Dig ‘in: Jesus Lizard, Best Bets, Artificial Go
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
The Jesus Lizard – Rack (Ipecac Recordings LP)
At Jesus Lizard’s most recent return engagement in Chicago, David Yow expressed bewilderment at the sheer magnitude of the Salt Shed. The fearless performer was knee deep into the crowd almost instantaneously, but not before pausing to take a photo of the audience to mark the occasion. It was indeed a noteworthy moment since nobody had realistic expectations of hearing new Jesus Lizard material a quarter century after they initially splintered. As it turns out, the seeds of a new album began to germinate around the time the band returned to the stage in 2009. Guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims eventually took the initiative to begin collaborating and later corralled drummer Mac McNeilly to record some instrumental tracks that then made their way to Yow. Now scattered across four different cities, the logistics of the project was vastly different from their Chicago headquarter days, but the quartet selected to record at Audio Eagle in Nashville, TN in the city where Dennison works as a librarian.
Rack is on par with the rest of Jesus Lizard’s legacy. The most notable distinction is that Yow has set aside the guttural phrasing for more clearly defined singing, putting to use the vocal training he had undertaken previously with Qui bandmate Paul Christensen. On “Hide & Seek,” “Grind” and “Falling Down” the intensity comes in spades as the band is in lockstep and loaded. “What If?” is a fascinating outlier; ghostly and atmospheric-sounding with Yow spinning a tale of intrigue. “Alexis Feels Sick,” inspired by the societal views of Soulside/Girls Against Boys drummer Alexis Fleising, offers the most powerful statement of all on the forces of late stage capitalism. Yow’s AI-generated video of the song is grotesquely disturbing; like the corporate barons it aims to skewer. Apropos no doubt, because in times of turmoil, who’s better than The Jesus Lizard to stir the proverbial pot? -Bruce Novak
Best Bets - The Hollow Husk of Feeling (Meritorio Records LP)
There’s perhaps no better authority on power pop than Nick Lowe, the author of of that genre’s definitive statement album, Pure Pop for Now People. That said album was the US version of Lowe’s Jesus of Cool British solo debut and added the Rockpile-generated track “They Called It Rock” as a replacement for “Shake and Pop.” “They Called It Rock” is a tongue-in-cheek dissection of the mercurial relationship between fleeting rock and roll fandom and the capricious nature of the music industry—it could easily translate to how power pop was initially celebrated, but later denigrated as being too pedestrian. The point hits home with Best Bets as they proclaim on “Pensacola”: “I used to walk past Pensacola / With nothing on my shoulders / When a job was a placeholder / For dreams of being a rock ‘n’ roller.”
The Rangiora, New Zealand-based Best Bets remain under the radar and off the charts, but shouldn’t pass without notice. The opening track on The Hollow Husk of Feeling, “Heaven,” gives a lay of the land when James Harding observes: “I remember a childish mind thinking this was paradise / An embarrassment of riches every day / Now I look back bleary-eyed to a time when life wasn’t a vice / And fun didn’t come with a hidden price to pay.” Newest group addition, bassist Joe Sampson, makes his presence felt with his first songwriting band credit on “Monster,” as he attempts to preserve a dream from going dark. By album’s end, Best Bets are taking stock in the world’s decline in “We Are Prepared,” envisioning an afterlife that transcends short-sighted earthly pursuits. Beneath the ringing guitars and adrenalized vocals Best Bets deliver a message that’s tantalizing on the ears, but far from sugar-coated. -Bruce Novak
Artificial Go - Hopscotch Fever (Feel It Records / Future Shock Recordings LP)
Artificial Go pepper their spartan post-punk/new wave with a dose of whimsy that reveals their innate charm. Angie Wilcutt (vocals/synths) and Micah Wu (guitar) started the electronic outfit ROD in their native Lexington, KY before joining drummer Cole Gilfilen (The Drin) in Cincinnati to launch Artificial Go. The trio set about to self-record their debut and have since brought on additional guitarist Claudio Thornburgh. Clocking in at a brisk twenty minutes over eight tracks, Hopscotch Fever is boisterous and bouncy. Wilcutt borders on being bemused or blasé as she covers topics ranging from obsolete technology (“Pay Phone”) to sexual desire (“Aphrodisiac”). There’s an infectious playfulness to Artificial Go that could be easily overlooked, but ends of being hard to resist. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
The Laughing Chimes
Where: Fallen Log / Directions
When: October 5, 8:00 PM
Glimpsing their hometown listing of Athens on The Laughing Chimes Bandcamp page caused me to do a double take. Their jangle pop could certainly reside in the company of R.E.M., Love Tractor and Kilkenny Cats. Alas, upon further inspection, the Chimes hail from the state of Ohio, not Georgia—although their Athens is also a college town, home to Ohio University in this case. The band began as a recording project between brothers Evan (guitar/vocals) and Quinn Seurkamp (drums) in 2020, and only started playing shows two years in. Their debut album, In This Town, drew the attention of Slumberland Records, who’ve subsequently issued their Zoo Avenue EP on cassette and “Laurel Heights” vinyl single. After the later additions of Avery Bookman on bass and Ella Franks on guitar & synths, the Laughing Chimes have broadened their palette, sprinkling in elements of dark wave to blend with their melodic pop. Recent digital singles “A Promise To Keep” and “Tomorrow’s 87” point to the band coming into its own and heightens the anticipation for their Slumberland debut album. -Bruce Novak
The dB’s
Where: Old Town School of Folk Music / Directions
When: October 12, 8:00 PM
With childhood roots in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the four core members of the dB’s have remained fast friends down throughout the years despite going separate ways for a good portion of their music careers. Remasterings of the group’s seminal 1981 albums, Stands for deciBels and Repercussion, by Bob Weston and issued on Chapel Hill-based Propeller Sound Recordings have brought the quartet together again for a slate of North American shows that began last month and will conclude in December in their former home city. It was Chris Stamey’s pilgrimage to New York City to hook up with Big Star’s Alex Chilton and Chris Bell in late 1976 that started the path to infamy. He eventually brought along Will Rigby and Gene Holder to record “If and When” as the b-side to “(I Thought) You Wanted to Know” that he had collaborated on with Richard Lloyd, who was the song’s author but who was unable to release it personally because of Television’s contractual obligations to their Elektra label. When the newly-formed trio was looking to bolster their sound with the addition of keyboards, old pal Peter Holsapple was called upon to join.
Of course Holsapple would fulfill a much more integral part for the outfit, becoming Stamey’s songwriting partner and co-guitarist. Holsapple’s penchant for delivering insanely catchy pop chestnuts paired well with Stamey’s less linear art rock creations. Formally trained in song composition, Stamey would amicably depart following Repercussion to pursue a more experimental direction as a solo artist. With Rigby and Holder still in tow with Holsapple, the dB’s released Like This on the ill-fated Bearsville label in 1984 and would finally crack the Billboard 200 (peaking at 171) with 1987’s The Sound of Music on I.R.S. Records. With Holder then leaving to join The Wygals and I.R.S. passing on the demos for a second album, Holsapple and Rigby put a wrap on the remaining band. Tim Tuten of The Hideout coaxed the original four members out of retirement in 2005 to play the club’s annual Block Party, and in 2012 the quartet came back with the solid Falling Off The Sky album. Chicago has always held a special place in the hearts of the band members with WXRT being one of the few commercial radio stations to lend them fervent support, so this return engagement has the makings of something truly special. -Bruce Novak
julie
Where: Thalia Hall / Directions
When: October 15, 7:00 PM
Conceptualized as an art collective in addition to being a band, the LA trio of Kenyan Pourzand (guitar, vocals), Alexandria Elizabeth Brady (bass, vocals) and Dillon Lee (drums) have meticulously crafted their image and packaging with a highly engaged DIY aesthetic. While previously self-releasing their initial singles and an EP, the band recently made a considerable leap by partnering with Atlantic for their debut LP, my anti-aircraft friend, which just dropped in September. Julie appear poised for a bigger stage, having already completed a European jaunt a summer ago and moving up in venue sizes for this tour—progressing from the intimate Schubas Tavern (165 capacity) last November to the spacious Thalia Hall (840 capacity). The immersive reach of their mixture of shoegaze and noise pop should reverberate soundly to the upper reaches of the balcony. Julie exhibit a rousing range of stylistic diversity—from the pop punch of “catalogue” to the blistering frenzy of “lochness”—that will alternatively keep their audience on their toes at times when they’re not forcibly setting them back on their heels. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Sneakers - racket (East Side Digital compilation)
The bones of the dB’s, and to a lesser extent Let’s Active, can traced to Sneakers—the Winston-Salem outfit featuring Chris Stamey, Mitch Easter and Will Rigby. Friends since second grade, Stamey and Easter began documenting their work together around 1972 on Chris’ Teac 2340 4-track recording deck. In 1976 they joined up with recording engineer Don Dixon, along with Rigby, guitarist Rob Slater and bassist Robert Keely, for an eponymous six song EP that was self-released by Stamey on his fledgling Carnivorous Records label. Tracks like “Ruby,” “Condition Red” and “Love’s Like a Cuban Crisis” lay out Stamey’s twisting compositions, pithy wordplay and give a nod to the groundbreaking dynamic of Big Star.
By the time Sneakers recorded their first LP, In The Red, they were essentially a duo again, and when it was released in 1978, they had already disbanded. Easter has more of a songwriting presence on this record, matching Stamey’s output of three originals. His slithering “Decline and Fall” is a precursor to buoyant pop that Let’s Active would later excel at. Likewise, Stamey’s “What I Dig” lays the groundwork for the dB’s playbook. Due to the limited availability of of these initial releases, Stamey and Easter reconvened in 1992 at Mitch’s Drive-In Studio to remaster, and in some cases to remix, material that comprises the racket compilation, as well as issuing new recordings of a few tracks that were originally slated for an unfinished third record titled Wig Cleaner. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: