome to the first Pressing Concerns of October! In a nice mixture of pop and weirdo music, we’re looking at new albums from Nervous Twitch, The Intelligence, and Fat Randy, and a new EP from Air Devi. We’re coming off the September Rosy Overdrive playlist that went up on Monday this week–there’s a lot more new music I haven’t gotten to in Pressing Concerns to explore there.
If you’re still looking for more new music, you can browse previous editions of Pressing Concerns or visit the site directory.
Nervous Twitch – Some People Never Change
Release date: October 5th Record label: Reckless Yes Genre: Indie pop, power pop Formats: Vinyl, CD, digital Pull track: The History of the Wild West
On their fifth album since 2015, Leeds’ Nervous Twitch offer up thirteen tracks of energetic guitar pop that contain shades of punk, new wave, twee, girl group and garage rock, adding up to a record that feels eternally catchy and breezy without sacrificing on substance. Lead singer Erin Hyde’s vocals are clear and melodic throughout Some People Never Change, sounding completely comfortable with the spotlight, and her bass work is frequently just as prominent and key to the sound of the album. The rest of the band (guitarist/songwriter Jay Churchley and drummer Ashley Goodall) are instrumental in developing the shape of Some People Never Change—an indie pop record that sounds made by a real, solid rock band. The trio’s abilities are on full display in the runaway train of an opening track, “The History of the Wild West”, which is indie pop punk at its finest—but it reveals just one facet of the record.
Nervous Twitch aren’t afraid to be simple, like in “You Never Let Me Down”, in which the trio let Hyde’s vocals (successfully) do the bulk of selling the song, or in the acoustic “This Mad at the World” and the slowly-unfolding closing track “Snowball”. On the other hand, “It’s Going to Be OK” adds a few more layers (a surprisingly noticeable organ part in the chorus and a showy bass groove) for maximum 60s revival impact, and single “Forgive Yourself” uses all five minutes of its runtime for melodic perfection, from the dramatic bass-led introduction to the triumphant guitar leads that close the track. Hyde remains a compelling vocalist throughout Some People Never Change, selling the scolding “More Than Enough Warning”, the emotionally knotted “Forgive Yourself”, and the sneering fuzz rock “If You Don’t Wanna Know Me (I’m Happy on My Own)” equally well—no element of Some People Never Change is shortchanged by these pop tunesmiths. (Bandcamp link)
The Intelligence – Lil’ Peril
Release date: September 30th Record label: Mt.St.Mtn./Vapid Moonlighting Genre: Garage rock, experimental rock, synthpunk Formats: Vinyl, digital Pull track: My Work Here Is Dumb
The Intelligence has been the long-running Seattle-originating, California-based project of the prolific Lars Finberg, and with the band’s eleventh album Lil’ Peril, they continue to occupy a unique, dynamic position within the frequently limiting world of garage punk. The record’s nine songs flirt with synths and electronics, hit as hard as anything in the rhythm section, and play with minimalism and open space in a way that reflects Finberg’s dub influences. I don’t want to say that Lil’ Peril sounds like a Game Theory album—it’s still clearly more of a warped San Francisco garage rock record than a warped college rock/power pop record—but it shares a conviction not to be bogged down in its main genre’s noted orthodoxy.
Lil’ Peril is loosely a pop record in its first half before giving way to some of Finberg’s more out-there ideas in its second, but there’s plenty of overlap going on throughout the album. The self-aware fractured glam rock of “70’s” has an undeniable garage rock hook, and “Maudlin Agency” and lead single “Keyed Beamers” let uncanny synths lead their most memorable moments before giving way to guitar- and saxophone-led endings. Centerpiece “My Work Here Is Dumb” is probably the most “traditional” garage rock song on the album, even as it stomps and twitches its way to a creepy ambient outro. The last four tracks of Lil’ Peril sound like the first half of the album put into a blender—if you can hang with it, the sung-spoken second half of “Portfolio Woes” and the eight-minute kraut-inspired trip of “Soundguys” are your rewards. “If I left them puzzled, that would leave me pleased /And I’d remain a mystery, tugging my own sleeve,” Finberg declares in the latter—I’d say mission accomplished. (Bandcamp link)
Air Devi – Rooting for You
Release date: October 7th Record label: Devil Town Tapes Genre: Indie pop, jangle pop, dream pop Formats: Cassette, digital Pull track: Rooting for You
Air Devi is a Philadelphia four-piece band led by singer-songwriter, guitarist, and sitarist Devi Majeske, and rounded out by guitarist/trumpeter Jacob Hershman, drummer Jay Fein, and bassist Seth Fein. Majeske’s group has put out a handful of singles and EPs over the past few years, and their latest, the Rooting for You cassette EP, sounds like a band that’s honed in on “their” sound—in this case, melancholic, bittersweet jangly indie rock that incorporates Majeske’s background in Indian classical music in a seamless manner, occasionally obviously but just as frequently in a subtle manner.
Upbeat album opener “Ashrita” most prominently incorporates Majeske’s sitar playing, letting it jump right into the middle of an infectious indie pop song about taking inspiration from her musical peers and influences (the titular “Ashrita” is Ahrita Kumar from Pinkshift). The violin (provided by Siddharth Ashokkumar) on “Dharti”, along with Majeske’s particularly stretched vocals, also take the song beyond its dream pop core. The songs on the EP that hew more towards “standard” indie rock differentiate themselves pleasingly as well. This is aided by elements like the trumpet in the yearning title track, the synths washing over the soaring “Fatal Flaw”, and the sparse acoustic route taken by closing track “It’s Over” that hearkens back to the project’s bedroom pop roots—adding up to a well-rounded five-song collection. (Bandcamp link)
Fat Randy – Slow, Incremental Change
Release date: October 3rd Record label: Little Miss Clackamas Genre: Avant-prog, math rock, noise rock, post-hardcore Formats: Digital Pull track: Connecticut
Fat Randy doesn’t seem interested in making it easy for you. That’s true musically of the Connecticut- and Boston-based band’s latest record, Slow, Incremental Change—the album’s ten songs are a heady mix of jazz- and prog-influenced indie rock which contain plenty of the left turns inherent in those genres. It’s also true of the subject matter of Slow, Incremental Change—for instance, after an instrumental intro, the band dive directly into “Walgreens”, a song about the greed that drives the opioid crisis and pulls no punches in its description.
Vocalist Stephen Friedland’s preoccupations grow no lighter from that point. In album centerpiece “Smarter Child”, saxophones and grunge-y alt-rock fight for control underneath Friedland’s lyrics, in which images of pain, needles, and hell flash, and the record’s closing trio of songs up the heaviness for a particularly harrowing noise rock finish (seven-minute closing track “I’m Going to Do It” is the most impressive, but the hypnotic “Soup for My Family” might be the best). Still, Slow, Incremental Change is anything but grey and overly-serious— the bouncy “Connecticut” is prog-pop at its finest, and “Steve Jobs Didn’t Believe in Charity and Used to Double-Park in Handicapped Spaces” shows that even when Friedland has overarching ideas to deliver, he’s still finding amusing and interesting ways to say them. (Bandcamp link)
Rosy Overdrive 