Here’s a riddle for you: What’s an album that was made in 2023 by Swedes, but sounds like it was a horror film score made in 1977 by Italians? If you guessed Pericolo Di Morte (“Death Danger”) by Contaminazione (Contamination), you’re right!
Right out the gate with the title track, the trio of keyboardistSofia Rydahl, drummer Mikal Styrke, and bassist Staffan Tengnér change the tone of wherever you are to something creepy and otherworldly. It sounds like something you’d hear while walking down into Lucio Fulci’s basement. I mean, the track is named “Death Danger.” Rydahl’s keys invoke fear and terror, while Styrke and Tengnér invoke dread…yet it’s danceable dread.
Tengnér’s thick bass on “Vivi Vilocemente, Muori Lentamente” (“Live Fast, Die Slowly”) sounds like the relentless footsteps and breath of a horrible monster coming at you from Fulci’s basement as Rydahl’s synths open up strange portals between worlds that you hope you can close before horrible things emerge from them.
“Il Necroforum” is what you hear when you’re trying to figure out a murder’s motivation and scheme in a Dario Argento giallo movie. Styrke’s beats convey the sensation of sweat beading on your forehead and neck as you get closer and closer to learning the identity of the masked butcher who’s been plaguing the city’s fashion models. Rydahl’s synths are the killer’s entrance music as he, unbeknownst to you, ascends the stairs to your apartment.
Not to be outdone, Tengnér puts down a funky, spooky groove on “I’Ultima Setimana Di Vita” (“The Last Week of Life”) that blends so well with Rydahl’s spacey synths that the track would be perfect in a 1970s Euro-disco. Tengnér’s bass on “Tema Principale” (“Main Theme”) is extra-thick, which makes Rydahl’s synths sound more ethereal (bordering on synthwave sounds).
It’s a killer (pun intended) record. Someone needs to hire them to score a modern-day giallo.
When I first saw the four Yorkshire lads known as Lumer, it was at the 2022 Levitation France music festival. They closed one of the stages one night with their fiery brand of post-punk. They were seen in the festival crowd throughout the day, but they were never just strolling or meandering. They always looked like they were on a mission. They walked with purpose and almost a daring stride that conveyed that they would happily chat with you and sign some merch and share a pint, but one should not try them under any circumstances.
Their 2021 EP Disappearing Act also conveys this feeling of four tough men on a mission. “She’s Innocent” starts the act with gunslinger swagger and Ben Jackson‘s guitar chords that sound like they’re being cooked in a cast iron skillet held by Link Wray. “First Is Too Late” has an urgency to it that is difficult to describe in any good detail. It sounds like they’re playing before the fire in the studio causes the roof to fall on them. Singer Alex Evans yells / growls / howls the vocals that express his lack of apathy for apologies from people who give them out like jellybeans.
Benjamin Morrod‘s bass leads the charge on the title track, with the vocals (and sometimes Jackson’s guitar) sounding like they’re blaring through a megaphone that has a beehive in it. The beat switches on “White Czar” (thanks to Will Evans‘ agile drumming) can leave you shaken if you’re not ready. Alex Evans’ vocal delivery on “By Her Teeth” remind me a lot of Jon King‘s on some of Gang of Four‘s tracks. The song seems to be about one man’s obsession with a woman, or perhaps several of them, that might lead to his doom.
“The Sheets” might be a “walk of shame” song after a passionate night, or one of loneliness and regret. Either way, the whole band cooks on it. Morrod’s groove is subtle, yet relentless. Jackson’s guitar sounds like a jet roar, and Will Evans’ cymbal work on the track is impressive. The EP ends with “Another Day at the Zoo,” which has Alex Evans comparing the endless parade of ads, douchebags, politicians, and old, rich dudes to people wandering through zoos and laughing at the animals (us) they’ve put in physical and metaphorical cages. It’s a raucous, rabid track that threatens to wreck everything around it.
