Tag: rock

A Fantastic Music Project You Should Know About

by KevinLeave a Comment on A Fantastic Music Project You Should Know About

The ways we discover and create music continue to evolve. Matthew Vanderkwaak’s new project is shining a light on both his own music and other emergent Canadian artists.

Photo: Samuel Landry

It’s 2025, and many of the guardrails and gatekeepers that used to decide what music we consumed are gone. We are no longer bound solely to whatever an A& R rep might decide we like. We can decide for ourselves.

That goes for artists as well. Most of us grew up with the narrative that discovery is either by sheer luck or after getting in the van and burning hard miles down the road. And even if you wanted to make a record, that might prove cost-prohibitive.

While some of that is still true, for the most part, the barriers to entry are lower than they’ve ever been. Today, it’s entirely possible to make a record using your phone and a few other software programs. You can do this without ever leaving your bedroom.

So that’s the good news; if you want to make a record, you can! The not-so-good side effect is that listeners must wade through more and more records before finding you.

Discovery might’ve changed forms, but it still matters.

Enter Matthew Joel Vanderkwaak. Matthew is from Atlantic Canada and is an artist himself. Taking a page from the likes of Fog Chaser, miter and olivia rafferty, he’s creating music in real time, using new pathways, and his readers get to hear it first.

Further, he’s committed to raising the profile of other artists and has a series where he spotlights emerging Canadian musicians, with an emphasis on Canadian folk and country music.

In 2025, algorithms and digital platforms are making a lot of noise. Artists/curators like Matthew Vanderkwaak provide a valuable signal, lighting the way for new listeners.

And with that, I’ll get out of the way and let Matthew share his work.

Enjoy!

KA—

I’m Matthew Joel, an artist from Atlantic Canada on a quest to encounter the spirit of Canadian folk and country music as it lives and breathes in our moment. I’m here today to share about my new project, The New Canadiana—a journalistic series about regular and mostly unknown Canadians who are writing, recording, and releasing music right now.

In the age of algorithmic curation and procedurally generated noise, I think folks are more hungry than ever to make meaningful connections with the human beings who make the music they love. This might be one of the major upshots of ai-generated media—it shows us how precious human-made art really is. More than ever I want to feel I know the people making the music I’m listening to, and more than ever, I’m learning that this kind of relationship requires an almost heroic act of focused attention. That attention, though, leads me into the spirit of art-making that inhabits human life and makes it special.

Last year, I finally finished grad studies and realized I wanted to start recording and releasing music again. It turned out that after 10+ years of desk work, academic writing, and listening to Carrie and Lowell on repeat, a lot had changed in the world of music marketing and promotion. Back in 2010, it was all about selling CD-Rs to my friends, posting on tumblr, and sending out mass emails hoping to strike gold in the blogosphere. I had never distributed music to streaming platforms before. If I did, would anyone hear it? How could I find a community of interested listeners?

Purveyors of music-biz best practice said that I should find out who else was making music like mine and do whatever they did. But who even were these people? Where could I find them? While asking these questions from within the horizons of social media and streaming platforms, I felt lost. The fact was that many of the people I knew making beautiful music had almost no traction on a place like Spotify. But at the same time, as I gathered more and more of this pressingly beautiful music together, I started to see common threads running through these different Canadian cities.

My conviction is that algorithms cannot be trusted to tell the stories of the human beings who make the art most precious to us. It takes human beings to make known what is truly human in our music. Of course, here at On Repeat Records, I’m preaching to the choir. This is how The New Canadiana was born—out of my attempts to practice attending in a more structured and public way to the beautiful human-made art that is all around me.

In this post, I’m distilling what I’ve learned from the year so far: three rules for attending to the music of a place. I’m especially happy to share about these principles, because what I’m seeing in these Canadian cities must be happening everywhere else too. I want to know how you are following rules like these and what you have discovered along the way.

1. Start with music made in the place where you are

In the effort to resist the algorithmic anonymization of music, I think each of us has a special vocation in the places we belong to. The first rule is to begin with the music made by people you know in places you know. Then, follow the threads. Trace the outlines of the scene that you are at the centre of by virtue of the fact that you are the one listening. You are the one who most of all can understand the meaning of the music that arises out of the situation that you also arise out of. And the rest of us need you to help us access to the art you are most equipped to hear.

The spirit of locality is very close to the spirit of music making. Human-made music belongs somewhere, and that place is not primarily an Instagram reel or Youtube video (which are only records of an event). Canada, which is ostensibly the subject of The New Canadiana, is, in truth, much too large a subject.

Instead, I have begun my quest with the actual Canadians I know whose music burns bright in my ears and heart. This first rule is about learning to trust that this feeling shows me the way forward. There’s no one else with my particular experience of this music made by these particular people. This means I have a task—something to attend to.

2. Have meaningful conversations with the music you love

The great threat to music distributed by streaming platforms is that it becomes a mere mechanism to evoke a mood or vibe without ever being allowed to become an end in itself. By contrast, I’m amazed at what I discover when I sit down with a friend and really ask them about their art. I might have assumed that the public nature of an interview would involve too much self-conscious reflexivity to invite meaningful reflection. On the contrary, I find that when I have a conversation that is on record, this imparts a focus and intensity that elevates my awareness of what we are trying to explore together.

As I prepare for interviews, I bring a structured mode of attention to the music that I rarely make time for. As I pay attention, I start to get curious: what makes this music work? What is it saying to me? How can I dialogue with its particular beauty? While conducting these interviews, I feel my conscience prick—why haven’t I asked my friends these questions before? They’ve made this beautiful art, and the meaning of its beauty is at risk of slipping by, unnoticed unless someone stops to recognize what has occurred.

3. Keep a public record of your discoveries

All it takes to dignify a work of art is attention, and the third rule is to give what you have understood in the art a public voice. Let us infiltrate online spaces designed to manipulate and monetize attention with the records of what we have discovered on the ground and in our bodies with other human beings.

Let us keep coming back to places like On Repeat Records to celebrate the beautiful music that has made itself known individually upon each of us as individuals. Keep a record of what you notice—snapshots of live music, reflections on concert experiences, evidence of physical media, listening journals, conversations shared between friends and fellow aspirants. The record of these experiences matters because only a human can access what is human in a work of art.

4. The New Canadiana

I’ve committed in 2025 to make my discoveries public in two ways:

  1. I am interviewing one Canadian songwriter a month. The interviews are an almost anthropological effort to encounter the spirit of this moment in Canadian music. If you’re to new to the series, I encourage you to start with the first one featuring Simon Bridgefoot.
  2. I maintain a playlist that situates these Canadians’ music in the larger context of folk and country music in this country. The playlist privileges songs that have come out in the past five years.
    The playlist lives here:
https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5xrOeklTZqHLgZQqlU74l5

It all started as a chance to work out where I can locate my own music, and what I’ve discovered instead is that there is a world to which I already belong. Give the interviews a read and the playlist a listen and let me know what you see in them.

How many of you are already applying principles like these in your own practices listening to music? What have been the results?

Kevin here again: Thank you to Matthew for sharing his work, and thank you for being here. Be sure to check out his project and the other fantastic interviews he’s already done!

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A Quick Look at New Order’s ‘Low Life’ at 40

by KevinLeave a Comment on A Quick Look at New Order’s ‘Low Life’ at 40

Four decades on, the band’s third release sounds as new as it did on Day 1.


Today we’re taking a quick look at New order’s Low Life LP as it turns 40.

If you’ve been here more than a day or two, you know my love for this band. Various people have described it as “rabid,” “partisan,” and “a lot.” I can’t argue with any of those, nor would I want to. I’m old enough to still reflexively sneer at the term “fanboy,” but when the shoe fits…

At any rate, this isn’t the first time the band has grabbed some column inches here, and it won’t be the last. Indeed, some of the first writing I ever did online (not counting shitposting in aviation forums) was on the band. Along the way, we’ve covered their underrated tracks, force-ranked each closing track of the first ten records, and twice made the case why they should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Expect a third around this time next year.

TL; DR- I love this band and I love this record.

The Transmissions podcast (correctly) described the band as one that changed the world. Twice. I just described them as one I shamelessly love. This first ran as part of a piece I wrote for Matty C’s What AM I Making newsletter, where I talked about their first four records.

Low Life is the third of that lot, and 40 years on, it is still one of their best. To my ear, it sounds as relevant now as it did on day 1. What do you think?

KA—

I had a giant poster of this record cover for years, and I was well past the “unframed poster” age when it finally came down. It survived more moves than many other supposedly more important possessions. (and more than a few relationships, jobs, etc.). New Order—or rather their graphic designer Peter Saville—also habitually released records with beautiful covers. Every release was a marriage of sight and sound. Saville wasn’t picky, either; he was at home tapping into Bauhaus or Constructivist influences as much as he was classic art. In this case, we got the first—and to date, only— cover to feature pictures of themselves on the cover.

Low Life first hit my ears early in junior high. I’m now pushing fifty, and still play it quite often. The idea that I now have a kid the same age I was when I first found this is mind-bending and probably a story for later.

The album is tight from A1 to B4, with almost no missteps. The punchy “Love Vigilantes” kicks things off, and the listener immediately knows things will be different. First, the lyrics are a narrative (the lyrics finally tell a story! Stay for the surprise at the end!). The frantic “Sunrise” features one of Hook’s most propulsive bass lines–really, Hook’s bass playing is solid across the entire record– and the tandem of Morris & Gilbert adds a pop layer to everything.

Low Life marks the spot where the band finally decided to include singles on their records, though they were often heavily remixed. The first single was the glorious “The Perfect Kiss” (this author’s favorite song, not just on the record but of all time). The only thing wrong here is that they used the 5-minute version, not the epic 9-minute 12″ single. The record’s last track, “Face Up,” starts moody before shapeshifting into a very poppy track with Sumner practically yelling, “Oh, how I cannot bear the thought of you!”

I don’t know who he was singing about, but I still don’t like them.

This is also their first record that feels like a record with an overtly intentional progression and lyrics that aren’t intentionally vague. It’s meant to be consumed in whole. Words are used to tell actual stories here–at least in a few places.

The result? A blindingly good record

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these records! Did I get it right, or am I way off the mark?

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From the Archive: Warren Zevon’s ‘Excitable Boy’

by KevinLeave a Comment on From the Archive: Warren Zevon’s ‘Excitable Boy’

Album art courtesy of Asylum Records

Good morning!

Today we’re reaching into the crate and dusting off this classic from Warren Zevon.

Maybe it’s just my timeline, but Warren Zevon seems to be having a moment on here recently. As much as I kvetched about this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees , I was happy to see him get in via their “Musical influence” category. A side door’s still a door, right?

Or, as Brian of 3 Albums 6 Old Guys put it:

As a fan, I’ll put it another way. Recently I visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Walking among the plaques, I found Gil Hodges, player with the 1955 World Series champion Brooklyn Dodgers and manager for the 1969 World Series champion New York Mets. Did I think to myself, “yeah, but he made it via the Veterans’ Committee (actually, by that time, the Golden Days Committee)”? Absolutely not. I thought, “that’s right, Gil fucking Hodges, Hall of Famer.”

Zevon encountered some pitfalls along the way—some self-inflicted, many due to the vagaries of pop culture—but there’s no question he deserves a spot in the hall.

For my money, it’s an honor long overdue for the man responsible for writing the best opening line in rock history, and it’s worth taking another look at what I consider his best record.

Last year, Sam Colt and I shared our top 100 albums. Excitable Boy was my #41, and where the words below first appeared.

I still wonder if I shoulda slotted it in higher up the chart.

KA—

The real question isn’t whether or not Warren Zevon is a fantastic songwriter. It’s whether or not he sees himself in the characters he writes about or whether he’s in on the joke. This record is home to his biggest hit, “Werewolves of London,” and one of the greatest songs ever (“Lawyers Guns and Money.”) The former often gets him lumped in with one-hit wonders and on Halloween playlists. Shame, really- did Bobby “Boris” Pickett name-check Trader Vics or have Fleetwood Mac’s rhythm section backing him up on “Monster Mash?” I think not.

The latter is a great example of why so many people keep coming back for more. If you ever want to write a great opening line, write out, “I went home with the waitress/ the way I always do,” and stick it to the side of your computer. Good luck. This is the sort of lyric you could base an entire novel on. Maybe that’s what Carl Hiaasen did.

The title track is field trip through any number of psychoses. “Nighttime in the Switching Yard” is Zevon’s attempt at a bit of funk, and it works well. Turns out he can get down with the best of ‘em. “Accidentally Like a Martyr” closes out the first side. I’ll be damned if I know what that means, but it does well to show his more serious, romantic side. It can’t all be wild adventures and cages with bones.

I mentioned Fleetwood Mac earlier, but the rest of the roster reads like a who’s who of the late ’70s SoCal scene; Linda Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes sing backup on “Excitable Boy.” JD Souther makes an appearance. Waddy Wachtel is on here, because of course he is. There’s at least one Pocaro brother in the mix.

Zevon would go on to make many records after with various levels of commercial and critical success, but for my money, nothing afterward quite captures the same lightning in a bottle as this album does.

Thanks for being here,

Kevin—

Have any thoughts on this record? Do you own a copy? Where would you place it in his discography? Sound off below!

Sound Advice: 07. May. 2025

by KevinLeave a Comment on Sound Advice: 07. May. 2025

The flood of great records continues! Today we’re taking a quick look at the latest from The Tisburys, Mekons, and Silvis.

Longtime readers may recall that I reviewed 100 new (to me) records last year. Because I’m a glutton for punishment love music, I’m doing it again this year. This is the latest in the series.

Good morning!

Today we’re listening to the latest from The Tisburys, Mekons, and Silvis.

Every year, I celebrate all the great music we’ve been gifted while worrying that next year will see the other shoe drop. I first did that in December 2020 and have been proven wrong every month since. Not only are there a ton of releases steadily coming out, but it also transcends genre or any other artificial guardrail we try and put up—

In other words, a ton of good stuff is coming out, and there’s something for everyone. It’s almost overwhelming— but in all the best ways. Below is another batch that caught my attention recently.

Let’s get into it!

The Tisburys- A Still Life Revisited

There was a time—even in the recent years— when Twitter had a few redeeming qualities. Sure, you still had to wade through AI slop, Temu ads, and tech bro weirdness, but the reward was connecting with people like Tisburys frontman Tyler Asay, and in turn the band’s fantastic Exile on Main Street, a record I described as

“… an album with a seriously well-put-together sound. The tracks are well-balanced, blending Americana, Power Pop, and just the right amount of jangle.

It’s meant as a love letter to Philly, but it feels like it could mean just as much to anyone, anywhere.”

Hard to believe it’s been roughly three years since that record’s release, but here we are. And here The Tisburys are with A Still Life Revisited. The band’s sound has evolved with each release, and this latest iteration shows them hitting on all cylinders.

With it’s rollicking piano and anthemic chorus, lead single “The Anniversaries” is a bit of sonic comfort food. But before we get there, we get to first pass through fantastic tracks like “Painted Eyes” with just enough horns, and the delightful, sensible pop of “Elephant Hotel” (this writer’s favorite track on the record), before ending on a strong note with “Here Comes The Lonesome Dove.”

If Exile felt like an homage to ‘90s college rock (it did), Still Life feels like a reflection on running full speed into the wall that is adulthood. The band might be growing up, but so is their style, with more harmonies and a fuller sound. They’re also not afraid to explore new ground (see: the dancefloor-ready “Wildfire”). The guitars are brighter, and the horns are more prominent (yes, please!). Asay might be singing about time marching on, but he refuses to sound down about it.

Visit A Still Life Revisited Here

Mekons- Horror

A Mekons record in 2025? I can’t think of a more timely release. If you’re a fan of the band, it will not surprise you in the least that they’re not happy with the state of the world and have some thoughts about it. In a time of presidents floating Papacy trial balloons and measles on a comeback tour, current members Jon Langford, Sally Timms, Tom Greenhalgh, Dave Trumfio, Susie Honeyman, Rico Bell, Steve Goulding, and Lu Edmonds have gifted us an antidote. Will it surprise you to hear that the tracklist contains tiles like a “War Economy,” “Private Defense Contractor,” and “Sad and Sad and Sad?” Probably not. Nor will it shock that their particular blend of styles are on full display here. It’s leftist punk stylings with a steady beat, “War Economy” and “Mudcrawlers” in particular. Seen through her lens of historic British imperialism, it’s a record only Mekons could’ve made. The band is on tour and will return to the States starting in July. Catch ‘em if you can.

