Coupla Things from Bethlehem Steel and Francie Moon

Bethlehem Steel by Montana Elliot

Tuesday Morning Stuff

I thought I wrote this post already, but I guess I'm losing it. I'd fully intended to tell you about Bethlehem Steel's "Alt Shells;" and, while I sat here, they went ahead and released a second single. Francie Moon haven't put anything out since their latest thing... ...I think... ...so here you go.

Bethlehem Steel, "Alt Shells" & "Fig"

Brooklyn via Buffalo trio, Bethlehem Steel, are Rebecca Ryskalczyk (vocals/guitars), Jon Gernhart (drums) and Patrick Ronayne (bass). They'll be releasing Party Naked Forever via Exploding In Sound Records on 11/10; and, in the past few weeks, the band have shared two of the album's singles.

"Fig" is jagged and angsty, like the sounds of a busy brain. "Alt Shells" starts quietly and then bursts into something more forceful. Both songs feature Ryskalczyk's songwriting enveloped in the quirky and anxious sounds of the band. I can almost hear both tracks in quieter / singer-songwriter style arrangements, but -- similar to a band like Hop Along -- the full-band set up here really makes these songs come alive.





Francie Moon, "New Morning Light"

Melissa Lucciola has been performing with her project, Francie Moon, for a few years now. Lucciola gives off the vibe of (as I think Roy Orbitron's Conor Meara once said to me) a "rock n roll lifer," passionate about and dedicated to the music.

Last week, Francie Moon shared a video for the unreleased "New Morning Light." Director Eric Durkin manages to capture the visceral energy of a Francie Moon live performance. Rich Slurry, who recorded, mixed, and played drums on the track, gives everything a wild, spooky, shack-shaking feel.

If you get a chance to catch a Francie Moon live set, don't wait. Just go.

Interview with Baked at SXSW 2017

The Velveeta Room, Austin

I was running around South By Southwest this past Thursday focusing on a few of my favorite record labels. Merge Records held their showcase during the early part of the day, and the evening featured shows hosted by Don Giovanni Records and Exploding In Sound Records. Just prior to the EIS showcase, I managed to catch up with Baked (R.J. Gordon, Isabella Mingione, A.J. Pantaleo, Steve Hartlett, Jeremy Aquilino) for a little sit down before their set at The Velveeta Room.

Baked released their second album, Farnham, last month. I've spent a good amount of time with the record since then; and its combinations and contrasts make for an intriguing listen. Songs like "Wolf" and "Stay" weave between folksiness and swirling shoegaze. "Them" and "Two-Thousandths" are closer to straight-ahead country, but the latter still manages to work in a few noisy swells. The album hangs together nicely with as many references to Wilco or late-period Lemonheads as My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr.

During our conversation, we talked a bit about how Baked arrive at their varied sound. The band members are also mainstays of the Brooklyn DIY community that centers around Shea Stadium; and we chatted about that venue's future, the general state of DIY in the USA, and my weird, personal connection to one of Shea's co-owners.

Check out my shaky, handheld, highly-professional interview with the band below.

Baked embark on a tour in support of Farnham in May. That one includes a stop at The Saint on May 2nd presented by yours truly and Little Dickman Records.

SXSW, Days 4 & 5: Labels, Beach Slang, Mastodon

Mastodon

Saturday Catch-Up

I'm going to try and cover the last two days here so that I can get back on track. Sunday is going to be a travel day, and I just don't know if my brain could take recapping Thursday on Monday.

Anyway.

My hotel is a relatively short walk from what's arguably known as the best barbecue in America, Franklin Barbecue. I walked over and stood on the then pretty short line for a few minutes until someone from inside came out and told us they were out of food. Huh. Oh, well.

I made my way down Red River St. and got a not-the-best-barbecue-in-America brisket sandwich from a food truck. From there, it was over to the Merge Records Showcase at Barracuda.

Sneaks (a.k.a Eva Moolchan) were just setting up, Moolchan on bass and her partner on beats. Spare, short, jagged, confrontational songs that Moolchan delivers while playing bass or dancing to the beat. It was a good pick-me-up for a set that was, as Moolchan repeatedly described it, "early as fuck."

Sneaks

Coco Hames followed, and so did one of the annoyances of Barracuda. Hames and another guitarist played through a set of her country-tinged pop while the Secretly Canadian party went on outside. Every time someone opened the doors separating the spaces, Hames was nearly drowned out by the drums and rock happening on the patio. Still, she persisted; and her set was pretty enthralling. Similarly, Mark Eitzel -- solo, with just acoustic guitar -- had to compete with the noise outside, but his fans up front didn't seem to mind.

The final two acts of the day were two that I'd specifically identified as ones I had to see while here. Allison Crutchfield and The Fizz were great during a set that featured many of the songs from Crutchfield's excellent Tourist in This Town. The day, though, and maybe the whole festival belonged to Austin's own A Giant Dog.

Allison Crutchfield & The Fizz

A Giant Dog

The band tore through their 30-minute set of glam punk with an abandon I haven't seen in a long time. Singer Sabrina Ellis -- despite saying, "I'm pretty docile today" -- was absolute manic energy. Guitarist Andrew Cashen may not be as front and center as Ellis, but a glance over in his direction reveals that he's almost as kinetic. Their set was relentless with Ellis declaring that she nearly dies every time during one song or saying, "Ooooh, you really don't like me today," when the band called out another. I got a little choked up by their passion.

Sweaty and pulse still racing, I headed a block over to Velveeta Room to meet Brooklyn's Baked for an interview (yet another thing I have to edit). A couple of slices of from Hoboken Pie (not bad -- for Texas) and it was back to Velveeta for the Exploding In Sound Records showcase. I finally got to check out some Brooklyn bands that my buddy Joe is always raving about (Jackal Onasis, Stove); and I caught the set from Baked, whose Farnham, I've been enjoying immensely over the last couple of weeks.

Baked

It was nearing midnight, so I bopped over to Valhalla for the set from Aye Nako. I caught the tail end of Sammus's set; and, with fans in the crowd rapping right along with her, Sammus rode a real wave for those  last few minutess.

Sammus

Valhalla was bathed in red like some pizza joint from the fifth circle of hell, but that didn't phase Aye Nako who played through a set of their angular indie-punk to close out my evening.

I decided to give Franklin another try on Friday, heading over well before anyone would consider eating lunch, only to find a line of people who'd obviously been camped out in lawn chairs for hours. Defeated, I headed towards downtown and happened upon free breakfast tacos and beer provided by Comedy Central. Score.

Then, it was over to the Midgetmen's annual showcase at Side Bar for Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires. I could have seen them the night before in Satan's Sbarro, but I knew this one was on the schedule. A combination of southern rock and punk politics, they're another band that put a lump in my throat; and you just have to check them out when you can.

Lee Bains III

I hung around for the set from Colleen Green, who's been one of my personal favorites for the last couple of years. She was playing to tracks on her iPad but had to cut her set short when the device overheated in the sun.

Done there, I met High Waisted for another interview I'm going to have to edit and then took a dinner / shower / nap break to refuel for the evening.

It was back to Barracuda for a set from Louisville's White Reaper whom I've been trying to see again since they blew me away at Asbury Lanes a couple of years ago. I caught a few minutes of one of their SXSW sets last year from behind a bunch of Joe Jonas fans, but this was my real second time seeing them. Just good stadium-sized rock from a band in a bar. Fun.

White Reaper

Finally, I crossed the street to the Mazda / SPIN / Stereogum / Whatever space to catch Potty Mouth, Beach Slang, and Chastity Belt. Mastodon were headlining the evening, and almost every band I'd seen that day had asked the audience, "Are you seeing Mastodon tonight?"

I hadn't planned on it because I thought the crush would be too huge, but... ...It turns out I had access to the photo pit. I was thrilled to be able to bypass the crowds -- for the first three songs each anyway -- and get shots of all the bands. As usual, for Beach Slang, I was screaming along behind my camera.

Beach Slang

The crowd went absolutely apeshit for Mastodon. I'm not a metal fan; but, damn, were they good.

Mastodon

Things cleared out a bit for Show Me The Body. I'd shot the Queens hardcore band once before when they opened for Single Mothers at Baby's All Right. There wasn't a Mastodon-level crowd there, but the SPIN stage in front of the couple hundred people who remained was still an impressive step up from two years ago.

Show Me The Body

I lumbered back to my hotel and absolutely crashed. This afternoon, I'll head over for some pancakes and rock at Little Dickman's Saturday showcase. Tomorrow, it's back to frozen Jersey.

