Oh man. I missed a Lucy Dacus/Bartees Strange bill by me to take a friend to see Gregory Alan Isakov for his birthday, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still a little disappointed I had to miss him perform...
Congrats on the new gig! The stress of joblessness in our economy is palpable, so I'm glad you're not in the depths of it any longer. Does the gallery specialize in any type of medium?
As for recs, today's releases in Spirit Was' debut Heaven's Just A Cloud and Trace Mountains' House of Confusion are excellent, especially if you're familiar with the LVL UP Expanded Universe.
I can definitely see why they styled it like that with the lack of thematic or sonic continuity, like Sarah Tudzin did with Free IH: This IS Not The One You're Waiting For . I'm really digging it as well, just a fire slate of tunes!
LVL UP was basically a reverse supergroup with how wickedly and diversely talented Nick Corbo, Dave Benton, Mike Caridi, and Greg Rutkin are. Return to Love is honestly one of my favorite albums of all time (I listen to it at least once a week, and probably have for several years now) so I loved the little callbacks, but what I appreciate most is how each member is really leaning into their own groove, experimenting with their own sound, and the other guys are more than willing to flesh it out with them. I feel like it's rare to have such a talented bunch in an acclaimed band move past the group they were all together in without any feelings of animosity. They returned to love, and we all get to experience how good of a move that was.
I got Havana Syndrome from how many times I heard "Don't You Worry Child" back in the day. And now they're teaming up with Abel? Definitely sniffs of something they cooked up in Langley.
Truly wonderful writing, Stephen. I've long been fascinated by outsider art of all mediums-- last year I cataloged and photographed a lot of the homemade political artwork that cropped up in the rural areas where I live, but was stymied by pandemic fears from interviewing the folks who took the time to make and present their work on their properties.
I would love to read more in-depth about this whole project. Between the kid's perspectives, Fenger's recollections, the parents feelings when they (if they) listened to the recordings almost 50 years ago, not to mention the saga around the recording resurfacing and being reissued, I feel like there's a book's worth of a story here.
I don't have any Fisher Island anecdotes to share, but I do want to say that Beirut holds a special place in my heart and the accordion gets a bad rap.
Steve's words about the exposure they've gotten off of their prior albums and how "big" they would get with their music tugged at my heartstrings a bit-- there must be countless bands out there with similar fanbases who wonder the same thing. That's half the reason I keep coming back to the 'Gum, I'm not sure I would've stumbled into Ovlov or countless other acts without finding them here.
Excellent interview Danielle, it's good to read your work here again!
(hit reply too soon!)...and make them characters. Through all its ups and downs, and flip flop between global tourism Mecca and siren-filled hellscape in such a short amount of time, it's interesting how the mythology of the city persists. I can't help but wonder if New York will persist, like London and Paris and many other cities have, for thousands of years, after New York State is a memory and the country's demarcating lines look nothing like they do now.
I caught Parquet Courts live for the first time when the headlined Woodsist and what an incredible show. Their albums are already bursting with life, I was floored by how much more they pulled out while just jamming with the intimacy of making music together for over a decade. A lot of the songs on this album played so well with the crowd and stood on their own against their many hits. Quarts forever, absolutely cannot wait to catch them again.
Bridge To Quiet slapped. Definitely looking forward to some new tunes from the guys. And I'm HYPE to actually catch them live for the first time at Mass MOCA!
Can't agree with this more. I discovered the joy while working nights; if I woke up too "early", I'd catch an afternoon matinee and saw movies from all over the world that I probably never would have seen had I went with someone else.
On the other hand, Simone I'd happily go to the theatre with you if you'd prefer not to be alone! "The Stereogum Comments Section Goes To The Movies"
Woah, I haven't come across Dijon since college! I love everything going on in the live take-- how organically the layers of sound build and mesh, rising and falling in intensity like a tide.
Couple of favorite new releases that I haven't seen get mentioned around here too frequently:
Shannon Lay's Geist is a beautifully textured folk album that was ready-made for autumn. Her layered harmonies and creative instrumental arrangements place her firmly in the Fleet Foxes canon of folk.
Smoke Bellow's Open for Business is a really cool, psych-pop take on "post punk" stylings.
Cindy's 1:2 is an expansion of the sound on Free Advice that's denser while somehow becoming dreamier. Would love to catch them live if they ever make it to Upstate NY.
The new BADBADNOTGOOD is an excellent jazz record.
Besides that, LVL UP's Return to Love , Parquet Courts Wide Awake! , Jessica Pratt, The Magnetic Fields, Fog Lake, and Adrianne Lenker have been heavy in my fall rotation. I've also been wandering around the neighborhood whispering "They putting towers up everywhere, 5G, High Speed" to myself since By The Time I Get To Phoenix came out. What's caught your ear lately?
https://i.imgur.com/CZwkQcr_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
https://i.imgur.com/P71Dhds_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium
Amusingly, Mike Doughty and I have something in common!
Glad to hear you're back on the road. How have the people at different venues been about keeping you and the rest of the touring crew safe? I feel like I've heard only about venues requiring vax/masks(in my neck of the woods at least) and I'm curious if that's just exposure bias.
I think the time has come to shut my ears to new Big Thief. As the long wait for their double album begins, so does the Howse.
I'm still gonna play "Little Things" constantly though because I just cannot get enough of that song.
I knew those buildings looked familiar! I wonder when the video was shot, there's a fairly good chance I was right around the corner or directly underneath there at the gym.
Oh I totally got you! I'm not sure why you're being downvoted, you're completely correct. I was agreeing with you in a slanted way. It's very funny to consider Grimes not reading such a short passage!
"Grimes staging photoshoots while holding politically-charged media in an outfit emulative of what they're wearing in the deserts of Arrakis that she takes to social media to explain and defend as as a private matter" is easily the best take of the weekend on the Internet!
Capitalism is exceptionally good at taking things from people forcibly and creating police states to ensure the protection of property and capital is upheld above the needs of human beings, so I'm not really sure what she's getting at. But until she's talking about classless and stateless societies that allocate resources efficiently and equitably to all peoples, I'm not interested in her checkout counter-level reading of the most basic tenants of a socialized, capitalist economic system. "Super wild, technocratic UBI systems" please, please make it stop.
"The Communist Manifesto" is a 23 page pamphlet that was written with the intent of distribution to Europe's peasantry and other laboring masses so yeah, not exactly a laborious read, if she even did read it.
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