Rage Against the Machine have announced their first full tour in almost ten years, starting with three shows in the American southwest that will benefit immigrant charities. Most of the tour includes opening support from Run the Jewels, and there’s also a headlining spot for RATM at Coachella this year. Tickets are on sale now, and I’m sure many dates (if not all of them) will sell out. Here’s the list:
03-26 El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center 03-28 Las Cruces, NM – Pan American Center 03-30 Glendale, AZ – Gila River Arena 04-10 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 04-17 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 04-21 Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena 04-25 Portland, OR – Moda Center 04-28 Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome 05-01 Vancouver, BC – Pacific Coliseum at the PNE 05-03 Edmonton, Alberta – Rogers Place 05-05 Calgary, Alberta – Scotiabank Saddledome 05-07 Winnipeg, Manitoba – Bell MTS Place 05-09 Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford Premier Center 05-11 Minneapolis, MN – Target Center 05-14 Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center 05-16 St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center 05-19 Chicago, IL – United Center 05-23 Boston, MA – Boston Calling 06-19 Dover, DE – Firefly 07-10 East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre 07-13 Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena 07-17 Ottawa, Ontario – Ottawa Bluesfest 07-18 Québec City, Québec – Festival d’Été de Québec 07-21 Hamilton, Ontario – FirstOntario Centre 07-23 Toronto, Ontario – Scotiabank Arena 07-27 Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center 07-29 Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 07-31 Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena 08-02 Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena 08-04 Washington, DC – Capital One Arena 08-07 Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion 08-10 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden 08-11 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden 08-28 Leeds, England – Leeds Festival 08-30 Reading, England – Reading Festival 09-01 Paris, France – Rock En Seine Festival 09-04 Stradbally Laois, Ireland – Electric Picnic Festival 09-06 Berlin, Germany – Lollapalooza Berlin Festival 09-08 Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena 09-10 Krakow, Poland – Tauron Arena
“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 DeadOceans. 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.”
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
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.”
Detroit’s Shadow Show(Kate Derringer – bass, Ava East – guitar, and Kerrigan Pearce – drums) mix 1960’s garage rock with psychedelia and post / art-punk to create their debut album Silhouettes.
The album’s songs deal a lot with perception and illusion. The band’s and album’s names represent things that are real yet unreal. The first track on the record, “Charades,” begins with Pearce’s rapid-fire drumming and then dives into lyrics like “I could be you, you could be me. I could be anything I see.” The fiery “Contessa” is a tribute to a fiery ex-lover who deals in deception (and hot love that sometimes makes it worth it, to be honest). Derringer’s bass on “Green Stone” is as funky as Donald Dunn‘s on “Green Onions.”
An alchemist is someone who, among other things, seeks ways to transform one element to another. It’s another reference to altering perception and reality. The song “The Alchemist” has a cool underlying fuzz to it and lyrics about seeing “the center of your mind.” “Shadow Box” refers to something preserved for all to see, but yet still entrapped. The lyrics refer to a lover who couldn’t see and think outside the box and thus screwed up the good thing they had.
The deft “Trapeze Act” moves and glides like its namesake as a relationship is compared to death-defying stunts. East knows when to let her guitar take the lead and when to swing it back, and the reverbed vocals near the end are a great touch. Her guitar takes on a bit of bluesy swagger on “Glass Eye” (another title alluding to false images and altered perception). “Dreamhead” opens with dreamy acoustic guitar (and, I suspect, acoustic bass) for a groovy trip that discusses how some secrets are best left that way.
The opening riffs of “The Machine” remind me of old Love and Rockets tracks and even seem to have a bit of Middle Eastern flair in them. The words “There are times you keep me hanging on…” start the closer, “Silhouette.” It’s a song about finally seeing truth and reality in a relationship and realizing that going along the path that’s been set will only result in becoming a shadow of what you once were.
Silhouettes is a lovely, groovy, sexy, and somewhat dark record that I suspect has many layers that will reveal themselves over multiple listens. Don’t miss the Shadow Show.
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.
I recently chatted with Ben Hozie, guitarist, lead singer, and co-songwriter of Brooklyn art-punks BODEGA (who play at Schuba’s in Chicago tomorrow night) while he strolled along Park Avenue in New York City after having left a classical guitar lesson. Our conversation covered everything from the band’s attitude toward performance to the Zen of airports.
7th Level Music: I’m really looking forward to the Schuba’s show.
Ben Hozie: Yeah, that should be good.
7LM: I’m also really looking forward to seeing (guitarist) Madison [Velding-Vandam] and (bassist) Heather [Elle] with The Wants (who, along with Chicago’s Jungle Green, will open the Schuba’s show).
BH: Their band is super cool, super fun.
7LM: The first couple tracks I’ve heard are really good.
BH: They’re a really fun live band, too. It almost becomes a techno show. They have these super hard edge grooves.
7LM: I’ve been listening to the [BODEGA] albums again and again building up to the show, and I keep thinking that Heather might be your band’s secret weapon.
BH (laughing): Yeah.
7LM: Her bass grooves, every time I hear them I think, “Damn, she is laying that down!” Everybody in the band is just killer. I know that you and Madison and (original drummer) Montana [Simone] and (co-lead singer, percussionist, keyboardist, art director) Nikki [Belfiglio] and Heather all met through the art and music scene there in New York City, isn’t that right?
BH: Yeah, we all had a bunch of different bands at the time who all knew each other. We were also doing different kinds of things, making films together. Like any creative world, everybody is doing a little bit of something.
7LM: Is that how you also met (new drummer) Tai [Lee]?
BH: No. I actually met Tai because Tai came to one of our shows. She was kind of into the band, and Tai’s a super smart person so we were talking about philosophy and hanging out. I asked, “What do you do?” and she said, “I’m in this show STOMP.” She was a drummer and dancer. I think she came to another BODEGA show and we realized she was wanting to do something away from STOMP and it just so happened that was when Montana was wanting to focus more on her fine art. She does sculpture and paintings. So that was a very easy transition. It was like, “Why don’t you just quit STOMP and be in our band?”
7LM: Speaking of philosophy, that’s one of the things I love about your music – your approach to radical honesty and impermanence and presence. I’ve been writing a book about impermanence and presence and I reference “Truth Is Not Punishment” in the book. That’s such a powerful tune.
BH: Thank you.
7LM: On the new album, Shiny New Model, one of the first lines is, “Ben, what’s the deal with all these ATM’s?” I couldn’t help but think that came out of a real conversation.
BH: Of course. For whatever reasons, I’ve been obsessed with ATM’s. In our band before BODEGA, Bodega Bay, we even had two songs called “ATM.” I make films, too (Pretorius Pictures), and in almost all my films I make sure to have shots of ATM’s, not only because I like the way they look but I think they’re a potent metaphor. Somebody eventually got around to asking and I thought, “Well, I gotta answer them.”
7LM: By the way, I watched Little Labyrinth. Nicely done.
BH: Oh wow! That’s great. Madison and Nikki are in that one.
7LM: It was really nice. Another thing that song reminded me of is that I’ve been reading all this stuff and kind of obsessed lately with this idea of “non-places” like airports and hotels where people don’t really reside in them, and I’ve been seeing all this information on how everything’s becoming the same. How every coffee shop has to look like a Brooklyn coffee shop now and how our phones make every place into the same place, and I love this love-hate relationship with technology that you approach in your songs.
BH: I kind of romanticize those places. It’s one of my favorite things about tours, hanging out in airports and motels. There’s something really dreamy about all the glass. It’s kind of awful in some sense, but I kind of enjoy it. There’s something very Zen about being in those places. It’s like, “Nothing is happening here except for a bunch of transitory moments.”
7LM: I also love the way that you and Nikki and everybody else incorporate so much art and sexuality into the songs and the performances. I think a lot of that’s missing from a lot of live bands right now.
BH: Yeah, especially in the indie rock world. We’re still too much into that 90’s thing where you just wear your work clothes onstage and it’s not cool to try hard. Not only is it not fun, but that’s a privileged position. If somebody’s paid money to see you, you’d better entertain them.
7LM: Yes. I read a quote from Benny Goodman not long ago that pretty much says the same thing. If you’re gonna get up there, you gotta bring it.
BH: The sexuality of it, that can mean a lot of different things. One of the things that’s gotten so boring about rock and roll is that it’s not sexy. Obviously, it became sexy in a really gross way. We all know what that means, but sex is an essential part of what rock and roll is. The idea of a liberated sexuality. That was one of Nikki’s main ideas when we started the group, “We have to be sexy, but in a new way.” Whatever that means. We’re always experimenting. That’s always a loaded word, but I think you can smell what I mean.
7LM: Speaking of your music and art, I saw the clip of the [Paris] fashion show with “Name Escape.” That was perfect. Seeing all these dudes who look exactly the same coming out during that song, I thought, “This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”
BH (laughing): I gotta tell ya, that was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Sitting with all these high-fashion people and to hear a song we recorded in our practice space being blasted in front of all these people and to feel like, “How are we here? What ripple in the Matrix did we accidentally blip into?”
7LM: Speaking of Paris and Europe and that part of the world, I listen to BBC 6 Radio a lot and “Jack in Titanic” was all over that station. They loved that track.
BH: Yeah, thank God for BBC 6. They made it so we can tour Europe now.
7LM: I can’t remember, have you toured Europe already?
BH: Yeah, five or six times now. We tour there more than we do America because, for whatever reason, we have way more fans over there now.
7LM: Have you discovered countries where you’re popular and you wonder, “How did you hear of us?”
BH: Yeah, France is like that and to a certain extent the Netherlands is like that. It all started with the BBC 6 thing. I also think that maybe since Europe’s smaller, information travels faster. We have a lot of support in pockets of America, but for however long it takes us to get to Minneapolis or Nashville, everywhere in-between has not a fucking clue.
7LM: Getting back to your film work, I loved “I Am Not a Cinephile,” and when I found out you were a film maker, I loved it even more.
BH: That song came from me hanging out with academic film people. That’s kind of my background. I studied film history and film theory and film philosophy in college, and I do genuinely love that stuff but I remember having a dinner with a couple older guys who were so obnoxious in their cinephilia in a way that was not even aware of the joys of cinema. I just left that dinner thinking, “If that’s what cinephila is, I don’t like it.” There’s a good documentary called Cinemania, have you heard of it?
7LM: I’ve heard of it somewhere.
BH: It came out ten or fifteen years ago. It’s about this group of people in New York who go to every single repertory screening every day in New York City and they’re still doing it right now. If you go into a lot of art houses of New York, you’ll still see these characters. They have such an OCD regarding cinema, they’ll be like, “Okay, there’s a [Jean-Luc] Godard playing at eleven at MOMA, but if I take a cab I can make it to the one-thirty [Stanley] Kubrick over in the Bronx, and okay, there’s a thirty-five millimeter John Ford print showing…” and I don’t know how these people can afford it because they clearly don’t work. They just sit in the movies all day. The movie really shows you how these people are just addicted to the screen in a weird way. They have incredible taste in movies, obviously, but it’s like, “Haven’t you seen them already?” It’s really bizarre. Godard is kind of a hero of mine, and there was a month where they were showing every single Godard film at Lincoln Center in New York, even the TV stuff and the stuff that’s not available online. I did what those people do. I was there for every screening, five a day. It was amazing, but I kept seeing all these people and I would be like, “What’s wrong with these people? Are they such losers that they have nothing else to do with their lives?” But then I realized, “Oh my God! I’m one of them!” It’s a complicated song.
7LM: Do you have any favorite misheard versions of your lyrics?
BH: Yeah, I do. There are some pretty funny ones, but the best one is our song “Name Escape,” and some guy thought it was “Name a State.” He thought I was saying, “Name a state,” and he was like, “Delaware! New Jersey!” “Name a state!” “Alaska! Hawaii!” I was like, “That is an insane interpretation.” It was pretty stupid, but it was amazing. That’s what he heard. He even bought the record. He kept hearing it that way. I was like, “Are you not listening to the rest of the song?”
7LM: I know the name of Bodega Bay came from The Birds, do you have any other favorite [Alfred] Hitchcock films?
BH: Yeah, my favorite Hitchcock is The 39 Steps. I like British Hitchcock, like peak British Hitchcock. It’s really witty and it has all the charm. That movie feels miraculous to me in a way because it still feels super modern and abstract like his stuff got, but it feels a little more like it was off the cuff in a way. It feels somehow more beautiful to me because it feels like he was in the act of self-discovery when making that one, whereas at the end when he was in masterpiece mode through the Fifties and early Sixties, he knew what he was doing at that point.
7LM: Have you seen 1917?
BH: No. Nikki saw that last night. She said, “Do you want to go?” and I was like, “You know what, I don’t wanna go see that.” I really don’t like war movies. I haven’t seen it yet, but to me it looks like a theme park ride. Maybe I should because I’m sure it will win movie awards.
7LM: I haven’t seen it either, but the big thing about it is that it’s one long continuous shot.
BH: Like [Hitchcock’s] Rope.
7LM: Yeah, as a result of that, Rope‘s been getting a lot more attention lately.
