Wye Oak: ‘The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs’

Posted on by Sam Veal

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Wye Oak is a band of separation and reconnection. Bandmates Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack are divided by over 1,500 miles (Durham, NC to Marfa, TX, respectively), meeting back to write and record. Forgoing the recording methods of previous albums, the duo approached their latest release with a freer process, allowing them to delve further into the toolbox they’ve built in their decade-long career. The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs is an exploration of personal reconciliation and the search for power in a life of compromised expectations.

If the sequences and synthesizers of 2014’s Shriek was Wye Oak’s greatest departure, The Louder I Call confidently takes up more space in that change of form. After the introduction of “(Tuning)”, we are met with “Instrument”, equal parts spiraling synth loops and bombastic chords. The end result is effervescent and finds fun between moments of dissonance. The title track is staccato-punched pop flirting with willful ignorance while simultaneously keeping eyes over the shoulder: “Like any other day / we will make the bed / thinking it is dead / It is finally dead.” It’s hard to imagine these songs coming from them were we able to hear them five years ago.

“Lifer” sonically resembles much of what listeners have come to know from the band, but Wasner makes full use of this comfort zone to make some of her largest lyrical declarations in the band’s decade-long career: “The end is kind, the mean is cruel / I have to love the life I make, / make up for all the space I take.” Reconciling success amongst peers can be difficult, and Wasner acknowledges privilege while openly figuring out how to use that for good. Long tonal strokes are the backdrop of these confessions, and the bridge is just as much an avowal to taking advantage of life’s luck as the lyrics. This vulnerability occupies an anxious space between audacity and modesty, fearful of hitting either edge.

There are few bands that exude the confidence that Wye Oak demonstrates with every new release. Their approach may constantly change, but no matter the strategy, it is impressive that they always get their best foot forward. “Symmetry”, the album’s most synth-drenched song top- to-bottom, is a delightfully tenacious spin of bubbly production work, but seems familiar to their past songs. “Say Hello” resembles a lot of the folk-influenced singing of Civilian, built on top of a U2 riff and vocal layering; it is the best example of Wye Oak’s past and current top forms intersecting.

Louder I Call is overall not a departure musically, but thematically, it is an expression of resolution that we have never heard from them. It is not their most cohesive album, nor is it intended to be. Every song together is a testament that sometimes it’s okay to let life happen to you as opposed to approaching every day with attack. Current times are tumultuous, and part of the process of change is acknowledgement, and Wasner’s lyrics make space for that. The album’s closing track, “I Know It’s Real”, croons and builds voice, but ends rather abruptly; to connect, there must be separation.

7.8/10

Show Review: Japanese Breakfast at the 40 Watt Club

Posted on by Harper Bridges

From the moment she stepped onto Athens’ 40 Watt stage, Michelle Zauner captivated with her easy, self-assured energy and verve. Donning a white jumpsuit with winged shoulder pads, she could have been mistaken for an angel even before she started singing, and I am confident that I was in the majority when I fell in love over the ensuing hour. She played a set that peaked and relented at the perfect moments, delighting the tightly-packed crowd seemingly just by being herself. Cute, whimsical, and raw, she interacted with the crowd in a more personal way than many artists, responding to intermittent shouts of “you’re doing great!” with sincere appreciation, quipping at one point “Athens is just like a self-help book.” She reiterated several times that the night was Japanese Breakfast’s debut in Athens, and sang the town’s praises, fostering a sublimely warm and intimate atmosphere.

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In my opinion, the live version of Japanese Breakfast was much more arresting than the recorded version of Japanese Breakfast. The soundscapes even more lush, the bass lines even more grooving, the excitement palpable – Zauner expended much of her energy at the beginning of the show jumping around during “Machinist” and “Road Head,” at one point sauntering between opposite corners of the stage and leaning down into the audience, eliciting wild cheers. She even graced the people of Athens with a new song, “2042,” guitar-driven and relatively subdued. Obviously enjoying herself, she confessed between songs that this was a “dream come true” before the lights faded from purple to blue and she said endearingly “we’re gonna play some quiet ones if that’s…chill.” When the bassist and drummer quietly disappeared, the silence emphasized the chattier people in the crowd, but when Zauner’s voice pierced the air with “Till Death,” it quickly shut everyone in the room up. She went on to play “This House” to an engrossed audience, continuing a trend of playing songs mostly from her slightly fuller sophomore album “Soft Sounds From Another Planet,” released last year, but Psychopomp was also well-represented. Zauner dialed the energy back up with “Rugged Country” and appropriately punctuated her set with the head-bobbing, feel-good “Everybody Wants to Love You.” Perhaps for being such a well-behaved, positive audience, Athens was treated to what was apparently “the second encore we’ve ever done”, in which Japanese Breakfast played the rockin’ “Diving Woman.” And just like that, an ethereal, euphoric concert experience was capped, but the sound of Zauner’s haunting voice blanketing the atmosphere is still ringing in the back of my head, to my absolute pleasure.

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All photos by Harper Bridges

Show Review: Rainbow Kitten Surprise at the Georgia Theatre

Posted on by Erica Kastner

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Last time Rainbow Kitten Surprise played in Athens, Georgia, they played a single show at one of Athens’ mid-sized venues: the 40 Watt. Two years later, on Tuesday, April 3, they returned to Athens with Ohio-based folk band CAAMP for a show at one of the largest and most iconic venues in Athens: the Georgia Theatre. This explosion in popularity for the band in the Athens scene shows just how rapidly the band’s fanbase is growing worldwide. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, an alternative/indie group from Boone, North Carolina, fits right into the Athens music scene, and this showed during the concert by the sheer number of times the crowd knew all the lyrics to a song. Despite their rapid growth in popularity, the band hasn’t forgotten their history with Athens. After performing a song, lead singer Sam Melo asked the crowd who attended their previous show at the 40 Watt two years ago. Melo even remembered the name of the bar that he hung out with fans at after the show.

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Rainbow Kitten Surprise made their entrance by walking out to a song reminiscent of “I Wanna Be Like You” from the Jungle Book soundtrack. The lighthearted song set the scene for the band’s stage presence throughout the show. The closeness between the band members could be seen in how they all interacted and joked with each other on stage as well as in how they fed off each other’s energy during songs. This made the show feel more relaxed as the audience got a peek at the comradery between the bandmates.

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The band’s newest album, How to: Friend, Love, Freefall, is due for release this Friday, April 6, so it should be no surprise that the setlist for the show contained a healthy amount of songs from the new album mixed in with classic hits from older albums. The band started off with a hit from their soon-to-be-released album called “Fever Pitch”. As the show progressed, the band performed classics like “Cocaine Jesus” and “Devil Like Me”, which the audience ate up. The band lit up when the audience would unanimously sing back all the lyrics to these classics. Sprinkled into the set were a few more unreleased songs from their upcoming album. Some of the songs included powerful spoken word verses, similar to parts in older songs like “That’s My Shit”.

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A variety of themes were explored in Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s new songs as well. Before starting one of the new songs, bassist Charlie Holt called out the devastating effects of the opioid epidemic across the United States before the band launched into a song exploring the suicidal and lethal effects that drug addiction can have on someone. One of the opening lyrics of the song stuck with me: “Try not to kill myself today”. The band isn’t afraid to be blunt with lyrics, and this heightens the emotional intensity in their music.

The emotional intensity didn’t come solely from the lyrics though. Lead singer Sam Melo performed the lyrics with a variety of expressions. On more upbeat songs, he would kick and twirl around on the stage in an odd way, but this only added to the energy present on stage. While he sang, Melo’s face would contort in various expressions and he would use animated hand gestures, almost as if he was acting out the lyrics or performing a free expression dance. Melo seemed to be telling tales through the lyrics as well as through his expressions and gestures, and this drew the audience further into the show.

The band exited the stage and promptly returned for not one but two encore performances. At one point during the second encore, Melo took off his shirt during “Run” and even entered the crowd at one point during “That’s My Shit”. The band left the crowd feeling electrified, exuberant, and content with the fact that there was no better way to spend a beautiful Tuesday night in Athens.

All photos by Emma Korstanje

The Voidz: ‘Virtue’

Posted on by Sebastian Marquez

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How does Julian Casablancas want to be remembered? It’s been 17 years since the release of The Strokes‘ Is This It, and I think Julian is finally a little tired of being a Stroke. I never thought that I could have typed this sentence, but I also didn’t ever expect to be this taken aback by a new VOIDZ album. I should have realized when they dropped Julian’s name from The Voidz, I suppose. “Oh, I guess they want to be a real band instead of just a side project” is how I thought about it. And after listening to “Leave it In My Dreams” for the first time, I just kept on thinking about how it only sounded like the Strokes for about eight seconds. But then we got to “QYURRYUS”. WHAT AM I LISTENING TO? WHAT MAN IS THIS?  How was this the man that gave us “Last Nite”???

Indeed it is. And he does not give a DAMN what you expect. Where the previous Voidz album left me looking for something more melodic in the waves of super compressed noise, Virtue instead reigns in the noise of its predecessor Tyranny and brings us almost an hour of new jamz (sorry, the z is going to come out a few timez here) for us to wrap our heads around. Ostensibly at the forefront of the main creative process of the Voidz as a whole, this could be one of the biggest creative flexes of Julian Casablancas’ career.

It seems pretty hyperbolic once it’s all typed out, but the sheer amount of genres he crams into nearly every song (and successfully, in my humble opinion) is pretty staggering. Be it the schlocky ’80s hair metal guitars in “Pyramid of Bone” or the ’00s pop piano and hip hop influenced drum sounds on “ALieNNatioN,” or the downright Latin sounding percussion on “All Wordz are Made Up”—and how he uses the vocoder to essentially change the key signature on “Wordz” in the second half—Julian feels in control. Does he make it look easy? You bet. I don’t even know if they can play all of these songs live, since theres so impossibly much going on at once.

Right now: Forget about a legacy. Do you feel it? Is that what rock and roll feels like in 2018? Does it even really matter? Julian Casablancas knows what he’s doing. By some strange coincidence he’s decided that no, he’s not done. This timeline is real weird, but at least our boy still has some jamz in him.

8.5/10

For Fans of Pat Benatar? Check Out Bat Fangs

Posted on by Emma Korstanje

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This edition of FFO is for fans of 80s rock, in all of its heavy eyeliner and spandex glory. For those who truly believe that love is a battlefield, but one that’s worth it because sometimes two people just belong together. For those who sang into hair brushes, possibly rocking a feather boa, and eventually running late for the day—you know who you are. Embrace it.

This edition is, of course, for fans of the queen of 80s pop rock—none other than Pat Benatar.

After releasing her debut album In the Heat of the Night in 1979, Benatar went on to have two multi-platinum, and five platinum, albums. She put out single after single of musical gold, with hits like “Heartbreaker,” “Shadows of the Night,” and of course, “Love Is a Battlefield.” Much of her most recognizable work is from the early stages of her career, and though Benatar has released a handful of singles since the early 2000s, nothing compares to her releases of the 80s. Nothing, that was, until now.

You’re a fan of Pat Benatar? You should consider checking out upcoming dynamic duo, Bat Fangs.

The duo, composed of Ex Hex bassist Betsy Wright and drummer Laura King (Flesh Wounds/Cold Cream), formed in 2016 and released its debut self-titled album in 2018—a release that’s already making waves. Coming off a tour with Superchunk, these two already well-established musicians focus on what they describe as “acid-soaked 80s hard rock for the living and the dead.” But somehow, it sounds a whole lot like Pat Benatar.

First, to look at the songwriting.

Both have themes of love and heartbreak… as does basically every songwriter, ever. However, these two go about it in a really fun, girl-power kind of way. In a we’re-melodramatic-but-it’s-cool kind of way.

