Last month, Brooklyn-based psych rock collective Ritual Talk – comprised of Alex DeSimine (Vocals, Guitar), Alex Tremitiere (Vocals, Bass), Tom Criblez (Vocals, Drums, Percussion), Dylan Gleit (Vocals, Guitar, Percussion), and TJ Alcala (Vocals, Keys) – released their simply beautiful debut five-track EP titled Rippled Glass. “Sense” takes advantage of its first slot on the EP, slowly layering in instrumentals after introducing smooth, harmonized vocals that implore you to “put away your phone and look me in the eye,” which provides a good jumping off point. (Because, why don’t you put away your phone to enjoy this release a bit? Unless you’re streaming it from your phone. Then keep your phone out.) It continues to crawl along, really displaying the vocal range the quintet is capable of. And while “Help, I’ve Been Dreaming” is an upbeat, almost glittering, it maintains verses that feel very 70s, with accompaniment that feels like 2000s pop rock.
“All in Blue” feels, once again, slightly more contemporary, but in a very easy-listening way. Add in the reverb-filled vocals, and you’re falling “deeper,” as the meaning of the EP’s title comes into full view, even as it “spills out of view.” “Follow You” almost makes no sense lyrically, and then you realize that the sentiment of the song is that of young love. If love is approached properly, neither of the responsible parties will end up following the other at all. Instead, it is important to meet your love interest where they are, and work together from where you are toward a life in tandem. It’s not easy, but the perspective with which this song has been written is beautiful and optimistic. “Dancing Still” rounds out the release, a more lyrically-involved track than its predecessors, layering in more of a pop sound as well. Simultaneously painting a picture of love – perhaps a twin flame type of take on things – and of the thrill of a love interest who enjoys dancing like no one is watching, the track has more than one place in your music library for its sound.
In fact, so does all of Rippled Glass. So get on it.
If you’re looking for some easy listening with a lot of rough, beautiful attitude in the vocals, then Brooklyn-native and soul/americana/rock artist Christina LaRocca‘s “Child Of The Sun” might be your new thing. The singer is just about to return home from a pretty extensive fall tour, and we’re sure she’s ready for a little R&R. But we’re kind of ready to play her on repeat, so we hope she’s ready to tour again in the near future.
An intensely specific track, LaRocca audibly connects to nature and finds solace in beautiful outdoor atmospheres, such as the beach. You can tell she is strongly connected to her own roots, as she begins to spread her wings across the United States to bring her (long overdue) talent to the masses. As the “sound of [her] heart beats like a drum,” we’re nodding our heads along to that same beat, wishing desperately that we could maintain that same type of smooth/raspy balance in our own vocals. (Because belting it out in the car is an acceptable performance tactic.)
If you’ve got a pension for bands who come up with long, educated album and song titles and intricate lyrics that are both highly relatable and super specific to their own lives at the same time, then you’ll want to look no further than Boston-based psych/indie rock project Bad History Month‘s new album Dead and Loving It: An Introductory Exploration of Pessimysticism. The album itself was created out of a moment of inspiration when brainchild Sean Bean – who “Wrote the songs, played whatever’s not noted otherwise, pissed and moaned mercilessly, ended up doing some editing and arranging and having a lot of fun eventually.” – witnessed Dust From 1000 Years perform “Black Rot” in 2013 during a time when he was reading War and Peace. Because of this, a sense of triviality is sprinkled over the entire album, as we get a peek into Bean’s existential ponderings.
We begin our journey with a track called “The Church of Nothing Matters”, which is an instrumental cacophony of sorts that really starts out quite beautifully and then launches into an eery few stanzas of crashing cymbals and off-key, waling guitars. It isn’t until 2:04 that we get vocals, monotone and honest as lines like “nothing matters” and “I don’t go to church” jump out from the folds. While “Gazing At My Navel” certainly doesn’t evoke that exact feeling for its listeners, it is a calming track with quirky chords that don’t seem to want to fit into the track gently layered in every once in a while. The song picks up, and around 4:12 is when the vocals hit the track. “A Small Life” seems to play with dissonance, almost making you beg for the song to come forth. Which it does, but it’s closer to the 2 minute mark before jarring, sung/spoken vocals are inserted into the track.
“The Nonexistent Distance” is when we see vocals pick up at a more acceptable rate (Sorry, guys, we’re lyrics people!) about twenty seconds in, Bean asking simplistic, almost rhetorical, questions that trigger a jumping off point for a thought process in the listener. By the time you get to “The Imaginary Tone”, the entire album has mellowed out substantially and it seems as though each syllable comes out for this track as practices and defined as possible. It is here at we realize the precision with which this release was made, though not the first time the idea has occurred to us. “Being Nothing” certainly calls into question our existence, as it layers together and he quietly repeats “you are nothing.” The song speeds up as he echoes the same sentiment we’ve all been feeling as of late in the lyrics “I’m tired of wasting all my time talking the same shit to myself over and over.”
“A Warm Recollection” is adorable in its own way, discussing the ways that love is so intimate when you’re familiar and beautiful to one another without putting on a face necessarily. The instrumentals suggest a slight eeriness, but it’s beautiful the way he pairs simplistic ideas of love with layers of sound, almost “fumbling” in places as he expresses in the track. What we glean from it is that this is raw, this is real. And is that not what Bean meant for us, as we head into final track “A Platitude And A Final Understanding”? Slow, practiced, over ten minutes of instrumentals paired with bursts of narrative in which we witness Bean expressing the sentiment “I’m lucky” repeatedly. But he’s not wrong, and we’re all lucky in a way. Because our lives have led us to a space where we can share this music, – relatable or not in our current situation – and bond over the eery beauty that has been created in a world that is slowly reaching a spiritual awakening.
Dead and Loving It: An Introductory Exploration of Pessimysticism might be the next step in that collective journey.
DEAD AND LOVING IT TOUR
Nov 7 Burlington VT, SEABA, 404 Pine St
Nov 8 Cambridge, Elks Lodge w/ Pile, Ovlov
Nov 9 Portland ME Apahodion Theater
Nov 10 Hamden CT, Counterweight Brewery, 23 Raccio Park Rd. w/Stevia, Dave Go
Nov 11 Brooklyn, Alphaville (18+), 140 Wilson Ave
Nov 12 Jersey, New Brunswick, The Grand Exchange
Nov 13 Philly, Kung Fu Necktie w/Soft Fangs, Left and Right
MIDWEST, locations tentative
Nov 25 Pittsburgh tba
Nov 26 Lexington/Indy/Bloomington ? somewhere betwn pitts n nash, get in touch…
Nov 27 Nashville tba
Nov 28 St. Louis, Foam Coffee and Beer, 3359 S Jefferson Ave
Nov 29 Milwaukee, Cactus Club
Nov 30 Madison, Williamson Magnetic, 1019 Williamson St
Dec 1 Chicago, Landland w/Spencer Radcliffe, Date Stuff
Dec 2 Kalamazoo, Rupert’s Brewhouse, 773 W Michigan Ave
Dec 3 Ann Arbor MI, The Blue House, 712 E Kingsley St,
Dec 4 Detroit/Windsor?
Dec 5 Toronto, The Burdock
Dec 6 Montreal, Quai des Brumes, 4481 Saint-Denis
Dec 7 Burlington, The Monkey House
Dec 8 Woodstock, 51 Rock City Rd
Dec 9 NYC Market Hotel w/Pile
and many more …
Dead and Loving it: AN Introductory Exploration of Pessimysticism is out now.
In September, Boston’s folk/indie rock talent Griffin Robillard released his 9 track, full-length album titled Cracks in the Ceiling. Flooded in a sharply nostalgic feeling, the album itself was written while Robillard was living in Copenhagen. You can almost feel the growth he was experiencing while writing the piece, as his vocals are flooded with emotion as he brings you into his world with the mid-tempo, almost anthemic, title track, bouncing into the more upbeat and soulful vibes of “Ghost” before getting slightly more twangy, then bluesy/jazzy, in his instrumentals with third track “Because I’ve Told You”.
