Never Kenezzard at Wax Trax, August 2021, photo by Tom Murphy
For over half a decade Never Kenezzard has brought its psychedelically-inflected heavy music to stages in Colorado. Fronted by guitarist Ryan Peru the trio draws a bit of inspiration from art rock and the avant-garde as well as the likes of Faith No More and Queens of the Stone Age, Never Kenezzard released its debut album Never Say… in 2016. Peru came up getting into classic rock and alternative rock like many people that grew up in the 80s and 90s but transitioned into a focus on experimental electronic music including IDM and ambient music in the late 90s going on to spend nearly two decades making music along those lines including his now concurrent project Mondo Obscura with Evan Brown. 2021 sees the band releasing The Long and Grinding Road representing the development of the group including a line-up change so that found members Peru and drummer Jason Starkey were joined by Denver underground music figure Don White on bass. The record, available online on November 20, 2021, is a thoughtfully sequenced journey of urban and cosmic myth and the rewards of perseverance. We had a chance to have an extended conversation with Peru about his youth in rural Colorado, his evolution in music, his life in the local scene including his time providing striking projections for shows in Denver’s experimental music scene as part of 75ohms and the vicissitudes of being an independent band with relatively little music and culture industry support for your style of sound-making.
Never Kenezzard celebrates the release of The Long and Grinding Road on Saturday, November 20, 2021 at The Squire Lounge with Sea of Flames and Master Ferocious. The show is at 9 p.m. and it’s free and 21+. Look for the digital release of the new album on the Never Kenezzard Bandcamp page. Listen to our interview with Peru on the Queen City Sounds Podcast Bandcamp page linked below. Over the summer Never Kenezzard released the fetching music video for harrowing single “Genie” for which we did a write-up but you can watch it below following the interview link.
Uniform is an industrial hardcore band from New York that came out of the city’s punk and extreme music scene. Its fiery and abrasive electronic onslaught articulates issues of existential confusion and frustration with the destructive forces of society and within our own minds and clawing a path to catharsis. The group’s 2020 album Shame (Sacred Bones Records) is perhaps its most accessible but also its most deeply personal and raw.
Singer Michael Berdan grew up getting into punk and edgier metal and Singer Michael Berdan grew up getting into punk and edgier metal and eventually helped found Drunkdriver. But in 2011 when stories of drummer Jeremy Villalobos’ rape allegations started coming to light, Berdan left the band citing the aforementioned acts and, with the help of people who wouldn’t coddle him, set about trying to confront any mindsets and behaviors in himself that might have a chance of leading to abusive behavior of any kind.
Uniform got together in 2013 when friend and former bandmate in other projects, Ben Greenberg moved in down the street from Berdan and the two Uniform got together in 2013 when friend and former bandmate in other projects, Ben Greenberg moved in down the street from Berdan .The two shared an interest in industrial music, noise and punk that they used those sounds and textures as a vehicle to express feelings of alienation and comment on that state of the culture and the world. With confrontational performances has connected with fans and other bands leading to multiple collaborations with noise rock duo The Body resulting in an expansion of the scope of its themes and its expanding soundscaping palette.
We recently spoke with Berdan about his early days in music, his handling of the breakup of Drunkdriver and the ever evolving songcraft of Uniform. You can listen to that interview on Bandcamp linked below and you can catch Uniform with Portrayal of Guilt and Body Void at HQ on Monday, November 8, 2021.
Starlight Girls’ “Teenage Crime” deftly combines emotional urgency with a languid pace and melancholic undertones. Angsty guitar work bursting over a minimalistic keyboard melody washing underneath Christina Bernard’s focused vocals tracing the ebb and flow of mood give the song an unconventional rhythm. Without overcomplicating the soundscape the band uses a wide-ranging and expressive dynamic in the percussion and low end that syncs with the other elements of the song operating in their own dynamics and unifies it all toward a goal of making a song that feels expansive, contemplative and emotionally vibrant. It’s a bit like if Air and modern, noisy, psychedelic band collaborated to create a song that is cool yet fiery that washes the nervous energy in your brain away. Listen to “Teenage Crime” on Soundcloud, connect with Starlight Girls at the links below and look out for the band’s new EP Entitled which was released on June 9, 2020 and available on the group’s Bandcamp page.
“Mummycore” band I, Doris returns with a song and video called “Wonderwomen,” which is a DIY live action comic book treatment everyday challenges women all over the world face. You know, the mundane tasks that too often aren’t expected to be fulfilled by men like getting the kids to school after keeping after them to get all the little things done like basic hygiene and homework, then putting up with heaps of nonsense from power tripping bosses who are essentially useless middle management types who would crack under the pressure they put upon others. But if you’re a woman you’ve been conditioned to take on the blame for maybe not taking on all this work and completing it in some imaginary perfect fashion. I, Doris say a big p’shaw to that and not internalize a narrative of failure because “You’re doing fine.” That the band performs the song in a sort of camp, new wave punk version of the theme song to the American TV series Wonder Woman that ran from 1975-1979 and starring Lynda Carter is just a fantastically irreverent bonus. That the members of the band appear in the video as women who could be someone you run into walking down the street, in the school, in your crap job that everyone hates, at the grocery store or anywhere but wearing super hero costumes really turns the idea of women needing to give themselves more of a hassle or accept such from anyone else than necessary on its head. So many things in life don’t require your full attention and effort and this song is about cutting yourself a break for not giving it your all with everything all the time because that’s the path to self-destruction. If that messaging isn’t a form of radical feminism that anyone can get behind, it’s difficult to say what is.
Pulsing low end rumble pushes Buggie’s song “Westend” along as Gretchen King almost reads the story of the current dissolution of the world order as we knew it and the desperate attempts to save it. Whether that be with “corporate saviors” or clinging to the utterly discredited neoliberal order with its distractions in entertainment, social media and dead end jobs held out as our only options as a way to perpetuate an economic model that hasn’t been sustainable in even the most powerful countries for four decades. Buggie points out that it seems like the last legs of resisting the inevitable. The almost industrial percussion wedded with King’s pondering but cautionary vocals convey the hard reality before us but inject it with a hint of whimsical flavor as if to suggest that maybe this end of things as we know it is a positive because it’s already been crashing in on itself since the turn of the century and maybe we’re already ready for something new even if it seems scary. Fans of Holly Herndon and Hiro Kone will greatly appreciate the production and soundscaping and the conceptual nature as well as the social critique of the song. Listen to “Westend” on Soundcloud, watch a short clip of the stop motion music video on Instagram and connect with Buggie at the links provided.
“Stigande luft” (Ascending Air) is the first track from Jäverling ◇ von Euler’s upcoming album Musik för trädgårdar (Music for gardens). It draws us in by establishing a percussive tone as a beat as shimmering splashes of synth come in and the melody and textural elements blossom into a dynamic soundscape of interweaving rhythms and melody. It’s like a fusion of New Age jazz and ambient composition. Though having a bit of the vibe of an after hours techno lounge, the overall effect uplifts the mood with the sense of illumination and energy. Rickard Jäverling and Henrik von Euler have worked together on previous albums as the ambient duo Dödens Dal and this newer collaborative material emphasizes a synthesis of the organic and electronic. Listen to “Stigande luft” on Spotify and look for the project’s new album out on the Flora & Fauna imprint.
“Mountains” is a bit of a new direction for Irish ambient artist Emiji. It still features well crafted, melodic drifts, drones as ethereal wind blowing through the track and a sense of a spiritual journey in sound. With Heart Singing providing non-verbal vocals that trail off into echoes that dissolve into the rest of the soundscape there is an even stronger sense of grounding in tangible emotions and a sense of wonder. With the slowly ascending arc of piano that runs through the song it suggests being at the heights of the title and looking across the landscape and its tranquil grandeur when the sun is beginning to come up, peeking through rainclouds or slowly going past the horizon toward night. The second piano figure toward the end of the song changes the tone slightly to give the ethereal song a hopeful flavor. The effect of the vocals with the organic instrumentation and electronic drones is reminiscent of the better New Age music of the 80s and 90s without the pretentious baggage attendant with some of that musical milieu. Listen to “Mountains” on YouTube and connect with Emiji at the links provided. “Mountains” is the first song from Emiji’s new LP My Journeys due out in 2020.
Sleater-Kinney at Ogden Theatre, October 13, 2019, photo by Tom Murphy
When Janet Weiss, longtime drummer of Sleater-Kinney, said she was leaving the band and partly due to creative differences on the band’s 2019 album The Center Won’t Hold, it came as a shock to most fans. I had seen Sleater-Kinney the first time in October 1998 at The Fox Theatre in Boulder and Weiss was a standout performer among impressive turns by Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker. Having then found out about the band through Brownstein’s insightful commentary on her influences in Roni Sarig’s book The Secret History of Rock I was not let down when I decided to see if it was possible to see Sleater-Kinney in Colorado. Picking up Call the Doctor and then most recent album Dig Me Out felt revelatory like this band was saying things that needed to be said at a time when not a lot of that was in the public discourse. I also saw Weiss perform in other bands over the years. In Quasi basically I was awestruck by her raw power and versatility and how her style seemed different in that band as well as when she was a drummer in Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks.
Sleater-Kinney at Ogden Theatre, October 13, 2019, photo by Tom Murphy
Before Sleater-Kinney split that first time I’d seen the bands four times and bring along noteworthy artists on the tours the way independent bands used to and sometimes still do. Bands like Ailer’s Set, The Gossip and The Quails. I was in retrospect impressed with how the band brought on Rainbow Sugar and The Pauline Heresy to open at The Fox as Rainbow Sugar became one of my bands at that time and so did Pauline Heresy when Yoon Park and Claudine Rousseau formed the post-punk band Sin Desires Marie with Germaine Baca of Rainbow Sugar. Going to see them always seemed inspirational and transformational. Their records seeming to be exactly what I wanted to hear when they came out. When Sleater-Kinney broke up in 2006 it felt like the beginning of the end of an era of music.
