S.G. Carlson - "Holy Motors" | Post-Trash Premiere
Fran - "A Private Picture" | Album Review
Every moving piece on this album serves to complement and elevate the lyrics. In that way, A Private Picture takes on the surprising life as a blues record – granted, it doesn’t have the same sound of a blues record, but it certainly feels like one, with its tasteful instrumentation and intimate portrait of its narrator.
Water From Your Eyes - "Somebody Else's Song" | Album Review
An imperfectly perfect pop record (or perhaps it’s a perfectly imperfect one?), Somebody Else’s Song subverts your expectations by changing itself from song-to-song, while maintaining its own distinct cohesive identity. It’s this willingness to throw a curveball that makes the record wonderfully cohesive.
Sean Henry - "A Jump From The High Dive" | Album Review
A Jump From The High Dive signals a change in Henry’s approach to songwriting. The melodies are as strong as ever, but his pop-forward approach is now married with a more patient ear for detail. Where Fink felt like it sprang out of Henry’s fingertips, A Jump From The High Dive feels more considered and carefully crafted.
Horror Movie Marathon - "Good Scare" | Album Review
Horror Movie Marathon is the project of Will Rutledge, a Connecticut-turned-New York musician, and Good Scare is his debut album. It wouldn’t be fair or accurate to call Horror Movie Marathon a solo project, however, as Good Scare features Alex Molini (Philary, Stove, Pile) and Will Ponturo on piano/keys and drums/percussion respectively.
Sean Henry - "You Fall Away" | Post-Trash Premiere
“You Fall Away” combines two of Henry’s songwriting instincts, the melody-forward songwriting of Bob Pollard/Guided by Voices and the effortless grace of Big Star, into a pitch-perfect rock ballad. Tthe guitars and vocals capture the restless youth of mid-90s, crackling with a coiled energy that erupts in a final-minute solo.
Gold Dime - "La Isla De Vado" | Post-Trash Premiere
Freezing Cold - "Glimmer" LP | Post-Trash Premiere
Freezing Cold’s debut album, Glimmer, sounds like a lot of things: muscular art-rock, power-house emo, refined post-punk, and even mid-90’s alternative rock. One thing the album doesn’t sound like, however, is a debut. Glimmer comes to us confident & perfectly realized; the trio’s chemistry could not be more complementary.
Pom Pom Squad - "Ow" | Album Review
Pom Pom Squad’s new EP, Ow, is a step above the already-great Hate It Here in every way. The songs are more polished, but they’ve lost none of the edge that made the debut songs so strong. The vocal hooks are stronger, the production clearer, and the song sequencing highlights Berrin’s strength for storytelling
Ing - "Closet" | Post-Trash Compilation Feature
The way that Richmond VA’s Ing (just “Ing”, like the suffix) is experimental is a straight-forward way. They seem like a band that is genuinely curious about what kind of music they make. Songs change structure at the drop of a hat, varying in speed, volume, and rhythm. This variation – these dynamics – never feel self-conscious though.
Peaer - "A Healthy Earth" | Album Review
Lunch Duchess - "Crying For Fun" LP | Post-Trash Premiere
Eerie Wanda - "Hands of the Devil" | Post-Trash Compilation Feature
“Hands of the Devil” is emblematic of Pet Town as a whole: Tadic’s voice moves in the rhythm of a playground chant, her guitar picked in a lilting, whimsical manner, and the scant handclap percussion giving the recording an intimate, live feel. What I value most about “Hands of the Devil” is how tactile the song feels.
Mister Goblin - "White Fuckin Flag" (Dido cover) | Post-Trash Compilation Feature
On one hand, you can throw a Dido cover into the “surprising choices” catagory, but on the other, Mister Goblin’s rendition feels like it could have shown up on Final Boy. The original “White Flag” is a perfect pop song, gloriously overproduced and saturated with polish, but Woodring has reduced it all to double-tracked guitars and vocals.
Thanks For Coming - "No Problem" | Album Review
Written nearly two years ago, recorded with a full band, compiled of 24 tracks, No Problem is wildly ambitious, and that’s even before you take into consideration the 24 music video counterparts, directed by 24 different teams! It’s an epic composed of private thoughts, pitch-black comedy, nuanced observations, and self-aware anxieties.
Renata Zeiguer - "Gravity (Alt Version)" | Post-Trash Compilation Feature
“Gravity” was the last track written (and ordered) on Zeiguer’s debut, Old Ghost. It’s a fantastic song, and it shows up again on Faraway Business in an alternate form. On first listen, it sounds stripped back, with much of the production and arrangements of the original removed to make the song even more intimate than it was before.
Telepathy Club - "Triple Cancer" LP | Post-Trash Premiere
Crag Mask - "Bend" | Album Review
One of the most impressive things about Bend is how nimble the songwriting is. Listen to the transitions; the band is able to get from points A to B in clever ways that never sound fussy or overly technical. Keys shift and time signatures change, and if you aren’t keeping a close watch, you won’t even notice.
Pet Fox - "Swerving" | Post-Trash Premiere
Pet Fox’s admission of impatience is telling, “Swerving” is less than 90 seconds long. However, in that minute-and-a-half, the band are able to squeeze in a lot: several different musical phrases, one of their strongest vocal melodies to date, a metaphorical narrative, a lead guitar solo/outro, and a killer leaning chord progression.