Queen City Sounds and Art

Live Show Review: Circle Jerks at Ogden Theatre

Circle Jerks at Ogden Theatre 3/19 2022 photo by Tom Murphy

Keith Morris opened the Circle Jerks set with a statement about why they were playing Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass over the sound system before the show. He explained that one of the guys that started A&M Records wanted to sign the Jerks but they ended up not doing so but that maybe Herb Albert heard the band while recording Group Sex or Wild in the Streets and commented on what he was hearing. After this impromptu bit of history as anecdote Morris mentioned how they were here to celebrate the reissue of two albums that came out some forty years ago and then the band went headlong into the set as a reminder of how Circle Jerks’ music has retained its power and relevancy because we’re in the grips of another right wing wave of conservative culture but one more virulent.

The music was a bracing reminder of how powerful the Jerks were from the beginning but even Morris and guitarist Greg Hetson wore t-shirts of a couple of the Los Angeles area punk bands that were perhaps an influence on their own trajectory with Morris in a Weirdos shirt and Hetson in one of Bags with Alice Bag’s face prominent. The image of the Circle Jerks from the name of the band to their presentation is of conscious middle and working class angst and rebellion against the conformity and bland and safe mediocrity that ensured a level of comfort that made insipid and destructive groups like the Moral Majority (and thus the title of the song) possible and the mentality that lead to it something easy to critique with the spirited irreverence of the band’s music. Maybe there wasn’t as much acrobatic performance as in the early 80s but the intensity was still there and maybe Morris sings better than he has before with ample commentary on the crowd and the situations we’re in in his inimitable incisive yet slackery and self-deprecating wit, the kind it’s impossible to not find a little charming.

Keith Morris of Circle Jerks at Ogden Theatre 3/19/22 photo by Tom Murphy

But throughout the show it was stunning and a little alarming to realize the subjects of so many of the songs have aged well because America has simple regressed and because our country and the world has failed to address the issues that inspired those songs back then we’re dealing with them all over again. “Live Fast Die Young” has Morris singing about how he doesn’t want to die in a nuclear war and didn’t we think that was mostly over a remote possibility at best once the USSR fell? But instead of working to dismantle all of them the temptation to retain that power “just in case” has certain world leaders threatening nuclear destruction all over again. No real attempt to reign in the influence and power of unchecked economic influence and power? Seems “When the Shit Hits the Fan” has some choice, sardonic commentary on how people are going to have to do the best they can. Pitting the powerless against each other and then things go awry when various factions in society take things too far? “Coup D’etat” is far too real in more ways than would be fun to discuss and while not an exact analog it seems fairly poignant considering the imperial wars America engaged in beyond overthrowing democratic leaders in Latin America and the Middle East to full on occupation.

Across thirty-three songs (who counted, Morris just made some comment to this effect) the Jerks not only put forth an engaging and ferocious punk show but also demonstrated how the form of music is still a vehicle for having fun while making some of the most astute and relatable commentary on social issues and events in a way accessible and inclusive.

Circle Jerks at Ogden Theatre 3/19/22 photo by Tom Murphy

Partial set list at best and not in order:
Live Fast Die Young
Back Against the Wall
Moral Majority
Coup D’etat
World Up My Ass
When The Shit Hits the Fan
Beverly Hills
Wasted
Wild In the Streets
Junk Mail
In Your Eyes

Yottai Bends Time and Tones on the Otherworldly Witch House Track “smile entropy”

When “smile entropy” begins you might think Estonian witch house project yottai is giving us a kinder, gentler experimental techno track. But when the vocals come in there is something alien yet welcoming amidst tonal swells, drones and processed beats. You feel like you’re listening to a song in reverse with a beat that moves in forward motion. The music video for the song makes this effect explicit with lyrics displayed in mirror image. While one vocal is distorted and almost in call and response fashion accenting the main vocal line the other sounds pitch shifted and effected to make it more a sound in the music more than words with any essential meaning. And that may be one aspect of the treatment of those vocals but overall the song takes you out of normal time, like a compound time signature strategy to the rhythm that opens up the possibilities of where the song can go and the moods it can evoke. The song is thus reminiscent of Tara the Android’s video for “I Feel Fantastic” as done by John Bergeron. Here the music is also subversive and sonically creative but not creepy, like if Tara went on to be an underground techno star after her pop career didn’t quite pan out as hoped. Watch the video for “smile entropy” on YouTube and follow yottai at the links below.

Plumes Conjures a Mood of Romance and Skullduggery on “When I Walk In”

Veronica Charnley of Plumes mixes a Twentieth Century classical sensibility and indie pop. The single “When I Walk In” as depicted in the visually striking music video is written almost like one side of telephone conversation between people in the cryptic beginnings of a deeply atmospheric thriller. The scenes of a getaway cottage in the American west near a mountainous landscape. There is something ominous in the tone of the song though it is also introspective and beautiful in its leisurely pace. The intricate piano figures seem to sketch the outlines of the arc of emotions in their complexity. The lyrics are the words of someone who felt a special connection with another person with the tender feelings and fondness lingering even though it seems obvious something is off though perhaps things are not at an end but in need of examining if and where things went awry as there is no attempt to villainize in Charnley’s words. Could be a figment of my imagination but I hear a nod to Debussy’s “Arabesque No. 1” in the structure and mood of the final third of the song which enhances an air of mystery to the song that also allows for a song of potentially mixed emotions resolve with a sense of satisfaction. Watch the video for “When I Walk In” on YouTube and follow Plumes at the links below.

Plumes on Instagram

Modern Moxie Navigates Past the Romanticism of Nostalgia on the Title Track of its New Gutter Honey EP

The title track to Modern Moxie’s new EP Gutter Honey sounds like an unlikely blend of 60s pop and Joanna Newsom. In its wistful melodies and yearning tones there is a delicacy of feeling that singer Madison Lucas’ unconventional vocals articulates well, a tempered vulnerability that never lost its sensitivity. Hearing the plucked guitar and the waltz-like pace one thinks of the way cinema depicts memories of times long gone and the song certainly seems to be one about looking back on one’s life with a mix of sentimentality and regret. Guitar bends mark the ends of passages like a sonic halo to honor a bit of grief over having passed on to another phase of life. It’s a strong end to an EP that goes beyond a fond nostalgia to the navigation complex and perhaps conflicted feelings to bring greater clarity that simply holding up an earlier part of life as the “good old days” and because of that it is reminiscent of the early Rilo Kiley albums as well that also tied keen pop songcraft with lyrics that express truths that often elude putting into words. Listen to “Gutter Honey” on Spotify, listen to the rest of the EP on Bandcamp and follow Modern Moxie at the links below.

modernmoxieband.com

Modern Moxie on Twitter

Modern Moxie on Facebook

Modern Moxie on Instagram

Mokina’s “Departures” is Imbued With a Sense of Hopeful Anticipation for a Journey Ahead

“Departures” is the intro to Mokina’s forthcoming album Love is Also OK. Immediately with its expansive synth drone and minimal melodic tonal figure it makes you feel like you’re getting ready for some major life changing journey with a spirit of hopefulness and anticipation. Her vocals sound like announcements in a crowded train station or airport that you can barely make out but which has a calming effect on you because they’re not yet announcing your own departure. The drum solo mid song sounds almost unrecognizable in its subtlety nearly to the point of abstraction with a gentle yet energetic performance. It hits like the sound of waves lapping at the shore nearby or a train arriving, further setting a mood of relaxation. The unhurried mood of the song is so inviting and relaxed that you kind of wish many situations in life could have such an aspect and that all journeys could begin with such a spirit of calm. Listen to “Departures” on Spotify and follow Mokina at the links provided.

Mokina on Facebook

Mokina on Instagram

Vases Encourages Us to Lead Our Best Lives By Embracing Our Authentic Selves Over Phony and Tarnished Dreams on “Champagne Lust”

Ty Baron sure knows how to make being real and emotionally honest sound so raw and triumphant on his new Vases song “Champagne Lust.” With songwriting cast in an mode of urgent and earnest power pop, incredibly catchy hooks, emotionally charged vocals and all, Baron gives us a litany of the pitfalls, down sides, disillusioning experiences, the compromises, the unglamorous aspects of living in a city where everyone is expected to be faking some aspects of their lives and beyond doing so as a means of getting ahead in certain contexts, rather, all contexts. Baron truly captures how that social dynamic can erode your faith in other people or more precisely coming to the certain knowledge that you don’t even know why anyone is participating in the collective charade that doesn’t feel like you’re doing anything real and important—just going through the motions because it’s what’s expected, it’s an old habit that has outlived its utility in any way whatsoever and being in a place where everything is a reminder of the illusion of progress, of counterfeit feelings and the expectation of projecting positivity at times when doing so is corrosive to your soul. The lines where Baron sings about “nobody should tie your tongue” or “don’t bite your tired tongue” and then “honey control your champagne lust” is straight to the point of how we can fool ourselves into thinking we want something that just isn’t worth it in the end so we aren’t real and that feels so gross down the line like David Herman’s character Michael Bolton in the 1999 comedy Office Space when he tells the corporate stooges who assume that he must love the musician because they share the same name and he just smiles and goes along and later hates himself a little. Baron is reminding us with this powerful song that it’s probably better to not get in the habit of doing and saying things that make you hate yourself a little just to grease wheels that no longer serve your life and maybe never did. Listen to “Champagne Lust” on Soundcloud and connect with Vases on Instagram.

