Discover Top Posts Tagged with #beth townsend

REASONS TO COME EARLY: Ex Hex

With such a rich history of punk music and jazz pioneers, Washington, D.C. has naturally bred local artists making big impressions on national music scenes. Big names who were born and raised in D.C. spread across the U.S. like wildfire: Duke Ellington, Bad Brains, and Ginuwine, to name a few. However, D.C. has to compete with a handful of other major cities, like New York City, Chicago, and L.A., that produce incredible artists regularly, which sometimes causes the D.C. music scene to slip under the radar. Luckily, in 2014, Ex Hex appeared from the basements of our nation’s capital to make some new, much-needed noise.

Ex Hex is a staple in an ever-growing line of female rock bands among the likes of Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and The Courtneys. As a matter of fact, frontwoman Mary Timony has fronted other successful bands like Helium and been in other groups with rock music greats like Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney. Add on drummer Laura Harris of The Aquarium and bassist Betsy Wright, and we’ve got the garage-pop trio of our dreams. All three of them are local to the D.C area.

Moods and daydreams are often side-effects of listening to a good album, and upon my first listen of Ex Hex’s first 2014 LP, Rips, I’m tumbling around and yelling in a crowded, vintage, red convertible on a beachside highway. Specific, yes, but the bright guitar and driving rhythm are undeniable. The opening song of the album, “Don’t Wanna Lose,” sets the perfect, sun-drenched tone for the album with wobbly, one-stroke power chords. The chorus is catchy and quick; “I don’t wanna lose your love / It’s in my hand, it’s just a question of / If you’re gonna stop messing around / You better hurry up, don’t let me down.” Another hit off the album called “Hot and Cold” is a testament to inconsistent and blurry relationships, and showcases some of Timony’s incredible guitar talent. With guitar licks throughout the song and a strong, classic rock ‘n’ roll guitar solo about a minute in, “Hot and Cold” demonstrates how all you need is some Timony guitar work to get you going. Their song “Outro” is the perfect way to end the album, as Timony belts out in her perfectly whiney-yet-deep vocals, “Take care, don’t beware / Follow the sound.” Throughout this album, Ex Hex does an impressive job of embodying classic beach and garage rock tropes while still making it their own; a raw, hot-tempered band with a sunny, vintage sound.

Now a staple in the D.C. music scene, Ex Hex is a band worth following. They have starpower of all forms: in their music, in their lyrics, and in their relationship with their hometown. So, what’s better than seeing them this summer at the legendary music venue Merriweather Post Pavillion, local to the D.C. area? Close to nothing. You don’t wanna lose this opportunity.

-Beth Townsend

See Ex Hex open for Belle & Sebastian, Spoon, and Andrew Bird at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 30.

#Reasons to Come Early #Opener Feature #Ex Hex #Belle and Sebastian #Spoon #Andrew Bird #Merriweather Post Pavilion #Merriweather #Upcoming Shows #Mary Timony #Laura Harris #Betsy Wright #Rips #Don't Wanna Lose #Hot and Cold #Outro #Beth Townsend

SIDE NOTES: Mitski & The Women of Indie Rock

I’m making a playlist for a friend of mine who wants to get into indie rock music. I’m clicking and dragging different songs; names and words accumulating into a large, stacked pile. Each song is a brick, and when constructed, they form patterns and have direction, until it’s finished. With the bricks, I have built something that has emotional value, a message, or a manner of exposing music to new ears. As I’m double-checking my new playlist, I feel my face harden after noticing a pattern that I for once did not intend to create. Almost every artist is male.

Since the playlist was made for a friend who wants to get more into indie rock, most of my additions were intended to show them the defining artists of the genre. The Strokes, Pixies, and Arcade Fire were some of my quick choices as foundational artists. Evidently, the genre was significantly marked by bands dominated by white men. My reaction was utter disappointment in the lack of diversity of the genre and with myself for picking a completely male-dominated ensemble, especially as a female music lover and musician. As I calmed down, I deleted the playlist and started again, broadening my indie rock scope; avoiding the past. The result was a list of impassioned and recent artists who are finally taking indie rock and redefining the genre, and this time they are women.

In the past couple of years, female-led bands and artists like Frankie Cosmos, Mitski, Girlpool, and Waxahatchee have taken the reins and are reviving a genre that hasn’t really been able to see much innovation past its founding artists.

In Puberty 2, her fourth and hit album released in 2016, Mitski Miyawaki reclaims previously-established indie rock tropes in “Your Best American Girl” with volume shifts and emboldening basic guitar chord progressions, but sings honestly and personally about heartbreak ( “And you’re an all American boy / I guess I couldn’t help trying to be your Best American Girl”). In Mitski’s earlier work, like “First Love / Late Spring,” she works with her own ethereal, raw vocals paired with a simple bass guitar, which leads into the organ-filled hook, “One word from you and I would / Jump off this ledge I’m on / Baby.” Female artists, like Mitski, are finding ways to make honest, yet poignant indie rock music without the typical, and often masculinized, guitar solos. Mitski has now been touring all over the U.S. and Europe, and Puberty 2 earned her an 8.2 rating on Pitchfork as well as a remarkable review on NPR Music.

Other examples of female artists going in this direction are the members of Girlpool, Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad, who paved their way in the music world with simply bass guitar, electric guitar, and stunning, yet jarring vocal harmonies. Greta Kline of Frankie Cosmos thrives on minimalist guitar playing and short songs with honest, unembellished lyrics such as “When I know I’m not the best girl in the room / I tell myself I’m the best you can do” in her song “Too Dark”.

Making playlists has always felt like a manner of musical curation to me. I feel in control, and believe that with a combination of artists and songs, I can provide a grander meaning or message. After this experience, I have realized that it is essential to include the women of indie rock music, because those are the artists who are making indie rock relevant again.

-Beth Townsend

#Side Notes #Mitski #Indie Rock #Frankie Cosmos #Girlpool #Waxahatchee #Your Best American Girl #Puberty 2 #Beth Townsend

REASONS TO COME EARLY: Soccer Mommy

Realizing that you’re growing up and becoming an adult can often make you ache, but luckily, with Soccer Mommy’s cathartic, bedroom-pop tunes, we have found a small remedy to help the pain. Still in college at NYU, Sophie Allison of Soccer Mommy writes music about delicate and intimate moments we can’t quite put into words ourselves.

Using bright, electric guitar as the primary instrumentation for her songs, it doesn’t take much for Allison to channel her thoughts and experiences through her music. Sophie Allison has been self-releasing songs on her Bandcamp since 2015, but her first full album, For Young Hearts, was released in 2016 through Orchid Tapes. In “Henry,” the opening song of For Young Hearts, Allison sings, “he’s too gone / to open up / just like punching walls, it always hurts ‘cause it never gives in enough.” Her clever yet touching lyrics, paired with her soft yet persistent vocals, powerfully carries her music’s themes of longing and loneliness; both symptoms of aging. In her song “Out Worn,” which will be officially released with her upcoming album, Collection, this August, Allison shows off her melodic and dreamy guitar playing, reminiscent of ‘90s pop rock like The Cranberries, while she sings, “I want to feel like I’m being admired / You only taught me to be outworn.” Her music brings a subtle gleam to darker moments, like a pair of scuffed up white sneakers; still precious but timeworn.

Those nights where you lay in bed, wondering where everyone has gone, how you got here, and what’s next will probably keep happening as time passes. But next time, let the music of Soccer Mommy be that supportive friend that understands what you’re going through.

-Beth Townsend

See Soccer Mommy open for The Districts at 9:30 Club on August 18.