It was the third night of a four-night residency for LCD Soundsystem at their favorite Chicago venue, the Aragon Ballroom. They’ve done shows there in the past, and it was the last place I’d seen them years ago. It was good to catch them again. One can’t help but wonder if James Murphy is going to pull the plug on the band for a second time.
They got off to a great start with “Us V Them” and soon surfed into “I Can Change.” “Tribulations” was another great spot in the set, and one I hadn’t heard live in a long while.
The crowd was great, many of whom had been to the first two shows and were already planning on coming to the fourth. It was warm in the Aragon, as it always is, but a little more so since everyone was dancing and going wild as they turned the whole place into a disco.
“Yeah” was a great touch, as it was the first time they’d played it on this tour (which they called the “Kinda Tour”), and “Losing My Edge” was, as always, an absolute ripper. I’d forgotten how good a track “Tonite” is until they played it live.
“Dance Yrself Clean” and “All My Friends” made for a great encore, but the nicest moment of the night was their tribute to the late Chicagoan and music producing legend Steve Albini during “Someone Great.”
It was great to see them again, and great to be in such a fun crowd. LCD Soundsystem never disappoint.
Just when you think you’ve heard your favorite classic new wave / no wave / goth-punk / industrial dance track of all time, a compilation like New Wave Acid Punx DEUX – Secret Cuts comes along and drops a bunch of stuff you’ve never heard and makes you nearly lose your mind with “How did I miss this?” types of questions.
This latest gem from Berlin-based DJ Curses brings out a wild mix of stuff that he probably found in a warehouse’s trash bin moments before the place was demolished to build a clothing store no one wanted. Chrome Corps‘ “Body Attestation” starts off the thing with industrial chops, and Curses himself includes a previously unreleased track of his own, “Get Lost,” right after it to keep up the dark vibe. Aura Nox and Christian Koupa‘s “Compound Lies” is a dark wave banger.
Notausgang‘s “Malphas” becomes a meditative synth-jam (even with birdsong at the end). Ghost Cop‘s “You Can Never Go Home” demands to be played at your next dance party. Nuovo Testamento‘s “In My Dreams” (the “Powerhouse Mix,” no less) is like opening a time capsule from the mid-1980s found under the remains of a British disco. Unconscious‘ “LivEvil” version of “Carnivora” is the sound of a robot hit squad coming after you in a 1985 shopping mall.
Gunce Aci‘s “Being in the Shadows” is a gothic dance track that’s phat with bass and makes you wonder if the title refers to being / standing in the shadows or a being that’s in the shadows. Curses gets back into the game with “The Deep End (Redux),” which adds a nice guitar element to the goth sound, not unlike old Wall of Voodoo tracks.
Paresse‘s “Journey of the Heart” (the Guy Tallo remix) brings a bit of ambient into the synths and is a track suitable for late night drives, workouts, or the trailer to your newest film about a fitness instructor trying to avoid a serial killer while dating a cop with a mysterious past. The “Modern remix” of You Man‘s “Third Eye” is the sexiest track on the record, with female vocals samples of “Oh my God…” blending with throbbing bass and smoky synths.
Much praise to Curses for finding these rare cuts and presenting them to us in a great mix. Don’t skip this one if you’re a fan of darkwave, synthwave, new wave, industrial, or acid house.
Violinist and now singer Alexvndria starts off her debut EP, Hopeless Romantic, with violin plucks and string arrangements in a brief instrumental (“Epigraph”) to make you think this is going to be an avant-garde jazz album.
Nope, it’s an EP of stunning love songs. “He Loves Me” is a lush cover of Jill Scott‘s song with a full orchestra and a jazz trio backing her. “Silly Me” (with great, subtle jazz drumming from Drew Marsh) was recorded while Alexvndria was touring with The Broadway Sinfonietta, and the whole EP was recorded over four months and in six different cities. The song has Alexvndria lamenting all the time she’s wasted waiting on a lover to finally commit.
“Stay” is a similar theme, with Alexvndria waiting for her lover to even just say, “I love you.” (“I might have gave my heart too soon, but I’m dying to know.”). You hear tracks like this and wonder, “How has she not been singing this whole time?” Her voice is perfect for neo-soul and someone needs to hire her to sing on their latest trip-hop or house music project. The EP’s closer, “Twilight,” started with a bass solo and, according to a quote from Alexvndria in the liner notes I received, “Before I knew it, I was calling up a friend to improvise over it and recorded the whole song in my living room.”
The EP ends with a quick fade out, like a lover rushing out the door to make it to their flight back across the country. You want more, and part of you knows you might not get more, but you’re willing to wait and you’ll always have the memories.
The members of Germany’s L’appel Du Vide (Flatty – guitars, synths, sequencers, Friday – drums, Rene – vocals, Suse – bass, vocals, piano) describe themselves as “gloom punks.” That’s an apt description of both them and their debut album, Metro. It mixes doom with post-punk, darkwave, industrial, and a hint of psychedelia.
Starting with “Nacht” (“Night”), they get off to a raucous start with Suse’s bass leading the charge. The whole song feels like a fight could break out at any moment. “Verschwiegen” (“Secretive”) has Flatty unleashing (Dare I say?) Thin Lizzy-like riffs that turn into psych-metal meltdowns.
“Offenbarungseid” (“Oath of Disclosure”) starts off with goth dread and then kicks in the door to the underground club and causes a mosh pit to break out an absinthe and clove cigarette-filled ashtrays to spill everywhere. “Woanders” (“Somewhere Else”) builds from a quiet bass drum beat to a fiery post-punk punch in the face. Suse’s bass on “Verbrennen” (“Burn”) is absolutely crushing, and everything else is on fire around it. It reminds me a bit of a Pixies track with its frequent changes in volume levels.
“Fleisch” (“Meat”) opens side two of the album with Flatty’s guitars and Friday’s drums taking on a gothic touch…until they and everything else into erupt into a punk rager. “Warteschliefe” (“Holding Pattern”) returns to the post-punk buzz, but doesn’t skimp on the punk part of that genre. Rene’s growling, snarling vocals are the prime example of that.
“Ausgeliefert” (“Delivered”) chugs along with heavy bass from Suse and cosmic-level shredding from Flatty while Friday opens and closes his hi-hat so fast that you think it’s going to break at any moment. “Fragezeichen” (“Question mark”) ends the album with more goth-punk stuff that borders on horror-punk with the slight sense of dread throughout it.
It’s a wild record, and a delightful discovery this year. I’d love to catch their live show and see and hear how they create all of this buzzing, slightly creepy rock together.
The Black Angels are soon back on tour, this time heading to Europe in mid-September through early October with pals The Dandy Warhols.
A good chunk of those shows probably will sell out, so don’t hesitate to get tickets.
Not to rest for too long, the psych-giants come back to the U.S. afterwards to embark on a west coast tour just ten days later, this time with Soriah and Daiistar.
They’ll also headline a stage at the 2024 Levitation festival sometime during Halloween weekend as well. Don’t miss them. They never disappoint.
Chicago band Friko — vocalist/guitarist Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger — shares a cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” and announces performances at Lollapalooza, Newport Folk Festival, and Fuji Rock, a North American tour supporting Royel Otis, and the band’s first European headline run. The band just wrapped their first North American tour in support of Where we’ve been, Where we go from here (out now on ATO Records), playing shows with Water From Your Eyes, WILLIS and Mind’s Eye. Their cover of Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” has become an exciting surprise during recent live dates. They performed it at their sold-out, headlining record release show at the 1000-capacity Metro in Chicago, and will continue to captivate larger and larger audiences throughout the rest of 2024.
An essential new addition to Chicago’s long lineage of forward-thinking indie rock, Friko transforms every song into a moment of collective catharsis. Known for their high-energy live show, Friko aims to deliver a live experience that’s fantastically disorienting in its emotional arc. Mastered by Heba Kadry (Björk, Big Thief) and engineered by Jack Henry and Scott Tallarida, Where we’ve been, Where we go from here embodies a sonic complexity befitting of a band that names Romantic-era classical music and the more primal edges of art-rock among their inspirations. Friko hopes that their music’s emotional potency might have a galvanizing impact on audiences.
Friko Tour Dates: Fri. June 14 – Chicago, IL @ Q101 PIQNIQ (Taste of Randolph) Tue. July 9 – Evanston, IL @ SPACE Thu. July 18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Rock The Ruins ^ Fri. July 26 – Niigata, JP @ Fuji Rock Festival Sun. July 28 – Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival Sat. Aug. 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza Sun. Aug. 4 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall (Lollapalooza Aftershow) Thu. Aug. 8 – Nashville, TN @ Bobby Nashville (WNXP Event) Wed. Aug. 28 – Louisville, KY @ WFPK Waterfront Wednesday Mon. Sept. 9 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall % Wed. Sept. 11 – Rochester, NY @ Essex Music Hall % Thu. Sept. 12 – Toronto, ON @ History % Fri. Sept. 13 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre % Sat. Sept. 14 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee % Sun. Sept. 15 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue % Thu. Sept. 19 – Champaign, IL @ Canopy Club (Pygmalion Fest) Tue. Sept. 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer % Wed. Sept. 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel % Thu. Sept. 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel % Fri. Sept. 27 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club % Sat. Sept. 28 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues % Mon. Sept. 30 – Atlanta, GA @ The Eastern % Tue. Oct. 1 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl % Tue. Oct. 8 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre % Wed. Oct. 9 – Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater % Mon. Oct. 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether % Tue. Oct. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether % Wed. Oct. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium % Fri. Oct. 18 – Oakland, CA @ The Fox % Sun. Oct. 20 – Portland, OR @ McMenamins Crystal Ballroom % Mon. Oct. 21 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre % Tue. Oct. 22 – Vancouver, BC @ PNE Forum % Sat. Nov. 2 – Amsterdam, NL @ Bitterzoet Sun. Nov. 3 – Brussels, BE @ Les Nuits Weekender Tue. Nov. 5 – Rennes, FR @ L’Antipode Thu. Nov. 7 – Paris, FR @ Pitchfork Avant Garde Sat. Nov. 9 – London, UK @ Pitchfork Festival London Sun. Nov. 10 – Bristol, UK @ Louisiana Tue. Nov. 12 – Manchester, UK @ YES Wed. Nov. 13 – Glasgow, UK @ King Tuts Thu. Nov. 14 – Dublin, IR @ Workman’s Club
It’s not every day you put out a groovy EP of acid house tracks. This is especially true after one of your band members falls over twenty feet through a skylight, breaks both wrists and six ribs, and sustains a head fracture that results in permanent hearing loss.
Yet, Operator Music Band did just that with their new Four Singles EP. How? You got me, but Jared Hiller figured out a way, and, along with Dara Hirsch and Daniel Siles, crafted a slick record.
Blending house with some krautrock and synthwave, “As It Goes” comes out of the start with a drippy, bass-filled bang, wicked hand percussion, and low-end vocal effects to warp your brain even further. “Screwhead” is a sexy, slightly industrial (Those drums!) track with sensuous vocals (“Focus is a function of ecstasy. Let me go slow. I’ll be right back.”).
“Oval” is bouncy and bubbly that, at the halfway point, turns into almost a dance-punk track with its almost frantic drums. “10 Days” continues this dance-punk theme with percussion and synths that sound like they’re coming through pipes and pneumatic tubes in an abandoned factory where a rooftop rave is taking place.
It’s all over too soon and leaves you wanting much more, as any good EP should. Many accolades should be given to Operator Music Band for creating something this good after Hiller’s harrowing accident. That kind of grit is rare.
Brijean, the project of percussionist/singer-songwriter Brijean Murphy — the percussive heartbeat for live bands like Mitski, Poolside, and Toro y Moi — and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart, unveils the new single, “Euphoric Avenue,” from Macro, their new album out July 12th via Ghostly International. Following lead singles “Workin’ On It” and “Roller Coaster,” “Euphoric Avenue” was one of the first tracks recorded at the band’s new home in Altadena on the outskirts of Los Angeles. It took shape on organ and drum machine, later welcoming live contributions from Stephanie Yu (strings), Logan Hone (flute), and Kosta Galanopoulos (drums).
“Worlds of beauty and pain / I spy comedies in the most mundane,” Murphy sings on “Euphoric Avenue,” the rainbow road to Macro that expands Murphy and Stuart’s shared sense for storytelling. “Being in this beautiful part of town nestled up against the Angeles National Forest played a big role in how comfortable we felt stretching out and trying to push our musical boundaries,” says Murphy. “Anytime we brought someone into the world to add their musical touch, it felt like a highlight.” Macro’s sequencing elicits an exploratory vibe with high-tempo peaks and breezy valleys in the psyche especially on astral drifts like “Euphoric Avenue.”
Since their debut in 2019, Brijean has moved with ingenuity, fusing psych-pop abstraction with dancefloor sensibilities. Through the body and mind, rhythm and lyricism, they make sense of the worlds around and within; 2021’s Feelings celebrated self-reflection; 2022’s Angelo processed loss, coinciding with the duo’s first headlining tour, which doubled down on the material’s desire to move. Now, across the playful expanse of Macro, Brijean engages different sides of themselves, the paradox of being alive. They’ve leveled up to meet the complexities and harmonies of the human experience with their most dynamic songwriting yet. Colorful, collaborative, sophisticated, and deeply fun, the album animates a macrocosm with characters, moods, and points of view rooted in the notion that no feeling is final and the only way out is through.
The band’s collaborative streak extends to their recent team-up with Toro y Moi for A24’s Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense where they cover “Genius Of Love.”
Brijean Tour Dates Fri. Jul. 12 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village Sat. Jul. 13 – Detroit, MI @ El Club Sun. Jul. 14 Toronto, ON Velvet Underground Wed. Jul. 17 – Washington, DC @ Atlantis Thu. Jul. 18 – New York, NY @ MHOW Sat. Jul. 20 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s Mon. Jul. 22 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle Tue. Jul. 23 – Atlanta, GA @ Vinyl Thu. Jul. 25 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs) Fri. Jul. 26 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada Sat. Jul. 27 – Austin, TX @ ACL Live at 3TEN Mon. July 29 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar Thu. Aug. 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Fri. Aug. 2 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent Sun. Aug. 4 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios Tue. Aug. 6 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret Wed. Aug. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Fri. Aug. 9 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux Sat. Aug. 10 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court Mon. Aug. 12 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Opener “Got a Fire in My Socket” is a song about what its like to have a neurodivergent brain in a world that’s constantly clamoring for your attention. Dare mixes solid drum beats with post-punk guitar riffs and weird keyboard bloops. “Matter Vs. Matter” is about hoarding not only physical stuff, but e-clutter and mental trash as well (“10,000 options across 30,000 featured posts.”), and the only way to clear it out is by blasting it with fuzzy guitar power.
“10,000 Monkeys + An Argument with Time” uses sounds from what seem to be 16-bit video games to highlight how time is easily wasted even in a time in history when all this technology is supposed to save us time. “No One Wants to Hear It” is a fun takedown of virtue signaling with crunchy guitars and fight scene drums.
According to Dare’s notes on the album, “Gotta Cold Feeling” is about “That time when someone talked about something so boring, so long, it felt like time had fractured.” Haven’t we all been there at some point? “Entangled Entropy” is Dare apologizing for his sometimes uncontrollable behavior and explaining what it’s like to be autistic (“The wires don’t connect sometimes. Don’t you see? My waves aren’t free.”).
On “Call My City, Don’t Call My Telephone,” Dare pleads with everyone not to waste his time (or anyone else’s). God bless him for calling out time wasters, “shirtless bros,” and “standing in line” with his shredding solo and growling bass. “Josephine Says Explode” has Dare encouraging us to let our emotions out now and then. That stuff will eat you from within if you don’t.
The Osees-like fuzz and funk of “Schrödinger’s Apocalypse” is a fun track about living in a time of uncertainty, and how perhaps ignoring the uncertainty is the best path. “The Elasticity of Knowing” takes down racists and xenophobes by challenging them (and all of us, really) to travel and experience other cultures in order to see and acknowledge that others exist outside our little cocoons.
Finally, on “A Billion Voices Screaming, Hello Void!”, Dare encourages us to embrace the end and not fear death (“When the call comes, fear not for what’s been done, we all return to where we begun…”). The garage rock drums and distorted guitars certainly help give you confidence to step into the void.
This is a fun, wild record that mixes punk lyrics with touches of Zen. Don’t skip it.
Keep your mind open.
[I gotta warm feeling that you’re going to subscribe today.]
