“…unimpeachable, dripping in decadent four-part harmonies.” — RollingStone
“…immaculate and eternal soul.” — TheGuardian (5/5 Stars)
“It’s reverent soul and never comes close to being just a pastiche of a bygone era.” — Noisey
Today, Durand Jones & The Indications release a video for their new standalone single, “Cruisin’ To The Park.” The song follows their “romantic, political, honest and idealistic” (Paste) sophomore album, American Love Call, released earlier this year via DeadOceans/ColemineRecords. “Cruisin’ To The Park” is lush with harmonizing vocals, lilting guitar, and steady-going percussion. The video presents a celebration of lowrider car culture, which the band was introduced to through their fans:
“We put together our first record in our basement, messing around with different styles of soul music. But it was our sweet-soul tunes that got an overwhelming response from people who introduced us to the world of Chicano soul and lowrider car culture. We’ve gotten so much support from lowriders who love bumping our music in their cars, so we wanted to record a song in celebration of those people who enjoy cruising with friends and loved ones in ranflas across the world.”
The video was directed by JudeGonzalez. “‘Cruisin’ to the Park” to me shows hard work, dedication and family,” says Gonzalez. “Working with the band and bringing our ideas together helped me bring the lyrics to life. Knowing the lowrider community and being able to bring them together was pretty straight-forward, as they were familiar with the band and the music and they were eager to be apart of a band they love.”
“Morning in America b/w Cruisin’ to the Park” limited edition gold vinyl 7″ will be released October18th and is available to preorder now on Colemine Records.
The Indications will bring their famed live show, full of “old-school soul with a new-school honesty” (NPR’s AllThingsConsidered), to the West Coast next month. Additionally, they will tour across Europe later this year. All dates can be found below.
Durand Jones & The Indications’ Tour Dates: Sun. Sept. 15 – Telluride, CO @ Telluride Town Park Tue. Sept. 17 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole Wed. Sept. 18 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern Thu. Sept. 19 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater Fri. Sept. 20 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s – SOLD OUT Sun. Sept. 22 – Las Vegas, NV @ LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL Thu. Sept. 24 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom Wed. Sept. 25 – Petaluma, CA @ Mystic Theatre Thu. Sept. 26 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades Sat. Sept. 28 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst – SOLD OUT Sun. Sept. 29 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst Sat. Oct. 5 – Lagrange, CA @ Rockweave Festival Mon. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Nalen Klubb Tue. Oct. 8 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen Wed. Oct. 9 – Hamburg-nord, DE @ Stage Club Fri. Oct. 11 – Berlin, DE @ Lido Sun. Oct. 13 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Mon. Oct. 14 – Brussels, BE @ Orangerie Tue. Oct. 15 – Paris, FR @ Trabendo Fri. Oct. 18 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy Sun. Oct. 20 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Academy Mon. Oct. 21 – London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall Tue. Oct. 22 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla Wed. Oct. 23 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 Sun. Jan. 19 – Wed. Jan. 22 – Quintana, MX @ Sky Blue Sky Festival
Keep your mind open.
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Deeper release a cover of John Maus rarity, “Bennington,” ahead of their upcoming tour with labelmates and fellow Chicagoans, Dehd. The song is the B side of the band’s upcoming 7”, “Run,” due October 4th via Fire Talk.
Following the previously released single, “Run,” their cover of “Bennington” is astutely scientific. The track has a vivacious energy, featuring intricate guitar lines and urgent percussion. Here’s what the band had to say about the cover:
“John Maus is one of our favorite artists and ‘Bennington’ always struck us because of how he captured the feeling of an unsettling obsession for someone.We played this out once earlier this year as part of a Planned Parenthood fundraiser and ended up so happy with it, we decided to record a version during the sessions for our single ‘Run.’ While the original captures this eerie sense of longing, we wanted to re-frame that sentiment into one more focused on trying to find a feeling that’s passed – less focused on one person in particular.“
Deeper is comprised of Shiraz Bhatti, Nic Gohl, and Drew McBride. Throughout “Run,” they take a thoughtful and direct approach with their songwriting, yielding spry melodies and inventive structures. It’s a clever combination of jagged post-punk and refined indie rock. A tightly wound rhythm section teeters on the edge, but it’s anchored by intricate guitar interplay and saturated with an enigmatic spirit. Their first album, 2018’s Deeper channeled the anxiety of change in everyday life and navigating the unhinged political atmosphere. “Run” takes a more existential approach, reaching down past the emotion and staring back at the inner.
Deeper has made their mark touring with acts such as Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and The Districts, while also sharing the stage with Deerhunter, Protomartyr, Jeff Tweedy, and Whitney. They’ve sold out their own headlining shows and official after parties at Pitchfork Festival and Lollapalooza. Listen to Deeper’s “Bennington” (John Maus Cover) SoundCloud Stream YouTube Stream
“Black Belt Eagle Scout…is one of my favorite indiepop songwriters of late, in the vein of Palehound or Jay Som—tight, soft vocals placed high in the mix, competing with and complimenting an anxious guitar riff.” – Jezebel
“[At The Party With My Brown Friends] highlight Paul’s vocals more than they do her guitar work—she still knows how to shred, but there’s a pronounced confidence in vocal-forward tracks” – The AV Club
“[‘My Heart Dreams’] features Paul’s signature delicate vocals, fervent guitar playing and romantic, poignant lyricism.” – Paste
Black Belt Eagle Scout – the recording project of multi-instrumentalist Katherine Paul – presents a video for “Run It to Ya,” the final pre-release single from her new album, At the Party With My Brown Friends. Following “My Heart Dreams” and “At the Party,” “Run It to Ya” is about the gentleness of love and how wondrous it can feel at times from the point of view of a queer Indigenous womxn. The video was directed by Evan James Benally Atwood.
“It felt natural for the ‘Run It to Ya’ music video to star queer indigenous womxn and show their love story unfold. The setting is a queer Indigenous prom, a space where we can truly be ourselves without the ridicules of white settler colonialism. It’s a realm where we can reimagine what our lives look like as queer Indigenous people; what is normally a heteronormative space turns into a magical place where people have the freedom to safely love how they choose.
“Throughout my work, I intend to show the thriving lives of Indigenous people, and how we are often excluded from mainstream rock music and the media. This exclusion is detrimental to our health and our existence. I am trying to show what my life is like so that other people can see how we have the right to thrive in this world and have the ability to decolonize.”
Where her 2018 debut, Mother of My Children, was a snapshot of loss and landscape and of Paul’s standing as a radical Indigenous queer feminist, this new chapter finds its power in love, desire and friendship. At the Party With My Brown Friends is a profound and understated forward step. The squalling guitar anthems that shaped its predecessor are replaced by delicate vocals and soft keys, sentiments spoken and unspoken, presenting something shadowy and unsettling; a stirring of the waters. The end result presents a captivating about-face that redefines Paul’s beautifully singular artistic vision.
Black Belt Eagle Scout was named a favorite new artist of 2018 by NPR Music, Stereogum, Paste and Under The Radar, and Pitchfork named her debut a Best Rock Album of 2018. She will continue to tour extensively, playing headline dates this fall before supporting Devendra Banhart later this year.
Watch Black Belt Eagle Scout’s “Run It to Ya” video – https://bbes.ffm.to/atpwmbf
Listen to “At the Party” – https://youtu.be/gk3FLRe4tAM
Watch “My Heart Dreams” video https://youtu.be/cmGP7WZO4Pw
Pre-orderAt the Party With My Brown Friends https://bbes.ffm.to/atpwmbf
Black Belt Eagle Scout tour dates: Sat. Sept. 7 – Sun. Sept. 8 – Portland, OR @ XOXO Fest Mon. Oct. 21 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Thu. Oct. 24 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern Wed. Oct. 30 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater * Fri. Nov. 1 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown * Sat. Nov. 2 – Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater * Sun. Nov. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall * Tue. Nov. 5 – Memphis, TN @ The Hi-Tone * Wed. Nov. 6 – St. Louis, MO @ Foam Thu. Nov. 7 – Lawrence, KS @ White Schoolhouse Fri. Nov. 8 – Fort Collins, CO @ Surfside 7 Sat. Nov. 9 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records Sun. Nov. 10 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux Thu. Nov. 12 – Reno, NV @ Holland Project Wed. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord Thu. Nov. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Bar Fri. Nov. 15 – San Diego, CA @ Ché Café Sat. Nov. 16 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress Sun. Nov. 17 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Bunkhouse Saloon Tue. Nov. 19 – Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Wed. Nov. 20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Fri. Nov. 22 – Austin, TX @ Barracuda Sat. Nov. 23 – Dallas, TX @ The Foundry Sun. Nov. 24 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Tue. Nov. 26 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge Wed. Nov. 27 – Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR Sat. Nov. 30 – Detroit, MI @ Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit * Sun. Dec. 1 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * Tue. Dec. 3 – Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia * Wed. Dec. 4 – Boston, MA @ Wilbur Theatre * Thu. Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel * Sat. Dec. 7 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club * Sun. Dec. 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * *= w/ Devendra Banhart
Keep your mind open.
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“…the music shares some of the ache and inscrutability of Fairport Convention and Incredible String Band. Everything—from the swirling cello of ‘Criminals’ to the pulsing motorik throbs of ‘Footsteps’ and ‘Seance’—is held together by Cooper’s quiet voice and his sweet yearning for a different plane.” – Pitchfork
Modern Nature presents the video for “Nature” taken from their debut album, How To Live, out now on Bella Union and announces their first-ever North America tour in early 2020.
“‘Nature’ plays a part in the album and has a point of view that isn’t necessarily what I believe (not all the time), but is generally a sort of fatalistic version of what I think about modern nature (behavior),” says Jack Cooper. “The outlook is really to provide some shade to the light and optimism of the last song ‘Devotee’. It’s hard watching the news or navigating life in a city not to get awfully despondent but often when your despair is at its peak, people can amaze you… I think it’s a sort of romantic nihilism.”
“I’d been out filming Brighton Day of Dance earlier in the year, where Morris Teams from all over the country come and spend the day dancing and drinking outside various pubs in Brighton,” says the director Conan Roberts. “It was more out of curiosity of this slightly bizzare British tradition than anything else. Jack saw some of the footage and thought it could be a great accompaniment to one of the tracks from the album. I cut the Morris footage and then independently cut the landscape footage before compositing the two. It was more an experiment in how the two images may or may not work together, exploring the synergy of the dancers movements alongside the shapes of nature.”
Watch “Nature” Video – https://youtu.be/h7Hc5hakErY
Modern Nature tour dates: Fri. Sept. 13 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club Sat. Sept. 14 – Flintshire, UK @ Good Life Experience Sun. Sept. 15 – Glasgow, UK @ Freakender Festival Tue. Sept. 17 – Manchester, UK @ YES Wed. Sept. 18 – Liverpool, UK @ The Shipping Forecast Thu. Sept. 19 – London, UK @ The Courtyard Theatre Fri. Sept. 20 – Margate, UK @ Elsewhere Sat. Sept. 21 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana Thu. Jan. 9 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong Fri. Jan. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle Sat. Jan. 11 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade Sun. Jan. 12 – Boston, MA @ The Lilypad Mon. Jan. 13 – Burlington, VT @ The Monkey House Tue. Jan. 14 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le ‘Ritz’ P.D.B. Wed. Jan. 15 – Toronto, ON @ The Monarch Thu. Jan. 16 – Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx Sat. Jan. 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry Mon. Jan. 20 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
Canadian rock duo Partner have announced a huge tour for this autumn spanning the globe from their home country to Czechoslovakia. The U.S. tour even teams them with Titus Andronicus. All the shows are sure to be a good time. Partner alone are killer live.
As if a new tour isn’t enough, Partner released their cover of Rush‘s “Limelight.” It’s great.
“We watched a documentary about RUSH and we fell in love with the band. They seem like such nice guys. It caused us to hear the music in a new way, with a much deeper appreciation. By doing the cover, we hoped to pay tribute to our newfound appreciation and to expand our horizons as musicians by learning these unique and complex arrangements.” – Partner
Partner’s cover of “Limelight” is available to watch on YouTube and stream on SoundCloud.
“Firebreather veer towards roaring, High On Fire-esque sludge, and they’ve got the chops and the grit to pull this kind of thing off.” — Brooklyn Vegan
Swedish trio Firebreather share a new track from their forthcoming debut on RidingEasy Records, Under a Blood Moon. Hear and share “Closed Gate” via YouTube.
Brooklyn Vegan previously hosted the lead single “Dancing Flames” HERE.
Fire is what happens when a carbon based object is consumed by oxygen. That chemical reaction is fitting to the sound of Firebreather: The riffs are suffocating, the rhythms fast moving and all-consuming. It’s so blindingly and deafeningly monolithic, don’t be surprised to find yourself gasping for air while listening. The Gothenburg, Sweden trio has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Like watching flames engulf a forest, the billowing guitar tones are simultaneously beautiful and destructive, while the rhythms sway and lunge with vicious precision.
“It’s riff based, heavy as fuck, but with a groove to it,” explains vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjd, formerly of popular Swedish doom merchants Galvano. “We had gotten off a tour with Monolord in February of 2018 and by that time we had the song ‘Firebreather’ done,” but soon thereafter new drummer Axel Wittbeck joined the fold. “Once Axel had joined, it was like the flood gates opened,” says bassist Kyle Pitcher. “The rest of the album just came together.”
Under a Blood Moon was recorded at Elementstudion in Gothenburg with engineer Oskar Karlsson, who also recorded the band’s lauded 2017 self-titled debut on Suicide Records.
Album opener “Dancing Flames” sets the stage for the onslaught to come with a slinking, serpentine riff over slow churning rhythms. Nööjd’s hushed, gravelly vocals sink into the mix, more like a baritone guitar than a human voice. “Our Souls, They Burn” nicely exemplifies the band’s furious grind that makes even faster tempo songs sound impossibly heavy, like a slow motion stampede. Elsewhere, “We Bleed” perfectly sums up the band’s focus on the riff and groove, honing in on the power of hypnotic attrition. Closing epic, “The Siren” opens with lugubrious, slightly swinging drums and rumbling bass building tension over delay- and phaser-soaked guitar harmonics, until a massive, sliding riff crashes headlong into the proceedings. The song seems to cleverly shape shift across several harmonic and rhythmic parts, without losing the core groove underneath. A short pause for breath, then it’s off to the races with a galloping crescendo for succinct closure.
Under a Blood Moon will be available on LP, CD and download September 27th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Preorders are available HERE.
FIREBREATHER LIVE 2019: Sep 20 Gothenburg, SE @ Musikens Hus w/ Halshug Oct 01 Utrecht, NL @ De Helling * Oct 02 Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4 * Oct 03 Pratteln, CH @ Up In Smoke Festival * Oct 04 Reims, FR @ La Cartonnerie * Oct 05 Paris, FR @ Saturday Mud Fever Festival * Oct 07 Dortmund, DE @ Junkyard * Oct 08 Nuremberg, DE @ Z-Bau * Oct 09 Cologne, DE @ Helios 37 * Oct 10 Mainz, DE @ Schon Schon * Oct 11 Hamburg, DE @ Molotow * Oct 16 Oslo, NO @ John Dee * Oct 17 Gothenburg, SE @ Sticky Fingers * Oct 18 Malmo, SE @ Babel * Oct 23 Linkoping, SE @ The Crypt * Oct 24 Stockholm, SE @ Close Up Baten * Oct 25 Tampere, FI @ Olympia * Oct 26 Helsinki, FI @ Nosturi * * w/ Monolord
Homeshake – the recording project of Peter Sagar – unveils Helium Remixes in full via Sinderlyn.
Following the “Like Mariah (Jessy Lanza Remix)” last month with accompanying visuals from Nicole Ginelli, Homeshake has shared “All Night Long (Ciel’s Daylight Savings Mix)” and “Another Thing (Cecile Believe Mix)” in the last two weeks.
The Ciel remix of “All Night Long” doubles its original length. The track is vibrant with ricocheting percussion and bright tones. “I was blown away when I first heard Ciel’s ‘Hundred Flowers’ EP. The way the melody and drums evolved around one another was so hypnotizing,” says Sagar. “Her attention to percussive detail is masterful. It’s too bad I don’t really party because I hear she’s an excellent DJ.”
Throughout the “Another Thing” remix, Cecile Believe warps Sagar’s vocals and adds a layer of textured instrumentation. “You don’t get to hear it on her remix, but Cecile is the most amazing singer I know. She performed vocals all over the latest (and amazing) SOPHIE record,” Sagar says. “Thanks to her vocal coaching I was able to drastically improve my own voice, and I’m endlessly grateful for that, as well as her amazing remix, which shows how incredible a producer she is as well.”
