Team Killer - "Morn" & "Woops" (self-released)
Sometimes, I'm frustrated with bands. I see them rip a sick gig, or hear glowing recommendations from other bands, but I have no way to enjoy their music outside of shows. It's selfish, I know. I just really want to be able listen at any given moment. Team Killer were one of those bands. The quartet built up some healthy DIY buzz over the last year or so and finally they're releasing their first recorded music. It was worth the wait (shout out to NATL PARK SRVC for turning me onto them).
The first of two new songs, "Morn," is a surprisingly tuneful piece of foggy rock. It sounds like a shoegaze version of the Strokes filtered through a reverb pedal. "Morn" is also better than virtually anything the Strokes has done in a decade, so jot that down. Nothing is quite clear - vocals, synth, and guitars all wash in and out of focus. However, Colby Boek's drums pound throughout with the force of a small avalanche (or perhaps a house show mosh). Your face won't quite get melted, but your ears will definitely be left ringing, with the song's bewildered melodies echoing for hours.
"Woops" rushes by a bit more quickly. The song's mix crystallizes Noah Swanson's (vox/guitar) voice and allows it to float through the cacophonous haze. Without such stellar production, it would get lost in its own maze; instead, we have been gifted with a mellifluous confection of sonic bliss.
Team Killer is Shea Drenkow (synth), Colby Boek (drums), Magnolia Carlson (bass), and Noah Swanson (vox/guitar). Listen to/buy "Morn" and "Woops" below.
Tommy Touchdown - Book Club EP (self-released)
One of the best things that ambient music can do is drown out the world. At its best, it creates an entirely new world inside your headphones and coaxes you in. The new Book Club EP from Tommy Touchdown certainly accomplishes this.
Chris Hoge (of Bad Bad Hats) brought Book Club to life as an outlet of escape. Initially, it began as a source of relief while on tour; Hoge would listen to these mod-synth recordings before shows and while reading in the tour van, inspiring the release's title. It's easy to view the project in a similar light to Emily A. Sprague's stellar ambient music created outside of the context of Florist. Hoge doesn't get quite as conceptual, but he treasures the quiet peace of ambient just as much. His compositions gently guide the listener's mind out of its own way, creating a spiritual sense of clarity. "Stay Warm Out There" is a highlight for me; there is an unspoken potency to it, so much so that it feels like it might actually be able to keep you warm out in the expansive frigid wasteland we call home. "Television" evokes the Eno's classic Apollo track "An Ending (Ascent)." Meditate to this music; dissociate to this music; read a book to this music (and send Hoges your recommendations).
Con Davison - "Quick 3 Mile Run" (self-released)
Singer-songwriter Con Davison has quietly been one of the most involved musicians in the scene over the last half decade. In 2015, he contributed to Ancient Mariner's second and final record. His duo with Dan Stewart (Wingman) put out a record in 2016. He's worked on every Dreamspook release from 2017-2019, whether performing, engineering, or both (in addition to playing in the live band). Bad Bad Hats brought him on as a drummer for their latest record Lightning Round. On top of all that, he released his own EP Far Off Distant Planets in 2018. That's only the stuff that I'm aware of; there very well may be (and likely is) even more. Now, the time has come for Davison's next project.
"Quick 3 Mile Run" is the lead single for new EP Your Love and Rent. Davison's deep affection for 70s music shines throughout. Despite the title, the song ambles rather than hurries. It's up to the listener to decide whether Davison is wandering aimlessly or simply taking the time to appreciate his surroundings as he passes by. Vibrant, artful production carries the songwriting on a cloud, a gift presented without expectation. Beatles-esque backing vocals ascend gently like mellow fireworks. The simple beauty of "Quick 3 Mile Run" is something to treasure.
Your Love and Rent is out 3/27. Listen to "Quick 3 Mile Run" below.
Double Grave - "A Little Hope"
Double Grave is for the people. Bernie Sanders is for the people. Sounds like a match made in heaven, no?
This may be the only time a MN DIY band has made it in Pitchfork in the last decade (until we inevitably get the niiice. Ian Cohen review). Double Grave have a brand new song out as part of a fundraising compilation for Bernie, put together by Portland's Strange Ranger (their album from last year is also very good). "A Little Hope" is grounded in realism, simultaneously acknowledging the near-impossibility of optimism under the current status quo and the desperate necessity of trying to fight for change anyway. Jeremy Warden sings "I've got a little hope / Trying to cope / Make a kind of change" just 30 seconds in and gives the song it's title and thesis statement. It's been too long since we've heard the sun-kissed chaos that Warden, Bree Meyer, and Seth Tracy make together, and I am so damn happy to have them back. Not only is "A Little Hope" another fantastic slice of DG's delicious buzz pop, it gives me courage too. As hard as it is, even if it's not for our own sake, we have to find a little hope and keep on fighting. In my opinion (and in the opinion of all 20 bands on this comp), Bernie Sanders is the candidate to help us do that.
All proceeds from the comp will go to support Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.
Double Grave is for the people. Bernie Sanders is for the people. Sounds like a match made in heaven, no?
This may be the only time a MN DIY band has made it in Pitchfork in the last decade (until we inevitably get the niiice. Ian Cohen review). Double Grave have a brand new song out as part of a fundraising compilation for Bernie, put together by Portland's Strange Ranger (their album from last year is also very good). "A Little Hope" is grounded in realism, simultaneously acknowledging the near-impossibility of optimism under the current status quo and the desperate necessity of trying to fight for change anyway. Jeremy Warden sings "I've got a little hope / Trying to cope / Make a kind of change" just 30 seconds in and gives the song it's title and thesis statement. It's been too long since we've heard the sun-kissed chaos that Warden, Bree Meyer, and Seth Tracy make together, and I am so damn happy to have them back. Not only is "A Little Hope" another fantastic slice of DG's delicious buzz pop, it gives me courage too. As hard as it is, even if it's not for our own sake, we have to find a little hope and keep on fighting. In my opinion (and in the opinion of all 20 bands on this comp), Bernie Sanders is the candidate to help us do that.
All proceeds from the comp will go to support Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign.
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