#like... haunted acoustic with the violins !!!

[theone]

Okay but why aren't haunted and back to december acoustic in this apple tracklist

[marylily-my-beloved]

MARAUDERS ERA GIRLS AND THE INSTRUMENTS THEY WOULD PLAY: (p1)

Lily: She would play the cello. Because she loved it since she was a little kid and when she finally got the money to get one she was so excited and happy she would not shut up about it for MONTHS.

Mary: She would love her acoustic guitar, take it everywhere it is acceptable to start playing. It was always in her car, and she painted some cute lilies on it for her Lily.

Marlene: Marlene tried starting her own band but it never worked out, because of that she had her beloved electric guitar, named Cas after her girlfriend. It was bright pink with a flame design.

Pandora: Pandora plays the harp. She loves the vibes and she has one she made mini to play some funny sound effects whenever she wants to. Her big harp in her house is amazing and seems magical and ethereal. She also knows how to play the piano but she doesn't really like it.

Dorcas: C'mon we all know she has a matching electric guitar with her girlfriend Marlene. The guitars name is Marls, and it's purple with a flame design, she barely uses it though, it's like Marlene's second guitar.

Emmeline: She can play a number of instruments and has all of them in her house, but her favourite one is the flute. The flute that she learnt from 4th grade muggle classes, and all she can remember is hot cross buns but she loves her flute so much she adores it.

Emma: She does not play an instrument, she would rather die. Literally. Once her mother tried to force her to learn the drums and she literally exploded. 💥💣🤯

Sybill: She plays like an insane amount of instruments that are cool & interesting. Omnichord, Otomatone, Nose flute, Clarinet, violin, name something and she probably plays it. She also has a mini version of every single instrument she plays. Once she had a prediction that her house was going to burn down so she carried all her instruments around mini, her house didn't burn down but her instruments were stuck small, so she bought new ones.

Narcissa: Piano. That's all she plays, she much rather prefers drawing, so she has drawing stuff everywhere, she painted and drew all over her grand piano, and she coloured all the keys (idk how it would work) and did cute patterns on them. All the A keys were coloured with Alice's favourite colour <3

Andromeda: Piano &

Bellatrix: The only instrument she knows is the piano, and that was by force (a lot of force). She hates playing the piano, but she knows how to. The piano in her house haunts her (it was a gift from her dad...), she never looks at it, it's covered up.

Alice: We all know that Alice loves her good old drum kit, she learnt ages ago and somehow still remembers it. She always plays for Naricssa, and she used to be in Marlene's 'band'. Thank god it never worked out because Alice hated playing in front of people.

[agentcalypso]

⚡️my (mostly) coherent thoughts on the thunder saga, as promised⚡️

spoilers, obviously

⚡️SUFFERING⚡️

PENELOPEEEEEEE

the piano (athena's instrument) already telling us he has a plan before he even speaks

daughter? 🤨

the vocalllsssssssss

ohhh so that's how he learns abt scylla

ok this drags on a tiny bit near the end

having the first song of the saga called suffering when, in retrospect, this entire saga is odysseus suffering is just *chef's kiss*

not much to say abt this one but i love it

9/10

⚡️DIFFERENT BEAST⚡️

damn 0 to 100

I WAS RIGHT ABOUT THE SIRENS SHOWING UP HELL YEA

ok but the (i think) electric brass implying odysseus is becoming more ruthless (and powerful) like the gods?

the way it descends on "while you were so focused on turning my men into snacks" augh

the "you didn't notice that your friends got snatched" almost sounds kinda playful like the "my name is nobody" bit from polyphemus but then it just DESCENDS into ruthlessness i love it

"i would take the suffering from you" vs "we won't take more suffering from you"

"i made a mistake like [sparing the sirens] it almost cost my life" AUGH

LET THEM DROWN?????

the woahs from remember them/my goodbye are back

i can't hear any guitar (acoustic or electric) in this entire song and i'm afraid of what that implies abt odysseus' mental state, morals, and sense of self

i kinda like this more than the original scene in the odyssey ngl

all in all a fuckin bop

9.5/10

⚡️SCYLLA⚡️

EURYLOCHUS OPENED THE BAG?!?!??!?!?!

i don't think bringing back the "forgive me" is gonna get him to forgive you buddy

also the "forgive me" is in a triplet - odysseus already knew he's become a liability

building on the previous point obviously odysseus knew he'd have to sacrifice six men DO YOU THINK HE DECIDED TO HAVE EURYLOCHUS LIGHT THE TORCHES AT THE LAST SECOND WHEN HE HEARD ABOUT THE WIND BAG SO EURYLOCHUS WOULD BE ONE OF THE SIX TO GET HIM OUT OF THE WAY????

the way that scylla haunts the scene before she actually appears implying that she's stalking/circling? augh

the violin is going CRAZY i love it

scylla's voice is SO POWERFUL

love this all tbh

10/10

⚡️MUTINY⚡️

to preface this during the livestream i was yelling into a pillow by the end of this song so i wouldn't wake up my family so there's that

i feel bad for eurylochus dude is just trying to keep everyone alive and odysseus is telling him nothing lately

the growl in "I CAN'T" omg

also during the livestream the animatic for this song fucking SLAPPED

OH SHIT HE GOT STABBED

perimedes <3

"you relied on wit and then we died on it" A U G H

the danger motif is lingering

also this part reuses the melody from zeus' appearance in horse and the infant WE KNOW HE'S COMING BEFORE WE KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING

LUCK RUNS OUT??? AND THEIR POSITIONS ARE SWITCHED???

ODY

the fact odysseus still tries to save them :(

tbh i feel like poseidon and zeus' entrances in the song before theirs terrify you in opposite ways: poseidon you don't know who it is (partially since he didn't show up here in the original myth) since you have no context he just appears. zeus you just hear the thunder and you still know EXACTLY who it is

anyways this is an emotional rollercoaster

12/10

⚡️THUNDER BRINGER⚡️

the first half of this song was just me kicking my feet and giggling over luke's voice ngl

OH FUCK THAT "THE LIVES OF YOUR MEN AND CREW OR YOUR OWN" WASN'T A HYPOTHETICAL

JUST A MAN HHHHHHHHHHHH

BUT THEN ALSO PENELOPE

"captain?" "i have to see her" "but we'll die" "i know" IM SJSBFHSHFBSHFB THE EMOTION IN THEIR VOICES

I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY EURYLOCHUS IS PISSED BUT AT THE SAME TIME WHAT DID HE THINK WOULD HAPPEN

BUT ALSO AT THE SAME TIME I AM SOBBING OVER BOTH OF THESE BETRAYALS

⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️/10

in conclusion

[ourshadowstallerthanoursoul]

Unearthly sound

"Jimmy Page, lead guitarist (electric, pedal, steel, and acoustic), was devastatingly effective with his electronic techniques. Page, who has played with the Yardbirds, Rolling Stones, and Donovan, elicited the greatest response with his use of a variable lag system. This technique, achieved with the pedal steel guitar, is merely a sound delay. The sound would emit from the speakers about a second and a half after he struck a chord. The tones were highly modulated and at times hung on the edge of a plunge into screeching feedback. Page added haunting sight gimmicks. After striking a chord, he would raise his arm in the air - only with the variable-lag, the sound burst forth on his upstroke, giving the appearance that he was playing the air above him. Another technique involved using a violin bow with a fabric-like tail attached to its end. Still using the pedal guitar, he would slowly pull the bow across the strings and then bob the tail over them. The resulting unearthly sound which broke into the air was just short of phenomenal."

- From the Aug. 31, 1969 Lewisville concert review by S. Weber (Star)

[piperscharm]

Nico Hcs bc I have wayyyy too many

He likes fruit snacks. Not bc hes gay or anything he just likes fruit snacks. That’s it.

He can play violin like his mother, Maria. He also learned the acoustic guitar at camp (Will likes to suggest the Star Wars theme track for him to play and Nico rarely does so for him). He also can play piano bc I think it goes with the whole “I grew up in the 30s/40s” thing.

The lord of darkness, controller of shadows, the ghost king is so ticklish. Him and Bianca used to have tickle fights and when Will tickles him he feels melancholy and happy at the same time.

This hc is very popular, he can sing beautifully. But it doesn’t end there, he can only sing good in the shower and he sounds decent at the camp fire but since hes 15 going thru puberty, theres lots of voicecracks.

As much as everyone loves the hc that Bianca would accept him for being gay if he could still visit her, I disagree. They grew up in the 30s/40s and you all saw how Nico was closeted for 4 years before being outed. He obviously grew up in a place where it was heavily discriminated against and that included his home so I think Bianca would be hesitant/taken aback at first but after some time, she eventually accepts it (I like to think this because of how she saw Achilles and Patroclus interact in Elysium and started to reconsider her homophobic acts).

After Will introduces him to 80s rock, he is invested and involved and geeking out about music more than Will atp. He also likes calmer artists tho like Fleetwood Mac and MAYBE Lana Del Rey. Idk tho.

His first job would totally be a haunted house operator. Also his dad and Will would force to get a job to build social skills too lol.

Everyone thinks his eyes r creepy and dehumanizing but if you actually, like, LOOK into them carefully, his eyes are full of a lot if pain and misery but they are kind and gentle as well. Also, after meeting Will, you can start to see some sparkle in his eyes.

His favorite types of movies are the ones with big plot twists. You would think his fav genre is horror and he likes it but he actual fav genre is actually like tender and loving romance and coming of age movies. But as I said, big plot twists. Like Sweeny Todd, The Village or Pan’s Labyrinth. Idk if he would watch those specifically but movies like those. Especially Sweeny Todd, tho, he would watch that.

He is so soft for his little sister (cannon) and he gets her any candy she wants from a nearby store or gas station when she’s on her period. And usually, Hazel doesn’t tell anyone bc that how it was in the 30s/40s but Nico can see the change her mood for a few days straight or here a pad opening in the bathroom before bed or something. He also doesn’t just go like “bought you chocolate for ur period” and hand it to her in front of everyone, no. He is actually very understanding after living with Bianca for decades and gets her a red show box or something and puts candy, a heating pad and a new stuffed animal every time in there for her and sets it on her bed bc Hazel’s last, like, a week as a personal hc. So yeah, he’s very soft and loves his little sister rjrnrbbebe.

ONE MORE, some solangelo for the heart ig. He likes to personally teach Will how to play the guitar bc he wanted to learn and Nico helps him tune his guitar and all of that. Nico usually teaches him in Cabin 7 in winter when no one’s in there so they have some alone time and just have fun w/ it in general. (Bonus: Will asks Nico to kiss his callused fingers after the first few lessons when his fingers are red after and Nico does so when he said Will did good this time. Nico means good as in being extra cute and fun today.)

[whenitsdarkweilluminate]

Munich 1983

Host: Germany Participants: 20 Voting method: 12-point system (juries only)

Winner: Corinne Hermès - Si la vie est cadeau Country: Luxembourg Points: 142 (62.3% of highest score possible) Language: French

General Overview:

This year's presenter is Marlene Charell, who is a major part of the show. She gives excessively long song introductions, she communicates everything in 3 languages (German, English and French) and she performs as the lead dancer in the ballet interval. She also opens the program by announcing the 20 countries, as the respective artists walk onto the stage. Which is a prototype for the flag parade seen today; albeit 3 decades too early.

There are no postcards this year. Instead, we stare at the country name for a while as we hear '80s music. Then Marlene introduces every songwriter, conductor and artist, while standing beside a different floral arrangement that resembles the respective flag colours. Later, during the voting, she repeats every vote in 3 languages, fumbling over the translations several times. This vote reveal is glacially slow (I usually switch to 1.5 speed to get through it). Indeed the 1983 contest is as dragged out as Jerusalem 1979. It finishes around the 3-hour mark; whereas the past few contests were closer to 2.5 hours. The top 4 was very close though, like '81.

1983 also employs one of my least favourite stage designs. The platform is a narrow strip, featuring a set of flashing lights built around some scaffolding. It just looks like an industrial warehouse and I dislike the lighting.

Italy and Greece return; as does France under a different broadcaster. Meanwhile Ireland withdraws due to a workers' strike. The only other contest Ireland has missed since debuting was their 2002 relegation.

I'll say 1983 is a strong year. Well... actually, my top 10 is very strong. There's still quite a few weak and messy entries. But at least the bad entries are memorable.

France: Guy Bonnet - Vivre The 1970 balladeer returns. I love this sombre, solemn, haunting atmosphere. It's different from France's usual ballads. That reappearing piano riff is bone-chilling. The backing singers enhance the mood whenever they appear. The verses hold tension until the “Loin, loin, si loin...” part shrinks back. The violin break and the quicker bridge offer a temporary escape. And there's a dramatic ending. The “viiiiivre”s are also a good hook. The lyrics advise living and loving again, despite all the pain that happens after two lovers depart forever.

Norway: Jahn Teigen - Do Re Mi Jahn's third and final entry is about the music scale, which just makes me think of The Sound of Music. It's a silly and basic concept, but the cutesy backing singers provide a strong pre-chorus. Anita kisses Jahn at one point too. The song opens with the pianist playing that scale. Then it becomes a calm sunny acoustic guitar thing. And the last chorus increases the tempo. However, the chorus is weird, where Jahn is out of sync with the “do re mi...”s from the backing.

United Kingdom: Sweet Dreams - I'm Never Giving Up The UK sends another joyful song with group choreo, just like '81 and '82. The trio dances around some barstools, which fall over during the last chorus transition. They also release flower petals. The instrumental is very hectic and dominant, and it kinda drowns things out. It throws in some panicked piano, drum stutters, and twinkle bells. The pre-chorus escalation is great though (including the horns) and the chorus pushes through nicely. The lyrics are straightforward – they refuse to give up on this relationship.

Sweden: Carola Häggkvist - Främling The first of Carola's three entries in three different decades! I love that ominous guitar that starts each verse and how her joyful shouting escalates the pre-chorus. There's a big note in the chorus too. Her vocals are impressive. The song has good energy. And her dancing is camp. But the chorus melody is a little underwhelming. Still, Carola's charisma makes me love the song anyways. In the lyrics, she begs this person to open up because they're like a stranger keeping secrets. Also, was that a mic fail at the start?

Italy: Riccardo Fogli - Per Lucia The chorus is impactful, with the ominous church bells, Riccardo's intense passion (he sounds like he's on his knees), and how his voice raises halfway through it. The song's atmosphere is like carrying a heavy burden during a dark night. The lyrics list the extreme things Riccardo will do for this Lucia girl, because she means that much to him. Almost like he isn't doing enough. The accordion adds a Mediterranean feeling and the flute transitions are nice.

Turkey: Çetin Alp & the Short Waves - Opera This is a confusing mess. After that “ahhh” + drum build-up intro, the song goes from classical to jazzy to...the most random switch-up ever. It becomes 1920s Vaudeville with an excessive amount of “opera!”s and “lay lay lay”s that are beyond annoying. It's such a sudden energy change. Then it returns to classical as if nothing happened. Meanwhile, the backing dancers wear a bunch of historical costumes. The lyrics list various famous works, composers, and opera terms. I guess this guy loves opera.

Spain: Remedios Amaya - ¿Quién maneja mi barca? This is an iconic mess. The blue curtain dress. The random camera angles of her feet. Her wobbly vocals that sound like she's summoning demons. The wonky beat, with the drum slaps and funky guitar. The lyrics repeating the same demands over and over again. There's also a heavy heartbeat + cymbal crash intro, some tense orchestra moments, and chorus clacks. This is definitely a 'love it or hate it' entry, and I struggle to listen to it multiple times. Flamenco rarely does well in Eurovision.

Switzerland: Mariella Farré - Io così non ci sto I often forget about this song. It's nothing special. The acoustic guitar verses are fine, and I like when the backing intensifies the second verse, but the chorus is kinda annoying. Mariella provides some emphatic vocals and stage presence though. There's also some string transitions and chorus stops. The lyrics are about how she doesn't like being “the other woman”. It's just casual sex – he'll return to his wife later.

Finland: Ami Aspelund - Fantasiaa Finland is back on track! It's a haunting yet playful song. There's a dangerous intro, then the orchestra stops, and the piano is extremely restless in the verses, as the backing turn their heads. The chorus becomes this super cluttered and overwhelming thing, but in a very epic way. Especially when it heightens halfway through. And I LOVE that false start into the second chorus, followed by Ami's sideways hip walk lol. In the lyrics, she's curious about this mysterious guy who brings his dog to the park. She wonders if it's a fantasy.

Greece: Christie Stasinopoulou - Mou les Yawns. The verses are like a dreamy fairytale, but Christie's voice makes me sleepy. And the chorus just sounds messy and 'off'. Then the bridge randomly switches to jazz for some reason. In the lyrics, her lover is nostalgic for ships and trains, so she'll close the ports and stations to make him stay. That sounds controlling.

Netherlands: Bernadette - Sing Me a Song Cute and catchy, but also repetitive and basic. Bernadette wants everyone to “sing her a song” so she can better understand the world. Every genre and race is invited. The contrast between the verses and chorus is interesting. The former are more childlike and delicate, with the bells and falsetto vocals. While the latter inserts a driving beat and lowers the vocals. The backing also heighten the chorus midway through.

Yugoslavia: Daniel - Džuli Yugoslavia matches their best placement. It's also their first top 10 since 1972. “Džuli” is a fun, feelgood, retro, rockabilly-type song. The instrumental is consistently energetic. The jumping piano, the bass, and the accordion are highlights. As is the chorus, with the tongue-clicking beat, Daniel's scratchy stretched-out “Juuuuulie”s, the horn responses, and the camera cuts to the smiling clapping dancers. He looks confident on stage too. I also love when the violins enact the key change. In the lyrics, he misses his summer romance with Julie.

Cyprus: Stavros & Constantina - I agapi akoma zi The verse melody is quite strong, and the way it intensifies midway is pretty powerful. But this entry is way too wholesome. Like when the backing singers smile and sing to each other. Or when the instrumental drops out for that overly sweet refrain. Or how the lyrics wish for the world to sing along to “love is still alive”. The orchestra also sounds like a family sitcom theme; the intro in particular. It is uplifting though. And the intense ending is okay.

Germany: Hoffmann & Hoffmann - Rücksicht Germany's host entry extends their top 5 steak. The brothers give a genuine and heartfelt performance, and the song is such a vibe. It has a cathartic finality feeling of finding closure. The lyrics are reflective, where the narrator tries to figure out why his relationship ended, throwing out various suggestions. Ultimately they were selfish and lacked consideration. The song is mainly soft rock. Each verse begins with a blues guitars. While the chorus pauses and the '80s synth responses stick with me.

Denmark: Gry Johansen - Kloden drejer I'm usually a sucker for '80s instrumentals, but this chorus is so flat and the dancing is so... amateur? The drums and the guitar just drag the chorus down. The verses are better, where the melody is more active, and there's some horns and tense strings. But there's just... not much happening here. The lyrics imply there's always a new tomorrow. I believe she's trying to help this person that sent an S.O.S.

Israel: Ofra Haza - Hi Israel performing in Munich was significant because of WWII and the 1972 Olympics massacre. Appropriately, “Hi” celebrates still being alive. It's a similar entry to “Hora”, by having a slick choreo routine with big smiles. It starts with the backing members wandering in the background. Then they turn around and go “ahhhh”. But it's the chorus movements that are so hypnotic, where all 6 walk in a circle, hop like puppets, and step left and right. That chorus is catchy AF too, with the “HI HI HI” party chants and the “...SABA” emphasis that follows. There's also the big horn intro, the bouncy verse beat, the backing ad libs in verse 2, Ofra's big vocals in the pre-chorus, the bridge breakdowns, and the dramatic ending. Yeah, this is my favourite Israeli entry ever.

Portugal: Armando Gama - Esta balada que te dou Armando gives an honest and heartfelt performance to accompany his comforting piano ballad. It's a fairly simple arrangement. The melody is nice, the title phrase sticks out, and the electric guitar solo is unexpected in a good way. I also like when the drums enter. It's one of those songs I often forget about, but when I hear it again, I really like it. Armando wrote this song to cherish his relationship that faded away.

Austria: Westend - Hurricane Austria brings a modern '80s production, with lots of walking across the stage, a random ballet dancer, and some ugly gym outfits. But I just zone out during this song. It's so empty and the chorus goes nowhere with those repetitive “hurricane, hurricane, hurricane”s. The “DUN DUN”s in the verses are alright though. The lyrics describe the narrator's loneliness as he seeks the hurricane feeling of love.

Belgium: Pas de Deux - Rendez-vous Now this is some '80s synthpop indulgence I can get into! Even if the song is extremely monotonous. It repeats the same two phrases, while the instrumental is very constant. The drum slaps and knocks drive things, but the brass and flute moments break the monotony at least. And the duo wildly swinging their arms is hilarious. I also like when they pull one another at start and when they walk across the stage crouched over. They pull out some flutes at one point too.

Luxembourg: Corinne Hermès - Si la vie est cadeau (winner review below)

The Winner:

Despite 1983 having all these creative songs, the winner ends up being a French ballad that could've won in the '70s. Almost as if there was a push back after Bucks Fizz. Which means Luxembourg achieves their 5th (and final) win, tying France's record at the time. Not an overwhelming victory, but they held a comfortable lead through the vote reveal. The juries were all over the place though. The previous 4 winners were considerable hits across Europe, but “Si la vie est cadeau” only peaked high in the Francophone countries. I think Yugoslavia actually had the biggest chart hit from this year (and Sweden in the Nordic countries).

Corinne sings the hell out of this. She out-intensifies Anne-Marie David from 1973. Yes it's a passionate performance, but it's so overdone and relentless. The song is basically 70% intense screaming. It starts subtle though. The first verse grows as the piano enters; followed by the drums, and finally the screaming. I like when her voice softens during the song title and the last chorus line. The song is such a gut punch too.

The lyrics are about how Corinne's ex made an unnecessary promise to have a baby together, and then he didn't follow through on it. Now Corinne is devastated. He's gone and happiness was too short. She surmises that life (and love) are a gift that's given, returned or stolen.

When I first heard this song, I thought it was a very powerful ballad, but now the drama and the intensity are too much. It's my least favourite '80s winner. And it's probably Luxembourg's least relevant winner as well.

Verdict: "D" tier.

My points go to.... 01. Israel: Ofra Haza - Hi 02. Finland: Ami Aspelund - Fantasiaa 03. Yugoslavia: Daniel - Džuli 04. France: Guy Bonnet - Vivre 05. Sweden: Carola Häggkvist - Främling 06. Germany: Hoffmann & Hoffmann - Rücksicht 07. Portugal: Armando Gama - Esta balada que te dou 08. Italy: Riccardo Fogli - Per Lucia 09. United Kingdom: Sweet Dreams - I'm Never Giving Up 10. Belgium: Pas de Deux - Rendez-vous

11. Cyprus: Stavros & Constantina - I agapi akoma zi 12. Netherlands: Bernadette - Sing Me a Song 13. Luxembourg: Corinne Hermès - Si la vie est cadeau 14. Norway: Jahn Teigen - Do Re Mi 15. Denmark: Gry Johansen - Kloden drejer 16. Switzerland: Mariella Farré - Io così non ci sto 17. Spain: Remedios Amaya - ¿Quién maneja mi barca? 18. Austria: Westend - Hurricane 19. Greece: Christie Stasinopoulou - Mou les 20. Turkey: Çetin Alp & the Short Waves - Opera

[antifascistblackmetalnetwork]

No Sun Rises - Harmisod (full album, 2023)

Hello again Networkers. Today we are exciting to review here a very special act that we're truly happy to have featured in the channel: the German five-piece post-black unit NO SUN RISES. Harmisod, their last work released back in September, will make you shiver in place whether you are familiar with their sound or not (for which if you're not, we really recommend going back in their discography!). Harmisod opens with a ghostly echo surrounding the listener as intro for the first song, NebellebeN. Sharp guitars with fast riffs and gnarly voice catches you immediately in this palindrome titled song, where the mist and life seem to find each other in line. Acoustic parts hold the song together making for great slower, appeased bridges in-between parts where it return to the moving aggression in a haunting result. While in moments like this starting song the album showcases a sound that really draws from a characteristic one within black metal, it quickly departs from there combining it with the impressive acoustic strings and additional instrumentation in its tapestry such as cello and violin adding a folk touch, as shown in the next song, Unter Tage (Regress), where there's also notable the guest vocalist completing a sensational listening so far to this point, just half of the record, holding the mood out of metal for a while until the song burst in the flame of fiery emotions again. Tanz im fahlen Lichte would be the next song, which keep its 8 minutes with metal, at moments complex and shifting in quick and rich movements helping it create a palpable atmosphere with a shoegaze kick. The album turns complete with the fourth song, In trockener Erde (Bury Me), putting everything we've seen before together one step beyond, with its own intro, making for the perfect way to close the album with the sound of the fireplace in the night and the evocative artwork presented for it. Of course you're invited to stay there with us, so don't miss this on this excellent album!

[burlveneer-music]

Luis Lopes ABYSS MIRRORS - echoisms - Clean Feed is on a tear, check out this slab of free jazz from Lisbon

From the music recorded in two days at Namouche Studios Lisbon, and reaching the public through this cd, comes a constantly changing sound and atmospheric passages, managed with the tense restraint of someone who listens and understands their place within a great formation and moments of collective ecstasy with no final destination. Movements of elusive harmony that revolve around themselves in line with the haunting lyrics of 'He Loved Him Madly' by Miles, along with a whirlwind of strings that brings that liberation of Alan Silva's ensembles, electronic phrases as meta-rhythmic as landscapes and more detours and certain continuities, in an abysmal game of mirrors. The name is well placed! The troop, the Abyss Mirrors, invoked by guitar player Luís Lopes, as described in his own words draws from inspirational foundations and a search for continuity to music that is born from the ensembles of Sun Ra and advances through the electric periods of Miles Davis and Ornette Coleman, to continue with Wadada Leo Smith, and pinching from electroacoustic giants like Stockhausen or Gabriel Prokofiev. A Herculean task but full of intention, built by an ensemble made up of a dozen figures, 4 nationalities: Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, and Brazilian, all currently based in Lisbon, coming from areas as disparate as intersectional: obviously from jazz but also free improvisation and experimental styles, from electronic to underground techno, contemporary or rock, with a good balance between electric and acoustic. All people recognized and recognizable in a collusion of more or less usual cronies from Lopes various wanderings. creditsreleased March 21, 2023 Luis Lopes electric guitar Flak electric guitar Jari Marjamaki electronics Travassos electronics Felipe Zenícola electric bass Yedo Gibson tenor , alto, soprano sax Bruno Parrinha alto, soprano sax Helena Espvall cello Maria da Rocha violin Ernesto Rodrigues viola All music by Abyss Mirrors under Lopes direction

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Andrew Bird feat. Phoebe Bridgers - “I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain”

Sparse, acoustic instrumentation; an Emily Dickinson poem; and the voices of Andrew Bird and Phoebe Bridgers combine for “I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain.”

Bird and Bridgers sing alone and together over guitar, violin, cello and bass; music that occasionally fades to near silence - there’s just a faraway whistle - as the pair sing Dickinson’s haunting words:

I felt a funeral in my brain/and mourners to and fro/treading, treading till it seemed/the sense was breaking through/and when they all were seated/a service, like a drum/kept beating, beating till I thought/my mind was going numb

In a statement, Bird called the poem “the most vivid description of an inner world I’ve ever encountered.” But he’d not yet heard “I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain,” the song.

Grade card: Andrew Bird feat. Phoebe Bridgers - “I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain” - A

10/27/22

[thesinglesjukebox]

JAVIERA MENA - "VOLVER A LLORAR"

Don’t cry! There’s new Javiera Mena to listen to…

[6.86]

Alfred Soto: One of TSJ's Olympians returns with an acoustic lament about a lover who needs to turn off their brain and look at the stars. The bridge is Javiera Mena at her best: a poignant, sinister supplicant. [7]

Kayla Beardslee: Softer yet more haunting than her usual icy electropop singles, but as with any good Javiera track, I’m left thinking about how the music interlaces with her wistful vocals well after the song has ended. The sentimental and the spooky will inherit the earth. (Or at least the Jukebox -- we’ve written Javiera into the site’s will by now, right?) [7]

Mark Sinker: There’s something funny and sweet about outing yrself as a rigorous goth girlie — loves Siouxsie! loves shoegaze! — this far in, and while the song itself is a gauzily slight vapour, no more, it is entirely plausible that the ageless undead (who don’t have working hearts) would affect to sway a little to some pleasantly beatless bossa nova. Memory is really no longer a matter for precision for a vampire.  [5]

Ian Mathers: The goth romanticism of vampires really hasn't been getting a fair shake in pop culture recently, so kudos to Mena for putting it right back in there: "dare to feel that bitter suffering" and all that. And of course it's that rare example of a sweeping ballad that actually has a pulse. Eternal life just so you can keep crying forever — what a concept! [9]

Jonathan Bradley: A gentle guitar arpeggio suggests “Volver a Llorar” will be a polite folk exercise, but Javiera Mena remains too interesting an artist for that kind of dignified but dull work. As the track builds, strings bloom like blood seeping into water, while a bed of subtle but thrumming vocal loops hiccup an accompaniment. Still polite, perhaps, but also rather beautiful. [7]

Katherine St. Asaph: So steep a plunge from her previous heights that it's almost offensive. Javiera Mena is not supposed to sound like the Lumineers! The strings toward the end almost salvage it; the Porter Robinson vocal pongs do not. [3]

Nortey Dowuona: Sandra Mihanovich and Celeste Carballo came from very different upbringings but were connected by their brief romance, and their brave duology of albums Somos Mucho Mas Que Dos (We Are Much More Than Two) in 1988 and Mujer Contra Mujer (Woman Against Woman) in 1990. Milhanovich came from a well-to-do family, her uncle a successful composer (she even covered one of his favorite songs as a favor to him), her father a polo pro, her mother a TV anchor for Telenoche, which was broadcast into millions of homes in Argentina and to Celeste Carballo. Her own fascinating story was never drawn up in any English-language sites, except to say she apparently played with Bob Dylan. She also composed for Argentine TV series Dale, Loly! in 1993, then Inn Trouble in 1997, a Christine Rey Joint meant to address the lesbian lifestyle in the United States, neither of which in this time of streaming and piracy can be found, even with subtitles. These two excellent, long-forgotten icons of Argentinian punk/pop as influences influnced this Chilean maestro. This three-minute jotting of feelings was co-produced by Isidro Acevedo, producer for Jukebox visitor, C. Tangana, Sticky M.A. and Ghouljaboy, nestling Mena in neatly arranged violins while girding it with heavy kick programming, flashes of timpani rolls, and long hi-hat hits. A chirping vocal fragment bubbles forth as Mena's warm soprano leans out of the center of the song. As for what co-writer Pablo Stipicic>> and Mena herself are saying, I do not know. All I can say is this: Love is complicated, but death is simple. [10]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[xasha777]

In the veiled streets of Elyssium, where the mist hung thick like curtains of secrecy, the legend of the Midnight Maiden whispered through the cobbled alleyways. Her name was once lost to the living, but the dead knew her as Isolde, and with her arrival came a tune—soft, melodic, and eerie—a symphony of acoustic impedance that resonated with the very soul of the world.

Isolde was once a creature of grace and beauty, a talented violinist whose music could command the very stars to dance. But her passion drew the eyes of something dark, something ancient. In the twisted depths beneath Elyssium, an entity stirred, awakened by the purity of her notes. It desired that melody, wanted to consume it, to corrupt it. And so, it whispered promises of eternal life and endless music to Isolde, who, naively, agreed.

The entity bestowed upon her an unearthly instrument, carved from the bones of those who’d walked the shadowed path before her. But with every note she played, her flesh paled, her eyes darkened, and the world around her began to decay.

Isolde became the Midnight Maiden, a specter trapped in an eternal performance, her violin crying laments for the damned. She roamed Elyssium after dusk, her haunting melodies seeping through the walls, reverberating with a strange acoustic impedance that disturbed the natural order. Those who heard her tune were mesmerized, their hearts syncing with the otherworldly vibration until their very beings were drawn out, leaving behind nothing but husks.

Yet, there was a scientist, Doctor Alaric Voss, whose obsession with the paranormal led him to Elyssium. He sought the truth of acoustic impedance, a theory that certain frequencies could interact with the spiritual plane. Armed with instruments and infernal curiosity, he ventured out on a moonless night, following the sad, beautiful strains of the Midnight Maiden's song.

He found Isolde in the heart of the old town square, her raven hair a stark contrast to her deathly white skin, her eyes deep pools of sorrow. As he approached, her song became a cacophony, the air thick with pressure that threatened to suffocate him. But Alaric was prepared; he wielded a device of his own creation, designed to counteract the acoustic impedance, to restore balance.

The square became a battlefield of sound, the Maiden's dirge clashing against the mechanical hum of Alaric's device. The world seemed to shudder, caught between life and death, the natural and the supernatural. As the machine reached its crescendo, the Maiden's violin shattered, splinters of bone flying like vengeful spirits.

With the destruction of her instrument, the curse lifted. The entity that had bound Isolde screamed from beneath the earth, its hold on reality wavering. The Maiden's music, now a gentle whisper of what it once was, harmonized with Alaric's machine, sealing away the darkness once more.

Isolde's transformation was not to be reversed, but her soul was freed from the eternal encore. She vanished into the mists of Elyssium, leaving behind only her legend and the haunting silence where her music once played.

Alaric Voss, forever changed by the encounter, dedicated his life to studying the phenomenon, ensuring that the acoustic impedance of the spectral plane remained a tale of caution, and the Midnight Maiden a symphony of the past.

[soapver4]

Strumming Dawn

🌀-☉-☼ hybrid idea: While a cosmic symphony inaudible to characters roars and ripples across spacetime, an aged physicist plays on a rough street a violin tune evoking fragile beauty. This is a dystopian reality where science, pushed to its limits, has failed humanity. A friend excitedly runs up to him. The music comes to a triumphant halt. The two rush to meet the person who can help out with their busker self-help group's resource quagmires, a vivacious supreme court judge usually busy adjudicating large-scale crimes like the many senseless genocides that break out amid planetary cold droughts. When this non-profit advisor steps out of her bullet-proof car, however, he recognizes her as a wispy street dancer he donated food and money to back in the years he still had his own research group. When the now grown-up woman extends her elegantly sleeved hand to him, shame instantly overcomes the elder.

Chaotic melancholy colors his music in the days to come, until he realizes her disdain of performing itinerant girls, on whom she projects hatred of her past uneducated self who panders to any crude emotion for a few pennies. The merciless physical universe hates its creations and the diverse creations hate each other enough as it is; why should two practitioners of law — him physical laws and her human laws — who aspire to be above the superficial facade of life bog themselves down by making self-hatred a law too?

Arts sometimes reinforce this law yet can be uplifting lawbreakers too. The busker self-help group proceeds to organize a music movement showcasing how street performers are their own people with diverse sets of values. Each can be more than the taste vessel economic circumstances may compel her to act as.

But then cataclysm after cataclysm erupt right at home. The pair of protagonists battle the crises to each's best ability from their different tiers of society. The elder is starstruck to see the woman championing legal access and physical protection for the girls she would rather not see again. His overblown reaction sets off hearty laughter from her.

At times mirrors to each other and at times film negatives of each other, the old physicist/violinist and young dancer/justice develop a spiritual companionship that never blossoms into romance but nurtures on their tumultuous yet ever-yearning love of their vast, broken world. That is really more than enough.

Sweeping astronomical and landscape cinematography would be employed not for grandeur and pomp but to highlight human vulnerability and the diminutiveness of materialistic pursuits against the scale and forces of the cosmos. The limited series would also be a rich acoustic experience in which music echoing heartbreak and determination is brilliantly generated through sounds of sand, water and wind whereas audio converted from gravitational waves sent out by colliding black holes, etc. is used as a haunting soundtrack in the background. On the flip side, since our feelings, values and self-perceived worth of possessions are arguably beyond physical scales of measurement, so much so that it may not be wrong to declare any as astronomical, vibrant musical sonifications of space data would punctuate screen sequences at critical turning points in characters' emotional arcs. Marching footsteps and writing sounds would be mixed as soundtracks accompanying civic movements.

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Faith Zapata’s tender new indie-folk single ‘wallet picture song’ begins with smitten love and ends retelling heartbreak at its rawest

Loved by many for her diaristic writing style, the indie folk singer-songwriter Faith Zapata has found herself continually capturing audiences with her tendencies to share what others would keep close. Reminiscent of artists like Lizzy McAlpine and Phoebe Bridgers, Faith continues along the same path with intimate feeling releases and even more personal narratives, connecting herself with a world filled with others’ looking to relate.

Her newest single ‘wallet picture song’ is expressed by Faith as the product of friendship and collaborative efforts across various distances, stemming deeply from her own heart-wrenching experiences while other folks lend their instrumental talents to enable such an emotional takeaway through sound too. At first it’s simply close to the heart, softly unfolding through Faith’s staple acoustic guitar strums, fuzzy and warm while completely fragile and tentative all at once. Her careful vocals float through the gentle atmosphere, lightly carrying into higher notes while her paired-back performance limits the power in her lines, a tender delivery of words that ache as they retell a love now wilted and left in the past: ‘he keeps a picture of me in his wallet, there’s a word for how I feel but I don’t know what to call it.’

Continuing to develop in sincerity with the additions of viola and violin by Emma Bieniewicz, the verse of ‘wallet picture song’ remains private and stripped-down but all the more haunting in its growing developments. From the drawn-out strings, an aching melancholia seeps between the acoustic tones, wistfully reflecting on both the beginning and the end of a relationship. With lines carrying multifaceted meanings, Faith sings ‘how do I know if I have really found the one?’ , at first a line filled with love and yet later a devastating loss to bear. It’s even more agonising to hear as Faith reveals that the first verse and chorus were written at the height of what they had, originally intended to unfold with a brighter, more upbeat strumming pattern that of course lost its spark in the same way as their love did too. This contrast continues into the chorus of course, as the sound hauntingly lingers with a padding of hazy backing vocals, gorgeous strings and lighter guitar, closed out by the line: ‘I’d never felt real love before ‘til I met you.’

From this point onwards, the track shifts in its lyrical retellings, maintaining the same sombre sound but suiting Faith’s words much more understandably. From the admission that ‘he keeps the secrets from me in his pocket, and there’s something I should say, but I’m not ready to call it’, it’s clear that things progressively sunk, at first a fairytale romance but later realising the rose-tinted visions had left her blinded to the lack of trust that had been brewing. It’s still hard to let go of a lover even through these blows though, with Faith’s lack of readiness something we’ve all surely related to at least once, hanging on to something that’s long expired because we cannot face the reality of cutting it loose. Plentiful questions fill her mind as she now asks ‘how could I have been so blind to it, how could I have been so dumb?, blaming herself when in reality it is human to trust and expect the best from someone that supposedly loves us. Filled with the pain and rawness of this entire unexpected breakup, Faith’s lines are some of the most authentic we’ve ever heard, written so clearly amidst her lowest point and resonating with so many for covering it so true-to-reality.

As the chorus shifts to reveal ‘I’ve never grieved the way I did, when I left you’, Faith completely changes the narrative of ‘wallet picture song’ from start to finish, a journey of love and loss quite literally in real time. It’s hard to hear and yet the hurt is what makes it even more moving, offering a familiar tale for anyone finding themselves in the same spot, clinging onto Faith’s words as you pull yourself out of it too. Give it a listen here to really understand what it is this gorgeous single has to offer, as it truly is much more than just a song, embodying parts of herself for everyone to clearly see and understand.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown

// This coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Jolie Holland Interview: Refractive & Layered

Photo by Chris Doody

BY JORDAN MAINZER

When I called Jolie Holland last summer to talk about her then-upcoming new album Haunted Mountain (Cinquefoil), the LP had just arrived. Lying in her house was, in her words, "a mountain of Haunted Mountain." She had just finished boxing up a limited edition vinyl of her debut album Catalpa, sent to her supporters on Patreon, and a friend was coming over later in the day to help box up some more vinyl. The DIY and direct-to-consumer approach suits Holland and is certainly consistent with the themes of Haunted Mountain, an album that at times looks back at Holland's earliest years and contextualizes them within society's current fights against capitalism and the patriarchy.

On Haunted Mountain, you can hear battles in every aspect of Holland's experiments. Take the spacious electronica of "Feet On The Ground", its deep bass groove and panning, skittering beat tangling with Holland's soulful vocal and whistling, and buzz-saw guitars that cut in and out. On the surface, its lyrics recall protest, but to Holland, it's her first "anti-patriarchal dance" song, using bodily movement as a means to a more just end. Piano ballad "Orange Blossoms" lays side-by-side natural imagery and soundscapes to chide human effect on climate change while being careful not to delve into the world of self-righteousness or eco fascism. "Every single soul on this spinning globe / Is captive to this dick measuring contest," she quips with her trademark smoky, jazzy vocal. The galloping Buck Meek duet "Highway 72" references Holland's experience as a homeless teenager, piercing violin rubbing against gentle acoustic guitar, pedal steel, and Mellotron, the sonic manifestation of the daily struggle to live on the streets. The song uses the Nyabinghi rhythm, named after an anti-colonial Rwandan freedom fighter, Holland's subtle way of connecting the fights against colonialism and austerity.

It's no coincidence that Holland's first album in years came as her creative relationship with Meek flourished. She first met him at the Park Slope Food Coop, where they both worked. "The stairs to the office are lined with cheesy personal advertisements of people offering different services," Holland said of the Coop. "It feels like a college campus in the 90's." She decided to advertise songwriting coaching and music lessons, and Meek saw it and decided to get in touch, as he was a fan of her music. The rest, as they say, is history: Holland bared witness to Meek's burgeoning relationship with Adrianne Lenker, the formation of Big Thief, and both his and his brother Dylan's resulting success.

Yes, it was a coincidence that in 2023, both Holland and Meek released albums named Haunted Mountain. Holland co-wrote five of the songs on Meek's album, including its title track, a tribute to active volcano Mount Shasta. Guitarist Adam Brisbin, whom Holland introduced to Meek, plays on both records. Yet, that both albums deal with "reciprocity with nature"--a phrase Holland said that Meek used to contextualize his title track--and a sort of cosmic telepathy is a tribute to Holland and Meek's intertwined creative partnership. Right now, Holland is getting ready to tour the UK and EU in March and April. Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity, about Haunted Mountain, working with Meek, nature, protest music, and conversational songwriting.

Photo by Chris Doody

Since I Left You: This cosmic collaboration between you and Buck is years in the making.

Jolie Holland: I was super charmed. We've known each other for over 10 years. I love writing songs with him. We've never done it in person--it was just literally texting and videos that we sent each other.

SILY: On "Mood Ring" from his album, he sings about telepathy. Even if he's singing about it from a romantic standpoint, that he titled the album the same thing is even further coincidence.

JH: He didn't know I was naming my next record Haunted Mountain. I always was. I never questioned it. It was this very simple vision for me. It's such a straightforward thing to name a record after a song and clearly, it's a very evocative title. Who knows what it means? I don't exactly know what it means. It has this nice refractive multi-faceted character. It's also a soft rhyme that has a nice rhythm to it. It was unquestioned to me that was gonna be the title.

There was a similar thing going on in Buck's circle. He kept coming up with different names for his record, but everyone in his circle was calling it Haunted Mountain. They assumed that was the name. He thought, "This isn't moving. Everybody is into this." He sent me this extremely thoughtful email that explained the process. He said, "Can I name my record after your song, [but] only if you're not going to name your record the same [thing]?" I said, "Yeah, well I am [naming it Haunted Mountain]." It only took us a few hours to come around to the fact that [the coincidence] was awesome. [laughs]

SILY: He sings about the idea of "reciprocity with nature" on his title track, a humbled relationship with it, and so do you, especially on "Orange Blossoms". Can you talk about your personal relationship with nature and singing about it?

JH: I said that phrase, "reciprocity with nature," and then I completely forgot having said it. Buck was texting me, "What was that you said? Something about something with nature? What was it?" We finally both remembered my having said it.

Are you an Indigenous person?

SILY: No.

JH: Me neither. My grandmother had a Choctaw last name but wasn't tribally affiliated. She had a family background of being Indigenous. They lived in New Orleans. She was Black and French, and the spelling of her last name is typically only Choctaw. When I was a kid, she told me in a very strong New Orleans accent, "I'm half Black, half French, and half Indian. That makes me Cajun." It's some ridiculous shit. Did you read Braiding Sweetgrass?

SILY: No, but I'm familiar with it.

JH: It's so beautiful. It's written by an Indigenous botanist named Robin Wall Kimmerer. The audio book is so...gorgeous, hearing the cadence and the weight of meaning in her voice. I haven't even finished the book. It's very, very long, 15 hours or more. I've just dipped my toes in. But she tells this incredible story of being a young botanist student. She had this hypothesis that traditional harvesting methods were positive for propagating certain plant species. Her professor, who was not Indigenous, was not into the idea of her doing this experiment. He said, "That's clearly wrong. How could human behavior be good for these plants?" She did the experiment and proved that traditional harvesting practices were positive overall for the plant. There are these intensely unanalyzed perspectives in European and settler culture that humans are a curse on nature. It has so many deep repercussions.

I reference that Malthusian perspective on the record. There's a voice of nature on "Orange Blossoms" that says, "We throw this party every year whether or not you motherfuckers are around." [The line is, "We throw this party every year / Whether or not you humans are here."] [laughs] It's talking about spring. But that's a real settler colonial European attitude, that humans are not part of nature. It's obviously ridiculous. It's just a philosophical conceit.

SILY: Your references to fascism in that song are interesting. It reminded me of the very online debate during COVID about people staying inside and "nature healing" being an ecologically fascist point of view.

JH: I heard the line, "Every superhero is a fascist," through leftist comedians, Francesca Fiorentini and Nato Green. I found many examples of that analysis. There's a great couple chapters in the book The Utopia of Rules by David Graeber where he gets into that idea. He was friends with a lot of my friends, but I never met him. He died of COVID complications. His biggest macro-cultural hit was the book Bullshit Jobs, and before he passed away, he wrote The Dawn of Everything, which is extremely wonderful. He's an anthropologist, and the person he cowrote the book with, David Wengrow, is an archaeologist. They did an enormous global analysis of the systems of democracy and social organization that are not authoritarian. It's brilliant. I think it's going to be really important tool moving forward. It resets the picture on a lot of things.

Photo by Chris Doody

SILY: Do your views on colonialism and nature jive with the anti-colonial bend of "Highway 72" as well?

JH: Why do you say it's anti-colonial?

SILY: I thought the juxtaposition of imagery in the line, "Great-horned owl slipping by the overpass / I feel like every year might be my last," was referential to systems of oppression constantly threatening to kill us. Is that song auto-biographical?

JH: [laughs] Yeah, I was a homeless teenager, and there's a lot of imagery of that time in my life in that song. My friend called it an anti-colonial hymn because the rhythm, Nyabinghi rhythm, is an anti-colonial rhythm. It's named after the Rwandan female military leader. I've loved that rhythm for a long time. There's this movie Land of Look Behind made by Alan Greenberg, who was a cinematographer who worked with Werner Herzog. He was friends with Bob Marley and happened to be visiting him when he died. There's all this beautiful footage of Marley's funeral and footage of backwoods Rastafarians hanging out and playing music. There's a band Keith Richards produced called Wingless Angels, and it's some of my favorite gospel music. It's so moving to me. It's been an important part of my musical vocabulary for 20 years. I forget how deeply embedded it is in my way of thinking about music. One of my best friends, one of the first people to hear the record, said something so beautiful about the rhythm: "It's slower than my grief." I said, "Wow, I don't know what you're talking about, but I love it!" [laughs] I think he was trying to say it helped him move through a certain healing process.

I looked up the beat because I wanted more concrete information about it. I forget anything I've learned about it because I've been into it for so long. Keith Richards said something so amazing about it: "It's purposefully slower than your heartbeat." [I thought,] "Is [my friend's] experience of the song related to Richards was saying about it?

SILY: It requires an active participation or listening.

JH: What do you mean by that?

SILY: When something is that slow, it can't be experienced passively. To stay engaged, you have to commit to it.

JH: That's interesting. It's like Bob Dylan getting really really quiet when the audience is loud.

SILY: Definitely similar. I was intrigued, though, when you were just talking about the relationships between humans and nature, because the song is about you living outside.

JH: More and more of us experience that as capitalism fucks us up. [The song isn't about homelessness, but] about [my] experience of homelessness. A lot of people look at me, clearly a fucking intellectual, and they think I went to college and had a family. I'm a white lady, so there are assumptions about my socioeconomic background. They're wrong! [laughs] I didn't want to be taken as a ghoul, bloodlessly discussing so-called social problems, looking at it from an external viewpoint.

SILY: "Feet On The Ground" seems to be describing the relationship between protesting and activism and our emotions.

JH: That's interesting. It's not. But I like your analysis.

SILY: The line I highlight is, "When you've taken all that you can handle / Every act of tenderness is a frightful gamble." What does that mean to you?

JH: I've been working on this project of trying to make anti-patriarchal dance music, and this is the first [song]. It's more about interpersonal relationships. It's very inside-out. It's from deep inside of relationships with men.

SILY: Which is a political statement in and of itself, inherently.

JH: Totally. I love that you saw it that way.

SILY: Have other people heard the song without knowing what it refers to and interpreted it other ways?

JH: My friends who have heard it have been overwhelmed by the production. I was really excited to talk with people about what it means, but everybody I've played it for, Buck included, have thought it's such a crazy soundscape.

SILY: Somewhat of an anomaly for you.

JH: It's my first dance track...It's listed as a different genre.

SILY: What's your relationship with The Painted Bird, and why did you frame "One Of You" around that book?

JH: Have you read that book?

SILY: No.

JH: Don't read it! It sucks! [laughs] It's so fucking intense.

SILY: It's one of those books where I haven't read it, but I'm very familiar with the discourse around it.

JH: I read The Painted Bird when I was 13. I didn't know what it was. How could I have? I don't even know where I found it. Probably in the library, or I borrowed it from one of my mom's friends. It's the story of a little blond-haired Jewish boy walking out of rural Poland in the aftermath of WWII, who encounters repeated creepy atrocities. There's a lot of sexual violence in the book, which I really wish I hadn't been exposed to as a child. The central image in the book is when the kid sees these country boys that capture a bird and paint it in these bright colors and release it back, and the flock kills it.

SILY: Because they think it's an intruder.

JH: It's this extremely visceral metaphor for genocide and the process of othering. "Feet On The Ground" and "One Of You" were kind of the same idea for a minute. It was really hard to write "Feet On The Ground" because in one sense, it's protest music, but I'm not interested in writing protest music that's accusatory. I want to write music that actually gives people an ability to consider things from a more basic level than just an oppositional state. That's always been my criticism of oppositional protest music. If it's just accusatory, the person being accused is not listening to the music. I totally value a lot of music that is accusatory and is that kind of typical punk rock anthem-type stuff, but I've [long] been interested in how to write in a different way. Daniel Johnston was a big influence in moving in that direction. He's somebody I think a lot of people wouldn't naturally identify with, somebody with mental illness. But he presents himself in a way where it's impossible not to identify with him.

"Feet On The Ground" is based to a degree on that William Onyeabor song "Better Change Your Mind". Another discursive protest song I found amazing is, "Can't Blame The Youth" by Peter Tosh.

SILY: Accusatory protest songs, in my experience, exist more as cathartic than wanting to make actual change. They serve that purpose, even if delivered to an echo chamber. However, I was listening to the latest Bully album, and the final song, a punk song called "All This Noise", is what you think of when someone says, "protest music," but the song before that, "Ms. America", is much quieter and has a basic premise of, "I want to have a kid, but I don't want to teach a kid how to fight." It turns protest feelings inward. I found it to be a more effective protest song due to it eliciting more empathy than what you would think of as typical protest music. Is empathy a part of what you're trying to achieve?

JH: What do you mean by empathy?

SILY: When you look inward a bit more in your protest songs, essentially, you're trying to uncover some more universal truth that other people can identify with, as a means of making change, rather than being accusatory.

JH: Do you mean empathy with the people you're trying to change?

SILY: With anyone listening.

JH: Probably. I'm definitely not interested in preaching at people, so it's about talking with the people listening and trying to be part of a bigger conversation with anybody who might be on board, as opposed to something intended to be strictly cathartic and outwardly directed.

SILY: "Me and My Dream" references some legendary songwriters. Can you talk about the weight that carries?

JH: I always loved the songs of Lou Reed's where he's referencing his friends. We don't even know who these people are. "'Margarita told Tom,' 'Kennedy says.'" Those aren't famous people. Those were his friends. Or maybe they were famous. It doesn't matter in the song. It's so beautiful. I remember when he talked about his orientation with writing lyrics, he wanted it to sound like the kind of things he wanted to say to his friends. An interpersonal conversation. I love lyrics like that. This was me approaching that idea. I'm always thinking about other artists' work and the ways it affects me and how I respond to it. Blind Willie Johnson, [Tom] Waits, and Richards are the namechecked artists, but I also reference Betty Davis' "I Will Take That Ride".

SILY: What's the story behind the cover art?

JH: I love this artist Jo Bird. She's a metal viola player I know from Houston. She has a band called Fiddle Witch. She moved from Houston to Galveston, which is the beach I grew up with as a child where I got sunburnt to fucking hell. Another one of my songs, "June", on Pint of Blood, talks about imagining mountains out of clouds. I grew up in the fucking swamp with no mountains, but the sky is incredible with cumulus clouds and rainbows and thunderstorms and tornadoes. I loved seeing her pictures all the time, how this goth photographer gets these scary pictures of the beach. [The cover] was a picture she took on her iPhone. We had to use some magic to get it big enough to use on the cover. We still chose to keep it kind of small so we didn't have to distort it to get a good image of it.

SILY: What instrument do you write most of your songs on?

JH: I write most of them in my head. I don't want the music to be limited by whatever I know or don't know instrument-wise.

SILY: Do you find adapting them to a live performance a totally different artistic endeavor than writing and recording them in the first place?

JH: No, it's all really creative and an opportunity to see different stuff in the music. We've been playing "Haunted Mountain" a lot of different ways. One way we've been doing it is synth, bass, viola. I love how it breaks down to just the elements. I love presenting songs in a lot of different settings.

SILY: Are you the type of songwriter who is always writing, or do you need to set aside time to sit down and write?

JH: I'm always collecting ideas, but I do need to sit down to make them come all the way through. I woke up and wrote some lines a couple mornings ago, which is great, because I'm so busy with everything else that it starts to feel weird to not have time to write.

SILY: Is there anything else upcoming for you?

JH: I put out Catalpa on vinyl in an extremely limited release that I offered to my Patrons. I'll do [a wider] re-release. It was never mastered at all, let alone for vinyl. Larry Crane, the editor of Tape Op, an awesome engineer, prepared the files. [The originals are like] a sketch on a cocktail napkin. They're made out of pure garbage. Larry's colleague Adam Gonsalves mastered them. They sound incredible. Adam mastered Haunted Mountain and Escondida for vinyl. I've been working with him for a while. My friend Jason Tavares, who runs a hi-fi Shop, listened to Catalpa on a hundred-thousand dollar system and said it sounds amazing.

I wish people had access to better systems. So many people don't even have a record player. I didn't even have a decent record player until I moved to L.A. 10 years ago. Before that, I was moving around so much, so it didn't make sense. Larry Crane played bass for Elliott Smith and did similar work for his shittier recordings, turning them into something that could take production. He's such a fabulous nerd and knows all the new things. He happened to hear those recordings of Elliott's while out and about, and said, "I would have done it differently now." He learned a lot of stuff before Catalpa, so I'm glad to hear Jason said it sounds good.

SILY: Did you start a Patreon over COVID?

JH: I did. I couldn't figure out how to access unemployment and was real fucked. I was about to go on tour in February 2020, so it was great to get into Patreon. I did something super gimmicky the other day that people fucking loved. I said, "I'm going to release a Tom Waits cover every week until I reach this many patrons." People responded to it so fast I had to keep moving that number until it made sense. It's been interesting engaging with people on that level. I'm glad there's platforms like that. Marc Ribot helped start Music Workers Alliance, and they did an analysis that streaming has taken 20 billion dollars a year out of artists' pockets, [so] it's great we have these direct support systems [like Patreon].

[musicarenagh]

Evol Walks Impresses With “Pet Sematary” Evol Walks' acoustic interpretation of the Ramones' macabre anthem "Pet Sematary" spirals into our awareness with an eerie new life. This is not merely a remake; it's a revival that haunts with gentleness and resonates with unexpected emotion, created from the creative cradle of Leah Martin-Brown—the Australian enchantress spinning her ethereal silk spiderwebs across rock's exalted tomb. https://open.spotify.com/album/6YzOUPQkWqGllz0DjQ5iCm?si=YvZQnGUWTuWonaH_DsCpIA With Evol Walks' latest release, there's an immediate atmospheric shift—one that tugs listeners away from punk's frantic crypt and lays them delicately atop celestial clouds of longing. Martin-Brown manipulates the tempo as if decelerating time itself to exhume every subtlety previously buried within frenzied guitar riffs. She infuses soulful female vocals like golden incense in holy spaces, sharply contrasted against her band's past hard-rock pursuits. Jasmine Crowe’s mournful violin melodies intertwine through this musical ritual—shivers down your spine manifest as notes on a staff. Every pluck, every hum carries more significance than just music; it enfolds you in the stories and ghosts once enshrined in two-minute punk ballads now drawn out into something exquisitely radiant—a gothic shroud gently draped over pop skeletons. The magnificence lies in emancipation; you sense Evol Walks has broken free from genre constraints. Their decision to peel back layers reveals so much more than “a different side” to venerable punk rockers The Ramones—it uncovers mortality’s tender vulnerabilities versus its raucous revolt. [caption id="attachment_53606" align="alignnone" width="690"] Evol Walks Impresses With “Pet Sematary”[/caption] Listeners may find themselves pilgrimaging along familiar melodic paths only to be escorted onto gloomy trails where recollection mingles with melody—a somber contemplation transforms what was once passionate into a quiet veneration for alley-cat anthems turned prayerful sanctuaries. This second single heralds their forthcoming Acoustic EP not merely as another mark on discography belt but signals an expansiveness we eagerly await—an exploration both tremendously profound and sublimely spirited that casts renewed perspectives upon timeless refrains. As much as "Pet Sematary" conveys sepulchral tones ripe for midnight performances beneath pale moonlight, above all else it resonates significantly deeper amidst tranquility rather than noise—with each listen uncovering nuanced whispers worthy of both thoughtful solitude and communal reverence among followers old and new. Follow Evol Walks on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

[rad-review-of-gigs]

The Staves

Scala, 26.04.2013

There’s an urban myth in popular music that a natural harmony exists between sibling voices, essentially that family groups, perhaps simply because they’ve grown up singing together, sound better. Whether or not it’s true the Staveley-Taylor sisters, Emily, Jessica and Camilla, aka The Staves, possess it in abundance.

The Watford trio have been orbiting the scene for a while now, including live appearances alongside Bon Iver down the way at Wembley. These days the sororal trio are headlining in their own right and this week they brought their pared down, uplifting, acoustic arrangements to two sell-out dates at Scala.

A single naked bulb hangs over each sister and the lights go on and off in synchronicity with their alternating harmonies, reminiscent of the sequences of light and sound in Spielberg’s ‘Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’.

In fact the audience stands mute for much of the set, faces bathed in purple stage light, as if waiting for first contact with another life form. The Staves’ caressive melodies, rooted in both the British and American traditions, induce an awed, spectral hush.

The band has recently returned from California, with vivid memories of the elephant seals lining its coastline. Crowd favourites like ‘Mexico’, in which the sisters admit they like “to see the colours of another sky”, spark a brief ripple of shouts, however even shuffling percussion and outright stomps, such as in the haunting ‘Winter Trees’, only fleetingly rouse their devoted following.

In many ways The Staves are more suited to lunchtime recital at the Southbank Centre than the box-like Scala and its anarchic, punk traditions. There isn’t a false note in a venue where, over the years, there must have been countless.

New single ‘Facing West’ gets an outing as does other material from 2012’s album ‘Dead & Born & Grown’, including the excellent ‘In The Long Run', a tune about being on the road, and the Nick Drake influenced ‘Eagle Song’. ‘Gone Tomorrow’ begins the set with its opening line “Holy Moses”, and, indeed, The Staves are a revelation.

Look out too for another trio, the emerging talent that is Sivu, who provides accomplished support here. He continues the current vogue for EPs, opening with latest release ‘Bodies’. Backed by violin and cello his melancholic, but optimistic songs, move like the ice floes on a thawing Alaskan river.

They may be restrained, but both The Staves and Sivu are worth staveing the door to get into.

Words by Adrian Cross

Photos by Richard Gray