Ask any punk around town what the best new act in Boston is right now, and chances are you’ll hear about Palehound. The brainchild of frontwoman Ellen Kempner, the band layers knotty guitar riffs over wry lyrics about shitty friends, loud neighbors, breakups and parrots, to name a few topics. With melodies as inventive as anything Stephen Malkmus has come up with and wordplay as clever as any Speedy Ortiz song, Palehound is an act that, with their debut LP streaming on NPR, has finally arrived.
Listen to the excellent stream of Dry Food below, pre-order the album here, and catch Palehound next time they’re around town, playing with Basement, The Adventures, and LVL UP at the Royale on 8/16.
BOYTOY are just a bunch of hard-hitters right to the heart. And they’re excited to show off their craft on you with their brand new single “Postal” that they premiered yesterday at Noisey. If that wasn’t enough for you, our old buddies has their debut full-length LP Grackle coming up in the ranks soon with an October 2nd release date. Check out the single below with some East Coast tour dates as well!
BOYTOY Tour Dates
08/17 – Charlottesville, WV @ Buddhist Biker Bar
08/17 – Savannah, GA @ Hang Fire
08/19 – Jacksonville, FL @ Burro Bar ^
08/20 – Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge ^
08/21 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl ^
08/22 – Nashville, TN @ The Stone Fox ^
08/23 – Asheville, NC @ Ben’s Tune Up ^
08/24 – Raleigh, NC @ King’s Barcade ^
08/26 – Baltimore, MD @ Holy Frijoles
08/27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Pharmarcy
08/28 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Carousel
08/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Silent Barn
^ w/ La Luz
I’m going to say it: on paper, it’s really hard to defend Titus Andronicus.
On the surface, a bunch of scraggly punk guys making heartland rock filtered through a nasally, basement show-ready howler of a frontman is for a special type of person. Couple that with demanding album lengths (this year’s The Most Lamentable Tragedy clocks in at 92 minutes), a lyricist that (sort of egotistically) uses The Velvet Underground as a comparison point for his own band’s successes, and frequent insistences that they’re “saving punk” and it’s easy to see an on-the-fencer sliding off the post.
But this is, of course, just what the paper reads. I imagine the six New Jersey guys that make up Titus Andronicus don’t concern themselves with what’s on “the paper” unless it’s Shakespearian, something about their love of Civil War trivia, or kindling material. Despite such apathy, Titus is the rare combo of intelligence and raw, teeth-knocked-out-of-your-skull-in-a-pit inhibition that is just so damned ridiculous, it can’t help but draw attention.
My father’s attention might’ve been elsewhere when we caught him in the middle of a family beach house weekend (without me, ouch), but he seemed to concur that The Most Lamentable Tragedy has…er, something unique going on.
Tim: Wait, so you showed [Titus Andronicus] to the whole family?
Dad: No, your cousin’s boyfriend was here for the second song you sent over [“Come On, Siobhán”] and then everyone came around for the third one, [“Mr. E. Mann”]. But yeah, that first one, “Dimed Out”… I absolutely hated it.
Tim: [laughs] Oh man, that’s one of my favorites!
Dad: I couldn’t understand a word he said. Good thing the YouTube video had the lyrics! First of all, what the heck’s getting “dimed up” mean?
“Dimed out” is like turning an amp up to full blast, which is 10, hence the dime.
Well yeah, we just Googled them and found a play by Shakespeare. The drums were good, very Hawaii Five-0. It was also very Sex Pistols-like with all the screaming. Because he ain’t singing…
Were you ever into Sex Pistols back in the day?
No, not at all.
But it has that big chorus! I know you like choruses.
I didn’t. I didn’t like this one, nope.
Okay then… second song, “Come On, Siobhán”. How was that?
With the next two songs, I wish you hadn’t said anything about Springsteen beforehand. My notes just say “son of Springsteen.”
Really?
Oh my God, it’s amazing. I dunno what it is. Great tune, his voice… again, not the greatest voice, but still, it was so amazingly Springsteen. Are you sure this isn’t a cover?
[laughs] They do Daniel Johnston and Pogues covers on this album, but no, Springsteen was not involved.
Oh yeah, I know the Pogues. Your mother said the second song sounds like an Irish drinking song with all the chanting, so I could see that. It was still so Springsteen though! It had organs, violins, background singers, just classic Jersey-type music.
This is definitely their most Springsteen-esque record, but I hear slight Meat Loaf/Bat Out Of Hell elements with how equally theatrical and good ol’ rock and roll it is. Am I just hearing that?
Sort of. Actually, at two minutes and fifty seconds in the “Siobhán” song, it stops and became a different song altogether like an Act II or something. The last song, “Mr. E. Mann”, is sort of rock opera-ish, but yeah, a lot of punk thrown in.
Just to confirm, you listened to zero punk growing up, correct?
Nope. Just me, white bread over here.
Who then, other than Springsteen, would you recommend listening to based on this?
One of the lead guitarist of Springsteen’s E Street Band is Steven Van Zandt. He was Little Steven on The Sopranos, but for a while there, he wrote music for one of my favorite bands, Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes. But then he wrote a bunch of songs that Springsteen didn’t want and Southside Johnny didn’t want, so then he started his own band called Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul. He borrowed the horn section of the Jukes from Southside Johnny. But anyway, Van Zandt’s voice is not good like this Titus guy’s, but it’s all this Jersey type music, which I love. It’s like, “oof, that voice!”, then “ooh, that music!”
What is it about Jersey that produces this kind of music? Titus is actually from Jersey too.
It’s always the beaches and getting in the car and driving. I dunno. Anyway, that third song… I just wrote, “Springsteen cover” because, again, I’m pretty sure this was on a Bruce Springsteen album.
“It’s like, “oof, that voice!”, then “ooh, that music!””
Ouch.
No, I figured it out, it’s the piano on both. Bruce has a piano man and there’s piano on [“Mr. E. Mann”] too. It’s just that Jersey thing, that and the horns. But yeah, overall, good pick.
Yeah? You actually like Titus?
If they had a better singer, I could see them getting big. But yeah, I liked the music. You wanna hear something funny though? You can’t put this in the article.
If it’s real bad, I won’t. What is it though?
So we played the first song, “Dimed Out”, and then we went over to “Siobhán” in the next tab. It sounded loud, kinda awful at first, and then about a minute in, the loudness stopped. Apparently, YouTube does this thing where it just loops into the next song, but we just assumed the song kinda sucked or something. It just keeps looping to the next and next and next and next though.
That’s autoplay; you can turn that off! Look in the right hand corner of the page.
Ah, okay! But if you play the two songs together, you honestly can’t tell they’re a different song until a certain point.
Oh my god, I have to put that in the article. Are you sure you liked this band?
Nah, it was good! It’s sort of like gelato: you gotta get two flavors. That’s what they did in Italy!
One of the most important things Yoda ever taught us was “do or do not, there is no try”. Actually, Yoda isn’t credited often enough for his long-standing, valuable life lessons. But that’s beside the point. Although he’s not short, furry or green (as far as we’re aware), Thatcher May of Sports Coach relays a similar message on his newest album–try & try & try & try.
Allston Pudding had the chance to chat with Sports Coach about dealing with personal defeat, stepping outside the urban bubble, space clouds, and horror movies.
Allston Pudding: This will be your third album- very rad! Has the process for putting this album together been any different from the first two? If so, has it been in a good way or a bad way?
Thatcher May: The process for this album has been a little tougher than the earlier ones. Sports Coach kind of started as a joke project. I was just doing it for laughs and to kind of explore making a more indie kind of music as opposed to the instrumental beats and ambient stuff I was doing for a while before. With each release, Sports Coach gets a tiny bit more attention and a tiny amount of new [listeners], so I suppose it’s a natural progression to want to make every release better than the last. This release had just a little bit more doubt in it at first but in the end I did what I always do, which is to write and record 15 songs in two weeks and then put it out ASAP without thinking.
AP: It’ll be coming out on cassette. Why cassette and not CD or vinyl?
TM: It’s coming out with a really rad label from Richmond, VA, who are great pals of mine called Citrus City Records. The dudes who run it, Manny and Rene, are too broke to put me on vinyl and for some reason everyone thinks CDs are lame, so cassette it will be; which is cool because I love cassettes and I don’t have a record player in the first place.
AP: Name 5 cassettes you’re proud to (or would be proud to) own.
AP: Is the album’s title indicative of anything- for instance, were there multiple attempts at choosing a title? Did you, dare I say, “try & try & try & try”?
TM: When I got off tour in May I was trying to get something out by June, so I made one more album in the style of my last album from April, I don’t know how to do it good, which was 12 tracks. It didn’t quite feel right though, so I ditched it. Then I made a more mellow album like my album The Ballads of Coach Lazy Eye, which ended up being 21 tracks. In the end, it also wasn’t right so I forgot about it. Then I reverted back and started working with synths and electronics again and it kind of clicked. It felt really good. So I wrote try in a week or two. The title just refers to dealing with the frustration of working hella hard on something and putting hundreds of hours into it, and being like, “alright, this isn’t good enough right now, try again.” try & try & try & try was like that for months.
AP: The two singles currently available on your Bandcamp are similarly titled. What’s with the dream motif?
TM: The dream titles actually have nothing to do with the songs, they’re just working titles for when I started writing them. I also would always get confused as to which track was which when I started changing song titles. The synths and chords have a very dream-like quality to them, at least to me. A lot of the songs are like the color purple- purple and black, like those big gas clouds in space you know?
AP: You’ve posted quite a few beautiful scenic shots [on your Instagram]. Were those trips for pleasure or were they in conjunction with touring? What did you enjoy most about those breathtaking places?
TM: Most of those places are from touring. My Instagram tends to die down when I’m off tour because nothing is new, it’s the same sights and sounds every day so it’s not really inspiring to take pictures. I enjoy the vibe I get when I find a really beautiful place, that feeling of, “Wow this is so beautiful, it’s crazy that this exists”. I think that most of us, myself included, living in generally crowded places like cities and suburban areas, forget that the world is really beautiful outside of the bubble we stay in. There are plenty of places where the world hasn’t been touched as much and when we find those places it gives us a certain peace and quiet. I think everyone feels that. Some people just don’t look for it, but I try to find it often.
AP: Does nature find its way into your music?
TM: I’m not sure what nature’s impact is. I can’t really write songs about wind or trees or anything, but I think it’s there. When I listen to music sometimes I can picture the ideal weather for the song. I try to make that sunny day stuff, with a few clouds in the sky. The clouds aren’t in the way though, they’re just making everything more interesting.
AP: Do you think the phrase “try & try & try & try” can be applied to sports and sports coaching? How would you implement it in your coaching, particularly of youth ball?
TM: Honestly, I would say no, because on my teams, especially my youth ball squad, you don’t try. You do it or you don’t and if you don’t you’re fucking worthless and you’re gonna get physically removed from the rink, and the whole squad will end you. Trying is for idiots who can’t do it. Coach T-Bone doesn’t try, he just does.
AP: What’s one thing you’ve always been afraid to try?
TM: I’ve always been afraid to try and watch horror movies, because they used to scare me as a kid and I couldn’t sleep for weeks. Even to this day people try to get me to watch them and I always say no because life is scary enough as it is.
AP: What’s one thing you’re really glad you decided to try?
TM: This is really hard. If I’ve met you and we’re good pals, I’m glad that I tried talking to you or you tried talking to me, because now we’re homies and we’re all gonna watch each other grow with whatever we do.
Sports Coach will be playing Great Scott with other Boston rockers St. Nothing and Skinny Bones, on August 20th. Tickets are available here. try & try & try & try is available digitally now via Citrus City Records, with a limited cassette pressing available late August.
FFS, the teamup of quirky glam rock legends Sparks and Franz Ferdinand, have announced a brief string of North American dates. Coming on the heels of their critically acclaimed, self-titled album and a string of big EU festival appearences, including Glastonbury, the tour will mark the supergroups first American appearences, including a stop at Boston’s Orpheum.
Peep the dates below and check out footage from FFS’ recent Paris show at the bottom.
San Francisco black metal outfit Deafheaven, hot on the heals of announcing their third album New Bermuda, have shared the details of a fall tour. This set of dates will see them play 29 shows nationwide, including a stop at the Royale in Boston. Tribulation will open on all dates while Envy will join in from Oct. 30-Nov. 7 (yes, that includes the Boston show).
Peep the dates below and check out New Bermuda on Oct. 2, which will be out via ANTI- Records.
10/15 San Diego, CA – The Casbah 10/16 Pomona, CA – The Glass House 10/17 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore 10/19 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom 10/20 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre 10/21 Seattle, WA – Neumos 10/23 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
10/24 Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall 10/25 Lawrence, KS – The Granada 10/26 St. Louis, MO – The Ready Room 10/28 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line 10/29 Madison, WI – High Noon Saloon 10/30 Chicago, IL – Metro 10/31 Detroit, MI – Shelter at St. Andrews 11/1 Toronto, ON – Opera House 11/3 Boston, MA – Royale 11/5 New York, NY – Webster Hall 11/6 Washington, DC – The Howard Theatre 11/7 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer 11/8 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle 11/10 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade – Downstairs 11/11 Orlando, FL – The Social 11/13 Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Studio 11/14 Austin, TX – Mohawk 11/15 Dallas, TX – Trees 11/17 Albuquerque, NM – Sister 11/18 Phoenix. AZ – Crescent Ballroom 11/20 Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy 11/21 Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy
Black Beach is gearing up in style for their upcoming debut album Shallow Creatures. The band has just released “Self Portrait,” the first single off the record which is expected at the start of next year. The track wastes no time barreling into its four minutes of controlled chaos. “Self Portrait” chugs forward with the steady beat of an oncoming train and there’s enough urgency in it to make you feel like you’re caught on the tracks. It’s concise in structure, but Black Beach’s usual snarling guitars and whining vocals certainly don’t try to be anything polished or pretty.
The song’s efficiency comes as no surprise; the band was able to record all of the album’s eight songs in as many hours. Shallow Creatures was recorded in its entirety at Q Division Studios with assistance from Converse Rubber Tracks, and if the rest of the record is as strong as the single, 2016 is going to start of with one hell of a rock n’ roll bang. Listen to the track below, or swing over to their Bandcamp for more.
If you enjoyed the single, be sure to catch Black Beach (along with numerous other alike bands) Saturday at Fuzzstival. There’s a good chance they’ll showcase some of the new tracks.
Ben Semeta, the bassist for Black Beach, is also the man responsible for House of the Rising Fuzz, a local rock compilation which can be purchased physically at Fuzzstival. Read our feature on the making of the record here.
The Brooklyn based rock quartet Parquet Courts sawed their way onto the garage rock scene with their 2011 cassette release American Specialties. Since that time they have worked with labels such as What’s Your Rupture and Dull Tools. Now Rough Trade Records announced they have signed Parquet Courts to their label, putting their catchy crunchy sounds among former signees The Libertines and The Strokes. An appropriate and exciting progression for Parquet Courts, they will embark on tour at the end of August to support their latest album Monastic Living, to be released this November. Their Boston show is December 4th at the Middle East.
Here is the full list of tour dates:
08/27 London, UK @ Birthdays
08/28 Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
08/29 Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
08/30 Paris, France @ Rock En Seine
09/02 Galway, Ireland @ Roisin Dubh
09/03 Limerick, Ireland @ Dolan’s
09/04 Belfast, Ireland @ Limelight 2
09/08 Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser Strand
09/09 Oslo, Norway @ Blaa
09/10 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Pumpehuset
09/12 Berlin, Germany @ Lollapalloza Berlin
09/14 Vienna, Austria @ Chelsea
09/15 Zagreb, Croatia @ Culture Factory
09/16 Ravenna, Italy @ Bronson
09/17 Rome, Italy @ Monk
09/19 Athens, Greece @ AN Club
11/05 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
11/06-07 Austin, TX @ FFF
11/09 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
11/10 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone
11/11 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck
11/13 Denver, CO @ Marquis 12/03 Northampton, MA @ Flywheel w/ Pill 12/04 Boston, MA @ Middle East w/ Pill 12/05 Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace w/ Pill
12/06 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground w/ Pill
12/07 Quebec City, QC @ Le Cercle w/ Pill
12/08 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa w/ Pill
12/09 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s w/ Pill
12/11 Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw w/ Pill
We’re stoked to premiere The TeleVibes new music video for “Asyd” off their most recent release, “High or Die”. The local psych rockers summon the spirits over a Ouija board in this cinematic “bad trip”, directed by the band’s drummer Christian Hardy. The band (Charlie Northern, Scott Loring, Christian Hardy) jam in 60’s style black and white, and also star in the thrilling narrative alongside long time friend, photographer, and tour companion Brendan Kuist. The filmmaking is top notch once again (check their previous vid for “D.M.T.”), and the song rips like a fat joint on a sweltering summer day. With the recent release of “House of The Rising Fuzz”, and this weeks upcoming Fuzztival, the garage rock scene is hotter than ever in Boston right now, and The TeleVibes are a crucial part of it. So dose up, and peep the trippy video below:
Make sure to get on down to the Middle East this weekend to catch The TeleVibes and tons of other amazing bands at this years Fuzztival hosted by who else but Illegally Blind.
St. Louis’s Foxing have announced their sophomore LP, Dealer, will be released in Autumn via Triple Crown Records. Based on the above screenshot from today’s video announcement (which can be viewed below) combined with our junior detective skills, it’s also very possible that the image above will be its album art. Or not. Quit playing with our hearts, Foxing.
Dealer comes two years after the band’s stunning debut, The Albatross, which picked up support from emo staples Count Your Lucky Stars and, subsequently, Triple Crown months after its initial release. Their fanbase also exploded exponentially in Albatross‘s wake, building up an “emotional rollercoaster” of a live set after tours with the likes of Modern Baseball, mewithoutYou, and Brand New.
Based on the snippet, it appears the band hasn’t shaken their tendencies for post-rock tinged emo… and hell, why would we want them to?
I also would always get confused as to which track was which when I started changing song titles. The synths and chords have a very dream-like quality to them, at least to me. A lot of the songs are like the color purple- purple and black, like those big gas clouds in space you know?
