Over the past couple of years, I’ve written a bit about the Seattle, WA-based heavy metal quartet Thunderpussy, and as you may recall, the act, which is comprised of Molly Sides (vocals), Whitney Petty (guitar), Leah […]
Tag: Seattle WA
Back in 2016, I wrote a bit about the Seattle, WA-based multi-instrumentalist, electronic music artist and producer Grant Eadie. Eadie has received attention both regionally and nationally for his solo recording project Manatee Commune, which specializes in a carefully molded sound in which he pairs natural overtones extracted from various field recordings and other sources, live instrumentation and arrangements with slick yet nuanced production.
Although a few years have passed since I’ve written about the Pacific Northwest-based JOVM mainstay, he has been rather busy, writing and releasing new material and collaborating with an eclectic array of artists, including his latest track “Growing Pains.” Centered around a breezy and ethereal production featuring a looping and shimmering guitar line, stuttering beats, an infectious hook and a soulful vocal contribution from Samuel Eisen-Meyers, the seemingly self-assured track reveals a familiar uncertainty and awkward awareness that reminds me of when I was in my mid 20s — when you’re made to feel as though you’re maladjusted when you haven’t quite figured out your life or anything else. (Of course, as I got older, I realized that feeling was bullshit — mainly because no one really has it together.)
“Growing Pains is a song about exploring life in your mid 20s,” Eadie says. “We are told we are supposed to have everything figured out by then, but this often is not the case. In the last year I’ve come to realize that I am doing exactly what I should be doing. Feeling the pains of growth is a sign of growth and every battle won is a step forward in the right direction. As long as you are doing what you love, you are on the right path.”
Comprised of Molly Sides (vocals), Whitney Petty (guitar), Leah Julius (bass) and Ruby Dunphy (drums), the Seattle, WA-based heavy metal quartet Thunderpussy quickly exploded into the national scene as a result of a string of attention-grabbing, critically applauded live shows and co-signs from Rolling Stone and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. And from the Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath meets Joan Jett-like anthem “Speed Queen” and the bluesy “Velvet Noose,” which featured an “Evenflow“-like guitar solo from Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, the early buzz surrounding the band was warranted.
Back in May 2015, the members of the band applied for a US trademark to protect their name and brand, as they were preparing for future world domination. Shortly after the band submitted their application, they received a letter from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) denying the band their trademark on the grounds that their name was “immoral” and “scandalous” as per the guidelines laid down in the Truman-era Lanham Act of 1946. The USPTO even cited Urban Dictionary as a credible source as to why the word pussy is regarded as a derogatory term.
The fate of the band’s name — and their trademark application — depends on the outcome of a new case, Iancu v. Brunetti, which will be argued in front of the Supreme Court on Monday. Eric Brunetti will be defending his clothing brand FUCT in a case that he’s been fighting for nearly 20 years. As the band awaits the Supreme Court decision, they released a fiery and passionately stomping cover of Jefferson Airplane‘s “Somebody to Love” that turns the song into a contemporary, feminist, metalhead anthem.
Thunderpussy will be touring over the next few months. Check out the tour dates below.
TOUR DATES
May 11 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo House Of Music
July 12 – Santa Fe, NM – Meow Wolf*
July 13 – Ophir, CO – Ride Festival
July 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom*
July 17 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre*
July 19 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up*
July 20 – Sacramento, CA – Holy Diver*
July 23 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre*
July 25 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall*
July 26 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up
July 27 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre*
August 2 – Buffalo, NY – Buffalo Iron Works
*with Black Pistol Fire
New Video: Seattle’s Versing Releases Surreal Visuals for “Renew”
Earlier this year, I wrote about the Seattle-based quartet Versing, which is comprised of Daniel Salas, Graham Baker, Kirby Lochner and Max Keyes, and as you may recall the act’s highly-anticipated full-length debut 1000 through Hardly […]
New Audio: Seattle’s Versing Releases A Woozy and Pummeling New Single
Comprised of Daniel Salas, Graham Baker, Kirby Lochner and Max Keyes, the Seattle-based quartet Versing will be releasing their full-length debut 1000 through Hardly Art Records on May 3, 2019 and the album’s latest single, the woozy “Offering” is centered around whirring feedback, pummeling drumming and an infectious pop-leaning hooks. And while reminding me a bit of Nirvana’s “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter,” and Thee Oh Sees, the song as the band’s Daniel Salas explains in press notes is ” a fantastical song about traveling through a mystical portal to stop an encroaching force of evil, and the feedback is like the whirring sound the portal makes. Really it’s about making the ultimate sacrifice for the benefit of others, and thinking about what you’d want to be remembered for after you die.”
