This week on Pump Up The Jam: Elletrodomestico, Sisters, Kabiria, Moon Eyed, Absolutely Not, Big Hush, and Gary Numan.
First up is the delightful Elletrodomestico. This duo – consisting of Pietro Straccia and Jane Wiedlin (of The Go-Go’s) – wrote their first song together in 2016, inspired and influenced by the death of David Bowie. It went so well that they decided to compose and record an entire album. Check out “Aloha,” which is catchy but with a melancholy twist. How fantastic is this video?! (P.S. I want all of Wiedlin’s outfits, especially that purple and green print pantsuit.)
The full album, If You’re A Boy or A Girl, will be out on October 20. You can stream more songs at the band’s Bandcamp.
If you like pop and R&B and the blend of male and female vocals (dig that falsetto!), you might love Sisters, another duo, this one featuring Emily Westman and Andrew Vait. It reminds me a little bit of Johnny Headband with some Prince influences and maybe dunked in a pool of 1980s Lite Rock. Also there’s an actual guitar solo in “Let Me Go” which is kind of amazing. Oh and some sweet sax in “Heart Beats.”
The band released two tracks from their upcoming album Wait Don’t Wait (out on October 13 from Tender Loving Empire).
Every once in a while you come across someone whose voice is so singularly beautiful that it stops you in your tracks. That’s just what happened when I heard Gretchen King of KABIRIA, another duo that also includes programmer Chris Dang. “Electronic Geisha” is a nearly ten-minute epic that sounds like early Pat Benatar recording with Roger Waters. Plus samples. It is incredible and not boring for even one single second.
For more on the band and the genesis of this song, check out their website.
It’s a day of duos here on Pump Up The Jam, apparently. Moon Eyed hails from Toronto (whoot!) and consists of husband and wife Simon Letourneau and Elizabeth-Jane Bitze. Their sound is almost as if Air spent a lot of time listening to new psych and taking drugs. Enjoy “Heart in the Shade” and “Haleiwa,” the title track from their upcoming album. It’s out on September 17 from Pleasence. Follow them on Facebook for more info.
Moving on from duos now to trios! Chicago’s LGBTQ band Absolutely Not has a great dirty synth garage punk sound in “Blood Money.” The video is a musical ode to 1970s and ‘80s sci-fi horror cinema, with which frontman Donnie Moore has always been obsessed.
“Strictly Top” is another dance jam from the band with a really cute video.
Their latest album Errors, came out on July 28 from No Trend Records and they’ll be touring in September.
9/21 – Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
9/22 – Utica, NY – That Place
9/23 – Brooklyn, NY – The Gutter
9/24 – Philadelphia, PA – The Century
9/25 – New Jersey – TBD
9/26 – Baltimore, MD – TBD
9/27 – Pittsburgh, PA – Gooski’s
9/28 – Columbus, OH – Double Happiness
9/29 – Indiana – TBD
9/30 – Chicago, IL – Aux
What happens when you like so many different genres of music you cannot pick just one as your fave? That’s the itch that Big Hush scratches. They are punk, post-punk, shoegaze, experimental, dream pop… and very good. Their recent press release indicates that the four members of the band (Genevieve Ludwig, Owen Wuerker, Chris Taylor, and Emma Baker) share singing and songwriting duties.
They’ve recently reissued their 2014 and 2015 releases (Wholes and Who’s Smoking Your Spirit?) as a new album with some bonus tracks. You can stream it on Soundcloud. It’s wonderful.
Post-punk New Wave pioneer Gary Numan is still making music and touring and his newest release, Savage (Songs From A Broken World), will be out on September 15 from BMG.
“And It All Began With You” is the latest song to be released. If you think Gary Numan peaked in the 1980s, well, you’re wrong. This song is great.
“The songs are about the things that people do in such a harsh and terrifying environment,” explains Numan. “It’s about a desperate need to survive and they do awful things in order to do so, and some are haunted by what they’ve done. That desire to be forgiven, along with some discovered remnants of an old religious book, ultimately encourages religion to resurface, and it really goes downhill from there.”
Check out this extremely sci-fi video for “My Name is Ruin” (Can someone cast him in an upcoming Star Wars movie already? He’s got the clothes.)
Something different this week on #FlashbackFriday: a 2013 “What’s In My Bag?” with Gary Numan! (Dig the Midge Ure diss, LOL.) What an utterly adorable man he is.
Bonus: Gary Numan in a car from Urgh! A Music War!
