Alt rock – Page 30 – 7th Level Music

Alex Lahey is a “Sucker for Punishment” with her rocking new single.

“Lahey may be stuck in the thick of it now, but her ability to see as though she’s already beyond, to address life’s essential contradictions with thoughtfulness and humor, makes her an insightful storyteller.” — Pitchfork

“There’s an immediacy to Alex Lahey’s music so urgent that it’ll hook you before you even notice it’s happening.” — GQ

“Alex Lahey is quickly becoming the queen of big, catchy pop-rock hooks” — MTV News

Today, Melbourne-based songwriter Alex Lahey releases a new track, “Sucker For Punishment.” “Sucker For Punishment” follows her sophomore album, The Best of Luck Club, “a witty and confessional pop-punk gem” (Uproxx), out now on Dead Oceans. The song, about self-delusion, is written from the perspective of the deluded. Throughout, Lahey’s exasperated vocals are backed by buzzing guitar and a jaunty bass line.

“We’re living in an era we’re the micro has become the macro,” says Lahey. “I don’t think there has ever been a time where our actions and attitudes as individuals have had such an impact on broader humanity and the planet. Whether it’s a ‘think about it later’ attitude towards climate change, the undemocratic consequences of sharing personal data to big business online, a lethargicness in the face of political engagement or the need to be validated as a worthwhile individual through obtaining arbitrary units of engagement on social media – we need to catch ourselves out before we suffer greater consequences.”

Listen to Alex Lahey’s “Sucker For Punishment” –
https://youtu.be/etVj6qrHwCM

In conjunction with the new single, Lahey is pleased to announce she’ll return stateside for a for a slew of tour dates along the west coast, kicking off the run in San Diego on Sat. May 30 at Casbah. All new dates go on-sale Fri. Feb. 14 at 10am local time. A full list of tour dates are below.

Alex Lahey Tour Dates (new dates in bold):
Fri. March 13 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms ^
Mon. March 16 – Glasgow, UK @ The Garage ^
Tue. March 17 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla ^
Wed. March 18 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy2 Birmingham ^
Thu. March 19 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom ^
Sat. March 21 – Amsterdam, NE @ Paradiso Noord ^
Sun. March 22 – Antwerp, BE @ Kavka ^
Mon. March 23 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow ^
Tue. March 24 – Düsseldorf, DE @ Zaak ^
Thu. March 26 – Mainz, DE @ Kulturklub schon schön ^
Fri. March 27 – Paris, FR @ Nouveau Casino ^
Wed. April 15 – Adelaide, AU @ Thebarton Theatre *
Fri. April 17 – Fremantle, AU @ Fremantle Arts Center *
Mon. April 20 – Sydney, AU @ Enmore Theatre *
Wed. April 22 – Brisbane, AU @ The Fortitude Music Hall *
Fri. April 24 – Melbourne, AU @ Forum Theatre *
Sat. April 25 – Melbourne, AU @ Forum Theatre *
Tue. April 28 – Hobart, AU @ Odeon Theatre *
Sat. May 30 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
Sun. May 31 – Costa Mesa, CA @ The Wayfarer
Mon. June 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
Tue. June 3 – San Jose, CA @ The Ritz
Fri. June 5 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club Crystal Cavern
Sat. June 6 – Sacramento, CA @ The Starlet Room at Harlow’s
Mon. June 8 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Tue. June 9 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza

* = w/ City & Colour
^ = w/ The Regrettes

Purchase The Best of Luck Club –
https://alexlahey.ffm.to/bestofluckclub

Watch/Listen/Share:
“Am I Doing It Right?” stream – https://youtu.be/BAfpMBepOpo
“Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself” video – https://youtu.be/Uu1qtIk5eoY
“Unspoken History” stream – https://youtu.be/dFkRK2FgXhI
“Unspoken History” live acoustic video – https://youtu.be/SDHZoDVUs3o

Keep your mind open.

