Listen: The Dodos - "The Surface"

photo by Andy De Santis

Considering Bay area duo The Dodos released not only their seventh studio album Certainty Waves but  singer/guitarist Meric Long's own solo album Barton's Den as FAN last year, I thought it'd be quite some time until we've heard anything even remotely new from the band. And yet after touring behind Certainty Waves last year, Long was feeling particularly inspired and, with a brand new Recording King acoustic guitar, set about chasing said spark of inspiration while it lasted. "The Surface" is the result of one of these post-tour writing sessions.

The appeal of "The Surface" essentially lies in the fact that while one of the most consistent recording acts, the band revisited and challenged their own mythology on Certainty Waves. The result was a record that freed them from the confines of the band they thought they were - that other people had elected as their narrative and allowed them a freedom to experiment with form, instrumentation, and substance. And after a record of exploration, "The Surface" arrives to establish The Dodos likewise flourish under the simplest means as they do their most experimental. While the duo challenged their acoustic guitar and percussion persona on Certainty Waves, "The Surface" returns right to it. Beginning with a langouring prelude punctuated by bursts of chords and which self reference Long's bouts of writer's block, the entrance of Logan Kroeber's drums snaps everything into sharp focus; from cynical self-doubting melancholy to a more spirited probing inquiry. It's a rousing piece of percussive guitar pop not unlike many in The Dodos' oeuvre and yet, there's a freshness to it as it revels in it's own simplicity. It's a testament to the effectiveness of good songwriting and ode of sorts to introspection. "Where do we go from here? The question, it's not the one to answer." Long offers and while it may be incredibly demonstrative of The Dodos' own creative self-inquiry, it's almost universally applicable. What kind of question you ask frames the argument; yields different answers. "The Surface" doesn't intellectualize it to much but captures that very spirit of it

"The Surface", currently a one-off single, is available now as a digital single from Polyvinyl:

Listen: Son Step - "Saucy"

I was introduced to Philly synth pop duo Son Step when I attended a fundraiser show for American Immigration Council they put on at Threes Brewing last May with Renata Zeiguer, Wilder Maker, and Zula. I went exceptionally familiar with Renata Zeigeur and Wilder Maker and had at least heard of Zula but Son Step were a total unknown to me and their set absolutely surpassed any possible expectations I could've formed. Jon Coyle and Joel Gleiser were essentially sat adjacent synth setups and created an immersive wash of kaleidoscopic melodies that held me completely transfixed until even after their set's final notes. They had mentioned that both the setup and the songs were mostly new and I was incredibly intrigued. Their songs were incredibly lush despite the fact that they were essentially stripped down. Though I haven't been able to see Son Step live again since but at the very least the duo have announced their third full length album Fossilillies, introducing it with "Saucy" recorded with former members Chris Coyle and Matt Scarano.

"Saucy" is an absolutely resplendent piece of multi-textured bliss pop. It's a buoyant, jubilant ode to thoughts and feelings that are utterly indescribable. And the duo don't really intend to try. Their lyrics evoke quiet little moments to create emotionally resonant echoes in lieu of actual explanation. Coyle and Gleiser's vocals are effortlessly intertwined into radiant harmonies, absolutely in line with the song's vibrant coloring and light-centered lyrics. Their vocals weave serpentine swaths, stratospheric arcs, and glance like skipping stones on sun dappled waters all the while they create effortlessly dreamy layered soundscapes to accompany them.



Fossilillies, Son Step's third full length album is out May 17th on Grind Select. You can pre-order the record now.

Listen: Renata Zeiguer - "Chega de Saudade"

photo by Katie Vogel

Despite releasing her debut full length album Old Ghost just last year, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Renata Zeiguer has already hard at work on its follow up. While the product of that particular effort remains to be seen for the time being, Zeiguer is offering up an EP called Faraway Business featuring two covers and two alternate takes of Old Ghost tracks "Gravity" and "Wayside".

"Chega de Saudade" is a cover but holds such a place in Zeiguer's musical DNA that not only has an English translation of one of its lyrics inspire the title of Zeiguer's interim collection of songs but she returned to it as a way to sort of center herself musically. Originally written by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes and popularized by João Gilberto as a single and also by his album of the same name, Zeigeur tries to achieve a similar intimacy of the original while also experimenting with Ace Tone drum machine from the 60s. For old and new fans of Zeigeur alike, "Chega de Saudade" provides a raw glimpse of Zeiguer's musical influences and tendencies stripped free of Zeiguer's stellar layered arrangements. While Zeiguer's musical history in classical and jazz can be gleaned in her approach both to her own project and involvement in others, her sparse rendition of a bossa nova classic really snaps into focus how much musical styles that are widely characterized by their subtlety has informed Zeiguer's own approach to both songwriting and arranging.



Faraway Business is out April 12th on Northern Spy Records and is available for pre-order now.

Listen: Boon - "Jasmine Seeds"

When I was introduced to the now Philly based duo Boon, it was more or less during a transition period for them. The band had moved from Brooklyn to Philly and effectively shifted direction due the logistics of having half of its band members in different cities: in fact after my initial introduction to them, the following times I saw Boon the sets mostly consisted of Brendan Principato and Drew Sher creating an almost impenetrable mesh of vocal and guitar harmonies and workshopping songs that would eventually become their forthcoming record All Of Us Laughing.

Firmly settled, the band has gone from quartet to duo and back to quartet again and I was interested to see how that would effect their sound which seemed to thrive during this period of displacement. Where previous album effort There's No Saving This House was a beguiling mixture of atmospheric multi-layered drone folk, the Boon I encountered live eschewed both their slow burning tendencies and noisier elements in favor of simpler but no less luxuriant presentation. "Jasmine Seeds", the first single from All Of Us Laughing, finds the sort of middle ground between these two stages of the band. It's a vibrant harmony laden reverie that entrances through its resplendent amble but with drums to keep the pace. It's a song that can seeming go on forever as you're drawn in both by ease of Principato and Sher's vocal harmonies but also the emotiveness they reach during the song's peak but the duo steer the song through minimalistic changes until they finally bring everything to a cacophonous stand still. It's a lovely return from the band and one that ultimately captures the spirit of their creative problem solving and musical talents.



All Of Us Laughing is out March 29th on Boon's own tape label Glass Orchard. You can pre-order the record now.

Listen: Truth Club - "Not An Exit"

photo by Logan Murray

My first encounter with Raleigh pop rockers Truth Club, then a trio but since expanding into a four piece, was in Neptunes on the 2nd night of Hopscotch Music Festival in 2017. I was instantly taken with the band's dynamic - churning around vocalist Travis Harrington with an energy both frenetic and breezy and ability to shift tempos and moods with an impressive amount of ease. It was the strength of that set alone that marked them as a band to watch in my mind even as they seemed relegated to being one of the Raleigh music scene's best kept secrets. With "Not An Exit, the first single from their upcoming debut full length of the same name, the band are making a splash on a much larger stage. 

Their first release since 2017's two song release Interest Meeting, "Not An Exit", with it's sightly off-kilter jangle, quickly establishes itself as an inescapable ear worm before guitarist Travis Harrington's vocals even enter. And when they do, they're a kind of unassuming half mumble that make it all the more effective when certain phrases leap out at you. Harrington is the kind of songwriter that doesn't assume everything he has to say is profound and with that freedom ends up creating some pretty stirring turns of phrase. "Not An Exit" essentially deals with the body as a prison. No matter how confidently you grew up or how normal or cool of a life you've lived, we've all had at least one of those moments that were so jarringly awkward that you've contemplated an escape from your own body; to wink out of existence. Harrington locks onto that in "Not An Exit" but also offers that regardless of how much you might want to escape its inescapable confines, the body is your home. While "Not An Exit" draws its inspiration from the anxiety of post-adolescent youth, it's charmingly mature even avoiding some cliched "it gets better" ending. No, Harrington's closing remarks: "There's not an exit from a form and there's never gonna be" is much more true to life while also striking an uplifting chord. You can't escape your body or its flaws but you can get more comfortable with them and hunker down for the long haul.   

Listen to "Not An Exit":

Truth Club's forthcoming debut full length album Not An Exit out May 3rd on Tiny Engines. You can pre-order the record now on digital or limited edition colored cassette.

