Listening to Lillian Blue Makin’s song “Nicotine” and you can readily visualize the path she takes while smoking and trying to wean herself from a relationship that’s over even if the feelings aren’t there yet. And parallel to that the line about not smoking another cigarette when the pack is done brilliantly ties the experiences together in your mind and how quitting cigarettes or even giving them up for even awhile can be so challenging because it’s become a habit of life the way some relationships can be and you get to the point where you’re not sure why you’re holding on to either habit. The song is just over three minutes but it feels so short and says so much and when Makin sings how she hopes “this feeling goes away in time” it feels like that better instinct in your head coming forth to nudge you in a direction better for your physical and psychological health. The image of the lingering feelings burning out over time like a pack of cigarettes is also as fine a symbol as you’re likely to hear in a song any time soon. The textural guitar and spare percussion and keyboard accents with a subtle flourish of harmonica bring to the song a pastoral quality to the song especially in the end where it feels like things are going to resolve in a positive way even if the low key pain of missing someone you’re not getting back together with again still lingers. Listen to “Nicotine” on Spotify and follow Makin at the links below.
The Velveteers at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom Murphy
The Velveteers have certainly reached an interesting crossroads in their career on the eve, as it were, of their national tour opening for Greta Van Fleet following the 2021 release of their debut full-length album Nightmare Daydream. The album and its thoughtful and incisive lyrics and imaginative sound palette much expanded from its early days perhaps helped to that level with the help of Dan Auerbach’s production of the album is a creative success even if it has yet to set its performance on streaming services on fire. But this show at The Fox Theatre felt like a way to acknowledge its roots as a band from Boulder with a hometown performance before setting sail to win over the audiences of a popular buzz band operating in a loosely similar realm of rock music drawing on older blues based rock. And for the occasion the trio brought on the bill some friends from the local scene who may have emerged around the same time as The Velveteers or shortly after.
Rose Variety at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Becc from Rose Variety seemed to indulge in a string of inside jokes and references throughout the band’s set including hinting that Rose Variety had broken up or went inactive during the early years of the pandemic but that Dry Ice had asked them to open for its own first show so this quintet got things back together for the occasion. Its music sounded like a blend of shoegaze pop and psychedelic indie rock of the sort that emerged in the 2010s. The fact that the performance felt a little rough around the edges but seemed musically coherent with a strong songwriting foundation made the threads of chaos that ran through the songs and Becc’s off-the-cuff persona just added an element of excitement to the show this early on.
Dry Ice at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Dry Ice had opened for The Velveteers in November 2021 for the album release show at the Gothic Theatre in Englewood, CO but if you didn’t get there early enough you missed them as I did. But listening to the band a bit online I did not expect to see a group whose music was very tight and expertly executed and was somehow both on the shoegaze spectrum with a touch of post-punk and more than a touch of riot grrrl edge and sensibilities including the final song “Don’t I Look Cute” which bassist Olivia Booth said was about killing frat boys and even brought someone on stage who claimed to be one and theatrically did so. But that aside there is something vital and visceral about the way in which Dry Ice delivers its politically/socially aware lyrics that strikes a broad emotional resonance like an amalgam of sounds and textures like there is some jazz background in the way they seem to invoke Deerhunter, Dum Dum Girls and The Slits all at once.
The Velveteers at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom Murphy
The Velveteers have their sound dialed into sharp focus at this point. And while the energy is very intentional and practiced even as they seem to cut loose in the performance it still feels spontaneous like they have built into their shows the ability to indulge going off the map for periods of time so that it doesn’t get stale for them even as they deliver a strong performance. Because it can get like that when you’re in a band. How long can you sustain the excitement for yourself when you’re playing the same songs for extended periods of time and a consistent quality of performance for the many, many people you’ll see on the road that haven’t seen you several times like many fans in your hometown may have? You build into the songwriting and in the set lists and in the songs places where you can exercise spontaneity without sacrificing cohesion. And this show was an exercise in that and rock theater generally. Sure, the group has had that as part of their shows from very early on but you can see the work put in to give people a show rather than just three musicians getting up and rocking out. Demi Demitro’s combination of vulnerability and commanding, passionate vocals and thoughtful and astutely observed lyrics really set the band apart from other groups that have a rooting in the classic rock revival of the 2010s. But with Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig pushing the momentum in polyrhythmic fashion and giving the music a strong dynamic foundation the music and the show seems to reach great emotional heights. And with any good fortune this will translate well to the bigger stages The Velveteers take on what will hopefully be a successful run as impetus for another creative leap forward with its next record.
The Velveteers at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom MurphyThe Velveteers at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom MurphyThe Velveteers at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom MurphyThe Velveteers at Fox Theatre 4/15/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Belgian hip-hop duo blackwave. gives us a downtempo map charting a path and a course toward self-care from being too heavily on one’s life’s grind with its song “good day.” The two vocals work so well in sync in the beat it keeps up momentum in a song about very serious personal issues and with the horns and percussion accenting the rhythm it comes off like an experimental hybrid of jazz and pop underneath the rapping. The song is about getting stuck and stagnating because you’ve spent so much time and energy hitting it hard for your job and maybe your creative projects or other personal goals you ignore that side of your emotional life that turns into melancholy then depression and anxiety when you don’t remember that you can’t sustain a headlong pace forever. The line “I’m just feeling like a bootleg version of myself” really speaks to that mode that’s easy to slip into when you think you’re doing what you want when you’re really doing what you feel you have to past a certain point because there’s only so much of you to give and that amount can change day to day and where ignoring those limitations can burn you out so that no you can’t keep on seeming like you’re living your best life. The song in the end is a reminder to honor your humanity and your limitations so that you can live in a way that not only doesn’t burn you out but those around you. Watch the video for “good day” on YouTube and connect with blackwave. at the links provided.
If the Tracey Ullman Show were rebooted in 2022 its intro music and video might sound and look a lot like what Child Seat has going with its single “Fever Dream.” The summery melody, uplifting vocals and expansive dynamics sound like a futuristic mutant form of 80s synth pop, one that came in the wake of MGMT and Matt & Kim. Madeleine Matthews and Josiah Mazzaschi in their reflective silver frocks that look like repurposed car windshield sun reflector pads performing in a windswept desert location at points, in others in shiny garb and in yet other scenes frolicking around a pool in an abandoned oasis give the impression of not just surviving but thriving in a time where civilization has collapsed and they’re having to make their own fun and send it out into the world as a signal that it’s not all dystopian hellscape. I mean who could think someone with a bad blonde wig and a blow up sax wailing on that solo isn’t a sign that maybe it’s okay to have some good times? Which is of course a humorous science fiction take on the world we’re living in now. Watch the video for “Fever Dream” on YouTube and follow Child Seat on Instagram.
Jawbreaker at Fillmore Auditorium 4/8/22, photo by Tom Murphy
When Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker said at some point during that band’s set said something about how this is probably the punk tour of the year it seemed obvious. Even if one were inclined to contrarian impulses the fact that it was Jawbox headlining a bill that included Samiam, Face to Face and Descendents makes that more challenging to refute.
Samiam at Fillmore Auditorium 4/8/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Samiam started very early in the evening around 6:30 p.m. and its melodic punk sound had some unexpected grit to it live. There was an underlying catharsis of personal pain and loss the seemed to inform the songs and upon closer listen songs like “Dull” and “Capsized” in the set list hit hard and heavy yet in doing so made the need to make music to uplift without trivializing those feelings so urgent in a way that translated directly to the live performance.
Face to Face at Fillmore Auditorium 4/8/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Face to Face’s own anthemic punk while not as gritty as that of Samiam before them sure delved into topics deeper than one might expect from a band that is so closely associated with pop punk. But its songs exploring personal integrity and the core meaningfulness of life informed by a self-effacing humor and poetic insight were undeniably effective. “Walk the Walk” and “It’s Not Over” really made that obvious and how Face To Face injects some inventive guitar work into a style of music that can be a bit predictable three decades in. Trever Keith also gets points for throwing some friendly shade in saying how he enjoyed his Dodgers handling “your Rockies.” Fortunately people laughed and didn’t take the comment too seriously.
Descendents at Fillmore Auditorium 4/8/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Descendents walked on stage and without a lot of preamble launched the set with “Everything Sux” like the legends of the whole pop punk world they are. Although there was a spirited joyfulness to the Descendents’ performance and they performed silly songs like “Wienerschnitzel” what became very apparent from the live show is how this music makes life’s everyday problems and struggles seem manageable by humanizing them, by pointing out the humor value and poignancy of it all even when it feels its most painful. Setting those moments of peak emotional turmoil to energetic and tuneful punk songs fortifies the mind. While it may not be saying it’s all going to be okay or something unrealistic like that it at least suggests these experiences don’t have to sink you and that has been an important thing to hear for years and even now which is part of why Descendents and the bands it influenced remain resonant and relevant. And it wasn’t all songs about being a young, angsty person, and material like “Global Probing,” “Clean Sheets” and “When I Get Old” transcend the adolescent mindset while staying rooted in a spirit of youthful exuberance and a willingness to feel all those feelings and not hide from them in the name of growing up. Like burying your emotions just because you reached a certain age or have a “real” job and a mortgage and marriage really worked for anyone anyway.
Jawbreaker at Fillmore Auditorium 4/8/22, photo by Tom Murphy
After Jawbreaker split in 1996 its cult following seemed to increasingly expand for over twenty years. Its anthemic pop punk songs infused with literary yet accessible lyrics found a wide audience among fans of pop punk but follow the creative threads even from its debut album Unfun and there’s more thoughtfulness, inventive guitar work and unconventional rhythms than one might expect given its general legacy as one of the star bands of 90s pop punk. And live the sharper edges of the music and its more experimental instincts were starkly obvious. The infectious melodies and emotionally vulnerable vocals that have made it a massive influence on emo were there to be sure. One was struck by how much The Clash probably influenced the songwriting not to mention an obvious inspiration like Descendents. But in its most stretching out past the boundaries of standard punk moments, when the band engaged in noisy soundscapes mid-song or near the end it felt like getting to see a Steve Albini band though more Shellac than Big Black. It had that combination of focused intensity and wildness that you don’t hear in much punk that got too popular. And that’s when Jawbreaker was at its most exciting from a musical standpoint.
Jawbreaker at Fillmore Auditorium 4/8/22, photo by Tom Murphy
For just three guys on stage Jawbreaker unleashed a lot of energy all while maintaining a stance of self-deprecating irreverence that you’d hope to hear. If you include the encore the set consisted of almost all of Dear You with some choice tracks from 24 Hour Revenge Therapy thrown in (“Boxcar,” “Condition Oakland” and “Jinx Removing”) and before performing “Basilica” to close out the show, Schwarzenbach told us something like how they would leave us with one last psychedelic mindfuck to take with us before retreating to the comfort of our everyday abodes. Given the extravagant sonic freakout that blazed out the show, at least the band delivered as it did the entire performance.
The sound of contemplative reflection at twilight runs through Ethan Woods’ “Chirin’s Bell.” Tonally its reminiscent of Nick Drake and the impressionistic compositional quality of the music lends itself similarly well to establishing a mood and dreamlike imagery. Hushed drones, processed lap steel and simple acoustic guitar melody with spare percussion to give the track some texture help to make vivid what sounds like the story of a sheep taking stock of its life as a metaphor for the roles we internalize as a matter of life circumstances and the weight we put on ourselves borne out of how that living circumscribes our dreams and aspirations until we learn to dream differently. But also reconciling one’s upbringing and background with establishing your own identity and accepting where you come from rather than reject it outright. People that don’t go through this process often end up going back to their roots in a perhaps misguided attempt to rediscover what they feel they lost. But this song doesn’t seem to be coming from the perspective of life post-self-liberation, but of considering the essence of one’s life to which one was born but considering what else might be possible for yourself. Lines like “I itemize the time you take with your indecision,” “I wonder to myself did I fuck up with my big plan” and “beyond the wooden fence can remain good friends” point to those strains of thought that take you out of mundane existence for a moment. The dramatic arc of the song is subtle but reaches a peak with all the musical elements swelling with the rise in intensity of the vocals wondering again about fucking up but then outros to returning to reminiscing being a part of the herd while considering leaving it. Listen to “Chirin’s Bell” on YouTube, look for Ethan Woods’ second solo album Burnout due out April 29, 2022 through Whatever’s Clever and follow the artist at the links below.
With a brisk pace and expansive, ethereal guitar melody over a steady urgent rhythm “be that someone” by Mexican post-punk band mercvrial is a surprisingly incisive commentary on the deleterious effect of social media. In the music video for the song we see people looking at their phones for the brief validation of likes on various social media platforms and how it syncs up so well and so insidiously with the work culture in late capitalism wherein people need to show they’re grinding for increasingly diminishing rewards and settling for truly ephemeral benefits. We see in the video the ways in which people advertise for themselves by posting a cultivated image of success and performative presentation of living their best lives all the time when anyone living in the real world knows can’t be true or certainly not sustainable. What makes this commentary accessible even as it shows how a system of technocratic rewards and punishments self-sustaining by our participation is eroding our collective psyche is how upbeat the song comes off and how the video shows the supposed good times posted to social media can convey a false picture of psychological health and vitality. At least until the end when a couple that seems to be getting along but there’s the dating app showing a match so on to the next exciting thing even if there’s no way of knowing it will be exciting. It’s easy to see people as interchangeable and as an option when the illusion of such is at your fingertips. The reality is probably more complicated than that but we’ve all seen that dynamic and perhaps even been or are a part of it to varying degrees. And yet we all know we can do better than this even if the instant dopamine shot from these micro brain stimulations of social media engagement give us is hard to let go. This song is about that and the lyric of “be that someone that everyone loves” sums up the root of the issue perfectly. Watch the video for “be that someone” and follow mercvrial at the links below.
The softness of “I Saw The Egg,” the title track from Battle Ave’s new album, hearkens back to turn of the century indiepop and the psychedelic alt-country of Sparklehorse. Spare percussion, likely electronic, accents the informal rhythm of the simple keyboard figures that intertwine and trace the outer edges of the song’s introspective daydreaminess. Guitar stretches to fit the flow and spike of mood in the last half of the song like Adrian Belew guesting on a particularly delicate Modest Mouse single. It fits in well with an album that sounds like it’s from another time that utilizes elements of musique concrète with traditional pop songcraft informed by a gentleness of spirit that makes the record easy to take on as a whole with songs about reorienting one’s life and priorities to make room for aspects of lived existence neglected while you’ve been putting all your energy and momentum into a professional pursuit or some other personal goal without as much attention paid to the things that make doing so sustainable. Balancing adult responsibilities with one’s creative life needn’t be diametrically opposed, after all, and requires a simple adjustment of one’s habits and cognitive orientation which this song alludes to with poetic imagery. Listen to “I Saw The Egg” on YouTube, check out the rest of the album on Bandcamp where you can also purchase the cassette and download and follow Battle Ave at the links below.
Charli XCX at Ogden Theatre 04/06/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Given her status as a popular pop artist it was a bit surprising to see Charli XCX booked at the 1,600 capacity Ogden Theatre but that’s been roughly the size of venues she’s playing on the tour supporting her 2022 album Crash. Reviews of the record suggested that it wasn’t as experimental as her earlier releases and perhaps that’s right. But the quality of songwriting is still solid and songs like “Beg For You” and “Good Ones” are easily among her most immediately compelling even if you’re not necessarily drawn to modern pop music. “Every Rule” was produced by Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never who is one of the most respected experimental electronic artists these days to name just one producer for the record pointing to how the experimental side of the singer’s material is still very central to her output.
But how would this new music that is seemingly more traditionally more pop in tone and composition and older favorites steeped in hyperpop and experimental electronic music translate live? The stage set was minimal with only Charli and two male dancers on stage dressed like pop stars from another planet. The projections and light show were also low key and the stage lighting low like we were getting to see the show in an even smaller venue, the kind of underground club where many pop artists might like to start and perform more often to have a more direct connection with the people that show up. Charli came to put on a show and sure there was some fine choreography obvious from her and the two other dancers but it was something somehow both dramatic and brash but low key. It was never over the top yet expressed the heartfelt melodramatic emotions that make for music that sticks in your mind for years. No one wants to see a pop artist that is too hesitant in self-expression.
Charli XCX at Ogden Theatre 04/06/22, photo by Tom Murphy
Charli XCX also managed to exude an open sensuality and confidence but as part of her songs that are thoughtful, nuanced and raw but relatable. If she was miming the music you couldn’t tell and the set list seemed arranged in a way where she could take breaks and remain incredibly energetic and engaging throughout with more mellow songs hitting at just the right time for the emotional arc of the show as well. Not once did the artist remark on the altitude because, really, wouldn’t be a bit rote to say something about that knowing people hear it all the time? There was something that hit you as tasteful about the presentation even if you’re the puritanical type to note Charli’s minimal outfit. Charli’s music delves into both the internal emotional dynamics we all navigate as well as feeling and owning being an imperfect human with needs and desires that should never be a source of shame. The content of Charli’s words are never esoteric but also rarely unintentionally mundane, just crafted in a way that is accessible to pretty much anyone. This show drawing from a wide swath of her career but focused on the new record, as you’d expect, was proof that Charli XCX as a commanding and passionate performer and as an artist is someone that appreciates her role as an artist in its various capacities and the opportunity making pop music provides for commenting on the personal and making it vehicle for articulating collective experiences with creativity and a clarity that resonates beyond the realm of mainstream music and beyond the narrow confines of popular music genres.
Charli XCX at Ogden Theatre 04/06/22, photo by Tom MurphyCharli XCX at Ogden Theatre 04/06/22, photo by Tom MurphyCharli XCX at Ogden Theatre 04/06/22, photo by Tom MurphyCharli XCX at Ogden Theatre 04/06/22, photo by Tom Murphy
The winsome strains that introduce Salarymen’s single “Rerun” sound like a portal to a place outside of normal time. Its nostalgic melody reaches into the same emotional realms that made the songs of Tennis, early Beach House and Snail Mail so appealing. But Salarymen wax into an Alvvays-esque flavor of indiepop that seems as personally mythical as it is imbued with an immediacy that refreshens the mind. The video depicts the members frolicking around the shore of a body of water that looks like a lake but could be big enough to be the ocean which, intentionally or not, serves as a metaphor for the colorful swirl of the song’s appeal as something that feels like a peek into private musings about life but a commentary on the nature of human existence and the importance of our own little corner of all of that beyond our utilitarian role in society. Watch the video for “Rerun” on YouTube and follow Salarymen at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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