Today, the Omaha-based musician David Nance & Mowed Sound releases their debut, self-titled record on Third Man Records, and shares a new video for the track “Credit Line.” The song according to Nance has existed in some form for almost a decade and has appeared on several different albums, but never felt complete until now. “I guess I was waiting on the riff to show up,” says Nance. The video, directed by Nik Fackler & filmed in an Amish furniture store, was an attempt at making a legitimate television commercial reminiscent of the local furniture store advertisements found everywhere, but shot as if an existential crisis happened right before filming.
Led by Nance on vocals and guitar alongside Kevin Donahue on drums, James Schroeder on guitar, Derrick Higgins and Sam Lipsett on bass, alongside guest appearances from Megan Siebe, Skye Junginger, and Pearl LoveJoy Boyd, Nance brings together a crew of veteran Omaha musicians for a record that showcases Nance’s voracious appetite for anything that rocks, anything that soothes, and all the glorious static and disturbed transmissions in between.
Nance grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska, played in the marching band and discovered punk and garage rock before moving to Omaha and joining the mid-2000 garage punk scene happening there with the band the Forbidden Tigers. Several years spent in Los Angeles with his wife Anna led to a period of songwriting and home recording before they decided to move back to Omaha where he began finding his musical identity and started recording his songs with like-minded friends. What developed was a heavy burned-out rock vibe that still somehow fits in the punk universe.
Not content to mine one musical formula, Nance and company continue to explore new sounds and spaces. From the blistered punk blasts of More Than Enough to the introspective stance on Staunch Honey, Nance and his friends find inspiration from the friends and fellow musicians that have accompanied them on their journey. A fruitful one indeed.
“Being in a band is like being in a marriage: sometimes it’s magical, sometimes it’s unbearably challenging.”
That’s from the notes on Deap Vally‘s Bandcamp page for their third, and what appears to be final album – Marriage. It was a prophetic statement in 2021 because Deap Vally are now on their farewell tour, having decided to call it quits and focus on other projects and their respective families. No worries, everyone, it’s an amicable split – judging from everything I’ve read, photos I’ve seen, and their extensive tour dates (including, it was recently announced, Levitation France in May 2024).
Marriage saw the band not only continuing their power-duo sound, but also branching out to work with other musicians and producers (as they’d done with The Flaming Lips) to stretch out the sounds they could create.
The album opens with their signature sound of roaring guitars, Julie Edwards‘ frenetic drumming, and snarling dual vocals on “Perfuction.” It has great lyrics that only Deap Vally seem to be able to write about balancing a sex life with work life, family life, and just…well, life, such as “Dirty dishes, clothes on the floor. I haven’t showered in days, and I sleep till four. Try to keep it together, but fuck it, whatever. I’m a mess, but I’m clever. So, fuck it, whatever.”
“Billions” punches rich elitists square in the mouth. “Magic Medicine” has some of Lindsey Troy‘s hottest solos on the record. “I Like Crime” brings in Jennie Vee (of Eagles of Death Metal) on bass and assisting vocals, giving the song extra thump and mysterious sensuality. “Nothing’s gonna stop me,” Troy sings on “Phoenix,” an upbeat song with a fiery edge about not letting that life-grind destroy you. “Give Me a Sign” has Deap Vally calling out for clarity. “Give me a sign to make up my mind,” they sing in perhaps the most obvious portent of their future dissolution of the band.
Troy lets her lover know he’d better be careful on “Better Run,” as she might overwhelm him. This seems like an even stronger warning when you consider the next track is titled “I’m the Master.” Edwards’ driving rhythms on it are top-notch. “High Horse” has K.T. Tunstall and Peaches joining forces with Troy and Edwards in a floor-stomper complete with Peaches putting down a rap verse. “Where Do We Go” could be another harbinger of their decision to close the Deap Vally book. “Tsunami” is a crunchy, fiery rocker (“I won’t stop till I get what’s mine!”) that I’m sure slays live. The final Deap Vally album closes with “Look Away” (with jennylee of Warpaint) and the band singing about visions of peace, relaxation, and love (“In your arms, it’s a holiday.”).
The signs were there, and now we have one last chance to see them live. I wish them all the best. They gave us three fine records, which is more than many other bands have done. Marriage is a good way to go out.
Chicago singer-songwriter Liam Kazar “shows no difficulty finding grooves, building self-contained sonic worlds, and using his voice confidently as an instrument” (Aquarium Drunkard). This is immediately clear throughout his excellent debut album, 2021’s Due North, and is even more apparent in his new single, “Next Time Around,” out today. As Kazar’s first release since Due North, “Next Time Around” unravels with velvet-smooth guitar and his warm croon. The track was recorded by his trusted collaborator Sam Evian and features Evian on bass guitar, Sean Mullins on drums, and Michael Prince Coleman on keys. “‘Next Time Around’ came as songs rarely do, in a single vision. All I had to do was write it down.” Kazar says. “If I knew how to tap into those all the time, I would. We recorded ‘Next Time Around’ right after being on the road for a month in the fall of 2021. There’s a tour tightness to this recording that only comes from spending weeks in a van and onstage with another musician. I think you can hear that in the recording, the tiny bit of air between us while we’re playing packed close together — I feel like I’m right in the room every time I listen. Nod to Sam for capturing this moment so beautifully.” Listen to “Next Time Around” For over a decade, Kazar has consistently been a dream bandmate. He’s an adaptable and skilled musician, leading to tours and collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, Kevin Morby, and Sam Evian, amongst others. His debut, Due North, is a personal revelation, where the more Kazar wrote, the more his songs showed what kind of artist he’s always wanted to be – one whose own joyous rock songs are so irresistible, full of charm, wit and heart, they feel timeless. This summer, Kazar will play in Sam Evian and Kevin Morby’s respective bands across the states. Prior, he’ll play his own shows in New York and Chicago. Tickets for all dates are on sale now. Stream/Purchase Due North
Liam Kazar Tour Dates Thu. Mar. 28 – New York, NY @ Union Pool * Sun. Apr. 7 – Chicago, IL @ The Hideout
fanclubwallet — the project of Canadian singer-songwriter Hannah Judge — announces a new, full band EP, Our Bodies Paint Traffic Lines, out March 29th via Cool Online, and shares lead single “Band Like That.” The 24-year-old, until now proudly DIY in her approach, has enlisted the help of three close friends from the Ottawa scene (who also happen to be her touring band) for her most exciting release yet and “Band Like That” is the first taste of the band’s new direction. “I had spent months studying everyone else’s bands,” says Hannah, acknowledging a love for the likes of Metric, Pinback, Plumtree, and Alex G. “What made them so good? Why couldnt I be like them? And that’s where this new track came from.” In the accompanying video, Hannah’s character obsesses over a local band, eventually kidnapping its members and becoming headline news in a real-life newspaper called Club Chronicles created by Hannah herself and to be distributed around her hometown of Ottawa in the near future.
Once upon a time Hannah had been perfectly content sitting at home alone mucking around with cheap keyboards. But as fanclubwallet garnered more and more listeners on streaming services (breakthrough song “Car Crash in G Major” currently sits pretty on 13 million Spotify plays), a nationwide live tour quickly became an inevitability – even if it was something the once “debilitatingly shy” Hannah never expected would happen to her.
Things change when you leave the confines of your bedroom — not least the need to reconceptualize certain songs for a full-band dynamic. Thankfully for Hannah, that transition from DIY singer-songwriter to band leader was free of the usual tensions. In fact, since fanclubwallet had already started touring as a quartet before the new material came along, it could hardly have been simpler.
“I was lucky that when the time came to find a band, I had one standing right in front of me,” she says. Step forward: Nathan Reid (bass), Eric Graham (guitar) and Michael Watson, who not only played drums, but produced and mixed the record. “It’s cool to let your best friends take the lead,” says Hannah, who’s known half the band since way back in third grade, and once upon a time acted as their tour photographer. “They feel like my arms and my legs. Extensions of myself!”