BH: It’s (1917) not actually, just like Rope isn’t actually [one long shot]. There are several movies that are actual long shots with no stitches together, like [Aleksandr Sokurov’s] Russian Ark had no splicing or no dolly into darkness and then pull out again. Have you seen the Bi Gan films like Kaili Blues or Long Day’s Journey into Night?
7LM: No, not yet.
BH: They also have this Hail Mary long take. It’s way cooler in Kaili, because it’s kind of like what I was saying about The 39 Steps, “How did you pull this off with this cheap technology?” He’ll get on the back of a car and he’ll ride a mile or two, and then the camera will get off the car and follow the character into a house, and then it’ll strap onto a motorcycle and this camera literally has travelled probably ten kilometers. It crosses a river even, and there are no cuts. It’s kind of a dumb movie in some ways, and it’s clearly a young person’s movie. No one would think to do that if they were a tasteful film maker, which is why it’s awesome.
7LM: Yeah, you’ve got to push the envelope. On the new EP (Shiny New Model), I noticed how some of the grooves were tighter. I don’t know if that was a conscious decision to experiment with different grooves or song structures or not.
BH: Yeah, we wanted to change it up a bit. Make stuff that was maybe a little bit more melodic, the production’s a little lush. One funny difference is there’s a kick drum on the record, whereas there isn’t on [BODEGA’s first record] Endless Scroll. I think having the sub-frequency adds to the feeling of grooviness. It’s still a kick drum on its side, but even just hitting a kick drum with a mallet on its side gives it that oomph. That was the first time we actually recorded in a studio with a classic console. The first record was just on a tape deck in a practice space.
7LM: I read that. I thought that was pretty damn cool.
BH: No matter what’s going to happen with technology, there’s nothing like a live group playing to tape. It’s still always going to sound good.
7LM: I absolutely agree with you. There’s some stuff that’s so overproduced that I sometimes think, “Why not just come to the studio and rock out?”
BH: Well, if the toys are there they’re going to get used. That’s the thing about technology. That’s why you can’t make something like an atom bomb and not use it.
7LM: Outside of music and film, what else are you fascinated with or interested in?
BH: I’m interested in all kinds of things. Philosophy’s my biggest passion, not as big as film and music, but maybe on the same level. Me and Tai have a little philosophy group that gets together once a week and talk about any kind of theory. I love history. I love gambling. I’m very into cards.
7LM: Who are some of your favorite philosophers?
BH: Right now in the group we’re reading [Gilles] Deleuze, who’s probably not one of my favorites actually, but it’s fun to read. I’ve really been into [Martin] Heidegger recently. In terms of classical philosophers, I love [Immanuel] Kant. That was my big guy when I was younger. So almost anytime I read something, I’m like, “Oh, what would Kant say about this?” That’s just where my brain goes. It’s not like I would necessarily recommend Kant to anybody. He’s a little bit of a bore if you don’t take him in his historical context properly. I’m a big fan of [Søren] Kierkegaard, even though I’m not a Christian. I think of veganism, that’s something I’m really passionate about, as being a thing like Kierkegaard’s faith in an irrational god. Even rock and roll is like this, you choose this mode of being, this principle that you have, and then you just will yourself toward it, even if you can’t really justify it to anybody else. All you have to do is justify it to yourself. I’ve always thought that was really beautiful.
7LM: That’s a perfect way to wrap this up. That’s beautiful.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe before you split.]
[Thanks to Patrick Tilley for arranging my chat with Ben.]
London post-punkers Shopping slid into the last few days of 2019 by releasing one of my favorites singles of the year, “Initiative.” That track brought back their crisp, “cold water skipping across a hot pan” fun sound and also indicated something more…something that was somehow extra cripsy.
That turned out to be their newest album, All or Nothing. The band (Rachel Aggs – guitar and vocals, Billy Easter – bass and vocals, and Andrew Milk – drums and vocals) had split apart geographically (Aggs and Milk in Glasgow, Easter in Los Angeles) but got together in Seattle to record “Initiative” and then the rest of the album came together in a ten-day period recording in London and Glasgow. The title of the album refers to not only their “go for it / we’re not screwing around” approach to the rapid recording process, but also the pop production of the record, bringing in more synths, changing up guitar styles, and sharing lead vocals through several tracks.
