The epic Mosswood Meltdown is returning July 1st and July 2nd, 2023 to Oakland’s Mosswood Park. Today, the festival announces its first wave of the lineup, which features Le Tigre for their only Bay Area appearance of the year, Gravy Train!!!!, The Rondelles, and Tina & the Total Babes for their exclusive, only shows of 2023, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, and more. And of course, it wouldn’t be a Mosswood Meltdown without our iconic and punkeriffic host, John Waters. The lineup thus far can be found below and early bird tickets for the festival (for a holiday special pricing) are on sale this Friday at 9am PST/noon EST.
MOSSWOOD MELTDOWN 2023 TEASER Le Tigre (1st Bay Area gig in 15 years!) Gravy Train!!!! (Only gig 2022/2023) Tina & the Total Babes (Only gig 2022/2023) The Rondelles (Only gig 2022/2023) Quintron & Miss Pussycat
Today, shame announce Food for Worms, their explosive new album out February 24th on Dead Oceans, and present its lead single/video, “Fingers of Steel.” In conjunction, the band announces their biggest headlining tour to-date, with stops in Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Chicago and more. Following 2021’s Drunk Tank Pink, “the sound of a band stretching into new shapes” (Pitchfork), shame finally arrive at a place of hard-won maturity on Food for Worms, which frontman Charlie Steendeclares to be “the Lamborghini of shame records.”
Food for Worms marks a sonic departure from anything they’ve done before, and – for the first time – the band are not delving inwards, but seeking to capture the world around them. Abandoning their post-punk beginnings for far more eclectic influences, Food for Worms draws from the sharp yet uncomplicated lyrical observations of Lou Reed, as well as the more melodic works of 90s German band Blumfeld. They called upon renowned producer Flood (Nick Cave, U2, PJ Harvey) to execute their vision. “I don’t think you can be in your own head forever,” says Steen. A conversation after one of their gigs with a friend prompted a stray thought that he held onto: “It’s weird, isn’t it? Popular music is about love, heartbreak, or yourself. There isn’t much about your mates.”
The “Fingers of Steel” video, directed by James Humby, sees the band work 19-hour shifts creating fake social media accounts to like, follow, and comment on their own material. Of the video,Steen says: “Self-obsession, social media flagellation and death can all be seen in this Oscar-nominated performance. No one’s ever done a video like this before and when you watch it, you’ll see why. Think Casablanca, but in color, and better.”
On one hand, Food for Worms calls to mind a certain morbidity, but on the other, it’s a celebration of life; the way that, in the end, we need each other. The album is an ode to friendship, and a documentation of the dynamic that only five people who have grown up together – and grown so close, against all odds – can share.
Back in 2018, around debut album Songs of Praise, shame were at the vanguard of a transformative scene that changed the underground music landscape in the UK; paving the way for artists soon to come. Then, Steen suffered a series of panic attacks which led to the tour’s cancellation. For the first time, since being plucked from the small pub stages of south London and catapulted into notoriety, shame were confronted with who they’d become on the other side of it. This era, of being forced to endure reality and the terror that comes with your own company, would form shame’s second album, Drunk Tank Pink.
Reconnecting with what they first loved about being in a band hotwired them into making the album after a false-start during the pandemic. Their management then presented them with a challenge: in three weeks, shame would play two intimate shows and debut two sets of entirely new songs. It meant the band returned to the same ideology which propelled them to these heights in the first place: the love of playing live, on their own terms, fed by their audience. Thus Food for Worms crashed into life faster than anything they’d created before. The band recorded while playing festivals all over Europe, invigorated by the strength of the reaction their new material was met with. That live energy, what it’s like to witness shame in their element, is captured perfectly on record – like lightning in a bottle.
Food for Worms sees shame enter a new, surreal landscape, as reflected in the cover art designed by acclaimed artist Marcel Dzama. It’s suggestive of what is left unsaid, what lies beneath the surface, the farcical and fantastical everyday that we are living in, in a society where both everything and nothing is possible. Recording each track live meant a kind of surrender: here, the rough edges give the album its texture; the mistakes are more interesting than perfection. In a way, it harkens back to the title itself and the way that with this record, the band are embracing frailty and, by doing so, are tapping into a new source of bravery.
It’s through this, and defiance, that the band have continually moved forward together; finding light in uncomfortable contractions and playing their vulnerabilities as strengths. The near-breakdowns, identity crises, Steel routinely ripping his top off on-stage as a way of tackling his body weight insecurities – everything is thrown into their live show, and the best shows of their lives are happening now.
Food for Worms Tracklist 1. Fingers Of Steel 2. Six-Pack 3. Yankees 4. Alibis 5. Adderall 6. Orchid 7. The Fall of Paul 8. Burning By Design 9. Different Person 10. All The People
shame Tour Dates Wed. Mar. 1 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory Fri. Mar. 3 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 Sat. Mar. 4 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop Sun. Mar. 5 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus Tue. Mar. 7 – Sheffield, UK @ Leadmill Wed. Mar. 8 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Thu. Mar. 9 – Bristol, UK @ SWX Sat. Mar. 11 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall Sun. Mar. 12 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed Tue. Mar. 14 – Nantes, FR @ Stereolux Wed. Mar. 15 – Paris, FR @ Cabaret Sauvage Thu. Mar. 16 – Bordeaux, FR @ Rock School Barbey Sat. Mar. 18 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV Sun. Mar. 19 – Madrid, ES @ Nazca Mon. Mar. 20 – Barcelona, ES @ La 2 de Apolo Wed. Mar. 22 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma Thu. Mar. 23 – Milan, IT @ Magnolia Fri. Mar. 24 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza Sun. Mar. 26 – Munich, DE @ Technikum Mon. Mar. 27 – Berlin, DE @ Astra Tue. Mar. 28 – Hamburg, DE @ Markthalle Thu. Mar. 30 – Oslo, NO @ Vulkan Fri. Mar. 31 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Sat. Apr. 1 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Mon. Apr. 3 – Brussels, BE @ AB Tue. Apr. 4 – Cologne, DE @ Floria Thu. Apr. 6 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg Fri. Apr. 28 – London, UK @ Brixton Academy Wed. May 10 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall Fri. May 12 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar Sat. May 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Sun. May 14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Tue. May 16 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair Thu. May 18 – Montréal, QC @ Foufounes Électriques Fri. May 19 – Ottawa, ON @ Club SAW Sat. May 20 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace Mon. May 22 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Wed. May 24 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. May 26 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway Sat. May 27 – Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck Sun. May 28 – Fayetteville, AR @ George’s Majestic Lounge Tue. May 30 – Dallas,TX @ Granada Theater Fri. Jun. 2 – Austin, TX @ The Scoot Inn Sat. Jun. 3 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall Sun. Jun. 4 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
Last month, Weeping Icon returned after a nearly three year absence to announce their Ocelli EP (out this Friday on Fire Talk). The EP was announced with a single called “Pigs, Shit & Trash“, their first new music since the 2019 release of their thrilling self-titled debut, which generated considerable excitement, earning praise from outlets like FADER, Stereogum, FLOOD, BrooklynVegan and Revolver, who made comparison to Sonic Youth while describing the track as “so sick“.
Today, Weeping Icon are sharing a second track from the three track EP ahead of its Friday release, a single entitled “Two Ways.”
“‘Two Ways’ is about people who want to appear virtuous in their public facing personality, but live a contradictory shadow life in which they do whatever they please, no matter how harmful their actions are to others,” explains Sara Fantry. “It’s told through the voice of a man named Todd (yes, that’s his real name!) who I encountered a few years back. He used a harmful term towards a woman he was angry with, then accepted a long explanatory talk from me, appeared to reflect, enthusiastically told me he’d appreciated me taking the time to educate him and agreed to change his behavior, and then immediately found that same woman and started calling her harmful sexist names without a moment between. I was truly in shock at how comfortable he was with his personality being stratified into two layers – the outward-facing kind, modern man, looking to learn from the necessarily rapid changes in society – and the sinister, selfish sadist beneath who believes in his own entitlement to act with impunity.”
“The video we made (directed by Rafeal Joson & Mike Andretti, all editing and effects by MikeVideopunk) explores the stratified personality of the daytime talkshow host, who wants to appear kind, empathetic and sincere to his viewers, while goading his guests into salacious fights for his own profit, regardless of the personal and public damage done to those guests. With some humor in there, we hope to hold a conversation around the shadow of nefarious intent that lurks below so many supposedly ethical personalities in our world.”
To mark the release of the EP the band will be playing at Alphaville this Friday, November 18th. Tickets can be purchased here.
Recorded somewhat by accident in 2011, Protomartyr‘s debut album, No Passion All Technique, was originally supposed to be a 7″ single. As the story goes, however, they were convinced to record as much material as possible within the four hours of studio time they’d booked, and they ended up with twenty-one tracks. The result became a 2012 release of a post-punk modern classic that quickly sold out and is now a collector’s item.
Thankfully, the Detroit quartet reissued the album a few years ago (with bonus tracks if you get the digital download) for those of us who missed the boat in the last decade. It’s a fiery, raw, and sometimes humorous record fueled by a case of beer and Detroit attitude.
Greg Ahee‘s opening guitar riff of “In My Sphere” gets the record off to a jagged, wobbly start, and soon vocalist Joe Casey shows up to rant and rave before Scott Davidson and Alex Leonard come crashing in on bass and drums like bandits robbing a bank in an Old West town. The aggression continues on “Machinist Man,” a song about how the daily grind of Detroit factory work can drive a man to madness. “Hot Wheel City” is another post-punk poem about their hometown (“This city is a stray dog.”).
“3 Swallows” covers one of Protomartyr’s favorite subjects – barflies, lushes, and others who drown their sorrows in Hamm’s at the local watering hole. “I used to light my cigarette on the fire that you had in your eyes, and I was the king of hanging around with wastes of time.” Damn. “Free Supper” is a punk rager about people just wanting basic needs (food, freedom) while skirting the edge of entitlement.
The first time I played “Jumbo’s” (a song about barflies who keep returning to the same pub for booze and gambling despite always swearing they’ll never do it again) for a friend of mine, he replied, “That is some urgent shit.” The song has since become a favorite of the crowd at their live sets. “Ypsilanti” is about patients at the closed mental health asylum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
“Too Many Jewels” creeps up to you (thanks to Davidson’s wicked bass line) and then Casey’s spoken / yelled street corner preacher-like vocals (and lyrics) give you a jump scare. “(Don’t You) Call Me Out My Name” is a fast, feral punk thrasher that blasts by you at near-light speed. “How He Lived After He Died” might be a precautionary tale of Casey wondering how he’s going to end up when he’s old. Will he be sitting in a chair, surrounded by books? Or will he be so alone that he can’t even bother to set his clock back for daylight savings time?
“Feral Cats” is even more bleak, with Casey warning of how society’s falling apart and most of us will just watch it happen and wait to pick up the scraps. The furious chorus almost blindsides you every time you hear it, even when you know it’s coming. “Wine of Ape” seems to be a story of Casey being confronted by a random stranger (who might be drunk or high) who tries to tell him a dirty joke, but Casey has no time for it and just wants to be left alone, walking away while the guy yells at him. “Principalities” could very well be the drunk guy’s ramblings, or Casey’s bottled up frustration with Detroit as it tried to deal with the aftermath of the burst housing bubble and thousands fleeing the city in search of better opportunities…leaving everyone else in their little neighborhoods to figure out how to manage.
The band has gone on record about how they didn’t expect their debut album to be this good. The title is a bit misleading. The album is full of passion, and the band’s techniques are in their early stages, which sound great.
