Top 20 albums of 2013

Just A Pictcha of Ya Boy - These Posts Won't Lean on Themselves

2013 was kind of overwhelming. In general, I try to listen to three or four new albums a day, which is easy to do since I can listen to music at work. When I mean new albums, I don't necessarily mean albums that just came out, but albums that I haven't heard before. One of my pet peeves is not knowing about a certain style of music, but it's also one of my greatest joys because it means that there's a ton of really awesome music that I haven't heard. 

This year I discovered that I knew nothing about Crabcore (attn: Chris Defusco, Corbie Hill). Just kidding.

The kinds of music I've been trying to get to know in my back catalog are neofolk, industrial, japanese psych, noise (japanese and others), new wave, and minimal synth. I realized that I knew next to nothing about these genres and so I've been trying to learn about them and made a ton of new friends on the way, which is another great part of the music community. People love to introduce you to things they love. It's why I started this website for pete's sake!

This is going to be the first installment of my year-end list of music. I'm trying to bring as much attention to people who really rocked my socks off this year, so I'm starting with a typical "top x albums from this year" list. I'll do another list on EPs and 7 inches, one on cassette releases, and one on reissues and archival releases.

In addition, I'm super proud to announce that I'm going to be putting out a list of top albums by some of my favorite people in the music scene. Honestly, it's mostly just so I have some recommendations for things to listen to, but I figured other people may want to know about them too.

Without further ado, here are my favorite records of the year.

1. Kurt Vile – Waking on a Pretty Daze

Face it. Any year that Kurt Vile comes out with a record, it will probably be my favorite album of the year.  Kurt Vile’s drawn-out Americana is laced with stoned wisdom and seriousness. It is easy to discount Vile’s lyrics as they are mumbled into existence. Upon closer inspection, there are some downright heartbreaking lyrics. The first song, for instance, is about a friend killing himself. “Phone ringing off the shelf/I guess he wanted to kill himself” transitions to later “Don’t worry about a thing/It’s only dying.” But the lackadaisically meandering guitar tone and delivery disguise the emotion. It’s a recurring theme throughout the album that ultimately can become unsettling. But there’s a startling beauty in the undertow, which is the real draw.

2. Jacco Gardner – Cabinet of Curiosities

I had no idea what I was getting into when I heard this album. There’s a feeling of swirling magic spells that whisper throughout this album, pulling the listener into Gardner’s psychedelic-tinged imagination. It’s like you’re simultaneously underwater and airborne. See, I’m not even making any sense. This album is gorgeous and has some memorable transitions between lighthearted verses and deepened choruses. Gardner is a master at changing chord progressions. There were some melodic lines that I had never heard in my life in this album. Diminished chords mix with majors and minors like a baroque pop Philip Glass. “Clear the Air” is the obvious single of this album, having been released in anticipation of the full-length and is a great introduction to the fantastic miasma of Jacco Gardner.

3. Mountains – Centralia

Easily the most realized Mountains record as well as the most organic. The album starts on somewhat familiar ground with “Sand,” an ambient drawl with reverberating tones and synth lines before going into my personal favorite song “Identical Ship,” a finger-picked acoustic dream that seems to drop the listener in the middle of a desert littered with sand dunes for three minutes and five seconds. On a personal note, I listen to this album when I am overcome with anxiety and it really helps me. Naturally, it has a special place in my heart.

4. Hoax – Hoax

I don’t know how many times I listened to this record with my friend Jeffrey while we were touring around with Death in June. During this time, Jeffrey, his dog Ahlfa, and I spent a few nights in Sean Ragon’s record shop Heaven Street in Brooklyn because we didn’t want to pay for a hotel. One night, after we went to a show at Don Pedros, Jeffrey and I went back to Heaven Street and put on Hoax’s record and blasted it as we pogoed around the room screaming “I’m sick/I’m sick/Lost control/Lost control.” For me, this record is tied to that week or so that we drove 3500 miles around the East Coast and back. I guess I should talk a little bit about the record. It’s the best hardcore record of the year and you should listen to it. That’s what I got.

5. Culo – My Life Sucks and I Could Care Less

I think that the guys in Culo inject a speedball into the vinyl as each LP is pressed. This record is oozing with drugs and self-loathing. You don’t really have to go further than noting that there’s a song called “I was supposed to be an abortion” to realize that. This band is Chicago hardcore royalty and I got to see them a few times last year. The first time I saw them was in what was arguably the best show all year, the day-long Not Normal Showcase at the Albion House and Swerp Mansion in celebration of Nor Normal’s “Welcome to 2013” compilation. Culo plays a frantic, anxious vein of hardcore that is both fun and nerve-racking. This record is full of exciting hooks and dangerously cheesy verses. The record is made of twenty songs, impossibly long for a hardcore album, and yet it doesn’t seem so. Rather, the band expertly weaves hilariously self-deprecating lyrics to catch the listener a little off guard each time the song changes.

6. Iceage – You’re Nothing

Iceage is a band that has matured quickly. Their first LP New Brigade was interesting, but only gave us a clue as to what the band would become. The band’s second album is a demonstration of just how much young musicians can accomplish in two years. You’re Nothing possesses a variety of songs from the new wave-inspired “Ecstasy” to “Morals,” the first song in Iceage’s repertoire to feature a piano. “Coalition,” for me, is the best song on the album and maybe the best song that the band has done. “Somehow things last till I die/For a show to feel animated/That face is integrated/Some figure out the coalition we chose/excess, excess, excess, excess.” There’s a fascination with ephemera in Iceage’s lyrics, but also a fixation on a final destruction, which, of course, results with Elias screaming “excess.” The album is a whirlwind of search for answers and blame disguised by music. I doubt they found any answers or who to blame, but judging by their age, they have a while to figure it out.

7. Mikal Cronin – MCII

Mikal Cronin was one of the first people I ever interviewed for my blog a year and half or so back. He was really nice to me, which goes a super long way in my book. He’s also from the same place that I was born, which is Orange County. At the time, Cronin had released his first self-titled LP, Reverse Shark Attack, and been touring with Ty Segall. That first album was much more garage-heavy than his second album. MCII begins with a piano and soft goading. The songs here focus on orchestration, but retain the property of pleasant pop. This should be no surprise as Cronin, a master multi-instrumentalist, studied music in college. That said, there are still more punk-infused ditties for those who love his first LP like “See It My Way” or “Change.” The path of the songs lead to “Piano Mantra,” a piano ballad with strings and light drums. It’s the slowest of Cronin’s songs and a great peek into the talented songwriters abilities.

8. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Push the Sky Away

Nick Cave is interesting. You know he’s old, but he retains this hip, languid ease to his music and performance. When I saw Cave at the Chicago Theater this year, I kept thinking that he looked like an acrobatic scarecrow. Nick Cave possesses an uncanny demeanor where you know that he is human but has an otherworldly unease to his personage and music. A sort of mysticism. This legacy continues on Push the Sky Away with songs like “Mermaids” or “Jubilee Street,” where familiar terrain becomes ground for fairy tales. “I got a fetus on a leash,” Cave croons before the climax of “Jubilee Street,” where he professes he’s flying. Where does Cave fly to? Does he float to the final heavenly sphere or does he simply vanish once again into Neverland? Stay tuned, sportsfans.

9. Chvrches – The Bones of What You Believe

I didn’t expect to like this album as much as I did, but I gave it a chance mostly because I find Lauren Mayberry fetching and I liked what she said about women in the music industry. When I heard the song “Recover,” though, I was a believer. When I listened to the whole album, it took me a few listens. I just thought it was pop. And that’s when it hit me. It IS just pop! Really really well done pop with an awesome vocalist and interesting synthesizer textures. It’s an album that is so unpretentious that you forget that it’s trying. The songs are expert crafts of songwriting and this is a textbook of song structures for the aspiring indie pop artist.

10. The Knife – Shaking the Habitual

Shaking the Habitual is an exercise in amalgamation. “A Tooth for an Eye” begins with a seemingly simple syncopated rhythm before a challenging vocal emerges from its tectonic maw. The Knife have outdone themselves in creating something novel but familiar. There are remnants of pop sensibility lurking in the outer limits of their traditional songs. And then there is “Old Dreams Waiting To Be Realized,” a twenty-minute drone piece right smack dab in the middle of the album. It’s so perfect! In my opinion, it ends up making the album complete. The Knife continues its trajectory of making drawn-out, hypnotizing songs and succeeds, which ultimately makes an entrancing album that constantly challenges and changes its listener.

11. The Haxan Cloak – Excavation

Get a subwoofer before you listen to this. If I ever saw someone listening to this album on tin-sounding laptop speakers, I would break that computer. I would take the laptop out of the person’s reach, snap it in half, throw it into the wall, eat a slice of pizza, and stomp all over the bastard. That’s not how we enjoy to Haxan Cloak. Upon first inspection, Haxan Cloak is an experimental project that makes drone music. I see it as a dance record. A dance record that’s spinning into a black hole. Excavation is chock full of jarring beats that seem to jerk the body into submission. After a couple listens, it becomes familiar. The cover shows a noose-like rope dangling in oblivion. Except it isn’t a noose because there is no knot. It merely resembles a noose. The same sort of questioned darkness permeates Excavation.

12. Locrian – Return to Annihilation

This is new ground for Locrian. As opposed to some of the earlier Locrian releases, Return to Annihilation is made of pieces that could be concretely called songs. “Obsolete Elegies” is one of the best things I’ve heard all year – it spins out from quietude before the widening gyre takes hold. Return to Annihilation is set up like a suite or an opera. The liner notes make this clear: there are even different movements in songs, emphasizing its thoughtful layout. There’s magic too. This album seems to have influence from an older world. No, that’s not right. This album seems to be from an older era. No, that’s still not right. I don’t know where this album came from and I don’t know what I’m trying to say. But this is what I want to rule the world to.

13. Ty Segall – Sleeper

Sleeper is a different Ty Segall album. It’s a slow acoustic question drawn across forty minutes or so. Sleeper is the first Ty Segall album to come out after the passing of his father and his estrangement from his mother. It’s lonesome and uncomfortable. “Sleeper” has a heart-destroying chorus: “I dream sweet love, I dream for you, from your baby for you/ I dream sweet love, I dream for you, from your baby for you /Oh I wanna sleep all day, oh I wanna go away/Okay I want to sleep all day with you.” There’s real pain and it pervades the album. “Crazy” is a song about his mother and her mental illness. There are no lighthearted songs. Even the last song “The West” is an open thought as to where be his home now that his mom and dad are gone from his life. It’s a personal album with the ever-present hooks, but it becomes truly rewarding when Segall’s story tags along.

14. Vampire Weekend –Modern Vampires of the City

Each time Vampire Weekend releases something I think I’m too punk. But goddammit I never am. Their classically-trained virtuosity and inspired vocal lines consistently impress me. Few bands use falsetto as effortlessly or weave together strains of music history. “Every time I see you in the world, you always step to my girl” is an example of classic sampling from Souls of Mischief. Classic sampling is a hip hop technique often used to give reverence to an artist – like when Kanye says “When I reminisce over you my God,” in “Can’t Tell me Nothin’,” he is paying homage to the line in Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s “T.R.O.Y.” It isn’t done as much in rock-based music so it’s cool to see Vampire Weekend sampling a hip hop song in their music. Vampire Weekend know their music history and this collection of songs continues to demonstrate their abilities.

15. Steve Gunn – Time Off

Steve Gunn released two albums this year. One was his solo album Time Off on Paradise of Bachelors and the other was a collaborative album he did with Hiss Golden Messenger for Record Store Day. Both are worth a listen, but I chose to put this one on the list. Simply put, Steve Gunn is one of the best guitar players around. I saw him a few times this past year at a different capacity each time. I saw him solo. I saw him play with Kurt Vile. And I saw him play with Lonnie Holly. Each time, the performance was different. I am still astonished how he can play such complex guitar parts in tempo and sing. Time Off doesn’t quite do it justice since it may have been recorded in two parts, but he can do it live! The witch-fingered guitar parts with a soothing voice make for a stand out album.

16. Broken Prayer – Broken Prayer

The members of this band have been in so many awesome groups it’s unfair. There are people from Libyans, Manipulation, Civic Progress and more. I’m really proud to have these guys as a Chicago hardcore staple. I saw them at my first Chicago punk show after I moved back from North Carolina, which was at the Mouse Trap with Double Negative. Later, they released this album on Sorry State Records. “Settle for Less” is my favorite track on the album –I love the synth line throughout the song and the guitar break at the chorus. The synthesizer appears frequently in the album, which differentiates it from other hardcore records.

17. Oozing Wound – Retrash

These dudes are a hoot. One of the song titles is “Welcome to the Spaceship, Motherfucker.” But the band has some serious chops when it comes to making thrash metal. Take their song “Call Your Guy.” The song begins with sludge infested guitar and bass parts before blasting off into more familiar thrashing ground. The album clocks in a little over thirty minutes, but it’s a trip that gives back. The lyrics in the songs are really fun and a reminder that metal doesn’t have to be all serious in order to be good.

18. The Men – New Moon

Musicians take note. This is how you start an album. “Open the Door” begins with an ambling piano progression before a friendly guitar joins in. Each album by The Men gets a little more cohesive. New Moon takes ideas from their previous efforts, like the twang of “Candy,” and scatters them through the songs on the rest of the album. We get some familiar rock n roll with songs like “The Brass” and “Half Angel Half Light,” but there’s a lot more folk in this album than in previous works. These guys also work nonstop. They toured around pretty much since this album came out and just announced a new album coming out on Sacred Bones next year, after which they will tour. Dreams really do come true.

19. Crowhurst – Memory Loss

Jesse’s been more or less of a pen pal for about a year and a half. When he makes music (or pretty much anything I guess), he usually goes by the alias Jay Gambit. He is the only consistent member in his group Crowhurst. It’s a motley crew that works with him. Crowhurst makes a Merzbow-like amount of recordings. I’ve listened to most of them and a lot have been really good, but Memory Loss is the one that stands out the most to me. It’s cohesive. It has a consistent theme. It sounds like an album rather than a collection. It’s an album that you can pay extreme attention to or just be in for the ride. I’m helping put together a show for Crowhurst in Chicago in March and am super excited. So hop on in. The water’s great.

20. Taxpayers – Cold Hearted Town

I first started listening to this band this year after seeing that they were going on tour with Ramshackle Glory, one of my all-time favorite bands. I had heard rumors of a band that recorded and practiced in a storage box from the Northwest. It was this band! This album is what happens when you combine goofpunx with Bruce Springsteen. The first two songs on this album, aptly titled “Cold Hearted Town pts. 1 & 2, sound like they could have been on Greetings from Asbury Park, which is my favorite Springsteen album if anyone cares. I got to interview them too and Rob Taxpayer was a totally awesome guy. There’s depth in his lyrics. This whole album is about a really messed up town and the background of folk-driven punk rock makes the whole album uncannily appropriate.

Stay tuned for more of the year's best stuff!!!

Jordan

Interview with Copenhagen's Lower

I first heard of Lower through an interview Elias from Iceage did. He was talking about bands from Denmark and mentioned Lower. I kept the name rolling around in my mind before ever actually hearing the band. The first time I got to hear them resulted from a Cult of Youth show. During one of their shows at the Empty Bottle, Sean had brought a bunch of records from his label Blind Prophet Records and I hadn't realized that there was an American version of the Walk on Heads EP. I had seen the 7" from Escho online but I had not wanted to pay international shipping. Being able to buy the EP at typical 7" price was pretty awesome, so I picked it up.

And it was really really good. Lower brings a lot of different sounds together. There's an 80s post-punk edge, obvious notes from hardcore, pop sensibility, and impressively inclusive lyricism. I was listening to it once again the other day, when I just thought of shooting an e-mail to the band to see what they were up to and if they would be down to be featured on my blog. At some level, I was simply curious to see what the progress on their upcoming full-length album was. The guys in the band were really great and ended up doing an interview with me, in which all my questions got answered (and pretty much in record time).

Unfortunately, I missed the band when they were in Chicago as I was traveling, but they talk about extensive touring once the new album is finished (which pretty much made my day). If you haven't listened to them yet, you should change that.

You can check them out on their FACEBOOK or their BLOGSPOT and pick up one of their records at your local record shop.

Here's what they had to say to me.

Jordan: Who all is in Lower? When did you start? How did you guys start the band?

Anton: We are Kristian (bass), Adrian (vocals), Simon (guitar) and Anton (drums). We started the band in 2009, I think. We all wanted to get busy in one way or the other, so starting a band was a good solution.

J: What all have you guys released so far?

Anton: So far we’ve released a demo tape, two 7”s and a live split 7” with Iceage.

J: How do you guys write songs? Does one person primarily write them or do you all fill in the parts?

Anton: We help each other out collectively. Simon does not necessarily write all guitar parts, and I do not necessarily write all drum parts. In the end it just have to sound as good as possible.

J: What topics do you guys cover lyrically? 

Adrian:  I try to aim at more general feelings that people experiences in life. Of course it also touches on my own life but that be because I'm a human being. But I try to aim for more general feelings.

J: Who are some of your favorite lyricists?

Anton: I know that Adrian’s very fond of Scandinavian writers and poets like Tom Kristensen, Cornelis Vreeswijk and Inger Christensen for sure.

J: what was the process behind recording your new record?

A: We recorded it with Escho main-man Nis Bysted, who also produced the Someone's Got It In For Me 7" and a man named Michael Fischerson. It was a way different process since we had a real studio booked, instead of just recording in a rehearsal room. We also took advantage of the seemingly endless possibilities of a studio, to incorporate other instruments than just the classic drums/guitar/bass combo. But this is not an actuality right now, since the LP is not out yet. 

J: For the "Walk on Heads" EP, how was it working with Escho and then turning around and working with Blind Prophet? Were there many differences?

Anton: Sean is a friend of mine and he wanted to help us with an American version of the EP. That’s basically it. Not many differences.

J: You guys are working on a full-length record, correct? How is that going? Do you have any plans on where to release it or when it's going to come out?

Anton: There’s an LP in the final stages of production, so it won’t be too long until it’s out. I know for sure that Escho is releasing it in Denmark. That’s all I know right now. Not sure when it’s out, but we’ve waited for a long time now, so hopefully very soon.

J: How was your recent tour in the United States? Is playing in the US much different than playing in Europe?

Anton: It was very exciting to play for people we’d never met before. The US is a very big country and people change from state to state. It was like playing many different countries.

J: Were there any highlights from that tour?

Anton: We met some nice people and played with some good bands. Especially Total Control from Australia and Final Grin from Chicago (maybe people you know?) stood out. They play rock music in very exciting ways. The best shows were in Austin, New York, Montreal and Philadelphia, I think.

J: How would you describe the music scene in Copenhagen? What bands stick out the most to you?

Anton: Our scene or circle or what you might call it, consists of bands that play a lot of different genres, from punk rock to power electronics. So it’s not very uniform or homogenous, sound-wise. Yet there can be found traces within the bands that make up a union-like feeling. Right now I personally think the best bands are Lower, Communions, Forza Albino, White Void and Age Coin.

J: What other bands are you guys in right now?

Anton: Simon and Kristian play in Age Coin – I play in Marching Church. Adrian’s busy with Lower.

J: Are there any records that you guys have been listening to a lot lately that have stuck out?

Anton: Lately I’ve been listening to Echo and the Bunnymen – Heaven Up Here once every other day or so. Earlier today I listened to Crazy Spirit’s old demo tape, which is good and stupid.

J: What all is in the future for Lower?

Anton: A month ago I broke my hand, which forced us to cancel a bunch of European tour dates. My hand is in a cast as I type this but in three weeks or so I should be ready to get it off. This unfortunate break has resulted in a vital need to play again. The future holds a lot of shows and the release of the LP, which I personally can’t wait to get out there.

Interview with S. Radhakrishna from Circles

Circles has one of my all-time favorite band descriptions on their Facebook: "pop music for educated, upper-middle class, pretentious white people." Naturally, I like their music, as I am somewhat educated and extremely pretentious. I got an email from Srini Radhakrishna with a link to their EP and I enjoyed it very thoroughly. I had heard of a few of the bands (Radar Eyes, Football, Ponys) that these guys had been in (or are in) before and so was psyched to have them featured on the blog. After listening to the record (which really should be released physically,) I asked Mr. Srini if he were down for an interview and he was more than quick and helpful with helping me.

Circles are a Chicago band that makes artfully pop-driven songs. It's a little bit of punk and a little bit of garage rock and a little bit of noise. Circles uses a lot of different instruments as well, giving it a dynamic scope of 20th century music from jazz and blues. It's a real treat to listen to.

They're following up their EP, which is streamable on their BANDCAMP PAGE, with something that will hopefully become a full-length. Srini discusses this in the interview below. In the time being, "like" them on FACEBOOK and check out what they had to say!

Jordan: Who all is in Circles? You guys have been in a lot of really cool projects. Did you meet through playing music? When did you guys decide to start the band?

S. Radhakrishna: Circles started out as a recording project with Melissa, Ken, and I in the spring of 2011.  We've all been friends for a long time. At one point, we all worked at Playboy together.  I had a few unrecorded songs left over from France Has the Bomb, and asked them if they would be interested in learning and recording them.  

SR: We wound up adding a lot of organ and keyboards parts on the recording, and those parts/sounds became essential. When we found out Christen was secretly a piano virtuoso, we demanded that she join the band. Then Melissa ruined her life by getting pregnant, so we decided to find someone to fill in until she was able to find time to get back into the fold.  I've known Anthony for years and love Radar Eyes.  We were all surprised he was willing to put his reputation on the line and play with with us.  When Melissa comes back, Anthony can slide over to bongos or something.

J: How did you decide on the name Circles? I think it's really elegant.

SR: Thanks.  I wish I could say a lot of thought went into it.   But the truth is, I was just listening to my iPod on random one day, and the song Circles by the Who popped up.  I really like that song, and thought the name Circles fit the aesthetic that we were looking for.  We're completely aware that there are/were a bunch of bands using the same name.  I guess if it ever becomes a problem, we'll deal with it then.

J: When you started the band, was there a certain sound or style of music you felt influenced you the most?

SR: Circles just kind of took over where France Has the Bomb left off, which was a more pop trajectory.   I'm a sucker for hooks and melody, but can easily get turned off by songs that sound too "slick".  I'm a big fan of Flying Nun records bands, like the Clean, Tall Dwarfs, Chills, Bats, etc. I love how those bands incorporated a lot of noise-y/weird parts into their songs, but managed to retain the hooks and melody of a good pop song.

J: How do you write songs? Is there a primary songwriter who composes everything or do people collaborate more?

SR: It depends.  Sometimes I have a whole song worked out in my head, and it's just a matter of everyone figuring out their own parts.  But most of time I have two or three parts, and we figure out the arrangement as a group.   

J: How big of a concern to the band is the lyrical content? What informs lyrics?

SR: I HATE writing lyrics.  I'm usually scribbling stuff down all the way to point where I'm at the microphone and the engineer is ready to hit record and visibly annoyed.  It's rare that I have a specific idea in mind as far as content. I usually just let my subconscious take over, start writing stuff down, and hope the output is not completely embarrassing.  The one exception to that was Marcus Garvey.  I was administering a test for an after school class in this elementary school on the Southside.  The class was in the school library, so while they were taking the test I read a grade school level biography on Marcus Garvey to pass the time.  I knew he was an influential civil rights leader but didn't know much about the details of his life.  He turned out to be a very interesting character, so I decided to use him as the subject of a song.  I tried to make the lyrics come off as a 5th grade report on Marcus Garvey. 

J: What is your recording process like? Is it different from previous projects that you guys have had?

SR: I think the biggest difference from all of our previous bands was that we recorded before ever playing a show. That was a first for all of us.  We just came up with overdub ideas as we went and weren't really concerned with how we would execute it live. So the songwriting process continued in the studio rather than ending at the practice space.

J: What was creating the Circles EP like? Does anything stick out in particular in terms of the trajectory of the record's genesis?

SR: I guess the thing that sticks out the most was how much fun it was to record with Mike Lust.   He did a great job of keeping things loose and making us laugh.  At one point, he grabbed a chilled bottled of Vodka out of the freezer and demanded we drink straight from the bottle while wearing a thick winter glove.  He just started screaming "THE GLOVE!!!" at us.

J: How are you guys releasing the EP? I know you have a bandcamp, but do you have any desire to eventually make a physical release?

SR: We would love for it to eventually come out on vinyl.  Do you want to start a label?!  It will be the best financial decision that you'll ever make. 

J: Do you guys play live very often? Do you think that your sound is different live than it is on a recording?

SR: I think we've played less than 10 shows in two and a half years.  At this point, we're all more interested in writing and recording songs than playing shows on a regular basis.   But when the opportunity comes along to play with a band we really like or go somewhere interesting, we try to take advantage.

J: What other bands would you recommend for people to check out? Anyone you've heard lately that has been on rotation?

SR: The new Blind Shake record is great.  They just keep getting better and better.  I can't wait to see the Oh Sees/Blind Shake/OBN IIIs show at the Bottle.  It's not really that new, but the most recent Kurt Vile record is perfect fall weather music.   I'm a little slow to the whole Rodriguez story, so I've been listening to his first two records quite a bit lately.

J: I know it's early, but what all is in your future?

SR: We've already booked time in January to record at Minbal Studio with Cooper of Cave.  We're really excited to work with him.  Hoping to record 8 to 10 new songs with everyone involved, including Melissa.

J: Anything else on your mind?

SR: Christen is getting married this weekend.  I'm sure I will hear the My Dick album over and over and over again at the reception. 

Interview with Zack from Oozing Wound

Oozing Wound slays. If you know that and see what the album cover looks like on their upcoming debut LP, then you should have a pretty good idea of the music that they make. In case you still don't, it's heavy riffage with pounding drums, quick-witted bass lines, and unforgiving throbbing vocals. Thrash metal done extremely well. Their music is entertaining as it is pulverizing. There's a tongue-in-cheek candidness to the band, as is clearly visible in their COMMERCIAL for Retrash, their debut LP coming out on Thrill Jockey, home to the likes of Liturgy, Tortoise, White Hills and more.

The band plays regularly in Chicago at all sorts of venues from DIY squats to venues. I've never been able to see them to be honest, but I'm definitely looking forward to their show at THE EMPTY BOTTLE with The Body, Running, and Toupee on October 24. I've heard good reports on all accounts and I'm always down for some ol' fashioned face-melting.

You can check them out on FACEBOOK for updates.

Honestly, I'm not going to sum up this band as well as they do. Here's what Zack (guitar/vocals) said to me.

Jordan: Who all is in Oozing Wound? How did you all start?

 Zack: The wound is Kevin, Kyle, and I (Zack)--we started as a side project I was going to do for songs that didn't fit into my other bands.  At the time I was in Cacaw with Kyle and a thrash band called ZATH, both of which had some riffs and shit that didn't really fit with what I was writing.  It just kinda snowballed from there, we've had low expectations and it's been paying off.

J: How did you get the name Oozing Wound?

Z: I don't remember the moment but I do remember walking around work asking friends about two band names that I had thought of.  Oozing Wound won by a pretty unforgiving landslide.  Maybe we all just kind of morphed our expectations of what we were going to do from the name?

J: Define "slay"

Z: Well, some bands just wanna rock which I think is admirable, but we wanna take it up that extra dinosaur.  Slaying drains electrolytes.  Slaying requires bloodshed.  If it still doesn't make sense I suggest trying diet-slay.

J: What kind of bands or ideas have had an impact on your music? Anyone or anything specific that you can think of?

Z: Metal-wise I am really into Teutonic thrash like Kreator, Sodom, Destruction, Exhumer-- they have this forward momentum feeling in their songs.  Matt Pike, specifically High on Fire has been a huge influence on me, in the beginning there was definitely more Pike worship.  Beyond that, you know, Nirvana, ABBA, Gary Glitter, Beach Boys.  I think of my best heavy stuff listening to pop.

J: How do you all write songs? What sorts of roles do you have for the songwriting process?

Z: Standard process is I usually come up with a back log of riffs that I show the dudes and we'll find something and jam on it for a while.  That's where most of the slower/longer songs come from, the shorter dudes are a similar process but I usually have them more formed out.  Kevin and Kyle are necessary to make this shit work though. It takes all three of us to write an Oozer.

J: How do you record your music? Do you use a particular studio?

Z: We jam econo.  We've only been in the studio twice and for one day at a time.  First time we recorded the four songs from the Vape and Pillage tape, did that in one night session in Studio Chicago which isn't really a viable option these days.  2nd time was a full day at Electrical Audio where we did 6 songs.  We'd like more time in the studio, but shit's hard.

J: The artwork on your releases is really awesome. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Z: Sam Nigrosh, man.  He is a killer fucking artist and deserves like 90% of the credit for all the visuals.  He takes our really stupid fucking ideas and makes them into something badass. I have like no visual artistic ability so it's great that we have this guy who can turn this shit out.

J: How did you guys get linked up with Thrill Jockey? How was it been working with them? Do they let you guys still have autonomy behind your music?

Z: Total luck.  We played a show with Black Pus and I shit you not that's all it took to get signed.  We also already had our record done so that probably helped.  TJ is my favorite thing I've ever been a part of.  Like the best dudes and Bettina is fucking great.  We've never had a label with a support network in it, with people who have a job to actually make your band go somewhere.  It fills me with little happy bubbles or some shit.  TJ has never once told us we couldn't do something.

J: Tell me a little bit about the video for "Welcome to the Spaceship, Motherfucker." What was the idea behind that? How did you guys make it?

Z: We needed two video ideas and had kinda spaced on coming up with one for this song.  We were looking through a gallery of photos we took (also a weird moment in our lives) and thought it would be a fucked up video to watch if it was all glitched out gifs and shit.  That's as much as we did, Joe Martinez and Leon Kelsick did the whole video and we saw it when it was finished.  It made me wanna puke and cry at the same time, it was so beautiful.

J: You guys are in a lot of other bands and projects. Give me a brief rundown of who all is doing what.

Z: Right now?  Uh Kyle runs Rotted Tooth Records which takes up a lot of his free time, Kevin plays in his other band Unmanned Ship, and I from time to time have been known to play with ZATH.  We've been really focused on the Ooze lately, so it's kinda been it.  The list of projects that follows us is more cumulative at this point than active, we've just been doing shit in this city for a while.

J: What all have you guys been listening to lately? Any noteworthy artists that have stuck out recently? What about Chicago artists?

Z: Best bands in Chicago?  Well, no matter what this is going to be incomplete with a city this vast.  The usuals are bands like Running, Heavy Times, Basic Cable, Rectal Hygienics, Unmanned Ship, Toupee, Sky Maul, CAVE, SINE/Psychic Steel...the list is fucking endless, seriously.  Look at the Rotted Tooth roster of bands that's all good shit.  I usually listen to pop rock from the 70's and 80's, lately it's been Dust, Jerusalem, Badfinger, The Troggs, Iron Claw...others I am sure.

J: How often do you guys get to play live?

Z: About once a month right now, but we've got a tour coming up.  There aren't a ton of spaces to play that work well for us, but we'll probably start doing more shows once all this record shit quiets down.  Playing shows means you have to steer away from writing new material which we're pretty focused on at this moment.

J: Tell me a little about the upcoming tour.

Z: East Coast Rippers and Burners tour, bro!  Hitting up the Halloween parties up and down the coast.  Wish there was more exciting things to say, but I imagine there's more to talk about after.

J: What all is in your future?

Z: Robots, bank collapse, probably defaulting on our national loans, uh bachelorette degrees, maybe a sun tan, giant crab people, an anthropomorphized bong, mutant woodchucks, an MTV VMA statue, a pitchfork 10.0 rating, a rolling stone feature, a failed military coup, maybe some ice cream.

J: Anything else you'd like to say?

Z: We are here to slay, get with it.

Interview with the Taxpayers

I had heard of the Taxpayers through a wild story about a band in the Northwest that lived in a storage space to record an album. I heard that they would lock themselves in and had to have someone else let them out. I don't even want to think about the smells of the place - that alone gives me the willies.

Then the Taxpayers were featured in Razorcake as the cover story in issue # 73, an impressive feat by all means. After reading the story, I picked up a copy of their seminal album God Forgive These Bastards: Songs from the Forgotten Life of Henry Turner and A Rhythm in the Cages. I was put off at first by a band that could wield such a dynamic selection of instruments from the trumpet to the accordion to handfuls of spaghetti, but simply could not stop listening. God Forgive These Bastards has since become one of my all-time favorite albums. I have spent a godforsaken amount of time obsessing over it, magnetized by the lyrics and the accompanying novella (called God Forgive These Bastards: Stories from the Forgotten Life of Georgia Tech Pitcher Henry Turner.) I'm really excited to have them featured on my blog.

Self-confessed "Goof-Punks," The Taxpayers are a band that combines many subgenres of punk rock and folk music while also showing a reverence for all things blues and jazz. It's almost overwhelming how much is going on in their songs and it's a testament to the gargantuan ideas the band is wrestling with as they craft songs. But if you see them play, they really are quite goofy. There's definitely no such thing as dumbing-down their music, but the band is really into making people happy at a show.

They recently toured the United States with Anarcho-Folk-Punk band Ramshackle Glory (and ended up playing the final show at Chicago's Swerp Mansion), which is one of the all-time best touring partners in my opinion. Their sets are a blaze of frenzied fun and awesomeness.

I'm totally honored to be able to post this interview and I think that you should listen to everything that they have recorded.

You can check them out on FACEBOOK, buy their stuff at USELESS RECORDS, take a look at their own WEBSITE or check out their albums on Spotify.

Jordan: Who all is in the Taxpayers? How did you guys meet? When did you guys decide to form a band?

Rob Taxpayer: The Taxpayers are me (Rob), Noah, Danielle, Phil, Kevin, Andrew, Alex, and occasionally Eric.  Our friend Nate used to play bass, but doesn't anymore.  We met in lots of different ways.  Me and Noah met because we both explicitly wanted to start a band that sounded like the Minutemen.  Then we slowly gathered others as time went on - Danielle was a friend that we talked into learning an instrument, we met Kevin when he moved in next door and stopped by to play trumpet while we were practicing, we met Phil on a stolen row boat on the Columbia river where he falsely told us that he owned a bass, Andrew joined after we saw him all over the country on various tours, we met Eric when he was on tour with a band from Minneapolis, and Alex came up to us pretty early on in the band and volunteered to play saxophone.

J: You all live in different states now - how do you guys practice/write new music/tour?

RT: Well, we don't practice, for one.  We just meet up somewhere on the planet to start a tour, and then part ways when it's over.  As for new music, I'll usually write the skeletal frames of songs - the lyrics, basic structure - and then email them to everyone else.  Then we'll get together at some point in the year, see what works, add to the songs, break 'em apart, and see what sticks.  For this last album, Cold Hearted Town, we did it all (including recording) over a two week period around Christmas when we could all be in the same place.

J: What is the process for writing a song? It seems like you guys have a pretty wide variety of music from more punk-oriented songs to ballads.

RT: It's different for every song.  Sometimes a phrase will come out of the blue and the song will be built around that phrase.  Sometimes I'll write a little story and then force the story into a song format.  Sometimes a melody will linger around for years until it finally fits somewhere.  Then, once I've captured the idea, everybody else will take a shot at the song - Kevin might say, "Oh, we should speed that one part up to 4/4, drop out the guitar, and bring in this saxophone melody", or Andrew will play a super cool guitar part that makes us decide to play the song country-style.  But like I said, the process is a little different for each song.

J: I think you guys are a band that can write not only a great tune, but lyrically weave a story better than a lot of people. Where does the inspiration for these stories or lyrical style come from?

RT: I've always liked bizarre, abstract fiction, and a lot of those elements wind up in songs.  I also really enjoy songs that tell stories that seem to encompass much more than the two or three minutes it takes to listen to the song - there's a ton of examples, but the line from Bruce Springsteen's "Promised Land" - "On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert, I picked up my money and headed back into town...".  And then he never comes back to that!  What money was he picking up?  What kind of deal went down in that desert?  It's so mysterious, it's fun to think about, and I think really good songwriters will have a whole story figured out in their minds for each little line like that, even if the entire story doesn't fit in the context of the song.   

J: I've been listening to "God Forgive These Bastards" a lot and I read the accompanying book. Where did this come from? How did you guys write and record the album?

RT: When it comes to specific things, like the Henry Turner character from "God, Forgive These Bastards", the inspiration for him came from a bunch of places - first, there was a guy I used to always see under the Broadway Bridge whenever I'd go fishing, and him and me would drink beer together while I fished and he'd tell me these fantastic stories - some of which became inspiration for Henry Turner's life.  Other aspects of Henry's life came from real events I discovered after researching things about Georgia, where I decided Henry should be from.  Some of it was just purely invented.  It's fun, making things up!

J: How about Cold-Hearted Town, your newest release?

RT: For Cold Hearted Town, I was going through a period where nothing I wrote seemed like it was very good.  I had some different concepts, tried writing a comic book that the songs would be based on, but none of it really clicked.  So I decided to do the thing that Robert Johnson did and made a deal with the devil.  The devil gave me this really fucked up story about a terrible nightmarish town where horrible things happen.  I have some different ideas about why they happen in the town of Blackridge, but I'm afraid to say publicly...

J: How do you guys record? Do you have your own set of equipment?

RT: We have friends record us.  We'll usually pay them a little money (way less than they deserve) in exchange for a demand of their constant attention and flexibility until we're pretty happy with what's recorded.  Then, we'll have a few central places where the recording happens, garages, houses, etc, and some extra field places like parks and busy streets.  Our friend Michael Miew Love did the Exhilarating News, A Rhythm in the Cages, and a good portion of God, Forgive...  Eric Frame did To Risk So Much for One Damn Meal.  Our friend Trevor Oats did Cold Hearted Town.  They all do amazing jobs.

J: How do you guys promote a DIY ethos? What do you all think the role of DIY should be in music? Is there a correct way to make and do music in your opinion?

RT: DIY is increasingly becoming the only way, due to technological changes in the way the world works and the slow dismantling of the traditional music industry.  Which is a good thing.  There are still idiots who will pay a manager 60% to sell their product to all the indie outlets, but those idiots don't get rich and famous like they used to.  The difference today is that you can tell pretty quickly who's in it for the riches and the fame, and who'd be doing it in a dark hole with an audience of stray cats just because it's a part of who they are...but is there a correct way to do music?  Nah.  There are jerks that make good music and extremely ethical people that make terrible music (see: the folk punk scene), but it's up to the listener to decide who they're gonna pick, how, and why.

J: You guys just recently toured with Ramshackle Glory. How did that go? Were there any highlights on the tour?

RT: It was good!  They are great people.  One of the odd things about their band is that they've reached celebrity status in a scene that has traditionally been anti-celebrity, and I know it drives them crazy.  Hats off to them for handling it in such a poised and graceful manner.

J: What do you guys usually do in the car between stops?

RT: Listen to books on tape.  Check in to see what pop-country radio is churning out.  Occasionally bicker about insignificant things.  You know - typical family vacation stuff.

J: Did you guys have any standout meals or haunts while touring? Any places that you guys seek out?

RT: We always stop at Pismo Beach in California.  There is a good clothing dumpster behind a church in a Laramie, Wyoming.  We found a really cool arcade in Nashville this last tour that has all the machines hooked up to free play!  As for meals, there used to be a place in San Diego that had one dollar subs that were pretty okay.  I think they might have shut down, though.

J: Are there any bands or records that have stood out to you guys so far this year? Even stuff that maybe you heard for the first time this year.

RT: To be honest, I haven't listened to much music lately.  Tour can be music-overload, so it's nice to take a break from it for a little while at home.  But there is a cool band from Providence, Rhode Island called Downtown Boys that I heard this last tour!

J: What all is in the future for the Taxpayers? Anything you guys have laid out?

RT: I don't know.  Probably nothing for a while.  I think everyone is feeling sort of burnt out after being so busy the past few years.  We will probably take a break for a while and then record another album.  Maybe we'll take a loooong break.  Maybe not.  Who knows?

J: Anything else you'd like to say?

RT: Hey weirdos of the world: be nicer to each other!  We're all we've got!

Interview with PJ Sykes of Hoax Hunters

I was lucky enough to be able to go down to Raleigh, NC to not only catch Hopscotch Music Festival, but also help sponsor and play at a day party with Cherub Records and Negative Fun Records called Let Feedback Ring. I was playing as Architeuthis pretty much out of dumb luck since one of the bands had dropped out and so I went on-stage first. We had thirteen bands play a whirlwind of dynamite rock n' roll from the beerbuzz madness of Dripping Slits to the sludge-driven Hog. The band that played after me, however, really blew my mind. They were called Hoax Hunters, a band led by PJ Sykes who is most widely known for his photography.

To coin a cliche and make a really awful pun, Hoax Hunters truly let feedback ring. I mean, there was enough feedback to make all my 90s indie-rock dreams come true. I was grinning ear to ear throughout their set, a really fun mix of anthemic hooks with a recognition of several rock n' roll subgenres.

Afterwards, PJ and I talked a bunch throughout the other eleven sets before splitting. I asked if he'd be hip to an interview and he was kind enough to accept. Generally, at this point of when I write an interview, I'll talk about links and where to hear records, but PJ included these in the interview, so I don't really have to do that.

If you haven't gotten the point yet, though, Hoax Hunters totally rock. This is what PJ had to say when he was explaining them to me.

Jordan: Who all is in Hoax Hunters? Where did you guys start? How did you guys start? Did you know each other for a while?

PJ: Hoax Hunters got started after I took a three year break from playing live music. I was burned out and my photography started to take off so I focused my energy on that endeavor. After a few false starts I mentioned to my friend Tim Falen I needed a new rhythm section. He joined on bass and played the drums on our demo ep. Mutual friends kept telling me to try out James O'Neill on drums. Tim and I had never met so we set up a few "blind date" sessions and things went really well. Over the last year we have all gotten to be friends through playing music. 

J: What is a Hoax Hunter?

PJ: Someone who plays in the band Hoax Hunters. Also, Hoax Hunter(s) is when I play solo without Tim and James. 

J: How would you describe the music that you guys make? Do you have any particular influences that come to mind in terms of bands or sounds?

PJ: I usually just say we are rock band. I love so many different types of music. As I'm answering your questions I'm listening to live Johnny Cash bootlegs from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. For this project I would say, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Fugazi, Husker Du, Bob Mould, Superchunk, Foo Fighters, Bluetip, Dinosaur Jr, and The Minutemen. 

J: How does a song get written for you guys? How long does it take to make a song?

PJ: I write most of the songs at home on my acoustic guitar. We then rehearse them and the band puts the on final touches. We also like to try out stuff live before they are really complete. Sometimes I'll just have a really rough idea with some riffs and we will jam on it until something happens. Most songs come together pretty quickly. However one of the songs has been around in pretty much the same form since the late 90s. It never seemed to work until Hoax Hunters. 

J: What all have you guys released so far, both physically and digitally?

PJ: Hoax Hunters - s/t demo EP (digital / download card with buttons) 

http://cherubrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ch021-hoax-hunters-ep

PJ: Hoax Hunters / The Snowy Owls - Record Store Day split 7" (square lathe cut 7" limited to 40 copies / digital)

http://cherubrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ch023-hoax-hunters-snowy-owls-split-2

J: How often do you all play? Do you have any places that you play regularly?

PJ: We play live at least once a month mostly in Richmond, VA. We have played DC, Fredericksburg, VA and Raleigh, NC. Soon we will start playing regionally more often. 

J: Do you guys get to tour ever?

PJ: We plan to do some short 2 or 3 day "tours" but nothing extensive is planned. 

J: When you play a set do you try to get as close to a studio-recorded sound as you play or do you get to let loose a bit more?

PJ: To me they are two different things. I like to play loose live and record more true to the songs. 

J: What all is in the future for Hoax Hunters?

PJ: We are working on a full length album this fall. We plan on releasing a new digital single this year and drop the album early 2014.

J: Do you have any favorite bands or records that have really stuck out to you guys this year?

PJ: As a band we all really dig the band METZ. http://www.subpop.com/artists/metz

J: Do you guys have any other projects that you're working on?

PJ: James plays in The Snowy Owls http://thesnowyowls.com/ now. Tim plays in The Diamond Center http://www.diamondcentermusic.com/ and Hot Dolphin. http://hotdolphin.bandcamp.com/ I photograph bands http://www.pjsykes.com and help run the series Live At Ipanema. http://ipanemaveg.com/lai/

J: Anything else you'd like to say?

PJ: Thanks for the interview! 

Editor's Note: Face it, bad puns are the only puns worth making. Think about it.

Premiere of Alpha Cop's "Low Flags" Music Video

Within the last six months, Negative Fun Records, a joint project between two friends living in New Hampshire and North Carolina respectively, has become more than a little exciting. The label's first releases, the Red Hex "Shoulda Known" single and the Dripping Slits/She Rides split single, are as excellent as they are different. Both have some sort of punk infusion going on; that being said, the split has a clear hard rock or metal influence rather than being straight punk records.

Needless to say, I was not prepared for one of the label's upcoming releases. When I first heard the Alpha Cop/Carton split, I was shocked. The two songs on the record are another example of juxtaposition at its finest. I'm not going to give too much away, but it should appeal to fans of most genres to say the least.

I will talk about Alpha Cop though. Alpha Cop is a band that has its roots wound through the Western United States before it ended up in Raleigh, at least for the time being. Their song "Low Flags" is a blast of virtuosity bolstered by a mastery of sonic progression. It begins with angular guitar strokes tickled by finger picking, a syncopated drum pattern, and a yearning voice before descending into a heavier attack of guitar chords. The song is a suite of sorts composed of four movements. The final movement draws out a crying violin that trails into silence. It's a complete song, but it leaves the listener with an air of questioning. This paired with the lyrics about the fall of a Native American village paint a starkly beautiful picture.

You can check out the new single on the Negative Fun Bandcamp! HERE

The band also created an excellent and equally mysterious music video, which I am more than honored to premiere on my blog. Check it out!