Experience the joy of Horrors here.

Silvis-A Tendency To Seek Distraction

One of the things that amuses me most about living in flyover country are the chronic debates about which states count as part of the Midwest and which ones don’t. Should Ohio count? Indiana? And in what universe does Missouri make the cut?

What does this have to do with anything? Not much other than I like to spotlight Midwest bands, and Silvis is from Columbus. On their latest, A Tendency to Seek Distraction, the trio of Luke and Matt Johnson and Nick Allen delivers another dose of catchy melodic guitar pop. Opener “Do I Need It?” was featured on Monday’s playlist, and sets the tone and expectations early. This is gonna be a record full of smart hooks, smarter lyrics, and plenty of oohs and ahhs.

“This album is about the push and pull between distraction and clarity—how we sometimes run from our realities but eventually find meaning in the chaos,” says Luke, Silvis’s frontman. “We wanted to create something that feels distantly familiar, real, and emotionally resonant.”

Tracks like “Avert Your Eyes” take a bit of a harder tone with crunchier riffs, while “Who I Am” shifts toward the more gentle, but neither strays too far from the blueprint. This is a good thing. The closest RIYL line I can draw is to Saint Paul’s’ Hippo Campus. This is also a good thing.

Minnesota? Definitely in the Midwest. A Tendency to Seek Distraction? Definitely a record you should have on your radar.

Listen to the record here.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these records! Did I get it right, or am I way off the mark?

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Happy Sluttering Day to All Who Celebrate!

by KevinLeave a Comment on Happy Sluttering Day to All Who Celebrate!

Jawbreaker- Sluttering (May 4th)

Photo: NorthernExpress.com

Good morning!

Today we’re listening to “Sluttering (May 4th)” by Jawbreaker. Yes May 4th is a day for Star Wars (and Dave Brubeck!) memes, but it is also Sluttering Day— half celebration, half inside joke enjoyed by Jawbreaker fans the world over. Below is the original post from the early days of On Repeat Records. It has since become one of several annual traditions here. Enjoy!

KA—

This isn’t the first I’ve written about Jawbreaker, and it likely won’t be the last. The challenge for me isn’t picking songs by the band I want to share; it’s making sure that I don’t do it every week.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone has at least one band that completely rearranged your mind the first time their sound met your ears. Jawbreaker is one of those for me, and in fact, I can remember excitedly picking up each of their 1st three records.

But it was also the early-mid 90s, and people were still drawing extremely Talmudic definitions of what constituted “selling out” or not. Jawbreaker happened to sign to DGC and release “Dear You” at exactly the wrong time, and the blowback was swift—and wholly unfair.

If “Sluttering” is the tale of someone being done wrong (it is), Dear You is the story of a band being turned on by its fans (also yes). For years, it was a dividing line amongst a fan base otherwise monolithic in their love for everything the band put out.

I didn’t buy this record right away. In fact, I waited some time before picking up the CD, and even then it was at a pawn shop in one of Portland’s suburbs. What a waste. The record is different from the previous three but no less excellent.

A garbage shot of the start of an amazing show. Photo by me.

In the fallout, the band split up. They reunited for 2017’s Riot Fest, and I consider that show one of the best I’ve ever been to.

And for all the thrashing and wailing about “Dear You?” The setlist had quite a few tracks off the album, and the crowd never missed a beat.

More:

“The word ‘sluttering’ means a kind of drunk muttering,” he added. “I actually defined it once as ‘pontification under duress.’ There was an angry love triangle and then an elaborate revenge plot designed to incur maximum humiliation. It succeeded horribly and I wound up in the hospital in Concord.”

Read the rest of the article here.

Listen:

“Sluttering (May 4th)” by Jawbreaker | Dear You, 1995

Click the record to listen on the platform of your choice:

What’d you think of this one? Are/were you a fan of the band? If so, what side of the line were you on back then?

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A New Single You Should Hear: The Flavor That Kills- “Spin”

by KevinLeave a Comment on A New Single You Should Hear: The Flavor That Kills- “Spin”

The Madison band is back and sounding better than ever.

The Flavor That Kills. Photo credit: Catherine Cahoon

Good Morning!

Today we’re listening to “Spin” by Madison WI band The Flavor That Kills

Over the last few years, our journey to find new music has taken us to some odd corners of the country. We’ve made stops in places as far afield as Bellingham, Washington; Bloomington, Indiana; Athens, Georgia; and Portland, Maine.

Today, we’re heading somewhere much closer to home: Madison, Wisconsin.

A year ago (literally yesterday), I shared the story of how Madison-based band The Flavor That Kills had me wandering around in circles looking for a treasure they’d buried. A code was listed in the liner notes of their Book Of Secrits (sic) record, and I was hell-bent on finding it. That didn’t pan out–turns out I’m terrible at geocaching–but I did find a new favorite local band.

And now they’re back.

If any band is appropriate for now, it’s The Flavor That Kills. They’re chaos agents who describe their sound as a “mix of rock, soul, melody, punk, and a dash of classic psychedelic sensibilities.” In other words, it’s the perfect soundtrack to the madness we’re currently living through. I described the music as an existential threat to any roof it’s played under. Their latest single is no exception and wastes no time getting to work.

Ahead of their fourth release, they’ve added a fifth member and more synthesizers. After splitting recording sessions between America’s Dairyland and Oakland, Thunderbird Lodge will be out later this year, but for now, we’re getting a taste with “Spin.”

Talking about the single, drummer Eric Hartz noted, “We didn’t really have a complete song when we recorded Spin.” We wrote a lot of that song while we were in the studio, which was a new experience for the band.”

They could have fooled me. Spin finds the band channeling all that frenetic energy with laser-like precision and shifting into another gear.

“Spin’s” recording process might have been new territory for the band, but delivering mind-blowing sound is not. This is another one that goes to 11. Your neighbors will thank you later.

Listen:

The Flavor That Kills | Spin (single), 2025

Click the record to listen via Bandcamp.

Cover art courtesy of Shortwave Records

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this record!

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An Album of the Month Event You Should Check Out

by KevinLeave a Comment on An Album of the Month Event You Should Check Out

We’ve got a great host and a killer record, all set to go. All we need now is you! Here’s how to join the fun.

Good Afternoon!

Today we’re talking The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat, and well, how you can talk about the band with other like minded people.

Note: As some of you know, I’m one of the editors for an online music publication called The Riff. Each month we host an album discussion (via Zoom), and this month’s is coming up on Sunday. To be clear, all credit goes to  Terry Barr who facilitates the meeting, and  Scott Fountain this month’s host. These two are doing the heavy lifting.

As you’ll see below, these are low-key affairs; all are welcome! If you want to share some thoughts, that’s awesome. Wanna just sit back & listen? That’s cool, too.

Either way, it’d be better with you there.

KA—

It’s that time again; it’s time for our monthly album discussion!

One of The Riff’s core tenets is sharing music. That obviously involves writing about it, but also talking about it together. We do that monthly here.

This Sunday May 4th is that day.

Below is my boilerplate explanation of these discussions and the value you’ll get from joining us. Under that are both the record being discussed and the meeting log-in details.

  • Don’t know the record? Doesn’t matter.
  • Not comfortable speaking in public? Me either. And you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Heck, you don’t even have to turn your camera on. It’s a safe space, but you control what you share.
  • Ultimately, you’re part of the community; we want you to be a part of this, too.

So check out the “rules” below, and then plan to dial in.

What is this?

For new readers (hi everyone!), The Riff hosts an online discussion every month.

Here’s how it works:

  • A writer (more on that in a second) picks a record to discuss and writes a brief piece about their choice and the meeting details.
  • At the meeting, they discuss why they picked it, offer a bit of a backstory/context, and whatever else they’d like to share.
  • Everyone else on the call can share their own “hot take,” related story, or anything else you think is relevant.
  • At the end of the meeting, next month’s writer volunteers (or is chosen), and the process repeats itself.

NOTE FOR INTROVERTS: If you’d prefer to sit in and listen, that is 110% okay. Keep your video off…stay muted…it’s up to you. It’s a safe place; you can participate as much/as little as you’d like.

This month’s host:

This month’s host is a star contributor to The Riff and a friend of On Repeat Records. Scott Fountain is a fantastic writer, and his expertise spans many genres. You can also find him here on Substack, where he recently planted his flag. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, I highly recommend it!

Cool! So, what are we talking about?

Scott has chosen The Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat.

From his story announcing the pick:

I’m not sure if critics called it proto-punk in the 1990s, but during that time, I could identify that sense of evolution between late 1950s rock and late 1970s punk. Likewise, recognizing how different forms of rock share a common lineage with rhythm and blues, jazz, and country was always (and still is) fun to consider.

While songs from White Light / White Heat may not be as upbeat and have as much drive as other proto-punk songs from the 1960s, Lou Reed’s lyrics, amongst an orchestrated sea of noise and distortion, set a bar for topical songwriting involving sex, drugs, and violence.

Musical adventure, exploring new sounds, and sharing great music with great people make these discussions a joy.

Join us and see for yourself.

Listen:

(Click the record to listen on your platform of choice)

I’m in! How can I join?

Here ya go:

When: Sunday, May 4th: 4 PM Eastern/ 8 PM GMT

Where: Join Zoom Meeting

Join our Video Meeting
ID: 827 4674 3053
Passcode: 91987

Thanks for being here (and there!),

Kevin—

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3×2: Volume 4 | Musical Side Projects

by KevinLeave a Comment on 3×2: Volume 4 | Musical Side Projects

April 2025: Sam & I bring a few of our favorite side projects to the table

Good morning!

Today Sam Colt and I are each sharing a few of our favorite side projects.

Welcome to the fourth edition of our (not so) new series! For those of you who may have missed previous editions, here’s a bit of context:

In this monthly series, Sam Colt and I will each share our picks for artists and/or titles that haven’t received their due. You’ll recognize Sam’s name from our On Repeat and Friends Best of Series, and also our Top 100 of all-time series last fall. These posts will adopt the latter’s format; I will make my case for my three picks and my reaction to Sam’s. Sam’s page will do the reverse.

In the inaugural post, we noted that successive editions would narrow things down slightly. Maybe a specific genre…maybe a specific era…maybe a specific…well, who knows!

This month, we’re each making a case for a few musical side projects.

When you’re done here, remember to check out Sam’s take at This Is a Newsletter!

Let’s get to it!

KA—

Hindu Love Gods- S/T

In the late 80s, R.E.M. were on their way up & Warren Zevon was searching for clear air. The band (sans Michael Stipe) was Zevon’s backing band on 1987’s Sentimental Hygiene, and finished the sessions early. So they did the most logical thing possible- and a side project spurred its own side project: The Hindu Love Gods.

That’s not totally accurate—Zevon and REM had played together before, but now they had a record of mainly covers in the can…where it sat for the next few years. It saw the light of day only after Zevon’s manager used it to sweeten the deal while shopping him around for a new contract.

No one in the R.E.M. camp knew it was coming and were a bit blindsided by it all, but fences were mended, and in short order the record ran its course. From my observer’s perch, the record leaves a couple of lasting legacies. First, it gave the world a fun cover of Prince’s “Raspberry Beret.” Second, for many people my age (Gen X), this was an on-ramp to Zevon’s work outside of “Werewolves of London.”

Sam’s pick and my take: Chaz Bundick Meets The Mattson 2 – Star Stuff

I had no idea who this was or the parent bands. I’d heard of (Bundick’s stage name) Toro Y Moi, but would be hard pressed to name a single song. The Mattson 2? Absolute blank. Cueing up Star Stuff, my first impression is that it feels like the soundtrack to a good trip. The kind where you just sort of sit there and watch the walls shapeshift. It sounds like an updated version of a blacklight poster. The second track, “A Search,” feels like more of a soulful strut, albeit it one you might do while chasing your spirit animal across the Mojave, with the gentle oohs and ahhs helping fill in the blanks.

One of the things I love about side projects is when you can almost taste how unfinished they are; when it sounds like people met up simply for the sake of doing so, bouncing ideas off of one another, and seeing where the session takes ’em. No GPS giving step-by-step directions; everything’s analog. No maps, just a compass. Everything’s improv. To my ear, Star Stuff embodies that.

Electronic-S/T

About 35 years ago, there was a brief—and weird—period in the cultural zeitgeist where we collectively decided we loved us a live-action/animation hybrid. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” was a surprise hit, and in its wake came a few, um, less popular movies. Some are best forgotten, some were formulaic, and some, like “A Cool World,” were unlike anything else out at the time. And if you were one of the 35 people in the US who happened to have seen it, you’ll likely know what I’m talking about. You were among the few lucky people to have heard Electronic’s “Disappointed” over the theater speakers.

There is a long tradition of songs from soundtracks outshining the films that they’ve appeared in. Far more people have heard Dan Hartman’s “I Can Dream About You” than remember it’s from the movie “Streets of Fire.”

“When the Night Comes” was a huge hit for Joe Cocker and has had an infinitely longer shelf life than the movie it featured in. Bonus points if you can recall the title.1

This brings us back to A Cool World. The movie might’ve been utterly forgettable (sorry!), but the soundtrack felt purpose-built for a kid like me.

In the late 80s, New Order frontman Bernard Sumner was restless. He had fallen in love with genres like Italo-disco and Acid House, and wanted to pivot the band in that direction. Internal creative conflicts were already threatening to rend the band asunder (those would all come in due time), and Sumner decided that maybe channeling all of this into a solo record might be the move…until he learned that he hated working alone…

Meanwhile, The Smiths’ Johnny Marr was in the middle of his own battles. His band was done, and by many accounts, he wasn’t trailing too far behind. He’d been biding his time as an axe man for hire but was looking for a creative outlet. He leaped when word reached him that Sumner was interested in testing the waters.

Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant heard about the budding project through a Factory Records employee and decided he also wanted in.

The three quickly lined up some studio time and walked out with a newly minted single, “Getting Away With It,” which promptly became something of a hit. Of course, this meant the band had to create a full-length record.

They test drove early versions of a batch of tracks at an infamous live set. That ultimately led to their self-titled debut, two other LPs, and a compilation…and while the debut record is fantastic, “Disappointed” didn’t appear on it (or any of the band’s other original release versions). For a long time, you had to hunt for either the single or a copy of Songs from the Cool World to find it.

The side projects arising from New Order are legion, but all these years later, only Electronic had me riding my bike straight from the theater to Tower Records to try and find one of their LPs.

Sam’s pick and my take: Them Crooked Vultures – S/T

One of Sam’s superpowers is picking a band or record that makes me realize that, despite knowing the name, I’ve never heard a single song by them. The streak continues this month with Them Crooked Vultures. Like Electronic above, this is a side project and supergroup, this time featuring Josh Homme, John Paul Jones, and Dave Grohl. It took about three minutes for me to realize I’d been missing out.

Once in a while, I like a good scuzzy groove and a family-sized serving of riffs, and this record has both for days. Maybe more importantly, it doesn’t sound like anyone’s “home” band. The closest it comes is to Homme’s Queens of the Stone Age, and even that’s a short leap. It truly feels like a detour or side quest.

The Breeders- Pod

In the late 80s and early 90s, it felt like everyone was in at least a couple of bands. The lines between rosters blurred, and it all became a musical version of 6 Degrees of Separation. In many cases, you needed a scorecard to keep track at home. This was certainly the case for smaller bands and/or scenes, so it only made sense to happen at the (relatively) larger next tier.

In 1988, Throwing Muses’ Tanya Donnelly and Pixies’ Kim Deal shared a tour bill, but they also shared ideas in their downtime. Initially, they toyed with making a dance record, but ultimately thought better of it. Due to legal issues, they couldn’t share credit as principal songwriters. Deal took the credit for Pod, thinking that Donnelly would do so for whatever came next. In this case, what came next was a split,2 and Donnelly using those demos for yet another side project, Belly.

Most people are at least marginally familiar with Last Splash’s “Cannonball.” A few people will recognize “Divine Hammer.” But if pressed, I’m not sure many people could recognize “When I Was a Painter,” “Hellbound,” or “Iris.”

Pod is a messier record than the ones that came after it, and therein lies the appeal. Subsequent records have the edges sanded down somewhat, if not all the way. Pod walked so Last Splash could run.

On release, Pod was never going to escape the shadow of Pixies or even Throwing Muses, but it gave both women an outlet to do something different, to take things in a direction their main gigs wouldn’t allow. And really, isn’t that the point of a side project anyway? The Breeders—and Belly—both eventually found their rightful place in the spotlight.

Sam’s pick and my take: The Smile – Cutouts

I have to hand it to Sam; he’s gonna get me to like Radiohead or die trying, even if it means taking an angle like this. If you’ve been here a while, you know my love for the band is lacking. It’s also fair to say Sam is a massive fan. Sounds like the plot of a bad buddy cop film, but after managing to artfully dodge this record during 2024’s AOTY season, really it just means me now sitting down and intentionally trying to see what the fuss is. Short version: It’s not bad, which in this context equates to “pleasantly surprised.” “Zero Sum” even had me moving my chair a little bit. Still not my bag, but I now totally get why so many people loved this record.

That’s a wrap! What are your thoughts on these records? Do you own any of them? Share your thoughts in the comments! Rants, raves, and spicy takes are all welcome. And if you have any ideas on future themes, please share those as well! Don’t forget to check out Sam’s thoughts over at This Is a Newsletter!

Thanks for being here,

Kevin—

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Sound Advice: 25. Apr. 2025

by KevinLeave a Comment on Sound Advice: 25. Apr. 2025

The flood of great records continues! Today taking a quick look at the latest from Rhymies, Dick Valentine, Avery Friedman, Mythical Motors and more!

Longtime readers may recall that I reviewed 100 new (to me) records last year. Because I’m a glutton for punishment love music, I’m doing it again this year. This is the latest in the series.

Good morning!
Today we’re taking a look at the latest from Rhymies, Dick Valentine, Avery Friedman, and Mythical Motors and several more!

Every year, I celebrate all the great music we’ve been gifted while worrying that next year will see the other shoe drop. I first did that in December 2020 and have been proven wrong every month since. Not only are there a ton of releases steadily coming out, but it also transcends genre or any other artificial guardrail we try and put up—

In other words, a ton of good stuff is coming out, and there’s something for everyone. It’s almost overwhelming— but in all the best ways. Below is another batch that caught my attention recently.

A lot of recent releases landed on my radar all at once, and I want to shine a light on them before too much more time passes. Not quite an 88 lines about 44 records kind of deal, but close. More of a clearing the decks, if you will.

Let’s get into it!

Rhymies- I Dream Watching (EP)
There is a trend on social media where Gen Z kids cue up Bronksi Beat’s “Small Town Boy” and film as their parents reflexively start dancing to it. It’s a lovely song, but it’d be better if they used Rhymies “I Dream Watching” instead.

Rhymies is the latest side project from Bay Area musician Lauren Matsui. That name might not ring a bell, but her other bands, Seablite, and Neutrals, have both been featured here and are On Repeat favorites.

With that as context, this EP is a world away from both. Seablite draws easy comparisons to Lush, and Neutrals are a great bit of indie pop and/or post-punk, depending on your mood. I Dream Watching is 100% a synth-pop record. Matsui’s vocals pair perfectly with the keyboards, making for an intoxicating mix.

If Seablite took you back to early 90s shoegaze, this will take you back to the era of 80s dance parties, just like we (or your parents) used to dance the night away to.

Grab your cloves and hit the club here

Avery Friedman- New Thing
The Rosy Overdrive blog recently reviewed this LP and prefaced it with noting, “I get records that match this description emailed to me every day, so you can rest assured that I wouldn’t be writing about this one if it wasn’t a clear standout from that pack.”

I’ll take that one step further; I am convinced someone, somewhere, decided that any promo email had to include either “pedal steel” or “indie folk” in the description. It feels like a bit of PR Mad Libs or refrigerator magnet poetry gone wrong. I can’t speak for Rosy’s inbox, but in mine, those two phrases are as ubiquitous as UPCs are on the records they’re trying to move.

For better or worse, to my ear, “Folk” means acoustic, maybe a mandolin, and a general lack of oomph. Slapping ” indie” on the front of it just tells me it was made after 1995. I’m mindful that those words telegraph a lack of objectivity.

“New Thing is a conduit for emotions too frenetic to hold on your own. This record is a collection of the first songs I’ve ever written, after many years of orbiting the music world but denying myself my own musicianship. Many of these tracks were
born of anxiety—from my turning to a guitar to externalize (and organize) a sense of chaos that otherwise felt trapped inside me. We recorded the bulk of it with a live band as a means to maintain the raw energy at the center of the record.
What results is a time capsule for a year of intense personal expansion in my life—and the layers of warmth, wonder, sensitivity, and sharpness that come with growing.” – Avery Friedman

That said, I gave this one a spin, and while it’s not my place to tell an artist or PR firm what genre to go with, folk would not’ve been my first pick here. There’s far too much energy and emotion on New Thing for that. It’s electric (literally and figuratively).

Earlier this week, we featured the title track on our Playlist. Songs that make the cut are ones that are in heavy rotation. With New Thing, I had about 4 to pick from before ultimately going with the title track.

Besides the title track, “Photo Booth” is synth-tinged with blurry guitars and a solid rhythm section that keeps everything moving. With its washed-out fuzz and soft vocals, “Somewhere to Go” feels fluorescent. It’s a slow burn that will keep you wanting it to kick into gear. “Biking Standing” might be the closest (again, IMO) the record comes to folk, and even then, I’d say that it feels more like a lovely bit of lilting bedroom pop than anything.

On the title track, Friedman tells us, “It’s a little bit of a new thing / It’s a little hard to predict / And I can’t quite describe it / But it’s like a magnet flipped.” Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to sum up this record than that. This album fades in and out; sometimes, it feels like the light of midday. Other times, like a fever dream or fuzzy memories, struggling to make it out of the back of one’s mind.

Hard to describe, hard to predict, and it definitely feels fresh. New Thing was something I didn’t see coming. But it’s not PR spin when I tell you that’ll be a contender for a spot on my AOTY list.

Folk? Not folk? Click here to listen and decide.

Mythical Motors- Travelogues and Movie Stills
I’ve often joked that we need to check in on Robert Pollard if we go more than six months without a Guided by Voices record. The reality is that someday, he will slow down. Luckily, Matt Addison is already releasing records at almost the same rate.

Like GBV, Addison’s specialty is lo-fi quick hits. This record is pared down from its predecessor but still squeezes in 15 songs in less than 30 minutes, the longest clocking in at 3 minutes even. With those numbers, it would be easy to assume he was flooding the zone, hoping something would stick. That would be wrong. Travelogues and Movie Stills is packed with the gorgeous jangle and bright hooks we’ve come to expect from him.

In other words, it’s just what we need right now.

Fourteen months ago, I described Upside Down World as what lo-fi power pop looks like. It’s the same story here. In a world as wild as 2025 is shaping up to be, it’s nice to know some things haven’t changed.

Listen to the record and grab your copy here.

Dick Valentine- The Final Musician
Valentine might be better known as the frontman of Electric Six, but he’s also released a huge catalog of solo records (books, too, for that matter). His latest, The Final Musician, is a little more stripped down than some of Electric Six’s work, but no less manic.

The title track kicks things off, and we’re immediately met full-on with his distinctive voice. The song itself feels like something from Jack Black and/or Tenacious D. Not my fave on the record, but it sets the mood early that this is gonna be a Dick Valentine record.

That’s followed by a heapin’ helpin’ of garage rock in “Asian Freckles.” It’s all gas and no brakes, followed up with a much more (relatively) sedate “Bombs for Baby.” We even get a bit of folk (sorry!) in “Leave the Rest of It to Me.” And is that a fiddle I hear in the back? Just a few tracks in, and the blender’s already full of genres.

Again, this is a hallmark of any Valentine’s record.

“Duchess in a Tree” is a bit of stripped-down funk, as if they purposely left the amps turned down. It’s understated but rides high on a slinky groove. It’s also this writer’s favorite track on the album.

Ask four people to describe Electric Six, you’ll get at least five opinions. It’s a sound that’s so versatile (and so good at genre-hopping) that it defies easy categorization. Valentine’s solo work is no different. He’s still the Dance Commander and still giving out the orders for fun.

He’s spent years making music his own way, maybe to the detriment of his bank account. With The Final Musician, maybe that’ll change. If not, I can’t see him changing a thing. Indeed, I hope he doesn’t.

Valentine was also recently on the Center Stage Podcast, and you can catch that here.

Grab your copy via Madison-based Shortwave Records

Also awesome:
Hairpin- Modern Day Living (EP): This EP has Blast furnace riffs and heavy beats for days. The band describes the tracks here as “post-hardcore through a power pop lens.” I just describe it as good. RIYL: High Vis, Pegboy, driving guitars, running red lights. (Buckle up and get in here)

Palamara- Tomorrow Is a Friend: Soothing, introspective sounds from an artist once described as “Lambchop or the Magnetic Fields with a country twang.” An excellent release that’s equal parts Americana and country. Will remind you of the singer-songwriter records in your grandparents’ cabinet (100% said as high praise). Pairs perfectly with spring morning sun, big mugs of coffee, mountain views, or any one of the Great Lakes. (Slow down to the speed of life here.)

Marshy- Light Business (EP): 4-song EP from NYC’s Marshy. Light Business is a fantastic mix of emo, power pop, and just a touch of shoegaze. Four songs weren’t enough. Hoping we’ll see an LP in the not-too-distant future. RIYL: Momma, Wednesday, crunchy guitars. (Grab a copy here)

Wayside- Dusk to Dawn: Full throttle rock from the Twin Cities. After a long layoff, the band is back and in their best form yet. This isn’t a heritage act, but they are 100% standing on the shoulders of many of the bands that came out of the 612 before them. Either way, the whole thing rips. Bar trivia: Richard Stuverud of The Fastbacks, Three Fish, Tres Mtns, RNDM, War Babies, and Pearl Jam (briefly)….is sitting in on drums on one of the songs. (See what’s happening in the flyover states here.)

West Coast Music Club- Need You Beside Me (EP): Another release of West UK’s West Coast Music Club. The title track reminds me of Chameleons, and it just goes up from there. If you only have room for one track on your playlist, make it “Summer Loving.” It’ll already be stuck in your head anyway. (Pick up your copy of Need You Beside Me here)

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these records! Did I get it right, or am I way off the mark?

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