Keep your mind open.
[It doesn’t take much technique to subscribe, you know.]
We had enough time for a long disco nap before heading back to Stubb’s for a night of Australian psych-rock: The Murlocs, Tropical Fuck Storm, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard were all on the same bill. The line to get in was almost two blocks long and went around the corner. The Murlocs were playing an energetic set by the time we got into the outdoor stage area.
The Murlocs
Tropical Fuck Storm came afterwards with their strange blend of psychedelia, garage rock, post-punk, and stuff you can’t quite define.
Tropical Fuck Storm
The headliners, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, came out with a set packed full of musical styles (from thrash metal to electro) and riffs. They opened with an extended version of “Rattlesnake” that blew everyone’s minds and then only let up to swap guitars for the rest of their set. The crowd was fired up and singing every track.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
We split at the end of their set so we could make a power walk to Antone’s to see local doom metal trio The Well. It was our first time at Antone’s, which is odd considering all the years I’ve been attending the festival. It’s a nice venue, mostly known for hosting blues acts, but they stepped up to help the festival after Parish caught on fire (no injuries, thank heavens). We wandered through hundreds of people on the street our for various Halloween parties at the bars on 6th Street. Sexy cowgirls, Jesus, Hunter S. Thompson, witches, devils, and vampires were the most popular costumes we saw. The Well weren’t in costumes, but they did deliver a loud, heavy set of spooky doom that was a great way to cap the night.
The Well
We had one more night to go in Austin, and it would bring some of the trippiest stuff we’d see and hear all weekend.
This year’s lineup for Levitation was stacked. Osees playing all four nights, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizardplaying twice, Slift coming in from France, The Jesus and Mary Chain coming in from the UK? Sign me up.
Day One (Thursday) started, as usual with a stop at Pelon’s for some Tex-Mex and then over to Stubb’s for the first three-band set we’d see over the weekend. Opening the festival for us were the post-punk trio Automatic, who had only improved since we’d seen them at Levitation France four months earlier. They also had some of the best sound mixing of the entire weekend.
Automatic
A lot of people loved Automatic’s set. We saw plenty of people carrying new Automatic tote bags and wearing new band shirts afterwards. Up next was Detroit’s Protomartyr delivering a powerful set of urgent post-punk. Afterwards, they announced a surprise show at the 13th Floor bar down the street the following night.
Protomartyr
The Stubb’s show ended with shoegaze giants The Jesus and Mary Chain, who, despite having problems with a distortion pedal, put on a good set of classics and new material to a loving crowd who thought they sounded great without the faulty pedal.
The Jesus and Mary Chain
That didn’t end our night, however. We walked over to Elysium for the sold-out show featuring Slift – the cosmic metal band from Toulouse, France. Anticipation was high for the set, and they did not disappoint. The raw power coming from them in the small venue was almost overpowering at some points. They were drenched with sweat by the end of the first song, as was most of the audience. It was the end of their U.S. tour and their first time in Austin, so they poured out all the gas in the tank they had left for the crowd. Theirs was the best set of the night.
Slift
It was a great way to open what would be a fun four days. Up next would be a return to Hotel Vegas for the first time in years, the sexiest set of the weekend, and a band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see live.
Dry Cleaning share a new single/video, “No Decent Shoes for Rain,” off their upcoming album Stumpwork, out October 21st on 4AD. Following the recently released “Gary Ashby,” the group takes a more somber turn on “No Decent Shoes for Rain.” It begins with Florence Shaw’s vocals coiled tightly over woozy guitar and minimal percussion: “my poor heart is breaking.” Shaw says about the track; “’No Decent Shoes for Rain’ is inspired by grief, grief over past relationships, grief for loved ones who have died, and all the things that come with that; loneliness, numbness, yearning, ruminating about the past.” It shows Dry Cleaning in a more pared back state, not seen in their previous discography. The video is made of footage of the band in the studio at Rockfield and on tour.
Stumpwork was made in the aftermath of the death of two very important people to the band; bassist Lewis Maynard’s mother, and guitarist Tom Dowse’s grandfather. Both were instrumental in the band’s development, both in encouragement and, in the case of Maynard’s mother, literally providing the band with a place to rehearse. Shaw’s lyrics explore not only loss and detachment but all the twists and turns, simple joys and minor gripes of human experience too. Ultimately, what emerges from it all is a subtle but assertive optimism, and a lesson in the value of curiosity. Stumpwork is a heady mix that is entirely the band’s own, distinguishing it from anything produced by their contemporaries.
This fall, Dry Cleaning will tour across Europe. Following, they’ll play in Australia, and then embark on a lengthy run in the US. Then, they’ll return to Europe. Tickets for all shows are on sale now and a full list of dates can be found below.
The first thing you learn about The Bobby Lees upon playing their new album, Bellevue, is that they don’t waste time. The title track, which opens the album, explodes like ambush machine gun fire. It’s hard to determine who is going fastest. Is it Sam Quartin with her frantic vocals, Macky Bowman with his raging drums, Nick Casa with his blazing guitar, or Kendall Wind with her bonkers bass?
They only stop to breathe for the beginning of “Hollywood Junkyard,” which soon grows into a savage beast of a track that has Quartin ripping apart fame and all the trappings and expectations that come with it. “Ma Likes to Drink” ups the punk (and the funk on Wind’s bass). “Death Train” brings in monster surf elements and Quartin tells us to “shut up and dance.”
“Strange Days” takes a strange left turn, reminding me of some early tracks by Yeah Yeah Yeahs with its haunted house piano, rock star swagger, and air of mystery. “Dig Your Hips” lights a new fuse under your feet with some of Bowman’s hardest snare slaps on the record. I love how the whole band sings on the chorus of “Have You Seen a Girl.” Casa’s guitar solo on “In Low” is jaw-dropping. It sounds like the rest of the band told him, “Just go nuts.”, and he took them up on the offer.
“Little Table” might be a song about human furniture fetish, or a song about the interdependency of relationships. It could be both. “Monkey Mind” has Quartin protesting her inability to stay present. We can all relate to this, and to Wind’s dance bass groove. “Greta Van Fake” is, as you’d expect and hope, a brutal takedown of Greta Van Fleet (“I watch you from the crowd as you fake it, now watch us from the ground as we make it.”). The album closes with “Be My Enemy,” which has Quartin telling her detractors that she’s biding her time as they push her down so she can grow in strength and then smash them to pieces.
Bellevue is named after the upstate New York mental hospital, and Quartin has mentioned that she wrote many of the album’s lyrics while undergoing great stress during the pandemic. The album is manic, for sure, but there’s a tightness to it like a straitjacket that’s tearing at the seams.
The first thought I had after hearing Flasher‘s new album, Love Is Yours, for the first time was, “They could change their name to Lusher.” because they’ve crafted a lusher sound from their previous work, but not lost any of the post-punk fuzz or angular guitars.
Opening track “I Saw You” combines these fuzzy guitars from Taylor Mulitz with sci-fi movie ray gun synths as drummer Emma Baker asks, “Do I sound sincere? Do I make myself clear?” The title track brings out dance floor beats in a song about embracing peace that’s right in front of you (even during a pandemic, as the lyric of “I’m seeing 20-20.” seems to take on a different meaning now). Speaking of lyrics that take on new meaning, Baker’s lyric of “I’m spinning out at home.” on “Little Things” is, on its surface, about a bout of vertigo she suffered, but, through the lens of the pandemic, describes pretty much all of us for a period of about two years.
Mulitz is back on lead vocals for “Nothing,” layering them with spacey synths and sizzling beats from Baker. “I’m on fire. You’re underwater,” he sings on “Still Life,” one of many examples of witty lyrics about the complex nature of romance on the whole record. “All Day Long” has a nice chugging guitar sound to it. “Living is so hard lately,” begins “I’m Better.” You’re not sure about the truthfulness of the title after an opening lyric like that, but the peppy nature of the track can’t be denied.
“Sideways” is a stand-out on the record, with its breezy, bouncy guitars and that lushness I mentioned earlier. It sounds like friends roller skating down the street while eating bomb-pops they just bought from an ice cream truck. “Damage” gets a bit darker, mainly through Multiz’s warped guitar strumming, but Baker’s beats keep your toes tapping. Baker mixes beats from her kit with electro-beats from Owen Wuerker on “Dial Up,” with Mulitz singing about how he can barely stay awake, yet he can’t bring himself to get offline. The closer, “Tangerine,” sends us off on a lush note, but with a bit of a tart edge.
Love Is Yours is a good album from Flasher, even more so when you consider they went from a three-piece to a two-piece after former bassist Daniel Saperstein left the band, Mulitz moved to the west coast, and, oh yeah, there was a pandemic when they recorded it.
The Bobby Lees offer a final preview of their forthcoming album, Bellevue (Oct. 7, Ipecac Recordings), with today’s release of “Ma Likes To Drink” and its companion video (https://youtu.be/ITo2lETlQfk).
Drummer Macky Bowman said of the track: “To paraphrase John Berger: there is a stark difference between being naked and being a nude. To be naked is to be natural. Stripped of societal confines you are free to be as languorous or wanton as you wish. Even in naked acts of exhibition the primary spiritual benefactor will be the model, not the voyeur. Conversely to be a nude is to be reduced to no more than your physical form, displayed as a trite odalisque for the pleasure of greasy slobs. On an unrelated note we are all very proud of this song and video! We really hope you enjoy. Love you!”
The static shot clip, featuring singer Sam Quartin on a stationary bike sandwiched between a pair of mannequins, was directed by John Swab who also created the band’s videos for “Dig Your Hips” (https://youtu.be/ny6Q-mTsk0g), and the video-meets-film short, “Hollywood Junkyard” (https://youtu.be/7dnTajHLeyQ).
The Bobby Lees recently wrapped up a European tour that included the Woodstock, N.Y-based band’s first stint in the UK. The four-piece band have several shows coming over the next few months including a free show on Sept. 17 at Rockefeller Center for Indieplaza Fest and an Oct. 9 performance at Aftershock 2022.
The Bobby Lees tour dates:
September 17 New York, NY Rockefeller Plaza (Indieplaza Fest)
September 18 Durham, NC The Pinhook
September 20 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Purgatory
September 22 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
September 23 Baltimore, MD Ottobar
October 9 Sacramento, CA Aftershock 2022
October 25 Brooklyn, NY Baby’s All Right
October 28 Woodstock, NY Colony
November 5 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom
September 18 to 23 w/Geese
“I named the album Bellevue because when I listen back, I hear someone going through that stuff, who is now able to laugh about it and have fun re-telling the stories,” Sam explains. “It’s a reminder for me that the most painful and intense things I go through end up being the most rewarding creatively.” The 13-song album, which was recorded live in-studio, was produced by Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, The Raconteurs).
Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Henry Rollins…these are just a few of the punk icons who have shown support for Woodstock, NY based band The Bobby Lees. Sam Quartin [vocals, guitar], Macky Bowman [drums], Nick Casa [guitar], and Kendall Wind [bass] — make music that is punk in spirit and soul; unfettered and resolutely honest. To say their sound is wild and untethered is an understatement. It’s the kind of aural exorcism any listener can tap into, something that struck a chord with Henry Rollins who brought them to Ipecac Recordings where Mike Patton and Greg Werckman signed them.
Album pre-orders, which include three vinyl variants: standard black, and limited-edition white and Coke bottle clear as well as a limited-edition white cassette, CD digipak, and digital pre-saves, are available now: https://thebobbylees.lnk.to/bellevue.
