Reviews: Weirdos
Rene Van Helsdingen/Nape Neck/Maura Weaver/Maraudeur/Crushed/Splizz/Good Flying Birds/Liiek/Emily A. Sprague/Onyon
Quick intro since there’s a lot to dig into below. Starting with a jazz reissue probably seems like a collar tug for some, but it’s a real sock knocker. Plenty of post punk bits in the lot. What is post punk these days anyway? I dunno, but you’ll know it when ya hear it, so listen to the recommended sounds below.
Rene Van Helsdingen - Coal Mining (Sdban Records)
For how much I like jazz, I rarely find new releases that perk my ears up. That’s partially because I don’t stay actively engaged, but I don’t engage with Hip Hop at all and there’s always something from that camp falling in my lap. Maybe it’s the general public’s handling of jazz that dictates exposure? You’re way more likely to encounter someone who says “I’m super into Lil Uzi Vert” than “I’m into Rene Van Helsdingen.” I know it’s a flawed metric, but here we are, discussing THE jazz record that moved me this year. And this isn’t even a new jazz record! It’s a reissue of Van Helsdingen’s 1978 debut. “Coal Mining” gets in your face right out of the blocks. Pounding keys and fluid bass hit immediately. The intensity shifts into a groove rather quickly but without losing any intensity. This one’s a real middle of the road traveler, in the non-pejorative sense. There’s a definite free-ness to it but it never steps into wailing skronk. And on the opposite side of the coin, it’s usually tucked nicely into a groove without losing its flair. Doesn’t sound like 1978, I can tell ya that jack! But who knows what they were doing in The Netherlands back then.
Nape Neck - The Shallowest End (Dot Dash Sounds)
God damn, this is like every single thing I love about the New York Noise comp all at once. And I LOVE that comp! Not from NYC, but ya coulda fooled me. Razor sharp guitars, bouncy bass lines, drumming with a sideways attack, melodic while still aggressive vocals, and weird touches throughout. The rubbery riffing and competing vocals of “Panacea” have got to be disorienting live. This strikes the same place of my brain as those Coughs records did a couple decades ago, but dance-y where Coughs were more in your face. And that’s not to say that there isn’t some abrasion rearing its head. “Pylon” shows some teeth. There’s something fascinating about a song like “Mosquito” where it sounds like all the instruments are moving separately from each other while simultaneously staying in sync. If ya like post punk, dance punk, or No Wave I think ya better try this one on for size.
Maura Weaver - Strange Devotion (Feel It Records)
Laid back poppy indie music leaning toward the singer-songwriter arena on some tracks. “The Face” brings a harder edge. It’s followed by the divine alt-rock of “I’m Not Sleeping.” The fact that she has pop punk bonafides comes as no shock. There’s a skilled catchiness throughout that comes from paying your dues. Late album starts shifting gears with each song, with “Breakfast” landing on a little country twang. Didn’t see it coming but it works. Overall, this sounds like one of those deceptively big bands that are on a fake indie label and get written up on Pitchfork, but in a good way! Like they’re the reason you keep skimming that dumb publication daily because there’s bound to be a golden egg occasionally. Great stuff that wouldn’t shock me if it was Feel It’s next big thing.
Maraudeur - Flaschtrager (Feel It Records)
A bit of a new wave-y twist on post punk, but way more angular than skinny tie. Are we in a Post-Egg world? There was always those random Egg Punk bands that managed to transcend the ghetto and put out an off kilter bash that wasn’t completely derivative. And I’m kind of dumbfounded by this one. Maybe a Ralph Records comparison is apt? Not necessarily bad trip music, but definitely weird trip music.
Crushed - No Scope (Ghostly International)
Excluding the two interludes, every track on this record’s 3:30+. Kinda shocked me to see that. But Crushed is very groove oriented, so they have to have room to settle in. “Exo” brings the dance pop energy. “Starburn” continues on the wave of “could be heard in a chain store” energy. And that’s no slight to Crushed. This shit should be huge. It’s the stuff that people who hate the radio would hear and not turn the channel.
Splizz - S/T (Phantom Records)
Very cold, maybe a dash of Death Rock on opening track “Staub.” I can’t fully put my finger on what this reminds me of. Maybe New Model Army on an early-Cure bender? A tight four song EP. No room for clunkers on a 12 minute EP and Splizz holds up their end of the bargain.
Good Flying Birds - Talulah’s Tape (Carpark Records)
First heard these folks on the Star Charms Comp. on Inscrutable Records. A nice three song taste to whet the appetite. I’m probably gonna get scoffed for this, but “Wallace” has an early Cloud Nothings feel. There’s this indomitable thread of all the best guitar led indie rock coursing through the songs. “Fall Away” has a feel of a song that could have popped up anytime over the past three and a half decades. It’d nestle up comfortably alongside anything from K to Slumberland to I dunno, Matador era Times New Viking. Or that Julia Brown tape from a decade ago that really flipped my shit. Do you like the TVP’s? GBV? The Clean? Any of the labels mentioned? Then you probably already know this one, or you should cuz you’ll dig it.
Liiek - Living in a Fiction (Adagio 830)
I was convinced that Liiek was a done deal, so this is a nice surprise. Their first release since 2022’s Deep Pore. Super dryly recorded post punk, emphasis on punk. Everything sounds really crisp and present. There’s a dance-y vibe throughout, but none of the songs seem danceable. Maybe “Small Man.” Maybe it’s the hand drums that make you want to move? “I Don’t Want to Fight” has a flair of SoCal 1981 edge with a NYC 1981 groove running through. Like what if Christian Death went for No Wave meets Warsaw instead of writing Only Theater of Pain? Maybe that’s a stretch? Maybe that sounds like a trio of perfection? I’d side with the latter. Where do your chips fall?
Emily A. Sprague - Cloud Time (RVNG Intl.)
More meditative than droney. Not to get uptight with labels, there’s just more movement than something you’d consider a drone. But it’s sounds that you can really immerse yourself in. Even with the changes taking place, it’s never jarring. Ok, maybe the beginning of “Matsumoto” is a bit of a shift, but it’s 18 minutes in. It’s a “come up for air” moment. And then you dial back in and submit to the sounds. The remaining three tracks show themselves as subtle subdued pieces for full immersion. Dive.
Onyon - Pale Horses (Mangel)
When I first heard Onyon I wasn’t buying it and now I have to ask, what was my deal? Repeatedly, the true tastemaker of the 21st Century, Jay Hinman, broadcast his devotion on his ever name changing podcast (Dynamite Hemorrhage Radio/Radio Dies Screaming/ Agony Shorthand). I’d turn an ear and shrug. Fine enough. At some point my little brain sponge a proper amount of the Onyon sound and the switch flipped. “Molasses” comes across as equal parts VU and various Billy Childish associated girl groups. Speaking of The Wild One himself, “Whiffs of Smoke” comes across like Thee Headcoatees making a Dangerhouse single. “The Demon,” with its steady gait and eerie keys gives you three minutes mid album to really settle in. Of course “Stereometrie” follows with a wrench in the gears. The weirdo intro gives way to an uptempo rocker and propels the second half of the record. Pale Horses really shoots my initial impressions of this band to shit. Across the ten songs they tie a lot of threads together and it suits them well. There’s a little bit of something for everyone in the proceedings.