Mdou Moctar returns to once again shred on guitar, spread the love and joy of Tuareg music, and spread the word of struggles in his Algerian homeland on Afrique Victime.
Opening track “Chismiten” bursts with so much energy that any sound system, no matter how hi-fi, can barely contain it. Moctar’s guitar swirls around you like a dust devil that eventually grows strong enough to lift you off the ground. He adds a cool echo effect to his guitar on “Taliat,” and the group vocals are immediately uplifting.
“Ya Habibti” backs the mantra-like vocals with hand claps and hand percussion while Moctar plays slightly amped acoustic / electric chords. “Tala Tannam” is downright dreamy. “Asditke Akal” is a stunner with its psychedelic riffs reaching to the heavens. Moctar and his band then switch it up on “Layla,” which (thankfully) isn’t a cover of the vastly overrated Clapton tune, but rather an acoustic, hypnotic song you might hear around a desert fire.
The title track is a powerful one about the plight of women in Algeria (as noted by the album’s cover depicting a crying woman), with some of Moctar’s most soaring guitar work that stretches its mighty wings for over seven minutes. The closing track, “Bismilahi Atagah” is beautiful in its simplicity as Moctar and his bandmates sing what sounds like a song of praise for blessings received and ones to come.
This might be Moctar’s best album yet, and that’s saying something when you consider the first two were excellent in their own right.
Get ready for JON SPENCER & the HITmakers to BURN your playhouse down with their new long-player, SPENCER GETS IT LIT! The incredible, indelible Jon Spencer (Blues Explosion, Boss Hog, Pussy Galore, Heavy Trash, etc) is back with the incendiary HITmakers - and with his HOTTEST record yet!
Spencer Gets It Lit is classic Jon Spencer taken to the extremis – electro-boogie, constructivist art pop, a psychedelic swamp of industrial sleaze and futurist elegance. It is an epic master work of freak beat from the world’s weirdest garage. Across brain-boggling layers of fury, fuzz guitar, and a crash-bang battery of phaser blasts, photon torpedoes, and otherworldly zounds, he frantically spits, croons, rhapsodizes, and seduces.
Spencer Gets It Lit is his most complex and groovy record in years, a dark, danceable odyssey – both a studied take-down of the early 21st century, and a celebration of the place where electricity meets the mind. Thirteen wicked hot songs of love, loss, lust, life — from the Farfisa-fueled,warped psycho -punk rave-up of “Junk Man,” to the intimate lover’s plea of “My Hit Parade,” to the outer-space end-of-days country funk of “Worm Town,” Spencer Gets It Lit delivers all of the friction, excitement, and post-modern depravity one could ever ask for!
Says Spencer, “Send out the Hit Signal! This is the most uncompromising album I’ve ever made!” And the HITs just keep on coming! THIS JUST IN! Taking over drum duties for the HITmakers on their upcoming spring tour will be superstar of skins Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney, Quasi, Wild Flag, The Jicks, Slang, etc. etc!!! Wait… What’s that? There’s more? Every show will be opened by a full set from Janet and HITmaker Sam Coomes championship tag-team, Quasi! Guaranteed to be a tour for the ages!!! True heroes of the underground! Freak forces combined and multiplied in this indie-rock dream bill!
El Ten Eleven, who recently announced the March 4 arrival of New Year’s Eve via Joyful Noise Recordings, have released a third single from the forthcoming collection: “The Time Knife” (https://lnk.to/TheTimeKnife).
Kristian Dunn explains how the TV show, “The Good Place,” influenced the track: “A character named Chidi has just returned from an interdimensional trip that only lasted a moment and, overwhelmed, says, ‘I just saw a trillion different realities folding onto each other like thin sheets of metal forming a single blade.’ Ted Danson’s character responds, saying, ‘Yeah, yeah, the time knife, we’ve all seen it.’ My wife and I were watching this together and for whatever reason this struck us as so funny we couldn’t stop laughing. This song is a combination of my experience with my wife (and experiences, journeys, really, generally with her) and Chidi’s journey.”
“The Time Knife” is the third preview of the forthcoming collection, with the Los Angeles-based duo previously sharing “Meta Metta” (https://youtu.be/GpqP72YYfJc), a performance clip was filmed at The Cube in Los Angeles, and the title track (https://youtu.be/8bQGY9cBpIo).
“New Year’s Eve is a reference to guarded optimism about what is to come. At the time, it seemed like our national divisiveness might be waning and the end of the pandemic was near. But of course that’s not how it turned out,” said Dunn upon news of the forthcoming album’s release. “That’s what New Year’s Eves are. You think it’s gonna be a fun night, but usually it’s disappointing at the end.”
Over the course of 20 years and 11 albums, El Ten Eleven continue to redefine the potential of bass guitar and drums. With an arsenal of pedals, labyrinthine arrangements, and a deft use of looping, Dunn (bass) and Tim Fogarty (drums) create two-man symphonies. With New Year’s Eve, the duo melds electrifying disco grooves with their tried-and-true experimental rock atmospherics.
El Ten Eleven Tour Dates:
Apr 6: Omaha, NE Slowdown^
Apr 7: St. Paul, MN Turf Club^
Apr 8: Chicago, IL Chop Shop^
Apr 9: Grand Rapids, MI Pyramid Scheme^
Apr 10: Indianapolis, IN HiFi^
Apr 13: Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom^
Apr 14: Pittsburgh, PA Thunderbird^
Apr 15: Washington, DC Union Stage^
Apr 16: Philadelphia, PA Milkboy^
Apr 20: Rochester, NY Bugjar^
Apr 21: Rochester, NY Bugjar^
Apr 22: Boston, MA Paradise^+
Apr 23: Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Made^+
* Sego supports
& Mylets supports
^ Cedric Noel supports
+ A Beacon School supports
European tour dates:
May 12: Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
May 13: Leeds, UK @ Boom
May 14-15: London, UK @ Portals Festival
May 15: Bristol, UK @ The Crofters Right
May 17: Paris, FR @ Supersonic
May 18: Den Bosch, NL @ Willem Twee Poppodium
May 19-20: Copenhagen, DK @ A Colossal Weekend
May 22: Berlin, DE @ Prachtwerk
May 23: Hamburg, DE @ Indra
May 24: Cologne, DE @ Helios37
May 27: Metz, FR @ Young Team Festival
Dunn (bass/guitar) and Fogarty (drums) have flourished outside the accepted norms of rock orthodoxy, releasing eight full-length albums, four EPs and performing over 750 live shows. Utilizing inventive arrangements and a masterful use of looping, El Ten Eleven have been noted for their ability to create a sound much bigger than their individual parts. SF Weekly said of the pair’s live performance: “watching El Ten Eleven play is something like watching two superheroes do their thing.” Consequence of Sound called their music “euphoric,” KEXP described their output as “transcendent” and Under The Radar declared the pair’s unique style a “buoyant brand of post-rock.”
The Beths return with “A Real Thing,” their first new song since the release of 2020’s Jump Rope Gazers. “A Real Thing” comes as The Beths begin their long-awaited North American headline tour, which has been rescheduled twice due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Last year, the band released Auckland, New Zealand, 2020, a live concert recording that showcased the infectious energy The Beths bring to every performance, and what audiences have been so dearly missing.
“‘A Real Thing’ is a kind of anxiety dream. It’s a bit muddled, a bit frantic, a bit sinister,” says lead singer Liz Stokes. “It’s what came out of my guitar in late 2020, post NZ election (and U.S. election). I was limply reaching for optimism about the future, but was really just marinating in dread.” Ultimately playing more apocalyptic scenarios of climate change in her head, Stokes’ lyrics include specific references to how New Zealand has dealt with sea level rise in the past: “In NZ people sometimes use tyres and cement to build retaining walls by the water, to try to stop the land being eroded away as the sea encroaches. It doesn’t really work.” It’s a poignant image for a band that has had to navigate the constant changes in our present moment.
The deep bond between Stokes, lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck, has allowed them to overcome challenging circumstances and that’s present in the upbeat urgency of “A Real Thing.” It’s palpable from the very start and paired with the band’s signature bright, raucous guitar hooks and cooing harmonies; the song races and soars, much like an increasing heart rate. The Beths’ infectious and insightful songwriting on “A Real Thing” is an exciting marker of more excellent work to come, and the perfect way to mark the beginning of tour.
For the twenty years, Slovenly Recordings has released brain dissolving garage punk n’roll noise from all pockets on Earth; The Anomalys have been in on the hell ride for seventeen of those years. They’re one of the first bands the Slovenly crew scooped up from Amsterdam and have backed the hard-hitting surf garage trio since releasing their furious n’ assertive “Black Hole Blues/Nat Approved” single in 2005, all the way to their latest offering in 2022 with Glitch.
Glitch is twelve years in the making, with the band pumping out a slew of singles leading up to this release since launching their no-frills raw n’ raucous Slovenly epoch S/T LP in 2010. In the time frame since then and Glitch, The Anomalys kept their style of high octane garage punk n’ roll in the mind of the masses through a slew of single releases coinciding with sporadic touring throughout Europe and into the United States and down to South America with festival appearances at SXSW, Burning Man, Gonerfest, We’re Loud!, Funtastic Dracula, Cosmic Trip, Hipsville, Psycho Carnival, Curitiba Rock, and many others.
In 2019, The Anomalys kicked it into high gear once again with their ringleader, Bone, recruiting his Aquitaine-based brothers-in-arms Looch Vibrato (Magnetix, Louder Than Death, Avenue Z) and Remi Pablo (Weird Omen, Escobar) to round out the new lineup and reconvene in Toulouse at Swampland Studios to begin the Glitchsessions with studio maestro Lo-Spider at the production helm. Three years later, and a different world since Glitch sees the light, this track rock n’roll propaganda machine debuts their frantic surf-groove single, “Panic,” to showcase the session’s sweat soaked effort.
Glitch will be available on all digital platforms February 18th and in black and highly limited transparent red vinyl (100 copies pressed) exclusively through the Slovenly Recordings mail order on March 25th.
With a tour throughout Spain just concluded this past weekend, The Anomalys are planning more dates in late Spring/Early Summer around Europe, including an appearance at Cosmic Trip Festival in Bourges, FR in late May.
Portland, OR band Blackwater Holylight announce Summer 2022 North American headlining tour dates today in support of their third album Silence / Motionon on RidingEasy Records. The tour kicks off on May 9th. Please see complete dates below. Tour assets HERE, ticket links HERE.
Quote from the band: “We’re gearing up for our first US headlining tour and couldn’t be more excited to be sharing the road with Bleakheart and Spirit Mother! We will have a ton of merch available and can’t wait to see you all out there.”
Watch/share “Silence/Motion” video on YouTube HERE.
Empty surrounds all of me. It’s a poignant line from the third album by Blackwater Holylight that encapsulates the search for self when suddenly everything has changed. There’s a theme of processing vast personal trauma throughout Silence/Motion that eloquently — both lyrically and musically — and simultaneously embodies the crushing emptiness, sorrow, strength and rebuilding of recovering from personal devastation.
“There was so much grief both in the world and interpersonally during the process of creating Silence/Motion,” says vocalist/bassist Allison “Sunny” Faris. “The four of us gave one another more space to be ourselves, to experiment with each other’s ideas and to be gentle with one another more than we ever have before.So, we knew this tenderness would manifest in extremely honest arrangements, and I think that you can hear that throughout the record.”
Curiously, considering the dark times in which it was created, this is the band’s most melodic and catchy music so far. Blackwater Holylight, as the name suggests, is all about contrasts: It’s a fluid convergence of sound that’s heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all at once. And, Silence/Motion finds the band honing those contrasts, letting ideas and moods fully develop from song to song, rather than filling every song with a full range of their capabilities. It allows the band to go fully prog-rock here, and simply stay hushed and intimate there. There’s a new confidence to the band in how seamlessly they wield their stylistic amalgam.
“Writing this album was extraordinarily difficult emotionally, however it did come to fruition fairly quickly,” Faris says. “In the past, the theme of vulnerability has always been a big player and it definitely showed up full force while writing this album.” Blackwater Holylight recorded the album as a four piece: Faris on vocals and guitar (on “Silence/Motion”, “MDIII”, “Around You” and “Every Corner”) and bass for the remainder, Sarah McKenna on synths, Mikayla Mayhew on guitar (and bass when Faris plays guitar) and drummer Eliese Dorsay. For Silence/Motion the band chose to work with a producer for the first time, bringing in A.L.N. (of Mizmor, Hell) to produce, along with recording engineer Dylan White — who also helmed their previous album Veils of Winter (2019) — at Odessa Recording Studio in Portland, OR. Guest vocals on album opener “Delusional” are by Bryan Funck (Thou.) Mike Paparo (Inter Arma) and A.LN. (Mizmor, Hell) lend guest vocals to album closer “Every Corner.”
“The analogy is that with our first record (Blackwater Holylight, 2018) we were getting into to the car and buckling up,” Faris says. “The second (Veils of Winter, 2019) we were turning the car on, and with this third we have kicked into drive toward our destination. Our destination is a bit mysterious and has the ability to change from day to day, but we’re on our way.”
Silence/Motion is available on LP, CD and download, released October 22nd, 2021 via RidingEasy Records.
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Today, METZ and Adulkt Life announce a split 7”, out March 4th on What’s Your Rupture?, and share Metz’s “Demolition Row.” This split 7” is a dogged, startling response to today’s spoilt life. The two bands are paired perfectly: their shared, resolute force carries an urgency that belongs to this era alone. Both are capable of goading listeners, both are capable of unearthly moments of alloyed beauty. And both bands are made for that unflinching space between the truths that can’t be absorbed and the truths that can’t be forgotten.
METZ are undisputable. Their warning, an unflinching assessment of the vastness and insignificance of this life, is precisely counterbalanced by their lesson, which models the resilience that this understanding demands. Today’s “Demolition Row” is persistent, concise, and alarmingly physical, its punch escorted by hypnotizing, unstrained vocals. “It’s quite singular,” says METZ’s guitarist/singer Alex Edkins. “We’ve never sounded this way before.”
Adulkt Life’s debut LP, 2020’s Book of Curses, is a contorted, forceful declaration. The 7”’s “Book of Curses” was intended for the LP, but didn’t quite fit. Singer Chris Rowley describes it as a “belligerent satellite” for the end of time: “like in a few weeks.” It’s matched here with the blip of “Ants & Lions,” a near-joke that instead feels accusatory. Atop the carnival swells of the song, only that voice could make “yabba dabba doo time” burn like acid.
The impact of these two sides, taken together, reveals a shared, defiant intention. “When you’ve made yr small space attack ship mostly from sharp sticks and dashboards and recycled fuel stuffs METZ ship looks clean and tended for battles to come,” says Chris Rowley. “Very happy to be sharing crew n rink with them.” For METZ, this record lives within their legacy of complementary projects including splits with Mission of Burma and Clipping. and their collaboration with John Reis. “It’s because we are fans of the music,” explains Edkins. “METZ are mighty aren’t they?” replies Rowley.
Southern California’s Dream, Ivory – a duo composed of brothers Christian and Louie Baello – shares the new video for the single, “Blue,” from their self-titled debut album on AWAL. Dream, Ivory is the product of long hours spent in their Lake Elsinore bedroom, Christian helming the production and Louie growing into lead vocalist. Only 11 months apart, the Baellos shared everything – clothes, toys, and music. “We played rock-paper-scissors to choose who got to keep a Gorillaz album; Louie won and I cried the entire way home,” says Christian. “He ended up giving it to me because he felt bad.”
Raised in a Filipino household, Christian and Louie’s parents wanted them to be stars. “Ever since we were kids, our Dad would always tell us that our star is shining, and will forever shine on,” say the brothers. Their parents enrolled them in piano lessons, which they both hated at the time. “We would dread going to class, because we wanted to go and play like the other kids. Now, we are so grateful that we had the opportunity.” Their earliest musical experiments included reenacting guitar solos from performance videos they watched online and sharing their own cover songs on YouTube, which would be the impetus to creating their own art.
“When we first started Dream, Ivory I was still in high school and it was a way of self-expression,” says Louie. Dream, Ivory’s hazy and melancholic atmosphere was inspired by bands such as Beach Fossils, Slow Dive, and Beach House. “Blue” is an enthralling glimpse into their collaborative energy. “It’s a typical ‘heartbreak song,” adds Louie. The accompanying video was produced by Hungry Ghosts, and is the first in a series of new videos the band will be sharing ahead of more new music in 2022.
Lucy Dacus released Home Video via Matador last year, solidifying her place as one of music’s best storytellers, with a remarkable showing on year-end lists. After a series of flyers appeared in several US cities last week with tear-off tabs for a “Kissing Lessons” hotline, a stream of callers to the number then reported being able to hear a new song by Dacus. No longer requiring a phone, “Kissing Lessons” is now available as a single for all to hear. It is accompanied by a video directed by Mara Palena. Complete with hand-drawn hearts and Polaroids, “Kissing Lessons” is another gem mined from Dacus’ childhood in Richmond, Virginia. It was recorded and mixed during the Home Video sessions, and stood out with its sweet and relatable reflection of childhood infatuation as Dacus sings atop infectious guitars, “We’d take turns being seduced // Imagining the day it would come into use // Imagining the day we’d start breaking hearts // And taking names.”
“Kissing Lessons” and “Thumbs Again” will be released as a 7” on June 3rd. The 7” is available for pre-order now.
Next week, Dacus kicks off a US tour where she will play many cities not yet visited in support of Home Video, and a few rescheduled shows from the fall. Additionally, after selling out three Brooklyn Steels last year, Dacus announces a headline performance at New York City’s SummerStage in Central Park on Thursday, July 21st. Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 4th at 12pm Eastern. Watch Lucy Dacus’ Video for “Kissing Lessons”
Home Video Tour (new dates in bold) Wed. Feb. 09 – Pitts, PA @ Stage AE * Thu. Feb. 10 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic * Fri. Feb. 11 – Newport, KY @ Ovation * Sat. Feb. 12 – Indy, IN @ Egyptian Room * Mon. Feb. 14 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Ballroom Valentine’s Day * Tue. Feb. 15 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (Rescheduled Date) * – SOLD OUT Thu. Feb. 17 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave (Rescheduled Date) * – SOLD OUT Fri. Feb. 18 – Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre (Rescheduled Date) * – SOLD OUT Sat. Feb. 19 – Lawrence, KS @ Liberty * Sun. Feb. 20 – OK City, OK @ Tower Theatre * Wed. Feb. 23 – Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre * Thu. Feb. 24 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel * Fri. Feb. 25 – C-Ville, VA @ Jefferson * – SOLD OUT Sat. Feb. 26 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony * – SOLD OUT Mon. Feb. 28 – Ithaca, NY @ Hangar Theatre Tue. Mar. 01 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts Thu. Mar. 03 – Providence, RI @ The Strand Sat. Mar. 05 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Fri. Mar. 18, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club ^ – SOLD OUT Sat. Mar. 19, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club ^ – SOLD OUT Sun. Mar. 20, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @ St. Lukes ^ – SOLD OUT Mon. Mar. 21, 2022 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia Theatre ^ Wed. Mar. 23, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla – SOLD OUT Thu. Mar. 24, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory ^ Fri. Mar. 25, 2022 – London, UK @ Kentish Town Forum Sat. Mar. 26 – London, UK @ Rough Trade – In-Store Performance Sun. Mar. 27 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 ^ Tue. Mar. 29, 2022 – Brussels, BL @ Rotonde ^ – SOLD OUT Wed. Mar. 30, 2022 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord ^ Thu. Mar. 31, 2022 – Cologne, DE @ Artheater ^ Sat. Apr. 02, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow ^ Sun. Apr. 03, 2022 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen ^ – SOLD OUT Mon. April 04, 2022 – Aarhus, DK @ Atlas ^ Wed. Apr. 06, 2022 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret ^ Thu. Apr. 07, 2022 – Stockholm, SE @ Nalen Klubb ^ Sat. Apr. 09, 2022 – Berlin, DE @ Lido ^ Sun. Apr. 10, 2022 – Jena, DE @ Trafo ^ Tue. Apr. 12, 2022 – Vienna, AT @ Chelsea ^ Wed. Apr. 13, 2022 – Munich, DE @ Milla ^ Thu. Apr. 14, 2022 – Zürich, SU @ Bogen F ^ Fri. Apr. 15 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie ^ Thu. Jul. 21 – New York, NY @ SummerStage in Central Park # Sun. Aug. 7 – St. Charles, IA @ Hinterland Festival Fri. Aug. 26 – London, UK @ All Points East Festival Sat. Aug. 27 – Sun. Aug. 28 – Darmstadt, DE @ Golden Leaves Festival Thu. Sep. 1 – Sun. Sep. 4 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
* = with Indigo De Souza ^ = with Fenne Lily # = with Hop Along
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A Place to Bury Strangers has a new rhythm section (the husband and wife team of John and Sandra Fedowitz on bass and drums, respectively) and with it Oliver Ackermann‘s most personal album to date – See Through You. The album is full of nods towards the band’s past sounds, continuing explorations of familiar themes (i.e., the insidious way technology continues to separate us), and movements to the future and new ways of pushing the sonic envelope.
The references to Ackermann’s past bandmates are inescapable, and he’s made it no secret that the lineup change, the pandemic, and the world lockdown changed his perspective on pretty much everything. The album’s opener (with its cool, robotic bass lick from John Fedowitz), “Nice of You to Be There for Me,” might be a sarcastic jab or it might be a genuine acknowledgment. It’s up to us to decide, as much of APTBS’ music is always open to multiple interpretations. Ackermann’s guitar work on it is somehow disjointed and jazzy at the same time.
“I’m Hurt,” however, pretty much tells you how Ackermann’s feeling. Sandra Fedowitz’s beats in it are pure industrial, perfectly backing up the dark, heavy feel of Ackermann’s mind. The song belongs in a modern giallo film. “Let’s See Each Other” might be the friskiest song Ackermann’s ever written. “Open your heart to me. Explore the fantasy, we’ve got the chance to be together. Let’s meet up late tonight, indulge in pure delight…” I mean…come on! Then again, knowing Ackermann, the song is probably about online fantasies and how they never pan out to be what you think they will.
“I never thought you’d get so low,” Ackermann sings on the fuzzy “So Low.” One interesting thing about See Through You is how the album has some of Ackermann’s clearest vocals yet it doesn’t slouch on the raw, loud power of APTBS’ catalogue. “So Low” is a good example of this. You can make out pretty much every word, but it’s still as loud as a saw mill. Just to surprise you, however, “Dragged in a Hole” is almost the opposite on the vocals, as they’re almost melded with the monster growls of Ackermann’s guitar and John Fedowitz’s bass.
“There’s no way to make it right. It wasn’t even done on purpose. You should know it’s not your fault, and I know no one deserves this.” Those are the opening lyrics of “Ringing Bells,” a track in which Ackermann apologizes to someone (Past bandmates? A former lover? Deceased relatives?) and Sandra Fedowitz goes completely nuts on her drum kit, being the yang rage to Ackermann’s yin grief. “I Disappear (When You’re Near)” has a cool, warped darkwave vibe to it that makes it a standout.
“Anyone but You” is surprisingly peppy with happy dance rhythms provided by Mr. and Mrs. Fedowitz. I can’t help but wonder if “My Head Is Bleeding” is a sort of sequel to “To Fix the Gash in Your Head,” one of APTBS‘ earliest tracks. “My back’s against the wall,” Ackermann sings on “Broken” – a track with frenetic energy to reflect his state of mind. John Fedowitz cranks up his bass on “Hold on Tight,” which you need to do throughout the entire track because it might knock you flat.
Synths and guitars meld well together on “I Don’t Know How You Do It,” almost to the point where you’re not sure where one ends and the other begins. It’s a strong shoegaze track, and a tip of the hat to The Jesus and Mary Chain with its sound. This sound continues on the uplifting closer, “Love Reaches Out,” with Ackermann singing, “I’ll always have the warmest thoughts of you.”
See Through You is one of APTBS’ most interesting releases as of late, even improving on the HologramEP released not long ago that started exploring these themes of loss and hope. Ackermann is always exploring and innovating, and this record sets his bar even higher for the next.
