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| PINKWASH at SXSW in March |
What I've Been Up To
This semi-retirement thing has been a little more difficult than I thought it would be. I no longer have the excuses of tasks, conference calls, or the occasional business trip to explain why the days seem to get away from me. Still feeling my way, I guess. I'll get myself on a regular posting / to-do schedule eventually; but, in the meantime, here's some of the stuff with which I've been distracting myself over the last week or so.
PINKWASH, "GUMDROP"
I first saw PINKWASH at the Don Giovanni label showcase back in 2015. The Philadelphia duo of Joey Doubek (guitar) and Ashley Arnwine (drums) took a bit of time to set up. Once everything was to their liking, they delivered a short set (maybe 4 or 5 songs) of absolutely devastating and cathartic noise.
The next time I saw them -- this past March in Austin for South By Southwest -- the sound man asked Doubek, "Could you turn down a little?"
"Um... no... I'd really rather not," was the sheepish response.
The pair released COLLECTIVE SIGH last Friday; and, just this week, released the video for single "GUMDROP." Through COLLECTIVE SIGH, PINKWASH document Doubek's coping following the loss of his mother, for whom he was the primary caregiver, to breast cancer. The song is a flood of emotion delivered through the torrent of Doubek's guitar and the artillery fire of Arnwine's drums.
The video reminds me of this thing we used to do in art class when I was a kid where we'd cover an entire sheet of paper in a water color rainbow and then paint over it with black ink. We'd use the end of a paper clip to scratch out a neon-colored line drawing on the blackness. "GUMDROP" is kind of the moving version of that, the gumdrops of the title falling across the scene and eventually morphing into pills and medication.
Check it out. COLLECTIVE SIGH is out now on Don Giovanni.
Diarrhea Planet, "Bob Dylan's Grandma"
Nashville's Diarrhea Planet -- along with Screaming Females and Titus Andronicus -- hold a special place as one of the trio of bands that were the subject of the very first post here at CoolDad Music. Since March of 2012, I've seen the band several times as they always seem to make time for a stop in New Jersey as part of their relentless touring schedule.
Diarrhea Planet's orchestral, four-guitar pop punk approach falls somewhere between big 1980s arena metal and 1990s Weezer-inspired alt-rock. On "Bob Dylan's Grandma," the band give us an origin story of sorts as they detail how a 6th grade encounter with Jimi Plays Monterey redirected a boy's interests from formula 1 and F-16s to Stratocasters.
Diarrhea Planet will release Turn To Gold on June 10th via Infinity Cat and play Brooklyn Bowl on June 9th as part of Northside Festival. Maybe they'll come visit us around here again while they're in the area.
Jackal Onasis, "Runty Little Puppy"
Credit for pointing me to this one goes, once again, to my friend Joe. I may have missed it otherwise. That would have been a shame as there's quite a bit here that slots very nicely into the "stuff I like" category.
There are the heavy, alt rock / shoegaze-y guitars of Alex Molini, the epic and expansive drumming of Jordyn Blakely, and her dreamily deadpan vocals. "Runty Little Puppy" definitely harkens back to some big 90s rock, and that's just fine with me.
Jackal Onasis will be releasing Big Deal Party via Exploding In Sound on June 24th.
Dentist, "Meet You There (In Delaware)"
Ah, Dentist. My lovely friends in Dentist. I've seen a lot -- A LOT -- of Dentist performances. When I got some previews of their upcoming Ceilings, I was thrilled to hear some things that -- to that point -- I'd never heard before. One of the new ones was the bouncy "Meet You There (In Delaware)."
It's one of those songs that worms its way into your brain and gets stuck there. In a totally good way. It's an upbeat take on our constant pursuit of fun and new experiences; but, at the same time, it acknowledges the futility of our constant quest to combat FOMO (fear of missing out).
Ceilings comes out on Little Dickman Records on June 24th. Dentist play this Saturday night, May 21st, with The Vansaders and Mack at Asbury Park Yacht Club.
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