The debut EP from TV Sisters comes out of the gate extremely strong – bopping and exploding with energy at every turn. Vocal responsibilities swap between guitarist Josef Rumsey and bassist Michelle Sullivan, though the catchy pop-rock vibes never waiver regardless of the lead.Â
The beauty of an EP is that there is rarely enough time to bore the listener. TV Sisters make great use of that by firing on all cylinders from top to bottom. Really looking forward to hearing more from these three.
The new Language EP from ONLY is filled with jangly pop songs and head bopping rhythms juxtaposed with lyrics yearning for good times. On “July†they even joyously call out “We All Die!†as they grapple with surviving this mortal coil. Honestly tho, it’s an enjoyable upbeat gathering of songs released just in time for the summer heat to wain as we all grasp for one more good time.
I could write an extremely long-winded treatise on the dangers of nostalgia – revisiting particular times of life can either halt you from enjoying new things or, worse, ruin the thing that you thought you loved.Â
But instead, I’ll say that it was a damn delight to see Daphne’s Operation pop up on Bandcamp. The Murfreesboro shoegaze outfit was part of the mid-to-late 90′s scene around MTSU and created a bombastic amount of music influenced by the likes of early Modest Mouse, Sonic Youth and Pavement goofery (new music at the time). It’s often spastic and all over the place but that’s part of its charm.
It’s also worth noting that there’s a door to a deep history of the current Nashville music scene here. Daphne’s Operation featured, among others, Bingham Barnes; who would go on to keep the low end for Glossary, Wooden Wand and Jasmin Kaset to name just a few. Some of the catalog was also recorded by Brian Carter, another consistent presence in the Nashville music scene.
Did you know David Lynch used Nashville band Muddy Magnolias track “American Woman†as the introduction to a primary character in the latest mindfuck of TV; Twin Peaks: The Return? Granted, he slowed it waaay down and blasted out any reasonable EQ but he did use the song.
Hear the Lynch version here and the Muddy Magnolias original here. Context and a little Lynchian magic can make a world of difference.
Another excellent compilation of Nashville music. The variety of upbeat pop, soundtrack music, hip-hop and even an R&B soaked demo is a tough varietal grab bag to top.
On the cover: Snake Cheney
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The new album from Blank Range was released last week after a month of song previews and I’ve been settling in to the full-length experience. The band has been putting out bits of music since 2013 but this is their first long player. I went back through their catalog, starting with Phase II, to get an idea of how much they’d changed in that time. Turns out, not that much! They’ve been consistently writing Southern rock tinged songs soaked in gravely vocals for four years. This LP is an excellent culmination of those efforts, continuing a flow of worthwhile music but with a bolder confidence in its delivery.Â
I certainly don’t consider Mt. Juliet to be the first place to go for experimental ambient music but TheBack ParkingLot’s latest release, Occupying Physical Space, proves that Nashville’s (and surrounding area) still have plenty of surprises.Â
The two tracks of this release span a 30-minute runtime, often resulting in a challenging listen. That’s not to say it’s bad in any way but droning music requires a certain amount of zen headspace; letting yourself be patient and immerse yourself in the wall of sound, rather than waiting for the next chorus to kick in.
The title track of the record, a 20-minute piece itself, manages the great feat of breaking out of itself around the 5 minute mark; becoming a brighter and shinier thing for just a moment before it degrades and dissipates back into an ethereal space.Â
The second single from Bully’s forthcoming sophomore release, Losing, is now streaming over on the SubPop Youtube channel. “Runningâ€, like the first single “Feel the Sameâ€, is a grunge inspired, big guitar number – cut with vocalist Alicia Bognanno’s gravely screams. In my opinion, if you’re not a lyric person, you’re missing out on the best part of the band as the lyrics are clever, confessional and relatable.Â
The second track from Jessica Lea Mayfield’s forthcoming album, Sorry Is Gone, is now available in the form of a cotton-candy colored world juxtaposed with a mournful Mayfield performance in the video for “Meadow.†The track is a heavy missive on distrust and loneliness but really ratchets it up at the end with some affected guitars and plenty of things on fire.Â
The directorial style of Mike Kluge, aka MKAV, is the perfect pairing for JEFF the Brotherhood. In the official video for “Idiot†(off of Zone) there’s just the right balance of 80′s video effects, datamoshing, slit scan and color shifting psychedelia. It makes for some damn good GIFs.
First and foremost, I must proclaim my respect for any band that chooses to go with a wildly un-Google-able name like And the Boys. They like the name and discoverability be damned!Â
Fortunately, these guys are just starting out and there’s plenty of time for the Search Engine Gods to properly associate their name with the music. The first, and only, song from the band “Hate you Now†is a jangly pop song masquerading as a love song buried in pent up frustrations.Â
While we wait for more music from the band find them on Soundcloud, Instagram, Facebook and Spotify – there, I did the search work for you!Â
If you’ve been paying attention, you know The By Gods have a new album coming out in October. We’ve heard two tracks from Move On already - “Rat in My House†and “Wait Up†– and they’ve been gracious enough to add another track for preview if you head over to their pre-order page. You won’t get the record until later in October but you can listen to “Silver Line†right now.
