“Welcome to SMELVE VILLAGE” are the first words we see in KEG’s video for “Farmhands” before we enter a village of mushroom houses, green skinned short humanoids with pointy ears and the band performing in herky jerky manner citing a litany of complaints and observations which the aforementioned creatures object to with a parade carrying signs saying “HUMANS FUCK OFF” while one of their number summons a giant creature that shows up out of the local pond and consumes the band as the view pulls back and we come to see it was either a very strange TV show, certainly an unusual music video and/or a glimpse into an alternate reality we may not want to visit but where certainly magic is real and our species doesn’t dominate the world. There is some comfort in that mere possibility even as the band carries on with a frantic yet tuneful song of rapid guitar arpeggios and vocals on the verge of some kind of break. Visually the video is like a cross between what Dash Shaw did for My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, the cartoon style of Adventure Time and what Richard Linklater did with Waking Life. Musically imagine the borderline unhinged moments of The Rapture, the surreal wordplay and off kilter rhythms of Parquet Courts and the irreverence and disregard for all regular song logic of their own of Happy Mondays and you’ll be somewhere near the inherent charm of the track. Watch the music video below on YouTube and connect with KEG at the links provided.
“Teenage Teardrops” begins with a hushed and stirring dynamic to frame a narrative about the ways youthful aspirations and ability to see possibilities and find meaning in simple things like, as mentioned early in the song, meaning on a seven inch record, can be leached from your psyche if you’re in an environment that doesn’t nourish the soul in even the simplest ways. “I can’t cry anymore” is such a simply lyric but in the context of the song it encapsulates having reached a point where you find yourself in a place geographically and/or emotionally where you have lost the ability to even mourn a situation that no longer serves you because you’ve given so much so freely without thinking about it. When you’re young you think you have infinite time and opportunity to do what you would like but even at a young age bleeding yourself dry for a lifestyle or a job or a relationship or for anything or anyone can catch up to you. Later in life that timeline shortens and this song acknowledges that reality of having moments of vitality feeling like youth and when you’re tapped out it can leave you feeling confused and devastated. The orchestral quality of the song with melancholic piano and synths driving the melody while husky vocals seem to dance and sway with the gently strummed guitar line and finely accented percussion suggests a cinematic quality and experience evocative of everyday experiences elevated to the mythic. After that fashion it is reminiscent of where XTC went with its own songwriting from the mid-80s onward and early solo Barry Adamson. Listen to “Teenage Teardrops” on Bandcamp and follow the Rec at the links provided.
George McFall took samples of songs by Big Country as an element for the sonic palette for his Diurnal Patio EP. The title track melds the upbeat, jaunty quality of Big Country with an almost cut-up style of repeated images for lyrics in free associating how so many of the crises and dramatic events we’ve been experiencing of late are just another version of something we’ve had shoved down our throats before like it’s something new but in the end (“another panic attack, another century, another sentiment, another cigarette, another apathy) it’s a collection of feelings we process and when things fly at us with what feels like a rapid fire of stimulation it’s easy to become numb to the full impact of the events as we try to sort through what might actually have meaning and significance and do our best as humans with limitations of cognition in processing so much information that may or may not have an impact on our lives directly. It’s like an irreverent post-punk track built on a cheeky remix and collage/barrage of ideas and images that takes the very absurdity of the situation and suggests that so much of what’s floated our way is the detritus of history we can brush aside and not get lost in the flood of distractions. The song and perhaps the EP is a way to comment the Marcel Duchamp once did in his concept of “Readymades” or even the radical social deconstructionist impulses of Dada to mulch culture to create something new out the other end of the process. But whatever the intentions or methods, McFall has created a fascinating and compelling work that fans of both TransAm and The Fall equally might appreciate. Listen to “Diurnal Patio” (surely a Dada-esque title) on Spotify and connect with McFall at the links provided.