Like I mentioned, Lumer are on a mission. They want us to wake up before we disappear into that zoo. This EP throws the cage doors open for you.
Failure‘s second album, Magnified, had the band refining their Californian shoegaze sound, with Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards doing all of the playing, recording, and mixing themselves. The sound was bigger, bolder, and starting their frog leap toward outer space, but Andrews and Taylor knew they were taking on a big more than even they could chew – especially with the percussion. They put out an ad seeking a drummer, and it was eventually answered by Kellii Scott, who heard Magnified‘s first three tracks and knew he had to get on board the Failure train. As Scott has told in interviews, he missed the original audition time and was nearly fired before Andrews and Edwards heard him play one beat, but thankfully they gave him another chance and were sold within moments thanks to the raw power he creates behind a drum kit. He later joined the band full-time during their tour with Tool and has been with them ever since.
“Let It Drip” is the first of the tracks Scott heard that made him think, “Damn, I need to be in this band,” and it’s not surprising. Andrews’ guitar riffs on it are downright urgent, Edwards’ bass sounds like a grumpy grizzly, and the drums both of them put on it take off like a rocket – a theme that would continue through Failure’s work ever since. “Moth” was the second track Scott heard, and it’s one of Failure’s biggest hits. The power of it is unstoppable, and Scott probably pushed in all of his poker chips as soon as he heard the first verse.
As powerful as “Moth” is, “Frogs,” somehow, hits even harder. Edwards’ bass swings like a battle axe, and Scott was floored by this point of hearing them. The drum tracks on it hit so hard they seem to be shattering everything in sight. Andrews sings a tale of someone spinning into, and then embracing, madness (“Frogs are bouncing off my brain stem. So excited to be sane. Didn’t it seem kind of silly, the way the doctors carried on? So, now that I’ve become a monster to them, I’ll have to keep their fear turned on all night long.”).”
“Bernie” is a song about a woman they knew back in the 1990s who had “the way to feel good times” and lived “on the way to the park.” It’s no secret that Failure were battling various addictions around this time, so this song about a woman they knew who could help them out at any time of day (“We don’t have to wait until dark.”) is both poignant and epic. I also can’t help if it’s sort of a companion piece to “Leo” – a song on Fantastic Planet about someone in drug-induced paranoia.
As if the album didn’t rock enough, they stomp the gas pedal on the title track – a song about how we’re all just ants burning under the sun as we run through the race of life. It makes a sudden stop and then wallops you with acoustic guitar chords and weird, yet soothing reversed synths. It’s sort of an unnamed, hidden “Segue” – a short instrumental track that Failure would feature on future albums, starting with Fantastic Planet.
The beats on “Wonderful Life” (a song about struggling against the tempting spiral down into depression and exhaustion) sound simple at first, but you soon realize are deceptively deft. They stop and start with suddenness that can be jolting to the uninitiated. Those deft beats continue on “Undone” – the album’s first single – and uses looping to cool effects that continue their evolution into space rock. These beats are even more impressive when you consider Edwards recorded them one piece at a time and later edited them together.
“Wet Gravity,” a tale about a woman on the edge of madness (“Brain squeals, the same time as last time.”) who puts river stones in her pockets to give herself a physical sense of being grounded (the “wet gravity” of the title). The band unleashes a damn lightning storm on it. The guitar solo blazes, the drum hits boom, and the bass licks roar. It’s hard to determine who’s playing lead on it at any time…and then, like “Magnified,” it transforms into an instrumental mind-melt.
“Empty Friend” has Andrews singing about a “friend” who subtly kept him from achieving some of his goals (“Some empty friend who talked me into sleep…and threw my wings into the blazing sun.”), and “Small Crimes” is a sizzling, brooding track about a man who’s considering burning his world down to destroy his fears and the cacophony of everyone’s complaints. Edwards’ bass on it is the low growl in the protagonist’s brain.
As you might’ve guessed by now, depression, madness, existential crises, the hidden meanings of dreams, the complexity of relationships, and the wonder of what lies beyond us and within us are common themes in Failure’s work, and Magnified is a magnifying glass on those themes in them and the rest of us.
I’ve been waiting for a new album from Japanese kraut-rockers Minami Deutsch for a while. They were too good to fade away without at least one more record of their intoxicating music. Thankfully, Fortune Goodiescame along last October and gave us a nice record for sitting back and contemplating our higher selves.
Starting with “Your Pulse,” the album gets off to a thumping start by mixing electronic and physical beats with breath sounds to simulate the rising, enjoyable tension in you as the song grows. You might feel “Still Foggy” by the next track. It blends repetitive bass notes with what sounds like clinking glasses, shuffling papers, and other subtle, odd noises that bring to mind going to work after staying up too late. “Grumpy Joa” is so fun and peppy that you really can’t be grumpy during it.
The guitars on “Pueblo” fire up a sense of adventure and a few nods to Carlos Santana. “Interpreters of Forest” slides like a lazy cat into psychedelia, and the title track (appropriately the longest on the record) is nearly eight minutes of toe-tapping, trippy delights. They pump up the fuzz a bit on “Whereabouts,” which has a bit of a 1960s garage rock touch. It’s also one of multiple tracks in which lead singer and guitarist Kyotaro Miula adds an interesting vocal effect that makes it sound like his voice is coming out of an old radio. It’s a neat touch that adds to the otherworldly sounds they create.
“Steller Waffle” is wonderfully weird with its percolator beats and synths. “Floating Fountain” is just as relaxing and meditative as you hope it will be with a title like that, and the final track, “The Border,” is even more elevating. It might cause astral projection if listened to at the right volume and in the right space.
I’m glad Minami Deutsch is back, and hope to see them tour the U.S. again soon. A live show of this new material would be transcendent.
Keep your mind open.
[I would consider it good fortune if you subscribed.]
The Hermosillo, Mexico-based quartet Margaritas Podridas have been riding a rare wave of excitement in 2023. An underground sensation in their native Mexico, the band began to make inroads in the US with their 2022 KEXP session, which has racked up over 500k views, and showcased the band’s ferocious live show and transfixing blend of shoegaze, grunge and punk influences. 2023 has seen the group hit the road consistently, playing the SXSW, opening for The Smashing Pumpkins at Mexico City’s The World Is A Vampire festival and opening touring in support of Mannequin Pussy and Protomartyr in the US. The American press has taken notice as well, with the band featured in Rolling Stone, Spin, Brooklyn Vegan, and last month their single “Filosa” was given a glowing write up from NPR when it was released as part of the Sub Pop Singles Club series.
Today, following a triumphant headlining show in LA over the weekend, the band are sharing a new single entitled “Corazon” which is accompanied by a video directed by the group’s leader Carolina Rivera.
WATCH Margaritas Podridas – “Corazon” video on YouTube
Rivera says of the track:
“I made this song when I was angry. It’s about being hurt by the words of someone you love. I wrote it at El Corazon venue in Seattle. It is a very personal song about how my heart was at the time. I felt like nothing made sense anymore; being there wasn’t enough even although it was my dream I wasn’t happy. Probably lack of sun and all my bad choices in life.”
In July Margaritas Podridas will embark on their first European tour. Full details can be found below.
Tour Dates 7/10 – Berlin – Reverberation Fest 7/17 – Groningen – VERA 7/20 – London – The Lower Third 7/22 – Bristol – Crofter’s Rights 7/23 – Brighton – The Hope & Ruin 7/25 – Paris – Supersonic 7/27 – San Sebastian – Dabadaba 7/28 – Oviedo – Edificio Histórico de la Universidad de Oviedo 729 – Madrid – Sala Clamores 7/31 – Barcelona – Upload 8/1 – Marseille – La Molotov
Today, Portland, Oregon multi-faceted musician quickly, quickly shares dreamy, jazz-influenced single “Falling Apart Without You”. The track follows funky lead-single “Satellite” and the announcement of his new EP, Easy Listening, out May 26th via Ghostly.
