Quickly: a few Bandcamp Friday recs
Five hits for your perusal…
The sleeve design for Hélène Barbier's 2021 LP Regulus caught my eye, but the music never connected; four years later, the opposite is true with Panorama, an album that, on the surface, hits a sweet spot between terse post-punk and more dreary, reverb-ridden capital-R Romance. The last bit is provided, mostly, by Barbier's calm, breathy vocal delivery, though the lyrics are more biting when you lean in ("Milquetoast"). The vocals float atop winding guitar lines that can sound like big name acts, as both the Cars and Interpol come to mind at various points. But the execution on Panorama is stainless steel surgical; no grease from cheese, no filler found or needed. The goofy bounce of "Marcel," like the artwork, isn't my favorite, but nearly every other track here connects, from the sparkling sway of "Lapin" to possible song of the year "Dans l'os." A bit of a calming effect, true, though the svelte set of tracks on Panorama deserve a wide audience.
Maraudeur returns three years after Puissance 4, and the formula for the Leipzig five-piece remains much the same: twisted-and-taut spindly post-punk, delivered with a knowing smirk and a pinch of vulnerability. That last bit is as evident as ever on "(Legacy)," but it's fleeting; most of Flaschenträger zips by on quick-shifting compositions and bemused vocals. "Ah" has this nice trick where the song shifts from a crooked, knotty Devo track to a galloping beat taken to the stratosphere, all connected by a single synth note. Yet another quality release from Cincinnati's Feel It Records.
For those looking for a harder edge to their gnarled compositions, VoidCeremony's Abditum should fit nicely. The death metal trio glides like a murmuration across their complex compositions, and they maintain a balance between impressive musicianship and accessibility without tipping the listener toward exhaustion. Basically: it's easy to do this genre wrong, where it's only fun for the people playing technical/progressive death metal and the people who want to play it, and VoidCeremony sidesteps that with concise compositions that spiral and swell with the requisite crunch. The whole album zips by in under 30 minutes, and gets better as it goes along; no unnecessary detours taken here, just a potent blast of satisfyingly chunky and complex death metal.
Verity Den released my favorite album last year, as I'd tell anyone who would dare inquire about what I was listening to, so it was without hesitation that I scooped their latest LP, Wet Glass. There have been comparisons to Yo La Tengo, a genuine mark of indie rock quality, but YLT hasn't released an album as concise and cohesive as Wet Glass. This is clearly a pored-over record, and the details are so rich that the mostly-instrumental tracks can outshine the more conventional songs; "Unsolved Mysteries" or "All It Was" at top volume should have people pounding down their door for production assists. There's more gold abound: the title track and its irresistible, unassuming riff; the Dischord shout-singing on "Spit Red"; and the subtle way that Casey Proctor's pink fog vocals split open "Green Drag" on the chorus. Stunner, and for sure one of the best records of this stupid year.
A throwback, but a worthy one: Woolen Men are no more, but their discography remains about as bulletproof as it gets. Their two collection LPs, Dog Years and Lucky Box, offer the most rewarding experience, compiled from covers, limited cassettes, etc., and make a great introduction to the band. Very reductively, they plucked pieces of the Clean, the Fall, the Feelies, and any other smart/sharp rock band of the last 50 years and glued them together with an acerbic wit, genuine enthusiasm and a strong sense of dynamics. Can't say enough good things about 'em, and I hope every city and town gets their own version of Woolen Men. Anyway - been playing Lucky Box a lot this year, a little mental stimulus when things feel shitty, and their cover of Neo Boys' "In Disguise" has become a now-again favorite. You deserve this in your life.
