Blind The Thin King’s aim is to make music that sounds like something from a lost or extra-terrestrial civilization or found by a far future society with no known cultural connection to our own—to make something for which the social and technological context is unknown. So the project’s latest single “Cloak of Misanthrope” comes across like the discovery of a music storage device that contained the information throughout an optical storage matrix that was found in pieces and through which we’re stimulating the crystalline structure to elicit sounds and we get a fascinating collage of tones, textures and a rhythm not based on anything normal but out of the cadence of seemingly random sonic data. Instead of a Hari Seldon type figure giving us the finest music of the era from the arts equivalent of Foundation, we get something like an even more corrupted, more randomized flow of sounds than the Elvis Presley hologram performance from Blade Runner 2049. It’s supposed to be challenging, it’s maybe even supposed to be off putting but there’s something about this track that keeps you listening, a sonic puzzle that tantalizes because some of the pieces are missing but if you pay close enough attention you will figure out the unifying element. Perhaps the connectors can be found across the Four Hymns LP from which “Cloak of Misanthrope” is taken. But even if not, “Cloak of Misanthrope” has an appeal similar to artifacts of ancient civilizations we don’t fully understand or the electronic transmissions from numbers stations. Yet there is a strange and haunting coherency to the song that is undeniable. Listen on Soundcloud and follow Blind The Thin King further there as well.
Youcancallmeoliver’s mysteriously named track “C+S+M” combines an understated yet urgent melodic arpeggio over textural beats and fluid, but distorted, bass accents. The layers of sound intertwine and evolve as the song progresses with the bass and the most minimal component of the percussion stay consistently voiced, dropping out mid-song for a bit of a high tone interlude and repeating figure like a passage out of a Rabies-period Skinny Puppy song modified and dropped in to add to the slightly haunted quality of the main melody. The whole piece suggests a journey and a transformation like if you could somehow be put through an assembly line process to tweak aspects of your mind and body to gently work out the ailments, injuries and neuroses that may be plaguing you for true deep relaxation to be possible—a complex but non-invasive procedure rediscovered from a past, hitherto unknown advanced civilization. The song also works as the intro music to a high tech spy movie for a sequence suggested in the previous scenario but where the lead figure undergoes a procedure to bring the mind and body in perfect sync for the mission ahead. The 007 franchise has been looking to change the starring role to be played by a woman rather than the men it’s been for around sixty years? This is a song for the opening scenes of that film. Listen to “C+S+M” on Soundcloud and follow youcancallmeoliver at the links below.
Hot Snakes circa 2018 at the Oriental Theater, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Hot Snakes w/SPELLS When: Thursday, 09.05, 7:30 p.m. Where: Oriental Theater Why: It would be too facile to cite biographical information about Hot Snakes at this point. Influential noise rock band from San Diego comprised of former/current members of Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From the Crypt, Pitchfork and Obits. Its shows are incendiary, its songs imbued with a dark yet dry sense of humor and its angular guitar rock also not short on dynamic grooves that seem too confrontational to work as unconventional dance music but don’t tell that to John Reis. The group is currently re-touring in support of its monumental 2018 album Jericho Sirens. If you go early to catch SPELLS, just think of them as an 80% version of Hot Snakes because that’s good enough. And other inside jokes that don’t work on the internet.
What:The 5.6.7.8s w/The Ghoulies and The Vanilla Milkshakes When: Thursday, 09.05, 8 p.m. Where: Streets Denver Why: The 5.6.7.8s are a lively surf rock and rockabilly band from Japan who came to a larger public consciousness in the West after appearing in Kill Bill Vol. 1. The Ghoulies are a similarly-minded sorta rockabilly garage punk band and The Vanilla Milkshakes will make all the awkward jokes that desperately need to be made and break up the evening some with its well-crafted, outsider pop punk.
What:The Funs, Sweetness Itself, American Culture, Natural Violence When: Thursday, 09.05, 8 p.m. Where: Rhinoceropolis Why: The Funs is a band from Illinois that combines a twee indie pop sensibility with a dream pop sound palette. Think Black Tambourine post-shoegaze. American Culture took the Dinosaur Jr and Meat Puppets thing and put it through an indie pop lens and listened to a bunch of Cure records and came up with something different but bearing the fingerprints of all of that in its sound and ethos. Natural Violence is Michael Stein’s (Homebody, School Knights) latest project. A kind of spindly, super refined post-punk pop band.
What:Mystic Wool, Arc Sol and Total Trash When: Thursday, 09.05, 9:30 p.m. Where: Mercury Café Why: Arc Sol is former Silverface guitarist Michael Thompsons’s new band that somehow welds Neil Young-esque rock wih psychedelia without really sounding like he’s trying to be in the same lineage as any of that in the past decade and that’s impressive on its own. Total Trash is a Denver indie rock supergroup including former and current members of Fingers of the Sun, Fissure Mystic, Lil’ Slugger, Quantum Creep and Eyebeams. Mystic Wool’s synth compositions sound as though someone had to go on some prolonged retreat with no access to the internet and just a music player that had the Deerhunter discography, early Air albums, Candy Claws and Harmonia albums.
Saturday | September 7
Mannequin Pussy, photo courtesy Epitaph
What:TEARS to LI6HT, Hate Minor and Claudzilla When: Saturday, 09.07, 7 p.m. Where: Seventh Circle Music Collective Why: This show is a fundraiser for ProgressNow Colorado’s Keep Abortion Safe initiative and it will include sets from experimental electronic artist TEARS to LI6HT, experimental noise rock duo Hate Minor and Claudzilla’s melodica Goth strangeness.
What:Mannequin Pussy w/Destroy Boys and Ellis When: Saturday, 09.07, 8 p.m. Where: Larimer Lounge Why: Mannequin Pussy’s melodic punk is anthemic, emotionally raw and affecting. Like some sort of power pop band from the 80s with the expansive songwriting style and inventive dynamics but whose lyrics are soul searching and pointed but never cruel. The group’s 2016 album Romantic was full of joyful chaos exorcising trauma and sadness with bursts of sound and energy. The new record, 2019’s Patience, is more introspective but no less imbued with the radical vulnerability and personal insight that has made its music worth a deep listen from the beginning.
What:Audio Dream Sister, Whiskey Orphans, Austin Sterling When: Saturday, 09.07, 9 p.m. Where: 3 Kings Tavern Why: Audio Dream Sister hasn’t played in a million years. Meaning maybe in half a decade or more or so it seams. The sludge rock band from Denver was a staple of the heavy rock and punk scene for years and its adept songwriting and psychedelic sensibilities set it apart from the “stoner rock” set of the day.
What:De La Soul w/DJ Mick When: Saturday, 09.07, 8 p.m. Where: Ogden Theatre Why: De La Soul brought something a little strange to hip-hop when it came onto the scene in the 80s blending psychedelic rock aesthetics with weirdo funk and rap. It also used that perspective to examine social issues from a different angle and in its own way had as incisive a social critique as contemporaries like Public Enemy and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.
Sunday | September 8
Old Sport circa 2018, photo by Tom Murphy
What:King Crimson When: Sunday, 09.08, 6:30 p.m. Where: Paramount Theatre Why: King Crimson was one of the earliest of the progressive/art rock bands to have emerged in the late 60s, incorporating classical music concepts and a sense of dramatic orchestration into ambitous rock songs. Its 1969 debut In the Court of the Crimson King set a creative high water mark for the progressive rock genre with imaginative lyrics and songwriting that employed musical chops with real creativity to write emotionally arresting songs like the title track and “21st Century Schizoid Man.” While guitarist Robert Fripp is the sole remaining original member he has been the musician in the band that has steered the ship consistently from the beginning through its various phases from the early sort of amalgam of folk, rock, jazz, classical and psychedelia through the experimental hard rock phase of the 2000s through to today.
What:King of Heck (NV), Endless, Nameless, Old Sport and Zephyr When: Sunday, 09.08, 8 p.m. Where: Rhinoceropolis Why: King of Heck from Nevada is a “desert rock” band that sounds like it came up on a lot of Gravity Records bands, Fugazi, melodic post-hardcore and modern underground emo. Old Sport from Denver is a great blending of post-hardcore and noisy proto-alternative rock like Dinosaur Jr.
Monday | September 10
Voight, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Voight, Dancing Plague (OR), French Kettle Station and Luxury Hearse When: Monday, 09.09, 7 p.m. Where: Seventh Circle Music Collective Why: A darkwave show at Seventh Circle with Denver’s shoegaze/post-punk/industrial synthesists Voight, EBM/dance Goth group Dancing Plague from Oregon, French Kettle Station and his animated 80s adult contemporary/avant-garde/New Wave music and Luxury Hearse’s beat driven ambient pop.
What:Hazel English w/Modern Leisure When: Monday, 09.09, 7 p.m. Where: Larimer Lounge Why: Hazel English is oft compared to another Oakland, California artist Day Wave. But one might just as well compare her hazy, bright dream pop to the work of Alvvays because it has a similarly wistful and expansive quality that gives one a sense of introspective yearning. Joining her on the bill is Denver indie pop group Modern Leisure. Singer Casey Banker has been crafting some of the more thoughtful and impassioned pop songs out of Denver for more than a decade and Modern Leisure is the continuation of his legacy.
Tuesday | September 10
Silence in the Snow circa 2017, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Kristin Hersh (electric trio) w/Fred Abong When: Tuesday, 09.10, 7 p.m. Where: Hi-Dive Why: Kristin Hersh formed post-punk band Throwing Muses with Tanya Donelly in 1981 when both were fourteen years old. But that band went on to be one of the early alternative rock bands that helped to define the aesthetic of the UK record label 4AD with its emotionally powerful music and inventive songwriting. In that band and as a solo artist Hersh has used mythology and culture and her own struggles with mental illness to produce a body of work that is both startlingly intimate and imaginatively far reaching in scope. Her latest record, 2018’s Possible Dust Clouds draws on specific mythologies and personal history to deliver a set of songs that strikes deep emotional chords expressed with Hersh’s signature, textural voice and warmth as well as unconventional rhythms and guitar voicing. Somehow Hersh’s songs seem like manifestations of archetype and the forces of nature cooperating to speak eternal yet personal truth through her.
What:Silence in the Snow, Echo Beds, Blood Loss and Causer When: Tuesday, 09.10, 8:30 p.m. Where: Rhinoceropolis Why: Oakland’s Silence in the Snow sometimes comes off like a neo-darkwave band because it is but its root is an urgent post-punk akin to the likes of Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry and Xmal Deutschland. Its new record Levitation Chamber finds the band mixing ethereal guitar with high emotive vocals and deep, irresistible rhythms.
Tacono Gate gets “It’ll All Come to Pass” going with a grittily uplifting riff that soars into an evocative, anthemic verse. The synth compliments the elevated tone of the vocals in a way that syncs nicely with what comes to be an almost hypnotic melodic drone that flows and resolves throughout the song. Fans of The Chameleons and Comsat Angels will appreciate the defiant yet melancholic progressions. Like the band is struggling against the unacceptable inevitable. Like knowing you’re going to take that okay paying job because it’ll mean that you can afford to not just survive but have something for yourself to pursue what you really care about on the side until maybe it becomes your main gig. All while taking it on with a resigned spirit knowing that you, and really everyone, deserves better than what is on offer, that this contingent reality that benefits the few at the expense of the hopes and dreams of the majority is unsustainable but for now it is what it is. And yet, the song more than hints that this and other situations in life will come to pass in the end. While cold comfort in the moment, it beats utter despair. Listen on Soundcloud and follow Tacono Gate at the links provided.
“Colours of Gold” begins like a tape or a film getting up to speed as if replaying a nostalgic memory from an analog format. The melody is wistful and the lyrics knowing as if from the perspective of someone who has moved on from a former love but a chance encounter brings back memories. Such as how that person likes to see themselves in gilded hues and their life as glamorous but whose reality is neglect of self and of the relationship. The line “You’re never here, lights on no one’s home” speaks much to how the subject of the song isn’t present and more focused on keeping up appearances rather than being a human among other real humans. With a dynamic structure, Paton’s spare yet gracefully written pop song is short at two minutes thirty-nine seconds but it truly captures a specific moment in life vividly. Follow Paton on her Facebook page and listen to the rest of her new EP Early on Spotify
The title of Lochie Earl’s new single “Laugh@urseLF” should be an obvious clue that there is an element of humor involved in the songwriting. But that humor is pointed inward as a reminder to not be an insufferable jerk. Also, to remember that no matter how seriously you may take yourself that won’t change your condition or your personality and that in the end you can’t escape yourself and you may as well accept yourself as you are and have a laugh once in awhile at how your personality can have unpleasant manifestations that you can either find humor in to diminish their power or double down on your ridiculous moments. Musically it’s a dynamic and varied song that begins with a piano figure and rapid fire lyrics that reflect the rush of thoughts and emotion. The piano melody is reminiscent of Blue Oyster Cult’s 1974 song “Astronomy” and that gives it a haunted quality suggestive of maybe being stuck in your own head with the drama around you maybe in no small part existing as a figment of your imagination. Listen to “Laugh@urseLF” on YouTube and follow Lochie Earl on the Gypsys of Pangea Febook page.
LP’s new single “Die For Your Love” bursts with her signature passionate delivery and emotional vulnerability. Yes, the title of the song might be interpreted as a hackneyed and melodramatic premise in pop music. But LP never sounds less than utterly sincere and the triumphant and bombastically expansive dynamic to the song is stirring and imbued with a sense of endless possibilities and hope. Many pop artists write romantic ballads but with “Die For Your Love” one gets a real feeling for the romance of the moment in that sense that one knows the validity of one’s feelings and how the strength of that certainty can inspire you in other ways to work toward positive ends in all areas of your life. Listen to “Die For Your Love” on Soundcloud and follow LP at the link below.
This version of “654” is a remix Mateo Paz did for M0narch’s original in October 2018 and is now available on the COOD Music compilation The Best of COOD. It has the structure and mood of progressive trance which tells you little except that the percussion is soft and moves forward with a mechanical precision with the smallest changes evolving over time and that the melodies over the top are ethereal and instilling a chill mood. But this song is reminiscent of late 70s and early 80s Tangerine Dream in suggesting a cinematic counterpart to the music. Something composed as a companion to an emotional journey. The lightly distorted synths speak of passing through snowy terrain under moonlight contemplating an uncertain future but feeling comfortable with the choice to pursue it. Listen to “654” on Soundcloud and look to the links below to purchase The Best of COOD, to follow Mateo Paz and to further explore the COOD catalog and the labels future releases.
Jody Glenham seems to be challenging people to step up and act to set things on to a better path on “War On This World” by simply asking what we are feeling about and then what are we doing in the face of the challenges we are collectively facing. The song’s expansive and triumphant progression growing from quiet, even meek, gentle beginnings is like a metaphor for how a movement for positive change can snowball into an unstoppable force from humble origins and individual efforts that grow into global action. The dreamily melodic synth and guitar lines keep pace with the drums which seem to propel the song forward to emotional and sonic heights reminiscent in a way of Lower Dens’ way of getting under your skin in ways you welcome for their mood lifting and energizing effect even as the atmospheres are melancholic. Listen to “War On This World” on Soundcloud and follow Glenham and her band The Dreamers at the links provided.
“Survive,” the new single by Canadian hip-hop duo Black Lion, features contributions from Testament and Ray Robinson. Ostensibly a hip-hop song with the beat structure and sampling you’d expect from someone selecting some tastefully atmospheric sounds to convey a sense of striving and hope against everyday challenges. But the mood and lush tone is more reminiscent of downtempo and trip hop. Maybe it’s the small details Rich Lindo and JR “Heny” Lindo place into the mix like Massive Attack did all over Blue Lines. Little tones and textures to give the beat an internal diversity that is the foundation for the vocal rhythm while also giving the listener that extra hook to draw you in to what the song has to say about maintaining positive mental attitude when too many things in your life including your own mind want to erode your effectiveness as a human to attain even the most modest of dreams. Listen to “Survive” on Spotify and follow Black Lion at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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