After tracking one demo in a LA Airbnb and another in Alabama when their van broke down while on tour, the four of them de-banked to a cottage in Gatineau, Quebec, before applying the final touches at Port William Sound in Frontenac, Ontario – “an awesome place in the middle of nowhere.” The result is an EP partly conceived on the road which also deals thematically with the trials and tribulations of living and working in music — whether that’s the initial shock of leaving your more normal sedentary existence behind, band envy, stage fright, creepy photographers or simply finding joy in the collective.
Taking inspiration from 90s zine culture and leaning on Hannah’s side hustle as a cartoonist, fanclubwallet will release the EP with an exclusive set of comics, trading cards and chord charts for each song allowing fans to play along.
The cover of Dion Lunadon‘s new album, Systems Edge, shows him holding a chain above a guitar. My guess is that he was just about to flog that guitar within an inch of its life with it, because that kind of (yes, Stooges-influenced) raw power is all over the record.
Opening track “Secrets” has him already pounding out raggedy, roaring chords with it, and on “Nikki” it sounds like the bellows of a robotic lion. The thick bass notes punch up the rock even more. It’s a song about a fling that ends in tragedy for at least one person involved, and maybe pleasure for another. “Diamond Sea” has a groovy surf-rock line that runs through it.
“I Walk Away” is, somehow, heavier and darker than everything before it, and Lunadon’s vocals are like a werewolf belting out a tune during transformation. “Rocks On” reminds me of “Mongoloid-era” Devo tracks where you have all kinds of fuzz and some sort of something that feels like it can erupt into full-blown chaos at any moment.
The bass and drums on “Shockwave” hit you like the song’s namesake. “Grind Me Down” has a New York Dolls feel to it with its swagger and garage rock guitars. After the brief instrumental of “Straight Down the Middle,” we get the great dis track, “I Don’t Mind,” in which Lunadon writes off an ex-lover / friend because they only bring him bad luck and headaches. The album closes with the near-doom heavy-psych of “Room with No View,” which sounds like Lunadon is playing his guitar with a lit sparkler he got at a dusty roadside fireworks stand.
For me, the coolest thing about Systems Edge is that Lunadon made a pure rock record. It’s heavy garage rock, to be certain, but it’s nice to hear a rock record that embraces and flaunts the power of distorted, fuzzed, dangerous rock. We don’t have enough rock records that feel at least a bit threatening. Thankfully, Lunadon is here to snarl and growl and shake up the room.
Since 2008, Ty Segall has played out his hunger to be free through a dozen solo LPs, a variety of collaborative projects, and a rippling eclecticism of songs, sounds and production, all conversing from album to album in a mad diversity of voices. This search continues with Ty’s newest album, Three Bells, a fifteen song journey to the center of the self with Ty pushing the limits in his writing and performance, casting light on his inner psyche. Today, leading into the album’s January 26th release via Drag City, Ty welcomes the new year with “My Best Friend,” a new single and video and the final song to be released prior to the full unveiling of Three Bells. It follows the previously released Three Bells’ numbers: “Void,” “Eggman,” and “My Room.”
The quest for freedom looks different for everyone, but sometimes it looks like spending time with our non-human companions, an idea Ty explores on “My Best Friend.” Ty’s falsetto vocals and a driving, electric arrangement are the backbone of “My Best Friend,” with guitars cutting synchronous lines and a cowbell fortifying the chorus. In the solo section, the resonant rhythm/leads are fanned in a dizzying stereo effect. Filmed and directed by Ty, the song’s video finds his loyal companions, Fanny and Herman, as their tails wag with unbridled enthusiasm at the dawn of a new day. A sweet treat, friendly sniff and spirited encounters at the beach mirror the song’s rhythms.
Following select California shows in February, including two nights at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and a record release show at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, Ty will tour throughout North America in the spring before heading to Europe in June. Tickets are now on sale.
Ty Segall Tour Dates: (new dates in bold) Tue. Feb. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Wed. Feb. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Fri. Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern* Sat. Feb. 24 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Fri. Apr. 19 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole Sat. Apr. 20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar Mon. Apr. 22 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Outside) Tue. Apr. 23 – Jackson, MS @ Duling Hall Wed. Apr. 24 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Fri. Apr. 26 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel Sat. Apr. 27 – Washington DC @ Lincoln Theatre Sun. Apr. 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Mon. Apr. 29 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall Wed. May 1 – Boston, MA @ Royale Thu. May 2 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda Fri. May 3 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall Sun. May 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom Mon. May 6 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Tue. May 7 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room Thu. May 9 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre Fri. May 10 – May 12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Block Party Sat. May 11 – Sacramento, CA @ HarlowʼsMon. June 17 – Prague, CZ @ Roxy Tue. June 18 – Zürich, CH @ Mascotte Thu. June 20 – Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES @ Azkena Rock Festival Sat. June 22 – Paris, FR @ Elysée Montmartre Mon. June 24 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Tue. June 25 – Dublin, IRE @ Button Factory Thu. June 27 – Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union (QMU) Fri. June 28 – London, UK @ Roundhouse Sun. June 30 – Bristol, UK @ Bristol Sounds 2024 Tue. July 2 – Lille, FR @ L’Aéronef Wed. July 3 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg Thu. July 4 – Vilanova i la Geltrú, ES @ Vida Festival 2024 Sun. July 7 – Beuningen, NL @ Down The Rabbit Hole
UK psych-punk Dez Dare shares the first single and video today from his forthcoming new album A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin worldwide. Watch & share “Got a Fire In My Socket” via YouTube HERE & hear on all DSPs HERE.
Dez Dare kicks off UK tour dates in April, with more to follow in the EU and Australia. Please see current dates below.
A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin. features 11 songs that delve further into the void than previous records, leaving the sardonic frustration behind for sarcastic existentialism, zeroing in on the big philosophical questions, and the pedantic shards of nonsense that make up our existence.
This track is a fuzzed up, bass and synth driven, stomper that tackles the biggest question of all… as the wires fray from the burden of existence + the last sparks shimmer in your consciousness, the void has one simple question… “What tunes do you want playing on the way out?”
The Stooges ‘Real Cool Time’?
The Triffids ‘A Trick of the Light’?
Judy & the Jerks ‘Good Time’?
Nicki Minaj ‘Red Ruby Da Sleeze’?
Whatever your taste, the small things matter. Make it a strong choice!
The self-produced Australian has spent over 3 decades producing music, releasing and touring bands, and doing live sound for z-grade metal bands. Growing up in the coastal town of Geelong (Djilang) in Australia, he was introduced to the DIY punk and rock scene at 15 and this community and the ideas rooted in the underground music scene have guided his output and ethics throughout his career.
This year Dez will be joining forces with label titans God Unknown (Cassels / Duke Garwood / James Johnston + Steve Gullick / KLÄMP / Oneida / Laura Loriga / Monster Magnet / Wellwater Conspiracy [Soundgarden + Monster Magnet]) and will be producing a deluxe version of the album on blob color vinyl and includes a comic book illustrated by Mike Keane. In true nerd fashion the comic also features Top 10s by Dez, Jason Stoll (God Unknown), Matthew Barnhart (Chicago Mastering Service), Mike Keane, and the album illustrator MALMALL.
A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin. will be released on LP, CD and download on March 1st via God Unknown Records.
I didn’t get to see as many bands last year as I would’ve liked thanks to many work conflicts and other travel that kept me away from music festivals, but there were some gems. Here’s the first half of the top ten.
#10: Mac Sabbath – The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN – October 18th
I’d been meaning to see Mac Sabbath for a couple years, and they finally came close by (relatively speaking), so a buddy and I went to see them in Indianapolis. I knew there would be lots of Black Sabbath parody songs, but I didn’t know there was going to be so much performance art and comedy. It was a fun mix, not unlike a Harlem Globetrotters show.
#9: King Buffalo – Bell’s Eccentric Café, Kalamazoo, MI – April 22nd
I don’t know how King Buffalo have the time to make new records because they always seem to be touring – giving Reverend Horton Heat a run for their money. Seeing them in a small venue like this is becoming rarer and rarer a treat, because they’re playing more festivals in the U.S. and Europe each year. Don’t miss them.
#8: The Well – Reggie’s, Chicago, IL – April 05th
Speaking of bands you don’t want to miss, The Well are among them. They never disappoint and always put down a heavy doom set. They also are always smiling whenever I see them play, clearly having a good time while playing songs about creepy things in the shadows, weird cults, and groaning spirits.
#7: Playboy Manbaby – The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN – October 18th
No one at the Vogue knew what to make of these guys as they began their set. Were they an emo band? A punk band? A new wave band? I still don’t know. I just know they were a blast and had the whole crowd engaged within three songs, even holding a small election at one point.
#6: The Cybertronic Spree– The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN – October 18th
The middle band of this triple bill turned out to have the best set, as these robots-in-disguise rockers shredded the entire time, leaving a lot of us slack-jawed with amazement. The lead guitarist played most of the set with one broken string, and barely anyone noticed. You have to be good to pull off a gimmick like this, and The Cybertronic Spree are very good, indeed.
Who made the top five? Come back to tomorrow and see!
Sheer Mag break significant musical ground on their forthcoming album Playing Favorites, elevating their signature approach to rock and roll to lushly cinematic new heights. Their latest single “Moonstruck” lives up to its titular reference of Hollywood-sized surprise romance, spooling out a charming story of desire. Guitarist and lyricist Matt Palmer tells, “‘Moonstruck’ is about how invigorating it is to have a new crush. After too long lost in the wilderness, it’s gratifying to find a beacon of tenderness to help reorient yourself in the maze of love. Written in 2021 and originally intended for a disco EP, ‘Moonstruck’ has been reworked as a more expansive and lush arrangement and features some of our favorite guitar work on the new record.”
The accompanying video for “Moonstruck” was inspired by Rush’s “Limelight“ visuals which featured footage from their wintertime recording sessions at Le Studio in Quebec. Sheer Mag enlisted director and longtime friend Ryan Schnackenberg (Cult Images) to bring it to life. Watch below.
Sheer Mag have labored to carve out a discernibly singular position within the canon of contemporary rock: toggling with ease between the refined flourishes of a “connoisseur’s band” and the ecstatic colloquialism of populist songwriting—yet displaying no strict loyalty to either camp—their sound, while oft-referenced, is unmistakably and immediately recognizable as theirs alone. On Playing Favorites, Sheer Mag’s third full-length and first with Third Man Records, the band capitalize on a decade’s worth of devotion to their own collective spirit—a spirit refined in both the sweaty trenches of punk warehouses and the larger-than-life glamour of concert halls—emerging with a dense work of gripping emotions, massive hooks, and masterfully constructed power-pop anthems. This is the record the Philadelphian rock and roll four-piece has always been destined to make.
Playing Favorites expands with a sense of undeniable vitality, buoyed by rock and roll’s singular capacity to channel a relentless compassion for human life. While at times marked by an intensified sense of melancholy, this newest offering takes stock of the confusing flow of daily life without moralizing, refusing to fall into antagonistic cynicism. Sheer Mag leans into the chaotic thrall of city living, of a life subdivided by the jagged highs and lows of bars, parties, and nightlife culture, with sweetly empathetic remove.
The album burns with a sweetened gratitude for the lot one has been given in life: the luck of coming up punk; the luck of living an unalienated life; the luck of feeling love, and losing love. Sheer Mag began to work in earnest on their follow up to 2019’s A Distant Call in the summer of 2021, which they originally imagined would take the shape of a tautly constructed 4-song disco EP. Before long, the band realized this new material would perhaps be better served within the context of a fully fleshed out rock LP, bracketed by the support of a wider array of juxtaposing psychic moods and sonic textures.
Over a six-month stretch spanning the fall of 2022 to the winter of 2023, guitarist Kyle Seely and his brother Hart Seely (bass) set about tracking the instrumentals for the record, resetting their studio configuration each week in order to impose a more tailored, multi-session atmosphere upon the record’s acoustic landscape. Palmer rejoined vocalist Tina Halladay in Philadelphia the following spring to write and record the vocals for Playing Favorites, which depart rather markedly from the band’s prior material, placing an added emphasis on pronouncedly existential, interpersonal storytelling and ornate background harmonies.
Playing Favorites is undoubtedly a record by the same Sheer Mag that audiences of all stripes have spent the last decade falling in love with. In fact, for all of its sonic departures and evolutions, this record is perhaps the most “Sheer Mag” release yet. Not so much a return to form, but rather a realization of those greatest promises that the band has up until now only hinted at. With Playing Favorites, Sheer Mag cater to their tastes and their tastes alone: so long as they continue to do so, the future of rock and roll, that great human tradition, is in the best of hands.
Sheer Mag embark on an extensive headlining tour this Spring which kicks off in D.C. late March and routes them coast to coast through early May. Today they’ve confirmed performances at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, a hometown show at Philadelphia’s First Unitarian Church and more. See below for a full list of dates. For tickets and updates, go here.
Mar 29: Washington, DC – Songbyrd Mar 30: Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle – Back Room Mar 31: Asheville, NC – Eulogy Apr 01: Nashville, TN – The Blue Room at Third Man Records Apr 02: Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade, Purgatory Apr 04: New Orleans, LA – Siberia Apr 05: Houston, TX – The End Apr 06: Austin, TX – Far Out Lounge Apr 07: Dallas, TX – Double Wide Apr 09: Mesa, AZ – The Underground Apr 10: Tucson, AZ – Club Congress Apr 11: San Diego, CA – The Casbah Apr 12: Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room Apr 13: Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room Apr 15: San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop Apr 17: Portland, OR – Star Theater Apr 18: Seattle, WA – The Vera Project Apr 19: Boise, ID – The Shredder Apr 20: Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court Apr 22: Denver, CO – Hi Dive Apr 24: Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge Apr 25: Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry Apr 26: Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon Apr 27: Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village Apr 29: Kalamazoo, MI – Bell’s Eccentric Cafe May 05: Somerville, MA – Crystal Ballroom May 06: East Haven, CT – Beeracks May 08: New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom May 10: Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church May 01: Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground May 03: Buffalo, NY – Mohawk Place May 04: Troy, NY – No Fun May 31 – Jun 02: Northampton, MA – Field Day Music Festival
Now that 2023 has passed us, it’s time for my annual countdown of some of my favorite stuff of the previous year. Who made the top 25? Read on and discover!
#25: Cavaran – Nights at Josan
Named after a bar near their recording studio they’d frequent after recording sessions, Belgium’s Cavaran returned with a solid record of desert / stoner rock that was a badly need dose of rocket fuel into our collective veins.
#24: Gimenö – Movement Remixes
Just like 2022, there was a lot of good EDM released last year, and this album of remixes by pals of DJ / producer Gimenö was among it. There isn’t a bad track on here. It’s all floor-fillers.
#23: Big Miz – Where I Belong
Another excellent EDM EP, this one from Big Miz on the Homage label. Miz combined house with trance and does it with subtle, slick skill.
#22: Bodywash– I Held the Shape While I Could
Shoegaze made a fine return this year, and that makes me happy – as did this cool record by Bodywash that bathes you in guitars, reverb, and clove cigarette smoke vocals.
#21: Eaves Wilder – Hookey
Another fun EP, this one about break-ups, screw-ups (in the world of mental health care), and drink-ups. Eaves Wilder might be “the next big thing.” Get in on her stuff now and become one of the cool kids.
Who makes the top 20? Come back tomorrow to find out!
