It may sound overtly romantic, but Martin Courtney with never know how much he means to me. IPod Nano shuffles to now, I’ve somehow managed to soundtrack my entire “young adult” life to the audio sand & shore of Real Estate. Maybe it’s the repetition, the cycling guitar lines or just the volume. Courtney’s music, band or solo, is loud enough to brighten a mood and low enough stay in the background. I’ve relied on his music. I still do. And in my opinion, that consistency makes Courtney a brilliant musician.
Standing in Brighton Music Hall this Valentine’s day, I recall what the Real Estate frontman told me over the phone a day before. He’s been starstruck in a similar way. “I met Yo La Tengo and obviously acted like such a fan, because that’s who they are for me. I can listen to them always,” said Courtney. Real Estate played a show with the group some night of Chanukkah some while back. In all honesty, I was too nervous to ask for specifics. “I asked them to play ‘Our Way to Fall.’ It was the first dance at my wedding.” Not only did Yo La Tengo agree to playing the song. Guitarist James McNew asked if Courtney would sing along. He did, and the rest is light-volumed indie history.
Obviously, this didn’t happen for me or any other listeners watching Courtney’s solo set. His opener EZTV did most of the collaboration, joining Courtney for Neil Young covers and smirks. Performing solo, Courtney’s songs were more clearly structured than in Real Estate’s past. The sound was the same in warm, stringy essence, but different in confidence. He said in our phone call, “I’m interested now in writing songs that sound timeless,” which shined through with each short track, on-record and onstage. Courtney was strong, his voice audible for once. He smiled a lot and joked more.
I stood and spent the night focusing for once on the music I had always layered overtop of my time: vacation car drives, laundry days and procrastination sessions as long as the attention span can swallow up. For once, I was listening to Courtney and doing nothing else, no walking, no talking, and no analyzing, just mindless appreciating.
I didn’t focus at this show, didn’t evaluate, and by our standards at Allston Pudding, didn’t really do my job. Readers like me, I’m sorry. There are times when facing a favorite musician is just pleasant and renders your opinion useless. This show was one of them.
That said, pictures are more effective than my words.
Kurt Vile has always sounded like an anachronism to me. Although I can’t quite place his musical styling to a specific decade, stomach he has always seemed like an old soul unadulterated by the modern world, link making the exact type of music he wants to; music which can range from folk, to blues, to lo-fi, but more often than not stays planted as straight up rock and roll.
Walking up to the Pearl St. Ballroom in Northampton on the evening of February 18th (which coincidentally is National Drink Wine Day), the old street lamps projected a warm yellowy glow throughout the tree lined street. The venue itself was an old brick building tucked away on the corner of a stone walled street cove next to a 19th century train station; across from which lay a chromed out, logo-less tour bus.
Next to the bus was an old brick warehouse with the name of a camping company emblazoned across the front of it, in a hand painted font that looked like it was straight off of the Steve Powers designed cover for Vile’s 2013 release, Wakin on a Pretty Daze. I joined the line that had already begun to form outside, eager to see Vile live for the first time. Looking around at the scenery, I thought to myself that this whole setting seemed like it was stuck in time, and was quite a Vile-esque atmosphere if there ever was one.
Inside, the venue itself was pretty bare bones; with an open floor, low stage, and big, Victorian looking balcony windows sealed in plastic wrap to keep out the western Massachusetts winter. The opener, Xylouris White came out of the gate with an impressive set dripping with world class musicianship. The duo is comprised of two bonafide and accomplished virtuosos in their respective fields; Australian Jim White (drums), and George Xylouris (lute) from the Greek island of Crete. White’s unique, punk-ish offbeat jazz style and Xylouris’ expressive and fast paced lute playing would build throughout each song and erupt in a precise, improvised outpour of musical conversation.
After a brief intermission, Kurt Vile sauntered on stage with hair down past his shoulders holding a bottle of wine. He acknowledged the crowd with a nod of his head and a tip of his bottle as he walked across the stage, placing it down next to his pedal board, only to pick it up and relocate it to a safer spot behind an amp upon further assessment. To open the set, the Violators jumped right into the slinky, organ laden riff of “Dust Bunnies” from Vile’s latest release, b’lieve i’m goin down.