“Reel to Reel” slows things down – has the structure of a Ben Folds-type track – weaving a narrative speaking to his significant other that is slightly specific, but still very vague, perhaps for the sake of universality. While “Artifacts” picks things back up exponentially, it is with sixth track “Faithless” that we are brought back out of our seats, encouraged by the sound to move. “In Your Own Way” houses similar surf pop vibes to the instrumentals in Gin Blossoms’ “Found Out About You“, causing us a few moments of reminiscing on our 90s selves.
It is with “Nothing to Show” that things get very serious, both lyrically and instrumentally. It’s like Robillard has decided to rip his heart wide open in this one, simplifying the instrumentals slightly to really showcase the words as he croons the track into a 70s style rock stunner. “Tired of Being Cruel” is your last taste of Cracks in the Ceiling, a lot more upbeat in its composition, though melancholic lyrically as he begins the song with the line “tired of being cruel to you.” Self reflective, honest, raw. That’s what we’ve come to love about Robillard, and – while we’re plenty happy with this release – we’re already excited to hear what comes next from this talented musician.
Cracks in the Ceiling is out now. Keep up with Griffin Robillard here.
Michigan-based indie folk rock trio The Accidentals – made up of Katie Larson, Savanna Buist, and Michael Dause – are heading out on the road to celebrate their summer release, an incredible thirteen track album by the name of Odyssey. By now, most of us have had the chance to listen to the album in its entirety. (If you haven’t, here it is.) But their most recent offering is a music video for the title track, and we want to make sure you get your eyes on it.
“Odyssey” as a track begins slower, with a simple acoustic guitar and soulful lyrics keeping pace and leading you through an ethereal sound space even before the additional instrumentals hit the track. The video begins with the trio in what looks like a hang space in a basement, bathed in warm colors to match the warmth of the song. They’re gathered in a circle, enjoying what seems to be a small jam session. We also get to witness them play in shallow waters under a beautiful blue sky, as well as a little glimpse into their live performance life on stage. The video is beautifully captured, with softened colors and slow motion applied in just the right places. We’re deeply moved by the track, and incredibly happy with the video.
Odyssey is available now. Keep up with The Accidentals here.
Experimental indie pop collective Babylawns – comprised of Ryan Egan, Davey Alaimo, Mike Phillips, Chris Tremblay, and Conor Powers – is headed out on an east coast tour this month in support of their brand new album Sorry it’s like this, with the first stop happening tonight in Providence, Rhode Island. The nine track full-length starts with heavy hitting “too big”, crashing guitars leading you into the thrashing feel of “heartbeat” before winding you down into “anxiety”, which happens at a crawling clip. The album meanders between genres, as its listener gets bits of americana, psych rock, alternative, goth pop, and more through the expert instrumentalism of a group that knows how to cohesively switch tempo at the drop of a hat, highlighting the composition of the music at the same importance as the vocals themselves. Sorry it’s like this adequately sums up a highly relatable but often inexplicable melancholic feeling in song. And it’s something you need to experience.
Tour Dates
11/3 – Providence, RI
11/4 – Philadelphia, PA
11/5 – Columbus, OH
11/6 – Ann Arbor, MI
11/7 – Harrisburg, PA
11/8 – Baltimore, MD
11/9 – New Brunswick, NJ
11/10 – Wilton, NH
11/11 – Goffstown, NH
11/30 – Brooklyn, NY
12/1 – Portland, ME
Sorry it’s like this is out now. Keep up with Babylawns here.
In October, Brooklyn’s americana rock trio Animal Years – comprised of Mike McFadden (vocals, guitar), Anthony Saladino (bass), and Anthony Spinnato (drums) – released the music video for their widely praised single “Caroline” in the lead up to the release of their new EP, Far From Home. The EP – which is made up of five soulful, intricate tracks – was produced by Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Vance Joy) came out on October 27th via eOne Records.
“Caroline” begins the EP with an upbeat ring to it – despite the bittersweet, self-aware lyrics – allowing the listener to just about float over the country-tinged vocals and light, acoustic instrumentals. “Friends” slows everything down initially, but when it hits the beat it really gets your hips swinging as it addresses the importance of a warm and rich support system. And while “Give It Up” really gets you grooving, it paves the way for a slow down with “Corinth”, which is widely defined by its deeper guitar work, percussion, and flat out deeper vocals. Singing from a darker place (“I’m drowning in the deep end”), looking toward a silver lining (“I think I can win her”) will do that to you. “Home” is the perfect silver lining to it all, however, as the lyrics reflect on the darker times – perhaps in tandem with the flow of the album – while simultaneously appreciating any hint of good fortune. It’s the perfect place to land, truly tying it all together and making the sound space feel just like that. Like home.
Far From Home is out now. Keep up with the trio here.
Alternative power-rock trio Noiseheads – comprised of Nick Gray (vocals, guitar), Greg Nicholas (drums, vocals), and Joe Gray (bass, vocals) – recently released the official music video for the second single from their album Sitcoms for Aliens, titled “Ballad of Me, Myself, and I”. The video is comprised of footage of Nick singing, made to look like flat magazine collage art. Scenes of Times Square, outer space, a cubicle, and other miscellaneous places pop up behind him, his outfits and scenarios changing throughout. It’s a fun overlay to the song itself, which is a relatively mellow track that could be enjoyed in a head banging situation or at home with a small group of friends. It follows the rest of their work quite nicely, with fun, upbeat riffs and an aggressive delivery of vocals galore.
There is an alt rock band located in Jersey City and Rahway, New Jersey that emerged quite recently onto the music scene. So recently, in fact, that you can judge its timeframe based on the band’s name and – if you need more proof – the title of the album they just released. y u u g e is comprised of Nick Afflitto, Alex Pergament, and Jerry Ramos, and their debut album Inauguration Day is out now. (See what we mean?)
Admits Pergament of the recording of Inauguration Day, “The album is wholly improvised in the studio. Our idea was to focus on the need for listening and accepting over performing and perfecting, as a response to the pressures of being right, winning, competing. To exercise a capacity for empathy and organic response.”
Beginning with the spoken track “Microscope”, y u u g e has created something that draws you in and makes you examine the world around you, with lines like “we’re not that different” driving the piece forward, and in direct contrast to what the overarching political message is and has been since that storied day. “Squirmy Worm” is immediately notable for its quirky percussion, a quick 45 second track that reminds us of the subject of its title, and also has us questioning what other minute details of the every day we should be paying attention to. “Captain Creepy” features Ariel Guidry, though the vocals are all high pitched, as though they inhaled helium before “talking about sandwiches” and other random things. Its follow-up – “Stinky Pants” – also features the vocal stylings of Ariel Guidry, though this time in a more soulful and fulfilling way. (Though we’re not knocking the laughter we got out of its predecessor.)
“Man Cave” is the first song on the album that begins like an actual rock track, really milking the amp on the electric guitar. Crashing drums ensue, and the band goes full metal with harsh, screaming vocals and a dark tone to the instrumentals. (Because, after all, isn’t that what a man cave is all about? Being as manly and loud as possible?) “Snow Man” is heavily characterized by the horns section, a purely instrumental track – until minute five, when calm and beautiful vocals add a layer of softness to it all – that is simplified to an acoustic guitar and trumpet.
The title track is heavy – even more so than “Man Cave” – literally evoking the gloom and doom feeling we had on that fated day in January of this year.Once again, it is only after minute five that any vocals come in, and they’re angry and loud and all-encompassing in their delivery. (Much like someone else we all know.) But meander on into “The Animals Who Saved You”, and there is a delicacy placed back into the music that makes it feel like a slow jazz type of afternoon. Ninth and final track “Grizzly Bear” begins with the trumpet, then percussion, slowly layering and building with softened, almost inaudible, and honest lyrics over the course of almost eleven whole minutes. During minute nine, everything kind of crashes into this distinct and intense cacophony of sound, and then dissolves again, perfectly rounding out this release.
