Perennial Detail New Album Ahead of Gig at Democracy Center

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Perennial by M.D. Rogers 

by Ben Bonadies

Perennial have made a name for themselves as one of the most electrifying bands out of New England. Their last album In The Midnight Hour won them fans and acclaim, including a spot on Allston Pudding’s Best of 2022 list, and their raucous stage presence cemented them as a group that needed to be seen, not just heard. As the band gears up for their show at Cambridge venue The Democracy Center, singer and guitarist Chad Jewett dishes on the band’s new album and the trio’s plans for performing in 2023. 

Are you futurists or revisionists?  

This is a great question. I would say that our goal, both on record and in the live setting, is to make something engaging and new. Live we want to be the band that’s a 20 minute burst of energy that no one saw coming. On record we’re always trying to play with what a “punk” song is, or what a “post-hardcore” song is. Sometimes that means drawing on stuff from the past that we love, but with the goal of making something exciting and unexpected. That was a lot of the focus of In The Midnight Hour: making a punk album that also brings in ambient music and post-bop jazz and electronic music and 60s soul. A loud distorted guitar is a lot more interesting when it’s followed up with vibraphone or drum machine or Hammond organ. The focus is on energy: what can make those 20 minutes next to your stereo as exciting as possible. 

What did you learn from making your first album that you brought into making your second, and what did you learn from your second that you’re bringing into your third?  

On our first record we were still figuring out the shape of what Perennial is, the way we’d approach the blank canvas of a song. With our second LP, In The Midnight Hour, we wanted all the sounds we love to work together within songs, so that a track might start off sounding like Fugazi, but by the time you get to the bridge there’s been a verse with programmed drums and cowbell and synth and a free jazz instrumental break, while also making sure that all those pieces would work together and make sense. We wanted each new move to be exciting, but also to work well as pop songs.  

For the record we’re working on now, it’s really just sharpening that same approach, while playing with the studio as its own instrument even more. We’re making sure we’re never satisfied to just lean on guitars and drums; we’re spending lots of time looking for what might be a more interesting sonic experience for the listener. So for instance, we have moments on the new album that musically are more based on how say the organ and drums work together, a sort of Stax thing, but the vocals over that might be something we’d normally sing over a much louder, more distorted section. We’re bringing in electric piano and fuzz bass and wah wah pedals and more tambourines and drum machine. This new record is a headphone album you can dance to. 

Perennial in the studio. Photos courtesy of Perennial

Any surprises on the new record? 

The nice thing about playing as much live as we did this year (around 60 shows since the release of In The Midnight Hour) is you quickly figure out what you love most about the album you’re performing every week. So we found that the songs we gravitated towards were the ones with big dynamic moves, with lots of hooks, with stuff that we can move to live. So LP3 so far really feels like its centered on those ideas. Sonically, we were listening to a ton of early garage rock, Motown, mod bands like The Jam and Small Faces. All of these sounds were already central to Perennial, but I think that punchy, energetic thing that all those aesthetics have in common are very present for LP3. We’re also taking even more time with what the studio makes possible in terms of a sort of Technicolor listening experience. We get bored very easily with a two-minute punk song that’s all guitars and drums. So we rather quickly got the skeleton of each song recorded and then got down to the fun of figuring out how to make each of those 10 or 12 songs really interesting and surprising, and worth listening to again and again as active headphone experiences; that’s a huge part of LP3. 

What role does volume play in your sound? 

I think in a lot of ways it defines our sound: we’ve always been absolutely enamored with the effect of quiet/loud dynamics: making a moment as quiet as it can be, then following it up immediately with something as loud as we can make it. Both on record and in our live sets. There’s a very real sonic affect to that dynamic flexibility that is so thrilling to us. Again, it’s all about finding energy, making something kinetic and memorable. That feeling when you see a band live, and they’re loud enough that you can feel the air moving? That’s really important to us. That said, please wear earplugs.  

Perennial by M.D. Rogers 

What’s most exciting to you about playing live? 

Perennial exists to play live. We absolutely love making records, and we do so with painstaking care, but honestly what makes us special is what we do on stage for 20 minutes. Chelsey and I have this ethos that the goal is to never ever stop moving. Any given second of our show should be exciting to watch. If we catch ourselves standing still it means we need to be even more in motion and even more dramatic to make up for it. We want to reward people for watching us play: the records are a wonderful way to hear the work we do sonically. The live show is where you’ll see why we’re so devoted to Perennial as a concept. 

Perennial by M.D. Rogers 

Plans for a tour?  

We have a quick East Coast mini-tour coming up in late February, and hopefully some longer trips in the summer and autumn! We’re pretty much always within a couple weeks of a show in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, or New Jersey. 

How did you decide to wear a uniform when you perform and how did you land on the striped shirt? 

That goes back to the live show as the raison dêtre for Perennial. We love the idea of someone having never heard of us seeing the band set up and there’s this wall of guitar amps and an electric organ instead of a bass and all three members are matching: “What is this going to be?”. It’s also exciting for us: you look around and your whole band is matching and about to be so unbelievably loud. It puts a smile on my face very time. Plus so many of the bands we love matched: The Beatles matched, The Temptations matched, The Supremes matched, The Creation matched.  

As for the striped shirts, it’s immediately recognizable. You can be at the very end of a big long room and see that we’re matching. Plus it makes shopping easy. Every year companies put out their summer lines and there’s inevitably a new batch of striped t-shirts for Perennial.

Catch Perennial with Gollylagging, Wally, and Tuxis Giant at Democracy Center January 21. A portion of proceeds benefit Broken Tail Rescue.

Keep up with Perennial on Twitter and Instagram.

Golden Rules the Thumb’s Early Song of the Year Submissions

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By Harry Gustafson

golden rules the thumb

We’ve been wondering what’s next for Portland, ME’s Golden Rules the Thumb since we last touched based with them in the wake of releasing their sophomore album After the Brass in 2020. The following year saw them drop their third full-length, Licorice, which continued to showcase the fruitful indie rock collaborations of members Tyler Jackson and Jonas Eule. 

This week, we’re thrilled to help Golden Rules the Thumb with the release of their latest single, the a/b one-two-punch of “Fisherman’s Ego” and “Oke of an Excellent Graine.” These standalones are a strong start to 2023 for Jackson and Eule. 

golden rules the thumb

“Fisherman’s Ego” begins with a sprawling, atmospheric opening before the beat comes in to give direction and a laid-back groove to a track that evokes feelings of curiosity, discovery, and wonder. It’s the kind of track that you’d throw on to get into your “main character” energy. 

Following that comes “Oke of an Excellent Graine.” A little faster than its predecessor, this one is driven by an airy saxophone riff that soars above the wide landscape of the remaining ensemble. While the year is still quite young, these two tracks are early contenders for having some of the best production of the year. There’s quite a lot going on musically in each – many layers of instrumentation layered on top of each other to create a complex, unified sound – yet nothing feels overwrought and no sounds get lost in the fray. Each instrument, though working as part of a whole, comes through in its own distinct sonic space. They give off a vibe that they would be best heard outside, perhaps lying in a field staring at the sky. Given the current season in New England, that may have to be tabled for a bit, but staring out your window with a cup of tea should be a suitable stand-in for now.

The singles come out on Friday 1/20, but you can stream them on the Allston Pudding Soundcloud early. 

 

‘Wanted Man’ George Woods Returns with New Single

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by Dan Moffat

There are myriad reasons why each one of us picks up an instrument and begins writing a tune. For Boston singer-songwriter George Woods, his journey began with encouragement from his father David, who was a professional musician. When David Woods passed away in 2016, George took a hiatus from releasing music and instead channeled his creative powers into other realms, including hosting the now defunct Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge. I frequented the Lounge o-mic back before it closed in 2020 and saw Woods comedically host with a zany and oversharing energy between performances. Also in between sets, if you were lucky, Woods would share an acoustic-pop tune of his own. 

This month George Woods is returning to deliver his latest single, “Wanted Man” – his first new material in several years. This time around, Woods takes inspiration from a different family member. “I did take after take, and I just wasn’t getting the vibe I wanted, but right before that MONEY take I noticed a little hand print from my daughter in the felt of my guitar case. Made me laugh my ass off right before I sang. That’s the take that built the entire track.”

The lyrics hold personal meaning to Woods. He says, “the ‘Wanted Man’ aspect of it is based in me never quite feeling ‘popular’ or ‘desirable’ when I was young and growing up. Now that I’m an all grown up big sexy bear/lumberjack and I have a wonderful relationship and family, the song is a homage to the times when I never thought that would be my life.”

“Wanted Man” is centered around an acoustic guitar, which fans are used to from Woods’ solo shows. He then mixes the guitar with big-swinging electronic production – I mean hard hitting dynamic changes. What sells the song though is the cunning vocal hooks that are memorable even after the first listen. “Wanted Man” is high-octane pop songcraft that takes off like a gilded jet engine. 

Check out a sneak preview clip below and pre-save “Wanted Man,” out January 27th, right here.

@georgewoodsmusic 6 Years Down 30 days to go. PRESAVE THAT SHIT and help me please our robot over lords #videoleap #anxietyawareness #newsinglecoming #newsingle #presave #wantedman #trackdrop #skit ♬ original sound – George Woods

Ticket Giveaway: MorMor at the Sinclair

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By Harry Gustafson

mormor

Canada’s Seth Nyquist – aka MorMor – has been releasing music since 2015, but it was only in 2022 that he finally was able to put out a full-length album. The result – Semblance – is a beautiful collection of indie pop tracks, guided by Nyquist’s heart-tickling falsetto. The tracks grapple with the struggle to forge connection with another while also maintaining a semblance of independence. “The less I need someone,/ the less I hurt somehow/ what truth has kept me from/ still, I wander,” he sings on “Dawn,” the album’s opener. Oof. That one… that one’s kinda a punch in the face. 

But hey, maybe you’re a fan of being dragged like that! If so, you’re in luck: we’re giving away two tickets to see MorMor at the Sinclair on 1/22 with support from Arima Ederra. You can bring a date to try to lock it down before V-day next month, or you can bring another single friend and pretend that a strict adherence to hyper-independence is anything more than a trauma response. But *sips tea* that’s none of my business. 

Fill out the Google form below (or click this link) to enter for your chance to win. Even if you don’t win, this is still going to be a good show. Don’t miss it!

 

 

 

 

What Went Down with Foals at Roadrunner

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Photos and Words by Emily Gardner

foals emily gardner

It was time to dance at Roadrunner on Sunday as Foals rolled through town on their second to last date of their tour, promoting their newest album Life is Yours. The band brought along bands Glove and Inner Wave for support. Glove started off the show, sporting a post-punk, new wave sound. Following up was Inner Wave, the indie-rock LA natives, and their performance was full of psychedelic vibes. 

What’s great about seeing a Foals show is that the band’s setlist is full of songs old and new. Foals started off with an energetic banger off of Life is Yours, “Wake Me Up”. A majority of the setlist belonged to the newest album but also multiple from their debut album, Antidotes. As the night got further along, lead singer Yannis started to travel off of the stage and into the crowd while never missing a note on his guitar. There was even a small mosh pit at multiple points during the show, which was an unusual sight for an indie rock set. The crowd was amped up even more when the band came out for an encore performance of two songs, “Inhaler” and “Two Steps, Twice”. As always, Foals put on an incredible show that had everyone grooving and jumping. 

Check out our photos from the show below. 

Foals, Glove and Inner Wave at Roadrunner 12/17 

AP Staff Picks 2022

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By Allston Pudding Staff
 

Favorite Non-Local Albums of the Year

Ethel Cain, Preacher’s Daughter

My first introduction to Mother Cain’s masterful second album was via Tik Tok. When a user described their deep connection to a story of a young girl escaping her religious upbringing, only to be cannibalized by her lover. At face value, seems shocking and brutal. Which, at times, this album is both of those things. However, it’s also lush, beautiful and even funny. From singing about NASCAR in your local shopping mall on the instant classic “American Teenager”, musing about setting out for the west on “Thoroughfare” or bracing for a pain-stricken (and iconic) scream on “Ptolemaea”. 2022 became the year for religious inspired brutal Americana, and Cain’s vice grip on the hearts and mind’s of listeners doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.

-Andrew Bourque

PUP, The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND

Each PUP album has been better than the previous one, but to keep the trend going they needed to being something special for their fourth release. Luckily the Canadian punk group landed on a meta concept album, one that sees the band facing an internal strife in regards to the very album you’re listening to. Do they cave to corporate labels and deliver a radio hit, or do they dig into their punk roots more? We listen to the band unravel at this decision with no knowledge if or how autobiographical it is. Add in some lyrics aimed at the industry that are both scathing and satirical and you’ve got one of the most unexpected records of the year.

-Andrew McNally

Destroyer, LABYRINTHITIS

“Fancy language dies and everyone’s happy to see it go.” That’s how Dan Bejar begins his six-minute disco-rock single “June.” If that sounds like a pretentious and impenitrable entry to the thirteenth Destroyer album, you’re half right. LABYRINTHITIS is a heady listen but not a boring one. “June” ends in a flurry of stream-of-consciousness nonsense poetry culminating in hilarious fashion with a deadpan “dump him.” The music is an energetic mix of new wave dance and post-punk starkness which keeps both of Bejar’s feet tapping on the ground, leaving his rangey lyricism space to work its magic.

-Ben Bonadies

Momma, Household Name

Momma combines everything I love about ’90s/early ’00s indie rock into one perfect album about being in a band. It references Pavement’s “Gold Soundz” which serves as an inspiration for the guiding sound of Household Name even if the lyrical content is a bit more ‘Cut Your Hair.” Standout tracks include “Lucky,” “Medicine,” “Tall Home,” and “Speeding 72.”

-Christine Varriale

Aldous Harding, Warm Chris

Harding delivers each song on Warm Chris with a different vocal style. She has said she doesn’t know what her singing is supposed to sound like anymore. I think this is why I love Chris in particular. Each song is definitively an Aldous Harding tune but also refreshingly distinct. So, I think this is the best album of the year – it’s a shiny, weird, statement record by a generational talent that is absolutely gleaming the cube.

-Dan Moffat

Rachika Nayar, Heaven Come Crashing

Ambient music is less a rigid genre practice than a guiding light, and this is especially true in the hands of New York producer Rachika Nayar. Inspired as much by the serene calm of drone as she is by the radical hedonism of a warehouse rave, the music on her sophomore LP Heaven Come Crashing stakes a claim somewhere between the two. The end result is something akin to the emotional catch and release of post-rock: big swells of sound collapse on the listener in waves, with a rhythmic churn driven not be drums (although the breaks on the D&B adjacent title track feel like a relief comparatively), but purely by the weight of Nayar’s synths and electronically treated guitars.

