Without You by Perfume Genius from the album Set My Heart on Fire Immediately out on @matadorrecords - Director: Kristin Massa

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3/26/23.

Strangers from the Universe by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 was originally released by Matador Records in 1994. Hard to believe it was that long ago. I've always thought of it as their timeless masterwork. These are woozy off-kilter songs full of surreal beauty and experimental transitions. This is lovingly reissued by Bulbous Monocle.

Julien Baker Leader Bank Pavilion, Boston, MA 18 August 2022

Spiral (2021)

Bathroom at El Cid, Bar Italia 6/19/23

I got the call that a ticket was free an hour and a half before the band was set to play.

Bar Italia's first LA show seemed fit for a Monday, and everyone inside was dressed far to appropriately for the setting. What may have lacked in originality from the crowd made up in the main event, a performance everyone will brag about for years to come.

Bar Italia had been the best kept secret of the noisy British post-punk scene debuting their first album Quarrel in 2020. Mystery and irony are at the forefront of their aesthetic, seemingly not taking their music as intentionally serious. The debut was short and sweet, not sticking to one specific genre yet not earning an experimental title. Their first recorded album becomes more muffled as each track proceeds, as if you are falling into a dreamlike state while listening. With this said, it was a blessing to hear their sound wide awake.

The band spoke not one word while performing. However, I do not think this was due to a lack of chemistry. The three heads of the band, Nina Cristante, Sam Fenton, and Jezmi Tarik Fehmi worked harmoniously whilst not batting a single eye towards each other.  I had told my friends that Nina’s demeanor reminded me of Hope Sandoval, in which one laughed and went, 

“No”. 

They did not bid the crowd farewell and simply took off their instruments and walked off stage. Untrained listeners assumed an encore, but luckily my friends and I linked arms and caught them as they were walking off stage into the corridor. They are truly stunning people; genetics had blessed them well. 

Although I tread lightly when describing a band through their online presence alone, I’m not sure how serious they could be when their album covers consist of memes that are popular during the time. I too felt like a crying stick figure once the set ended. 

The band themself are wonderful people, not yet touched by arrogance from their success. My lovely friend went to speak to them after the show and was gifted a small strip of paper that had their setlist. While speaking to them he claimed that their image isn’t cultivated, they just come across as the niche they wish to present. This doesn’t discredit their humor or general attractiveness, they are just kind people. 

Speaking of the crowd is not anywhere near as interesting as the band itself, but it does speak to the character of Bar Itaila's fanbase. It very well could have been the annoying LA charm everyone possessed, but it gave an aura of pretentiousness. As we danced and sang along, many in the crowd turned heads and told my companion to “be aware” to which I had turned and replied, “must be your first time”. It occurred a couple times throughout the night, but I don’t think our behavior was anywhere near inappropriate. You’re there to dance and sing and enjoy the music; why bother standing stone cold to seem otherworldly to a crowd who will probably laugh at you anyways. Might as well have some fun. 

I also must mention that the opening band 2070 was phenomenal. I had a chance to interview the leading members which will come out soon. 

Unlike other artists, or perhaps it was due to the size of the venue, they seemed real. I fear the band may be stuck in reddit purgatory for a while until their eventual burnout from popularity. Regardless, the band deserves success. They may be Matador’s unknown goldenchild for the time being, and I hope they continue with this status. 

It is easy to throw around terms such as “genuine” or “authentic”, especially when they are at the popularity level they currently hold, but for myself, they have earned the title. 

«Coming March 22: The first set of @buttholesurfers vinyl reissues with Matador Records - ‘Psychic… Powerless… Another Man’s Sac,’ ‘Rembrandt Pussyhorse,’ and ‘PCPPEP,’ remastered by JJ Golden with guidance by the band. Pre-order the LPs / stream remastered audio!»

Jenny Hval remix of Leave by Perfume Genius from the album IMMEDIATELY Remixes

Liz Phair performs at the Lounge Ax in Chicago in 1993. Photo by Marty Perez

Algiers - Shook - an impressive roster of guests and a newly energized sound (judging by the 3 tracks available in the Bandcamp streamer)

Algiers have always been unflinching, but SHOOK is at the same time notably joyous and celebratory. It was born when Fisher and Mahan found themselves back in their native Atlanta for several months, reeling from growing pressures and burnout as touring musicians. This triggered an intense period of beatmaking, reconnecting as friends over hours immersed in episodes of Rhythm Roulette and Against the Clock and descending deep into alt-rap YouTube rabbit holes. A revisit of DJ Grand Wizard Theodore’s 1970s punk-infused New York City rap masterpiece ‘Subway Theme’ served as a spiritual moodboard for the album’s cross-pollination of urban and counter-culture styles. Across the seamlessly flowing set, including spoken vignettes and ambient instrumental segues, the band pay respect to a sprawling lineage of rap and punk iconoclasts from DJ Premier, DJ Screw and Dead Boys to Lukah, Griselda and Dïat – chopping and screwing beats on a dusty SP-404 and a Sequential Circuits Tempest, building imagined sample libraries from scratch. While community and collaboration has always been integral to Algiers’ ethos, SHOOK brings this to its fullest manifestation. The liner notes read like a who’s who of ground-breaking and contemporary underground music, featuring Zack de la Rocha, Big Rube (The Dungeon Family), billy woods, Samuel T. Herring (Future Islands), Jae Matthews (Boy Harsher), LaToya Kent (Mourning [A] BLKstar), Backxwash, Nadah El Shazly, DeForrest Brown Jr. (Speaker Music), Patrick Shiroishi, Lee Bains III, and Mark Cisneros (Hammered Hulls, The Make-Up, Kid Congo Powers). Their contributions throughout deftly reshape and recontextualize the notion of being Shook from a variety of perspectives, occupying shifting roles as oracles and narrators. “It very much deepens and broadens the world of Algiers”, says drummer Matt Tong.

Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, March 31, 2023.

Snail Mail Frantic City Orange Loop Ampitheatre, Atlantic City, NJ 24 September 2022