The band have an exceptional new record coming in the not too distant future but before you can hear that, the Philadelphia trio are sharing a new single, "Kill The Thing You Love". Set for release as a stand-alone single via Lame-O Records with all proceeds going to the organization Women Against Abuse, we're thrilled to present the premiere.
Few things sound as good as MOURN when they’re at their best, juxtaposing primarily minor chord progressions with a sturdy foundation courtesy of a rhythm section that takes turns providing the spine of their songs. They are relentless in their willingness to make music that takes itself seriously, but only to a point.
Humor is an apt title for the EP. Song titles like "Fear and Loathing in the WWE" and the first and last tracks sharing a similar title but for a change in punctuation add to the loose vibe. Kiss Concert’s lyrics amble along over the music with a Bad History Month sort of story telling pace and can range from quite funny to absurd, often in the same line.
"The Dark End of the Street" is a song originally done by James Carr in 1966 and has been covered by the likes of Afghan Whigs, Cat Power, Frank Black, and even Linda Ronstadt. Zagers' original work can be off-kilter but here the sparse arrangement gives it a feeling of being bathed in tungsten lighting.
The Montreal quartet's latest record picks up where Stripped left off, mining the pop side of post-punk with angular stabs at jangly guitars and rhythms that often move in against one another. There's an unflinching calm to the band's spastic charm as Dories manipulate complex shifts and progressions into something casual and inviting
Year of the Rabbit has a slightly darker tone than it's predecessor, O.K. Melodically, YOTR feels like a classic Eskimeaux album. It chronologically fits into Smith's discography like a glove. Lyrically, Smith matures with each release. In a short amount of time, the album hits on themes of personal growth, insecurity, fear, love, and lust.
“VHS” finds Mumblr continuing to make the pulsating, catchy rock that defined 2014’s Full of Snakes, and that has become a highly specific sonic identity for the band. Singer Nick Morrison’s voice has the incredible quality of driving Mumblr songs to their outermost limits, functioning as a fifth instrument floating above the mix, and in “VHS” this is on full display.
Daydreams in a Roach Motel is a deeply weird release, one that pushes past a stale game of “spot the reference” to paint a larger regional portrait of gender identity and spiritual renewal, of life and death, horizon and transience in the thick flow of the James. Cat Be Damned’s hazy lo-fi feels like a fitting artifact of too many landscapes to count, compounded over soft synths and hushed vocals that teeter towards collapse.
Car Seat Headrest songs are about the big, scary questions that we’re all asking ourselves. Although Toledo doesn’t claim to have the answers, you still end up feeling empowered as a listener. The record captures the all too familiar sense of emptiness and uncertainty that comes with the start of adulthood, and it will fiercely resonate with young people who are trying to figure out how to live in a world that feels like it's falling apart more everyday.
