This week on Pump Up The Jam: Shannon Lay, Cold Cave, Duds, Death Bells, New Candys, and OSHH.
The current trend of annoyingly twee female singers used in TV commercials has turned me away from the “women singer/songwriter” genre, but I’m so glad I listened to Shannon Lay who is NOTHING like that. Lay’s voice is exceptional and her melodies are stunning. Her album Living Water was recorded by Emmet Kelly of Cairo Gang and Ty Segall fame, and it is magical. Living Water is out today from Mare/Woodsist.
Listen to “Recording 15” and prepare to fall in love.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Cold Cave but the wait is over! “Glory” is an uptempo track that feels almost radio-friendly and would have been so perfect for Twin Peaks’ recent season (get on the Cold Cave tip, David Lynch!).
On their upcoming tour dates (including a few with The Jesus and Mary Chain), Cold Cave will be performing with a full live band including Wes Eisold, Amy Lee, Max G. Morton, Nils Blue, and Ryan McMahon.
Tour Dates:
September 24 – Pomona @ Glasshouse *
September 29 – Chicago @ Metro – Cold Waves Festival
September 30 – St. Louis @ Delmar Hall ^
October 1 – Detroit @ El Club %
October 2 – Cleveland @ Beachland Ballroom %
October 5 – Aarhus @ Vox Hall $
October 6 – Gothenburg @ Tradgard $
October 7 – Malmo @ Babel
October 8 – Stockholm @ Munechbryggeriet $
October 10 – Helsinki @ Circus $
October 12 – Berlin @ Astra Kulturhaus $
October 13 – Prague @ Lucerna Music Bar $
October 14 – Vienna @ Ottakringer Brewery $
October 15 – Munich @ Theaterfabrik $
October 17 – Dublin @ Vicar Street $
October 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palace Theater – Cloak/Dagger Fest
* w/ Peaking Lights, Joe Cardamone’s Holy War
^ w/ Drab Majesty, Ritual Howls
% w/ Ritual Howls
$ w/ The Jesus and Mary Chain
Duds makes the kind of unsettled post-punk that I hoped for from the last Muuy Biien album. Quirky melodies, unexpected cowbell, and angry saxophone can all be found within this track, “Elastic Feel.”
Their album Of a Nature or Degree is out today from Castle Face Records.
Sometimes you’ll see a band cited in a press release and they sound nothing like their name implies. But with a band like Death Bells, the name fits the music like a glove, a fingerless leather glove. Both “Only You” and “Something Above” boast that kind of gothy, post-punky pop that I have adored since 1984.
The Australian band released an EP in 2016 and their full-length, Standing at the Edge of the World, will be out on September 29 from Funeral Party Records in North America and Burning Rose in Australia.
Another genre I love is shoegaze, in all of its many forms. New Candys are a band out of Venice, Italy (!) and they’ve got the feedback + hooks formula down. If you’re reminded of A Place To Bury Strangers and The Jesus and Mary Chain, you are on the right track! Watch their delightful video for “Excess.”
New Candys’ full-length debut Bleeding Magenta (what a name!) will be out on October 6 on the appropriately titled Fuzz Club Records.
Finally, here’s OSHH, a Welsh electropop singer/songwriter who crafts makes dreamy, synth-filled tunes. I don’t think I’ve heard a band sing in Welsh since Super Furry Animals, so this is pretty fantastic. OSHH’s self-titled debut comes out on October 6 from Blinc Records. Check out “All Mistakes.”
This week’s #FlashbackFriday is dedicated to Ty Segall, who rocked my socks off last Saturday at Toronto’s Rec Room.
Here’s a reality show parody he did back in his Epsilons days, circa 2007. It’s called The L.B. and it’s hilarious. It also features Mikal Cronin and Charles Moothart (with shockingly short hair).
ICYMI: Here are some other music articles I’ve written recently.
Ty Segall Goes Acoustic at Toronto’s Night Owl Festival
Zola Jesus Frees Herself From Constraints on ‘Okovi’
Alive and On Fire: INVSN w/Peeling at Bovine Sex Club
‘Art Has Big Shoes To Fill’: Talking to INVSN’s Dennis Lyxzén
