Author Archives: Shannon Pilgrim

Sharkmuffin, the duo of Tarra Thiessen and Natalie Kirch, released their sophomore LP Tsuki in early May before hitting the road for a UK tour. The Brooklynites accurately describe their genre as “opti-mystic glam-grunge” and plan to one day serve cocktails and ice cream from the world’s first punk-rock brunch truck. (Sign us up.) 

Tsuki is equal parts angsty and danceable, the soundtrack to your 2017 punk-rock summer. The distortion-riddled, wailing vocals combined with thrumming basslines throughout the record harken back to ‘90s riot grrrl with a dash of White Blood Cells-era White Stripes.

The opening line of the album sets the tone, “Don’t worry about shit, let’s just go have a fun time!” and “Space Glow” hits the ground running from there. The deadpan and desperate “I Wanna Be You” leads into “Atama,” an unsettling track that marks the midway point of Tsuki. “Leather Gloves” and “Puppy Love” are each highpoints of the album, both tenacious and gritty.

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Tara Williamson is set to release her debut EP, “Evolution One,” later this month and we’re pleased to reveal “Messenger,” its first single.

Williamson has been working towards this debut for quite some time. She pursued a career in music early on but could not find her footing as an artist until moving to Austin in 2012. Williamson has been a player in Austin’s music scene ever since, having honed her sound while performing throughout the country as a backing vocalist for its famous soul/pop group The Nightowls.

She stayed with The Nightowls for over three years as they rose from local to national notoriety, performing at Austin City Limits, SXSW, and completing two US tours. “Evolution One” will pay homage to the music community in Williamson’s adopted home of Austin, drawing inspiration both in writing and performance style from many local musicians.

“Messenger” is a sample of this Austin inspiration—a delightful mixture of old west and indie-pop. The wailing, spaghetti-western style guitar is balanced by Williamson’s smooth, jazzy vocals. Like any good pop track, “Messenger” grows on you the more you hear it, and the final echoes of “please don’t shoot me,” in reference to the titular messenger, seem to linger long after the song’s end. If this track is any indication, “Evolution One” is bound to be a substantial debut for the burgeoning artist.

PHOTO: PRISCILLA MARS | Following some delay, emerging singer, guitarist, and visual artist Dakota Blue has released “Lavalike,” an intriguing five-track EP.

Each of the tracks on “Lavalike” were written, played, and produced by Blue, an LA native. The music videos for singles “Blueprints” and “Distant Disco” were released in late 2016, offering a preview of the experimental EP. “Blueprints” is a soothing track with a gauzy, blue hazed video, while “Distant Disco” is a psych-pop instrumental with an acid-tinged video to accompany it. Blue’s vocals are reminiscent of the mellow, early ’90s alt sound that launched Beck’s career, while much of the instrumentals harken back to ’70s prog rock. The combination creates a surprisingly fresh sounding, understated EP.

“The State of Things” kicks off the EP with dark, heavy, and sultry tones which are heard throughout each of the tracks. This tone is lifted slightly halfway through by the jangly, yet still pessimistic “Tropical Dust,” only to be dropped to its lowest by the end of the EP with “Shadows In Paradise.”

“Lavalike” is a dreary day soundtrack in the best possible way; a work that is both thought-provoking and entrancing.

When Americana string band Old Crow Medicine Show began busking on street corners, America’s grunge era was winding down and O.C.M.S. began to usher in a resurgence of folk rock. They have since toured the world, released five studio albums, and have been featured in the 2012 documentary Big Easy Express about their tour with Mumford & Sons and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros. Old Crow Medicine Show have helped to breathe new life into the folk genre, and the band is releasing a 14-song compilation of some of their most memorable hits, Best Of, which arrives in stores today February 10, 2017—and we have a vinyl copy to give away.

While their studio career began in 2004, the Grand Ole Opry members have been delivering energetic performances for almost 20 years. Since being discovered by folk icon Doc Watson, Old Crow Medicine Show has won two Grammy awards (“Best Folk Album” and “Best Long Form Music Video”) and received the RIAA’s Platinum certification for their single “Wagon Wheel.”

“Wagon Wheel” has been a staple cover song for acoustic musicians since its release, and reached a new level of notoriety in 2013 when Darius Rucker’s version topped the country charts. The song was written by frontman Ketch Secor and was based on an unreleased demo recorded by Bob Dylan who agreed to be credited as a co-author of the song, having written the chorus and melody over 30 years before the official release of Old Crow Medicine Show’s single. “Wagon Wheel” is, of course, included on Best Of.

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Sprung from a common mispronunciation, “Blesh” is the second single from Jordan Burchel’s forthcoming sophomore album, Vowel Sounds.

Burchel became, in his words, “sort of fascinated” with the idea that people often say“blesh you” as opposed to “bless you” and the garbled phrase led way to a song in which he addresses a part of himself more concerned with appearance, “I’m almost certainly talking to a crappier version of myself who is more ruled by ego and is self-righteous.”

“Blesh”’s soliloquy is a cut from Vowel Sounds, set to be released to stream, download, and purchase—on vinyl—December 16. Featured last month on TVD’s Press Play, the Florida-based singer/ songwriter recorded for over a year in various storage units and spare bedrooms.

