ALTER.NATION #59
Big Thief, Danny Brown, Kim Gordon, Comet Gain, Starcrawler, Allah-Las, The Hecks, Rocketship, Julien Chang, Fabienne Delsol, 808 State, Carla dal Forno
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"Forgotten Eyes"
ALTER.NATION #59 on DEEZER
Brooklyn indie rock quartet steered by the vulnerable songwriting of singer/guitarist Adrianne Lenker.
Big Thief -
Forgotten Eyes from Two Hands
Following quickly on the heels of the spacey, artful U.F.O.F. -- by five months, to be exact -- Big Thief's fourth long-player, Two Hands, was recorded just days after its contrasting sister album. However, while U.F.O.F. was tracked at a wooded facility outside of Seattle, the band deliberately moved to the 100-plus-degree environs of a desert studio west of El Paso for Two Hands... Though less improvised-sounding on the whole than its predecessor, the loose Two Hands was recorded live with few overdubs by the same crew (producer Andrew Sarlo and engineer/mixer Dom Monks, though drummer James Krivchenia helped mix this time around)... It's followed by catchier album highlight "Forgotten Eyes," which settles into the visceral, full-band folk-rock of Big Thief's earlier albums but with a distinctly immediate recording quality. (Though any such descriptions are relative in the case of this band.)... While it's hard to talk about Two Hands in 2019 without the context of the stunning U.F.O.F., the album's quality stands on its own, offering its own grade of intimacy, sound, and feel for alternate moods.
Unique Detroit rapper whose hood/hipster personality, embrace of social media, and prolific mixtape output fostered an underground phenomenon.
Danny Brown -
Change Up from uknowhatimsayin¿
Danny Brown took his grotesquerie to its highest level yet with Atrocity Exhibition. Concurrent with his divergent pursuits and evolving public image -- he's now done a sitcom theme, dipped into acting, hosted a talk show, and has spoken about living less recklessly -- the rapper dials back a bit with his follow-up and second Warp LP, executive produced by Q-Tip. Paul White is still one of Brown's preferred co-pilots, producing or co-producing four of the cuts. The uptick in serious matters is signaled with the slow-churning rhythm undergirding the weary but resolute opener "Change Up," as in "Never change up," "clench my teeth, knuckle up."...
Iconic indie rock musician and feminist, best known for her work with Sonic Youth and several solo projects. A major figure on the American indie rock scene of the '80s and onward, Kim Gordon is best known for her work with the influential group Sonic Youth. However, in many respects Gordon was as well regarded for her writings and interviews as for her music; she was willing to discuss feminism in a way that was as thoughtful but direct as Sonic Youth's music. Gordon was also willing to explore the outer limits of experimental rock music, both with Sonic Youth and her various side projects, and her most advanced work helped to link indie rock with the true musical avant-garde.
Kim Gordon -
Hungry Baby from
No Home Record
With every year that passes after Sonic Youth's breakup, Kim Gordon's art becomes more liberated and more revealing. As she focused on the visual art career she sidelined for decades, her music shattered her limiting persona as an aloof, cooler-than-cool alt-rock icon while holding onto her most essential strengths. This is especially true of No Home Record, her fearless, witty and sensual solo debut. It feels like equal parts fresh start and homecoming for good reason: Gordon began making the album soon after she returned to her hometown of Los Angeles in late 2015. Frequently, it feels like she challenges Californian stereotypes as much as she dispels the received wisdom about her music... Conversely, she cuts loose on "Hungry Baby," a nervy, sexy rave-up that's far wilder than the deadpan affect she often cultivated in the past. Elsewhere, No Home Record proves just as challenging as Body/Head's music... With its raw edges and open ends, No Home Record exposes the deepest levels of Gordon's art, and they're more thought-provoking and bracing than ever.
British indie band plays timeless, reverb-drenched indie pop that never quite sounds new but never gets old. Led by guitarist and vocalist David Feck (aka David Bower and David Christian), Comet Gain are a British indie pop band whose music is a freewheeling, literate fusion of folk-rock, twee pop, garage rock, R&B, punk, and any number of points in between.
Comet Gain -
We're All Fucking Morons from Fireraisers Forever
When a band has been around as long Comet Gain have -- over 25 years -- and keep making great records, it's easy to take them for granted. They have a foolproof plan for always getting the full attention of their listeners: make the angry songs feel like the attack of a swarm of insane bees, make the pop songs pop like giant bubblegum bubbles, make the sad songs cry a bucket of tears sad... Everything clicks into place right from the start and the emotion, the songcraft and the power hooks never let up. Comet Gain may have been around a long, lomng time but they have never felt as alive or as vital as they do on this amazing and important album.
L.A. punk rockers known for their wild, theatrical shows and glam-metal overtones. Punk rockers Starcrawler formed in 2015 in Los Angeles, California and quickly formed a sound and attitude that placed them somewhere between the punk/hard rock of fellow L.A. natives the Runaways and the shock tactics of legendary metal influencers Black Sabbath.
Starcrawler -
Bet My Brains from Devour You
... On their second long-player, 2019's Devour You, they've eased back on the lyrical decadence just a bit (no songs about oral sex this time, though there is one about masturbation) but have pumped up the guitars and drums, and thanks to producer and engineer Nick Launay, they've managed to sound glossier and dirtier at the same time... Starcrawler blend the snot of pop punk, the swagger of glam rock, and the eager darkness of vintage metal with the arrogantly blank vocal sneer of Arrow de Wilde, who sounds like the love child of Cherie Currie and Aubrey Plaza. That said, if de Wilde often sounds like she hates you (or someone else nearby) despite the fact she doesn't actually care, the band sound tougher and more locked in on their second effort. Henri Cash's guitar has gained some welcome muscle and flexibility, barking with a new degree of authority, while bassist Tim Franco and drummer Austin Smith are tight enough to hold these songs together and loose enough to put both groove and attitude behind the music...
Los Angeles combo Allah-Las play a reverb-drenched, moody version of garage rock. Created by record store employees with a love for laid-back 60s sounds that verged on somnambulant psychedelia, the LA band Allah-Lahs documented the sounds and moods of sunny West Coast days with nothing to do but strum guitars and gently harmonise.
Allah-Las -
Roco Ono from Lahs
After three records spent digging deep into the super chill fantasy version of LA, complete with surf guitars, Allah-Las do things a little differently on Lahs. The band still play with the relaxed style of four guys with nowhere to go and all the time in the world to not get there, but this time around they are looking outside of their comfort zone and trying some new things. Not only that but they've given their well-established sound a makeover; stripping back a least three layers of reverb, bringing the vocals closer to the front and allowing the drums to snap a little bit here and there... not just sticking to gauzy psych and sleepy surf music. There's a little bit of slow motion, last call disco ("Roco Ono,")... There may be moments that give fans expecting another laidback psych record pause, but on the whole the band succeed in refurbing their template and coming up with something that's both extremely chill and interesting at the same time.
Chicago-based group whose sound has evolved from clanging, dissonant noise rock to mutated new wave. Chicago-based group the Hecks started out making a clanging, dissonant brand of experimental art rock reminiscent of Sonic Youth and Wire. However, by the release of their second album, 2019's My Star, they had drastically reconstructed their sound into a mutant blend of jittery new wave and synth-heavy funk.
The Hecks -
Heat Wave from My Star
On their early releases, the Hecks (initially the duo of Andy Mosiman and Zach Hebert) played a tense, angular form of deconstructed post-punk that seemed to focus on certain elements of rock music songcraft rather than build them into one solid, sturdy package. This included tracks made up primarily of clanging, throbbing guitars or scorched noise drones. After the band released their self-titled debut album in 2016, engineer Dave Vettraino joined the group full-time, and keyboard player Jeff Graupner soon became their fourth member. This added an entirely new dimension to the Hecks' music, causing them to scrap the initial sessions for their second album and completely rework the material. With My Star, they've reinvented themselves as a twisted new wave act, injecting Day-Glo synths into their jittery tunes and channeling the repetition of their earlier work into something more driving and hypnotic...
Sacramento trio whose 1990s hat tip to 60s pop earned them indie legend status. Sacramento, CA-based indie-pop favorite Rocketship was the brainchild of singer/guitarist Dustin Reske, who formed the group in 1993 with bassist Verna Brock, keyboardist Heidi Barney and drummer Jim Rivas.
Rocketship -
Under Streetlights Shadows from Thanks to You
Following up a classic album is never easy. Roughly 99.9% of bands or artists lucky enough to make something that stands out as a paragon of their genre never get within range of it ever again. That seemed to be the case with Rocketship. Their 1996 album A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness is a brilliant distillation of indie pop sweetness, chamber pop skill, shoegaze softness and dream pop hooks played on space age keyboards and perfectly jangled guitars and sung by a chorus of voices dialed in on the special frequency between lovelorn and melancholy... Cue the record scratch sound effect because 2019's Thanks to You is exactly that. Working mainly with vocalist Ellen Osborn, Reske concocted a record that nearly measures up to their debut in every way and it's clear that while time has passed and there are new elements added to Rocketship's sound, Reske's gifts as a writer and producer haven't faded at all. Whether dipping back into the space age shoegaze sound (complete with vintage organ chords) on the opening "Under Streetlights Shadows,"...
Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer whose shape-shifting songs reflect his classical training and omnivorous musical taste. Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Julien Chang combines his classical training and encyclopedic knowledge of pop music into shape-shifting songs that balance experience and wonder. Though he was just 19 when his debut album, Jules, was released in 2019, its kaleidoscopic mix of jazz, folk, R&B, and pop boasted a sophistication beyond his years.
Julien Chang -
Moving Parts from Jules
In some ways, it's hard to believe Julien Chang made Jules while he was a high school senior. His classical training, skills as a multi-instrumentalist, and encyclopedic knowledge of pop music all suggest the experience of a significantly older artist. However, in other, more important ways, Jules could have only been made by someone so young... As he jumps from one sound to the next over the course of each song, the detours he takes are just as engaging as his main ideas... That Jules is so hard to pin down is a big part of its appeal; wondering where he'll go next is almost as exciting as the music he's already made. One thing is for sure: This album is an introduction to a first-rate musical mind.
Born in Limoges, France, Fabienne Delsol combines French pop with classic British beat. French-born vocalist Fabienne Delsol started her career as lead singer of the beat group-obsessed Bristols, then branched out on her own with a sound that started off in similar fashion only with some psychedelia and French pop added to the mix.
Fabienne Delsol -
J’ai Fait De Lui Un Reve from Four
After taking a long break from recording, Fabienne Delsol returns with another light-hearted and snappy album that combines the hookiness of the beat group boom, the drama of vintage French pop, and the murky swirl of psychedelia. Her previous solo albums were helmed by Liam Watson at his famed Toerag studio; this time around Delsol takes half the wheel, with the studio's engineer Luke Oldfield also steering. They get a sound that's a little less reverb coated and a bit snappier, bringing Delsol's sound a little closer to the modern era. Not close enough to be be bland or slick; just enough to make the album sound less like a long-lost curio. As before, the songs are split between newly written tracks and covers of decades-old obscurities, both sung by Delsol in her sophisticated style... Delsol also covers a classic Françoise Hardy song from 1968, "J’ai Fait De Lui Un Rêve," capturing the song's stately charms while adding some buzzing guitars and soaring Mellotron. This song and the rest of the covers are done exactly right, with respect to the original but played and sung with unique style and personality. Delsol and her crew have plenty of each, and they make the covers sounds as much hers as the songs skillfully written for her by Gardiner. Four is another special record from an artist who can do no wrong, except for not making albums more regularly.
Manchester techno band with immense impact on world of electronica. A pioneer of the acid house sound, 808 State formed in Manchester, England in 1988 when Martin Price, the owner of the city's legendary record store Eastern Bloc and the founder of the independent label Creed, first joined forces with local musician and producer Graham Massey.
808 State -
Skylon from Transmission Suite
The acid house pioneers return with an album inspired by Manchester’s electronic music scene, past and present.
808 State are back with Transmission Suite, their first album in nearly two decades.
Drawing on the rich history of Manchester’s electronic music scene, as well as certain members of the city’s new guard, the album is described as an immersion in “their home city of Manchester, and the ghosts that swirl around it.”
Australian singer/multi-instrumentalist who writes sparse, haunting tunes as part of trio F ingers in addition to solo work... Carla dal Forno writes haunting, downcast tunes influenced by post-punk, dub, and ambient pop.
Carla dal Forno -
Hype Sleep from Look Up Sharp
Breaking away from the dubby abstractions of her group F ingers, Australian singer/songwriter Carla dal Forno made her solo debut in 2016 with You Know What It's Like, a magnificent album of ambient pop tunes that prompted comparisons to obscure names like Kendra Smith and In Gowan Ring... dal Forno's second album contains some of her most direct compositions, with clearer vocals and more upfront melodies. While still sparse and haunting, this album doesn't feel as detached, and dal Forno's sentiments aren't as ambiguous as they were before.
Big Thief, Danny Brown, Kim Gordon, Comet Gain, Starcrawler, Allah-Las, The Hecks, Rocketship, Julien Chang, Fabienne Delsol, 808 State, Carla dal Forno
