On Monday, September 30th, we were thrilled by the crowd packed into Kansas City’s recordBar to enjoy an evening of music by Noah Gundersen. Quite honestly, weeknights in Kansas City are difficult to draw fans out for, especially with our weather being so unpredictable. But the night was beautiful, and the music was absolutely enthralling.
Packed to the brim, there was an excitement in the air as we pushed through the doors on that beautiful autumn night. Couples in droves, though largely we noticed how wide Gundersen’s audience is, as there was no obvious demographic. Young, old(er), couples, single people rocking out, people in all types of outfits and moods. It was probably the most intense melting pot we have been a part of in a while, and it was thrilling.
As soon as the first chords of “Robin Williams” came from the speakers, the entire crowd was captivated. As you can view in some of the following photographs, the audience was respectful of the ambience of each song, making sure to slow down and engage on a different level with songs such as “Heavy Metals”, “Watermelon”, and “Bad Desire”. And we truly can’t blame them. Noah does an amazing job at making each person feel as though they are the only one in the room, both with the emotion in his vocals, his intense gazes into the audience, and his inventive and beautiful musicianship. But he didn’t stop there, and the setup’s light display was actually mesmerizing as well. We can only imagine how intricate a show in a less intimate venue would be, and we can’t wait to see him come back through town.
Setlist
Robin Williams
Crystal Creek
Heavy Metals
Lose You
Watermelon
Out of Time
Older
Ledges
Jesus, Jesus
Annie
So What
Bad Desire
Send the Rain (To Everyone)
Wild Horses
Kamikaze (with Lemolo)
Lover
All My Friends
Portland-based musician Corinne Sharlet comes at us today with the release of her new track “Hail Mary”. Haunting and absolutely magnetic, the song a beautiful testament to Sharlet’s abilities as a singer/songwriter. Her alluring vocals are set over beautiful, intricate guitar parts that continually pique your interest throughout the track, as you focus on the intimacy of it all. The ambiance the song creates alone is impeccable, but when you find out the inspiration behind the track, it’s hard to keep your jaw off the ground. Expands Sharlet:
‘Hail Mary’ wouldn’t exist without the Laurelthirst open mic here in Portland and for that reason the Laurelthirst has become a very special place to me. I wrote the song a couple of years ago when I had just started attending the open mic. Every week, they post a new theme to write a song about. One week the theme was ‘Hail Mary’ and so the song came to be. I love that the Laurelthirst open mic provides the weekly themes because I often find that a random word or two can inspire a song without needing to have a preconceived idea for it. Writing songs feels most natural to me that way. When I write I don’t usually have an idea of something I want to write about, I start by just playing and singing and then the words come.
The song is still mysterious to me. ‘Hail Mary’ seemed to come from a different world — a different time and place. As I started writing, I became very emotional. I practically sobbed through the whole song. One of the ideas that stirs me in the song is the need humans have to turn to things that are bigger than ourselves. I was not raised with formal religion and I do not currently participate in formal religion, but I am fascinated by religious and mythological symbolism and how it has infiltrated my psyche. I don’t want to say too much more about what the song is about because many people have interpreted the song in different ways and I love that.
Check out the beauty of “Hail Mary” below, then let us know what you think on Facebook!
On Friday, Kills Birds released a self-titled full length that is sure to keep you on your toes. From the very first frantic chords of “Worthy Girl” to the last lines of ninth track “Ok Hurricane”, there is equal parts surf pop and punk influence in this alternative collective’s new release, and we’re thrilled with the cadence of it all. Second track “Jesus Did” is something we would actually find ourselves moshing to in a dingy club, if you’re truly wondering, and “Ow” follows suit with a subtle, beautiful darkness and slower pace. “Volcano” builds like a vintage rock track, intricate percussion leading the way, while “New Friend” slows everything down and builds the instrumentals to a trudging, intense soundscape despite the more leisurely pace.
While “Only Yellow” feels melancholic in title, it’s a garage rock gem that is equal parts chaos and intricate observation. “Tear Up” finds itself in more of a Weezer realm lyrically and vocally, while “High” prefaces the last track with a hard bass line, the most Nirvana-esque of the tracks on this record.
Quite frankly, we have been waiting for a soundscape like this. Something to match the way the weather is going in North America, something to take us into autumn with appreciation and a sense of reality. So check it out below, then tell us what you think on Facebook!
The Berries‘ sophomore release — a full-length titled Berryland — is something of a commodity right now, as its focus on guitar riffs and an all-encompassing vibe has us begging for more. Mastermind Matt Berry has created a ten track masterpiece, that effortlessly blends Americana and Brit rock in an interesting and dynamic way. It starts with whirring guitar and an energy all its own with “Makes Me Sick“, adding more twang with “Lowest Form of Life”, and coming in hot with the leisurely, more radio friendly “Fruit“, two of these selections which have amazing 70s-inspired music videos to accompany them.
Continuing at a leisurely, backyard bonfire pace, “Passing Scene” gives us a hard glimpse into our autumnal future, slow motion jumping in leaves comes to mind. “Feral Eyes” revs it up a bit more, while “D.Y.W.I.B.” brings a more ethereal feeling to the piece. “Hell on the Speedway” has a title that would indicate it picks up the pace a little bit, yet it maintains a drawn out and beautiful disposition. “Along the Water” is delicate and incredible, while “Pedestal” provides a little more attitude. They round out the album with “Heavy Rain”, a track that will take you back in time right alongside some of rock’s greats (i.e. Jimi Hendrix). We’re big fans, and will most likely keep that track on repeat for quite some time.
This year, we had the insane pleasure of sitting down to chat with Throwawy for an imperfect Fifth podcast recording session. In fact, it was our very first one. We were honored then to speak with her, and even more honored now to be laser focused on her most recent release, a full-length titled What?
A collection of 8 high energy songs, What? boasts a relatable string of lyrics and an inviting disposition, despite the heaviness of the topics and the cadence with which the vocals are delivered. Titles like “Bonatan Jyers”, “The Brilliant Society of the Illustrious Mule”, and “I Work!” draw you in, with the unexpectedly wonderful blend of theatrical, edgy instrumentals (“The Revenge Society”) and attitude keeping you in place. As each new track begins, a sense of urgency — and, at times, insanity — appears for a moment, and then you relax into the layers of energy blasting from the speakers.
Definitely do not try to enjoy this album right before bed.
For more about the artist, check out our podcast episode under your first listen to the album!
Yup. We did that. We totally quoted an overly-used Green Day song in the title. If you got this far, congrats! And now it’s time to share with you some of the most spectacular gems we have found this month in our September Spotify soundtrack. Featuring new listening opportunities from Tegan and Sara, Daniella Mason, MIKA, Quiet Hounds, and more, we’re kind of obsessed. But we also want you to know we update this playlist almost daily, so bookmarking it and checking back all month will do you some good, especially for new music discovery!
Hey hi. It’s September. Our friends are talented. We’ve got new music videos out the wazzoo for you. Briston Maroney, James Arthur, and Mike Posner are all in the roundup, along with some new names and faces that we just adore! Check out the soundtrack now, and head back over all month for new additions!
Kansas City-based favorites Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear have done it again with their new release, a delightful full-length titled Started With a Family, which — to their credit — it did entirely. And they’ve packed it to the brim with their signature robust, at times raspy, and beautiful vocal harmonies. “Saturday Morning Cartoons” opens the collection, beginning with a beautiful sentiment of current and future happiness. But hang on through to the end and you will either be slightly disturbed or just completely worried about your future. Nonetheless, they speak truth and continue to do so through slower second track “Hell Better Make Room”. “Never Met a Mutha” begins with a soundscape similar to Death Cab’s “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”, however it blossoms into a folk song that seems to be a testament to Mama Bear, though it could be easily applied elsewhere.
“Botticelli” slows things down again, a bit of a detached option from the relatable side of things. “Back to the North” has an interesting melody, prepping us for the more intricate “Started With a Family”, in which Madisen Ward addresses his family specifically. It’s simple, beautiful, and elegant in a way. Stemming from it is “Guts n Glory”, a bit more graphic than its predecessors, however still very relaxing in its disposition. “Crackle Lyn Wood” possesses both a clever name and a beautiful video, which can be seen below.
“Lightning Kids” holds its spot as the second to last track on this incredible folk album. It doesn’t have quite the pace we expected for having the term “lightning” in the title, but also leaves a lasting impression with its introspective lyrical content. The duo rounds the album out wonderfully with “Little Mountain”, showcasing Mama Bear’s (Ruth Ward) timeless, heartbreaking vocals. That packs a powerful punch, and we’re going to go ahead and hit “repeat” for a while.
Amidst the madness following the release of their new album Claw Your Way Out, indie quartet Modern Moxie took a few minutes to answer some questions for us. Quite the feat, considering this is the debut full-length release for band members Madison Lucas (Vocals, Guitar, Synth), Harrison Kollm (Bass), Phil Pucci (Lead Guitar), and Charlie Weeks (Drums), who have come in to the soundspace with an ethereal energy we can’t help but melt into. Check out our interview below, and take a listen to the album while you do! We promise you’ll be a convert.
What was the first song or album that you remember hearing, and does that work of art have any influence on how you approach your music today?
The memory that sticks with me the most is seeing an infomercial for a Beatles box set when I was a small kid. The commercial started with a clip of “Hey Jude” and I just remember seeing Paul McCartney’s face and yelling at my mom “Who was that?!” I was obsessed instantly and have been since then. The Beatles have always been a massive influence for me and I will never forget that moment I first heard them. I am a sucker for that classic pop song structure and I burned it into my brain over years and years of obsessing over every record they every put out. I’m constantly working on expanding the musical world of what I listen to, but they will always be home for me.
What is the conception story of Modern Moxie? Was it a meet cute? (P.S. LOVE THE NAME!)
Thank you!! It took what felt like a century to come up with the name. I always just played under my name (Madison Lucas) but I wanted to be in a rock band more than anything. All I wanted was to play with a group and create music together, it was my biggest dream since I started writing songs. It seemed like this distant life just out of reach, but I just kept pushing until it finally all fell together.
I met Harry first, he is the beginning of the band! He means so much to me and it honestly freaks me out how random our meeting was. I was out at this bar called Jack Beagles in Charlotte and having a pretty terrible night. I was in one of those infamous rough patches everybody has in their life and Harry just sort of dropped into my life out of nowhere like a beacon of light. I was sitting in a corner alone feeling sorry for myself and I saw him across the room. I just wanted to go talk to him, so I did. I said “You play music don’t you?” which in retrospect was about the corniest pick up line I could of possibly said. Remarkably, I was correct, he played bass. We have hung out pretty much every day since then. We started playing shows together as a duo and we came up with the name roughly a year later. We helped each other through a lot and many of the future Modern Moxie songs were forming then. We went through a series of lineup changes but eventually met our band family with Phil Pucci (lead guitar) and Charlie Weeks (drums). Me and Harry were married by Phil in 2017! He is an officiant if anybody needs a marriage real quick.
I wish there was a cool story behind the actual name but basically, we love M’s, alliteration and the letter X so it checked all the boxes. I carried around a little notebook with ideas for about 8 months, I thought nothing would ever work. I also love 60’s mod fashion so it just fit and here we are! Band names are so strange, they feel wrong at first then after years you just become them. I can’t imagine having any other name now.
Do you think that being located in Charlotte has any bearing on what type of music you create? I always wonder in a “nature vs. nurture” kind of way.
Absolutely! I don’t think you can help being influenced by the music that is around you. I go to a ton of local shows in Charlotte and I know each and every one of them shape the music I am creating along with the feel of our live performance. There is so much beautiful art in Charlotte and I try to soak up as much as I can. Also, without Phil/Charlie/Harry the music would not sound the same and if I wasn’t in Charlotte I would have never met them. This city means everything to me and it’s been a wonderful city to create music and share what we do.
What’s your favorite thing about performing together in front of a crowd?
Oh man there is nothing like it! I love everything about it, it invigorates me in a way I have yet to reproduce in any other way. I’m still terrified before I go on stage, but I’ve learned to use that energy to help my performance. It’s taken years, but I feel like I’m finally finding my comfort zone up there. There is no better practice in the world for a band, we learn new things every single time we go on that stage. You never know how people will react, what they will dance to, it’s all an experiment. I love connecting with people and playing music for a crowd connects you to them in a way that’s hard to describe. It’s something I hope to do for the rest of my life. If just one person takes something good from one of our shows I consider that a successful gig.
In June, you released the masterful Claw Your Way Out. From the beginning, we’re drawn in by powerful vocals and gorgeously layered vocals that just won’t quit. Any fun anecdotes from the production of this album?
We had so much fun recording that album, I don’t even know where to begin. Working with Kenny McWilliams in Columbia, SC at Archer Avenue Studios was an absolute dream come true, he is just magic to work with. That was the first time we have all recorded anything together as a band so it was a riot. Lots of goofing around and way too much Taco Bell. The coolest part in my memory is when we were able to play around with this Roland Space Echo tape effect. We were all entirely too obsessed with the spacey sounds and watching the tape feed through, it was wild. It makes a different sound every time you use it so we wasted many valuable studio hours playing with that thing. You can hear it best at the end of the record on “Believers in Sound” after Phil’s beautiful guitar solo (my fav solo on the record).
Was there something in particular that made you choose the order of the tracks on the release?
That part will make you think entirely too much! One of those final touches that really feels like a giant decision. We wanted to have tons of energy opening the record and for there to be a journey to the sound. We always knew we wanted “Symphony”, “Claw Your Way Out” and “Til I’m a Ghost” out front for high energy. “Believers in Sound” felt like an album closer to us so we stuck with that. The order of the rest was just trial and error, playing the record over and over and then we finally landed on the final track order. I’m a big fan of the album format and we did want it to tell a story beginning to end.
The title track has a unique sense of urgency to it from the beginning, which dissipates a little bit with the vocals later. How did you approach the production of that track?
That track has changed so much throughout time. The first time we ever played that it was just Harry on bass and me singing. In my head I heard it as this huge, driving track, really bass heavy. It really began to take form when I bought my Korg Minilogue, the main synth sound comes out of that. I wanted it to be huge, but also be able to reproduce it on stage. I was listening to a ton of Metric at the time, I know that had a big influence. On the record Harry played his bass with a pick which helped it really cut through. I’m so happy with the way that one turned out, giant thanks to Kenny McWilliams for locking that in exactly like we had in our heads. We have entirely too much fun playing that one live, it’s usually our closer.
“Flowers in Your Hair” feels theatrical, in a Panic at The Disco Pretty. Odd. kind of way. We’re obsessed. What inspired it, specifically?
Well holy crap thank you, I love Panic! Listening to Pretty Odd as I type this. So glad you enjoy it! This song has a very embarrassing back story so here we go. I am a giant Lana Del Rey fan and had tickets with one of my best friends Aly to go see her show. My friend Aly is also an amazing bartender, so we were having mad martinis pre show. Have you ever gotten so excited about something you ruined it for yourself? Yep, that is what happened. I barely remember the show. I also fell down Aly’s giant apartment stairs on my way down to an Uber (multiple times, multiple stairs). In summary, a very bad night. I’ve had a touchy relationship with alcohol and this was my last bad night. The next day I wrote “Flowers in Your Hair” with bruises all over my entire body and promised myself I would never do that to myself again. One bad fall down some stairs and you’re dead, never forget.
Taking care of those vocal cords can be a little taxing. What do you do to keep yourself healthy when you’re prepping to sing?
What do I not do to get ready to sing? I’m slightly insane in this department. I think it’s sort of connected to my anxiety. It can’t hurt to prepare right? I drink as much water as humanly possible, limit alcohol, singer’s spray (so great), tea and honey, room temperature water, pineapple juice, vocal warm ups/exercises etc. Basically, if you have heard that it helps voices I have tried it probably.
Throwing this one in for fun! How do you think the seven wonders of the world came to be? Do you think it was human hands, aliens, a little help from Mother Nature or some other force?
After much debate, I’m pretty certain people just had a lot of time on their hands back in the day. If we didn’t have phones and TV imagine the number of things we would have to do to fill our time? However, me and Harry watch a LOT of Ancient Aliens and conspiracy theory shows so I’m open to anything. Cats probably did it.
I HAVE to ask about Bowie. What’s the story behind this precious cat, and would you consider Bowie a mascot of sorts? (My cat Schmidt is a mascot for iF FOR SURE.)
I have two cats! Bowie and Scully. Bowie just makes the internet more because she’s always doing strange things, Scully is move private and elusive. Bowie was discovered in a Vespa dealership parking lot by my yoga instructor. Her name was actually Vespa as a kitten but when we adopted her we named her Lady Stardust Bowie. Bowie had just died that year, I’m a huge fan, so her name was written in the stars. Scully is named after Agent Dana Scully from X-Files, a hero among women. They are both definitely Modern Moxie mascots, I wish we could take them on tour. I hope to meet your cat Schmidt one day, what an amazing name!
Anything else you’d like to share with our audience?
If you dig our music please share with your friends, post it, add to your playlists, every little thing helps! I wish I could get across to everybody how much those tiny actions help out baby indie bands like us. Thank you so much for your support while we chase these dreams!
