Magic Elves and "Living Proof"

New music keeps on keepin' on from Madison-area musicians (and some expatriates)

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Here we are, going on three-quarters of a year into pandemic times. This summer brought a limited return to live performances, mostly outside, but that’s going to be tough during cold weather. Still, a steady flow of new music continues to emerge while songwriters have time away from the stage. This week's mini-reviews feature music recorded during quarantine times by local musicians and some Madison natives who currently live elsewhere. All are finding a way to adapt to the current situation and, often, comment on it. Don't forget that for music available on Bandcamp, artist fees are once again waived on the first Friday of the month.

Even though Waylan St. Palan left Madison some time ago, a holiday show at the High Noon Saloon with the Magic Elves has remained an annual tradition for the local music scene and its observers. But the 2020 kibosh on in-person concerts means this December will be bereft of the Elves' jazzed- and rocked-up arrangements of seasonal classics (and the band and audience benders the concert is celebrated/regretted for). Don't despair and drown yourself in eggnog quite yet, though: Despite being in various locations and unable to gather due to the pandemic, Palan and the Elves have performed a holiday miracle and recorded a new album. Old Fashioned Christmas appeared on Bandcamp on Dec. 1, and rather than being a collection of those hoary old Xmas chestnuts this features seven original songs by Nate Palan, Ken Fitzsimmons and Nathan Tredinnick (responsible for the timely "Quarantine Christmas"). Ho ho ho, indeed!

"As the reality of a live show was becoming truly unrealistic, I knew we wanted to do something in its place," Palan writes from Italy, where he and his family have been since July. "Near the end of September I suggested to the band that we start writing music for a new record. From there, we figured out how everyone would record their parts at home along to demos we all made. Joe [Bernstein] worked with Wendy [Schneider] at Coney Island Studios for the drum parts, and everyone else just worked in their basements or whatever. From there, everyone sent their parts over the internet to me here in Italy, and I mixed it all together in the pizzeria."

The "pizzeria" is a room converted to a rehearsal/recording space. "I've spent a lot of my time during this sabbatical working on music there," says Palan. "It's actually been all right sidelining live performing, just so I have some time to work on recorded music again. I can't wait to perform again, but I've been fortunate to keep my head down and stay busy."

Palan says if we are back to where a live show can happen next year, they will likely make a physical version of the album available for sale. "We decided to do this a little late in the game to manufacture vinyl or CDs, but we're just happy to be providing some music that will resonate with what people are going through at the moment."

The second album by Histo, Asleep in the Firehole, emerged in November. So far, songwriter Donald Ephraim Curtis has also created visual interpretations for three cuts on the collection. The lead single, "Living Proof," features a charmingly homespun video shot in Curtis' backyard.

I also really like the more abstract video for "Glad You Got Away," featuring a series of small moments that add up to a perfect match for the elegiac song (also the album closer). The videos and most of the music on the album were all created at home by Curtis; several years ago he moved to the Madison area from Iowa, where he was a member of The Poison Control Center and where the original incarnation of Histo formed.

The Madison version of the band is currently dissolved, Curtis writes Isthmus in an email. "Right now I'm not sure what will happen once we can play out again. I'm writing for the next album now and I want to do something different with that. I'd like the next thing I do, even if it's not Histo, to be more creatively collaborative. I did the self-recorded and mixed thing on this one and it was a huge learning experience, but it was isolating and I missed collaboration."

Asleep in the Firehole is an album that is going to very much appeal to fans of 1980s-1990s indie bands: it's catchy, melodic guitar rock, often married to heavy topics expressed in artfully constructed lyrics. I will enjoy getting to spin this one some more.

Some new pop artists have released debut singles recently as well. moth_OS is the duo of Liam McCarthy (drums) and Will Patton (bass, vocals and more). Their single "robobreak" combines synthpop and the glitchy squonk of 8-bit video game music into a danceable electronic track. An EP is on the way, and plans are in the works for some livestream concerts. And checking in from the West Coast, West High School graduate Nadia Geiger reports the release of her debut single, "Crazy." The catchy love song is also a teaser for a forthcoming EP, Wasted Art. Geiger can also be seen on an upcoming episode of the CW show All American, and the recent Netflix film Malibu Rescue: The Next Wave.

Editor's note: The name of the CW program All American has been corrected.