Dig ‘in: Viagra Boys Momma Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werliin
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
Viagra Boys - Cave World (Year0001 LP)
Viagra Boys chronicle a world in reverse, where base guttural instincts overrule evolved thought. Cave World is a primitive, scuzzy document that inhabits the murky waters where The Cramps, Butthole Surfers and Jesus Lizard surreptitiously reside. Vocalist Sebastian Murphy is a man unhinged, ranting about creepy crawlers, troglodytes and monkey men between slugs of 7UP spiked with promethazine. The band is intent on pushing him over the edge with singeing guitars, squalling electronics and pummeling beats. By record’s end on “Return To Monke,” all hell has broken loose—the song’s protagonist has checked out of society and gone ape-shit in a Darwinesque stab at survival. In a world gone mad, Viagra Boys have presciently scripted the horror show. It’s not a pretty sight, but then again, it’s also hard to look away from. -Bruce Novak
Momma - Household Name (Lucky Number LP)
Momma’s “Rockstar” video is bursting with the type of iconography that provides a fitting insight into their tongue-in-cheek careerist statement—bedroom posters of Bowie and Cobain, faux MTV career doc, flakey drummer and singer with Smashing Pumpkins and Elton John obsessions. Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten started the band during their LA high school years with self-taught technique and modest ambitions that have given way to a “why not us” mentality. Household Name becomes their third long player and positions Momma for elevated notoriety with unabashed brashness and a bolstered sonic presence abetted by the full time presence of producer/bassist Aron Kobayashi Ritch. Conceived as a summertime road trip record, it’s a top down singalong adventure with hooks and harmonies galore. In chronicling life’s ephemeral moments, Momma aim to leave a lasting impression. “I wanna make a hit and run,” comes a loaded line from “Rockstar,” an indication that there’ll be no looking back from here on out. -Bruce Novak
Oren Ambarchi / Johan Berthling / Andreas Werliin - Ghosted (Drag City LP)
I was first tipped off to this release by our friends at Smashed Plastic (they pressed it!). I know we are never supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I decided to give this album a listen because its cover photo of a relatively empty city basketball court lit up at night struck such a chord with me. Going in sight unseen was a great experience, I didn't even know what kind of music these musicians made. Turns out it is some great experimental jazz. Ambarchi, Berthling, and Werliin are veteran experimental improvisors who have worked on and off with one another over the past 20 years, and to me it is not hard to see why they come back to one another. This is an extremely tight album, where they lock onto a groove early in each track, and then proceed to let the composition grow at its own pace. Berthling's bass is the standout for me across the album laying the foundation for Ambarchi's guitar and Werliin's drums to drift in and out and flutter about, especially on album highlight “II.” It turns out sometimes you need to trust your friends when they say something is worth listening to, and it can be a blessing to go in knowing nothing of what you are about to explore. -Mark Joyner
UPCOMING
SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE
Where: Pitchfork Green Stage / Directions
When: July 15, 2:30 PM
July 16, 10 PM
Pitchfork Music Festival has a long history of plucking up and coming indie bands and having them play one of their main stages early in the day on Friday (Whitney, DEHD, Lucy Dacus) and this year's up-and-comer filling that spot is Philly's own SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE. Riding the wave of last year's breakout release on Saddle Creek, Entertainment, Death, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE are sure to put on a high energy show to try and capture the expansive experimentation displayed on the album. I look forward to seeing how the songs translate to a giant open expanse, but I feel like the elements of psychedelia should sound great flowing across the field. There are definitely some elements of Animal Collective interspersed with the percussion of Death Grips in the mix here. The tender moments that build to more expansive rocking should play quite well out at Pitchfork. - Mark Joyner
Karate
Where: Sleeping Village / Directions
Pitchfork Blue Stage Stage / Directions
When: July 15, 8:00 PM
July 16, 6:30 PM
