Dig ‘in: Sprints, Anything is Everything, Aluminum
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
Sprints - Back Catalogue (Nice Swan Records LP)
While it would be a reach to label Dublin’s Sprints a pub rock band, much of their material has emanated from conversations group members have had over a pint of Guinness. There’s an unvarnished honesty and insight in their songwriting borne out of their desire to take the piss out of everything. Coming across as regular blokes, it’s easy to identify with them and feel part of the conversation.
Back Catalogue is culled from the singles and EPs they’ve released since forming in 2019. Vocalist/guitarist Karla Chubb is a force of nature—pushing the band to the brink of collapse with her impassioned singing and biting observations. She dissects the world with candid clarity—attacking inequity and misogynistic culture with unrelenting abandon. In “Modern Job” she goes all in, confessing “I wish I was bolder / I wish I was brave / And I wish I didn’t count my days / By the things I didn’t say.” By song’s end Chubb is in hot pursuit of everything that’s eluded her: a girl, marriage, a modern job and money. More than a sense of regret, you get the feeling that being denied these things has emboldened her to make a claim for justice. Anybody would be foolish to try to stand in her way. -Bruce Novak
Anything is Everything - a tragic optimism (Beef Cake Records LP)
Anything is Everything is the latest Chicago indie-punk band to hit the scene. The four-piece was formed in 2018, and just released their first album a tragic optimism on Beef Cake Records. The album kicks off with the propulsive heartbreak song “Headspace” featuring back-and-forth vocal interplay, and the music doesn’t let up from there. Anything is Everything calls themselves “Chicago’s Wurst Pop-Punk Band,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to their love of hotdogs. I love a band that wants to let their music do the talking while being goofy, and this band fits firmly in that mold. They cite early Blink-182 as an influence, and you can draw that comparison in the early album highlight “9 to 5” with its staccato vocals and driving bassline. What I really enjoy about this debut is that the band is clearly willing to explore their sound and aren’t stuck in one lane—you’ll hear some synths in there on “Where We Are” and a well-earned instrumental outro on “Half of Me.” I’m very interested to see where this band goes from here. Their foundation is strong, and well worth catching at one of their local shows over the next couple of months as they celebrate the release of a tragic optimism. -Mark Joyner
Aluminum - Windowpane EP (Dandy Boy Records EP)
Bay Area’s Aluminum was born out of a bedroom recording project of Marc Leyda after the dissolution of his prior band Wild Moth. Eventually Leyda recruited former bandmate Austin Montanari to supplement on guitar, and bassist/vocalist Ryann Gonsalves, who also performs in Torrey. Eric Mohammed was the original drummer for the Windowpane sessions, but has since been replaced by Chris Natividad of Marble Eye.
Leyda and Gonsalves create a compelling dynamic—he generating the more plaintive and discordant elements and she countering with crystalline melodicism. The combination is reminiscent of the interplay between MBV’s Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher or Slowdive’s Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell. For a six-track EP, there’s an impressive variety on Windowpane; “Solar” and “Red & Gold” crackle with fierce intensity, while “With You” and the title track are buoyant and wistful. Two short ambient interludes point towards Leyda’s studio experimentation and provide overall texture. Windowpane is an impressive debut and a harbinger of a promising future. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Chisel
Where: Empty Bottle / Directions
When: February 16, 9:00 PM
This Empty Bottle show kicks off an eight city reunion tour for Chisel in conjunction with Numero Group unearthing the band’s prior out of circulation catalogue, including a deluxe 25th anniversary remaster of their final album Set You Free. Getting their start as a punk cover band as students on the campus of Notre Dame, Chisel readily transitioned to a group of substance centered around the burgeoning songwriting talents of Ted Leo. By time they embarked to Washington, D.C. post-schooling, original bassist Chris Infante had been replaced by Chris Norborg to solidify the power trio along with Leo and drummer John Dugan. Deriving early inspiration from the ’60s mod movement and its ‘70s revival, Chisel blended those twitchy tempos with emo-earnestness. That DNA carried forth as Leo would go on to refine his craft with the Pharmacists and a collaboration with Aimee Mann in The Both. The slate of shows should prove particularly gratifying for Dugan and Norborg as they once again get to experience some time in the spotlight. -Bruce Novak
Dendrons
Where: Sleeping Village / Directions
When: February 22, 7:00 PM
Dendrons’ self-titled 2020 debut found the band pursuing a shoegaze and dream pop path with lilting vocals atop a guitar/synth blend awash in atmospherics and nuances. With the additions of second drummer Stef Roti and guitarist/sampler John MacEachen, last year’s follow-up 5-3-8 took on a more discordant, edgy tone. Tempos accelerated, guitars sparred and Dane Jarvie expanded his vocal delivery with a more impressionistic collage approach. By the way of numbers, 5-3-8 falls in the vicinity of Wire’s 154—probing, observational and anchored with a subtle melodicism. Traversing Dendrons’ soundscape is a journey of twists and turns, but their direction is unwaveringly on point. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Volcano Suns - The Bright Orange Years (Homestead Records / Merge Records LP)
When Mission of Burma closed up shop in 1983 due guitarist Roger Miller’s escalating tinnitus, it left a gaping void in post-punk circles. With advances in onstage sound technology they were able to reform nearly twenty years later for a second chapter that rivaled their first phase.
Mercifully, drummer Peter Prescott stepped up to soften the blow with his new outfit Volcano Suns, which initially included guitarist Gary Waleik and bassist Steve Michener before they left to spearhead Big Dipper. Volcano Suns were a bit of a revelation in that the majority of Burma’s songwriting was carried out by Miller and Clint Conley—Prescott’s singing was primarily on backing vocals and only one of his songs (“Learn How”) had appeared on an official release by time the band shut down.
Jeff Weigand (bass) and Jon Williams (guitar) joined Prescott for the recording of The Bright Orange Years, which would be the first of a trio of albums that the Suns released through Homestead Records before moving on to SST. Prescott proved his mettle as a dynamic band leader through tracks like “Jak,” “The Mouth That Roared” and the stunning “Balancing Act.” The Weigand instrumental composition “Truth Is Stranger Than Fishing” is a masterful manipulation of tension, gradually uncoiling until the final minute of glorious outburst.
Merge Records reissued the record in 2009 with nine bonus tracks that includes a couple co-compositions from Waleik and Michener. The additives rival most band’s primary output, which just goes to show how special the Suns truly were. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: