by Dan Goldin (@paintingwithdan)
Ollie Becker is one of those musicians that seemingly can do no wrong. Across a wide variety of projects, from the explosive mutant hardcore carnage of RONG and the prog skronk chaos of Premium Velvet Headache Pillow to the stunning acoustic guitar wizardry of this summer’s jaw-dropping Bitter Until Soaked, Becker’s music is open, expressive, and always intricately composed, regardless of genre. While we all eagerly await the next RONG record, Becker is set to release two new records from their archives, the debut albums from Other Joliah and Hairbrush, both due out on December 13th via Erased! Tapes (Dennis Bleach, Queen Crony, Damien Scalise). Each album astounding in its own right, we’re thrilled to premiere the second singles from both of these records.
Western Mass trio Hairbrush take a propulsive approach to instrumental punk on Good Luck Empty Nailgun, a record that blends post-hardcore, noise rock, math rock, and a sort of reckless punk “anything goes” mentality throughout the fifteen knotted songs. The band - Becker, Dan Shaw (Landowner), and Annie Ricotta - play everything with an animalistic sense of immediacy, playing tangled punk that still feels raw in every sense. “Who Has Been Standing Dormant Eternally” feels akin to being tossed into a blender, a cyclone of thrashing blades and jagged eruptions. Recorded by Josh Daniel (Editrix, Landowner), the song is seemingly designed to melt your brain through your guts, as it spirals, sputters, and retracts at all the right times, a dizzying adventure of deviant sonic abrassion.
Other Joliah’s self-titled album is a bit more “song” focused, but no less of a musical headtrip. Becker (guitar, vocals) is joined by Christian Holden (The Hotelier) on bass, Anthony Richards (Paper Bee, Kiss Concert, Oceanator) on drums, Amina Ameur on flute, and Raef Sengupta on alto saxophone - the quintet playing indie rock at its absolute most ambitious, with progressive tendencies that seem to orbit a similar yet bizzaro universe to Lonesome Crowded West. Recorded by Mark Fede (Fat History Month), the album is jarring at times and captivatingly melodic at others, highlighted on the record’s scrappy closer, “Everyone Is John” and it’s ragged oscillating charm. The song weaves a spiraling path of dexterous abandon, a lost gem of sheer indie rock brilliance.