(Cover art by Alexis Politz)
The Personas - Perspective EP (self-released)
Rock's not dead! It never really died, but I needed some click-baity way to introduce this segment. The things we do for journalistic integrity.
In a word, Perspective is effortless. The debut EP from the Personas floats on by without any external momentum. I imagine there's a tiny engine, chugging along, powering the band as they produce song-after-song of classic power pop, but from the listener's perspective (ha), Perspective was recorded this morning and put out without a whim. Usually such ease is a façade, masking extremely deliberate songcraft. The seams are invisible, but every riff, melody, bassline, or solo was stitched together. From the fuzzed-out bass riff that kicks off "Audience of No One" to the fierce solo in "Waiting My Life Away," the Personas go all out in making maximum-satisfaction rock songs.
Ironically, this write-up is going up on the same day that the band announced a February hibernation to make new songs. No rest for the wicked, I guess. While we wait for those songs to come to fruition, listen to Perspective below.
In a word, Perspective is effortless. The debut EP from the Personas floats on by without any external momentum. I imagine there's a tiny engine, chugging along, powering the band as they produce song-after-song of classic power pop, but from the listener's perspective (ha), Perspective was recorded this morning and put out without a whim. Usually such ease is a façade, masking extremely deliberate songcraft. The seams are invisible, but every riff, melody, bassline, or solo was stitched together. From the fuzzed-out bass riff that kicks off "Audience of No One" to the fierce solo in "Waiting My Life Away," the Personas go all out in making maximum-satisfaction rock songs.
Ironically, this write-up is going up on the same day that the band announced a February hibernation to make new songs. No rest for the wicked, I guess. While we wait for those songs to come to fruition, listen to Perspective below.
Little Lizard - "Take Me to Your Leader" (Guilt Ridden Pop Records)
My dream came true!
My favorite thing about Little Lizard (other than Shea Daniel's trombone) is that I have no idea what they're going to do next. They operate on a totally different plane from us Earthbound mortals. The duo's new song "Take Me to Your Leader" mostly alternates between bass/trombone grooving and delightfully kitschy synth breakdowns. There's a full horn section interlude in the middle, during which Daniel and Lizz D. (bass/trumpet) riff over a skittering electronic beat that sounds like how my brain feels. What other band can claim to have that?
"Take Me to Your Leader" is the first single off the duo's forthcoming record, EARTHLINGS. A fitting title for an album that should probably soundtrack an old sci-fi B movie. Listen to "Take Me to Your Leader" below. The band's next show is soon.
The band also put out a video for the single! They get arrested(?) by an alien but end up befriending and dancing with them. Perfectly on-brand. Watch below.
bugsy - Teratoma (self-released)
A teratoma is a kind of tumor consisting of hair and teeth, among other things. Sounds pretty gross, no? The duality of bugsy is that despite being titled after such a fascinatingly nasty thing, their new EP is entirely amazing.
Titled Empathy until around a week before its release, the quartet's debut EP combines deeply emotional lyrics with the catchiest songwriting I've heard all year. The songs were initially constructed, line by line, as potent odes to disintegration. Emily Schoonover's original demos (i.e. lead single "moody knows best") were not necessarily written with the intent to become full-fledged power-pop tunes, translucent gems of happy-sad glory. In the past, some of the songs have been performed by Schoonover and bassist/vocalist Shannon Maroney and obviously the tone would be completely different. Enter Griffin Desai and Alex Norman.
The electric shredding and nuclear energy that they bring respectively as lead guitarist and drummer are the key conversion factor. Without losing their core, the five songs on Teratoma are taken, put into a blazing furnace, and re-served in dazzling form. Even "hard to breathe," the most subdued song on the EP, is burnished with bursts of guitar fuzz.
Another essential joy of bugsy is the combination of beauty and noise. These two sonic aspects have been known to cancel each other (unless you listen black metal or something); bugsy unifies them in balanced harmony. Schoonover and Maroney's harmonies keep the songs afloat, hovering just above the volcano below. To quote Twitter, "bassist/harmonizers are the most powerful people in DIY." I agree wholeheartedly. Usually all it takes for me to love a song are some good harmonies. I will gladly add it to the list of "reasons why bugsy is, in fact, good."
I really love this EP, in case you hadn't already guessed. Happy one-week anniversary. Listen (or ~buy~) below. You can hear our interview with bugsy here (or wherever you c o n s u m e podcasts).
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