Feeling sorry for all the people out there listening to Donda and not CT music. Pour out a little Hosmer Mountain Soda for those lost souls. This week is quite eclectic, with songs ranging from beach bum punk, to on-hold muzak synthpop, to improvised noise. We hope that this Bark List will be your gateway into something new, something that you’ll love. Many of these bands are also playing live shows now (check out our event calendar for Only Good Gigs [tm]), so if you go, make sure you take a mask and don’t be a weirdo.
Our special picks this week are Chousand’s EP Maybe I’ll See You Later, the new WEAREBISON track “Lion’s Jaw”, and the new Sargasso song “Bis”.
Check out this Bark List’s songs below, and as always, if you like what you hear: share it with a friend! And if you have the means, consider buying their music. Spotify is nice and all, but unless you plan on streaming a song multiple hundred times, Bandcamp is best. I know that tracking down songs on Bandcamp can be a pain in the ass, so if you discover new music on Spotify, consider throwing your playlists into this tool to quickly track down the Bandcamp page of these artists: https://hypem.com/merch-table/ .
You can follow us on instagram and twitter for more music during the week.
Albums + EPS:
August Lamm – Two Songs
New Haven’s August Lamm debuted this tiny little EP this week: a pair of stripped-back folk songs. Both songs, “Brooklyn in January” and “In the Evening” spin a vivid, intimate story against Lamm’s gentle acoustics. What’s that, August Lamm, you’re thinking about anywhere but Brooklyn in January? That makes two of us! Tracked at Sans Serif Recordings in NHV.
Chousand – Maybe I’ll See You Later
If you’re wondering why Chousand has a Talking Heads-style island jam on their new EP (“Low Life”), the only answer is that Nothing Makes Sense. Maybe I’ll See You Later compresses the arc of a party into an explosive 15 minutes. You can imagine “Hydrangea Blues” being sung acapella by a bunch of friends as they unplug their stereo for the night. One of our favorites of the year!
EEEEEEL – What Power…!!!
Impossibly loud, this may be the noisiest damn record of 2021. Shrieking feedback, thrown-out vocals, and a percussion section that sounds like it’s running down a cliff. This Western Mass / Connecticut group’s new album is an exercise in improvisation and scorched-earth noise creation.
Jodonut – Keychains
You may have encountered some of these songs before! The final four tracks can be found spotify as the EP I Don’t Know Why I Just Feel It, and Keychains adds three other songs to the bunch. These songs drift in and out of noisy collage, balancing the lonely croons of Jodonut with the more abrasive, abstract numbers.
Showrocka & Spek Arson – Pay the Rappers
This album is fire from front to back, and what’s not to love about an album whose central concept is that artists should get paid for their work? Great hooks and clever wordplay set over heavy boom bap.
Sweet Pete – Say Hello
Jacque Le Coque’s Pete Mazza has a new project! The man locked himself in a cabin, cut his hair, and wrote + recorded this new album. Say Hello is a fast, energetic trip through a landscape of retro rock-n-roll. Joined by Trevor Lake (Televisionaries) and Collin J. Rocker (Old Lady), Say Hello is perfect if you’re looking for that old-school warmth of rock’s earlier years.
Singles:
The Brazen Youth – “Cloud Parade”
Damn I guess The Brazen Youth just felt like writing the best Bruce Springsteen song that Springsteen never wrote. “Cloud Parade” sounds exactly like what you might expect from its title – it’s pretty, lived-in, and warmly nostalgic. Was not expecting that glorious, fat synth in the middle of the song!
Daniprobably – “No Scrubs” (TLC cover)
One of the greatest songs ever written/performed covered by one of the greatest CT songwriters? Just another Tuesday for Daniprobably.
Good Memory Ghost – “Grudge Judy”
New band Good Memory Ghost debuted in August with “Shape of a Heart”, and they’ve immediately topped themselves with this indie alt-rock anthem. Who could’ve known that a song about how anger festers away at your soul could make for such a killer tune?