-Dillon Riley

Olivia Barton, This is a Good Sign

This Is A Good Sign is an album that creates an entirely familiar and nostalgic world in itself. This world belongs to Olivia Barton, a Nashville artist by way of Orlando, Florida, then Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Her twelve song sophomore LP, via illuminati hotties’ Snack Shack Tracks label, is a feat of incredible songwriting and storytelling that tackles subjects ranging from the enveloping daze of experiencing the death of a friend (“White Knuckling”) and sexual violence on the important, echoing ballad, “Erotic,” to a sweet, Southern love songs that steadies the heavy (“Florida Honey”), and a few ever-relatable tunes that capture exactly how it feels to be idling as a 20-something in the year 2022 (“I Don’t Sing My Songs”, “Good Day,”). Barton’s voice is sweet, lilting, and often layered over itself, but just as often quips with biting, anecdotal lyrics that are almost too relatable for anyone who’s ever fallen apart. But within This Is A Good Sign, just like life, Barton finds a balance, and the album ends with a lyric that everyone should hear as the curtain closes on 2022: “What if all this is a good sign? / When I let go and make space to try.” RIYL: Being nostalgic for Florida even though you’re gay and they hate us there, riding the T all day, Phoebe Bridgers, Madi Diaz, and Margaret Glaspy.

-Jackie Swisshelm

Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti / Little Simz, NO THANK YOU

I picked two. Sue me. Bad Bunny keeps delivering without disappointment. Un Verano Sin Ti feels epic in scope: where 2020’s YHLQMDLG was a tribute to the reggaeton that Benito grew up with, Un Verano is a celebration of the current state of contemporary Latin music. This still includes reggaeton, but also throws dembow, Latin house, Latin trap. Hell, he even flexes a little merengue muscle on “Después de la Playa.” While he’s branching out, he still brings an anthemic quality to his songs. You don’t need to speak or understand Spanish to feel the sublime beauty of Bomba Estéreo’s chorus on “Ojitos Lindos” or feel the raw sexuality of the synth riff on “El Apagón,” which features the undeniably catchy hook of “Me gusta la chocha de Puerto Rico.” If you don’t know what “la chocha” means… Google it when you get home from work. I have only one humble request for the now-global superstar: come on my podcast, please? Please? Pleeeeeaaaaaseeeeee?

Simz probably thought she was being slick by waiting ’til December – after year-end lists had already come out – to drop her latest project NO THANK YOU. Well it seems like she didn’t see us coming! The British rapper keeps putting out work that is consistently high quality (and perennially underrated), proving that the UK rap scene has a bit more to offer than the grime that has become something of a meme recently. Coming off the heels of her last release Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, this time around she’s less inwardly focused, turning the lens outward, opening up. She returns to topics she’s covered before, like the death of one of her best friends on opener “Angel.” She’s able to reveal vulnerabilities without losing any of the bravado that allows her to stand up to any other rapper in the game. How she isn’t getting consistent placement on lists of the best rappers at work these days feels like a solid justification to completely write off any top 10 lists that don’t include her. “Name one time when I didn’t deliver?” she interrogates on “Gorilla.” If I actually could, I’d probably opt to just keep my mouth shut. 

-Harry Gustafson

Favorite Songs of the Year

The 1975, “Happiness”

First time being tipsy at 36k feet, I played The 1975’s latest effort Being Funny In A Foreign Language. Before I knew it I had repeatedly listened to the second track “Happiness” for nearly 90 minutes. I can’t imagine what the passenger next to me was thinking. However, I can’t remember an easier and better way to pass the time. Matty Healy and the boys of The 1975 always manage to deliver on their signature aloof/bright-pop vibe. Infectious bops and heartfelt zingers delivered with tongue-in-cheek sincerity. Never too serious, but always great.

-Andrew Bourque

Orville Peck, “Daytona Sand”

Opening tracks have to make a statement, and they’re often my favorite cuts from albums. Orville Peck’s recent sophomore album was no different, as “Daytona Sand” recaptured the minimalist, mystical glory of Pony. Peck’s bass crooning has rarely sounded better, from the defiant chorus to the whispered outro. Although the song rests on a bold guitar lick, the choruses are propelled by a rolling snare drum. The melodies are simple but tantalizing. Peck’s interalbum offerings were frustratingly bland, but “Daytona Sand” rights the course and acts as a mission statement, that the masked singer would not fall victim to the sophomore curse.

-Andrew McNally

Caroline Polachek, “Billions”

You know what’s criminally underused in pop music? Children’s choirs. I’m always delighted when they show up in live performances or when they sing Björk in an auditorium. Bonus points if they’re British. Caroline Polachek and Danny L. Harle, the architects behind today’s most exciting pop music, know exactly how to deploy one for maximum effect. The angelic, eerie Trinity Choir enter as a human counterpoint to Harle’s sparse techno and Polachek digitally augmented vocalizations. Their entrance in the final 90 seconds of the song was my biggest fist-pump moment of 2022.

-Ben Bonadies

100 gecs, “Doritos & Fritos”

I may be the oldest person to call themselves a 100 gecs superfan at 33 years old, but I am 100% okay with that. 100 gecs didn’t bless us with a new album this year; 10,000 gecs releases next year. What they did bless us with is a morsel of a perfect song, “Doritos & Fritos.” It hits the 100 gecs formula perfectly with absurd lyrics like “eating burritos with Danny DeVito” (a dream to be honest!) and their unique combination of everything I listened to in high school like pop music, screamo, hip hop, and hardcore. 100 gecs could very well write a perfect earworm of a pop song with Dylan Brady and Laura Les’ encyclopedia of musical knowledge, but I love that they choose to explore the boundaries of genre time and time again.

-Christine Varriale

Cola, “At Pace”

Cola was formed as a Canadian indie-supergroup between members of bands Ought (Montreal) and U.S. Girls (Toronto). Somehow, they’re even better than expected. Cola’s standout track from this year’s debut album Deep In View is sleeper hit “At Pace.” Although “At Pace” was not one of the five (!) singles released to promote View, the album track has rightfully outpaced its peers on streaming services. When the guitar breaks down right before the chorus, you’ll get that old familiar elation, that music high that you’ve been hooked on since forever, and you won’t question it.

-Dan Moffat

Jim Legxacy – “dj” / Greg Freeman “Come and Change My Body”

SORRY couldn’t help myself, I had to put two songs.

Jim Legxacy – “dj”

When we talk about the power of the internet to change art in unique and exciting ways the end result should be more like Jim Legxacy’s single “dj.” Perched somewhere between midwest emo, R&B, and UK Garage, this is music that doesn’t transcend genre, but plots a connective thread between several of them in such a natural way it’s a wonder no one else has done it. Over a lone, twiddly guitar riff Jim Legxacy angelically runs through the greatest hits of a relationship on the fritz (the proverbial dj set that never got off the ground), while thunderous drumbreaks crackle all around him. I haven’t heard anything else quite like it. 

Greg Freeman – “Come and Change My Body”

Burlington, Vermont had a hell of a year in indie rock, and Greg Freeman’s debut LP I Looked Out felt a lot like the culmination of something big. I loved the whole damn thing, but early single “Come and Change My Body” is something like a succinct thesis or skeleton key to the record’s ragged charm. Freeman sings with fragile beauty as his band stacks horns, harmonicas, strings, and wonderfully scuzzed up guitars over an alt country shuffle fit for any of those mighty 90’s records we all love. Simply one of the most beautifully fucked up indie rock songs you’ll listen to this year.

-Dillon Riley

Ethel Cain, “American Teenager”

As a queer bitch who hails from the Redneck Riviera and grew up under a religious/military community, pacing through strip malls and watching Nascar, this song just does it for me. That, and I will never get over the line “I do it for my daddy and I do it for Dale.”

-Jackie Swisshelm

Steve Lacy, “Helmet”

An anthem for people with attachment issues. “You were so automatic, so you know I had to have it, but loving you was a hazard, so I got my heart a helmet” is probably my lyric of the year, too. You see that, Steve? Someone does actually know the words to your songs. 

-Harry Gustafson

Favorite Gigs of the Year

Andrew McNally: LCD Soundsystem @ Roadrunner (night….4?)

Andrew Bourque: The 1975 At Their Very Best @ MGM Music Hall (Night 1)

Ben Bonadies: Phoenix @ Roadrunner

Christine Varriale: Here & There Festival @ MoMa

Dan Moffat: Molchat Doma @ Royale

Dillon Riley: Dazey and the Scouts Reunion w/ Model/Actriz @ Elsewhere

Harry Gustafson: Tyler the Creator, Kali Uchis, and Vince Staples @ DCU Center

Jackie Swisshelm: Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams @ Leader Bank Pavillion

Additional Jawn

Most Pleasantly Surprised By: CHARLIE – Charlie Puth

He’s the internet’s boyfriend. The sweaty, usually half-naked boy next door who often engages with his feral fan base with the same energy, if not slightly more unhinged. Also a prolific Tik Tok user, the pop star began posting clips displaying his writing process in real time, crafting singles on the fly by twisting unconventional sounds and layering on beats and vocals. The product of all this noise, was Puth’s third studio album simply titled CHARLIE. A collection of 12 seductively sweet pop songs perfectly fitting of someone with Puth’s interminable charm. Previous releases just didn’t work the way this album does. Is he kind of annoying? Absolutely. Am I slightly obsessed? Absolutely.

-Andrew Bourque

Best Use of a Supertramp sample in a hip-hop song: Ghais Guevara – This Ski Mask Ain’t For COVID

Samples are an art form on their own – between the licensing and the ways they can be used and manipulated, there’s a lot of fun to be had. With each passing year, the coveted “Best Use Of A Supertramp Sample” award gets tougher and tougher, but Ghais Guevara earns it by brilliantly reworking and speeding up the rhythm to “Breakfast in America” in his song “This Ski Mask Ain’t For COVID,” to the point where I had to pause the song and hum it to myself to figure it out. Okay this was really just a way for me to sneak in a plug for Ghais Guevara.

-Andrew McNally

“Free Bird” of the Year: Alex G (Paradise Rock Club, 11/9/22)

In all my years of attending rock shows, I’ve heard the cry of “Free Bird” from the audience’s drunkest dudes no less than one million times. More of a jeer than a setlist suggestion, I have never seen a band actually attempt it. When the call came out at Alex G’s second night at Paradise Rock Club, I was all but positive it would come and go unnoticed. That was until guitarist Sam Acchione busted out the riff on a whim, prompting Giannascoli to pull out his phone, battle the notoriously bad cell reception in the venue, and recite the lyrics direct from Google. It was as hilarious and sloppy as an impromptu “Free Bird” ought to be.

-Ben Bonadies

Best Live Show Banter: going222jail

Just trust me.

-Christine Varriale

Best Band Merch: Hot Sauce Edition

Speedy Ortiz’ “The Death of Speedy Hot Sauce”

-Dan Moffat

Band of Year: They Are Gutting A Body Of Water

Philadelphian combo They Are Gutting A Body Of Water seem to carry the burden of an awfully long band name this year by playing more shows than any normal person could withstand. They also released a lot of music and all of it was insane. Between a split with A Country Western that split the difference between dirtbag shoegaze and whacked out drum and bass, an LP they jokingly misnamed on streaming, a Soundcloud dump page for fronter Doug Dulgarian’s further forays into hardcore rave, and now a rap side project TAGABOW stayed busy in 2022. I for one am very grateful. 

-Dillon Riley

Thank You For Not Releasing an Album, Ariana Grande

It’s not that I dislike her music; in fact she’s got plenty of tracks that I think are fantastic, and she’s an immensely talented vocalist. That’s not my problem with her. But I have somehow been cursed, because the last three times she has released albums, within a week I have had a breakup (I dumped, mutual consent, I was dumped, in that order). It’s uncanny. And honestly, I’m not even really mad at her (all things come to an end eventually, and sometimes we should be extremely grateful for that). But every time I manage to get even somewhat settled in a situation, the constant dread that she might drop some surprise album just as I’ve settled into happiness. If I ever get married, I pray to God this woman has decided to retire. Please stop, Ariana. I’m begging you. 

-Harry Gustafson

Best Music Podcast That’s Not The Puddcast: Bandsplain

Yasi Salek has created a podcast that explains cult bands and iconic artists in a way that totally avoids the whole condescending music critic stereotype. That alone is a feat and deserves high praise. At this point, I would never allow anyone other than Salek to explain to me the impact of Billy Corgan’s creative tyranny on the early 90’s, and I only want her to tell me how “Semi-Charmed Life” was actually the product of Stephen Jenkins’ rap duo (pre-Third Eye Blind). Listen to Bandsplain to enjoy Salek’s vocal fry, thoughtful musings, hilarious contextualizing and tangents, guest hosts who are extremely nerdy and open about their musical obsessions, and a theme song by friend of the pod, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino. Plus, big props to fellow twee enthusiast and Rilo Kiley fan “Producer Dylan” (who will sadly be leaving the podcast this year). This goddamn gorgeous podcast deserves a listen if you’re a music fan with about four hours to spare.

-Jackie Swisshelm

AP Local Faves of 2022

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By Allston Pudding Staff

Another year in the books? Say it ain’t sooo-ooh-oh-oh-oh! One year older, one year wiser. Another vague platitude about the incessant passage of time. Yadda yadda yadda. Here’s a bunch of albums (and a few EPs) that we loved this year from New England musicians. In the year that pop artists invented house music (again!), Boston and the surrounding areas seemed to be feeling a bit more aggressive. Big shocker. 

We’ve included some handy bandcamp links where applicable, should you find it in your enormous, generous heart to spread some holiday cheer this season to help out your friendly local musicians. 

Actor|Observer, Songs for the Newly Reclusive

Ferocious and epic, so goes the latest album from Boston hard rock mainstays Actor Observer. Songs For The Newly Reclusive points it’s vicious finger at gentrification, toxic masculinity and more throughout its modest 7-track lineup. Offering up a more vulnerable side than some listeners of hardcore/metal may have come to expect, Actor Observer delivers a refreshing sound while still retaining all the elements that fans of the genre look for. “You communicate through music, but you never really listen. So what’s the difference between another song, and all the words left unsaid?” screams vocalist Greg Marquis on standout track “Wasted Breath”. Fiery aggression with a softness buried within. 

-Andrew Bourque

Anxious, Little Green House

The debut album from Connecticut’s Anxious feels like anything but. The pop-punk outfit sounds like a hardened, veteran group with their unique blend of hardcore and tender emo. The band makes an effort to diversify each song – check the sweet, acoustic “Wayne” followed by the absolute bruiser “Speechless” – so the album eschews any repetitive tropes that may plague a normal young group. And yet, the young group has youthful energy on their side. Although this album is comfortably emo, there is a playful experimentation within the genre’s confines. This is a fun and confident debut, all the more ironic for a group called ANXIOUS.

-Andrew McNally

Cave In, Heavy Pendulum

Unlike many bands on this list, Cave In have nothing to prove. Their seventh album is a genre-crossing testament to the metal group’s longevity, as it touches on all the points made throughout their career (and the parallel career of Converge, which shares members). Longer tracks like “Nightmare Eyes” show off the band’s patient doom-infused side, while the thrashier “New Reality” and “Amaranthine” show a band that has not lost an ounce of energy. Touches of metalcore and acoustic balladry help complement the affair. The album’s runtime feels halved due to the pristine balance of ideas pulled off. Here’s to 25 more years of Cave In!

-Andrew McNally

Christian Pace, Skunk EP

Skunk, the debut EP from Christian Pace, is as gestural as the sketch of the animal that graces the record’s sleeve. The four track offering from the singer-songwriter crosses emo sentimentality with alt-country crunch. The four tracks range from barn-burner “Matador” to the post-emo (what wave are we on again?) of “True Love.” At thirteen minutes, this is a brisk but complete statement from Pace. Skunk is a comparatively symphonic piece than previous DIY efforts and takes Pace’s from four-track confessionals to FM-ready rock.

-Ben Bonadies

Convinced Friend, Convinced Friend

Derived from the Quaker term for conversion, Convinced Friend is the lush self-titled debut from divinity school drop out A.S. Wilson. CF is made up of songs that were fleshed out with Providence producer Bradford Krieger and musician Casey Belisle (Nova One, Burr). Wilson’s songs are often in the second person and consider plumbing the depths of love in relationships, sprinkled with errant christian touchstones grounded in a childhood growing up in a Louisiana oilfield town. The first line of the song “Weekend,” has an easter egg revealing a musical influence from Built to Spill: “Keep it around like a secret/For a long drive or the weekend.” Convinced Friend is a slick and sincere indie/singer-songwriter record that sticks.

-Dan Moffat

Coral Moons, Fieldcrest

In January of 2022, Boston four-piece Coral Moons dropped their debut LP Fieldcrest — a hell of a strong album out of the gate, recorded peak pandemic. The album, to put it plainly, is alt. indie rock at its best, with all the ambient leanings necessary for a 2022 album to pick up steam. With just nine songs, it’s a quick timeless, listen. Horns are especially bold on “Winnebago,” as Carly Kraft’s silky, strong voice creates a feel-good ear-worm of a song. “For You” leans toward an ethereal, underwater Khruangbin-esque sound. And “Tell Me To Run” is more rock n’ roll, with louder, reverbed belting from Kraft and loose, intuitive guitar riffs. But the best part about Fieldcrest was being able to enjoy it all year long.

-Jackie Swisshelm

Crescent Ridge, Garden of Fools

Crescent Ridge of Stoughton, MA, deliver a burly form of slacker rock: yell vocals that are tastefully buried just a bit, chorus-y riffs, and heaving drums. A look at the crib sheet finds mood-matching prose to compliment the fuzzy instrumentals: I can feel my hair blow back from the chunky thwack of “Bleach,” and indeed that may be what the band desires, since the song is about getting the hell away from them. Guitar effects enthusiasts are sure to be on tip-toe at the next gig in order to catch a peek at the pedal board generating such glorious tone. 

-Dan Moffat

Dino Gala, Diagonal EP

Dino Gala ripped into late season contention for AoTY with December 8th’s Diagonal EP, a short-and-sweet record with five urgent emo/pop-punk daggers. This offering was engineered at newly crowned “Recording Studio of the Year” (Boston Music Awards), The Record Co., with TRC staff members Bradley Robertson and assistance from Amani Cavendar on the boards. Gala flicks the stand-by switch on the tube amps while they grab acoustics for the well placed dreadnought-meets-cello track in the middle of the album, “owlz.” It’s the undeniable catchiness though of singer Alex Massey’s melodies, mixed with a sharp-as-a-tack rhythm section, that keep me coming back for repeat listens, no matter the decibel level.     

-Dan Moffat

Editrix, Editrix II: Editrix Goes to Hell

There’s something just so satisfying about Editrix’s chaotic sound. Each of these three musicians stands out on their own, and together, they are like a battling machine of noise rock. Vocalist Wendy Eisenberg’s matter-of-fact way of singing brings a grounded energy to the songs, a method to the madness. Plus what isn’t fun than having songs with titles like “Queering Ska” or “Horse Girls” show up on your replay or wrapped?

-Christine Varriale

FEARDOTCOM, Flip Combo Sixtynine

“Ohh house is back! House is back!” WHO GIVES A SHIT?!?!?! In a world where every pop artist is half-assing their way across minimal house production (RENAISSANCE remains the exception; she put her whole Beyussé into that), I will keep opting for the weird, maximalist D&B. On the unhinged Flip Combo Sixtynine, FEARDOTCOM lays a foundational sound of drum & bass, jungle, and gabber underneath a hyperpop sheen. If you ever wondered what a 100 Gecs remix of mid-90s Aphex Twin would sound like, this is probably the closest approximation you could find. If you don’t mind noisy synths and the occasional scream every now and then, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find some familiar friends waiting among FP69’s tracks: samples from TLC, Nicki Minaj, Depeche Mode, and more provide anthemic points of reference to an album that would probably give your grandparents the agita. 

-Harry Gustafson

foxtails, fawn

“Screamo” is a suspicious word to see in 2022, but that’s how Connecticut’s foxtails describe themselves. In reality, their new album fawn follows in a string of energetic and highly inventive albums that blend many influences into a chaotic, enigmatic sound. foxtails is already separated from other emo bands by having a full-time violinist, and the folk-punk adjacent opener “ego death” furthers that divide. The band explores straight metal on “gazelle” and tender emo on “life is a death scene, princess.” The shrieking vocals are extremely raw and urgent, which add to the emo authenticity. This album is heavy, fun, shocking and wholly unique.

-Andrew McNally

Future Teens, Self Help

Boston’s favorite bummer pop band came back a-blazing in 2022 with their third LP, Self Help. Intended or not, this band historically pumps out cathartic anthems that sound best when you’re screaming the lyrics in a crowd of strangers and your closest peers. The songs on Self Help are no exception. At this point, the four-piece’s pop punk sound is unarguably tight. Their themes — musings on coping, alcoholism and sobriety, depression, anxiety, self-reflection, and more — are laser focused and wayyyy more validating than those regurgitated Instagram account affirmations. Out of Self Help’s ten tracks, “Same Difference” stands out as the album’s clearest single, while “Stress Dream,” a track that leans into a emo rock sound, could be considered the most divergent from their usual sound (although not by much). Overall, Self Help is solid, and it’s clear that Future Teens know not to fix what ain’t broke.

-Jackie Swisshelm

going222jail, Ragweed EP

In a banner year for local emo, Going222jail (it’s pronounced Going To Jail, by the way) stood out for the things they do outside the margins. Built up from a syrupy smooth chorus pedal-heavy twin guitar attack, their debut EP Ragweed kept us on our toes throughout its sub 15 minute runtime. From the explosive halftime breakdown part way through “faceplant” to the honky tonk coda on the closing track “I Am So Thin,” Going22Jail came out the gate swinging with one of the most inventive introductions we’ve heard in quite a while. 

-Dillon Riley

Gold Dust, The Late Great Gold Dust

A somber, melancholic folk album that isn’t afraid to get loud and bear it’s teeth when it needs to. The Late Great Gold Dust is the latest effort from Stephen Pierce. Developed shortly after their first album Gold Dust, this follow up continues the sonic exploration as tracks ebb-and-flow between serene acoustic folk and booming rock. Recruiting friends J Mascis for a standout guitar solo and even Parquet Courts’ Sean Yeaton for the album’s liner notes, the result is a surprising and gorgeously textured meditation on life and it’s challenges.

