Bodysync get us moving with their new single, “Bailiar (I Want to Dance).”

Photo Credit: Ryan Hemsworth
Today, Bodysync return with the euphoric rave-pop single “Bailiar (I Want To Dance),” featuring the beloved Honduran-Canadian singer-songwriter Daniela Andrade. The final single ahead of their second album, NUTTY, set to drop next Friday, June 28, via Buddies Inc, pushes the tempo with energetic piano chords and Andrade’s soft-spoken, ethereal voice controlling the melody. 
“Daniela is one of our favorite artists to work with. She never overwrites and seems to instinctively know how much a track needs,” Bodysync remarked on their second collaboration with Andrade. Following previous singles “Rock It” and “Babies,” the latest offering from the new electronic producer duo of Ryan Hemsworth and Charlie Yin (AKA Giraffage) continues to build anticipation for their second full-length, which has already garnered attention from CBC, Exclaim!, Paste, Stereogum, Uproxx, and many more.
STREAM: “BAILAR (I WANT TO DANCE)”
The record features twelve new belters, rooted in 90’s rave music but embracing all shades of dance music, alongside indie, and pop punk influences. Bodysync is Ryan Hemsworth and Charlie Yin (AKA Giraffage), and this project has been their core focus since their well-received debut album Radio Active was released in 2022. In their own words – “it’s dance music by fans of DIY punk and Y2K pop, with a healthy dose of absurdity.” Previous Bodysync collaborations include Tinashe, Devin Morrison, Dazy, and Nite Jewel. As individual producers, Ryan & Charlie have worked with the likes of Joji, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, E-40, Doss, alongside official remixes for Carly Rae Jepsen, Porter Robinson, ODESZA, and Lana Del Rey. 
Giving more context on the album, Bodysync share: “Keeping things a little nutty has just been like, the mantra. The discourse in electronic music is so enveloping and polarising. We just choose to focus on our legends – Todd Terry, Paul Johnson. There’s so much comedy in their stuff and that has really resonated lately, which shamelessly gets mixed up with the stuff we enjoyed at a young age – Venga Boys, Daft Punk, and Mad Magazine.“

A fitting acronym for Bodysync could be “Be Open, Do You, Say You’ll Never Change” – it’s for everyone, all ages, no gatekeeping. It has that optimistic feel-good energy that was felt at the free party movement in the UK, and the desert parties in the US decades ago. The universal language of music remains the same – bring the people together, it’s best experienced communally. 

Listen to “Bailiar (I Want To Dance)” above and look out for the full album release of NUTTY on Friday, June 28th, and details for a North American tour kicking off in August.
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[Thanks to Cody at Terrorbird Media.]

L7’s Donita Sparks teams up with Dick Dale for “Rhythm Surfer” on Dark Brown’s upcoming “American Instrument” album.

L.A. based composer/musician Bryan Lee Brown shares the first single today from his forthcoming album under the Dark Brown moniker, American Instrument. The track, “Rhythm Surfer” features one of the last recordings of guitar icon Dick Dale — lending his legendary and oft-imitated “Machine Gun Staccato” style to the track, alongside L7 guitarist/vocalist Donita Sparks on the entrancing tune. Hear/share “Rhythm Surfer” on all DSPs HERE and Bandcamp HERE.

Brown has assembled a short series of mini-documentaries about the sessions for the album, with the first episodes covering the “Rhythm Surfer” sessions at Dave Catching‘s fabled Rancho De La Luna. Watch/share Dick Dale‘s fight club (HERE), Donita Sparks on Dick Dale fandom (HERE). Official video HERE. More to come soon.

American Instrument is conceptually just as expansive and ambitious as the lush soundscapes within. An 18-song album featuring an array of legendary guest musicians, its theme likewise embodies a profound meditation on selfhood and the Other.

Dark Brown is the creation of Los Angeles composer and musician Bryan Lee Brown. American Instrument is the fifth album under that pseudonym, but Brown has an extensive life-long career in music: Scoring Dave Grohl’s HBO series Sonic Highways (2014) and documentary film What Drives Us (2021) as well as countless other films, TV shows and commercials, drumming for Dick Dale, as well as numerous stints as a session musician.

The album was recorded over a 12-year period at 7 different studios. It features guest appearances by surf guitar innovator Dick Dale, John Stanier (Battles, Helmet), Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), Alfredo Ortiz (Los Lobos ,Beastie Boys), Eric McFadden, Jon Theodore (QOTSA), Donita Sparks (L7), marching percussionist Marcus Joyner, Dave Catching (Desert Sessions), Jose Medeles (The Breeders, Author) and more.

The predominantly drummer-heavy line up is another element of the album’s exploration into Brown’s relationship with drumming, both musically and socially. Brown has a personal connection to almost everyone who played on the album. In a way, the album unites many common threads (personal and philosophical) throughout the musician’s life.

Slated for release in Fall 2024, American Instrument combines abstract minimalism with melodic psychedelia to create a vast ranch of soundscapes. Brown’s now signature sounds of melodic percussion, droning guitars, tremolo and propulsive rhythms permeate the tracks, with each guest musician’s personality leading the songs in many directions with each of their unique personalities shining through. Case in point, Dick Dale’s unmistakable guitar pyrotechnics on 2 album tracks, recorded in 2013 at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, bring all of his larger-than-life sonic imprint into a completely new world where the surf guitar meets counterpoint rhythms, post-rock ethereality and anthemic hooks. “Spacetime (feat. Brad Wilk)” finds the Rage Against The Machine drummer’s powerful backbeat driving a psychedelic haze of Hendrix-style guitar warped through haunting sounding tubular bells. “Miami Rute (feat. Jon Theodore and Alfredo Ortiz)” juxtaposes Latin percussion with soaring Pink Floyd-ian drones and ominous vocal chants. Throughout, a wide variety of sounds and musical styles explore the very meaning of rhythm and impact of the uniquely American instrument, the drum set, and its place in the course of human history.

American Instrument will be available digitally via Memory Bulldozer Records on September 10, 2024. Pre-order/pre-save HERE. 

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Review: Nathaniel Eras – Omniaglyph 0

The cover image might invoke suggestions that Nathaniel Eras‘ Omniaglyph 0 is going to be a dark metal album, but it’s actually an interesting ambient trance album full of neat synths, modulators, processed beats, and live instruments.

“Ancestral Memory” is a neat instrumental of layered percussion that builds and builds into a hypnotic meditation. “Encrypted Consciousness” brings in sizzling, snappy industrial beats to flow with the New Wave synths to a neat effect.

Then we get to “Architecture of Thought and The Subversion of Language Systems.” It’s haunting and creepy (Those bells and somber piano chords!) and will make a great addition to your upcoming Halloween playlist.

The EP ends with “Routing Systems,” an ultra-slick synthwave bumper that throbs with gristly bass and pulses with machine beats. It leaves you pumped up and ready for action.

I like the way the EP blends ambience with industrial. Not many people could pull that off this well.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Eclectica!]

Bremer / McCoy go into the “Kosmos” with their upcoming album due September 06, 2024.

(Photo Credit: Søren Lynggaard Andersen)

Today, the Danish duo consisting of bassist Jonathan Bremer and pianist Morten McCoy, announce their sixth album, Kosmos, out September 6th via Luaka Bop, and share the album’s lead single “Alting Løser Sig” (Danish for “Everything Will Work Out”). Against all odds, the duo have created their own understated cosmos in a noisy time. The appropriately titled Kosmos sees Bremer/McCoy aiming to convey a worldview founded on deep connectedness and a sense of freedom. 

Some of the wholly improvised, airy melodies that make up Kosmos have been simmering for the 15 years that Bremer and McCoy have been playing with each other; and together with new material, they create a statement without exclamation marks or large fonts. Kosmos is two Danish musicians’ attempt to capture the world they stand for—and that they wish to share with others. The album represents a worldview, and in Bremer/McCoy’s cosmos, we can meet each other without words. “Humans have always played music. We’ve sat around campfires and sung. We’ve danced. When we play together or listen together, we communicate wordlessly. And right now, it’s important to remember to communicate, as many feel we are living in difficult times. I believe everyone feels a fundamental joy and peace when experiencing something beautiful being created,” McCoy says. 

On “Alting løser sig,” what started as a loose theme became only more fitting as the duo played together, exploring the idea that fear is a poor driving force; instead, one should try to trust that things will work out. 

Listen to “Alting Løser Sig”

Formed in 2012 by two former schoolmates, Bremer/McCoy initially started playing dub music. It’s hard to imagine that that’s how they started when you listen to the ethereal sounds they make now, but the influence becomes clearer when you see them live: they insist on traveling with their own sound system. Both musicians have been nominated for the Danish music award Steppeulven, with Bremer winning the award for “Musician of the Year” in 2020.

“We are very flow-oriented. You have to be careful not to try to force too much into the music and have a plan for what you want. Only when you remove all ego is there room for what needs to happen,” explains Bremer. “If, as a musician, you think, ‘Now this and that must happen,’ you place yourself outside the music. We want to play as if we are merely listening to the music emerge. That is the ultimate freedom.” This approach is more evident on Kosmos than any of the duo’s previous work. The tracks embody themes such as meditation, prayer, gratitude, and a quiet optimism on behalf of all of us. 

At the group’s concerts, this intimate and immediate atmosphere emerges. The basis for Kosmos was to capture the emotions from their concerts on record. Therefore, they approached the initial studio session as if they were performing, and from there, they began to improvise. Their form of improvisation:  They don’t improvise solos, but songs. They delve into a story. They don’t know what the story will be when they start, but they discover it together.

Bremer/McCoy will follow Kosmos with a series of concerts in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway before concluding with three concerts at the Conservatory Concert Hall in Copenhagen. Next year will see the duo tour outside of Scandinavia for the first time, taking their own soundsystem on the road through Northern Europe. 

Pre-order Kosmos

Listen to “Higher Road”

Bremer/McCoy Tour Dates:
Wed. Sept. 11 – Horsens, DK @ Sønderbro Kirke
Fri. Sept. 13 -Køge, DK @ Tapperiet
Sat. Sept. 14 – Bornholm, DK @ Strandhotellet Sandvig
Thu. Sept. 19 – Haderslev, DK @ Spillestedet Månen
Fri. Sept. 20 – Esbjerg, DK @ Musikhuset
Sat. Sept. 21 – Odense, DK @ Magasinet
Thu. Sept. 26 – Viborg, DK @ Paletten
Fri. Sept. 27 – Aalborg, DK @ Musikkens Hus
Fri. Nov. 8 – Aarhus, DK @ Musikhuset

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

WSND DJ set list – Three-for-Thursday Nocturne – June 20, 2024

Thanks to all the listeners and requesters for my latest Three-for-Thursday show on WSND. Here’s the set list for June 20, 2024!

  1. Acid King – Heavy Load (trio / from their III album)
  2. Slash – Hoochie Coochie Man (three-word title) (request)
  3. Failure – Segue 4 (trio)
  4. Fake Youth Cult – Management (three-word band name)
  5. Screaming Females – Brass Bell (trio)
  6. Big Mama Thornton – Down Home Shakedown (three-word title) (request)
  7. Hound Dog Taylor – Streakin’ (from his three-world titled album Release the Hound)
  8. The Smithereens – All The Same (three-word title / three from the same artist)
  9. The Smithereens – The Last Good Time (three from the same artist)
  10. The Smithereens – Maria Elena (acoustic version) (three from the same artist)
  11. AAWKS – Beyond the Sun (three-word title)
  12. A Place to Bury Strangers – Lost Feeling (trio)
  13. Pelada – Ajetreo (from their three-world titled album Movimiento Para Cambio)
  14. Ron Gallo – Prison Décor (third song from his three-world titled album Stardust Birthday Party)
  15. The Humpers – Here Comes Nothing (three-word title)
  16. Filth Is Eternal – Cherish (three-word band name)
  17. Ladytron – Fire (from their three-world titled album Light & Magic)
  18. Wolfmother – Far Away (trio)
  19. Cavaran – Bad Roads and Mountains (trio / from their three-world titled album Nights at Josan)
  20. Skullcrusher – Day of Show (three-word title)
  21. The Black Keys – Weight of Love (three-word title)
  22. Dragonette – Run Run Run (three-word title)
  23. Goat – Temple Rhythms (from their third album Requiem)
  24. Fenec-Soler – All I Know (three-word title)
  25. The Dirtbombs – Pray for Pills (three-word title)
  26. Kaiser Chiefs – Modern Way (third song from their Employment album)
  27. Alien Gothic – In the Night (three-word title / from their three-world titled album High and Dry)
  28. Morphine – The Way We Met (trio)

Three-for-Thursday returns on June 27th!

Keep your mind open.

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WSND DJ set list – Throwback Thursday – June 20, 2024

Thanks to all who listened and contributed to my latest Throwback Thursday show on WSND. Here’s the set list for June 20, 2024!

  1. Blue Öyster Cult – Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll (1972)
  2. Lalo Schifrin – Enter the Dragon main titles (1973)
  3. Roy Buchanan – If 6 Was 9 (1976) (requested)
  4. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Run Through the Jungle (1970)
  5. Aardvark – Copper Sunset (1970)
  6. Dawn of the Dead radio ad (1978)
  7. Gary Numan and Tubeway Army – The Life Machine (1978)
  8. You’ll Like My Mother radio ad (1972)
  9. Betty Davis – I’ve Danced Before (1979)
  10. Sylvester – You Make Me Feel Mighty Real (1978)
  11. Temple – Triple Guitar (1971)
  12. Jerry Reed – When You’re Hot You’re Hot (1971)
  13. Heads Hands and Feet – Safety in Numbers (1972)
  14. Sammy Davis, Jr. – The Candy Man (1972)
  15. Boomerang – Juke It (1971)
  16. Rush – Working Man (1974)
  17. Black Sabbath – The Wizard (1970)
  18. INXS – Guns in the Sky (1987) (requested)
  19. Treat Her Right – You Don’t Need Money (1986)
  20. Albert Collins, Robert Cray, and Johnny Copeland – Black Cat Bone (1985) (requested)
  21. Devo – Enough Said (1981)
  22. Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up (1987) (requested)
  23. Prince – When Doves Cry (1984)
  24. Rainmakers – The Wages of Sin (1986) (requested)
  25. Public Image Ltd. – Seattle (12″ mix) (1987)
  26. Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World (1985) (requested)
  27. The Meteors – Rockabilly Psychosis (1981)
  28. A Flock of Seagulls – Space Age Love Song (1982)
  29. The Cramps – What’s Behind the Mask? (1980)
  30. The Cars – Since You’re Gone (1981) (requested)
  31. Circle Jerks – Just Like Me (1982)
  32. Love and Rockets – God and Mr. Smith (1985)
  33. Motörhead – Fire Fire (live) (1981)
  34. Neneh Cherry – Woman (1996)
  35. The Black Crowes – My Morning Song (1992) (requested)
  36. Midfield General – Devil in Sports Casual (1997)
  37. The Prodigy – Narayan (1997)
  38. Fleetwood Mac – Sky’s the Limit (1990) (requested)
  39. Junior Brown – Gotta Get Up Every Morning (1996)
  40. White Town – Your Woman (1997)
  41. Hüsker Dü – The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill (live) (1994)
  42. DJ Kool – Let Me Clear My Throat (1996)
  43. Soundgarden – Fresh Tendrils (1994)
  44. Gusgus – Dominique (1999)

Throwback Thursday returns June 27th!

Keep your mind open.

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Riot Fest announces 2024 lineup.

Chicago’s Riot Fest has announced it’s full lineup for 2024. The festival is being held at SeatGeek Stadium this time around, much to the annoyance of the Chicago Red Stars NWSL team, and I’m curious how many stages they’ll have in and around the stadium.

The lineup is better than Lollapalooza or Pitchfork Music Festival this year, but that’s not a new thing. The Slayer reunion was rumored to be defunct, but is now apparently back on the schedule. Beck will be a must-see, as he hasn’t toured in a few years. Public Enemy will also be a good set, and seeing all of the Marley Brothers on the same stage would be wild.

It’s nice to see a big punk rock lineup at this year’s festival, including a final NOFX tour, Circle Jerks, Descendents, and Buzzcocks. Don’t miss The Hives, as they’re one of the best live bands of the last twenty years. Clutch are always good, and Cypress Hill is enjoying a big resurgence right now as people are discovering their classic records.

Go see Dead Milkmen and The Dickies if you want some fun. Go see Pixel Grip if you want sexy synthwave, and The Mysterines if you want good garage rock.

Find the shady spots while you’re there. There aren’t many around SeatGeek Stadium, so grab one whenever you can.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: The Damned and The Dictators – Concord Music Hall – Chicago, IL – June 02, 2024

I hadn’t seen The Damned in a while, but when I heard that their 1980s lineup, the lineup from when I’d discovered them (via The Young Ones airing on MTV in, most likely, 1985), was doing a tour, I knew I had to catch one of their shows. Who knows when I, or anyone else, would get to see Paul Gray (bass), Rat Scabies (drums), Captain Sensible (guitar), and Dave Vanian (vocals) together on stage again? It was the first tour they’d played together since 1989 – the year I graduated high school. Long-time keyboardist Monty Oxymoron had also joined them for the tour.

The Dictators, legendary punks in their own right, opened the show with a great dose of garage punk and had a fun banter with the crowd with tracks like “Pussy and Money” and a cover of Blue Öyster Cult‘s “Dominance and Submission” – which was all the more of a treat when you consider that their drummer is BÖC founding member Albert Bouchard.

Getting a good spot to see the stage at Concord Music Hall means you need to get there early, so we scrambled for a spot upstairs where we could see The Damned launch into their fun set and my girlfriend could lounge on a bench seat when she wanted.

The Damned broke out with a good mix of older and newer tracks, opening with “Ignite” and “Wait for the Blackout” (always a cool tune) and “The History of the World (Part 1)” and “Melody Lee.”

“Generals” and “Stranger on the Town” were nice to hear, and their cover of Barry Ryan‘s “Eloise” was a big hit. Vanian’s voice, as always, was in great form, and pretty much perfect on “The Invisible Man.” They had stomped the gas pedal to the floor by the time they hit “Noise Noise Noise” and never let up after it.

It took a while for a pit to get started, but it was in full swing by the time I joined it during, of course, “Neat Neat Neat.” I’m happy to say that the pit was started by people at least thirty years younger than I and that I wasn’t the only guy in his 50s in the pit and the young’uns loved having us older folks in there.

After ending the main set with “Smash It Up,” the band came back on and the young folks started an appreciation chant for Rat Scabies, who was humbled by it and stood up from his kit for a bow. It was great to see and hear that, as he’d been long missed by fans (although he has released material on his own, mind you).

Ending with “New Rose” and a psychedelic cover of MC5‘s “Looking at You” was a great way to send all the punks, goths, and weirdos out on a high note. They’ e wrapped up their U.S. tour, so I hope you got to see them. Go see them in the UK and Europe this fall and winter. You won’t regret it.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: LCD Soundsystem – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL – May 26, 2024

It was the third night of a four-night residency for LCD Soundsystem at their favorite Chicago venue, the Aragon Ballroom. They’ve done shows there in the past, and it was the last place I’d seen them years ago. It was good to catch them again. One can’t help but wonder if James Murphy is going to pull the plug on the band for a second time.

They got off to a great start with “Us V Them” and soon surfed into “I Can Change.” “Tribulations” was another great spot in the set, and one I hadn’t heard live in a long while.

The crowd was great, many of whom had been to the first two shows and were already planning on coming to the fourth. It was warm in the Aragon, as it always is, but a little more so since everyone was dancing and going wild as they turned the whole place into a disco.

“Yeah” was a great touch, as it was the first time they’d played it on this tour (which they called the “Kinda Tour”), and “Losing My Edge” was, as always, an absolute ripper. I’d forgotten how good a track “Tonite” is until they played it live.

“Dance Yrself Clean” and “All My Friends” made for a great encore, but the nicest moment of the night was their tribute to the late Chicagoan and music producing legend Steve Albini during “Someone Great.”

It was great to see them again, and great to be in such a fun crowd. LCD Soundsystem never disappoint.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Curses – New Wave Acid Punx DEUX – Secret Cuts

Just when you think you’ve heard your favorite classic new wave / no wave / goth-punk / industrial dance track of all time, a compilation like New Wave Acid Punx DEUX – Secret Cuts comes along and drops a bunch of stuff you’ve never heard and makes you nearly lose your mind with “How did I miss this?” types of questions.

This latest gem from Berlin-based DJ Curses brings out a wild mix of stuff that he probably found in a warehouse’s trash bin moments before the place was demolished to build a clothing store no one wanted. Chrome Corps‘ “Body Attestation” starts off the thing with industrial chops, and Curses himself includes a previously unreleased track of his own, “Get Lost,” right after it to keep up the dark vibe. Aura Nox and Christian Koupa‘s “Compound Lies” is a dark wave banger.

Notausgang‘s “Malphas” becomes a meditative synth-jam (even with birdsong at the end). Ghost Cop‘s “You Can Never Go Home” demands to be played at your next dance party. Nuovo Testamento‘s “In My Dreams” (the “Powerhouse Mix,” no less) is like opening a time capsule from the mid-1980s found under the remains of a British disco. Unconscious‘ “LivEvil” version of “Carnivora” is the sound of a robot hit squad coming after you in a 1985 shopping mall.

Gunce Aci‘s “Being in the Shadows” is a gothic dance track that’s phat with bass and makes you wonder if the title refers to being / standing in the shadows or a being that’s in the shadows. Curses gets back into the game with “The Deep End (Redux),” which adds a nice guitar element to the goth sound, not unlike old Wall of Voodoo tracks.

Paresse‘s “Journey of the Heart” (the Guy Tallo remix) brings a bit of ambient into the synths and is a track suitable for late night drives, workouts, or the trailer to your newest film about a fitness instructor trying to avoid a serial killer while dating a cop with a mysterious past. The “Modern remix” of You Man‘s “Third Eye” is the sexiest track on the record, with female vocals samples of “Oh my God…” blending with throbbing bass and smoky synths.

Much praise to Curses for finding these rare cuts and presenting them to us in a great mix. Don’t skip this one if you’re a fan of darkwave, synthwave, new wave, industrial, or acid house.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Eclectica!]