2016 Year-End Mini Catch-Up Review: Bueno, Illuminate Your Room

Album Review

Back in September, I humped it up to Jersey City's Monty Hall to catch a Titus Andronicus tour kickoff show. The openers on that bill were Staten Island's Bueno. The room hadn't quite packed out yet when they played, but those of us that had gotten there early were treated to a great set of some very NYC-sounding post-punk / indie rock. And in that funny way that things always seem to work, I ran into Bueno frontman, Luke Chiaruttini, at the Lost Boy ? release show just two days later and got to tell him just how great I thought their set was.

Since then, I've been spending time with Buenuo's Illuminate Your Room, and I've been meaning to mention it. Just like the vibe I got from Bueno's Jersey City set, there's something about Illuminate Your Room that makes me think of the heavily-populated, fast-moving big city. Maybe it's the cool, matter-of-fact delivery of Chiaruttini. Maybe it's the occasional sax or the wonky guitars. There are definitely allusions to the style of New York icon Lou Reed (and many of those he influenced) throughout the record.

"I Got Your Back" and "Oh Lord I'm Confused" make for a standout one-two punch following instrumental opener "Rosebank 5:00AM (Intro)." "Eye on the Cards," with its jet-setting businessman-type narrator and 80s vibe, conjures images of Patrick Bateman in my mind. I'll probably listen to "Burn This Year" more than any other song during the closing weeks of 2016. "Babyface" is a short snapshot of outgrowing "the scene." The album sails out on the title track's billow of smoke.

Illuminate Your Room is one I've kept coming back to since that night back in September. I listen as I sit at CDMHQ thinking of bands I'd love to see play Asbury Park. I listen as I sit in traffic on the BQE heading up to Shea Stadium. I'm sure I'll keep listening for months and years to come.

Illuminate Your Room is out now on Babe City Records / Exploding In Sound Records.

Jackal Onasis, big deal party, 2016

EP Review

People know what I like. I guess if you read this blog or talk to me enough, you can pretty much pinpoint the things that I'll be into. So when my buddy Joe turned me onto Jackal Onasis, he knew exactly what he was doing.

On big deal party, Jackal Onasis are the duo of Jordyn Blakely (drums / vocals) and Alex Molini (guitar / bass / vocals). The set dabbles in quite a few of the sounds that always draw me in: the noise and submerged vocals of My Bloody Valentine, the distorted pop of Dinosaur Jr., and those distinctive octaves of Smashing Pumpkins and Screaming Females.

The vocals bob on top of oozing keys and guitar on opener "the handsome giraffe." The ethereal opener bleeds into the much more jagged "listen to your nurse (no sleep)." The vocals once again blend into the mix; but, this time, the guitars pound aggressively with a decidedly 90s heft.

Blakely takes lead vocal on the next two tracks. On both the title track and EP standout "runty little puppy," Blakely's melodic yet almost deadpan delivery contrasts with the fits, starts, twists, and bends of the music. It's a real mark of skill to be able to take songs that don't initially appear to follow a traditional structure and still fill them with things for a listener to grab onto -- like the theme that everything swirls around on "runty little puppy" or the anticipation of what the guitar will do next on another Blakely-sung track "the new ron."

The guitars chime and the drums groove on "mookie told me everything." It could be the most upbeat-sounding track on big deal party, but Molini is delivering lines like "failing is what we do" as the song bops along.

The EP closes with "i went to college (procrastination)." Starting simply with Molini and Blakely singing "I can't pay my bills on time" over acoustic guitar, the song sounds like it will be a folksy waltz. Before long, though, it takes a left turn into something a little more experimental. It grows and morphs by its end into something that fits seamlessly in with what we've heard so far.

So, yeah. big deal party is right in my wheelhouse. Jackal Onasis pair distortion and experimentation with solid songwriting into a package that I'll always find pretty irresistible. And, as I listened, I couldn't help becoming really curious and excited about just how loud these songs must get live.

big deal party is out now on Exploding In Sound Records, and downloads of the EP are available at the Jackal Onasis Bandcamp.

You can go check out just how loud this band gets during their live show when they play at Brooklyn's Gutter tonight, Friday, July 8th. Jackal Onasis have added bassist, Ghoul Man; and they'll be joined on that bill by Sodium Beast and Fraidycat.