Black Beach have been serving us scuzzy, distortion drenched rock since 2014’s Play Loud, Die Vol. 1 in addition to a three-song EP release prior to that. From their debut full-length, Shallow Creatures, to a live album, Black Beach have remained active in Boston’s grungy DIY scene pumping out tunes meant to be dialed past 10.
Play Loud, Die Vol. 1 is true to its name in the volume (re: not the size) of the entire EP. “Rats” is as energetic as it is loud, full of Ryan Nicholson’s rollicking percussion that keeps Steven Insasi’s reverb-soaked vocals afloat. The EP dials it back at certain points, favoring a heavy-handed metal-informed sound carried by simple, yet introspective lyrics.
But Black Beach have grown into themselves on the EP’s follow-up, Play Loud, Die Vol. 2. While parts of it sound like a call and response with the first iteration, a majority of the EP features greater attention to production value, thanks to bassist Ben Semeta, and a sharper tongue. “I’ve grown tired. I’ve grown,” Insasi screams over a chaotic yet calculated chord progression. The balance between lyrics and instrumentation helps alleviate some of the heaviness that accompanies music in the post-punk canon, and Black Beach utilizes this well on Play Loud, Die Vol. 2.
“Nothing’s Golden” begins subdued, with only Insasi’s vocals warbling over a fuzzy mix of guitar and bass. Drums gradually trickle in, building the verse toward the chorus as Insasi continues in a near monotone that befits the title of the song. That is, until he unleashes a guttural, throaty wail: “I don’t know what to believe.”
Play Loud, Die Vol. 2. is a departure from the grittier roots in Vol. 1. Black Beach have undoubtedly refined the edge to their sound to a much sharper point — where Vol. 1 was all about grunginess, Vol. 2 is an exploration of fractured sound: one is messy, but cohesive, while the other is precise and measured.
Listen to Play Loud, Die Vol. 2 below and be sure to catch Black Beach at Starlab Fest on Saturday.
Somerville Arts Council
ARTFarm
10 Poplar St.
Somerville, MA 02143
When we heard Tennessee-based, DATENIGHT, was en route to Boston we knew we had to set something up. Their sound is so uniquely authentic; a rare blend of Nashville Punk infused with New Wave that you could only imagine hearing in some distant past generation your cool Step-Dad mumbles about.
Frontman, Grayton Green, carries an energy that is contagious to say the least. While humble and reserved off stage, when the band plays he summons a vibe that gets even the most apathetic Allston-basement crowds moving. Though their songs typically fall under two minutes long, each riff is more addictive than the next, leaving every listener wanting more.
Watch our session with DATENIGHT below:
“Some people have model trains,” Nolan Eley jokingly suggests, intentionally trailing off. “Maybe our next album will just be a yacht.”
We’ve already decided that Infinity Girl, Eley’s band for the past five years, can be deemed a “hobby” without any offense meant or taken. What we’re struggling with is scaling the level of investment it takes to front one of the more underrated acts of the recent shoegaze revival. It certainly supersedes a coin collection or your standard neighborhood garage band, but even mockingly minimizing years of Infinity Girl’s work next to owning a boat feels cruel.
It might also be that we’re joking like there’s more albums in mind, which there aren’t.
On Friday, the four-piece band will release its final album, Somewhere Nice, Someday, with local label Disposable America. On Saturday, they’ll play an understated hometown matinee show at The Middle East in Cambridge, officially putting Infinity Girl to bed.
Even in an age of convincing band breakups followed by sheepish reunion shows a few years down the line, Infinity Girl’s weekend-long goodbye inexplicably feels more final than most.
“We just liked each other and liked the same kind of music,” Eley offers as a quasi-eulogy. “It kinda happened and we enjoyed being in a band. It became too much though and the hobby became a little too much upkeep.”
While it makes sense for a group of hobbyists to end on a high note as their work finds a fanbase of like-minded enthusiasts, the end of Infinity Girl is fitting when considering their music has always been highly observant of life’s ephemerality. Where most of their peers shrink behind their pedal boards and let distortion do the talking, Infinity Girl felt like the rare shoegaze act that wanted to reach out through the noise and say something heartfelt. Thankfully, Somewhere Nice serves as a perfect distillation of that mindset, even if it wasn’t initially meant to serve as a conclusion.
“I think it was a gradual drift,” Eley says. “We all live in different parts of the city now, so it’s so hard for us to get together to even practice. To play a show, we have to rent Ubers to get our amps… such a hassle.”
If a rough timeline could be made, Infinity Girl’s amicable drift began in the months after releasing their last full length, 2015’s Harm. Eley, guitarist/vocalist Kyle Oppenheimer, drummer Sebastian Modak, and bassist Mitchell Stewart’s respective full time work schedules ensured the band’s tour routing would be minimal. In the following year, the band was quietly dropped from Topshelf Records. Receiving the news in the midst of recording Somewhere Nice, the band continued production as planned, shifting their focus to label shopping without considering an end game.
“It was just another record when we were recording it. I’m glad [it being our final record] wasn’t on my mind at the time… that would’ve been way too much pressure,” Eley says. “Not being able to tour behind it or do anything like that seemed kind of pointless though, so that’s when it first came up.”
Even without considering finality, Somewhere Nice clarifies the strengths of a band that toyed with the limits of an often unchanging subgenre. 2012’s Stop Being On My Side introduced Infinity Girl’s potential in crafting soaring, fuzz-drenched singles (“Please Forget,” “By Now”), but minor touches like the twanging hook on “Blood And Dirt” and Eley’s deadpan, slacker-rock earnestness on “Cellophane and Gold” seemed to come from a group avoiding rote, Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine comparisons.
Harm will arguably go down as the band’s most accessible entry point, which isn’t a slight to Somewhere Nice, but an emphasis on how overlooked its predecessor was upon release. Shifting erratically between woozy guitar odes to young adult anxieties (“Locklaun”, “Around Me”) and the band’s most shimmering, jangle pop-bent songwriting (the frankly overwhelming one-two punch of “Dirty Sun” and “Young”), Harm perfectly articulates the unease that also comes with the excitement of trading a smaller city like Boston for the expanse of New York.
That being said, the concerns on Somewhere Nice come from a harder to articulate, yet more universal place. “The Comfort of What I Had” is Infinity Girl’s most subtle album opener; Eley’s doubts about companionship (sample line: “we don’t choose our friends or laugh until we’re dead / it’s the only thing that keeps me away from my love of life and friends”) is delivered in a whisper before washing out amongst discordant synths.
Eley insists the friendships within Infinity Girl are strong, but “Comfort” is a telling opening statement for a record that meditates on one’s mid-to-late-twenties. Friends get married, some fade as mortgages and children seem less like imposing threats, and others just continue moving in an amorphous, seemingly unplanned state that comes with being on your own.
“I’m just trying to come to terms with adulthood and trying to reconcile the life I thought I would have by now with the life I’m actually living,” Eley explained to Interview Magazine with the release of lead single “But I’m Slow.”
“That is what time in my life I’m at,” he continues in our discussion, “so it’s kind of natural that it comes out in the songs.”
Eley is succinct in discussing songs and meanings; when asked about his personal favorite song on the record, “The Color of Wine”, the singer/guitarist simply reasons that it’s “a really honest song for me and kinda special.” Then again, elaboration is not a necessary commodity in lyricism, especially when songs like the warping “Headlights” and the Oppenheimer/Modak collaboration “Millgate” hold no illusion to the album’s bruised nature.
“As far as intention goes, it’s hard to say really,” Eley briefly concludes. “I only kinda analyze it after the fact because I don’t want to overthink it.”
In terms of being in the uncommon position of playing these new songs live for both the first and last time, Infinity Girl cobbled together a last minute weekender with almost only pals as openers, specifically their long time best friends in Kindling.
“They’re a great band, but they’re also just amazing people,” Eley emphasizes. “It’s a very genuine thing… we just love each other’s music and hanging out. Even if I hated their music, I’d still be so down to tour with them. I’m still surprised they like us!”
Friendships and genuine connections are frequently mentioned in our talk, both in terms of how they influenced Infinity Girl’s decisions as a band and their ultimate decision to stop. For Eley at least, his warmest recollection of the band exists far away from any notable stage or particular crowds they’ve played to.
“It must’ve been after some show in New England because we went to Kyle’s house in New Hampshire afterwards. We stayed there a couple times on tour, but we were just hanging out at his house in the middle of nowhere, just being pure friends. No worrying about loading in or anything at that point… that’s probably going to be my fondest memory of this band.”
Yacht be damned, Infinity Girl managed to achieve something most hobbyists spend decades trying to capture: a completed sense of satisfaction in their craft and themselves.
Somewhere Nice, Someday is streaming below and will be released on tape/digital tomorrow via Disposable America. Tickets for Infinity Girl’s final show on Saturday can be found here.
Sprawling harmonies and grand theatricality reign on Morningbird’s debut LP, Only Believe In Love.
Morningbird is comprised of a duo of Berklee grads, guitarist Max Challis and keyboardist John Cattini, who share lead vocal duties, as well as bassist Connor Frawley, guitarist Isak Kotecki, and drummer Ian Ho, all of whom share backing vocals with the exception of Ho. Only BelieveIn Love is clean and simple right off the bat: “It takes woman to make this boy a lover/And woman, you made a man out of me,” Cattini sings on the opening track, “It Takes A Woman.”
The layered harmonies and delicately played piano are somewhat reminiscent of flashy rock bands like Queen and the crescendo to a balanced mix of drums, strings, guitar, and bass burst open to reveal Morningbird as a rock group that dabbles in the dramatic.
Some of the tracks on the album take a more reductive approach to their sound; particularly on “The World,” which features an insistent guitar-driven melody over a constant rhythm led by crash cymbals. There’s a lot of clever wordplay at work throughout Only Believe In Love, perhaps to be credited to a majority of the bands’ educational background. “If life’s a game/Then I ought to start playing,” Cattini sings before the song builds to its first guitar break.
Only Believe In Love is packed with radio-ready earworms. “Love In Reverse (Kodi’s Song)” has catchy hooks backed by a groovy synth-laden beat, “Our Beautiful World” recalls 70s rock with reverb-heavy vocals and a psych-rock groove, and “Worn Out” is the world-weary closing track with bare bones instrumentation that leaves isolated vocals crooning: “I’m so tired/Just a little worn out/For your love.”
Morningbird has taken flight as an introspective psych-rock band in Boston’s scene with Only Believe In Love. You can stream the album below and be sure to catch them at Hennessy’s Hooley House tonight at 7 pm.
Dent May’s latest LP Across the Multiverse is dreamy celestial rollercoaster ride of ‘60s psychedelic indie-pop songs strung together like stars aligned in his universe. Lyrically, May feels it too, gushing about interstellar cosmic love, apocalyptic anxieties and the satisfaction of hope and dread all delivered with May’s signature congenial croon, humor and charm. From opening existential swing of “Hello, Cruel World” to its very last piano ballad “Distance to the Moon” May melts and sways his way right into your heart like a summer crush. Digging on his influences is easy, but the way Across the Multiverse is pieced together sheds them away track after track. There are dashes of sonic texture, perfectly placed orchestral arrangements and beautifully written songs that bring all of May’s musical-polymath imagination to life.
Those familiar with the Mississippi bred, Los Angeles-based crooner won’t hear Across the Multiverse as a surprise or grand departure, but instead a coming of age for the 32-year-old multi-instrumentalist whose first three LP’s garnered him considerable underground attention. Across the Multiverse does represent somewhat of a new beginning for May however. His pilgrimage two-and-a-half years ago to Los Angeles led to a period a glimmering artistic curiosity, productivity and tempered patience that helped deliver what is undoubtedly a career defining album. We caught up with May on the phone as he prepares to take Across the Multiverse on tour across the US and Canada, including a stop this week at the ONCE Ballroom in Somerville to ask him about the album, his rich musical upbringing, and his now classic indie stoner Christmas song.
Allston Pudding: Congratulations on the new record, I absolutely love it, I’ve been playing it for all my friends and they all dig it too. Forgive me if this has been asked before but is Dent May a stage name or your given name?
Dent May: Yeah, Dent May is my real name. I think Dent is my great grandmother’s last name, I’m a junior. My full name is James Dent May Jr. but I’ve always been called Dent. I got a lot of comments as a kid… teasing and what not, “I’m gonna put a Dent in your face,” but I’m at peace with the name now.
AP: What kind of musical background did you grow up with in Mississippi where you were exposed to artists like Serge Gainsbourg and other eclectic artists like that?
DM: I did grow up with a pretty heavy musical background. I was in a church choir, the Mississippi Children’s Choir and I went to a performing arts elementary school where I had to choose a major when I was like 10 years old. I did a lot of musical theatre as a kid. A lot of different choirs in school and church. Then I started taking piano lessons when I was maybe seven years old and then I started with guitar when I was about twelve. Then I started playing with a bunch of different bands. When I started out I was in this band named Flood that covered such bands as Creed and 311 and stuff like that. Then I got into like pop punk and emo. I first heard Serge Gainsbourg and 60’s psychedelic pop when I was in high school. I definitely feel like I’m a product of the internet age where I downloaded a lot of illegal music and discovered a lot that way, Joy Division, or New Order or Pixies. I also always had a soft spot for Hall and Oates and ELO and the Bee Gees, so yeah a lot of it was musical background but a lot of it was due to the internet. There’s a lot as well that had to due with this record store in town called Music Aquarium.
AP: When you get into the ‘60s psychedelic pop is that when you start write your own songs? And was there one person that influenced you or turned a corner for you in Mississippi that inspired you to essentially be like “yeah I think I could do this myself” and maybe influenced you to relocate to LA?
DM: I started writing songs a lot earlier. I wrote my first songs when I was like 11 or 12. There were two that I wrote: one was called “School Girl Crush,” and another one was called “Smile.” I’ve written songs always since I was in seventh or eighth grade. I just writing with my first band playing like alt-rock and some like pop-punk kind of stuff.
One of my biggest inspirations when I was starting to write songs was and Green Day Dookie and Weezer’s Blue Album. I started looking at songwriting as this whole separate thing from playing guitar. I was never any sort of prodigy on any instrument and I sort of figured out that songwriting was the path that I wanted to pursue more so than any instrument.
As far as LA that just happened two and a half years ago and I already had three albums out before I moved to LA so it just took some time to get used to my surroundings.
AP: I was in a wormhole of Dent May videos about a week ago and I saw one of your performing outside somewhere in Mississippi, it must have been three or four years ago and the crowd is really thin but you we’re such a great showman and went out into the crowd and sat down on the grass. It was great but am I wrong in thinking that maybe some folks in Mississippi didn’t quite get your music?
DM: Not really, I don’t think so. I feel like when I was in college at the University of Mississippi which is in Oxford, Mississippi, I was a part of group of musicians and artists that took more risks with their music. I ran a house venue called Cats Purring Dude Ranch, which had a lot of internationally touring bands come through. I kind of felt at home and appreciated by the the musicians that came through and for the most part the people there seemed to feel proud that it was run by someone who was one of their own and who would go out on tour and come back and play, you know.
AP: “Face Down in the Gutter” came out last summer as a one off single and “90210” a little while ago this summer and it’s been almost four years since your last album. It’s taken you some time to get Across the Multiverse done and out. What went into getting it made and getting Carpark Records on board and does this feel like your biggest release yet?
DM: I guess so. For one thing moving to LA maybe upended my creatively a little bit more than I thought it would. I feel like aspects of having just not having my gear setup in my room and things like that made it into a pretty long stretch.
A lot of the songs happened really quickly and then there was another little break and then more songs happened and I would chip away at them so I don’t know, there’s some combination of that in my songwriting process, some happen right away and then others can take years. Songs like “Hello Cruel World” and “Face Down in the Gutter of Your Love” I had versions of two or three years ago even before I moved to LA. I don’t really have a good reason for why it took so long other than more so than ever right now I’m aware that I had to make this thing good as humanly possible. I could have just been like “Oh, here’s another album” and that’s tight, but for this one I put more pressure on myself to make something that I personally feel is the right and really took my time with. But that being said I have another batch of songs that I’m working on right now and I don’t see myself waiting another four years to get those out. I think it’s just he ebbs and flows of my creative process.
AP: I saw you tweeted that you recorded the album all with equipment you bought off Craigslist. Is there a process for finding gear and how do you decide whether something’s worthy or using to record and just overall your approach to being doing your own recording with a shoestring budget?
DM: I do a lot of Google searching. Say like “portable condenser microphones” and find out like the retail amount that it’d be going for at like Guitar Center. Like I looked up this mic that’s an Audiotechnica 40-47. So just doing research…there’s a website called GearSlut.com like “What’s the best portable mic kick drum pedal or synthesizers or audio interfaces?.” So I got this cheap audio interface and this cheap condenser mic and I bought this piano back in Mississippi a couple years ago that I got for pretty cheap. I also had a friend record drums with his mics so it’s really a combination of knowing the gear and having friends that are willing to help me out. The trumpets on the album were recorded in South Carolina by a guy a met on twitter by just being like “Who plays horns and wants to help me out?” He replied and helped me out and then there was a story on the album in the Charlestown local paper about it.
AP: You connected with Frankie Cosmos for a track on the album too, how did you first meet her and make this collaboration happen?
DM: I don’t want to call her out but I think we first connected like seven years ago when my first album came out. We sort of became penpals. I found that she made music and I always had the idea of recording a duet with her because I just think she’s an amazing songwriter. So I asked her to help me write the lyrics to the verses. I always had the idea in the back of my head to do a duet in the vein of classic duets like “Islands in the Stream” by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, trading verses and lyrics and singing the chorus together. She was on board to do it and recorded her vocals in New York. She’s like my favorite songwriter, like really, it’s just funny that we met on the internet.
AP: Yeah man, you got such a great online presence. The Dent May starter kit killed me. What are some of the essential pieces that go into it?
DM: Well, it’s really random stuff like obviously my glasses. There’s a book of 7th chords which if you know a little bit about chords and music theory pretty much all of my songs are 7th chords. Then I had chest hair because I have chest hair. Frozen veggie patties because I don’t know how to cook and that’s pretty much all I eat. I had a weed vape pen because I do that. I had my Volvo station wagon on there, which I just sold last week when I bought a van for tour. So the next Dent May starter pack is going to have to have a minivan. I love starter packs, it’s just funny stuff and you can get to know someone really quickly. I think it was my highest recorded social media post.
AP:If there was one thematic strand for this new record what would it?
DM: It’s hard to pick one, it’d have to be three. One would be science, one would be death, and one would be…well I guess it would just be two. I dunno I guess life and death or mortality. I think it’s also has a lot to do with technology as a theme as well like “Pictures on a Screen” being about technology and “Take Me to Heaven” having this sort of celestial feel. I love science and literature and also we have things going on like climate change and our culture that exists now. So I was thinking about a lot of different things around that sense of mortality and the culture of our existence and how the fact that world could end soon and that we’re all going to die one day combined with a celebratory theme that it may all end but we might as well have fun while we can.
AP: That heaviness against how much fun your music is is why I love it, I think it gives it great spirit..
AP: It’s early to talk about Christmas, but “I’ll be stoned for Christmas” was the first time I heard you and I gotta admit I really connected with that song, take me back to the inspiration to write that song and what was going through your head.
DM: Hell yeah, well Jackson, Mississippi, on Christmas night there’s just a long standing tradition of all the kids going out and there’s one particular Christmas when my friend picked me up in his van we used to use for touring and smoking blunts. It was just about this dichotomy, which there is in all my songs, which is from the culture we grew up in but also just being overwhelmed with love for these people that you’ve known since you were young but also sort of boasts the night as a chance to get together with your high school friends you grew up with.
Dent May will be playing at ONCE Somerville this coming Wednesday, September 6th with Bongwish and Luxardo. Tickets $11 adv/ $14 day of show.
Kansas City native and current LA dweller Kevin Morby will be gracing Cambridge with his introspective indie rock this week.
Morby, who started his musical career as the bassist for Woods and formed The Babies with Cassie Ramone of Vivian Girls, recently released his fourth album CityMusic on Dead Oceans and is currently touring around the U.S. before embarking on the European leg of his tour.
The acclaimed City Music is Morby’s articulation of his experiences traveling from one American city to another and the commonalities flowing through metropolises.
“I am walking through a Chinatown in a major American city and now I am a guitar part taking place in my head,” says Morby about his vision for the album. “It falls around me like rain, dancing with the neon lights coming off of the signs of the restaurants and bars. Now I am a lamp full of hot air floating away, looking down. The city is beautiful like one million candles with different sized flames, moving in their own directions. A line finds me and grabbing it I hold on tight. I sing to myself, ‘Oh, that city music, oh that city sound…’”
Don’t miss the video for “Downtown’s Lights” off of City Lights below, and be sure to catch him at The Sinclair on Wednesday, September 6.
“Heavy Hearts” is the newest single out from local, five-person pop punk band Save Ends. Over a year and some change after their last release (the Hug Your Friends EP from February 2016) this new ripper of a single is our first look into another full-length — and it’s promising. Their forthcoming LP, A Book About Bad Luck, isdue out October 13th on Black Numbers.
Co-vocalist, lyricist and guitarist Christine Atturio takes lead on this indie-punk banger. Don’t mistake the ultra catchy chorus, “Goodbye to your heavy heart,” for a posi-punk line. In true emo fashion, the lyrics turn sharp, jabbing “I mean, I’ll do it alone again.” Brendan Cahill backs her up on this one, both vocally and with the dreamy keyboard action that pulls Save Ends beyond traditional pop punk lines.
Over the weekend, the band’s co-vocalists corresponded with AP all about heavy hearts, and the best soundtrack for them. Listen to the “Heavy Hearts” and read our interview with them below. And don’t forget your tix to their show at the Middle East on September 5th when they play with Born Without Bones, Dead Leaves, and Oldsoul. Pre-order A Book About Bad Luck here.
Allston Pudding: When you have a heavy heart, what do you listen to in order to pick yourself back up?
Christine: I have a bunch of Spotify playlists for this exact thing. One is just all happy songs, like “Never Say Never” by That Dog. Super catchy chorus and top notch keyboard “woo-ee woo-ees.” I have another playlist called “Saturday Dad Music” and it’s made up of all the classic rock I would hear in my dad’s car when I was a kid. Sometimes I think listening to a totally different genre of music can really knock some bad feelings loose.
AP: What do you listen to when you want to wallow in it?
Brendan: Elliott Smith. I love (maybe love isn’t the right word) to swaddle myself in Elliott Smith songs when I’m in a sad spot. It seems masochistic, and maybe it is, but there is something comforting in the fact that someone else is feeling super bummed too. Misery loves company, I guess.
AP: Who are some of your favorite lyricists?
Christine: Right now Julien Baker and Waxahatchee (Katie Crutchfield). I’m also always blown away by lyricists who can tell stories like John K. Sampson of The Weakerthans. Its like every time you listen to it you hear a new line you hadn’t noticed before and it blows you away.
AP: Favorite lyrics you’ve ever written?
Christine: I’m actually pretty proud of the lyrics on this record. I feel like I was able to explore some personal topics that I hadn’t been capable of writing about before and its really cathartic to have finally done that.
Brendan: This was weird to do. I’ve never gone through the lyrics of all of our songs before. Our first EP has a song called “Strings” and it’s about Alzheimer’s disease. The idea of losing your memories really terrifies me, and it’s so sad to watch someone go through it. But I took it from the perspective of someone who has it and is relatively happy with their new way of being, but when family comes to visit it brings them to a dark place, because they know that they can’t remember things they should. The song started out acoustic and the lyrics were slightly changed, but here’s how it was originally:
“I’m not the person I once was. Which version was it that you loved? My mind is weak and I’m feeling tired. But I can’t stop staring at your smile. Those regrets that haunted me in dreams. All those ghosts no longer mean a thing. But you’re still here and you’re pulling at the strings. You’re pulling at the strings.”
AP: Favorite album of this year so far? Christine: After the Party byTheMenzingers and S/T byRainer Maria.
In the internet age of High Definition and 4K, we figured, “hey, what the hell, let’s shoot some stuff on a flip video from Britney Spears’ peaking years.” So there you have it. Introducing our latest video series: Allston Pudding Home Videos.
In all seriousness, some of our most intimate video sessions have featured just a musician and their respective instrument. It’s nice to imagine some of your favorite artists in the early stages of crafting that song you enjoy so much today. And when we heard Philly based musicians, Francie Cool and Deer Scout were passing through on tour, we figured what better way to kick off the series than in a warm, Allston, basement nook.
Enjoy our home videos with Francie Cool and Deer Scout below:
A lot can be said about journeys. Some may say we’re all on one, whether referring to a physical trek across country on a bicycle on its literal last leg or the emotional/mental one which often has unpredictable turns and dead ends. 20-year-old Boston Bred Rapper/Producer Nick Shea’s album, All We Need is Two Minutes, digs deep into both of those interpretations, and makes listeners learn and grow as he pedals his bike shaped beat machine and microphone.
Nick has been around the block and back a couple times already. He’s performed and featured for diverse audiences including, but not limited to: our homies over at Zumix, our other homies at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston Hassle, Sofar Sounds, and is a notable regular at the Subway Ciphers that have been taking the city’s Sundays by storm now for a little while now.
Nick recently came back from a journey from Boston to Virginia on his bike. His goal: to hit as many open mics and do as many shows as possible. I’ve kept my eye on Nick since I first saw him perform at a Zumix event a few years ago when he was just about 17 or 18-years-old. From then until now he continues to grow and develop himself while asserting his confidence and skill as an emcee. That journey seemed to be the perfect starting point to drop his debut LP and it’s a damn good start, to say the least. Nick takes us through his life, and, using classic hip-hop as a backbone, he manages to develop your empathy towards the simple subject of journeys.
Speaking with Nick about his own journey in relation to this album he said:
“This is the first project that I feel like is a cohesive body of work. I put together a few mixtapes in high school and would hand them out at lunch. They were not good but it was a lot of learning. I have been performing and collaborating for years now and feel like I have found the voice I have been searching for. My voice. When people would ask where they can find my music online I would tell them there isn’t a lot anywhere but I am working on an album. This is that album which is something I feel represents very well where I am at at this point in my life and creatively.”
It’s great to be able to watch an artist grow into something as great as you believe them to be. What makes it personal is when the artist is vulnerable and open enough to let his listeners into these intimate parts of their life. What makes it great is when you have those two previous things and the songs bump — they make you feel a sense of nostalgia and fulfilment, not only with the specially hand-crafted lyrics from a talented emcee, but unique, hard-hitting, and often times very funky beats sculpted by those same hands. Especially when it’s something that naturally flows out of the artist.
When speaking about his album title, Nick initially joked that it correlated with his sex life. (I low-key think he may make a 2-minute R&B song as a soundtrack to these short lived nights of passion.) But he related it back to his process:
“The name of the album originally started as a joke about how long sexual activities with me would last. It still partly is. But saying all we need is two minutes relates to a lot of the ways I approach music making. I don’t often spend too much time on the writing, beat making, or recording of a song. I usually just let it out as filterless as possible, then go back and make any adjustments as needed. When writing “Float Away” with Sway, we had the hook done in probably 30 seconds, and the whole idea of the song done almost immediately. I often perform in front of complete strangers and the goal is to make them love you and want more. I don’t think it takes a long time to do that –all we need is two minutes.”
The last thing Nick said was about the next steps on his journey, “I’m already working on another project with my friend and collaborator Sway Casey, which should come out in November. I am not sure which direction of creating I want to take after this album, but I think the last song “Home” is leaning towards what is next. But let’s focus on the now for a little bit.”
As of now you can get your copy of All We Need is Two Minutes from the Bandcamp embed below, otherwise check out his Instagram, @Nick_Shea_ to t stay up to date with shows and what not.
Since forming in 2009, Heatwarmer have carved an eccentric place for themselves in the DIY scene in their hometown of Seattle, mixing a love for jazz with the breezy quality of the yacht rock your dad probably likes. Recently, the band released a music video for their single “American Dog.” Fittingly (and adorably), the video stars quite a few cute pups, as well as the band members, mannequin hands, peanut butter and slo-mo.
They’ll be stopping by Boston on August 23rd when they play an all ages show at a house venue. This show is part of the band’s tour in support for their new album, Here Comes the Band. The album officially comes out on September 12th, but the band will have vinyl copies available for purchase at their shows before that date. The show’s a perfect way to get to hear the rest of the band’s new songs before the album drops!
Watch the video for “American Dog” below, and see Heatwarmer’s full tour schedule on their website. You can follow the band via Facebook.
