FYE & FENNEK have tapped into a corner of 80s pop influenced sound for their single “Better Lover” that casts some insight into why it’s re-emerged as a resonant style over thirty years hence. The song is rooted in the rhythm which in the original synth pop came out of post-punk, disco, Krautrock and R&B. “Better Love” echoes shades of Speak & Spell period Depeche Mode and, by extension through Vince Clarke, Yaz and Erasure. The bright melodies embedded into almost industrial rhythms served as an appropriate backdrop and sonic palette to comment on the nature of identity and relationships in an era of challenging politics between a right wing, austerity government (austerity for most, but not for the wealthy, naturally) and the threat of nuclear destruction while acknowledging the basic human need to have some joy out of life. It struck an interesting balance.
“Better Lover” has a similar vibe and, as it turns out, the political and economic environment is similar but the impending doom includes climate change ending life as we know it just on the horizon and more out of human control than simply exercising restraint and good sense in not launching nuclear missiles at one another. That background tension runs through “Better Lover” but so does the catharsis of finding fun in times of trouble. But the song is also about the virtue of being vulnerable and not always looking to trade up in your romantic relationships. Like the best pop songs there is more content than is obvious from the catchy melodies and lyrical hooks. Naturally, of course, FYE & FENNEK have brought modern sound processing, editing and current electronic music sensibilities to the composition giving the classic aesthetic a contemporary feel. Listen to “Better Lover” on Soundcloud and to other tracks from the production duo at the link below.
“It’s Still Storming For Me,” the title to the new Canadian Rifles single, speaks a great deal for what you’re in for in the listening. Textured atmospheres like fog and gently falling, thick snow all at once drift in with a flowing thrum of low end. It reflects a kind of post-malaise exhaustion even as the feelings still run strong or the kind of discomforting resignation that life’s troubles are hitting you without letting up and you can’t put a nice face on it anymore but it’s not new enough for dramatic expressions of your frustration and pain. Fans of Tim Hecker’s Ravedeath, 1972 or Isorinne’s Speechless Malison will find much to like in the introspective, hazy melodies and soundscapes that externalize and exorcise isolated melancholia with a gentle yet powerful touch. Listen to “It’s Still Storming For Me” on Soundcloud and follow Canadian Rifles at the links provided.
When Rusty Reid’s “I Went Searching” starts out you’re expecting to get lost in some Sinoia Caves style dark synth labyrinth into a murky dystopian science fiction future. But when the guitar, bass, drums and Reid’s vocals come in it morphs into an unconventionally psychedelic rock song about raising your own awareness and consciousness. It’s reminiscent of Kenny Rogers’ old band The First Edition and the sentiments reflect a search for peace, grace, love, truth and basic human decency and non-conformity. Hippie ideals. Marianne Williamson would be into these sentiments, the kind we need more of now in this rough age. The music, part psych folk and part country, is also grounded in a sound akin to Krautrock American style. It is fascinatingly out of step with what you might assume to be psych or country or art-y progressive rock and that’s what makes the song so immediately appealing if enigmatic. It’s not coming from a place meant to alienate or seem cooler-than-thou. And it’s unabashedly unusual, eccentric and ultimately accessible. Listen to the song on Soundcloud and follow Rusty Reid at the links below where you can also further explore Reid’s sprawling epic new album Head to Heart.
Immediately “Eyes Within Night” sounds like you’re getting a radio transmission from an AM college station in the late 1980s playing underground music in the pre-alternative rock era. Some of the frequencies sound washed out like it’s being played from a tape lovingly listened to countless times and preserved for posterity using a four track tape deck to convert it to digital. The keyboards and the Casiotone play off each other toward the end of the song like dueling synthesizers the dramatic way they might in some weird science fiction movie about rival gangs competing against each other in synth pop bands but with the vibe of Night of the Comet after an apocalyptic event that destroys most of the human race and people are rebuilding civilization and re-creating culture while solving conflict in artistic ways rather than through violence. Or like a New Wave Goth version of Breakin’ or Krush Groove. Who wouldn’t want to see that movie happen? Well memory theater, the Filipinx band from Berkeley, California has the perfect music for the soundtrack. Listen to “Eyes Within Night” on Spotify and follow the group on their Bandcamp page.
The title track to post-rock band Heron’s new album Sun Release is like the dawn itself. Guitar intones with an impressionistic figure, minimal and calm. Then around the three minute mark multiple guitars flood forth with a fiery swarm of majestic riffs to make one forget that it was once quiet and introspective like the dark of night between when there is a moonset and the inevitable sunrise. The song captures the false dawn and then the tentative flickers of illumination before the sun rises into the sky in all its cosmic glory illuminate the world into wakefulness. With drums and the full instrumentation engaging Heron captures that moment between a sleepy early morning and full-flung day. Listen to “Sun Release” on Soundcloud and explore follow Heron and explore Sun Release further at the links below.
Tessa Violet performs at the UMS on Sunday, July 28, 5:45 p.m.
The UMS is back for its 2019 edition running from July 26 through July 28 in the Baker Neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. The festival is unarguably the easiest way to take in the largest representative slice of the local underground music scene with the emphasis on indie rock and some choice representation from the city’s worlds of metal, hip-hop, electronic music and punk. Some years you might even run across more than a couple of the city’s rich experimental/avant-garde, darkwave and noise scenes but not so much this year aside from the Glasss Records showcase Sunday afternoon from 12-5 p.m. which is a well-curated sampling of Denver music’s weird side.
What follows is a guide to my picks for ten of the most interesting acts not from Denver performing at the festival. There will be no local band guide because I already write up enough about local bands throughout most of the year and you can see many of them the rest of the year and I encourage you to visit the UMS website and sample any and all of the bands that look interesting and see them because there are hundred. If you’re from out of town and coming to the UMS, refer back to any of the Best Shows lists I’ve done up to now. Other sites have provided their guides so you can consult those if you’re looking for specific recommendations. For tickets please visit the UMS website and thanks for reading.
Who: Black Mountain When: Friday, July 26, 8:30-10 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: This Canadian, heavy psychedelic rock band combines 70s psychedelic prog, stoner rock and all the excess and transporting soundscaping that implies. The group released its new album Destroyer in 2019, the first with ex-Sleepy Sun member Rachel Fannan and Adam Bulgasem from Soft Kill. Synth player Jeremy Schmidt has a side project called Sinoia Caves which did the darkly beautiful and unsettling soundtrack to the experimental science fiction horror film Beyond the Black Rainbow.
Chicano Batman circa 2017, photo by Josue Rivas
Who: Chicano Batman When: Saturday, July 27, 5-6 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: Chicano Batman embodies a true synthesis of 60s Chicano rock, Tropicália and psychedelia. Like those 60s bands, this Los Angeles-based quartet performs in matching outfits to provide that level of rock theater and it’s songs a fantastic blend of rock and roll and melancholic atmospheres.
Who: Drama When: Saturday, July 27, 6:20-7 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: A blend of R&B and synthwave, Drama’s songs and videos reflect the multicultural side of American culture and breaking stereotypes of what people look like that make lush, melodic electronic pop music and how that’s presented to the world.
Who: Empress Of When: Sunday. July 28, 7-7:45 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: Lorely Rodriguez took this project name from a tarot card reading and her synth pop/experimental R&B is bilingual with vocals that traverse registers with finesse. Imagine something like a combination of Cocteau Twins (who Rodriguez cites as an influence) and Toni Braxton and you’re in the right territory.
Gardens & Villa circa 2011, photo by Tom Murphy
Who: Gardens & Villa When: Friday, July 26, 5:20-6 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: This band from Santa Barbara, California is probably lumped in with the whole synth pop thing but it’s a way stranger and more experimental band in the vocals and in its songwriting having more in common with Big Black Delta, Fad Gadget and TR/ST than the chillwave that was in vogue when the band started in 2008. Its songs tend to be darker and more willing to indulge sharper edged dynamics than groups going for maximum soft tunefulness.
Who: Leikeli47 When: Friday, July 26, 8:30-10 p.m. Where: Odyssey Stage Why: Leikeli47 performs with some kind of head covering and otherwise conceals her true identity like a hip-hop super hero. Her unusual style of music is heavy on swagger and accented beats. At times her songs sound like she listened to a lot of Suicide, Death Grips, M.I.A. as well as dub. But it also means she doesn’t really sound much like anyone else and capable of surprising you.
Who: Tessa Violet When: Sunday, July 28, 5:45-6:30 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: Tessa Violet’s breezy, sonically rich synth pop is so accessible it’s almost easy to forget what a sharp wit is behind the songwriting. After all she has a song called “I Like (the idea of) You.” But it’s not all reverence and her songwriting style itself is fairly broad and endearingly frank in the realm of pop music and her videos colorful and imaginative.
Tuxedo, photo by Andi Elloway
Who: Tuxedo When: Sunday, July 28, 8:15-9:45 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: Mayer Hawthorne made a respectable career for himself in the 2000s for his retro soul style and big stage persona. Teaming up with Jake One he’s part of Tuxedo, a funk and electro R&B band that was ahead of the current trend of all of that, which Hawthorne was already presaging when a lot of people dismissed him as something of an eccentric despite his undeniable cool.
Who: Y La Bamba – photo on website When: Sunday, July 28, 6:20-7 p.m. Where: Knockout Stage Why: Luz Elena Mendoza found a unique place as a songwriter in Portland, Oregon who is making a kind of folk-rooted pop. Her music and outlook comes out of the Mexican folk tradition inspired in part from a young age by mariachis. Her songs use her heritage to explore personal as well as collective struggles with an elegance and creativity that reconciles the dark side of life with hope and joy informed by grace and patience for the process.
Who: Yves Tumor When: Saturday, July 27, 7:20-8 p.m. Where: Showcase Stage Why: Yves Tumor cites Throbbing Gristle as an influence for its hypnotic qualities. And Yves Tumor’s music is not short on ambient noise, confrontational sounds and political consciousness within the context of fairly accessible electronic pop music. For my ears and tastes, the most interesting and boundaries pushing act not from Denver playing the festival and a must see if you’re there on Saturday.
Built To Spill at Treefort Music Fest 2018, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Built to Spill – Keep It Like a Secret tour w/Orua and Dirt Russell When: Friday, 07.26, 6 p.m. Where: Mishawaka Amphitheater, Bellevue, CO Why: Built To Spill bridged the gap between free improvisational rock, psychedelia and post-punk at a time in the 90s when so much of that was, barring Neil Young, was considered quaint unless you were a fan of wack, mid-90s alternative rock. Built to Spill was very different from some of that more mundane music because when it had album titles like Ultimate Alternative Wavers and songs called “Randy Described Eternity” and “I Would Hurt a Fly” the language of an underground, alternative culture with irreverent humor and an unabashed embrace of the weird and unconventional and out of step with mainstream normality was mincing no words but also not trying to alienate any potential comers. This year the group is touring for the twentieth anniversary of its monumental fourth album Keep It Like a Secret.
What:The Psychedelic Furs w/James and Dear Boy When: Friday, 07.26, 7 p.m. Where: Ogden Theatre Why: The Psychedelic Furs are apparently on the verge of giving us their first new album in nearly thirty years sometime in the next year or two. While the group did take a hiatus in the 90s its iconic 80s albums aged well because while the band had hits it never really made concessions to trends and Richard Butler’s scrappy yet soulful voice and thought-provoking lyrics and the band’s brooding melodies and expansively energetic live show reconciled the thoughts and emotions everyone has into memorable songs. Since the Furs reconvened in 2000 it may have been skating on its back catalog but its shows felt like they were channeling from a time when they first wrote the music and they didn’t waste our time by trotting out material unworthy of its earlier music. The career of Mancunian rock band James was almost in direct parallel with The Psychedelic Furs with its own history of high emotive and idiosyncratic rock songwriting that evolved considerably across time and recent performances displaying the verve and power of its early days as well.
Anne Waldman circa 2012, photo by Tom Murphy
What: Anne Waldman (w/Adam Baumeister and Roger Green), Wymond Miles, Jeff Suthers and Max & Toni When: Friday, 07.26, 8-10:30 p.m. Where: Pon Pon Why: Anne Waldman is one of the surviving leading lights of the Beat Generation who is also currently involved with running the Naropa Institute (also Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics) of which she was a founder in 1974. Her poetry has a force and consciousness resonant with the rhythms of music and on this evening she will be joined by Meep Records head Adam Baumeister and experimental guitar composer Roger Green formerly of Idle Mind and The Czars. Also on the bill are Wymond Miles of The Fresh & Onlys in San Francisco and prior to that various Denver bands including Pinkku, and Jeff Suthers, the iconic guitarist of Pale Sun, Bright Channel, Volplane, Moonspeed, Pteranodon and other projects.
What:MDC/Verbal Abuse and Round Eye When: Friday, 07.26, 9 p.m. Where: Streets Denver Why: When you call your band Millions of Dead Cops in 1979 you’re already courting trouble. But MDC has also been taking it on the nose and writing hardcore classics with a righteously political edge from the beginning having penned songs about animal rights, LBGTQ issues, racial issues and invective against capitalism with humor and conviction. Lead singer Dave Dictor is proudly a weirdo who is confrontational with his anti-establishment stance in a creative and engaging and often humorous fashion.
What:Amon Tobin presents Two Fingers DJ Set w/Tsuruda, Keota, Seied and GTillDawn When: Friday, 07.26, 8 p.m. Where: Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom Why: Amon Tobin is a versatile composer whose electronic music runs the gamut of dance, jazz and the avant-garde. Tonight he is performing a DJ set so it’s hard to say exactly what he’ll throw into the mix but given his proclivity for imaginative production it won’t be entirely predictable yet a display of great taste.
Saturday | July 27
Ankleplants circa 2016, photo by Tom Murphy
What:Black Pistol Fire w/Thunderpussy When: Saturday, 07.27, 8 p.m. Where: Ogden Theatre Why: Black Pistol Fire is a likable enough bluesy garage rock band. But the reason to go is to see opening act Thunderpussy who may in some ways share Black Pistol Fire’s affection for driving, blues-based punk riffs but its deft songwriting is a bit like if The Dead Weather took more than a few cues from T. Rex and the mirrored sides of Zeppelin’s hard rocking and contemplative, introspective songwriting. The Seattle-based group’s 2018 self-titled debut is more than a cut above the relatively recent spate of bands that are tapping into inspiration from hard rock’s 70s heyday by not merely trying to rock but not being willing to push the songwriting beyond the clichés. Thunderpussy is willing to get weird and take you into outer space with its music the way Heart, Cheap Trick and David Bowie were more than able to as well.
What:Anklepants and Electrocado When: Saturday, 07.27, 9 p.m. Where: The Black Box Why: Anklepants is what happens when a guy working in the special effects industry makes an outfit in which a phallus attached as the nose of an alien is a controller for the music which is very sophisticated and experimental dance music in the vein of more adventurous house or techno with elements borrowed from the full spectrum of modern dance styles. If you want to see something you’ll never forget this is the show to go and see because while the visual side of the project is entertaining and unusual enough the music stands on its own with no need for gimmicks—the costume is just a bonus over seeing some guy holding headphones on and waving one hand above his head to hype the crowd.
What:The Appleseed Cast w/Young Jesus and Weathered Statues When: Saturday, 07.27, 7 p.m. Where: Marquis Theater Why: The Appleseed Cast might be the most well-known band out of the under celebrated Lawrence, Kansas music scene. Its own contribution to the development of 90s emo and beyond has been its exquisite, borderline dream pop that bridged the gap between midwestern emo and post-rock. Its luminous melodies and richly expressive and nuanced vocals have given the band a cross genre appeal. In 2019 The Appleseed Cast released its most recent album The Fleeting Light of Impermanence.
Monday | July 29
Frank Iero, photo by Mitchel Wojcik
What:Frank Iero and the Future Violents w/Geoff Rickly When: Monday, 07.29, 7 p.m. Where: Marquis Theater Why: Frank Iero is probably known to most as the guitarist in My Chemical Romance. But seven years hence from that group’s dissolution Iero and his band the Future Violents released their album Barriers produced by Steve Albini. Iero sounds like he dug deep to reinvent himself a little for this new music as it feels raw and heartfelt and even confessional in a way that wasn’t as obvious as his work with MCR. When the songs aren’t brimming with effusive energy there is an introspective mood with music that demonstrate Iero’s keen ear for crafting rock songs with emotional and sonic nuance.
Tuesday | July 30
Bad Cop / Bad Cop, photo courtesy Fat Wreck Chords
What:Bad Cop / Bad Cop w/Dog Party and Pity Party When: Tuesday, 07.30, 7:30 p.m. Where: Lost Lake Why: Los Angeles-based punk band Band Cop/Bad Cop have a clever name but one that also reflects its politically and socially subversive lyrics. Its massive hooks and pop punk sound is a perfect vehicle for laying out ideas and concepts in a personal and accessible way without coming off preachy. With any luck the band will have a new album soon but its most recent record is 2017’s Warriors put on Fat Wreck Chords.
What:Suzanne Vega w/Siobhan Wilson When: Wednesday, 07.31, 7 p.m. Where: Boulder Theater Why: Suzanne Vega is perhaps best known by most people for her 80s singles “Luka” (an unabashed song about child abuse that made the Top 40) and “Left of Center” but her eclectic and varied career has included collaborating with Philip Glass for his weirdo jazz record Songs from Liquid Days and her own impressively broad range as a songwriter with a knack for writing thoughtful, literate songs that have long found a place in college radio and “modern rock” playlists and occupies a similar place in popular music as people like Robyn Hitchcock and Jane Siberry.
BellaBoo’s remix of “SATURDAZE” by def.sound inverts the emphasized sonics in a way by bringing the Clear Mortifee’s and def.sounds’ vocals to the forefront while emphasizing the beat over the sharply focused synth melody of the original. The cymbals and bass are given a dub treatment to echo with an ever so slightly phased effect to expand the hypnotic and otherworldly feel. The subdued tones are brought up to lend the remix a downtempo quality even as the vocals take on the properties of a sample used as part of the dub as well. It displays the producer’s talents for creative re-imagining in his own style as his original songs favor organic percussion sampled and spliced in with electronic beats and dreamy, cool color atmospherics with a gently playful sensibility like he lets daydreams take bits of sound, rhythm and melody and run with them until they make a kind of subconscious sense that translates into an aesthetic that seems pleasantly familiar but mysterious all at once. It’s a way of approaching making music that remixer and songwriting seem to share thus a fine match. Listen below and follow def.sound at the links provided.
With a palpable vulnerability and affection, frogi’s “time” is overflowing with expansive melodies and an elevated tone. There is a soft touch to the songwriting as she sings to her significant other about how maybe time will heal the ailing relationship in which she sees some hope. And that if what’s left isn’t nurtured it will be the end. She doesn’t want it to be the end but she feels powerless over what seems to others inevitable. The undertone is a sense of hopeful resignation, resisting what she knows is already over while acknowledging for herself that letting go will hurt so much if she doesn’t give it the spark of a chance it deserves. The song employs unconventional structure aimed more at the emotional impact and experiential aspect of the songwriting and frogi’s singing style a fascinating mix of free verse poetry and classic pop. Listen to “time” on Soundcloud and listen to her other recent single “peace of mind” on Spotify.
The music video for Oliver Marson’s “Cocaine Romance” is like a short Panos Cosmatos film about the paranoia and amplified unreality that the title of the song suggests. The female lead runs through glowing red forests and other characters, like rejects from the Black Lodge, look on with an eerie knowing of her dark end after losing her mind while driving away desperately to escape from her tormentors. It’s Lovecraftian in that way minus overt denizens from a dark, menacing part of the universe. The music is like a synth pop song written by The Damned with dramatic vocals and a neo-Gothic story about a doomed romance based on the shaky foundation of a fondness for substances and not something more substantial. Though upbeat and melodic there is a darkness to the song that resonates with juxtaposition of brightness with personal darkness in the likes of New Order’s “True Faith” and Depeche Mode’s “Never Let Me Down Again” and their own surreal videos. Oliver Marson is tapping into similar sensibilities but his sound is a more contemporary take on the aesthetic of that era with more distorted synths and a hint of self-awareness. Watch the video below and follow Oliver Marson at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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