Dig ‘in: Spread Joy, Deeper, Pylon
INCOMING
Spread Joy - S/T (Feel It Records LP)
Spread Joy certainly don’t beat around the bush, employing an immediacy that finds them clocking in with only a single song among a collection of ten that exceeds the two minute mark. Vocalist Briana Hernandez sounds totally wired throughout the record—pushed to the brink by the breakneck instrumentation provided by Nick Beaudoin (Negative Scanner) and Rainy Hodges (Human Beat), not unlike the frenzy that Vanessa Briscoe Hay thrived on in Athens upstarts, Pylon. Hernandez’s vocal inflections sometimes take on an otherworldliness, as if she’s communicating in a different language (which actually is the case with the German-voiced “Kanst Du”). Ultimately her word play and schizoid delivery become so sublime that it becomes impossible not to crack a smile in astonishment. After being thwarted in making their local stage debut last year, Spread Joy has fall shows lined up at Sleeping Village and the Hideout. Plan your bathroom breaks wisely because this is a band that likes to play it fast and loose! - Bruce Novak
The Bevis Frond - Little Eden (Fire Records LP)
It strikes me odd to refer to Nick Saloman as a career musician. While his thirty five year stint fronting The Bevis Frond certainly garners that descriptive, his unique singularity belies any term that would suggest complacency. The simple fact that he’s able to deliver a record as vital and nuanced as Little Eden at this juncture is fairly astonishing. Saloman’s sincerity and unwavering conviction to his craft, shares a lineage with fellow countryman, Nick Drake. Both are uniquely British artists with bespoke mentalities and a wariness of modernism. Their music is rooted in a folk tradition of directness and purity, but free of the more traditional boundaries of the format. A disconnection to the impersonality of an increasingly virtual society has Saloman searching for solace on Little Eden. He’s aware that he’s in the minority with this train of thought, but remains comfortable in his own skin. As the album closes with the guitar epic “Dreams of Flying,” Saloman urges the listener to “hold on to your higher calling.” Couldn’t agree with you more on that one, Nick—please keep on doing what you do. -Bruce Novak
Ducks Ltd. - Modern Fiction (Carpark Records LP)
With guitar-based pop music in relative retreat in indie circles these days, hearing a release like Modern Fiction becomes all the more striking. Compared to the calculated and processed attempts at hit-making that dominate our airspace, Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis of Ducks, Ltd. have taken an organic approach to their songcraft. The result is a magnificent collection of ten tunes that rank with the very best indie pop releases. While reference points abound (Flying Nun, Creation & Chapter Music titles undoubtedly take a prominent place in the duo’s personal collections), Ducks Ltd. manage to sound both distinct and timeless. Modern Fiction is a record you’ll want to set on repeat because the withdrawal consequences of passing up something this sweet will come as a shock to your system. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Gustaf
Where: Riviera Theatre / Directions
When: October 8, 6:30 PM
Brooklyn-based Gustaf have taken a bit of an old-school route, gigging regularly over the past three years to tighten their sound and amass a collection of material that is thoroughly road-tested. That approach now seems to be paying great dividends as the group has secured an opening slot for Idles on the first leg of their US tour. Fresh off the heels of their debut album, Audio Drag For Ego Slobs, which dropped October 1, Gustaf is likely to introduce a bit of levity to pair with the intensity that Idles are renowned for. Vocalist Lydia Gammill slyly skewers the self-absorbed crowd in her biting commentary on entitlement (“Mines”) and careerism (“Book”). Those narratives are propelled by a sinewy post-punk instrumentation employing rubbery bass lines, syncopated rhythms, and tag-team backing vocals. All the more reason to stay within earshot of this performance. -Bruce Novak
Deeper
Where: Empty Bottle / Directions
When: October 9, 9:30 PM
Deeper’s adaptation skills are rather well-honed for a band who just put out their sophomore album last year. Their initial change was by design after they ditched their first batch of songs that they felt no longer represented the group’s identity following an early line-up change. But then in the midst of recording their second album, Auto-Pain, guitarist Mike Clawson left the band and later took his own life. While Deeper had already begun to expand on their taut, guitar-driven sound that comprised their self-titled debut, Clawson’s departure pushed them further along with synthesizer embellishments that added to the overall theme of alienation and anguish that pervade the record. Fortunately the remaining members of this Chicago outfit have been able to persevere and view the opportunity of continuing to perform their songs as a means of raising awareness to mental health issues. Certainly a message we should all be open to hearing. -Bruce Novak
Public Practice
Where: Sleeping Village / Directions
When: October 11, 9:00 PM
Something that caught my immediate attention with the return to experiencing live music was the collective movement of the audience, from the expressive dancing up front to the head-bobbing that permeates the back ranks. “Dancing with Myself” hasn’t proven to be a worthy substitute for getting a groove on among the masses. With their amalgamation of post-punk, funk and disco, NYC’s Public Practice deliver sounds that are a sure bet to shake your solar plexus into action. Fortunately, their music nourishes the brain as well as the body. On their 2020 release, Gentle Grip, consumerist perils are grappled with, pitting theory against temptation. Just the sort of thing that’ll awaken your senses with woke thoughts. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Pylon - Gyrate (DB Recs LP)
One of the enduring legacies of punk rock is the freedom it provides for creatives to self define their musical ambitions ahead of being able to actually execute them. The genre is littered with art-school students who possessed an innate ability to conceptualize ideas and then find the means of carrying them out. Often this approach would result in happy accidents because there was no pre-ordained roadmap to arrive at the desired destination. And so it was for Pylon, who’s modest performing aspirations resulted in something much more significant and influential than what they ever envisioned. Minimalism was always the tether that held their concepts from spiraling out of control; from their lockstep punk-funk grooves down to their often singular word song titles. Their debut album, Gyrate, was a head-turner as front person Vanessa Briscoe Hay resoundingly announced her arrival with a guttural performance rarely heard up to that point. Southern rock of the 70s fancied itself as being anti-authoritarian, but comes across as pedestrian at best when compared with the path that Pylon travelled. While their journey was brief—ending shortly after the release of their second album Chomp—it was exceedingly eventful. James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem had a hand of reissuing the first two albums through his DFA label and last year saw the career overview release of Pylon Box via New West Records. As southern culture antagonist Neil Young once professed, sometimes it’s better to burn out than to fade away. -Bruce Novak
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