Not to gladhand myself — well, maybe a bit — I am a huge fan of this cover. I can’t recall where I took the picture and while I definitely sweetened it, I love the composition. I love the background pattern, and I love how the leaf at the bottom invisibly connects with the river. I love the overlaid spatter on XXX. I even somewhat like the font size!
Enough about scenery! Bring on the musical highlights!
EMA! Indie-electro at its finest! ‘The Grey Ship’ is exceptionally languid, but additional tracks escalate and feel like dirt pressed over a forlorn voice.
Unsurprisingly? Saw ’em at Chicago’s EMPTY BOTTLE for what was an incredibly emotive experience. Sadly, I doubt we’ll receive any new EMA material, but at least we have what we have.
THEE 50’S HIGH TEENS! Throwback early 60s garage rock, synths and all, helmed by righteously angry women whose temperament you can feel through this instrumental track.
WILD FLAG! I normally are not one for supergroups, but goddamn, this is one I could not resist, and the end result? Perfection. SLEATER-KINNEY’s Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss! HELIUM’s Mary Timony! THE MINDER’s Mary Timony!
‘Romance’ is absolutely succinct perfection. No flaws. It’s a raucous-but-tight production that builds perfectly from the opening synths to the Mototown infusion! Also, the chorus is so goddamn hooky and makes me grin every time I hear it.
(Yes, I also saw ’em at EMPTY BOTTLE and no one can take that stellar memory away from me.)
Back to set the scene! (Artist / Album / Song — links go to a video of the song, if available):
- SOAP&SKIN / Lovetune For Vacuum / DDMMYYYY
- BLAWAN / Bohla / Lavender (No official video, so enjoy this fan-made one that features John Travolta shoehorned into two scenes he shouldn’t be in.)
- YOUNG CIRCLES / Jungle Habits / 2012 (Audio only)
- NICO VEGA / Fury on Furt / Beast
- KATZENJAMMER / A Kiss Before You Go / Gypsy Flee
- THE GOOD THE BAD / From 018 To 033 / 028
- WILD FLAG / Wild Flag / Romance (Video directed by Tom Scharpling!)
- X-RAY SPEX / Germ Free Adolescents / Identity
- P.J. HARVEY / Let England Shake / The Words That Maketh Murder
- EMMY THE GREAT / Virtue / A Woman, A Woman, A Century Of Sleep
- EMA / Past Life Martyred Saints / The Grey Ship
- LYKKE LI / Wounded Rhymes / Sadness Is A Blessing
- THE PINEY GIR COUNTRY ROADSHOW / Jesus Wept / The Sheriff Of San Miguel
- EILEN JEWELL / Queen of the Minor Key / Queen of the Minor Key
- MAD JUANA / Kumpania / On The Side Of The Wild (Sadly unavailable to stream for some reason)
- THEE 50’S HIGH TEENS / Punch De Beat / Stoller In the Air
- CULTS / Cults / Abducted
- PEGGY SUE / Acrobats / Song & Dance
- TARANTELLA / Esqueletos / Dark Horse