Words by Jonathan Stout
When not doing freelance writing, Jonathan Stout is heavily involved in the NKY and Cincinnati music scenes as the Marketing Manager for Kentucky based venue The Southgate House Revival and founder of DIY Recording label Lo Fi City Recordings. He’s also an active musician, performing and recording with Sleepy Drums, Mutt Fuzz, Burnt Cabins and gewgaw.
Chicago’s Glyders have joined the Drag City roster to engage their new power-trio formation with Forever, out November 21. Glyders’ music harkens back to old-school rock masters like The Band, CCR, T. Rex and Flying Burrito Bros. Forever was tracked almost entirely live by the band in their home studio, with mixing duties shared by the band and Bitchin Bajas’ Cooper Crain. This homespun approach fuels the overall vibe of the album, which feels very comfortable, warm and natural. Forever manages to be as thrilling as it is chill, with compositions alternating between driving and atmospheric. Mixing 70’s riff psych (“Super Glyde”), cosmic Americana (“Moon Eyes”), pulsing drones (“Hard Ride”), proto punk (“Stone Shadow”) hip shanking swampy blues (“New Realm”) and more, they seemingly visits all of their muses in the duration without ever sounding contrived or forced.
Cincinnati based space cadets In The Pines returned in September with their fourth album, Sunbeam Dream (self-released) and all evidence shows they are getting better and better with every release. It’s been two years since their last (Painting By Numbers) and it’s clear that they took their time with this one – perfecting sounds, textures and songwriting. If one thing can be said about, it’s this – it sounds freaking huge. Although largely self-recorded/mixed, Sunbeam Dream is not a lo-fi, bedroom pop release. It’s songs pulse (“Flyin’ Nowhere”), groove (“Delirium”) and soar (“Hide the Sky”) like this band never has before. These songs more than solidify their place in the modern psych rock landscape but also instill a real sense of professionalism and attention to craft that pushes them above. In a perfect world, all Head Space readers would already know about this band and this review would be unwarranted. But alas, I’ve found that there is a woeful lack of noise being made, so if you’re reading this – go have a listen to Sunbeam Dream now and then spread the word to everyone you know!
September also saw the return of Brooklyn’s Animal, Surrender! with their sophomore release A Boot For Every Bane (Ernest Jennings Record Co.). For this recording, bassist Peter Kerlin and drummer Rob Smith invited the talents and instincts of pipe organist Curt Sydnor to collaborate. To record his parts, Snydor used the 120 year-old pipe organ at historic St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia. The resulting ambiance gives the recording a vague sense of spiritual reckoning and unease. The unique collection of instrumental compositions achieves grooves that are both soothing while simultaneously foreboding. On the mesmerizing “Poinciana” the band alternates between blissful moments of celebration that quickly take ominous turns, like a person being chased by a persistent dark cloud. The types of compositions, coupled with the unique instrument arrangements, make A Boot For Every Bane an enthralling listen. Although some may be turned off by the term “fusion,” there’s no better way of describing the way these songs mix jazz arrangements with post-rock and the avant garde. Don’t be turned away by the notion – this is some heady material that begs for deeper return listens.
When the indie rock super group The Hard Quartet was announced, it was the names Stephen Malkmus and Matt Sweeney that grabbed many headlines. Their talents aside – it would be foolish to downplay the expertise of Jim White and Emmett Kelly – who may actually be the true heavy hitters of this outfit. Jim White (a frequent collaborator of Bill Callahan, Cat Power, Daniel Blumberg) further solidifies this notion with his newest sprawling, nearly free form release Inner Day (Drag City). Working again with co-producer and long-time collaborator Guy Picciotto (Fugazi), these airy and atmospheric compositions mix instrumental and spoken word vignettes that never really begin or end – as if in constant mesmerizing states of transition. It can be soothing, fascinating, unsettling and confounding all throughout a single composition, sometimes changing within moments. Although there’s a highly improvised and immediate nature to the music that can be subtly intense, it’s tempered by a vague sense of comforting calmness.
Modern DIY shoegaze veterans Smut gained significant attention with their previous album, How the Light Felt, which was heavily influenced by the softer melodicism of The Sundays and Pale Saints mixed with guitar-forward brit-pop hooks. After being vocal about the struggles of modern touring, objectification and the general stress of increased attention – there’s a feeling that the band wanted to return to their roots for their newest release, Tomorrow Comes Crashing (Bayonet Records). There’s an abundant heaviness pushed to the forefront of this release that was largely dormant on Light that is almost striking at first listen. In particular, “Spit” which enters nearly alt metal territory with early aught angst. But don’t be fooled – it’s not a full transformation! There are many soft melodic touches to the album and it’s actually probably their most unabashedly pop release. But for every pop-leaning arrangement that begins a song, they find a way to morph it into a different beast by the end. Throughout the release there is a genuine nature that shines through in the musicians’ performances, which all sound inspired and impassioned. They’re settling into their renewed sound with abundant confidence, sounding direct and focused. In the end – it’s a really great, fun collection of accessible rock songs. I wrote previously that if How the Light Felt was released in the 80s it would’ve been a real hit on college radio. If Tomorrow Comes Crashing was released in 2006 they’d probably be opening for My Chemical Romance by now.