Sleater-Kinney at Ogden Theatre, October 13, 2019, photo by Tom Murphy
Then the reunion happened and following the release of No Cities to Love in 2015 it was obvious the trio was back into the swing of things and the band’s show at the Ogden Theatre with Lizzo as the opening act was fantastic. When Sleater-Kinney returned for Riot Fest in 2016 I felt I had seen a lot more music during the interim and braving an injury I decided to stick around to see them, though feeling for some reason I’d seen the band several times already and knew what they were about. I don’t know what I was expecting but it felt like the band was having fun and rediscovering their power even more as a live band and keeping the vibe casual but electric. It hit me as refreshing and as though somehow the band was tapped into some general mood a lot of people were in with culture and politics. It was a bracing reminder that this band still had something to offer someone like me who has seen and heard so much and didn’t even want to be at a festival given aforementioned injury. It’s easy to get jaded especially when you’re not feeling well. Yet Sleater-Kinney made it seem worth it even if only to catch the band’s set (I also saw Danny Brown, Vince Staples and Ween before going home, all also worthwhile).
Sleater-Kinney at Ogden Theatre, October 13, 2019, photo by Tom Murphy
So what would a post-Janet Weiss Sleater-Kinney look and sound like live? The album The Center Won’t Hold certainly showcased a band that was evolving in a direction that maybe many fans didn’t appreciate. But it also contained some of the band’s best songs to date and let us know that the band felt the need to do something different and not get stuck in a rut. Weiss has publicly said why she left the band and one can hardly blame her given her reasons. There’s no replacing someone like Janet Weiss whose unique and powerful style uplifts all of her projects. But for this tour Angie Boylan of Aye Nako and Freezing Cold stepped in and more than ably performed songs that would have to be challenging for most other drummers to play. So much so that it felt like Brownstein and Tucker were able to relax and project a sense of joy and solidarity. Katie Harkin and Toko Yasuda helped fill out the instrumentation especially on keyboards so bring that deeply atmospheric sensibility of The Center Won’t Hold.
Sleater-Kinney at Ogden Theatre, October 13, 2019, photo by Tom Murphy
The set with the current touring lineup felt like a sustained spark of hope in a bleak time in America. Once again, to me, Sleater-Kinney was singing about the things people need to hear, about which many of us are thinking. They also brought to bear insight into the insecurities and psychological trauma that seems to be striking our lives with increasing regularity whether economically, our social lives, the death of friends whether you’re young or old through illness, murder or suicide. The songs on the new record also addressed issues of isolation, being able to look forward when world events seem so paralyzing with a sense that everything is broken and beyond our ability to repair or redeem. The songs don’t try to sugar coat or to say that everything will be okay. But it also isn’t a set of nihilistic songs as that mindset is its own form of despair obsession. The show felt like the band sharing with us a sense that we’re going to need each other in a real and vulnerable way if we have any hope of getting through this period without throwing up our hands and letting the fascists and their cronies take over the world and dictate what’s left of the future of the human race if their program prevails.
Sleater-Kinney at Ogden Theatre, October 13, 2019, photo by Tom Murphy
Set List:
The Center Won’t Hold
Hurry On Home
Price Tag
The Future Is Here
Jumpers
Reach Out
Bury Our Friends
RUINS
What’s Mine Is Yours
Ironclad
One More Hour
Bad Dance
The Fox
LOVE
Can I Go On
A New Wave
Animal
The Dog/The Body
Entertain
Encore:
Broken
Oh!
Words and Guitar
Modern Girl
Encore 2:
Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney photo pass for Ogden Theatre, October 13, 2019. When a band makes special photo passes for their tour it definitely signals they care.
Italian rapper Dydo’s song “Tacchi & Jordan” is in Italian but one needn’t understand the lyrics to appreciate his artistry. He deftly switches between rapping styles throughout the song with great nuance conveying urgency and contemplation. The beat employs organic and electronic instruments and the production balances an expansive melody with rhythmic texture and vibrant layers of atmosphere. Fans of artists on the Rhymesayers Entertainment imprint will appreciate Dydo’s forceful presentation and mastery of wordplay paired with dynamic music that suggests a reflective quality even as the moment of the song is clearly aimed at moving forward. Listen to “Tacchi & Jordan” on Soundcloud and follow Dydo at the links below.
“EATR” is a song by Swedish band Phogg written from the perspective of a robot named Mofeto driven to misanthropic heights by its anger at the recklessness and wanton destruction humankind has wreaked upon the earth and other living creatures. Sounding like it was recorded in a secret, underground lair constructed from the salvaged fuselage of Mofeto’s would be escape vehicle from humanity’s self-inflicted environmental apocalypse, “EATR” has the quality of an urgent and corrosive, headlong psychedelic thrash to reflect the robot’s uncontrollable outrage at the “hundreds of years” humans have had to tumble the natural world toward becoming an uninhabitable wasteland. Listen to Mofeto’s lament, “EATR,” on Spotify and follow Phogg at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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