This second EP from The Non-Functional Saints (Phil Minns of Non-Functional Harmony and Nick Lewis of Nicolas and the Saints) and its title track, the sprawling, evolving “2,” is a composition in five parts. But all are unified by a pacing that seems consistent but never seems stuck. The song opens with hazy drones imbued with a hint of urgency and spiritual unrest as though a journey has been undertaken after long preparation. But that energy gives way to a more contemplative tenor with electromechanical sounds like a great engine pumping along. One imagines the voyage of a vehicle like the trains in Snowpiercer if they existed in a world that wasn’t built on a techno-authoritarian, post-civilizational model. When the high-pitched flaring sounds come in over the constant pulse it’s as though some kind of process has been initiated to slow the vehicle down. Then, on a dime, the track transitions to more expansive, spaciously melodic territory akin to having arrived at one’s destination and walking about in a large metropolis constructed from metal and crystal and on into a darkened plain lit intermittently by bioluminescent trees, the moon above hidden by low lying clouds. The effect of this hazy abstract drone thrumming with low end puts you in a reflective mood. Over the horizon is the flickering of light from nearby buildings, the flash of transportation streaming by in the near distance as well as expressed with splashes of bright, shimmering tones. The ambient drone subtle turns to a revolving set of tones as the journey is drawing to an end and the climax part of the piece approaches like a meeting with some kind of destiny. The ambient haze clears but the low end presence and revolving tones guide your mind to a place of deep rest after a traveling away from the distractions of the world to a place where your mind can free itself from the inessential before going back to normal life again. Fans of Robert Rich, Numina, Tim Hecker and Phaedra-period Tangerine Dream will likely appreciate this entrancing sonic journey. Listen to “2” on Spotify and follow The Non-Functional Saints on Soundcloud.
Star Parks The New Sounds of Late Capitalism cover (cropped)
With its single “Something More,” Star Parks sounds like it’s simultaneously drifting in the influence of 90s indiepop and Gold Star Studios recordings. The plaintive vocals are produced to give it a lo-fi sheen to match the vintage tonal quality of the song and in contrast to the uplifting melody and energy that runs throughout. It comes across like someone looking back on an old romance and thinking about what they wish they had been able to say and express rather than the exact words at the time things were ending. Though the words are remorseful and melancholic it comes from a place of having moved on. Lines like “I just needed more than you can give” and “Don’t say I love you, I can’t go back” suggest the wisdom of hindsight projected back to a present tense conversation. And there’s no malice in the song, just some mild yet heartfelt regret and savoring of when things were going well mixed together in equal proportion. The horns and elegant keyboard flourishes give the song a sweeping, dreamlike quality that serves as an unexpected counterpoint to what might otherwise be heavy subject matter to look back upon. Listen to “Something More” on Soundcloud and look for the group’s full length album The New Sounds of Late Capitalism.
Biiko and ttypes team up for a vocal duet on hazily downtempo song “Mixee.” The percussion has enough production on it to take off any hard edges, synths pulse on the periphery as though to mark time on a casual stroll, a simple piano figure and a smooth bass line sets an underlying tempo that comes to the fore toward the end of the song. The song is a plea to an ex-lover in the form of reminders of how things were and what the relationship meant yet it doesn’t sound desperate, it doesn’t come off mournful, simply gentle melancholic. At times it’s reminiscent of Slowdive’s “Blue Skied An’ Clear” in its own, abstract, jazz-like flourishes and dreamlike, languid dynamics. Though the song is relatively short at a little over two minutes, Biiko and ttypes bring together enough poignant details and emotional coloring to convey much more than some artists get to at twice the length. Listen to “Mixee” on Spotify.
