Madam West - Warm Bodies EP (2018)

My introduction to Brooklyn based quintet Madam West happened as all my discoveries tend to happen: completely randomly. I had been invited to a house show by Caleb Moore from Lands & Peoples who was visiting Brooklyn playing with his new band Wae and 3/5 of Madam West were there to see Operator Music Band. A spilled drink set us on a collision course where I got to know Madam West's Sophie, Todd, and Will, the fact that they were all in a band together came up naturally, and after enjoying the sets, I made a mental note to check out their band. A mental note I didn't really follow up on until several months later when I caught their live show at C'mon Everybody. I was immediately taken with Madam West's intersection of artpop, psych rock, and funk and caught them several other times. Each time I saw them they mentioned the fact that most of their songs were new and each subsequent viewing I found them in various stages of recording their EP until their latest show - a record release show also at C'mon Everybody where they announced that not only was it done but that it'd be coming out at the end of the month.

While Madam West were a band I very much enjoyed every time I saw them, they weren't a band I ever particularly planned to write about. Part of this was due in part that their live set was so much better than their previously recorded output. To write about them with only their debut full length Loves You as a reference point would've done them quite a disservice in my opinion as their new songs were so much stronger and better composed than their previously released ones. Some part of me also figured that live energy would be lost in the recording process and I just relegated Madam West to a great live band that I would enjoy in almost exclusively that regard. And then came their Warm Bodies EP.

While Madam West are still best experienced live, their Warm Bodies EP is streets ahead of Loves You. From opener "Strongest Son" to the titular "Warm Bodies", the EP is composed to incredibly universal themes of the what now sense that plagues many a post-grad. Album standout "Erstwhile, Manatee" is probably my favorite display of this as Sophie Chernin and Will Clark wrestle with millennial ennui. "Speaking of excitement, why can't I dream big anymore?" Chernin sings before lamenting: "Is this what happens when we grow older, when we grow apart, grow cold shoulder to cold shoulder?" They're questions she doesn't exactly have the answers to and doesn't try to solve them. Merely vocalizes them and in that way sort of makes a strange peace with them. It's a companion to "Warm Bodies" which posits that connection and passion is what brightens up the doldums of adult life where you sometimes have to work a job you aren't particular passionate about to fuel your actual passions. Or even how the pressures of adult life lock you into a routine and the percolating escapism inherent in that. "Erstwhile, Manatee" says more than "Warm Bodies" cares to and maybe that's why I prefer it. Chernin says so much with so little especially considering the chorus is incredibly vague. But Chernin manages to tackle biological clocks, millennial guilt, impostor syndrome, and in the song's almost spoken word conclusion the nagging feeling that a life outside of the arts might've yielded better prospects. It's Madam West at their most versatile blending their various genre tags into a colorful ear-catching potpourri.

Another strong point of Madam West's Warm Bodies EP is that it finds a home for a one of my favorite single's "L". A song about the L train, it manages to transcend typical songs about the city. Written largely by Clark but featuring Chernin on vocals, the lyrics both personalize the L train while also not really talking that much about it. "L" is one of those songs where you're fairly certain there's something else happening and that's largely because of a breakdown which introduces actual people. It's an exciting twist even as the band cheekily dive deep into vagueness. With a less practiced and less committed band, the fact that the song essentially juggles three if not four seemingly unrelated subjects without making any non-instrumental attempts to connect them would be frustrating but "L" is triumph of composition and that's what essentially smooths over it's various narratives. It gives a sense that what the song is actually about is a riddle only available to those able to pay enough attention. It's a love song of sorts, to the L train, the city itself, and something else entirely but like most good songs the evasive meaning doesn't take away from the song itself.

On Warm Bodies, Madam West come into their own. Their songs are clever and inventive, enjoyable and catchy and feature each of its members' strengths. While their debut full length Loves You saw them introducing their soul-inflected style, Warm Bodies sees them refining it extensively. Though it's the kind of album where a favorite song is sure to pop out, each song is skillfully performed and written with a vibrant energy that's downright captivating. Madam West may be a band that's best experienced live but Warm Bodies does its darnedest to bring that live energy to the listener and largely succeeds.



Madam West's Warm Bodies EP is out now on Floordoor Records. You can cop digital copies from the band via Bandcamp.

