The level of rage in G.U.N.’s single “Fucker” is palpable but also directed and not generalized, which is what makes it seem so focused and thrilling. The layers of distorted drones, pulsing tones, caustic guitar washes, Killing Joke-esque dub bass and desperate but controlled vocals have more in common with bands like Preoccupations, Protomartyr and Pop. 1280 than a darkwave industrial band yet the sonic elements here will appeal to anyone whose tastes have developed beyond obvious big names and perhaps taken in a bit of Test Dept. and Einstürzende Neubauen. The lyrics seem aimed at the very foundation of the cognitive framing of internalized elitism with the chorus of “There’s only one degree of separation between you and everything else and that’s the idea that you’re separate.” It’s not a brutal take down so much as a critique of a mindset that perpetuates systems of inequality from a very root level perspective making the song fascinating for its ideas as well as its creative musical composition. Listen to “Fucker” on Bandcamp and follow Australian, industrial post-punk band G.U.N. at the links provided.
Colatura demonstrates a gift for layering melody and atmosphere on its single “Kids Like Us.” The music video perfectly reflects the hazy quality of the song like the musical equivalent of an old Polaroid capturing a moment in time and resonating with the memory of that time for anyone that recognizes the event or in this case the emotional portrait of the song. Intricate guitar melody brought into focus by gritty rhythm guitar and buoyed by bass and drums create an irresistibly wistful and melancholic yet upbeat mood. Visually the use of what looks like photo and video collage is the perfect vehicle for the overall aesthetic and for a song that seems to be about family legacy and how the curated aspect of childhood photo albums try to show the best of times but always accidentally reveal challenging times and little details many people later find shameful or odd. When Meredith Lampe sings the line “promise you won’t have kids like us” it’s with the same warmth and tone as the rest of the song but with words that sum up what sounds like a song where someone is thinking about the ways in which she had to overlook numerous unpleasant situations and possibly abuse just to get through and how those habits manifested in acting out and the long term impact on the rest of one’s life. And yet the awareness suggests a person can move beyond the dysfunctional family mindset. Watch the video for “Kids Like Us” on YouTube, follow Colatura at the links below and look out for the group’s debut album And Then I’ll Be Happy out April 22, 2022 digitally and on black and translucent green vinyl.
Adam Yas’ voice sits slightly behind in the mix on “Mosquito And The Iron Bull” while his delicately intricate guitar work carries the melody in sync with the subtle rhythm. At least until a third a way through the song when the song elevates dramatically and layers of synth hover in and out to accent the emotional build that Yas commandingly marshals like natural forces to boost the climax of the song where his own voice rises to declare what feels like both praise and criticism of the object of the song’s lyrics: “Breathless/No one is/As charming/Or as starving as you are/No one will be half/As charming/Or as starving as you are.” It’s the kind of song that sounds like something from a super hero comic or an epic fantasy, written by one of the more poetry-minded characters commenting on a friendship that has hit the rocks. But earlier in the song it sounds like maybe there was more than a friendship being described when Yas sings “I ain’t following you home/I’ve been leaving you alone/I want no part of your fantasy/Please go.” Was there a romantic relationship there that ended with the two people remaining friends until one can no longer fool themselves into being under the spell of a seductive charm that maybe be enchanting at first but whose luster fades even as the appeal lingers? Difficult to definitively say what the inspiration behind the song might be but it has the flair of a lively flamenco song and it conveys a sense of horns playing out in Flamenco style but it’s a trick of hearing and expectation. In that way this song is reminiscent of something DeVotchKa might do but with more electronic components that give the mood a kind of momentum and lends the song an air of the mythological. Listen to “Mosquito And The Iron Bull” on YouTube and follow Adam Yas on Spotify.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre has followed the colorful and heartfelt creative vision of Anton Newcombe since its 1990 inception in San Francisco. Its aesthetic informed by 60s psychedelic rock and experimental electronic music has evolved greatly in always fascinating directions through challenging personal times and tense periods within the band while garnering a strong cult following on the strength of its prolific output. Before psychedelic rock became a trendy style of music again in the past decade and a half, the Jonestown Massacre was influencing that directly or indirectly through bands it inspired or through Newcombe’s idiosyncratic mentoring. Too many people took the 2004 documentary Dig! at face value when it was a snapshot of a time in American underground music when alternative music was becoming relegated to the underground again while the possibilities of overcoming the forces of the music-industry-with-music-as-commodity seemed possible. Fast forward twenty years and Newcombe’s idealism and wide-ranging curiosity and creative vision seems vindicated by bands not only able to more directly reach an audience but one more organic and global. One June 24, 2022 the group will release its new album Fire Doesn’t Grow On Trees, the product of much experimentation in terms of songwriting, production and testing reactions to the music through YouTube and other social media outlets and one of Newcombe’s strongest set of songs in recent years. We had a chance to speak with the songwriter about 2022 tourmates Mercury Rev, the band’s artwork for the tour posters unique to every date, his following the instinct to create regularly as a way of self-inspiration and staying in the habit of creating at as high a level as possible and the flow of the wordplay of his poetic and playful song titles among many other subjects.
Brian Jonestown Massacre performs at Ogden Theater on 04.12.22 with Mercury Rev. Listen to our interview with Newcombe on Bandcamp linked below. Full tour itinerary (including past dates) beneath the interview link and for more information please visit thebrianjonestownmassacre.com.
27th March 2022 Philadelphia, PA USA Union Transfer 28th March 2022 Brooklyn, NY USA Brooklyn Steel 29th March 2022 Jersey City, NJ USA White Eagle Hall March 30th 2022 Baltimore, MD USA Rams Head Live March 31st 2022 Providence, RI USA Columbus Theatre April 1st 2022 Boston, MA USA Roadrunner April 2nd 2022 Montreal, QC Canada Le National April 4th 2022 Toronto, ON Canada Queen Elizabeth Theatre April 5th 2022 Detroit, MI USA Majestic Theatre April 6th 2022 Indianapolis, IN USA The Vogue April 7th 2022 Cleveland OH USA Agora Theatre April 8th 2022 Chicago, IL USA The Vic Theatre April 9th 2022 Milwaukee, WI USA Turner Hall Ballroom April 10th 2022 Minneapolis, MN USA First Avenue April 12th 2022 Denver, CO USA Ogden Theatre April 13th 2022 Salt Lake City, UT USA Metro Music Hall April 15th 2022 Vancouver, BC Canada Vogue Theatre April 16th 2022 Tacoma, WA USA McMenamins Elks Temple Hotel – The Spanish Ballroom April 17th 2022 Seattle, WA USA Showbox April 18th 2022 Portland, OR USA Roseland Theatre April 20th 2022 San Francisco, CA USA The Fillmore April 21st 2022 San Francisco, CA USA The Fillmore April 22nd 2022 Los Angeles, CA USA The Wiltern April 23rd 2022 San Diego, CA USA The Observatory North Park April 24th 2022 Santa Ana, CA USA The Observatory OC April 25th 2022 Tucson, AZ USA The Rialto Theatre April 27th 2022 San Antonio TX USA Paper Tiger April 28th 2022 Austin, TX USA Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater April 29th 2022 Dallas, TX USA Granada Theater April 30th 2022 Houston, TX USA The Heights Theater May 2nd 2022 Lawrence, KS USA The Bottleneck May 3rd 2022 Saint Louis, MO USA Delmar Hall May 5th 2022 Nashville, TN USA Brooklyn Bowl May 6th 2022 Birmingham, AL USA Saturn May 7th 2022 Atlanta, GA USA Terminal West May 9th 2022 Asheville, NC USA The Orange Peel May 10th 2022 Carrboro, NC USA Cat’s Cradle May 11th 2022 Washington, DC USA Black Cat
The spare piano figure that leads us into KOKA’s new single “Falling Star” is a taste of a song that sounds like a music theater piece in miniature. But a theatrical production about a futuristic pop star who was shown the ropes of the music industry but her imagination and personal ambition took her to where she wanted to be rather than where other people might have set their sights for her potential. The use of space in the song and the way KOKA has structured how it unfolds and reveals its various flavors and moods is orchestral in scope and thus reminiscent of The Sensual World-period Kate Bush especially in the expressive ways KOKA’s vocals execute to great dramatic effect. It also brings to mind the later era Tori Amos whose own knack for deeply personal yet theatrical songwriting hits you like a glimpse into a more mythical personal experience that can’t help but feel like a brush with the possibilities of life we can often ignore in our own psyche. Listen to “Falling Star” on Spotify and follow KOKA at the links provided.
Lex Holmes makes a lot of spare elements with just her resonant and introspective, reflective vocals, an evolving yet elliptical guitar riff and a touch of atmospheric keyboards in her songwriting generally. And on “Right Now, Other Side” she brings forth the state of mind and heart she was in after reflecting on a breakup with some with whom there’s no going back, no repairing what was damaged, only grieving that loss and one’s own role in what broke down an important bond that lingers in with you long after. When you’re in the deep down shades of the post-breakup period the self-doubt, the melodramatic thoughts that when you’re creative can lead you to write really intense and often bad poetry. Holmes indulged that impulse but rather than bad poetry she gives us a line like “I think I’ll miss you even after I die as a ghost haunting myself” which is very emo but who hasn’t felt like that but didn’t think to put it so succinctly. Later in the song, as part of the extended chorus, Holmes sings about how she’s going to “create a horror movie trailer of the stuff I said when I ran to hide and I’ll haunt it myself” which speaks to the ways we often try to punish ourselves over our own guilt even though no one’s asking you for that kind of self-flagellation. And it is a way you can haunt your own psyche with mistakes and thoughts of what you did wrong. But by writing a song that’s so raw and confessional in its imagery maybe Holmes worked through some of that anxiety and sadness that can stay trapped inside you when your brain can’t help but returning to the memories of when things went wrong. If the title of the song is any indication maybe Holmes has moved on from that dark place of the heart and in listening to the song maybe it can help other people by really articulating messy emotions with the rare clarity and honesty Holmes does here. Listen to “Right Now, Other Side” on Spotify and follow Lex Holmes on Instagram.
If not for the lyrics in Spanish, when you listen to PODEROSA’s “Nubes Oscuras” its vivid yet lo-fi production style, its song dynamics, tones and processional structure is reminiscent of Russian post-punk and darkwave from the late 80s to the present. The icy synths and lingering cymbal strikes and pulsing low end electronic bass and sense of ambient desperation is there. But the vocals are more forceful in making declarations of spirit and intent. The title in English is “Dark Clouds” and the band has commented that the song is about embracing your dark side. And you hear it in the song, the striding directly into those hidden parts of the psyche that are supposed to stay obscured when they’re not so bad or shameful but in a culture where there is some shame assigned to vulnerability, sensitivity, not having all your everything figured out even though very few people really do and otherwise coming up short compared to unrealistic expectations heaped on us and often by ourselves. But when you can recognize those things in yourself that might otherwise be considered a dark side by everyday society that are simply part of a full human life you may as well embrace them and if they’re “flaws” show them the compassion they deserve and come to terms with their expression. “Nubes Oscuras” celebrates that process. Listen to “Nubes Oscuras” on Spotify and follow PODEROSA on Instagram.
“Undone” by uah begins with the sound of strings strummed for textural rather than tonal effect gives way to a saturated field of sounds. Rapid cycling movement in the field of noise and a vocal seemingly coming to you in reverse. The effect is like a Pink Floyd song, perhaps “Welcome to the Machine,” through the lens of an alternate dimension, those vocals going on to sound like something recorded using an EVP recorder while distorted synths act like the snow of an old television commandeered by an alien using archaic technology to send a desperate message that sounds like the mourning dirge of a dying planet. It’s reminiscent of one of those mysterious broadcasts from the 80s when an old school television or radio hacker would take over a station for a short period of time to transmit an enigmatic message. The song is orchestral though somewhat forbidding and almost overwhelming in the way it hits the ears yet also hypnotic in effect. It recalls an Orbit Service or Legendary Pink Dots composition but rendered in pure electronic form propelled by emotional urgency. Listen to “Undone” on Spotify, follow the acclaimed composer uah aka Usman Haque at the links below and check out the rest of his debut album Let Death Live now available.
Easy Sleeper set an unusual scene in “Access Reply” with the musings of what sounds like a cog in a corporate bureaucracy lamenting his fate in the dull end of the legal department. Guided along this path of middle American mediocrity by slinky guitar dynamics and melancholic atmospherics that almost sound sardonic in tone. Twee guitar floats into passages of playful introspection at times and helps to establish a borderline surreal tone like the theme music for the life of Griffin Dunne’s character Paul Hackett in After Hours (1985) in his everyday life when he’s not bumping into weirdos in a single night of adventure in an otherwise bland and predictable existence as a computer data entry worker at a time when that still might pay well. Musically it sounds like what Protomartyr or Pavement might do if they decided to take Patrick Bateman’s love of beige 80s pop seriously for the purposes of writing a song commenting on being a corporate drone rebelling in the ways one can and still hold down a “real” job. The line in this song that serves as a chorus “I just whisper and I’m wistful, then I hinder and I’m wasteful” really gives you a peek into the head space of the subject of the song. Maybe that hindering and being wasteful is the least dramatic form of rebellion but one that begins by speaking softly and fantasizing at least a little about the possibility of a more fulfilling life. Listen to “Access Reply” on YouTube and follow Easy Sleeper at the links below.
If you could sit at the bottom of a pool of water and look into the moonlit sky and take in the sound of sources of water flowing into the pond and dribbling in from spouts in the runoff of an early spring snow, it would sound a little like Julian Zyklus’ “Waterpiano n.2.” The piano line courses and echos with the flow of water tracing its luminous tones changing pace in elegant dynamic shifts that suggest movement, perhaps slow swimming with rivulets of air bubbles trailing behind, stirring the water into textured sounds that stream and wash in the background. The melancholic cast of the latter part of the song is more evocative in the manner of a minor chord progression rather than mournful, more a sense of regret and loneliness than sadness as if acknowledging this tranquil journey underwater is coming to an end before one is ready for it to come to its conclusion. Listen to “Waterpiano n.2” on Spotify and connect with Julian Zyklus at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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