by Meredith Schneider | Mar 25, 2021 | albums, review
For a rip-roarin’ good time, country singer/songwriter Charlie Treat’s new album is the perfect answer to your prayers. Beginning with the amped-up energy of “I Ain’t Gonna Be The One To Do It,” he finds a way to lure the audience in with wit and a bite of nostalgia in the instrumentals. Even the slow down of pace with the second track “Drink With Me” holds lengthy, rhythmic lines, with (what appears to me to be) clear nods to The Black Crowes. (“Hard To Handle,” specifically, for those of you asking. And yes, it did take me calling the insanely talented music journalist Elizabeth Schneider to pinpoint the exact sound. Kudos to her.) Just those two tracks will have your mind spinning, but there are ten more inspired songs left to enjoy past that with this new release.
“The Two Best People” really brings the energy down, while singing of “bringing each other down.” Bluesy, beautiful energy to launch you into a light, airy “Tune As Pretty As You.” “Steamshovel Blues” brings the pace up again, but “So Much Better” lulls us back into that slow, glittering, 70’s sound. “Rain Again” comes at you with an edge off the bat, with some quick bongos and even quicker lyrics.
“Drive My Blues Away” is the most melancholic track we have yet to experience on this collection. The vocals seem very inspired, at times Springsteen, and at others Steven Tyler. The piano and whirring guitar solo make the whole thing feel like it could have been recorded in the 90s.
Thank goodness “Dollar For Dollar” brings the pace back up, as the subject matter isn’t entirely something to celebrate. However, the idea of rallying for the working man is something we can all relate to, especially after the trials the last year has presented us with. “Dancing At The Bar (The Quarantine Song)” starts out with glittering synth, and honestly we could see this track being performed alongside anything by ABBA. (Can you hear it?) “Candi” plays with dissonance before the first vocals hit, making it feel almost calmer as the lyrics set in. The whole album is rounded out quite well with “Biggest Fool,” which somehow blendsseveral of the aforementioned genres into one song. (Is that sitar? Are we in a 70’s music video? Where did that trumpet come from?)
One thing is for certain. Charlie Treat has chops. His ability to write lyrics that somehow perfectly complement each instrumental, creating new sounds that simultaneously pay homage to genre-spanning predecessors, is actually quite unique and very appreciated. The Comet should be approached as an adventure and a very appreciated leap into nostalgia.
The Comet is out on March 26.
by Meredith Schneider | Mar 24, 2021 | perspective, review, videos
If you’re into intricate storytelling that involves a technological future that doubles as a dystopian society, then MADE FOR LOVE is made for you. Lucky enough to view the first few episodes of this upcoming HBO Max gem, this shit kicked off our SXSW 2021 in some type of crazy headspace.
Imagine: A scattered, confusing beginning as a woman hoists herself out of the ground, sopping wet as she splays out on a dry, dusty desertscape. She has escaped a cluster of shiny buildings, which you can see in the background.
Cut to a different time. What looks to be routine morning escapades with the most pretentious man you know, followed by watching him swimming laps with a dolphin in his pool. The man? Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen), the owner of a tech company that is pronounced astoundingly familiarly. His advancements in technology seem to be changing the dating landscape, on top of many other big accomplishments in his career. But his empathy, his ability to communicate healthily, is obviously insufficient. Early on, you see a crazy in his eyes that makes you feel like this escape from reality might hit a little closer to our technological home than planned.
But the entirety of that first episode is dedicated to understanding this woman. Who is she? How did she get here? Why is she subject to invasive questions by a creepy algorithm? Why is her life being determined by someone that isn’t her? Why does everything feel cold in this strange, structured world?
The first episode of MADE FOR LOVE will throw you back and forth over a short window of time, a fun way to create mystery in the storyline. I was initially drawn to view the show by the listed cast. How I Met Your Mother fans will rejoice in the knowledge that Cristin Milioti is top-billed as the protagonist, Hazel Green (a naming choice that does not entirely evade us).
And when Ray Romano is introduced as Hazel’s father in a flashback? The unexpected (and somehow necessary) marriage of two favorite moments in pop culture united to create what we are sure will be our favorite television father/daughter duo of all time.
If the last scene of that first episode is any indication, things could get even weirder, too.
Our thoughts? Don’t miss the premiere of Made For Love, April 1 on HBO Max.
by Elizabeth Schneider | Mar 23, 2021 | perspective, review, visual
The first day of SXSW was filled with films for me. One in particular that caught my eye from the moment I saw the lineup was a short – 10 minutes – film named The Beauty President.
Director Whitney Skauge has told a true story that most people may not be aware of – the 1992 bid for the White House by a write-in candidate. Not just any write-in candidate, but drag queen Joan Jett Blakk, an openly queer candidate. In referring to Ronald Reagan, she reminded us that “If a bad actor can be elected president, what about a good drag queen?”
At the height of the AIDS crisis in America, Joan Jett Blakk ran on a platform of health care for all and education – in fact, she wanted to switch the budget for the military with the budget spent on education. The healthcare was especially important in a time during our history when people were dying of AIDS at an alarming rate and antiretroviral drugs had yet to be developed to combat the HIV infection.
Although not considered a political threat, Joan Jett Blakk was an officially registered candidate. In video from the convention, we see that she even made it to the convention floor. Skauge used footage from the era and current interviews with Terence Alan Smith (the man behind Joan Jett Blakk) to convey a moment in history. I only wish it was longer than 10 minutes – I wanted to hear more of Smith’s story and I wanted Whitney Skauge to commit it to film.
by Meredith Schneider | Mar 19, 2021 | albums, review
Athens, GA based collective Lo Talker has our wheels spinning as we head into the weekend with their debut album A Comedy of Errors. An album that takes a look at modern times through a humorous, and often biting, sarcastic lens. Through twelve genre-bending tracks, this quintet boasts influence and talent that makes this feel like their fifth album together, not their first. And perhaps that’s where the magic lies here.
As much personality as they’ve injected into the lyrics themselves, there is so much more to this layered work of art. For example, the meandering tone to tracks like “Heaven In Drag”, “Unkown Transmission Arrives”, and “Sift” brags on the delicacy these incredible musicians are capable of, while instrumentals in songs like “Don’t Hide That Light Pt. II” and “Two Ghosts” play with dissonance and give us more of that noisy, grunge influence despite the soft, mellifluous vocals. They even bring some 80s influence to it with “Silvery – Shadow Or Shadow”, which is dusted with glittering synth for effect.
Rhythmically, our favorite is “Nero In The News,” but “Automatic Love” could just be our new favorite (at home) karaoke banger, if not solely for the fact that you can’t help but smile while listening to it. (Nostalgia pop at its finest, my friends.)
Comedy of Errors is out now. Keep up with Lo Talker here.
by Meredith Schneider | Mar 4, 2021 | albums, review
Right now, nostalgia comes in waves. Enjoying a song from our past, Re-discovering a snack we used to love. Engaging in re-releases with new traits, flipping through memory books, and digging through the past. Memories can be healing, especially in today’s health and political climate, and the memory of a live performance can be fleeting.
Singer-songwriter Jen Grinels plays on our nostalgic hearts with the release of her Live Volume 1 full-length, recorded over three nights in early 2019 at The Music Box in Cleveland, OH, Rams Head Onstage in Annapolis, MD, and Avalon Theater in Easton, MD. The live music experience, something we haven’t been able to indulge in for an entire year, encapsulated in one gorgeous collection.
The light echoes from the sound bouncing off the walls of each venue, the magical eccentricities that live music brings with it. From the first mellow track “I Know Your Heart” through the soulful “Don’t Wanna Be Happy” and “Misery,” to the slow ballad-like presentation of “The Feeling,” Grinels powerfully champions multi-genre entertainment. And she doesn’t stop there, as “Can’t Stay Here” has roots in country with a little grunge flare. The sheer feeling (ha!) that rushes over you while playing this album gives you chills, as you imagine being at a live event in the future, singing into the open night air on a gorgeous evening.
That’s what this collection feels like. Live Volume 1 provides a little bit of hope at the end of this crazy pandemic tunnel. And doesn’t that just feel good right now?
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 26, 2021 | albums, review
Our favorite botanist Mike McFadden (vocals) and his incredible bandmates are releasing their full-length in three parts. Of the project, he admitted: “We had this patchwork of songs that had never quite fit on other projects and when we looked at them all together, we realized that the songs told a story.” This is Part One of An Album Called Animal Years is the first installment, and was just released.
Comprised of five tracks, it truly ignites magic in the air as it picks up pace, McFadden’s vocal control and manipulation something otherworldly from the very first notes, 7 seconds into the first track “What I’m Fighting For.” And relatable from that very moment as well, with the first line “I’ve been so lost in the world that I used to know” something that pretty much anyone can understand, especially post-pandemic life. This song has the energy of an anthem, and that feels right for now.
“Let You In” is definitely a low-key country ballad that teeters on theatrical in a captivating way, while “Talkin’ To You” is a more hard-hitting love song. There is a bit of an attitude to the instrumentation in the track, the true twine holding each piece together residing in the soulful vocals provided by three-part harmony and admirable vocal range. So much talent in one collection of music, it’s almost not fair.
“Haines St. Station” slows everything down to the most bluesy, beautiful pace we have heard in quite a while. A song that discusses boundaries, insecurities, and doubts in an open environment, it feels a bit cathartic to enjoy this track in particular. And then the trio brings it home with a very inspiring track, upbeat and quite sticky sweet “Nobody Can Stop Me.” We’re fans, and we’re going to keep that one in our back pocket for the strange moments when we stumble. The energy is invigorating.
