Tag: Unwound

Music Festivals by William Ruben Helms

With Spring just around the corner, that means Summer Festival announcement season is upon us. So let’s get to it.

Founded back in 2006, Pitchfork Music Festival has proven to be one of the most welcoming, accessible and rewarding festival experiences in the global festival circuit, hosting 60,000 music fans of all ages from across the globe in Chicago, one of my favorite cities in the world. Each year, the festival prides itself on a distinct blend of discovery and tradition through showcasing the best up-and-coming acts, touring stalwarts and legends like.

Through a collection of its varied vendors and an annual specialty record fair, the festival works to support local businesses, while promoting Chicago arts and food communities as a whole.

The 18th edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival returns to Chicago’s Union Park, and will take place Friday, July 19, 2024 through Sunday, July 21, 2024. Yesterday, festival organizers announced the festival’s headliners and its full lineup.

Pitchfork Music Festival’s first day will feature headliner Black Pumas, along with sets from Jai Paul, 100 gecs, Jeff Rosenstock, Yaeji, Sudan Archives, Amen Dunes, billy woods & Kenny Segal, Tkay Maidza, Doss, ML Buch, Rosali, Angry Blackmen, and Black Duck.

The festival’s second day will be headlined by Jamie xx and will feature sets from Carly Rae Jepsen, Jessie Ware, De La Soul, UNWOUND, Bratmobile, Wednesday, Water From Your Eyes, Sweeping Promises, feeble little horse, Hotline TNT, Kara Jackson, L’Rain, and Lifeguard.

The festival’s last day will be headlined by Alanis Moriseette and will feature sets from Brittany Howard, MUNA, the legendary Grandmaster Flash, Les Savy Fav, Crumb, Jessica Pratt, Mannequin Pussy, Hailu Mergia, Model/Actriz, Nala Sinephro, Maxo, Joanna Sternberg, and Kenya.

The full lineup is below:

Full lineup:
 
FRIDAY
Black Pumas
Jai Paul
100 gecs
Jeff Rosenstock
Yaeji
Sudan Archives
Amen Dunes
billy woods & Kenny Segal
Tkay Maidza
Doss
ML Buch
Rosali
Angry Blackmen
Black Duck
 
SATURDAY
Jamie xx
Carly Rae Jepsen
Jessie Ware
De La Soul
UNWOUND
Bratmobile
Wednesday
Water From Your Eyes
Sweeping Promises
feeble little horse
Hotline TNT
Kara Jackson
L’Rain
Lifeguard
 
SUNDAY
Alanis Morissette
Brittany Howard
MUNA
Grandmaster Flash
Les Savy Fav
Crumb
Jessica Pratt
Mannequin Pussy
Hailu Mergia
Model/Actriz
Nala Sinephro
Maxo
Joanna Sternberg
Akenya
 

Tickets are on sale right now, and they include single and three-day passes in three tiers — General Admission, PLUS and VIP:

General Admission tickets are $109 for a single day pass and $219 for a three-day pass.

The Pitchfork PLUS upgrade, which includes a range of exclusive amenities is $199 for a single-day pass and $399 for a three-day pass.

The Pitchfork VIP upgrade, which includes offerings such as side-stage or front of stage viewing at the two main stages, unlimited access to backstage lounges, complimentary beverages, daily catered meals, mobile charing stations, tarot readings, massages, access to reserved parking and more. The Pitchfork VIP upgrade is $379 one a one-day pass and $699 for a three-day pass.

Payment plans are available for all ticket types. More details are available here.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Earlier this year, I wrote a bit about the Austin, TX-based trio Exhalants, and as you may recall, the band which features Steve (guitar, vocals), Bill (bass) and Body Pressure’s Tommy (drums), can trace its origins to the breakup of Steve’s and Bill’s previous band  Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes. As the story goes, with the inevitably downtime that’s a result of a band’s breakup, Steve wound up spending his free time further honing his guitar playing before he recruited his former CSSS bandmate and Tommy to complete the project’s lineup.

Released earlier this year, the band’s self-titled full-length debt was recorded and mixed by Ghetto Ghouls‘ Ian Rundell and mastered by Yeesh’s Greg Obis, and the albums largely inspired by  Shellac, Unwound and Cherubs, while nodding at the work of contemporaries like Melkbelly, Kal Marks and A Deer A Horse  — or in other words, much like those bands, the album finds the band balancing pummeling and bruising heaviness with an underlining melodic sensibility. Interestingly, album single “Punishers” is an aptly titled, furious, abrasive and — well, punishing ripper centered by enormous power chords, wild peals of feedback and pummeling drumming. Sonically speaking, the song is a mosh pit-friendly anthemic that should be played way too loudly in a dark, sweaty room.