Teklife crew members DJ Taye and DJ Paypal appear multiple times throughout the EP, including on the remix of “Just Like My.” Sagar cites them as two of his favorite footwork producers and says “These were the first remixes I got back, I listened to them thru my iphone 6s speaker standing in a department store and cried a little.”
Helium Remixes EP Tracklist: 1. All Night Long (Ciel’s Daylight Savings Mix) 2. Just Like My (TAYE//PAL Mix) 3. Other Than (TAYE//PAL Mix) 4. Like Mariah (Jessy Lanza Remix) 5. Nothing Could Be Better (Foodman Remix) 6. Another Thing (LH Mix) 7. Just Like My (Project Pablo Remix) 8. Another Thing (Cecile Believe Mix) 9. (Secret Track) (DJ Paypal Secret Remix)
Northern California duo Beehive share a new track from their forthcoming debut EP Depressed + Distressed via Spill Magazine. Hear and share “Don’t Try” HERE.
The Big Takeover recently shared lead single “When Can I See You Again?” HERE.
It’s the simple things that matter, right? Beehive know this well. The Northern California duo writes short, deceptively simple rock songs in the vein of early Wire, Suicide, The Spits and Television Personalities. Each song seems laser focused on a desperately repeated vocal phrase and repeatedly hammered riff splayed out over the emotional indifference of a Hammond Auto-Vari 64 drum machine.
Vocalist/guitarist Jake Sprecher — who also played in Terry Malts (SF), Smokescreens (LA) and Business of Dreams (LA), all part of Slumberland Records family – urgently yelps and howls desperate and angry lyrics like a man with no time to waste. Bassist Bud Amenti (also of Shutups) fills in any gaps with subtle walks and fills while holding down the band’s monolithic sound. Beehive never stop the drum machine during their live set, there are no breaks, which adds to the intensity.
Beehive came into existence at the beginning of 2019, but in that short time has been hitting venues hard up and down the West Coast to set up their 7-song debut EP Depressed + Distressed for release in early Fall. The EP was recorded live in the studio in one take to 1/2″ tape. No messing around.
Depressed + Distressed opens with a short intro (“Tick Tock”) leading into the mantra-like wail of “Get Off My Back,” as the duo holds and pummels an A-major chord, as Sprecher chants over the top. Elsewhere, “90’s Trash” sarcastically rips up nostalgia for music of our youth and disposable culture. “When Can I See You Again?” seethes with desperation and obsession we’ve all experienced at some point, the guitars clattering and clawing, perhaps trying in vain to stop the incessant drum machine. “Wasting Our Time” wastes no time getting to the point: Our time, our lives, as a measure of existence, is only wasted by ourselves and each other. Kind of heady and deep, but utterly simple.
Depressed + Distressed will be available on 10″ EP and download on September 6th, 2019 via Jester Records.
BEEHIVE LIVE 2019: 09/14 San Francisco, CA @ Knockout 10/09 Portland, OR @ Valentine’s 10/10 Seattle, WA @ Cha Cha Lounge 10/11 Eugene, OR @ Spectrum 10/17 Oakland, CA @ Golden Bull
Southern California trio Warish share a new track from their forthcoming full length debut Down In Flames on RidingEasy Records. Hear and share “You’ll Abide” via YouTube and Bandcamp.
Loudwire recently premiered the first single “Healter Skelter” HERE.
Warish hit the road this fall in support of the album with San Francisco stoner rock progenitors Acid King, who will also reissue their legendary Busse Woods album on RidingEasy on August 30th. Please see all dates below.
Imagine if early, weird Aberdeen Nirvana were crossed with low budget horror-obsessed garage-punks. You’d have sinister vibes with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish.
Warish is a very newly minted SoCal trio formed in early 2018 that has wasted no time making its presence known. The band formed when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Nick (Broose) McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they’d done previously. “We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show,” Riley explains. “A little more punk, a little bit of grunge… a little evil-ish.” Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk’s effect-laden vocals hearken to 90s industrial monsters Ministry and David Yow’s tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain’s and Buzz Osbourne’s wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the band’s uh, warlike assault.
Down In Flames will be available on LP, CD and download on September 13th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.
WARISH LIVE 2019: 08/30 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah 09/20 Portland, OR @ Star Theater – Hesh Fest * 09/21 Seattle, WA @ Highline * 09/23 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater * 09/24 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown * 09/25 Chicago, IL @ Reggies * 09/26 Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle * 09/27 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop * 09/28 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place * 09/29 Boston, MA @ Sonia * 09/30 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory * 10/01 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s * 10/02 Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall * 10/03 Raleigh, NC @ Kings * 10/04 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight * 10/05 Atlanta, GA @ The 529 * 10/06 New Orleans, LA @ One Eye Jack’s * 10/07 Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey * 10/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister * 10/10 Mesa, AZ @ Club Red * 10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Satellite * 10/12 San Francisco, CA @ Chapel * 11/09 Austin, TX @ Levitation Fest * w/ Acid King
Keep your mind open.
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“[Bethlehem Steel] pair hooky choruses with an illegal-basement-show energy.” Rolling Stone
“A fantastic guitar rock trio…Party Naked Forever is a much deeper and thoughtful record than that title might imply…I love this whole record.” Robin Hilton, NPR’s All Songs Considered
“[Becca Ryskalczyk] captures a sort of Rust Belt malaise in her music that makes everything feel rundown and past its prime…the album, largely operates in a full-speed-ahead stumble, towering songs that rush to keep apace with Ryskalczyk’s cavernous voice.” Stereogum
“Becca Ryskalczyk’s truly soaring voice makes Bethlehem Steel truly stand out.” BrooklynVegan
“[Bethlehem Steel] fucking rule.” The FADER
WATCH: Bethlehem Steel’s “Bad Girl” video on Stereogum // YouTube
Bethlehem Steel have announced their sophomore album with the premiere of its lead single “Bad Girl.” The self-titled album is the follow up to the band’s 2017 debut, Party Naked Forever, itself a heavily anticipated release owing to the band’s sterling reputation built sharing stages in Brooklyn DIY scene with bands like Spirit of The Beehive, Pile, Big Ups, Guerrilla Toss, Strange Ranger and Stove, that earned acclaim from Rolling Stone, NPR, Billboard, FADER and Stereogum, among others.
This album is the band’s first since they evolved from a trio to a four piece with the addition of guitarist Christina Puerto, who has also become a major part of the band’s songwriting process, and contributes lead vocals to several songs on the record. Her close relationship with guitarist/vocalist Becca Ryskalcyzk was central to the album’s development, a relationship dramatized in the video for the album’s lead single, a slightly tongue in cheek track penned by Ryskalcyzk that foregrounds the pairs’ rhythmic guitar interplay, building towards a nearly two-minute instrumental outro, as drums, bass and guitar add layer upon layer before the song reaches its apex with a sharp guitar and saxophone duel.
Ryskalcyzk expands on the songs background in conversation with Stereogum: “‘Bad Girl’ is about all the nights that my brain keeps me awake. Irrationally telling me I’m a terrible person. Going over and over and over all of the things I might have done to upset or inconvenience another human. Singing the line ‘Am I a bad girl?’ to my bandmates or even just out loud to myself was definitely embarrassing. I wasn’t sure if I should even keep it as a lyric until I decided to just lean into it. I send my mom everything I’m working on and when I sent her the demos with place holder titles she was like ‘Bad Girl? Now THATS how you name a song!’ so naturally it had to stay.” In support of the release the band are announcing an extensive US tour that includes dates with their Exploding In Sound label mates Kal Marks. Full details can be found below.
The album was written and recorded over a two year period by Ryskalczyk while splitting time between her brother’s house in Florida and Vermont, before fleshing out the arrangements with her bandmates back in Brooklyn. The songs were often intensely personal, and the solitary exercise of writing them left Ryskalczyk seeking a more collaborative writing process, one she found with the addition of a new member to the band, guitarist Christina Puerto, who joined Bethlehem Steel while they were touring in support of their debut. A close bond quickly formed between the pair, and that relationship has brought forth a new chapter for the band, with Ryskalczyk and Puerto’s collaborative energy providing the animating force behind their self-titled sophomore album (out September 13th via Exploding In Sound) – a release that serves as guide, of sorts, for those reaching towards self-empowerment, and an illustration of the transformative power of female friendship as a force in overcoming trauma.