Grizzlor – “Tinnitus”
Name a more iconic duo than Grizzlor and tinnitus / hearing damage…. I’ll wait. This is the second preview of what’s to come from the band’s upcoming Hammer of Life.
Kelly Quigley – “Behind Now”
OK let’s get this straight: Kelly Quigley rules. Their last release, Have You Read My Poems, is a brilliant blend of restless guitar and Quigley’s intensely personal, vivid lyrics. This new song is a leap forward in production and songcraft, as “Behind Now” blossoms into an impressionist portrait of self-empowerment.
Nate Trier – “Spiderpop”
Released as “that hold music that you found kinda groovy”, you know the kind. Wells Fargo has you on hold, and while you’re mad that they hit you with an outrageous overdraft fee, that muzak is hitting just right. Trier’s new song (which will be the first in a series of singles) takes that almost-cheesy synth pop and turns it into a shimmering, beautiful tune.
Pushing Daisies – “All Dogs Go To Heaven”
Hey now there’s a song title we can get behind! Dylan Gallagher’s new track is a great blend of emo and hyper pop, and not in the way you might expect those two sounds would go together. “All Dogs Go To Heaven” goes to heaven.
Sargsso – “Bis”
One of our favorite tracks of the year! We wrote about it when it came out this past Saturday – this sleek pop track is immaculate in its phrasing, both musical and lyrical. The song is named after an addictive Brazilian candy, which feels right: one spin is not enough.
Steve Hartlett – “Prelude to a Ghost Princess”
Steve (Ovlov, Stove) just released 308, a lo-fi solo album. And I have good news and better news. The good news is that he also just released a new song. The better news is that the song is almost 9 minutes long, and it’s worth every second. He’s teased on instagram that he might have another full album or EP coming to bandcamp again soon…
Taryn Balchunas – “Subtext”
Fresh off of the release show at Rednawa to celebrate her book, Grow Up, Taryn has a new song on bandcamp! It’s a full story, told across two deceptively simple verses, built with only her voice and her uke. More of this please!
WEAREBISON – “Lion’s Jaw”
Whoa! If you told me that Ponybird’s Jennifer Dauphinais had a new project and single out, I would’ve never guessed it would have sounded like this: a cool retro-futuristic, synth-laden, poem. WEAREBISON is Dauphinais and Rory Thomas Derwin, and their self-titled debut EP is set for a release sometime later this year.
Music Videos:
American Thrills – “Old Things”
Earlier this year, American Thrills released their excellent Old Things EP: four songs of anthemic punk rock. The band celebrated their vinyl release of Old Things a few weeks ago at C**** H****, so you can consider this music video for their title track a victory lap.
Ashley Aisyah & KVMBAYA – “Sweet Song”
Ashley may live in Indonesia now, but we’ll always want to hear what she’s working on. Check out this collaboration with KVMBAYA: a cover of Blur’s “Sweet Song” from their Think Tank. How wonderfully relaxing!
Josie’s Ring – “That’s All For Now”
The debut single of Josie’s Ring (Autumn Eliza from the Eliza Monologues and Mike Held from Was & When and Snowpiler) now has a video! The video is as warm and comfortable as the song itself. Check it out and be sure to stay for after the credits.
Kim Normal – “53”
Even though Kim Normal just released their new excellent album Picturesque a few weeks back, they’re revisiting their one-off single “53” in this video created by Mia Anaïs
Ricquee – “Lonesome Town”
When we last wrote about Ricquee Davidson’s music for their album A Runaways Interlude, we mentioned how unpredictable their music was. That’s never been more true than for “Lonesome Town”, a beautiful, minimalist ballad.
Tears Fall Down – “Rise Again”
No doubt if you’ve seen Tears Fall Down at one of their high-energy live shows, you’ve heard this song, learned the lyrics, and sing along with it. Check it out as they play on a big stage, a big porch, and a very orange room!