The band performed like a well oiled machine from the onset of the show, settling the crowd and themselves right into the reverbed out groove that could only be described as “D-Lux”by the sharpie written words on the neon gaff tape upon one of Vile’s foot pedals.
The Violators cruised through a few more of their new songs, including their now Jeopardy famous single “Pretty Pimpin”, and the steady, galloping guitar picked jam “Wheelhouse”. The first few songs of the set sounded musically tight, but I thought the overall mix of the band was slightly off – maybe the vocals needed a tad more reverb.
The band, the mix, and the audience seemed to fully gel soon after, and the songs began to get more loose and drawn out. You could see the band start to stretch their legs, and “Wakin on a Pretty Day” introduced the Violators’ first long drawn out jam; segueing from floaty, airy rhythms to hard hitting solos with a heavy emphasis on fuzz and wah coming from the syrupy tones of Vile’s acoustic guitar.
After a few solo acoustic songs from Vile, he was rejoined on stage by his band and surprise guest, indie rock legend (and Amherst native), J Mascis. The Violators dug deeper into their catalog, with Mascis delivering some of his soloing expertise to the heaviest hitting songs of the night, “Hunchback” and “Freak Train” off of Vile’s 2009 release, Childish Prodigy.
The show closed with a delicate, ethereal performance of “Baby’s Arms” by the Violators, with the crowd singing along to Vile’s every word. As the band began to file off backstage, Kurt headed towards the amp where he had stored his wine at the beginning of the show. He picked it up, raised it to the crowd (to much applause), and left. I came into this show with high expectations, and Vile and the Violators certainly met them. In the hands of such deft and well seasoned musicians, each song was injected with a dash of improvisation, and a warm, encompassing D-lux vibe that left me reeling for more.
Shaun Fleming and the gang made a stop at San Francisco’s Brick and Mortar this Tuesday for Noise Pop Festival, ampoule a week long music and film festival spread throughout the cities finest venues. Fleming, help formerly the drummer of Foxygen, search has a new project titled Diane Coffee that has been quickly gaining attention across the country. He kept the crowd on its toes the entire set, from his painted glittered face to his wonderful theatrical rants in between songs. A handful of times he found the dance floor throwing winks and smiles left and right. Touring with his new album “Everybody’s A Good Dog,” (album cover of the year?) this is not a show you want to miss! Catch Diane Coffee at The Middle East Upstairs March 30th, TIX HERE.
After upstate New Yorkers Jawbreaker Reunion burst onto the scene in 2014 with their debut full-length, Lutheran Sisterhood Gun Club, and a name from a @JADEDPUNKHULK tweet, they already had all the makings of the next great band to join the ranks of the state’s new canon of wryly self-aware confessionals. With their sophomore release, haha and then what 😉, Jawbreaker Reunion has proved they’re worth the hype, and then some. Stream the full record over at Stereogum, or pre-order it via Miscreant Records, here.
As dance music continues to expand out of clubs and warehouses and into the global consciousness, something interesting (and particularly welcome) is happening. While the simplistic, stimulation-heavy EDM sounds that broke the mainstream a few years ago remain big draws at festivals, most of the recent breakthrough artists are crafting something far deeper than an aggressive synthline over a 4/4 signature- more specifically with a focus on live instrumentation instead of simple jockeying. While the monumental success of Odesza’s breezy indietronica and Porter Robinson’s J-Pop-influenced synthpop have made for some of the biggest stories in recent memory, the overwhelmingly warm reception to Gorgon City, not to mention megastars Disclosure, has proven a rabid interest in fresh takes on tried-and-true house music. With a infectious and original sound, Bondax seem poised to be the next true stars in that scene.
Bondax is a collaboration between Adam Kaye and George Townsend. Friends long before they were bandmates, the lads met at secondary school in the fairly rural English town of Lancaster. Bonding over music, the two would discover that they made a formidable duo, with Townsend’s production skills matched by Kaye’s impressive multi-instrumental work. Finishing their last year at school in 2012 as some early singles caught fire in the blogsphere, the two fully committed to the project, with Townsend even skipping his final exams to focus on music. The following years have seen a steady stream of excellent singles, as well as several worldwide tours.
