Dig ‘in: Squirrel Flower, Rat Columns, R.M.F.C.
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
Squirrel Flower - Tomorrow’s Fire (Polyvinyl Record Company LP)
Tomorrow’s Fire abounds with literary influences. The title is a nod to Ella Williams’ great-grandfather’s novel that was derived from a quote from the French poet Rutebeuf: “Tomorrow’s hopes provide my dinner / Tomorrow’s fire must warm tonight.” The forces of nature found in the work of poet Mary Oliver, whom Williams’ mother introduce her to, also provides context for the album’s connectivity between the physical and spiritual worlds. To further emphasize their bond, she relates a childhood tale relayed to her for the song “Canyon”: “When my mother was fifteen / Full of fire and nicotine / She said, ‘Fuck the DMV’ / Drove down to see Springsteen.” That rebellious spirit was also fostered by Williams’ impression upon reading Kim Gordon’s autobiography, Girl in a Band. “You hate when I do that / But I hate when I change / So I won’t be changing / I will never change,” snaps Williams to a combatant in “Stick.”
After growing up near Boston, and attending school in Grinnell College in Iowa, Williams eventually settled in Chicago in 2021. Part of Tomorrow’s Fire was incubated during jam sessions at a warehouse living space that allowed the music to be cranked up without intervention. The aggressive and freeing approach is evident in her solo transformation of “I Don’t Use a Trash Can” from her 2015 debut, and “When a Plant is Dying” that was recorded in a live setting with Dave Hartley (War on Drugs), Matt McCaughan (Bon Iver), Jake Lenderman (Wednesday) and Seth Kaufman (Angel Olsen). Tomorrow’s Fire brings together Williams’ inherent strengths as an insightful songwriter and compelling vocalist and peppers them with an edginess that transcends her folk origins. She admires artists that are able to turn indie rock on its head and the direction Squirrel Flower is headed is dizzying and exhilarating in that exact sense. -Bruce Novak
Rat Columns - Babydoll (Tough Love Records LP)
David West, the principal behind Perth’s Rat Columns, has a vast swath of experience in his home country and stateside playing with the likes of Total Control, Lace Curtain, Rank / Xerox and Scythe. Of all those endeavors, Rat Columns is where he’s left his most noticeable mark over the last decade. Babydoll is the fifth Rat Columns full-length album, with West serving as the lone mainstay. The record opens with the blissful “Cerulean Blue,” finely navigating the space between jangle pop and shoegaze that nicely dovetails into the sparkling splendor of “Life In The Jungle.” By track three on “Heavenly Assault” the guitar crunch and fuzz has been kicked up a notch to heightened effect. Deeper cut “Bees Make Honey” ebbs and flows, featuring a pleasing duet between Taylah McLean and West. Over the course of Rat Columns existence, West has presented a varied representation of indie pop and Babydoll is testament that his creativity continues to evolve. -Bruce Novak
R.M.F.C. - Club Hits (Anti Fade / Urge Records LP)
R.M.F.C., shorthand for Rock Music Fan Club, isn’t a collective, but rather the sole creation of Australian Buz Clatworthy, who started the project as a teenager in 2017. There’s a lot of unbridled energy and directness in his music with 1970s-era Wire-y textures. Clatworthy records everything himself in his home studio, and double-tracked the instruments and vocals to provide a fuller sounding affair. His experience playing guitar and synthesizer for fellow Sydney artists Tee Vee Repairmann and 1-800-MIKEY (whose leader Michael Barker sits in with Clatworthy’s touring band) informs his own take on garage punk that feels primal in origin, but not primitive in execution. Clatworthy closes out the record with “Rock Tune,” and at a running length of 4:46 easily surpasses all other tracks in length and scope, yet by choosing such a simple title he lets it be known that ambition will never get the better of him. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Dazy
Where: Cobra Lounge / Directions
When: December 4, 6:00 PM
James Goodson of Dazy records his own material and assembles a band for touring that he notes brings a different energy to the songs. There’s plenty of wallop that comes from this Richmond, VA artist who produces noise pop nuggets that snap and crackle and provide an adrenaline rush without without resorting to sugarcoating anything. His latest offerings: 2022’s full length LP, OUTOFBODY, and this year’s OTHERBODY EP were the result of an extended creative spurt and are resplendent with hooks and melodies that are hard to shake. The presence of a live drummer in place of the drum machine Goodson utilizes in the studio promises to add an extra dynamic to the proceedings. Dazy is the headliner for a ambitious bill that also features a pair of Chicago locals; the dynamic trio Lifeguard and upstarts Illusion of Choice. -Bruce Novak
Mandy, Indiana
Where: Empty Bottle / Directions
When: December 5, 9:00 PM
Manchester’s Mandy, Indiana are intent on removing their audience from their normal comfort zone. Their techno dance rhythms infiltrate the central nervous system and then their jarring noise shards turn everything on its head. Vocalist Valentine Caufield commented in an interview with The Quietus that “I’m of the opinion that, at this point in time, if you’re not angry then you’re not paying attention.” Employing her native French language while singing to convey a wider range of emotion akin to an operatic stage performance, the end effect is mysterious and unsettling. Mandy, Indiana’s unconventional approach is present in their field recording aesthetic where parts of the of their debut LP, i’ve seen a way, were recorded in a Somerset cave and Bristol shopping centre. It’ll be interesting to witness how the band transcends the confines of a compact stage and a roomful of great expectations. -Bruce Novak
Ben Quad
Where: Aragon Ballroom / Directions
House of Blues / Directions
When: December 15, 6:30 PM
December 16, 5:30 PM
The ascendency of friends of the pod, Ben Quad, continues as they bring their unique spin on emo to the masses on their biggest tour yet with Lansing Michigan’s post-emo headliners Hot Mulligan, Heart Attack Man, and Spanish Love Songs. Ben Quad’s rise up the emo ranks since last year’s outstanding I’m Scared That’s All There Is has been great to see. They continue to push their sound forward, even threatening an all-screamo album following the response to the single “You’re Part of It.” Earlier this year they released the single Hand Signals featuring stellar new tunes “Would You Tell Picasso To Sell His Guitars?” and “Holding Patterns.” These songs continue to show off Ben Quad’s superpower of soaring choruses with intricate guitar interplay. If the new tunes in a live setting approach the energy of the music video for “Would You Tell Picasso To Sell His Guitars?“, everyone is in for a treat. At the very least, they’ve left us enough morsels of new music to get us through to when they put out their next album, whenever that might be. -Mark Joyner
UNCOVERED
The Spook School - Dress Up (Fortuna Pop! LP)
The Spook School formed out of University of Edinburgh in 2011 through mutual involvement in the local comedy scene. Judging by his stage hijinks, drummer Niall McCauley must have stood out as an enamored class clown. After releasing three albums, the quartet amicably closed the chapter on the band only to announce two return engagements (in Dublin and London) this December to commemorate the tenth anniversary of their Dress Up debut. The record’s title refers to how gender is a social construct that can be manipulated by outside appearances.
Gender identity and fluid sexuality were recurrent themes in their songs and an affection for the Buzzcocks permeated in both sound and spirit. Siblings Nye and Adam Todd were their principal songwriters, with Nye identifying as transgender. On the opener “Are You Who You Think You Are?“, Nye observes” “I know who I am and I know what I feel / So I have a problem accepting what is real / And are you who you think you are?” Bassist Anna Cory wistful voice provides a nice counterpoint to the Todd’s adenoidal registers and her self-penned “You Make It Sound Easy” shines in a ’80s Flatmates/Shop Assistants manner. In keeping with their initial introduction, absurd humor is not lost amidst their more serious observations as evidenced in the playfulness of “Can You Ever Trust a Man Who Thinks Matt Damon’s Really Cool?” and “Who Ya Gonna Call? Goat Buster!” Feeling marginalized by society at large, it’s refreshing to know that the members of Spook School continue to push back on irrelevancy and this current victory lap of sorts is recognition well deserved. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: