Post-punk – Page 15 – 7th Level Music

BODEGA toss us a new single, “Thrown,” from their upcoming album, “Broken Equipment.”

Brooklyn band BODEGA shares the new single, “Thrown,” from their anticipated second album, Broken Equipment, out March 11th on What’s Your Rupture?. Following lead single “Doers,” “Thrown” serves as a thesis statement for the record’s multi-faceted exploration of how ideology and identity are shaped, but never fixed. In the album’s opening moments, vocalist Nikki Belfiglio urges listeners to “watch the thrown.” She is joined by fellow founding member Ben Hozie, who details various ways his personality is constantly influenced, or “thrown”, by phenomena such as “big rock ads” or “the itch on my back.” The track is biting, with metallic bass and taut percussion.

“‘Thrown’ was an attempt at a self-portrait track,” says Hozie. “The older I get the less I trust my own thoughts and perceptions of self ——> I realize most of my values and judgments come from the records, films, books, and advertisements I have consumed my whole life. Recognizing this ‘thrown-ness,’ while slightly disturbing, has been a source of inspiration for my creative mind. If the mind can only output what has been presented —> provide it with the proper input. You can remake yourself entirely at the drop of a (top)hat. The inputs I selected for this lyric: James Joyce and Bob Dylan. The music, to me, is a synthesis of many of the stylistic motifs our group has developed over the past few years : syncopated bass over a slow-shifting sea of guitar harmonics, violent guitar spasms with machine influenced but human-played drums; plus male/female vox alternating between spoken text raps and melody.”

The accompanying lyric video, directed by Belfiglio, is a combination of acrylic portraiture and the graphic design of advertising.

Watch BODEGA’s “Thrown” Lyric Video

The follow-up to the band’s acclaimed debut album, Endless Scroll (2018), and 2019’s Shiny New Model EP, Broken Equipment was inspired by a book club. In the early months of 2020, the Brooklyn art-punk incendiaries gathered together with close friends to study the works of a wide range of philosophers. The resulting Broken Equipment is BODEGA’s attempt to interrogate the external factors that make them who they are, propelling existential quandaries with tongue-in-cheek humor, highly personal lyrics, and irresistible grooves.

The album’s 12 songs are set in present day New York City, packing in references to contemporary issues of algorithmic targeting, media gentrification, and the band itself.
Watch:
“Thrown” Lyric Video
“Doers” Video

Pre-order Broken Equipment

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Review: Yard Act – The Overload

Coming out of the 2022 gate with strong chops and wit, Yard Act‘s The Overload has already set the bar high for post-punk albums (and ones in other genres, for that matter) to come.

The title track opens the record with a breakneck dance bass riff from Ryan Needham while lead singer James Smith sings about “The overload of discontent…The constant burden of making sense. It won’t relent.” Good grief, is he right. “Dead Horse” is a punch at Brexit and racism in England (“England, my heart bleeds. Why’d you abandon me? Yeah, I abandoned you, too, but we both know I wasn’t the one lied to, and I’m not scared of people who don’t look like me, unlike you.”)

“Payday” and “Rich” are a nice double-punch, both with crunchy guitar by Sam Shjipstone. “Payday” is all about getting rich on the efforts of others and getting away with it. “Rich” is a witty track about how wealth often brings misery and / or desire to become richer despite having everything you need.

“The Incident” seems to have Smith, Needham, Shjipstone, and drummer Jay Russell almost each playing their own song, but it somehow works and produces a funny tune about the different set of rules for CEOs and VIPs, even though their reputation and worth is built on illusions (“We’ve created rules that you can’t find in the book, a different type of prison for a different type of crook. Ever since the incident, my complete incompetence has been exposed to everyone and rendered me irrelevant.”)

“Witness (Can I Get a?)” is a fun punk riff on trying to get people to agree with whatever you’re yelling about at the time. “Land of the Blind” is a song about graft played with beats great for walking your dog, strutting to the ring, or working the catwalk. “Quarantine the Sticks” takes on both bad police and corporate practices. It reminds me of some of Sleaford Mods‘ stuff in its delivery and message.

“Tall Poppies” might have the hardest-hitting lyrics on the entire record as Smith spins a tale of a good joe who has a decent life and dies in his nice home, knowing he had a good run. It’s an allegory for everyone trying to make do with the hand they’ve been dealt and make the world a bit better in their own way (“We cry because children are dying across the sea, and there is nothing we can do about it. Whilst we benefit from the bombs they dropped, which we had no part in building. We are sorry, truly we are sorry. We are just trying to get by, too.”)

“Pour Another” has some of Russell’s coolest beats while Smith sings about pals kicking back with a few pints while the world burns around them. “100% Endurance” has Smith telling all of us to tell everyone we love that we love them and all of us have the means within to be happy (“Everything has already happened. Time is an illusion. It’s hippie bullshit, but it’s true.”)

A neat thing about The Overload is that it doesn’t overload you. It delivers all the goods, yes, and plenty of bite and beats, but it doesn’t hammer you over the head or try so hard that Yard Act become self-parodies or annoying. In other words, they crafted a damn fine album.

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Yard Act releases “Rich” ahead of full album due January 21st.

The buzzing Leeds band Yard Act are preparing to release their highly anticipate debut The Overload later this month (Jan 21st) via Island Records and their own imprint Zen F.C., and today they are sharing their final single from the album, a track called “Rich.” The album arrives following a banner year for the band, and the excitement around them has continued to heat up at the start of 2022. Following a late 2021 appearance on Later…w/ Jools Holland, Elton John called Yard Act one of his favorite new bands in an NME feature (he described their sound as “a different ball game“), the band were named an NPR Slingshot artists for 2022 with NPR proclaiming that “Yard Act will be 2022’s breakthrough English post-punk act“, saw features in Rolling Stone and The Guardian, and their album has received some glowing early reviews including 5* reviews from Rolling Stone UK and DIY Magazine, 4.5* stars from Uncut, 4* and the coveted album of the month award from MOJO.

WATCH: Yard Act’s “Rich” video HERE

Speaking about the new track, which follows the November single “Payday“, frontman James Smith explains: “‘Rich’ is the natural successor to ‘Payday’. That’s the end of the story right? Success! Status! Security! Except, there’s always more money to be made, and you’re deemed a failure if your life starts to head back in the direction it came from. It’s about being so lost you’re sure you know exactly where you are and how you got there. I also wrote it because I thought it would be quite funny if Yard Act made a shit ton of money after I’d written an anti-capitalist concept album. It’ll be funny if I’m singing this song on stage when I’ve made my mint.”

He elaborates: “At worst it makes no sense, at best it comes off as pretentious, but that’s the point I’m trying to make when I write anything really. Things only really make sense if you exclude the bits that don’t back up the point you’re trying to make. I’m a hypocrite just like everyone else. I don’t have the answers and I’m just trying to do the best I can. It’ll never be good enough though. Enjoy the ride, life is short and you never know what’s round the corner.”

The accompanying video is the band’s fourth collaboration with director James Slater and his production team, following ‘The Overload’, ‘Land Of The Blind’, and ‘Payday’ and further develops the world Yard Act have created and the characters that exist within it.

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Wah Together release single from upcoming album, “Let’s Wah Together,” due March 04, 2022.

“Sayonara” is the debut single by Wah Together which features Phil Mossman (ex LCD Soundsystem), Vito Roccoforte (The Rapture), Steve Schiltz (Longwave) and front woman Jaiko Suzuki (Electroputas). On “Sayonara”, Infectious Japanese Yé Yé beats swipe right on noisy, noir-tinged motorik excursions to form a psychedelic garage-rock power couple at 45 rpm. “Sayonara” bids a fond farewell to sweet memories of a lost lover with skewed-but-sugary ‘60s pop melodies, swinging, big beat drumming and no-wave guitar rave-ups like The Runners Four-era Deerhoof raining on Broadcast’s Tender Buttons parade. Wah Together is an impassioned defense for a shared act of creation. Tracked spontaneously and principally live, “Sayonara” captures the immediacy and spontaneity of a group of musicians listening to— and playing off— one another with genuine affection, curiosity and joy.

On their debut LP, Let’s Wah Together, the NYC-based quartet revel in the communal delight that happens when happy accidents are caught on tape. Tracked principally live and in close quarters, Let’s Wah Together captures the immediacy and spontaneity of a group of musicians listening to—and playing off— one another with genuine affection, curiosity, and joy. From the skronk n’ stomp of “I’m A Swimmer” to the Japanese Yé Yé beat inflected “Sayonara,” the dense ear-busting wistfulness of “Teen Vito” and the storming acidic drive of “Out! Out! Out!,” Let’s Wah Together is a loud and commanding recommitment to the cooperative spirit and familial love that always marks New York’s most vital eras.

New York City might be a gilded husk of its former self, but Wah Together have blown out a hole in the sweat-stained wall, churned up the asphalt and uncovered untrammeled layers of the city’s garage/psych-underground. No mere ruddy-cheeked baby-band, Wah Together instead assembles a loose group of friends and musicians, each seminal to the city’s musical legacy. The band met-cute in 2019 at a “chance” jam session Mossman slyly arranged in his dark DUMBO basement studio roping in long-time friend and drummer Vito Roccoforte to play with guitarist and producer Steve Schiltz.

The sound the three produced that day was an emphatic mix of contorted rave-ups, feedback drenched space oddities and pulsating Krautrock but it might have only remained a sprawling and allusive project the three conjured periodically if not for Jaiko Suzuki. Suzuki, former go-go dancer, avant-garde percussionist and occasional Coney Island “mermaid,” leant vocals to a variety of projects but never really sung in a band until being recruited by her old pal Roccoforte. Suzuki’s voice, at once both effervescent and direct, digs into her bandmates tightly linked motorik and shoegazed jams, coaxing out hooks and adding ballast to the shattering volume they produce.

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Shilpa Ray hits hard on her newest single, “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy.”

New York City’s Shilpa Ray shared “Bootlickers of the Patriarchy,” a scathing new track written about Senator Susan Collins and her infamous press conference after the Kavanaugh/Blasey Ford hearings. “It’s about women who succeed from undermining the success of other women or choose to gain success from exploiting the oppression of other women,” says Ray. “This is a character who has taken many forms throughout history, the kind of woman who seems perfectly content playing Gamma to the Alpha male. ‘Bootlicker’ is my direct challenge to the notion of ‘women supporting other women,’ as well as the falsehoods and unrealistic expectations that come with a statement like that.”

“I wrote the song to be played in two different arrangement styles, the first half being slow and haunting and the second going balls-to-the-wall rage. I was re-exploring a lot of industrial/proto-industrial music I had listened to as a teenager in the 90s and used some elements of synth/drum machine sounds to convey all that anger, panic and darkness.”

“Bootlickers of the Patriarchy” is backed with a cover of Ministry’s “I’m Not An Effigy.” Ray explains: “I was obsessed with the Ministry album With Sympathy when writing tracks for my next full length album. It is the record Al Jourgenson has stated multiple times that he’s ashamed of most, which is saying a lot considering this man’s autobiography. I teamed up with my friend Heather Elle of Flossing, formerly of post punk bands Bodega and The Wants for this collaboration. It’s my first official recorded track where I’m playing guitar, so as the saying goes, it’s never too late to pick up a new instrument and get totally lost in it.“

The two tracks are on 7” vinyl and is available to order from Northern Spy here.

Shilpa Ray began releasing music in 2006 with her projects Beat The Devil and later Her Happy Hookers. In 2011, she began touring with Nick Cave as a backup singer and supporting act, playing under her own name and going on to release highly lauded works, including Last Year’s Savage (2015) and Door Girl (2017). Bootlickers of the Patriarchy 7” follows 2020’s standalone tracks “Manic Pixie Dream Cunt” and “Heteronomative Horseshit Blues” which earned critical praise from Paste Magazine, Brooklyn Vegan, Louder Than War, MXDWN, FLOOD Magazine, Alt Citizen, American Songwriter and Billboard, among many others.

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Squid announce North American tour.

Squid’s acclaimed debut album Bright Green Field, released via Warp Records, has been called one of the best albums of 2021 by Pitchfork, Stereogum, The Quietus, Consequence, Paste, Exclaim!, and beyond. On the heels of their sold out first-ever US tour, the UK band announces a 2022 North American tour which sees them playing their biggest venues yet. Having built a reputation for their must-see live performances, Squid — Ollie Judge, Louis Borlase, Arthur Leadbetter, Laurie Nankivell, and Anton Pearson — are not to be missed. Tour dates are listed below and tickets are on sale here.

Squid Tour Dates
Wed. Jan. 26 – Belfast, UK @ Empire Music Hall
Thu. Jan 27 – Galway, IE @ Roisin Dubh
Fri. Jan. 28 – Cork, IE @ Cyprus Avenue
Sun. Jan. 30 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
Mon. Jan. 31 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory
Mon. March 7 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Tue. March 8 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Wed. March 9 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Sat. March 12 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall
Sun. March 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater
Wed. March 16 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Thu. March 17 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
Fri. March 18 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Sat. March 19 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
Mon. March 21 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Tue. March 22 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed. March 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Fri. March 25 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Sun. June 5 – Sun. June 12 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
Fri. Jul. 8 – London, UK @ Somerset House
Fri. Aug. 5 – Sun. Aug. 7 – Katowice, PL @ OFF Festival
Wed. Aug. 17 – Sat. Aug. 20 – Paredes de Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival
Thu. Aug. 25 – Sun. Aug. 28 – Saint Cloud, FR @ Rock en Seine
Mon. Sep. 16 – Sun. Sep. 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Primavera Sound LA

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Gustaf gets remixed by Beck and announces a massive U.S. / U.K. tour.

After a stellar year that saw them release their debut album and join IDLES on a largely sold-out nationwide tour, Brooklyn art punks Gustaf have returned with a fiery remix of their track “Design” by none other than the multi-time Grammy-winner Beck. Their friendship with Beck blossomed after he invited them to play a secret loft party at his New York apartment, and his re-work of their first ever recorded single comes alongside a throughly enjoyable Interview Magazine piece in which they discuss the merits of creating and sharing outside of the box. Today, they’re also announcing a slew of headline dates across the United States and the UK, as well as a Talkhouse conversation with tourmates IDLES.

LISTEN: to Beck’s remix of Gustaf’s “Design” on YouTube

READ:
Gustaf’s conversations with Beck for Interview Magazine
&
IDLES for Talkhouse

Audio Drag For Ego Slobs came out via Royal Mountain Records on October 1st to rapturous praise from the likes of NPR, NME, BrooklynVegan, DIY, Paste, and the band will continue to prove why they are one of America’s most “reliably fun bands” as they head out on a full US headline tour with stops at SXSW, Treefort, Savannah Music Fest and many more, before jumping across the Atlantic for their first UK shows, a run that will see them appearing at Brighton’s The Great Escape festival.

Beck’s remix of Gustaf’s “Design” is out now on Royal Mountain Records. It is available to stream here.

Tour Dates

2022
3/10 – Washington, DC @ DC9
3/11 – Durham, NC @ Pinhook
3/11-12 – Savannah, GA @ Savannah Stopover Music Fest
3/13 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
3/15 – Dallas, TX @ Sundown at Granada
3/16-18 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/20 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
3/21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
3/23 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
3/23-27 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest
3/25 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern
3/26 – Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
3/31 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
4/1 – Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo
4/2 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
4/3 – Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups
4/5 – Toronto, ON @ Garrison
4/7 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
4/8 – Portland, ME @ Portland House of Music
4/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
4/15 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
4/16 – New York, NY @ The Broadway
4/29 – Nottingham, United Kingdom @ Bodega
4/30 – Edinburgh, United Kingdom @ Stag & Dagger Edinburgh
5/1 – Glasgow, United Kingdom @ Stag & Dagger Glasgow
5/3 – Dublin, Ireland @ The Workman’s Club
5/4 – Manchester, United Kingdom @ YES / Pink Room
5/6 – Leeds, United Kingdom @ Headrow House
5/7 – Coventry, United Kingdom @ Coventry Central Library
5/8 – Birmingham, United Kingdom @ Hare & Hounds
5/9 – London, United Kingdom @ Moth Club (co-headline w/ Kills Birds)
5/10 – London, United Kingdom @ Moth Club (co-headline w/ Kills Birds)
5/11 – Cambridge, United Kingdom @ The Portland Arms
5/13 – Brighton, United Kingdom @ The Great Escape Festival
5/14 – Bristol, United Kingdom @ Crofters Rights

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Top 30 albums of 2021: #’s 5 – 1

We’ve reached the top of the chart. Who takes the prize? You’ll find out soon.

