#Sonic Underground Reprise

[theangrycomet-art]

started with IDW art style studies, ended with fake screenshots

[juicenjamtime]

Sonic Underground Reprise: Silver Attempt 1

I was playing with the idea for a while that Silver was the original source of the "Prophecy", though it was less of a him predicting the future and more him trying to straighten out some facts about the "past".

[theangrycomet]

nicknames are a love language

Or Tails acquires more nicknames from his sibling

Manic calls him “Bumblebee” cause

he’s fuzzy and yellow

he’s constantly chattering and buzzing around when he works

he physically should not be capable of flying

bonus: Manic associates insects with comfort/home from Farrel so I think that would be a cute callback

Sonia, though is far less inclined to come up with nicknames the rest of her brothers, I feel would find humor in calling Tails “Kilometer”

It’s a play on his first name

Reflects his more careful and calculated side

its fun referring to such a little guy by such a large unit of measurement

[sonknuxadow]

Which Sonic Prime voice actor confirmed that aren't in MLP

im pretty sure all of them are in mlp fim except for deven mack the guy whos gonna voice sonic, and adam narada who i cant find any information on at all

ashleigh ball was rainbow dash and applejack, shannon chan-kent was the singing voice of pinkie pie, kazumi evans was the singing voice of rarity, ian hanlin was sunburst, and i cant remember off the top of my head who brian drummond or vincent tong voiced but they were in it i know that for certain. also pretty much everyone i mentioned voices other characters too but if i listed all of them we'd be here all day so i just said their main role lmao

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 14/04/2024

Thwâmpröck Desert

Season 8 No Album Release (Read More)

Ripped by Madinstance

So you know how yesterday's post was about a ripper with a very clearly defined niche of work, with Jamangar and Locked In The Underground? And earlier in the week I was covering the sheer prowess of ripper Madinstance, the raw power he exudes with I will Never be a Redneck? And just a few more days before that, where I talked about how much Mario Kart Wii's music means to me with Sweatpants Select? Well amidst my lineup of possible future posts, I slowly realized how perfectly Thwâmpröck Desert fit all three categories - a great way to end the week, and another Season 8 rip to boot.

Madinstance is an exceptionally skilled ripper, that much I hope I've made clear over my past posts on him. But with a few exceptions from time to time aside, he's also a ripper with a rather particular focus - a lot of his greatest rips, such as Every Mob Wants to Rule My World, Fell From a High Place (Reprise) and M​-​O​-​O​-​G City, are all focused on paying respects to Minecraft and its legendary original composer C418, wheras recently Initial Deluxe (I've Just Raced on this Course Before) appears to reveal a newfound love for the Mario Kart series. You may think at first thumbnail glance that Thwâmpröck Desert is an extension of that, a rip of a Mario Kart game, but there's one more field of his expertise that I'm yet to cover on here. C418 is beloved by many, yes, but within those privy to video game music history, particularly in the chiptune community, few composers are as revered and celebrated as the Follin brothers, Tim Follin and Geoff Follin.

To VGM aficionados, they need no introduction - but then, its those same aficionados who would know such things as that Robocop on Game Boy of all games has amazing music, as I discussed in Viva La Robocop. Most others, those who are primarily video game fans, will simply choose their favorite composer based on their own favorite games. That's completely valid too, of course, many long-running franchises like Kingdom Hearts, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dark Souls and so forth have key people composing for them that are incredibly distinct, to where you KNOW what a Kingdom Hearts game will sound like, what a Dark Souls game will sound like, and so on. Yet what makes the Follin brothers so fascinating in contrast, is that their soundtracks were attached to all kinds of games from all sorts of places: Ecco the Dolphin on Dreamcast, Silver Surfer on NES, Pictionary on NES, Plok! on Super Nintendo - practically the entire spectrum of games of the 80s and 90s, from shovelware to all-time classics, the Follins contributed to. Yet to them, the individual game quality hardly mattered! Be it Pictionary or Plok, Tim and Geoff Follin composed every soundtrack like it was their life's greatest achievement, creating full-on chiptune prog-rock in games that had NO business going that hard (I know that's a bit of an overdone and reductive turn of phrase, but really - PICTIONARY???) The brothers knew how to make any platform they were working on positively sing, and their obscure weirdo games have become titans amidst VGM enthusiasts as a result. An underdiscussed side of video game history, still cherished by a specific subset of nerds yet today.

Which, then, brings us back to Thwâmpröck Desert - an arrangement of one of Tim Follin's most insane pieces, the title screen music for NES game Solstice. It deserves a listen all of its own - the way it fakes you out with the most barebones little ditty of all time before switching into a rock masterpiece is an absolute work of art, and the piece just keeps growing from there, at once impossibly layered yet incredibly cohesive. Madinstance LOVES ripping the Follins' work, he's made a name for himself in part for ripping the SNES game Plok! in particular during Season 6 and Season 7, yet even still I was unsure how well Thwâmpröck Desert could really work. Its not a rip of a Follin composed game like the aforementioned Plok! rips - its arranging this impossibly dense piece of music into a song that already sounds like the violin version of pure, yet elegant, panic. Yet I suppose that also makes it the perfect fit for the Solstice title theme's sheer density - and when actually listening to Thwâmpröck Desert, its hard to imagine that Thwomp Desert ever sounded any different.

It's just - GAAHH!!! Its fucking mind-boggling how good it sounds, how this odd song I'd barely thought about from Mario Kart Wii wound up being the perfect template to arrange Follin's music into. The melody's string instruments are perfect for the Solstice title theme's pure distilled chaos whilst still capturing that sense of elegance and flow, and the most quirky instruments still present in Thwomp Desert add a delightful texture to the arrangement. I have to pause it every 10 or so seconds I listen to just process all that I've heard - the percussion, lead, backing, the progression of the song, its all handled absolutely masterfully, I cannot BELIEVE this was just dropped on us on a normal tuesday! I will Never be a Redneck was at least a season premiere!!

Whew...well, alright, I hope you get the picture - The Follin brothers' music fucking rocks, and I am SO glad that a ripper as amazing as Madinstance has taken it upon himself to pay regular tribute to their work. Games like Mario Kart Wii are leagues more mainstream than the games that the Follins typically worked on, and the idea of SiIvaGunner getting less VGM-savvy viewers to find out about these legendary composers - it just makes me really happy! Madinstance's rips are bangers to be sure, but much like Beautiful! ~ Curveball of Sean Kingston, like Beyond the Floating Isles, like Gate Happy: they're bangers that can also open up a whole new world of musical interests to viewers like you and I. And isn't that just the coolest way for SiIvaGunner's art of subversion to live on in?

(oh, also, its called Thwâmpröck Desert because the Solstice NES game takes place in "Kâstleröck" and I just found that very funny)

[mondoradiowmse]

04/17/24 Mondo Radio Playlist

Here's the playlist for this week's edition of Mondo Radio, which you can download or stream here. This episode: "All I Can Do Is Shout", featuring classic garage rock and more. If you dig it, don't forget to also follow the show on Facebook and Twitter!

Artist - Song - Album

The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird (Live) - Teen Trot

The Trashmen - Walkin' The Dog (Live) - Teen Trot

Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs - Wooly Bully - The MGM Singles

Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs - Ring Dang Doo - The MGM Singles

? And The Mysterians - 96 Tears - The Best Of ? And The Mysterians: Cameo Parkway 1966-1967

? And The Mysterians - Shout (Part 1 & 2) - The Best Of ? And The Mysterians: Cameo Parkway 1966-1967

The Sonics - Leave My Kitten Alone - Introducing The Sonics

The Sonics - I'm A Man - Introducing The Sonics

The Swamp Rats - Psycho - Back From The Grave, Vol. 1

The Alarm Clocks - Yeah - Back From The Grave, Vol. 1

The Mods - Satisfaction - Back From The Grave, Vol. 2

The Unrelated Segments - Cry, Cry, Cry - Back From The Grave, Vol. 2

Los Saicos - El Entierro De Los Gatos - Más Rock And Roll

Los Sinners - Rebelde Radioactivo - Más Rock And Roll

Jeff Wilkinson - 2 Ft. High Umbrella Man - Pitchin' Pennies

Shadows Of Knight - Gloria - Highs Of The Sixties

The Standells - Dirty Water - The Best Of The Standells

Paul Revere & The Raiders - I'm Not Your Stepping Stone - The Essential Ride: '63-'67

The Knickerbockers - Lies - Highs Of The Sixties

The New Colony Six - A Heart Is Made Of Many Things - Breakthrough

The Barbarians - Take It Or Leave It - Collector's Records Of The 50's And 60's, Vols. 19 & 20

The Music Explosion - Sunshine Games - Collector's Records Of The 50's And 60's, Vols. 19 & 20

The Five Americans - I See The Light - Garage Rock Classics

The Turtles - Outside Chance - Garage Rock Classics

The Beau Brummels - Laugh, Laugh - '60s Rock: The Beat Goes On

The Robbs - Cynthia Loves - The Robbs

The Robbs - Bittersweet - The Robbs

Syndicate - Next 21st Of May - Psychedelic States: Wisconsin In The 60s

Gorde's Horde - I Don't Care - Psychedelic States: Wisconsin In The 60s

The Count Five - Psychotic Reaction - Nuggets, Vol. 1: The Hits

Moving Sidewalks - 99th Floor - The Roots Of ZZ Top

Blues Magoos - Rush Hour - Electric Comic Book

The Chocolate Watch Band - Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In) - Summer Of Love, Vol. 2: Turn On - Mind Expansion & Signs Of The Times

The Troggs - Feels Like A Woman - Freakbeat Freakout

The Creation - Making Time - The Best Of The Creation

The Luv'd Ones - Truth Gotta Stand - Truth Gotta Stand

The Luv'd Ones - You'll Never Know - Truth Gotta Stand

The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) - The Complete Reprise Singles

The Thirteenth Floor Elevators - Slip Inside This House - 7th Heaven: Music Of The Spheres - The Complete Singles Collection

The Thirteenth Floor Elevators - Reverbaration (Sic) (Doubt) (Riviera EP Stereo Mix) - 7th Heaven: Music Of The Spheres - The Complete Singles Collection

The Seeds - Evil Hoodoo - Pushin' Too Hard/First

The Velvet Underground & Nico - Run Run Run - The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Monks - I Hate You - Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude

The Stooges - 1969 - The Stooges

[honoka-marierose]

The title reveal for the third Sonic the Hedgehog film was published by Paramount Pictures early Friday, amid a report that actor Jim Carrey will reprise his role as Doctor Robotnik for the film.

The short clip was uploaded by the studio on social media to drum up hype for the movie’s December release. Fans heard what was presumed to be a rendition of Crush 40’s “Live and Learn,” followed by a brief laugh from Doctor Robotnik.

At the same time, industry publication Variety reported that Doctor Robotnik will return in the 2024 film, as actor Jim Carrey was confirmed to reprise his role. The decision was made despite Carrey’s previously-announced plans to retire.

“You all thought I was gone, but I’ve just been underground. What you’ve seen from me is only a shadow of things to come…”

@SonicMovie on X, formerly known as Twitter

At the end of the second Sonic movie, Shadow the Hedgehog was discovered in an abandoned lab, still left in stasis after Project Shadow’s termination 50 years ago. While Robotnik has disappeared, Agent Stone picked up on the details, which set the stage for Shadow’s release.

Sonic 3 is expected to adapt the events of Sonic Adventure 2 on the big screen, and to be released in December 2024.

[lboogie1906]

Jaleel Ahmad White (born November 27, 1976) is an actor, producer, and writer. He was born in Culver City, California, the only child of Michael White, a dentist, and Gail White, who was a homemaker. His mother became his manager. He attended John Marshall Fundamental High School in Pasadena and South Pasadena High School before graduating from UCLA with a BA in Film and Television. He was cast in the role of Steve Urkel on the sitcom Family Matters. The character, which was originally intended to be a one-time guest appearance, was an instant hit with audiences and he became a regular cast member. He reprised his role as Urkel for the first time in the series Scooby-Doo and Guess Who? He is the first actor to voice the character Sonic the Hedgehog, doing so in the animated shows Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Underground, all of which were produced by the now-defunct DIC Entertainment. He reprised his role as Sonic in the Sonic fan film. He starred in the series Grown Ups. He has continued his acting career with supporting roles in Dreamgirls, and cameo appearances on Boston Legal, House, Castle, and Psych. He portrayed Dr. McCormick in Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus. He appeared as a contestant in season 14 of Dancing with the Stars. He hosted the game show Total Blackout. He appeared in Bones as Officer Adams. He joined the cast of The Big Show Show in the recurring role of Terry. After starting his career at the age of three, his first television role was a guest stint on The Jeffersons. He was cast as the son of Flip Wilson and Gladys Knight on the sitcom Charlie and Company. He appeared in the pilot episode for Good Morning, Miss Bliss, and had a guest role on Mr. Belvedere. He had a supporting role in Cadets. He appeared in a few segments of One to Grow On. He had a role in Camp Cucamonga. He has one daughter. In 2021, he announced the launch of his ItsPurpl line of cannabis products featuring the Purple Urkle strain, set for debut on April 20 at California dispensaries. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/Cld06SmOvci/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[recommendedlisten]

2021′s first half felt rife with uncertainty following the kind of year we had preceding it. The lingering effects of the global pandemic remained steeped into our daily lives’ narratives, but somewhere along the midway point, that post-vaccine life gave us glimmers o “normalcy,” whatever the fuck that even means at this stage. Music was not and has never been exclusive from any of this, and in a way, it has helped tell that story as artists retreated away from the insularity of quarantine-comforting background music into something altogether more physical and alive to match their return to stages in the flesh right in front of our eyes. The new music calendar took notice of that as well, as it was arguably one of the busiest release years in recent memory, making 2021′s music something akin to a choose-your-adventure style exploration especially in the world’s of rock, rap, and pop. The soundtrack to the (knock on wood) beginning of our return to life as defined by the 30 Best Songs of 2021 is below...

30. Xiu Xiu feat. Liz Harris - “A Bottle of Rum” [Polyvinyl Records]

Gods among heathens in the avant rock sphere, Xiu Xiu create a wonderfully blemished pop clangor of “A Bottle of Rum”, hearing frontman Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo bringing Grouper’s Liz Harris into their fold, with the unison between Xiu Xiu’s sweet banjo deconstruction and Harris’ orbed vocal smear serving as a much-needed balm for all of us to encounter. “In the ways of a dream / Meaningless to believe,” Stewart’s frigid timbre meets the warm, thin light radiating out from Harris. The gauzy hues in its sonic spectrum might make Xiu Xiu 4 lifers wistful to revisit a past life of theirs in the band’s cover of Joy Division’s “Ceremony” soon after given the pull of its hook, though nearly two decades into their career, they find new ways to romance us broken beings.

29. Lily Konigsberg - “Sweat Forever” [Wharf Cat Records]

A every turn, the indie-pop polymath craft of Lily Konigsberg continues to display humble revelations in a perfectly imperfect conversation of songwriting. “Sweat Forever” takes a turn inward with feelings softer in what’s said as she watches a relationship lapse. Over a light-refracted shimmer of 12-stringed acoustic strums and dreamy rhythms bubbling under them, her words do the most to punch up, but her partner just isn’t hearing them. “I’m not looking for something new / I’m just looking to make it right,” she sings with her last breaths on the matter. “I’m still here / Is that what you wanted?” You can only sweat it out for so long, and though this Gemini retreats from her efforts, she’s got the feeling down pat.

28. Navy Blue - “Ritual” [Self-released]

Brooklyn underground rapper, skater and fashion model Navy Blue had a breakthrough last year with his debut LP Àdá Irin, began 2021 with another recommended effort in Song of Sage: Post Panic, and has collaborated alongside the Alchemist and Earl Sweatshirt on the standout cut “Nobles” as well as produced his peer AKAI SOLO’s latest True Sky. His latest solo effort Navy’s Reprise is a crystal clear conduit for a re-introduction for those playing catching up with his prolificity, however, with “Ritual” being its exacting stunner of shimmering production moving between the poetry of his bars. Beats helmed by Playa Haze, we get Sage Elsesser’s origin story as told through sports hero name drops and reference points dotted back to his peers in the game. “My brother ain't like shit, he was staying inside / I ain't like shit either, I was smoking three-five, in one sitting.” The weight of the world rests easy with the smoothest flow.

27. Parquet Courts - “Walking At a Downtown Pace” [Rough Trade]

Parquet Courts have been forever a post-punk band for this millennium’s increasingly anxious fits and slow-down spiral times, yet “Walking At a Downtown Pace” -- for all of its allusions to detachment and becoming numb to the banality of life -- is a proper rock out jam that shakes the conceptions of the way that same energy rattles through you. “How many days in life will I spend underground? / Hours in total, as many as it takes,” Andrew Savage bemoans over a groovy shock. “And how many ways of feeling lousy have I found? / Lately uncounted.” Though the track was prophetically written pre-pandemic, the way the NYC band projects modern existentialism into the pavement is one of the year’s loud rallies against the dread (even when it’s still steeped into your DNA.)

26. Lingua Ignota - “PENNYSYLVANIA FURNACE” [Sargent House]

Lingua Ignota’s sound is incomparable, majestic and visceral at once, with the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist having been trained in classical sound, but also exhibiting a fearlessness to delve into the heavy abysses of metal, industrial and gothic songwriting. Her latest album SINNER GET READY, however, goes into territory where few in her dark realm trek, as it digs through the dirt of music created from traditional instruments of the Appalachian region where mythos of Christianity and desperation curl through the roots, with “PENNSYLVANIA FURANCE” culling its themes from 18th-century folklore about an ironmaker whose dog drags him down to Hell after the owner throws him into the fire pit. “Me and my dog, we die together / Within the Lord, I cast off all my earthly bonds / There is victory in Jesus,” Hayter bellows over sunken pianos and a dramatic epiphany of horns. Through the flames, she can be heard dismantling the void of in exchange for a more a tangible tragedy.

25. Japanese Breakfast - “Be Sweet" [Dead Oceans]

As the follow-up to 2018′s dreamy electro-pop and indie rock standout Soft Sounds from Another Planet, “Be Sweet” -- the shimmering starburst from Japanese Breakfast’s third studio effort Jubilee -- hears her reentering the atmosphere after a trip around the void with a new found lust for life radiating off her vehicle. “Tell the men I’m coming, tell them count the days / I can feel the night passing by like a mistake waiting for me,” she sings, purpose in sights careening through a production of funked up space pop. Even before touching down in her prodigal state, her sixth sense acquired from far out voyages know that someone else has some explaining. “I wanna believe in you, I wanna believe in somеthing.” The truth is out there...

24. Bartees Strange - “Weights” [Memory Music]

“Weights” only bolsters the inevitable that Bartees Strange can and will be filling spaces as big as the ones for those who’ve invited him out there with them. This one leans into the indie rock polymath’s superpowers as a guitar god and an emotion commandeer. A surge of stargazing keys transforms the muscular riffs and drums that ride over them into a gravity-defiant feeling against the heaviest heart experiencing romance in hindsight. “I feel those eyes / Each time I see you walk by,” he sounds. “When can we try? / How far am I?” It’s like rolling peak anthem Joy Division, the Cure, Bloc Party, and TV On the Radio into one body, having Strange’s soul possess it, then letting go of all the regrets with an epic that never turns back.

23. Fiddlehead - “Down University” [Run for Cover Records]

“Down University” is a different kind of commencement speech to the class of whatever that will hopefully ring loudly through the years, as Fiddlehead vocalist Patrick Flynn dishes out a much needed reminder about the worth of life’s teachings. “Hyde Park! / Precious Blood! / Latin School! / USMA! / Emmanuel! / BC! / Columbia! / Graduate!,” Flynn, condescended by the shouts of every alma mater’s spirit squad, screams through its melodic crush. “No one cares / It’s just a name / You are more than a degree.” Before you let societal expectations burn you out before life has even started, consider Fiddlehead’s hard knock lessons on purpose. They cost nothing, and will get your further in the long run.

22. Ducks Ltd. - “How Lonely Are You?” [Carpark Records]

Ducks Ltd. are much more than your typical jangly indie-pop outfit. Their guitars don’t just shimmer – They spark and spangle with an excitable energy that presses bright emotion to the surface of their music. On “How Lonely Are You”, Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis want you to feel closer even during the moments when you’re so far apart from the ones you care about most. Together, they glue the distance of separation through a welcome impatience in quick flicker guitars and tight-knit percussion that builds a bridge beneath McGreevy’s dreamy gaze aided sweetly in harmonies by labelmates the Beths, and the space between. “So how lonely are you? / Does it feel right / Out where you are?,” he asks in its chorus, though there’s enough warmth in his words for momentary reprieve from the feeling.

21. Mitski - “The Only Heartbreaker” [Dead Oceans]

“So I’ll be the loser in this game / I’ll be the bad game in the play / I’ll be the water main that’s burst and flooding / You’ll be by the window, only watching,” sings Mitski on “The Only Heartbreaker”. Self-aware of her place in the realm of romance, it’s either being a “Nobody” or this – a weapon of one’s own relationship destruction, and if there is anything we know of this world, it’s that the underdogs and the anti-heroes get all of the glory. What makes Mitksi’s “Heartbreaker” status easy to embrace is in the way she presents the information. This could have easily gone the way of one of her tense and tormented unraveling listens, but instead she dances among the flames among flashes of ‘80s-bedazzled gem-pop and the steadfast leer of post-punk guitars and drum beats. When there’s nothing left around but ash in her wake, at least she still remains.

20. Indigo De Souza - “Real Pain” [Saddle Creek]

Indigo De Souza does a lot of self-analysis, emotional critique, and acknowledgment of the self and others throughout her breakthrough sophomore album Any Shape You Take. “Real Pain” retreats to the bleaker spaces of the Carolina-based songwriter’s mind and more coarse rock craft, but comes out on the other end of it sounding more assured in the discomforts of the loss she’s faced. “When pain is real, you cannot run / You can cover, but come undone.” And come undone she and the song do in its midsection, as the listen churns into a layered hellion of screams before forgiveness settles in to burst the dark clouds from view. “I wanna know it’s not my fault / I didn’t mean it.” At its end, there is learning to live with compassion for that pain.

19. Enumclaw - “Fast N All” [Youth Riot Records]

Being perfectly honest, Enumclaw artistically sound like a mess. That might actually be the thing that makes you fall in love with the band and what’s driving them, too. Vocalist and guitarist Aramis Johnson, drummer Ladaniel Johnson, Nathan Cornell, and Aramis’ brother and bassist Eli Edwards come from the uncool parts of the Pacific Northwest’s woodwork, and just go for it after giving up on past attempts at breaking into music, recovering from the shit life throws at you, and creating a purpose for themselves in a world where little makes sense. “Fast N All” is their loser anthem, an untuned grunge-pop jam with nuts and bolts of post-emo feedback as Johnson’s lackadaisical muses lessons learned about living up to anyone else’s expectations. “I’m not for everybody / It’s hard to accept / But what’s the point of trying / If there’s no one left?,” he asks as guitars stick to the turntable while his own murk clouds the surface. His point comes through clearly, though, and that’s what counts.

18. L’Rain - “Two Face” [Mexican Summer]

With so much connection once assured, a friendship fallout can feel like you’re losing your way through your own path. The once effortless conversation flowing from one side through “Two Face” may ooze freely, but the manner in which L’Rain encounters another source of energy of equal or greater force in the form of spiral staircase pianos and skidding samples in her psychedelic tapestry, the Brooklyn art-pop-R&B soothsayer may have met her match in seeing things through. “I can’t build no new nothing, no new life, no new nothing for me / I’ve gotten all of my bricks aligned, but mortar’s escaping me / ‘Ze wandering,’ my mind numbing, say something!,” she sings. For now, she’s lost in the sound of a colorfully vivid silence.

17. black midi - “John L.” [Rough Trade]

The formless, wildly experimental post-punk of black midi made for one of 2019′s best breakthroughs and albums of that year with their debut full-length Schlagenheim, and with “John L.”, the standout from the London band’s sophomore follow-up Cavalcade, they raise the bar as to how many dimensions in the sonic realm can be explored through the guitar wire and its calamitous orchestra of instrumental frenzy. Consider this black midi 2.0 for now, as original member in guitarist and vocalist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin is bowing out on this go, while primary vocalist and guitarst Geordie Greep, bassist Cameron Picton, and drummer Morgan Simpson not only fill in the gap by introducing saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi and keyboard player Seth Evan into their fold, but outline a revolution through sound as the listen’s psychedelic storyline takes center stage in musical theatre for the chaos mind.

16. The Armed - “AVERAGE DEATH” [Sargent House]

The Armed will always be an intriguing faction of art punks whose sound never ceases to have a surprising effect, but with ULTRAPOP, it’s clear that their latest album is where the project’s creative vision culminates. Against the discordance of its surroundings limbs, “AVERAGE DEATH” is bluffed in a dense feedback and heavenly bodies soaring through its chorus, though what meets the surface is not necessarily what words paint to the eye. “Fame for today / Steal every scene / Dance for your captor / Always an actor,” the collective sings through submerging static of guitars melding shoegaze’s bliss with metal’s intensity. Commentaries on pop culture and the grotesque self-indulgences they ripple through society again seem to draw in the Armed’s attention here, and the band sculpts all of its hideous beauty through their sound.

15. Charli XCX feat. Christine and the Queens & Caroline Polachek - “New Shapes” [Atlantic Records]

For every experimental action in the Charlie XCX universe, there is an equal or opposite mainstream-centric action to be heard reverberating afterward. After staying home with us last year with the former, the pop superstar is back to maximalist mode again with “New Shapes”, yet even at her most mass-appealing version of her sound, Charli’s most streamlined work is still leaps ahead of everyone. It’s more than a collaborative effort, leveling up as a thing of alternative pop holy trinity, however, as she’s joined by Christine and the Queens and Caroline Polachek in the Deaton Chris Anthony and Linus Wiklund-produced listen. Styled with late ‘80s-era synth-driven pop-rock bursts clashing against Charli and company’s cool futurescaping, everyone gets their equal moment to shine here in the heartbreak, turning these latest “Shapes” into another perfect symmetry of art pop.

14. Snail Mail - “Ben Franklin” [Matador Records]

Snail Mail mastermind Lindsey Jordan ascended quickly to the ranks of indie critical darling territory (alongside a fervent following to bat) with her 2018 debut LP Lush. Its follow-up Valentine contends with the subsequent crash behind the scenes that unfortunately can happen when young artists experience huge changes in their lives once personal going public, which in Jordan’s case led to a period of being in rehab. Even though she’s out, she’s still confronting some old ghosts on “Ben Franklin.” In it, Jordan confesses that that the road to recovery hasn’t been without its snags. “Got money, don’t care about sex,” she sings in its opening moments over a warped simmer of synth-pop and wriggling guitars, but second she crosses paths with an ex who fled the scene when the going got tough, her facade falls fast. “Sucker for the pain, huh, honey? / But you said you’d die / You wanna leave a stain forever / But you said you’d die for me.” Even her proclamations of bravado come with a tell on her face that even she knows she’s on her bullshit with that one.

13. Dummy - “Daffodils” [Trouble In Mind Records]

A song in bliss does not necessarily make for a lack of any depth in its perception, and “Daffodils” tests listeners on this. If this is your first impression of Dummy’s art in its early stages, know that it encompasses everything the Los Angeles experimental dream-noise band does with intentionality in their colorful vibrations. Equal parts fully charged from a punk outlet, gravity-defying in a sun-blinding daydream, and pop ascendant in guitarist Nathan O’Dell and keyist Emma Maatman’s sweetly co-mingling vocals, the listen pulls you with the allure of perfect flower petals, only to deceptively dive down into a static squalor. “Just ignore the signs,” they sing. There’s an easiness in this life to be distracted by our surrounding’s superficial gloss, but Dummy’s true nature is to interrupt the status quo and return you to crueler true nature by any means necessary.

12. Moor Mother - “ZAMI” [ANTI-]

Beyond boundaries are two descriptors which broadly describe the cosmic wonder behind the prolific experimental noise explorations of Moor Mother’s Camae Ayewa. In defying physical space and time through her portal of sound, Moor Mother opens pathways between the past and the future, often delving into harder socio-political matter with as much tangled chaos as the canvas it’s placed on in its discourse involving injustice, racism, and the narrative of Black identity. “Zami” further speaks of these experiences which the Afro diaspora across the world have gone through then and continue to do as Ayewa retraces centuries of history through the white-washed muck, its brutal truths revealed and made permanent through transcendent, wavy static. “Yeah, I’m being erased / And you don’t even care,” her words slam fact, with the shouts behind them flying through the past’s anguish and reclaiming agency over the dialogue. In her intention to break all dead clocks reading pasts and presents wrong, Moor Mother continues to build new space ways to a future without filter.

11. Sharon Van Etten & Angel Olsen - “Like I Used To” [Jagjaguwar]

Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen’s career trajectories more or less began around the same point on the timeline and stylistically evolved from sculpting brittle, indie rock folklore traditions into styles more ornate and widescreen without departing the personal at the rate of a big bang. Kindred spirits as they may be, their two stars have yet to cross paths in their planes, until now at their peaks with the collaborative single “Like I Used To”. The listen feels as every bit a homage to the grandeur of retro country pop ballads that have oft bled through the frets and booms of their own respective work, but uncanny against any blip in music’s long history in the way their combined electricity flash shutters through desperation, vocals belting through the space-time continuum where Etten and Olsen collide. All mirrors and reminders of tomorrow about to shatter, when the energy bursts, it’s a marvel how we’re still standing on this Earth with them.

10. Baby Keem & Kendrick Lamar - “family ties” [pgLang / Columbia Records]

“family ties” is far from a feature between Kendrick Lamar and cousin Baby Keem -- it’s a full-blown joint, with Keem using his time on the first half to clap back at any critiques on his ascent thanks to his famous fam (”I’m grateful to Man-Man, he opened up doors / And bung on the tour bus to come and compose…”) with a wiley hype in his bars and the horns-and-808s beat. Kendrick’s second half is easily the track’s main event, though, with the tone sinking into the dark of underworld and Lamar giving the kind of performance rap direly needs right now: Something weird, aggressively righteous, and the hardened truth. “Last year, y’all fucked up all the listener / Who went platinum? I call that a visitor,” he spits at one point. “The facts mean this a vaccine, and the game need me to survive,” he throws down in another. As he evangelizes his own resurrection, he sounds like an unstoppable madman you can’t help but cling onto their every word. Rap’s echelon may have a few false prophets attempting to stay at the top, but this Gemini is the honest to God truth.

9. Mandy, Indiana - “Bottle Episode″ [Fire Talk Records]

“Bottle Episode” has an energy built for some kind of escape room or haunted house, but seek deeper through the words, and that appetite for fear is really one that’s palpable all around us. The Manchester lure you into their unknown, only to ambush your senses with a welcome form of emotional violence. A tantalizing exhibition of the band’s meticulous structuring of rhythm and noise, “Bottle Episode” sets you on course with a thriller where encroaching footsteps, frontperson Valentine Caulfield’s French whispers in the dark, and loud heartbeats prepare you with rising tension audibly discharged through its bold pulse line. Around a corner of sirens, the reveal is a horror show blasting through the negative space in explosive militant beats. Humans will always be drawn to their war machines, and Mandy, Indiana exploit it through celebratory macabre in sound.

8. Dry Cleaning - "Her Hippo” [4AD]

The cool factor effortlessly steaming off Dry Cleaning is unmatched throughout the London post-punk band’s debut album New Long Leg, but no better can that be defined than in its centerpiece “Her Hippo”. The listen -- an abstract, desperate, and mesmerizing collision between jangled clangor and laxed live wiring snaking their way through Florence Cleopatra Shaw sing-spoken scene setting and portrait of a woman -- is only accentuated by the annunciation of every vowel and consonant that falls from her lips, from the moment early on when she exclaims, “Yaba!” to the lackadaisical shrug of “Well, well, well...” More espresso, less depresso could do the trick, but at least for our entertainment, getting stepped along the way makes for some of the year’s best deprecating art.

7. MUNA feat. Phoebe Bridgers - “Silk Chiffon” [Saddest Factory Records]

Heartbeats ahead of the pulse of today’s alternative pop landscape, Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson embellish what their label lead and friend Phoebe Bridgers alongside the likes of Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, the 1975, and Pale Waves have laid in foundation with blurring the divide between soft-eyed indie-adjacent rock and the mainstream-appealing gloss of arena pop-rock on “Silk Chiffon”. MUNA’s queer love – wrapped in the titular texture and visions of roller blading in mini skirts – joined by Phoebe, high and feeling anxious in a CVS through a current of compressed electricity – hits its own ecstasy in giving MUNA’s sound and audience an identity to shape all their own, however. Like its chorus, “Silk Chiffon” makes you feel good in a moment whenever it’s on.

6. Megan Thee Stallion - “Thot Shit” [300 Entertainment]

As a loudly twerked clap back at all her elected conservative critics who’ve weirdly obsessed over she and Cardi B’s “WAP” antics from the hypocritic pulpits of their keyboards, the track does so effortless what Meg does to anyone who stands in her way by eviscerated them with owned confidence wrapped in nail-sharp wordplay and turning up the sex positivity even louder to drown out the unnecessary noise. “Hoes tryna call me a snake pit, I guess I can relate / ‘Cause a bitch spit a whole lotta venom / And since those hoes all rats, when they come around me / All I see is a whole lotta dinner,” she boasts over a treble low beat that does the most for each exclamation in the bars. Slap another music video event which rounds up her hot girls to get revenger against and, uh, shut a U.S. Senator’s mouth once and for all, and “Thot Shit” is another bodyslamming reminder that you better think twice before hitting send if you’re going to step to her.

5. Low - “Days Like These” [Sub Pop Records]

Low’s music always seems to hear the end times in our current timeline better than the rest of us, with albums such as 2007′s Drums and Guns capturing the rapturous pulse of a war-torn times through electronic tension and anger, and more recently, the chaos of the last four years rupturing their sound at the central particle level on 2018′s mesmerizing, disorienting Double Negative. “Days Like These”, a HEY WHAT standout, is not disillusioned with our collective illusions, knowing all too well that we are far from being out of the clear, even if they reach for some tangible semblance of normalcy. In its opening moments, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker harmonize a cappella with a firmness of stability, only for those moments of serenity in their voices to be blown out by distortion. Shortly after, the listen breaks off into a somber drone before floating away with a numbing hum. There may never be peace to be found in this life, but Low continue to learn how to quiet the unease with their own transfiguration.

4. Big Thief - “Little Things” [4AD]

Where as Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, Max Oleartchik and James Krivchenia have ornately woven their roots of indie rock and folk into majestic, unwordly, and rumbling formations, we’re presented with the scenario of what Big Thief would sound like in a dream sequence, especially one that you could wander through infinitely if you were give the choice on “Little Things”. From its opening moments, Lenker’s guitar is basked in pure sunlight and shimmers into the strange ripples of Meek’s gazing pool, rhythm continuously in flow, and all their natural elements blurring into one another in gleaming texture. Lenker’s prose rests on her lips in peaceful rumination as she admires her lover in the yard with a beer or her body undressed like “some cheap classic movie,” though a few soft snarls suggest maybe those “little things” alone are enough to turn up a burning desire. As her voice claws into its web, it’s like being caught in that moment between having the best dream and the lucid brain realizing it’s about to wake up, fighting to stay.

3. Olivia Rodrigo - “good 4 u” [Geffen Records]

After driving down an ex’s street and getting a case of déjà vu, "good 4″ punctuates the the stylistic trajectory Olivia Rodrigo has flawlessly executed since her arena-sized bedroom pop entry points in what we need in the current mainstream pop climate. Here, she merges into the ongoing pop-punk revival lane and in turn flattens the multi-universe in a way Travis Barker could never. Verses worship at Taylor’s burn book alter, but then get extra up in the misery business in its chorus, all while capitalizing on tabloid press within Rodrigo’s songwriting motif by suggesting behind-the-scenes relationship drama unfolding on the set of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. Her most tattered edges amid the messy, mascara-smeared ugly cry are visible here, though, and this sociopathic kiss-off is a look.

2. Turnstile - “BLACKOUT” [Roadrunner Records]

“BLACKOUT is a thing of progress. Further more, it doubles downs as a reawakening for the music world after a long, hard year of being shut indoors, away from live shows, and the communities we often create around them. This one’s got a much different energy than any other highlight from the Baltimore band’s latest album GLOW ON, too. It’s one thing when the five-piece soaks intensity into the particles of a psychedelic sun or connects it with alien waves from the outside skies. “BLACKOUT” turns the cratering hardcore punk canvas they joyously call their playground inside-out in the cosmos, as drum beats blur between the speed of Daniel Fang’s motions and a synthetic arm of intermittent voltage crunchies through its corners, eventually providing a portal of escape through starsailing. “Let the spotlight shine on me again!,” shouts Brendan Yates, only to lead up to a necessary pit breakdown that dissolves into a dance through the streets. We needed some kind of win for hope this year, and Turnstile give us its anthem.

1. Backxwash feat. Ada Rook - “I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND DRESSES” [Self-released]

Let's be real: Despite getting to the root of some of the biggest problems we're facing on the daily, the world is still very much in shambles right now. Backxwash matches that energy with a huge thought onslaught to chomp on with her team-up with Black Dresses’ Ada Rook on “I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES”. A turgid, aggressive, and righteously confrontational meanmugging packed with nü-metal, industrial and goth-rap shards violently flinging in from all directions, the organized spiritual complexes and ostracizing these archaic cultures create are no match for the tandem’s demonic conjuring to tear them down as Backxwash’s verses body personal anger and pain while Rook’s clawed chorus unleashes the beast that rips them limb by limb. “My demons have populations,” goes one line. If this is just their awakening, Hell on Earth will be Backxwash’s playground. Through the exorcism, there is something to be gained in burning it all down together.

[passionate-reply]

ABC are known for their high-brow sophisti-pop, but did you know they started out as something closer to an industrial band? Find out all about The Lexicon of Love, on this week’s Great Albums. Transcript below the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today’s album is one of the more unique triumphs of early 80s synth-pop: ABC’s The Lexicon of Love. The Lexicon of Love would be the first album released under the ABC name, but prior to their metamorphosis into ABC, the band had been known as Vice Versa. They also had a very different sound than the one they’d later become known for.

Music: “Riot Squad”

Vice Versa had been a heavily electronic, experimental outfit, more in line with fellow members of the Sheffield music scene like Cabaret Voltaire and the early Human League. As ABC, they would pivot dramatically towards lushly arranged sophisti-pop, and produce some of the most iconic hits of the early 80s, like “The Look of Love.”

Music: “The Look of Love”

Between the minimal synth lashings of Vice Versa’s EP Music 4 and The Lexicon of Love, the band that would now be known as ABC saw a major addition to their lineup, in frontman Martin Fry. Fry had been a member of the Sheffield music scene prior, as the author of an underground fanzine, but was recruited to become the new lead vocalist of Vice Versa after interviewing them. Fry’s crooning is certainly one thing that makes the album sound different, but I’d also be remiss not to mention the influence of its producer: Trevor Horn.

By this point in his career, Horn was mainly known as a member of The Buggles, of “Video Killed the Radio Star” fame, and the progressive rock group Yes. He also brought along two of his more consistent collaborators, with whom he would go on to form The Art of Noise: J. J. Jeczalik, programming digital synthesisers, and Anne Dudley, arranging and orchestrating electronics and strings. The Lexicon of Love was one of Horn’s first major forays into production, something he would go on to prioritize in his career. Still, I think tracks like “The Look of Love” demonstrate Horn’s signature style of rich, bombastic, borderline campy pop in full force, as much as his later work with artists like Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Seal. Horn is certainly known for his complex and painstaking orchestral arrangements, which are something you’ll hear a lot of on The Lexicon of Love. The lone instrumental it features, “The Look of Love (Part Four),” makes that particularly easy.

Music: “The Look of Love (Part Four)”

While the album’s famous single is often referred to as simply “The Look of Love,” its full title is actually “The Look of Love (Part One).” Before you ask, yes, there are second and third “parts” of this suite, which were all released together on their own EP, or perhaps extended single. In the context of the album, though, parts one and four bookend the second side of the LP, with part four arguably serving as a sort of reprise of that unforgettable hit single. Speaking of singles, “The Look of Love”’s success in the charts was actually preceded by that of another entry in the top ten: “Poison Arrow.”

Music: “Poison Arrow”

As the title implies, “Poison Arrow” is focused more on the darker side of love, when things don’t go one’s way. The Lexicon of Love is a sort of loose concept album, which deals mainly with romantic love, and the trials and tribulations of those who seek it. Perennial subject matter for pop, of course, but it is executed with a lot of style. While “Poison Arrow” certainly has synthesisers, they’re hardly the first thing you notice in its dense arrangements.

Ultimately, The Lexicon of Love is a very backward-looking kind of album, particularly in the context of synth-pop. Where so many of their contemporaries were looking to the future, ABC were committed to capturing this suave, traditional pop glamour, somewhere between Motown and Sinatra. Despite all the efforts being made to embody this classic sense of cool, there’s still an undeniably 1980s sensibility about the album that I think shines through in the end. But I don’t think of that as an indictment of the material, simply a neutral feature of it. I don’t really believe music can truly be “timeless” or “dated”--those terms get thrown around by people trying to ground their taste in objectivity, but at the end of the day, we all like what we like. I think The Lexicon of Love sounds like it was made when it was made, but also holds up, insofar as it’s still enjoyable to listen to.

One of the most endearing features it does have is Fry’s witty, clever lyricism, full of unique rhymes and lofty allusions. He had studied English at Sheffield University before entering the band, and that literary flourish really sets him apart. While Vice Versa certainly had some indignant numbers, Fry sells us on a much more posh kind of anger on tracks like “Valentine’s Day.”

Music: “Valentine’s Day”

The cover of The Lexicon of Love is nearly as busy and complex as the album’s arrangements. It shows a scene from a theatrical narrative of some sort, in which Martin Fry catches a woman falling backwards, seemingly fainting with fright. With determination, he points a gun at some unseen, off-stage antagonist. The bright red of the curtain, at stage left, draws our attention to that suspenseful absence, and gets us to wonder what’s happening here. Adding to that sense of the incomplete or not fully known is the way the action is boxed in, almost claustrophobically, by the eye-catching, high-contrast text showing the album title and band name. In the lower left-hand corner, you’ll find a surprisingly large block of text--I think this album has a higher word count on its cover than anything else in my collection! That text consists of an amalgamation of lines from several different songs on the album. Both the inclusion of this lyrics box and the title “The Lexicon of Love” put emphasis on the concept of language, and, perhaps, the difficulties of putting the most powerful of human feelings into communicable words. Given that Fry’s lyrics are such a standout, I think that angle benefits the album a lot.

Over the next fifteen years or so, ABC would see several further lineup changes, and add infusions from house and early hip-hop to their take on synth-pop. They continued to see modest chart success up through the late 80s, though they would never crack the UK top ten again, after The Lexicon of Love. In more recent years, Martin Fry has revived the ABC name and released some new material, including, most notably, an album called The Lexicon of Love II, intended as a proper sequel to his magnum opus. As ambitious as that is, I think it really works, but you can listen for yourself and decide.

Music: “Viva Love”

My favourite track from The Lexicon of Love is, without a doubt, “4 Ever 2 Gether.” The average song in my music collection sounds a lot more like Vice Versa’s efforts than it does this album--I like a lot of harsh, synth-forward stuff. “4 Ever 2 Gether” is closer to that sound than anything else on the album, with a chilling vocoder part that really stands out against the rest of the album’s sonic footprint. It’s also got some of Fry’s most striking lyrics--deeply abstract, but still bitingly bitter. That’s all I’ve got for today--thanks for listening!

Outro: “4 Ever 2 Gether”

[krispyweiss]

Album Review: Ryley Walker and Kikagaku Moyo - Deep Fried Grandeur

Eleven minutes in, “Pour Dampness Down in the Stream” blossoms into a percussive jam not unlike the Grateful Dead coming out of “Space” into “The Other One” or Led Zeppelin crashing into “In the Evening.”

“Dampness” is one of two 18-minute tracks - “Shrinks the Day” is the other - that make up Deep Fried Grandeur, the new joint between Chicago-based American guitarist Ryley Walker and the Japanese psychedelic outfit known as Kikagaku Moyo.

Dead and Zep comparisons notwithstanding, it's impossible to know where Ryley and the band come together - or, indeed, break apart - as this instrumental LP finds them fully integrated in a batch of sometimes-formless psychedelic soup that entertains in spite of itself.

“Shrinks” is its counterpart’s opposite, looking toward the East in an amplified nod to Ravi Shankar with George Harrison’s western adaptations woven throughout. It ultimately explodes into a bit of kaleidoscopic, Velvet Underground-inspired drone-rock before dissolving into a sonic reprise of “Dampness’” opening theme and galloping off on a garage-band, guitar-and-percussion-driven coda.

Deep Fried Grandeur is not for everyone. But in the right ears and in the right environment, it’s a sonic adventure worth taking.

Grade card: Ryley Walker and Kikagaku Moyo - Deep Fried Grandeur - B+

2/17/21

[theangrycomet-art]

sonic underground reprise baby doodles

[juicenjamtime]

fankid doodles

necklaces are place holders for their eventual medallions and i'll figure out outfits later, but I like how their color schemes are working

[sonknuxadow]

dont mind me just studying the sonic prime cast list to figure out who might be voicing who

[lucindarobinsonvevo]

This week, a record made and released by close collaborators Eerie, Indiana and Heart on a Chain received a re-release with a deluxe edition to celebrate its 20th birthday 

Though the front cover of Marshall’s Theory of Believably, the joint album by bands Eerie, Indiana and Heart on a Chain names only those two bands, the project was a collaboration between all the members of the Indiana seven. The Indiana Seven were a close group of collaborators who had a close working relationship in the 90s, creating iconic tracks and albums. The cover, which depicts a lone man in a ghost costume was shot by Sara Sue, an artist/photographer who shot most of the Eerie, Indiana’s album covers, and a track labeled ‘we gave this track to Tod’ features the enigmatic artist known as Tod, who also helped on the band’s delayed record Broken Record. The album art is different from the works of both bands, with Eerie, Indiana frequently having a sort of DIY feel to their photoshoots and Heart on a Chain tending to the more abstract kind. These particular photos (remastered for the deluxe edition) depict various band members in the dessert wearing a sheet over their heads with large black eye holes. The cover is Holmes, peering from behind a large unlit bonfire at the viewer. The title is written in the handwriting of Janet Donner, who also features as the figure on the CD itself. Teller features on the back of the album, and the back page of the liner notes, waving goodbye. Inside the liner, there are images of X, with Monroe being absent, apparently due to having a broken leg at the time of the shoot following an incident at a waterpark.

The album features twelve tracks, with many of them focusing on the idea of cryptids and other mysterious entities to make up the metaphors of the song. On the idea for the Album, Donner said: We wanted to talk about love as we knew it. This broad, mysterious concept that so many people in their twenties make love out to be.” On what she thinks of love now, Donner then remarked: Love is being glad the world hasn’t ended yet. I’ll leave you to make of that what you will. On the album, both X and Teller have cited the other as an inspiration behind the tracks, which will not come as a surprise to anyone who frequently listens to Eerie, Indiana as the pairs sometimes tumultuous relationship is often at the center of the most controversial and interesting projects done by the band. But this album is, more than anything else, a happy one. 

The first single released from this album was the track ‘Sometimes I Almost Miss You’ in the one-two punch style of Eerie, Indiana the track is titled like a break-up but is a love song. Over an energetic guitar track and drum machine, Monroe sings about the heart transplant she’d had some years before and how she believes that she can still feel the donor even though he’s (according to the lyrics) long gone and sweetly resting. The track is careful to avoid any religious implications, instead suggesting that the donor (who has since been identified as Devon Wilde) instead rests inside her chest. With X on the guitar and Holmes on the drum machine and (of all things) the triangle, Teller is free to singe verses from the perspective of the heart donor, viewing the world from inside Monroe’s chest while Donner provides very beautiful backing harmonies. The overall mood of the track is one of quiet love and happiness, as well as gratefulness to the young boy who gave her the second chance. Those familiar with the work of Heart on a Chain know that the transplant features heavily in their songs and it’s no surprise to see it here. 

The second track released in the work was ‘Me and My Jackalope’ and fueled rumors about a relationship between Teller and his bandmate, Dash X. At the time, both were closeted at the request of the label to avoid scandal. “Being in the closest literally almost killed me.” Teller would reflect later, interviewing for a project he did, releasing tracks for an LGBT themed album in the 2000s.”The funny thing is, I don’t think anyone who listened to us gave a damn. We’d go on stage, and we used to stand so close our knuckles were almost touching getting up in each other’s face and people would just go crazy.” Me and My Jackalope is, as you may have guessed, a song about impossible love. A love that the singer, in this case, mostly Teller, keeps hidden under his bed, only bringing it out to play when he’s alone. It’s a slow, sad track with Teller crooning to his animal “If they saw you, then they’d send you away.” Both Holmes and Monroe are credited as writers on the track, with the usual Eerie, Indiana flavor of complicated guitar playing set aside in favor of Donner and a violin and Holmes playing an assortment of other instruments. 

The third and final promotional single was meant to be Skylines, which lyrics from are also featured on the inside booklet of the album however at the last minute it was swapped out to the Meatloaf cover in the center of the album, Midnight at the Lost and Found due to ‘label meddling’ after it was decided they needed another upbeat track after Me and my Jackalope. The track is nothing special, a seemingly typical Eerie, Indiana cover. Eerie, Indiana frequently covered Meatloaf and Jim Stienman tracks, hoping to work with one or the other someday. Sadly, this collaboration never came to be. But it’s a fun song, much like the original version from the 1983 album by Meatloaf. Somewhat of a deep cut by today’s standards, but it’s fun. Which I think was probably the mission statement of this album if Dash X is to be believed (Yes, that’s his stage name, no I do not know his real name). ‘We were a bunch of 20 something friends given a studio and a year or two to do whatever we wanted. So we did whatever we wanted, which was being weird.’ 

Skylines and it’s reprise is a group effort, with every member of the group joining in with the writing process to produce something that could have gone astray but managed to come together into something coherent. Skylines covers the re-treaded ground of many bands, it’s a song set about missing people while on tour. Set against New York’s bright, iconic skyline the track is mostly led by Donner as she wonders what her lover is doing right now. Her lover, played by Teller wonders about if his lover will stay in New York, swept up by the bright skylines, and pleading for them to simply be theirs. The track has backing vocals from all of the members involved, including Holmes who mostly shies away from singing parts. ‘It’s not that I don’t love to sing.” He explains, “I’m just not very good at it. Marshall was always the singer, I’m much happier playing the drums, or a cello or something.” 

The final track on the album, clocking in at nine minutes, is Cryptids (I Still Believe in You and Me). This track shows off the impressive guitar skills of Teller and X, this time paired with the violin playing from Donner who shows she can keep up with the boys by playing speedy, intense sections with precision. This Dash X penned track also has extensive work by Holmes on the drums and a solo from a very jazz saxophone in the third act. Ultimately, the song doesn’t quite come together, feeling disjointed and a little over-complicated. But...Maybe that’s how it’s meant to feel. Dash was never brought into Eerie, Indiana as a writer, he was brought on to foil with Marshall on stage and because he was the only person the label could find that could play the punishingly difficult riffs Teller produces. On his Instagram speaking about pride X has suggested that a lot of his music was changed during production because it was too overtly about men, while Donner and Teller both proficiently changed pronouns in there songs, or stuck to calling their love interests you. 

The album has three tracks that feel like filler, the intermission track which is not unusual on the cinematic, large scale Eerie, Indiana albums, a seemingly ‘story’ track called ‘Lost in Time’ which is a piece of Holmes poetry performed by Donner and an odd little track called ‘We Gave This One To Tod’ While the enigmatic Tod was often credited on Eerie, Indiana albums and opened for them at live shows he never quite reached the level of recognition his peers did. However, seeing the bizarre and experimental nature of his work, and his goth and punk leanings I think it’s safe to assume he was happier underground than his friends were blinded by the lights of showbiz. This piece features heavy synths and a drum machine. It doesn’t hit for me, but perhaps for a fan of Tod, it could be a holy grail. 

On this version of the album, known as the deluxe edition, we’re given three additional tracks. A demo version of Elvis and the Mothman, which is lyrically the same slowed all the way down with the shouting chorus replaced with a mouth against the mic crooner style. The released, upbeat anthem style track is a far better fit for the album. Baba Yaga in Heels is a Heart on a Chain only track, perhaps why it was discarded. It features a techno style dance beat, with the lyrics being about a night out with Baba Yaga, a Banshee, and a harpy. Ultimately, the lyrics are not that impactful but they don’t need to be. The final listed track is a cover of Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell, which lyrically and sonically is almost identical to the original. 

Overall, what Marshall’s theory of Believability tries to do is ambitious. It’s an album between two experiential groups of friends trying to make something that they enjoy. But it’s not the best work of either group, which is a shame because it could have been something very special if they were given a little more time to work out some of the kinks and if they pruned some of the tracks that are superfluous to the story of the album. I’m happy to have a copy in my collection, but honestly, I’d rather listen to something the group produced independently anyway. 

[mondoradiowmse]

04/26/23 Mondo Radio Playlist

Here's the playlist for this week's edition of Mondo Radio, which you can download or stream here. This episode: "Outside Chance", featuring classic garage rock and more. If you enjoy it, don't forget to also follow the show on Facebook and Twitter!

Artist - Song - Album

The Trashmen - Surfin' Bird (Live) - Teen Trot

The Trashmen - Walkin' The Dog (Live) - Teen Trot

Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs - Wooly Bully - The MGM Singles

Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs - Ring Dang Doo - The MGM Singles

? And The Mysterians - 96 Tears - The Best Of ? And The Mysterians: Cameo Parkway 1966-1967

? And The Mysterians - Shout (Part 1 & 2) - The Best Of ? And The Mysterians: Cameo Parkway 1966-1967

The Sonics - Leave My Kitten Alone - Introducing The Sonics

The Sonics - I'm A Man - Introducing The Sonics

The Swamp Rats - Psycho - Back From The Grave, Vol. 1

The Alarm Clocks - Yeah - Back From The Grave, Vol. 1

The Mods - Satisfaction - Back From The Grave, Vol. 2

The Unrelated Segments - Cry, Cry, Cry - Back From The Grave, Vol. 2

Los Saicos - El Entierro De Los Gatos - Más Rock And Roll

Los Sinners - Rebelde Radioactivo - Más Rock And Roll

Ehab - Shirley, You Can't Be Serious (Club Mix) - Shirley, You Can't Be Serious (Single)

Shadows Of Knight - Gloria - Highs Of The Sixties

The Standells - Dirty Water - The Best Of The Standells

Paul Revere & The Raiders - I'm Not Your Stepping Stone - The Essential Ride: '63-'67

The Knickerbockers - Lies - Highs Of The Sixties

The New Colony Six - A Heart Is Made Of Many Things - Breakthrough

The Barbarians - Take It Or Leave It - Collector's Records Of The 50's And 60's, Vols. 19 & 20

The Music Explosion - Sunshine Games - Collector's Records Of The 50's And 60's, Vols. 19 & 20

The Five Americans - I See The Light - Garage Rock Classics

The Turtles - Outside Chance - Garage Rock Classics

The Beau Brummels - Laugh, Laugh - '60s Rock: The Beat Goes On

The Robbs - Cynthia Loves - The Robbs

The Robbs - Bittersweet - The Robbs

Syndicate - Next 21st Of May - Psychedelic States: Wisconsin In The 60s

Gorde's Horde - I Don't Care - Psychedelic States: Wisconsin In The 60s

The Count Five - Psychotic Reaction - Nuggets, Vol. 1: The Hits

Moving Sidewalks - 99th Floor - The Roots Of ZZ Top

Blues Magoos - Rush Hour - Electric Comic Book

The Chocolate Watch Band - Are You Gonna Be There (At The Love In) - Summer Of Love, Vol. 2: Turn On - Mind Expansion & Signs Of The Times

The Troggs - Feels Like A Woman - Freakbeat Freakout

The Creation - Making Time - The Best Of The Creation

The Luv'd Ones - Truth Gotta Stand - Truth Gotta Stand

The Luv'd Ones - You'll Never Know - Truth Gotta Stand

The Electric Prunes - I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) - The Complete Reprise Singles

The Thirteenth Floor Elevators - Slip Inside This House - 7th Heaven: Music Of The Spheres - The Complete Singles Collection

The Thirteenth Floor Elevators - Reverbaration (Sic) (Doubt) (Riviera EP Stereo Mix) - 7th Heaven: Music Of The Spheres - The Complete Singles Collection

The Seeds - Evil Hoodoo - Pushin' Too Hard/First

The Velvet Underground & Nico - Run Run Run - The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Monks - I Hate You - Dirty Water: The Birth Of Punk Attitude

The Stooges - 1969 - The Stooges