Every Father’s Day weekend – for years now – Boulevardia has taken over a crucial area of Kansas City, bringing the best taps, tastes, and tunes to the metropolitan area. (And region, if we are being honest.) The relocation to Crown Center a handful of years ago made the festival a little more central — though no less sweltering hot.
I arrived later on Friday, making it a point to get there in time to see Pom Pom Squad. Frontwoman Mia Berrin introduced the band as Hanson – who was coming up next on the Visit Missouri main stage – and then proceeded to rip our faces off. Berrin’s dynamic vocals serenaded us through a breezy, hot Midwest sunset. A few fun photos below.
Considering the band members that comprise psych-tinged alt-rock quartet Liily – Dylan Nash (Frontman), Sam De La Torre (Guitarist), Charlie Anastasis (Bassist), and Maxx Morando (Drummer) – are all artistic in a variety of ways, it comes as no surprise that the video for single “Swallow” off their fresh drop Liily was so fully ideated and realized by the band, who directed it. The song – which is very specifically about their disdain for trauma porn – is, according to the band, “a pretty simple rock tune, we wanted to keep it straight forward along with the rest of the EP, no bells and whistles! We saw it as our chance to be musical vs over-intellectualizing something that is meat and potatoes.”
About the composition, they are correct. A little bit of a dirty edge to it, with a steady rhythm most can get into, the song is more catchy than one would assume when they think of the subject matter. With both vocals and a video that are sprinkled with the stereotypical bored demeanor of a true rock outfit, the build of energy in the song is almost unexpected, but equally welcoming.
“Swallow” was shot by members of Liily in 2022 with a little help from Keegan James Hurley, Justin Billings, and Andie Jane. Guitarist Sam De La Torre edited it, giving it an admittedly engaging finish.
Myra Keyes is a good example of a modern-day Renaissance woman. The 19-year-old Chicago-based singer-songwriter released her debut LP Flower in the Brick in February and it’s a criminally overlooked release in modern indie rock. She’s a talent to watch over, wonderful in her vocals and guitar and bass playing, especially in how young she is. Previously, Keyes had released the EP Girl Reimagined in 2022 and worked with the Portland-based indie punk band Rawt.
Keyes’ general style, like a lot of modern indie rock, has its inspirations from the 90s with lo-fi production and some sludgy grunge guitars. She had spoken about how one of her main inspirations is indie rock goddess Liz Phair, and it’s entirely apparent as her voice is occasionally a dead ringer for Phair’s earlier work like Exile in Guyville. I’d love for Keyes to open for Liz Phair at some point based on her enthusiasm for her music. However, she still manages to not come across as an imitator by adding heavy 90s alt-rock guitars and a great rhythm section (provided by Joe Mengis of Eels on drums) for many songs. Tracks like “Powder Blue” and “Clubs” have consistently enjoyable grooves that keep the songs moving at a fast tempo and never let up. This is even during the somewhat silly rockabilly-inspired “Skylight” that features my favorite bass performance from Keyes on the record.
Keyes’ vocals are also a strong point of the album, transitioning easily from a breathy lower register (“MME”) to more expressive songs that focus more on her lyrics and personal sentiments (“A Year Above Ground”). She has a captivating presence that keeps you interested in her, and the way she consistently uses the wide range of her vocals is impressive. At only 29 minutes and eight songs, the album still has a unique voice for each track, and I’m interested in hearing what Myra Keyes offers next. Flower in the Brick is a confident debut LP that suggests more solid work from her in the future.
Another band I’ve seen pop up in my socials a bunch is the band grlztoy of the DMV area, made up of Theo Zamani (lead vocals, guitar) and Molly Izer (drums). Their EP green!, released last June, is an assured and confident debut I think is worth listening to for anyone into indie pop/rock.
For a release that’s only 12 minutes long, grlztoy easily establishes themselves with just six tracks. The opener, the title song, is only a minute long but still establishes a calming, slightly psychedelic mood through the guitars and slightly echoed drums. It’s ultimately just an intro to the EP, but it still feels complete. Each song carries the same vibe established in the intro title track, creating a hazy, colorful, summer night atmosphere.
The next three songs, “spring (untied shoes)”, “say when”, and “wavelength” are all a showcase to both members’ talents. Throughout the album, Theo’s singing is wonderful, clearly inspired by both a lot of 90s and 2010s indie singers, but she still almost equals those obvious influences in her abilities. Her voice is sweet and soft, but is still expressive when it needs to be. She carries a song like “say when” by sounding sweet and romantic in a way that’s earnest and never anything but genuine. Molly’s drumming is also consistently great, giving each song a fun, up-tempo groove. Her style varies neatly from cozy indie rock (“teenage dirtbag”), sort of bluesy (“keychain piano”), to garage power pop (the totally killer “wavelength”).
Admittedly, the band is still very new and occasionally some songs could use more substance (ex. “keychain piano” being clearly a mess-about band jam but still entertaining) or space to breathe. Still, despite having room to grow, green! is a kind of first release that makes you excited to see where the band will go next.
If you didn’t know who Goose was already, then you could have gotten the full run-down from any man found within a 4 block radius of The Midland on Tuesday evening. “Do you know who Goose is?” a man in a gray tie dyed shirt excitedly asked me as I walked up to the box office to nab my photo pass. “Yes, I’m photographing them.” (And I do know their music. And they’re fantastic.) “Oh.”
But I didn’t have to worry about taking this man’s shine for too long. Almost immediately, he turned to a woman walking from the other direction and excitedly asked, “Do you know who Goose is?” She didn’t, and he was aghast. Immediately he launched into a tale about a young jam band that he and his friends championed from the beginning. I laughed at her expression, got my pass, and went inside.
But that’s what Goose does – they fire up the crowd. They are, in essence, a feel good band with an open, excitable fan base. Walking in, it felt like I was headed to camp. Everyone was complimenting each other’s shirts and looks, asking about strangers’ favorite songs, taking photos with signs and posters.
And that’s another thing… I’ve never seen so many banners and posters in this venue before. I’ve never felt the nostalgia of summer camp inside a venue in Kansas City. In my life. And I’m a native.
That was the vibe they brought. With an enchanting stage set, some quirky accessories (hello stuffed Luigi on a keyboard), and a crowd that was ready to be best friends, Goose brought everyone together on a perfect 70 something degree evening in the midwest.
Part of the fun of having a job like this is being able to write about tiny local bands you know personally or might have a friend or two in. It gives you the opportunity to give their work some exposure and you also get to count it as part of your hours. This brings me to Newport News’ own indie rock band Space Fish (or “Spish” for short), who recently released their new single “Ringtone”, which came out just this April.
The band comprises Alex Arena (lead guitarist/vocalist), Joey Bartoo (rhythm guitar), Kemari Effiong (keyboards, backup vocalist), Lauren Tudahl (bass), and Matthew Conner (drums), each of whom met while studying at Christopher Newport University. They have been releasing music since 2020, with “Ringtone” being their third single after 2020’s “It’s Never the Same” and 2021’s “The Warm Up Legend”.
In a way, “Ringtone” is a new beginning for the band as it’s the first single with its current lineup. With two years between this single and the previous one, there are immediate signs of improvement. The lead vocals are stronger and more confident, the already strong guitar work is even better, and it just has a fuller sound overall with clearer bass and drum fills. Space Fish’s sound was already built out of folk and indie rock, and here it’s a perfect blend as a focus on driving guitars and drums doesn’t overpower the emotions and confessional storytelling present in the lyrics.
It’s a good song, especially for a young band still finding their voice. As of now, the band is working on a new single and eventually plan to release an EP containing “Ringtone” and other new tracks.
Talking Heads is easily my favorite band. They were the first band that really got me into being a massive music geek, and I can’t imagine where I’d be today without them. So, when I heard A24 was planning a large-scale tribute album of Talking Heads’ iconic Stop Making Sense concert film with a different artist covering each song, I got excited but also quite cautious. I loved the band was getting more exposure to new audiences, but who would A24 pick to cover each song? Would they choose artists that honor Talking Heads’ material but still do their own spin on it to keep it fresh?
I’ll go out and say immediately that many of the musicians featured on the album aren’t necessarily ones that would be on my shortlist for a covers album, but that’s not at all a bad thing. Part of Talking Heads’ appeal is the way they respected and performed countless music styles—sometimes multiple at once. They created a unique sound of punk, funk, dance, and art rock and still had room for inspirations from world music or hip-hop made them so forward-thinking. Choosing artists of a variety of styles complements the multicultural palette Talking Heads had worked with.
(Okay, but if I had to choose who I’d want on the album, I’d choose LCD Soundsystem, St. Vincent, HAIM, and a more contemporary post-punk band like Squid or black midi… I can dream.)
However, there was still another big concern I had with the announcement: it was a covers album. A known, respected artist doing a cover of a song is a tricky balancing act. You must honor the source material, but not too close to where it just sounds like you’re doing karaoke. But, if you divert from the original too much and go somewhere too new, it makes your cover just seem like a pointless exercise and you won’t make fans of the original happy. It’s difficult, but it’s totally possible to accomplish this mix.
With that said, the easy standouts of the album were the ones that got this balancing act down the best. Paramore’s cover of “Burning Down the House” kills with Hayley Williams’ stage presence and irresistible vocal performance, and “Crosseyed and Painless” done by Chicano Batman and Money Mark captures the original’s relentless, nonstop energy. It’s hard to recapture the feeling of such a soulful, heartwarming song, but the version of “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” by BADBADNOTGOOD and Norah Jones gets damn close. I’m a fan of the former’s lush 70s soul inspirations and using that with Jones’ comforting presence just makes their cover feel like a warm hug in all the same ways the original did. And, if Talking Heads’ cover of “Take Me to the River” equally combined them with Al Green, then Lorde’s cover of the same song is a satisfying blend of both her sound and Talking Heads’.
Some of the other covers closer to the originals can depend on your tastes. I liked The National’s version of “Heaven” which works well with their atmospheric indie folk sound, and quite like some of Aaron Dessner’s produced work for that one super famous rich white and blonde woman who I won’t name*. (*Forgive me, Meredith.) The Linda Lindas and girl in red do acceptable versions of “Found a Job” and “Girlfriend is Better” respectively without changing much, and I enjoyed seeing an African group represented on the album through highlife band The Cavemen’s version of “What a Day That Was”.
The problem with many other covers is that they’re too different from the originals, and it makes them difficult to judge. I love “Psycho Killer” and I’m fine with Miley Cyrus covering it, but why do it as a Lady Gaga-style EDM song? “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel” isn’t one of my favorite Talking Heads songs, yet it’s hard to get behind Blondshell doing a slow burn grunge version of it (albeit with a pretty rad guitar solo at the end). Then there’s some of the out-there covers like DJ Tunez performing “Life During Wartime” as an afrobeats-inspired trap song or Kevin Abstract going as far away from “Once in a Lifetime” as possible.
None of these songs are necessarily bad in terms of their sound or how they changed the originals, but they’re hard to appreciate in contrast to the other songs that try hard to honor the spirit of the originals. It’s not to say some covers work despite being too close to the originals (i.e. Teezo Touchdown’s “Making Flippy Floppy” or Toro y Moi’s “Genius of Love”), but perhaps the album could have functioned better with more direction as opposed to letting the artists run completely free.
Everyone’s Getting Involved isn’t bad, despite what some more closed-minded Talking Heads fans may say. However, it’s difficult to appreciate based on how different each artist approaches the original material. It has enough good covers to make the experience worthwhile, even if it may also leave you scratching your head at points. Still, nothing here stains Talking Heads’ enduring legacy as one of the best bands of its time.
Brooklyn’s own indie rock band Razor Braids just released Big Wave, their sophomore LP after 2021’s “I Could Cry If You Want Me To”. The new album is of a concept record about the timeline of going through a breakup, and lyrically it’s very personal. It goes into the narrator’s (which could be any of the members of the band, or multiple writing from shared experiences) feelings about their insecurities, self-doubts, and feelings of anguish within themselves. The lyrics are one of the strong points of the band, being clear, relatable, and easy to identify with as a listener.
Musically, the band’s style has its inspirations in 90s indie and alternative rock. There are many obvious comparisons like the lo-fi sound of Liz Phair, some Mazzy Star-style touches of psychedelia, as well as heavy grungy guitars that occasionally pop up. The production and guitar work on the album is consistently good, with a hazy but dreamy atmosphere composing many of the songs. Lead vocalist Hollye Bynum gives a lot of great performances throughout, showing her singing as more confident than the band’s earlier singles like “Nashville”. The backing vocals (contributed by rhythm guitarist Jillian Karande) are just as strong, though some of the best sounding parts of the album were when both vocalists harmonized, like on “B26” and “Windy Gap”. It’s an element of the band’s sound that I wish they used more.
My favorite track is the lead single, “She”, which is an upbeat pop-rock song that easily has the breeziest and most danceable groove on the album (with the drums provided by former member Sid Nichols). The band’s irresistible energy and chemistry here shines through, accentuated by brief giggles by the band as the song closes. However, while “She” is a great single, it differs a bit from the rest of the album in terms of its accessibility and focus on a pop chorus. Not that this is a bad thing, as mellow and downbeat songs like “It Goes Quiet” and the title track are still strong because of the earnest performances and lyrics, and especially from the lush guitars (from lead guitarist Janie Peacock) in the second half of the latter.
Big Wave is mostly a storytelling album rather than one that’s song driven. There’re points where the tracks can feel more about expressing emotions rather than structure and rhythm. This is most apparent on “JR”, which seems to explode with intensity as a musical emotional breakdown in the second half, as psychedelic guitars bury the vocals before they come crashing down on themselves. The vulnerability given from Bynum’s performances helps make this seem rawer and more effective.
All the songs are good, and the album is easy to recommend to fans of modern indie rock that are more into lyrically driven music. It’s not perfect, as I think it could’ve used another good hook or two and better pacing. Still, the album ends on a bittersweet but hopeful note on “There’s No Sound”, and I think the band still has a lot of talent and potential to build on based on the more promising parts of the album.
Big Wave may end up just being a steppingstone for a band that’s still evolving, but it’s captivating enough to look deeper into it.
Get ready to be blown away by The Lookout’s latest single, “I Know the Future,” an exhilarating ride through the heart of Montreal’s punk scene. Masterfully channeling decades of punk influence, “I Know the Future” is a track set to ignite your senses and keep you hooked from the very first chord riff.
Led by powerhouse frontwoman Martha ‘Rockhard’ Rodriguez, whose vocals embrace the raw, gritty spirit of Joan Jett, The Lookout brings a fresh, yet familiar energy to the punk genre. “I Know the Future” features fast-paced, energetic guitar riffs and driving rhythms that embody the essence of classic punk while infusing a modern, urban edge unique to Montreal’s vibrant music scene.
The song cleverly disguises its heavier themes with a fast-paced, energetic sound, making the emotional gut punch of its message all the more surprising. At first listen, the song is a thrilling and fun anthem that makes you want to move and shout along. But as the infectious energy pulls you in, the deeper meaning of the lyrics begins to resonate.
“I Know the Future” captures the frustration of knowing the outcome of one’s actions yet feeling compelled to repeat them, a theme that most of us can relate to. The line “It’s all so simple” highlights the paradox of life’s complexities; just “Try, try, and try again.” But the relentless pursuit produces only the same, known, less than desirable outcome, making this track not just a musical experience, but an emotional journey.
The Lookout’s connection to Montreal’s diverse punk community shines through in their authentic sound and poignant storytelling. Whether you’re a longtime punk aficionado or new to the scene, “I Know the Future” offers something for everyone: high-energy music, compelling vocals, and lyrics that linger long after the last note fades.