Here’s something sweet and serene for you to begin your Monday with. Transistor Girl, musically speaking, is tender on the ears — acoustic guitar, soft percussion and silky smooth vocals with gentle harmonies. It’s when you start listening to the lyrics that you discover something deeper and more melancholy. It’s mild-mannered, but don’t mistake this for “easy listening.” This is thoughtful, introspective music with well-crafted lyrics that seems just right for a rainy day or a dark night with candles glowing.
This lovely duo (Christopher Drew and Christophe Bugnon) are from Geneva, Switzerland and they’ve only been around since 2013. Being so new, they only have two EPs released — Treading On Flames from January of 2014 and their latest, Glorious, released that November. This most recent one was recorded with Alberto Malo (Sophie Hunger) on drums and Mauro Maur (Ennio Morricone) on trumpet. They’re currently working on their debut full-length album, due for release early next year.
Not exactly. After all, we already know this guy as the hyper-literate frontman of the wonderful Delta Spirit and one third of the “supertrio” Middle Brother. But Mr. Vasquez is striking out on his own now and like a wild stallion, has bolted out the gate fiercely with his first single “Everything I Do Is Out.”
When the man goes solo, he doesn’t mess around. Not only does he play all the instruments on this song. He also hand-drew the animations, shot and edited the video himself — and yes, all of those band members you see are him in different outfits. Reclusivity at its finest! Though that isn’t the case at all in his personal life. When Delta Spirit went on break, he returned to his hometown of Austin, Texas and he and his wife Marthe had their first child, Thor (how awesome of a name is that?).
Vasquez explained to Paste Magazine about his inspiration for this song: “‘This song was the catalyst for the whole solo project,’ he says. ‘The song is about my disdain for certain parts of (the) music industry and what it does to people. It’s also about maintaining the mentality that made me love rock ‘n’ roll in the first place. My only intention with this music is to play it in bars with my friends. I want to care less about caring at all.'” Indeed, the song is bursting with unbridled angst, freedom and determination.
The Austin EP which includes this fine and ferocious song was released last month and then followed by a 10-show residency in California. Limited edition vinyl is available at his official site. His debut solo album, to be called Solicitor Returns, is due out February 9, which can be pre-ordered from Amazon below. He recorded the EP by himself, except for a drum contribution on “Halfcolt” by Matt Aveiro (ex-Cold War Kids). From what we hear, this debut outing begins with an 18-minute track that the press release describes as “a psychedelic autobiography of sorts.” We can’t wait. For now, if you’re a Mac user, you can also order the Austin & Solicitor Mixtape Flashdrive. This very cool thing is the Austin EP plus music that he does not plan to release elsewhere, which means it’s a definite “must” for fans. You know what’s even cooler? This direct relationship with his audience, sans music business bullshit. Good job, Matt.
We’ll also mention the release party on February 9 at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, where he’ll perform songs from the debut along with Delta Spirit and Middle Brother material, playing with a new live band. Leading up to that, he’ll be doing a month-long residency in Texas, and apparently he’ll also be at SXSW and additional places to be announced. See dates below. But before you do that, check out this lovely tribute to Steve Jobs, with Matthew’s trademark lyrical sophistication. Bravo!
Matthew Logan Vasquez 2016 Tour Dates:
01/05 — Houston, TX @ The Raven Tower
01/07 — San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
01/08 — Austin, TX @ The Mohawk
01/12 — Houston, TX @ The Raven Tower
01/13 — Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
01/19 — Houston, TX @ The Raven Tower
01/20 — Fort Worth, TX @ Lola’s Saloon
01/21 — San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
01/26 — Houston, TX @ The Raven Tower
01/27 — Dallas, TX @ Three Links
02/09 — Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right
If running down a never-ending track, climbing ceaseless steps and making your way through wild prairie brush seems to perfectly describe your Saturday so far, you’re bound to enjoy this new video from Elephant Stone for their single, “The Devil’s Shelter.” It features Alex Maas from The Black Angels as a guest vocalist and is directed by Elba Berganza. We’re taken through a dizzying montage of train tracks, stark landscapes and mysterious shadowy creatures. Musically, it’s just as fascinating and cryptic — a pulsating beat, a little sitar and off we go into a psychedelic journey with exotic flavors and bellowing, luminous ghosts.