Listen: Moses Sumney - "Quarrel"

Well this is more like it. After years as essentially Los Angeles' best kept secret (in the words of Hundred Waters who introduced me to his music), Moses Sumney is making moves. He's been consistently releasing music for years but last year's Lamentations EP was by far his most anticipated release and now several EPs down, this fall will see the release of his debut full length Aromanticism.

"Quarrel", the second single from the upcoming album, is a melange of just what makes Sumney such a force to be reckoned it. It's a subtler vocal performance than other efforts and therein lies its beauty: it's a sumptuous offering of stellar arranging and slow burning builds that juxtaposes the spiritual with the secular. Though he often frames his songs as hymns, there's universality here. There's also the fact that nearly half the track is an instrumental outro of sorts that establishes Sumney's other multi-instrumental talents. Not quite as much of an outright jam as "Lonely World", "Quarrel" moves at a much quicker pace than songs like "Doomed" which luxuriate in their incantation like lyricism. But "Quarrel" follows suit with Sumney's other output in that it captivates from the start, the listener hanging on every coo and change of inflection. Sumney enchants with little effort and "Quarrel" perhaps the most verbose song he's offered is still a masterclass in less being more.



Moses Sumney's debut full length album Aromanticism is out September 22nd on Jagjaguwar. You can pre-order the album now.

Listen: Mal Devisa - "Sea of Limbs"

photo by Daniel Dorsa

I'll admit it. Since discovering her at Portals and Stadiums & Shrines CMJ showcase back in October I have been waiting for Mal Devisa to release anything resembling an official version of her song "Sea of Limbs". The fact that is but one of many excellent cuts off her recently released album Kiid made choosing it over others less certain and yet, it's still managed to remain one of my absolute favorites from my emotion-flaying introduction to the Amherst based singer/songwriter last Fall.

On Kiid, Deja Carr lobs a volley of emotional extremes that seem designed to overwhelm and overstimulate but also to initiate you to her life, her experiences. Moments of blistering, righteous indignation quelled by softer, soulful offerings meant to soothe. It's a record that achieves balance essentially by not trying to. It's balance is a sum of all its parts rather than a delicate tightrope act.

"Sea of Limbs" comes sandwiched between fierier moments "FAT" and "Daisy" and that's part of its effectiveness but also because Carr's more folk-inspired turns are infused with so much heart. It begins with an intro - that pairs occasional feats of vocal acrobatics with deeply felt emotion. While the song proper is less showy, simply delivered to let the lyrics do the brunt of the work. There's a cleverness in Carr's water metaphor but its handled without any pretension. Instead the spotlight is given to the moments where Carr's message is presented completely unobscured: "Keep your eyes open, I promise you are solid gold".

While Carr hammers that lyric into you with a sort of blunt force live, in this recorded version it's power is in tied to that of the repetition of chorus. It's simply presented here but still finds a way to be soul stirring with the lack of dramatic emphasis. Less is more on Kiid and having harmonies enter and retreat once on that chorus is the only indication Carr gives that those particular lyrics are in anyway more special than the rest of them.





Mal Devisa's new album Kiid is out now. You can grab it from Mal Devisa's bandcamp here.

Natalie Prass - Natalie Prass (2015)

"Why Don't You Believe In Me?" might be the title of one of the standout tracks on Nashville singer/songwriter Natalie Prass' eponymous record out on Spacebomb Records earlier this year but for a short spell it was a fitting question towards the authenticity of her most recent efforts. Introduced to her predominantly through a cosign from Hundred Waters who asked her to open the Los Angeles stop of their tour currently in progress, I was intrigued enough by the incredibly Motown reminiscent arrangements on "Bird of Prey" to dig deeper. Bundled with a Janet Jackson cover I couldn't help but notice the similarities between Prass and Jackson's vocals in that they used their feather-light voices to their advantage - everything builds around them and nothing obscures them. It seems like such a no-brainer but often times that's hardly the case.

As I checked out the internet to find out who was this woman exactly - I read something that made my blood run cold: Natalie Prass press release. In its attempts to make her seem like a fun, anything goes musician of eclectic and rebellious tastes, it instead painted a picture of possible insincerity describing her Ryman Auditorium debut as she played a reggae set in front of an Isaac Hayes poster.

And yet it was her close association with Matthew E. White, a man who revels in genre-blending antics and tips his hat in the direction of the old school - often enlisting whole horn ensembles and string orchestras to fill out his arrangements that convinced me to go to distance and actually listen to the full album once it officially released. This might all see like conjecture but the perceived notion of inauthenticity is Prass' only deterrent.

Ultimately, if you listen to Prass' self -titled record, you'll find a record filled from front to back with an earnestness that's disarming and utterly beguiling. All notion that Prass isn't sincere in her soul-pop turn melts away as she crafts a startlingly accessible brand of heartbreak pop; her songs feel lived in as well they should. Prass' songs are fueled by moments of doubt, insecurity, and heart that feel too real to ignore. They seek out the drama of actual relationships, played realistically instead of using them for grander moments. The fact that they're often dressed up with orchestral flourishes does little to distract from their grounding in real emotion. Prass' songwriting manages to evoke tragic melancholy and fierce resolve often beats away from each other. "I never said I didn't want you knocking at door/All this run and chase, it's almost like I planned it" Prass builds up to on "Bird of Prey" in a moment that's staggeringly cunning. It's a moment of fiery firmness in the midst of repeated coos "of You don't leave me no choice but to run away" where Prass puts her foot down with a flash of steely resolve as she finally opts for the fight option of her primal response. That resolve follows naturally into "Your Fool" Prass' version of "That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On". It's an impressive parallel to the inaction of album opener "My Baby Don't Understand Me".

Where the record could very well end with "Reprise" a mostly spoken outro of sorts not only to the album but also "Your Fool", Prass instead ends with "It Is You" a track that wouldn't feel at all out of place in a Disney movie. It's a sly wink to the Disney princess quality of her voice and the comparisons its garnered but where much of her self-titled aimed for subtle and subversive, this seems the most overt with its grand sweeping orchestral flourishes and its fantastical similes. For those who made it through the record thus far with stoic indifferent to its goings on, this is her last moment to charm and Prass goes big; goes epically grand actually and whether you get the conceit or not, it's bound to inspire some sort of reaction. Where the songs before it sought to invoke pathos through their rooting in real emotion, this last effort seeks to humanize through pure charm. It's a fitting end to record that spends so much time mucking about in fractured relationships; a sort of tension relief that goes grand to deliver its rather simple message: It'll all be alright.

Prass approaches her self-titled album with a refreshing sense of plotting. From the realization of "My Baby Don't Understand Me" to the retaliation of "Your Fool", to the pseudo-confrontation with the other woman in "Christy". The album not only has a stylistic sense of cohesion but also narratively so. It commits to its concept with an unwavering sense of purpose that makes you invested in just what Prass has to say and how she'll say it. Every song has a utterly delicious moment of peak songwriting and Prass plays them straight, her pristine vocals seeking out the emotional truth not just the dramatic flash. The production augments the songs instead of galvanizing them. It's to Prass credit that even through its lush, occasionally grand production that the record remains stunningly intimate and unassumingly sincere. Prass is a songwriting powerhouse with a knack for imbuing each song with indomitable heart  that elevates her above mere retro pop theatrics and that and that alone could and should be enough to silence any naysayers. All they need to do is listen.







Natalie Prass is out now on Spacebomb Records. You can order it now.

Listen: Cold Specks - "Post Operative #8"

Canadian singer/songwriter Al Spx continues to deliver more of her luscious, dark, soulful hymns as Cold Specks with another single from her brilliant debut album I Predict A Graceful Expulsion. But as incredible as another listen of "Hector" is, the real cause for excitement is in it's b-side "Post Operative #8".

"Post Operative #8" with its slow, melodic purl and bare, simple delivery wouldn't be at all out of place on the album proper and yet, it's brand new and hints that Spx has found her sound in evocative, slow unfurling tracks that showcase her daunting vocal prowess; her rich emotive alto pouring over you like molasses and congealing on her minimalistic but poignant lyricism.

Listen to the b-side to "Hector", "Post-Operative #8":

Watch: Cold Specks - "Hector"

It's rare that you look forward to an artists video as much as I've been looking forward to each creation from Canadian singer/songwriter Al Spx aka Cold Specks. In addition to her utterly consuming brand of stormy gospel-inspired folkiness, she has a real talent for pairing her musical talents with fantastic videography. And that's no less the case with her latest video for new single "Hector" from her debut album I Predict A Graceful Expulsion.