New Audio: Haiku Hands Release an Infectious Club Banger
Featuring a core trio comprised of Claire Nakazawa, Beatrice Lewis and Mie Nakazawa, the Australian indie electro pop act Haiku Hands is split between Melbourne and Sydney, and together the members of the act who are influenced by hip-hop, pop, electro pop dance music and more, curate, perform and work as part of a larger collective that engages with and explores social norms with their lyrical, musical and visual content. Interestingly, last year was a big year for the Aussie electro pop act as their previously released, high-energy bangers “Squat,” “Jupiter,” and “Not About You” amassed over 3.5 million streams — and as a result, each single landed spots on iTunes charts across the globe; in fact, “Jupiter” was included on Matt Wilkinson’s Best Songs of 2018 So Far list, and received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and Radio X.
Building upon a rapidly growing national and international profile, the Aussie electro pop act are about to embark on a month-long tour of North America with CHAI that features stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and the Market Hotel, as well as an opening date for Cupcake in Chicago. (You can check out the tour dates below.) They’re also making appearances at several SXSW showcases. But in the meantime, their latest single, the brash and infectious “Dare You Not To Dance,” will further cement their reputation for crafting club bangers that mesh elements of riot grrl punk, hip-hop, house music, drum ‘n’ bass, EDM and trap music with enormous, shout along worthy hooks in a way that brings M.I.A. and Gwen Stefani to mind.
SXSW APPEARANCES
03/12 – Roologic Records / CS Disco at The Main @ 12:00 AM
03/13 – Ladiez Showcase at Scoot Inn @ 5:00 PM
03/13 – DIY Magazine showcase at Swan Dive @ 12:00 AM
03/14 – Aussie BBQ at Australia House @ 5:15 PM
03/15 – Panache showcase at Hotel Vegas @ 9:00 PM
03/16 – Do512’s The Big One at Barracuda @ 2:30 PM
Tour Dates
03/12 – Roologic Records / CS Disco at The Main @ 12:00 AM $
03/13 – Ladiez Showcase at Scoot Inn @ 5:00 PM $
03/13 – DIY Magazine showcase at Swan Dive @ 12:00 AM $
03/14 – Aussie BBQ at Australia House @ 5:15 PM $
03/15 – Panache showcase at Hotel Vegas @ 9:00 PM $
03/16 – Do512’s The Big One at Barracuda @ 2:30 PM $
03/18 – DC9, Washington DC *
03/19 – Market Hotel, Brooklyn *
03/20 – Velvet Underground, Toronto *
03/21 – Thalia Hall, Chicago #
03/25 – Moroccan Lounge, LA *
03/27 – Rickshaw Stop, SF *
03/29 – Vera Project, Seattle *
03/30 – Holocene, Portland *
04/26 – 05/11 – Groovin the Moo Festival, AUS
$ = SXSW
* = supporting CHAI
# = supporting Cupcakke
New Video: Knife Knights Release a Lyrical and Bittersweet Meditation on Love Longing Loss and the Afterlife
Over the almost nine year’s of this site’s history, I’ve spilled a lot of virtual ink on Seattle, WA-based emcee, synth player and producer Ishmael Butler, who’s best known as a co-founding of two, critically applauded, groundbreaking hip-hop acts — JOVM mainstays Digable Planets and Shabazz Palaces. Just about a decade ago, Butler was preparing to publicly emerge from several years of near-complete creative silence, and in the summer of 2009, Shabazz Palaces quietly self-released a pair of EPs that quickly established the act’s unique sound and aesthetic: Butler’s hyper-literate verses full of complex inner and out rhyme scheme paired with psychedelic sonic textures and refracted rhythms. Initially, confidentiality was essential as Butler desperately wanted Shabazz Palaces to stand on its own strength and not on his long-held reputation, so he adopted a pseudonym for himself.
As Shabazz Palaces’ profile and network expanded, Butler recognized that he needed new monikers for his various creative pursuits and collaborations. Knife Knights, was the name that he devised for his work with the then-Seattle based engineer, producer, songwriter and film composer Erik Blood, who has also been a vital and important collaborator in the Shabazz Palaces Universe. Interestingly, Blood and Butler can trace their collaboration and their friendship back to when they were introduced to each other at a Spiritualized show in 2003 through a mutual friend, whom Butler was about to record with. As the story goes, Blood was a diehard and obsessive Digable Planets fan, and as an obsessive fan, he passed along a bootleg copy Blowout Comb for the mutual friend to have Butler sign — and Butler dutifully did so.
Over the next few years, Blood and Butler would have chance encounters and sometimes during those encounters, they’d talk about possibly working together. Several years later, when Butler finally sent Blood a few songs to mix, their creative chemistry was obvious and immediate. That shouldn’t be surprising — Blood, as a huge hip-hop fan, has a always been an obsessive music listener and fan with eclectic tastes while Butler, a lifelong hip hop fan, began listening to and absorbing shoegaze and ambient soundscapes. Interestingly, every Shabazz Palaces album has featured a Blood and Butler collaboration, a collaboration that finds the duo specifically focused on and delighting at the intersection of shoegaze, ambient electronica and hip hop, actively and restlessly pushing hip hop towards new psychedelic textures. “He [Blood] takes my ideas and clarifies and pronounces them, helps me realize them,” explains Butler in press notes. “He helps me get to the essence.”
Knife Knight’s debut effort, 2018’s 1 Time Mirage came about after almost a decade of collaboration and the development of a very rich and dear friendship, and the album finds the duo and a cast of collaborators and friends creating a unique sound that meshes soul, shoegaze, hip-hop, drum ‘n’ bass, noise and chaos recorded over three separate sessions, interrupted by Shabazz Palaces and Digable Planets tour schedules and Blood’s recording projects. Each of those three sessions were treated as a free space for unfettered and radical exploration that resulted in album single “Low Key,” a track centered around a hazy production featuring tribal house-inspired beats and shimmering beats, over which Butler delivers his lyrics like a shamanic incantation.
I Time Mirage’s latest single “My Dreams Never Sleep” is centered round an equally hallucinogenic production featuring shimmering synths, a looping bass line, stuttering beats and dreamily delivered vocals. Interestingly, the recently released video for the new single was directed and animated by Joe Garber, and the accompanying visuals are a slow-burning, lyrical and lysergic meditation on love, longing, loss and letting go within both the mortal and spiritual planes.
Founded by the New Jersey-born, Seattle-based singer/songwriter Jay Louis, and currently featuring Joe Oakes (drums), Tom Moskal (bass) and Jackson Fahey (guitar), the Seattle-based indie rock act La Fille can trace their origins to when Louis relocated to Seattle in search of like-minded musicians to collaborate with. And upon his arrival in Seattle and inspired by his uprooting, Louis began writing the material that would eventually comprise the band’s full-length debut, Alright Already, which is slated for a March 15, 2019 release. As he writing material, Louis met Oakes through a Craigslist ad — and although, Oakes initially intended to start a punk band, he had hit it off with Louis and decided to start La Fille with him instead.
Shortly after forming La Fille, Louis and Oakes went to the studio to record the material that would become Alright Already with Telekinesis‘ Benjamin Lerner. Since then, Louis and Oakes recruited Moskal and Fahey to complete the band’s live lineup.
Alright Already‘s latest single “Everyday Feels Like I’m Getting Older” is 90s alt rock-inspired power pop tune centered around jangling power chords, plaintive vocals, a propulsive rhythm section and a rousingly anthemic hook — but underneath all of that, the song’s narrator is attempting to get their shit together, because time is flying and there’s no time to waste on childishness or bullshit.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada-born, Seattle, WA-based Jordan Cook (vocals, guitar) can trace the origins of his music career to when he was 15, playing with a blues rock trio, which performed at Montreux Jazz Festival. After recording a full-length album under his own name, Seven Deadly Sins, Cook began recording in Memphis with Matt Chamberlain and Soundgarden‘s Ben Shepherd; but around 2012 Cook relocated to Seattle, where he adopted the moniker Reignwolf. When Cook played his first official show as Reignwolf, he was accompanied by Joseph Braley (drums) and S. J. Kardash (bass).
Since their formation, the band has developed a reputation for a raw sound paired with a high energy live show that has earned them a devoted following, as well as appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Glastonbury and Download and opening slots for the likes of Black Sabbath and Pixies. Following on the heels of a 34 date Fall 2018 North American tour, the Seattle-based trio’s long-awaited and highly-anticipated full-length debut Hear Me Out is slated for a March 1, 2019 release.
Hear Me Out‘s first single is the swaggering “Black and Red.” Co-written by Jordan Cook and Aqualung’s Matt Hales, the song is centered around enormous, arena rock friendly blues power chords, thundering drums, an alternating quiet, loud, quiet song structure and rousingly anthemic hooks. The song reveals (and captures) a band that’s ready to kick ass, take names, wreck stages and destroy eardrums.
The band will be touring throughout March and the tour includes two New York area dates — March 9, 2019 at Mercury Lounge and March 10, 2019 at Baby’s All Right. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.
Tour Dates
FRIDAY, MARCH 1ST – SEATTLE, WA @ THE SUNSET
MONDAY, MARCH 4TH – LOS ANGELES @ MOROCCAN LOUNGE
THURSDAY, MARCH 7TH – CHICAGO, IL @ COBRA LOUNGE
SATURDAY, MARCH 9TH – NEW YORK, NY @ MERCURY LOUNGE
SUNDAY, MARCH 10TH – BROOKLYN, NY @ BABY’S ALL RIGHT
TUESDAY, MARCH 12TH – TORONTO, ON @ DRAKE UNDERGROUND
THURSDAY, MARCH 14TH – SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH – AUSTIN, TX @ SXSW
New Audio: Australia’s Hockey Dad Releases an Anthemic 90s Alt Rock Inspired Song
Comprised of Zach Stephenson (guitar, vocals) and Billy Fleming (drums), the Windang, New South Wales, Australia indie rock duo Hockey Dad are lifelong friends, who grew up two doors apart — and as a result, they’re best friends first, bandmates second. With the release of their full-length debut 2017’s Boronia, the duo of Stephenson and Fleming quickly achieved a national and international profile for crafting infectious power pop: the duo wound up embarking on a sold out tour of their native Australia that included a number of shows with Dune Rats and the critically applauded indie act Wavves, some extensive touring across North America with stops at SXSW and elsewhere, before touring across the UK and Europe.
Hockey Dad’s latest effort, 2018’s sophomore effort, the John Goodmanson-produced Blend Inn was recorded at Seattle’s renowned Robert Lang Studios, where Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Death Cab For Cutie, Alice in Chains and NirvanaNirvana (who most notably recorded their last song ever there) all recorded seminal material. Interestingly, the Australian duo’s sophomore effort is a much more introspective effort. Blend Inn is the part of your head that you want to go to when you’re overseas and wishing you were back home, it’s within,” Hockey Dad’s Billy Fleming says. “We’re always just trying to be comfortable and semi blending in, so it’s the name we gave to that place you zone out to.”
Thematically, the album is centered around the trials, tribulations and uncertainties of young adulthood — but from the perspective of two young people, who have had an expanded mindset and much more experience in the world, while still retaining the playfulness and enormous hooks that won them international attention. Building upon a growing profile, the duo will continue a busy slate of national and international touring, including a West Coast Stateside tour through February. You can check out the tour dates below.
In the meantime, anthemic album single “I Wanna Be Everybody” is centered around infectious, crowd pleasing hooks, thunderous drumming and even bigger power chords within an alternating soft, loud, soft song structure. Sonically, the song brings to mind 90s alt rock — in particular, I’m reminded of Local H and others.
New Video: Alison Sudol’s Dream-like “Moon”
Alison Sudol is a Seattle, WA-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and actor. Performing under the moniker A Fine Frenzy, Sudol released three full-length albums, a live album and 4EPs, which she toured extensively across the US, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Portugal to support. And as a result, Sudol has seen commercial success both in the States and elsewhere: her A Fine Frenzy debut single “Almost Lover” peaked at #25 on Billboard’s Heatseeker Chart and she was chosen as a VH1 “You Oughta Know” artist. Adding to a growing international profile, One Cell in the Sea sold over 300,000 copies globally; in fact, when the album was released in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland, the album peaked within the top 30 in all of those countries — with “Almost Lover” reaching #8 on the German charts, #10 on the Swiss charts, and #5 on the Austrian charts.
As an actress, Sudol is equally acclaimed and has appeared on the first season of the hit TV series Transparent and was the lead in USA Network’s Dig. She’ll also be reprising her role of Queenie in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the sequel to the successful Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Sudol’s recently released EP Moon is the first batch of recorded output under her own name, and was produced by Ali Chant, who has worked with Perfume Genius and PJ Harvey and features Portishead’s Clive Deamer and Adrian Utley and PJ Harvey’s John Parish. As Sudol says in a lengthy and detailed statement in press notes:
“Ali Chant and I made this record in freezing basements and attics, at kitchen tables, and at Peter Gabriel’s sprawling studio near Bath. We mixed it once, then dismantled it and recorded almost all of it from the ground up. It took us a year and a half. Ali C managed to build an entire studio in that time, and we finished it there. We caught days between me filming Fantastic Beasts and him recording other projects. There were many early morning trains and more than a few irritating head colds. Bristol is brutal in midwinter. I drank too much shitty sherry in dingy hotel rooms. Did you know that Bristol is famous for its sherry? I’d like to never smell it again. My marriage had just fallen apart and most of the rest of my life was tumbling down with it. I was ripped wide open, ferocious, liberated and devastated, grieving and writing as if my life depended on it. And in a way, it did.
Ali and I made the foundation of the record together, experimenting with synths and sounds, guitars and pianos, drums and funky, half-working old machines. Later, he brought in friends from around town- Adrian Utley, Clive Deamer and John Parish, each a legend in their own right, as well as a host of other exceptionally talented local musicians, who brought color and life into the songs in wonderful and unexpected ways. We explored, and everyone was open to trying things, taking risks. It was a process of discovery, building and rebuilding, but ultimately, we came to something we both felt genuinely proud of.
When it came time to think about how to put it into the world, I suddenly got very afraid that what we had so painstakingly built by hand would be crushed in the machine of the music business. Being on a major label had given my career an incredible start but had ultimately become a very unhealthy place for me, creatively and personally. I couldn’t face going back into that kind of environment. That world has become increasingly concerned with putting things into boxes, and I’ve never met a box that I could fit into. And believe me, I’ve tried. That led me and my longtime manager and very dear friend, Adrienne Butcher, along with some of our closest, smartest friends to create a company of our own, where we could release music the way we wanted to, with our hands and hearts involved in every stage. We want to create a path for releasing music that takes mental health and wellness into consideration, and to tread as lightly on the planet as we can in the process. It’s called Hearth, and we look forward to welcoming you there.
I am excited with my whole heart to bring this music to you.
Somewhere between an ending and a beginning, between the darkness and the stars, there was always the moon.”
The EP’s latest single, is the atmospheric EP title track “Moon,” which features Sudol’s ethereal vocals paired with an arrangement consisting of shimmering synths, twinkling keys and a moody yet cinematic string arrangement — and as a result, the track manages to evoke a half-remembered dream; but the song is underpinned by a quietly aching sadness just out of reach. Interestingly, the recently released, Sudol self-directed video was filmed in Vancouver and California and stars Sudol as an astronaut exploring the world with awe and curiosity — with the video becoming increasingly surreal, as she explores civilization, walks through an aquarium before ending up at a gathering in which kind women change her from her space gear to a dress, and hand her a baby and comfort her. And while being a quiet yet boldly feminist fever dream, the video has a lonely ache at its core, as its protagonist is essentially a stranger in an equally strange place.
New Video: Mudhoney’s Searing Indictment of Social Media Culture
Currently comprised of founding members Mark Arm (vocals, rhythm guitar), Steve Turner (lead guitar) and Guy Maddison (bass), along with Dan Peters (drums), who joined the band in 1999, the Seattle, WA-based alt rock/grunge rock band Mudhoney officially formed back in 1988 — although the band can trace its origins to the breakup of Green River, a proto-grunge band that at one point featured Alex Vincent (drums), Jeff Ament (bass), Steve Turner, and Stone Gossard (guitar). After releasing two EPs, and several lineup changes, Green River eventually split up with Bruce Fairweather, Gossard and Ament eventually joining Mother Love Bone. Now, if you know your grunge history, you’d know that after Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood died from an overdose, Gossard and Ament went on to form Pearl Jam while Arm and Turner reunited to form Mudhoney, and the rest as they say is history — right?
Mudhoney’s earliest releases through Sub Pop Records — namely “Touch Me I’m Sick” and the Superfuzz Bigmuff EP wound up becoming massively influential with the band being credited as being the godfathers of Seattle’s grunge rock sound, a sound that we all know is generally centered around scuzzy, distortion pedal heavy power chords. But despite their towering influence on alt rock, the band has never really seen much commercial success — although Nirvana covered Mudhoney during their legendary Unplugged, filmed and recorded a few weeks before Kurt Cobain’s suicide.
Slated for release later this week through their longtime label home, the beloved Pacific Northwest-based grunge legends tenth full-length album Digital Garbage is reportedly, one of the band’s most sociopolitically incisive and blistering albums they’ve recorded; in fact, Digital Garbage‘s first single “Paranoid Core” captures the distrust of experts and facts, the rampant fear-mongering and emotional exploitation and the very primal, lizard-brained instinctual response that rules our current zeitgeist. And its all centered around boozy, old school punk rock guitar chords, a propulsive back beat and bass line. Western civilization and American democracy collapsing before our very eyes but goddamn it, there’s at least rock ‘n’ roll to save our souls for a little bit. “Kill Yourself Live,” the album’s latest single is a searing indictment of our vapid and incredibly insipid reality TV-show and social media-based culture, suggesting that people could literally kill themselves live on a TV show or on Instagram Live — and it would likely be highly rated or get a shit ton of likes on the ‘gram baby. Considering that the President of the United States is a reality TV Internet troll, anything — holy shit, anything is fucking possible. Sonically speaking, the single continues in a similar vein as its predecessor — but manages to nod at DEVO and 60s psych rock simultaneously for a subtle mind trip.
Directed by Carlos A.F. Lopez, the recently released video for “Kill Yourself Live” reimagines Jesus Christ’s crucifixion taking place in an anachronistic mix of Biblical times and our hyper-connected, social media world and as a result, it points out humanity’s propensity for cruelty and selfishness, the insatiable desire to be liked in a way that’s both disturbing and hilarious.