Benatar was the queen of employing incredibly cheesy lines that went over well due to her confident delivery—her way of really singing with conviction. Some lines from “Love Is a Battlefield” are downright embarrassing to speak aloud (see: “We are young/ Heartache to heartache we stand/ No promises, no demands/ Love is a battlefield”), but this 80s rocker had no problem bringing the track to a peak at number five on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. She was able to make embarrassingly dramatic, over exaggerated depictions of relationships totally rock ‘n roll.

Bat Fangs—though maybe not quite as dramatic—have a similar style of delivery. In “Rock the Reaper,” lines like “Be the runaway/ Be the underdog/ Gonna sing about heartbreak, baby/ Gonna sing along?” totally embody the same crazy-kids-navigating-love theme. Further, the group’s fearlessly catchy delivery practically begs for a sing-along, just as their predecessor.

As far as actual vocal delivery, it can be a bit shocking to hear the similarities between the two vocalists—Wright and Benatar. Both pack a punch vocally, and employ a seriously theatrical tone. It’s hard to explain, but you know that thing that Benatar had going on where it kind of sounded like she was whining/groaning/about to cry basically all the time, but it was entirely on purpose? Wright has that figured out as well, and it’s awesome.

As far as instrumentation goes, Bat Fangs generally sticks to steady, driving percussion and is totally riff based. This is obvious in tracks like “Turn It Up” and “Rock the Reaper,” but the list goes on. Benatar, barring those times where she was more heavily pop-influenced, generally does the same. Further, when Benatar is more heavily riff-based… it sounds a lot like what Bat Fangs is putting out now.

For example, let’s look at one of the craziest comparisons I’ve found. Listen to Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” and then put on Bat Fangs’ “Boys of Summer.” Hear any similarities?

Something that might stick out is the tail end of the main riff in Benatar’s track—you know, that little riff that’s non-essential in the way that it’s one of the most recognizable riffs in her career? Yeah, that one. It’s one of those moments of guitar mastery that you just have to sing along to, as if somehow your vocals can imitate the six strings.

That riff is basically in Bat Fangs’ “Boys of Summer,” interspersed throughout the track. Listen to both once and it’s hard to miss.  Now, I’m going to guess that’s an intentional throwback to the 80s rock goddess and not an unintentional slip up, and if so, it’s a clear indicator that the group is drawing influence from Benatar.

Lastly, it’s important to point out that while both teeter on the line between pop and hard rock, Bat Fangs are certainly not a carbon copy of Benatar. This comparison isn’t one of exact replication, but instead of taking the foundation laid by Benatar and building on that.

The duo adds an interesting layer to Benatar in that they’re really ripping, no holds barred, into a messier realm of rock ‘n roll. They have a garage-rock fuzz factor going on that wasn’t so present in their predecessor’s music (that was definitely more pop-leaning), giving the duo a grittier sound overall. Further, Bat Fangs music is generally simpler, and a bit less cinematic, than Benatar’s—further supporting the group’s heavier punk influence.

So for fans of Pat Benatar, looking for a natural progression building on the foundations already laid by the 80s rocker? It’s time to check out Bat Fangs.

Preoccupations: ‘New Material’

Posted on by Sebastian Marquez

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Have you ever been to a rave? No, like a real one. I’m talking about the kind that would be in warehouses, bunkers, or maybe even condemned buildings. What if the new generation of post punk kids all decided to throw a new kind of rave together in that fashion? New Material by Preoccupations asks this question. Are they having a good time? I really hope so. With lyrics this bleak and production this icy I really hope that the dancing is keeping them warm.

Jokes aside for now, there is a different sense of groove present here that didn’t exist on earlier Preoccupations albums. While rhythmically repetitive (read: danceable) like most rave and classic post punk, most of the songs on New Material carry with them a dismal, apocalyptic sentiment, but their anxiety is masked (or more likely accentuated) by the very new wavey melodies employed throughout (look to the Duran Duran-esque chorus of “Antidote” for a bold example). Locking into a groove and sticking with it is what most of New Material traffics in and when the band is successful, I couldn’t imagine anyone ditching the dance floor to watch the sun explode.

When the groove exits, the ambience that Preoccupations has excelled in creating since their first album as Viet Cong comes to the forefront. Album closer “Compliance” creates a transfixing miasma that really shows off the band’s ambient chops. It really does feel like it was recorded in the concrete room on the album cover. The same can be said about the production aesthetic of entire album. True to their roots, the production feels sufficiently frigid and distant at times which creates a sense of something more immediate than full on detachment, but not close enough to feel like any sort of embrace. Instead it feels more like slowly losing yourself in a dense, choking fog with nothing but an array of strobe lights to guide you deeper in. It might feel disorienting at first but there is a deliberate nature to the strobes; a definite modus operandi that never lets itself get obfuscated by the swathes of reverb on the guitars and synthesizers. To disorient and thrill is the name of the game, and Preoccupations are dead set on doing that better than anyone right now.

I really hope those ravers brought jackets, but then again, I don’t think they even care. The world’s ending anyway.

8/10

Sunflower Bean: ‘Twentytwo in Blue’

Posted on by Nate Bramel

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To understand just how much that the Brooklyn trio has grown in the past two years, look no further than the cover of the band’s terrific new album, Twentytwo In Blue. The three members of the band are spotlighted in the middle of the picture; a cover that is more confident and much less cluttered than the band’s 2016 debut Human Ceremony. On this record, the band takes tremendous strides towards a truly memorable and distinct sound.

An immediate highlight of the record is lead singer Julia Cumming’s newfound confidence and enhanced role, which puts her commanding yet soothing vocals to the forefront. The delivery of her voice allows the band’s classic rock sound to come off more sincere as seen on the stomping “Puppet Strings” as Cumming elevates the song’s impact.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait’s crystal clear production gives the band more clarity and greater punch on each track. From the initial moments of album opener “Burn It,” there is a more grandiose and powerful sound. At times on Human Ceremony, Sunflower Bean seemed lost in their own haze and volume. There is great confidence and poise on this new album that sees the band fully aware and in control of how they want to sound.

The album’s change in tone and breezy 40 minute runtime offers a genuine classic folk-rock offering while still feeling fresh. At times, the band’s youth and search for a sound is still evident as seen on the cringe-worthy backing vocals on “Crisis Fest.” In these moments, the band comes off more as imitators rather than the real deal. However, as a whole the band’s shows tremendous promise and leaps towards a refined sound on this record.

Throughout Twentytwo In Blue, Julia Cummings remains fully in control, sounding much wiser than her meager 22 years of life lets on, especially on the title track “Twentytwo.”  Cumming’s strong vocals intertwine perfectly with jangling guitars reminiscent of 70’s folk rock, but with a newfound confidence and assurance. Her gorgeous lyrics are also put on display on the sunny “Memoria” as she sings “You are the mother who turns in her sleep.” This shows great attention to detail.

The album closes on a wonderful note with the gorgeous “Oh No, Bye Bye” as Nick Kivlen’s deadpan singing fuses tremendously with Cumming’s sunny vocals. As is seen in the rest of the album as well, this song shows the band’s grand development sonically as the song is bursting with intriguing layers of melody. Although at times Sunflower Bean’s youth is apparent, on Twentytwo in Blue, the band’s development within just one album is both astonishing and triumphant.

 8/10

Savannah Stopover 2018 Spotlight: Wild Child

Posted on by Anna Lee
Photo Credit: Sean Daigle
Photo Credit: Sean Daigle

Indie pop band Wild Child has grown a lot since Alexander Beggins and Kelsey Wilson initially formed the group seven years ago. What started as a duo with a ukulele and violin has now turned into a seven-piece mini orchestra. In the wake of their fourth studio album, Expectations, I sat down for a Q&A interview with Beggins and Wilson at Savannah Stopover Music Festival to talk growth, inspiration, and the songwriting process.

VM: How did you two go about meeting everyone else and recruiting the other members of your band?

KW: I mean, we’ve gone through a few different lineups actually in the past couple years, especially with drummers and bass players. It’s kind of always been just whatever friends we have around us that want to play with us. This lineup we have now actually feels like Wild Child. It’s the dream team.

