Category: Music Reviews
Listen: Wieuca “Pressure Head”
Its been a while since Vinyl Mag has talked to Wieuca. We interviewed them about their band dynamic and future plans and reviewed their self-titled EP, “Wieuca.” Needless to say, Vinyl Mag is excited to see where this band is going, and we’re very happy they came to Athens from Atlanta. Hopefully they’re here to stay. Wieuca has recently graced us with yet another single, “Pressure Head,” from their upcoming album Master, produced through Land of the Freak Recordings.
The track opens with eerie noise and distorted instruments. The broken sounds come together to create an upbeat melody, and the noise slowly transitions to a somewhat surfer guitar riff and vocals. The sound remains ethereal, and perhaps a little psychedelic until the instrumental end. In our interview with Wieuca, Will points out that “the band is more collaborative and fun than it ever has been,” but “open to adding more members to expand the potential of our live show,” which is reason enough to attend their release show for their upcoming album on September 4th at the 40 Watt, along with The Hernies and Big Morgan.
Listen: Wavves “Heavy Metal Detox”
Wavves was the first show that my companion and I saw at Shaky Knees this summer. I have to admit that I could not fully appreciate Wavves at the time since I had not previously listened to them extensively, and because it was so ridiculously hot standing on the black asphalt, shoulder to shoulder with my fellow festivalgoers. Nevertheless, Wavves played as if it weren’t 90 degrees outside, and I decided to place them in my top 10 shows from the festival, next to Ryan Adams and The Black Lips.
Fast-forward about three months, and Wavves has kept their listeners well stocked with new music. “Heavy Metal Detox” is the third single from their upcoming album V, along with “Flamezesz” and “Way Too Much”. “Heavy Metal Detox” is nothing unfamiliar; the track opens with a slightly distorted and repetitive guitar riff, which hooks the listener with a catchy melody. The track takes on their signature punk sound with raw vocals and a slight surfer vibe.
“Flamezesz” is equally as punk but with the addition of a brief synthesizer melody that carries on throughout the track. “Way Too Much” follows with the same upbeat sound.
Wavves successfully carries on the tradition of punk, while also adding a modern twist with their Californian sound. Unlike other punk bands, Wavves isn’t performing for shock value, but rather contributes directly to the evolution of a genre. Perhaps the same could be said for bands like The Black Lips, whom I also placed in my top 10 artists from Shaky Knees as stated above. I couldn’t help but think of The Black Lips while listening to “Heavy Metal Detox,” which seems appropriate considering The Black Lips have a slightly heavier sound. Wavves combines genres, which makes it hard to pinpoint their sound. They are a little bit indie, a little bit surfer, and a lot of punk, and while their sound is on point, they don’t let that overrule their lyrics, which are clear and well thought out.
4/5
Craig Finn (The Hold Steady) – “Maggie I’ve Been Searching For Our Son”
The Midwest tends to churn out intensely earnest, emotive, self-searching musicians. From Guided By Voices to American Football to The Hold Steady, small towns that get flown over by big-time coast inhabitants end up being the most cinematic and the most worthy of our attention. The Hold Steady is probably the best at these narratives – down-and-out losers, drug addicts, sexual assault survivors, and kids just trying to get a leg up in life: every flatland dog has its day. Lead singer Craig Finn’s maximum nasal intonations and almost spoken word cadences strengthen the swell of pride and importance fans find around every downtrodden corner. So you can imagine that his solo work is utterly fantastic… you’d be right.
Lyrically, “Maggie I’ve Been Searching For Our Son” is almost indistinguishable from a THS track. Like a modern day Springsteen (more on the importance of this name check shortly), Finn’s central antihero has a baggage-filled past with Maggie, his love. He’s been from Arizona to Colorado looking for someone or something – keep in mind that Finn a) can be deceptively metaphorical, and b) is nearly incapable of writing a song that doesn’t allude to Christianity. Speaking of which, Finn’s Catholic guilt hangs over him throughout; trucks and false prophets abound in this nameless struggling town; and, eerily, Finn references the Aurora movie theater mass-shooting. But amidst the dreary darkness, the overwhelming hopelessness, hope does soar. In every Born In The U.S.A. chorus, every joyfully distorted guitar solo, every 2 and 4 downbeat. Though it may be just out of reach for now, it’s there. Can’t you feel it?
The song is being exclusively streamed on the Wall Street Journal of all places – listen here, but only over a pint at a local dive bar.
Listen: Ezra Furman, Perpetual Motion People
Since his start in 2006 with Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, Ezra Furman has since downsized to a solo act. His style remains the same: pieces of Bob Dylan, the femininity of Bowie and a versatility all his own. His first solo album, The Year of No Returning (2013), was recorded without a label. The same year he released his second album, Day of the Dog. Finally, Furman has released his newest album, Perpetual Motion People.
The album opens with “Restless Year”. Immediately, Furman presents his unique style with surfer vibes and quick keyboards, almost Vampire Weekend-esque. The track represents the album’s catchy melodies and energetic sound. “Lousy Connection” follows with Doo-wop background singers and jazzy saxophones. On another note, “Hark! To the Music” features a rock sound with a punk influence, what I imagine to be ideal pub music, while “Haunted Head” features a clarinet. Furman no doubt keeps his listeners on their toes. He does an excellent job of keeping a constant sound, while also varying instruments and style. 5 tracks in, “Hour of Deepest Need” finally takes it down a couple notches with a vintage piano sound and sentimental lyrics. “Wobbly” quickly picks up the pace with a vintage rock opening and Grease-like background singers, a perfect track for your next dance party (and probably my favorite track thus far). Each track features different moods, different instruments and different styles. Furman is a master of changing but staying the same. As a whole, the album is lighthearted and bubbly, even the slower tracks ooze energy. It’s safe to say all of his albums are refreshing in their range. One track may embody the Doo-wop 50’s, the next you feel like you’re at a punk concert. His sound is more than just drumbeats and riffs, saxophones and woodwinds create a timeless feel to this album, while still embodying a modern indie-pop sound.
4/5
Ben Folds – “Phone In A Pool”
Kids these days. They don’t appreciate musical history and they’re all glued to their bright blue mobiles. Except it’s not just the kids who are screen addicts anymore. Folds’ latest offering from his upcoming yMusic collab So There is “Phone In A Pool”, and it’s basically about exactly what it sounds like. Ben is back to his old tricks – quirky 123-123-12 piano rhythms, infant orchestral instruments popping in and out of the mix, and goofy weird-kid-in-class phrasings like “y’all knows what I means.” But in standard Foldsian fashion, the song isn’t as simple as what meets the ears.
It’s easy to hate on technology; we’re dependent on the communication that it makes so easy. For a musician, it doesn’t take too many shows to get frustrated looking into an audience and seeing only a sea of passive, omnipresent recording devices in place of rapt fans. That frustration is made doubly tricky because social media is a key ingredient to musical success in the quarter-life aughts. Further, we make it possible to broadly blame failed relationships, in part, on the short attention spans and emptiness that tech has gifted us. But technology isn’t actually controlling us – we simply choose to keep calm and keep using it. Folds’ discography is full of songs about responsibility and blame, and where it should be placed, and why it ends up getting placed elsewhere. In “Phone In A Pool”, Folds does just what the title bluntly states, in Mardi Gras country no less; but when he breaks down and ends up “back on your sofa in a puddle in a couple of weeks” and continues scrolling, glazy-eyed, through clicky content, he knows it’s on him: “I won’t / I won’t / I won’t / I won’t blame New Orleans.”
So There is being released by New West Records on September 11. Listen to “Phone In A Pool” on the label’s SoundCloud, here (and there are simpler ways of disconnecting that won’t cost your parents hundreds of dollars, so, you know, be safe with your motherboards.)
Yuck “Hold Me Closer”
Yuck is one of those hidden gems from the UK because of it’s unique sound combination of rock and pop, along with subtle surfer and punk vibes. The band, manned by Max Bloom of Cajun Dance Party, Mariko Doi, Jonny Rogoff and Ed Hayes, has been compared to the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr. Among their various singles, the band has only released two studio albums, Yuck (2011) and Glow and Behold (2013). Their debut, self-titled album put them on the map with tracks like “Shook Down” and “Get Away,” which found popularity in the States. Their most recent short album, Southern Skies (2014), features 4 tracks, all very ethereal, very pop-rock, very Yuck. Now, their website allows you to listen to their newest single “Hold Me Closer.” The single opens with a rhythmic guitar riff and follows high pitched guitar scales that give it a classic rock sound. At about 3:10, the track slows to a more romantic melody.
Jim Adkins (of Jimmy Eat World) – “I Will Go”
Most Vinyl readers, if they’re not complete and utter monsters, probably have fond adolescent memories of Jimmy Eat World. Regardless of your opinions on the divisive emo and pop-punk movements of the early aughts, the supercharged pop emotion in classics like “The Middle” and “Pain” are usually crowd pleasers, even if their more recent output hasn’t quite stacked up. So it should warm every former scenester’s heart that frontman Jim Adkins has struck out on his own with a weekly single series that will include covers of folks like Beck and Cyndi Lauper as well as originals, like this tune right here.
Adkins’ voice notwithstanding, “I Will Go” has some trappings of his JEW output. It’s mildly morose, and the playful double snare hits echo the more pop-friendly songs of his band’s youth. But this is as far from emo as Jim is ever gonna get. “I Will Go” is as airy as mousse, lightly garnished with Abbey Road-era Beatles-friendly horn arrangements, and happily strummed guitar chords more complex than powerful. It’s always fun to see what influences a musician saves for their solo downtime, and Jim is no exception.
Goat – “It’s Time For Fun”
It’s usually a safe bet that strange things are a-brewin’ in Sweden. Despite its chefs and furniture outlets, the country is no less mysterious to the general public, so freak folk collective Goat have stepped in to fill in the gaps. Sort of. Not much is known about the group’s members – they claim to have over 100 of them, all of whom are able to channel ancient Swedish voodoo, thanks to a magik-giving witch doctor who blessed Goat’s supposed hometown of Korpilombolo with special talents. Since then the villagers have been unable to halt the trance music within, pumping out nod-off after sonic nod-off. Sure, this is a tale even the least skeptical citizen would have a hard time swallowing. But we can let the Swedish weirdos have their origin story whimsy if it means more songs like “It’s Time For Fun”.
The four-minute track is hypnotic, always skittering just off center but never losing focus. Throughout, a dead ringer for Nico shouts vague affirmations from atop a mystical Swedish mountain: “Takes off your clothes / Throw down your guns / No time for problems / It’s time for fun.” With all the guns, problems, and clothes in the world, you don’t need to tell us twice. Though the song doesn’t change up its basic premise at any point, it sounds too fresh and interesting to get old.
The single is being released worldwide on three different labels: Sub Pop in the U.S., Stranded Rekords in Scandinavia, and Rocket Recordings for everyone else; each release will have slightly varied cover art and all will be for the Greater Glory of the Oracle Ogdou, Praise Be Unto Him, Thank You Very Much.
Ricked Wicky (aka Robert Pollard) – “Tomfoole Terrific”
It is endlessly astounding that Robert Pollard has any more music to give us. The former frontman for now-defunct Guided By Voices used the past few decades to build and polish his reputation as indie rock’s most stoned chatterbox, releasing over 20 LPs with room to spare. One wonders if Pollard is truly guided by voices who hail from a nearby astral plane, eager to be his muses. So despite GBV’s 2014 split, Pollard wasn’t going to let a silly break up stop him from recording new songs.
Enter Ricked Wicky, Pollard’s new(ish) solo stage name. They’ve got a debut under their belt in I Sell The Circus, and their sophomore King Heavy Metal is slated for sometime this summer. (In between RW releases, Pollard unsurprisingly released a solo record under his own name a mere few months ago.) King Heavy Metal‘s lead single “Tomfoole Terrific” is Pollard-esque in every way – its loose, crunchy guitars sound like early Weezer surf metal, and ol’ Robbie’s familiar croak simmers underneath. As always, he sings in half thoughts and barely-remembered memories painted with an oft-used brush of vaguely Midwestern nostalgia. He may sound older and a little wearier, but he’s still got plenty on his mind. Hail, hail.
Listen to the song over at Stereogum, and keep your eyes peeled for King Heavy Metal.
Ryn Weaver: “The Fool”
In the record industry, youth is one of the most important factors in the development of an artist. It’s no secret that the distribution of many mainstream musicians work is being controlled by ageism – see the Madonna/BBC debacle from earlier this year. Labels desire the young – most profitable — artists, but also want the artist’s musical output to reflect a cohesive, focused direction of someone much older.
Enter Ryn Weaver, a 22 year old indie pop singer-songwriter, whose viral hit “OctaHate” commanded attention a year ago with its sugar rush of a chorus and bouncy percussion hook courtesy of Cashmere Cat. Almost a full year later, Weaver has finally released her debut LP The Fool through Interscope Records and Mad Love. Those expecting an entire album full of the same type of single will be disappointed, however the record is a tightly cohesive set of 11 songs that all encompass emotions surrounding youth.
Album opener “Runaway” plays like the opening credits of a film. Weaver’s signature falsetto has been tampered with to heighten the emotion packed in lyrics like “They tell me temper, temper little lady / Better bite that tongue, it is not becoming” before distant warbles and tribal drums dominate the mix. The song sets up the rest of the record as Weaver replays criticisms she’s encountered due to her age and how she ignores them in favor of staying true to herself.
“Pierre” serves as a foil to “Runaway” as Weaver critiques her own actions on behalf of her naivety. She describes her relationship with a man “Pierre” and how her experiences with other men have left her both hopelessly infatuated with him and unable to be vulnerable. What sounds sad on paper ends up sounding joyous with quickly delivered spoken vocals and an effervescent chorus that provides just enough optimism for the closing line “I’ll come around.”
The record’s most heartfelt moment falls near the end with “Traveling Song,” a track that Weaver wrote for her late grandfather. While a large part of the album is focused on the boundlessness of her youth, “Traveling Song” is introspective in a way that reflects her acknowledgement that everything in life is fleeting. The emotional poignancy of the a-capella outro rivals the first verse of “Sail On,” but it means so much more when there’s a specific individual to accompany the song with lyrics like “On the very last day he said ‘shoot for your dreams, little girl, to the stars’ / well I’m taking you with me, now this one is ours.”
It’s effortless to like Weaver’s personality in interviews and with the release of The Fool; it shows her as someone who is unabashedly herself at all costs. The record was completed on her own terms with careful attention to the detailing of each song to create a mood and cohesive theme throughout. With a remarkably self-aware record, Weaver has begun her foray to becoming a must-know artist.
4.5/5