Logan Nelson approached a bit of his writing for his new album Lavender Echoes from a more orchestral composition perspective. But for the single “Satellites, In Orbit” he seems to have drawn some inspiration from the subject of the title both in the encountering such objects in the night sky and imagining what it must be like to be one or to be there with it. Where the organic and electronic instrumentation begins and ends in the production matters very little as it evokes the composition of the universe itself with material, concrete objects sitting in the vastness of space carried along by energy, affected by gravitational forces and in the case of satellites put into a stable orbit modulated by onboard equipment to make fine adjustments. Perhaps Nelson gazed out into the night sky one night and saw what he thought might have been an odd star moving but realized it was not a plane but rather the twinkling of a satellite, then let his imagination run to pondering how many satellites must be out there and the elegant balance of forces that make such things possible and what existence might be like for a satellite if it was imbued with an artificial intelligence. The level of sonic details, cast in overlapping layers of minimalism, in Logan’s song is impressive as it manages to convey both vast spaces and the minutiae of activity that goes on every day. Often when art contemplates cosmic places and time it focuses on how insignificant we really are in the grand scheme of things but “Satellites, In Orbit” takes the opposite view by highlighting the specificity of existence even of artificial machines humans put in place around the planet to help us communicate and provide us with a broad spectrum of information, as an extension of our own civilizations and consciousness. Listen to “Satellites, In Orbit” on Soundcloud and follow Logan Nelson at the links provided.
The Hardly Boys The Search for the Electric Void cover (cropped)
The whole aesthetic of The Hardly Boys and their new EP The Search for the Electric Void is like something informed by Church of the Subgenius and 1960s and 1970s science fiction and suspense TV. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the project, particularly on its single “Moving Without Religion,” has leapfrogged past the obvious industrial, noise, post-punk and psychedelic rock touchstones into its own thing seemingly born out of not wanting to sound like everything around them or what they’ve heard ad infinitum out in the world today. Hovering, cycling, menacing tones drive the song as well as vocals that catalog a journey in search for meaning without reference to established, sometimes oppressive beliefs and subcultures. Which could be seen as emblematic of the band’s approach to songwriting as its tripped out tone bending and otherworldly sound wedded to an almost lo-fi production style sets it outside too many obvious influences. The band is based out of the city that produced D.O.A., Skinny Puppy, Japandroids, Modern Creatures and Mutators and it would have been easy to fall back on any of that but fortunately The Hardly Boys have chosen a different path while not discarding the fingerprints of its influences completely. Listen to The Search for the Electric Void on Spotify and follow The Hardly Boys on Instagram linked below.
Choosing to start off “i’ll choose u” in a lo-fi, AM radio production style with the track ever so slightly washed out until nearly a minute of the song makes neek’s choice to come in with the strong bass even more impactful. This is especially so since it it no way overpowers her creative vocal production both fairly natural and more processed. We’ve heard plenty of unimaginative vocal processing in modern pop music but neek gives us a treatment on her voice that blurs and pitches the shift in a way that enhances the gently romantic quality of the song. Even when she reluctantly admits her affection for the person to whom the song might be directed, because she’s had to be so guarded in life, it comes across as tender and sincere. The rhythm is like a hybrid of breakbeat and footwork and suits the overall flavor of the song. Listen to “i’ll choose u” on Soundcloud and follow neek there as well (linked below).
“Glow” by Bordeaux, France-based electronic music composer Ocoeur (Franck Zaragoza) evokes the sense of self-imposed isolation through technology that most people living in the modern world experience every day through increasingly using mobile devices channeled through platforms of interaction that run the gamut of human life from everyday communication with friends, relatives, one’s job to dating, ordering food, hailing transportation, watching entertainment, getting news and even remotely operating aspects of your house should you be connected that way. The irony of calling this state of things being “connected” is something that Ocoeur challenges on his new album Everything (out on Feb 28th on 180-gram ultra clear vinyl and digipak compact disc). “Glow” in particular has hazy synth sounds and sense of being shrouded in your own head and shielded from an outside world. It has a comfortably insular feel with soothing drones but underlying is a sense of darkness and unrest, of discomfort that is difficult to define but which creeps up on you while easing those sensations of dissatisfaction with a sort of soporific/hypnotic energy. Combining what seem like opposite purposes in crafting the track Ocoeur has manifested in sound the ambient mood, the background radiation if you will, of modern society and what we have come to accept because we feel it’s comfortable and we figure the benefits outweigh the costs even as it, in its current form, might be eroding us from the inside on an individual and collective level by catering to stasis rather than encouraging curiosity and growth beyond what you already know. Listen to “Glow” on Soundcloud and follow Ocoeur at the links provided.