Listen: Big Thief - "U.F.O.F."

With the release of their brilliant sophomore album Capacity in 2017, Brooklyn based indie rockers  Big Thief found themselves at a crossroads of sorts: they were sitting on a treasure load of new songs (some of which they would sneak into setlists of their album supporting tours), they had plans to record and release them but also many of its members had aspirations of their own. Big Thief has always been a band made up of the sum of its parts and many of its members are active participants in others bands like Mega Bog and Twain. That the band somehow found time between touring, writing and releasing new material for their other projects, to also complete the writing and recording of a new Big Thief album so soon came as a bit of a shock to me and probably anyone else who has been paying attention. And yet, considering they released their debut album Masterpiece and its follow up Capacity a little more than a year apart, the announcement  that Big Thief latest album U.F.O.F. would be out this year is certainly a welcome surprise.

And maybe that's why Big Thief's return "U.F.O.F." sounds so refreshed. With Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia releasing markedly different albums last year, the band's return to form of sorts is far from more of the same. "U.F.O.F.", the second and title track from the band's upcoming third record and first on 4AD, arrives in a dreamy hush. Hardly surprising given it's subject matter is about extraterrestrial contact. And yet, Lenker's imbues it like she does all of Big Thief's songs with an inspired sincerity. There's a subtle electronic thrum and yet, the song pulses with a pastoral warmth, Lenker's wistfully tender vocals caressing vivid nature imagery and maintaining the human element. There is no fear of the unknown but a full on embrace of it and a sense of familiarity with the other.



U.F.O.F., the third album from Big Thief is out May 3rd on 4AD.

Listen: Flock of Dimes - "The Sisters"/Madeline Kenney - "Helpless"

photo by DL Anderson

I was introduced to now Durham based singer/songwriter and former member of Oakland collective Trails and Ways Madeline Kenney as a solo artist last year due largely in part to the role Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak/Flock of Dimes had in producing her sophomore album Perfect Shapes. Her lead single "Cut Me Off" was a such pitch perfect piece of vibrant guitar pop that I was instant on board and made sure to check in occasionally to see else she had up her sleeve.

Considering how closely they worked together: with Kenney living with Wasner out in Durham as they engineered Perfect Shapes, it's hardly surprising that two would stumble upon a kindred enough connection to collaborate further and the two wrote and recorded a split 7" together. The 7" is essentially a conversation of sorts between Wasner and Kenney as they navigate their positions as women in a male dominated industry. Wasner, an industry veteran for more than a decade, who at one time was so averse to being tokenized as the "woman guitarist" crafted a whole Wye Oak album without it to demonstrate her other talents and strengths, offers us a gauzy, obfuscation in "The Sisters". It is multitudinous in its production as driving bass lines, lithe guitar riffs, Wasner's aching, craning vocals, and a synth sheen are all blended into a hazy miasma of melancholy. 



Kenney's part of the dialogue, "Helpless", is a sort of tongue-in-cheek but certainly no less sincere bit of roleplay. Vulnerability is the mark of any gifted songwriter but seems to be expected of any/every female songwriter and Kenney casts herself in that role: "Look me over, I am helpless" she coos and if her songwriting on Perfect Shapes' didn't reveal her as versatile songwriter/guitarist equally capable of vulnerability and fearlessness in equal measure, it might be easy to take the 7" track as characteristic, partially added by Kenney more or less playing her role straight. The lightness and ease that define much of Perfect Shapes is present with Kenney relying on lyrical specificity rather than verbosity. "What if they see me or worse believe me?" Kenney sings before a layered outro begins where verses are stacked upon each other and essentially are left to battle for dominance in a surprisingly orderly fashion. And it seems a worthwhile indication of Kenney's struggle in accepting the role of the helpless woman trope with her being perceived as truly a damsel in distress as the worst possible case scenario. It's a track of beguiling simplicity with Kenney's featherlight vocals providing an interesting contrast to Wasner's more grounded ones.



"The Sisters"/"Helpless" digital 7" is out now and with physical edition available from Carpark Records on April 16th. You can pre-order now.