One its new single “Always Always,” New Zealand’s Tablefox strikes triumphant tones with an epic upsweep of chords and rhythm. But this upbeat tone comes with a deeply confessional story of a person who admits to shortcomings in their relationships with a specific person. But wanting to make up for those failings by being present now and not running from admitting to an emotional connection that was always there. It’s an interesting piece of music considering the core message seems to be the singer admitting to pursuing nonsense that in their own minds seemed more exciting and important but that it was simply “My foolish paradise.” Musically it sounds like one of those badass pop anthems that might have appeared in a Sylvester Stallone movie crossed with one The Call’s spiritual power pop ballads. Except it subverts the macho bravado of the former and embraces the earnestness of the latter in delivering a song that is sweeping and heartfelt. Listen to “Always Always” on Soundcloud and follow Tablefox at the link below.
Honey Creeper’s catalog up to now is a surreally nightmarish songs throwing up the more unsavory side of the American psyche for display in an absurd and humorous, if sometimes edgy, fashion. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say some of the artwork and song titles and songs themselves are within the realm of “NSF.” But think more in the spirit of early Ween than something like Brainbombs. This song, “Killer Gourmet Burgers,” submitted to us from an EP that seems to have emerged in 2017, is actually a short song as a testimony to a parent, a grandparent, a mentor missed deeply. It’s a tender ode to someone you took for granted in your life who is suddenly gone and you don’t quite know how to deal with it so you write a weary song with a warped jangle and your voice slowed down to enhance the sense of poignantly confused loss. It’s a song that sounds like someone used to poking fun at and laughing at everything with no sacred cows finally has to come to terms with the mortality of someone they care about and there’s no glossing over the hurt with humor. Follow Honey Creeper at the links below.
The throbbing distortion of daisy’s new single “BLEACH” is reminiscent of the era of music represented on the Amphetamine Reptile imprint at its peak from the 80s through the 90s. Its pounding beat and atonal noise hooks with just shy of tortured vocals create a disorienting haze well complemented by the music video. The plot of the latter seems to be of young women, disillusioned with the hypocrisy, abuse and warped cult-like nature of their evangelical upbringing turn to what seems the opposite in occult practices inspired by what they’ve seen in movies depicting Satanism. The video is even more low budget than Ti West’s chilling 2009 early 80s inspired horror film The House of the Devil. But that’s what gives it an unsettling authenticity. Once the women walk up a sinister looking set of poorly lit stairs to a secluded apartment the visuals are blown out in smoky orange that settles into a candlelit circle and they are welcomed to the other side as in video footage of faith healers and phone numbers to call to donate run on screen like memories being expunged from consciousness as the repeating, pins and needles guitar figure, like an amp picking up cel signal, takes us out of the song. Though perhaps not explicit the song with the video suggests that personal darkness can come from anywhere inside us as we’ve internalized what’s outside of us and that to rebuild the kind of authentic self we need maybe a little psychic bleach will help. Watch the video on YouTube and follow daisy, which includes members of Bleached and Warpaint, at the links provided.
The finger picking on Shore Drive’s “Chaser (featuring Stella in the Clouds” creates a hypnotic loop of texture that serves as a kind of canvas for the emotional impressions and storytelling ahead, cast in impressionistic couplets. The tight vocal harmonies are just above hushed and conjure cherished sense memories tied to poignant details of the kinds of experiences that define an especially significant era of one’s life. The vivid snapshots paired with their emotional context in the song is an effective technique that makes the song stick with you long after it’s done as though you’ve been given some of your own memories back after years of neglecting them in some dusty corner of your brain maybe discarded as a painful time but Shore Drive has shone a light on what was beautiful about those chapters of your life’s story. As the song is on its way to ending, the music seems to swim through the cycling glimmer of synth drone and ethereal vocals like a pleasant dream fading out while you wake up refreshed. Listen for yourself on Soundcloud and follow Shore Drive at the links provided.
Joanna McGowan sounds like she’s walking through a fog-enshrouded setting on her new single “Wasteland.” Ethereal melodies, hazy synths and minimalistic rhythms swirl around her incandescent voice until the tempo picks up giving the impression that McGowan is running through the fog to get free of the memories of a place that has changed beyond recognition but whose influence has left an indelible impression on her mind. One hears a tone of bittersweet affection for the “wasteland” of the song and she sings of feel of comfort in being there because it reminds her of how far she has come even if she’s experiencing a setback in life. Like going back to your hometown, which many of us think of as a cultural wasteland, or the environment in which you were raised after you’ve had a taste of something that nourishes your spirit a little more than the rustic familiarity of a place you’ve outgrown but which know all too well. The line “Nothing changes in the wasteland, time moves but the stillness remains” is telling because who hasn’t felt stuck somewhere in life only to go out into the bigger world in search of the stimulation you’re not getting where you came from? McGowan, though, in the song deftly explores the conflicted feelings while choosing liberation and giving those parts of the song the dramatic up-sweep in tempo and emotional richness. Listen to “Wasteland” on Spotify. The single is the first of four songs on McGowan’s forthcoming EP.
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.
The bell tones that carry the melody on Calcou’s “Colors on Screen (featuring GRIP TIGHT)” bring a seemingly random and organic element to a steady, mathematical beat and paradoxically emotional robotic vocals. Like an A.I. contemplating the very fact of pixels on a screen and what went into making that happen and the concept of what informed the choice of those colors or, if not so chosen, the design behind making those patterns of color manifest as they do. Rather than take for granted that we can merely program a somewhat randomizing set of color sequences as in an old dynamic screensaver or use a computer to design visual art or even merely a flyer, the newly aware artificial intelligence expresses wonder at what is behind what humans might think of as calculated and mathematical on one level because to us it is but as humans sometimes wonder at what the primary forces behind existence and how it manifests and why, an intelligent being we designed by accident might wonder at similar things coming from an angle that can’t be our own. This song may not be about that but it would make a good soundtrack to a story about this happening and how artificial intelligences might not be homicidal robots destroying us for our inefficiency but beings of great empathy who share a wonder at existence and creativity in a way we could never have predicted. Listen to “Colors on Screen” on Soundcloud and follow Calcou at the links provided.
The texture of cello creating dynamic low end drones on “Girls,” the latest single from Iceland’s Manon, are like deep wells into which the milkily luminescent melodies on piano and vocals swirl and disappear into infinity. The song is about two girls trying to put out of their minds an experience that would leave its mark on their psyches for a lifetime the way an emotionally traumatic can haunt you with contemplating their meaning, even if there are no interpretations or answers that will ever satisfy you, seemingly endlessly. Manon sings of the romance of being curious and dangerous and a chance encounter on an adventure together. The strange and mysterious event is one worth sussing out for yourself but the classical sensibilities of Manon’s songwriting is reminiscent of the avant-garde pop stylings of Kate Bush whose own songwriting brings together musical elements in a way to craft personal myth enshrouded by evocative sounds that themselves stir the imagination. Though short, at two minutes twenty-two seconds, “Girls” feels like you’re getting a poignant sense memory of something Manon will never forget. Listen to “Girls” on Soundcloud and follow Manon at the links below.
Summer Cannibals perform at Lost Lake on September 13, photo by Jason Quigley
Thursday | September 12
Sheer Mag circa 2017, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Sheer Mag w/Tweens and The Born Readies When: Thursday, 09.12, 7 p.m. Where: Larimer Lounge Why: Sheer Mag sounds like a band that grew up listening mostly to Thin Lizzy, 70s power pop and AC/DC but invented punk rock without ever having heard it. It’s new record A Distant Call finds the band having refined some of its raw power without blunting it.
Friday | September 13
Dub Trio, photo by William Felch
What:Soulless Maneater, Sweetness Itself, Sad Bug When: Friday, 09.13, 8 p.m. Where: Mutiny Information Café Why: Sad Bug is sort of a neo-emo pop punk band. Sweetness Itself might come off as a bit of a fuzzy psychedelic band but sometimes Cyrena Rosati’s guitar work verves into bendy waves akin to something you might hear from My Bloody Valentine via No Joy. Which is to say gloriously loud and noisy but also tied to tight songwriting and accessible hooks. Soulless Maneater is what happens when you give doom metal more of an abrasive edge and more pointed and political lyrics aimed at where a critical eye belongs.
What:Summer Cannibals w/Mr. Atomic and Knuckle Pups When: Friday, 09.13, 8 p.m. Where: Lost Lake Why: Summer Cannibals have for the past seven years charted a path out of the neo-garage rock that dominated American underground rock for several years. Its own songwriting more fluid and dynamic than just the adolescent release and raw, youthful enthusiasm that was both what was exciting but ultimately limiting and tiresome about the new garage bands. Summer Cannibals didn’t just have a healthy sense of humor but the band also seemed to take seriously its songcraft but without overthinking it. Its new album, 2019’s Can’t Tell Me No is Summer Cannibals in high form with its contrast of melodic vocals, grit, attitude and confessional lyrics.
What:Dub Trio w/Incubus When: Friday, 09.13, 7 p.m. Where: Fillmore Auditorium Why: It shouldn’t work and maybe for some it doesn’t, but Brooklyn’s Dub Trio took inspiration from King Tubby and applied the principles of dub to heavier music in terms of shaping sound, production and signal processing. Surface level, the group comes across like an arty doom band and it has served as part of the backing band for Mike Patton on the 2006 Peeping Tom tour and on its new album The Shape of Jazz to Come, it worked with Buzz Osborne of Melvins fame. But the bass is sculpted in a way to sync up with the sampled and manipulated sounds fed back into the mix for a disorienting yet hypnotic effect. Sure, opening for a pretty famous nü metal band but worth going to see for their set alone.
Saturday | September 14
Strand of Oaks, photo by Alysse Gafkajen
What:Dub Trio w/Incubus When: Saturday, 09.14, 7 p.m. Where: Fillmore Auditorium Why: For Dub Trio see above on 9.14.
What:Test Dept w/Acidbat, eHpH and DJ Dave Vendetta When: Saturday, 09.14, 7 p.m. Where: Antero Hall (formerly Eck’s Saloon) Why: Test Dept is indeed the legendary early industrial band from London touring through Denver before it performs at the Cold Waves festival in Chicago. Percussion heavy, full, mind-altering assault to the senses in the vein of those early industrial groups of the 80s. Different from but definitely for fans of Einstürzende Neubauten and Crash Worship.
What:Total Trash, Vampire Squids From Hell, Lords of Howling When: Saturday, 09.14, 8 p.m. Where: The People’s Building Why: September’s Get Your Ears Swoll will include “doom surf” band Vampire Squids From Hell, avant-folk Lords of Howling and psychedelic indie rock phenoms Total Trash.
What:Strand of Oaks w/Apex Manor When: Saturday, 09.14, 8 p.m. Where: Globe Hall Why: As Strand of Oaks, Timothy Showalter has had a prolific career writing delicate and thoughtful, introspective, folk-inflected pop songs. One might call it pastoral but by candlelight. There’s an intimacy to Showalter’s songwriting that sets it apart from some other songwriters exploring similar sonic territory. That and Showalter’s attention to the rhythm side of the music so that all parts compliment each other well. His new album, 2019’s Eraserland, was never supposed to happen until some friends convinced him to get back into the studio to write the record and it’s a particularly touching testament to rediscovering the strength to continue on and do what you love even if it feels to you at the time pointless and hopeless. It’s a personal reinvention with music that feels gently reinvigorating as well.
What:KGNU Quarterly Showcase, Smash it Back Edition: Sputnik Slovenia, Little Fyodor & Babushka and The Hinckleys – DJ Andy Z When: Saturday, 09.14, 8 p.m. Where: Lion’s Lair Why: This edition of the KGNU Quaterly showcase features Jim Yelnick of hardcore band Pitch Invasion playing his solo material and probably treating you to some unusual humor. And of course the great, avant-garde punk band Little Fyodor & Babushka will be putting in a, these days, rare appearance and demonstrate how punk can push the boundaries of the songwriting and subject matter while writing incredibly catchy music. There is no fashion victim type stuff with Fyodor because he already looks like an accountant who burned down his office and started a cable access show about underground culture and the impending collapse of civilization.
Sunday | September 16
Altas, photo by Evan Semoìn
What:RETIFest: Los Mocochetes, iZCALLi, Roka Hueka, El Cro, Altas, Sierra Leon, 2MX2, Modulor, Puete Libre When: Sunday, 09.15, 10 a.m. Where: Mile High Flea Market Why: This is sort of an all day festival featuring some of Denver’s best bands whose membership is largely of Latinx extraction from the psychedelic funk band Los Mocochetes, hard rock group iZCALLi, experimental post-rock powerhouse Altas and hip-hop crew 2MX2.