Bondax’s easiest comparison, in terms of a youthful British duo finding newfound success with garage house, would be Disclosure. However, while the Lawrence brothers craft poppy earworms, Kaye and Townsend aim for a more soulful sound. Melodic and laid back, the two give their lush synths and playful key work plenty of room to breath, each meticulously placed sonic element getting its chance to shine. The lads also have a knack for finding great singers, with almost every original song featuring an excellent, R&B-tinged vocal performance that often dazzles but never overshadows the rest of the track. With an oeuvre as well-suited to a romantic summer evening as a late night dancefloor, they are a must-listen for house heads as well as an easy recommendation for those just dipping their toes into dance music.
Bondax will be making its first appearance in Boston tonight, playing a DJ set at The Sinclair. We caught up with Kaye before the show, who told us about what goes into finding a vocalist, the influence of LCD Soundsystem, and album plans, as well as gushing about American snack food.
Allston Pudding: You guys were still in secondary school when Bondax started picking up steam. How was the experience of coming up in the global electronic scene while still finishing your studies?
Adam Kaye: It was pretty surreal to be honest, man! We never expected it to happen, so it was a lovely surprise. We didn’t really understand what was happening; didn’t accept it straight away. Well, I didn’t anyway! It sort of hit me all at once later on.
AP: You and George had been friends for years before Bondax. When you started playing and producing together were you aiming for this kind of soulful dance sound?
AK: Not really, no. When we first started making music we were making heavier stuff. We were listening to a lot of Ed Banger [Justice’s label] vibes, French electronic music that’s quite heavy and quite intense like DJ Mehdi and stuff. Our tastes changed over time and that’s how we got to where we are.
AP: How would you say your approach to songwriting and production changed since, say, “You’re So” and “Gold”?
AK: It’s changed a lot because we’ve got the means now. George has learned keys in the meantime and I’ve gotten better at production; it used to just be that I’d play the instruments and George would produce it. It’s changed a lot in that we both cross over a bit more nowadays. Also now we have the equipment to record a lot more real instruments and experiment with a lot more different sounds. Earlier on we were just bound to the laptop! All we had was a copy of Logic. Now we have a full studio so we can record guitars and bass and we have actual synths. You can find much more fun ways of making music when you’re not just confined to a computer.
AP: What do you look for in a vocalist?
AK: The main thing that we look for is character. There are a lot of people who can sing really well, and it’s like “great man, you’ve got an amazing voice”. A lot of people sound the same though, and when you find that special someone that has a certain quality to their voice you have to go with it. You can find it with some singers, where one might be a lot better technically- might hit the notes better- but when it comes down to the final recording, if someone sounds more interesting on it then we’ll always go for that one over the technically better one. You can always just find the right takes, you know?
AP: If you could score a feature from anyone, who would you like to work with?
AK: I mean, we always say D’Angelo but I’m not gonna say that this time because I’ve said it so many times! I personally (and I know George loves him as well) would want Kevin Parker from Tame Impala. He’s got a really interesting voice and i think he’d add a lot more than just his vocals, because he can do anything!
AP: I’m sure you’ve gotten this comparison in the past, but Disclosure really blew up as you guys were starting to come up. Did seeing that kind of similarly garagey music make such an impact worldwide have an impact of how you foresaw your own growth or planned out releases?
AK: It was very strange when they got so big. We always expected them to get big, since they made really interesting and accessible music, but it was weird for us. We were friends with them from the start and when we were first mates they were supporting SBTRKT and played in Lancaster, the tiny town where we’re from. They were traveling around on trains, carrying their keyboards and stuff around with them. That was when we first properly hung out, at KFC in their travel lodge. It’s changed a lot since then! You see everyone about at festivals and stuff, but when you see those guys it’s amazing – they have so much crazy production! It’s mad to see the change.
How that relates to us? I think it gave us hope that our music could travel further than we’d ever thought. It was also good for us because it made us think “that’s their thing, we need to do our own thing.” It shaped how we made music and how we tried to strive for our own sound; sticking to different BPMs and using different synths. All that jazz. It was good for making us individual.
AP: Moving onto this US tour, I couldn’t find anything in the press release about this: are these going to be Bondax live sets or DJ sets?
AK: It’s DJ sets. We need to tell people that, because I’ve had a few people think it’s live. It’s a DJ tour but it’s different this time because we’ve got Karma Kid, loads of friends we’re bringing to different cities, and there’s gonna be a lot more production with us. We’re bringing a lighting guy and some visuals. On the past US tours we’ve been bound by whatever the venue had. Now we’re bringing all our own stuff to make it more visually interesting as well.
AP: What was your most standout experience playing live over the past year?
AK: One of the most surprising was when we went to Indonesia- we’re going there again on this tour actually! This was the first time we’d been and we just had no real expectations of what the shows would be like. We headlined this jazz festival way out in the mountains in this town called Bandung. There were thousands and thousands of people there just going crazy and who knew all the words. That was a big moment for us because we were pretty much as far away as you can get from home and yet there are all these people who know our music!
AP: Do you have a favorite tour snack?
AK: Depends on the country! In America, you guys have got some good snacks. I’m a big fan of Bugles personally. We both love Sour Skittles. I do like a Butterfinger and also I’d be silly for not mentioning Reese’s.
Also you’ve got great cereal out there, man! Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, Reese’s Puffs. The list goes on! You guys know your snacks. You have my snack respect.
AP: So far the only full length release we’ve gotten from you guys is the Bondax and Friends compilation. Are you looking into a full Bondax LP or more interested in continuing with the singles format that’s worked so far?
AK: No, we’re really up for doing an album! We’ve almost finished; been putting it together for a long, long time. It’s been a lengthy experience with a few hiccups along the way. We started when we were 15 and I think a lot of growing up had to be done to make this record good. We’ve changed, delved a lot deeper into the history of music, and adapted how we make music; tried to incorporate new instruments and new sounds. Through the development it still sounds like us, though.
We’ve also got a few tracks that we’ve finished recently, two that we actually sent out to get mixed this week to play out on the tour. The album will be out towards the end of the year but we’ll have a few singles out before then.
AP: I read in an old Guardian piece that LCD Soundsystem was an influence of yours. Any thoughts on the reunion?
AK: They’re my favorite band! They’re definitely a big influence of ours and we’ve always tried to look to how they make music; how they compose and work with their synths. It’s been a huge inspiration to us making this record.
I’m really happy about the reunion. I know some fans were upset about it, since they spent a lot of money going to the final show at Madison Square Garden. But any new music by LCD is a blessing for me. It’s James Murphy making more music. Can’t be sad by that.
Plus the chance to see them live again! I only saw them play once and they only really played This Is Happening stuff. I love that record, but I would also love to hear a lot of the older stuff live. Hopefully I’ll get to see some new things on the upcoming tour.
AP: A few years now into working with George, what would you say makes the duo work?
AK: I think it’s the fact that we’re very different people. George is a very clinically minded guy; a technically-able person who thinks about things in a logical way. I’m the opposite. I don’t really know what I’m doing when I get in the studio, it just kind of comes out of me. I’m good at just getting on the guitar or some keys and just noodling around until I find the right thing, whereas George will be, like, “we need to this, and we need to do that.” He’s good at directing what we’re doing.
But yeah, very different people so we don’t cross over that much. He does what he does and I do what I do and we put it together instead of arguing about who does what since we already know what’s going to happen.
Bondax will be playing the Sinclair tonight, 2/25, with labelmate Karma Kid opening up. With a showtime of 10:45, this is going to be a late one, but if you’re looking to groove grab a ticket here.
Part psych-rock, part punk-rock, and partially a totally unhinged garage band from New York, Super FM released their first proper LP today, and they’re calling it Fuckbird Barnacle, out of King Pizza Records. This is the trio’s first release since May 2015’s single “Hunger Strike,” (which is featured on the new record). But with this 11-song album, Super FM has proven they’re worth the wait.
The music itself is generally on the fuzzier, beachier side of the punk rock spectrum, but with practiced guitar licks and peculiar, catchy riffs, their sound somehow remains sharp. The lyrics are as apathetic as they are aggressive. Their vocals are two-fisted but dynamic. And, overall, Super FM is a band that’s hard to contain. Songs like “Dad Clone” and “Black Cigarette Haze” dip in and out of psychedelic, garage rock, but, with extra loud, thudding bass and a few noisy minor chords on “Bad Day” and “Worms,” Super FM also realizes their tru punk potential on Fuckbird Barnacle, which you can stream for free below. If ya like, order their cassette here.
Tour Schedule:
3/1 brooklyn @ palisades 3/4 new brunswick @ tromaville 3/5 philadelphia @ el bar 3/6 pittsburgh @ tba 3/7 grand rapids @ the firehouse 3/8 chicago @ bric a brac records 3/9 indianapolis @ the melody inn 3/10 st louis @ FOAM 3/11 kansas city mo @ blind tiger 3/12 fayatteville @ tba 3/13 memphis @ murphy’s 3/14-3/20 austin @ sxsw
It’s a few minutes before eight on a Tuesday night, but Midriffs are just coming alive.
Felix is in a corner of their practice space at Theives Grotto, groggily tuning his bass in the midst of waking up from a nap. Nick, the band’s drummer, is the only member that isn’t half asleep after getting back from a Tall Juan show in Providence in the early hours of the morning. Felix and Nick join the rest of band upstairs and immediately begin fishing through “the Graveyard”, a cardboard box of loose tobacco and fuzz where, as Felix states, “cigarettes go to die.”
Considering the fact that the surf punk four piece solidified their lineup as recently as this winter, Midriffs are the kind of band that exude a welcoming kind of camaraderie, even when woken up from a collective nap.
Erica, the band’s guitarist, credits herself as the “comic relief.” TJ, the singer, guitarist, and sole original member, also mentions the fact that he is a Virgo with “good eyes.” Felix claims his primary roles as “senpai, fiscal advisor, and driver,” additionally boasting that he is a five-star-rated driver according to Lyft. Nick, meanwhile, simply insists on being referred to as “Aruba Grandpa” for the remainder of our conversation.
The original iteration of Midriffs came about in 2014 after TJ and friends from home recorded Subtle Luxuries, an incredibly promising LP that makes conscious meeting points between psych rock, lo-fi, and surf punk tendencies. To potentially add some credibility, the band included a screenshot in the album’s digital release of a disgruntled landlord’s email, banning the band from recording in the apartment’s attic.
The band spent the next year building on that promising-yet-smirking talent, becoming integral members of Boston’s fuzz scene and eventually getting a feature on last year’s House of the Rising Fuzz compilation. Amidst this, the Subtle Luxuries-era Midriffs largely went back to college, leaving TJ to assemble Midriffs 2.0 with members of local bands Littlefoot and Puzzle Mansion.
“We just weren’t spending enough time playing together in my band, [Littlefoot],” Erica adds, “so I just joined Midriffs. We’re slowly merging into one person at this point.”
After picking up Aruba Grandpa on a tour stop in Philadelphia and adding him as their drummer, Midriffs’s shows have continued growing in crowd-surfing fervor, but will be tested on Monday when the band opens for psych rock demigod Ty Segall at the Royale. The band will be joined by CFM, the new band of Bay Area psych rock stalwart and Segall band member Charles Mootheart.
“I can’t think of anything as big that we’ve played [as this show],” TJ states.
“Actually,” Felix recalls, “TJ, [our friend] Sam, and I played this big school show at my school, MassArt. It was one of those shows where everyone’s parents and sister basically had to come and watch each other’s kid be ridiculous. We were called The Lunchbox, we did two Pink Floyd covers and I rapped. We peaked before we were even Midriffs.”
As each member discusses expectations for their first rider (TJ is simply requesting “snacks”, Erica wants Darude’s “Sandstorm” playing in the green room, Felix wants everyone attending to bring a bottle of ginger ale, and Aruba Grandpa wants to be carried to and from the show like a baby), it becomes clear that if any band should represent the reckless talent of the psych rock scene bubbling up from Boston’s basements, Midriffs are undeniably solid candidates.
“We’re gonna rock,” TJ concludes about the show.
“We’re probably gonna nerd out so much,” Erica adds as the band devolves into planning how to get a thousand cap room to throw ginger ales on stage.
Midriffs will be playing alongside CFM, and, of course, the great Ty Segall & The Muggers at the Royale on 3/1. Tickets are nearly sold out, but are still available here. Or, if you like your chances, enter our contest before 2/29 to win comps!
Quilt is amorphous. When you think it impossible for their music to be any more like the slow-drip honey of a lava lamp, they somehow manage to do just that. Their warm, reverb-laden flavor of neo-psychedelia is irresistible and just aloof enough to make you hunt each second for the secret to its charm.
This week, the band is releasing their third album, Plaza, and are celebrating its release with a show at The Museum of Fine Arts. With the similarly nostalgia-minded (but orchestrated Italian pop) stylings of Tredici Bacci opening, you have to wonder if the museum will be installing shag carpeting wall to wall and taking tours on VW Microbusses.
Friday’s performance is looking to be a very special performance for the band. They’ll be augmented by a string quartet conducted by Simon ‘Luxardo’ Hanes, the mad but ever-suave frontman for Tredici Bacci.
Allston Pudding caught up with Quilt’s singer/songwriter/guitarist Shane Butler over the phone for a few questions before the album’s release.
Allston Pudding: First of all, congrats on the third album! A lot of bands don’t even make it that far.
Shane Butler: Yeah it’s crazy. It’s something that’s a bit of a surprise, but it’s also a blessing, you know?
AP: How are you feeling with Plaza so close to release?
SB: Well, I’m really ready to make another record already. We finished this one about a year ago, so all that I can think about right now is how I want to write new music. And that’s kind of the main thing. I love the record. I love Plaza. I feel like we got a lot of things done on it that we needed to get done, and I just want to make another record.
I’m feeling very psyched right now. I want to go explore the studio a bit, which is funny because we’re about to leave on tour and go play these songs forever. Yeah, right now I’m having the ache to make some new music.
AP: That’s interesting. A lot of the ideas for Plaza were demoed or recorded on the last tour, right?
SB: Kind of on tours, kind of in between tours. A couple of songs were actually written even before the last record was released. So things come and go. There are two songs that specifically came to me while I was on the road, on tour [with] whatever tools around I could use to plan. So that’s something I’m excited about for this upcoming tour—to bring a few little things with me, because when you’re on tour you have so many limitations, but I think limitations make really great art. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens with the turnaround.
AP: The new album’s title, Plaza, represents a coming together. Can you speak about that concept?
SB: Don’t ever trust press releases, because somebody words them in strange ways [laughs]. But I will say it’s a coming together in terms of a bunch of different types of songwriting approaches. Because we have multiple songwriters in our band, and then we also write all together… We started to do it a little on Held in Splendor, but this one is more like me and John [Andrews] and Anna [Fox Rochinski] all wrote at home, and then we also all wrote together in the studio. The final product is kind of like a mix match of all of those things.
AP: You mentioned you’re blending the writing styles of separation and being together. This is the first Quilt album to feature four members, correct?
SB: Yeah, it is.
AP: Is the songwriting different now that that’s a factor?
SB: I think the difference is that the rhythm section is really, really solid. You know, we record, but we track live so that’s the whole band that you hear. The bass of the recording is all live and then we layer on top of that usually when we’re in the studio. So this time around just in the songwriting and then in the actual recording it’s just a lot bouncier.
Which is great, because beforehand, I would have to hold down a lot of the bass and play rhythm/lead guitar. We have a lot more freedom now, which is great. Keven [Lareau] is such a great bass player. It’s put a whole fresh spin on things.
AP: You chose Simon Hanes [once of former Boston band Guerilla Toss and currently of also former Boston band Tredici Bacci] to arrange strings for the album. How did that collaboration come about?
SB: I think Anna and him were just talking for awhile. We go back with Simon for a while, when he was in Guerilla Toss, and being Boston, well, homies.
And so Anna and him were talking and then the idea of him arranging strings came up and we were all really excited about it. So he came into the studio and we sang him some ideas, told him some ideas we had in mind, and he went and wrote out some amazing arrangements for the strings on the album.
AP: Is that how Tredici Bacci got booked for the MFA show?
SB: Well, Tredici Bacci is a pretty awesome band. I think if we were playing the MFA and Simon wouldn’t have arranged strings, we may still have had them.
AP: What made you choose the MFA as the location for your album release show?
SB: It’s something that we’ve been talking about for awhile, wanting to do a show there. Some of my favorite concerts I ever saw in Boston were at the MFA when I was younger, a long time ago. When I first moved to Boston I remember there was a guy who would curate the music there named Dan Hirsch, and he put on a lot of great shows at the MFA.
It’s a really special place. I like it a lot. Too bad we can’t do it in the courtyard, because that’s where they used to do shows. It’s just incredible because you have this big swinging tree, and the architecture is incredible. But, we’ll be doing it in the auditorium.
How did it come about? Anna talking and figuring it out. It’s funny because me and Anna both started the band when we were both at the Museum of Fine Arts School. I always had this feeling like ‘oh, this band was like a thing I did on the side while I was in school,’ because I’m pretty serious about my fine arts practice too, and it’s funny that now we’re performing at the MFA but it’s for the thing we did on the side while we were in school [laughs]. I kind of like that idea.
AP: You talk about that history you’ve had in Boston, whether in school or just being out around town. Do you feel like Quilt’s dynamic has changed now that the band isn’t based directly out of the city?
SB: Well I mean, I’m sure you know if you live in Boston now that the scene is always changing. It’s never really one thing. I lived in Boston for seven years, and the scene switched over so many times when I was there that a lot of people who were my closest friends just didn’t even really live in the city anymore by the time that I took off.
I really love Boston, it’s one of my favorite cities. But I did reach a point with the city where I felt like I needed to go and I think that the rest of the band did as well. I’m not originally from Boston… I’m from New York. And I moved back to New York, which feels really good to me for a lot of reasons.
And for our music it’s a good place to be around right now just because our record label is there and a lot of our close friends’ bands are there. But we still have a lot of close friends in Boston. In terms of dynamics of the band, we’ve always kind of done our own thing… I think we have a great dynamic in that way [laughs]. We all live in different places, and we spend a lot of time communicating, we spend a lot of time with each other, we play together a lot. But at the same time, we have the freedom to kind of explore our own thing.
The fact that we all live in different places, it’s really great because we’re really dedicated to the band and we tour a ton, we write a ton, we go into the studio a lot. But then also, by living a little bit removed from each other, we can have our own lives and be our own people away from the band as well. It’s a really healthy balance, I think.
AP: Well, I’m glad you chose such a great spot to open the tour.
SB: Boston definitely feels like our home city in terms of our band. I don’t think that’ll ever change. You know, we really came up in Boston. We still have a lot of heart for Boston. Always.
Quilt will be performing at the Museum of Fine Arts on Friday, February 26. Tickets can be found on the museum’s website ($16 for museum members, $20 for nonmembers). Plaza will be released on the February 26 via Mexican Summer.
We’ve braved through the below zero weather–the only touch of it this winter–and emerged on the other side, though not exactly victorious. Winds still bluster through Boston, so the sunny grace of a harem of born and bred Californian bands made for quite the treat at the Royale on the 19th.
Photo by Nick Raygun
Burger Records homies Cherry Glazerr kicked off the night with their subdued brand of punk. Frontwoman Clementine Creevy teetered in and out of clarity throughout the set, her voice at times sweet and clear, and at others, gristly and throaty, doused in fury. Powering through some fan favorites like “Had Ten Dollaz” and “Trick Or Treat Dancefloor,” the group truly shined on their newer tracks. Pulling out a handful of never-before-heard songs, their set reached a crescendo with their grittiest sound yet, Creevy and the band bursting at the seams with energy. The track, “Sip ‘O Poison,” embodied the girlish character Creevy has cultivated for herself in Cherry Glazerr, and added a dose of poison to her saccharine voice. There were moments the music was so fuzzy the guitar blended indistinguishably with the vocals. Thrashing about the stage, her hair flying back and forth on her head, it stood as the highlight of their set. They closed out with “a song about a sandwich,” as Creevy called it: “Grilled Cheese.”
Photo by Nick Raygun
Nodding towards professional wrestling, the tour–dubbed “Summer Is Forever II”–modeled itself, at least aesthetically, after the sport. (Er…”sport?”) Featuring Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast as The Undertaker and Nathan Williams of Wavves as the Ultimate Warrior (and Cosentino’s cat, Snacks, as Paul Bearer) on the poster, Best Coast were the ones to take the gesture in full stride, entering the stage to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s theme song.
