Dig ‘in: Ship to Shore, Oolong, John Cale
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
Richard Thompson – Ship to Shore (New West LP)
Sometimes, renowned singer-songwriters like Richard Thompson are at a severe disadvantage. When you’ve already written a staggering number of memorable, truly singular songs, it seems like critical expectations for each new release unconsciously inch higher and higher…to the point where it’s virtually impossible to meet the standard. Thompson’s thoroughly solid new disc, Ship to Shore, may not equal or surpass past standouts like Shoot Out the Lights, but that doesn’t mean it’s a letdown. The record has plenty of engaging, high quality tunes. Album opener, “Freeze,” with its loping groove and ornately skipping melody evokes Thompson’s roots in British folk and Fairport Convention. But the record quickly settles into the familiarly sturdy and elegant songcraft that’s a Thompson hallmark. The undulant pulse and minor key harmony of “The Fear Never Leaves You” conjure up the same spooked vibe and irresistible melodic pull of past classics like “When the Spell Is Broken.” “Singapore Sadie” has an inviting sea shanty vibe with its waltz-time groove, keening fiddle and lilting, sing-a-long chorus, while “Turnstile Casanova” is the type of punchy, catchy rocker that often adorns Thompson records. Granted, a few tunes on Ship to Shore, such as “Maybe” and “Life’s a Bloody Show” are more middling than memorable. But songs like “What’s Left to Lose” pair up fiery guitar breaks with beguiling choruses in a way that’s classic Thompson. Overall, Ship to Shore is another demonstration–as if we needed one – that Richard Thompson is a master songsmith, guitarist and raconteur. -Rick Reger
Oolong - S/T (self-released LP)
I usually know when something that’s significantly in my wheelhouse has been released when I start seeing the far corners of the emo/punk Twittersphere all talking about the same band. Oolong burst onto my radar back in April when they released their self-titled album Oolong, and it made the rounds on Twitter. Hailing from Long Island, Oolong hits a lot of touchpoints for me that are an indicator that I am going to love an album—midwest emo-infused twinkly guitars that harken back to Cap’n Jazz and Algernon Cadwallader, energetic singing and instrumentation, and tight action packed songs that don’t overstay their welcome. What blows my mind is the wide breadth of songs—there are 21 on this record! This album packs a serious punch out the gate with the first quarter of it featuring explosive songs that build on one another and are filled with energy that can barely be contained (early highlight for me is “Runtz”). Each listen reveals a new favorite—most recently I’ve been struck by the one-two-punch of late album songs “I Said Hello” and “Thesuckzone,” which are more tempered exploratory songs featuring introspective lyrics with less of the singing/screaming found on the rest of the album. You know an album is good if you find yourself bothering your friends with the degree in which you push the album on them. I can only imagine that their live show carries the same energy found on this explosive release. Luckily for us Chicago folk they will be headlining Beat Kitchen on Wednesday, July 24th. -Mark Joyner
John Cale - POPtical Illusion (Double Six / Domino LP)
Last year, John Cale ended a decade-long break from releasing all-new music with a solid, atmospheric album, Mercy. Amazingly, he’s already back with another disc, POPtical Illusion, and it shows he’s still got plenty to say. Where Mercy was a hazy, dream-y, watercolor wash of songs that seemed to bleed into one another, the tunes and arrangements on POPtical are definitely bolder, more assertive and well-defined. And some of them rise to the level of Cale’s best. “Davies and Wales” evokes the bouncy, keyboard-pounding pop of past gems, like “Dead or Alive” and “Taking It All Away.” The melodic allure of many tunes on POPtical is notably stronger than on Mercy. “Calling You Out” floats by on a lovely bed of celeste arpeggios, hazy guitar lines and chorused synth pads, while album opener “God Make Me Do It (don’t ask me again)” swirls together a gentle marimba pattern with highly atmospheric synth clouds, all topped with a lilting vocal line via Cale’s instantly-identifiable baritone. Even Cale’s most melodic records often have bristling, edgy moments, and that’s true here. “Company Commander” surveys a dystopian landscape via pounding rhythm and splashes of discordant instrumental color, while “Shark-Shark” is a clattery, fuzz-crusted, three-chord rocker. But POPtical is by and large a seductive and sonically inviting soundscape, and the somber piano chords and pensive, descending clarinet lines of album closer of “There Will Be No River” provide a fitting conclusion. Cale reportedly created the album all by himself in his home studio, and the disc has a solitary, ruminative vibe that vividly captures an 82-year-old musician taking stock of past transgressions, the troubled tumultuous present and his hope for a salvageable future. It’s often a deeply rewarding listen from a justly renowned talent. -Rick Reger
UPCOMING
The Young Fresh Fellows
Where: Hideout / Directions
When: June 22, 8:30 PM
I have a great love and fondness for the Seattle band The Young Fresh Fellows. When their third album, The Men Who Loved Music came out in 1987, I had three little kids—all under ten years old. They used to dress up as rock stars, grab tennis rackets and lip-sync to their favorite YFF song, “When The Girls Get Here.” Over the last 35 years, that song has brought our family boatloads of joyful sing-a-longs! Fast-forward to 2024 and The YFF are on the road celebrating the 40th anniversary of their first LP, The Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest. The touring lineup includes long-time members Scott McCaughey (vocals/guitar), Jim Sangster (bass) and Kurt Bloch (guitar), plus NRBQ drummer John Perrin. McCaughey has a long connection with Chicago and Wilco and Jeff Tweedy—especially thru his band The Minus 5. The Hideout will be an incredible setting for the intimate humor and quirky pop songs from the Fellows. Come on out to dance and sing along. -Papa Novak
Wishy
Where: Gman Tavern / Directions
Logan Square Arts Festival
When: June 22, 8:00 PM
June 28, 8:00 PM
Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites seemed destined to be in a band together. They attended the same high school (though in different grades) and when Pitchkites traveled to Bloomington to attend Indiana University, she started hanging in the same social circles as Krauter, who was then playing with the pop outfit Hoops, who had garnered some notice from Pitchfork. It was only until another relocation to Indianapolis that their music partnership took shape, first under the name of Mercury, then Mana, before eventually becoming Wishy. In a city more noted for its hardcore punk scene, their love of shoegaze and dream pop was an anomaly. Their second EP, Paradise, released at the end of last year, is a supple and sinuous affair composed of intertwining, effects-driven guitar touches and the sun-kissed vocals of Pitchkites and Krauter. While they wrote separately for Paradise, they’re both cut from a similar cloth and when they trade off verses on the title track, it feels like a natural continuum that ushers the song along seamlessly. Wishy’s first full-length record, Lucky Seven, is coming in August and advance tracks suggest continued explorations with dynamics and melody. When I witnessed a couple of live performances at SXSW in March the band had expanded to a five piece with a triple guitar presence that produced even more layering to unfold and explore. -Bruce Novak
Ethers
Where: The Fallen Log / Directions
When: June 16, 7:00 PM
Ethers’ self-titled album in 2018 released by Trouble In Mind was among the finest records to come out that year, local or otherwise. Their garage punk echoes the intensity of the Modern Lovers with Mary McKane’s iconic Farfisa organ blasts and Bo Hansen’s soulful singing is reminiscent of Royal Headache’s Tim “Shogun” Wall. Along with McKane’s spouse, Russ Calderwood (bass), and Matt Rolin (drums), Ethers is comprised of scene stalwarts who had previously spent time with outfits such as Heavy Times, Radar Eyes and Outer Minds. They were already into their thirties when they got together in 2017 and songs like “Empty Hours” and “Past My Prime” reflect a weariness and trepidation of post-carefree living. The group seemed determined to make a go of it when they embarked on a month-long European tour in early 2020, but fell off the map for a couple years thereafter. Since then they’ve surfaced for occasional gigs, most recently playing at Empty Bottle last Halloween for Handlebar’s 20th anniversary. Their Instagram page references an April 2022 recording session at Rose Raft, a downstate artist residency in New Douglas (about 40 miles northeast of St. Louis), so the potential for new music surfacing is a welcome sign for such a deserving band. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Human Switchboard - Who’s Landing in My Hangar? (Faulty Products LP)
Looking back on Bob Pfeifer’s songs of mistrust and betrayal, it’s not surprising that Ohio’s Human Switchboard only managed one proper studio album during their existence, but oh what what a magnificent document it is. Fueled by the Velvet Underground (Pfeifer and Myrna Marcarian attended Syracuse University following in the footsteps of Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison) and ’60s proto-punk garage music (reflected in Marcarian’s Farfisa organ embellishment), Human Switchboard were an open book with a litany of blunt midnight confessions and heartbreak outcomes. One-time partners in real life, Pfeifer and Marcarian pair up on “Refrigerator Door” to vocalize a passionate, but unfulfilled relationship with exacting detail and obsessive thoughts. Pfeifer often ends up as the spurned lover, the swirling discord in his string strangling dispensed on the title track and “(I Used to) Believe in You” matches his distemper to a T. Marcarian fares better—after standing by heartbroken in “(Say No to) Saturday’s Girl,” she turns the table on a duplicitous would-be suitor in “I Can Walk Alone,” delivering a withering kiss-off. The band did manage to record some demo tracks in late 1983 for a follow-up release on Polydor Records (some of which surfaced on an expanded collection of Who’s Landing in My Hangar put out posthumously on Bar None Records), but that cratered when their label rep was dismissed and the Switchboard took their last call in the spring of ’85. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: