by Madi Toman | Feb 19, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Land ho, Pizzagirl!
Amid plans for Liverpool based artist Pizzagirl to make his first visit to the states, he has broken his (incredibly brief) 3 month silence to grace our ears with new music straight outta the oven. While this may seem like no time at all for your everyday artists, in Pizzagirl years (which are clearly relative) it’s long enough to require a statement being issued about it. On his silence, he says:
“sorry for not replying to ur last message just been having my beauty sleep for a coupla months 🙂 I know it’s been a while but there’s a lil party in cape canaveral I heard about! I’d love to see you there if you’re still interested? speak soon xx”. While we can’t speak for everyone, we forgive you for your abandonment and we’re DEFINITELY interested, Pizzagirl.
Pizzagirl is bringing us his first release since his debut album, first timer, which drew influence from various musical and pop-culture references that he spent his formative artistic years absorbing. His debut successfully melded his nostalgia-inducing 80s-synth vibes with those of your modern indie artists. While it’s still early in his hopeful career, things are looking good for Pizzagirl, who is back to focusing on writing songs with his trusty guitar, Denise, and will now be joined onstage by a live band.
This newest track is a taught art-rock jam that builds into the soundtrack for an offbeat party scene. No doubt cooked up in his bedroom-pop lair, which he’s oh-so-cleverly dubbed the Beatzzeria, the new track channels David Byrne in its depiction of the subject matter, an underground fugitive character just trying to go to a party on The Space Coast (all the other indie-pop kids are going Mom!). Pizzagirl brings a variety of instrumentation to his elusive party (never before have I been so satisfied by the musical pairing of synth and cowbell) that, combined with the thickly textured chorus of shouting voices featured on the last chorus, will undoubtedly make you too want to jump around at an indie-disco.
“cape canaveral ” premieres February 19th ahead of Pizzagirl’s first stateside performance at Austin’s SXSW festival. Keep up with Pizzagirl here.
by Kendal Chandler | Feb 19, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Australian artist Jamie-Lee Dimes released her latest single “Release Me”. This track wrestles with the complexity of trying to fit in as a response to discrimination. “Release Me” is a cathartic track that blends 60’s rock with dreamy melancholic folk.
Dimes also released a video to accompany the track. The music video is a tribute to the beauty of Australia’s natural life in wake of the brush fires that have burned millions of acres of land.
Dimes, a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, draws inspiration from artists like Patti Smith, PJ Harvey and Kim Gordon. Dimes writes music for the purpose of igniting conversations and change in order to provide a voice for those who may not have one. Her music style tackles the global perspective with writing fueled by wanderlust.
by ImperfectFifth | Feb 18, 2020 | soundtrack, wolf tracks
Here is a playlist of songs by artists, groups and bands who truly and deeply inspired me both musically as well as influenced my life in a big way. The songs range from punk, alternative, old country blues to pop and hip hop. Some of these songs were recorded by producers who influenced me or even some people who I worked for during my time LA. Some of these songs I listened to as a teenager in my room and dramatically changed my life. Some of these songs are songs that I discovered later in life or on different tours.
I hope you enjoy <3
Keep up with Vanessa Silberman
here.
by ImperfectFifth | Feb 18, 2020 | soundtrack, videos
February is turning out to be one helluva ride, especially in the music video sphere. Eclectic pop act Elliot Lee is coming at us hot with some newness, Vanessa Carlton is still proving to “Be Not Nobody” with her new music video for “The Only Way”, and Mara Connor is bringing down the house with “Wildfire”. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. So check out our favorite videos of February 2020, and let us know what you want us to check out on our Facebook page!
Keep up with us all month long by checking back for new video additions!
by Madi Toman | Feb 17, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Off in the ever-so-mystical land of California, somewhere in a psychedelic desert dreamland, music legends write songs, record music, and do a shit ton of drugs.
After a 16 year hiatus, collaborative supergroup Desert Sessions returned with their sense of humor clearly still very much intact in October of last year with the release of Desert Sessions Vols. 11 and 12, a.k.a. Arrivederci Despair and Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels (Please refer to aforementioned sense of humor). If you aren’t familiar with The Desert Sessions, (although you probably should be) It’s described as a “collaborative musical effort” by founder Josh Hommes (Queens of the Stone Age) and features a variety of different musical players writing and recording on the spot at the famed Rancho De La Luna studio.
In The Desert Sessions’ newest release, a music video for “If You Run”, (directed by Rio Hackford) Hommes picks up a mysterious hitchhiking woman (Libby Grace) on a winding road in Joshua Tree. The two ride through the desert against hazy yellow scenery before arriving at Rancho De La Luna where Hommes introduces Grace to the rest of the musicians, which includes ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, and Les Claypool of Primus, among others. Saturated desert skies and moody artificial colors make for dreamy aesthetics throughout the video. At nightfall, Grace doses everyone and they all trip out together in the middle of the desert (Please refer to aforementioned music legends doing a shit ton of drugs in the desert) which we get to experience through some highly psychedelic visuals.
In a statement, Hackford said “The video was inspired by Josh bringing an unknown Libby Grace into the Desert Sessions arena to show her haunting magic to the world. Homme, Sweeney, and I are some of the only people who have heard Libby’s music, so the idea of them introducing her to the players and recording process lit the fuse. The song lent itself perfectly to the lonesome desert landscape and the spell that the Rancho can cast on anyone that passes through its doors.” And Libby certainly holds her own with the titans, contributing spellbinding vocals over lonesome guitars for her first major music video appearance.
Remember that sense of humor I’ve now mentioned three times? Well, in other The Desert Session news, inspired by the, in their own words, “disappointingly” frequent misspelling of the Desert Sessions, the group have launched *drumroll please* The Dessert Sessions: Feral Recipes for the Joyful Destruction of Taste Buds, a “unique collection of otherworldly recipes created and inspired by the music of the Desert Sessions!” Yes this is real, yes there’s a website, and yes the website does challenge you to post pictorial evidence that you actually attempted to make one of the recipes, (with the challenge “Prove it, punk” included as a motivator) The recipes include cheese stuffed meat rings, sardine topped doughnut cakes, avocado and sour cream gelatin plates. Now THIS is some creative marketing I can get on board with.
by Madi Toman | Feb 17, 2020 | singles, wolf tracks
Dallas punk rockers CLIFFFS are big believers in the idea that perfection has ruined music. According to them, precisely triggered digital samples, autotune, and overly photoshopped album covers all attribute to the killing of the imperfections that give music character and turn it into just another product being marketed to the masses, all elements of humanity drained out of it.
CLIFFFS approaches their music a little differently.
“CLIFFFS don’t give a fuck about perfect”. Fellow Dallas musician Rhett Miller wrote. “Which is probably why, for their sophomore effort PANIC ATTACK, they went and made a perfect record”. The irony is there, but it’s not hard to see what he means.
Less is more with this project, and it pays off. The first single off of that record, “Into the Salt”, is a quick and fiery track with all of the delicious grit and raw energy that exemplifies garage rock. Their premise is simple, but their songs are explosive and their playing is tight. Short, not so sweet, and definitely to the point, one thing is for sure; CLIFFFS know how to rock.
CLIFFFS kicks off the first of three album release shows February 27th at Three Links in Dallas.
by Meredith Schneider | Feb 14, 2020 | albums, review
Chicago-bred psych pop quintet Post Animal – expertly comprised of Dalton Allison, Jake Hirshland, Javi Reyes, Wesley Toledo, and Matt Williams – truly brought their A Game with the release of Forward Motion Godyssey today. Leisurely rolling into an easygoing soundscape with “Your Life Away”, the 80s-inspired fade-in on second track “Post Animal” is both nostalgic and frantic. “Schedule” brings us back to a more 70s-psych aura, bright vocals and crashing cymbals leading the way.
“Fitness”, as its predecessors, has a completely different feel, bringing with it an audible sense of mystery. “In a Paradise” feels more 80s hair band, a track we could easily see being placed in the soundtrack of Top Gun II, if things were to go our way. (The first minute at least, before it goes into more Guitar Hero territory.) “The Whole” is an instrumental track that sounds as though it should be played in queue for a Star Wars attraction. Glittering and lovely, it paves the way for “How Do You Feel” (Note: NOT a question) in a way that highlights the synth in both tracks.
“Safe or Not” brings with its title a mystery, and with its soundscape more of a dance track than anything else. We can very much imagine “Private Shield” as more of a contemporary Warped Tour track, while “Damaged Goods” rips hard, and we’re totally smitten. “Sifting” is the eleventh and final track, bringing the listener’s heart rate back down after a short burst of ethereal energy mid-track.
What’s your favorite song on the new release? Let us know!
Keep up with Post Animal here.
by Kendal Chandler | Feb 14, 2020 | albums, review
Dennis Callaci drops his new solo record The Dead of the Day. Callaci is the founder of Shrimp Records and a member of the band Refrigerator, as well as released solo records.
Dead of the Day is part three of solo albums by Callaci. The first release being Bed of Light, released in 2016 followed by The End of the Night, released in 2017. Dead of the Day is a stripped down acoustic record full of guitar and piano ballads. The album opens with a fifteen minute instrumental. Everything on the record plays off one another – lyrics and music composition work in a way that creates a ghostly feeling.
The release of The Dead of the Day coincides with Callaci’s novel 100 Cassettes, with a narrative that ties into the narrative of the album. The book is constructed of 100 meditation on music, commerce, and abstract concepts. These ideas wrap around autobiographical information, the rich culture of Southern California from 1969 to today, and all musical points.
Dennis Callaci Tour Dates
02.14 – Pomona, CA @ dA Center for The Arts
02.15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Book Soup – 2pm
02.15 – Glendale, CA @ House Show
02.16 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Streetlight Record Store – 2pm, Santa Cruz CA
02.16 – Oakland, CA @ House Show
02.18 – Portland, OR @ Music Millenium in-store – 7pm
02.19 – Seattle, WA @ Sonic Boom in-store – 7pm
02.20 – Boise, ID @ Record Exchange – 7pm In-Store Performance
02.21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ House Show at Barn Deluxxe
by Matt Hinsz | Feb 14, 2020 | snapshot, visual
Joseph’s February 11th concert at the Madrid Theatre, promoting their newest album “Good Luck, Kid,” was the band’s first Kansas City performance in almost three years. Even so, the trio admitted to always being fond of KC, reminiscing of a stop on one of their first nationwide tours, and apologizing profusely for an early edition of a tour poster which placed Tuesday’s concert in Kansas City, KS…
KC clearly loves them back. An energetic crowd enthusiastically sang the band’s lyrics back to them. In the front row were participants of Joseph’s recent “Good Luck, Kid” cover contest, which the band mentioned by name. There was a celebratory mood all night as Joseph performed an outstanding show for their eager KC fans.
Keep up with JOSEPH here.