Good at Rockets is an Orange County Trio that released its latest single “The Margin.” The track certainly bears comparison to late 80s R.E.M. with jangly guitar work paired with poetically introspective lyrics that examine the strange ways humans conduct their lives and engage with the world around them by way of behaviors intended to be statements of identity not often examined enough, a pantomime of intentionality. The spare piano work accents the melodic line and as a subtle element it helps to emphasize an underlying message in the song to think beyond the usual frames and narratives that ring in your life out of force of habit even when situations call for greater nuance, understanding and compassion. Every day, John McCabe suggests in his singing, is a chance to get this dynamic right and to inculcate better habits but self-awareness is a good place to start and without judgment. Listen to “The Margin” on Spotify and follow Good at Rockets at the links provided.
Icarus Phoenix “80’s Night Dance Party Singing ‘Send Me an Angel’” cover
Icarus Phoenix uses the vehicle of power pop Americana with “80’s Night Dance Party Singing ‘Send Me an Angel’” to deliver the realest lines about social anxiety rendered in thoughtful couplets. It’s posed as a series of questions coming from a place of compassionate curiosity and works whether directed to a friend or to oneself. Singing “Why’s it gotta be you feel alive with no one round?” A.R. Herrin sums up what it means to be an introvert but recognizing the limitations of going too far into yourself to the point of isolation. “Riding on my bike abandoning social events every time” is a line at the end of the song that so succinctly creates an image of a habit of a different kind of escapism than simply binging on entertaining media or chemical alteration. The sparkling, jangly guitar work as almost processional strumming frames this song about getting to the root of one’s anxieties that one’s well-constructed system of coping mechanisms aren’t fooling anyone and no longer serve the interests of your heart. Listen to “80’s Night Dance Party Singing ‘Send Me an Angel’” on Bandcamp and perhaps further explore the full album No tree can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell out now on Telos Tapes. Also, connect with Icarus Phoenix at the links provided.
Siv Disa aka Siv Anderson is a Reyjavik, Iceland-based songwriter who released her debut album Dreamhouse through the UK imprint Trapped Animal in November 2021. Anderson had been recording her eclective and evocative experimental dream pop and releasing singles for the past couple of years and demonstrated a knack for delivering a whole concept with her songs and accompanying music videos. From early forays into songwriting and performing while in college in the Boston area to becoming immersed in the underground music world of New York City post-grad and working as a teacher, Anderson’s style of soundscaping and storytelling is riveting in its quality of operating from a place outside standard logical though. Dreamhouse itself follows a bit of a story arc in the way Anderson spent a great deal of time figuring out an order for the songs in terms of themes both subject matter and musical. The album’s free association of ideas with psychedelia/shoegaze, jazz structures, noise, ambient and pop in a way that seems to invoke concepts of non-linear film making has resulted in a set of songs that takes you through a broad range of emotions and a gentle catharsis. We had the opportunity to speak with the songwriter at length through the benefit of speaking over the internet about her roots in becoming an artist rather than something her parents would have approved right away, her development as a musician and film maker as well as the themes of some of her music.
Listen to the interview with Siv Disa on Bandcamp linked below (where you can also order a vinyl edition of Dreamhouse), check out the video for “Whistle” (filmed in Iceland) and connect with her at the links provided.
Former Skinjobs vocalist Katja Vale has been releasing solo tracks in 2021 and her latest is “Water Serpents.” With an array of synth swells and layers of ethereal melody and a vocal line that rises and falls with subtle dynamics, Vale offers a song that seems to use the image of mythological creatures as metaphor for the ways people trap and define other people to suit their own needs even as a core human instinct for freedom will unwind that influence and power in the end. Vale sings of the ways we internalize this attempt to control through guilt and people pleasing and a natural desire to do no harm but in the context of a toxic relationship not harming the situation isn’t a sustainable way of being. The song’s downtempo moods and slow-coiling synth line punctuated by bright tonal accents truly makes this song of quiet personal liberation stand out. Listen to “Water Serpents” on Spotify below and follow Vale at the links provided.
Margo Polo’s single “Can You Hear Me?” comes on with a confidence and exuberance propelled by the excitement of the dream and visions that have brought you to where you want to be. But David Provenzano’s lyrics with this project rarely sit with simple hopefulness and bravado. And though the track rushes with great energy, buoyed with upsweeping, ethereal synth melodies and driving, fuzzy guitar rhythms it really does seem to come from a place we’ve all been for two years minimum where everything has felt up in the air, uncertain and filled with doubts about our ability to turn aspirations into dreams and no end in sight to a time of seemingly new challenges every week and every month and now every year. Sure the pandemic is the big disruption but it simply focused larger societal and civilizational issues that have made it increasingly difficult for most people to get by or to achieve many modest goals in life with the unspoken truth that when the under class struggles so hard and the people that are the undercelebrated glue of society similarly struggle the whole thing is in trouble whether the wealthy and powerful recognize it or not and in aggregate they haven’t for years. This song is about being in that place not necessarily trying to fix some bigger picture but just trying to make it through a little at a time while not pretending it’s all okay yet yearning for a state of things that don’t seem like an endless crisis. Heady stuff but Provenzano has a gift for making serious subject matter personal, accessible and uplifting. Fans of M83 would do well to check out any Margo Polo song. Listen to “Can You Hear Me?” on Spotify below and follow Margo Polo at any of the links provided.
Carmine Appice is one of the most influential drummers in the history of rock music. He first came to the attention of a wide audience as a member of heavy psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge. His imaginative, powerful and versatile style proved to be an influence on the likes of John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, Roger Taylor of Queen, Ian Paice of Deep Purple and really a whole generation of hard rock and heavy metal drummers. Across his long career, Appice has played in and contributed to albums by Cactus, Rod Stewart, King Kobra, Pink Floyd, Sly Stone and now with Appice Perdomo Project, his musical partnership with guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Fernando Perdomo. The duo released its debut album Energy Overload at the end of August 2021 on Cleopatra Records. We had a chance to speak at length with Appice about when Led Zeppelin played its first North American show in Denver opening for Spirit and Vanilla Fudge, his long experience as a recording artist and performer and how laying down tracks in the early 80s paved the way for him to draw on older drum tracks to send to collaborators to recontextualize the beat by writing other music to existing rhythms in a process not unlike a remix by taking a great drum track and having it as the foundation for new music.
You can listen to the interview on the Queen City Sounds Podcast on Bandcamp below and watch the video for “Rocket To The Sun” on YouTube. For more information on Appice and his prolific and still active career spanning six decades, please visit his official website www.carmineappice.net and check out his colorful and engaging 2016 memoir Stick It!: My Life of Sex, Drums & Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Napalm Death, photo courtesy the artistsSpyderland at Larimer Lounge September 2021, photo by Tom Murphy
Thursday | 12.03 What: Spyderland, Princess Dewclaw and Connie When: 10 p.m. Where: Broadway Roxy Why: Spyderland is the more soulful synth pop side of the songwriting of Marie Litton (Lil’ Thunder, Ghost Buffalo) and Drew McClellan. The duo’s 2021 album There’s Monsters Outside is an evocation of the challenging social and political landscape of America during a time of impending crises with no real leadership to face them with honesty and conviction leaving us to scramble as best we can while not surrendering to despair. Princess Dewclaw is like if a punk band with strident yet righteous political convictions freely associated musical ideas and didn’t bother to think electronic music can’t be part of a punk aesthetic.
Midwife at Hi-Dive September 2021, photo by Tom Murphy
Friday | 12.03 What: Old Sport w/Midwife and Seer Believer When: 7/8 p.m. Where: HQ Why: Old Sport emerges from its long hiatus to bring its emo flavored punk to local stages again this time sharing that space with Midwife and that project’s deeply emotional, hazy art folk darkwave-esque dream pop.
…And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, photo by Krystal Morris
Saturday | 12.04 What:…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead w/Death Valley Girls When: 8/9 p.m. Where: Larimer Lounge Why: Forming in Austin, Texas in 1994, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead has been one of the more interesting guitar rock bands out of the underground that somehow both exerted an influence on modern indie rock while remaining a bit of a cult band. Its 2002 album Source Tags & Codes defied easy classification with its eclectic and inventive range of sounds, a pattern the band maintains up to and including its 2020 album X: The Godless Void and Other Stories. Known for its incendiary live shows contrasted with thoughtful and often high concept lyrics, Trail of Dead may be underrated but always surprisingly vital. Opening the show is the psychedelic post-punk band Death Valley Girls whose own unpredictable and imaginative live shows and music is a fascinating pairing with the veteran band.
Monday | 12.06 What:She Past Away w/Radio Scarlett When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Oriental Theater Why: She Past Away isn’t just a great post-punk band from Istanbul but one of the best bands out of that realm of music operating today. Its energetic and bright yet darkly moody music reconciles the brooding of Sisters of Mercy at their most melancholy with early Cure guitar work. Connoisseurs of post-punk may hear hints of the influence of Russian post-punk legends Kino in the music as well. Radio Scarlett is Denver’s premier death rock band.
Eyehategod at Bluebird Theater January 2014, photo by Tom Murphy
Tuesday | 12.07 What: GWAR w/Napalm Death and Eyehategod When: 6/7 p.m. Where: Oriental Theater Why: Yeah, it’s that GWAR with the absurd costumes as intergalactic scumdogs playing bombastic thrash punk and still giving the middle finger to uptight, conservative American culture and sensibilities in their inimitable and outrageous manner. One might think the highly political Napalm Death is without humor but oh no, the band that is known to play their less than 2 second song “You Suffer” multiple times in a row in case anyone missed it and otherwise have fun eviscerating and sending up the horrific realities of life under late capitalism. Eyehategod will bring a similarly informed and compassionate perspective on human suffering and survival with its own darkly psychedelic sludgy heavy music.
Tuesday | 12.07 What:Thundercat w/Channel Tres at Mission Ballroom When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Mission Ballroom Why: Thundercat is the brilliant trickster bassist of renown whose skills have helped make many other musicians sound better including Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus and Kamasi Washington. But his solo albums are mind-altering musical journeys in their own right and as a band leader, Thundercat ably conjures jazz-funk alchemy with deep creativity.
Moon Pussy at Hi-Dive October 2021, photo by Tom Murphy
Thursday | 12.09 What: New Standards Men, Moon Pussy, SPELLS and Alien Neighborhood When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: This is the dual album release from art rock weirdos New Standards Men and Alien Neighborhood. The former never got to celebrate the release of its epic psychedelic jazz prog 2020 masterpiece I Was A Starship in 2020 for obvious reasons but the timing of the release of its companion album Spain’s First Astronaut in 2021 as well as the reissue of the earlier record on Snappy Little Numbers worked out for 2021. For the bill the group is joined by label mates and pop-punk band SPELLS and Alien Neighborhood as well as noise rock legends in the making Moon Pussy. Fans of bands on the Amphetamine Reptile imprint, Big Black/Shellac and outfits on the late GSL label or 31G will definitely have a heavy appreciation for Moon Pussy.
Friday | 12.10 What:N3PTUNE w/Rusty Steve and Hex Kitten When: 8/9 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: N3PTUNE has already made great waves beyond Denver with a brash and sophisticated body of work that transcends easy categorization with roots seemingly in funk, R&B, soul and rock. It is perhaps facile to compare him to Prince and maybe Yves Tumor but it’s also not far off the mark. This night celebrates the release of his EP The Black and White Ball on which N3PTUNE goes deep singing about intense subject matter with a hearty honesty.
Screwtape at Gothic Theatre November 2016, photo by Tom Murphy
Friday | 12.10 What: Joy’s Kitchen Benefit Show: Screwtape, Ukko’s Hammer, Destiny Bond, Broken Record When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Mutiny Information Café Why: This will be a different kind of hardcore show benefiting Joy’s Kitchen. It also signals the return of the great local hardcore group Screwtape to live performance.