-Andrew Bourque

H A U N T E R, Dream the Day Away

H A U N T E R’s Sander Bryce opened up a million new avenues of expression simply by stepping back just a little. Joined for the very first time by his cousin Jonah Levine, their first LP as a duo DREAM THE DAY AWAY is defined by an innate sense of freedom and discovery. Utilizing guest vocalists and musicians more than ever before, Bryce’s decision to let go of the reins resulted in the project’s strongest collection of songs yet. Inspired by the kitchen-sink approach of his heroes on the BRAINFEEDER label, the record touches on indie rock, jazz, ambient, drum and bass, hip hop, and a whole host of other genres without losing sight of its connective thread. 

-Dillon Riley

Haasan Barclay, Dual Shock

Y0u can’t really tell in what direction Haasan Barclay is going to push his sound, which already is this genre-defiant blend of adept skill and audacious experimentation. And even when you get a vague inkling about his sonic trajectory, he’s liable to switch it up on you. This year, he released Dual Shock, a collection of instrumental tracks that blend breakbeat house and hip-hop instrumentals that results in a collection that will make you yearn for classic games like Streets of Rage 2. It’s tempting to hope that he keeps drawing form this vein for a little bit, but it’s more tempting to just wait and see what he comes up with next. 

-Harry Gustafson

Horse Jumper of Love, Natural Part

The boys have done it again. “I Poured Sugar in Your Shoes” was the song of the summer.

-Christine Varriale

Husbands, A Diary Index

Diary Index makes one hell of a soundtrack to Boston’s cold, grey winters. It’s a sonic version antidepressant, not in the sense that it acts as a panacea for the troubles weighing on your mind, but more because it doesn’t actually leave you feeling all that better. That description isn’t a a critique of the band’s obvious talent; there are enough winding guitar licks, pretty choral harmonies, and driving bass lines to keep these twelve tracks compelling cover to cover. It’s just that every hopeful message (“Believe in yourself like I believe in you” from the opener) is tinged with a melancholic undertone. It’s an album for those times that aren’t that good, but aren’t that bad either. Just sit back and let it wash over you. 

Kal Marks, My Name is Hell

Kal Marks have never sounded this good. My Name Is Hell captures a live sound that is difficult to achieve in the studio, aided by the fact that these are all expertly crafted rock tunes. Songs like “Shit Town” show them at their most aggressive, while “Who Waits” displays a funkier side. Many of these songs are abrasive and confrontational, but all of them are melodic. Whether the rhythms are subtle or full-fledged, there are earworms everywhere. Hell is a very heavy, yet comprehensive album, with a wide range of emotional influences. And it’s one of the best damn rock albums of 2022.

-Andrew McNally

Keyboard Dog, Throw Your Soul EP

Keyboard Dog’s Throw Your Soul EP is the afternoon soundtrack for looking out your window to rain pitter pattering onto the side of your Boston apartment you spend way too much to live in. It’s a nice, refreshing sound, like a warm hug from a friend. The EP’s standout single “Amsterdam” is a perfect folk rock jam with beautiful vocal production showcasing vocalist and songwriter Steve Kurz’s vocal strength and range. The vocal layers create a beautiful landscape, what I assume the city of Amsterdam is like as someone who has only seen photos.

-Christine Varriale

Lady Pills, What I Want

Dripping with sincerity, the latest album from Boston indie favorite Lady Pills, What I Want, tells a deeply personal story with an ease and energy to keep both your heart and head moving. Now a solo project for founding member Ella Boissonnault, the performer looked inward and gave everything she had and more, tackling every instrument herself, even ones she had little to no experience playing. The results speak for themselves, sonically delicious tongue-and-cheek rock songs about love and life. Each telling another side to a cohesive story, the ups, the downs and everything in between. It’s Boissonnault’s proudest work to date, and it’s not hard to see why.

-Andrew Bourque

Perennial, In the Midnight Hour

Good punk does not need to be complicated. In fact, should be so blindingly and immediately obvious as to make ignoring it nigh impossible. Providence’s Perennial have honed their sound to a fine point yet weild it as a blunt instrument. Their minimal, raucus punk is delivered in quickfire bursts; no song on In the Midnight Hour eclipses three minutes. In a live setting, singers Chelsey Hahn and Chad Jewett are commanding presences not to be missed if you find them playing in a bar near you. Their barking vocals lend further urgency to music that already feels like a slap in the face. Perennial are the real deal.

-Ben Bonadies

Pet Fox, A Face in Your Life

When I think of the Summer of 2022, there’s a good chance those memories will be soundtracked by Pet Fox’ wonderful third album A Face In Your Life. The trio’s first since 2019, the 10-track release sounds so good, that after my first listen, I didn’t realize I had been playing it over and over until probably the fifth go around. But I just kept it going. The sound across this album is just so cohesive and fun. It’s that nearly-perfect rock music that transports you back to jumping around garages and house shows in your teens. Whether you’re bouncing along to standout “Checked Out”, or bracing for the last 30 seconds of “It Won’t Last”. These guys know what they’re doing and they’re having a blast along the way.

-Andrew Bourque

Pretty Demon Association, PDA Vol. 1

One listen to Pretty Demon Association’s debut release PDA Vol 1. would probably kill a Victorian child. More a collective than an organized group, PDA functions like a mixtape with each of its 10 members getting a chance to shine, flexing their rapping, singing, or production muscles while floating through songs that touch on hip-hop, rave, and noise with gleeful abandon. Hyperpop as a rule moves at the hyperspeed of light, so while tracks like the mutant trap hybrid “SILENT HILL” and the half speed trance knocker “HIGHER THAN THE SUNRISE” already sound not of this Earth, we cannot even imagine how the next batch will come out. 

-Dillon Riley

shallow pools, daydreaming EP

daydreaming, the five song EP by shallow pools, is simply perfect pop for 2022 — and it’s about time. The quartet has been on the Boston scene since 2018, steadily releasing pop-punk fueled singles and EPs that rocked, but with this third EP, shallow pools have found their shimmer-pop footing. Their roots remain, however, with smashing drums and guitar riffs that lend their sound perfect for a guest spot by Trey Miller (vocalist of Baltimore nu-punk band Cherie Amour) on “circles.” Meanwhile, “everything is fine” could straight up be a taylor swift song, and “heavy on my heart” brings to mind love-longing Carly Rae Jepsen vibes. If this EP is a sign of what’s to come from shallow pools, we’ll make sure to have our sensible dancing shoes and bisexual lighting ready.

-Jackie Swisshelm

Slime Luciano, The Black Caesar: Prequel

Slime Luciano, representing Dorchester, is a gifted storyteller with a knack for detail. Growing up with experience in the vocal booth starting at an early age, rapper Luciano knows his way around a mic, and parlays his gritty tales of the streets through his smooth baritone. Black Caeser: The Prequel is enrobed in the crate-digging/chipmunk soul beats that recall Wu Tang Clan — which is fitting, as Luciano can often be found gracing the stages of New York City as well as Boston. The concept album introduces the listener to the legend of Frank Matthews, a mastermind drug trafficker who eluded authorities and disappeared with a vast amount of cash. There’s a strength and levity to Luciano that leads me to think that Slime, like Matthews, is going to be fine no matter what.

-Dan Moffat

Tiefling, dj tief’s burner phone

Come for the chaotic remixes of hits such as “Chop Suey” and “Heart of Glass”, but stay for the undeniable joy that pours out of dj tief’s burner phone. The latest project from Jack Salvucci, who performs as both dj tief and Teifling, it plays like a nostalgic fever dream. Effervescent hyper-pop which dips into each and every genre and era that it can from 70s pop to early 2000s hard rock. Just when you think you’ve taken the last turn, as soon as you believe you’ve reached your final destination, it flips you over and spins you around. But it’s one hell of an entertaining ride. One you’ll immediately want to experience again.

-Andrew Bourque

Tuxis Giant, In Heaven EP

Boston’s Tuxis Giant are something of a scene lynchpin at this point. With members that have ran beloved house venues and others who seem to fill in for anyone who needs an extra set of hands, they occupy a particularly utilitarian space within our DIY ecosystem. On their new EP In Heaven, Tuxis Giant slides a bit of alt-country into their potent indie rock brew, aided no doubt by the playing and singing of new member Eleanor Elektra, whose excellent solo music is certainly familiar to AP readers. The chiming “New Roman Gods” squares the twang creeping into the margins with the loosely in the pocket sway of their prior material, pointing towards exciting new avenues for the long running troupe.

-Dillon Riley

Van Buren Records, DSM

The great Brockton hip-hop collective/label/gravitational force Van Buren Records are on the cusp of stardom. Already legends at home with a national presence that seems to grow by the day, their latest LP DSM feels both like a victory lap for the already initiated and a proper introduction to the world at large in equal measure. A verifiable feast of everything they do best,, bangers like “How To Kill A Narcissist” and “FOUL” feel somewhat in conversation with contemporary radio killers, but Van Buren’s attack on the mic comes from all kinds of weird angles like the true originals they are. 

-Dillon Riley

Video Shoppe, Echo Death

Hell yeah baby. The eighties are BACK for the second time! Kate Bush is on the charts. It’s time for synth pop and post punk and cocaine! But what’s this? An album that sounds like Yaz that Jack Antonoff had nothing to do with? And the guitars sound like U2 but the vocals are like someone slipped Klonopin in Matt Berninger’s merlot? Hold on, let me put on my big ass aviators and read this. Says here that this is echo death, the fourth album from Providence-based band Video Shoppe. Tubular. Gonna listen to to it while I finish reading Cujo.

-Ben Bonadies

 

 

 

 

Number One Babe Finds a “Shaky Sense of Home” on Debut Ecstatic Function

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Ecstatic Function cover by Will Jeffries

by Ben Bonadies

I first became aware of Number One Babe at a solo opening set at The Jungle. Alone on the stage, singer/songwriter Alex Cholewa’s delicate voice and reverbed guitar were a world unto themselves. Now with a full band behind them and a cache of new songs in tow, the project (which takes its name from an Adventure Time gag) sounds richer than ever. Their debut LP Ecstatic Function, released today, is a paean to the folk songwriting and production tradition a la predecessors John Prine and Townes Van Zandt. 

Allston Pudding talked with Cholewa on the eve of Ecstatic Function’s release about the inspiration behind the album, their experience at Berklee, and running up on the iconic Big Pink in upstate New York.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Allston Pudding: What was the recording process like?

Alex Cholewa: I recorded everything at my house, except for the drums. I was living in Allston at the time on Ashford Terrace. It’s actually a pretty famed apartment. I think a lot of bands have gone through there. I was living there for a year and everything got recorded at that house, and then I moved to Providence. 

 

AP: So are you more affiliated with Providence?

AC: Yeah, I grew up in Rhode Island so I consider myself a Rhode Islander. But I really like Boston a lot. I made a lot of cool friends there so I still go up a lot. 

 

AP: I see you play shows in Connecticut a lot, too.

AC: Yeah I have ties down there. A lot of my family is from the Mohegan reservation in Connecticut. We’re all Mohegan. I grew up in Rhode Island but when I was in high school I moved to Connecticut for a few years and then in 2020 I moved out of Connecticut and went all over the place but ended up in Boston in 2021 into 2022. It was kind of a hectic time for everything, trying to find a stable place to stay, but Boston ended up being that because I started going to Berklee.

 

AP: I grew up in Connecticut and what people might not realize is that it’s way more rural than you think. I think a lot of America is like that. There’s a little bit of country everywhere. 

AC: That’s true, especially in New York, too. A lot of people think of just the city but New York is an entire state that’s just woods. I was up in upstate New York for the first time this year and it was so awesome. We were on a little road trip and I was like, “If we’re here we need to go to Big Pink. I don’t care if somebody lives there, we’ve got to just pull up.” I think it’s an AirBnB, which is crazy. It’s a really long driveway with like three “No Trespassing” signs and I was like, “Let’s just go,” and we got there and nobody was there. We ended up just being able to chill for like five minutes and get some pictures and look at Big Pink. It was pretty cool.  

Number One Babe at Big Pink (photo courtesy of Alex Cholewa)

AP: These songs are definitely part of a rich folk tradition, both in the music and the lyrics. There are definitely themes in here about being transitory that are present throughout the history of folk music.

AC:  I was riding the train a lot! [Laughs] I think the songs came from a time when I was doing a lot of traveling. I had to move from New York back home to the res and then I had to get off the res cause it sucks there and go back to my hometown. And I feel like subconsciously I had to get rid of those things I had built up. There‘s a lot of talk about home. It’s odd, I think, because home has been up in the air for me for a few years now because I keep chameleoning my way from city to city. Moving to Providence was a conscious effort to find a place to feel like I was coming back home and also continue this music thing. If you’re from Rhode Island you’re from all of it. Anywhere in Rhode Island you can call home, it’s so small. I think my shaky sense of home was a huge inspiration for a lot of the tracks. Boston felt like a place where I could start over in a way and reimagine what any of this meant. Number One Babe had been in a drought up until the point I moved to Boston. I wasn’t really sure where I was going to go with it. Boston was really the catalyst to finally write a lot more and record it, too. 

I didn’t have a car, either, for a lot of the time I was living in Boston so I was constantly taking the train. So a lot of the songs feel like train songs. The transitory vibe is definitely huge on the record. It’s definitely not lost on me, I was definitely feeling transitory and not sure where I was going to be during that writing process. 

Photos by Ethan Harris

AP: How did you find the Berklee experience?

AC: Pretty cool! There’s a lot of really cool people who go there, really really nice people, too. And the teachers there are like, really crazy. But i also feel like it can get a little impersonal just because there are so many people who go there. So many people have a star complex or something when they go. And it’s crazy cause a lot of the kids who do go there are Internet famous which is so wild to me. But I don’t know, I feel like i never really found a real niche there which is part of the reason why i decided to move to Providence and just continue my studies but in a more personal way where i could do it at home and focus on my own music and whatnot. 

 

AP: When I first saw you you were doing solo shows, but these new shows for the Ecstatic Function release are full band shows.

AC: Yeah I’ve been doing solo shows for two years now. Number Obe Babe started off as a studio concept, like we;d write songs and maybe make an album and nothing was happening for a long time. And then the pandemic happened. But when shows started opening up again it was just me for a long time, which really sucked. I like a solo show but it’s no fun after a while. Part of the reason I like playing out is playing with musicians. So finding a band now who I feel close with and who also really likes the music we’re playing feels like a blessing. 

 

AP: When you play solo, does it change the relationship to the songs?

AC: Yeah it totally does. When I was playing solo I felt like I couldn’t go too far with anything. I feel like you hit a peak somewhere and you’re gonna perform the song the same way after a while. As soon as I organized the band and we all started playing the same songs together, it all changed. It immediately changed. All the songs sound way different with the band which is super cool. We got the idea to maybe record a live album at some point because they’re almost different songs. 

 

AP: When you’re producing these songs, are you considering the moment or time in which they’re going to be heard? Like, these songs are coming out in 2022, but they sound like they could come out in 1968. 

AC: I was hoping I could make something that didn’t feel too dated. I was hoping to make a group of songs that you could listen to at any time. I was definitely intentional in choosing what instruments we were going to use and how we were going to present them. I feel like we stayed in a realm where you could listen to these songs and be like, “This could have come out in the sixties or seventies.” I think the coolest thing we’re using on it is a mellotron. I think I was definitely trying to go for something classic, but also just something good. [Laughs] Whether it’s anyone’s cup of tea to listen to, just something that you couldn’t just write off as bad. If you didn’t like the music you could at least say “Well it was recorded nice,” or something. Or “They’re playing well at least.” 

 

AP: The technical ability is really high. Is that something that Berklee drilled into you? 

AC: I’ve had a really long time to try and figure out how to make a song. One of the first classes I ever took at Berklee my first semester was a class with the dude who produced Pablo Honey [Sean Slade] and something that he told us was the basis of a pop song and where all these parts should be and for some reason that’s really stuck with me. Like, your chorus should start before the one minute mark, or something. I feel like I really wanted to make a group of songs where nothing was too long and that could just stick. It has sort of a formula.

Photo by Ethan Harris

AP: This is your debut album as Number One Babe. Is that part of what you wanted to say with this album?

AC: THe concept of the album has been in my head for a long time but there was a long while where the songs were just not there, I wasn’t writing as much when I first started the project. “Ecstatic Function” the name has been a concept in my head for so long, since 2018 or 2019 and I feel like I needed to name my first album before it was even real. And once the songs started really flowing and I began recording a lot my goal was just to create a group of songs that nobody could be like “Oh this is shit.” I just wanted to do something quality, or at least as quality as I could possibly do inside my room.

 

AP: I never would have guessed that this was recorded in a house

AC: I’d like to record in a studio, too, but the songs just came out. I think the album finally came because I really started writing a lot more. I had a big pressure on myself to write the best song possible every time I write, which is just not going to happen. Something I’ve realized as I’ve gotten older is that the bad songs fuel the good songs. And it’s “bad,” I don;t think there’s such a thing as bad music at all. Maybe there’s unskilled music, but saying something is bad is giving something no room for growth. When I told myself “just don’t care, just write whatever you can today and then finish it and we’ll move on to the next thing.” And the more I did that the more the really good songs came and the more I was able to finish them. And after a while I thought “I have an album here.” I don’t know if i would have been able to do the whole thing if i didn’t take some pressure off myself and finally realize the best song isn’t going to come every time. It’s just a skill, it;s a muscle to practice. Picking up the guitar or piano is just like going to the gym and it can only get better if you keep doing it. 

 

AP: You’re working in a mode on this album, but there are songs that are just instrumental and there are story songs. How do you know what a song needs to be?

AC: It;s more of a feeling I think and that;s something i was learning as i was writing more and more. In trying to let go of pressure, within that you also have to say “This song is going to be whatever it’s going to be.” There are certain versions of certain tracks that are a bit more complicated or not as complicated and at the end of the day it just didn’t work, you know? In “In Your Hands” before there was a sax solo there was a piano solo that I was so passionate about. I had written it out, notated it. It was such a written solo. And the more I listened to it and mixing it I thought, “This just doesn’t work. It sounds weird.” I wanted to like it because it was the best piano solo I ever played but it just didn’t work. We met a friend of ours who played tenor sax and we thought “Let’s just try it” and it ended up working. Things like that just sometimes work out and you don’t know why and a lot of the time it’s just a feeling.

To me, a song just sounds like it doesn’t need to have words. When I wrote [“Song for Saying Goodbye”] I wanted it to have lyrics. I had friends who I tossed the song around to who said, “Yeah, you could write lyrics for it.” The more I would try the more it would not work. But I had the melody that I ended up working the harmonies around and to me it just worked. It worked as a feeling, and that was OK for me. I just need to listen to what the song needs to be. That’s something I’m still trying to figure out. 

Ecstatic Function is available everywhere now. Follow Number One Babe on Instagram. 

 

Dino Gala Work The Angles On Their Debut EP

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by Dillon Riley
Dino Gala posing on a stoop with an umbrella

Photo courtesy of Dino Gala

Allston indie rock quartet Dino Gala sure did play a lot of shows in 2022. In fact, go check your basement they may be down there right now setting up. Their tense, but curiously melodic sound lends itself well to the battered PA and warm tall boys in a backpack set. Combine that with a growing rep for air tight musicianship and it comes as no surprise they’ve become a staple of our tight knit local scene. Though far from prolific, the few songs that have trickled out since forming a few years ago hinted at a lot of promise. That said, this year’s “British” single seemed to really zero in on everything they do right as a band. A compact and downright pissed off tune that points to 90’s college rock just as much as the ever-evolving emo revival, it felt like a proper introduction, a certified tone setter for a band poised for greatness. It’s also a spiritual cousin of Dino Gala’s debut EP Diagonal, which we are premiering today at Allston Pudding. 

Dino Gala album art for the Diagonal EP

Album art courtesy of Dino Gala

Call it a refinement rather than a radical departure, Diagonal collects most of the live set Dino Gala has been banging out for the past year, maximizing their twin guitar attack and effortless hooks while exploring more robust timbres and motifs than the average house show heroes. Tracks like the early single “51 sea slugs” and “shark” are propulsive and distorted in all the right ways, but also boast sugary sweet choruses, breakneck tempo changes, and vocal harmonies crisp enough to put most songwriters on notice. With Diagonal, Dino Gala closes out their initial phase as a group with a roundup of their earliest songs. It’s a deft way to cap their busiest year yet while also clearing out space for whatever comes next. Hit the stream below to get up to speed.

Dino Gala had this to say about the new EP:

“Diagonal is a compilation of sorts of older Dino Gala material. Every song aside from the acoustic track ‘owlz’ is fairly consistent with the sound of our more recent singles, “British” and “Fun Fair.” The songs are about decaying friendships and relationships, and the barriers to communication that come with growing apart and moving away from people.”

Diagonal is out now digitally, grab a download right here.

Pop Punk Supergroup LS Dunes Stop by the Sinclair

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Photos & Words By Emily Gardner

ls dunes emily gardner

A new supergroup made its way to a sold-out Sinclair on Sunday night and a line of concert-goers, trailing past multiple businesses in Harvard Square, came to greet them. Comprised of Tucker Rule and Tim Payne (Thursday), Travis Stever (Coheed & Cambria), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), and Anthony Green (Circa Survive, Saosin), LS Dunes set off on their first tour as a group back in September, not soon after they released a handful of singles to promote their first album “Past Lives”. Now that the album has been released, attendees were eager to hear it in person. To warm up the crowd, Nate Bergman and Kayleigh Goldworthy played separate solo sets and joined together for one song. For the last song of her set, Kayleigh brought out the members of LS Dunes to perform with her. The vibe quickly changed from chill and lighthearted to insanity as soon as Anthony Green took the stage. After putting the microphone entirely in his mouth, the show was ready to begin. The rest of the set included multiple crowdsurfers, Green attempting to save them from bouncing off the stage, and an unmatched chaotic energy. Make no mistake, this band is full of incredible performers that know how to make a show memorable. This same energy can be seen in the photos from the night. Check them out below.

LS Dunes, Nate Bergman, and Kayleigh Goldsworth at the Sinclair 11/27/22