by Meredith Schneider | Nov 7, 2017 | wolf tracks
At the end of September, Austin-based indie/blues artist Jackie Venson released her dazzling five track Transcends EP. Starting it out with the upbeat track “Flying”, lines like “from the ashes something new grows” bring you into a more positive head space, more than adequately preparing you for the rest of the release. From second track “Fast” – which borders on 80s/early 90s synth rock with a Fefe Dobson-esque attitude to it – to smooth listening track “Mysterious” with its wider display of Venson’s range and exceptional use of ensemble vocals. “Fight” draws some more rasp from Venson’s voice, keeping an 80s sound to the instrumentals while singing about vibrational energy and – once again – looking forward to a positive existence and “the good fight.” Transcends closes out with its most completely rock track of them all – beginning with waning, rough guitar – the title track, which brings with it an edge to Venson’s voice that enhances the fact that not only did she come to play, she came to win.
Transcends is available now. Keep up with Jackie Venson here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 7, 2017 | soundtrack
Americana indie folk musician B.R. Lively recently released his eleven track stunner of an album, titled Into the Blue. Packed from start to finish with textured, alluring sounds and B.R.’s signature lackadaisical vocals meandering along, the album experienced conception during a moment of pure growth for B.R. an serves as an inspired departure from his past work. Check out the album below, then peek a little playlist B.R. curated exclusively for Imperfect Fifth in celebration of Into the Blue!
Into the Blue is the result of finding a lot of peace within myself. Here are some tunes that have brought a peaceful feeling to me over the years. There are themes of nature, love, loss… mostly slow-burners that are perfect for chasing down sunsets or a long meditative drive.
Check out the “This Kind of Peace” playlist made exclusively for Imperfect Fifth on Spotify.
Place To be, Way To Blue (Nick Drake):
– I put a lot of Nick Drake on here because he was the biggest influence on this record. We tried to capture the warm, mellow guitar tone by putting flat-wound strings on my guitar. He’s such a percussive player, which I feel I take from. Also, his use of strings prompted our similar approach to using them on ours, sweeping in an out giving it a 3rd dimension.
Simple Twist of Fate (Bob Dylan):
– My favorite track off this record. It’s one of the records that got me messing around with different guitar tunings, like “The Day That I Die.” Also, Bob’s style of storytelling found its way in my writing very early on, so I had to show him some love on here.
So What (Miles Davis):
– Definitely get my laid back feel from Miles on this record; the way he sits back in the groove behind the beat. I’ve always identified with slower tempos which is why I write more ballads than anything. Miles has also taught me a lot about the importance of using space in music; that most of the time not playing something is better than playing something.
Trapeze Swinger (Iron & Wine):
– I used to fall asleep to this song every night after I discovered it. It’s rolling stream of imagery has such a dreamlike quality to it. I love the progression of instruments, textures, and counter melodies that get introduced throughout the song. It keeps a steady consistent soft beat that is very meditative and pleasant to listen to.
Orange Sky (Alexi Murdoch):
– A tune we took direct influence from for the record sonically. It’s also got that meditative rhythm and constant beat with a myriad of instruments and textures flowing in and out yet kept very sparse at the same time.
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Keep up with B.R. Lively here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 7, 2017 | snapshot
On Wednesday, November 1st, the insanely entertaining rock collective Diarrhea Planet rolled through Kansas City, making an exhilarating appearance at Riot Room. In support was local act Witch Jail, which the guys of Diarrhea Planet mentioned had a band name they were jealous of. (But how could you be?) Here are some photos from the evening.
Keep up with Diarrhea Planet here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 6, 2017 | wolf tracks
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.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 6, 2017 | snapshot
On Tuesday, October 31st, The Used took on the Uptown Theater in midtown Kansas City, Missouri to party it up on the most spooktacular evening of the year with help from post-hardcore favorite Glassjaw.
Members of the audience moved about the theater dressed as Clint Eastwood, Batman and Wayne Campbell of Wayne’s World. Not to be outdone, lead vocalist Bert McCracken debuted his look as the Pope as he twirled his garments and hat through “Take It Away” and “The Bird and the Worm.” Bandmates Jeph Howard, Justin Shekoski and Dan Whitesides also dressed for the occasion as a banana, the grim reaper and the Kool Aid Man respectively. McCracken’s ferocious vocals and the eerie Art Deco architecture adorning the venue’s walls added to the sinister night.
The band is touring in support of their just-released seventh studio album, The Canyon. The 17-track analog record stretches 80 minutes and is the first in which Shekoski stepped in for former guitarist Quinn Allman. It is also written as McCracken recovered from the sudden loss of childhood friend Tregen Lewis. Songs featured during the show included the Kurt Cobain-inspired anthem “Over and Over Again” and the live debut of the self-aware galvanizing chorus that is “The Nexus.”
Inspired by Michael Jackson to dance at the age of eight, McCracken refrained from performing his version of the Thriller dance. Though he spoke to the healing abilities of music and power of expression. “Try not to escape your problems but face your fears and maybe you’ll walk out (of it) feeling better,” he said.
Photographer Ashleigh Lee nabbed some stills for us, and you can check them out below!
Keep up with The Used here!
**Copy by Chris Ruder.
**Photos by Ashleigh Lee.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 6, 2017 | wolf tracks
New York-based alternative pop musician/producer TRISTN recently released an acoustic recording of her well-received single “Nothing To Say (Nothin’)”, which came out as part of her ten track album January earlier this year. The album properly showcases TRISTN’s scrappy, intense persona while providing upbeat pop gold for you to latch onto and get carried away with. The new video – which was recorded simply with some percussion and an acoustic guitar – allows TRISTN to fully show off her vocal range when given a quieter situation to perform in, and, boy, does she deliver.
Keep up with TRISTN here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 6, 2017 | wolf tracks
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.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 3, 2017 | wolf tracks
Today, Utica, New York’s alternative musician Anthony and the Mountain premieres its Storm Fruit EP, the first collection of music we have gotten from the project since 2016’s I Felt Tall and Full of Blood. Three songs deep, “Fatboy” serves as the first track, a dramatic narrative from Anthony’s childhood. Anthony croons “Watching the ocean pull away from me” in an all-encompassing way, truly capturing a feeling in tandem with the lyrics. And while “Little Ceramic Dolphins” maintains a similar tempo, the song itself feels darker, more existential in its presence than its predecessor. Anthony’s third song is the title track “Storm Fruit”, which draws from intense vocal registers and a more seductive emotional state to evoke a romanticism that perfectly rounds out the release.
Says Anthony about the EP:
The three songs that make up the EP were slowly written over the past few years and paint portraits of myself at three very different points in my life, both chronologically and emotionally. It’s about relationships. From growing up as a queer teen and the relationship i’ve had with my body, my relationship to religion, and ultimately my relationship with myself. I wrote them at the piano, trying to connect with the part of me that started writing songs in the first place. The desire was to do something that was meditative, and orchestral, cinematic even, with my voice being the emotional center. I wrote them mostly in seclusion, with the recording happening very quickly once I set down to do it.
Storm Fruit is available now.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 3, 2017 | wolf tracks
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.