But Cosentino wore a simple white dress, and dove face first into “When I’m With You,” a lamentation of a lover lost, and perhaps summer itself. Theatrical vocals buoyed off of vibrant, fast-strummed guitar riffs make up the typical sound for Best Coast, and a live show is no exception. Cosentino’s voice filled the Royale, while the band struggled to keep pace with the accelerating rhythm of the songs.
Their set was blurred at the edges, each song smoothly transitioning into the next. When most of your songs are about California, the summer, or love, how could it not? But Best Coast works to accentuate the however subtle differences in their tracks, and they do this well. While the opening guitar in “Do You Love Me Like You Used To” easily blend with those in “The Only Place,” the restrained rhythm in the former places it at a greater emotional resonance than the latter. “The Only Place” inspired the first noticeable bouts of crowd surfing and moshing, to the approval of the band. Some new tracks were peppered in their set, but the familiar ones were where Best Coast seemed most at ease, comfortable in their own sound.
Photo by Nick Raygun
If all hell hadn’t broken loose before, it sure did as soon as Wavves took the stage. The surf punk band of misfits emerged with floppy hair and goofy, dopey smiles, as relaxed and at home as they might be high on the beach. Plowing through their fast-paced songs at a level outmatched by the audience, Wavves took it upon themselves to kick things up a notch. “Let’s see how many of you can crowd surf!” Williams yelled, releasing a bundle of silver balloons and inflatable aliens. They launched into “Post Acid,” and through the panicked scrambling of security guards, dozens of tie-dyed dudes and dudettes appeared floating on top of the sold out crowd, waving their bracelet clad arms in the air.
Unrelenting, hardly even stopping to catch their breath, Wavves’s set harnessed the energy that had emerged behind it, and destroyed it in its wake. Their set was powerful and persistent, though hit a flatline pretty early on. When your music peaks within the first couple of songs, it’s no wonder you feel the need to barrel through it. So when they made the decision not exactly to forgo an encore, but to simply include it as part of–and to bookend–their set, it was a little in poor taste. Wavves was capitalizing on the energy that had accumulated throughout the concert. This I do not shame them for. But the purpose of an encore is to put a pause on that energy, let it sink in, then come back twice as hard. And so, “Green Eyes” didn’t have the same satisfying effect it might have as a proper encore and endcap.
Here’s a Great Scott lineup that, somehow, makes so much sense: First, the soft and strong (and especially lyrically poignant) stylings of our city’s own Brittle Brian, followed by Brooklyn band Florist. Later, loud, pulpy locals Kal Marks will open for the ~NYC~ based LVL UP.
With soft vocals, and sometimes really soft guitar-work, a live performance from Brittle Brian could easily cross the line from delicate to stagnant. But it never does. Lyrically, this artist always packs a punch, speaks her mind, and experiments—sometimes on stage, if you’re lucky.
Florist is sure to be the most fitting act to follow Brittle Brian. Touring for their Jan. 2016 release, The Birds Outside Sang, the vocals of Emily Sprague tell stories surrounding gender, nature, pain, and healing in a poetic language all their own. With obvious influences from other Epoch bands (i.e. Told Slant, and eskimeaux— both of which share Florist’s fucking incredible drummer Felix Walworth), Florist delves into the sad, poetic bedroom pop genre like no other. Arrive on time for this set.
Kal Marks, whose track “Coffee” was featured on our latest mixtape, is sure to shake up this show. While Brittle Brian and Florist may ease us into the night with their curious lyrics and sweeping indie pop, I have no doubt Kal Marks will just delve right into their heavy, pounding guitar riffs, offset by crooning vocals. Bring your earplugs.
Once from Philly, but now from New York, LVL UP is going to finish off with a seriously surf-pop, lo-fi, and maybe a little punk Wednesday night set. In any case, their music is gonna make you move. Wait for their fuzzy but tough guitar-work to erupt, and don’t skip over Dave Benton’s unconventional but catchy vocal work.
Erica, the band’s guitarist, credits herself as the 