VM: Yeah, I feel like Wild Child has definitely grown a lot.

KW: It has. We’ve added guitar, a trombone, and we used to only have horns for the bigger Texas shows, but now we have a brass section. We didn’t even have a bass player for the first two years. We’ve just been slowly getting bigger and bigger.

VM: So let’s talk about your new album, Expectations. I know you’ve said your previous album, Fools, was kind of your breakup album, so where would you say Expectations falls on that spectrum? Is there a way to define it?

AB: Well, it’s kind of the closest thing to opening up a page in our journals and what’s going on at the time. With this one, there’s a little bit of duality in the title. The expectations of being our fourth record and wanting it to do well, and the kind of precedence we set for ourselves, and expectations of the relationships we’ve been in and out of the past couple of years.

KW:  This one is—as much as we did write a lot just in and out of relationships—this one felt a lot more like just us, you know? Just us singing about who we are, really, and what we’ve learned so far. This is kind of like, we even wrote songs all together as a band in the studio for the first time. We haven’t done that before on any record.

VM: I know you’ve said in the past that the two of you write the skeleton of the song and then let the band add to it. So did you kind of change the songwriting process for this album and use a different method?

KW: Yeah, on this one Alexander came forward with more full songs, and then I came forward with full songs, and then some of the songs we wrote together as a band. It was a lot more collaborative.

AB: It’s kind of like the nature, the beast of this record was just write when we can. Because we were touring a lot at the time it was kind of like we were writing songs during soundchecks and writing songs in the van. It wasn’t like, “okay, today’s going to be a writing day!” There were a couple of writing retreats that we did, but for the most part we kind of would just write whenever it was convenient. And that kind of created a different kind of atmosphere.

KW: And normally we wrote when we needed to. Like, something would be happening, and we’d be like okay, let’s get together, drink some wine, and let’s write a song about it.

AB: And we kind of took our time with this record. We were like whenever it’s done, it’s done.

VM: Did you guys have a definite idea of how you wanted this album to sound, or did you just kind of let it happen how it happened?

KW: We usually just let it happen. With this one, we were working with so many different producers, and we love and respect all of them so much that we kind of left a lot of room for them to steer us. We finished the writing of the songs, but we thought when it comes to the speed, the arrangement and the vibe, we just wanted to see what the producers each had to say…they each kind of picked the songs they wanted to do, so they had ideas. So we just kind of let it ride. Initially, we were just going to release like a song a month for a year and just not do a record, ‘cause records are kind of dying, and it’s really heartbreaking. It’s all about Spotify singles now.

VM: Yeah, and you guys did release a lot of singles leading up to this album.

AB: We kind of “hybrid-ed” the idea in anticipation of this record.

VM: I feel like that’s true what you said about records dying. It’s not like many people go to record stores and buy the physical album when it’s released anymore.

AB: Yeah, it’s like you release an album when it comes out, and everyone’s stoked for like, two weeks. Then it’s over, you know? It’s done and out there in the world. So, we released singles in pairs for like three months before the record dropped. Which I thought was cool, because it kind of created some hype around it.

KW: Yeah, and we did music videos for like half the record.

VM: Do you guys have a favorite music video from Expectations?

KW: The “Think It Over” one we just did was so much fun. Literally it was just absolutely only our friends and family dressed up. We built a club in a giant empty warehouse in one day. It was just a garage, basically.

AB: Yeah, in that one we just got to have fun. Sometimes you make a video for you. We had this idea and we were like, let’s just ride with this as far as we can. The director is our homie and he knew the vibe that we wanted to try and communicate.

VM: [How has] your sound has evolved since your, slower original songs?

AB: I think that we…when we started we were just naive babies trying to make music, and I think we’ve gotten better.

KW: Yeah, we didn’t really know what we were doing. It’s always been good for us though, because we’re not limited to the rules of music. We didn’t know shit about anything, so we were just like, “I guess that sounds good I don’t know!” So we’ve just gotten better over the years about knowing what sounds good.

Wild Child is on tour now in support of Expectations, with shows across the US and in Europe. They played at Savannah Stopover at the historic Trinity United Methodist Church.

 

Artist to Watch: Molly Burch

Posted on by Sebastian Marquez

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Like a well-maintained and beautifully hand carved wooden sculpture, Molly Burch’s music has a sort of softly natural, matte glow to it. Influenced by the music of her childhood spent growing up in LA, her early country influenced songwriting and equally paisley patterned arrangements have caught the ear of record labels, including Captured Tracks (who released her debut album Please Be Mine) and many publications, ourselves included.

Her voice, which some would compare to Angel Olsen, has a well-trained crushed velvety texture that sets it apart from many other vocalists in her field. Having gone to school for jazz singing, her emotive vocalizations lend itself to the cinematic or melodramatic nature of her band’s music. That being said, there’s a gentle sentiment of something that isn’t quite like full on naivety there, but more like a gentle innocence behind her croons.

Currently on the road supporting Alex Cameron on the tour for his new album, I got on the phone with Molly to have a quiet conversation to get to know her better both as a songwriter and as a person.

VM: After reading your bio, I saw that you did your growing up in LA, but then went to school in Asheville and then moved to Austin, correct?

MB: Yeah. I graduated High School in LA, was born and raised there, and then I spend one year in New York at Sarah Lawrence College and then decided to transfer to UNC Asheville, because my mom had moved to North Carolina, so that made the most sense at the time. I graduated there then spent a year out of college in Asheville feeling pretty lost, so I just moved to Austin on a whim.

VM: I can definitely relate to that. Would you ever move back to Asheville or NYC?

MB: Uh, I don’t know. No. I wouldn’t want to live in New York. I’ve actually just recently moved to an even smaller place in Austin. We live right outside of Austin. So I’m sure as I get older and also with playing music and touring I’ve been more attracted to like smaller cities, smaller towns.  I guess I don’t know.  We recently just went to Asheville on tour, and it was really lovely. I really do miss a lot of it, but I don’t know; I don’t think I would want to move back anytime soon.

VM: Austin is really cool. There are a lot of really cool weird places to go. Do you have any specific places you like to go to when you just want to chill out or have an escape within the city limits?

MB: Sure. Right now we live a little outside of Austin, so I feel like that, plus being on tour for more of this year makes me feel a little disconnected from Austin but let me try to think of where I’d go; I’m very much a homebody. A really nice bar to go get a drink is this place called Kinda Tropical. And there ‘s a little coffee shop on the east side called Bliss Coffee that one of my good friends runs, and the thing is a little Air Stream with a really nice outdoor patio. It’s really gorgeous.

So after taking a few listens to Please Be Mine, I immediately thought Nashville. There’s a very old school country vibe to it. Were there any artists from Nashville that you were listening to while you were writing those songs, or that you grew up listening to?

MB: Not really.  These songs are like a collection of the first songs I’ve ever written, because that sort of just came later for me. I wasn’t comfortable writing before these songs. That style is just what comes natural to me. I went to school for jazz, and I would listen to older country music, but I don’t feel up to date on current country or Nashville music. Classic sounds for sure. And I wasn’t really listening to anything at the time, since I wrote the songs over a period of a couple of years.

VM: So it’s much more holistic. So, when you write songs, do you prefer to write alone, or do you have a favorite houseplant that you sit next to, or do you have a pet? Or do you like to write with your friends?

MB: I do have a cat, and I do have a lot of houseplants, but I feel like it’s different every time when I’ve been in different homes over the past couple of years. I definitely need to be fully alone. I don’t like to write anything if there are people at the house, or if my boyfriend is there. What I usually do is, I’ll write the song and get it fully done, and I’ll show it to Dailey—who’s my boyfriend and lead guitarist—and we try it together, and we figure out at that point if we like it or if I need to work on it more. Then we bring it to a band.

VM: So you’re signed to Captured Tracks records. What’s your experience being signed to a label like for your first record?  Is it really laissez faire, or have they been very involved in the album process for you?

MB: They’ve been sort of involved, but in that sense they’re really supportive. They really support and believe in the artists they have. Going into signing with them and not knowing anything about labels, I sent them a cold demo submission. I have definitely learned a lot pretty quickly signing with them and not being used to it. It’s been a lot of new things signing with them and releasing my first album. They’re wonderful, and I feel extremely lucky. They’re really open, supportive, and they make me feel like I have tons of freedom. They’re just really cool people in general.

VM: So, have you been listening to any other artists right now? Has anyone excited you or just drawn your attention?

MB: I’ve been listening to a lot of Alex Cameron every day.

VM: Since you’ve been on tour with them?

MB: And my friend and ex-band mate Katie Schaffer and her boyfriend Shane just released a new album. Their band is called Olden Yoke. Also some friends of mine just released an album. They’re called Loma, and I’m excited for that. And my friend Jeff Williamson also has an album coming out.

VM: Well, thanks so much for talking with us! Do you have any other miscellaneous shout-outs that you before we wrap up here?

MB: I have one more friend, I just remembered [laughs]. This girl who lives in New York named Nadia but who records under the name Nadine just released her first album.

Check out Molly’s album Please Be Mine here and on all streaming platforms and follow her on Facebook. 

 

Decemberists: ‘I’ll Be Your Girl’

Posted on by Harper Bridges

decemberists

Veteran indie rockers The Decemberists, helmed by frontman Colin Meloy, officially released their eighth full-length album I’ll Be Your Girl on March 16th, and while it showcases Meloy’s enchanting vibrato and occasionally conjures a vaguely maritime aesthetic, it veers off-course of traditional Decemberists material in most ways. The band utilizes milky, spacey synths on several songs, and “Severed” in particular revolves around a pulsing synth line that sounds like it belongs on a late-night club DJ’s playlist.

I’ll Be Your Girl marks some stylistic changes for The Decemberists, but overall results in feeling a little lackluster compared to earlier releases–“Starwatcher” is particularly dull, failing to commit to either an ethereal minimalism or dense excitement, and Meloy seems to have adopted a penchant for repetition, singing “everything” so many times in a zealous bouncy melody on “Everything is Awful” that you might find that you hate the word when it’s all over. But this is a common thread on the album: upbeat, buoyant melodies with track titles of “Everything is Awful” and “We All Die Young.” Meloy shines in his dark songwriting, choosing his first words of the album “oh for once in my life / could just something go / could just something go right?” on opening track “Once in My Life.” His gloom hovers above sugary instrumentals throughout the album, straying from the epic journeys of folklore often employed as The Decemberists’s lyrical content (we never actually learn why everything is awful, but it seems like a summary of what Meloy is trying to express on I’ll Be Your Girl). On “Tripping Along” he sings “what I would do to lie with you, die in your arms” and on “Sucker’s Prayer” “I want to love somebody but I don’t know how / I want to throw my body in the river and drown.”

The Decemberists make sure to incorporate enough of their signature bizarre ear-catchers on I’ll Be Your Girl, like the high-pitched “na na na na na’s” on “Your Ghost” or the children’s voices on the chorus of “We All Die Young,” anchors to their off-kilter image as they experiment elsewhere on the album. The latter has a big-band, Western feel, with a featured saxophone, stomping and clapping, and a sonorous chorus. “Sucker’s Prayer” similarly contains prominent, saloon-ish piano lines and has a rockin’ guitar solo to boot, a dramatic shift from the ’80s-era synths that characterize the beginning of the album. The Decemberists slow it down on penultimate track “Rusalka, Rusalka / Wild Rushes,” an eight-minute apocalyptic epic reminiscent of their most popular material; oozing with drama, it swells gradually, solidifying itself as the most rewarding track of I’ll Be Your Girl, as it sticks out from its preceding short tracks which often leave you wanting more.

Overall, I’ll Be Your Girl is not an album that will make waves, but is a solid addition to an 18-year-old band’s discography. Colin Meloy still has his beloved chops and is rife with poetic ideas, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.