Unsurprisingly, the recently released video for “Punishers” will bring 120 Minutes-era MTV to mind, as its an equally pushing visual, consisting of warped, distorted VHS footage — and while old-timey, it manages to evoke the terror and fury of our time.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Over the past month, I’ve managed to write a bit about the Austin, TX-based trio Exhalants, and as you may recall the band which features Steve (guitar, vocals), Bill (bass) and Tommy (drums), a member of Body Pressure, can trace its origins to the breakup of Steve and Bill’s previous band  Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes. With the inevitable downtime that happens when a band breaks up, Steve spent his free time further honing his guitar playing before recruiting his former CSSS bandmate and Tommy to complete the project’s lineup.

Exhalants’ selff-titled debut is slated for release next week, and the soon-to-be released album is largely inspired by Shellac, Unwound and Cherubs, while nodding at the work of contemporaries like Melkbelly, Kal Marks and A Dear A Horse — or in other words, the album’s material finds the band balancing pummeling heaviness with an infectious melodicism; however, the album’s third and latest single “If Only” is a slow-burning grunge-era inspired dirge, centered around pummeling drumming, distortion-fed power chords, howled vocals and an alternating quiet-loud-quiet song structure. Sonically, the new single seems to recall Melvins, Soundgarden, Nirvana and Alice in Chains while maintaining their uncanny sense of melody.  And from the album’s first three singles, Exhalants may be releasing one of the hardest hitting albums of the year.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Ancestors Release a Shoegazer Take on Doom Metal

Earlier this summer, I wrote about the Los Angeles-based metal/doom metal/psych rock/stoner rock quintet Ancestors, and as you may recall, the band which is currently comprised of founding duo Justin Maranga (guitar, vocals) and Nick Long (bass, vocals) along with Jason Watkins (organ, piano, electric piano, mellotron, vocals), Matt Barks (modular synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, guitar, vocals) and Daniel Pouliot can trace their origins back to 2006 when Maranga, Long, and Brandon Pierce began the band as a trio; Englishman Chico Foley, who had met Pierce shortly after relocating to Los Angeles joined the band. Jason Watkins joined to complete the band’s initial line up. Their full-length debut was released in 2008 through North Atlantic Sound Records in Europe and Tee Pee Records in the States — and the album featured artwork by Arik Roper, who has done artwork of the likes of Sleep, High on Fire, and Earth. Their 2009 sophomore Of Sound Mind was produced by the band and Pete Lyman and featured collaborations with Melvins‘, Unwound and Slug’s David Scott Stone, Black Math Horseman‘s Sera Timms and cellist Ramiro Zapata.

2010 saw the first of several lineup changes as Chico Foley left the band and was replaced by Matt Barks and with a new lineup, they went into the studio to write and record the Kenny Woods-produced Invisible White EP.  And despite, a series of lineup changes, the band’s sound generally draws from prog rock, psych rock, stoner rock and doom metal — but they’ve also at points increasingly incorporated elements of experimental rock and musique concrete among others.  The Los Angeles-based rock quintet’s forthcoming album Suspended In Reflections is slated for release later on this month through Pelagic Records, and from album single “Gone,” the  single and the album itself reportedly reflects a different take on their sound and approach as the single is a slow-burning dirge that manages to bridge shoegaze and doom metal as it features enormous power chords, played through tons of effects pedals, soaring and ethereal synths within an expansive yet moody song structure that nods a bit at prog rock.

“Through A Window,” Suspended In Reflections’ latest single is a slow-burning and brooding dirge centered around shimmering guitar chords, soaring hooks and dramatic drumming — and interestingly enough, the single finds the band leaning heavily towards a mediative and thoughtful shoegazer territory.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Los Angeles-based Quintet Ancestors Release a Slow-buring Shoegazer Take on Doom Metal

Currently comprised of founding duo Justin Maranga (guitar, vocals) and Nick Long (bass, vocals) along with Jason Watkins (organ, piano, electric piano, mellotron, vocals), Matt Barks (modular synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, guitar, vocals) and Daniel Pouliot (drums), the Los Angeles-based metal/doom metal/psych rock/stoner rock quintet Ancestors can trace their origins back to 2006 when Maranga, Long, and Brandon Pierce began the band as a trio; Englishman Chico Foley, who had met Pierce shortly after relocating to Los Angeles joined the band. Jason Watkins joined to complete the band’s initial line up. Their full-length debut was released in 2008 through North Atlantic Sound Records in Europe and Tee Pee Records in the States — and the album featured artwork by Arik Roper, who has done artwork of the likes of Sleep, High on Fire, and Earth. Their 2009 sophomore Of Sound Mind was produced by the band and Pete Lyman and featured collaborations with Melvins’, Unwound and Slug’s David Scott Stone, Black Math Horseman’s Sera Timms and cellist Ramiro Zapata.

2010 saw the first of several lineup changes as Chico Foley left the band and was replaced by Matt Barks and with a new lineup, they went into the studio to write and record the Kenny Woods-produced Invisible White EP.  And despite, a series of lineup changes, the band’s sound generally draws from prog rock, psych rock, stoner rock and doom metal — but they’ve also at points increasingly incorporated elements of experimental rock and musique concrete among others.  The Los Angeles-based rock quintet’s forthcoming album Suspended In Reflections is slated for an August 24, 2018 release through Pelagic Records, and from the album’s latest single “Gone,” the new single and the album itself reportedly reflects a different take on their sound and approach as the single is a slow-burning dirge that manages to bridge shoegaze and doom metal as it features enormous power chords, played through tons of effects pedals, soaring and ethereal synths within an expansive yet moody song structure that nods a bit at prog rock.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Earlier this month, I wrote about the Austin, TX-based trio Exhalants, and as you may recall the band which features Steve (guitar, vocals), Bill (bass) and Tommy (drums), a member of Body Pressure, the band can trace its origins to the break of Steve and Bill’s previous band  Carl Sagan’s Skate Shoes. With the inevitable downtime that happens when a band breaks up, Steve spent his free time further honing his guitar playing before recruiting his former CSSS bandmate and Tommy to complete the project’s lineup.

Recorded and mixed by Ghetto Ghouls‘ Ian Rundell and mastered by Yeesh’s Greg Obis, Exhalants’ forthcoming self-titled debut is largely inspired by the likes of Shellac, Unwound and Cherubs, while nodding at the work of contemporaries like Melkbelly, Kal Marks and A Dear A Horse — or in other words, the album’s material finds the band balancing pummeling heaviness; in fact, album single “Latex” was an an anthemic ripper with enormous “raise your beer in the air and shout along” hooks, arena rock-like power chords and deep low end. And while being deceptively simple, the song upon repeated listens reveals rapid tonal and tempo shifts that are barely held together by the explosiveness of the band’s playing. “Punishers,” Exhalants’ latest single is a furious and aptly punishing ripper, complete with angular guitar power chords, wild peals of feedback and forceful drumming. It may arguably be the most punk rock and mosh-pit friendly songs off the album so far — but they do so while nodding at 90s alt rock.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: LCD Soundsystem Returns with Their Most Dance Floor Friendly Track in Several Years

Founded by frontman, multi-instrumentalist, producer, DJ and DFA Records co-founder James Murphy in 2002, Brooklyn-based indie rock/electro rock/dance punk act LCD Soundsystem along with acts like  The Rapture, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bloc Party, Radio 4,  Liars and a few others, are considered pioneers of a dance punk renaissance that saw its height at the early part of this century; but among that group LCD Soundsystem set themselves apart as one of the more commercially and critically successful acts of their era — 2005’s eponymous full-length debut, which featured their most successful single “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” was nominated by a Grammy for Best Dance Recording with the album also being nominated for a Grammy Best Electronic/Best Dance Album. With a growing national and international profile, Nike commissioned Murphy and company to write and record a workout-inspired, workout-friendly album — 45:33 — as part of the Nike+ Original Run series. The members of LCD Soundsystem followed that up with 2007’s critically acclaimed Sound of Silver, which was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Electronic/Dance Album.  2010’s This Is Happening managed to be the act’s most commercially successful, as it was their first Top 10 album in the States; however, by the following year, the band announced it was breaking up and was celebrating a wildly successful run together with a series of farewell shows at Madison Square Garden and Terminal 5, with the events surrounding their final show together, chronicled in the documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits, and a live album, 2014’s The Long Goodbye, which Murphy painstakingly mastered. 

After LCD Soundsystem broke up, the members of the band went on to pursue a number of creative and business pursuits — Nancy Whang released solo material and DJ’ed; Tyler Pope spent a stint in the touring band of !!!,; Gavin Russom has released solo material under the moniker Black Meteoric Star, collaborated with Viva Ruiz in The Crystal Ark and recently came out as transgender and transitioning; David Scott Stone has collaborated with Melvins, Unwound, Jello Biafra, Mike Patton, No Age, and others; Jerry Fuchs went on with stints in The Juan MacLean, !!!, Maserati and MSTRKRFT; and Murphy arguably being the busiest of the band as he not only continued his production and sound engineering work, working with Arcade Fire during the Reflector sessions, he was in 2014 commissioned by the US Open to create a special set of remixes based on the actual sounds and events of the tournament’s matches. Along with that he remixed David Bowie‘s “Love Is Lost,” for an expanded edition of the legendary artist’s The Next Day and was known to occasionally DJ, including famously DJing to close out DFA Records’ 12th Anniversary Party at Grand Prospect Hall. He also participated in Canon’s Project Imaginat10n, a film project in which the folks at Canon invited 5 different celebrities to direct short films based on pictures uploaded by photographers and other creatives around the world to a special website, with the result being his directorial debut “Little Duck,” set in Japan. And in other non-musical pursuits, with the assistance of Blue Bottle Coffee founder James Freeman, Murphy released his own blend of espresso, and then he opened a critically applauded restaurant in Williamsburg, which he personally designed and chose the menu. And although Murphy had publicly stated that LCD Soundsystem’s breakup allowed him the time and ability to pursue an array of projects, he wasn’t able to do before, he also missed being in a band and creating music. 

Interestingly, in light of those comments, towards the end of 2015, there were rumblings across the blogosphere that Murphy and several members of the band were considering a series of reunion shows for the major festival circuit — and naturally, those rumors exploded upon the release of Christmas Will Break Your Heart,” which the band released on Christmas of that year, marking a big Christmas surprise for fans, who had been clamoring for new material and/or the possibility of a reunion for the better part of 5 years. Naturally, with the release of the single, Murphy and company confirmed that a reunion tour with appearances at several major festivals, a residency to  The Bowery Presents‘ newest venue, Brooklyn Steel and a new album, American Dream, which is slated for a September 1, 2017 release through Columbia Records/DFA Records. 

As my colleagues mentioned, their early Brooklyn Steel sets featured material, which would appear on their new album, including the atmospheric, “Call The Police,” which features Murphy’s archly ironic lyrics and manages to sound like a mesh of the sound of This Is Happening and their incredible cover of Harry Nilsson‘s “Jump Into The Fire” and “American Dream,” a slow-burning track featuring shimmering synths but subtly nods at “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down,” thanks in part to Murphy’s dramatic crooning, 

“tonite,” the third single off the soon-to-be-released album is arguably one of the more dance floor friendly singles they’ve released to date as it features an unrelenting and propulsive beat paired with wobbling, house music-like bass synth and twinkling keys, and Murphy’s ironic observations on the state of contemporary music, human relationships in the age of constant connectivity and his own random musings. And interestingly enough, despite the 5 years apart, the band manages to sound as though they haven’t missed a beat; in fact, it sounds as though it were the song and the album that they would have made regardless of breaking up — all while subtly nodding at Man Machine-era Kraftwerk. 

Directed by Joel Kefall, the recently released video for “tonite” features a handful of members performing the song, while others look cooly detached, reading or staring into space on a spinning stage, lit by explosively bursts of concert lighting. And the entire time, the band’s frontman sings with a tape recorder strapped to him. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Renowned Riot Grrrl Act Sleater-Kinney to Release a Blistering, Live Album from Paris

Currently comprised of founding members Corin Tucker (vocals, guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar, vocals) and Janet Weiss (drums), the Olympia, WA-based indie rock trio Sleater-Kinney was initially formed as a side project from its founding members then-primary projects — Tucker was a member of renowned and influential riot grrl act Heavens to Betsy while Brownstein was a member of Excuse 17. And when Tucker and Brownstein’s primary projects broke up, Sleater-Kinney quickly became its founding duo’s new focus. And through the release of their first seven full-length efforts, 1995’s self-titled debut, 1996’s Call the Doctor, 1997’s Dig Me Out, 1999’s The Hot Rock, 2000’s Hands on the Bad One, 2002’s One Beat and 2005’s The Woods the band developed a reputation for material based around feminist and left-leaning politics — and for being among one of the more influential and beloved acts of their era. Interestingly enough, I can still remember at least reading at least one music journalist, who wrote an article expressing her devastation upon hearing about Sleater -Kinney’s largely unexpected split up back in 2006.

And upon Sleater-Kinney’s breakup, the members of the trio went on to pursue a number of creative pursuits. Weiss, who is also a member of Quasi, joined her bandmate Joanna Bolme for a stint in Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, recording two albums with the band 2008’s Emotional Trash and 2011’s Mirror Traffic. Tucker wrote and released two solo albums, 2010’s 1,000 Years and 2012’s Kill My Blues, which featured Unwound’s Sara Lund and Golden Bears’ and Circus Lupus’ Seth Lorinczi as her backing band. Brownstein formed Wild Flag, which featured her Sleater-Kinney bandmate Weiss along with The Minders’ Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole, a project that released a critically applauded debut effort before splitting up in 2014. And adding to a busy and prolific period of creativity for each of the band’s members, Brownstein along with co-creator and co-star Fred Armisen created the critically applauded IFC series Portlandia, which will start its seventh season on Thursday.

In October 2014, Tucker, Brownstein and Weiss announced that they had reconvened after several years pursuing a variety of projects to write and record their most recent studio album, 2015’s No Cities to Love, which was released to great fanfare and then followed by a tour across North America and Western Europe. Along with the release of the Start Together box set, the Pacific Northwest-based trio confidently reminded critics, fans and others of their importance, relevance and influence on a a number of contemporary band and artists.

Speaking of 2015’s North American and Western European tour, Sub Pop Records will be releasing a live album, Live in Paris on January 27, 2017 and the album consists of a live set recorded at La Cigale on March 20, 2015 — and the first single from the live album is a blistering, furious and incredibly passionate rendition of “Surface Envy,” which is accompanied by live footage lovingly shot by fans over the years. And from the live footage one thing is obvious, these ladies take names and kick serious ass.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Perhaps best known as the frontman of post-hardcore band Unwound and angular post-punk/post-rock band Survival Knife, Justin Trosper’s latest musical project Nocturnal Habits has Trosper reuniting with Unwound bandmate and collaborator Sara Lund, as well as The Melvins’ Dale Crover, Two Ton Boa’s Scott Seckington and Sherry Fraser. And with the project’s forthcoming debut effort, New Skin For Old Children, Trosper and company have dedicated their focus to sharp songwriting and clean production, while sonically nodding at anthemic, 90s alt rock and shoegaze as you’ll hear on the album’s soaring, latest single “Ecophilia.”

The band will be embarking on a West Coast tour to support the album’s October 28, 2016 release through Glacial Pace Records. Check out tour dates below.

Tour Dates:
11.04.16 – Portland, OR @ The Bakery
11.05.16 – Olympia, WA @ New Moon
11.06.16 – Seattle, WA @ TBD
11.09.16 – San Francisco, CA @ The Hemlock
11.10.16 – Sacramento, CA @ Red Museum
11.11.16 – San Diego, CA @ TBD
11.12.16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Kazu Makino (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone (drums) and Amedeo Pace (guitar, vocals), New York-based indie rock trio Blonde Redhead can trace their origins to when the Pace Brothers met Makino — by complete chance, no less — at an Italian restaurant. Deriving their name from “Blonde Redhead,” a song by no wave act DNA, the trio has developed a reputation for a constantly evolving sound with their earliest recorded efforts drawing heavily from both noise rock and experimental rock — in particular, think of Sonic Youth and others; however, over the past 15 years the band has incorporated elements of dream pop, shoegaze, psych rock and other genres. And if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may well be aware of the fact that back in 2014, the trio quietly released their ninth all-length album Barragan, an album that featured the shimmering and sultry single “Dripping.”

As a native New Yorker, I miss the energy, griminess and grittiness of pre-Giuliani New York — a New York that I’ll never, ever get back. And as you can imagine, Blonde Redhead’s material, along with countless other bands writing and recording in NYC during the late 80s and early 90s is full of the same teeming energy and seedy grit, while possessing an urgent carnal need. Sadly, a great deal of the band’s earliest recordings haven’t been in print for some time — and they will be seeing the light of day for the first time in almost 20 years as Numero Group is issuing a 4LP/2 CD box seat featuring the band’s first two albums, their singles, existing demos and radio performances, as well unpublished photographs and two lengthy essays on the band and their work to date. And it’s the newest installment in Numero’s 200 Line series, which has also included releases from  Unwound, Bedhead, Codeine, White Zombie and The Scientists.

 

“Big Song” is the first single off the box set and the single is a decidedly large song consisting of time signature and tempo changes, explosive blasts of feedback, angular bass and guitar chords — with the guitar chords being played through effects and delay pedals, paired with Makino’s sensual and vaguely nonsensical vocals. Certainly, as soon as you hear the song, it also sounds like the time period it was recorded in — in particular 1993 or so. Certainly if you’re a fan, there’s the excitement of hearing and owning material that had long been discontinued, as well as capturing a band in their early days, attempting to discover their own unique voice.

 

 

Uncategorized by William Ruben Helms

Survival Knife is a new band featuring Justin Trosper (guitar/vocals) and Brandt Sandeno (guitar) from Unwound, as well as Meg Cunningham (bass/vocals) from Blues Druid and Kris Cunningham (drums) from Western Hymn. Sub Pop Records […]