Author: Nik Havert

I've been a music fan since my parents gave me a record player for Christmas when I was still in grade school. The first record I remember owning was "Sesame Street Disco." I've been a professional writer since 2004, but writing long before that. My first published work was in a middle school literary magazine and was a story about a zoo in which the animals could talk.

Clutch announces new U.S. tour dates with Sevendust.

CLUTCH ANNOUNCE BOOK OF BAD DECISIONS TOUR DATES WITH
SEVENDUST AND TYLER BRYAN & THE SHAKEDOWN
June 19th, 2018 – Clutch has just announced US/Canada Fall tour dates for their “Book Of Bad Decisions Tour 2018.”  Clutch is making the following special offer for this tour:  The price of a ticket when purchased in advance online includes a physical CD copy of Clutch‘s new album “Book of Bad Decisions.”   Fans will receive information on how to redeem the album after purchasing the advance ticket online.  Offer valid through 10/29/18, open to US residents only.  Not valid on Resale tickets.  Offer only valid for Clutch headline dates.  Festivals, Canadian headline dates and the October 13th date with System of a Down are exempt from this offer.  Tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, June 22nd at 10AM local time and will be available at www.pro-rock.com and www.facebook.com/clutchband.
Supporting the tour will be Sevendust and Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown.
Book of Bad Decisions, CLUTCH’s 12th studio album is scheduled for a worldwide release on September 7th, 2018 via their own Weathermaker Music label.  The album was recorded at Sputnik Sound in Nashville, TN by producer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather) and consists of 15 new tracks.
Clutch Book Of Bad Decisions Tour with Sevendust and Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown:
Sun/Sep-16  Chicago IL  Riotfest **
Tue/Sep-18  St Paul, MN  Myth Live
Wed/Sep-19  Kansas City, MO  Uptown Theater
Fri/Sep-21  Houston TX  House of Blues
Sat/Sep-22  San Antonio TX  River City Rock Fest **
Sun/Sep-23  Dallas, TX  Gas Monkey Live
Tue/Sep-25  Orlando, FL  House Of Blues
Thu/Sep-27  Norfolk, VA  The NorVa
Fri/Sep-28  Raleigh, NC  The Ritz
Sat/Sep-29  Atlanta, GA  The Masquerade *
Sun/Sep-30  Louisville, KY  Louder Than Life **
Tue/Oct-02  Denver, CO  Ogden Theater
Wed/Oct-03  Salt Lake City, UT  The Depot
Fri/Oct-05  Boise, ID  Knitting Factory
Sat/Oct-06  Spokane, WA  Knitting Factory
Sun/Oct-07  Seattle, WA  Showbox SODO
Mon/Oct-08  Vancouver, BC  Commodore Ballroom
Tue/Oct-09  Portland, OR  Roseland Theater
Thu/Oct-11  San Francisco, CA  The Regency Ballroom
Fri/Oct-12  Los Angeles, CA  El Rey Theater
Sat/Oct-13  San Bernardino, CA  Glen Helen Amphitheater w/SOAD ***
Sun/Oct-14  San Diego, CA  North Park/Observatory
Mon/Oct-15  Tempe, AZ  The Marquee
Wed/Oct-17  Tulsa, OK  Cain’s Ballroom
Thu/Oct-18  Sauget, IL  Pop’s Nightclub
Fri/Oct-19  Grand Rapids, MI  20 Monroe Live
Sat/Oct-20  Detroit, MI  The Filmore Detroit
Sun/Oct-21  Pittsburgh, PA  Stage AE
Tue/Oct-23  Toronto, ON  Rebel
Thu/Oct-25  Worcester, MA  The Palladium
Fri/Oct-26  New York, NY  Irving Plaza
Sat/Oct-27  New York, NY  Irving Plaza
Sun/Oct-28  Philadelphia, PA  Electric Factory
*= no Sevendust
** = festival date / Clutch and festival bill only
*** = date w/ System of a Down/ no Sevendust
CLUTCH:
Neil Fallon – Vocals/Guitar
Tim Sult – Guitar
Dan Maines – Bass
Jean-Paul Gaster – Drums/Percussion
                                                                                          
For more  information, check out the band’s website:
Keep your mind open.
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The Young Mothers unveil crazy new single – “Jazz Oppression.”

The Young Mothers share “Jazz Oppression” track from forthcoming album Morose

 Avant Jazz/Hip-Hop/Punk Rock hybrid featuring ex-MF Doom, Nenah Cherry, ex-White Denim, Shape of Broad Minds, Free Radicals members
Hear & share “Jazz Oppression” (Soundcloud)(Austin Chronicle)

“A sound that blends free jazz and hip-hop, seeing no distance between them… Latin fuses with African fuses with European and on and on until there is no distinction. This uncompromising group of players delivers an unforgettable listening experience that listeners will doubtless be parsing for some time to come.” — PopMatters
“One of the most interesting and original acts in Texas — perhaps the entire planet,” — Austin Chronicle
Austin, TX musical iconoclasts The Young Mothers share a new track from their forthcoming sophomore album today in an interview with Austin Chronicle. Hear and share “Jazz Oppression” HERE. (Direct Soundcloud.)
 
PopMatters recently premiered album opener “Attica Black” HERE. (Direct Soundcloud.)
The band is currently in Europe wrapping up a summer tour before heading to Canada for a couple of shows. See current dates below.
Self Sabotage Records proudly presents Morose, the anticipated follow up by The Young Mothers, a juggernaut of a collective formed in 2012 and featuring a super group of heavy-hitters who have helped steer the direction of creative music in New York, Chicago, Texas, and Scandinavia.
Norwegian bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (The Thing; Free Fall; Atomic) moved to Austin, Texas in 2009. He’d experimented with stateside living for a few years in Chicago before that, but the city of barbecue, food trucks, and outlaw country music has become his home base. Texas has a deep creative music history, but most Texas improvisers found their notoriety elsewhere, seeking to escape segregation and poverty for a chance to ‘starve a little better’ on the coasts. However, the Texas of 2018 is not the Texas of 1958 and the groundwork for this potent convergence was laid around a decade ago in Houston when Ingebrigt met and linked up with trumpeter/rapper Jawwaad Taylor (Shape Of Broad Minds, MF Doom), and what became a transliteration of his Chicago Sextet into a scrappy Lone Star variant called The Young Mothers has formed a group identity all its own and now has a second album under the belt (their first, A Mothers’ Work Is Never Done was self-released in 2014). Instrumentally The Young Mothers has some similarity with its Windy City relative – in addition to sharing drummer Frank Rosaly and Flaten, the vibraphone chair is held down by percussionist & diabolical vocalist Stefan González (Yells At Eels, Akkolyte), and Jason Jackson (Alvin Fielder, Pauline Oliveros, William Parker) on tenor and barry is their saxophone firebrand. Furthermore, the group features guitarist Jonathan Horne (Plutonium Farmers, ex-White Denim) and prolific wordsmith and improviser JAWWAAD on trumpet, electronics, and rhymes, and it is here that structural similarities between the Young Mothers and Flaten’s other folksy-modal projects end.
The Young Mothers was named after a Houston community project for teen mothers (Project Row Houses) that Flaten’s then-partner had been a part of, and while it may strike one as an odd moniker for a group that melds free improvisation, Tejano-inspired horn lines, the long unfurling electricity of surf rock, tough word-science and crust metal vocals, but relocating to a then-unfamiliar locale and birthing/raising a melange of sonic approaches into a working ensemble is not insignificant, if not quite actual motherhood. (On a side note; another strong connection to the Project Row Houses is the Houstonian artist and legendary sculptor Jesse Lott who made the beautiful album art!) Anyways, while they may have exhibited a homespun ricketiness in the beginning, through touring nationwide and after several festival performances and tours in Europe they’ve honed their sound into something truly their own, and one that’s not insignificantly comparable to historical melds in Scandinavian-American-World Music – the work of Don Cherry, Maffy Falay’s Sevda, and more recent efforts from Two Bands and a Legend and The Cherry Thing successfully merge varied strains of contemporary music with creative improvisation. Flaten’s round, deep tone and precise attack certainly act as an anchor, a fulcrum for sculpted vibraphone resonance, the dry breaks and shimmering floes of Rosaly’s kit, all of which stoke Horne’s flinty guitar and the throaty exhortations of brass and verbal declaration. Check “Black Tar Caviar” for some of the most unruly combinations of threads on this disc; from dual cymbal and tuned gong tempi supporting Jackson’s Gato Barbieri-like burrs, the palette of accents gradually increases until feedback-laden scorch signals a second movement, raps and death howls in tandem against a Cherry-like folk theme and sludgy electric bass grooves/strangled flourishes. It’s a fine microcosm of ten of what The Young Mothers are up to.
And as Håker Flaten tells us; “a lot has changed since I initiated this band in 2012, it has grown into its own thing with a truly collective spirit. I created a monster and its time to let go” – luckily for all of us, this band has stretched its legs further than the Houston/Austin/Dallas triangle and we at Self Sabotage Records are ready to help them to hopefully reach out much further with an album we believe is remarkable! We hope you feel the same.
Morose will be available on LP, CD and download on June 22, 2018 out via Self Sabotage Records (Pre-order at Big Cartel-Self Sabotage).
THE YOUNG MOTHERS TOUR:
06/12 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rosa
06/13 Hamilton, ON @ Something Else Festival

Artist: The Young Mothers
Album: Morose
Record Label: Self Sabotage Records
Release Date: June 22nd, 2018
01. Attica Black
02. Black Tar Caviar
03. Bodiless Arms
04. Francisco
05. Untitled #1
06. Jazz Oppression
07. Morose
08. Osaka
09. Untitled #2
10. Shanghai
On the Web:
Keep your mind open.
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Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing

Here Lies Man was introduced to me via their label (RidingEasy Records) with the following question – “What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?”

I’m not sure I can sum up HLM’s sound better than that.  They’re from Los Angeles (and consist of members of Antibalas), so it’s tempting to say there’s a touch of southern California rock and surf in there.  However, the majority of their sound is a blend of heavy riffs and Afrobeat rhythms.  It works.  Good heavens, does it work.

The heavy organ and crunchy guitar of “Animal Noises” get things off to a great start.  It sounds like a couple wild boars grunting alongside jungle birds.  It also cuts out and then fades back in with delicate psychedelic brush strokes.  “Summon Fire” could probably do exactly that under the right circumstances.  The guitar licks are hot enough, and the drums are perfect for a dance around the fire while spinning a spear overhead.  The lyrics are belted out like something from Parliament Funkadelic.  “Blindness” is a mostly instrumental with great organ / keyboard work throughout it, especially on the gothic fade-out that would make Bauhaus proud.

“That Much Closer to Nothing” is a good, yet bleak, way to describe living.  The title and the sludge-like riffs are nihilistic at first, but then blossom with an infectious energy that let you know that letting go of all your trappings is a good thing.  Those Sabbath influences are front and center on “Hell (Wooly Tail).”  The bass slithers, the guitars chug, the drums bubble, and the keys melt.  The songs ends with a child’s voice telling us to “Look in the mirror.”  It lends a bit of creepiness to the title of the next track – “Voices at the Window.”   The song is like a fog through which you see what may or may not be a deer along the road as you’re driving at 65mph.  In other words, it’s misty and a bit frightening.

The choppy, fuzzy sounds of “Taking the Blame” are heavy and will get your neck moving like a bobble head figure.  “Fighting” was the first single off the record, and choosing it was a no-brainer.  The groove on it is excellent and belongs at the top of your next workout playlist.  “Floating on Water” follows, and its one of the best psychedelic dream-rock songs of the year.  It like concentric ripples in a mountain lake.  “Memory Games” brings Cream to mind with its floor-stomping blues-based groove.  The closer is the lovely “You Ought to Know” – an instrumental that puts together shoegaze, stoner rock, psychedelia, and space rock / lounge.

You Will Know Nothing is the type of album that you can put on a loop and listen to three times in a row without getting bored.  It’s funky, heavy, and a great cure for anything ailing you right now.

Keep your mind open.

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Protomartyr drop new single ahead of “Consolation” EP due tomorrow.

PROTOMARTYR SHARE “YOU ALWAYS WIN” FEAT. KELLEY DEAL

“CONSOLATION E.P.” OUT TOMORROW ON DOMINO

Tomorrow marks the release of the new EP from Protomartyr, “Consolation E.P.,” on Domino Recording Co. Earlier today, Beats 1 premiered the song “You Always Win,” which, like previous shared single “Wheel of Fortune,” features vocals from Kelley Deal.  Protomartyr’s Joe Casey said the following about the final song on the EP:

“You Always Win” is the last song on our EP. That reminds me of three things. First; “good things come to those that wait”. I think that’s what is called an adage. I don’t know if waiting through three other quality songs counts, but I think it might. Second; this quote: “I did not get my Spaghetti-O’s; I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.”

That’s the last words of some murderer, apparently. I think that means this song could have been something out of a can. Sure, murderers would have liked it fine but this is good, musical spaghetti. And the reason it’s spaghetti brings me to my third thought: Kelley Deal made this song great. It could have been flat circles in tomato gravy. Kelley, in her genius, elevated it to the thing you are hearing now. Beautiful sound pasta? I suppose.

Kelley Deal had this to say of “You Always Win”:

I listened to Protomartyr’s demo for “You Always Win” and thought of Sinatra and old Las Vegas. The band were into it, so Mike Montgomery and I worked with Lori Goldston (cello), Jocelyn Hach (viola) and Evan Ziporyn (bass clarinet) to create the sound of candy-coated corruption for Joe’s characters to inhabit. “It’s what I must do.”

LISTEN TO “YOU ALWAYS WIN”
https://youtu.be/VVLp32EjrSo

PRE-ORDER “CONSOLATION E.P.”
http://smarturl.it/ConsolationEP

PROTOMARTYR TOUR DATES
Fri. June 15 – Beijing, CN @ Yue Space
Sat. June 16 – Shanghai, CN @ YYT
Sun. June 17 – Seoul, KR @ V-Hall
Wed. June 20 – Kuala Lumpur, MY @ Live Fact
Thu. June 21 – Jakarta, ID @ Rossi Musik
Sat. June 23 – Athens, GR @ Ejekt Festival
Fri. July 6 – Modena, IT @ Arti Vive
Sat. July 7 – Chiusi, IT @ Lars Rock Fest
Sun. July 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall w/ My Bloody Valentine
Sat. Aug. 11 – Haldern, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival
Sun. Aug. 12 – Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes
Mon. Aug. 13 – Dusseldorf, DE @ Zakk
Tue. Aug. 14 – Bremen, DE @ Tower Musikclub
Thu. Aug. 16 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje
Fri. Aug. 17 – Biddinghuizen, NL @ Lowlands Festival
Sat. Aug 18 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop Festival
Sun. Aug. 19 – St. Malo, FR @ La Route Du Rock
Tue. Aug. 21 – Dudingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
Wed. Aug. 22 – Zurich, CH @ Mascotte
Fri. Aug. 24 – Schorndorf, DE @ Club Manufaktur
Sat. Aug 25 – Charleville Mezieres, FR @ Cabaret Vert Festival
Sun. Aug. 26 – Ramsgate, UK @ Ramsgate Hall
Tue. Aug. 28 – Sheffield, UK @ Picture House Social
Wed. Aug. 29 – Hebden Bridge, UK @ Trades Club
Thu. Aug. 30 – Liverpool, UK @ O2 Academy 2
Fri. Aug. 31 – Salisbury, UK @ End of the Road Festival
Thu. Aug. 30 – Sun. Sept. 2 – Vlieland, NL @ Into the Great Wide Open
Mon. Sept. 3 – Groningen, NL @ Vera
Fri. Sept. 28 – Detroit, MI @ MOCAD Homestead w/ Deerhunter

PRAISE FOR RELATIVES IN DESCENT

“Political, environmental, epistemological, social, familial and individual anxieties fuel the latest songs by Protomartyr, a band from Detroit that has been reclaiming the jagged, muscular dissonances of post-punk for 21st-century America.”
– The New York Times (Album of the Week)

“A slow-burn apocalypse of ennui and injustice crackles through the sensational fourth album from these Detroit post-punks.” – The Guardian (5/5 stars)

“Brooding and abrasive, the Detroit post-punk group’s new LP isn’t for the faint of heart – but beauty lies in its 12 knotty, pummeling tunes.” – Entertainment Weekly

“Over the course of four full-length albums, the Detroit-based band has produced a collection of lyrically dense, deeply philosophical (and usually very loud) songs that grapple with some of life’s thorniest questions: What does it mean to be human? What is truth? What is the nature of good and evil?” – NPR Music

“Consolation E.P.” is available to pre-order now on limited pressing yellow/white starburst vinyl via Domino, and limited pressing gold vinyl via your local independent record store.

“Consolation E.P.” Domino pre-order: http://smarturl.it/ConsolationEPMart
“Consolation E.P.” Digital pre-order: http://smarturl.it/ConsolationEPDL

Relatives In Descent Domino Mart: http://smarturl.it/RIDMart
Relatives In Descent iTunes: http://smarturl.it/RIDDownload

Keep your mind open.
[You can console me by subscribing.]

DJ set list for June 13, 2018

Thanks to all who tuned in for my latest WSND show and helped me determine what to play to celebrate Flag Day.  Here’s my set list from the show in case you want to know the name of that one weird band I played.

  1. Sandworms – Agent of Terror
  2. The Horrors – Machine
  3. The Paper Chase – One Day He Went Out for Milk and Never Came Back
  4. The Space Merchants – TranscendentalSuperConsciousState
  5. Melkbelly – R.O.R.O.B.
  6. Laura Carbone – Grace
  7. Screaming Females – It All Means Nothing
  8. Frenzy of Blood radio ad
  9. Dum Dum Girls – Heartbeat
  10. Hot Trash – One More Chance
  11. Vazum – Fall Guy
  12. The Noisettes – Hierarchy
  13. Skyland Drive-in Theatre intermission ad
  14. Voodoo Glow Skulls – Here Comes the Sun
  15. Vowws – Esseff
  16. Bjork – Enjoy (live)
  17. Madvillain – Operation Lifesaver AKA Mint Test
  18. Friday Foster radio ad
  19. Devo – Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)
  20. The Clash – Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice)
  21. The Clash – Lose This Skin
  22. The Smithereens – A Girl Like You (Strip Club version)
  23. Spice Boys – I Don’t Get Around
  24. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – Dresden
  25. Sugar Hill radio ad
  26. Julian Cope – East Easy Rider
  27. King’s X – Black Flag (requested)
  28. Dead Parties – Now You’re a Star
  29. Chromatics – Blue Girl
  30. Muddy Waters – Take the Bitter with the Sweet

I’m back on air June 27th with a “Best of 2018 So Far” show.  Send me your suggestions.

Keep your mind open.

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Deap Vally release new surfy single, “Get Gone,” and new UK and Europe tour dates.

Power rock duo Deap Vally have a new road trippy single, “Get Gone,” just in time for summer and their upcoming tour through the UK and Europe.  They’re also working on a new record, which is nothing but great news.  Catch them if you can.

June 22 – Southside Festival @ Neuhausen ob Eck, Germany  TICKETS
June 23 – Hurricane Festival @ Scheessel, Germany  TICKETS
June 24 – Cafe De Zwerver @ Leffinge, Belgium TICKETS
June 27 – The Grand Social @ Dublin, Ireland TICKETS
June 28 – The Limelight @ Belfast, Ireland TICKETS
June 30 – Queens of The Stone Age and Friends @ Finsbury Park, United Kingdom TICKETS
July 1 – The Plug @ Sheffield, United Kingdom TICKETS
July 2 – Castle & Falcon @ Birmingham, United Kingdom TICKETS
July 3 – Muni Arts Centre @ Pontypridd, United Kingdom TICKETS
July 8 – Pointu Festival @ Six-Fours-Les-Plagues, France TICKETS
July 10th – Atles Hallenbad Feldkirch @ Feldkirch, Austria TICKETS
July 11th – Full Hit of Summer @ Vienna, Austria TICKETS

Keep your mind open.

