Based in Brooklyn and Purchase, NY, Laundry League has been releasing music since the 2013 EP Haunts. Now, Dani Llamas is back with a beautiful new album titled All You.
On “Sweetness,” the album’s opening track, Dani sings, “I feel so disgusting.” However, this is hard to relate to as you listen to more of this beautiful body of work. Between the swelling synths and dreamy vocals, the album evokes wide, icy landscapes or, perhaps, floating through air. But this juxtaposition of feelings may be the point. Across the album’s eight tracks, Laundry League pits inward self-questioning and existential worry (also from the opener: “I’m just a tiny being off the coast of me / Will I ever be happy? Will I ever be free?”) against desire for interpersonal connection, all framed within a wintertime dream. This might be the perfect soundtrack for drinking a hot beverage while staring out the window during a snowstorm.
As a bonus, Laundry League is also releasing a video for “Dolphin,” another of the album’s highlights. The footage is all shown with negative images, accenting the cold characteristics of the music.
Be sure to listen to All You via Soundcloud, and check out the rest of Laundry League’s catalog on Bandcamp.
“A lot of my politics are just not for… uh, people,” Stef Alexander says with a tentative laugh in the middle of our conversation. “I dunno, I think I feel differently about things than a lot of people.”
Alexander, better recognized as P.O.S., is narrowing in on fifteen years in rap as a conscious, no-holds-barred lyricist, mixing the political and the personal without over-saturating either, so the hesitancy comes as a surprise. I ask for elaboration.
“Y’know that neo-nazi Richard Spencer that was feeling emboldened by our new Trump presidency and got sucker punched in the face for the entire world to see?”
I told Alexander I had spent the previous morning heavily debating which musical re-edit of the now-famous/infamous clip was my favorite. At that moment, it was a three way tie between the one mixing Ceremony’s “Kersed” in, the Neutral Milk Hotel one, and pretty much any one that utilized Metro Boomin’s producer tag decently… so yeah, I had seen it a few times.
“I posted a video on my Instagram of it and now there’s a very heated debate over a) whether people should be sucker-punched and b) whether or not he specifically should’ve been sucker-punched,” he explains.
Among the vast buffet of current events a person could get into a convoluted Facebook argument over that week, Richard Spencer’s face and whether a fist was an appropriate reaction to it seemed to be dividing suburban parents and young progressives alike, so unpacking it with gloves on seemed crucial even for P.O.S. Still, his answer came neatly conversational, delivered with the same raspy confidence that opened an album with, “fuck Bush; that’s all, that’s the end of it” over a decade ago.
“My answer to that is I don’t think people should be sucker-punched, but I do think he should be sucker-punched literally every single day of his life.”
The return of P.O.S. feels serendipitous as large swaths of America are either just recognizing or continually struggling under the weight of our newly demoted “flawed democracy.” For most P.O.S. fans and, assuredly, his inner circle of family and friends, though, they’re just happy he’s here at all.
Alexander’s thrown enough distortion and left-of-center production at his records to avoid a linear path to success, but 2012’s We Don’t Even Live Here felt like the assured breakthrough moment in a career of underground highlights. With singles that married anarchist lyricism with massive production (sample titles: “Fuck Your Stuff”, “Lock-Picks, Knives, Bricks, and Bats”), Here was the closest thing to a “commercial” album for P.O.S., even as its creator knowingly avoided its mainstream potential.
“The biggest single feature I had on it was ‘How We Land’ with Justin Vernon [of Bon Iver]. That was probably the catchiest song on the record, but we didn’t make a video. We didn’t promote that song as a single. I just didn’t push for it… I wasn’t trying to play that game. I’m still just out here making music, dude.”
Even with the reflexive desire to steer Here’s success, Alexander would ultimately have little control over the album’s trajectory. Weeks before his first national tour, P.O.S. cancelled all dates in the wake of finding out that his “garbage” kidneys were failing, prompting a search for a donor. Over the following year, Alexander found a donor, but the typical album promotion cycle had long passed by the time his surgery healed. It would inevitably take five years for a follow-up to Here, but the beginnings of this month’s Chill, dummy began to take shape in the process of healing.
“I don’t think there’s necessarily a ‘first writing session’ ever,” Alexander offers. “I took time aside though, starting trying to write some stuff, and took the best of the best from all those different things I was working on as soon as I was finished writing it. And that’s what ended up lyrically becoming ‘Sleepdrone/Superposition.'”
“Sleepdrone” is Chill’s behemoth closer, a nearly nine minute unpacking of the five years of personal struggle between Here and Chill featuring vocals by Kathleen Hanna, Lizzo, and a few verses by Allan Kingdom. “It’s me having my whole freak out, blacking out, going kinda crazy, and having all these different voices around me,” Alexander adds. “That really does feel real to me. No one is really super ‘featured’ unless you know their voices, in which case you can hear them loud and clear. If you don’t know them though, it’s supposed to feel like everything all at once.”
“Sleepdrone” is exhausting, yet wholly enthralling thanks to P.O.S.’s uncompromising vision and lyrical intensity. For most career artists, it’d be a fan favorite track to occasionally play on tour. For P.O.S., it looked more like a first single for Chill, dummy.
“My manager can love this or hate this, but instead of seeking out big features from big people that could help me get a little bigger, I was most inspired hanging out with people that I look up to personally,” he affirms, citing Busdriver and Open Mike Eagle as big influencers to Chill’s sound. “A lot of the future of my city are people I think are dope that don’t necessarily have reach anywhere else. My friend Monty [aka Moncelas Boston] is on two tracks and he doesn’t even do social media. Nobody knows who he is and he’s certainly not going to help me promote.”
Photo by Corwin Wickersham
Early reviews frame Chill as a return to form of sorts, opening with his signature blasts of distortion on “Born A Snake” and gleefully shaking off the hiatus with industrial production (“Bully”, “Lanes”), wonky trap beats (“Pieces/Ruins”), and lush, slower experiments on songs like “Thieves/Kings” and “Faded” (which quietly boasts an uncredited Justin Vernon feature.)
At the same time, there’s equal commentary on Chill being P.O.S.’s most personal affair, even though politics are never far from reach on any of his records. Case in point: a line like “Some of y’all thought racism was over cause the President was black” on second single “Wearing A Bear” continues to reveal painful relevance since its release last summer, but Alexander remains humble when asked about the line predating Ta-Nehisi Coates’ similarly titled write-up in The Atlantic and the November election.
“I don’t know if I can ever honestly drop an ‘I told you so’ in such a direct way without feeling like a jerk myself. It’s always more like ‘we told you so,’” he corrects. “I feel like I’m emboldened to say a lot more of the things I say because I know that I have a strong population behind me that feels the same way.”
Even with his community behind him and the confidence to record a deeply personal record in a couple friends’ houses instead of big budget studios, the return of P.O.S. comes with a presumed elephant in the room in regards to his contemporaries.
Comparisons to acts like Death Grips have existed for years now, but fellow underground rap figureheads El-P and Killer Mike joined forces in 2013 with an album of politically charged anthems delivered with a shit-eating grin similar to P.O.S.’s approach on Here the year before. Run The Jewels made the duo unlikely celebrities off of that formula in the years since, but Alexander is pretty decisive when it comes to comparisons.
“I don’t care,” he responds with a throaty laugh. “There’s enough fans out there for everyone. There’s also a lot of shit I will simply not ever say ‘yes’ to. I’ve never gotten tons of critical hype… Pitchfork always writes pretty nice about my records, but then gives them a lower rating, so I don’t know why Death Grips would garner more critical joy than, y’know, my Never Better record. I can’t really think about it anymore in my life.”
Alexander is clearly the kind of artist and person that accepts the past and remains future focused, especially around his son, who has begun to step out on his own as a rapper under the name Hard_R.
“When I was rapping as a teenager, all I was saying was dumb shit. He’s already smarter than that and he’s seventeen,” Alexander proudly notes. “When I told him the song [he’s on] was going to make the record… [he said] he doesn’t even necessarily want to be involved in the whole album cycle. He’s not trying to come up under me; he’s trying to do his own shit, which I respect. I told him the only thing you can do to get out from under me though is to be way, way better than me.”
By large, “the personal record” feels vague in describing Chill, dummy when “the self-improvement record” is truly a better signifier. Alexander has very little trouble discussing the things that keep him afloat in today’s political climate (“It was hard to feel anything but deep hope and pride seeing [the Women’s March]”) and more of his self-proclaimed “different” political beliefs (“There’s always been these white skinhead groups that are anti-racist and go out to these obscure events where Nazis march to beat them up. The mainstream that doesn’t care about those skinheads is also the mainstream that isn’t thinking about anti-racist action.”) It took until the end of our conversation though for a succinct reflection on the album at hand.
“I really needed this record. I wasn’t intending to make such a personal record. I definitely wasn’t intending on making such a slow, prettyrecord. But I guess that’s what needed to come out… y’know, there it is. And there’s more coming through.”
Chill, dummy is out now via Doomtree. P.O.S. will be performing tomorrow night at The Sinclair with Transit22 and Ceschi Ramos. For more information/tickets, check the event page here.
Local band, Cardinals (formerly known as Tighticus Finch) released an album entitled, Aftertaste yesterday featuring a softer (yet still angst-y) sound to their former pop-punk roots. This acoustic song, “Of Montreal” will give you Michelle Branch-vibes, and I mean that in the best way possible, the early aughts are back in style we’ve heard.
Enjoy this first listen of their new album available on Bandcamp and iTunes now.
“Our love is unquestionable, our love is here to die,” Allison Crutchfield laments on the a cappella intro to Tourist In This Town.
A chorus of Crutchfields (including Allison’s sister and Waxahatchee leader Katie) harmonize on the macabre final word and, with a moment of silence, the ailing relationship that spurred 2014’s Lean In To It is finally laid to rest.
The silence lasts no longer than a second.
Synths begin whirring and chirping to life. With the crack of a lighter, Crutchfield leaves town in a fuzzed-out blaze of pop glory on “Broad Daylight.” The chorus’ centerpiece of “because it isn’t black and white / it’s gray!” will assuredly become another essential lyric amongst Crutchfield’s fans, who have followed her quotable struggles and triumphs in P.S. Eliot, Bad Banana, and Swearin’ over the past decade. With her penchant for unsinkable choruses and emotional candidness still intact, Crutchfield is still the same songwriter even as more polished production and synthesizers accumulate on Tourist. At the same time, her Merge Records debut is arguably both her most self-assured and self-doubting record yet.
Case in point: first single “Dean’s Room” is an ecstatic break up anthem that soars higher than its new wavy synths with empowerment, but the next song (“Sightseeing”) finds Crutchfield paring down to an ambient track, wrestling with the inability to “enjoy Paris because I can’t get away from you.” Tourist confronts a touring lifestyle, reclamation of identity, and failing relationships with a sobering gaze that even its creator calls “fuckin’ sad” in conversation with us. Even still, every uplifting chorus and ray of light emanating from Crutchfield on the album cover seeks to defy complacency in that “fuckin’ sadness.”
Few things on Tourist In This Town are black or white, but it’s Allison Crutchfield’s ability to find something redeemable in the gray that allows Tourist, an album rooted in rootlessness, to feel so much like home.
Read our conversation with Crutchfield below.
Allston Pudding: I read in The Le Sigh that “sadness and anger” have guided a lot of your songwriting, but the songs on Tourist feel optimistic and somehow content even in their darker moments. Is this an intentional shift on this album or do you feel there’s always been some level of contentment in each of your records?
Allison Crutchfield: Wow, I don’t know! I feel like this record is so depressing. [laughs]
That’s good to hear though because I definitely feel a little more content now, maybe more so than I did making this record. Maybe it’s been there all along, but I don’t really ever see myself being content. I’m such a weird perfectionist. Like, I’m always very goal-oriented, always lacking satisfaction in a lot of ways. That’s really interesting though; I like that you said that.
It was written in a time where I was very, very depressed. I was stressed, touring a lot, traveling, not taking care of myself in a lot of ways, so I don’t think of it as being [optimistic], so that’s interesting. There’s definitely some songs where I’m looking on the brighter side and things are kinda looking up, but it felt like I was embracing being at a really low point. Like, allowing myself to be really down and sort of work through things from the ground up. I guess, in that way, the record is a little about me feeling okay about being as fuckin’ sad as I was. [laughs]
AP: I mean, I definitely should clarify that I picked up that this must’ve also been an emotionally exhausting record to write, but the music almost deceives that in how upbeat it gets.
AC: I definitely think that comes from being such a big fan of pop music. There will always be some kind of pop sensibility in everything that I put out there; it’s such a big part of how I write and listen to music to a point that it’s almost embarrassing. Like, I have a hard time getting into music that doesn’t have some pop element or isn’t super catchy. It’s something I feel a little nerdy about; like, I have a hard time getting into noise or hardcore, which is definitely something a lot of my friends are into and I like to an extent. It always has to some kind of pop element to grab me though.
AP: Who are some pop songwriters or artists that you really latch to?
AC: Ooh… I tend to love more underground pop writers like Matthew Sweet, who I started listening to before I started making this record. I love Rose Melberg and every band she’s been in obviously… y’know, stuff that’s more indie pop, but I also love more mainstream pop. Everything that Dev Hynes [Blood Orange] does, like all of his projects and everything that he produces. I fucking love the new Solange record so much. I was a huge fan of 1989, the Taylor Swift record, unabashedly. I think it can get really all over the place.
AP: I definitely get the “all over the place” mindset. The sung intro to “Broad Daylight” felt kinda awesomely unexpected in that sense, especially with how the rest of the song is just this massive pop song. Was that always how the song and album was going to begin?
AC: Actually, no. “Broad Daylight” was written completely separate of that. Honestly, the whole record was finished when that intro was added. We went back in to mix it and we went back in to add that a cappella part because it was a loose idea that I had always had in terms of an intro for the record. I tried it a lot of different ways, but it was always really stripped down or a cappella. While we were in the studio, I kinda got this weird idea and wrote those lyrics as a callback to the song “The Marriage” on side B. It was one of the days that my sister was around when I was making the record, so I got her to sing it with me. We recorded it standing next to each other, which was really cool.
I felt like the record needed some kind of introduction, but also a callback to later in the record. I wanted to tie it together a little bit further and I’m happy with how that turned out being so last minute.
AP: Speaking on Katie and frequent collaborators, I really loved the sentiment of “friend-muses” that you used to describe Sam [Cook-Parrott]’s involvement on Lean In To It. What were some of the friend-muses of Tourist in this Town and how did they inspire you?
AC: I mean, my sister is always a muse. My sister is always the person that is my harshest critic and biggest cheerleader. She’s the one that’s always pushing me to do and write more. Like I said earlier, doing press and promoting a record like I’ve done with this one is all new for me, so she’s been a person that I can call and talk me through it. I also think my other Waxahatchee bandmates are friend-muses. Like, Katie, Katherine Simonetti, and Ashley Arnwine… we were all on tour together all of last year, so they became a huge support system for me.
I also think this record was so different because it was written in a very solitary way. When I was making Lean In To It, Sam was way more involved. With this one, it was such a breakup record and personal statement that I would say it had to be a solitary experience.
AP: For sure. As a musician that tours regularly in multiple bands each year, are there certain places that feel more like home to you?
AC: I mean, when I’m in Birmingham, [Alabama], that’s always nice. We always make sure we take a day off there. I love to stay a few days in Grand Rapids, especially when Sam [Cook-Parrott]’s on tour with us because that’s where he’s from and his family’s really wonderful. And I know the song just came out, but I love California. I love being in the Bay and Los Angeles… really, the whole West Coast is nice. There’s a lot of friends, a lot of places we go back to a million times out there… my favorite places are usually someone else’s home we get to relax in for a little while.
AP: I feel like the video for “Dean’s Room” really touches on the album’s sentiments of finding home in other places and, specifically, the feeling of anxiousness in your own surroundings. With this being the first music video under your solo project, how was the process of working on this video?
AC: It was kind of insane! It was incredible and fun, but totally wild for me. In all the Waxahatchee videos and any of the other videos I’ve done, I’ve never been a part of a video that was that much of a production. Everyone that worked on it was really excited; I flew out to Portland to make it and my friend Marley Cook-Parrott, who is Sam’s sister actually, is the dancer in the video.
AP: Whoa, no way!
AC: Yeah! We flew out together and didn’t know what to expect! Laura Gallagher, who made the video, is just so talented and I couldn’t have asked for someone who is more supportive and incredible. It was a little stressful at first, but I got the hang of it with her help. I really wanna make another video with her!
AP: I especially liked how some of the elements in the video could tie in with the album cover like the white dress. The cover itself almost reminds me of an image on a votive candle with the rays around you… what were some of the visual inspirations for that?
AC: I think that was definitely a part of Maggie, the graphic designer who helped me make the cover’s vision. It definitely was a part, maybe not the full vision, but a part of it. It’s funny because that shot really wasn’t my first choice. I really had to be talked into it because everyone else who saw the photos was like, “this is the cover” and I was like, “alright, I accept that.”
AP: [laughs] There’s definitely something that could be said with having such an exalted-looking image as your cover considering the influence you and your sister have had on the DIY community over the past decade. Would you say “DIY role model” is something you embrace with this album cover?
AC: I dunno! I never thought of [the cover] that way! We’ve been so fortunate to have so many incredible fans and it’s something I don’t take lightly. I guess I don’t really think of myself that way if that makes sense. I feel so much that I’m still figuring it out in so many ways! [laughs]
That being said, I’m so grateful that I’ve gotten to do all the things I get to do and that there are so many people that, quote-unquote, “look up” to me or Katie. It’s really incredible and I’m so appreciative.
AP: Absolutely. Last question: If there was a candle of yourself with a message or quote of affirmation, what would be written on it?
AC: [laughs] Ooh, I’m not sure… “don’t read the comments,” maybe? I’d have to think about it.
AP: I think we all need to follow “don’t read the comments” more this year.
AC: I do too! It’s good advice I don’t always follow. Today, I’m definitely trying to!
If you’re excited to see Allison Crutchfield and The Fizz plus Radiator Hospital and Pinkwash (duh, of course you are), but haven’t scooped up tickets yet, we potentially have you covered! Fill out our ticket giveaway form below to enter to win a pair of tickets to the show!
For good or bad, a lot can happen in one week. Even more can occur in two, and it’s seasons like our current one that bring us to question how long we sat on division as a fact before allowing its harsh realities to float up to the surface and into our feeds, airports and streets. We’re here. Now what?
Fortunately fellow Allston Rat People™, the big man with the pen doesn’t write our whole script, not unless you let him. That said, we’ve compiled here a list of upcoming events (most of which in February) that aim to organize around efforts and educate on topics pertinent to today’s U.S. of A.
As Geneva Reed-Veal, mobilizer and mother of the late Sandra Bland, once said, “Know your lane in a movement.” We at Allston Pudding know that attending rallies isn’t for everyone. It’s much like calling a representative, organizing a bake sale or creating politically relevant art in that way. Everyone has an ability, a grip, a lane in collective action. This list has variety for that very reason.
What: Organizing for our Right to Boycott Meeting
Who: Jewish Voice for Peace & MA Freedom to Boycott Coalition
Where: First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain (633 Centre St., Jamaica Plain)
When: Tuesday, Jan. 31st @ 7 p.m.
What: Muslim Justice Teach-In
Who: Muslim Justice League
Where: University Lutheran Church Cambridge (66 Winthrop St., Cambridge)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 1st @ 6 p.m.
What: Civil Rights Rally for Immigrants & Muslims
Who: Massachusetts Safe Communities Act, State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, State Rep. Juana Matias
Where: Massachusetts State House (24 Beacon St., Boston)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 1st @ 12 p.m.
What: Resistance Culture: an Art Show for Revolutionaries
Who: MassArt, local independent & student artists
Where: MassArt’s Student Life Gallery (Kennedy Building, 2nd floor, 625 Huntington Ave., Boston)
When: Thursday, Feb. 2nd @ 6:30 p.m.
What: Vigil in Support of Black Lives Matter
Who: supporters of BLM, everyday activists
Where: First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain (633 Centre St., Jamaica Plain)
When: Thursday, Feb. 2nd @ 5:30 p.m.
What: Black Lives Matter Music, Race & Justice Forum
Who: Harvard Graduate Music Forum Conference, Matthew D. Morrison, Imani Uzuri
Where: 3 Oxford St., Cambridge
When: Feb. 3rd @ 9 a.m. & Feb. 4th @ 8 p.m.
What: Pancake Party Benefit for Make Shift Boston
Who: Make Shift Boston, DJ Mercedes Flowers
Where: Make Shift Boston (549 Columbus Ave., Boston)
When: Saturday, Feb. 4th @ 12 p.m.
What: To Islam, With Love: A Card-making Marathon
Who: Wee the People, Resistarts, Design Studio for Social Intervention
Where: Dorchester Arts Collaborative (157 Washington St., Dorchester)
When: Sunday, Feb. 5th @ 4 p.m.
What: Breaking Thru: A Celebration of Queer Black Women
Who: The Theater Offensive, Rebecca Mwase, Black Venus, Dominique Coley
Where: The Strand Theatre (543 Columbia Rd., Boston)
When: Friday, Feb. 24th @ 7 p.m.
Keep your eyes peeled for updated lists over the coming months!
You may have seen Courtney Swain grace the stage with one of our faves, Bent Knee. But as the band takes a break to recuperate for the winter, Courtney has taken the time to explore her solo career. Courtney gives us a hauntingly beautiful performance of her new song, “Moon Stalker” from a ‘Big Nice Studio’ broadcasting in Lincoln, Rhode Island. You can definitely expect her to return with Bent Knee, after their hibernation, but in the meantime, be stopped dead in your tracks and catch the feels from this brilliantly composed piece of music.
What starts out as a light piano melody, accompanied by Courtney’s rich vocals guiding us through her story, grows into something magical. And just like anything else that’s magical, Courtney completes “Moon Stalker” sonically with some help from a string quartet. Swain then pulls the quartet back, closing out the song as she started. Check out the video for “Moon Stalker” below and hopefully you experience something close to what I did.
The thought of the Atomic Age can conjure up anachronistic scenes of Cold War-era bomb shelters, civil defense films, and cautionary science fiction.
But with the geopolitical landscape in flux and disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima not far removed, it’s clear that dangers and anxieties of the Atomic Age still exist. In recognizing that we do not occupy a separate timeline and must reflect on our relationship with nuclear power, reflection often sparks resistance.
In Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise, director Mark Cousins set out to examine the various and often destructive impacts of nuclear power, poring over archived footage of everything from x-rays to weaponry. In the spirit of the documentary, Cousins figured ‘why not have a band noted for their high volume shows and minor key compositions provide the score?’ Enter Stuart Braithwaite and Mogwai.
“The seriousness of the subject matter was kind of daunting,” says guitarist Stuart Braithwaite. “People always say that our music is quite heavy anyway, [but] literally soundtracking the apocalypse…”
When scoring this film though, Braithwaite and his bandmates let the visuals do the talking. “I think we were quite cautious to [not] be too bombastic because the images themselves are so powerful. It definitely was something that we took as a challenge rather than a problem.”
Part of the decision to undertake such a challenge, Braithwaite explains, stemmed from their years of traveling as a band to countries affected by nuclear warfare. “We’ve been to Japan probably more than we’ve been to any other country. It’s a country we’re really fond of; we played in Hiroshima and visited the peace park. And the film was shown on the TV back home of the 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombings.”
For Braithwaite, lending their music seemed not only necessary, but vital to the conversation. “Seeing the letters that the mayor of Hiroshima writes to every country to try and tell them to stop using nuclear weapons because of these terrible things… I like to think that we, by being involved with this film, have also shown people how bad it is and that this is something that people should not just think is something happening somewhere else.”
The soundtrack puts Mogwai in the same class of artists that have taken on these issues in their work. Artists like Kraftwerk, Ryuichi Sakamoto and, more recently, Boards of Canada come to mind. “I think, especially with Kraftwerk, and the Radioactivity album, I think that they were evoking the nuclear science and the sounds. And even though I don’t think we took much from their music, I definitely think those sounds…that sort idea of what the future would sound like…was something that we had in mind.”
As Scottish citizens, this is a daunting reality. Less than an hour away from their home base in Glasgow is Faslane, site of the HM Naval Base Clyde and the country’s nuclear weapons. “One of the main reasons that I campaigned and continue to campaign for Scottish independence is to get rid of the nuclear base. To remove this danger, hopefully completely, and get it the fuck away from our houses. That was a really big thing.”
The decision to take such a film on tour in the United States, coinciding with the most recent election, wasn’t intentional. This relevance of its message is one that Braithwaite hoped wouldn’t be as strong. “There seems to be two levels of rationality left in public discourse. It’s really a weird time. To be honest, that hadn’t even started, I didn’t think so much, even when we were making this [score] and it just seems like the world has just gone mental in the last year.”
After toying with musical “retrofuturism” and rallying against the lure of supposed nuclear progress, Mogwai will refocus their efforts back to their own discography. The band has just finished mixing a new album in upstate New York with producer Dave Fridmann, whom they last worked with on Rock Action in 2001. “It’s all done and we’re really excited about that. It’s going to be out later in the year and I’m sure we’ll be back to play those songs before the year is out, too.”
For now, they’re raising the alert as activists and don’t seem keen on stopping anytime soon. In this heightened time of divisions, there’s always a cause to champion and a voice to amplify.
Mogwai performs a live score for Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise at the Berklee Performance Center on January 27th. The show begins at 8pm, and tickets are $29.50. A recorded version of the score is available through Temporary Residence Ltd.
If you’re tryna do some good in this f*cked-up country of ours, and happen to like hip-hop, consider gettin’ to the gig. Specifically, the Latrell James & Oompa gig this Friday, January 27th, at ZUMIX (260 Sumner St). All proceeds go to the nonprofit, which prides itself on its award-winning programs in songwriting, performance, radio, audio tech, and theatre for ~the youths~ of the low-income, under-served neighborhood where HQ is located.
But first, a quick refresher:
Rapper/poet, Oompa reps many identities: Black, queer, storyteller, orphan, Aquarius, Roxbury native. And she does it so defiantly, so originally. Her last album, November 3rd, depicts these intersections in the form of contemporary R&B.
Latrell James debuted Twelve last May– plus, the Dorchester producer and artist who values community above most things, recently told us in an interview that he’s planning on taking his live show to the next step in the next few months. But James’ live performances are already a defining characteristic of his music, along with his collaborations with acts like Lil Dicky, Cousin Stizz, and Michael Christmas. Sounds like it’s gonna be a good time for a good cause.
Presented in partnership with WZMR and HipStory, this show is FREE to all high school kids (with valid hs ID), and open to all ages for $12 (advanced tix) or $15 (day of show). You can listen to/watch the latest from Oompa and Latrell James below, and get your tix (whether you’re paying or are a high schooler able to opt for the no-fee option) before they sell out, here. Show starts at 8pm, y’all.
When the most complex of feelings and situations are detailed in a way that makes the unexplainable make sense, it’s something to be treasured. This is why we are looking forward to sharing Lilith’s “Lean” with you today.
Lilith stands as an Allston trio, layering an intimate environment of heavy tones. In anticipation for their first EP, Apology Plant, vocalist Hannah Liuzzo explained the significance of “Lean”, the final track.
“‘Lean’ was written after Beyoncé’s ‘All Night’, a brilliant exploration of forgiving a betrayer and acknowledging an undeniable truth. ‘Lean’ highlights the snippet of denial before you’re able to forgive someone, when you try tirelessly to shut out a feeling or a person, but the truth ends up surfacing in new ways,” vocalist, Hannah Liuzzo explained. She then referenced a quote by Beyoncé’s grandma, “Nothing that’s real can be threatened.”
Apology Plant will be released on February 3rd and you can purchase it through Disposable America. After you pick up your copy, be sure to check them out as they open for Tancred on February 15th at the Middle East. Tickets are $12/$15 at the door and it’s an all ages show.
Boston Calling’s expanded 2017 lineup has earned a lot of praise from the music press. The lineup features headliners Tool, Chance the Rapper, and Mumford and Sons. The undercard features The xx, Solange, Mitski, Bon Iver and many more.
Trevor Solomon and his team at Crashline Productions is responsible for the lineup. After it was released, he talked to Allston Pudding about building 2017’s bill.
“You need to be patient. You need to have a different idea about it,” Solomon said. “You need to go into it with a mindset that you don’t know everything. Pretty much, you know nothing and you have to learn on every new festival you book. If you have that mindset and you have that sort of goal in your head, you’ll be okay, you’ll figure it out.”
Prior to working on Boston Calling, Solomon worked at MusicfestNW, which he says skewed more toward indie rock. Before that, the festivals he worked on were multi-venue festivals, spread out around a city.
With coming to Boston, Solomon noted past bookings, while assessing how to build a lineup.
“There were certain things that worked well in previous festivals before I got here, like Brand New, Modest Mouse or Jack Johnson – or Fun., or Childish Gambino is one that worked pretty well,” he said. “It’s tough – with booking, you can say you have an idea and you’re really going to program to have this idea work, but I mean, in fairness, some of it’s luck, some of it’s right time, right place, some of it’s focusing on a couple of different genres.”
With the move to Allston and Harvard’s athletic complex, Solomon noted a particular point of emphasis for his team.
