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| Single Mothers' Drew Thomson at Baby's All Right in 2014. |
Packing for Florida
I'm trying to break with my usual M.O. -- the one I've followed ever since I used to travel extensively for business -- which is to pack all my stuff moments before I get in the car to go to the airport. I've made a little progress this morning, but I always think, "Eh. They have stores there if I forget anything..."
Anyway.
I'm on a little packing break right now and figured I'd tell you about a few things that I noticed over the course of this week.
Sharkmuffin, "Little Bird"
Sharkmuffin are preparing to release their second LP, Tsuki, via Little Dickman Records on May 5th. Earlier this week, they gave us a video for single "Little Bird."
Sharkmuffin take elements of garage rock, surf rock, punk, and pop and blend them together into a noisy, gritty stew. "Little Bird" is no different as Tarra Thiessen wails over a squall of noise that somehow manages also to be a two-and-a-half-minute earworm. The video gives us a small taste of what everyday life is like for the world's most famous bird.
Sharkmuffin have several local dates coming up prior to heading off for a tour of the UK. On 4/20, they'll be joining Sheer Mag at Paul's Tavern in Lake Como. They celebrate the release of Tsuki with a show at Brooklyn's Sunnyvale on 5/3 and follow that up with an Asbury Park release show on 5/4.
Single Mothers, "East Van Band Van b/w Night School"
A band of self-identified London, Ontario "townies," Single Mothers hit me hard back in 2014 with LP Negative Qualities. The album is simultaneously angry and inward-looking as singer and songwriter, Drew Thomson, paints himself as an outsider -- not only as a local in a college town but also as someone who can't quite fit with society's expectations.
The band made a return this week, releasing two singles via Bandcamp. "East Van Band Van" imagines that maybe we've actually all been living in a post-Y2K-apocalypse heaven / hell for the last 15-plus years. The "b-side" -- "Night School" -- seems to find Thomson feeling impervious to both any kind of positive change or negative feedback. Both songs feature the raw, thunderous guitars and Thomson's talk-sing delivery that drew me to Single Mothers in the first place.
You can grab this pair of songs over at Single Mothers' Bandcamp page.
The Planes, Wax Diamond
The on-again / off-again project of Stephen Perry and friends, The Planes, released Wax Diamond this week. Now a trio with Perry on guitar, Jaclyn Perrone on bass, and Jason Maksymillian on drums, The Planes add a little 90s rock to their jangly indie pop.
"Red Shift" opens with a bubbly bass riff and rapid fire drums before Perry's willowy vocal and jangly guitar join in. The distorted guitar that almost acts as the chorus sounds like it could have been inspired by the work Perry did in his short-lived Dinosaur Jr. cover band.
Throughout the album, the distortion contrasts with the jangle ("ATMs," "Trident"); the tweeishness of the lyrics contrasts with the beefiness of the music ("College Crush"). The Planes draw as much inspiration here from R.E.M. as they do from Dinosaur Jr. or even Nirvana, and it's all done with a lo-fi charm. The combination works amazingly well.
Wax Diamond is available over at The Planes' Bandcamp page.
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