LP PREMIERE: The Spectres – Baby, You’re Too Pretty To Rumble

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By Mary Kate McGrath

If the title of this new LP from The Spectres reminds of you of something an old-timey villain might tell a lady in a seedy underground bar, it’s supposed to. These Pittsburgh punks found the inspiration for their full-length LP in a hometown dive, where they overheard someone utter these words post-bar fight. 

The sentiment, which had a surreal, Hollywood movie-esque feel to it, resonated with the band. Songs on this release are based on those moments that feel too odd and dramatic to be real life, as if they belong in a movie. That’s why their stomping punk is infused with a retro style, often playing up the the nostalgic sounds. It fuses traditional song structures with a contemporary, reckless punk sound, and this too is a reflection of the nostalgic culture of their hometown, Pittsburgh.

“Baby, You’re Too Pretty To Rumble” is available from King Pizza Records and you can complete the retro-vibe by picking it up on cassette. 

 

REVIEW: Wavves with Post Animal at Brighton Music Hall (5/17)

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by Nick Stalford

It’s over 90 degrees out and Boston is slowly melting away as Wavves prepare for their performance at Brighton Music Hall. Only a month into their latest tour, and with just two days before the release of their latest album, You’re Welcome, Wavves is rested and ready to rock. In addition to the buzz surrounding the new record, singer and guitarist Nathan Williams has been making headlines of his own, having flipped from the balcony into the crowd at a recent show in New York–––so Boston’s expectations were high.

Doors opened at 7:30pm, offering the crowd relief from the heat, or at least temporarily so, as the venue quickly became just as warm. After swarming the merch table to pick up an early copy of You’re Welcome, fans filled every inch of the floor, from the back to right up against the metal barrier.

Right on time at 8:30, Chicago rockers Post Animal hopped on stage, sizing up the floor full of soon-to-be fans. Having toured with Twin Peaks in 2016, Post Animal was no stranger to being the opening act, nor to converting new listeners into die-hard fans (though it helps that Joe Keery, aka Steve of Stranger Things, is involved in the band)–––which is exactly what they did. Blasting through their half hour set, Post Animal cut the chit-chat and let their music do the talking. Leading the charge was drummer Wes Toledo, who thrashed over his kit and blasted the crowd with heart thumping gusts of air from his bass drum. As Toledo pummeled away, bouncing a pair of ping pong ball inside of his tom-tom like bingo cage on steroids, the rest of the band followed suit with heavy bass lines and explosive guitar riffs.

After Post Animal cleared the stage, roadies began breaking down Toledo’s drum kit, clearing the way for Wavves to begin their instrument check. Though guitarists Stevie Pope, Alex Gates and drummer Brian Hill all made an appearance on stage, Williams was still nowhere to be seen. Finally, at 9:30pm, Wavves cued the entry music and dimmed the lights, walking to their instruments and waving to the crowd.

Wavves kicked things off with “Way Too Much” and “Take on the World,” bringing the crowd to their feet, and by the time they began playing “King of the Beach,” the mosh pit had expanded to the entire floor. And when a fan threw a bra on to the stage with “Nathan” sharpied across it, Williams didn’t miss a beat, immediately enlisting the help of Pope to clasp the bra over his shirt. To his credit, Williams lasted nearly five minutes before taking it off, tossing it in Pope’s direction who looped it over his microphone for the remainder of the show.

Following a high-energy performance of “No Life for Me,” a song from their collaboration album with Cloud Nothings, Wavves played some songs from their new record, including bouncy surf rock tracks “Daisy” and “You’re Welcome.” Halfway through the set, Wavves broke out crowd pleaser “Demon to Lean On,” inciting a barrage of crowd surfers to the front of the stage. Other highlights from the setlist included recent single “Million Enemies” from You’re Welcome, oldie but goodie “So Bored” from the band’s second studio album, and exclusive Grand Theft Auto V track “9 Is God.”

Taking five after finishing “9 Is God,” Wavves returned for a three-song encore, busting out “Sail to the Sun,” and “Post Acid,” for the first two tracks. The band then ended the show with “Green Eyes,” dousing the crowd in moody iridescent light that highlighted the many white trails of smoke drifting upward to the ceiling.

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REVIEW: The Growlers at The Sinclair (5/16)

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by Nick Stalford

On May 16, Boston was hit with a tidal wave of beach goth rock, as The Growlers unpacked their bags and took over The Sinclair for first of two sold out shows. But despite the luxury of these back to back nights, the sheer volume of the crowd on opening night would have justified a third, as eager fans clung around the corner of Church Street well ahead of the door time. At 8:00pm the floodgates opened and the crowd rushed inside, pooling equally among the merch table, bar, and front of the stage. As the bartenders fervently filled cups and cracked open cans, the sellers at the merch table worked just as hard, trading fistfulls of cash for everything from tee shirts to limited edition artwork.

By 9:00pm the floor was packed tight, as fans admired the City Club neon sign and matching backdrop while carefully monitoring the stage for signs of life. Around 9:15pm the lights went out and the neon light flickered on as The Growlers strolled on stage. Blue and yellow light bounced off of guitarist Kyle Straka’s face as he reached for his guitar, resting a beer behind the glowing neon light as the rest of the band slid out from the shadows. But Straka and the rest of The Growlers took a backseat to singer Brooks Nielsen as soon as he stepped into the light, dressed in a trenchcoat and oozing with charisma with a cigarette neatly tucked behind one ear.

With no openers and nearly a three hour set time, The Growlers pulled material from all of their albums, though heavily leaning on their 2016 record City Club, co-produced by Shawn Everett and the legendary Julian Casablancas. Highlights from the 20+ song setlist included “The Daisy Chain” and “Dope on a Rope,” as well as a stretched out jam session of “Vacant Lot.”

Throughout the night, Nielsen wandered around the stage, grooving and dancing with eyes shut and intermittently clapping the microphone to the beat. About halfway through the set, Nielsen playfully requested a beer, and as if by magic a PBR floated from the crowd into his hand just seconds later, which he hoisted high in thanks. Around 11:00pm, The Growlers were joined by guest guitarist “Delicate” Steve Marion, who jammed alongside the band in a matching members only City Club jacket to end the set.

Five minutes after The Growlers had left the stage, fans anxiously looking at each other, unsure if there would be an encore performance. But despite having already played for nearly two hours, The Growlers returned for nearly another hour, joined again by Delicate Steve. At ten minutes to midnight, the band wrapped things up with “Blood of a Mutt” and “Speed Living,” before finally putting their instruments down for good–––or at least until the next night.

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INTERVIEW: Happyness

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By Nick Calvino

Happyness is, at last, feeling somewhat content.

For the band’s sophomore effort, Write In, they’ve expanded the emotional range in their lyrics and beyond the ‘90s indie rock sound with which they’re commonly associated, but this growth and aplomb came from dispiriting circumstances.

Allston Pudding spoke to guitarist Benji Compston ahead of the band’s show at the Great Scott about making their new record in the wake of surgery and the loss of their Jelly Boy Studios, making a music video in L.A., and supposedly sounding like Radiohead and John Mayer.

Allston Pudding: The band’s sound has been associated with a ‘90s college rock revival… what do you make of this comparison? Did it influence the making of “Write In?”

Benji Compston: When we were making the first album, we definitely fell hard for a bunch of ‘90s bands and tried to emulate that in a not-so-shrouded way. But on this record I think we were going for a slightly different thing. We started listening more to people like Roxy Music & Randy Newman. Once a comparison has been made enough times, it’s kind of hard to shake – and it doesn’t really bother me whatever people want to namecheck. Although we once got told we sounded like a cross between early Radiohead and John Mayer which is just absurd. 

AP: Could you elaborate on the beginnings of this album and where you’re at as a band on their second release? 

BC: We wrote about 25 songs for this record, so I think a large part of the album process was knowing what to leave on the cutting room floor. We had a pretty turbulent year as a band in 2016… who didn’t? I got ill halfway through making the album and had to take a bunch of time out of the studio while I recovered from major surgery, so we literally had to pick up the pieces after all that and put together the record over the course of a few months in the summer. It was turbulent but kind of therapeutic – at least in hindsight. 

AP: The video for “Through Windows” is great. How did that concept come about?

BC: We met up with the wonderful Aaron Beckum in a coffee place in Silverlake while we were over in L.A. few months back. We really dug his work and he came up with the idea, which we loved. We spent the day shooting on a soundstage in L.A., which was hilarious. I think our Nord Stage Piano is still covered in movie sweat.

AP: How would you compare the reception of your work in different countries across the world? 

BC: It’s really cool to meet different people in different parts of the world who get the references/influences in our music – sometimes in really unexpected places from unexpected people. Like we were in the middle of the Swiss Alps the other day and I was having a conversation with an older guy about how he loved the Prefab Sprout reference in “Weird Little Birthday Girl”. 

AP: What are the plans for the band for the remainder of the year beyond this upcoming US tour?

We’re planning a show on a steam train somewhere in the English Countryside at some point. And we’re playing in Cyprus for the first time. Other than those two – a bunch of festivals and more touring!

Happyness will play Great Scott on Sunday, May 21st. “Write In” is available now via Bar/None Records.

REVIEW: Tei Shi w/ Salt Cathedral at Great Scott (5/11)

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by Aaron Peipert

As I walked into the venue, I looked towards the stage and noticed the usual stage lights were blacked out, with minimal colored lights shining up from the floor instead. A large single ellipse reflected flashing light to an electronic beat. These elements created an otherworldly atmosphere while Salt Cathedral ushered themselves onto the dimly lit stage. The duo’s set pulsated with thick beats, layered melodies washed out in reverb and delay for days. Their performance felt like a DJ set more than watching a band, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The show was definitely lively and had appeal. Salt Cathedral ended their set strong with a jungle groove crescendo sending a small handful of attendees into manic dancing.

Wearing a simple black top and a pair of jeans with the mood lighting gone, Tei Shi took to the stage with no sign of glitz or glam. She was backed by a three-piece band and I was impressed to see her drummer with an acoustic drum set as opposed to the electric kit found on some previous live performances. The music had a more organic vibe and Tei Shi’s voice was able to shine over it all. She was on fire, with no fault in her vocals at all. Tei Shi’s pitch was dead on and her movements were entrancing. From delicate and sweet crooning to full-out diva belting, Tei Shi delivered a complete pop star package to the dark corner bar at the corner of Commonwealth and Harvard Avenue. I can easily see Tei Shi performing down the road on a massive stage with a top notch production, but I hope she continues to deliver the anti-pop package that I witnessed here in Allston.

Set List:

How Far
See Me
Creep
Keep Running
Baby
Year 3K
Justify
Como Si
Crawl
Nevermind the End
Say You Do
Bassically

Salt Cathedral Slideshow:

Tei Shi Slideshow:

The Record Co. to Open All-Ages Venue in Boston

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By Anna Marketti

Thanks to a grant from MassDevelopment, a state-run financial firm, The Record Co. and other creative industries in Boston are receiving the funds necessary to pursue projects that expand creative influence throughout the city. The music focused non-profit plans on using the grant funds to open an all-ages music venue somewhere in Boston and, in an effort to gear it towards the community, wants to hear from musicians and others in the music scene in this survey.

It can be frustrating when you find the perfect lineup — your favorite bands, all in one place! — and you actually have that evening free, only to discover the show is 21+. For those whose birthdays make this a non-issue, it can be difficult to see how this affects the crowds under legal drinking age in Boston. Many venues around the city have bars which puts them in a position where they must decide between taking on the risks — financial and otherwise — with allowing minors into an environment that sells alcohol or simply giving shows an age limit to avoid this. 

The Record Co. is an arts non-profit dedicated to cultivating an inclusive music scene in Boston. Their mission statement reads: “A vibrant, equitable music scene builds bridges between communities, drives a meaningful creative economy, and makes our city a more desirable place to live and work.” In order to fulfill this mission, The Record Co. wants to open an all-ages venue at an as of yet undecided location in Boston. Candidates at the moment include Jamaica Plain, South Boston, and Dorchester, as the organization seeks to benefit traditionally underserved communities in the city. 

To ensure the performance space is created with best interests in mind, The Record Co. encourages musicians and others working in the music industry to fill out this survey. The survey results will help them to design the space to best fit their needs, as indicated by their responses.

The grant comes from a new program hosted by MassDevelopment called the Collaborative Workspace Program, dedicated to fostering new creative spaces throughout the city.

In an interview with Boston Magazine, The Record Co. founder Matt MacArthur said: 

“This grant is going to help us explore exactly what this means to us, but we’re picturing a space where small, music-related organizations like Boston Hassle and Allston Pudding have use of the space during the day to meet and work, and then at night we’ll have performances that are co-produced by our organization and members of the community.”

The Record Co. states on their website: “We need spaces where young bands can play their first shows, where kids can see their parents play, and where curation is at the center of the model, not alcohol.” In addition to hosting affordable recording sessions for emerging artists, the organization places focus on intersectionality and inclusivity in the music community. 

Fill out the survey here — it’s completely anonymous and the results will help The Record Co. create a space that musicians and others across Boston can use. 

 

REVIEW: Ryan Adams with Jenny Lewis at Blue Hills Bank Pavillion (5/10)

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By Emily Blodgett
Photos by Corwin Wickersham

I can give my mother credit for many things in my life, including the feeling of uncertainty I felt walking into Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Wednesday night. A tried and tested Ryan Adams fan, she had texted me earlier in the day to say good luck in the “Ryan Adams roulette”, a fictional game that fans partake in on a semi-regular basis when attending the singer’s shows, betting on what kind of mood the singer will be in on that particular day. This fear would later turn out to be unfounded that night, as Ryan Adams happily whipped the crowd into a frenzy while winding through a long set of classics and newer songs.

Despite the uncharacteristic May chill that had settled in around the venue, fans buttoned their coats and held their beers close as Jenny Lewis took the stage to open the show. Introducing herself as simply “Lewis”, she launched into “Just One of the Guys”, a song from her 2014 album, The Voyager. While her selections ranged from brand new tunes (“Wasted Youth”) back to 2006 (“You Are What You Love” and “Melt Your Heart”), her lyrics were anything but dated, each chorus seeming to hit with a new piece of wisdom.

The audience filled in before Ryan Adams took the stage, one artistically cluttered with old tv’s, oversized amps, and stuffed lions. As the lights went down and the music began, his energy was immediately apparent. Adams opened his set with the first track off of his latest effort, Prisoner. The anthem, “Do You Still Love Me” readied the crowd for the 23 song set, during which Adams’ glow never wained.

For long time fans, a highlight of the show was the song “Sweet Illusions,” originally released by his band Ryan Adams & the Cardinals. “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to hear this song years ago?” he teased when the crowd cheered at the opening chords. “Sweet Illusions” was the third of four Ryan Adams & the Cardinals songs that he played that night, the other three being “Let It Ride,” “Magnolia Mountain,” and “Fix It”.

A mic wrapped in twinkling Christmas lights sat at the front of the stage and was reserved only for when Adams used his acoustic guitar. It was in these quiet, personal moments that Ryan Adams’ connection with his music became palpable, sweeping across the Pavilion and pulling the crowd closer. Though it’s difficult to put into words, it was during these moments, with a well written love song pulling at your heart strings, that it was clear why Adams’ fans return again and again for his live shows. It isn’t the chance to play air guitar or to sway gently next to your significant other, but the chance to witness the unmitigated and sometimes raw talent of a man whose work is leaving an impression.

Slideshow:

Setlist:

Do You Still Love Me?
To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)
Gimme Something Good
Two
Dirty Rain
Outbound Train
Prisoner
Stay With Me
Invisible Riverside
Wonderwall (Oasis cover)
Doomsday
Kim
When the Stars Go Blue
Haunted House
Let It Ride
Juli
My Winding Wheel
Magnolia Mountain
Sweet Illusions
Fix It
Anything I Say to You Now
New York, New York
Shakedown on 9th Street

Encore:
Come Pick Me Up

TRACK PREMIERE: Holiday Music – “The Energy”

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By Allston Pudding Staff

By Brad K’s iPhone

The swirling waves and breakdowns of Holiday Music‘s new track, “The Energy”, carries through as something that could meld into a pleasant summer daze. Mike Hlady, the mastermind behind Holiday Music, focuses much of his time on the art of sound engineering and the intricacies of that passion are apparent in the different worlds layered amongst each other within this track.

You can learn more about Hlady and Holiday Music by reading his recent conversation with Jared Mann of Twin Foxes/The Great Western States, and cross your fingers for an upcoming Holiday Music summer date.

REVIEW: Perfume Genius at Royale (5/13)

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By Tim Gagnon
Photos by Emily Gardner

The first time I saw a photo of Mike Hadreas, he couldn’t have made himself less visible.

Fading into a pale tan background, everything from his neck up was ripped up and crossed out like an embarrassed edit on a yearbook photo.

After hearing “Mr. Peterson”, the first single from Hadreas’ debut as Perfume Genius detailing an illegal and, ultimately, suicidal relationship with his high school teacher, Hadreas’ desire to distort his face on his album’s cover felt almost self-explanatory. Even the album’s title, Learning, couldn’t have sounded more shaken and tentative of its own existence.

I say all this because the transition from Hadreas on Learning to the strutting, unabashedly bobbing-and-weaving, loose-pantsuit-wearing Hadreas that appeared on the Royale stage Saturday is so fantastic, it deserves a little bit of embellishing. The change, of course, was more gradual than suggested; Perfume Genius’ set on Saturday proved that it took four (highly personal, but nonetheless) vastly different records to cement its bandleader’s boldness.

Openers Serpentwithfeet served as kindred spirits to Hadreas’ journey, showing the Royale how there could be inroads between the emotionally scorched minimalism of Perfume Genius’ first two records and the mutating, Kate Bush-inspired art rock of his last two. Singer/pianist Josiah Wise appeared amidst the haze of ambient R&B with a look of scorn, letting his jewelry and septum piercing sway tentatively until he sang out in gospel-like vibrato for a wayward love. Crediting inspiration from places as disparate as Psychology Today, Tchaikovsky, and “the power of scent”, Wise came off as both a torch singer and a surgeon, trying to pick apart lovers (“Babe, I know you learned some fucked up shit from your mother,” he calls out on “Four Ethers”) and his own emotional outpouring.

“Otherside”, the intro to Perfume Genius’ latest offering No Shape, will likely go down as one of the most extravagant opening tracks on a record this year, but there’s some skill in making an already massive-sounding song become transcendent. Howling its chorus, Hadreas proudly took the center of attention amidst glimmering arpeggios, literally bare-chested as his top continually slid off him. Taking primarily from Shape and 2013’s Too Bright, the set’s contrast even between records was noticed and necessary. The snarled, agitated “Longpig” stomped into the tempered “Valley”, sounding more decided and content even with its themes of past drug addiction and suicide.

“I’m cookin’ up some banter,” Hadreas cheekily assured at one point, but left the promise largely unfulfilled. Banter wasn’t needed despite Hadreas’ well-documented humor on Twitter; Hadreas and his backing band masterfully weaved epics out of his back catalog, bringing the devastating “Dark Parts” home with the “Running Up That Hill”-referencing “Wreath” and glam-y “Fool”. Arguably the most emotional moment came in the encore when Hadreas came out solo to play “Alan”, Shape’s closing track tentatively embracing the domestic life Hadreas has created with bandmate and longtime partner Alan Wyffels. Almost on command, Wyffels appeared on the last note, sitting beside Hadreas to play “Learning” as they’ve done for the better part of a decade.

The band inevitably returned to close with Bright anthem “Queen”, but the subdued one-two shot of “Alan” and “Learning” perfectly encapsulated Perfume Genius’ power. No matter whether Hadreas is dutifully strumming out his fears in “Normal Song” or putting the fear of a sashay in families’ hearts on “Queen”, Perfume Genius is a vessel that speaks to the raw, exposed nerves within everyone, no matter how quiet or loud they may need to be.

Thankfully, its leader is long removed from hiding amidst the soul-baring.

For photos from the show, check out our gallery below.

REVIEW: Waking Windows 2017 – Winooski, VT

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by Sarah Wilson

Winooksi, VT is a small mill town along the banks of a river that flows into Lake Champlain, and borders the larger metropolitan area of Burlington. It’s nicknamed the “Onion City” for reasons I’m still not entirely sure of, home to Saint Michael’s College, an ice cream place that features beets as an ingredient, a restaurant with 25 kinds of mac and cheese and a maple syrup is as standard an addition to coffee as milk. In a word, it’s quaint. The kind of town that seems so closely knit you could walk into the mayor’s office, say “what about a music festival!?” and a week later it would be happening. Which is exactly how I imagine the small, young music festival of Waking Windows came to be.

Waking Windows happens each year in three different cities (Denver, Portland, ME, and the original location, Winooski). This past weekend the Onion City was host to the sold-out festival for the seventh year. There’s 10 or 15 shops, bars, churches, and other storefronts that line the rotary in the center of town, and during this one weekend a year each becomes a temporary venue for upwards of 150 artists.

Slideshow 1:

Add two outdoor stages, and Waking Windows featured about as broad a spectrum of music you can find at a festival. Friday night electronic musician Dan Deacon, without much effort, got most every attendee to join one of his signature dance parties. On Saturday, Australian psych-rockers Pond drew what seemed to be the second largest crowd of the weekend, which only stretched to capacity by the time headliners Real Estate took the stage shortly after.

But the undeniable benefit of a smaller festival like this is the intimacy of it all — the headliners are never the highlights. It’s worth it for things like this: before you realize the place with beet ice cream has beet ice cream, you’re popping in because you hear the screeching guitar of Ursula as you’re walking by sometime around midnight. Or it’s worth it because the rain stopped and it’s finally sunny out, but you post up in what’s usually a vacant storefront disguised as a venue with balloons on the ceiling for three consecutive sets — Boston’s Beeef, followed by Philadelphia’s Hello Shark and Friendship (all three of those are your new favorite bands). Or it’s worth it because now you can say you had your first Heady Topper even though half of it was lost to the floor when somebody pushed you in the pit during Screaming Females.

It’s one of those rare times when you feel like you did the right thing by coming early and staying late.

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