This year's long awaited reunion set at Pitchfork Music Festival will be filled by post-rock/indie/post-hardcore band Karate. Karate's original run ended in 2005, and was a journey of music exploration that started with more standard post-hardcore music (“Gasoline” from their self-titled debut) and grew to less structured more jazzy later work (“Water” from their last album Pockets) . I love that they are playing the Blue stage this year because it is the most intimate setting at Pitchfork, and will allow the intricacy of their songs to breathe without being drowned out across the bigger fields of the Green and Red stages. For me, the middle ground between their beginning point, and their end point is my preferred version of Karate, so I am hoping we hear plenty of songs off of their 1998 album The Bed Is In The Ocean. Whatever they end up selecting, we should just be happy that they are back together and playing music together again. -Mark Joyner
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Where: Shubas Tavern / Directions
Lollapalooza T-Mobile Stage / Directions
When: July 28, 10PM
July 29, 2:45PM
It’s a rarity for bands to have multiple songwriters/vocalists when so much of a group’s identity resides on the person behind the mic. Seeing how Rolling Blackouts C.F. have three stellar tunesmiths—Fran Kearney, Tom Russo and Joe White—that’s a luxury beyond compare. The ability for the band members to check their egos at the door also goes a long way to explain how seamlessly their songs come together to sound as a unified whole rather than disparate grabs for the spotlight. RBCF uphold the tradition of superlative Melbourne indie guitar pop, playing with pace and purpose. Their decade-long run has featured consistently engaging records, the latest of which, Endless Rooms released in May on Sub Pop, retains their keen melodic sensibility with a slightly broadened instrumental platform that utilizes electronics and loop effects. In a crowded line-up that typically defines Lollapalooza, this is one act that you’ll definitely welcome giving space to because their tunes are likely to linger in your head for a long time thereafter. -Bruce Novak
TV Priest
Where: Beat Kitchen / Directions
When: July 31, 7:00 PM
The erosion of trust towards our political leaders has manifested itself in increasing polarization; Liberals vs. Conservatives, Idealists vs. Pessimists, the Haves vs. the Have-Nots. Post-Brexit, the UK exists as a heavily fractured society, wholly evidenced by the recent resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. TV Priest capture this homeland turmoil with their music that teeters on a tightrope between finding safe ground or falling into the abyss. After last year’s blistering debut, Uppers, the band dropped My Other People in June that showcases vocalist Charlie Drinkwater’s greater holistic mindset with more self-reflection and human understanding. By no means are TV Priest abandoning the good fight, rather they come to realize that a few well placed body blows are more readily effective than punching to the point of complete exhaustion. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Primary Colours (Goner Records LP)
This week’s Dig ‘in featured artists Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and Oren Ambarchi were spawned from the Melbourne indie music scene, but perhaps no one is more connected with the movement than Mikey Young. As a recording and mastering engineer, Young has worked with such Australian luminaries as Dick Diver, Stroppies, Royal Headache, feedtime and Amyl and The Sniffers, among countless others. He’s also a founding member of Total Control and Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Performing as the group’s guitarist under the pseudonym Eddy Current, Young helped fashion ECSR’s primitive, garage soundscape. Primary Colours, released in 2008 as the band’s second LP, is a classic that would slot comfortably next to (I’m) Stranded and Fun House. The band’s creation was pure happenstance—the result of an impromptu jam among the members following an alcohol-fueled Xmas party at the vinyl pressing plant where they worked. Primary Colours mirrors the spontaneity and fun-fueled joyride of that first outing. Brendan Huntley (aka Brendan Suppression), with his signature gloved mic grip and marbled-mouth delivery, presented an intriguing stage presence likely emboldened by Dutch courage. His neurosis effectively plays out over the albums’s ten tracks, cementing an identifiable listener bond. The opening track, “Memory Lane,” was even plucked for an AT&T Halloween commercial, which is rather hauntingly beautiful if you consider the odds of that ever happening! -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: