I am so excited that my final priority of 2017 is Friendship, from Philadelphia (via Owen Ashworth’s Orindal Records)! This record is SO GOOD. I’m super lucky to get to get to associate myself even this little bit with it. Also their band name is very on brand, both for The Band Mom and for the fact that it went for adds at Thanksgiving. Pretty great. AND(!!!), this band includes not one but TWO former college radio music directors (sup WVAU and WICB!!). It really belongs here!! My first impression was that the sound falls right in between the music of Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon) and that of Ashworth’s own (Advance Base/Casiotone for the Painfully Alone). Introspective folky bedroom pop with lots of interesting musical touches and conversational-storytelling lyrics. Stereogum and BrooklynVegan are already on board, so what are you waiting for?!
This record is my second in a row here that’s DIGITAL-ONLY, so don’t wait for a hard copy, but run don’t walk to yr nearest link from your email (or check in with me for that if you work at a radio station and don’t have it) and snag that thing today! (You could also start by checking out a gorgeous new video, shot on 35mm in their hometown of Philly, if yr so inclined.) (Incidentally: sorry so many of my records lately have been download-only. I know that while for some of you it’s your preference, it’s harder on many of you, and it’s not my preference or my first recommendation to my bands – if you’re new to The Band Mom, I want to assure you it’s not my norm. But sometimes it’s the only option to make it work for the band financially, and if it’s a choice between that or not sending it to radio at all, I hope you can understand why it goes this way! Help prove me right that it’s still worth doing it this way, by downloading and spinning this wonderful work!!)
FRIENDSHIP
SHOCK OUT OF SEASON
Orindal Records
Friendship is a Philadelphia-based band currently comprised of Dan Wriggins, Peter Gill, Mike Cormier, Evangeline Krajewski, and Jon Samuels.
Gill, Cormier, and Wriggins, all originally from Maine, began performing as Friendship in 2015, when they shared an apartment in Philadelphia. They released an LP, You’re Going to Have to Trust Me, on Burst and Bloom Records in late 2015, and an EP, F/V Hope in 2017 with Philadelphia’s Sleeper Records.
Friendship’s new album, Shock Out of Season, comes out November 3, 2017 on Orindal Records (the label run by Owen Ashworth of Advance Base/Casiotone for the Painfully Alone). It is a collection of songs about work, friends, love, and loneliness, lifted by synthesizer, pedal steel, and Rhodes piano, and set against a combination of live and programmed drums.
Wriggins’ lyrics reflect conversation, humor, and calamity. They stress his characters’ unmediated involvement in each other’s lives, which transcends and is frustrated by their failed communications. These tensions are expanded by the band’s twisted articulation of Americana – waves of ambient pedal steel, droning synthesizers and drum machines, vibraphone, electric piano, and percussion surge and fall alongside minimal guitar and bass patterns.
RIYL: Mark Kozelek/Sun Kil Moon, Vic Chesnutt, Bill Callahan/(smog), Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Lambchop, David Bazan/Pedro the Lion, Advance Base/Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Majical Cloudz, Florist, Lomelda, Told Slant
Start With: 1, 2, 3, 5 FCC 6, 7
Photo credit: Bob Sweeney
“Friendship are a Philly-based band centered around Dan Wriggins’ narrative pull. His stories tend to be long-winded but confined to small moments, and the rest of the band…play into this in an unobtrusive but all-encompassing way.” – Stereogum
“Coupled with Wriggins’ conversational, almost stream of consciousness-style delivery, they manage to create a kind of flipped Americana. If classic folk rock is a space in which an artist can align the incongruities of their lives into some pure, cathartic communication on a channel to which everyone is tuned, then Friendship’s version is the sound when the various parts never quite match up, the narrator left to broadcast on his own frequency in the hope that someone might receive his garbled drift. “ – Various Small Flames
Friendship is a band based in Philadelphia that’s been dubbed “alt” or freak folk by some, experimental by many. Their sounds range from lo-fi DIY, to rambling lyrics that rival The Mountain Goats. Comparisons aside, Wriggins’ lyrics are all at once deadpan and sentimental, delivered with an attention to wordplay and an apprehension that keeps you on your toes. – Paste
My next add is by one of my all-time favorite people, and it’s her first album in six years!! Some of you who’ve been paying attention to Band Mom goings-on for an extra long time might remember my dear friend Shenandoah Davis from her last record The Company We Keep, which I sent out to radio way back in the olden days of 2011. This new one is called Souvenirs and it is so great!! She’s 6 years older, 6 years wiser and more sophisticated, and to be honest it shows in the music. Despite all that growing up, I’m not sure I can describe it any better than I did back in 2011, when I put it thusly: “it’s totally beautiful and idiosyncratic and her voice is kind of like Joanna Newsom’s or Regina Spektor’s – particularly in that it ranges from warbly/weirdy to the more classically agreed-upon idea of ‘lovely’ – in fact she is a trained opera singer! But I would not describe her music as ‘operatic’ in any sense except that it is poetic, deeply emotional, and beautiful.” A lovely Pitchfork review, coincidentally written by another old pal of mine, also really nails it. Check out this pull quote: “Beyond its emotional dexterity, the sound of Souvenirs is astoundingly well-rounded, as Davis’ wise-beyond-her-years lyrics mesh seamlessly with lush orchestral instrumentation and a strikingly high-pitched, classically-trained voice that lies somewhere between Joanna Newsom, Joni Mitchell, and some shivering lovelorn aria”. Awwww yeah. ACCURATE!
This record is DIGITAL-ONLY, so don’t wait for a hard copy, but run don’t walk to yr nearest link from your email (or check in with me for it if you work at a radio station and don’t have it) and grab that ish! (You could also start by checking out a gorgeous new video if yr so inclined.) Also she has now embarked on her massive national tour so stay tuned, and if you’d like to meet her while she’s passing by near you I bet we can make that happen! Tour dates below.
SHENANDOAH DAVIS
SOUVENIRS
Plume Records
Seattle-based musician Shenandoah Davis is thrilled to announce her third full-length record, Souvenirs, out September 8th on Plume Records. Davis has spent the last decade releasing music and touring the globe, gaining acclaim from fans and fellow musicians for her unique, piano-driven orchestral pop. Recorded and produced in a Brooklyn apartment, Souvenirs finds Davis going back through past relationships and personal experiences, picking out “moments both significant and insignificant that had gotten stuck in my head for one reason or another,” she shares.
“And you know how to find Northern lights / and you know how to fight wildfires / and you know the Latin names for every tree / but you don’t know me,” Shenandoah Davis sings on the fourth track of her forthcoming third full-length record, Souvenirs. The song, “Gold Coast,” is one of the album’s many peaks in poetic, yet direct lyricism, showcasing Davis’ astounding ability to distill even the tiniest moment, to pinpoint even the smallest of feelings, and spin them into a dynamic narrative that instantly reels us in.
Shenandoah Davis grew up attached to the piano. Being homeschooled, she’d spend each day racing through her lessons so she’d have time to practice for as long as possible. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in opera performance, she packed up and moved to Seattle to pursue their music/arts scene. Davis has been based in Seattle for ten years now, but has spent nearly half of that time away from home, touring throughout North America and the globe both in support of her solo music as well as part of other bands. This extensive touring and DIY work ethic led Davis to write articles and publish zines, giving detailed advice to fellow musicians based on her own experiences recording and on the road, covering topics such as “The Art of Gratitude” and “Things That Will Probably Happen To You On Tour.” Her most recent full-length, 2011’s The Company We Keep (which peaked at #113 on CMJ’s Top 200), took her to New Zealand, Australia, and Portugal, and also led to coveted slots opening for The Lumineers, Laura Marling, Angel Olsen, and Martha Wainwright, to name a few.
Souvenirs is a breakup album, but not in the traditional sense. Recorded and produced by Sam Miller in his Brooklyn apartment, it delves into breakups both personal and professional, romantic and platonic, intimate and inanimate, shedding light upon seemingly inconsequential occurrences and illuminating their greater meanings and potential consequences in our lives. Its message is amplified by masterful vocals, driving piano, and sweeping orchestral arrangements, with horns and strings that were recorded at the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York, where Davis’ younger sister had been studying.
In reviewing these breakup moments and putting them into song, Davis realized she had created a new kind of souvenir collection, snapshots of time and emotion that had previously gotten lost along the way. In doing so, Davis has crafted a record that is both deeply personal and wildly relatable, leaving listeners with the room we so crave for self-application and reflection, while solidifying her voice as a powerful and prominent songwriter.
All upcoming tour dates listed below.
RIYL: Mitski, Laura Marling, Angel Olsen, Martha Wainwright, Joanna Newsom, Regina Spektor
Start With: 2, 1, 5, 7 FCC CLEAN
Photo credit: Lou Daprile
TOUR DATES:
9/07 – Seattle, WA @ Gallery 1412
9/08 – Seattle, WA @ Everyday Music
9/09 – Seattle, WA @ Gallery 1412
9/10 – Seattle, WA @ Gallery 1412
9/16 – Portland, OR @ Alberta St. Pub w/Ritchie Young
If you’ve been around for a couple years, you might remember that I worked Kingsborough debut album, titled The Night, The Grind, and the Woes, in the spring of 2015. Lots of you loved it. Now we’ve got their follow-up, and it’s easily as good if not better!! That last record spent 7 straight weeks on CMJ’s Top 200, peaking at #73, so I don’t see why we can’t beat that with this one (although on NACC this time around of course)! These California-based rockers make the kind of straight-ahead, American Rock and Roll that it’s hard not to love. (Think Black Keys, Cold War Kids, Alabama Shakes, Cage the Elephant, Kings of Leon.) Get some!
KINGSBOROUGH
1544
Kingsborough Music, LLC
1544 is a collection of stories that happen from the time you leave your “9 to 5” to the time your alarm tells you to do it all over again. It’s the late night adventures with friends, the twilight love affairs, the cold beers you drink after a long week. It’s all the things we use to escape the monotony or normalcy of life.
No Depression gushes about 1544: “Kingsborough integrates many faculties within the intricate music industry and possesses substantial talents of epic proportions when it comes to their versatility pertaining to ingenious musical innovation. This entire album, 1544, was self-produced and providentially holds substantial weight even amongst the top hip tier bands in the contemporary rock genre.”
1544 is the address where all the members of Kingsborough lived and wrote the album. Recorded with Grammy-nominated producer Damien Lewis, this follow-up to 2015’s acclaimed debut, The Night, The Grind, and the Woes, charts a new sound for Kingsborough with more heavy-hitting songs like “Subtle Lies” (track 3), and their melodic tunes like “Hard on the Heart” (track 8) highlight their maturing songwriting chops. The first single off the album, “Low Down” (track 2), is currently featured on Spotify’s “Blues & Roots Rock” playlist and has garnered over 637,000 streams.
RIYL:Cage the Elephant, Kings of Leon, Black Keys, Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, Alabama Shakes, Cold War Kids
Start With: 3, 2, 6, 8 FCC CLEAN
TOUR DATES:
Aug 10 – Santa Rosa, CA – KRSH Backyard Concert Series
Aug 26 – Morgan Hill, CA – Myers Manor Music Fest
Aug 27 – Novato, CA – Hopmonk Tavern (KC Turner’s Cookout Series)
Sept 2 – Livermore, CA – Front Porch Music Festival
Sept 10 – Santa Clara, CA – Levi’s Stadium (Michael Mina’s 49er Tailgate)
Sept 16 – Petaluma, CA – The Mystic Theatre
Contact me for a download link if you’re a radio rep!
Band of Lovers are so great. They’ve got the male/female co-leads folky vibe you catch from the Head & the Heart or Lord Huron, with some cool dreamy harmony stuff inspired by the Zombies. They’ve been on perpetual nationwide tour for a few years now and that’s basically the theme of this album, which is their second. (They also are literally on tour right now, so if you happen to be in MI, PA, NY, or NJ, hit me up about going to see ‘em!!) Also, FYI, this album is definitely 100% FCC CLEAN (there’s even a lyrics doc you can search for yourself if you don’t trust my word—it’s wrapped up in the download which I can happily send ya if you work at a radio station) – I mention that because there was a misprint on some of the stickers where it only says “FCC” (the “CLEAN” got cut off) and I only noticed it once something like 80 CDs had already been packed up with those stickers on ‘em and sealed into envelopes, so it’s possible you got a CD with a sticker on it that just confusingly said “FCC” with no further FCC details—it’s clean!! I promise!! For sure!! Sorry for the confusing labeling! Anyway, this band is great, you’re gonna love it, and then sometime soon you’ll surely have the opportunity to see them on their neverending tour! Do it!!
BAND OF LOVERS
AMERICAN TOUR
Self-Released
After four years of life on the road comes Band of Lovers’ sophomore album, American Tour. Its Americana aesthetic and chamber pop harmonies, born through the tests of constant motion and influences like Brian Wilson and the Zombies, started incubating when the band formed in 2013.
Dave Strumfeld, lead songwriter, singer, and guitarist, had been writing songs since childhood, but he credits this music to life on tour and his creative partnership with longtime friend Sabina Beachdell. “We’ve tried every incarnation of friendship, and the strongest one for us is this—traveling the country and turning that into music together.”
