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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
“I hang my coat on any old hook, but I prefer the second from the left,” Liam Kazar sings on the opening track of his fun, funky, and solid debut album Due North. The album mixes a lot of influences, sometimes sounding like a Warren Zevon album, other times like a Lindsey Buckingham or Joe Jackson record, but most of the time like Kazar’s groovy self. It’s the kind of album that makes you want to hang out with him for a night just to hear his stories.
That opener, “So Long Tomorrow,” blends Kazar’s rock guitar with a groovy bass line and his witty lyrics as he tells himself, and the rest of us, to stay in the present. “Old Enough for You” bumps and bubbles like a witch’s brew created in a disco, with Kazar singing about trying to be hip and refined in order to impress a potential lover. The sassy, swinging “Shoes Too Tight” was one of my favorite singles of 2020. The whole thing grooves in a way that is hard to describe and impossible to ignore.
“Nothing to You” mixes some alt-country twang into the record while Kazar sings about pining from afar for someone who barely knows he exists. “On a Spanish Dune” starts off like a sad synthwave track and then transforms into a meditation on the self. “Everybody’s asking me what I’m going to be. I couldn’t tell you if I tried. I’m just a poem with an open line,” Kazar sings – and sums up presence and ennui in two sentences.
“The clouds are coming over, but I shouldn’t be surprised,” Kazar sings on “Frank Bacon” – a snappy, slick track with some smooth guitar work from him and plenty of lyrics about realizing you have to play the hand you’re dealt and make the best of it. “I’ve Been Where You Are” has synthwave touches while Kazar let’s us know that he’s been in the same boat of the blues as we’ve all journey on from time to time.
The slightly countrified “No Time for Eternity” has some of Kazar’s best vocal work (with help from Andrew Sa). He keeps it simple, which gives it more impact. “Give My World” takes on a bluesy feel with its lyrics and guitar work, but then becomes something dreamy with the use of bird calls and psychedelic synths. “It seems I haven’t changed, half as much as I’ve let you down,” Kazar sings in a brutally honest self-appraisal. The synths turn into church organs on the closer, “Something Tender” – a song about realizing that enabling and embracing illusions, especially those in relationships, ultimately leads to misery.
Due North is a stunning debut, and easily one of the best debuts I’ve heard in a while and one of the best albums of the year. There’s nothing here you won’t like.
Kansas City-based, Chicago-raised musician, songwriter and chef Liam Kazar announces his debut album, Due North, out August 6th on Woodsist / Mare Records (Kevin Morby’s Woodsist imprint), and today presents a new single/video, “Frank Bacon.” Throughout the last decade, Kazar has been recognized for his adaptability and deftness in the studio and on stage, leading to tours and collaborations with Jeff Tweedy, Chance the Rapper, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, amongst others. While Kazar has consistently been a dream bandmate over the past several years, making his own songs presented a chance to finally find his own voice. Due North is a personal revelation, where the more Kazar wrote, the more his songs showed what kind of artist he’s always wanted to be – one whose own joyous rock songs are so irresistible, full of charm, wit and heart, they feel timeless.
Like most musicians, the pandemic threw Kazar for a loop, knocking out both his touring revenue and his part-time gigs as a bartender. With so much spare time in his Kansas City home, he decided to pursue his longtime love of cooking by creating the restaurant Isfahan, which honors his Armenian heritage and his family’s journey to the United States from Iran, Syria, and Lebanon. “In COVID, my mantra was to not have my heart broken about the future and be present,” says Kazar, explaining that ethos is one of the reasons why he named the LP Due North.
Much like carving out his own space in the food world, learning how to find his own musical style was a rewarding challenge. “This record kind of all stemmed from a conversation I had with Jeff [Tweedy],” says Kazar. “I showed him some of my earliest songs I was working on and he told me, ‘It sounds like you’re writing for the people in your bands, you’re not writing for yourself.’ He was completely right.” With that needed insight, Kazar decided to start from scratch and write songs that felt like himself. Along with Spencer Tweedy and Lane Beckstrom, Kazar enlisted keyboardist Dave Curtin (Woongi), co-producer James Elkington on pedal steel, as well as Ohmme and Andrew Sa on backing vocals. Due North was mixed by Sam Evian at his Flying Cloud Recordings Studio in upstate New York.
During the making of the record, Kazar kept coming back to two words: “joyful” and “vulnerable.” Kazar elaborates: “I was trying to talk about things that I’m scared about but acknowledging that I’m not that powerful and you can still be joyful in the face of your own insecurities.” Take album highlight “Frank Bacon,” where Kazar sings, “When you’re running uphill and swimming upstream / Nothing’s ever gonna be the way it seems.” Despite any lyrical uncertainty the track is bursting with life, especially in the monster groove from the rhythm section of Tweedy and Beckstrom. “With time I’ve grown wary of lying to myself,” says Liam. “I don’t know if it’s a defense mechanism we do, or just something we grow out of, hopefully. But ‘Frank Bacon’ has become a personal mantra in recent years to be honest with myself and stick with it, because I’m worth it. We all are.” The accompanying video was directed by Austin Vesely and shot in Kansas City, MO. Watch Liam Kazar’s Video for “Frank Bacon” Previously released single “Shoes Too Tight,” an undeniable jam with a swaggering exuberance, was a clarifying moment for Kazar in this journey. Kazar slowly tinkered with a synth sound and happened upon the song’s bouncy chord progression, which was “probably the closest to an aha moment that I had of ‘Oh, this is me and this is what I’m into,’” says Kazar. Soon after, Kazar switched gears for the yearning and delicate “On a Spanish Dune” which showcased his emotional resonance as a writer. Though completely different songs, Kazar used these two earliest offerings as guides for what would come next.
Kazar will play his record release showAugust 7th at Chicago’s Sleeping Village. Tickets are available here. In the meantime, Isfahan pop-up events have been announced in Chicago, North Adams, MA, Kansas City, MO, and New York State. A full list of dates can be found below. Watch the “Shoes Too Tight” Video
Due North Tracklist 1. So Long Tomorrow 2. Old Enough For You 3. Shoes Too Tight 4. Nothing To You 5. On a Spanish Dune 6. Frank Bacon 7. I’ve Been Where You Are 8. No Time For Eternity (Ft. Andrew Sa) 9. Give My World 10. Something Tender
Liam Kazar Tour Dates Sat. Aug. 7 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village – RECORD RELEASE SHOW
Isfahan Pop-Up Kitchen Events Thu. June 10 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village Fri. June 11 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village Sat. June 12 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village Thu. June 17 – Kansas City, MO @ Kanbe’s Markets Mon. June 28 – North Adams, MA @ Tourists Tue. June 29 – North Adams, MA @ Tourists Wed. July 7 – Mt. Tremper, NY @ The Pines Fri. July 9 – Livingston Manor, NY @ Sunshine Colony Sat. July 10 – Livingston Manor, NY @ Sunshine Colony Sun. July 11 – Livingston Manor, NY @ Sunshine Colony