The album has plenty of political jabs, queer power cuts, and plenty of encouragement to live your life in truth and have a good time doing it. The opener, “Trust in Us,” is both a middle finger to the 1% and a rallying cry to the 99% to trust and rely on each other instead of embracing the myth that billionaires know what’s best for us. The song has a bit of a Yeah Yeah Yeahs vibe to it, which isn’t surprising since Shopping has admitted that YYY’s, LCD Soundsystem, Bronksi Beat, and Talking Heads were all major influences on the record.
“Initiative” follows with its snappy beats and fun lyrics about dealing with the daily work grind. The song would’ve been featured on the Office Space soundtrack had it been released in 1999. The bass heavy “Follow Me” (and Easter’s killer bass is all over this album) is up next. “Follow me, I’ll make it worth it,” Aggs sings. “CCTV is living for me,” Milk replies. London, it should be noted, has more CCTV cameras than most major cities on Earth, so I can’t help but wonder if the song is about doing goofy stuff just in public just to make those watching the cameras have plenty of “WTF?” moments at their desks.
Milk takes lead vocals on “No Apologies,” a killer cut abut realizing that a relationship is going down a dark, possibly dangerous path and that waiting for an apology is wasted, useless time. “For Your Pleasure” is probably filling dance floors in clubs all over London and Glasgow and L.A. by now with its bright synths and Milk’s wild beats that are seem to trip over each other and yet never get out of time.
His beats are like a kitchen timer on “About You,” and Aggs’ guitar seems to be playing in another room as she sings about problems in her relationship with her lover that she doesn’t want to admit are probably her fault, at least in part. The LCD Soundsystem influence is clear on “Lies” with its synth bass and hand percussion as Aggs and Easter sing a plea about trying to convince their respective lovers of simple truths.
“Expert Advice” brings back Aggs’ funky guitar work and Milk’s lead vocals. Milk and Aggs sing about being frustrated with someone close to them, but I can’t help thinking the song is also aimed at political figures (“You keep selling me the same old story…”) trying to convince everyone in Britain that Brexit will be great for everyone involved. The slightly down-tuned guitar on “Body Clock” is a pleasant surprise, and the title and final track is a tale of a relationship in which one half (Aggs, in this case) is doing the majority of the work and simply wants more from her lover or to call it quits.
All or Nothing is a solid record from beginning to end, with Shopping exploring new song structures and instrumentation, but keeping their sharp lyrics and only getting better as musicians.
Post-punk has been thriving the last couple years in the US and the UK. One of the UK bands getting a lot of attention in the genre nowadays is Mush (Nick Grant – bass, Dan Hyndman – vocals, Phil Porter – drums, Tyson Porter – guitar) who combine quirky jamming with sharp spoken word lyrics about work life drudgery, political mockery, and crushing debt left behind by past generations on their debut album 3D Routine.
“Revising My Fee” starts with sharp guitar angles and reminding everyone that practically everyone in Mush’s generation is “always in debt.” Tyson Porter’s solo on it is outstanding. The band punches back at the forces keep them in that debt on “Eat the Etiquette” and then tackles death on “Existential Dread” – a snappy tune (with even snappier drumming by Phil Porter) about shuffling along and avoiding life while approaching death.
I’m guessing “Coronation Chicken” is about the Royal Family, but I could be wrong. I do know that it has a swanky groove to it that I love. “Island Mentality,” like “Eat the Etiquette,” starts with a short instrumental intro, before it kicks into quick post-punk rollicking. “Fruits of the Happening,” apart from having an intriguing title, has another solid intro before Hyndman sings about how, if we’re not vigilant, we can become the product of events around us that are often out of our control.
“Hey Gammon Head” has Tyson Porter’s guitar work bordering on psychedelic rock territory. Hyndman spits his lyrics so fast on the title track that you can barely keep up with him, but Grant’s bass keeps the tune rooted. “Gig Economy” is a frantic take on not only the economics of being in a touring band, but also how everyone is working some sort of side hustle gig just to get by.
“Poverty Pornography” keeps up this theme by throwing down a snarky track about rich folks getting richer and enjoying the fruits of the poor’s labor. “No Signal in the Paddock” has one of the best grooves on the whole record, with the Porter brothers and Grant all working in perfect timing yet still sounding rough and raw. The closer, “Alternative Facts,” is over nine minutes of ranting against those who power who expect us to swallow their bullshit.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Hyndman’s weird vocal delivery. He mixes post-punk sarcasm with punk snot and art rock flair. In other words, he’s perfect for singing in a post-punk band.
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.”
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.
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
“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.”
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.
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
