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.
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.
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.
“Survivalist” is the lead track from Keith Monacchio’s new album, his fifth as a solo artist, Under a Nightlight Sky. It has a lively beat and sounds like something you’d expect to hear at a honky tonk though it’s more rock and roll than country but would fit in either context. As the title suggests it’s a song about one of those people who has way too much faith in their own independence and efficacy as a human being. The kind of preppers who are paranoid about “communists” taking over the USA, of BLM and Antifas [sic] launching widespread criminal violence, critical race theory ruining public schools in which it’s not even taught and the whole host of conspiracy theory fueled, conservative wingnut beliefs that get fools to horde guns, ammunition, food, water and medicine in bunkers under the supremely misguided belief that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and a right to bear arms means you can and should have as many guns as possible in case a tyrannical government is in charge when, really, a functioning, robust democracy and a just society with equitable economics would stave off most problems and result in a stronger country. And besides, a tyrannical federal government could just send in supersonic drones to drop more ordinance than any militia group and certainly more than any individual can handle, no Ruby Ridge or Waco style stand-off required. But Monacchio handles this subject with humor and with some concerned affection for someone who might actually be in his life who has gone off the rails with the hope this person can be coaxed back from the ledge. And it’s Monacchio’s hope that gives the song the proper, non-judgmental but not indulgent tone that the subject deserves. It’s a great introduction to an album of introspective songs about the nature of familial relationships between parents, children, one’s role in those situations and where it all intersects with political tribalism and hoping beyond any current signs otherwise of a future in which there isn’t so much conflict and existential crises that push people into strange types of acting out and adopting deviant beliefs under the assumption that holding those ideas dear will protect them from what they think threatens their lives and senses of self. Listen to “Survivalist” on Soundcloud and follow Monacchio at the links below where you can listen to the rest of the album on Bandcamp.
The level of rage in G.U.N.’s single “Fucker” is palpable but also directed and not generalized, which is what makes it seem so focused and thrilling. The layers of distorted drones, pulsing tones, caustic guitar washes, Killing Joke-esque dub bass and desperate but controlled vocals have more in common with bands like Preoccupations, Protomartyr and Pop. 1280 than a darkwave industrial band yet the sonic elements here will appeal to anyone whose tastes have developed beyond obvious big names and perhaps taken in a bit of Test Dept. and Einstürzende Neubauen. The lyrics seem aimed at the very foundation of the cognitive framing of internalized elitism with the chorus of “There’s only one degree of separation between you and everything else and that’s the idea that you’re separate.” It’s not a brutal take down so much as a critique of a mindset that perpetuates systems of inequality from a very root level perspective making the song fascinating for its ideas as well as its creative musical composition. Listen to “Fucker” on Bandcamp and follow Australian, industrial post-punk band G.U.N. at the links provided.
Colatura demonstrates a gift for layering melody and atmosphere on its single “Kids Like Us.” The music video perfectly reflects the hazy quality of the song like the musical equivalent of an old Polaroid capturing a moment in time and resonating with the memory of that time for anyone that recognizes the event or in this case the emotional portrait of the song. Intricate guitar melody brought into focus by gritty rhythm guitar and buoyed by bass and drums create an irresistibly wistful and melancholic yet upbeat mood. Visually the use of what looks like photo and video collage is the perfect vehicle for the overall aesthetic and for a song that seems to be about family legacy and how the curated aspect of childhood photo albums try to show the best of times but always accidentally reveal challenging times and little details many people later find shameful or odd. When Meredith Lampe sings the line “promise you won’t have kids like us” it’s with the same warmth and tone as the rest of the song but with words that sum up what sounds like a song where someone is thinking about the ways in which she had to overlook numerous unpleasant situations and possibly abuse just to get through and how those habits manifested in acting out and the long term impact on the rest of one’s life. And yet the awareness suggests a person can move beyond the dysfunctional family mindset. Watch the video for “Kids Like Us” on YouTube, follow Colatura at the links below and look out for the group’s debut album And Then I’ll Be Happy out April 22, 2022 digitally and on black and translucent green vinyl.
Adam Yas’ voice sits slightly behind in the mix on “Mosquito And The Iron Bull” while his delicately intricate guitar work carries the melody in sync with the subtle rhythm. At least until a third a way through the song when the song elevates dramatically and layers of synth hover in and out to accent the emotional build that Yas commandingly marshals like natural forces to boost the climax of the song where his own voice rises to declare what feels like both praise and criticism of the object of the song’s lyrics: “Breathless/No one is/As charming/Or as starving as you are/No one will be half/As charming/Or as starving as you are.” It’s the kind of song that sounds like something from a super hero comic or an epic fantasy, written by one of the more poetry-minded characters commenting on a friendship that has hit the rocks. But earlier in the song it sounds like maybe there was more than a friendship being described when Yas sings “I ain’t following you home/I’ve been leaving you alone/I want no part of your fantasy/Please go.” Was there a romantic relationship there that ended with the two people remaining friends until one can no longer fool themselves into being under the spell of a seductive charm that maybe be enchanting at first but whose luster fades even as the appeal lingers? Difficult to definitively say what the inspiration behind the song might be but it has the flair of a lively flamenco song and it conveys a sense of horns playing out in Flamenco style but it’s a trick of hearing and expectation. In that way this song is reminiscent of something DeVotchKa might do but with more electronic components that give the mood a kind of momentum and lends the song an air of the mythological. Listen to “Mosquito And The Iron Bull” on YouTube and follow Adam Yas on Spotify.
The spare piano figure that leads us into KOKA’s new single “Falling Star” is a taste of a song that sounds like a music theater piece in miniature. But a theatrical production about a futuristic pop star who was shown the ropes of the music industry but her imagination and personal ambition took her to where she wanted to be rather than where other people might have set their sights for her potential. The use of space in the song and the way KOKA has structured how it unfolds and reveals its various flavors and moods is orchestral in scope and thus reminiscent of The Sensual World-period Kate Bush especially in the expressive ways KOKA’s vocals execute to great dramatic effect. It also brings to mind the later era Tori Amos whose own knack for deeply personal yet theatrical songwriting hits you like a glimpse into a more mythical personal experience that can’t help but feel like a brush with the possibilities of life we can often ignore in our own psyche. Listen to “Falling Star” on Spotify and follow KOKA at the links provided.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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