Listen: Genders: "Life Is But A Dream"

Following Maggie Morris and Stephen Leisy since their days as members of Portland foursome Youth has been a wonderful journey of sorts. Though Youth was shortlived, their output - a double A side and their June EP was enough to make enough of an impression that listening to their new band Genders was a given. While it was a bit of a wait after the announcement of the band until those not able to catch them around Portland could see them, Morris and Leisy have made the wait worth it - releasing a series of  placeholders before finally releasing their debut full length Something To Get You By at the tail end of 2013.

"Life Is But A Dream", the first single from Genders' upcoming Phone Home EP shows that they're not that kind of band that's content to stay in place. Whereas Something To Get You By reveled in a sort of garage psych hinterland, "Life Is But A Dream" pulls from the band's dreamier, more atmospheric moments and chases that lead to a refreshing new sound. Morris and Leisy pair their guitar with omnichord and synths, respectively while Katherine Paul's insistent drumming translates rather well outside of the fuzz of their previous efforts. Considering the more laidback surfer rock vibe of Youth and Something To Get You By's "Golden State", Morris and Leisy are no strangers to a less hectic vocal delivery but "Life Is But A Dream" pairs the casual delivery with the blistering, intricate guitar work of their debut. It's a noteworthy blend, one that highlights the band's versatility as well as their ability to take what worked previously show that it works surprisingly well in new context. The result is a slice of dreampop that's not entirely content to go down smooth; As Morris and Leisy's guitar work occasionally providing jagged edges that elevate the track above mere delicate pop confection.



Genders' new single "Life Is But A Dream" is out and available for download this Friday with their Phone Home EP out later this year.

Listen: Golden Suits - "Is It Wrong"

photo by Sammy Goldfien

When Fred Nicolaus made his solo debut back in 2013,  I had a lot of expectations. Expectations established from years of listening to his former band Department of Eagles. Golden Suits, both the new moniker Nicolaus elected for his new venture and the album named  after said moniker managed not only to exceed all my possible expectations but highlight in retrospect Nicolaus' strengths as part of the Department of Eagles duo. Golden Suits was an album of accomplished songwriting, polished chamber pop, and agile indie rock beaming with sincerity and established without a shadow of a doubt that Nicolaus' deft lyricism was on par with Daniel Rossen's despite Nicolaus' slight detour after their hiatus.

On "Is It Wrong", the first taste of what's next after Nicolaus' heart-on-his-sleeve debut, Nicolaus obfuscates the literary influences in favor of a much more straightforward delivery and leans into his more traditional rock influences over the crispness of  the arrangements of the debut. Where Golden Suits tracks' seemed meticulously and pristinely crafted in its entirely, "It It Wrong" is built around its colossal choruses; where Golden Suits was steeped in the heartbreak of what could be and never would, "It Is Wrong" radiates with positivity even in the face of uncertainty. Nicolaus approaches both the songwriting and composition of "Is It Wrong" from such a dynamically different place than his debut and the result is a song that pushes the sound of the debut forward but not into completely uncharted territory. "Is It Wrong" is the incremental progress that happens when life goes on, different in ways but not wholly divorced from it's source material. Happy is a decidedly good sound for Nicolaus and Golden Suits and "Is It Wrong" has my interest piqued in what more of that would sound like. Here's hoping it's not too long before Nicolaus delivers.

Listen/Watch: Christopher Tignor - "Shapeshifting"

While the classical music realm and the ever growing world of technology have more often than not been at odds with each other, there are a growing number of artists who have recognized the creative possibilities that embracing technology affords them. Violinist/composer/software engineer Christopher Tignor is one of those artists. From his earliest recording projects Slow Six and Wires Under Tension, Tignor has made software a valuable part of both his composition and his performance process; the mathematical precision of classical music theory elevated by the science of Tignor's tech. That intersection is where Tignor's art lives. "Shapeshifting", the first taste of Tignor's upcoming double LP/video album Along a Vanishing Plane, both continues in that tradition and breaks away from it. Along a Vanishing Plane was recorded curiously enough without any of the overdubs or loops that you would attribute to a musician like Christopher Tignor. Instead Tignor relies on his trusty violin and the software for his latest round of compositions.

The first thing you hear in "Shapeshifting" isn't the violin, however, but a tuning fork and triangle. The strike of metal against metal, chiming out in the space of Hudson NY's Second Ward sets off a chain reaction when Tignor brings the tuning fork against the bridge of his violin to resonate. Tignor's custom built software registers the tuning fork resonating against the bridge through the violin pickup and spits out the piece's first melodies. If that wasn't enough, Tignor controls the flow of the melody through pedals and whether the tuning fork sets of the melody or his actual playing does via pizzicato. It all sounds rather academic in theory but Tignor never lets the piece get bogged down with the science. The software is programmed but largely Tignor is behind the wheel, directing where melody climbs or descents based on his feeling in the present moment. The presence of a bass drum and cymbal, essentially weave its way to fabric of the piece and keep it from getting too atmosphere. The constant percussion ensures everything moves forward and quickly, not letting the innovation rest on its own laurels.

In "Shapeshifting", Tignor takes use of the tuning fork, which might appear gimmicky, and elevates it to a timbre focal point and instigator. Tignor has never been one for gimmicks so his commitment to the tuning fork both as a means of percussion and to set off the software erases all doubt. "Shapeshifting", much like it's name implies, is about the journey. Its subtle crest into a prevalent percussion galvanized groove before allow itself to slowly cyclically unravel towards nothingness. It's a piece far more about composition and method than it is virtuosity and it's all the better for it, captivating with its ephemeral melodies that still manage to make a fascinating lasting impression..





Along a Vanishing Plane, Christopher Tignor's new visual album, will be out September 16th on Western Vinyl.

Pitstop: Lofty Stills

photo by May Xiong

The Internet is strange and marvelous thing. While an effective tool for seeking out new music and following promising new leads, it's also responsible for those strange moments of happenstance that introduces me to new music writers and new acts purely based off of an mutual interest. That's essentially how I came into contact with Luke Culbertson of Lofty Stills. After sending a series of tweets out into the ether about my incredibly mixed feelings about the new Night Beds material, Culbertson casually engaged as a mutual fan of their work and we would chat intermittently about where our heads were at at different stages of our consumption of the new Night Beds record. It was some time before I even found out Luke was a musician and that's probably for the best. If Luke had actively tried to promote his material to me from the get go, I most likely wouldn't have checked it out. Only when it was offered as kind of an afterthought, was my interest piqued.

So of course it was a funny thing that I found Culbertson's project Lofty Stills to be incredibly reminiscent of early Night Beds and Winston Yellen's friends from his time in Colorado Springs Lovelier Other. But there's more to Lofty Stills than being a Night Beds soundalike - meshing a twangy sound with a smooth dream pop tapestry, Culbertson's project continues a tradition of folk oriented bedroom pop with production that belies the simplicity of its creation and that Yellen has since abandoned in favor of electronic experimentalism. Culbertson's arrangements are lush without overwhelming Culbertson's delicate emotive tenor; his vocal harmonies doing the majority of the heavy lifting. Lofty Stills' songs arrive and leave in majesty vocal flourishes flooded with raw emotive force and yet there's no doubt Culbertson crafts his songs with meticulous precision. It's production is svelte but not too polished, spotlighting the roots in folk and country over Culbertson's electronic know how. His use of samples like Connee Boswell's "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" in "How Wrong I Was" a subtle compliment instead of a jarring distraction.

Culbertson's self-titled EP is a stunning collection of songs brimming with beguiling intimacy and winsome sincerity and musicianship. In fact, the only problem I can seem to find with it, in my growing number of repeat plays, is in its brevity: Culbertson's song have almost depressingly short life cycles flowering and withering like a spring ephemeral. Here's hoping there's more from Lofty Stills to come and soon.



Lofty Stills' self-titled EP is out now and available to stream/download via his Bandcamp.

Pitstop: Margaret Glaspy

photo by Ebru Yildiz

There's times when you encounter an artist/band that appears from the very first listen to be tailor made for you. Something that speaks to you on the most basic level - the way they write songs, the way they're arranged, the instruments they play, all or just one of these resonates with you down to your very core. Brooklyn based singer/songwriter Margaret Glaspy essentially did that for me on first listen to the emotive "Somebody To Anybody".

And yet despite taking notice of her earlier, it wasn't until the release of her debut full length record Emotions and Math when I could gauge Glaspy fully as an artist that I felt that I could actually articulate what makes her so special, so noteworthy as a new singer/songwriter. While the badassery of the fiery kiss-off "You and I" immediately reminded me of Laura Marling or "Serpents" Sharon Van Etten, Glaspy is more than just your latest resident female singer/songwriter. Glaspy is a talented singer/songwriter able to weave common turns of phrase into creative narratives that still resonate with universal truth ("You Don't Want Me"). Glaspy is also able to match the intensity of her emotions (which run an impressive spectrum) with fierce guitar work. Songs like growling "Situation" and "Pins and Needles" which bristle with contempt and sputter with vitriol are paired with precise but harsh guitar riffs. 

Emotions and Math is a feat of simple admirable songcraft. The songs are catchy and memorable slices of intelligent guitar pop with jazzy flavor and Glaspy crafts effecting narratives rooted in sincere emotion. The result is a set of songs at times languidly melancholic, at times stormily reactive that end up being ultimately empowering and unrelentingly enjoyable. Glaspy's main talent lies in her relatability and Emotions and Math never disappoints in that regard. Where Glaspy goes from this stunning collection is anybody's guess but her ability to invoke visceral reactions with a sense of effortlessness will no doubt continue to serve her well. 

Margaret Glaspy's debut full length album Emotions and Math is out now on ATO Records.  

Listen/Watch: Sam Evian - "Sleep Easy"

I remember the exact moment when I took notice of Sam Owens as an artist in his own right. A member of experimental rock trio Celestial Shore, it was while watching the making of video for the trio's Shaking Through session for "Die For Us" featuring Lorely Rodriguez of Empress Of that the extent of what Celestial Shore and by extension what Sam Owens was about really clicked for me. "I think...I think Sam Owens might be some sort of quiet genius" I whispered to myself as I listened to Owens wax poetic about recording studios and the like in an interview segment for the Shaking Though video. There wasn't anything particularly groundbreaking about what he was saying really, just Owens' deep reverence for the studio which he's been hanging around in since he was a child struck a chord with me while paired with the complicated sounding music he strives to make. The possibilities seemed limitless and I sort of absentmindedly wondered what kind of music Owens would/could make in his own right.

Luckily that question was a question that eventually found an answer. After Celestial Shore released their sophomore full length record Enter Ghost on Hometapes back in 2014, the band went on a bit of a hiatus and a bunch of solo shows featuring Owens started popping up where he went by the name Sam Evian. I missed absolutely all of them and there wasn't any recorded output I feared I'd never know what the act sounded like (sort of actually attending a show). Until now.

"Sleep Easy" is the first single from Owens' forthcoming debut release under the Sam Evian moniker. Written just prior to having to play his first show, "Sleep Easy" is a delightful introduction to Sam Owens' studio musician dreams; a slice of retro-inspired guitar pop that captures Owens vocals - plaintive and delicate in a wholly different context than the mathy rhythmic contortions of his main band. On "Sleep Easy", it's less about the juxtaposition of timbre with ambitious creative intent and more an exploration of Owens' musical roots and influences easily fitting into the 60s reminiscent singer/songwriter style whose resurgence is being aided by artists/bands like Andy Shauf and Whitney. "Sleep Easy" is a breezy pop rock jam arranged with a sort of effortless ease that belies the quickness of its composition and makes the listener clamor for me. Hopefully it's not too long before Owens lets us take another swig of Sam Evian.



Sam Evian's debut full length Premium will be out later this year on Saddle Creek but you can now pre-order the "Sleep Easy" 7" which comes bundled with non-album track "You Have to Hydrate" now.

Pitstop: Tuskha

While North Carolina trio, the Bowerbirds were on their last tour supporting their third full length record The Clearing, they unveiled a new set of songs that were more exploratory and synth based in nature and largely helmed by Phil Moore.That was back in June of 2012 and the band and the project has certainly had a lot of marinate since then. After holding one of the most interactive Kickstarter campaigns I have seen, the duo set towards building an at home studio to record their new records as well as set to work on delivering many of their promised rewards. Phil Moore and Beth Tacular also welcomed a brand new baby into the world. But all that while, the twosome have been hard at work on new music, fitting it in between child rearing and life itself and while Moore has promised new Bowerbirds material is on the horizon, the first new music to make it out of their cabin is that of Moore's solo project Tuskha.

Originally called Island Dweller, Tuskha has been on a creative journey all its own. Outside of the shows of their summer tour in 2012 where the first previewed the project, Moore has also used a year-long project Small Songs From Small Tiny House to further explore where the project could go. But last year's single "The Program" was really the first official taste of Moore's more electronic slant. The most surprising thing about Tuskha is how much of Moore's core songwriting beliefs make their way into it. Moore has always imbued the Bowerbirds' tunes with a reverence of the great outdoors and the majesty of Mother Nature and that's not missing in Tuskha. The result is an enticing blend of the mechanical and inorganic, pastoral imagery, and thoughtful lyricism. It's an oddly fitting next step from The Clearing which turned what many thought they knew of the Bowerbirds on its head.



The Clearing was exploratory and substantive but also definitive of what the Bowerbirds have essentially been trying to do all along: they weren't your garden variety folk band and with The Clearing they asserted that they weren't ever really folk to begin with. That exploration and experimentation with textures and sounds is alive in Tuskha who trades the various timbres of the Bowerbirds' accordion, strings, marimba, et al. into samples and effects. And for the dip into the electronic, Moore never loses sight of the human element. A Debussy sample ("The Shine"), the emotive power of  his own voice, programmed drums that occassionally draw from Bowerbirds' Yan Westerlund, it's a mixture of worlds that as inventive as it is human; a testament to modern life - filled with technology but vested in the unrelenting pulse of nature.



Tuskha's self-titled album is out and available for stream/download with physical release details coming soon. Tuskha will also be on tour with Wye Oak this summer, check tour dates here.