Thanks for listening to my latest show, everyone. I should be back on air midnight to 2am June 10th. Here’s what I spun this morning (or last night, depending on your perspective).
De La Soul – Ain’t Hip to Be Labeled a Hippie
The Death Set – Negative Thinking
Thee Oh Sees – Gelatinous Cube (live)
Black Sabbath – Damaged Soul (request)
Asobi Seksu – Me and Mary
Scream Blacula Scream radio ad
The Prodigy – Run with the Wolves
The Amazing Colossal Man radio ad
Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band – Knocking Ghost
Average White Band – Pick Up the Pieces
Eurythmics – Never Gonna Cry Again (live)
Eurthymics – There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart) (live)
Jake Xerxes Fussell is one of those artists who wouldn’t have been on my radar were it not for this blog. A country guitarist who sings songs about fish mongers? That’s usually not in my wheelhouse. Fussell’s last album, What in the Natural World, was sent to me by his label and it turned out to be one of my favorite albums of that year.
Now they’ve sent me Out of Sight, and it’s already in my top 20 of the year so far. The opener, “The River St. Johns” is that fish monger’s song I mentioned above, which Russell remembers hearing as a kid and he reproduces with great affection. “Micheal Was Hearty” is his reworking of an Irish folk song from the late 1800’s into, get this, a waltz. It works. It works quite well. “Oh Captain” is his cover of an obscure Willis Laurence James song from the 1920’s and has Fussell singing the blues about a deckhand’s toil aboard his ship.
“Three Ravens” is another obscure 1920’s American songbook classic that has Fussell’s guitar work shining throughout it, and the lap steel is a great touch. The soft bass drum on “Jubilee” is like the heartbeat of a child as she sees a carousel for the first time. “Swing and turn, jubilee. Live and learn, jubilee,” Fussell sings. It’s a simple message that carries a lot of weight and insight. “Winnsboro Cottonmill Blues” has Fussell singing about the hard life of a textile mill worker whose boss would “take the nickles off a dead man’s eyes to buy Coca-Colas and Eskimo Pies.”
The shuffle of the murder / love ballad “The Rainbow Willow” is only matched in its artistry by the lap steel guitar and Fussell’s vocals. The instrumental “16-20” is slightly creepy, yet warm – like a friend who emerges out of a fog on a lonely road. The closer is the spiritual classic “Drinking of the Wine,” which Fussell admits he sings like fisherman singing a net-hauling shanty.
I haven’t written anywhere near enough about Fussell guitar playing, which is so masterful that he makes every song sound easy. His vocals also seem effortless, and his backing band on this record is outstanding. Fussell mentions in the liner notes that he wanted this record to “sound like a band playing in a room – nothing too ornate or grandiose in concept.” He nailed it. Out of Sight is intimate and delightful.
London-based multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker is pleased to announce his third album, Aquamarine, due July 19th via Night Time Stories. Designed to inspire good energy, Ash hopes to bring a sense of calm and tranquility to the listener amongst the chaos of life. This idea is clear in lead single, “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville), a smooth meditation on love.
Aquamarine follows Walkers 2016 album, Echo Chamber, and 2015’s Augmented 7th. A cosmic explosion of sound and color, rhythm, shape, and patterns, Aquamarine is the take-off of an audial spaceship, a sound discovered in the grooves of thousands of records, united in one. Recorded at home with the freedom of time and space, it combines analogue and digital, and a fondness for normally unwanted shapes and textures such as fuzz, hiss, and crackle. Also featured across the album are trumpet and flugelhorn auteur Yazz Ahmed, bassist Marc Cyril (Keiziah Jones, Jr Walker & The All Stars), and renowned musician and producer Jonathan Shorten.
“My previous albums have felt to me more like ventures on land,” says Walker. “This one feels more like a deep sea voyage into the subconscious. Living to dream with visions of grandeur. Manifesting a beautiful path to walk on. It was inspired by everything around me, from friends and family to art and design, engineering and architecture, movement and we use our five senses. I love to try and push my own boundaries of what I perceive to be right and wrong, seeing mistakes as innovations, and obstacles as inspiration.”
An avid collector of jazz, blues, soul, funk, reggae, and all things in-between, Walker has DJed far and wide, spinning vinyl in the UK with The Specials to scattering dub across San Francisco and LA. Walker’s production output is similarly exploratory: his journeys have taken him far and wide, from tunnels under the river Thames to recording local percussionists in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. His musical palette is widened even further by his live shows. Collaborating with Ezra Lloyd-Jackson, each of Walker’s performances is turned into a vibrant, multi-sensory experience, combining live reactive projections and carefully crafted frequency complimenting fragrances.
Stream “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville) — https://youtu.be/Uy_9g3v8uhw
Pre-orderAquamarine — https://orcd.co/aquamarine
AquamarineTracklist: 1. Under The Sun (Feat. Laville) 2. Time (Feat. Laville) 3. Come With Us 4. Brave New World 5. Finishing Touch (Feat. Laville) 6. Aquamarine 7. Sanity (Feat. Laville) 8. I Need Money 9. Fat King Smoke 10. Ain’t Got You (Feat. Laville) 11. The Dagon’s Cashmere Jumper
“What is your wish? What do you expect?” begins Cross Record’s self-titled album, due August 2nd via Ba Da Bing! Throughout, Emily Cross attempts to answer these questions as she guides the listener, delivering a textured soundscape of meditative curiosity. The album is primarily anchored by Cross’s singing, as she pushes her range and engages with a multitude of different approaches, detuning her voice and obstructing its clarity in specific moments. Cross Record presents the lead single, “PYSOL My Castle,” and an accompanying, self-directed video.
Since the release of Cross Record’s last album, 2016’s Wabi Sabi, the Austin, TX-based Cross has divorced, quit drinking, become a death doula, started the observational podcast “What I’m Looking At,” and toured and recorded with Sub Pop’s Loma, the trio she formed with Dan Duszynski and Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater). Having recorded Wabi Sabi at home between work and sleep hours, Cross did the opposite for Cross Record, writing the album while living on a secluded part of Mexico’s coast. The album was recorded with musician Andrew Hulett and co-producer Theo Karon, and the songs realized their ultimate forms at Hotel Earth, Karon’s studio in Los Angeles. The collaborative atmosphere of Loma challenged Cross to experiment with her sound, leading to a collection of fully-developed songs with percussion, string arrangements, and an expanded production. Though her voice is always central, the instrumentation is equally nuanced and experimental.
In her songs, Cross reconciles her present state of being with her experiences of the past few years. Themes of departure and separation were inspired by her new role as a death doula, which helps clients navigate decisions and hardships at the end of life. Cross’s work in helping others face their greatest fears inhabits the same space as her art, which has always explored the metaphysical in the everyday. Across the album, she looks inward and observes the transcendental – framing death as a spiritual departure and considering the fragility and resilience of the mind. The eerie experience of listening to Cross Record and the unsettling sense of songs slipping from coherent grasp share these same sensibilities.
Lead single “PYSOL My Castle” is immediate proof of Cross’s introspection. Inspired by a visit to an overstimulating Mexican street market, the track describes her search for an unencumbered mindspace: “Walking through the plaza in a dream // All these people reaching out // touching me. I cannot take what you are giving // You cannot break the bubble I’m living in.”
Watch the Video for “PYSOL My Castle” – https://youtu.be/5s4-B4h6ANQ
Pre-orderCross Record – https://bit.ly/30MqQjK Cross Record Tracklist: 1.What Is Your Wish? 2. Licorice 3. Face Smashed, Drooling 4. PYSOL My Castle 5. I Release You 6. The Fly 7. Hollow Garden 8. Y/o Dragon 9. An Angel, a Dove 10. Sing the Song 11. I Am Painting
Keep your mind open.
[Put your shoes on and walk over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see Chromatics. I’d read the stories about how band leader Johnny Jewel had destroyed all physical copies of their next album, Dear Tommy, following a near-death experience in 2015. I thought, “Well, it was good while it lasted.” I later learned, however, that Jewel and company had re-recorded the album with additional songs added onto the original material. So I thought, “Well, maybe there’s hope yet.”
It turns out I was right because Chromatics announced a summer tour last year and I was able to snag tickets to see them at Chicago’s Park West before they sold out. It would be Chromatics’ first show in Chicago in six years and they were bringing their Italians Do It Better label mates Desire and In Mirrors with them.
After going through a four-stage security check more extensive than one conducted by the TSA, we were inside and facing the IDIB merchandise table that was practically set up like a flea market with its large neon sign, tables of LPs, and racks of T-shirts. I snagged a big tour poster for just five bucks.
In Mirrors started the show with a set of goth wave music that combined heavy synths with near-spoken word poetry and excellent fashion. Each band member looked like they just walked out of a cool men’s clothing store. They also revealed it was Johnny Jewel’s birthday that evening and thanked him for his extensive contribution to their music.
In Mirrors
Mr. Jewel came out next with his other band, Desire (fronted by his wife, Megan Louise, no less), who put on a nice set of shoegaze / synth wave (“Shoe wave?” “Synth gaze?”) that included a lot of songs about love, nights in the city, and, of course, desire. Megan Louise tossed out red roses to the crowd (particularly anyone on a first date) and led everyone in singing happy birthday to Mr. Jewel.
Desire
Everyone was buzzing hard for Chromatics by this point, and they came out to a neat electro start with a wild video show highlighting time moving in different directions. It was indicative of their music – retro and futuristic.
Chromatics
They started with their classic, “Lady,” but stopped the set afterward so Jewel could address a man in the crowd with, “Hey, man, are you okay?” I thought maybe someone was so drunk they could barely stand or perhaps ill or even overcome with emotion from seeing them live, but it quickly became apparent that the guy was drunk AND being a jackass – to put it mildly.
Jewel told him to calm down, not be a dick, and let everyone do their own thing. This is where the security personnel at Park West began to fail. No one showed up to check this guy out or escort him away from the front of the stage. The guy took offense to someone in the crowd during the next song, “Kill for Love,” and slugged somebody. The band called for security, telling them someone had just been punched, and finally one lone bouncer showed up who was at least sixty pounds heavier and thirty years older than the drunk jerk. The drunk struggled with him for a moment, pushing him away and “arm wrestling” with him.
I handed my tour poster to my wife and was three steps away from putting the guy in a rear choke hold and dragging him to the nearest exit. I’m not kidding. I was advancing on this guy and he had no idea I was behind him. I don’t write this to brag. I write this to highlight the lack of Park West security involved in this situation. I, a music blogger who also happens to be a police detective, was going to have to step in and help this lone bouncer because he had no back-up against a young, fit, and angry drunk who was actively resisting him. Luckily, he told the bouncer he’d walk out on his own and then left before I needed to grab him and before he and bouncer had a slugfest in the middle of the crowd.
Park West failed the sold-out crowd and Chromatics for not having security at the front of the stage as soon as Jewel called out the drunk. They should’ve been there before Jewel stopped talking. Instead, they weren’t and someone got hit by this dude. That’s a potential lawsuit, and it would’ve been one if someone had been seriously injured or worse.
Chromatics, and the crowd, sprung back with positive energy once the “one bad apple” (as Jewel called him) was gone. They played “Night Drive / Paradise” and “Back from the Grave” and I was happy to hear one of their newest singles, “Time Rider,” live for the first time. It didn’t disappoint.
They were enjoying their return to Chicago by the time they reached classics like “Cherry” and “I Want Your Love.” They closed the first set with their stunning cover of Neil Young‘s “Hey Hey, My My.”
Lead singer Ruth Radelet (who might be a vampire as she doesn’t appear to have aged in the last ten years) came out for the encore and delivered her beautiful rendition of Springsteen‘s “I’m on Fire,” which is more emotive in a live setting than you can imagine.
Ruth Radelet was on fire at Park West, and in all our hearts.
They ended the night with “Shadow” and their cover of Kate Bush‘s “Running Up that Hill.” Radelet and Jewel thanked everyone for a good night, with Jewel thanking everyone for overcoming the bad energy at the start of the show. It was a good return for them.
Two people behind me were yelling, “Dear Tommy when?” as he walked offstage. I thought, “That’s only for he to know and us to find out.” You can’t always rush art, and the first couple singles we’ve heard this year promise good things to come.
Keep your mind open.
[Hey, hey, my, my…You haven’t subscribed and I don’t know why.]
Ezra Furman is pleased to announce his new album, Twelve Nudes, due August 30th via Bella Union. 2018 was a championing year for Furman – since the release of the “layered, baroque pop melodrama” (Billboard) Transangelic Exodus, Furman has garnered immense praise, both for Transangelic Exodus and the soundtrack he created for Netflix’s Sex Education (he and his band also appeared in an episode). Twelve Nudes, his new and “spiritually queer” punk record, continues this same wavelength, and is an incendiary and inspiring follow-up. Across the album, Furman channels pent-up energy, distinguished by sharp, lacerating observations, confessions and proclamations. Additionally, Furman shares the lead single / video, “Calm Down” (aka “I Should Not Be Alone”) and announces a North American and European tour (all dates below).
Twelve Nudes was recorded quickly in Oakland in Fall 2018 and was mixed by venerated producer John Congleton (Sharon Van Etten, St. Vincent). The result is an album that is less stereotypical punk than raw, raucous rock’n’roll. The album has two spiritual heroes – the late great punk Jay Reatard and Canadian writer and philosopher Anne Carson. The title stems directly from Carson, who used the term “nudes” to describe the meditations she used to deal with intense pain in her life.