Monday | September 16
Lower Dens, photo by Torso
What:Of Monsters and Men w/Lower Dens When: Monday, 09.16, 6:30 p.m. Where: The Mission Ballroom Why: Icelandic pop band Of Monsters and Men are currently touring in support of its 2019 album Fever Dream and will provide the expansive, emotional, melodic songs made for the larger club setting. Opening the show is experimental dream pop band Lower Dens. The group’s earlier albums were in the realm of dub-inflected post-punk but its newer material, particularly on its new record The Competition, combines its lush melodies with an almost disco flavored adult contemporary sound. Like Jana Hunter and company mined 80s pop music and removed the cheese but kept the solid songwriting and production.
What:Roselit Bone, High Plains Honky and Erika Ryann When: Monday, 09.16, 7 p.m. Where: Lost Lake Why: Roselit Bone is like a honky tonk, cow boy high desert Gun Club and visually reminiscent of the same. Intense live performances and riveting storytelling. Its new album Crisis Actor is a storybook of American skullduggery, misdeeds and a celebration of life.
Tuesday | September 17
GRLwood, photo by Mickie Winters
What:Man Man w/GRLwood When: Tuesday, 09.17, 7 p.m. Where: Globe Hall Why: GRLwood from Louisville, Kentucky sound like an emotionally nuanced math-y emo band on its 2018 album Daddy. Though there is a smoldering sensibility to the vocals the band is able to reconcile powerful feelings with actually feeling its hurt and transforming that into a melancholic catharsis that bursts forth in fiery riffs and introspective passages. And it will contrast well with Man Man, the psychedelic art rock band formerly form Philadelphia who made it “indie big” in the 2000s with its ambitious albums and theatrical and bombastic live shows.
Hatchie, photo by Alex Wall
What:Hatchie w/Orchin and Slow Caves When: Tuesday, 09.17, 7 p.m. Where: Larimer Lounge Why: Hatchie’s 2019 debut full length Keepsake is the rare dream pop offering of late with a keen ear for the low end to give the music some weightiness and drive. Maybe there’s no surprise there since Harriet Pilbeam has played bass and guitar in her musical career up to now and the songwriting on Keepsake reflects an appreciation for a broad spectrum of how the music can stimulate your emotions. It’s breezy in dynamic and Pilbeam’s vocals warmly melodic but the songs always seem to be reaching forward to draw you in.
What:Torche w/Pinkish Black and Green Druid When: Wednesday, 09.18, 7 p.m. Where: Larimer Lounge Why: Torche formed in 2004 in Miami and came out of the heavy music underground of the 90s when Steve Brooks and former member Juan Montoya were members of doom/sludge legends Floor. Torche was a different animal and as the band has developed over the years it is difficult to really call it a sludge or doom band, especially with its 2019 album Admission with its sometimes shimmery and gritty melodies, expansive vocal dynamic and sinuous rhythms. The fuzzy drones seem to have more in common with the likes of Swervedriver than what you’re likely to hear on a doom record and yet often enough Torche employs a colossally blunt riff but then sends it spiralling in different trajectories giving the songs a sound like what might happen if a psychedelic metal band left behind its limiting tropes and explored the inherent possibilities of its sound palette.
What:Man Man w/GRLwood When: Wednesday, 09.18, 7 p.m. Where: Globe Hall Why: See above on 9/17 for Man Man and GRLwood.
The mellotron loop that runs throughout Best Mann’s single “MCO” keeps up back drop of dreamlike abstract melody upon which songwriter and producer Nate Mondschein places percussion, bass, minimal guitar and a story of some people’s tendency to need to have one’s romantic experiences and relationships to be like something out of a movie and overdoing everything in a way that could never be sustained by mere mortals long term. And the expectations placed on oneself and others that puts undue pressure on the association before it can really start or solidify and work to erode it from the start with the heaviness of it all. Everyone wants their love relationships to be imbued with some magic and passion but life isn’t always peak moments and if we let in some breathing room we might have more of that if we don’t always expect it of ourselves and our loved ones. Or out of any situation in life. The down times and those times we might think of as boring or dull are as important to our psychology as those that are the opposite. Joseph Campbell might have implied something like that in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. At any rate, the lush atmospheres and slow dynamic wave of the song is a recognition of this reality and attempt to honor the impulse of connection without shame as well as the human emotional limitations that often go unacknowledged. Best Mann’s new album …And the Sky is due out on October 25, 2019. Listen to “MCO” on Soundcloud and follow Best Mann at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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