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Middle Waves Music Festival unveils first artists for their 2018 lineup.

Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Middle Waves Music Festival has released its first lineup announcement for 2018.  Some of the biggest standouts are Lizzo, Idles, and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.

Tickets are already on sale, and more artists are to be announced over the summer.  Middle Waves is a fun time.  The festival’s promoters are geniuses because the festival offers two free stages all weekend.  You can see close to 20 bands on these stages and it will cost you nothing.  The main stage is the only one that requires a paid admission.

See you there.

Keep your mind open.

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Howard release new single, “Your Honor,” from album due September 14th.

Howard Announce New Album, Together Alone, Out September 14th on Fashion People; Watch Video For First Single, “Your Honor”
https://youtu.be/JXRHCs5ZZms
(photo credit: Sonya Kitchell)

“The video’s kitschy collage-style animation, as well as the zany, exaggerated expressions of the band’s characters, elevate the classic outsider-falls-for-girl narrative into something refreshing and whimsical.” — NPR Music on “Your Honor” video

“…a stellar introduction…” — Stereogum on Religion

“Slow building electronics swirl forward, urging you to get wrapped up in the call to prayer that is Feibusch’s vocals.” — Consequence of Sound on Religion
Howard, the Brooklyn-based outfit composed of Howard Feibusch (guitar, vocals), Alex Chakour (guitar, synth, backup vocals), Myles Heffernan (bass), and Chris Holdridge (drums), are thrilled to announce their new album, Together Alone, out September 14th on Fashion People.

The video for the album’s first single, “Your Honor,” was directed by Joey Abisso and premiered on NPR Music earlier this morning. He says, “We wanted to strike a unique balance between elegant, zany, and playful, which led to the ‘Life Magazine,’ Monty Python, construction paper visual combo of the final video. The weird little story came about pretty organically alongside the visual style…it was a lot of fun directing everyone to make silly facial expressions at various angles and dropping the results onto their animated bodies.” Watch the video below.

Watch Howard’s “Your Honor” video — 
https://youtu.be/JXRHCs5ZZms
Together Alone follows Howard’s debut album, 2015’s Religion, and it’s companion EP, Please Recycle. It’s the first album from 30-year-old multifaceted bandleader Howard Feibusch’s project to be recorded with the full band that so capably toured behind Religion; it’s also an aching, restless, and altogether lovely document of the paradoxical sensation in which we feel more isolated than ever in the face of increasing togetherness and connectivity—a modern sentiment wrapped in music that’s timeless in its timbre.

Together Alone finds Howard venturing further out of their comfort zone and using their full-band capabilities to their greatest advantage—a full-bodied warmth, aided by horn contributions from the famed Daptone musical family. No sonic stone is left unturned here, from the gently rollicking and subtly psychedelic “Mothers Wedding” (shared last fall) to the brittle, dusty desert rock of “Oh Dear Brother.” You can hear a variety of influences here, from the winsome sounds of Athens’ Elephant 6 collective to Amnesiac-era Radiohead and the distant lullabies of the Everly Brothers—but they all coalesce to form a sound that is truly its own. It’s untethered from the present and applicable to the plight of humanity at large—but it represents Feibusch and his band finding themselves, too, necessary hope for anyone who’s ever dreamed of turning the thoughts in their heads into something tangible and real.

Listen/Share:
“Mother’s Wedding” stream (first single from Together Alone) — https://spoti.fi/2xJ1Wab
“Ooh Baby Baby” stream (Smokey Robinson cover) — https://spoti.fi/2sFVyuK
“Tracks of My Tears” stream (Smokey Robinson cover) — https://spoti.fi/2Jku2dv
Stream Religion (2015) — https://spoti.fi/2xHCulr
Stream Please Recycle EP (2016) — https://spoti.fi/2HkDHyG



Pre-order Together Alone — https://listentohoward.bandcamp.com/

Download hi-res images & album art — http://pitchperfectpr.com/howard/

(Together Alone Cover Art)

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud

Flasher – Constant Image

Opening with something that sounds like a song you’d hear on the tape deck of one of those Blade Runner flying cars, Flasher‘s debut full-length album, Constant Image, is strongly self-assured post-punk.  That opening track, “Go,” encourages you to “suck it up” and get ready for a fast ride.

“Pressure” builds with its namesake until the chorus, and even then it doesn’t let up too much.  Daniel Saperstein‘s bass seems like it’s all over the place, but he grounds the tune like metal stakes into circus tent loops.  I like how Saperstein’s vocals blend with those of Emma Baker (drums) and Taylor Mulitz (guitar) on “Sun Come and Golden.”  The whole track has a brightness to it, but it doesn’t ignore the shadows caused.  “Material” raises the attitude of the record, as Mulitz’s vocals border on snotty punk and throw down the right amount of tongue-in-cheek sass.

Mulitz’s guitar buzzes like a green hornet on “XYZ.”  It’s one of the hottest cuts on the record as Flasher sing about self-introspection and the expectations of their generation and the ones before and after them.  As good as it is, “Who’s Got Time?” is even better.  Saperstein unloads on it.  It has a rough urgency and is yet highly danceable.  “Skim Milk” was their first single, and it’s easy to hear why they chose it.  Mulitz’s guitar is precise and fuzzy when it needs to be, Baker keeps time and thrashes when she needs to, and Saperstein keeps up his serial killing of bass grooves.  Their triple vocals weave together well and it’s pretty much everything you want in a post-punk song.

There’s a neat piano riff underlining “Harsh Light” while Mulitz sings, “Every corner that you turn, you never learn.”  Good grief, can’t we all relate to that at times?  “Punching Up” has a bit of a punch-drunk beat to it, with Baker providing co-lead vocals and a Pixies-like rhythm.  The Pixies influence is thick on the entire track with its back-and-forth bouncing between soothing guitars and heavy distortion.  “Business Unusual” would be a great name for a TV show or comic book, but it’s instead about a “man, now a boy in blue, this whole world’s got it out for you.”  It also throws in some saxophone (a welcome addition to any post-punk record) with the quirky guitars and the repeated question from Flasher – “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”

It’s the last lyric of the album.  Are they asking us to reflect and perhaps realize it isn’t that bad?  Are they asking us to forgive ourselves?   The name of the album is, after all, Constant Image.  We all constantly project different images of ourselves, and often to cover up what we think are horrible flaws but are usually things about which no one cares.  Most of the things we worry about never happen.  Flasher want us to know this, I think.  We should thank them for the reminder.  You can do it by buying this record.

Keep your mind open.

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DJ set list for June 07, 2018

Thanks to all who listened to my show on WSND last night.  My nephew, Cody (AKA C-Hav) was my guest, and he picked out some of the songs.  Here’s our set list:

  1. Duran Duran – Planet Earth
  2. Zombie Zombie – Acera
  3. Peaking Lights – Amazing and Wonderful
  4. Sturgill Simpson – Turtles All the Way Down (requested)
  5. Stepford Wives radio ad
  6. The Damned – Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow
  7. ZZ Top – TV Dinners
  8. Spice Boys – Spice City Boys
  9. Fozzy – Judas
  10. The Walk-a-Bout – Things Are Looking Up
  11. Bear in Heaven – Lovesick Teenagers
  12. TV on the Radio – Nobody Else
  13. Eager Beavers – Hamm’s beer radio ad
  14. A Place to Bury Strangers – Act Your Age
  15. Skyland Drive-In Theatre intermission
  16. The Who – Under My Thumb
  17. The Clash – The Magnificent Seven
  18. White Manna – Acid Head
  19. Napoleon XIV – They’re Coming to Take Me Away (requested)
  20. John Williams – Duel of the Fates
  21. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – The Acrid Corpse
  22. Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror radio ad
  23. The The – Infected (requested)
  24. Stardeath and White Dwarf – The Age of the Freak
  25. The Kut – Mind Games
  26. Three Days Grace – Never Too Late
  27. Deap Vally – End of the World
  28. Oingo Boingo – Wild Sex (in the Working Class)
  29. Pink Floyd – Fearless (requested)
  30. Oh Sees – Drowned Beast

I’m back on air on June 13th at midnight.  Give me a listen if you’re up late.

Keep your mind open.

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