Throughout Twelve Nudes, Furman uses both personal and outward experiences to communicate intense frustration. On punk-rock track “Rated R Crusaders” he explores his Jewish identity and the Israel/Palestine conflict, while “Trauma” seethes with the spiritual malaise brought on by watching wealthy bullies accused of sexual assault rise to power. Furman is well-aware that America is balanced on a knife-edge between white male supremacy and the dream of universal opportunity; hence the references to Mexico, slave-owners and US “founding father” Ben Franklin in “In America.” “One of my goals in making music is to make the world seem bigger, and life seem larger,” Furman explains. “I want to be a force that tries to revive the human spirit rather than crush it, to open possibilities rather than close them down. Sometimes a passionate negativity is the best way to do that.”
Immediate proof is offered by “Calm Down.” The track, insanely catchy and bound up in a compact two minutes and 22 seconds, is a cry of panic and despair. “Desperate times make for desperate songs,” says Furman. “I wrote this in the summer of 2018, a terrible time. It’s the sound of me struggling to admit that I’m not okay with the current state of human civilization, in which bad men crush us into submission. Once you admit how bad it feels to live in a broken society, you can start to resist it, and imagine a better one.” The accompanying video, directed by Beth Jeans Houghton, follows the same hand drawn aspect of previous videos, but with vibrant color and a comic book style.
“This is our punk record,” says Ezra Furman. “We made it in Oakland, quickly. We drank and smoked. Then we made the loud parts louder. I hurt my voice screaming. This was back in 2018, when things were bad in the world. The songs are naked with nothing to hide.”
Ezra Furman will shortly embark on a European tour. Then, he will bring his energetic live shows stateside before returning to Europe later this year.
Twelve Nudes Tracklist: 1. Calm Down aka I Should Not Be Alone 2. Evening Prayer aka Justice 3. Transition From Nowhere to Nowhere 4. Rated R Crusaders 5. Trauma 6. Thermometer 7. I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend 8. Blown 9. My Teeth Hurt 10. In America 11. What Can You Do But Rock n Roll
Ezra Furman Tour Dates:
Sun. July 21 – Benicassim, ES @ Benicassim Festival Tue. July 23 – Cork, IE @ Cyprus Avenue Wed. July 24 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory Thu. July 25 – Galway, IE @ Galway Festival Sun. July 28 – Topcliffe, UK @ Deer Shed Festival Thu. Sept. 5 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club Sat. Sept. 7 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (TICKETS) Sun. Sept. 8 – Detroit, MI @ El Club (TICKETS) Mon. Sept. 9 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace (TICKETS) Tue. Sept. 10 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz P.D.B. (TICKETS) Wed. Sept. 11 – Cambridge, MA @ Sonia (TICKETS) Thu. Sept. 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw (TICKETS) Sun. Sept. 15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts (TICKETS) Mon. Sept. 16 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage (TICKETS)
Chicago’s Riot Fest has released the lineup for its 15th anniversary festival, and early price tickets ($129.00) are nearly sold out. Don’t wait too long to get yours.
There are some heavy-hitters on the lineup this year. The Flaming Lips playing Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots in its entirety is almost worth the price of admission by itself. The Raconteurs are sure to put on a solid set, and I’d be keen to see Bloc Party (who are playing Silent Alarm in its entirety, and that’s a good record to be sure), Die Antwoord (as I’m sure their live shows are nuts), the B-52’s, Bob Mould for a second time this year, RIDE, Caroline Rose, Ganser, and how could you not at least check out the set by Village People?
Rock giantesses Sleater-Kinney are back with not only a sharp new, electro-twinged single, “Hurry On Home,” but also a list of tour dates throughout North America starting in October. “Hurry On Home” is a hot cut about hotter love with a blistering guitar solo from Carrie Brownstein. Don’t miss this tour. Many dates, if not all, are sure to sell out.
10/9/19 – Spokane, WA – Fox Theatre
10/11/19 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Concert House
10/12/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
10/13/19 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre
10/15/19 – Minneapolis, MN – Palace Theatre
10/16/19 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater
10/18/19 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
10/20/19 – Louisville, KY – Old Forester’s Paristown Hall
10/21/19 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
10/23/19 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle
10/25/19 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
10/26/19 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE- Indoor
10/27/19 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
10/29/19 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
10/30/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Kings Theatre
10/31/19 – New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
11/1/19 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
11/3/19 – Toronto, ON – Rebel Complex
11/4/19 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
11/5/19 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
11/7/19 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
11/8/19 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
11/9/19 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater
11/11/19 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
11/12/19 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park