Saturday | 12.11 What:Volk w/White Rose Motor Oil When: 9:30/10 p.m. Where: HQ Why: Volk is a cowpunk duo from Nashville, Tennessee. Its 2021 album Cashville is refreshingly raw and catches your attention immediately with an attitude that’s reminiscent of Big Boys when that band went off the standard punk rock rails it never traversed in the first place. Also on the bill are local country rock greats White Rose Motor Oil whose 2020 album You Can’t Kill Ghosts was both a stripped down affair but one that really emphasized the essentials of the group’s songwriting with no filler. It’s more recent releases feature spirited and creative interpretations of the duo’s influences.
Friday | 12.17 What: Flaming Tongues Above, Divingbell and Discontinued Flavors When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Seventh Circle Music Collective Why: Formerly known as 50 Miles of Elbow Room, Flaming Tongues Above is the solo, experimental folk and musique concrète project of Amos Helvey of Old Sport. Divingbell is the solo project of Angus Smith whose own take on what might be considered a kind of folk-flavored post-rock is reminiscent of what might have happened if Jeff Buckley had joined early Low.
Riddy Arman, photo by Mike Vanata
Friday | 12.17 What:Riddy Arman w/The Local Honeys When: 8/9 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: Riddy Arman’s 2021 self-titled debut album on La Honda Records puts the emphasis on the Montana-based songwriter’s vivid storytelling through her powerful vocals. But her expressive and creative guitar work backed by finely accented percussion and a touch of pedal steel frame the stories with a beautifully reflective quality. One of modern country’s rising stars who you can see in small venue early in her career.
Lindsey Buckingham, photo by Lauren Dukoff
Monday | December 20 What: Lindsey Buckingham w/Sammy Brue When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Boulder Theater Why: Lindsey Buckingham is perhaps best known for his contributions to the best era of rock and pop band Fleetwood Mac. But Buckingham’s work and songwriting outside of the Mac has been noteworthy as well (see his recent performance on SNL with Halsey). Currently the songwriter is touring in support of his 2021 self-titled album, a record that displays Buckingham in fine form as a crafter of pop songs not short on sophistication, economy and emotionally resonant lyrics.
Church Fire at Larimer Lounge September 2021, photo by Tom Murphy
Thursday | 12.23 What:Church Fire, Hex Cassette, Horse Girl and Verhoffst When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: Church Fire has long been one of the most powerful, dark synth pop bands in Denver and anywhere with songs that don’t shy away from commenting on political and social issues with poetry and emotional force. But also on the bill are other artists in the realm of local darkwave with Hex Cassette’s brooding synthesis of synth pop and EBM and Horse Girl’s transcendent dream pop.
FEAR at Marquis Theater in June 2013, photo by Tom Murphy
Friday | 12.31 What: Fear w/Potato Pirates, Direct Threat and Cease Fire When: 7/8 p.m. Where: Gothic Theatre Why: FEAR is the legendary Los Angeles punk band that helped define an entire lineage of that style of music. The group took great pleasure in taunting self-righteous punks and conservative American culture equally with its irreverently humorous, sometimes nihilistic, lyrics and outrageous performances with lead singer Lee Ving commanding the stage like an insult comedian. The band was featured in Penelope Spheeris’ classic 1981 punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization as well as the infamous 1981 Halloween episode of Saturday Night Live arranged by show writer Michael O’Donoghue and former SNL star and then cinema luminary John Belushi. On the show the band performed and the audience included members of Minor Threat, Cro-mags, The Meatmen and Negative Approach and mayhem ensued including profanity broadcast before the live feed was cut. So plenty of anticipation was in place when The Record came out on Slash in 1982 and it delivered some of the most caustic and boisterous punk in an era not short on such offerings. Since that time FEAR has released a handful of records, the final being 2000’s American Beer, and occasionally toured and still worth showing up to see. But with Ving turning 72 next year this may be one of your last chances, if not your last chance, to catch these heroes of punk before Ving calls it a day.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
You must be logged in to post a comment.