Flat Worms—that’s guitarist Will Ivy, drummer Justin Sullivan and bass player Tim Hellman—arose out of a fertile LA punk scene in the mid-teens. Band members are well-connected, having put in time with Sic Alps, the Ty Segall Band, Kevin Morby’s band and Thee Oh Sees, and Segall has helped record all three of their albums. But for their latest, Antarctica, Steve Albini was enlisted to give their dystopian Fall-esque rants an extra vigor. In her review, Jennifer Kelly observed, “The sound is harder, more precise and altogether more of a sock in the gut.” All three members of Flat Worms contributed to this hard-hitting Listed.
We decided to share some of our “van favorites” from being on tour. Here are our picks.
Tim:
Moondog—H’Art Songs
A semi-straightforward 1979 release from the Viking Of 6th Avenue. “Do Your Thing” and “High On Rocky Ledge” are beautiful standouts.
Bill Evans/Jim Hall—Undercurrent
Music to soothe souls even in the most relentless metro traffic.
Various Artists—BMN Ska and Rocksteady: Always Together 1964-1968
A wonderfully curated comp that keeps the spirits in the van elevated.
The Wire—Complete Series
The greatest tv show. 60+ hours of your life worth sacrificing, especially if those hours are tour van hours.
Justin:
Billie Holiday—Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia
This is my favorite thing to put on after a show or for any night drive on tour.
Sam Cooke—Ain’t That Good News
Any and all, always. Though on the last European tour we did in June 2019, the Ain’t That Good News album was a definite van staple.
Will
The Fall—Hex Enduction Hour
The Fall is a Flat Worms mainstay, so I felt they had to be included. I remember listening to this one driving out of Leeds on one tour.
Dirty John Podcast
We listened to this podcast on a tour of the southwest we did with Ty Segall and the Freedom Band. We were so gripped by the story we were actually excited to get back in the van every day.
Simon Reynolds—Rip It Up and Start Again
This was a great read and gave me a lot of excellent context and stories about a lot of post punk bands and records I love, as well as exposing me to new bands or re-introducing me to bands I hadn't spent much time with previously.
Joe Carducci—Enter Naomi: SST, LA, and All That...
Another great musical tour read. The story of the life of resident SST photographer Naomi Peterson, with a lot of great SST history. Includes a lot of great flyers from shows during that time and photos by Peterson.
Reverberation #192
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1. Will Ivy - If I Was A Painter
2. War - Don't Let Nobody Get You Down
3. Macrame - Mancunian Boys
4. Serge Gainsbourg - New York-U.S.A.
5. The International Submarine Band - Sum Up Broke
6. The Ponys - I Love You 'Cause (You Look Like Me)
7. Television Personalities - Anxiety Block
8. Tim Cohen - Bad Blood
9. Josef K - It's Kinda Funny
10. Mac DeMarco - Baby's Wearing Blue Jeans
11. Dee Dee Warwick - We're Doing Fine
