Dig ‘in: Thee Sacred Souls, Stella Donnelly, The Eastern Dark
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
Thee Sacred Souls - S/T (Daptone Records LP)
Question: when’s the last time you saw a new band perform at a small club and it felt so special and unique that you had the overwhelming feeling that this opportunity will never present itself again?!? On a recent Sunday night at the sold out Empty Bottle, the San Diego based soul/r&b band Thee Sacred Souls achieved just that, and brought every single person in the club along for one of the sweetest, most positive sets of music I have seen in years. Led by estimable singer Josh Lane, and supported by the ace rhythm section of Alex Garcia and Sal Samano, Daptone offered them a recording deal on the spot after seeing the live show, and they have racked up over 10 million streams and caught the attention of the recording industry. At the Bottle they were sharp and fresh from the previous nights gig at the Thalia Hall Block Party, and the rapturous reception they received was thrilling. When Lane came down into the crowd the love in the room was vibrating. With 12 songs expertly arranged and produced—not nearly a dud in the bunch—and at a modest length of 39 minutes, Thee Sacred Souls is my front runner for album of the year. They deserve to be huge. -Wade Iverson
Stella Donnelly - Flood (Secretly Canadian LP)
Stella Donnelly describes her sophomore album as more trial and error than the streamlined effort that went into creating her Beware of the Dogs debut. For one, band members were encouraged to explore secondary instruments, which for Donnelly resulted in the majority of the compositions being written and played on piano. At one point, the track inventory swelled past forty numbers and additional time was required to pare down to the ending eleven. The revised working arrangement went outside the group’s comfort zone and allowed for more vulnerability in both song structure and lyrical content. There’s a serenity to Flood that reflects the leisureliness in which it was created, and while Donnelly still finds plenty of injustices to take issue with, she knows that the endgame will take more patience than what a knee-jerk reaction provides. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Luck Boys Confusion
Where: Riot Fest (Roots Stage) / Directions
When: September 16, 1:25 PM
Lucky Boys Confusion were formed in the Chicago suburbs in 1997 by Kaustubh "Stubhy" Pandav, Adam Krier, Jason Schultejann, Ryan Fergus and Joe Sell. If you were into the Chicago punk or pop punk scene in the early aughts, you’ll remember this band for songs like “Fred Astaire,” “Atari” or “Hey Driver.” You’d be forgiven if you thought that Lucky Boys were no longer together. In 2006 the band went on a lengthy hiatus and didn’t return until 2017’s Stormchasers album. If you weren’t aware of or haven’t checked this album out, I recommend that you do. In my opinion, it contains some of LBC’s strongest work to date. Personally, I’d say listen to the whole album but if you’re short on time some tracks to start with are “It’s After Midnight,” “Sun In My Eyes” and “Name in Lights.” Nowadays LBC spends most of their time playing shows around Chicago and the Riot Fest performance represents only their second appearance this year. I’ll be there and hope to see you too! -Ross Tolinski
Mannequin Pussy
Where: Riot Fest (Roots Stage) / Directions
When: September 17, 12:30 PM
Missy Dabice thrives on chaos and energy, characteristics that define the band she founded with guitarist Thanasi Paul a decade ago. Paul’s recent departure and the pandemic downtime provided Dabice with a new perspective that was less focused on the present than mapping an equitable future. With increasing divides in economic and political realms, she’s astute to know that they’ll be no return to normal—our scars will continue to be visible no matter how hard we attempt to cover them up. On stage, the group elicits a dose of scream therapy that has a bit of healing power of its own. In a world where there’s a lack of consensus for greater good, catharsis is an outcome we’ll gladly accept. -Bruce Novak
Jawbox
Where: Cobra Lounge / Directions
Riot Fest (Roots Stage) / Directions
When: September 17, 10:00 PM
September 18, 2:00 PM
Emerging in 1989 from the fertile D.C. Dischord scene, Jawbox reached peak popularity with For Your Own Special Sweetheart—their third LP and Atlantic debut that was released in 1994. Following one more studio album a couple years on, the band wrapped up in 1997 only to re-emerge for a 2009 performance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon to mark the remastered reissue of Special Sweetheart that came out on DeSoto Records run by their bassist Kim Coletta. Another decade passed before a full-fledged reunion commenced. The final show of that tour is captured on Live At Metro Chicago 2019 that the band self-released last year. Jawbox’s ties to Chicago have always been strong; they dedicated “Jackpot Plus” on the live recording to Naked Raygun, enlisted Bob Weston for the Special Sweetheart remaster, and participated in a split single with Tar on Touch and Go/Dischord with each band covering the other’s song that went by the title “Static.” Coletta and vocalist/guitarist J. Robbins have been the mainstays throughout, with drummer Zach Barocas coming on board following their second album and Brooks Harlan recently joining to supplement on guitar and vocals. That quartet dropped The Revisionist EP in July with re-recordings of a couple of songs from their Grippe debut along with a spirited cover of Wire’s “Lowdown.” Time will tell if any new originals are in the offing, but having the opportunity to catch them on stage again is consolation enough. -Bruce Novak
Mom Jeans.
Where: Riot Fest (Roots Stage) / Directions
When: September 16, 1:25 PM
Pop punk peaked in the early aughts, but has never fully gone away. Mom Jeans. is a band that could easily have fit in right alongside Blink-182, Fall Out Boy and New Found Glory. Austin Carango and Eric Butler formed the band in Berkeley, CA in 2014 and have released three full length albums since. The most recent, Sweet Tooth, is a combination of jokey and emo lyrics with some of the catchiest melodies you’ll ever hear. Some standout tracks on this album include “What’s Up?,” White Trash Millionaire” and Anime Theme Song.” While Sweet Tooth is the most polished of their albums, both Best Buds and Puppy Love have some great punk tracks and offered a glimpse of what was to follow. -Ross Tolinski
UNCOVERED
The Eastern Dark - Where Are All The Single Girls? (Half A Cow Records compilation)
The Celibate Rifles culled their name from The Sex Pistols, but when James Darroch departed the band in 1984, he had another iconic punk group in mind to serve as an inspiration point. Sydney’s The Eastern Dark were renowned for opening each set with a different Ramones cover that they dispensed of in chronological order. Some of their originals also bore tracings of the Queens natives with titles like “Julie Is a Junkie,” “Johnny And Dee Dee” and “Julie Loves Johnny.” Enlisting Radio Birdman’s Rob Younger as their producer, The Eastern Dark shot from the hip with a ragged intensity, highlighted by Darroch’s irresistible guitar hooks and passionate singing. He was never fond of the excessive padding that could be found on most full-length releases, so the band opted for a debut single, and followed-up with a five song EP that hit hard and fast. Life in that fast lane came to a crashing end when Darroch lost control of their van en route to a slate of Melbourne gigs in March of 1986. The accident claimed his life and hospitalized bassist Bill Gibson and drummer Geoff Milne, who eventually recovered to resume long-standing music careers. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: