WEDNESDAY APR 17, 2019
Shady Bug
Shady Bug are among the freshman crop of ’90s alt-rock nostalgists joining the Exploding in Sound roster, and based on the warm, guitar-driven anthems comprising 2017’s tbh idk, the St. Louis quartet should feel right at home. Today the band are announcing their EIS debut, Lemon Lime, to be released March 8 on the Brooklyn-based label. As a first taste of the record, “Make It Up” is quite an earful.
A four-minute conversation between Hannah Rainey and Tom Krenning’s soothing-then-domineering guitars, “Make It Up” mirrors the noise-pop revivalism of labelmates Pileand Ovlov with an underlying urgency that’s all their own. As a classically trained guitarist (and exemplary vocalist) Rainey steers the single with a meticulous attention to detail on par with her backing band’s bookending capacity to raze your speakers.
“‘Make It Up’ was the first song we wrote after our self-released album, tbh idk, Rainey explains. “I think we were trying to drive away from our simplistic style by adding dynamics and arranging form. The lyrics are cute and fun but also personal. I wrote this song about hanging out with a crush, going to a show and drinking Sprite (‘sipping on lemon lime’) from the same cup. But in the chorus I sing about making up confidence in order to hide my insecurities about myself, and also anxiety caused by the trees blooming early and dying in my neighborhood because of global warming.”
Shady Bug are among the freshman crop of ’90s alt-rock nostalgists joining the Exploding in Sound roster, and based on the warm, guitar-driven anthems comprising 2017’s tbh idk, the St. Louis quartet should feel right at home. Today the band are announcing their EIS debut, Lemon Lime, to be released March 8 on the Brooklyn-based label. As a first taste of the record, “Make It Up” is quite an earful.
A four-minute conversation between Hannah Rainey and Tom Krenning’s soothing-then-domineering guitars, “Make It Up” mirrors the noise-pop revivalism of labelmates Pileand Ovlov with an underlying urgency that’s all their own. As a classically trained guitarist (and exemplary vocalist) Rainey steers the single with a meticulous attention to detail on par with her backing band’s bookending capacity to raze your speakers.
“‘Make It Up’ was the first song we wrote after our self-released album, tbh idk, Rainey explains. “I think we were trying to drive away from our simplistic style by adding dynamics and arranging form. The lyrics are cute and fun but also personal. I wrote this song about hanging out with a crush, going to a show and drinking Sprite (‘sipping on lemon lime’) from the same cup. But in the chorus I sing about making up confidence in order to hide my insecurities about myself, and also anxiety caused by the trees blooming early and dying in my neighborhood because of global warming.”
Floral Print
After first meeting on a whim over Facebook, what started out as a chance occurrence between drummer Paul DeMerritt-Verrone and singer/guitarist Nathan Springer (Narrator) sprouted into a continually exciting and unpredictable collaboration. The pair first started practicing and performing around Atlanta, GA in late 2014, and quickly started honing their penchant for dizzying song structures and erratic rhythms grounded in pop sensibilities. Their debut EP ‘woo’, recorded with bassist George Pettis (100 Watt Horse) and producer Graham Tavel, showcased floral print’s vibrant pastiche of psych-pop, early emo, ambient, and deconstructionist rock. Following ‘woo’, the duo (rounded out by a rotating cast of bassists) embarked on numerous tours throughout the East coast and Midwest, making friends and tightening up their sonic communication skills. In summer 2016, floral print linked up again with Tavel to start recording their debut full-length, entitled ‘mirror stages’, at Broad Street Visitor’s Center in Downtown Atlanta. The tracks on ‘mirror stages’ display a marked change in tone from ‘woo’, as glimmers of noise, distorted melancholy, and manic energy imbued their sound with more nuance and stylistic aberrations. Following the recording of ‘mirror stages’, floral print rounded out its lineup with the addition of Josh, Paris, and Lily as the band charts a new course for future tours and releases."
After first meeting on a whim over Facebook, what started out as a chance occurrence between drummer Paul DeMerritt-Verrone and singer/guitarist Nathan Springer (Narrator) sprouted into a continually exciting and unpredictable collaboration. The pair first started practicing and performing around Atlanta, GA in late 2014, and quickly started honing their penchant for dizzying song structures and erratic rhythms grounded in pop sensibilities. Their debut EP ‘woo’, recorded with bassist George Pettis (100 Watt Horse) and producer Graham Tavel, showcased floral print’s vibrant pastiche of psych-pop, early emo, ambient, and deconstructionist rock. Following ‘woo’, the duo (rounded out by a rotating cast of bassists) embarked on numerous tours throughout the East coast and Midwest, making friends and tightening up their sonic communication skills. In summer 2016, floral print linked up again with Tavel to start recording their debut full-length, entitled ‘mirror stages’, at Broad Street Visitor’s Center in Downtown Atlanta. The tracks on ‘mirror stages’ display a marked change in tone from ‘woo’, as glimmers of noise, distorted melancholy, and manic energy imbued their sound with more nuance and stylistic aberrations. Following the recording of ‘mirror stages’, floral print rounded out its lineup with the addition of Josh, Paris, and Lily as the band charts a new course for future tours and releases."
Fuiste
Out of Atlanta comes the relatively new formed math-rock band, Fuiste. The group has been around since the end of 2014, but it wasn’t until recently that they took their music journey head-on. The group consists of Jonny Bakos on bass, Sam Wilson on guitar, and Skylar Brilliante on drums. All three went to the same high school, and Sam and Skylar attended the same Spanish class. This is where the name “fuiste” – a Spanish word which, depending on context, means ‘you went’ or ‘you were’ — originated. Their teacher used the term one day, and it stuck from that point forward.
The trio recently released their debut EP, the three-song Slow Burner. It’s a schizophrenic affair, full of complex rhythm changes and wiry guitar riffs that fly out of your speakers like so many strands from a spider web. There are traces of jazz, hardcore, and psych rock, all connected and then torn asunder by noisy interludes that seem to appear out of nowhere. What little vocals there are appear almost inconsequentially without much melody to steer them. It’s a relentlessly restless record and yet, despite its messiness, it all comes together in a manner that is exciting and constantly surprising.
Slow Burner is available for streaming or as a name your price download via Bandcamp.
- Bryce Center / Immersive Atlanta
Out of Atlanta comes the relatively new formed math-rock band, Fuiste. The group has been around since the end of 2014, but it wasn’t until recently that they took their music journey head-on. The group consists of Jonny Bakos on bass, Sam Wilson on guitar, and Skylar Brilliante on drums. All three went to the same high school, and Sam and Skylar attended the same Spanish class. This is where the name “fuiste” – a Spanish word which, depending on context, means ‘you went’ or ‘you were’ — originated. Their teacher used the term one day, and it stuck from that point forward.
The trio recently released their debut EP, the three-song Slow Burner. It’s a schizophrenic affair, full of complex rhythm changes and wiry guitar riffs that fly out of your speakers like so many strands from a spider web. There are traces of jazz, hardcore, and psych rock, all connected and then torn asunder by noisy interludes that seem to appear out of nowhere. What little vocals there are appear almost inconsequentially without much melody to steer them. It’s a relentlessly restless record and yet, despite its messiness, it all comes together in a manner that is exciting and constantly surprising.
Slow Burner is available for streaming or as a name your price download via Bandcamp.
- Bryce Center / Immersive Atlanta