Genius #7 - Jul '24

I didn’t choose the genius life, the genius life chose me. I don’t know what to say about this month’s issue besides: I hope you like (abstractly) folk music?

But for real, give Victor Jara a listen and read about him and his life. I hope that you’ll give a shot at contextualizing 60s Chile with the folk revival family band, The Roches, who took a less revolutionary and more quotidian look at American life. And their work should also be considered against the Ship-Of-Theseus-esque Senegalese mutual aid drum ensemble the Assiko Golden Band de Grand Yoff. All of these musicians wrote of regular struggles to try to reach audience; whether their goal is to grow a communist uprising, thrash against the anti-feminist boundaries of 70s America, or offer a reminder that the land and the city and the neighborhood is ours to build and keep together.

Anyways, anybody seen anything interesting in the news lately?

Table of Contents:

• Capitalism
• Album recommendations
• Replay
• Garbage Corner
• Scene Report (Upcoming Baltimore & selected I-95 Corridor shows)

Capitalism:

This month, I decided to buy some stuff that might improve my day-to-day; I picked up 3 cookbooks to try to bring some new flavors into my kitchen:

• The Superiority Burger cookbook — My fave restaurant in NYC, gonna need to try to make this stuff at home since it won’t be a simple train ride away. Very excited to try to brine my own TFT
• Power Vegetables from Peter Meehan & the Lucky Peach editorial team (rec’d by my friend Aled, who has made me some very good food). This one has a mushroom mapo tofu that I’m going to throw together ASAP.
• To Asia With Love by Hetty McKinnon, whose vegetarian spin on a Chinese-centric, pan-Asian spread looks so tasty (this one also comes rec’d from Aled). I just got it this morning, but a quick cursory glance opened to a page with an udon cacio e pepe that I know I want to eat tonight, so we’ll see if that’s in the cards.

Album Recommendations:

Sumac - The Healer (Thrill Jockey, Jun ‘24)

Heavy as hell, psychedelic & searching post-metal

What a gigantic sound, always love to hear a new Sumac album! The PNW-based trio did one collab album with free improv genius Keiji Haino in 2018 and found a secret pathway through the limits of what metal can be: they found brightness and noise and free jazz on the other side. Their latest is another crushing, heavy-as-fuck post-metal (real genre?) record, but with none of the boring song structures that typically come with the style. On a mixing basis, almost all of the oomph coming from drum impact & bass guitar, letting the guitar tones be ragged and glassy and spitty over top (3 of my favorite adjectives for guitar tones). When the band clears space out for an ambient passage, or dedicates a little time to do a huge squawking free jazz guitar solo out of nowhere, it’s really magical. And like… sure, Aaron Turner’s cookie monster voice isn’t always my favorite, but it really works on these 4 long songs (the shortest is ~13min, the opener is nearly 26min). My favorite moment on this album is the screeching noise rock solo about 12min deep into closer “The Stone’s Turn.” Also: note the absolutely stunning album artwork from Turner, a great addition to the band’s design catalog.

Mabe Fratti - Sentir Que No Sabes (Unheard Of Hope, Jun ‘24)

Experimental pop that’s actually experimental and actually catchy

Another lovely solo release from the CDMX-based cellist and songwriter, who also performs in the experimental chamber quartet Amor Muerte (featured in GDC#2). This record is a cool mix of these weird and catchy sing-songy pop songs that burst with expressive vocals (Fratti refused any autotune, choosing instead to highlight imperfections in her voice), swirling synths, and staccato strings — and some interesting textural, experimental dissonant interstitials. It’s a nice flavor combo; I can imagine this record as a great bridge to get pop fans to listen to something a little farther outside of their element. This one takes a min to warm up, but the middle of the record has some great songs (esp the trio of big drums with mournful cello on “Oidos”, the spitty vocoder countermelodies in “Quieras o no,” then the shattered glass synths with lush string pads on “Enfrente”). What a blessing, another cool experimental pop album for the books in 2024, we love to see it.

Victor Jara - Pongo En Tus Manos Abiertas (Jota Jota, 1969)

Marxist folk music from pre-Allende Chile

The first outwardly political record from the Chileno folk martyr, released on the Communist Youth of Chile’s record label. Jara’s vocals are emotional and powerful and his songwriting is simply stunning (half of the songs are originals, half are renditions of folk songs). After Allende was elected to office, it’s easy to see why Jara was selected to be an ambassador. Pinochet and his goons also recognized the power of his music and voice — they assassinated Jara within one week of usurping power from the people of Chile. About half the songs on this record are solo acoustic and the other half have backing from fellow travelers Quilapayún, with rich harmonies and full instrumentation. A deeply engrossing listen. The chorale vocals “El Martillo” (a rendition of “If I Had A Hammer”) is overwhelmingly beautiful and the song “Te Recuerdo, Amanda” is simply one of the best songs that I’ve ever heard, full stop.

Assiko Golden Band De Grand Yoff - Magg Tekki (Mississippi, 2023)

Senegalese polyrhythmic drum ensemble & political poetry

The fourteen (!!) drummers of the Golden Band and their poet-singer Djiby Ly also constitute a local mutual aid group in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Dakar, Grand Yoff. This album is full of call-and-response singing (in French+Wolof), accordions & reeds, and (of course) polyrhythmic percussion. The band has existed in some form for 20 years, with a rotating cast of musicians joining and exiting, but this is the first recording of their sound. This record is a blast, I put it on and cleaned my house & was bopping around the whole time, listening to the interplay between the djembes and melodic balafon parts. It’s mostly a dry record, but some clean overdubs were added to bring some atmosphere and additional instrumentation: there are 2 beautiful kora interludes for a little break from all the drumming. For full context, LL picked this record out based solely off the description & when we rang it up at the counter, the guy went off on how good it is and gave us a free tote bag. Can you imagine riding that high? Impressing the Brooklyn record store guy? Come on.

DEVO - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO (Warner, 1978)

Jittery art-rock from future-past

Two years before “Whip It” and well before anybody had ever heard the term “new-wave,” DEVO were just art freaks making weirdo punk music in Akron. In response to the Kent State massacre & the war in Vietnam, DEVO formed a musical art project. They claimed to be from a future where humanity has devolved — and tbh this Brian Eno-produced record absolutely sounds like it’s from the future. “Uncontrollable Urge” is such a powerful way to open your rock n roll album. Of course the hits are amazing: the jittery “Jocko Homo” and the bizarre cover of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (every ounce of sex chemically removed from the Rolling Stones’ original) — but the weird deep cuts at the end of the album are worth revisiting. “Gut Feeling (Slap Your Mammy)” is a crazy song to hear on a major label release; album closer “Shrivel Up” sounds like it could be written by one of those newer no-wave pop bands from Poughkeepsie et sim. I don’t hold their other records as closely as this one, it’s worth the listen (or revisit).

Upcoming August albums to look forward to:

HUGE month coming up — lots of cool stuff coming out.

• World’s longest “huzzzzzaaahhhh booooiiiiiii!” The medieval aesthetic Philly band Poison Ruïn will release a long EP of Tolkein-influenced punky metal songs dedicated to “the sacred bonds of friendship” on 8/2. Confrere is their 2nd release for Relapse in the past year(!)
• Norwegian indie-pop geniuses Pom Poko are following up their absolutely incredible 2021 album with another high-energy record of chunky and intricate guitar rock. If you like Deerhoof etc, you owe it to check out Pom Poko. Champion is out 8/12 via Bella Union.
• There’s a new Melt-Banana album coming out!!! You guys!! On 8/23, 3+5 is out on A-Zap Records. It’s the frenetic bubble-gum noise-punk band’s 8 album, their first in 10 years, I can’t wait.
• Philly indie rock freaks Spirit Of The Beehive are a massive influence on the underground music world. Their latest hazy, psychedelic offering (complete with left-field samples, autotuned vocals, and weird key changes), You’ll Have To Lose Something, will be out on Saddle Creek on 8/23.
• Let’s get your head squeezed until it pops. NYC’s noise outfit Uniform has a new 4-song noise rock full length album coming out. American Standard is out on Sacred Bones on 8/23.
• Grindcore legends seen on greasy white guys’ t-shirts across the USA, Nails, are back and putting out their first since 2016. This is the real shit. Every Bridge Burning on 8/30 via Nuclear Blast.

Replay:

The Roches - The Roches (Warner Bros., 1979)

To be honest, I’m not 100% sure who this album was made for, but I know that I’ve been drawn to it repeatedly since hearing it for the first time a few years ago. Idiosyncratic songwriting about daily life, acoustic guitar accompaniment, and gorgeous three-part harmonies.

The band’s whole biography is described in the first track on this album: three sisters from New Jersey who are each accomplished singers in their own rights, moved to New York City, and now they’re recording as a singing group. They don’t give out their phone numbers. The vaudeville sort of style was anachronistic at the time and it’s doubly so (or even triply so) now. You get the impression that they really want you to know that this one is going to be an oddball little folk album and they’re going to ride that knife’s edge of quirkiness. When it works, it’s outstanding.

The songs are mostly written by Maggie (oldest), with Terre (middle) and Suzzy (youngest) contributing some of my favorites on the album as well. The emotional heft of the songs can snap from heartfelt to goofy, with the three vocalists performing delicate and interweaving harmonies over top. To add to the oddity, a few of the songs incongruously feature legendary prog rock musicians like Robert Fripp and Tony Levin.

When you hear each Roche’s voice on its own, it’s very clear which one is singing — but when they sing together, their voices blend in a way that reminds of the vibrant consonance of the Bulgarian State Television Women’s Choir.

If you just want to give it a quick listen, the 2nd track, “Hammond Song” is a perfect song. Truly perfect, 10/10, unbelievable. In response to the band’s humiliation after their first attempt at being a band (the record label cared more about their clothing than their songs), the sisters high-tailed it to Hammond, LA to lay-low at a friend’s place. Maggie penned a song that references the experience, written from multiple perspectives and interweaving a narrative of a woman leaving her partner. Bright, chiming acoustic guitars and a lush three-part harmony arrangement is broken up by a Fripp guitar solo that fills in the space of all of the vocalists. This is a special one — this is what brings me back to this album over and over.

Other songs go for more of a comedic edge: “Mr. Sellack” would do really well in conversation with The Smiths’ “Frankly Mr. Shankly” — whereas Shankly is an artist telling a boss to “take this job and shove it,” Sellack instead takes place when the artist returns to the diner she used to work at after an unsuccessful bid to stardom… and begs to be taken back. The lyrics are funny and personal, with little nugget lines like “Waiting tables ain't that bad. / Since I've seen you last, / I've waited for some things / that you would not believe / to come true.”

“The Train” is a quirky ode to public transit and asks the question: if we’re all stuck here together, why don’t we make this our community? This one has some stupid lines, but to me the whole thing comes together with the giant chorus and the almost-touching ending where the narrator decides she’s too afraid to upset the order by asking a passenger his name.

Not all of the songs are winners — “Damned Old Dog” features some really lovely singing but is kind of a dirge, “The Troubles” intentionally provides a droll American-gaze look at the civil war in Ireland, and “Pretty and High” is a kind of puzzling album closer (especially since “Quitting Time” would have been a great way to close this album).

But that’s the risk with folk music in general: it’s a genre that benefits from less of a filter — it works best when you can see the songwriter’s soul head-on. I’d still recommend listening to this album and not giving the sisters a hard time if the songs don’t all land — they’re putting it all on the line.

Garbage Corner:

Picks & strings

For the past few years, I have been trying different picks & different strings to see what I want out of them.. To be honest, this has been a completely unscientific process.

I’ve tended to prefer DR strings (especially the hexagonal core stainless steel Lo-Riders for bass) — but I got turned onto Stringjoy strings a couple years ago. They are about twice as expensive as other strings (~$12 instead of ~$7), but to my ears they sound 3x as good and they 10x as nice under my fingers. I don’t change my strings so often these days, so it works out.. If I were changing them every 6 weeks like the doctor orders, then I’d prob go back to DR for the cheaper set.

To my ears, the Stringjoy gives a lot more brightness & tends to not get that rusty, dull sound that my other strings get after a few weeks. On my stratocaster, I prefer medium-light 10s and for my jazzmaster I’ve been enjoying a more powerfully medium set of 11s. Overall, I prefer my strat to have a bendier, looser feel that lets me bend full chords pretty easily and I prefer my jazzmaster to be a little more rigid and a little chunkier sounding (I can use the whammy bar for bends). I also have a semi-hollow hagstrom viking — on that guitar, I prefer a heavy set of strings with a wound-3rd string for real jazz boy stuff, but I basically never change the strings for that guitar.

For picks, I typically waffle between tortex green and tortex blue thickness… hovering around and below 1mm. Lately, I’ve been really having fun with those tiny black jazz III’s that I think are like 1.3mm. I’m not the cleanest with my right hand, so having such a tiny and rigid plectrum helps me relearn how to be accurate.

If you’ve got string or pick recs, sound off in the mailbag or the chat.

Scene Report:

Consumer Culture @ Holy Frijoles (7/18)

Great way to settle into the new city: get invited to the cool noise rock gig at the Tex-Mex-spot cum DIY-venue. The opening bands were alright — not interested in putting anybody on blast since they seem like nice people, but they would both have benefitted from reading my treatise on the 20min set. 45mins is just too much time to play!

Consumer Culture’s set was great though. They played for about 30min, covering a wide array of sounds, from hardcore, grind, even finding time for some 90s alt-rock style tracks. The drummer put a stick through the snare drum almost immediately, but got a replacement from one of the touring bands (that’s COMMUNITY).

I’ll say that the structure for each of these songs was all pretty similar, with breakdowns in the middle for moshing, which got a little tiresome for me — but it turns out having 4 world class musicians up there can really make it work. Some of the more grindy, The Locust-esque guitar parts would have been way soupier in the hands of a dilletante like myself, but the guitarist had the chops to nail each nasty lick. The whole set was held together with crunchy basslines & a barrage of drum fills. The big surprise for me was the vocals — on the record, they sound good, but the vocalist’s presence and delivery live is excellent. There’s something you don’t hear that often: a DIY gig with a decent vocalist!!

Consumer Culture’s lyrics are really gnarly and, blissfully, they mostly reach the audience since the vocalist enunciates clearly and does a mix of singing, rapping, growling, screaming. The songs have just the right level of stomp and humor to get the crowd worked up — kids were moshing and tearing it up in Frijoles. Catch them live if you can!

August upcoming shows

Baltimore:

• 8/2 (Fri) subSCAPE (tons of cool bands) @ The Crown
• 8/3 (Sat) subSCAPE @ Metro
• 8/3 (Sat) subSCAPE @ The Crown
• 8/4 (Sun) subSCAPE @ Metro
• 8/7 (Wed) Bleary Eyed & Powerwasher @ Ottobar
• 8/10 (Sat) Scream & The Messthetics @ Ottobar
• 8/14 (Wed) Krallice @ Metro
• 8/15 (Thu) Big Brave @ Metro
• 8/23 (Fri) Pissed Jeans @ Metro
• 8/23 (Fri) Combat, Pretty Bitter @ The Undercroft
• 8/24 (Sat) Eyehategod @ Ottobar
• 8/27 (Tue) Distend, Mast Year, Euclid C Finder @ Holy Frijoles
• 8/29 (Thu) Kite, Computer Kill @ Metro
• 8/29 (Thu) Lahnah, Powerwasher @ Holy Frijoles

DC:

• 8/1 (Thu) The Body & Dis Fig @ Songbyrd
• 8/1 (Thu) The Messthetics @ Fort Reno
• 8/2 (Fri) clothes, Made Manifest, femurs @ Rhizome
• 8/3 (Sat) Front Royal, Sol Reactor @ Pie Shop
• 8/4 (Sun) The Mountain Goats & New Pornographers @ Wolf Trap
• 8/9 (Fri) Breakin' Even Fest @ Pie Shop
• 8/9 (Fri) Pretty Bitter/Fowerbomb Split Release @ Black Cat
• 8/10 (Sat) Breakin' Even Fest @ Pie Shop
• 8/11 (Sun) Breakin' Even Fest @ Pie Shop
• 8/16 (Fri) Big Brave @ Pie Shop
• 8/17 (Sat) Chameleons @ Black Cat
• 8/20 (Tue) Gaslight Anthem & Joyce Manor @ The Anthem
• 8/23 (Fri) Korchfest (Monument reunion) @ Black Cat

Philly:

• 8/4 (Sun) The Body & Dis Fig @ Johnny Brendas
• 8/12 (Mon) Krallice @ Underground Arts
• 8/15 (Thu) Dan Licata (comedy) @ PhilaMOCA
• 8/17 (Sat) Big Brave @ Milkboy
• 8/17 (Sat) Dengue Fever @ City Winery

NYC:

• 8/1 (Thu) Matana Roberts trio @ The Stone
• 8/2 (Fri) Matana Roberts trio @ The Stone
• 8/2 (Fri) Jonathan Moritz & more @ Prospect Series Apt in South Slope
• 8/3 (Sat) The Body & Dis Fig @ LPR
• 8/3 (Sat) Matana Roberts trio @ The Stone
• 8/7 (Wed) The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis @ Union Pool
• 8/8 (Thu) Wendy Eisenberg @ Cassette (fka Sundown)
• 8/25 (Sun) Sun Ra Arkestra (free) @ Union Pool

Beyond August:

• 9/6 (Fri) Dismemberment Plan @ 9:30 Club (DC)
• 9/6 (Fri) Waxahatchee, Snail Mail, Tim Heidecker @ Wolf Trap (DC)
• 9/9 (Mon) Bullt To Spill @ 9:30 Club (DC)
• 9/9 (Mon) Marika Hackman @ Elsewhere (NYC)
• 9/10 (Tue) Gel, MSPaint, Destiny Bond @ The Atlantis (DC)
• 9/11 (Wed) Bikini Kill & Sweeping Promises @ Baltimore Soundstage (Baltimore)
• 9/12 (Thu) Sour Widows @ Comet Ping Pong (DC)
• 9/12 (Thu) Marika Hackman @ The Atlantis (DC)
• 9/13 (Fri) Russian Circles @ Union Brewing (Baltimore)
• 9/13 (Fri) Sour Widows @ Johnny Brendas (Philly)
• 9/16 (Mon) Perfume Genius @ The Atlantis (DC)
• 9/19 (Thu) Nails, Mamoth Grinder @ Baltimore Soundstage (Baltimore)
• 9/20 (Fri) Chanel Beads @ Songbyrd (DC)
• 9/22 (Sun) Yo La Tengo @ Rams Head Live (Baltimore)
• 9/22 (Sun) Pianos Become The Teeth, Frail Body @ Baltimore Soundstage (Baltimore)
• 9/22 (Sun) Sarah Davachi @ Solar Myth (Philly)
• 9/25 (Wed) Marnie Stern @ Johnny Brendas (Philly)
• 9/28 (Sat) Cuni, CK Scenario, Dorinda @ Comet Ping Pong (DC)
• 9/29 (Sun) Duster @ 9:30 Club (DC)
• 9/29 (Sun) Tropical Fuck Storm @ Black Cat (DC)
• 10/1 (Tue) Deerhoof @ Ottobar (Baltimore)
• 10/9 (Wed) Mass Of The Fermenting Dregs @ Howard Theatre (DC)
• 10/9 (Wed) Neko Case @ Strathmore Hall (DC)
• 10/10 (Thu) Fake Fruit @ Comet Ping Pong (DC)
• 10/11 (Fri) Xiu Xiu @ Black Cat (DC)
• 10/12 (Sat) Max Roach Cenennial @ Kennedy Center (DC)
• 10/13 (Sun) Xiu Xiu @ Metro (Baltimore)
• 10/19 (Sat) Illuminati Hotties @ Black Cat (DC)
• 10/20 (Sun) Ginger Root @ Black Cat (DC)
• 10/24 (Thu) Boris @ Baltimore Soundstage (Baltimore)
• 10/29 (Tue) Drinking Boys & Girls Choir @ Songbyrd (DC)
• 10/29 (Tue) Cursive @ Union Stage (DC)
• 10/31 (Thu) Show Me The Body, High Vis, Bib @ Baltimore Soundstage (Baltimore)
• 11/8 (Fri) Spirit Of The Beehive, Kassie Krut (ex-Palm) @ Black Cat (DC)
• 11/9 (Sat) Spirit Of The Beehive, Kassie Krut (ex-Palm) @ Union Transfer (Philly)
• 11/19 (Tue) Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Alan Sparhawk (of Low) @ 9:30 Club (DC)
• 11/25 (Mon) & 11/26 (Tue) Adrianne Lenker @ Union Transfer (Philly)
• 12/8 (Sun) billy woods & Kenny Segal @ Union Stage (DC)
• 12/10 (Tue) The Blood Brothers @ Union Transfer (Philly)
• 12/13 (Fri) The Blood Brothers @ Irving Plaza (NYC)
• 12/13 (Fri) The Jesus Lizard @ Union Transfer (Philly)
• 12/14 (Sat) & 12/15 (Sun) The Jesus Lizard @ Black Cat (DC)

Cheers,
LM