Deriving their name from their favorite PJ Harvey song “Meet Ze Monsta,” Dutch indie trio Black Monsoon — Jacky (guitar, vocals), Marjolin (drums, vocals) and Teun (guitar, vocals) — have received attention across the Netherlands and the European Union for a sound that the cognoscenti have favorably described to early Nirvana,The Stooges and Sonic Youth.
2018’s Joes Brands-recorded, self-titled debut EP saw the band quickly establishing their sound, rooted in unusual guitar tunings and drill machine-like solos earned the band opening sets for Sonic Youth‘s Steve Shelley, L.A. Witch and Belgian JOVM mainstays Whispering Sons. They also earned sets at Popronde Festival, the touring festival for emerging and up-and-coming Dutch bands.
2019’s “Jabberwocky,” “Losing” and “Pantomime” were released to critical praise. Building upon a growing profile across The Netherlands, the trio released their Jan Schenk-recorded full-length debut, Pantomime in 2020.
The band adheres to defiantly DIY ethos and in the winter of 2020-2021, the band attracted attention through a unique album release tour: The band organized a video release tour, featuring live footage of the band playing the album’s material at unique locations for each song, including an art gallery and a skate park, to present the song within the most appropriate atmosphere.
Since then, the duo signed to London-based label Civil War, and have toured across Germany and the UK, while recording new material that reportedly sees the band pushing their sound in new directions. “Broken,” the first single from that batch of new material is a grungy, power chord-driven, mosh pit friendly ripper that will bring back memories of Bleach and Incesticide-Nirvana, Veruca Salt and others on your beaten up Walkman.
Austin-based trio Boss Battle specialize in a sludgy and dirty alt rock/grunge-meets pop sound anchored around precise beats, stomach-dropping synth bass lines, walls of analog synth, scorching guitar and dual male/female vocals. While being heavy enough to thrash along with, the Austin-based outfit’s work has always been catchy and melodic enough to sing along to — presumably with a beer raised in the air.
So far, through the release of a handful of singles and EPs, Boss Battle has been compared to The Jesus Lizard, Pixies, The Dead Weather, Deftones and Failure among a list of others. Building upon a growing profile locally and elsewhere, the band will be releasing a handful of singles over the course of the next year.
The band’s latest single “Burned Alive” is a sludgy and soulful dirge, anchored around scorching riffs, whirring electronics, thunderous drumming and enormous, sing-along worthy hook and choruses within an expansive yet grunge-inspired song structure. The song’s arrangement serves as lush yet anthemic bed for remarkably melodic, powerhouse vocals.
“‘Burned Alive’ might be the simplest yet most melodic song we’ve written,” the band’s Chico Jones says. “All the parts landed quickly. The arrangement was straight forward. I remember Ben suggesting that we kill any intro and start cold with the lyrics and music. Bang! you’re in the middle of it! I also remember recording the vocal lines into my phone almost immediately after we wrote the guitar and drums. I am proud of the melodies. Definite singalong feels.”
“The lyrics took a while though—and several rewrites as well,” Jones continues. “But I like where we landed with the words … The vibe is sort of this Flowers for Algernon perspective but only the worst parts. Abandon all hope… And Erin really nails that emotion at the end— so good. I also can tell that the band geek in me is giving a shoutout to influences that use a lot of space in their riffs . It’s as if the beginning is just an excuse for that drop at the end— but in reality you have to hammer everyone for a bit before you take them for a slow ride.Oh yeah I’m also not really playing chords — why are there so many strings on this thing?”
Seattle-based grunge legends Pearl Jam — Eddie Vedder (vocals), Jeff Ament (bass), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar) and Matt Cameron drums) — will be releasing their twelfth studio album, the Andrew Watt-produced Dark Matter through Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on April 19, 2024. Dark Matter is the band’s first batch of material since 2020’s critically acclaimed Gigaton.
Last year, the grunge legends retreated to Malibu‘s Shangri-La Studios, where they simply plugged their instruments in and played with producer Andrew Watt at the helm. Writing and recording in a frenzied and passionate burst of inspiration, with the musicians facing one another in the same space, communicating sonically and musically at the highest level, with the album being completed in three weeks.
The album channels the shared spirit of a group of lifelong collaborators and creative brothers in one room, playing as if their lives depended on it. For the band, all of the blood, sweet, tears and energy of a storied and legendary career felt renewed and poured into the album’s material.
“I’m getting chills, because I have good memories. We’re still looking for ways to communicate,” Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder says. “We’re at this time in our lives when you could do it or you could not do it, but we still care about putting something out there that is meaningful and we hopefully think is our best work. No hyperbole, I think this is our best work.”
“What Ed said about getting us in a room at this point, we felt like we were about to make a really important record. A lot of that had to do with the atmosphere Andrew set up,” the band’s Jeff Ament says. “He has encyclopedic knowledge of our history, not only as a band and how we wrote songs, but as players. He could pinpoint things we did on old songs to the point where I was like, ‘What the fuck is he talking about?’ His excitement was contagious. He’s a force. I just want to say thanks for keeping us on track. I couldn’t be prouder of us as a band. I feel so grateful for the fans, but mostly for my brothers and these people I’ve made music with.”
Dark Matter‘s first single, the swaggering album title track “Dark Matter” is built around a bombastic and forceful power chord riff, thunderous boom bap-inspired drumming, enormous arena rock friendly hooks and choruses paired with Vedder’s imitable, impassioned delivery. “Dark Matter” seems to pay tribute to the band’s legacy with the song at points bringing back memories of their legendary first three albums — 1991’s Ten, 1993’s Vs. and 1994’s Vitalogy — but with a modern take that reveals a band constantly and willing to push their sound in bold new directions while continuing to be impassioned and unflaggingly earnest in everything they do. Simply put, they may be older — hell all of us are getting older — but this song rips as much as their beloved, classic period.
Dark Matter features cover art by light painting artist Alexandr Gnezdilov. Light painting is an artistic form of photography, where images are created by adjusting a camera’s exposure for an extended period and using a light source, such as a flashlight to “paint” in the dark. The album cover art was crafted using a large, self-made kaleidoscope. Each letter visible on the cover was individually captured and handwritten midair with a specially designed flashlight to create the pearlescent effect.
The band will celebrate indie record stores with the release of a special edition of Dark Matter on Record Store Day, April 20, 2024. You can find that special edition only at participating stores. To get more information and find participating store, check out Record Store Day’s website: https://www.recordstoreday.com.
Last but definitely not least, Pearl Jam will be supporting Dark Matter with an extensive world tour — the first time, the band has announced a new album and tour, with full tour dates simultaneously.
The world tour will see the band playing 25 cities in nine countries and will see them playing much of North America, including a two night run at Madison Square Garden, September 3, 2024 and September 4, 2024, as well as stops at Wrigley Field, Fenway Park and their first hometown shows in six years at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. The North American tour will feature support from Deep Sea Diver (leg 1) and Glen Hansard (leg 2).
The tour also sees the band’s first New Zealand and Australian dates in over a decade. Pixies will serve as support for those dates.
Tickets will be available two ways:
1. A Ten Club members-only presale will be held through Ticketmaster Request for eligible members. Only paid Ten Club members active as of Monday, February 12 are eligible to participate in this presale. More info at pearljam.com
2. Fans can register for a chance to participate in the Dark Matter World Tour 2024 registration sale at shops.ticketmasterpartners.com/pearl-jam by Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 PM local time for Europe, UK, Australia and New Zealand shows and by Sunday, February 18 at 11:59 pm PT for North America shows. This will be the only way for fans to participate in the onsale. Registration does not guarantee access to the sale.
The tour will use all-in pricing across all North America, Europe and UK shows to ensure the ticket price listed is the full out-of-pocket price inclusive of fees.
For fans in North America who can’t use their tickets, Pearl Jam and Ticketmaster will offer a Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange beginning at a later date to give fans the best chance to buy tickets at face value. To help protect the Exchange, Pearl Jam has also chosen to make tickets for this tour mobile only and restricted from transfer. This applies to all shows except those in Illinois and New York where non-transferability is prohibited by law. You must have a valid bank account or debit card within the country of the event(s) in order to sell through the Fan-to-Fan Face Value Ticket Exchange.
All tour dates are below.
Dark Matter World Tour Dates: Date City Venue May 04 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena May 06 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena May 10 Portland, OR Moda Center May 13 Sacramento, CA Golden 1 Center May 16 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena May 18 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena May 21 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum May 22 Los Angeles, CA Kia Forum May 25** Napa Valley, CA BottleRock Festival May 28 Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena May 30 Seattle, WA Climate Pledge Arena Jun 22 Dublin, IE Marlay Park Jun 25 Manchester, UK Manchester Co-Op Live Jun 29 London, UK Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Jul 02 Berlin, DE Waldbühne Jul 03 Berlin, DE Waldbühne Jul 06 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi Jul 08 Barcelona, ES Palau Sant Jordi Jul 11** Madrid, SE Mad Cool Festival Jul 13** Lisbon, PT NOS Alive Festival Aug 22 Missoula, MT Washington-Grizzly Stadium Aug 26* Indianapolis, IN Ruoff Music Center Aug 29 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field Aug 31 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field Sep 03 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Sep 04 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Sep 07 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center Sep 09 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center Sep 12 Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena Sep 15 Boston, MA Fenway Park Sep 17 Boston, MA Fenway Park Nov 08 Auckland, NZ Go Media Stadium Mt Smart Nov 13 Gold Coast, AU Heritage Bank Stadium Nov 16 Melbourne, AU Marvel Stadium Nov 21 Sydney, AU Giants Stadium
* Rescheduled date from 2022 ** Festival dates are already on sale
Formed back in 2018, Florida-based duo Ginger AF — multi-instrumentalist Kristen Cannell and Jerry Black — specialize in guitar-driven indie rock paired with an undercurrent of dystopian and existential themes, seemingly inspired by the dystopian hellscape we’re currently living in.
Their latest single “Femininity” is a hook-driven, mosh pit friendly ripper that sonically — to my ears, at least — seems to be indebted to 90s grunge and the Riot Grrl movement and rooted in righteous, feminist protest against a shitty and exploitive system and society. With “Femininity,” Cannell and Black have written a protest anthem against the growing way of draconian reproductive bills and laws across the country that make it impossible for medical providers to provide the healthcare that woman need — and endanger women in critical need.
Across significant portions of the country, there have been at least 64,000 rape-related pregnancies with no legal access to healthcare. That number is outrageous and absurd. And as result, the Florida duo’s single has a palpable and forceful urgency. It’s also a reminder that as voters, we must not lose sight of the fact that the world is complicated, and we’re going to have to make difficult and unsettling compromises for our loved ones’ well-being and safety.
The accompanying video begins with a newspaper featuring a headlines that read “Roe v. Wade Is Overturned,” “Overturning Roe Is An Insult to Women” and “Abortion Bans Will Result in More Women Dying” with the duo performing where the photos would normally be. The newspapers fade to the background — but important headlines pop up right behind the duo as they perform the song in a varying settings.
Static Ivory is an emerging and somewhat mysterious Dallas-based grunge/shoegaze duo, who released their debut single “Comedown” earlier this year. Clocking in at a little over two minutes, their sophomore single “Open-eyed” is an explosive and punishing, Nothing-like take on shoegaze featuring a glitchy introduction, thunderous drumming, fuzzy and distorted power chords, and a dreamy painterly bridge paired with mosh pit friendly hooks. Play loud, trip out and open up that fucking pit, y’all!
Emerging Dallas-based grunge/punk outfit Drowning in Goldfish independently released their full-length debut, Gotta Blast last October. Released earlier this year, the follow-up to their full-length debut, “Velvet” is a Bush-meets-A Place to Bury Strangers-like ripper built an expansive song structure featuring around sludgy power chords, thunderous drumming and mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses.
Today will be a busy day with a lot of running around: First I’ll be heading down to Coney Island for the Mermaid Parade. And then eventually, I’ll be at Clem’s for my second-ever DJ set. But there’s still business and the show must go on as best as it could, right?
So let’s get to it.
Nashville-based melodic, heavy duo Friendship Commanders — Buick Audra (vocals, guitar) and Jerry Roe (drums, bass) — have released two albums 2016’s Dave, 2018’s Steve Albini-produced Bill and two EPs 2020’s Hold On To Yourself andlast year’s Release The Rest, an exclusive vinyl compilation of singles released since 2020, including “Stonechild”/”Your Reign Is Over,” which continued their ongoing collaboration with the engineering and mixing team of Kurt Ballou and Brad Boatright.
The Nashville-based duo’s forthcoming Kurt Ballou and Friendship Commanders co-produced third album MASS was recorded in Ballou’s Salem, MA-based studio, GodCity.
Last month, I wrote about album single, “Fail,” a grunge-inspired ripper built around fuzzy power chords, thunderous drumming and enormous mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses paired with Buick Audra’s expressive, Ann Wilson-like delivery. “Fail” manages to simultaneously evoke a cry for help and a desperate attempt to connect with another that just seems to fall a bit short.
The duo explained that the song was written to honor the memory of Spore‘s and Sunburned Hand of the Man‘s Marc Orleans, who committed suicide in June 2020. “We chose to make the song energetic, dissonant, and big, just as he would like it. Bit of a departure for us from our usual doomy vibe, but it’s still the same band, we think,” the band says.
MASS‘ third and latest single “High Sun” sees the Nashville-based duo adopting a 120 Minutes-era MTV alt-rock/shoegazey sound. While being a bit of a departure from the doomy heaviness they’re best known for, “High Sun” continues a run of a material rooted in lived-in experience with the new single further establishing the album’s overall concept: leaving a place you no longer feel welcome.