“A lot of the lyrical content on this album is uncomfortable,” Ryskalczyk says. “It’s about men, and being taken advantage of, or abandoned or fucked over. I’ve been playing with the boys in the band for many years and they have always been sympathetic to my experiences, but there are certain things about what women experience that they will never understand, and having another woman as part of the band brought a different comfort and a sense of solidarity. Based on what’s happening in my life, I would still probably have sung about these things, but I don’t know what it would have been like without Christina. It wouldn’t have felt as powerful.”
The bulk of Bethlehem Steel is a stark look at toxic relationships and their effect on mental health, and its songs derive power from their unflinching approach to difficult topics. The pulsing, string-abetted “Couches,” which simmers for over half its runtime before exploding into a tangle of lead guitar parts, is a cutting appraisal of the worst parts of a suddenly absent family member, while the almost entirely spoken word track “Not Lotion” is a cathartic and rawly emotive expression of anger in the face of restrictive societal expectations. The single “Gov’t Cheese,” which is centered around Ryskalczk’s repetition of the mantra “I must take care of myself,” confronts a history of complicated friendships with men, with Ryskalczk and Puerto’s surprisingly sweet vocal harmonies belying the song’s frank reckoning with the vulnerabilities that are preyed upon in many of these negative relationships.
“When I wrote this I was looking back on a lot of toxic and abusive male relationships that I’ve had,” Ryskalczyk says. “A lot of them made me smaller and were holding me back from becoming a stronger woman. Sometimes you can still feel like you’re emotionally held hostage by them while trying to find a way to be there but at a distance.”
While the album’s lyrical depth and immediacy are readily apparent over Bethlehem Steel’s 10 tracks, the overall song construction and instrumentation is where Puerto and Ryskalcyzk’s rare chemistry is most apparent, and perhaps where the album’s greatest strength lies. Similarly, “Empty Room,” one of three songs on the album (along with “Read The Room” and “Sheryl”) which debuts Puerto as a second writer in the band, presents a sense of cognitive distortion, with unpredictable percussion patterns, guitar licks and melodies that mirror the chaos that can ensue from mental health issues debilitating your regularly scheduled programming.
It’s an exhilarating listen, and with the transition from a trio to a four piece, the sound of a band finding another gear as they change shape and mature as songwriters and musicians. Taking stock of your experiences and your emotional health in solitude, can be an empowering task, but enlisting the assistance of allies certainly never hurts, and Bethlehem Steel’s sophomore album is a testament to value of togetherness in difficult times.
“It’s important that this record is something that we did together and that we grew within, and I think the album artwork by Nicole Rifkin shows that” says Ryskalcyzk. “Christina and I met at a time when we were both processing painful things in our personal lives, and through writing together we were able to provide each other with strength and support, while also turning those feelings into something more cathartic. Hopefully in sharing the record we can connect with people, and they can connect with that strength.”
Bethlehem Steel will be released via Exploding In Sound on September 13th. It is available for purchase here.
Tour dates: 9/13 NYC release show @ Trans Pecos w/ Cat Cohen and Shark Muffin 9/14 Buffalo, NY release show @ Mohawk Place 9/15 Albany, NY @ Buddie’s Basement 9/16 Rollinsford, NH @ Sue’s 9/25 Boston, MA @ O’Briens * 9/26 Northampton, MA @ Red Cross * 9/27 Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar * 9/28 Toronto @ Duffy’s * 9/29 Kalamazoo, MI @ Candy Cane Lane * 9/30 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean downstairs * 10/1 St Louis, MO @ Nu Craig * 10/2 Fayetteville, AR @ Backspace * 10/3 Denton, TX @ J&Js * 10/4 Austin, TX @ Mohawk * 10/5 New Orleans, LA @ Bank St Bar * 10/6 Nashville, TN @ Drrkmttr * 10/8 Asheville, NC @ Static Age * 10/9 Raleigh, NC @ TBA * 10/10 DC @ Rhizome * 10/11 Philadelphia, PA @ Dumpster Out Back * 10/12 NYC @ Chili’s * *= w/ Kal Marks