The album grapples with authenticity and individuality within the digital age and was written, composed, played, sung, and produced by Burchel, with help from Chris Hillman of Morningbell and Sam Moss, formerly of Hundred Waters.

PHOTO: SEAN HANSEN | “‘Whoa’ sparked from the memory of sledding in northern New Hampshire. The biting cold and the purest love of a red-faced girl with frozen snot on her philtrum.”

“We went to Iceland to unearth that same purity, searching for true beauty. We blasted through the countryside in a flimsy hire car. From city to sea, geyser to glacier. Every moment was mindblowing. The bright green and black lava fields, the tempestuous sea at Vik, racing bikes down the streets of Reykjavik, jumping in the ocean at Jökulsárlón, emerging from a pitch-black cavern into a field filled with ponies.

Adventures are strange beasts. If they’re true-hearted, then there’s no time for sentience. Second guesses, sarcasm, and social media all vanish with the mist in the midst of a proper quest.” —Matt Pond

Fully titled “Whoa (Thirteen and Sledding With Kerry in Northern New Hampshire),” the track on matt pond PA’s newest album is a jaunty celebration with a video to match.

An album inspired by his upbringing in snowy New Hampshire, aptly named Winter Lives, contains songs fit to listen to curled up by the fire as well as those for romping through the snow. “Whoa” is a song for the latter—and the video will have you packing your bags for Iceland where it was filmed. The clip features Matt Pond and his right-hand man Chris Hansen exploring lavish landscapes and quirky cities, with cinematography that makes the music video feel like a 4-minute Icelandic documentary.

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Although the title may suggest otherwise, The Diary of a Teenage Girl is far from a typical teen film.

After a controversial but well-received premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, the movie hit theatres in a limited release Friday, August 7. Starring Kristin Wiig in a role far from her goofy SNL days and Alexander Skarsgard of True Blood fame, the movie is based closely on an autobiographical graphic novel.

Diary follows a 15-year old Minnie, played by British up-and-comer Bel Powley, who loses her virginity to her reckless mother’s 35-year-old boyfriend. Despite this central plot point, the film is far from a Lolita trope, told from the perspective of the witty and curious Minnie.

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Guitarist and singer Ezra Furman is truly compelling. Most often seen performing in a dress and cherry red lipstick, his energetic, gritty, and brutally honest songs have generated a rapidly growing fanbase. Furman is a true rock ‘n’ roller who puts on thrilling, high-energy performances that shake the house.

Formerly of four piece indie-rock band Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, he is currently backed by The Boyfriends, who feature saxophonist Tim Sandusky, producer of each of Furman’s three solo albums. The first of these, The Year of No Returning, was done without a label, instead using a Kickstarter campaign to fund the recording and release.

Now signed with Bella Union, Furman released his third solo album, Perpetual Motion People, earlier this month. Of this album’s concept, Furman said, “I’ve always viewed the idea of truth itself as something wobbly, always slipping out of our grasp. That’s what the songs are about: a head that is haunted, a society I cannot join, a lover who is perpetually in the act of leaving. A central idea is the fugitive or runaway, in a hideout built in the midst of an unfriendly or alienated world.”

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In 2000, Sofia Coppola made her directorial feature-film debut with The Virgin Suicides. The movie, based closely on a novel of the same name, received critical acclaim and garnered a cult fan base.

It was also French duo Air’s first foray into film scoring, but the majority of the music that they had recorded was left on the editing room floor, and the official soundtrack for the film only features two songs by the band. Now, 15 years later, Air is releasing a deluxe edition of their original score to the film, including previously unreleased tracks and live performances.

The Virgin Suicides was the electronica duo’s first score for a film, but they went on to work with Coppola again in 2003 for Lost in Translation and three years later for Marie Antoinette, both of which were well-received soundtracks. In each of these films, Air managed to strengthen and reinforce the scenes they scored, while preserving their original tone and texture.

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When Danish indie-rockers Mew released their long-awaited sixth album at the end of April many fans were unsure of what to expect. Although a return from a six-year hiatus can be difficult, with their progressive new album and a well-received set at SXSW, Mew has proven they’re back with a vengeance. 

“+- (as in “plus minus”), released on April 28, 2015 in North America, features the band’s original line up—Jonas Bjerre (vocals), Bo Madsen (guitar), Johan Wohlert (bass), and Silas Utke Graae Jorgensen (drums). With this new release, Mew continues its penchant for enigmatic album titles. Their previous outing in 2009, No More Stories Are Told Today, I’m Sorry They Washed Away//No More Stories, The World is Grey, I’m Tired, Let’s Wash Away, reveled in ambition.

The new music on ” +- ” soars. It’s alive, it’s vibrant and spacious. Its skewed pop sensibilities coupled with an ever-expansive musical backdrop denotes the extremities of Mew’s creative DNA, showing once more a band treading its own unique path. The album was recorded in Copenhagen, produced by Grammy-nominated Michael Beinhorn (Hole, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Violent Femmes) and Mew with mixing duties undertaken by Rich Costey. “+- ” also features an appearance from Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack on “My Complications,” a song he co-wrote that came to fruition having met Mew on a U.S. tour some years ago.

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