Wettworker remixed the title track of Cubbiebear’s 2015 album Are You Okay? after asking the Baltimore-based MC 2015 for permission to do do so Joshua Bailey aka Cubbiebear sent Wettworker the vocal track and six months later the MC passed away from an aggressive form of brain cancer. In 2020 Wettworker released a dynamic lyric video for the remix that highlights Cubbiebear’s facility with poetic expression in the context of a song and his willingness to go beyond the tropes of the hip-hop genre and its prevailing trends of the moment to make the beat serve the emotional content of the lyrics. The use of pages with the bars of lyrics like a nod to Bob Dylan’s film for “Subterranean Homesick Blues” but with each page burning and re-manifesting with different words and repeating laying out choice cultural references to frame a fierce adherence to one’s vision, creative life, friendships and radical vulnerability as the guiding beacon of one’s life. Laying bare fears, insecurities, flaws and psychological scars while a borderline black metal guitar riff runs through over a techno synth line and spare drums, the song paired with the visual representation of the song is a powerful manifestation of the essence of Cubbiebear’s artistic legacy. Watch the video on YouTube and follow Wettworker at the links provided.
What:The Shivas w/The Savage Blush and Slynger When: Thursday, 2.27, 8 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: The Shivas were pushing the modern garage psych aesthetic forward before it became a played out quantity in the 2010s. But because the band was always weirder and willing to explore the noisier, more extreme ends of the style its music has remained refreshingly different and genre bend-y up to and including its 2019 album Dark Thoughts.
What:Susto w/Whitacre and Molly Parden When: Friday, 2.28, 8 p.m. Where: Globe Hall Why: Susto’s 2019 album Ever Since I Lost My Mind finds the indie rock band branching into more urgent and gritty songwriting territory without losing the thoughtfulness. Maybe the tenor of the times has seeped into the drive behind the new material but the band’s gorgeously languid vibes seem ticked more than a bit toward a focused intentionality with the music. Not that it lacked intensity at moments before, it’s just palpable this time out. Also on the bill is Denver-based band Whitacre. Paul Whitacre has made a name for himself since moving to the Mile High City in 2016 for his introspective yet brightly upsweeping songs. The group’s new album Seasons, out on April 17, finds its songs, produced by Joe Richmond (who has worked with Tennis and Churchill), polished and shining with a warmth and sincere optimism.
What:Modern Leisure w/Ashley Koett and Big Dopes When: Friday, 2.28, 8 p.m. Where: Lost Lake Why: Modern Leisure’s Casey Banker’s keen ear for dynamic and entrancing pop melodies is matched only by his similar gift for sharply observed turns of phrase. Big Dopes’ 2019 album Crimes Against Gratitude is brimming with vivid portraits of life in a generation whose future has been compromised but trying to maintain a sense of hope for better times ahead without succumbing to nihilistic despair.
What:Chuck Prophet When: Friday, 2.28, 7 p.m. Where: Swallow Hill – Daniels Hall Why: Chuck Prophet was one of the pioneers of alt-country as a member of Green On Red from its genre-defining 1985 album Gas Food Lodging through the early 90s. During his career as a solo artist his knack for crafting poetic imagery and dusty power pop has seemed endless. His most recent record, 2017’s Bobby Fully Died for Your Sins is a meditation on the passing of musical giants and maintaining a vision for hope in dark times.
What:Howard Jones acoustic Trio performance w/Rachael Sage When: Friday, 2.28, 7 p.m. Where: Oriental Theater Why: Synth pop pioneer Howard Jones will perform as part of an acoustic trio for this show interpreting his iconic hits of the 80s in a format that will likely surprise. Anyone that has witnessed Jones in the more electronic incarnation of the music knows that his songwriting is at the heart of the appeal of his songs. Opening the show is Rachael Sage. The New York City-based artist has been releasing music on her own MPress Records for two decades including fourteen of her own albums distinguished by an eclectic range of sounds and styles that have informed her imaginative pop songs. He latest album Character, out March 6, came out of her time recovering from endometrial cancer throughout 2018. The record is informed by a sense of humility, realistic yet poetic assessments of life’s possibilities and horizons when facing your own mortality. Sage discards the bravado we hear too much in American music in the face of adversity, it acknowledges the frailty and fragility of the situations we may find ourselves when you can’t just magically snap back and be okay. It wisely takes a sensitive and deeply compassionate yet honest approach to every subject and reveals itself to be a deep record about life’s challenges in general whatever your situation.
SPELLS, photo by Tom Murphy
What:SPELLS (record release) w/Drakülas and People Corrupting People When: Saturday, 2.29, 8 p.m. Where: Streets Denver Why: Denver’s SPELLS is releasing its new record Stimulants & Sedatives on Chuck Coffey’s Snappy Little Numbers imprint. In the past one might have described SPELLS as essentially a pop punk band. But on this album there’s more dissonance and grit to the music to go along with the rambunctious tunefulness that has been the hallmark of the band’s sound from the beginning. The lyrics are a sharp mix of self-awareness and self-deprecation with stories of realistic expectations rather than bullish bravado, a very adult approach that contrasts well with the raw energy of the performances.
What:Ceschi and David Ramos w/Gregory Pepper, Midwife, Damn Selene and CFX Project When: Tuesday, 3.3, 7 p.m. Where: Seventh Circle Music Collective Why: Ceschi Ramos is the co-founder of Fake Four, a label putting out some of the most forward thinking hip-hop of the past decade and a half. The confessional intensity of his rapidfire vocal delivery wrapped in atmospheric beats is reminiscent of Sole, with whom he has worked, and his vivid, personal storytelling issues forth in almost pointillistic couplets like a mosaic establishing an informal, organic narrative. On the bill also is experimental hip-hop artist Damn Selene and ambient folk phenom Midwife who is set to tour the US in March and April as well an appearance at the Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands.
Wednesday | March 4
R A R E B Y R D $ performs at Mercury Café on March 23. Photo by Tom Murphy
What:Weird Wednesday: DA’AN, Corey Daggers and R A R E B Y R D $ When: Wednesday, 3.4, 9 p.m. Where: Bowman’s Vinyl and Lounge Why: This typically eclectic line-up for Weird Wednesday includes a mix of electronic dance music, punk Americana and soulful hip-hop. DA’ANS is a new project that brings together the luminous vocals of Glynnis Braan of Lady of Sorrows and the electronic production and beat-making genius of Lawrence Snell, drummer of Meet the Giant, with songs and a theatrical performance that is a true synthesis of rave and darkwave. Corey Daggers often performs by himself with a guitar and on occasion with a full band. But either incarnation is a vital flavor of what might be described as dark carnival emo Americana. R A R E B Y R D $ bring a swagger, sensuality and emotional warmth to ambient beats and lyrics that are at turns playful, earthy and deeply, transformatively vulnerable.
Inspired by the landscapes of Iceland, “Field of View” by Stephen Caulfield comes in with a spectral drone with slight distortions in the tone like sun winking off ice in the distance before the landmass looms into view. A copse of trees gives a hint that the promontory jutting out from the fog is not an iceberg but the sometimes otherworldly land of ice and fire that the Vikings colonized centuries ago. As an up close, rapid cycling, distorted stream of sound gives way to a more spacious and ambient softly drifting melodic noise it conjures visions of the low lying clouds and fog clearing to reveal the jagged inlets and high cliffs, the majestic and silent vistas of Iceland before you that must have captivated the first humans to set foot there as well as modern travelers to the island nation. Listen to “Field of View” on Spotify and follow Stephen Caulfield at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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