FRIDAY AUG 11, 2017
529 Presents:
Chunklet Presents:
The Gotobeds
DieAlps! | Schizos | JesusHoney | Shepherds (LP Release Show!)
The Gotobeds
Hey, what’s this? Well that, my friend, is the newest album from The Gotobeds, entitled Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic. It’s their second full-length LP and their first for Sub Pop. Whoa, whoa, please slow down. I’m already completely lost. What you just said sounded like a stream of complete gibberish. Okay, I’ll lay it out for you and if you have any questions could you yell them at me? SOUNDS GOOD. The Gotobeds formed vaguely around 2009 in Pittsburgh and play a mutant strain of rock music that is often filed under punk, indie rock, or 99-cent discount bin. WAIT, THE GOTOBEDS? I HEARD THEY WERE KNUCKLEHEADS! Only if the knuckle is the part of the human body that contains the brains. Much like their previous releases on underground stalwart labels like Mind Cure and 12XU, this new album artfully slips intelligence and experimentation into a dying art form. It’s a harder feat than you’d think. And sure, their live shows have often been compared to an “all night party where I feared for my life and the lives of everybody in the five block radius,” and their recorded output is akin “to the sonic manifestos of four men deprived of human love and raised on beer and Swell Maps, Mission of Burma, and old Fall records.” But what you get with The Gotobeds, delivered in spades on this album, is smart, noisy rock with just the right amount of stupid. FAIR ENOUGH. SO HOW’D THIS GET MADE? It was recorded in bursts over several months of 2015 in their friend My War Matt’s basement in Pittsburgh. Unlike previously, the songs were conceived and recorded in blocks, which resulted in a more experimental feel. But this is no chin stroking curate’s egg. You like loud, double guitar leads? OF COURSE I DO. WHO DOESN’T? You’re in luck, because this album is carpeted with em, thanks to Eli Kasan and TFP. On a song like “’Bodies,’” it sounds as if you’ve walked into the biggest Guitar Center, but, you know, not terrible. Keeping it all locked down is the rhythm section of drummer, Cary Belback and bassist, Gavin Jensen. They allow the downright prettiness of a song like “Red Alphabet” to shine, and the lyrics on the anti-sexism thrash of “Crisis Time” to punch through. THIS ALL SOUNDS WONDERFUL, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO CARE ABOUT? Eh, probably not. Except that Tim Midyett (Silkworm, Bottomless Pit, Mint Mile) and some bum (Protomartyr) are featured as guest vocalists on “Rope” and “Why’d You,” respectively. Also, I’d be remiss to not mention the fact that the band’s live show is a testament to the cathartic nature of speed, skill, repetition, noise, and red stage lights. If you don’t believe me, ask the bands they have played with, like Total Control, Tyvek, or The Replacements. Also, they rep Pittsburgh harder than anyone possibly could and come off better for it…which is saying something. I THINK I UNDERSTAND. BLOOD // SUGAR // SECS // TRAFFIC IS THE GREATEST ALBUM SINCE THE LAST GOTOBEDS RECORD? Yes. Now please stop yelling.
Hey, what’s this? Well that, my friend, is the newest album from The Gotobeds, entitled Blood // Sugar // Secs // Traffic. It’s their second full-length LP and their first for Sub Pop. Whoa, whoa, please slow down. I’m already completely lost. What you just said sounded like a stream of complete gibberish. Okay, I’ll lay it out for you and if you have any questions could you yell them at me? SOUNDS GOOD. The Gotobeds formed vaguely around 2009 in Pittsburgh and play a mutant strain of rock music that is often filed under punk, indie rock, or 99-cent discount bin. WAIT, THE GOTOBEDS? I HEARD THEY WERE KNUCKLEHEADS! Only if the knuckle is the part of the human body that contains the brains. Much like their previous releases on underground stalwart labels like Mind Cure and 12XU, this new album artfully slips intelligence and experimentation into a dying art form. It’s a harder feat than you’d think. And sure, their live shows have often been compared to an “all night party where I feared for my life and the lives of everybody in the five block radius,” and their recorded output is akin “to the sonic manifestos of four men deprived of human love and raised on beer and Swell Maps, Mission of Burma, and old Fall records.” But what you get with The Gotobeds, delivered in spades on this album, is smart, noisy rock with just the right amount of stupid. FAIR ENOUGH. SO HOW’D THIS GET MADE? It was recorded in bursts over several months of 2015 in their friend My War Matt’s basement in Pittsburgh. Unlike previously, the songs were conceived and recorded in blocks, which resulted in a more experimental feel. But this is no chin stroking curate’s egg. You like loud, double guitar leads? OF COURSE I DO. WHO DOESN’T? You’re in luck, because this album is carpeted with em, thanks to Eli Kasan and TFP. On a song like “’Bodies,’” it sounds as if you’ve walked into the biggest Guitar Center, but, you know, not terrible. Keeping it all locked down is the rhythm section of drummer, Cary Belback and bassist, Gavin Jensen. They allow the downright prettiness of a song like “Red Alphabet” to shine, and the lyrics on the anti-sexism thrash of “Crisis Time” to punch through. THIS ALL SOUNDS WONDERFUL, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I NEED TO CARE ABOUT? Eh, probably not. Except that Tim Midyett (Silkworm, Bottomless Pit, Mint Mile) and some bum (Protomartyr) are featured as guest vocalists on “Rope” and “Why’d You,” respectively. Also, I’d be remiss to not mention the fact that the band’s live show is a testament to the cathartic nature of speed, skill, repetition, noise, and red stage lights. If you don’t believe me, ask the bands they have played with, like Total Control, Tyvek, or The Replacements. Also, they rep Pittsburgh harder than anyone possibly could and come off better for it…which is saying something. I THINK I UNDERSTAND. BLOOD // SUGAR // SECS // TRAFFIC IS THE GREATEST ALBUM SINCE THE LAST GOTOBEDS RECORD? Yes. Now please stop yelling.
DieAlps!
Austrian born and raised Cornelia "Connie" Calcaterra and husband/guitarist Frank, lead Tampa, FL's DieAlps! (translated: The Alps!, pronounced dee-alps). Formed in 2012 and quickly becoming one of Central Florida's more beloved acts, the band's self-titled debut EP (Fall 2014) gave us swaying waltzy baroque-pop with lyrics reflecting Connie's growing up abroad and her life changes in the States. Fast forward to 2017. The band, with Connie now splitting lead vocals duties with Frank, brings us their debut full length Our City. Spending the better part of 2016 in the studio, these new songs show a band
leaning heavily on 90's inspired indie rock and alternative while digging deep, getting personal and moving beyond the twee nature of the three quarter time signature. Self recorded, engineered and produced by Frank at Tampa's Atomic Audio, calling the album 'more rock' would simply be an understatement. Our City definitely lands subtle jabs with songs like the surfy hometown homage title track and the punchy murder ballad “Get Yours” while occasionally keeping their waltz-y roots planted with “Battles”. On producing the album, he says "We wanted the album to have a 90s vibe...So when it came down to mixing, I found myself referencing everything from Pavement to Yuck, early Radiohead and The Shins." Our City is out Friday August 4th on CD, Digital and limited yellow vinyl.
"Hints of 90s rock nostalgia mingle with effervescent pop enthusiasm, making for a fizzy, rather enjoyable listen." - Fuzzy Logic
Austrian born and raised Cornelia "Connie" Calcaterra and husband/guitarist Frank, lead Tampa, FL's DieAlps! (translated: The Alps!, pronounced dee-alps). Formed in 2012 and quickly becoming one of Central Florida's more beloved acts, the band's self-titled debut EP (Fall 2014) gave us swaying waltzy baroque-pop with lyrics reflecting Connie's growing up abroad and her life changes in the States. Fast forward to 2017. The band, with Connie now splitting lead vocals duties with Frank, brings us their debut full length Our City. Spending the better part of 2016 in the studio, these new songs show a band
leaning heavily on 90's inspired indie rock and alternative while digging deep, getting personal and moving beyond the twee nature of the three quarter time signature. Self recorded, engineered and produced by Frank at Tampa's Atomic Audio, calling the album 'more rock' would simply be an understatement. Our City definitely lands subtle jabs with songs like the surfy hometown homage title track and the punchy murder ballad “Get Yours” while occasionally keeping their waltz-y roots planted with “Battles”. On producing the album, he says "We wanted the album to have a 90s vibe...So when it came down to mixing, I found myself referencing everything from Pavement to Yuck, early Radiohead and The Shins." Our City is out Friday August 4th on CD, Digital and limited yellow vinyl.
"Hints of 90s rock nostalgia mingle with effervescent pop enthusiasm, making for a fizzy, rather enjoyable listen." - Fuzzy Logic
Shepherds (LP Release Show!)
The healing hand and surgeon’s scalpel are intertwined on Shepherds’ new album Insignificant Whip. The art-rock masterpiece encases the band’s vulnerable wisdom in flighty melodies that burn with intimacy and fragility as singer/lyricists Jonathan Merenivitch and Adrian Benedykt Świtoń address everything from toxic masculinity and Catholic guilt to Youtube comments and Tupac Shakur. Since their 2011 EP Holy Stain, the band have received accolades for their taut analyses of social ills and the resulting strain on body and mind, but even the skeletal no-wave that defined their early sound was bound with, in the broadest sense of the word, soul. The band’s ability to confront their deepest insecurities and doubts is more than simple catharsis, it serves to illuminate deeper questions of existence and identity, and frame them in context of systemic oppression, discrimination, and isolation.
The minimalism which guided Shepherds’ earlier work has evolved into lush, expansive compositions thanks to founding bassist Peter Cauthorn, who helped flesh out the LP’s identity as a core contributor to the album’s instrumental textures. Vocalist and drummer Świtoń also took on a central role in the recording process, contributing his voice and songwriting talents to the the album’s pensive hue, while new additions Ryan York (drums), May Tabol (guitar, keyboards), and Vinny Restivo (bass) round out the live band. Moments on Insignificant Whip recall everything from Felt to Josef K, but Shepherds have a keen ability to write post-punk which is modern and prescient rather than a simple homage to a particular era of underground music. The martial rhythms still echo with the proletariat fever of their 2015 LP Exit Youth, but now the lyrics are delivered over thrilling saxophone melodies and deliberative chords, making them all the more haunting, thanks to production from Drew Vandenburg (Toro Y Moi, Mothers, Of Montreal).
Throughout Insignificant Whip, the introspective nature of Shepherds is amplified by a holistic understanding of what it means to be human. The anxieties of adulthood, the teenage desires deferred, and the crushing weight of evil in the world are forged into vulnerable psalms. It’s precisely in these tear-stained moments that the album surpasses the encroaching anxiety as Shepherds invite the listener into a community which tempers the surrounding darkness and pushes back against oppression with resolute empathy.
The healing hand and surgeon’s scalpel are intertwined on Shepherds’ new album Insignificant Whip. The art-rock masterpiece encases the band’s vulnerable wisdom in flighty melodies that burn with intimacy and fragility as singer/lyricists Jonathan Merenivitch and Adrian Benedykt Świtoń address everything from toxic masculinity and Catholic guilt to Youtube comments and Tupac Shakur. Since their 2011 EP Holy Stain, the band have received accolades for their taut analyses of social ills and the resulting strain on body and mind, but even the skeletal no-wave that defined their early sound was bound with, in the broadest sense of the word, soul. The band’s ability to confront their deepest insecurities and doubts is more than simple catharsis, it serves to illuminate deeper questions of existence and identity, and frame them in context of systemic oppression, discrimination, and isolation.
The minimalism which guided Shepherds’ earlier work has evolved into lush, expansive compositions thanks to founding bassist Peter Cauthorn, who helped flesh out the LP’s identity as a core contributor to the album’s instrumental textures. Vocalist and drummer Świtoń also took on a central role in the recording process, contributing his voice and songwriting talents to the the album’s pensive hue, while new additions Ryan York (drums), May Tabol (guitar, keyboards), and Vinny Restivo (bass) round out the live band. Moments on Insignificant Whip recall everything from Felt to Josef K, but Shepherds have a keen ability to write post-punk which is modern and prescient rather than a simple homage to a particular era of underground music. The martial rhythms still echo with the proletariat fever of their 2015 LP Exit Youth, but now the lyrics are delivered over thrilling saxophone melodies and deliberative chords, making them all the more haunting, thanks to production from Drew Vandenburg (Toro Y Moi, Mothers, Of Montreal).
Throughout Insignificant Whip, the introspective nature of Shepherds is amplified by a holistic understanding of what it means to be human. The anxieties of adulthood, the teenage desires deferred, and the crushing weight of evil in the world are forged into vulnerable psalms. It’s precisely in these tear-stained moments that the album surpasses the encroaching anxiety as Shepherds invite the listener into a community which tempers the surrounding darkness and pushes back against oppression with resolute empathy.