“Cohesion, per day and for the festival, was an important thing to really focus on. That’s something that we did really try to pinpoint.”
Solomon also shined a light on the collaboration between his team and curators.
“Aaron [Dessner of the band The National and festival curator] is involved in every aspect and every decision,” Solomon said. “A perfect example is Xylouris White. He knew of them because he worked with them on the Grateful Dead project that he did last year.”
MSG + BC
One additional wrinkle to this year’s lineup is that it is the first festival with the backing of Madison Square Garden Live, which has a controlling stake in the festival.
Of MSG and Crash Line’s collaboration, Solomon said: “They bring expertise, they have a great booking team. They have a great executive team over there. And they have a lot of people who have been in the industry for a long time.
“They don’t just book Madison Square Garden. They have Chicago Theatre, they have The Forum in LA, they have Radio City. I think they have The Beacon also. So they have these rooms. If I go to them and say I want to book Tool, they’ll be like ‘they did great in this venue in this city, they’re a really strong arena band and you should definitely look at them.'”
Solomon continued: “I’ve been doing this for a while and other people in this group have been doing this for a while, but [MSG has] been doing this for a very long while. And they’re really tied in with the music community and they know what is happening out there and they’re a really good resource for that.”
Credit: Greg M. Cooper-Harvard University
Lineup FOMO
Although the lineup is expanded, there are always some artists that, for whatever reason, don’t work out.
“I had a top 10 list of bands that I love this year, and I would say there’s probably eight of those playing this festival,” Solomon said.
Due to the realities of west coast touring, Catfish and the Bottlemen wouldn’t be able to play. Solomon is a big fan of Frankie Cosmos, but it didn’t work out that the festival could book her.
Then, there’s Radiohead, a band that is likely top-of-mind for most festival bookers.
“I love Radiohead. They made a great record, but that’s alright. That’s why you have other years to come down the road and you hope that you get all these bands eventually.”
Last year’s lineup featured a diverse group of headliners, with two female headliners in Sia and Robyn (the festival had never had a female headliner before 2016). This year features no female headliners. Despite this, Solomon said “[they] have a good female presence this year at the festival.”
“Of course you want to have a female presence,” Solomon said. “There are a lot of awesome female artists out there, and you want to have them on your festival. Sometimes they’re not headliners and sometimes they are.”
Calling Shots
When asked about who he was most excited to see at the festival, Solomon was diplomatic at first.
“I put something into every single booking,” he said. “There’s not a band I’m not excited to see.”
Then he started to list highlights:
“I haven’t seen Cousin Stizz live so I’m curious to see that. I’ve been a fan of Buffalo Tom since 1990, so that’s like a sucker pick for me. Piebald, also. I’m an old man, so I love that stuff.
“Majid Jordan is a new artist I’m curious about. Brandi Carlile. Solange I’ve never seen live, so I’m excited about that.”
“I’m very excited to see the crowd reaction to The 1975,” he continued. “Tool and Chance [the Rapper] I’ve never seen live. Chance, I’m a champion of. I think what he’s doing, not just musically, but socially, I think he’s a special person in this world and he’s doing something that’s going to resonate for years to come.”
Solomon noted Bon Iver’s new album and frontman’s ties to Boston Calling through the Eaux Claires music festival in Wisconsin.
Other highlights of Solomon’s: Tkay Maidza, Mondo Cozmo, Modern Baseball and Car Seat Headrest.
Looking ahead to 2018, Solomon said he had started the search to fill out the bill.
“Somebody said to me Friday night, ‘You’re fucked. How the hell are you going to repeat this?’ That’s why you get up in the morning.”
Photos by Nate Ryan
The return of P.O.S. feels serendipitous as large swaths of America are either just recognizing or continually struggling under the weight of our newly demoted “flawed democracy.” For most P.O.S. fans and, assuredly, his inner circle of family and friends, though, they’re just happy he’s here at all.
AP: [laughs] There’s definitely something that could be said with having such an exalted-looking image as your cover considering the influence you and your sister have had on the DIY community over the past decade. Would you say “DIY role model” is something you embrace with this album cover?
“The seriousness of the subject matter was kind of daunting,” says guitarist Stuart Braithwaite. “People always say that our music is quite heavy anyway, [but] literally soundtracking the apocalypse…”
