Combining the talents of members of Pill and Eaters, NYC’s P.E. easily weave in and out of psychedelia, post-punk, no wave, bedroom rock, and dream pop on their second album, The Leather Lemon.
Benjamin Jaffe‘s opening saxophone on “Blue Nude (Reclined)” automatically takes you into a cool headspace while Veronica Torres sings sexy lyrics. “Contradiction of Wants” is a perfect song for 2022. It’s about not knowing what you want, even though you already have everything you need. The bass line on it is wicked. I can’t tell you who plays it, because all the band members (Jonny Campolo, Jaffe, Bob Jones, Jonathan Schenke, Torres) are multi-instrumentalists and often switch axes from track to track. “Lying with the Wolf” goes into low rock and mixes it with synthwave and old school techno beats.
The title track is a short, proto-industrial puzzler. “Tears in the Rain” does invoke some Blade Runner imagery and has guest vocals from Parquet Courts‘ Adam Savage as he teams with Torres to give us a song of romantic hope in times that can be gray and bleak. “The Reason for My Love” is a hot dance track with yet another great bass line (The album is full of them.).
“Magic Hands” has plucked string instruments dancing around slightly loopy synths and drunken android vocals. The darkwave sound of “New Kind of Zen” is powerful and haunting. You’re never sure where the track is going to lead, especially when it floats into spoken word psychedelia. The instrumental “86ed” drifts into “Majesty,” which returns some of the musical themes from other tracks as Torres sings, “I don’t want that life. I don’t want that majesty.” and her bandmates reply, “I want everything.” It’s a neat loop to be in for a couple minutes.
The whole album is worth a visit. It sizzles, saunters, and seduces.
Brooklyn-based musician Grace Ives presents âLoose,â her debut release on her new label True Panther/Harvest. This is her first new piece of music and video since 2019âs 2nd, an immediate pop record that found critical acclaim (and won over the likes of Grimes and Khalid). Ives wrote and did initial production of âLooseâ at her home in Brooklyn and then teamed up with co-producer Justin Raisen (Yves Tumor, Charli XCX). Despite the songâs somewhat self-effacing lyrics – âOh what a loser sound // I let out when I hit the ground // I never squeal like that // I need some respite, pleaseâ – âLooseâ oozes confidence. The song is grounded in familiar sonics, but âLooseâ is an elevated Ives. âLiving in a bed bug infested apartment, withdrawing from SSRIs, not sleeping,â says Ives about where she was mentally and physically when she wrote the song. âThereâs nowhere to go but up.â WATCH âLOOSEâ VIDEO
Music has always followed Grace Ives – she was raised in New York City by creative parents (her dad is a cinematographer and her mother worked in music), and when she was younger, she was inspired by the sounds of Brittany Spears and Rihanna. A brief stint at MICA in Baltimore and a three year study at SUNY Purchase led to Grace starting to perform, slowly winning over a crowd that has only grown more insatiable. Most recently, Ives opened for Remi Wolf, bringing her infectious songs to a new audience. âLooseâ is the first taste of much more to come.Â
Coming eighteen years after their (at the time) overlooked masterpiece, Fantastic Planet, Failure‘s The Heart Is a Monster picks up where Fantastic Planet (and the 1990s) ended. Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kellii Scott created an album in 2015 that linked to their past (and the past of their fans) and also showed what a stunning future could be had if we all came together and chose to pursue it.
Opening with the instrumental “Segue 4” (again, picking up after “Segue 3” on Fantastic Planet), The Heart Is a Monster jumps up in volume and beat with “Hot Traveler” – a song about begging for forgiveness after an accidental wrong (“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I had to make a snap move, but now I see your purpose.”). The powerful Failure guitars, soaring synths, and sharp drum chops are all here right away, assuring fans that Andrews, Edwards, and Scott hadn’t lost anything in over a decade – and in fact had only grown in power. “A.M. Amnesia” is a stand-out, which Scott pounding hard beats and drilling fills that make your jaw drop while Andrews and Edwards sing about a woman who exists in both darkness (“You were born on the bottom of the ocean.”) and in the the infinite light of space. Cosmic space is a common theme in Failure’s work, and it’s great to hear them continue to explore that theme on this record.
“Snow Angel” has a heavy, almost doom groove to it, which makes me wish Failure would make a doom metal record. The groaning, squealing guitar of “Atom City Queen” only reinforces that wish. “Counterfeit Sky,” a song about realizing most of your problems (if not all of them) are self-inflicted, has layers of Andrews’ and Edwards’ guitars constantly switching with Scott’s drums for the lead.
I can’t help but wonder if “Petting the Carpet” is a sequel to their classic song “The Nurse Who Loved Me,” which contains the lyrics, “Say hello to the rug’s topography. It holds quite a lot of interest with your face down on it.” “Petting the Carpet” starts with the lyrics, “Petting the carpet. Saliva flows strong.” Both songs blaze with sun-bright guitar chords and thick bass. “Mulholland Dr.” blends sci-fi themes of aliens and mutants with trippy “Sgt. Pepper’s”-era Beatles chords (courtesy of Troy Van Leeuwen – who was in Failure for a short time and went on to become a full-time member of Queens of the Stone Age).
“Fair Light Era,” with its lyrics of “What’s all this space junk? These gems behind my eyes?” might be a sly reference to the “one hundred stones that sparkle in darkness” on Fantastic Planet‘s “Sgt. Politeness.” “Come Crashing” hits with crashing cymbals and power chords before it drops, weightless, into “Segue 7,” and then “The Focus” kicks open the door with a killer bass line that isn’t screwing around. The guitars on “Otherwhere” sound like the calls of robotic birds of prey. “I Can See Houses” tells a haunting tale of a man, possibly Andrews, seeing the world fall away from him as the airplane he’s on rises into the sky and he realizes he has to let go of things binding him to earthly illusions. The album closes with “Segue 9” to leave us in a trippy headspace.
The Heart Is a Monster was a great return for Failure, who have since released three more albums, will begin another tour, and have a documentary film about the band coming soon. Go to space with them. You’ll come back changed.
The Black Angels have announced a cool tour through the western United States starting June 02nd in Denver and wrapping up twenty-three days later in Las Vegas. Bass fuzz maestro Dion Lunadon is opening for them, and eight of those shows (including the finale in Las Vegas) has The Black Angels and Mr. Lunadon opening for Primus, no less. Tickets are already on sale for these dates, so don’t miss out on them.
ââThe Internet Killed Meâ is a euphemism for being killed – by the internet – literally and figuratively. You wouldn’t know it until it actually happens to you. I mean the internet LITERALLY killed me. AND the internet FIGURATIVELY killed me. It’s up to you to know the difference. Be afraid. Be VERY afraid,â said Max Blastic of the :58 second song that was written after P.C. Bullshit was erroneously reported dead via the r/punk Subreddit.
Bullshit and Blastic previously shared the âBurn It Downâ video (https://youtu.be/EyDaVp3ReL0), which came on the heels of an outpouring of accolades and testimonials from fans and friends upon news of the influential bandâs implosion. âI feel weâve made the record we meant to have made back in the day. If the topics seem familiar, well, WE WROTE THEM FIRST,â Blastic said as the joyous reunion and album news arrived. âI donât actually REMEMBER what the songs are about but I KNOW we were the first and the best. We were and are ALWAYS the first and best.â
Blastic is the featured guest on this weekâs episode of The Punk News Podcast (listen here), discussing the infamous $262 gas bill that led to the untimely break-up, Nein, and the duoâs forthcoming tour.
Nein pre-orders are available now (https://linktr.ee/maxcreeps) with several, limited-edition vinyl variants available via U.S. and international retailers, Maxcreeps.com and Project M (Revolver, Brooklyn Vegan, The Hard Times).
The âNobody Cares About You â Part One!â tour dates:
Flasher – the duo of guitarist Taylor Mulitz and drummer Emma Baker – present the title track and accompanying video for their forthcoming album, Love Is Yours, out June 17th on Domino. ââLove Is Yoursâ is about the roller-coaster highs and lows of a long-term relationshipâthe kind where a conversation can feel like a tripwire, with subtextual clues that offer the promise of reward if correctly decoded,â the band explains. The accompanying video, directed by Camilla Smura (who also created the video for lead single âSidewaysâ), “is an homage to National Treasure, because much like a treasure room hidden beneath Trinity Church, love that endures is âthe greatest adventure history has ever revealed.ââÂ
Following their acclaimed 2018 debut, Constant Image, Love is Yours steps up the ambition and reaches for the horizon. It was recorded in Washington, D.C. with long-time friend Owen Wuerker, who also helped flesh out the instrumentation by contributing additional bass, percussion, synths, and guitar. Rather than binding the duo to its past â to geography, old habits, or trusted sounds â the familiar environment proved liberating. Baker and Mulitz shared vocal duties, tweaked tempos, structures, and dynamics accordingly. They toyed with genre, melody, and texture. The resulting record is ablaze with mood, melody, and carefully threaded hooks, finding the band foregrounding the pop sensibilities that had always been present in their previous releases. It retains the attitude that was fundamental to the bandâs DIY roots, but cuts loose a touch of the angst. Though the songs process disillusionment and loss, the music evokes warmth and optimism. It is their best record and also their most generous. Kicking off in June, Flasher will bring their live show across North America. Tickets for all dates are on sale now and a full list can be found below.Â
FLASHER TOUR DATES Fri. June 17 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong Sat. June 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Babyâs All Right Mon. June 20 – Richmond, VA @ The Camel Tue. June 21 – Carrboro, NC @ Catâs Cradle (Backroom) Wed. June 22 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl Thu. June 23 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records Fri. June 24 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub Sat. June 25 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Mon. June 27 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag Tue. June 28 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G Wed. June 29 – Montreal, QC @ LâEsco Thu. June 30 – Providence, RI @ AS220 Fri. July 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
Keep your mind open.
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Guitarist, composer and producer Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 13 million year old ghost) and Chaikin Records proudly present 41 Strings, a song cycle for string orchestra, electric guitars and expanded rhythm section. Originally commissioned for a large-scale Earth Day event, 41 Strings draws inspiration from and pays tribute to the four seasons, each movement corresponding to a respective season. This world-premier concert was held on the 41st anniversary of Earth Day which encouraged the idea for an ensemble consisting of 41 string instruments. Following the latest performance of the piece at NYCâs Rockefeller Plaza in 2019, the inclination arose to formally release 41 Strings as an LP and digital download, resulting in this Chaikin Records album. The musicâs core environmentally-centric theme couldnât be more timely in regards to current issues of climate change.
A distinctive component of the 41 Strings composition is its fusion of âclassicalâ music with rock band, a quality which is reflected in the pieceâs instrumentation: violins, violas, cellos, double basses, eight electric guitars, two synthesizers, two electric bassists and three drummers. This dual identity of ârock bandâ and âstring ensembleâ is directly linked to Zinnerâs multifaceted musical practice as heard in his guitar playing with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and his soundtrack composing for film and television. The music of 41 Strings beautifully leans on these dichotomous ensemble characteristics throughout its depiction of the four seasons – hot and cold, impassioned and calm, joyful and melancholyâŠ
41 Strings performances have had the distinctive honor of including very notable special guests, particularly calling upon the indie rock music scene. The guitar section has featured Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith), Sarah Lipstate (Noveller, Iggy Pop), Paul Banks (Interpol), Gemma Thompson (Savages), Aku Orraca-Tetteh (Florence & the Machine), David Pajo (Slint, Gang of Four), Andrew Wyatt (Miike Snow), among many more; the rhythm section has maintained a consistent line-up with such accomplished players as Jaleel Bunton (TV on the Radio), Andy Macleod (Royal Trux), Hisham Bharoocha (Boredoms), Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), Ryan Sawyer (Gang Gang Dance) and Ben Vida. All of these musicians impart a sense of independent-art ethos with an exalted reach-for-the-stars morale. Such voices excel at tapping into the sensitivity of the music and bringing its beauty to the surface. Violinist Gillian Rivers, in addition to performing, worked as arranger in adapting Zinnerâs compositions for string orchestra; additionally, she coached the string section during rehearsals and conducted them during performance.
Counting the debut performance in NYC in 2011, 41 Strings has only been performed four times. This low number is due to the project being such a massive undertaking. Because of the rarity of performance, each one has been deeply significant. The second performance took place at the Sydney Opera House for the Sydney Festival in 2012; the third took place at Londonâs Royal Festival Hall for Meltdown Festival in 2014; the fourth took place at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC in the summer of 2019.
The music of 41 Strings is purposefully simple, lyrical and minimal; melodic motifs gradually unfold over time and convey a steady pacing as sections move one from the next. A subtle subjectivity infuses the âexperienceâ of each season as opposed to striving for a more objective âpictureâ: the movements of âFallâ and âWinterâ naturally express a temperate majesty and solemn introspection; âSpringâ brings the most raucous intensity, aligning itself with the seasonâs energy of rebirth and adolescent-like freedom; âSummerâ expresses an idyllic potential, as if one is planted in the midst of a field surrounded by green grass, trees and flowers, awash in the warmth and light of the sun.
For nearly a decade, Death Valley Girls have made it their mission to remind the punks, psych rockers, garage aficionados, and desert mystics of the communal, transcendental, and triumphant power of music, as evidenced most recently in the riotous affirmations of their 2022 track âWhen Iâm Free.â
The song fuses Bonnie Bloomgardenâs passionate vocals, Larry Schemelâs anthemic guitar chords, rousing sing-along choruses, and feverish organ lines into a perfect three-minute shot of adrenaline and dopamine. Despite the old-school nature of their instrumentation, Death Valley Girls are well aware of the revolutionary power of the dance floor, so they approached one of their heroes â Peaches â to help re-envision âWhen Iâm Freeâ for the club crowd.
What better way to reinforce the liberating spirit of the song than to give it to Peaches, an artist who continues to push boundaries in a career that spans over two decades, and who has helped so many people navigate sexuality, gender, identity, and being comfortable in oneâs body in the new millennium.
Under Peachesâ meticulous care, âWhen Iâm Freeâ transforms from a scrappy rock song to a throbbing, minimalist club banger. The musical key switches from major to minor, taking the song from celebratory mode into a leaner and meaner message of empowerment. Bloomgardenâs impassioned vocals remain in place along with a few organ glissandos, though the rest of the original is excised in favor of stark four-on-the-floor beats and pulsing synth bass. The sound may prompt a different type of gyration than the original, but the spirit of freedom and revelry remains and takes on a whole new angle under Peachesâ masterful manipulations.
Australian punks The Chats unleash âStruck By Lightning,â their first new tune and video of 2022. It follows their 2020 debut album, High Risk Behaviour, âan album you can blast on the highway while going 90 or one that you can watch live and get drunk and crowd-surf toâ (Consequence). âStruck By Lightningâ is a fast, furious, 100-second blitz from punk heaven. It shows the Queensland trio revitalized post-pandemic and toting a ripping new guitarist, Josh Hardy. Following a Chats jam session, singer/bassist Eamon Sandwith went home and wrote a song about getting struck by lightning, like how you would feel, and what would happen. âââPeople can’t grow their hair back and shit,â he says. âItâs weird â especially the whole no-eyebrows thing. That would be really scary! I’m really hoping that this doesn’t happen to me, now I’ve written a song about it.â
Eamon got a taste of the storm godsâ revenge in the accompanying video, directed by NAME.. It shows the band, including drummer Matt Boggis, playing in a shed, before being hit by unexpected bolts of lightning. âIt’s a silly video, and I reckon I did like seven or eight takes of this stunt, where I was hoisted in the air at a fast speed, straight off my feet,â says Eamon. âThat night, we were doing a show, and I had this headache. I guess the stunt work had fucked with my head, and I started throwing up while I was playing. The thing is, the crowd loved it, and they went off about me throwing up even more than they did for any song we played.âÂ
The Chats took lockdown as a chance to plan their next move, which is when they enlisted Hardy after the departure of their last guitarist. âHeâs been a good friend of ours for years. After our old guitarist Pricey left, me and Matt had a conversation, like, âIf we can’t get Josh, we might just not carry on.â Luckily, he was willing to join, and we got right into it, writing songs and stuff. We were like, this is unreal â so good!â The freshly-minted line-up broke in their new recruit via a bunch of shows in Oz between lockdowns, and duly cut âStruck By Lightning.â
Next week, The Chats will kick off their UK tour. Following, theyâll bring their live show across North America, where they will play some cities for the first time ever. Then, theyâll continue their tour in Europe. A full list of dates can be found below.Â
THE CHATS TOUR DATES
Mon. Apr. 25 – El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow Palace Tue. Apr. 26 – Houston, TX @ The Bronze Peacock at House of Blues Wed. Apr. 27 – Austin, TX @ Emoâs Austin Thu. Apr. 28 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues – Cambridge Room Sat. Apr. 30 – Nashville, TN @ Basement East Sun. May 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre Tue. May 3 – Columbia, SC @ The Senate Wed. May 4 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage Thu. May 5 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club Fri. May 6 – Warrendale, PA @ Jergelâs Rhythm Grille Sat. May 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Sun. May 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ The Fillmore – SOLD OUT Tue. May 10 – Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Ălectriques Wed. May 11 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground – SOLD OUT Thu. May 12 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop – SOLD OUT Fri. May 13 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar Sat. May 14 