Beachdell, a lyricist, singer, and ukulele player in the band, came up with the group’s moniker in 2013, heavily influenced by her solo travels. “Meeting so many people around the country, I kept coming back to love—everyone is a lover. It’s the one thing we all have in common, and I feel like we should band together around it.”
This is precisely what drew Liliana Urbain—percussionist and singer—to the group. “I’d never seen a project so driven by this belief in love and art, and the call of the road. It was intoxicating.” So much so that after meeting by chance at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville in 2014, the trio decided to join forces. It was the same way they made most of their decisions— boldly, rashly, and without looking back.
What ensued was a whirlwind: love, heartbreak, copious amounts of songwriting, adventures, depression—some of the deepest highs and lows the band members had seen, apart or together.
All the while, the constants of the road and the music kept them going. “Anthem,” the album’s lead single and first track, became their warrior cry to the motion. “Long Day, Late Night” acknowledged how tired they’d become. “Carry You” rallied around the drive and the minimalist nature of it all. Together they chronicled heartache and triumphs, the call of the West and their own personal dreams.
Now in their fourth year on the road, the band is growing up and pushing onward. True to form, concurrent with the release of American Tour, they’re embarking on a five-month trek to hand deliver the album to nearly every corner of the country.
It’s music meant for motion. Take it with you – it’ll keep you company when the wanderlust kicks in and the open road awaits.
RIYL: The Head and the Heart, Wilco, Fleet Foxes, The Zombies, Lord Huron, Shakey Graves
Start With: 1, 11, 5, 4, 2 FCC CLEAN
TOUR DATES:
6/16 – Boyne City, MI – Stroll The Streets
6/16 – Bangor, MI – Hoodilidoo
6/18 – Grand Haven, MI – C3
6/24 – Indianapolis, IN – The Upside Down House Concert w/ Chad Lehr
6/29 – Port Huron, MI – Schwonk Sound Stead
6/30 – Lake Orion, MI – 20 Front Street /w The Goetz Girls
7/1 – Lake Orion, MI – 20 Front Street w/ The Rough and Tumble
7/3 – Algonac, MI – Pickarel Tournament (Algonac Lions Club)
7/6 – Geneva, OH – M Cellars – Take Steps from Crohn’s & Colitis Benefit show w/ Gage Brothers
7/11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Hospitality House Concert w/ Buffalo Rose
7/15 – New York, NY—Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2
7/16 – Egg Harbor City, NJ – Folk Across the Street
Contact me for a download link if you’re a radio rep!
My newest record is the shoegazey goodness of Monster Movie – the newest release from my good pals at Graveface Records!! OMG!! This one came to you as a DOWNLOAD ONLY (you could preview it by streaming it on their Bandcamp here). If you haven’t heard of Monster Movie, that’s okay—they’ve been around for like over 15 years, but this is their first release since 2010. They’re a British shoegaze/dream pop band, featuring Christian from SLOWDIVE (not formerly—he’s still a current Slowdive member, too!) and Sean from Eternal! On this record they’ve also got a second guy from Slowdive (Nick), James Harrison from Air Formation, and it was produced by Ryan Graveface (the guy who runs the label, and also, btw, plays as dreamend and in The Casket Girls). Basically, this is RIYL Slowdive, or I mean just RIYL good music, it is catchy and layered and memorable and GOOD!
MONSTER MOVIE
KEEP THE VOICES DISTANT
Graveface Records & Curiosities
Christian Savill and Sean Hewson have been in bands together since the late ’80s. In 1989, one of these bands, Eternal, released a single on Sarah Records called “Breathe” that featured the dreamy, fuzzed out guitars soaring over pop melodies that Christian brings to any project he is a part of. Sean was missing for that but returned for a shambolic gig supporting Slowdive and Chapterhouse in Reading. Shortly afterwards, and with some justification, Christian left to join Slowdive.
Ten years later, Christian and Sean formed Monster Movie in a failed attempt to go Krautrock. In 2001, they released their first EP on Clairecords which contained a few seconds of Krautrock but was mainly dreamy, fuzzed out guitars soaring over pop melodies. In the years spanning 2002-2010 Monster Movie put out four full-length albums, a mini album, and a few EPs, the majority of which were released on Graveface Records.
Since 2014 Christian has also been involved with Slowdive’s reunion and subsequent touring. The band have just released “Star Roving,” their first single in 22 years. Slowdive’s reappearance has also had a positive effect on Monster Movie with Sean and Christian realising that they needed to move away from being a studio project and become a proper band. For their latest and strongest album, Keep The Voices Distant, they were joined by James Harrison from Air Formation on drums and Nick Chaplin (Slowdive) on bass with Christian and Sean contributing guitar, bass, keyboards and vocals. Since September 2015 Monster Movie have been Kev Wells (guitar/vocals/everything), Sean Hewson (bass/vocals/everything), Christian Savill (guitar/vocals/everything) and James Harrison (drums/vocals/everything).
Keep The Voices Distant is Monster Movie’s fifth album and their first record since 2010’s Everyone Is a Ghost. It was recorded with Martin Nichols at White House Recording Studios in Weston-super-Mare and produced by Ryan Graveface. As with all Monster Movie releases, it is a combination of Christian and Sean’s song-writing, playing, arrangements, general grumpiness and chaotic, personal lives. This time, however, with James, Nick and Ryan in the studio with them, the songs have really been allowed to take off.
RIYL: Slowdive, Eternal, Night School, Air Formation, Whirr, My Bloody Valentine, Chapterhouse, Ringo Deathstarr, Ride
Start With: 6, 5, 1 FCC CLEAN
Contact me for a download link if you’re a radio rep!
My newest record is some good pals of mine from my time living in NYC, Bright Brown! I met the bandleader Alex when we worked together (me as a door person/stage manager, he as a sound engineer) at a venue in Brooklyn. And I was instantly won over by his sweet personality as well as super impressed when he told me he used to play in John Vanderslice’s band as well as work as a recording engineer sometimes at JV’s famous San Francisco recording studio, Tiny Telephone. Yeah!! Since moving to NY he joined forces with a drummer, Nick Smeraski, and started Bright Brown, which is a cool classic rock-influenced outfit that occasionally (my favorite parts) includes vocal touches added by kids—last album included Alex’s own kid, and this one includes my favorite track, “Less Tunnel More Light” (track 7), featuring the Brooklyn Youth Chorus (which also includes Alex’s son). Another cool thing this band uses is the rarely seen chapman stick—which is usually associated with instrumental/experimental jazz. Alex is one of very few singer/songwriters/rock musicians (if there are any others) who plays one, which allows them to get a a huge ethereal sound as just a duo. You should look into this, it is cool!
BRIGHT BROWN
SOFT LANDINGS
Self-Released
Bright Brown is sonic cinema. The Brooklyn based ethereal, avant-indie duo of vocalist and Chapman Stick player Alex Nahas and drummer Nick Smeraski evoke a visual sound that is at once epic, poetic, and intimate. Their new record, Soft Landings, also features the rich embellishments of piano, organ, and a childrens’ choir. Where Bright Brown’s previous release, Oceans, deals with embarking on reckless searches to find meaning, Soft Landings deals with finding safe places to retreat to during those journeys grappling with themes of time passing and acceptance of who you are. Songs like “Tick Tock” and “Sloop” are realizations that time is sailing past, while the spiritual “Less Tunnel More Light” and “Wide” are pleas to find inspiration from what’s inside us or readily within our reach.
RIYL: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, New Order, David Bowie, Flaming Lips, John Vanderslice
Start With: 7, 3, 1 FCC CLEAN
Contact me for a download link if you’re a radio rep!
I’m so excited about this FRICKIN’ KILLER record by my Seattle BFFs Scarves, which is doing so great so far!! The album title is MALL GOTHS which is maybe all you need to know, just go listen to it now. It’s great. You may remember them from the record Empty Houses that I did a radio campaign for back in 2014 (#128 on the Top 200!). This record is even better. Like you may possibly recall if you’ve been around for a couple years, they play mathy, literate, talky, emo-inflected indie pop, a la Joan of Arc, who by the way they opened for in Seattle a few weeks ago. KEXP is already playing them, as are a lot of the rest of you—get on board if you’re dragging, and let’s shoot for a lofty-ish goal and get Scarves into the Top 50 this time around!!!!
SCARVES
MALL GOTHS
Self-Released
Scarves only seems to be getting better and more self-assured over time. Scarves combines a jarring mixture of Northwest indie, math rock, and classic emo to create an emotional landscape more relatable than many of the other indie rock outfits out there, if only for their stark honesty and abrasive attempt at human connection. “– KEXP
Mall Goths is an album comprised of ten vignettes depicting characters along the I-5 corridor between Bellingham, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Struggling against their reality, desperate for rebellion, yet inextricably stuck, they fall in love in one city and break up in the next, all over meticulously unhinged instrumentals.
Scarves was formed in mid-2013 by Niko Stathakopoulos of Silicon Girls, Marshall Verdoes of Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, and David Price of Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head. All three found themselves in bands in the midst of implosion, and wanted a creative outlet that existed simply for the sake of making art and blowing off steam. The project took on real significance for Stathakopoulos when they began work on their debut release, TV EP (2013), with Sam Anderson of Hey Marseilles. “Lyrics suddenly became super important to me,” relates Stathakopoulos. “Suddenly our slacker rock sensibility wasn’t enough. I wanted our songs to mean something, to tell a story.”
After touring behind TV EP for a few months, they headed back to Soundhouse in Seattle to record their first full length, Empty Houses, with Dylan Wall (So Pitted, Craft Spells). Scarves toured lightly in support of the release, and once again, discord crept into the project: “I am the only original left,” says Stathakopoulos. “During that time, we went through 11 members.” In late 2015, drummer Cael Watts and bassist Hector Rodriguez III joined Stathakopoulos, and the band got back to work. Newly invigorated, the band booked time at Chris Walla’s legendary Hall of Justice studio for their next record.
Written while Stathakopoulos was travelling continuously through the Northwest, the record crackles with the bleary-eyed intensity of too many hours spent flying down the highway. “My girlfriend at the time was living in Portland, so I would drive eight hours from Bellingham to see her,” says Stathakopoulos, “or I would drive two hours to practice with my band who all lived in Seattle. We would practice and get the instrumentals done together, then record them on an iPhone, and I would drive around listening to the little blown out audio files and just sort of diary over them.”
Tonally, Mall Goths can be broken into two sides, the first half hopeful, the second heavy and tinted with hindsight. “Dissolve” charts the brutality inherent in the service industry, while “Slasher Flicks” looks enviously at the simple life/death duality of horror films, a welcome reprieve from the complicated emotional minutiae of the average day. Against a backdrop of tall pines and freeways, Stathakopoulos sketches snapshots of banal reality and the inevitable longing for escape. Wrap yourself in Scarves’ angular guitars and intriguing melodies, and perhaps you’ll find that it’s in the ubiquitous details of daily reality that our shared humanity dwells.
RIYL: Joan of Arc, American Football, Cursive, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Dismemberment Plan
My first add of 2017 came via a recommendation from a friend, and true to that friend’s form, Bear the Weather is lovely. They’re a Seattle-based folky band—a bit of a twang, a bit of a 90s alt influence, a lot of posi vibes and earnest spirit. It’s going for spins both on CMJ/Top 200 and AAA or folk rotations, if that’s a format you do. It’s a nice 5-track EP so we can start this year off right together! We made our CMJ debut at #179, in a week that may possibly have been the last CMJ chart ever?? STILL HARD TO SAY, but if so that was a great way to go out, and if not, well I’d love to see this record keep on climbing it!! And if so, let’s still push it up on the other charts, I’ve seen it pop up on NACC and Muzooka too!! You should DEFINITELY have a hard copy of this one, except for the very small number of you who I know prefer downloads—I sent hard copies to basically every single station I’m aware of existing. Check it out!
BEAR THE WEATHER
RAMPANT (SEE AMERICA, PT 1)
Self-Released
Rampant (See America, pt 1) is the debut EP from Bear the Weather, which comprises Tennessee singer-songwriter Michael Fielden and a collective of folk, rock, and jazz musicians from Seattle, WA. The members of BTW draw upon their diverse musical influences and backgrounds to form a sound that is roots-oriented but forward thinking, powerful but sophisticated. When combined with Fielden’s insightful songs of exploration and hard-won humanity, the results are unforgettable.
See America is a tribute to those who disappear in order to understand the darkness. The intrepid dropouts. The penitent romantics. The beatified losers. The strangers inside ourselves.
RIYL: Head and the Heart, Jason Isbell, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Cass McCombs, Dawes, Band of Horses, Tobias the Owl
Start With: 3, 1, 2 FCC CLEAN
Photo by Amber Zbitnoff Photography
Contact me for a download link if you’re a radio rep!
haha! i’m publishing this so late i know nobody is ever going to come across it just browsing or looking for 2016 year-end lists, and that’s okay. like i’ve said before, truly i do these just for myself, for posterity, to refer back to later, to remember and look back on the year in a digestible way. i do end up putting these to use at unpredictable future points, like showing an artist years later that their last record was among my favorites of that year, or pointing out to some dude i met that i liked the movie he’s trying to tell me about long before he “introduced” me to it, or in proving in a braggy-nerd way that i was into a band or director before their big future breakout, or in giving an overview of my taste to future entertainment-biz employers. so i’m gonna keep doing that on the faith that something like that might happen again. so here this is!!
2016 was a real garbage fire of a year for the world, between the election and all the celebrities dying. so i don’t mean to brag but it was an alright year for me personally. i lived in the same house in seattle the whole year, and continued on with my previous gigs of the last few years: radio promo as The Band Mom obviously, plus show manager at the Vera Project, door person/box office at my cool neighborhood venue, Columbia City Theater, and i worked for my third year in the box office for the Seattle International Film Festival. i also started a new very part-time gig as door person at another neighborhood haunt, the Royal Room. in March i traveled yet again to Austin (and San Antonio) for my 10th SXSW in a row. i got to participate (thanks to the Vera Project) in the Seattle music festival Bumbershoot (Sept), and was a leader of Vera’s group of scrappy young outreach volunteers at the camping music fest Sasquatch at the Gorge in May. AND i made cute lil trips to various locations around WA: North Bend/Snoqualmie Falls (several visits to my favorite place), Spokane with a friend to see a show at the Knitting Factory, Vashon Island for their annual Strawberry Festival and another time for a fun housewarming, Tacoma with another friend for a movie at the Grand and my favorite fried rice spot, Kent/Bonney Lake for some family visits, and Ellensburg to serve as a guest judge on KCWU’s “Burgstock” battle the bands(!). And also traveled to Los Angeles in January to visit friends, Princeton NJ for my cousin Nate’s wedding (onto which I tacked a fun lil NYC trip too), and Ohio in both December (usual holidays trip + parents’ retirement party + brief side trip to PA w/fam) and June (for my brother’s wedding!) – and hosted/hung with friends visiting Seattle from LA, Portland, and New Zealand. Like I said, a pretty alright year for me really!
you’ll see my festival and venue work again reflected pretty heavily when we get down to my Top Shows lists, much as they were in my Top Stuff of 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 (i didn’t have such jobs in 2010 and 2009, but the venues i’d later work at were reflected pretty heavily in those lists as well). i’m maintaining the rule that Band Mom bands are ineligible for the Top Albums list because i couldn’t possibly rank them against each other, but that i can’t rule out shows where i worked the door or box office or show managed or was otherwise professionally involved in for my Top Shows lists, because then there would be almost no shows to consider.
as always, i never claim stuff on this list is the ‘best’ of the year. art is impossible to grade on an objective scale, and it’s insulting and ugly to posture as though one could do so. these are just my favorites:
my top 45 albums of 2016:
tacocat – lost time
the thermals – we disappear
eric bachmann – eric bachmann
nick cave & and the bad seeds – skeleton tree
mitski – puberty 2
car seat headrest – teens of denial
david bazan – blanco
lisa prank – adult teen
frankie cosmos – next thing
childish gambino – “awaken, my love!”
yoni & geti – testarossa
angel olsen – my woman
kishi bashi – sonderlust
bellows – fist & palm
thao & the get down stay down – a man alive
m83 – junk
beach slang – a loud bash of teenage feelings
LVL UP – return to love
mike adams at his honest weight- casino drone
told slant – going by
animal collective – painting with
bear hands – you’ll pay for this
the avalanches – wildflower
whitney – light upon the lake
quilt – plaza
the julie ruin – hit reset
jordan o’jordan – through tough thoughts
conor oberst – ruminations
okkervil river – away
of montreal – innocence reaches
nada surf – you know who you are
hey marseilles – hey marseilles
yeasayer – amen and goodbye
julianna barwick – will
aesop rock – the impossible kid
sad13 – slugger
kid cudi – passion, pain & demon slayin’
xiu xiu – plays the music of twin peaks
jimmy eat world – integrity blues
ty segall – emotional mugger
damien jurado – visions of us on the land
sound of ceres – nostalgia for infinity
half japanese – perfect
ra ra riot – need your light
american football – s/t / lp2
the top 10 especially this year are albums i care an extra lot about about, but i extra-appreciated all of them enough to make the big recommendation!
while i see my films list below as pretty definitive (with the couple of named possible exceptions and MAYBE like one or two wildcards that came out in 2016 but haven’t yet crossed my radar), i see this music list as much less so. even so far past the end of the year, i still know there’s so much more music that was released in 2016 that never crossed my ears but that may end up being my favorite stuff in the future. so like, in ten years i bet i’ll probably largely stand by my top films list here, but my list of favorite music released in 2016 may look completely different (i’m talking additions, not deletions – the fact that this list of albums had a real impact on me can’t and won’t change retroactively; even if the future brings new information that makes me feel differently about the artists generally, i’ll never be able to change the fact that this music has meant something to me). in fact i’ve got a list of about 40 more albums i just haven’t spent enough time with to include but i bet would be very likely to in a hypothetical distant-future accounting of this year. some of them are embarrassing, like ajj and tobacco and wilco and frank ocean and david bowie and beyonce – what was i even doing that i didn’t have time to spend with those surely-great albums? WHO KNOWS
as mentioned and as always, Band Mom artists are ineligible for this list because I wouldn’t even begin to know how to rank them: this means you (in chronological order), animals of grace, photo ops, tuft, melaena cadiz, seaons, casket girls, the stargazer lilies, prairie empire, like, listen to, and hillary susz. that’s artists from California, Seattle, Nashville, Oregon, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York, and beyond (and releases by Graveface, Misra, Bad Friend Records, and several other beloved record labels!!). you all put out FANTASTIC albums that are tied for number one in my heart, and I love you the most.
top 25 shows (concerts):
hop along w/dr. dog @ the neptune [dr. dog was the headliner, but not in my heart] (seattle, february)
third eye blind w/bad bad hats @ the knitting factory (spokane, april)
father john misty w/tess & dave @ the paramount (seattle, april)
frankie cosmos @ the vera project (seattle) x2: w/eskimeaux, iji, & yowlers (april) + w/sundae crush & iji (oct)
bumbershoot highlights: explosions in the sky, reggie watts (w full band), laser outkast (where i also sat by ron funches, hehe), thunderpussy, third eye blind, death cab for cutie @ seattle center (labor day)
loudon wainwright w/eliza rickman @ the triple door (seattle, september)
deck the hall ball: jimmy eat world, phantogram, the head & the heart at key arena (seattle, december)
sad13 w/vagabon & lisa prank @ the vera project (seattle, november)
kexp new home grand opening: bob mould, car seat headrest, hey marseilles, deep sea diver, charms, botka, imarhan @ seattle center’s northwest courtyard (april)
glen phillips (of toad the wet sprocket) w/jonathan kingham @ columbia city theater (seattle, november)
jordan o’ jordan w/lonesome leash @ gallery 1412 (seattle) x2: first in april, then w/erica freas (july)
sasquatch highlights: sufjan stevens, the cure, hop along, bully, tacocat, yo la tengo, m83, thunderpussy, tangerine, ruler, telekinesis, fauna shade, iska dhaaf, childbirth, unknown mortal orchestra, ty segall, mac demarco, leon bridges, alabama shakes, titus andronicus, grimes, king gizzard and the lizard wizard (the gorge, may)
“david bazan’s christmas miracle” w/advance base @ neumos (seattle, december)
nick jaina w/stelth ulvang & shenandoah davis @ columbia city theater (seattle, january)
pwr bttm @ the vera project (seattle) x3: w/lisa prank & boyfriends (january), w/pity sex (july), + w/bellows & lisa prank (november)
leigh nash (of sixpence none the richer) @ columbia city theater (seattle, april)
the thermals w/acapulco lips @ the mural stage, seattle center presented by kexp (august)
julien baker w/generifus @ the vera project (seattle, february)
sxsw highlights: yacht, tuft, wolf eyes, dana falconberry, pwr bttm, bambara, advance base, jad fair, diet cig, chvrches, guts club, mal blum, waxahatchee, melaena cadiz, sons of an illustrious father (austin, march)
skymall @ victory lounge (seattle, february)
waxahatchee w/briana marela & globelamp @ the vera project (seattle, march)
the lumineers @ columbia city theater (seattle, april)
american football w/david bazan @ the neptune (seattle, february)
s, sunflower bean, weaves @ the vera project (seattle, march)
that list is 5 shows longer than last year, because i just couldn’t bear to cut any more out.:) but it felt to me overall like the year of both third eye blind and pwr bttm. both came crashing in (or back in) to my life unexpectedly and ended up taking up kind of a lot of (positive) space in it!
my 12 favorite comedy/podcast/spoken word shows I saw (couldn’t keep it to 10! in chronological order):
-shitty jobs (dc pierson, dominic dierkes, ben schwartz, ben rodgers) @ ucb franklin (los angeles, january) -dave hill, tim heidecker, and scharpling & wurster @ sasquatch (the gorge, may) -harry moroz w/brenton biddlecombe on “the super secret stand up show” @ ‘comedy sportz’ (seattle, july) -whiplash (aparna nancherla hosting, gary gulman, nick vatterott, neal brennan, jermaine fowler) @ ucb chelsea (new york, july) -flight of the conchords w/john hodgman, demitri martin, eugene mirman (and guest kimbra on “carol brown”!) @ forest hills stadium (queens, july) -thrilling adventure hour (guest stars jon hamm, craig bierko, ted leo, & jean grae, w/regulars paul f tompkins, padget brewster, marc evan jackson, mark gagliardi, craig cackowski etc) @ bell house (brooklyn, july) -night train (michelle buteau hosting, jo firestone, hari kondabolu, beth stelling, graham kay, drew dowdey, and the found footage festival) @ littlefield (brooklyn, july) -kevin mcdonald w/wallace shawn, and 2 dope queens live podcast taping w/jon stewart, basically simultaneously but i made it to both(!) @ union hall and bell house (brooklyn, july) -weird & awesome with emmett montgomery, featuring tim lennon, @ the annex theater (seattle, august) -maria bamford w/jackie kashian @ the moore (seattle, september) -john hodgman on his “vacationland” tour @ the neptune (seattle, november) -joe mande w/erin ingle & justin clark @ columbia city theater (seattle, december)
top 100 movies:
hunt for the wilderpeople
other people
la la land
arrival
moonlight
nocturnal animals
don’t think twice
swiss army man
manchester by the sea
a tale of love and darkness
middle man
high-rise
green room
under the shadow
blue jay
20th century women
tickled
immortal
captain fantastic
our little sister
midnight special
hello, my name is doris
10 cloverfield lane
the neon demon
ma ma
ghostbusters
weiner
viktoria
desierto
the handmaiden
i am not your negro
jim: the james foley story
one more time with feeling
mascots
the salesman
torrey pines
certain women
before the flood
tanna
l’attesa
silence
hail, caesar!
kate plays christine
zoom
the pistol shrimps
kedi
looking: the movie
live by night
the love witch
imperium
13th
closet monster
julieta
voyage of time
hidden figures
author: the jt leroy story
pee-wee’s big holiday
loving
the bfg
moana
the lobster
gleason
fire at sea
lion
goat
allied
krisha
hell or high water
syl johnson: any way the wind blows
toni erdmann
joshy
another evil
jackie
folk hero & funny guy
a bride for rip van winkle
land of mine
the lovers and the despot
american honey
tower
cameraperson
the invitation
into the inferno
the red turtle
my life as a zucchini
the birth of a nation
goodnight brooklyn – the story of death by audio
rogue one: a star wars story
fantastic beasts and where to find them
keeping up with the joneses
miss peregrine’s home for peculiar children
queen of katwe
love & friendship
before the streets
take me to the river
train to busan
microbe and gasoline
hardcore henry
wiener-dog
blair witch
paterson
honorable mentions (roughly in order; this whole list was initially a numbered top 204 until I considered how ridiculous that is. but FYI I feel EXTRA strongly this time about the top 30 of the above list, but strongly enough about all of these to mention ‘em. I did see 108 other 2016 movies that didn’t make any list at all!):
life, animated; little men; the vvitch; kubo and the two strings; right now, wrong then; the dressmaker; snowden; american pastoral; search party; miss sharon jones!; neighbors 2: sorority rising; the nice guys; the legend of tarzan; star trek: beyond; the fits; only yesterday; equity; the hollars; elle; money monster; 11:55; the jungle book; zootopia; alone; fences; a man called ove; the magnificent seven; popstar: never stop never stopping; whiskey tango foxtrot; christine; kaili blues; band of robbers; the accountant; april and the extraordinary world; finding dory; free state of jones; the eagle huntress; tiny: the life of erin blackwell; in a valley of violence; the land; equals; deadpool; mountain; kingdom of clay subjects; dough; amanda knox; mountains may depart; remember; come and find me; the light between oceans; burn, burn, burn; denial; jules and delores; the night stalker; morris from america; a monster calls; the family fang; x-men: apocalypse; central intelligence; eye in the sky; the edge of seventeen; henry gamble’s birthday party; the blackcoat’s daughter; the people vs fritz bauer; passengers; worst laid plans; zero days; phantom boy; captain america: civil war; lo and behold: reveries of the connected world; how to plan an orgy in a small town; southside with you; lamb; miss hokusai; i am the pretty thing that lives in the house; cafe society; a hologram for the king; de palma; finding october; vanity; the coop; being 17; demolition; barney thomson; knight of cups; sing street; florence foster jenkins; the first monday in may; the finest hours; all the birds have flown south; the architect; eternal summer; mr. pig; neruda; the innocents; marguerite; the bronze; the shallows; bad moms; the brand new testament; colonia; demon; the autopsy of jane doe; shut in.
top NEW actors of the year (as in i’d never heard their names before/hadn’t noticed them in anything as actors and now they seem like a big deal to me, were each in several things i loved or at least were really impressive in one thing – lots of tv in the mix here too): byung-hun lee (the magnificent seven), johnny pemberton (son of zorn, neighbors 2, superstore), gal godot (keeping up with the joneses, criminal, batman v superman), emily meade (nerve, money monster, broad city), wyatt russell (everybody wants some, folk hero and funny guy, black mirror), devin druid (imperium, wiener-dog), janelle monae (hidden figures, moonlight), maya erskine (man seeking woman, insecure, son of zorn), michaela coel (chewing gum, the aliens), and oona laurence (lamb, bad moms, pete’s dragon)
standout actors of the year (who were not new to me, but were in a bunch of stuff i loved and seemed to have a really big year): nick kroll (knight of cups, loving), michael shannon (loving, nocturnal animals, midnight special), john early (search party, neighbors 2, other people), daniel radcliffe (swiss army man, imperium, now you see me 2), amy adams (arrival, nocturnal animals), michael sheen (nocturnal animals, passengers, masters of sex), mahershala ali (moonlight, house of cards, luke cage, hidden figures), and riz ahmed (the night of, the OA, rogue one)
also as an aside, a few years ago I made up a ‘best sound design‘ category because I felt so strongly about black swan’s and then we need to talk about kevin’s and then upstream color’s and then the babadook’s and then the revenant’s, and was mad that they were slighted in oscar nominations, and this year I feel the same way about the sound in both swiss army man AND in nocturnal animals!
and I created a bunch more superlatives/notes of interest which tend to vary by the year, like this time i wanna talk about best use of a pop song: that barbara lewis song in the jukebox scene in moonlight was an absolute KNOCKOUT. i also really appreciated the crucial use of “every stone” by manchester orchestra in swiss army man.
how about, best soundtracks/scores: i had strong feelings about kid koala’s work in zoom, brian mcomber’s work in krisha, all the jonsi/sigur ros in captain fantastic, and the la la land which managed to be a musical i loved even though i generally truly hate musicals.
I’ve also been enjoying noting oddest coincidences or instances of parallel thinking: this year, marguerite and florence foster jenkins had the same plot, and also there were two oj simpson tv shows why??
also along those lines, there were two songs that were weirdly song by characters, each within two different films: “take on me” was sung in both la la land and sing street, and “pennies from heaven” was sung in both the founder and sing??
some stats notes on movies: in 2016 i saw 297 different movies. (167 of them were 2016-released movies.) 121 of them were in theaters, and to date i’ve seen 311 movies that came out in 2016 (dramatically, by far, an all-time record for me – but i’m publishing this soo much later than i ever have, too, so that’s a wild exception and not a record i’ll reasonably want to try and beat. this includes several that i watched after the year ended, so they’ll be among the total i report having watched in 2017, but they’re also part of the group of 2016 movies i’m counting as eligible for this best-of list because i watched them before publishing this list, today).
as for movies with questionable release dates, the rule i made up is basically that if i saw it in like a festival or limited-engagement special event in 2016, even if it didn’t get even limited national release otherwise, it counts for my list, but if i did not see it in a festival before 2016 and its first limited release (a usa release that’s not a specific festival, even if it showed in fests pre-2016) was this year, then it counts. in other words it’s pretty subjective to my perspective, but it had to have its (limited or wide) release begin in 2016 OR be seen by me in a festival or special event (i saw movies at SXSW, SIFF and a few assorted micro fests and special screenings, and in theaters and homes in New York, Washington, Ohio, and Texas) in 2016.
also of note, i saw 14 2016 movies in 3d, as well as 6 in IMAX (3 of those overlapped, IMAX 3d). (i also saw one more time with feeling, a 2016 release that made my above list, in 3d, but i didn’t see that screening until 2017.) i continue to think 3d is a stupid cash grab that almost never adds to the film, but I suffer from pretty severe fear of missing out so i keep allowing myself to get suckered in. this year the only ones i’d really make a case for 3d being worth it were one more time with feeling, and the marvel movies and star treks/wars (it does enhance the scale of things to see ’em flying all around with better depth of field i guess) (also i’d note that in passengers, the 3d was really the only thing i liked about it).
i saw two movies twice in theaters this year: la la land (one of the two screenings was in imax) and don’t think twice.
i keep saying this every year but this is once again my longest movie list ever…there are just so many that I truly feel strongly about! also I keep seeing more and more movies every year in theaters, because of this service called Moviepass where I pay a monthly fee for nearly-unlimited movies so that it actually made financial sense to see MORE movies than less, and I was happy to oblige. i also included netflix/other VOD-only releases that debuted in 2016, even if they never showed in theaters.
here’s what 2.33 trips to the movie theater a week (plus a few extraneous otherwise tix) looks like, btw:
although i obviously saw a ton of movies this year, you’ll always miss a few; there are a few that i still intend to see. i feel very good about the above list, really got pretty much all of the serious contenders in for once (like for only my second time ever since beginning to put these lists together, i caught every single feature-length film nominated for an oscar in any category before publishing!). even so, these stragglers might have had a chance at making the above lists had i been able to catch them: cemetery of splendor, aquarius, les cowboys, miles ahead, pride and prejudice and zombies, ordinary world, triple 9, the meddler, the empire of corpses, belladonna of sadness, harmony, tale of tales, demon, madly, and things to come. pretty much everything else, if it had a theatrical release in 2016 and it’s not listed here, it’s on purpose. SO THERE.
saw filmmakers/actors in person promoting:
-a bride for rip van winkle (director iwai shunji, SIFF @ egyptian, may 24) -the pistol shrimps (director brent hodge, SIFF @ uptown, june 2) -complete unknown (director joshua marston, SIFF @ egyptian, june 2) -folk hero & funny guy (director jeff grace and producer ryland aldrich, SIFF @ uptown, june 5) -the fits (producer/co-writer lisa kjerulff, SIFF @ ark lodge, june 8) -middle man (writer/director ned crowley, stars jim o’heir and andrew j. west, SIFF @ uptown, june 12) -11:55 (producer matthew thurm, co-director/co-writer ben snyder, SIFF @ uptown, june 12) -don’t think twice (writer/director/star mike birbiglia, actor tami sagher, and producer ira glass, moderated by judd apatow, landmark sunshine NYC, july 23) -transparent (writers’ panel for tv show, with writers bridget bedard, micah fitzerman-blue, and ethan kuperberg, and actor kate berlant, bumbershoot, september 3) -local sightings “northwest strange” shorts program (6 short filmmakers, including my pal jared steiner with “last caller”, northwest film forum, sept 27)
also these 2 other special film events that weren’t with the filmmakers present but did have special hosts and feel worth a mention anyway:
-the mads are back: glen or glenda (MST3K guys riffing live on ed wood movie, SIFF @ egyptian, may 21) -rambu: the intruder (b-movie bingo, SIFF @ egyptian, june 4)
favorite new tv shows:
atlanta stranger things love lady dynamite the oa one mississippi braindead insecure better things chewing gum search party the night of dirk gently’s holistic detective agency (us version) fleabag the good place high maintenance oj: made in america (why did the oscars classify this as a film?? it’s clearly a miniseries?) american crime story: the people vs oj simpson the get down westworld borderline the path baskets divorce borderline wrecked leah remini: scientology and the aftermath luke cage the aliens dramaworld horace and pete marcella the night manager you, me and the apocalypse animals. 11.22.63
plus favorite returning (not new in 2016 but had 2016 seasons) tv shows:
brooklyn nine-nine bojack horseman bob’s burgers last week tonight with john oliver crazy ex-girlfriend togetherness you’re the worst transparent broad city the birthday boys house of cards grace and frankie mr. robot adventure time with finn and jake unREAL portlandia izombie casual please like me schitt’s creek catastrophe jane the virgin adam ruins everything drunk history gilmore girls superstore man seeking woman the mindy project quantico new girl fresh off the boat sherlock the last man on earth you’re the worst the fall documentary now! comedy bang! bang! black mirror daredevil the increasingly poor decisions of todd margaret wayward pines scandal orange is the new black better call saul younger bates motel lovesick (formerly called “scrotal recall”, v good name change) bloodline angie tribeca x-files (especially that episode with rhys darby and kumail!!) those who can’t married scream queens scream peaky blinders
(fell behind on current seasons of marvel’s agent carter, the man in the high castle, girls, luther, masters of sex, penny dreadful, american horror story, ash vs evil dead, and maron that might’ve otherwise made the list; also planning on someday getting around to veep, enlightened, the americans, the leftovers, orphan black, halt and catch fire, the characters, flaked, people of earth, rectify, supergirl, roadies, outlander, jon glaser loves gear…need more hours in the day)
ok fine and a couple other cool things I did in 2016 that didn’t have a spot to be filed under elsewhere:
-the play “the birds”, starring sean nelson, at 12th ave arts, february
-ahamefule j oluo’s one-man show “now i’m fine” at the moore, april
-3 museums, two of which coincidentally featured star trek exhibits: the uss intrepid (NY in july) and EMP (seattle in september; that was 2 months before their rebrand as “MoPOP”), as well as the queens museum in NY on that same July trip.
for a while i was capping off the ends of these posts with “celebrity encounters”, where i’d humblebrag about meeting famous people then post my favorite photo with one of them, but that’s starting to feel kind of gross, and also most of these encounters take place at work and i’m less and less finding impulse and/or opportunity to pose for a pic with someone who’s performing at my job, so i think i might transition this tradition (kind of already did last year) over into just my favorite photo of myself from the year. this year i think the honor goes to this one, with my parents, grandmother, brother, and brand new sister-in-law at their wedding:
The gorgeous HILLARY SUSZ truly rules. If you dug that new Angel Olsen album from last week, you’re going to find a lot to like in this one. She likes to describe her sound as “music for hip lesbians”. Ha! I bet you know some of those!! Also though you don’t have to share any part of those identity descriptors to appreciate it, her music is transcendent. A remarkable, nearly operatic voice coupled with deeply poetic lyrics and some pretty interesting non-traditional song structure. Impose Magazine agreed when they premiered her song “Dead Stars” (Track 3) and talked about her “stunning songwriting talents”. The Wild Honey Pie called her voice “the love child of Sharon Van Etten and Angel Olsen” (they were talking about “Pollution”, Track 1). You’re gonna love it.
HILLARY SUSZ
THE HEART WILL JUMP (WITH NOWHERE TO FALL)
Self-Released
Hillary Susz is a poetically driven songwriter and guitarist based in Boulder, CO. She draws influence from a variety of genres: freak folk, ambient pop, psychedelic, jazz and soul. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from Western Washington University and is a current fiction candidate of the University of Colorado’s M.F.A. program.
Susz’s distinctive, operatic vocals and angular, effects-laden guitar work feature prominently in her songs, which often eschew conventional structure along the complex twists and turns of their narrative course. Her unique voice is as real as rent, as serious as broken bones and as ominous as both, with the capacity to shift volume with an overwhelming power that balances the immediacy of her pain with the sardonic turns her lyrics often explore. She shifts down in pitch where most vocalists would climb, and the result is a stemming of emotion and mounting of pressure toward a tense anticlimactic mood that is both genuine and haunting.
Coming from a formal background of both poetry and creative writing, Hillary’s lyrics are the defining element of her music, painting striking and memorable imagery within songs that balance blunt commentary on lived experience with an honest, funny, and occasionally sardonic take on both lesbian love and ordinary life. They make poetic leaps that turn natural and organic with the power to evoke the same surprise and often wonder of epiphany. Her arrangements cohesively nurture eccentricities– creating releases and modern sound-scapes that are gigantic, effortless, dreamy and catchy. For a solo act, her sound is full with disciplined instrumental virtue. Hillary Susz is tuneful and full of uproar, out to create songs that are concise, inventive and re-playable.
“She possesses strength in her conviction and vocals, grace and poise in her presentation, and a well-read student of poetry and creative writing, which in turn lends itself to her stunning songwriting talents.” – Impose Magazine
RIYL: Angel Olsen, Jeff Buckley, Neko Case, PJ Harvey, Julien Baker, Sharon Van Etten
Start With: 3, 9, 5, 1 FCC: 6, 7
Contact me for a download link if you’re a radio rep!
Photo credit: Bob Sweeney
Photo credit: Lou Daprile
the band mom loves you 