A Pair of Jersey Releases I've Been Listening To All Week from Joseph Black and Fascinations Grand Chorus

Retromania

I wanted to call your attention to a pair of releases from artists I've supported around here for a few years.

Joseph Black, Wildest Dreams EP

Way, way back in the infancy of CoolDad Music, I came across New Brunswick lo-fi pop band Honeydrum. With hints of Ariel Pink and early-80s R.E.M., I felt like Honeydrum were destined for bigger things. That materialized in two albums for Captured Tracks under the new name Donovan Blanc.

Last year, Joseph Black of Honeydrum / Donovan Blanc released his debut, solo LP, Northern Exposure. That album further solidified Black as one of the most unsung, underrated heroes of retro-inspired pop. Last month, Black released Wildest Dreams, the first of three, three-song cassingles in a project set to span the end of 2019 into 2020.

Black recorded, mixed, and mastered Wildest Dreams in Highland Park, NJ. The three songs on the EP are breezy, dreamy pop that draw on some sounds of the 80s that are soothingly familiar to my Gen X ears. There isn't a weak moment on Wildest Dreams, and closer "Lonelier Than Heaven Knows" is a standout. It's a short, romantic track reminiscent of Psychedelic Furs and John Hughes films.

Wildest Dreams is available as a super-limited 25 cassette run. It's also downloadable over at Joseph Black's Bandcamp page and streamable everywhere.



Fascinations Grand Chorus, Presentations of Electrical Confectionery

Speaking of bands I've been supporting for a while who have a bit of a retro vibe, Fascinations Grand Chorus -- the Jersey City duo of Stephanie Cupo and Andrew Pierce -- released Presentations of Electrical Confectionery last week.

I've always loved Fascinations Grand Chorus's commitment to their aesthetic. Presentations of Electrical Confectionery is ten songs showcasing the band's love of the timeless pop of Brian Wilson, Jersey forebears like The Shirelles, early AM radio, even the punk of The Ramones or The Misfits. The band also throw in a few tinges of psychedelia which results in some of the best sounds they've produced to date.

I've been playing Presentations... on repeat all week, and it's honestly difficult to single anything out. All the songs work seamlessly together. From bopping opener "Can't Let Go" to the mellow, Carpenters-esque "Echoes" to the surfily-tinged three-and-a-half-minute pop epic that is "Would It Be," there is something infectiously engaging about every song here. The spaced-out intro to "Cry Over You" gives way to an earworm embellished with some more spacey keys. Closer "Back Again" is a soulful bop that takes the album out on a vibe as upbeat as what kicked things off.

For me, though, "Future World" is the standout track here. Combining guitars and horns with Cupo's vocals and keys, the song represents a single confection that has all of Fascinations Grand Chorus's disparate electrical and analog influences as ingredients.

Presentations of Electrical Confectionery is available now. You can order a special limited-run CD over at the Fascinations Grand Chorus Bandcamp page, and you can stream the album pretty much everywhere.

Joseph Black, Northern Exposure, 2018

Album Review

I've been telling you about the work of New Jersey's Joseph Black for about five years now. It started when I stumbled upon his work as part of lo-fi pop duo Honeydrum. Black and Honeydrum collaborator, Ray Schwab, scaled their formula up a bit as Donovan Blanc and released a pair of LPs under that moniker with Captured Tracks (Mac DeMarco, DIIV, EZTV, Wild Nothing, more). For the past year or so, Black has been working on his solo debut. He released Northern Exposure last week digitally and on cassette via Chill Mega Chill Records, and the entirely solo effort is another showcase of Black's facility with retro-inspired, infectious pop.

Black wrote, played, recorded, mixed, and mastered everything on Northern Exposure in his New Jersey home. The result is a polished collection of songs steeped in the feel of 80s synth pop. Opener "Lonesome Dreams" is upbeat and ethereal, featuring handclaps and bright synths. The title track is a dreamy earworm that could soundtrack a montage in a coming of age film. Single "What If It's All Wrong?" brings in the sound of horns and is an absolute pop gem. The album drifts out on atmospheric closer "Cold Calling," with its piano and acoustic guitar.

Northern Exposure flows along seamlessly and without a single low point. As far as I can tell, Joseph Black has been one of the most under-the-radar artists and pop songsmiths from New Jersey or anywhere for a lot of years now. With Northern Exposure, he'll hopefully get his due.

Northern Exposure is out now on Chill Mega Chill Records.