Crying Vessel’s “Left For Dead” is an Unsettling Portrayal of the Human Consequences of the Dystopian Near Future

Crying Vessel, photo courtesy the artists

Crying Vessel tapped into the realm of nightmares in writing “Left For Dead” with a music video that is as unsettling as any recent horror movie but without the explicit brutality. The pounding, syncopated beat with the sounds of striking metal sounds like the inside of some macabre factory and in this case maybe for producing human-machine hybrids designed for a mysterious purpose as the processed vocals sound like a person confused by the modifications imposed on his body and what the people who did that to him want. Scorching, distorted synths along with the images of unusual lights, wires coming out of body parts, charts of the same, enigmatic symbols and diagrams of the ways in which a human body is going to be altered or rather mutilated for unimaginable and clearly monstrous purposes. We hear how the person who is narrating the song can’t find his feet, he smells blood, is stranded in the mud, feels his skin—a mosaic of sensory impressions that hit so vividly in the song. In moments the song is reminiscent in structure, dynamic and mood of Nine Inch Nails’ song “We’re In This Together” but aesthetically it has the grimy, gritty and shocking sensibility of the “The Subject” segment of the 2021 found footage horror anthology film V/H/S/94 which is both compelling and harrowing as is this song. Watch the video for “Left For Dead,” and doesn’t the title suggest the way many experiences in the work place and other areas of life feel like we’ve been treated as things to be used and then disposed, on YouTube, follow Crying Vessel at the links below and look out for the duo’s new album Before Life was Death out June 2022 on Cleopatra Records.

Crying Vessel on Facebook

Crying Vessel on Instagram

“Lost Without” by Blushing Brydes is Tender Song About Yearning For a Magical Connection Now Lost

Blushing Bryde’s arrangements on “Lost Without” are like a gentle and then intense waves of emotion. In its lyrics and the whirls of synth melody and ethereal guitar as they wind around each other in the beginning and then ramp up to bright tones so dense with feeling the song is an analog to what it’s like to feel adrift in your feelings when you become unmoored from what made everything make sense in a significant relationship. Without getting too specific in the details Blushing Brydes express a deep yet wistful melancholy that captures the feeling of loss when someone close to you is that rare person who can make the time pass with ease and meaning as expressed in the line “without you life’s too long, life’s way too long.” There is a sense of savoring fond memories and the sensation of being loved the way you want to be in every line. Is the inspiration for the song a person or is it a metaphor for a connection to something bigger? The song works both ways and the yearning for that connection with whomever and whatever seems very heartfelt. Listen to “Lost Without” on YouTube and follow Blushing Brydes at the links below.

Blushing Brydes on Facebook

Blushing Brydes on Instagram

Monalia Swim Straight Into the Acceptance of Cosmic Impermanence on “We Are Dust”

The title of Monalia’s “We Are Dust” sums up nicely the overarching theme of the song. The vocals intone the refrain “Time whatcha gonna do to me now?” in the beginning of the song before the guitars come in with an forceful, expansive dynamic reminiscent of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” and evolving into an introspective psychedelic drone and processional rhythm comparable to something done by Black Angels that reflect the tone of a reluctant acceptance of the cosmic and the way our lives are simply a blip on the timeline of infinity and the atomic components of our bodies and our entire existence are the dust of ages that happen to have come together for these moments that are all we can consciously know. But it’s not pure abstraction as the opening line suggests as does the follow up line later in the choruses after that opening line is sung: “Sneaking up behind, taking what’s mine, nothing matters to you.” This acknowledges the ways in which so many things, and in the end everything, we take for granted or cherish can be seemingly perversely taken from us over the course of our lives but of course it’s the nature of things even if the personal effect of a cycle of impermanence of being is tragedy. The details in the this song that is a well orchestrated assemblage of melodies, atmospheres and finely crafted tonal accents are immediately striking in aggregate even though it may take multiple listens to identify and fully appreciate. Listen to “We Are Dust” on YouTube and follow Norwegian psych/dream pop band Monalia at the links provided.

Monalia website

Monalia on Facebook

Monalia on Instagram

Talker’s “My Meds” is a Poignantly Realistic Portrait of Living With Anxiety and Depression

In the video for “My Meds” it may look like talker is rolling about her nicely appointed Bohemian loft but that’s all atmosphere. With the translucent drapery and sheets and soft lighting to enhance a sense of feeling trapped in a fog that won’t go away. At the center of the track are the plaintive vocals sketching a head space where you’re in that place overwhelmed by depression and/or anxiety that you don’t know how you’re feeling or what to feel beyond a formless emotional urgency that has no outlet because the trajectory of these feelings is usually attached to something solid and coherent that is a source of those feelings. You lose a loved one, your source of income, an opportunity, a friendship, a relationship or any number of other factors and you can wrap your emotional state around that and it makes both intellectual and intuitive sense. Unfortunately, depression and anxiety don’t always and maybe even rarely work that way and it can be an accumulation of things or a subconscious response to complex issues in your life or just plain a chemical imbalance triggered by who can say what. But it is a feeling where you kind of wish time would disappear and you have no psychological anchors that bring you back from that edge. You don’t know what or how to feel but you feel that aforementioned momentum that feels like raw desperation even if you’re in a low energy place. Yes, a beautifully ethereal pop song with talker’s typically evocative vocals but one that truly captures what it’s like to be in a place many of us have been or are in now because the world and society in general has been in such a corrosive place with seemingly no one taking steps to reduce the ambient weight of challenges carried by most people. And meds can get you through some of the worst times but long term significant change is long overdue. But for now some solidarity on at least mental health issues is welcome and talker provides a bit of that with her song. Watch the video for “My Meds” on YouTube, follow talker at the links below and look out for her new In Awe of Insignificance EP due out 3/25/22.