If you’ve never listened to Beak>, >>>> is an ideal introduction. It’s a showcase of Geoff Barrow’s idiosyncratic vision of music—part psych, part prog, all strange. The album, which Billy Fuller, Will Young, and Barrow wrote together, carries an exciting air of improvisation, even while it’s clear that the music is painstakingly deliberate. What follows is our free-ranging conversation about all things Beak> and how Barrow’s experiences in the industry shaped one of music’s most unusual bands.
With SUMAC’s fifth album, The Healer, arriving later this month via Thrill Jockey, Post-Trash took the opportunity to speak with Aaron Turner on the eve of the band’s upcoming tour. Our wide-ranging conversation is perhaps best framed as a discussion of aesthetic ontology in the digital age—what is art today and why still make it? For a band who routinely releases albums with hour-plus runtimes where individual songs are more akin to orchestral movements than traditional metal songs, these are questions worth exploring.
MIZU excavates hidden feelings and lush, unknown gardens of sound in every aspect of her work. The ephemeral beauty of her cello is a guiding hand through the sonic and cerebral.After performing in Minneapolis earlier this month, MIZU took time to talk about classical music, continuity, freedom, performance, and The Music Man.
On Teeth, Magana gingerly universalizes her pandemic lockdown restlessness and forced self-reckoning. Airy synths perk up her anguish, while matter-of-fact lyrics bring her back down to the mortal plane. Giliann Karon caught up with her on Mitski tour to discuss her arsenal of skills and find out just exactly what a Worm Moon is.
Nightosphere consists of Claire Hannah and Brittany Sawtelle, who exchange the responsibilities of guitar, bass, and vocals both on the record and in the live setting, along with drummer Dekota “Hop” Trogdon. The three of them called in to talk about their upcoming tour, the environment they formed in, and the general expressions in their music.
Ekko Astral’s lyrics ideate a dissonance, disgust, and confusion, all while embodying the rich DC DIY scene. They never hesitate to call out the profiteers and architects of this apocalypse, but guide listeners towards solutions rooted in community care. The band’s music ushers in advocacy, optimism, and plans for a brighter tomorrow.
Experimenting with new arrangements and recording methods, Community College continues to shrug at the trivial and chuckle at the mundane with SCHMOMCO. John Margaris spoke about the album, the beginnings of Community College, the Boston scene, and being intentional in more ways than just writing music.
David DiAngelis is the artistic stamina behind the Brooklyn-based bedroom project, Helenor. His sophomore record, A public place, has become an embodiment of his last few years of transition. He spoke with Post-Trash’s Shea Roney about the movement in his life and the changes he made in the name of betterment.
Ask Christina Puerto, Mulva’s singer and principal songwriter, and she’ll tell you there’s still power in the DIY ethos. Mulva’s debut album Bitter Form, just released via Sad Cactus, is testament to that power, a bombastic work of emotional resonance. Post-Trash spoke with Puerto about her unlikely musical journey and the people who helped her along the way.
During our 33-minute conversation, Matt Korvette, the 42-year-old vocalist of Pissed Jeans, says “fun” eleven times and “fan” six times. The Sub Pop mainstays out of Philadelphia dropped their sixth album, Half Divorced, and Korvette has it on repeat. Approaching two decades as a band, Pissed Jeans are writing great songs that they enjoy jamming out to.
Tomato Flower squish together on a couch, where they fill in each other’s sentences and pass the proverbial mic to the next member with ease, only pausing to burst into laughter. Each answer unfurls into a tangent that pulls back the curtain on their ambitious songwriting process and desire to see their best friends succeed individually and together.
If the world feels especially cruel, Mary Timony is the last to know. Speaking to Post-Trash from her home on the eve of Untame the Tiger’s release, the singer and guitar virtuoso sounds carefree and positive. This juxtaposition between heavy circumstance and her unsinkable attitude reflects what Untame the Tiger does so well.
If there can be such a thing as a silver lining to stragedy, perhaps part of it is Nina Nastasia’s new band Jolie Laide, which started as a startlingly productive long distance project with Jeff MacLeod and has since grown into a full band. Talking to them, it became clear why the band’s growth has been so propulsive. Besides obviously being close friends, they are stoked.
Hot Garbage’s brand new sophomore album, Precious Dream, is a foray into the limitless liminal spaces of disorientation; its goal is to find solace in the chaos, to laugh in the face of cruelty. Juliana Carlevaris (bass/vocals) spoke with Post-Trash about inspiration, experimentation, and the mysticism at the record’s core.
On a wet December morning, Post-Trash caught up with Blonde Redhead drummer and percussionist, Simone Pace, who spoke with us from his home in upstate New York. Pace shed some light on the making of Sit Down for Dinner, the unexpected role a canceled tour with Tool played, and the best feline cameo on an album.
