The track addresses the haunting presence of a known abuser, one who has been exiled for the safety of a community. It questions the implications of excommunication, considering the danger said abusers may pose to the next community they find. We spoke with Landowner vocalist and songwriter Dan Shaw about Landowner, his architecture work and his personal life.
Long before this year, NNAMDÏ’s music and live performances had solidified him as an artist making was truly something special. With three exceptional releases in 2020 (BRAT, Black Plight, KRAZY KARL), he’s cemented himself as one of the most creative and genre defiant voices. Ryan Martin spoke to him about the making of KRAZY KARL.
Simple routine at Astral Spirits. Release showpiece after showpiece of contemporary free jazz and its intersections - e.g. experimental, electroacoustic, non-idiomatic, noise, no rock, avant jazz, and improv. Sheathe the sharp-eared music in striking wrap. Announce the heavy hitters in throwback Cooper Black font. Lure collectors.
Collaboration was a key element in making Ultimate Success Today, and with it Protomartyr continues to distinguish itself as a unique force. To learn more about the writing process and themes on the new album, we sat down with Joe Casey to talk about a few tracks, what the album title means, and how the collaborations came to fruition.
Judy Hong who runs Quiet Year Records and organizes with Ice Cream Social in Richmond, VA, along with Nancy Grim Kells (Spartan Jet-Plex) and James Cassar, are part of the team responsible for Grim Year Wednesdays, an inventive online hybrid of interviews and performances with a focus on fundraising for the Virginia Anti-Violence Project.
Chicago four-piece Stuck is a torrent of biting guitar riffs and desperate vocals twisted and held together by a precise, curious rhythm section. Their stripped-down and raw approach is evident and effective on their debut album, Change is Bad. We had the pleasure of meeting and talking with them via video chat.
Bad History Month, the Boston-based music project of Sean Sprecher, has been performing since 2007. Old Blues will be his fourth album and the second under his current moniker. Along the way, Sean’s created a robust discography of simultaneously self-aware and self-effacing art rock. Alex Fatato had some questions for Sean about Old Blues and his career.
PITH, Melkbelly’s sophomore full length is out now via Wax Nine / Carpark Records and we had the chance to catch up with the entire band - James Wetzel (drums), Miranda Winters (guitar/vocals), Bart Winters (guitar), and Liam Winters (bass) - to discuss the new record, touring, a new baby, and uncertainty in these pandemic times.
Locate S,1, the latest project of DIY staple Christina Schneider, are set to release their sophomore album, Personalia in April, a brilliant move past the confines of lo-fi and avant-garde. Due out via Captured Tracks, Locate S,1 was kind enough to share some of the influences that lead to Personalia with us.
Notches has become one of the most consistent bands in pop-punk DIY at large. They create indelible pop songs that gnaw at you in the best ways possible. Their latest, New Kind of Love is no different. The band’s own Ezra Cohen and Zac Mayeux, the two respective songwriters, spoke about songs that influenced the record and their songwriting as a whole.
Un-becoming arrives on the heels of J. Robbins’ old band Jawbox’s reunion and was recorded in the cracks of work, family obligations, and between rounds of video game sessions with his son. Does this mean that Robbins, now straddling the line between musician, producer, and father, has strayed from punk and into the feared territory of “dad rock” on his new record? In a word, no.
Asked if he minded discussing some of the gory details of his career and his new autobiography, The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities, such as a long and tumultuous struggle with addiction, snafus with the law, and the ups and downs (mostly ups) of getting sober, Wayne Kramer laughed off the question as if it was absurd.
