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| Hodera released a new single this week. |
Beach Friday
CoolMom and CoolDaughter #1 are continuing their Southeast Asian adventure in Thailand and Cambodia. CoolDaugter #2 is getting ready to head to Maine with CoolGrandma. She had a big week of activities, but this was our one, free day. We headed down to the beach for a pretty glorious and cool early afternoon. I'll be on my own for a few days come Sunday, but I did want to send you into what is a huge weekend around here with a few new things from some of our New Jersey paisanos.
Hodera, "North Dakota"
There really isn't any artifice when it comes to Hodera. All you have to do is go to one of their live shows to see that they lay everything out there. Their sound features the lyricism and instrumentation of Americana with the energy of pop punk.
Hodera will be releasing First Things First on October 20th via Take This To Heart records; and, earlier this week, they shared the album's first single, "North Dakota." The song contrasts the freedom of lying, dreaming in a cornfield with those things in real life that drag us down.
The Skullers, "Meet Me in Memphis"
Jack Skuller released his first single at the age of 14. He followed that with a Radio Disney-sponsored, 15-city tour. In 2014, The Songwriters Hall of Fame gave him the [Buddy] Holly Prize, which recognizes "an exceptionally talented and inspired young musician /singer / songwriter whose work exhibits the qualities of Holly's music: true, great and original."
Skuller now fronts rock and roll three-piece, The Skullers. The band will be releasing Meet The Skullers with Mint 400 Records on September 22nd. This week, they gave us single "Meet Me in Memphis."
The Skullers worked with producer Joel Hamilton (The Black Keys, Highly Suspect, The Pretty Lights, Tom Waits) on the EP, and the collaboration results in a bluesy, high-energy introduction to the next chapter in Skuller's musical journey.
Mr. Payday, Welcome to the Modern World
Mr. Payday singer / guitarist, Doug Vizthum, turns 56 today. What better way to celebrate than by releasing his band's third album? Welcome to the Modern World is loud, tight power pop that draws influences from as far back as The Rolling Stones all the way to Bob Mould.
The album opens with "Club Test" which asks, appropriately, "Are you ready for some rock and roll?" "Now and Forever" is simultaneously crushingly loud -- Nick D'Amore's drumming is relentless -- and catchy, the vocal harmonies contrasting with some huge guitar sounds. "Set to Automatic" has a new-wave feel; while "Written in Stone" is more melodic and wide-open as it features keyboardist, Caroline Feinman, on lead vocals. "Sun Shine Down" is a countrified garage-rocker, and "Double Barrel" is careening hard rock / punk.
The title track closes things out in winding, driving-down-the-highway style. The song feels like it could have been written and recorded in the last week or so as it goes through some of the features of our modern world: climate change, hatred, Donald Trump.
Welcome to the Modern World weaves its way in and out of many of the sub-genres of rock music over the course of its 10 tracks. It's all rock and roll, though, so things hang together well.
Mr. Payday celebrate the release of Welcome to the Modern World tomorrow, 8/26, at Pino's in Highland Park. Joining them for that are Dentist, Atom Driver, and Sux. You can pick up a copy of the album there or via Mr. Payday's Bandcamp page.
Glazer, On a Prairie, Live in the Dirt
New Brunswick's Glazer are a band who have been on my radar since the first time I saw them a couple of years ago at one of only two New Brunswick Basement shows I've ever been to as a middle-aged dad. Guitarist / singer Phil Connor engineered the band's latest release, On a Prairie, Live in the Dirt, at his In The West Studio in New Brunswick; and he managed to capture one of the most interesting guitar-based rock records I've heard in a while.
On a Prairie, Live in the Dirt is that kind of off-kilter guitar rock I always love. Songs like "Disaster Footage" and "People's Monument" feature elements of both the slackery indie rock of the mid-90s and the metal-inspired grunge that came before that. "Amplified Mind" does as well; but, rather than blending those sounds throughout the song, it breaks them up into a few distinct parts.
"Trim Yr Limbs" transitions from an epic, noisy intro into angular noise pop. "Pollution" goes from plodding to racing over the course if its 5 minutes. Similarly, album-closer "Will You Be Here Tomorrow?" moves through stages of quiet twang and buzzsaw noise.
All of this is to say that there is tons of weird and interesting stuff happening here -- more than I can really cover in a capsule-type review -- but there's always something, some structure for a listener to grab onto. I love it when things work out that way.
On a Prairie, Live in the Dirt is out now on State Champion Records.
Good looks on that Hodera track!
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