DURR - "Scream" (self-released)
Hey, look! The first rap we've ever covered! Technically, I heard about "Scream," DURR's new track, because Lucas is also the vocalist/guitarist of local punk heroes Pierre. But here we are anyway - I'm excited!
The only throughline connecting the two projects is their natural velocity. DURR tears through a vicious beat that's half 90's boom-bap sample and half skittering high-hats. All it takes is these two elements, tossed into a blender, to make a crunchy, booming beat to flow over. A DURR in motion tends to stay in motion, and he ca$ually spits menacing bar after bar, line after line. If you could inject music directly into your bloodstream, "Scream" would give you enough energy to run for miles.
"Scream" will (presumably) appear on CAPSAICIN, the album DURR is releasing tomorrow.
The Personas - "Picture Show" (self-released)
Sometimes a song is just good. Y'know? There's no frills, no bells and whistles, just a plainly good song. I would argue that "Picture Show," the song that the Personas put out at the very end of 2019 (literally!) is one of those.
The Personas have only put out three songs (that I know of). Through sheer willpower (and good songwriting), the quartet has already managed to create set-closing anthem. It flirts with classic rock, without being overcome by boomer fetishization. It's a sweet rush of defiant energy that rewards repeat listens. The riffs are crunchy and the grooves are effortless.
The double-single the band put out last September is also worth your time. "Serotonin" narrowly beats out "Picture Show" for my favorite Personas song.
Swims - Story Time (self-released)
2020 is shaping up to be the year of Early Eyes. The band is gearing up to release new music, Marie Finch simply exists, and to start everything off, we have Story Time, the debut solo project from Des Lawrence.
At points, Story Time seems like the platonic ideal of bedroom pop (I mean that in the best way possible). Each song is a tiny snapshot, minute collages of variety. Lawrence displays an "all-things-go" attitude throughout, which is how you end up with the AutoTune and percussion of "Simple" and the sun-drenched lo-fi jazz pop of "Arboretum" back-to-back on the same album. Instead of throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, Lawrence finds a way to weave every idea into multi-color quilts. It brings totally disparate concepts from a scattershot blast into unexpected, beautiful cohesion.
Unless I attempted a song-by-song breakdown (which would be long and boring!), I can't do justice to Story Time. It would be better to instead to heed Lawrence's advice and "pull up a blanket, pull on some headphones, and have yourself a little relax time with Story Time."
Also, "Shadows N Straight Lines" sounds like Animal Collective circa 2005 made a song off Plastic Beach and I love it. That is all. Listen below.
Liz Saad - Queer Springsteen EP (Mount Seldom Records)
I am slightly befuddled by Liz Saad's new EP, Queer Springsteen. Not only am I unsure of whether Saad is local anymore (or ever was), I don't know how these three songs came to be together. One ("Kicks on the Beach") was released in a more fleshed-out/non-acoustic form in 2019; another ("Passing By") came out in September 2018 and is included here with a two-minute outro of silence added on. However, there's one thing I am actually certain of: that these three songs are good.
If this trio of songs was selected from the extremely prolific Saad's output based on quality alone, I would totally understand. They are lo-fi in spirit, but not in sound. At their core, they are simple, wide-ranging songs, likely inspired in part by the titular Boss. But the sonic choices won't lead any listener to "Thunder Road," though they are recorded in a clean and surprisingly robust manner. Saad maintains a low-key presence throughout most of the EP, but occasionally bursts through in a vibrant explosion of musical color (i.e. the non-silent gang-vocal outro of "Passing By"). Tiny accoutrements such as xylophone and harmonica make unprecedented appearances on what at first appear to be bare-bones lyrically-driven tracks.
Overall, Queer Springsteen is an unpolished gem that so easily could have slipped through the cracks. I'm glad we were able to catch it and put it on the slight, downtrodden pedestal that is this column.
If this trio of songs was selected from the extremely prolific Saad's output based on quality alone, I would totally understand. They are lo-fi in spirit, but not in sound. At their core, they are simple, wide-ranging songs, likely inspired in part by the titular Boss. But the sonic choices won't lead any listener to "Thunder Road," though they are recorded in a clean and surprisingly robust manner. Saad maintains a low-key presence throughout most of the EP, but occasionally bursts through in a vibrant explosion of musical color (i.e. the non-silent gang-vocal outro of "Passing By"). Tiny accoutrements such as xylophone and harmonica make unprecedented appearances on what at first appear to be bare-bones lyrically-driven tracks.
Overall, Queer Springsteen is an unpolished gem that so easily could have slipped through the cracks. I'm glad we were able to catch it and put it on the slight, downtrodden pedestal that is this column.
Flat 12 - "Swim Club" (self-released)
As far as I know, this song has only existed online for around 6 hours. I only heard about it like ten minutes ago from Oftener's Instagram (thanks!). Boy am I glad I decided to listen.
The St. Paul-based trio makes heavy, sludgy music (or at least they do on this song - this is my only point of reference). If someone were to liquefy "Swim Club," the band's debut single, it would be a thick, viscous mess that it would be nearly impossible to wade through. That's a compliment, just to be clear. The violent delivery of every word by vocalist/guitarist J. Williams could puncture a concrete wall (beware during house shows!).
Starting about a minute-and-a-half in, Williams rips into a hypnotizing, filthy riff while drummer Sam Vanorny and bassist Andre Barnes lurk in the background. Then, for like five seconds, the band shifts into what almost sounds like jazz(???); the bass switches to funky arpeggios and the drums would sound at home on any swinging jazz chart. Without even acknowledging what just happened, they're back to the sludge. I can't stop thinking about this random 5-second transition, it's unexpected and bizarre but still works. The song closes out with more sound and fury, even if my mind is still in the weird jazzy realm that that snippet created. I don't know why it stuck with me; the rest of the song totally shreds and is equally worth hearing. C'est la vie, I guess.
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