Montreal’s Elephant Stone began in 2009 with sitarist and bassist Rishi Dhir, who has played with many artists including Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Black Angels, the Horrors and Beck. Their debut, The Seven Seas, was released that year and was nominated for the highly regarded Polaris Music Prize. It was followed up with The Glass Box EP in 2010, Elephant Stone in 2013 and The Three Poisons in 2014. Their latest release was ES3PRMX, which is a creative remix by their friends of the Three Poisons album.
Ready for some feisty folk music? That might sound like a contradiction, but it isn’t at all for London quintet The Sticklers. There’s a spunky, defiant enthusiasm in the vocals of Gabi Garbutt, who is a guitarist and a published poet. Her fire is nimbly matched by Lee Milward’s spirited violin and Chris Brambley’s melodic guitar lines. Propelling it along is the rhythm section of Tom Newis and Lorenzo Levrini. While the music is decidedly upbeat, lyrically it’s a bit more complicated.
Garbutt’s inspiration comes from literary musicians such as Leonard Cohen and Patti Smith. To hear her gutsy British accent on “Down By The Waterside” (the B-side of the new single, inspired by Malcolm Lowry’s novella Lunar Caustic) is heartwarming and for me, it adds power to her storytelling prowess. According to the band, “Breakfast In Hell” is a “magical portrait of two lowers in a damned republic.” In the official video, they bring to life a mystical (and to my eyes, kinda creepy) puppet party in the woods in the dead of night.
It’s quite a cohesive, sophisticated sound for such a new band. The Sticklers came into being in 2013 with the release of their Hold It Up To The Light EP. A series of shows around London was followed by the single Mr Need Love, with accompanying video filmed on a barge. Back in August, they released the song “Unhappy Family” and here we are with Breakfast In Hell. Need love, unhappy family, breakfast in hell — sounds like a troubling theme, but if you end up feeling a little sad, just listen to that fiddle and kick up your heels! It’s early days yet, so unless you’re living in or around London, you might have to wait a little while to see these kids in action. Follow them on Facebook and keep an eye out!
Upon first listening to the latest song from Philadelphia-based Manwomanchild, “Return to Ithaca” (on West Cortez Records) one might have the initial impression of a pleasant but instantly fleeting lighthearted ’60s ditty. That is, until the storyline floats to the top, which seems to be about the gentrification of Cambridge, watching as a wrecking ball comes down on a childhood home. The charm of this poppy and at times psychedelic ’60s sound, bringing to mind bands like The Byrds and The Zombies, is thrown off-kilter with the deceptively cheery-sounding lyrics that are anything but. Yes, that’s right, a Pennsylvania band lamenting about today’s Cambridge, Massachusetts in a song called “Return to Ithaca.” I’m not quite sure about this either.
Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Child drives this band’s creative output, which at this point, consists of an EP, debut album and several singles. Sometimes, as on “The Telepath Returns,” the vibe is more psychedelic like early Pink Floyd/Syd Barrett. The lyrical sophistication, sharp wit and unexpected little touches of cynicism remain intact.
Happily, the more I listen, the more there is, and nothing is as cheery as it first seems. Even in “Lover’s Anthem” from the debut album, there’s the line “I must confess, I have been dreaming / All of this time I have been scheming.” It’s edgy and mildly disturbing, so feel free to dive right in!
The band formed in Rhode Island in 2008, moved to Chicago and released their debut EP that was recorded in Pawtucket at Machines with Magnets. The line up through the debut album release in 2011 was Child on vocals, guitars and synthesizers, Craig Gifford on bass and Mason Neely on drums. They made another move in 2013 to Philadelphia, releasing several curious and quirky singles over the past few years. Explore and support!
This may well be the strangest video I’ve ever seen in my life. If that’s enough to entice you, by all means continue on. Part dizzying gypsy sea shanty, part spaghetti western on hallucinogens, Seas of Mirth are a nine-piece rollicking juggernaut of marauders out to pillage your soul. They’ll do so with a captivating burst of strings, exuberant percussion and completely crazed vocals. If you’re a fan of the irrepressible Gogol Bordello (or a Frank Zappa aficionado), know that Seas of Mirth are noble compatriots. This video brings to light “the adventures of Glen Fingle, a forlorn old sailor who goes through hell and back locating his unrequited love.”
The news that they put on theatrical live shows will come as no surprise. This lead single “Esmerelda” comes from their recently released 3-track EP (on I’m Not From London Records), dedicated to “the trembling torments of love life at sea.”
This is merely a small taste of deliciously subversive things to come, in the form of a full-length album Hark! The Headland Approacheth, which is due out early 2016. Their instrumentation is a barrel of insane fun — various guitars including a Greek bouzouki, violin and cello, retro organ and accordion, drums and various other percussion and whatnot. They cite sounds and influences as diverse as rock, folk, gypsy, pop, prog, psychedelic and afrobeat. They’ve performed at many festivals such as Glastonbury, Alchemy, Edinburgh Fringe and Secret Garden Party, and at countless venues, especially around their home base of the UK’s East Midlands region. Paradoxically, much of the area is not at all on the open seas. Perhaps that accounts for the sense of mad longing and desperation. Or maybe it’s just girl (or guy) problems.
If you’re in the area, they have a New Year’s Eve gig booked in Leeds, and will be playing in Cardiff, Wales on January 15. Follow them on Facebook for more info. Ahoy, matey!
I got an awful lot more than I bargained for when I dipped my toes into the strange waters of Los Angeles conceptual/performance artist and musician Lawrence Rothman. I was sent his stunning and disturbing video for “California Paranoia,” a song from his forthcoming debut album. The song is a breathtaking Gothic chamber music composition, and along with the melancholy piano, strings and Rothman’s somber singing, it Angel Olsen contributes eerily beautiful backing vocals. The video, a gorgeously filmed has something possibly to do with the dark subconscious, fatalism, artifice and illusion, love, madness, the Los Angeles underbelly, copious amounts of medication, dancing girls, mental illness, the search for salvation, a mad psychiatrist, a satanic ritual, and I won’t tell you how it ends but let’s just say it turns the sacrificial lamb metaphor on its head.
As magnificent as it is, don’t get too comfortable with this piece of music. Rothman’s mad psychologist, pill dispenser and Master of Ceremonies is but one of his alters, as he calls them. It’s not only his characters that change; it’s his music as well. “Oz Vs. Eden” is a slice of chaotic R&B electronica, with a vocal cameo by Charli XCX. In the video, directed by Floria Sigismondi, his alter ego is named Kevin and the scene plays out in a haunted house.
These doppelgangers and wild variations in musical styles might remind me of David Bowie, except for the fact that this guy makes The Thin White Duke (even with his Aleister Crowley obsession, cocaine-fueled fascist ambitions and bodily liquids stored in the fridge to ward off evil spirits) look like Mr. Rogers.
If you’d like to learn more about this fascinating artist and get a glimpse inside his mad scientist brain, read an interview he just did with The Beat. On his debut album, Rothman is collaborating with Justin Raisen, who previously worked with Sky Ferreira on Night Time, My Time and with Charli XCX on True Romance (and he’s in Raw Deal with Ariel Pink). The recording will feature special guests Kim Gordon, Ariel Pink, Charli XCX and no doubt a complete cast of alters, and it is due out early next year. In the meantime, don’t worry, it’ll be ok. Just surround yourself with white light.
Yes, I’ll admit it. On the rare occasions that we cover a rapper here, you can count on it being someone special. What I find impressive about 22-year-old Lou Sinergy is the hyper-literacy of his edgy alternative rap and the incredibly smooth phrasing around the slow burn of the music. What blew me away was “Wandering The Digital Age Ft Ali Ingle.” His poetry is interspersed with the soulful sounds of London-based singer-songwriter Ali Ingle, quite impressive in his own right. Together they conjure a bit of musical magic. They’re an inspired pairing, with Sinergy’s social commentary and stories of personal struggle in the modern age and Ingle’s emotional narrative of life and love, hope and despair.
“Supernova winters, Bipolar rainstorms making grey sweatshirts distinguished, Leaving slipper marks on arses redder than fire extinguishers, And burning like your left ear when somebody is doing behind the back linguistics, Sign language is my mother tongue, what is this? Mein Kampf is my toilet paper when my fit list is diminished, Louis Connor Gregory, occupation, relinquished, And I have unfinished business with businesses who need to mind their own business, ‘Cause I can turn into recession in an instant, And give the bone idol CEO’s a gargantuan dose of tickets, LIFE, isn’t rich dinners, LIFE, Is shin splinters and split sphincter’s, Analytical of the timber, That provides my lungs and helps my lion heart beat the blood around my reincarnation of Simba.
So sit with me, And I will spill all the stories of the nomad, Who connected wifi to his notepad, And wrote rumours about the digital age, Planting the paranoia seed and ruining the romance, Roberto Duran’s stone hands got thrown when I sat with him, And redrew his road map.”
– Wandering The Digital Age
Just released is a video for a new track, “Destabilised.” It was filmed by Ian Lewis and edited by Killer Robot Productions, with beat produced by Blizzard.
Lou Sinergy’s latest EP is A Late Afternoon — Find it on Spotify. Ali Ingle’s EP is called The Great Romantic Drought. It’s due for release this month.
It’s quite apropos that at the end of the official video for L U M E N’s debut single “What Will Life Make Of You?” a VHS tape is ejected from one of those old TV/VCR combo units. This 17-year-old Liverpudlian Liam Brown who goes by the name of L U M E N is strongly influenced by seminal UK bands who gained mass appeal in the 1980’s such as The Cure and The Smiths (though I hear a bit of The Jam in there as well). His music has also been compared to more recent British bands like Bombay Bicycle Club.
This debut single was released on Great Beyond Records back in October, and his first ever “proper gig” was just recently, on November 27, so be proud that you’re getting in on the ground floor here, folks. Since then, he has released three more songs on his Facebook titled “Fine By You,” “Favorite Shoes” and “Bright Lights.” So dreamy!
He was already writing and recording for a few years as Liam Sean Brown. His bedroom songwriting and recording process begins with the melody on a guitar, which he then plugs into his laptop and MIDI keyboard, adding improvised lyrics and then working it all into a song. This seasoned veteran of the music scene is now L U M E N, and I foresee great things.
Such a pretty start to the day this morning with all boy/all girl. This mixed-gender septet built their headquarters in a Lower East Side, New York City basement beneath a pawn shop, yet they have the vibe of a lush and elaborate Broadway musical. The sweet and glorious dual female vocals of Danielle Lovier and Jessie Rogowski burst forth from a lush string ensemble and percussive backdrop for a truly dramatic and charmingly retro presentation. Their music speaks of a simpler, gentler time. And can’t we all use that right about now?
Here’s the band performing their newest single “Andrea Amati” at the Mercury Lounge, back in July.
all boy/all girl began with the duo of vocalist/ukulelist, Danielle Lovier and double bassist, Nicholas Rahn. They performed covers on the streets of their native Philadelphia, and upon moving to New York City in 2012, assembled the rest of their ensemble, releasing their debut EP later that year. The members of all boy/all girl are as follows: Danielle Lovier (vocals/ukulele), Jessie Rogowski (vocals, guitar), Joshua Curry (guitars), Hannah Levinson (viola), Susan Mandel (cello), Nicholas Rahn (double bass) and Joey Campanella (drums).
Upon delving in deeper to their music, one hears elements of musical theater, sprinklings of jazz and something more experimental that takes them into more mysterious waters. This makes perfect sense, since Lovier’s background was as a musical theater major with punk and hardcore pedigree (strange though that seems), and Rahn’s inclination is toward the more experimental and free-form. Together and with the rest of the group, they have a spirited and quirky feel that keeps the level of intrigue high.
After releasing their debut album Tiny Inglesia in October 2013, they toured throughout the U.S. and Europe. In March of 2015, they released their Trophy EP. The recording was mixed by Machines With Magnets.
Definitely keep this experimental and vivacious ensemble on your radar!