#5: Anika – Change

Good heavens…This album is so lush, haunting, and beautiful that it will sweep you away from whatever you’re doing when you play it. Anika’s voice immediately drapes over you like a luxurious robe with a knife hidden in a back pocket.

#4: Rochelle Jordan – Play with the Changes

Seriously, why aren’t more people going nuts over Rochelle Jordan? She mixes soul, house, disco, and trip hop better than most, and Play with the Changes is, if you ask me, the sexiest album of 2021.

#3: Brijean – Feelings

This lovely mix of trip hop, dream pop, bossa nova, and house music is a delight from start to finish. It was a much-needed tonic during the crappy 365 days of 2021. It’s a perfect spin for any time of year. Got the winter blues? Play this. Need a fun record for that summer beach trip? Play this. Need a boost to start your garden? Play this. Looking forward to sipping hot cider in the fall? Play this.

#2: Aaron Frazer – Introducing…

This solo record from one of the cats in Durand Jones and The Indications is one of the best soul and R&B records of 2021. Frazer puts down his trademark sharp beats and brings his other trademark, high-end vocals, with him to create a groovy, sexy blend that impressed Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys so much that he produced it.

#1: Shame – Drunk Tank Pink

This album got locked into my number one spot not long after it was released. It’s a sharp post-punk record, and I remember being more and more impressed with it after each listen. It covers everything from Brexit and the pandemic to boredom and hope for the future. It’s snarky, witty, and powerful.

There you have it. I hope 2022 is good to all of us.

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Top 30 albums of 2021: #’s 10 – 6

Here we are at the top ten albums I reviewed last year. Who made the cut? Check it out below here.

#10: Liam Kazar – Due North

The songwriting on Due North is outstanding. That, and Kazar’s piano and guitar work, put him up there with Lindsey Buckingham and Joe Jackson in my opinion. This was one of the brightest spots of a gloomy year.

#9: The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings

This double-album is one of the most beautiful records about death that you’ve ever heard. It’s grand, glorious, and resonant after a year when all of us lost someone – either within our own homes, across the street, or on the other side of the globe.

#8: Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

It’s no coincidence that Dry Cleaning’s first proper U.S. tour sold out at nearly every stop. They’re the queen and kings of British post-punk right now, and New Long Leg – their first full-length album – is a great follow-up to their multiple EPs (all of which were also excellent).

#7: Osees – Levitation Sessions II

The second Levitation Sessions album from Osees was somehow wilder than the first. Livestreaming it in our home at loud volume during lockdown was a blissful escape for the entire time. The set included plenty of deep cuts, including multiple Chrome covers.

#6: Osees – The Chapel, SF 10.2.19

Recorded during their set night at The Chapel music venue in San Francisco, and just before the pandemic shut down touring for everyone everywhere, this live album is one of Osees’ best. It captures the chaos of their shows, highlights some of their prog-rock love, and served as a reminder to stay healthy and take care of each other so we could get back to seeing concerts again.

Who tops the list? You’ll find out tomorrow!

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Top 30 albums of 2021: #’s 15 – 11

We’re halfway through the list. Who’s here?

#15: Alex Maas – Levitation Sessions

This is a haunting live album from the lead singer of The Black Angels, and a performance of Maas’ first solo album – Luca. His backing band is top-notch and it’s like listening to a dream.

#14: Parquet Courts – Sympathy for Life

Chock-full of post-punk bangers and piercing lyrics about life during and after the pandemic that hit harder now than all of last year, Parquet Courts’ Sympathy for Life is one of those records that reveals more of itself with each listen.

#13: TV Priest – Uppers

I’m so glad I heard these guys on BBC 6 Music and tracked down Uppers, because I knew it was going to be one of my favorite records of 2021 within thirty seconds on the opening track. Fun lyrics, ripping riffs, and killer beats make it a go-to record for high energy.

#12: Stöner – Live in the Mojave Desert Volume 4

A live recording that sounds good enough to be a studio album, Stöner’s Live in the Mojave Desert session is like having a desert rock concert in your house. Play at maximum volume.

#11: Durand Jones & The Indications – Private Space

One of the smoothest and grooviest records of 2021 came from these guys who embraced their love of disco and mixed it with their reverence for soul. There isn’t a weak track on the whole album.

We’re into the top 10 tomorrow!

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