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.
I'll be covering Brooklyn's Northside Festival as press again this year. The music portion of the festival goes Thursday through Sunday, June 11-14.
It's exciting because I saw a lot of really good bands and met some really cool people last year. It's a little scary because humping it back and forth to Brooklyn on a late spring weekend isn't the easiest thing in the world logistically when you're a suburban husband and father of two. We've got guitar lessons, bat mitzvah tutoring, birthday parties, and softball practice. And that's just Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday involves softball games, post-game ice cream, and a swim meet. On Sunday CoolMom leaves for a business trip. I'll make it all (well, some of it anyway) work somehow.
Anyway, today I present the first of probably two previews with what I hope to see on Thursday and Friday evenings, June 11th and 12th. Like last year, I'll probably generally shy away from the big headliners in order to focus on some of the smaller bands playing. There are some headliners I won't be able to bring myself to miss, though.
Thursday, June 11th Luna at McCarren Park
Here's one headliner I probably won't be able to miss. 1990s dream pop band Luna have reunited for a few dates, and one of them is the Thursday night free show in McCarren Park. Dean Wareham's guitar and vocals will be a beautiful way to ease myself into the craziness to follow.
Expert Alterations / Beverly at Alphaville
The first thing I saw at last year's festival was the Kanine Records showcase at Cameo Gallery. This year, the Brooklyn dream pop / pop label will host their showcase, along with Culture Collide and Terrorbird, at Alphaville. I'm not sure when I'll be able to make it over there, but I hope to get there in time to catch the late sets from Expert Alterations and Beverly.
I just received my Expert Alterations 12-inch EP, and I've been loving their REM / Feelies-inspired jangle pop. I wasn't able to head up to Brooklyn for NYC Pop Fest a couple of weeks ago, so I'm happy to get another chance to catch this Baltimore trio.
Beverly, the project started by Drew Citron and Frankie Rose (since departed), was the secret headliner at last year's Kanine Records showcase. By the time I figured that out, I'd already made my way across the borough and missed them. In keeping with the overall Kanine aesthetic, Beverly are another group that trade in the sounds of dreamy garage pop.
The Muscadettes at Living Room
Another band that do the reverb-heavy, female-fronted, dreamy garage thing are Montreal's Muscadettes. Fronted by twin sisters Chantal and Kathleen Ambridge, The Muscadettes are a band that I stumbled on when they showed up as a last-minute opener for Dead Heavens at Wonder Bar.
They put out the 6-song Side A back in April, and I've listened to it pretty regularly since picking it up with the last few bucks I had on me at that Asbury Show.
Fort Lean at Echo
Fort Lean, who have made a couple of trips to Asbury Park, look poised to blow up at any second. Their debut LP, Quiet Day, just came out on June 2nd. On the singles I've heard so far, it sounds like the band have added a bit more of an electronic / synth-y sound to their jangly guitar pop. "Cut to the Chase" has worked especially well for me. I'll be interested to see how the band have evolved since I last saw them a little more than a year ago at APYC.
Ringo Deathstarr at Grand Victory
I haven't decided if this band have the worst or the best name in the world. It doesn't matter, though, because their combination of influences -- from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jr. -- make theirs a sound that I can't get out of my head.
They're kind of playing at prime time on Thursday, scheduled for 10:15; so I'll have to sacrifice something to check them out. It is their only scheduled show of the festival as far as I can tell, though.
Sharkmuffin at The Gutter
Sharkmuffin were one of the revelations for me at last year's Northside Festival. Their sound drenches short, catchy pop songs in a swirl of grungy, surfy dirt making the ferocious sweetness of their name wholly appropriate.
They've also just announced that they'll be working with our friends at Little Dickman Records for the release of their debut LP, Chartreuse. I've gotta make to one of their sets to say hi and congrats. Like Ringo Deathstarr, they've got a prime time slot on Thursday; but I believe I've got multiple chances.
Friday, June 12th Neko Case, Rhye, Magical Clouds at 50 Kent
I'd say Neko Case has a beautiful voice -- and she does. But I feel like that doesn't fully capture the way she puts it to use. It's almost like a weapon, like a superhero's special power. She plants her feet firmly on the stage and -- when she's not playing guitar -- tenses her arms at her sides and just unleashes it on you. All you can do is stand there with your mouth open as it washes over you and maybe even musses your hair a little bit.
Dentist, Vomitface, The Planes at Pet Rescue
Our friends over at Hearts Bleed Radio are holding their 2015 showcase at Pet Rescue on Friday. That show was the source of a lot of fun and new friendships for me last year, so I don't want to miss this one.
Stephen Perry's The Planes, whose single "Evacuation Route" we premiered here a while back, and Jersey City's Vomitface were both standouts for me at last year's festival. And Dentist make their way to Brooklyn for this one. I can't miss Dentist. I love them way too much.
Dead Stars, Slonk Donkerson at The Gutter
Will it finally happen? Will the stars finally align so that I can see noisy / fuzzy / Dino poppers Dead Stars? We'll see. If I miss out -- again -- I think I've got another chance on Sunday, but Sunday's iffy with the CoolMom trip and all. Ugh.
If I do make it to this one, I'm excited to catch Slonk Donkerson as well. Like Ringo Deathstarr, their so bad it's good name is just part of the appeal for me. Their loud, sludgy, guitar-based pop is the real draw.
The Meaning Of Life at Bar Matchless
Matchless. The Meaning Of Life. I could relive one of my favorite moments from last year's festival, Marta DeLeon's smoky vocals filling up the little cave of a performance space in the back of the bar. We'll have to see how geography, logistics, and set times play out for this one.
Mitski at St. Vitus
Unbelievably, I missed Mitski both times she came to Asbury Lanes this year. I've gotten reports from friends that the Don Giovanni artist's sets have been amazing and transformative. This is one I'd really like to make work.
Spider Bags, Ex Hex at MHOW
Spider Bags are heading out on tour with Titus Andronicus. They're also playing at Saturday's Asbury Park Night Bazaar at The Anchor's Bend. I saw them at The Saint last year; and their all-out, southern tinged garage punk blew me away.
I've been kicking myself for the last couple of months for missing Mary Timony's power trio, Ex Hex, when they played WFMU's Monty Hall. I'd love to see them, but it would mean giving up on a few sets I already listed. Decisions.
SLEEPiES at Aviv
SLEEPiES' Weird Wild World is pretty much a masterpiece of intelligent, quirky punk rock. They were one of the first bands to reach out to me in the early days of CoolDad Music, and I've never been able to catch one of their sets. This is a late one, so the only thing that could stand in my way this time is whether I can still stand. I'll make it.
OK. So this list is beyond aspirational. I'm sure that it's physically impossible to do all of this, but in an ideal world... Well, in an ideal world, there's even more stuff I'd like to see. There will be those surprises that happen too, bands I happen upon by accident that could end up as highlights of the weekend.
Back tomorrow with a list of stuff I'd like to see on Saturday and Sunday.
The Planes at the very dark Bar Matchless last spring.
"Evacuation Route"
I first met Stephen Perry at a showcase he was putting on at last year's Northside Festival in Brooklyn. The bill included bands like Clouder, The Meaning of Life, Haybaby, Old Monk, Miniboone, and Stephen's own band -- a quartet with PJ Levine, Jeff Patlingrao, and Brian LaRue -- The Planes. After their set, Stephen gave me a card and a T-shirt.
The Planes had impressed me with their unadorned indie pop -- just Fender guitars, Fender amps, a simple approach to songs, and some appropriately slacker-y playing. When I got home, I went to the link on Stephen's card at heartsbleedradio.com and found that we were of a similar mind when it came to the sounds we liked and our desire to let the world hear some of the lesser-known bands making them.
In that spirit, here is the first single from The Planes' upcoming EP Evacuation Kit. "Evacuation Route" captures all of those things I enjoy about classic indie pop. The song is almost exactly 3 minutes. You can hear the single-coil jangle, the reverb. It's endearingly easy-going. The whole thing reminds me a bit of some of the lighter fare from Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips -- "Buggin'" maybe.
It was a beautiful day. CoolDaughter #1 and I enjoyed bagels after her swim practice, then CoolDaughter #2 and I headed over to the softball game. I pitched. She hit. Fun.
After we all got home, I got myself together and headed up to Brooklyn. Traffic was horrendous. It took me a solid two hours. Not fun.
Anyway, I found parking just fine and walked over to the outdoor stage set up in McCarren Park to catch Minnesota's The Blind Shake on the recommendation of Amy (a native Minnesotan herself) over at Little Dickman Records. I've got to remember to thank her the next time I see her. The trio did a crazed set of garage punk that I could see shaking Asbury Lanes sometime in the future.
It was the first thing I'd seen at the more festival-y setup in the park; and all of the festival-type things I can usually do without were right there: expensive beer, groups of people sitting on the ground to stake out their spots for later, that sense of being there but not really. There was a photo pit at the front of the stage to which my press pass -- I realized too late -- would have gained me admittance. I ended up taking shots from the crowd and testing out my zoom lens.
Also, there was a Keurig stand giving out iced coffees in the little K-cup flavor of your choice. The line was like 20 minutes long. Pass.
I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast with CD1, so I walked up to Bar Matchless where I'd seen Sharkmuffin the night before. It was a weird time, so the kitchen only offered wings (very good ones); but there was daytime music going on in the band room.
I headed in there and saw Dutch punk band traumahelikopter. They were impressive. After their set, I found out that they had flown over from The Netherlands just for the festival: four shows, then back home on Tuesday.
It was back to Matchless for the evening and the Hearts Bleed Radio showcase. I ran into a photographer / blogger that I've met a few times at Brooklyn shows, and we headed in to see the bands.
Hearts Bleed Radio founder Stephen Perry and his band The Planes opened. Their Fender-based indie pop was just my thing, sounding maybe a little Modest Mouse-y at times.
Haybaby followed and included three people I'd seen in other bands over the previous two days. Singer / guitarist Leslie Hong joined Piers for a song on Thursday night. Bassist Sam Yield also plays bass in Piers, and I'd just seen drummer Mike Lande with Sharkmuffin the night before. Haybaby's thing was dark, sometimes explosive, grunge-influenced rock.
I'd come to the festival to check out some of the bands whose stuff I've reviewed, so I was happy to see The Meaning of Life on the bill. They're impressive live, and Marta DeLeon's dark, smoky vocals are the highlight. Following their set, I headed back up the street to Warsaw to catch The Dead Milkmen.
I arrived just as the band were putting the finishing touches on their pre-show set up. They opened with "Tiny Town," Rodney Anonymous bouncing around the stage in his bowler hat, holding his mic out over the audience several times. The crowd went pretty crazy as The Dead Milkmen rattled off songs like "I Walk The Thinnest Line," "Leggo My Ego," "Nutrition," "Stuart," "Punk Rock Girl," and "Bitchin' Camaro."
The crowd surfing started a few songs in; and a couple of people made it all the way to the stage, knocking into Rod's equipment. He got understandably angry as it looked like some beer or water spilled on his expensive electronics. He left the stage for a few minutes as Joe and the rest of the band carried on. He came back, a little annoyed but ready to go. At one point, he noticed a pair of guys fighting in the crowd (There were several of these dust-ups), and said, "I'm from Philly. I've gotta break this up." He climbed down from the stage to do just that.
Finally, it was back to Matchless to catch another band I'd heard but never seen. Clouder played the last set of the night. Frontman Eric Gilstrap was down among the small-ish remaining crowd almost immediately, at one point executing a stage dive onto the small group of people (me included) at the front of the stage.
That was it for me. I'd decided to stay home for Father's Day, so my Northside experience was done. I'm not sure if I did it right, focusing on smaller bands and smaller venues and opting to skip some of the bigger acts; but I had a good time; saw some really good bands; met some really great people. I also got a sense, I think, for what's going on in Brooklyn beyond the bands we all read about in Pitchfork or hear on Sirius XMU.
Check out some of the bands I've talked about here. They've all got Bandcamp, Facebook, or Soundcloud sites. And I hope we'll get to see a bunch of them nearby soon.
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