On the track, Jonson shares: “This song started out as sort of a joke, a tongue in cheek breakup song leaning heavy on the camp. I wanted to make something that sounded like a weird 70’s song from a different planet with the sensibilities of a blossom dearie track or something similar. I made the whole track in a night and forgot about it for a while and upon re-listening I figured it would fit perfectly on the EP as campy as it is.”
The new quickly, quickly EP finds Portland, Oregon’s Graham Jonson back in his home studio, engrossed in ‘60s psychedelic soul music, imagining some bygone era where it was all about the drum sounds and tape decay. He calls itEasy Listening; the songs are short and inviting, modest yet loaded with ideas. Each started with the drum part, a loose grid for Jonson to paint his idiosyncratic psych-pop across, again playing nearly every instrument.
The set follows his 2021 LP, The Long And The Short of It, the 22-year-old musician’s debut on Ghostly International, a coming-of-age jump from the chill beats-oriented corners of the internet to a full-fledged songwriting project with hi-fi sophistication. The moment culminated with Pitchfork’s Rising profile, “quickly, quickly’s Technicolor Pop Bursts Beyond the Algorithm,” and kickstarted the formation of his 6-piece live band for a run of exploratory shows along the west coast. But as the tangible demands for his music pulled him outward and some growing pains in his personal life ensued, Jonson focused his energy back inside; to the comforts of home recording, filling his space with more gear and sessions with friends. Maybe a bit of a droll title for a hard time, Easy Listening briefly pauses for air, offering five of his breeziest basement jams for public enjoyment.
That basement is home to racks of synthesizers and an array of drum machines, guitars, bongos, xylophones, and the like. One notable addition to the Easy Listening setup was the Teac reel-to-reel tape machine he found on eBay and hooked up to Ableton. “I used it frequently to add color/texture to the project by running individual instruments through and warping the tape with my finger. After I had finished all the songs, I ran the full mix of every song in a row through the tape to add one more layer of low-fidelity weirdness.”
“Colors” opens the portal to Jonson’s retro-tinged dream world; a symphonic section pulls the curtain back to reveal a drum kit spattering rapid fills as the bassline grooves deeply between organ shimmers and hazy hums. The din of what sounds like a ‘60s church service appears here and throughout the collection; the words are blurred by decades of tape mold, adding to an overall hypnotic, disorienting feel.
“Satellite,” one of Jonson’s funkiest and catchiest tracks to date, is either a love letter to technology or a tongue-in-cheek song about surveillance. The jazzy percussion taps from the get-go as he peppers clever lines to his subject in the sky, at one point losing his wallet (evoking the comedic tone of Thundercat’s “Captain Stupido”), before riding out on a squealing synth solo.
The campy, softly psychedelic “Falling Apart Without You” is in the vein of Stereolab. It started out as a fictional breakup song but ultimately became a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only cut from the EP that Jonson and his band have played live so far, it’s easy to picture it translating on stage; the lovesick singer flanked by a tight ensemble on keys, bass, and drums. Next, he slows it down for “Photobook,” the first half is an organ-led ballad for self-improvement — “I think I can, think I can…” Jonson trails off into a rhythmic reverie. We end on the wistful, soulful “Natural Form,” featuring The Long And The Short of It collaborator Elliot Cleverdon on strings. “I can’t say goodbye,” are Jonson’s parting words; it’s a sweet outro, some healing for him, and for us as fans, it’s a lovely place to leave quickly, quickly for now.
In the quiet surrounding the pandemic, Madeline Kenney made sonic sketches in the basement studio she shared with her then-partner. She arranged phrases that called her—the sharp knife of a synth cutting a path along a blooming arpeggio, drums stuttering firm and tight. Working this way, she amassed a collection of songs she had no particular aims for. Some formed her 2021 EP Summer Quarter, others languished.
But in 2022, Kenney’s partner left suddenly and without warning, plunging her into the solitary act of untangling what happened. In the wake of her ensuing depression, she revisited these songs and found in them something prescient. She’d already laid the foundation for A New Reality Mind, her fourth LP (due out July 28th via Carpark Records) which she is announcing today with the album’s first single “Superficial Conversation,” alongside the track’s self-directed video.
WATCH Madeline Kenney’s “Superficial Conversation” video on YouTube
That her relationship’s end came without warning is only half true, though. The warnings were in the feelings and fears that inspired Kenney’s critically-acclaimed third album, Sucker’s Lunch (2020), which was co-produced by Jenn Wasner (Flock of Dimes) and centered around the idea of flinging oneself freely into the seemingly-assured destruction of new love, come what may.
If sonically Sucker’s Lunch was letting yourself be pulled into the warm bath of a good story, A New Reality Mind reflects the harsh light of truth coming to break the spell. But as sobering as morning light can be, there’s brilliance to it, too. To see in the clarity of day is a gift. A revolution.
This is Kenney’s most expansive work, while also her most solitary. Produced and recorded alone in her basement, these songs are manifestations of what it feels like to be transformed by pain. Textures collide and collude; sonic ornaments emerge and dissipate capriciously; saxophones soar untamed. There’s a propulsive power in the album, and there’s also acceptance, self-forgiveness, and a willingness to move forward into life, with all its ways of making a sucker of you. “That way of living, I’m over it,” Kenney declares of the habits that hold her back on “Superficial Conversation.” “I do not need to be reminded of what I did,” she assures, the song opening wide and beaming, like a smile expanding to taste a new breath of air.
“‘Superficial Conversation’ is my way of looking back at the ways I shrunk myself or ignored my own needs in favor of the needs and desires of others,” Kenney explains. “While I wish I had acted differently, I want to be kind and forgiving to my past self and be able to grow and move forward with more power and love.
I wanted the video to show a forced transformation, from the inside and out. Jess Bozzo’s choreography really captured what I wanted to evoke; a painful change that becomes a pretty joyous opening with room for desire and play.“
A New Reality Mind Will be released on Carpark Records on July 28th. It is available for pre-order/pre-save HERE.
Kevin Morby and The Salvation Choir are proud to present “This Is A Photograph (The Salvation Choir Version),” a new reimagining of the title track from Morby’s acclaimed 2022 album. The Salvation Choir is a Congolese rumba choir from Congo and Tanzania based in Kevin’s hometown of Kansas City. “This Is A Photograph (The Salvation Choir Version)” is a stirring iteration of Morby’s original, and is presented alongside a new website on which others can access stems, instrumentals, tutorials and templates so they can make their own family history epics. Kevin Morby elaborates:
At some point last year, a few of you reached out with the request of getting the music to my song “This Is A Photograph” so you could make your own version and tell your own family’s history. I found this incredibly interesting and had never gotten such requests about any of my other songs before. I have decided to heed the call of those few who reached out and I have made a website
In celebration of this website, and to lead with an example, I reached out to one of my favorite bands, Kansas City’s own The Salvation Choir, to see if they would want to make their own version of ‘This Is A Photograph’ and was over the moon when they agreed. They created their own version in which they reinterpreted the music in their Congolese Rumba style and reworked the lyrics to their own story and sang in both English and Swahili to provide the listener with a window into their past.
Pelo King Wilondja, The Salvation Choir’s 15-year-old drummer, states: “We met Kevin at one of our practices. I didn’t know who he was at first but then our friend played us his music and I started really liking his songs. Now he’s in my top ten. He invited us to his concert and I was actually sweating because it was so good. Kevin asked us if we wanted to remake his song to be about our family’s history and play it in our style. It was my first time recording drums in a real studio. We loved his idea because photographs are really important to our family and we’re always playing music together. There are over 20 members in the choir and everyone has their own story. The song starts out in Africa and it ends in Kansas City where we all live now. It’s about our family’s history and how we got here.”
This month will also see the release of More Photographs (A Continuum), Morby’s companion piece to last year’s This Is A Photograph. Here, Morby returns to his landmark album’s bottomless themes with new wisdom, new imagination, and the winking, looping callbacks that tie his full body of work together in uniquely special ways. “With every collection of songs,” says Morby, “I feel I have to cast them out of me before moving onto the next project, and here I knew that what I had begun with This Is A Photograph was not finished. Releasing this collection is me tying a bow on that time and place in my creative life.” With a luxurious nine tracks – three re-imaginings and six brand new songs – More Photographs (A Continuum) is prequel, sequel and primer to an already rich and generous record from one of our most luminous modern songwriters. More Photographs (A Continuum) will be available on vinyl in the fall and is available to pre-order now.
KEVIN MORBY TOUR DATES (NEW DATES IN BOLD) Fri. June 2 – Aarhus, DK @ Northside Festival Sat. June 3 – Malmö, SW @ Plan B Mon. June 5 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Tue. June 6 – Bristol, UK @ SWX Wed. June 7 – London, UK @ Roundhouse Fri. June 9 – Gent, BE @ Vooruit Fri. June 9 – Sun. June 11 – Hilvarenbeek, NL @ Best Kept Secret Mon. June 12 – Zurich, CH @ Dynamo Saal Tue. June 13 – Milan, IT @ Giardino Della Triennale Wed. June 14 – Ferrara, IT @ Ferrara Sotto Le Stelle Thur. June 15 – Munich, DE @ Strom Fri. June 16 – Sun. Jun 18 – Vilnius, LI @ 8 Festival Fri. June 16 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol Mon. June 19 – Warsaw, PL @ Proxima Tue. June 20 – Poznan, PL @ Tama Wed. June 21 – Berlin, DE @ Columbia Theater Fri. June 23 – Vienna, AU @ Akzent Sat. June 24 – Krakow, PL @ Kwadrat Sun. June 25 – Budapest, HU @ Akvárium Klub Tue. June 27 – Ljubljana, SL @ Kino Siska Wed. June 28 – Geneva, CH @ Usine Fri. June 30 – Paris, FR @ Days Off Festival Sat. July 1 – Petit Couronne, FR @ Theatre de Verdure Sun. July 2 – La Rochelle, FR @ La Sirene Mon. July 3 – Toulouse, FR @ Le Bikini Wed. July 5 – Lisboa, PT @ LAV Thur. July 6 – Porto, PT @ Hard Club Fri. July 7 – Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool Festival Sat. July 8 – Six-Fours-les-Plages, FR @ Pointu Festival Aug. 25- Aug. 27 – Tisbury, MA @ Beach Road Weekend Sun. Aug. 27 – Rockville Centre, NY @ Madison Theatre at Molloy University Wed. Sep. 27 – Auckland, NZ @ Hollywood Avondale Thur. Sep. 28 – Wellington, NZ @ Meow Sat. Sep. 30 – Sydney, AUS @ Factory Theatre Sun. Oct. 1 – Sapphire Coast, AUS @ Wanderer Festival Tue. Oct. 3 – Melbourne, AUS @ Northcote Theatre Thur. Oct. 5 – Eltham, AUS @ Eltham Hotel Fri. Oct. 6 – Brisbane, AUS @ Princess Theatre Sat. Oct. 7 – Adelaide, AUS @ Summertown Studio Sun. Oct. 8 – Perth, AUS @ The Rechabite Sat. Dec. 2 – Riviera Maya, MX @ Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky
