Dig ‘in: Horsegirl, Cola, Weird Nightmares
Check out what the No Wristbands team is listening to and what’s in our show calendars this month on our latest Dig ‘in.
INCOMING
Horsegirl - Versions of Modern Performance (Matador Records LP)
Conventional wisdom would point to an upstart band getting out in front of listeners in order to garner notice. With Horsegirl the competition isn’t for the forefront, but rather what goes on below the surface. Versions of Modern Performance is a layered and textured record that benefits most from an ear to the ground approach. The songs with vocal tracks are intersected at chosen intervals by three instrumental passages that reset the tone by letting things meander a bit with languid guitar strumming or plinking piano. When the singing resumes it’s often structured as a repetition of phrases and marked by a contrast in vocal inflections from Nora Cheng and Penelope Lowenstein. Like their post-punk icons, Horsegirl’s lyrics are largely observational and impressionistic. “World of Pots and Pans” turns a phrase from Gang of Four’s “Damaged Goods” inside out by slightly reordering it to “Sometimes I’m thinking that I lust you / But I know it’s only love.” It’s a significant gender realignment akin to The Raincoats making a run at The Kinks’ “Lola.” When you consider those sort of comparisons, Horsegirl couldn’t help but find themselves in any finer company. -Bruce Novak
Cola - Deep in View (Rough Trade LP)
When the decision was made to wind down Ought, their label, Merge Records, suggested that they delay their announcement lest they have second thoughts after fulfilling their remaining tour dates. While there wasn’t a reconsideration, guitarist Tim Darcy and bassist Ben Stidworthy did eventually reunite with new drummer Evan Cartwright (U.S. Girls/Weather Station) for the nascent Cola. While Ought might be characterized as quick twitch reflex, Cola pursue more of a path of muscle elongation. With a greater range of (e)motion, the band still examine the perils of modern society but leaven some of the paranoia. On “Water Table,” Darcy intones “I am that technology now / I am that technology allowed / I think I’m doing alright / I don’t need additional lives.” And on “At Pace,” he confesses to being centered again after rediscovering past passions. Deep in View is rife with pensive analysis, but along with the scrutiny comes a greater understanding of life’s foibles and, dare I say, a greater acceptance. -Bruce Novak
Weird Nightmare - S/T (Sub Pop LP)
With his band METZ sidelined from touring, Alex Edkins became compelled to take his talents in a different direction. His love for melodic pop and garage rock simplicity formed the idea behind the solo recording project he christened as Weird Nightmare. While some of the album’s songs started gestating in demo form as far back as 2013, it was the indeterminate downtime that afforded Edkins the opportunity to really flesh out his songwriting without the usual schedule pressures. So while the creative process was leisurely, the resulting ten song record hums along in brisk overdrive. Edkins’ voice wrestles for space against distorto guitars and leaden drums. An inspired vocal pairing with Bully’s Alicia Bognanno on “Wrecked” proves a welcome palate enhancer from the fellow noise merchants. The album closes with “Holding Out” in a measured pace that suggests Edkins is in no hurry to shut things down. And sure, why not savor the moment when you’ve come this far? -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Split Single / Eyelids
Where: SPACE / Directions
When: June 18, 7:00 PM
There’s some serious music royalty connecting these two bands. Split Single’s Jason Narducy has lent his talents to Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices/Boston Spaceships), as has Eyelids’s Chris Slusarenko and John Moen. Peter Buck has collaborated (as producer and guest musician) on numerous occasions with Eyelids and Mike Mills handled bass duties on Split Single’s latest LP, Amplificado. With a shared affiliation in Superchunk and Bob Mould, Narducy and Jon Wurster have managed to find time to record three Split Single albums over the past decade. As lead vocalist and guitarist, Narducy takes a left of the dial approach for power chord pop numbers that deliver the hooks without a trace of bombast. Portland, Oregon’s Eyelids exist on the same wavelength. Splitting the songwriting between Slusarenko and Moen, fosters a pleasing duality that hits all the right notes. If each band were to be judged by the company they keep, there would be no argument to their relevance. So while their names might not be recognizable to most, their talent certainly deserves frontline notice. -Bruce Novak
Nectar
Where: Golden Dagger / Directions
When: June 24, 7:30 PM
Being home to the state’s largest university, Champaign-Urbana has been a fertile incubator for indie music down through the years. In a 1982 New York Rocker review of the B-Lovers OK…GO! single, Andy Schwartz christened it “the new pop capitol of Mid-America.” Like so many bands before them, Nectar will hit the road for the short drive north to showcase their power punk-pop in the city of broad shoulders. From solo four-track origins nearly a decade ago, Kamila Glowacki has fashioned Nectar into a taut four-piece band that leans into their material in free-falling fashion. Her buoyant melodies and the band’s peppy backing enables a soft landing and a sense of feeling only slightly concussed when all is sung and done. -Bruce Novak
The Present Age
Where: : Logan Square Arts Festival
When: June 25, Time TBD
The music lineup at this year’s LSA festival is loaded with a diverse array of indie performers primarily representing the local and regional scenes. The Present Age hail from nearby Oshkosh and just dropped their latest record, Avenues of Widespread Consumption, this spring. Similar to Parquet Courts, Present Age are a quartet with a pair of brothers helming guitar and drum duties. They also ride the agit post-punk track with terse vocals, repetition rhythms and hotwired string slinging. Their graphics follow suit with disjointed typewriter print and DIY cut and paste technique. Coming from the nation’s heartland where Main Street mingles with mainstream, The Present Age cut across the grain and offer another music in a different kitchen so to say. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
The Vertebrats - A Thousand Day Dream (Parasol/Reaction Records compilation)
The Vertebrats were a huge deal in my Central Illinois college town from ’79 to ’82. A great band who basically created our local scene, they could have put Champaign-Urbana on the national map a la Athens, GA or Minneapolis had they stayed together. But they were just a hair too early, breaking up before the ‘80s indie label juggernaut that allowed American bands from local scenes to release records and gain recognition outside their local area.
The early ‘90s archival CD A Thousand Day Dream collected studio recordings from a band that never made an album, who had released a 45 and a few tracks on compilations. The VB’s were punk-influenced but not punk. They took from classic ‘60s garage rock, British Invasion bands a la the Stones and Kinks, and a specific vein of classic rock like CCR and Neil Young’s records with Crazy Horse. They were that rare thing that is essentially now extinct—a rock band whose shows people attended so they could DANCE.
They had a powerful lead vocalist, a teenage whiz kid lead guitarist, and most importantly three great songwriters. They had a drummer who was really a guitarist and thus kept his drumming simple, utilizing a steady danceable beat that would keep people on their feet for 2 or 3 sets a night.
One of the comps they were on was Bomp Records’ Battle of the Garages, from 1981, featuring their tour de force “Left in the Dark,” later recorded by The Replacements, Uncle Tupelo, and Courtney Love. But the ‘Mats put it on a limited live cassette, Tupelo didn’t release it until an expanded CD reissue 25 years later, and Courtney’s version was never released (though it’s on YouTube and it’s great). It’s one of the secret hits of rock & roll, a classic but an almost invisible one, not even to be found on streaming services.
The Vertebrats were our local stars, an unpretentious, fun, no-frills, solid rock band, and this fine comp sounds as good as it did then. They might be a secret, but it’s a secret worth sharing. God I miss them. - Jon Ginoli
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: