Twin Wizard: Brad Van and Anthony Dreyer.
Usually by early spring the concert calendar is packed with touring and local performers. So, it is a very weird feeling to not have any dates marked down for can’t-miss shows, as we all stay “safer at home” and venues remain closed. However, many intrepid solo artists and even some groups have jumped headfirst into livestreaming, which is most welcome. And in a less ephemeral form, many local recordings are being made available online, sans the usual release-show hubbub. Here’s another group of recordings that have emerged since we all started staying at home.
At first blush, Combat Naps’ March release, These Decibels, might strike some listeners as unstoppably twee. But hang around for more than 30 seconds of any of the micro-pop songs (only one of 13 tracks makes it past two minutes) and you’ll be sucked in by a surprising melodic left turn, or a lyrical bomb-drop that will make you go back and listen to the whole song again to figure out just what they are talking about. I have not heard anyone work this particular minimalist mixture of keyboards, drums and harmony vocals for a whole record as profitably in a pop context since the early days of Quasi. Better yet, a whole range of bedroom pop sounds can be found in a slew of recordings from the past few years on Bandcamp.
While the tape release of the first full-length TS Foss album is delayed, the album is now available for streaming. Foss is an alias of Fire Heads/The Hussy guitarist Tyler Fassnacht, but don’t expect the same blazing punk and garage sounds of those bands. As on his past solo EPs, Active Adult and Improvident, TS Foss explores inner thoughts about external stimuli, which emerge as melancholic and melodic ruminations on life, accompanied by Fassnacht’s sturdy, nimble fingerpicking.
Rapper and anarchist community organizer Lil Guillotine has posted some new tracks in the last month. The of-the-moment “Corona Vile” examines the government’s response to the coronavirus epidemic, as well as the impact on civil liberties implicit in official orders to stay home. Another new track, “No Thanks,” featuring MC Sole, blasts the current two-party domination of the political system.
Another duo guaranteed to melt some brain cells is Twin Wizard, a new collaboration between Anthony Dreyer (Telekinetic Yeti) and Brad Van (Droids Attack). Readers who recognize those names probably just got excited, and with reason: This is some seriously pummelling, doomy stoner metal, with some spacey cool-off moments here and there to avoid brain (or speaker) overheating. An LP version is available currently via mailorder.
Eric Oehler and Matt Fanale’s Klack retrofitted an earlier song, “Discipline,” for our new lives. Depending on the listener’s current mental state, “Distancing” provides a bit of levity and/or horror for your playlist. Fanale has also posted tracks by Caustic previously available only by subscription as part of the Quarantine Tracks album on Bandcamp.
Madison rock ‘n roll veterans The German Art Students return with a concise and highly entertaining four-track EP, Rest Area Relief, recorded by Bobby Hussy at Hex Empire. Aside from the opening track, a key-changing jangler examining the ‘70s television series In Search Of, it’s a mini-concept record about being in a band: The travails of finding somewhere to stay out of town; over-extensive drum sets; and more band members at a show than listeners. “The club fills with no one/ beer tickets for four/ more people on the guest list/ than paid at the door” will strike a chord with anyone who’s played many multi-band late-night bills.
Black metal quartet Ruin Dweller unleashes a new EP, Hell in the Sky, on May 1, and the title track can be streamed now. It’s an ominously slow-building slice of doom that portends well for the rest of their second release (following 2018’s excellent Cryptic Ruin). Ruin Dweller is an all-star ensemble featuring players you may have seen in other bands such as Dosmalés, Jex Thoth and Red Museum.
Need to just zone out for a bit? Or maybe bop around the living room? Let Golden Donna guide your meditation session or be your personal trainer. The long-running electronic project helmed by Joel Shanahan has been quite active on Bandcamp over the last year or so, and at the end of March a new album appeared. Hush kicks off with nearly 16 minutes of shimmering synths on “Wild,” appropriate for trancing or dancing as needed. As a follow-up to a pair of releases of live shows, it's appropriate that this new album was also, per the liner notes, recorded live and direct to cassette.