Very little is explained in the video and that's probably for the best. As the video begins, you're not entirely sure what you're seeing as a white figure drags a body along a grassy path before revealing the figure as a pregnant bride still in all her wedding day dressings. There's flashes of the unborn baby as well as the Spx's groom before whatever disaster befell him. There's scenes of a happy wedded union cut with those same flashes of the unborn baby and there's Al Spx in various stages of almost menacing beauty as she sits, stands, and wanders alone. Who decapitated her bridegroom? Was it Al? Was it the baby? Those are the questions you try to unravel as the cinematic music video plods a long. 

Watch the haunting and beautiful video for Cold Specks' "Hector":

Peter Broderick - These Walls Of Mine (2012)

Anyone who's followed the career of singer/songwriter/composer/violinist Peter Broderick will know that his is a rather unconventional one. At least as far as his varied output is concerned. His catalog consists of commissioned works for dance (Falling From Trees, Music for Congregation) and film (Music for Confluence, "Old Time"/"Solace in Gala"), proper vocal albums (Home, How They Are, http://www.itstartshear.com aka It Starts Hear), and compositions, recording projects, and experiments (Docile, Float, 4 Track Songs, Ten Duets) and Peter Broderick's latest, his second album released this year,  is another collection of experiments based upon vocals as opposed to Broderick's instrumental or recording ones.

These Walls of Mine manages to capture the soul of Broderick's appeal while also revealing a stunning new side to the songwriter/composer. An album of lyrical experimentation as well as a genre-amassing body of work, These Walls of Mine is the perfect compliment to It Starts Hear. The latter a summation and emotion-stirring representation of Broderick's past ("A Tribute To Our Letter Writing Days", "Blue", "Colin"),  These Walls Of Mine is an actual collection of songs more or less from that period. When you read that Peter Broderick is dabbling in gospel ("Proposed Solution To The Mystery Of The Soul"), soul ("I've Tried"), spoken word ("When I Blank I Blank", "These Walls Of Mine I") and even rap ("These Walls of Mine II"), it's totally reasonable to be skeptical. However when you realize the same aspect that draws you to Broderick's music is also the same that allows him to artfully dabble in these genres, your fears are assuaged or should be. Broderick is a musician of remarkable sincerity. Even at his most quirky, his most humorous, Broderick comes off as honest and genuine and charmingly so.

Despite the fact that These Walls of Mine's main focus is lyrical, the album is littered with its fair share of memorable, hummable melodies and endearing musical moments. A testament to Peter Broderick's skills as songwriter that even when it's not his priority that engaging musical moments will shine through.

Give a listen to Peter Broderick's These Walls of Mine out now on Erased Tapes.

Tyler James - It Took The Fire (2010)

Never has the world seemed smaller than when I discovered that Ten Out of Tenn artist Tyler James (who I was introduced to via Andrew Belle) was also keyboardist for Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Considering that the two artist collectives are radically different, I was intrigued as to what Tyler James' solo recordings might sound like. Combine that curiosity with Noisetrade offering it up for free and it didn't take long for Tyler James' debut It Took the Fire to end up in my music library. I don't know what I was expecting but still It Took The Fire managed to shatter them. From lead track "All I Got" it's obvious this isn't going to be your standard singer/songwriter fare.

Tyler James manages to channel his multi-instrumentalism into a fusion of brilliantly soulful piano-pop. Its one of those fusions that combines enough elements as to be ultimately undefinable for all the good reasons. Add in remarkable choices in instrumentation and arrangement, and Tyler James creates a truly enjoyable experience. Get a taste of Tyler James with the music video for "All I Got":

Adele returns with "Rolling in the Deep"

When I had read that Adele had been influenced by country for her upcoming sophomore album, 21, I was a bit nervous about what to expect. But "Rolling in the Deep", the album's first single put my nerves to rest. The track sounds like outlaw country rock if you added in some strong piano lines and with Adele's soulful vocals adding in some bluesy glamor. It's like a mash up of doo-wop, delta blues, with the catchiness of pop to create a toe-tapping, hand-clapping soul song done oh so right. The video for the single features in studio footage from Adele's recording sessions in Malibu, California. It's actually refreshing to see the singer who's songs are often about heartbreak, actually having fun. Enjoy the video for "Rolling in the Deep":