Breezy, ethereal vocals. Light as a feather instrumentals, a warm and inviting soundscape. All of these factors are involved in VanWyck‘s newest full-length release, out today. The project, titled Molten Rock, is comprised of twelve impossibly beautiful tracks, inspired — in part, at least — undoubtedly by the folk of yesteryear. A slow, steady pace is established with first track “Supermarket Line”, and continues into “Lead Me On”, while “Rock Carver” brings with it more assertive instrumentals and a raspier take on the vocals.
“Make of Me” slows everything down to a crawl, gorgeous and sprawling in its soundscape. It is here that we take pause, to realize how important it is to note the comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Nathalie Merchant that VanWyck’s debut album drew, and to notice the way the music has evolved in the space and time since that album was released in 2018. As we roll into “Carolina’s Anatomy”, we feel an attraction to a new love the way this song seems to convey.
Have you ever been this close to feeling no remorse
and being where you want to be
“High School Gym Wall” is even more delicate than its predecessors, something we never would have guessed by its title. Haunting in a way that impresses, it perfectly introduces “Be It to the End”, which brings with it a darker, more theatric atmosphere. “Breakfast Room Revelation” is layered, a ballad of sorts that holds as one of our favorites from this collection.
“The Boatman Calls” and “Like an Ambush” are both solidly beautiful tracks, leading into “The Rock Steady Creeper” which is also impossibly relaxing in its disposition, despite the title. VanWyck expertly rounds out the album with twelfth and final track, the title track, which has the sonic feel of witnessing molten rock cascade down a landscape. The lyrics are descriptive, painting an intense picture, comparisons we all have the capacity to feel.
This album, if nothing else, urges you to feel. Whether by its intense and relatable lyrical content, or its lavish soundscapes. Experience it in full below, and let us know how you feel on Facebook!
Loop pedal and guitarist goddess Sidney Gish just began a month-long, coast-to-coast U.S tour, and this past Friday she was emphatically received by a full house in the City of Brotherly Love. The 14-song set was the perfect length, given the relative brevity of Gish’s indie rock/blues infused jams. A majority of the setlist were numbers from her 2017 album No Dogs Allowed, with a healthy mix from slightly earlier 2017 album Ed Buys Houses, as well as a classic Talking Heads cover thrown in the mix.
Accompanied by opening group Another Michael, Gish played the PhilaMOCA, whose ambiance is a welcoming cross between a large house show space and a small theatre. It is comprised of one large room, its l walls plastered with posters from past events, and lined neatly by a carpeted second floor balcony, wrapped in twinkle lights that provide a comfortable dim. Upstairs on the balcony, worn-looking sofas and easy chairs were inhabited by cozy-looking people. The entire vibe was ideal for Gish’s set, which demands rapt attention to her rapid fire lyricism, as well as the rhymes she drops like flies.
Gish’s self-conscious sense of humor was both immediately endearing and a lovely show of levity; as she addressed the crowd with quips like “I love to tune instruments, I really do!” Throughout her time on stage, sometimes in the middle of songs, she’d check the inside of her wrist for her handwritten set list. Gish’s stage presence is an act in itself, because though she seems cheerily nervous, her jokes land – and that’s hardly to mention that her musical consistency remains solid and unflappable.
The singer-songwriter opened with deeper cuts, then filed into her more commercially popular songs as the night went on. First was “Mouth Log”, followed by “I’m Filled With Steak, and Cannot Dance”, both from No Dogs Allowed. The latter track is a prime example of excellent vocal control in sliding, perhaps even cascading, down waterfall runs that smoothly drop you off only a few feet from where they picked you up. Plucked harmonics and a perpetuating bongo on loop punctuate this track, and breezily perforate any tension found in the room.
The next three tracks Gish played were all gems mined from No Dogs Allowed: “Good Magicians”, “Impostor Syndrome”, and “I Eat Salads Now”. Always with meticulously intentionality, Gish grants herself plenty of room to play in the spaces between spiteful and vulnerable, dynamic and gentle, raspy and fluttery. Her fingers flying on the jazzy riff within “Impostors Syndrome”, she seamlessly shifts from demanding attention to turning it away. Gish launches her inward-facing observations up into the hall, open confessions to everyone.
In the moments following the fading applause, Gish chirped cheeky narrations to the crowd, her eyes cast down as she set up her guitar: “I play it on this capo, normally.” She looked up and giggled: “Information for no one.” The next song, “Friday Night Placebo”, is a tribute to her gifts of sarcasm and satire, bubbling along a guitar tone that is deep, ringing, and somehow nautical. Lyrically, this track is reflective of fragility and vulnerability – but only on the surface. Gish’s sardonicism cuts to the core, as she chides, “It’s fine, I’ll pop sugar pills all night.”
After a cover of Talking Heads staple “This Must Be The Place”, Gish hit the crowd with three of her most popular tracks: The clicky “Sophisticated Space”, mesmerizing “Rat of the City”, and communal “Homecoming Serf”. An augmented vocal presence is a marker for these tracks, as the singer’s rasp (no doubt a parallel for her indignation toward mundane suburban life) continues to escalate among the captivating vocal melodies.
Next up from Gish’s repertoire were three of my personal favorites in immediate succession: “Sin Triangle” and “Persephone” from No Dogs Allowed, and “Presumably Dead Arm” off of Ed Buys Houses. “Sin Triangle” is arguably Gish’s grooviest track, and would fit quite comfortably on a party playlist; unlike “Persephone” and “Presumably Dead Arm”, which are reflective and thought provoking; each one a cure-all for listeners’ varying feelings of being misunderstood. That said, all three were fascinating to experience visually: The building anticipation in the room was tangible as Gish built the loop tracks for each song, riff by riff.
The last song of the night was “If Not For You, Bunny,” and though sonically, its recording crystallizes seamlessly with the rest of No Dogs Allowed, Gish used it to cast an undeniably punk spell upon the crowd in Philadelphia. Murky, crunchy guitar distortion and the wailing, bittersweet solo that it tore through the end of the song emanated that, however selectively, Gish puts the “rock” in indie rock.
“Unapologetic” is not the word for Sidney Gish, because it’s clear she never even considered apologizing – Why would she? Gish offers up her flaws but never asks for comment on them; painting herself as
reactive, self-assured, and captivatingly self-conscious all at once. It was a fantastic show, and we can’t wait to hear (and hopefully see) more of Sidney in the very near future.
You can listen to Sidney Gish here. You can follow her on social media below:
For fans of Hayley Kiyoko, Sia, Carly Rae Jepsen, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX
Punchy, deliberate, and honest: On 6-track EP Uni-Fi, we meet many sides of X. ARI. Never holding back from her truth, X. ARI tells stories of her most confident and vulnerable moments alike over glittery soundscapes full of synth, undulating basslines and pounding club beats. The work covers a handful of essential topics for young people today: mental health, gender and sexuality, and of course, heartache.
Early on in the EP, X. ARI characterizes her “I don’t give a f—“ attitude that many, many artists have learned to embody over the years as a means of making a name in pop. This declaration, paired with a glicthy chorus peppered with onomatopoeic vocals, blast X. ARI through her own video-game-sounding world on track two titled La La La
ARI is well known as a fierce advocate for mental health, and this EP addresses her daily battles directly; specifically on tracksBreak-Point, Uni-Fi (ft. IRA X.), and Yin Yang (ft. IRA X.) The first track, Break-Point, is an effective invitation for listeners to dive into an alt-pop experience that could be characterized as an interpretive dancer’s dream come true.
Title track Uni-Fi feels wistful and hopeful, both sonically and lyrically. X. ARI explains her feelings of displacement, confessing, “I’m a little bit damaged…I’m together in fragments, a mosaic I’m trapped in”; but the tone of this song is optimistic, especially through the resounding chorus. While IRA X.’s contributions on the EP aren’t necessarily overwhelming, they complement X. ARI’s vocals nicely; adding dimension and even more synth, as well as highlighting notions of living in a gendered world. She divulges, “I’ll tell you a story of a girl and a boy trapped in the same body, just fighting for some space”.
The most telling narrative of X. ARI’s personal journey with mental health has got to be Yin Yang, also featuring IRA X. Considering how sensitive and emotional of a topic this must have been for X. ARI to write, one is almost left wishing that the song’s dynamic conveyed just a little bit more of those extremes than it does. That said, sometimes the pen is mightier than the- well, synth, and X. ARI scores a 10 for the vulnerability of Yin-Yang’s lyrics.
Perhaps one of the most enticing melodies on the EP lie in the token heartbreak track of the work, titled Everywhere. Contrasting the thrust of her alt-pop anthems,X. ARI uses a slightly softer vocal inflection and a floaty, oscillating hook that mates perfectly with the twinkly, echoing backdrop. The track is punctuated by muted, reverberating beats that could be a slowing heartbeat, or an explosion off in the distance. The most expressive song by far, it seems that on Everywhere, X. ARI is experiencing the feeling of both.
You can keep up with X. ARI on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram below.
We’re talking about reminiscing a lot, and it’s no different with Jacqueline Harvey‘s new single “Came Around”. The pop singer utilizes her signature sultry vocals to address a past love interest, as the instrumentals usher in a dance floor vibe. It’s truly a sonic delight to experience, and we think you’ll agree.
Jai Wolf‘s new album The Cure To Loneliness is the perfect encapsulation of everything this budding star has to offer. Discovered by EDM mainstay Skrillex, the Bangladeshi born Jai Wolf (Sajeeb Saha) created a lot of buzz with his song “Indian Summer”. Raised in Long Island, Jai Wolf has been influenced by the likes of Phoenix and The Strokes, but you can feel the electronic influences most in The Cure To Loneliness.
With features from Day Wave, Robokid, and Mr. Gabriel to name a few, Jai Wolf is setting himself apart and establishing his legitimacy within the industry. You can hear those aforementioned Phoenix influences in the track “Lose My Mind”, but Jai Wolf also has the unique ability to slow it down, which is rare to find in an electronic artist. Almost with a trance like feel, most of the tracks on this album will have you swaying with electronic bliss. “On the new album, sonically all of Sajeeb’s eclectic influences can be heard. Lyrically though, the album is quite personal with themes of searching for connection whether to culture or people, from someone who was not only born in a very foreign land, but once he got to the United States moved around constantly. As a person Sajeeb is extremely bright, very outspoken on the current political situation, especially, as you can imagine, on the subject of immigration.” Jai Wolf has been able to channel his experiences into an art that is not seen from many, let alone electronic artists. Most musicians with Jai Wolfs thoughts and feelings might turn to other genres, but his ability to create an insightful landscape with drum machines is something to behold. The Cure To Loneliness will do exactly what the title entails.
You can check out The Cure To Loneliness now, and keep up with Jai Wolf on his socials listed below.
If there is one thing we can learn from Shawshank Redemption, it is this: we have to either get busy living or get busy dying. Americana trio TheDeepHollow are firmly planted in the former. Through their sophomore record, Weary Traveler, Micah Walk, Liz Eckert and Dave Littrell dig into this sorrowful life of getting older, longing for a stable home and the sometimes unbearable weight of the open road. Sonically, the band fits somewhere between the pulse of Patty Griffin and John Prine and the adventure of Jason Isbell, The Lone Bellow and Brandi Carlile. Below, Dave Littrell shares the story of his first musical experiences and how they shaped him as a musician.
Growing up, like many, our home was filled with music. It seemed like the radio was always on, a record or cassette was always playing, or a music video was always on our TV. After all, I am most definitely a product of the MTV generation. When Sting sang “I want my MTV!” in the introduction to “Money For Nothing,” his declaration was powerful and something this 7 year old could rally behind!
I am so grateful to have grown up in a home where music wasn’t just entertainment or background noise, it was important. You could even say it was a family value. I remember walking into the house after school to the sounds of Otis Redding, The Temptations, Diana Ross, The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and on and on. The Beatles LIVED in our home as far as I was concerned. John and Paul sang me to sleep most nights. We even had a full jukebox in our basement where my parents and their friends would spend nights and weekends singing (loudly) to their favorites. My mom had this charming habit of taking anything you said to her and breaking into a song. If I was being annoying to my older brother and he said “Stop!” she’d burst right into “Stop, in the name of Love, before you break my heart…” She still does it this day. This pure love for music shaped me in a way I could never imagine. I was just a kid who liked dancing in the kitchen to Motown artists, never realizing what an influence those experiences would have on me as I grew older. As a father, I try to pass that love onto my kids and there’s nothing more fun than watching my kids sing and dance to those same songs.
