Billie Joe Armstrong once asked people to wake him up when September ends. I have a different question: Where the hell did September go? I was so busy that it just flew past. And based on the number of great albums coming out this week, it looks like things are only going to get worse. Somebody wake me up when it’s over. But first, on with the show:
Destroy Boys
Open Mouth, Open Heart
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “California punk rock changed my life. It showed me exactly what I want to do and who I want to be,” says Violet Mayugba, guitarist and singer for San Francisco punk band Destroy Boys. At the age of 15, Mayugba and band co-founder Alexia Roditis were going to show after show, becoming a part of the vibrant Sacramento scene. Since those early days playing shows in tightly-packed garages and releasing music on their own, Destroy Boys have made waves from the California shoreline to the U.K. They’ve also racked up over 40 million streams, with the numbers ticking upward every day without fail. And their visceral, personal tales of scene bullies, elitist cliques, betrayal and unrequited love have won over the hearts and ears of eager listeners ranging from the fervent teens who pack out their shows to Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. Now, Mayugba, Roditis, and drummer Narsai Malik are embarking on a new journey with their album Open Mouth, Open Heart.”
Sam Fender
Seventeen Going Under
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Like the rest of the planet in 2020, Sam Fender was faced with little more than the four walls in front of him. There were no old boys propping up the bar to draw inspiration from. Instead, for the first time as a songwriter he had to turn his gaze to himself. “I didn’t have anyone to write about. I’ve always relied on that stuff. On hearsay, rumours, stories, gossip… gossip made mankind,” recalls Fender. “I didn’t want to write about Covid because fucking no one is ever going to want to hear about that ever again, so this time I went inwards … Some of the stories are autobiographical so they write themselves,” he says. “In a sense though, you’re writing about the human experience, but you do feel exposed.”
The Hard-Ons
I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sydney group the Hard-Ons, who have been cranking out their own brand of punk rock for nearly 40 years now (yes, they started young!), have announced the addition of a new member, one Tim Rogers. Rogers, who recently celebrated his best chart debut in 20 years when You Am I’s new album The Lives of Others landed at No. 2, is not only a long-time friend of the band, but a long-time fan, having caught them numerous times in his teenage years and bought their records from the start. Never happy with less than a full plate, Rogers will of course remain with You Am I, and will no doubt keep doing all the other things he does, but as of now he is also The Hard-Ons’ lead singer. The Hard-Ons’ Ray Ahn, has said, “I’m thrilled to have Tim on board, and I am loving his contribution!” Bandmate Blackie concurs, “How fucking good is this!!” Tim himself has said, “I was already the luckiest goof in rock ’n’ roll, and I get asked to make a racket with my hero’s? Strewth. Wake me up sometime, will ya?”
Local H
Awesome Quarantine Mixtape #3
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Rock ’n’ roll stalwarts Local H remain as prolific and hungry as ever three decades into their perennially loud career and even a global pandemic couldn’t put a stop to that. During quarantine, frontman Scott Lucas began doing live streams from his living room (or bathroom … or bedroom …) on a near-daily basis. He covered everyone from Prince to Blondie to Fountains Of Wayne to Mark Lanegan. Fast-forward a couple of months later and the band decided to pick the best of those “sessions” and record them for the third entry in their series of cover albums, aptly titled Awesome Quarantine Mixtape #3.”
Møtrik
Møøn: Cosmic Electrics of Møtrik
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Møøn: The Cosmic Electrics of Møtrik is the latest long-playing sound exploration from the 21st century’s premiere purveyors of propulsive polyphonic riffatronic sonics! Soar through inner space cloistered in the cozy cacophony confined and cosigned by the quarantined quartet of Cord (∆), Dave (¤), Erik (◊) and Lee (Ω).
Respectively, these four brave men operate angular and adventurous guitars, program burbling bygone quasar synths, deliver a payload of crisp indefatigable escape velocity percussion, deposit abundant amounts of marine trench bass and broadcast buoyant magical mystery vocal guidance.
Journey to our closest satellite stress-free! Let Møtrik’s musical cosmonauts be your designated pilots from craters of eternal darkness to peaks of eternal light. With a wink and a promise, these aces will float you safely back to your home base under a drogue parachute — no matter how eccentric your orbit!”
Papur Wal
Amser Mynd Adra
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Papur Wal have always been enticingly unique. They combine fearless slacker influences with infectious power-pop melodies into a beautifully raw musical mosaic. One part early Beatles, the other Lou Reed at his most power chord-thrashing intensity. What ties their songs together under the harmonies and fuzz is an unflinching desire to wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves. Papur Wal are a trio from North Wales, formed in Cardiff in 2017. Artists driven to follow their creativity through their native language and in so doing gaining a wider and enthusiastic international audience. This audience was attracted by the artists’ fearless storytelling and cliché-free musical expression. Amser Mynd Adra offers the listener empathy within its melancholy, sadness succinctly counterbalanced with playful lyrics, catchy hooks, upbeat, warm sounds.”
Pip Blom
Welcome Break
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Following an extensive touring schedule, which saw the Dutch four-piece roam over field, oceans, and Glastonbury’s stage following the release of their debut record Boat, Pip Blom immediately began to gather all her soaked-up inspirations taken from the road, cozy down in a room of her parents’ house (which she shares with her brother and fellow bandmate Tender Blom) and over three months wrote 20 songs — 16 of which were to become demos for the band to structure and flesh out, once in the studio together. The result, Welcome Break (and yes, the title is inspired by the ubiquitous service dotted along Britain’s motorways) resonates with about as much decisive allure as their previous album, but this time with a bit more contemporary chaos to boot.”
The Record Company
Play Loud
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Grammy-nominated L.A. trio The Record Company’s third studio album, Play Loud was produced by Grarmmy-winning producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, The Head And The Heart, Death From Above 1979, LCD Soundsystem, Modest Mouse, The Who) and finds the band collaborating with outside songwriters for the first time. On Play Loud, the group stretches out artistically and explores their far-flung influences. “On the first two albums, people might have thought we were three guys who sit around a campfire, praying to Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, and we’re not,” notes bassist Alex Stiff. “We’re three different guys with different musical tastes. It’s time for all of us to show our individuality, and this record shows us evolving.”
The Velveteers
Nightmare Daydream
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Velveteers, a primal rock trio from the mountains of Boulder made up of singer-guitarist Demi Demitro and drummers Baby Pottersmith and Jonny Fig, unveil their debut album Nightmare Daydream. Produced by Grammy winner Dan Auerbach, the record is the first statement from a band that formed in 2014 and has been carefully honing its sound and identity ever since. “I instantly dug them,” says Auerbach. Nightmare Daydream finds The Velveteers stripping down rock ’n’ roll to its most primal elements — the riff, the rhythm, the snarl — and rebuilding it in their own image. “We don’t want to sound like a band from a different time,” says Demitro. “We want to sound like a band that’s right here right now — in this very moment.”
We Are Scientists
Huffy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Beloved indie heroes We Are Scientists return with Huffy, their first album in three years. We Are Scientists are holding nothing back and deliver a welcome shot in the arm for deprived indie disco dancers everywhere. Huffy’s fresh music is accompanied by an oh-so-fresh presentation: multi-panelled vinyl and CD packaging offer a blank wall on which listeners can unfold their own unreasonable vision for the Huffy universe. Each includes sticker sheets with over 20 full colour graffiti designed by Keith, Chris, and friends, deployable according to the user’s whim. Tilting reality even further into the hallucinatory gyre, this vinyl comes in a choice of different colours.”
The Wild Feathers
Alvarado
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After a major tour was rescheduled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic last year, The Wild Feathers hunkered down in a small cabin northwest of Nashville. Using the confidence gained from self-producing three songs on their Medium Rarities compilation, The Wild Feathers decided to keep things in-house, producing themselves, which was a part of the hard-scrabble work ethic that got them their success in the first place. For the first time without a fancy studio, the band were confident and calm during the process, which cohesively allowed the sound to be exactly what they felt like instead of having to answer to anyone. Knocking out 14 songs in just four days, they bonded over barbecues and beers and there was a warmness that hadn’t been present since their early days. This relaxed approach is reflected in the laid-back nature of the songs featured on the stellar Alvarado.”
Carolyn Wonderland
Tempting Fate
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The more guitar you play, the more you sing, the better you get,” says award-winning Texas guitar slinger, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Carolyn Wonderland. Since performing her first professional gig at age 15, she’s never stopped singing and making music. Her music includes a bold mix of timeless original songs and reinventions of some of her favorites, ranging from blistering electric blues to deep, heartfelt ballads to cosmic country to soulful Tex-Mex. Every song is fueled by Wonderland’s forceful yet melodic Texas-flavored guitar work and her full-throated, heart-on-her-sleeve vocals. The Dave Alvin-produced Tempting Fate is the next chapter in Wonderland’s remarkable story, one that is already overflowing with countless and colorful once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”
