“True Blue” was written about Kendra Muecke’s time spent in Denver on her journey of self-discovery. And appropriately enough the song’s unusual structure, more in line with spontaneous performance poetry than any standard songwriting format. Like she spent more than a little time on the informal Siege Perilous of various of Denver’s open stages performing alongside musicians putting forth the usual sort of open mic music and the Denver weirdos who don’t want to bother with getting shows the typical routes and performers whose art doesn’t fit in with any subscene and taking away some of that sense of freedom of creative expression unburdened by how it’s to be marketed. Musically it’s as though Kendra & the Bunnies was plucked out of late 70s Venice Beach after spending some years in post-Beat Denver and San Francisco with the realization that poetry and music and theater come from a common root in human culture and that all of it could be combined into a unified aesthetic driven by individual vision. “True Blue” could have come out of folk rock Southern California in the early 70s, could have come out of the burgeoning folk scene in Boulder and Denver during the same timeframe vibing with Anne Waldman’s perfrmance art songs at Naropa, could come from a standout performance at a coffee shop where many fledgling musicians are still trying to be Jack Johnson or Tracy Chapman. “True Blue” draws you in because the it seems so off the cuff yet is clearly refined and the story it tells is one that is frank, vulnerable and open with dynamics that come off like natural pauses in a friend’s telling you what she’s been up to since you last saw each other and relating some poetic truths about the essence of a town you may call home or one you’ve never been but can learn about through the lens of her interpretation as forged in the process of risking judgment on her creative work on the small stage where authenticity is respected and embraced and inauthenticity, at least on that small scale format, is revealed regardless of the intention of the performer. Listen to “True Blue” on Soundcloud and follow Kendra & the Bunnies at the links below.
Esmé Patterson, “Light In Your Window” cover (cropped)
“Light In Your Window” is the first single in a new chapter in the career of Esmé Patterson. While Patterson has made solid moves away from the type of folk and more traditional pop music that characterized the early part of her career as a member of Paper Bird with every one of her solo albums, this new single in the wake of her signing to BMG finds the songwriter exploring a new sonic palette as a vehicle for her characteristically nuanced and thoughtful lyrics. This time the sounds are more electronic, synth and keyboard driven, and recorded in a garage with Patterson’s friends in the pop band Tennis. It’s a song about the bad habits we find ourselves repeating based on past patterns that served us well but rather than necessarily casting these habits as bad, the song demonstrates some compassion for our past selves as a foundation for moving to where we want and need to be. “I can’t wait until it fades” is the telling line as an acknowledgment of how some ways become so ingrained in us it will take more time than we can predict for those modes of feeling and behaving to work their way out of us and while we really want to have moved on it’s okay to be patient with the way the human heart and mind work with the connections we have and have had with the people we love and loved. Listen to/watch the video for “Light In Your Window” on YouTube and look for the follow up to Patterson’s excellent 2016 album We Were Wild in 2020.
Dead Lucid’s live recording of “Space Rock” at Chicago DIY space the VCR on September 7, 2018 is reminiscent of something you might have expected from a live Sleepers set as in the San Francisco post-punk band, not the Denver-based experimental rock band. The vocals seem to wander between pillars of rapidly cycling and shimmering whorls of melody accented by percussion. Like a noisy, psychedelic dream pop version of a jazz session. Like a lower fidelity Bardo Pond jam yet more coherent and focused. The sound is incandescent and lacking in the sound separation you’d expect from a studio recording but with the freshness that can only come from a live version of a song when a band can color outside the lines a little and adapt and work together to create a real moment for the people that show up. Some people think that a performance that sounds just like the album is the epitome of a great show when really it’s that unpredictability and the willingness to go beyond that makes live bands still worth going to see. This recording captures a bit of that living, breathing experience of a band recreating the magic of the essence of a song. Listen to “Space Rock (Live at the VCR, 9/7/2018)” on Soundcloud and follow Dead Lucid on the Bandcamp page.
Hannah Connolly’s fragile and spare songwriting and performance on “House/Home” is the perfect format for a song about what it’s like to lose your home in the psychological sense. Pedal steel traces the fingers of dawn and dusk that seem to characterize the tone of the song. Connolly sings about how the house doesn’t seem like a home without the people she loves: “This house ain’t home without you, so there’s no reason left to stay.” With those simple words, Connolly articulates a feeling most people have had whether it’s living in a house you shared with a partner after the split up or going back to the family home after the members of your family that lived there have passed on or moved elsewhere and how those places can never be the same without the people in whom you invested your time and emotions, the people who give the idea of home context and meaning. It’s a sense of emotional intimacy and familiarity that you can’t simply buy or easily replace, it is something that must be lived and cultivated imbued with shared experience. Connolly captures the feeling of that loss with subtlety and and the strength of her poetic expression in words and music. Listen to “House/Home” on Soundcloud and follow Connolly at the links provided.
It’s difficult to tell if Aaron Matthew titled his instrumental, jazzy downtempo track “Lonely” because it sounds like you’re hearing it as though it’s bleeding from another part of a building in which you’re living or find yourself spending time alone. You hear this smooth, spacey lounge music that comes in and out with volume and intensity seeming to phase out and back into existence and you imagine yourself there with the music where cool people are getting into this chillout band that sounds a bit like Steely Dan had the group come up after Thundercat had a few records out minus the darkly surreal surreal vibe of so many of that band’s lyrics. Or it sounds like listening to a strange cool jazz station with spotty reception in the dark away from the glow of civilization and clearing your head while being drawn in by the mysterious music that seems to be the only thing you can get other than right wing talk radio and a blandly programmed community radio station is the frequency playing the hypnotic and soothing “Lonely.” Listen to the track on Soundcloud and follow Aaron Matthew at the links provided below.
“Hang On” by The Kerosene Hours initially sounds a bit like a more corrupted version of that Elvis hologram in Blade Runner 2049. Like someone constructing an imperfect image of how they want to present a myth of themselves without being able to conceal all the flaws and demons. Blend together some strands of Roy Orbison, Suicide and chillwave and you get a song about a sibling who is crumbling under the strain of their troubled psyche but wants to maintain a veneer of competence and strength when vulnerability and honesty about their inability to keep it together would be easier to take and more understandable than the intense discomfort of that completely ineffective deceit grounded in ego and a need to keep up airs of normalcy when the time for such gestures have long passed because you’re fooling no one and trying to keep doing so is actually preventing getting help and hopefully getting better. It’s a bittersweet, nostalgic take on a complex subject that perfectly balances the feelings of love and compassion for the discomfort and agony sensed if not fully acknowledged. Listen to “Hang On” on Soundcloud and follow The Kerosene Hours at the links below including Spotify where you can listen to the rest of the Desperate Perilous Virtue EP.
The “Misery” single by Animals In Exile, from the band’s third album Western Gothic, starts out in the jangle pop and psych mode that may be reminiscent to some of 90s-era Brian Jonestown Massacre or R.E.M. gone psychedelic with a dash of Americana flavor. But the songwriting takes the sound down some different paths than one might expect by bending the minor chord progression so that it blooms askew to illuminate a song that is a commentary on the way greed and how it manifests in the form of predatory real estate developers and rapacious industry is remaking our society and the world we live in into a product that is in turn used to get us to conform to patterns of behavior that reinforce that sort of economically authoritarian system and the seduction of that cycle as it is rewarded by the system in which we find ourselves living in through sheer inertia and adjusting to what we might think is inevitable change. And yet it’s a song that suggests we are aware of the destructive quality of this state of affairs and therein lies hope for change. Listen to “Misery” Soundcloud and follow Animals In Exile at the links provided.
Carina T lists all the discouraging messages thrown your way by other people and your own brain throughout “Bucket List.” But part of those narratives is the illusion of infinite choices and why choose any of them when you can pursue something provided for you. But Carina wades through the competing voices with some self-belief and a vision of the life she wants for herself. The music is reminiscent of one of those pop ballads of the 80s or 90s that is part of a montage of a character setting aside distractions and naysayers and getting things done but without malice. She also introduces the idea of how you often need to keep your dreams to yourself to protect them from those who would prefer to see everyone around them striving for the middle, threatened by anything or anyone that stands out, spewing words dismantling fledgling plans and positive impulses as silly or impractical before they get off the ground. On the surface it’s a positivistic, self-affirmation song but its undercurrent is more subversive in acknowledging the existence of legitimate concerns and doubts but putting the defeatist messaging in its proper perspective. As the title of the song suggests, it’s important to have goals but also not to get bogged down by accomplishing them all and certainly not insist they happen in a particular order. Listen to “Bucket List” on Soundcloud and follow Carina T at the links provided.
What:The Ocean Blue When: Thursday, 12.5, 7 p.m. Where: Soiled Dove Underground Why: Dream pop band and precursors of modern indie pop, The Ocean Blue, makes a stop in Denver in support of its new album Kings and Queens / Knaves and Thieves. Read our interview with singer/guitarist David Schelzel here.
What:Dog Basketball and Dry Ice album release When: Thursday, 12.5, 7 p.m. Where: Old Main Chapel CU 1600 Pleasant St. Boulder 80302 Why: Dual album release show from experimental pop band Dog Basketball and “psychedelic dream punk” band Dry Ice from Denver. A rarity to see any show at Old Main much less something this underground and experimental.
What:She Past Away w/Radio Scarlet and WitchHands When: Friday, 12.6, 7 p.m. Where: Marquis Theater Why: She Past Away is the Turkish post-punk band from Bursa that began in 2006 and making them early adopters of the current darkwave movement. Its synth and bass-driven songs have a different quality than its Western European and American counterparts while sharing that dark, introspective quality that is clearly descended from the likes of D.A.F., Depeche Mode and Clan of Xymox with an aesthetic that isn’t so far removed from its punk roots. The group’s third and latest album 2019 Disko Anksiyete saw a dual release on Fabrika Records and Metropolis Record and with a US tour currently under way it’s proof that its music transcends barriers of language.
What:Altas with Tiffany Christopher When: Friday, 12.6, 8 p.m. Where: Denver Open Media Why: Instrumental rock band Altas performs at Denver Open Media for a free show with Tiffany Christopher. Altas released the powerfully cinematic All I Ever Wanted Was in June 2019.
What:May Erlewine w/Dango Rose When: Saturday, 12.7, 7 p.m. Where: Tuft Theatre (Swallow Hill) Why: May Erlewine is a prolific blues folk artist from Big Rapids, Michigan with fifteen albums under her belt since 2003 including 2019’s In the Night. Erlewine cut her teeth as a live performer, according to a piece on MTV.com, while hitch hiking across North America and performing on the streets. For In the Night Erlewine picked herself up from the state of despair that hit many people in the wake of the Trump presidency and use her music as way to address 45’s ignorant and hateful and destructive remarks and behaviors with thoughtful commentary and observations on life and the American culture she and many of us know to be much more authentic than the spewage from a pampered, narcissistic child of privilege. But expect that music to be delivered with Erlewine’s usual warmth, nuance and strength with her dynamic and elegant voice.
Lettuce, photo Courtesy Casey Flanigan
What:Lettuce w/Antibalas and Chris Karns When: Saturday, 12.7, 7 p.m. Where: Fillmore Auditorium Why: Lettuce is an experimental funk band that has crossed over into the realm of jam bands and EDM even though its music has ranged far afield of that for years including its 2019 album Elevate. The group freely borrows from styles and sounds to craft its signature synthesis of funk, Afrobeat, jazz and electronic pop.
What:Anamanaguchi w/Default Genders and Nullsleep When: Sunday, 12.8, 7 p.m. Where: Bluebird Theater Why: Mix an anthemic J-pop band with an 8-bit glitchcore project and a progressive rock/jazz fusion band and task it to make dynamic and engrossing video game music with an uncommon sense of space, composition and emotional impact and you have Anamanaguchi. Particularly on its 2019 album [USA]. Seems gimmicky at first but the New York-based band doesn’t get stuck in the hyperactive songwriting that plagues a lot of “Nintendocore” acts or the dull focus on displays of technical prowess and knowledge of theory that is behind a lot of prog. Just well crafted, expansive pop songs that feel like endless possibilities and the positive ghosts of childhood reverie manifested in sound.
What:Alex Cameron w/Jackladder and Emily Panic When: Monday, 12.9, 7 p.m. Where: Bluebird Theater Why: Alex Cameron’s 2019 album Miami Memory is like a set of vignettes about people in crisis. But the take is one of compassion and understanding without trying to underplay or make light of the struggles. At a time when a lot of synth pop is generic, Cameron’s eccentric and psychologically insightful take on songwriting is strikingly different with a knack for changing up the vibe, texture and tone of his songs throughout an album. Just watch the video for “Far From Born Again” for a bit about Cameron’s keen understanding of the human condition.
The Ocean Blue performs tonight, December 5, at Soiled Dove Underground. Hailing from Hershey, Pennsylvania, The Ocean Blue didn’t blow up into a household name when it first came to the attention of an international audience by the late 80s but like many bands of the era this has perhaps accounted for some of its enduring longevity. Its sound was a lushly melodic rock music that was fairly sophisticated by the time the fledgling band released its earliest singles in 1986, the year it formed. The members of the group had known each other since middle school and had learned to play together in that organic way a group of friends who more or less grew up together do with a natural chemistry that makes the songs most other people get to hear seem effortless and polished.
Looking back to the 80s from the perspective of today it can be a bit of a mystery to suss out where bands might have played and honed their craft outside of garages and bedrooms unless it was a punk band. The Ocean Blue didn’t play out much other than a birthday party and a school dance until the band got a manager who advised the group to play out and work on the live show. “At that point, we started playing small clubs and colleges in the mid-Atlantic area,” says guitarist and lead vocalist David Schelzel.
The young band also connected with older musicians who were coming to be known in the pre-alternative rock underground music world who enjoyed some degree of success on college radio, which was a far more important factor in the success of a band beyond the local scene up through the 2000s. Most significantly for The Ocean Blue in this regard was dream pop legends The Innocence Mission.
“We met the Innocence Mission when we did a radio station benefit record, and I became fast friends with Don and Karen,” says Schelzel. “They were a bit older and way ahead of us musically, but they were super kind and became great encouragers and friends as we both started to get a wider audience and later on, record deals. They are kindred spirits for sure. Music in the late 80s locally was dominated by hair metal and blues bands, along with peppy pop stuff. We stood out, and thus didn’t get lost in a big city or scene. We found a bit of a circuit at clubs and colleges that supported original, local music, in nearby cities, like Lancaster, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.”
Undoubtedly The Innocence Mission helped to mentor The Ocean Blue in the ways of the music industry including dealing with labels and publishing. Fortunately the group had a team of people including a manager, a good lawyer and a music publisher by the time it signed, in 1988, a three record deal with respected independent label Sire for the release of its 1989 debut, self-titled full length. At the time of signing the band was still in high school but were savvy enough to know what label they might like to be a part of as Sire had released important records by Ramones, Talking Heads, Ministry, Pretenders, Wild Swans, The Cult and Echo & The Bunnymen. The latter is a group that the first The Ocean Blue album gets compared to the most.
“Sire was always where we wanted to be,” says Schelzel. “So many bands we loved were on that label. I realize now how extraordinary it was to get signed to Sire, let alone as teenagers and to a long term deal that allowed us to develop. As for how, we were lucky to have a good manager, that knew how to get our music to the right people, get people out to see our shows, and drum up a buzz. And of course the key to any signing is that there is music and something as a band that people are drawn to, and from a label’s perspective, that will do well.”
The band evolved rapidly and its subsequent albums for Sire, 1991’s Cerulean and 1993’s Beneath the Rhythm & Sound, broke from the obvious influences and aligned more with the kind of music that was on the ascent at the time and seemed to vibe well with some of the “Madchester” bands like The Charlatans UK, C86 groups like Felt and Sarah Records outfits like The Field Mice and The Sundays. That style of dream pop grounded in classic songwriting that has interestingly enough exerted a great deal of influence on contemporary bands trying to mine for ideas and sounds that haven’t been shoved down their throats by ubiquitous commercial popularity.
By the mid-90s, The Ocean Blue suffered from the usual corporate mergers of the day and the conservative trend of record labels after scrambling to capitalize on the alternative rock wave of the early part of the decade. But the band persevered and by 1999 self-released its then new album Davy Jones Locker. By the 2010s The Ocean Blue was back to being more active than it had been in many years (at least as far as anyone outside the band and its immediate associates might know) with its first new album in over a decade, Ultramarine, out in 2013 on Korda Records followed by Waterworks in 2014 and 2019’s strikingly gorgeous Kings and Queens / Knaves and Thieves. It’s bright tones and transporting melodies in high form, The Ocean Blue has never sounded better. Like certain bands from its original era the group has retained a good deal of its original artist as well as having an appeal to a younger audience for whom the group might have a bit of cult cachet, Schelzel also says the band didn’t know it had fans in South America until the past ten years.
“I think what has kept us together and doing what we do is our love for music and each other,” offers Schelzel regarding the band’s having stayed together. “I am always making music, and I love the guys I make music with. There were things that were much easier when we were on major labels and had a team of people handling management, promotion, production, touring, etc. But there has been something very refreshing about doing things as an independent artist. Things are way less complicated and the focus is almost entirely on making music. We try to maximize the aspects of what we do that are pleasant and rewarding, and minimize those things that are unpleasant and draining. It is the satisfaction of making music. Personally, I think it’s part of who I am and what I find meaningful and joyful in life. I don’t say that lightly. Life is hard and dark and full of a lot of pain. Music is a hugely important counterweight to all that.”
The title of the new album suggests political commentary but for The Ocean Blue the lyrics have always been more observations about human nature and personal reflection. “I see that line and that song, and maybe the whole record, as more of a musing on the human condition, particularly questions of existence, meaning, relationships with each other, the world, etc. and love,” says Schelzel. “I think the human problems of the modern world are pretty much the same as they were 100 years ago.”
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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