With that said, it is a little difficult to write about my “First Record.” To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what that record specifically was, because there were so many. But, The Beatles were kings in our household so “My First Record” has to be a Beatles album.
My uncle owned a huge record collection AND a great stereo system, which means Uncle Del was obviously the coolest guy in the world. Our tight-knit extended family all lived in the same small town in central Illinois so naturally we spent a lot of time together. Anytime I was at his house I would run directly to his stereo and start poring over his records and cassettes. He had these expensive headphones which allowed the music to be directly implanted into my brain. It felt like these musicians were playing just for me. The music was so crisp and clear, much better than my little tape player at home. It sounded so amazing! My first experience with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Billy Joel’s “52nd Street” were through these marvelous wonders of technology, but hearing The Beatles through these headphones was one of the most perfect memories of my young life.
“Beatles” was hand-written on this cassette tape and once I started listening I couldn’t stop. I think I had heard a lot of the songs before, because like I said, my Mom was a big fan. But this was different. Listening on headphones made these songs have more depth and they came alive. I couldn’t necessarily relate to the infatuated teenage lovesick lyrics or the heartache caused by my crush not answering the door or telephone in “No Reply.” (I would uncover those gems later as I experienced my own girl-crush drama.) But the melodies, harmonies, energy, and songcraft were undeniable. I distinctly remember swinging on the swing set in the backyard as the sun was setting and listening over and over. I couldn’t believe that I loved every song. With other artists, even artists I loved, I didn’t like every single song. My uncle gave me this tape (or I just kept it, who can remember?) and I became a life-long Beatles fan.
Later, I wanted to use some birthday money to buy my own, proper copy of my favorite record. (Uncle Del also said it would probably sound better if it wasn’t a taped copy.) After perusing through the cassettes at our Sam Goody at the local mall with my Mom, I realized I didn’t know the actual name of the album. It just said “Beatles” on my tired, worn-down copy. After looking at all the titles, we discerned that the tape I had listened to religiously contained the first side of “Beatles For Sale” AND the entire “Rubber Soul.” Just looking at the songs on these two records floods me with memories and remind me what incredible songwriters they were. I still play several of these songs, and “In My Life” was used in my wedding ceremony, for example.
I am constantly on the lookout for new music, and I hope to find an artist that can even come close to replicating that feeling I had listening to Rubber Soul for the first time. Unfortunately, I don’t think it can really happen. My adult brain inevitably gets in the way and I immediately decipher lyrics or chord progressions instead of listening to music the way I did as a kid. I think we should all try to listen like a kid, because it was magic.
We’ve had a blissful courtship with indie rock/folk duo Seasaw since before Imperfect Fifth ever existed. Having had the opportunity to review an album of theirs at a previous publication, my mailbox experienced an unexpected and happy surprise when they shipped me a vinyl copy of said album with a personalized thank you note. The music industry is incredibly rewarding in most ways, but to get a hand written note is rather rare anymore. That particular memory stayed with me, and then when I got a chance to peep the material for their new album Big Dogs, I was floored.
Lucky for me, I got the unique opportunity to meet up with Meg and Eve on a balmy September day in Kansas City while they were on tour. We sat down while they tried some tacos from Mission Taco, and chatted a bit about that new album and their progression as artists. Check out the words below!
What’s the first song or record you remember hearing, and does it have any bearing on who you are as a performer today?
Eve: The first thing I probably listened to would be the Beach Boys because my dad is a huge Beach Boys fan. He would make me mix tapes of the Beach Boys that I would play on my tiny kid cassette tape player. He made me lots and lots of music like that. And we would listen to it all the time in the car too when I would drive around with my dad. I don’t know that anyone could live up to the amazing harmonies and chord progression that the Beach Boys produced, but of course it’s always in the back of my mind to choose something even a fraction of the beauty that they were able to create sonically. They did such cool things in the studio too as their albums progressed.
My dad also made me a mix tape that had The Kinks and included “Lola”, which is one of my all-time favorite songs. As you know, it’s a song that has a very adult theme. But I brought it in for show and tell in 2nd grade and I think the teacher called my parents and was like, “Did you know that Eve** brought ‘Lola’ in?” Of course they loved it. It’s an amazing song.
Meg: I remember listening to Billy Joel’s The Stranger a lot with my dad and dancing around the living room to that. My mom would always play Carole King’s Tapestry. I was a dancer when I was little, so I would put those two songs on and kind of go for it. I don’t think they shaped anything besides the fact that I still listen to those records today.
My parents didn’t listen to a lot of music. Eve went to a lot of concerts growing up, but I didn’t really. I think the first concert I went to was when I was in high school with my brother. Music was there. I played instruments and stuff and I sang here and there. But I really remember Billy Joel and I still listen to it all the time. I have my dad’s copy of The Stranger vinyl. They would all write their social security numbers on their records so they were safe, but that was when social security numbers weren’t as protected so now it’s blacked out on the copy of the vinyl. In hindsight, a pretty poor choice but kind of cool.
The inspiration behind the title track from Big Dogs – and much of the album – was brought on when the duo played a festival slot recently. A band member from the act playing after them jumped on stage while they were wrapping up their equipment and harassed them about moving too slowly. “If you want to play with the big dogs, you need to get the fuck off the stage,” he yelled at them. This caused a verbal altercation, and the ladies didn’t have security or stagehands to help them out. The power imbalance was notable, and bred some of their most alluring new work.
So from the last album to this one, there is a little more edge, and that’s for a variety of reasons including subject matter. When the – actually heartbreaking – event happened that inspired “Big Dogs”, did you dive in and write a song, or did it take a second before you were able to process and create material around it?
Meg: It was mostly me that the interaction happened with, but Eve came to bat for me and we both had an interaction with the person. So we had talked about it together and had brainstormed a list of all of the things that were funny because we wanted to be able to process it somehow. So we wrote some of the funny things that were said — some of the words in the song are actual direct quotes. Then I would say it was maybe a month later that I sat down and hammered it out and wrote “Big Dogs”.
Some songs take me a long time to write, but that one kind of just poured out really fast. It was done within an hour or two and then Eve helped me make some revisions. It was pretty quick that it happened after the event.
Eve: So we were going to name the album Big Dogs before the song and then Meg wrote the song so we were like, “Oh, great. That’s even better.”
So when the theme of the music video for that song came up, how did you guys decide to go tongue-in-cheek?
Eve: I came up with the idea just after hearing what Meg had written. The image of a dog is kind of tricky in a song because of the language involved and we think the phrase is funny. So, we were trying to figure out a delicate way to be kind of cutting with the idea of what a big dog is. Because it is someone who is kind of a sad person who doesn’t have self confidence and is a bully and has to call themselves that to feel important. So we wanted to portray that in a more artistic and creative way so there wasn’t just dogs on everything.
It came about after trying to be very thoughtful about how to portray that idea. And then I came up with the invisible dog and it fits. We a kind of tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic with everything we do, and I like how it makes you have to think about it a little harder so it’s not as obvious. Even the front cover to the back cover forces the listener to wonder who the Big Dogs are. Is it the women on the cover or the image of the dog on the back? I like how it makes people try to figure it out and dig a little deeper to understand the meaning. That’s wha we did with the video too.
How did your recording process differ this time than with the last album?
Eve: There’s definitely a big difference. With the last album we did everything ourselves. I engineered everything so I couldn’t put my whole mind into the playing piece of it because there was still that hindrance of about 10% brain energy. This time we had a friend engineer the whole thing for us so we really got to go all-in. We also spent a lot of time demoing the songs. It was probably about a month before we started recording so we were able to go through many iterations of the pieces to get them to a more full state. We didn’t have as much time to do that with the last record. I think that really helped inspired a lot of the full and different sounds you hear. We were able to have fun with it.
As for your live performance, you guys do such a wonderful job. Was that something that just came naturally to you? How did your performance style come to be?
Eve: Well, we’ve been working on our presentation for as long as we’ve been recording. We’d start sitting on two chairs and Meg would play the bongos and I would quietly cower near the guitar. So we just had to grow into the confidence to do things that are more thoughtfully laid out for the audience’s sake and for the flow of the music that we’re performing. So there is a lot of thought that goes behind the flow of what we’re doing. We’re constantly tweaking things and trying to make it better because it’s just the two of us in the moment so anything can go right or wrong and throw something off. So there’s a lot of energy in our performances because we can only rely on each other to make the music. So I think that pressure gives us the reason to act the way we do.
There’s a lot of thought that goes into our social media and the esthetic on our stage and the esthetic in our album and the fact that it’s blue. Every little piece has been made cohesive to grow into this more thought out and developed product that you’re going to hear on this album, all the way from the recorded version to the final piece to the performance.
In these 8 years that we’ve been together, we’ve been stepping towards something we can stand behind. Each piece is more 100% than we could in the past because we just didn’t have the experience at that time.
When you were here in June, did you get a chance to experience KC at all? I know it was a pretty quick trip.
Eve: No, and there’s a lot to see. It looks beautiful and we need a tour guide to show us the inside scoop. (wink)
Is there anything specific that you have planned for the rest of this tour for your off time?
Meg: We only have like one off day but it will be in D.C. so we’re hoping to hit some art museums. We’re meeting some friends in Baltimore so that’s what we will be doing as well. I think we are going to the restaurant at the top of The Revival there too. This tour is going to be a lot of fun.
Searching for your new favorite song? Trust us, we’ve got just the track for you. Los-Angeles based Oddnesse has just dropped “Trust”, a perfectly delightful song that will take you to a sonic paradise. Oddnesse is the musical project of musician Rebeca Arango and producer Grey Goon. This new track displays their vision for beautiful, meaningful songs that provide a getaway from the frenzied world we live in. Says Rebeca Arango of the new song: “The first four bars are for meditation. What follows is for your imaginary pleasure. A song is a frivolous way to collect your thoughts and experiences, but the results are pretty. I’ve long been fascinated by belief and belonging. I’ve struggled with both from a young age. Dozens of grey hairs later I still don’t “know” what I believe. I’m at peace in a world with more questions you can’t answer than answers you can’t question. But after a lifetime of overthinking, I’ve found that optimism is the only sensible way to proceed. This song causes me both glee and embarrassment. I’m aware, it may be experienced as, A) watered down new age nonsense in a neat millennial package, or B) a grand ol’ time.”
After nearly a decade since his last release, Clint Michigan has just released his brand new LP, Centuries. Following several difficult years struggling with sobriety and other issues, Clint Michigan (irl Clint Asay) is back and better than ever. Clint Michigan has displays the strength he possesses and the difficulties he has faced since 2009’s Hawthorne To Hennepin.
“Knickerbocker Street” starts off Centuries with a mellow, and emotional folk-pop track, highlighted some well-composed guitar playing and vocal harmonies. Next up is “Beg for It”, a hauntingly beautiful track that follows up “Knickerbocker Street” in the perfect manner, alternating soft, nostalgic vocals with an irresistible, off-kilter beat.
“Steven Says” follows “Beg for It”, starting off with the trademark guitar playing that makes Centuries so excellent. Bringing in some violin towards the second half of the song, “Steven Says” explores many of the issues and despair that we face. “The Way Out” will give you goosebumps from its astonishingly beautiful piano intro to its touching lyrics. Filled with a childlike, yet adult sound, this song is truly a treat. “Centuries”, the title track of the record, is found in the middle of the album, and invites the reader along a nostalgic sonic journey. You won’t be able to help looking back on your own life as this track plays.
“Tired of Being Kind” is a unique track that lends itself more the folk side of Clint Michigan’s sound. Relevant and honest, “Tired of Being Kind” voices what many of us have on our minds but never say. “Shirt Off” muses on some memories of growing up as well as the present, again including some excellent instrumentation. “Eager to Leave”, the penultimate track on Centuries, takes a look at some of the stupidity of modern experiences (like unnecessarily taking pictures of our food before we eat it) through a timeless sound. Appropriately, “That Is All, That Is It” closes out Centuries, along a simple beat that gradually brings in more instruments. When the piano and bass come in about 1:00 into the song, this song really gets going, creating the bittersweet goodbye of the record.
Centuries is truly a beautiful record. Check it out today.