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Girl Afraid stir up some “Dutch Courage” with their new single.

Hull-based indie rockers Girl Afraid released their rocking new track, “Dutch Courage” on February 7th.

First we had Hull-based LIFE, who took the U.K by storm and now we have Girl Afraid who are storming onto the British indie scene. Their sound draws influences from the likes of Queens of the Stone Age to fellow indie newcomers Fontaines D.C. Nevertheless, they have crafted a remarkably inimitable sound of their very own.

As its title indicates, “Dutch Courage” oozes confidence from the very start. It’s a hard hitting track with huge drums which would make even the sternest of listeners tap their foot. Also slick guitar riffs which take a new dimension of early indie as well an awe-inspiring vocal from front man Sam Mellors.

Girl Afraid are taking no hostages with this release. Therefore, if you are seeking the finest catchy indie rock then look no further than “Dutch Courage.”

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Rebsie Fairholm and Marvin B. Naylor release “Ark” from upcoming album.

Rebsie Fairholm and Marvin B. Naylor have released the charismatic new single ‘Ark’ taken from their forthcoming album.

Rebsie is an artist who delves into a dark realm of psych-folk while Marvin comes from a background of early indie and pop. Combined together and they have created a hybrid sound which cannot be sniffed at.

The track kicks off with a guitar hook which grabs you and does not let go. Vocally, the pair complement each other both mirroring their words with confidence. It’s a catchy number, one which does not leave you for some time and for the right reasons. It’s a very British sounding 70s influenced track but yet it stays current to the modern scene providing just about something for everybody.

A song which delivers a story about finding something amazing unexpectedly ‘finding rainbows in the dark’. Well, this collaboration comes as a surprise but yet it works very well.

If you are seeking the finest indie folk then look no further than this release from Rebsie Fairholm & Marvin B Naylor. You can buy the single here https://rebsiefairholm.bandcamp.com/album/ark.

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Sharon Van Etten releases new single and tour dates.

Sharon Van Etten follows 2019’s Remind Me Tomorrow, “an album of hope, intimacy and perseverance” (New York Times), with a new single, “Beaten Down,” and its gorgeous accompanying video. “‘Beaten Down’ is about love, patience and empathy,” says Van Etten. “It’s about making life-changing choices and remaining strong enough to see them through.” Produced by John Congleton, the song opens with dark, minimalistic percussion and Van Etten’s smoldering voice before growing more textured, expanding with layered vocals, synths and keys.

The “Beaten Down” video was directed by Nicky and Juliana Giraffe at Giraffe Studios and features Van Etten and the dancing duo of Allison and Veronica Huber. “Our goal was to create a striking and psychedelic video set in the California desert, a welcoming of Sharon’s next chapter here,” explains Nicky and Juliana Giraffe. “Upon hearing the song, our minds automatically drifted into stark black and white, fever dreams, dark silhouettes contrasted against a barren desert landscape. Our intention was to give Sharon’s song and performance space to breathe and echo. It was important to us that the dancers were strongly connected and we’re so lucky to have worked with the talented Huber Twins on this project.”

Watch Sharon Van Etten’s Video for “Beaten Down”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC9GyTAuk8s

As previously announced, Van Etten guest stars in Eliza Hittman’s new film, Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always,which premiered at Sundance last week to a great deal of industry praise and won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Neorealism. The film opens in theaters in North America on March 13th, 2020. Watch the trailer here.

Van Etten will tour the southeast this April playing cities she has not yet visited in support of Remind Me Tomorrow. Additionally, she’s just announced a return to New York this summer. She’ll headline Central Park SummerStage on Wednesday, July 29th and be joined by Real Estate and Grace Ives.

Stream/Purchase Remind Me Tomorrow –
https://sharonvanetten.ffm.to/remindmetomorrow

Sharon Van Etten Tour Dates:
Fri. April 17 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head Live
Sat. April 18 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Sun. April 19 – North Charleston, SC @ High Water Festival
Mon. April 20 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
Wed. April 22 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
Fri. April 24 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre
Sat. April 25 – Fort Worth, TX @ Fortress Festival
Sun. April 26 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
Tue. April 28 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Fri. May 22 – Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
Wed. July 29 – New York, NY @ Central Park SummerStage w/ Real Estate, Grace Ives

Keep your mind open.

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Black Belt Eagle Scout announces North American tour and new single.

“Encased in swirls of dream-pop production, [At the Party With My Brown Friends] represents a softer, more subtle sort of resistance.” — NPR Music

“Paul is free, so long as she sings, to draw no lines around who she is and what she loves. . . She makes no apologies, feels no inadequacy. Over the course of [At the Party With My Brown Friends], this near-hour spent in the presence of the people she loves, she is reminded that she is equal to any challenge which may befall her.” — Pitchfork

“Throughout [At the Party With My Brown Friends], her voice cascades gently, acting not just as a carrying case for emotion, but as a soothing instrument in itself. It’s a transformation that makes Black Belt Eagle Scout sound more assured and driven, building off last year’s breakout moment.” — The AV Club

Black Belt Eagle Scout – moniker of Portland-based multi-instrumentalist Katherine Paul – announces a North American tour and releases a video for “I Said I Wouldn’t Write This Song,” off last year’s At the Party With My Brown Friends. As described by Paul, the song “is about an initial thought that you don’t think will come to fruition, but for whatever circumstances, does. It’s about that kind of craving emotion within oneself that just turns up and has to come out of you no matter what.”

Its animated video was edited and directed by Chantal Jung (Inujuk Nunatsiavutimi), and is meant to raise awareness of the Alaskan coastline and its deep connection with Indigenous people and animals. “The video features Northern imagery that shows aspects of Inuit life, including cloudberry picking, animal relatives and Arctic landscapes,” describes Jung. “People often forget that our livelihoods are extremely connected to the environment, including the animals and plants that live among us. This video is meant to bring awareness of the land, the animals and the people who protect the land.”

Watch Black Belt Eagle Scout’s “I Said I Wouldn’t Write This Song” Video –
https://youtu.be/cjijLjG-ZKA

Black Belt Eagle Scout will tour North America and Europe this spring. She’ll play many cities not yet visited in support of At the Party With My Brown Friends. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale this Friday, February 7th at 10:00AM local time.

Stream/Purchase At the Party With My Brown Friends
https://bbes.ffm.to/atpwmbf

Watch/Listen:
“At the Party” stream – https://youtu.be/gk3FLRe4tAM
“My Heart Dreams” video – https://youtu.be/cmGP7WZO4Pw
“Run It To Ya” video – https://youtu.be/fYIC6WNweKg

Black Belt Eagle Scout Tour Dates:
Sat. Feb. 22 – Austin, TX @ OUTsider @ The Vortex
Tue. Feb. 25 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox (w/ Death Cab for Cutie)
Wed. Feb. 26 – Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
Thu. Feb. 27 – Anacortes, WA @ The Business
Fri. Feb. 28 – Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club
Sat. Feb. 29 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
Thu. March 26 – Calgary, AB @ The Palomino Smokehouse and Social Club
Fri. March 27 – Edmonton, AB @ The Rec Room
Sat. March 28 – Saskatoon, SK @ Amigos Cantina
Tue. March 31 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club
Wed. April 1 – Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival @ The Mill
Fri. April 3 – Cudahy, WI @ X-Ray Arcade
Sat. April 4 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
Sun. April 5 – Tallahassee, FL @ Word of South Festival (solo)
Tue. April 7 – Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s
Wed. April 8 – Toronto, ON @ The Monarch
Thu. April 9 – Ottawa, ON @ Club SAW
Fri. April 10 – Montreal, QB @ L’esco
Sat. April 11 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace
Sun. April 12 – Allston, MA @ Great Scott
Mon. April 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Tue. April 14 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Thu. April 16 – Brooklyn, NY @ BRIC House
Fri. April 17 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto Project
Sat. April 18 – Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Yacht Club
Sun. April 19 – Columbia, MO @ Café Berlin
Tue. April 21 – Denver, CO @ Lost Lake
Wed. April 22 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Colorado College
Fri. April 24 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Mon. May 18 – Berlin, DE @ Burg Schnabel
Tue. May 19 – Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefährlich
Thu. May 21 – Utrecht, NL @ Brewpub De Kromme Haring
Fri. May 22 – Paris, FR @ Supersonic
Sat. May 23 – Brighton, UK @ Patterns
Sun. May 24 – Leeds, UK @ Hyde Park Book Club
Mon. May 25 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
Tue. May 26 – Manchester, UK @ The Deaf Institute
Wed. May 27 – London, UK @ Colours
Fri. May 29 – Heidelberg, DE @ Queerfestival @ Karlstorbahnof
Sat. May 30 – Brussels, BE @ Witloof Bar

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Okay Kaya – Watch This Liquid Pour Itself

Kaya Wilkins, also known as Okay Kaya, explores depression, love, sex, death, and boredom on her album Watch This Liquid Pour Itself. That’s not to say the album is a bleak bore. It’s quirky, catchy, clever, and intriguing.

“Baby Little Tween” has Wilkins flat-out telling her lover she’ll eventually get tired of having sex with him and wondering if her anti-depressants will shut down her libido altogether. The electro beats behind the track are slow jam-sexy, however, so it seems that Wilkins is getting busy while she can. “Ascend and Try Again” is Wilkin’s blueprint for reducing stress and staying in the moment as she sings about breath control atop simple acoustic and bass guitar chords.

The lazy beats of “Insert Generic Name” reinforce Wilkins’ sexy croon as she sings about how it sucks to be someone’s girlfriend and the “center of resentment in your harem.” “Anything could happen at any given time, no wonder I’m overstimulated,” Wilkins sings on “Overstimulated.” It’s a Velvet Underground-like song about her being fascinated by her lover, but it could as easily be a song about ADHD. “Psych Ward” would be a major Pixies hit in another reality, but Wilkins beat them to it as she sings witty lyrics about her own experiences in treatment (“You can peel an orange however you please in the psych ward…”) while her backing band puts down a wicked groove.

“Guttural Sound” is a dream-like track about the dangers of looking forward to a future that might not, and probably won’t, happen. It also skewers hipsters (“I desperately want to be thirty-something, on my way to the nearest AA meeting.” / “In the dog park, have a discussion on which Brita filter is the best one.”). “Asexual Being,” in which Wilkins admits that “sex with me is mediocre, but I can probably feel what you’re feeling.”, has house music bass encouraging you to get down and at least entertain the idea of being okay with mediocre sex and Netflix and ice cream. “Popcorn Heart” is as tender as a 1950’s ballad and perfect for your kid’s prom slow dance playlist.

The bass groove, beats, and piano of “Mother Nature’s Bitch” make it sound like a lost Fleetwood Mac cut. “Hallelu Ya Hallelu Me” is another dreamy track, this one about obession (“It’s so creepy. I think of you instead of eating or sleeping.”). “Symbosis” has Wilkins comparing herself and her lover to algae while weird synths shift around in the background. It’s not unlike a Gary Wilson song. In fact, Ms. Wilkins and Mr. Wilson would probably make a great album together because they love singing about and exploring the same themes – love, loneliness, romance, kissing, and obsession.

The cleverly titled “Givenupitis” is a lovely slow-funk slap upside the head of apathetic people who are so attached to their IDGAF attitude that they’ve lost connections with nearly everyone around them. The lyrics for “Helsevesen” are in Norwegian (the title translates to “health service”), and the song has an echoing, icy quality to it that befits the Norwegian landscape. The electro beats and bass of “Stonethrow” produce the most danceable track on the record as Wilkins worries that she’s “becoming what the kids these days call insecure.” Wilkins’ voice goes low for “Zero Interaction Ramen Bar” while she sings about being alone in a bright, yet dreary place with nothing and no one to console her apart from booze, tasteless dumplings, and her own thoughts.

This is one of those records that’s perfect for the right mood. It’s hard to determine what that mood is, as it will be different for everyone, but that shows how good of a songwriter Wilkins is. She has crafted an album that will resonate with different listeners in different ways. That’s no easy task.

Keep your mind open.

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Nap Eyes announce new album, “Snapshot of a Beginner,” out March 27th.

Nap Eyes will release their new album, Snapshot of a Beginner, their most concentrated and hi-fi effort to date, on March 27th via Jagjaguwar / Royal Mountain, in partnership with Paradise of Bachelors. Throughout the album, there’s an immediately noticeable leap in arrangement and muscle, one that still holds the raw, nervous energy and the earnest, self-deprecating poetry that make Nap Eyes an enduring cult favorite. The music still brings to mind the bucolic ennui of the Silver Jews and Daniel Johnston’s jittery naïveté, but the new sheen and maturity also now brings to mind the wide-angle appeal of The Jayhawks and the addictive brightness of Green Day’s Kerplunk!.

Lead single “Mark Zuckerberg” is a hi-fi jangle-pop earworm that, at its outset, sounds like it could be the theme song from Party of Five. Less a takedown of any one specific, capitalist tech fascist than it is a poem about the confounding and beautiful swirl of modern life, it is their thoughtful, incisive Hit for The People. “Transcendence is all around us,” Chapman repeats, a freeing incantation and a gift to us all as the coda slows and expands.

On the video, the band notes: “People are scared of Mark Zuckerberg. You look at him before Congress and think, ‘Is this the bogeyman? Is he a CIA plant? Can he read my mind with some sort of God-mode search feature in all my chat transcripts?’ This video leads us to believe that Mark wants to enjoy and surveil whatever world he inhabits, whether it’s starting a band with ghastly apparitions in the spirit realm or changing size according to his whim while observing natural and urban landscapes with equal awe. He wants you to accept his friend request and let him watch over you. ‘When there was only one set of footprints in the sand…’”

Almost all the songs of Nap Eyes are whittled into their final form from frontman Nigel Chapman’s unspooling, 20-minute voice-and-guitar free-writing sessions. Each member — drummer Seamus Dalton, bassist Josh Salter and guitarist Brad Loughead — then plays a crucial role in song development, composing around the idiosyncratic structures and directing the overall sound and feel of the songs.

Until now, that final song construction and recording has been mostly done live in a room. But for Snapshot of a Beginner, the band went to The National’s nuevo-legendary upstate NY Long Pond Studio, working with producers Jonathan Low (Big Red Machine, The National) and James Elkington (Steve Gunn, Joan Shelley), the latter of whom also did pre-production arrangement work with the band. Never has Nap Eyes sounded more ferocious. It took them a long time and a long practice to reach this artistic zen, but one gets the feeling throughout Snapshot of a Beginner that this balance is going to hold.
Watch Nap Eyes’ Video for “Mark Zuckerberg” –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq2YhOY55zU

Pre-order Snapshot of a Beginner –
https://napeyes.ffm.to/snapshotofabeginner

Snapshot of a Beginner Tracklist:
1. So Tired
2. Primordial Soup
3. Even Though I Can’t Read Your Mind
4. Mark Zuckerberg
5. Mystery Calling
6. Fool Thinking Ways
7. If You Were In Prison
8. Real Thoughts
9. Dark Link
10. When I Struck Out On My Own
11. Though I Wish I Could Nap Eyes Tour Dates:
Wed. March 4 – Toronto, ON @ Opera House %
Thu. March 5 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount %
Fri. March 6 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair %
Sat. March 7 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel %
Sun. March 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts %
Mon. March 9 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat %
Wed. March 11 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle %
Thu. March 12 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West %
Fri. March 13 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge %
Sat. March 14 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill %
Sun. March 15 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room %
Mon. March 16 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater %
Tue. March 17 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge %
Thu. March 19 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos %
Fri. March 20 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre %
Sun. March 22 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar (tickets)
Wed. March 25 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge (tickets)
Fri. March 27 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord (tickets)
Sat. March 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar (tickets)
Sun. March 29 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah (tickets)
Mon. March 30 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar (tickets)
Wed. April 1 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda (tickets)
Thu. April 2 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links (tickets)
Sat. April 4 – Kansas City, MO @ The Riot Room (tickets)
Sun. April 5 – Urbana, IL @ Rose Bowl Tavern (tickets)
Mon. April 6 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe (tickets)
Wed. April 15 – London, UK @ The Moth Club
Thu. April 16 – Liverpool, UK @ Leaf
Fri. April 17 – Glasgow, UK @ The Hug and Pint
Sat. April 18 – Leeds, UK @ Hyde Park Book Club
Sun. April 19 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds
Mon. April 20 – Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin
Wed. April 22 – Paris, FR @ Le Point Ephemere
Thu. April 23 – Brussels, BE @ Volta
Fri. April 24 – Rotterdam, NL @ V11
Sat. April 25 – Utrecht, NL @ Ekko

% = w/ Destroyer

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The Radiohead Public Library is now open.

Radiohead has opened the doors of its archives by giving us the online Radiohead Public Library. It’s a vast treasure trove of everything from obscure album art and ad-free live performances to cool ephemera like old fan club letters, photos of out-of-print shirts, and rare music videos.

Fans can also download their own library card, like I did.

The library is set up with the oldest stuff at the bottom of the page, and I’m sure they haven’t released everything they have in their vault, but the availability of so much free streaming material is a treat for Radiohead fans and music fans alike.

Keep your mind open.

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Okay Kaya invites you to the “Psych Ward” with her new single.

Okay Kaya – the project of Norwegian-born, New York-based Kaya Wilkins – shares the new single/video, “Psych Ward,” from Watch This Liquid Pour Itself, her forthcoming album out January 24th on Jagjaguwar. She also announces initial performances in support of Watch This Liquid Pour Itself. A full list of dates can be found below.

“Psych Ward,” produced by Kaya with co-production from Christoph Andersson (Cautious Clay), follows previously released singles/videos “Asexual Wellbeing,” “Baby Little Tween,” and “Ascend and Try Again.” On “Psych Ward,” Kaya’s scene of nurses making rounds is based on her personal experience of time spent in a hospital. Kaya describes the track and the video in her own words:

“This is basically a Hospital Evaluation Form. The last few days I was in a hospital a nurse unlocked one of the cabinets and let me use the rec room guitar, to play outside of art therapy class. I wrote what I saw to understand how I felt. It turned into this funny bop, I wanted it to feel like a Ramones song or something.

I wrote the lyrics in a very literal way as I often tend to do. When it was time for a music video I took the words ‘do the rounds’ even more literally by making Kaya pole dance in her daydream during her morning fitness routine. The fitness routines were always to an ABBA greatest hits CD, it felt much too ecstatic compared to the heavily drugged hospital bodies, barely out of bed, barely moving. I wanted the video to show that effort, because I am scared to forget. This whole album is filled with moments I am scared to forget, coming right at you projectile style.”

Although Kaya recorded most of Watch This Liquid Pour Itself herself, she also collaborated with producers Jacob Portrait (UMO, Whitney, (Sandy) Alex G) and John Carroll Kirby (Solange, Kali Uchis) to fully realize her ideas for how this record should sound. Each of the music videos for the new record are co-directed by Kaya and Adinah Dancyger, and were shot respectively in Germany, Japan, Norway, and New York.

Additionally, Kaya is pleased to announce that all of her music videos will be screening later this month – January 15th at Film Noir in New York and January 23rd at Now Instant in Los Angeles. She’ll also be performing solo on January 27th at the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn as part of her Van Leeuwen collaboration. Kaya’s special “Eat Your Feelings” a vegan black sesame ice cream flavor, will be available for a limited time at their Williamsburg, Lower East Side and Silverlake (Los Angeles) scoop shops.
Watch “Psych Ward” Video –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nedrz5vDug

Watch “Asexual Wellbeing” Video –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHrpUlmplkY

Watch “Baby Little Tween” Video –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZP6B1ZzzPY

Watch “Ascend and Try Again” Video –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAhAG4jaZwsPre-order Watch This Liquid Pour Itself –
https://okaykaya.ffm.to/watchthisliquid

Okay Kaya Tour Dates:
Mon. Jan. 27 – Brooklyn, NY @ Van Leeuwen Ice Cream (RSVP)
Tue. Jan. 28 – New York, NY @ Whitney Museum of American Art (DJ Set)
Thu. Feb. 13 – Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust
Fri. Feb. 28 – Oslo, NO @ By:Larm
Mon. March 2 – Paris, FR @ Pop Up
Wed. March 4 – London, UK @ SET
Sun. March 8 – San Diego, CA @ CRSSD
Mon. March 9 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
Tue. March 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
Tue. March 17 – Sat. March 21 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
Fri. May 8 – Berlin, DE @ Pitchfork Festival

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Screaming Females – Singles Too

Covering the earliest years of Screaming Females‘ career of singles recorded in ramshackle studios in New Jersey to remixes of hit singles made in high-end studios in Los Angeles, Singles Too is a great collection of rare cuts, B-sides, digital releases, remixes, and cover tunes from the punk power trio.

The first two tracks, “Arm Over Arm” and “Zoo of Death” (and why isn’t that the title of a Poverty Row thriller from the 1930’s starring George Zucco?), are some of the earliest ones ever made by Screaming Females. You can hear the early evidence of future epic shredding from singer / guitarist Marissa Paternoster, just nineteen-years-old at the time, getting all she can out of the studio time. “No Being Disgusting” is saw raw that it’s almost like wrecking on your skateboard and into a pile of gravel (and I mean that in the best possible way).

“Pretty Okay” brings Mike Abbate‘s bass to the forefront as he pummels you with sheer power. “I dig on calculus,” Paternoster sings at the beginning of “I Do” – a song about doing out of the ordinary stuff to get the attention of a crush. The song is more power-grunge than math rock, however, as evidenced by Paternoster’s Bob Mould-influenced solo. The song devolves into sludgy, warped that wouldn’t be out of place on a doom metal album. “Ancient Civilization” is where the album starts to turn toward higher production and sharper sound, but no less fuzz and power. Abbate’s thick bass grooves return on “Let Me In,” and drummer Jarrett Dougherty sounds like he’s somehow juggling toms and playing them at the same time.

Paternoster’s screaming vocals on the chorus of “Skeleton” are, as I read on a YouTube comment about one of Screaming Females’ live shows, “punk as fuck.” The acoustic demo of “Hopeless” (one of their most popular tracks) is lovely. I can’t describe it better than that. “Take It Back” is more solid punk and the remix of “End of My Bloodline” brings in some of Dougherty’s beloved hip-hop beats and some slick rapping in place of Paternoster’s vocals. Dougherty lays down a wicked beat on “Cortez the Killer” – the band’s sizzling cover of the Neil Young classic.

Their cover of Sheryl Crow‘s “If It Makes You Happy” is a welcome addition to the album, as it’s been a popular tune at their live shows for years (plus, it rocks hard). There’s a quick cover of Guided By Voices‘ “A Good Flying Bird,” and then a fun, bass-heavy cover of Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off.” The album closes with a lovely cover of Eurythmics‘ “No More I Love You’s.”

This is an great collection and essential if you’re a Screaming Females fan.

Keep your mind open.

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