Dig ‘in: The Stroppies, Stephen’s Shore, The Most Distant Object
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 Stroppies - Levity (Tough Love Records LP)
Behind Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australia implemented a “covid zero” policy committed to tracking down the origin of every breakout source and setting up lockdowns and quarantine zones. The protracted isolation undoubtedly created some mental health challenges, and so Levity became The Stroppies’ antidote to a vexing situation. Listening to the ten track release, the effortless pop vibe runs counter to the labored process of creating the songs in piecemeal fashion with members exchanging sound files prior to being able to convene properly to finalize their construction. With alumni from the likes of The Stevens, Twerps and Possible Humans, The Stroppies are well versed in the rich guitar pop culture that Melbourne has spawned. Angus Lord and Claudia Serfaty provide the bulk of the songwriting and comfortably wrap their voices together on the majority of Levity’s songs. What they started in 2017 as a bedroom pop project recording at home on a Tascam 4 track, has now bursted out to greater notoriety. I think they’d agree that it certainly feels good to get out of the house for a change! -Bruce Novak
Stephen’s Shore - Green (Meritorio Records EP)
There must be something in the water in Sweden that helps Swedes continually craft some of the best pop music in the world. That Sweden would produce a band like Stephen's Shore that makes perfect jingle jangle indie pop music shouldn't surprise us. Stephen's Shore has been honing their craft since 2014, and this may the best distillation of their talents yet. Each song on Green sounds fully realized while feeling light, almost effortless—the beauty of jingle jangles at it's finest! Early highlights for me include bookends "Ocean's Calling" and "Turn Things Around.” "Ocean's Calling" starts off with a steady beat and right amount of jangles while also having the right amount of dream pop, while "Turn Things Around" has sun soaked vocals perfectly matched with twangy guitar work. -Mark Joyner
The Most Distant Object - S/T (Ernest Jenning Record Co. LP)
Surveying the album artwork courtesy of Bird Machine printmaker Jay Ryan provides a good indication of what lies ahead with The Most Distant Object’s debut recording. A solitary space explorer drifts amongst the cosmos, observing the enveloping beauty and stillness but aware of not being the center of this universe. TMDO music collaborators Jason Harvey and Tom Fitzgerald have performed previously with Ryan in Whelms, and Harvey also teams with him and Kip McCabe in the long running Dianogah. Here the duo have expanded their horizons to produce an ambient, meditative soundscape that luxuriates in pulsating bass lines, gentle guitar embellishment and electronic flourishes. Emphasis is placed on experiencing a journey, not reaching a specific destination. Parts of the journey are devoid of narration and others pushed along with succinct vocal accompaniment that feel like they’re originating from a travel conductor. When guest vocalist Nora O’Connor pops up on the track “Ghost,” the effect is like witnessing a shooting star; undeniably beautiful yet fleeting. Yet those are the moments we long for. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Colleen Green
Where: Cole’s Bar / Directions
When: May 22, 9:30 PM
Performing behind her ever-present sunglasses, there’s a certain air of mystique surrounding Colleen Green. What started out as a protective measure to help ease anxiety on stage has become a signature look for her and one that she believes allows other girls to self-identify with her anonymous image. Green’s songs frequently explore making peace with her place in the world in journal-like narratives that surely mirror what some of her audience is experiencing. While punk originally inspired her to perform (and release her first cassette titled Milo Goes To Compton), traces of it only occasionally surface these days such as the Stooges influenced chorus of “I Wanna Be A Dog.” Perhaps the most significant residue of that influence is her no bullshit compositions driven by a persistent metronomic beat and layered vocals reminiscent of ‘60s girl groups. Like the album title from Green’s release this past September, it all sounds pretty cool! -Bruce Novak
Elephant Stone
Where: Beat Kitchen / Directions
When: May 26, 7:00 PM
When Elephant Stone took the Hotel Vegas stage this past SXSW fresh from their flight from Montreal, it was a sight to behold. On a resplendent afternoon fit for their dayglow music, sat a barefoot, cross-legged Rishi Dhir with a gorgeous vintage sitar in hand—an instrument nearly as tall as he. But that just goes to show the band’s dedication to their craft as transporting the instrument across an entire tour can be no easy task. Dhir has jokingly termed their music as “Hindie Rock,” but their authentic eastern influences and psychedelic flourishes sound organic and otherworldly. Elephant Stone can deliver a brisk pop song or settle into a simmering protracted jam. Always nimbly executed, their music is a welcome invitation to trip the light fantastic. -Bruce Novak
Kurt Vile & The Violaters
Where: Thalia Hall / Directions
When: May 27-29, 7:30 PM
If there hasn’t already been a study conducted on how listening to Kurt Vile affects blood pleasure readings, perhaps there should be. In these times when so many people are on edge, an opportunity to chill out seems to be just what the doctor would order. Like fellow Neil Young acolyte, J Mascis, Vile found blissful inspiration from the grunge godfather. But while Mascis will at times let out a tortured scream, Vile consistently stays cool as a cucumber—even when the Violaters’ backing instrumentation spills into frenzy. On “Fo Sho” from the band’s latest offering, (watch my moves), Vile reveals his devil-may-care attitude when he sings: “Even if I’m wrong / Gonna sing-a-my song / ’Til the ass crack o’ dawn / And it’s prolly gonna be another long song.” In other words, settle in, relax and give yourself completely over to the zen master! -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
The Saints - Know Your Product - The Best Of The Saints (Harvest compilation)
Chris Bailey’s passing in April closed the final chapter of The Saints, who originally formed in the hardscrabble Australian city of Brisbane, but were never particularly embraced in the country outside of an insular music community that included The Birthday Party and Go-Betweens. Bailey, himself, was an ex-pat—born when his parents were traveling in Kenya, he spent his early childhood in Belfast before the family emigrated to Brisbane when he was 7. Being the son of an IRA supporter helped shape his rebellious nature and socialist beliefs. Bailey teamed with the versatile guitarist Ed Kuepper, and hard-hitting drummer Ivor Hay to form the core responsible for their initial trio of transcendent albums—(I’m) Stranded, Eternally Yours and Prehistoric Sounds. The Know Your Product compilation covers the span on 1976-1978, and best captures The Saints’ acute influential period shaped by Bailey’s enormously soulful voice that was equally suited for R&B as it was for punk. With commercial success not forthcoming, Harvest dropped the band in 1979, causing the original members to splinter and Bailey assuming Kuepper’s guitar and composing duties to carry on thereafter with a rotating cast of support musicians. While the two of them had a contentious breakup where Kuepper for a time performed the band’s material under the sardonically named group The Aints, they did reconcile later and got back onstage for a few gigs in Australia in 2007 and 2009. The Chicago-born music program Sound Opinions, in homage to the band, leads their desert island selection segment with “(I’m) Stranded.” Which is another way of pointing out that there’s just some treasures in the world that we couldn’t possible envision being without. Rest in power, CB and The Saints. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: