The newest single from the all-teenage-girl Los Angeles rock band is pop punk perfection. While the Lindas earlier work is great, this song shows that they are maturing as musicians and songwriters. I eagerly anticipate their next release.
I have a fondness for melodic pop punk performed by female voices. The Brooklyn-based trio THICK provide exactly that. The band consists of Nikki Sisti (vocals, guitar), Kate Black (vocals, bass, synth), and Shari Page (vocals, drums). “Happiness” is the lead track of their album Happy Now released August 19, 2022.
Album: Endure Artist: Special Interest Release Date: November 4, 2022 Label: Rough Trade Records Ltd. Favorite Tracks:
Cherry Blue Intention
(Herman’s) House
Foul
Concerning Peace
L.A. Blues
Thoughts: The world needs more dance punk and that is what Special Interest provides. Imagine Riot Grrrl crossed with 90s house music and you begin to get the idea. The New Orleans band doesn’t overlook our troubled times but they do provide a release.
Album: Spirituals Artist: Santigold Release Date: September 9, 2022 Label: Little Jerk Records Favorite Tracks:
High Priestess
No Paradise
Ain’t Ready
Fall First
Thoughts: Genre-defying Santigold’s new release reimagines the African American folk tradition with synths, electric guitar, and her own ethereal vocals. Like many recent releases, the music grew out of the pandemic and addresses the feelings of grief, loneliness, and rage of our times. It’s a short album, 10 tracks in just over 30 minutes, but it packs a punch.
Album: Editrix Goes To Hell Artist: Editrix Release Date: June 3, 2022 Label: Exploding in Sound Favorite Tracks:
Editrix Goes To Hell
Queering Ska
Cowboy
Gut Project
Time Can’t Be Redeemed
Thoughts:
The punk pop trio from Western Massachusetts returns with a follow-up to their 2021 debut album Tell Me I’m Bad. Darkness and sweetness merge over swirling guitars with singsong lyrics. They’re swiftly becoming one of the most creative contemporary bands out there.
I’m reviewing two recent releases this week from The Linda Lindas and Deer Scout. These artists have little in common. The Linda Lindas are loud and have a bite while Deer Scout is quiet and contemplative. But they both have a DIY ethos, a lot of passion, and really short songs on short albums (the total playing length of Growing Up is 25:35, Woodpecker is onl 22:09). So if you have the time, and you probably do, check out these two new albums!
Album: Growing Up Artist: The Linda Lindas Release Date: April 8, 2022 Label: Epitaph Favorite Tracks:
Oh!
Growing Up
Talking to Myself
Why
Racist, Sexist Boy
Thoughts: The four members of Los Angeles band The Linda Lindas are aged between 11 and 17, so Growing Up is an appropriate title. But their brand of melodic punk demonstrates a lot of maturity in their musicality. The lyrics deal with the anxieties of teenage and preteen life, but also display a lot of wisdom. The music on this album is just infectious and I love it so.
Rating: ****1/2
Album: Woodpecker Artist: Deer Scout Release Date: April 8, 2022 Label: Carpark Records Favorite Tracks:
Cup
Synesthesia
Peace With the Damage
Breaking the Rock
Afterthought
Thoughts: Deer Scout is the stage name of Dena Miller, a New York-raised artist operating out of Philadelphia. The album features a bedroom-style folk pop sound that despite its stripped-down nature displays a lot of complexity. Deer Scout describes Woodpecker as a “record about memory and the subconscious” and their thoughtful lyrics as ruminating on things and sort them out. Another brilliant debut!
Soul Glo, a hardcore band from Philadelphia, have a lot to rage about – racism, politics, phony allies, and their sense of ostracism for being a predominantly Black punk band. The horn section adds a lot to these “three chords and the truth” guitar anthems.
Author: Kelefa Sanneh Title: Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres Narrator: Kelefa Sanneh Publication Info: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group Summary/Review:
Kelefa Sanneh, a former music critic for the New York Times, and writer for the New Yorker, revisists the history of popular music from the 1970s to today in a series of essays focusing on genres. These genres include the venerable traditions of Rock, R&B, and Country as well as the upstarts Punk, Hip-Hop, and Dance. The final essay focuses on the amorphous genre of Pop.
Sanneh is a fan of all these types of music so he brings in his personal experience when discussing them. I find that appropriate since music is such a personal thing. Sanneh does a great job at summarizing the history and the struggles of artists within these genres to remain true to their style. He also notes that over the past 50 years that each of these genres is converging to create a new “pop” music even at a time when streaming music platforms should allow greater splits.
This was a fun an informative book for a music fan.
Title: Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan Release Date: December 4, 2020 Director: Julien Temple Production Company: Infinitum Nihil | Nitrate Film | Wild Atlantic Pictures | BBC Music | Warner Music | Screen Ireland Summary/Review:
“People were always calling me a poet, but it’s very annoying to be called a poet when you’re a musician, because it means you’ve wasted your time writing the music.” – Shane MacGowan
This documentary is a straight-forward biography of singer/songwriter Shane MacGowan, most famous for his work with the Celtic punk band The Pogues, in that it covers his life from birth to the present. Straight-forward except that delightfully-weird animation that is used to recreate key moments of MacGowan’s life as well as what seems to be found footage to complement archival footage of MacGowan, his family, and The Pogues. MacGowan credits his childhood years on the family farm in Tipperary, Ireland with moulding is life. He started to drink at the age of 6, but also learned traditional music and lived on a land that still bore the scars of the Great Hunger and the Irish War of Independence.
The movie features original interviews with MacGowan and archival footage where he talks (mumbles, really) about his life and inspirations. There are also scenes of him in conversation with his friends actor Johnny Depp and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. Interviews with Macgowan’s parents, his sister Siobhan, and wife Victoria Mary Clarke fill out the story. I would argue the main flaws of this film is that it is overly long and repetitive. If there’s one thing anyone knows about Shane MacGowan is that he drinks a lot, so that point didn’t need to be beaten to death at the expense of, say, learning more about his songwriting process. Still, this is an insightful film about a complex and talented man.
Panorama of the Mountains 