by Meredith Schneider | Nov 22, 2017 | wolf tracks
Los Angeles-based surf rock quartet Kat Myers & The Buzzards – comprised of namesake Kat Myers, Elliott Beenk, Johnny Elkins, and Jeff McElroy – recently dropped debut five track EP Owe Everybody Money. Riddled with music that was conceptualized after a sharp turn in her career path, Owe Everybody Money grants us a peek inside the mind of someone who grabbed life by the reigns when she realized it wasn’t going the way her heart wanted. Kat has developed a sound with her band that feels rugged, at times twangy – “Reluctant Love”, for instance, boasts more of an americana feel to it -, and pure rock at its core. (I mean, have you HEARD “Under The Rug” yet?) But it’s a completely genre-bending project, as her vocals do house a bit of a country vibe to them, but also feel similar to the crooning abilities of Mary Ramsey.
Third track “The Things I Love” begins with Myers capturing the listener’s attention by singing slightly off-key, giving the song a real kick of that independent, badass feeling that Myers looks to be establishing with the development of her sound. What is particularly curious is that the track was written as a commentary on Myers’ own religious upbringing, and is actually quite introspective if you slow down a bit to listen to the lyrical content. While “So Kind” has the lines that house the title of the EP, it is also a love letter of sorts, a country ballad at its finest. The band rounds out the EP with a slightly slower track, “Another Town Live At KCSN”, allowing the guitars to drive it in a way that is 70s psychedelia at its core. It’s a beautiful, enchanting way to end the work, and we can’t wait to show this one off to the family all weekend.
Owe Everybody Money is out now. Keep up with Kat Myers & The Buzzards here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 20, 2017 | wolf tracks
Nordic indie pop artist Majken may now be based in Los Angeles, but she’s carried her whimsical, infectious musicianship over and lit up the soundscape with her debut album Dancing Mountains. Her quirky monotone is lightweight, and almost enhanced in the reverb that the album is bathed in. From first track “Dreaming of Franco” – which starts us off with summery, carefree instrumentals that house lyrics that meander from times of love to times of distrust in a past relationship – through moody, 80s trance track “Here And Now”, all the way until the end of “Dear You” – which brilliantly features Maxime Sokolinski – softness is magnified into this surreal musical journey.
While the album was conceptualized on a journey – and we can find elements of her surroundings of Paris, the Nordic Fjord, and Los Angeles in each song, really – the same unamused, delicate sound we have come to know and love of Majken’s voice ties all twelve tracks into this concise, wistful collection of fun. The good news for Majken newbies is that we can get a sense of how far she’s come with her music with just this first full-length, as a couple of the tracks featured – including “Where It All Begins” and “Dreaming Of Franco” – were originally included on her Deronda Hotel EP. With songs like “A Little More Time”, Majken’s sound takes on almost a She & Him vibe, while ultimately we find notes of inspiration from acts The Velvet Underground and The Kinks most endearing. “I Have A Dream” is a mixed bag of tricks, and quite possibly our favorite track off the album. So, if you’re looking to start on a positive note on this weeknight, that’s where it’s at.
Dancing Mountains is out now. Keep up with Majken here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 16, 2017 | wolf tracks
A few weeks ago, Los Angeles based punk project ExSage (led by Kate Clover) released a three track EP titled Total Devotion. A work that seems to bring out the listener’s inner badass, it focuses on rough, dark guitar riffs and soul-infused vocals that ooze a mature and wide-reaching understanding of the music landscape of the last few decades. “Under Your Spell” is a track that vilifies the residual effects of a love interest’s pull on Clover’s heart strings. What Clover really does well is transports you with that vocal talent, bringing out the psychedelic, kaleidoscope-tinged feel of bluesy 70s rock, simultaneously worthy of modern play and beige leather fringe jackets. While “Come Alive” provides a truly toe-tapping beat that pulls from clear 80s rock with a little Madonna flare, “So Intertwined” really plays with synth and reverb to create a track that almost bounces from decade to decade with each new stanza, drawing the most party-ready sound into the fold just in time to amp you up for whatever life brings your way.
Total Devotion is out now. Keep up with ExSage here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 16, 2017 | wolf tracks
Polish alternative band Trupa Trupa – comprised of Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, Tomek Pawluczuk, Wojtek Juchniewicz, and Rafał Wojczal – released an eleven track collection titled Jolly New Songs at the end of October. Packed with intense attitude and reverb for miles, the album’s sound will keep you captivated as it trudges through first track “Against Breaking Heart of a Breaking Heart Beauty” until the last fourth, when it enters into an even darker soundscape and really thrashes into “Coffin”, which enters into the light, indie pop realm with its sound. By the end of it, you spiral into a feeling of falling, which is perfect because the third track is a frantic attention-getter that swirls into a dreamlike state-inducing trance track titled “Falling”. And while “Mist” is darker, led by percussion, the title track keeps a pleasant sound to the vocals, as though it’s staying on the polite end of the soundscape almost because of its title. That’s all well and good, until the song takes on an almost Tim Burton flare and spirals into a heavy instrumental cacophony that feels dangerous and inviting.
“Leave It All” is as melancholic in sound as the title would suggest, though the song itself leans more toward an off-kilter lounge band sound, though the theatrical nature of “Love Supreme” draws us into a Wizard Of Oz-meets-death march realm where Tim Burton’s antics feel slight and far away. “Never Forget” pulls us out of the darkness and plunges us into a dark alleyway, where we’re almost marching forward, decked out in combat boots and a leather jacket. “None of Us” reminds us of a dark and murky lullaby – perhaps for Satan’s children more so than anyone else – with guitar riffs that could swallow your ears whole. The tumultuous instrumentals in “Only Good Weather” remind us of the so-called reliability of the National Weather Service (ha!), replete with waning guitars and a swirling, psych rock bed of sound. And – if you ask us – Trupa Trupa did us a service making the crashing sounds of “To Me” the last track, as it, too, splinters into an uproar of crashing cymbals and intense rock vibes before leveling out and inducing a feeling of calm with its listeners.
Every emotion is palpable with Jolly New Songs. You just have to let it envelope you.
Jolly New Songs is out now. Keep up with Trupa Trupa here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 15, 2017 | wolf tracks
On October 27th, New York-based experimental group The U.S. Americans – comprised of Jeff Weiss (Vocals/Guitar/Percussion), Emerson Williams (Drums), Daniel Deychakiwsky (Bass/Guitars), and Roy Abraham (Guitars) – released twelve track full-length Greatest Hits to what we are sure has been nothing but thundering applause. Those of you who have yet to witness what we’re talking about are in for a real treat, as the very beginning of the entire album includes that fateful quote from Miss Teen USA 20017 when Miss South Carolina made herself – and probably our entire country – look really, really intelligent. You can’t argue that a good punk song speaks to the establishment, and where better to start than with the lack of common sense displayed by the majority? Plus, add that killer guitar solo we’re not sure we’ve witnessed a better record intro.
“Money in America” comes in rough, dark, and brooding in its instrumentals, with attitude for miles in the vocals. “Dance Song 17” brings the sound back to a more pop space, while “Innocent Fools” makes you feel like you’re in a funk jam session. And while “Manolo” hits like a 70s rock track – and trust us, we’re totally into it – “Movies” slows everything down to progress into intense guitar licks and a real metal twinge to them, a rock ballad that could stand the test of time if we let it reach notoriety of any sort.
“Fade Out” meanders on at a crawl, a little more 90s grunge/rock feel of melancholia about it. But “Storytime” seems to lighten up the narrative, showcasing a short story of less than a minute, and bringing us into more of a lighthearted headspace. “King Someday” brings The U.S. Americans back to their attitude-ridden antics, though the otherworldly references are fun in a modern-alien advocate-type of way. “Lazy Suzy” hilariously picks up the tempo more than its predecessors, making us actually feel like we should get up and dance over really anything at present. “FCK THE KGB” is pretty self-explanatory, a hard-hitting, no-holds, barred, pure punk track that completely rejects certain aspects of modern history, and understandably so. The U.S. Americans end the album in the most American way possible… with the guitar-driven track “Dentist Street”. A light rock – almost folk – feel envelopes the listener in a familiar warmth, as the waning guitar increases the magic of it all.
Greatest Hits is available now. Keep up with The U.S. Americans here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 7, 2017 | wolf tracks
London-raised multi-instrumentalist and electro alt-pop extraordinaire Harlequiin (Rory Simmons) has set his sights on the industry with flare, releasing his Something To Believe In EP recently, a follow-up to earlier 2017’s Clock That’s Stopped. Although he’s no stranger to music – he has been both a touring and studio musician with acts like the 1975, Paolo Nutini, Labyrinth, and more – it wasn’t until Clock That’s Stopped that he was releasing music his own music on his own terms, and we’ve been impressed with his chops ever since. Beginning with the smooth sounds of the title track – which later reveals early 2000’s quirks interwoven into its sound -, Harlequiin establishes his sound as one of all-encapsulating calm teetering on the edge of a sea of frenetic energy. This energy can be found audibly in every song, most notably toward the end of second track “Dream Deep Bloodlines” and throughout the seductive lyrics and vocals in “Kloro”. Last track “Heal Me” has a mainstream pop draw to the initial beat, layering in these beautiful, off-kilter sound effects that continue in the frenetic vein as its predecessors.
Not a single track on this EP is even remotely like the one before it, and somehow Harlequiin has found a way to truly create a signature, driving sound that aims to get your hips moving.
Every. Single. Time.
Something To Believe In is out now. Keep up with Harlequiin here.
by Meredith Schneider | Nov 7, 2017 | wolf tracks
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.
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 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.
