Review: Blurgundy – Wither

Mary Varvaris Apr 9, 2020

“Blurgtones” was the long-time running title for “No Authority,” a magnetic tour-de-force in melodic post-hardcore from Pennsylvania outfit Blurgundy. The band’s second EP, Wither, came about during long sessions listening to Deftones, O’Brother, and Seahaven. Bassist and vocalist Logan Ressler wrote the main riff during these sessions, writing the bulk of the song with drummer Michael Cross. While “Betrayer” and “You Should Stay Home” were written as a group, songs like “No Authority” and “Reverie” were written by two members – “Reverie” was mostly written by Ressler and guitarist Matthew Subers. Ressler is the band’s secret weapon, as his endlessly creative mind ticks through guitar riffs and melody progressions. He doesn’t stop there: Ressler has recorded, mixed, and mastered every Blurgundy song thus far.

Review: Nap Eyes – Snapshot of a Beginner

Mary Varvaris Mar 26, 2020

Although Nap Eyes couldn’t have predicted the circumstances behind it, their fourth album, Snapshot of a Beginner is a comforting album for the social distancing era. Songwriter and vocalist, Nigel Chapman springs between anxiety-induced stalling of tasks (“Mystery Calling”) to “feeling bored and unquestionably boorish” for writing songs about himself on “Though I Wish I Could.” Snapshot of a Beginner takes both the snappy and slacker rock moments of Nap Eyes’ third album, I’m Bad Now and encourages your grooviest dance moves to some pensive jams.

The Halifax, Nova Scotia outfit is Chapman, Seamus Dalton on drums and percussion, guitarist Brad Loughead and bassist Joshua Salter. Joining them are producers, James Elkington (Joan Shelley, Steve Gunn), and Jonathan Low (The National, Big Red Machine) to elevate the band’s slick sound with flourishes of additional piano, keyboards, organ, synthesizer, pedal steel guitar, and percussion. Nap Eyes, exceedingly open and clever, may leave you entranced — but, contrary to the name, their music certainly isn’t a slog.

Review: Katie Gately – Loom

Mary Varvaris Feb 13, 2020

Loom isn’t the album experimental musician and producer Katie Gately intended to make. At the time of her mother’s diagnosis of a rare destructive cancer, she was close to finishing an entirely different album. However, she quickly recognized that she “didn’t have the bandwidth to make that record anymore.” So, she returned to her Brooklyn family home and completely recreated the album around the 10-and-a-half-minute saga that deals with substance abuse, “Bracer,” which was her mother’s favorite track. Where her 2016 debut album, Color exhibited a frenzied and fierce listen, Loom reveals equally frantic textures and retains her debut’s display of melodic pop sensibilities. Although, this time around, her voice is front and center, atop harsh sound design.

Gately’s mother passed away in 2018. To convey the enormity of such a loss, she’s added real earthquake recordings and samples of further wreckage, such as peacocks screaming, wolves howling, pill bottles rattling, a machine gun going off, the take-off of a fighter jet airplane, a coffin shutting, and heavily processed audio from her parent’s wedding. The swiftness of her mother’s diagnosis and passing held an impending weight over Gately, and so Loom captures the bizarre nature of imminent doom, but also with some iridescent colors.

Review: Okay Kaya – Watch This Liquid Pour Itself

Mary Varvaris Jan 24, 2020

Kaya Wilkins is just like you. Well, sort of. She enjoys Netflix and vegan peanut butter chocolate ice cream; she fights jet lag, experiences yeast infections, and she summons introverts such as myself to her “Zero Interaction Ramen Bar.” All of these facets are wrapped up in Wilkins’ penchant for light, luminous melodies. The Norwegian-born, New York-raised artist is fully realized on Watch This Liquid Pour Itself, her Jagjaguwar debut and second album under the Okay Kaya moniker. Recorded mostly by Wilkins herself, she collaborated with producers Jacob Portrait (Whitney, (Sandy) Alex G) and John Carroll Kirby (Solange, Kali Uchis) in order to further her vision. Inside its 39-minute runtime, Watch This Liquid Pour Itself presents forms of wetness through the lens of oceans, rivers, and ponds. The water in this universe is not of rebirth or revitalization, though, even when Wilkins misleads you so.

Review: Black Marble – Bigger Than Life

Mary Varvaris Oct 25, 2019

I often wonder if Ian Curtis had any idea of the legacy Joy Division would have on musicians young and old. I wonder if he predicted the emergence of a platform like Tumblr, where teenagers who heard “Love Will Tear Us Apart” one time subsequently purchased Unknown Pleasures banners and proudly hung them over their bedroom doors. Curtis ripped open the door for artists keen on expressing the inner turmoil bubbling beneath the flashing lights and glam rock tunes of the 80s, with his lyrical emphasis on alienation and loneliness. Radiohead, The Smashing Pumpkins, Interpol and Danny Brown (his fourth album, Atrocity Exhibition is named after the Joy Division song) are just a handful of artists who wouldn’t have evolved into the artists they are without the fleeting existence of a little post-punk band from Salford, England.

Now, New York-based electronic artist Chris Stewart has released his third album under the Black Marble moniker, Bigger Than Life. The album follows 2016’s It’s Immaterial, which was labeled as an “Ian Curtis-garage dance party you’ve never been to” by Kristin Porter at SLUG Magazine. With comments like that, Stewart left himself nowhere to go but up. More coldwave than his post-punk roots, Bigger Than Life hosts another dance party, adding a bit more polish without depriving us sad suckers the melancholia we so crave.

Review: Bodega – Shiny New Model

Mary Varvaris Oct 10, 2019

Bodega burst onto the post-punk scene in July 2018. Teeming with style and homages as overt as The B-52s and Gang of Four, the Brooklyn-based band’s debut album, Endless Scroll displayed an intelligent, witty group with a fully formed catalog of ideas. “Your playlist knows you better than a closest lover,” sings Ben Hozie on “How Did This Happen?!,” a biting take on the guilt of “the cultural consumer.” In “I Am Not A Cinephile,” Bodega challenges the systems of imperialism, racism, misogyny, and capitalism that allowed the universe of Alfred Hitchcock to be filmed. Co-vocalist Nikki Belfiglio channels riot-grrrl energy in an ode to female pleasure in “Gyrate.” Album highlight, “Truth Is Not Punishment” has two appearances (Long and Short) on the band’s new EP, Shiny New Model.

Endless Scroll quickly established Bodega as a band that questions oppressive systems, male idols, and consumerism. After a year of touring, the making of Shiny New Model marked a series of firsts for the band. It’s the only recording session they’ve had in a studio, the first recording with new drummer Tai Lee (previously a performer in the show STOMP), and the band handled production for the first time. On Shiny New Model, Bodega presents a new bunch of questions. This time around, there’s even more ground to cover.

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Review: Modern Nature – How To Live

Mary Varvaris Aug 26, 2019

It isn’t often that I hear an album that feels tailor-made for me. Modern Nature’s debut album, How To Live might be it. Bounding off the tails of the twelve-minute epic “Supernature” from the supergroup’s debut EP, Nature, vocalist Jack Cooper (ex-Ultimate Painting), keyboardist Will Young (BEAK>) and drummer Aaron Neveu (Woods) climb to great heights, enhancing their already entrancing compositions with the induction of cellist Rupert Gillett and saxophonist Jeff Tobias (Sunwatchers). It’s Young’s work with BEAK> and Portishead instrumentalist, Geoff Barrow that stunningly complements Cooper’s vision for Modern Nature, blossoming into an astonishing slow-burning tension. In How To Live, the rural and the urban unite; isolation is in decline and endless beauty surfaces.

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Review: Holy Holy – My Own Pool Of Light

Mary Varvaris Aug 2, 2019

Holy Holy is no longer content with being known as “another bunch of blokes onstage rocking,” according to guitarist and producer, Oscar Dawson. With their third album, My Own Pool Of Light, they’ve banished the traditional rock music they’re celebrated for. In 2017, the duo’s sophomore album, Paint – a guitar-based album immersed in new-wave glory, peaked at #7 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart, with lead single “Darwinism” becoming the most-played track on Australian national youth radio station, triple j. Two years later, Holy Holy is driven higher and further.

My Own Pool Of Light contains the best collection of stories in Holy Holy’s career. The propulsive bass featured in previous tracks like “Willow Tree” is much more prominent, directing the unyielding rhythm of the hit single, “Faces.” The duo, alongside permanent drummer Ryan Strathie, employs drum loops and sampled beats. For the first time, Carroll opts to pitch-shift his vocals. Holy Holy have also brought in some good friends, including Gab Strum (Japanese Wallpaper) on synths, and back up singers, Ainslie Wills and Ali Barter. From the powerful opening drums and synth-laden mourning of album opener, “Maybe You Know” to the quietly devastating closer, “St Petersburg” Holy Holy graciously shift from their past; while promising another luscious, fulfilling journey.

Review: Lust For Youth – Lust For Youth

Mary Varvaris Jun 7, 2019

New wave emerged in popular music during the late 1970s and reached maximum popularity in the early 1980s. Icons of the genre, such as Blondie and Talking Heads, grasped the sunnier side of pop music while adopting sensibilities of punk. In the 2000s, bands like The Killers, The Strokes, and Interpol were seemingly reviving post-punk/new wave, largely in thanks to their hugely melodic pop songs contrasted with themes of disillusionment and heartache. Now, Parquet Courts and Public Practice have taken the mantle of Talking Heads-esque post-punk, Preoccupations fill the art-punk void, but where’s the poppier side of the spectrum?

Enter Lust for Youth, the Danish new wave duo comprised of Hannes Norrvide and Malthe Fischer. Their new eponymously titled album presents eight tracks ready to be consumed on the dance floor. Seamlessly integrating contemplative balladry and voyaging through 90s Europop, Lust for Youth have crafted a superb collection of tracks that rightfully likens them to legendary new wave acts New Order and Depeche Mode.

Review: Alex Lahey – The Best Of Luck Club

Mary Varvaris May 17, 2019

Alex Lahey ‘s brand new album, The Best Of Luck Club, couldn’t come at a better time. Released on the eve of the Australian federal election, Lahey confronts the pains of millennial struggles through her universal approach to songwriting. She seamlessly integrates the personal and couples it with anthemic, searing pop-punk melodies. Like her stunning debut, I Love You Like A Brother, Lahey demonstrates that she holds numerous smashing hooks under her belt. The Best Of Luck Club picks up where Lahey left off, but races forward. There’s more ballads, unexpected instrumentation, and the lyricism we’ve come to know, and love is even greater.

Review: Bibio – Ribbons

Mary Varvaris Apr 12, 2019

“I’m going back to my roots” is a statement that we often hear in today’s musical landscape. Sometimes, it happens following a commercial dud of an album. Occasionally, the back to my roots album comes after rigorous stadium touring, yearning for simpler beginnings. Or, it’s a deflection from a “bad” image, resulting in cleaning up one’s act. For Steven Wilkinson, artistically known as Bibio, Ribbons is a sequel to the structured storytelling of his 2016 album, A Mineral Love.

With Ribbons, Wilkinson steps away from the ambient electronica of 2017 album, Phantom Brickworks. That doesn’t mean he’s ditched the intelligent dance music that defined past releases. In fact, the touches of synthesizers serve to elevate the gentle nature of Ribbons. On 28 February this year, Wilkinson took to Twitter to discuss the new album, divulging that it’s “an album made very much in admiration of nature, yet through a tinted window of manmade escapism. Recalling the beauty in nature and the sadness of seeing it spoiled.”

Review: Julia Jacklin – Crushing

Mary Varvaris Feb 28, 2019

Julia Jacklin doesn’t want to be the type of artist that preaches to her listeners. Her sophomore album, fittingly titled Crushing, is full of dialogues that Jacklin herself has with her family and friends. Crushing is a story, one where the Sydney-based artist discusses her bodily autonomy. Don’t Let The Kids Win, Jacklin’s 2016 debut album, was existential but sometimes unsure. Now, she’s self-assured. She’s finding space for herself in a cluttered indie rock scene. With only two albums under her belt, Julia Jacklin is already rising as one of Australia’s finest songwriters.

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Review: Homeshake – Helium

Mary Varvaris Feb 14, 2019

Montreal-based singer-songwriter Peter Sagar formed his solo project, Homeshake, after leaving Mac DeMarco’s live band in 2014. Sagar found himself fatigued and “at a creative dead-end” with guitar, in turn constructing luscious bedroom-pop and lo-fi R&B. The fourth album under the Homeshake moniker, Helium, out today, is a superb showcase of an artist rebuffing the usual pigeonholes in genres, textures, and soundscapes.

Review: Tiny Ruins – Olympic Girls

Mary Varvaris Jan 31, 2019

Folk-tinged indie rock is renowned for beautiful lyrics, intricate melodies, and stunning collaborations. It’s a style that’s held the spotlight inside indie circles for years, with good reason. Current stars such as Sharon Van Etten released her fifth album; Remind Me Tomorrow, just weeks ago. Van Etten goes for soul-crushing while experimenting with haunting, cinematic synth-led tracks. Last year’s For My Crimes by Marissa Nadler is equally haunting, albeit in much more subtle light. Just last week, Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst teamed up as Better Oblivion Community Center, delivering their intimate debut album that showcases both of their unique types of storytelling. Here enters Tiny Ruins, originally a moniker for New Zealand singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook.

Subsequent to the release of debut full-length, Some Were Meant For Sea, in 2011, Tiny Ruins opened for Fleet Foxes and toured internationally with Beach House. Cass Basil (bass) and Alexander Freer (drums) later made Tiny Ruins an ensemble, in turn recording the second album, Brightly Painted One, in 2014. Tiny Ruins were bestowed Best Alternative Album for Brightly Painted One at the New Zealand Music Awards in late 2014. Tiny Ruins wistful new album, Olympic Girls, out today, is the next big indie folk album of 2019.

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Review: The Sonder Bombs – Modern Female Rockstar

Mary Varvaris Oct 22, 2018

I’ve been waiting for a band like The Sonder Bombs to come along. The four-piece from Cleveland, Ohio has assembled an immersive collection of tracks to make up their debut album, Modern Female Rockstar. The band promises to change up the scene with their brand of unrelenting, socially conscious pop-punk – with the ukulele as a main star! Pop punk hasn’t been this fun, or sounded this important, in god knows how long. Modern Female Rockstar is urgent, shimmers, and explodes. With “Title” and “Twinkle Lights,” The Sonder Bombs join peers in UK riot grrrl group Peach Club and punk rock band Dream Wife, as well as Australian rockers Camp Cope and Courtney Barnett in penning tracks that carry hefty messages – these phenomenal artists relentlessly and publicly condemn sexual assault. But, The Sonder Bombs don’t forget to have some fun along the way, allowing their songs to revel in quickly found assurance.