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Sun. May 15 – St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall – SOLD OUT Tue. May 17 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck Wed. May 18 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown Fri. May 20 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre – SOLD OUT Sun. May 22 – Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome to Rockville 2022 Wed. May 25 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon – SOLD OUT Thu. May 26 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom Fri. May 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Hollywood Theatre – SOLD OUT Mon. Jun. 27 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie Tue. Jun. 28 – Brussels, BE @ La Botanique Fri. Jul. 1 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter 2022 Mon. Jul. 4 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Tue. Jul. 5 – Berlin, DE @ SO36 Wed. Jul. 6 – Hamburg, DE @ Moltow Backyard Thu. Jul. 7 – Cologne, DE @ GebĂ€ude Fri. Jul. 22 – Adelaide, AU @ Adelaide Showground Fri. Jul. 29 – Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes Sat. Oct. 8 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
Flasher have announced their new album, Love Is Yours, out June 17th on Domino, and a North American tour. Additionally, they share the albumâs lead single/video, âSideways.â The bandâs 2018 debut, Constant Image, was a triumph â a set of songs both dizzy and explosive, balancing new-wave lushness and post-punk frenzy. Love is Yours steps up the ambition and reaches for the horizon. The record is ablaze with mood, melody, and carefully threaded hooks, finding the band foregrounding the pop sensibilities that had always been present in their previous releases. It retains the attitude that was fundamental to the bandâs DIY roots, but cuts loose a touch of the angst. Though the songs process disillusionment and loss, the music evokes warmth and optimism. It is their best record and also their most generous.
Following the release of Constant Image and successful touring, it seemed like the Washington, DC music scene was in constant flux. Flasher was not spared a shake-up. Bassist Daniel Saperstein parted ways with the group. Guitarist Taylor Mulitz would eventually decide to relocate â first to Baltimore and then to Los Angeles, making the group bi-coastal. Working as a duo took a bit of recalibration. The songwriting process changed dramatically, but in a way that quickly began to feel energizing. âOnce we had this implosion, we let go of the pretense and confines that we had pigeonholed ourselves into,â says Mulitz. âGoing into this record, the vision was pretty simple: We wanted to write songs that came intuitively. We were leaning into that while consciously creating a real space of trust and openness.â
Now a duo, guitarist Mulitz and drummer Emma Baker had to reimagine Flasherâs voice. Love is Yours was recorded in Washington, D.C. with long-time friend Owen Wuerker, who also helped flesh out the instrumentation by contributing additional bass, percussion, synths, and guitar. Rather than binding the duo to its past â to geography, old habits, or trusted sounds â the familiar environment proved liberating. Working out of Wuerkerâs well appointed home-studio allowed inspiration to arrive off deadline. With no shows in sight, Flasher could relax on presenting as a ârockâ band. Baker and Mulitz shared vocal duties, tweaked tempos, structures, and dynamics accordingly. They toyed with genre, melody, and texture.
Todayâs âSidewaysâ single and video (directed by Camille Smura) evokes the liminal stillness-in-motion feeling of a long-distance drive â attentive but adrift, relaxed but reflective â with a laid back groove that is at once motorik trance and fluid boogie. âLyrically this song uses metaphors about driving as a means of escape/reflection,â says Mulitz. âIâve found that a lot of self reflection and big realizations come to surface during the course of a long drive where I’m forced to sit with my own thoughts (which is where the idea for the racing video came from).â
Love Is Yours will be available on CD, LP, and digitally on June 17, 2022. The exclusive Domino Mart baby blue vinyl is housed in a gatefold jacket and available for pre-order now. PRE-ORDERÂ LOVE IS YOURS
FLASHER TOUR DATES Fri. June 17 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong Sat. June 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Babyâs All Right Mon. June 20 – Richmond, VA @ The Camel Tue. June 21 – Raleigh, NC @ Catâs Cradle (Backroom) Wed. June 22 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl Thu. June 23 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records Fri. June 24 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub Sat. June 25 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle Mon. June 27 – Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag Tue. June 28 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G Wed. June 29 – Montreal, QC @ LâEsco Thu. June 30 – Boston, MA @ Soniaâs Fri. July 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
