courtesy Lil Rail
Lil Rail and 608 Nikyra Monae
Here we are at the end of February, creeping toward a year since we all started staying home. All that time at home combined with multiple streaming channels has led to possibly even more new music than usual by local artists, so much so that it would be a full-time job just to keep up with it all. And it would be a fun job, thanks to the creativity and range of sounds and experiences you can find out there. Read on for a sampling of what's caught my ear recently.
One reminder: Bandcamp is continuing the practice of waiving its fees on the first Friday each month through at least May, which makes Friday, March 5, a good day to support your local artists.
Madison area rapper Lil Rail aka Short Rail returned in February with an of-the-moment single. "We Make Noise" is an artfully direct response to those who question the Black Lives Matter movement and ongoing social justice protests. Short answer: Because police and institutional violence against Black people has not stopped. "You can play Martin or Malcolm, you still can be a victim," is just one of the concisely worded points in the song, which also features a verse by 608 Nikyra Monae and music by DJ Pain 1. You can find "We Make Noise" and its accompanying video, shot in front of the Black Lives Matter artwork in the State Street area, on Lil Rail's YouTube channel, which also features more newly posted videos, as well as music from the past several years that is well worth checking out. Another recent single, "Dream Killers," can be heard on Spotify.
Making its debut on Valentine's Day, Queer Madison Mixtape: Winter 2021 is a project with the tag line a "Compilation of Low-Effort Recordings by Local Queers in Madison." Whatever the level of effort to produce these tracks, the collection is hardly low-quality, and it makes for a handy sampler of some emerging songwriters in the local music scene. Submissions for the comp were gathered by Communication and Half-Stack Sessions; as may be expected during our quarantine times (and the call by the organizers for simplicity), the majority of the selections are solo guitar and voice efforts. Acoustic cuts stuck in my head after a couple spins include "diners and queer bars" by jess waggoner, who helped compile the Mixtape; and the propulsive "Cursed" by Addison Christmas. It's not all acoustic material, though. Among the more elaborate productions is "Looking Into The Sun (realization sequence)," an extended, slow-burning instrumental cut by Ezreth, billed as an excerpt from a concept album that's in the works. I also like the low-key electronica of "Glacial Gay" by thecrookedmoustache, a very timely song about our current isolation and ways of getting through the winter. Queer Madison Mixtape can be found on Bandcamp, and all donations for a download will be directed to Freedom Inc. Find out more about the artists on the album here. Performers should keep an eye out this summer for another call for songs for a future volume.
Broom has been together for three years, and before the pandemic put a damper on live music joined bills at Communication and BarleyPop Live, and played some house shows. The quartet kicked off 2021 with the January release of its debut album, Swept Away. (Find it on Bandcamp; there's even a limited edition CD pressing for those who act fast.) Self-described as shoegaze and grunge, Broom's sound is a particularly melodic and hooky incarnation of those genres. The nine tracks of Swept Away zip by quickly thanks to its concise and tightly arranged songs, written collaboratively by the band. And it probably reveals my senior scenester status, but Anthony Kretzschmar's vocals remind me of Paul Westerberg a bit. Kretzschmar and Grant Dritlein both play guitar, and the quartet also includes bassist Jacob Bennet and drummer Sean Griffin. This one will get some more spins, and I look forward to getting the chance to see them live when we can have nice things (aka live shows) again.
An EP by an artist who is very new on the scene is the love and peace conference by arel happening. "I busked with a friend a total of two times in the B.C. (before COVID)," writes happening in an email. "2020 was going to be a year I challenged myself to play open mics and befriend the local scene, but alas...more opportunity to write, I guess!"
A charming slice of homemade pop-folk, the love and peace conference is anchored by (usually) placid keyboard sounds, a bit of guitar, and very low-key vocals. So low-key, in fact, it's quite handy that the lyrics are posted with the songs, because it would be a shame to miss the words of these wry and open-hearted songs. With only one of the five tracks clocking in at more than two minutes, this one breezes by. It's a different sound than the fairly straightforward acoustic folk songs on a self-titled full-length from last year. Both releases are entirely one-person recordings by arel happening, made during our safer-at-home times; it will be interesting to hear what comes next.
