Listen: SPELLLING – “Cherry” [2023]

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Very Warm

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Out today, it’s the new LP from SPELLLING, SPELLLING & The Mystery School. The Mystery School is another name for SPELLLING’s live band, and this album finds the group re-recording new versions of tracks off her last three albums, Pantheon Of Me, Mazy Fly, and 2021’s incredible The Turning Wheel, to help reflect the sound of the upcoming live shows, which you can find the dates of below, as well as the sonic evolution of SPELLLING’s divine compositions.

This track sees the band tackling a track off of SPELLLING’s first album Pantheon Of Me, originally named “Choke Cherry Horse”. The first version is a minimal track that featured spindly guitar, whispery vocals and bruising, blown out low end, like if Joanna Newsom’s folk had taken a wrong turn in some haunted district and turned into a ghostly spirit. This recreation keeps the spooky vibe of the original, with its slow build up, the spindly guitar returning, but the jump in fidelity and added instrumentation is like re-watching an old movie that’s been remastered to HD, or changing a film’s aspect ratio to see previously hidden figures. The field of view is bigger, making space for punchy percussion that offers a chunky backbone, and throbbing electronics bring back the same burly low end that previously hulked around in the track but this time without obscuring the other instrumentation. Another feature this new version does is throw in a Deftones kind of breakdown right at the end, with heavy, molasses-like guitars methodically dissolving the whole track into goop, ushering in its demise. It rocks.

Another great thing about this album as a whole is that not every track feels like it’s just “oh we added instrumentation”. These tracks have been reworked, recontextualized, and shows SPELLLING’s versatility as a songwriter and arranger. “Hard To Please (Reprise)” acts like a chamber pop SZA ballad. There’s a darkness that still exists around all of SPELLLING’s music, but there’s also a ton of wonder and imagination, offering a ton of room to explore new sounds. Always shifting and showing off something new.

Catch SPELLLING on tour and likely grip some sick merch. I’ve got a shirt I wear regularly from when I saw her play at LPR in 2021.

09/16 – Oakland, CA @ Childrenʼs Fairyland (Through The Looking Glass Festival)
10/07 – South Pasadena, CA @ South Pasadena Masonic Lodge
10/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
10/17 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere Hall
10/18 – Baltimore, MD @ OttoBar

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Listen: Truth Club – “Exit Cycle” [2023]

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Very Warm

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Here’s a modern rarity for Warm Visions – posting rock music. Raleigh’s Truth Club recently signed to Double Double Whammy and are soon to release their upcoming album Running From The Chase on October 6. I have a bunch of triangle-based friends that are friends with folks in this band, but I hadn’t listened to their music until seeing them at SXSW this past March. Sorry! They were really damn good. Their strain of noise rock / post punk / 90s-referencing alt rock (or their Bandcamp-provided genre tag “rare earth metal”) stirs up a chaotic fervor that I place with bands like Ovlov, Pile or Weed – three bands that have made records that contain moments that propel me to new heights whenever I listen. There are other bands that sound similar, but just based on the tracks I’ve heard, I put them in my highest tier of raucous, emotional catharsis.

Their newest single, “Exit Cycle” is a builder; with instrumental and dynamic swells, sounding like smoldering coals that rise into a raging fire by the end of the track, with staggered group vocals twisting together with staircase-climbing guitar lines. It’s a track that feels constantly searching for the majority of it, and feels like it hits a level of peace and acceptance by the end, surging forth with newfound confidence.

I’m really dang excited for this record. I don’t find that happening with me and rock records that much anymore. Shout out to Truth Club. Running From The Chase is out Oct 6 via Double Double Whammy.

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Listen: Hakushi Hasegawa – “Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)” [2023]

Posted on August 23, 2023 by Very Warm

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Japanese musician Hakushi Hasegawa has recently signed to Brainfeeder Records and has dropped this mind-twister of a track, “Mouth Flash (Kuchinohanabi)” that comes with an accompanying insane visual, which you can watch below.

Enter this track into the canon of expertly done, maximalistic pop that Japanese musicians seem to excel at. Cluttered with booming percussion, Hasegawa navigates a rocket-fueled ride through alternate dimensions, even emulating a train whistle at one point. My immediate comparison point was the music used in Satoshi Kon creations, like the parade scene in Paprika or the opening theme of Paranoia Agent, two iconic music moments in anime, in my opinion. If you’re familiar with those scenes, by that alone I feel like you should check this out.

Definitely going to be looking out for more music from Hasegawa soon! They’ve made more tunes in the past that I still need to check out, but cool of Brainfeeder to give this person some shine on their label.

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Listen: Grupo Um – “Cortejo dos Reis Negros” [2023]

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Very Warm

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Not sure how this album came into my life, but I’m really glad that it did. Grupo Um was a trio of brothers Lelo and Zé Eduardo Nazario, and Zeca Assumpção, Brazilian musicians unknowingly at the forefront of boundary-pushing jazz in the 1970s. They crafted this album, Starting Point, underground in the heat of the authoritarian regime that quashed many like-minded attempts at embracing the avant garde, channeling the same spiritual and kinetic energies that luminaries like Azymuth and Hermeto Pascoal were also sipping from at the time. The album was ultimately shelved, however, for not attracting a label or enough attention to make a lasting mark. Almost 50 years later, Lelo Eduardo Nazario shared the tapes from his archive with great Brazilian label Far Out Recordings, and here we are. A dusted-off piece of Brazilian jazz gold.

I wanted to share the final track, even though it partially feels like spoiling the end of a great movie. In it, the three members are locked into a deep pocket, with the piano shredding a simple two-note trill before breaking out into its own choppy solo. The bass keeps the funk going, and the percussion really drives too. What makes this track, and frankly the whole album, different than a lot of other jazz (zoom in) and even specifically Brazilian jazz, is the use of field recordings and overdubbed vocal snippets mixed into the backgrounds of tracks to deepen the atmosphere and soundstage. It’s a killer jam, with jangling bells, dogs barking, and other vague sounds floating in the background.

If you’re a fan of jazz, and especially anything Brazilian, you need to check out this unique record.

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Listen: Blonde Redhead – “Before” [2023]

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Very Warm

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Although I haven’t listened to a ton of Blonde Redhead, I still grant them a ton of respect for being a pillar of the indie rock scene, continually putting out solid, and popular albums without giving into basic tropes. Their upcoming LP, Sit Down For Dinner, arrives September 29th via new label home section1.

The newest single, “Before”, uncoils like smoke over a spire-like castle. Singer Kazu Makino singing like she’s trapped at the top, with soft guitars swirling a melancholy melody in the mix. A wonderful dream pop experience, tinged with dread, grief and confusion. Trust me, it’s a wonderful experience.

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Listen: Faith Healer – “Another Fool” [2023]

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Very Warm

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It’s funny how little album announcements can brighten up your whole week. Edmonton band Faith Healer’s new album The Hand That Fits The Glove, their first since 2017, is coming October 13th via Mint Records. Their 2017 record, Try 😉, is one that still floats around my regular rotation, as it’s just a purely great, super overlooked indie pop record with plenty of grooves and a sense of humor about itself. It’s also a record that both my partner and I like to listen to together, and reminds us of times we’d visit each other when we were long distance in 2017. I had been hoping Faith Healer was still around, so seeing the news of the upcoming album last week was a great feeling.

Two songs from the record are out now: “I’m A Dog”, which came out last week, and the track I’m featuring here, “Another Fool”. I’m loving both, but the buoyant grooves and shimmering guitar + synthesizer make me feel good in a GREAT way, setting myself up for many a fall night of walking around listening to this album, much like how Try 😉 soundtracked fall days of walking around. Not to instantly bring up comparisons, but it gives me the melodrama of TOPS, another favorite band of mine, and fellow Canadians to Faith Healer. I say whenever TOPS sonics come into the equation, you’ve got something great on your hands.

Faith Healer’s The Hand That Fits The Glove is out October 13th via Mint. Listen more & pre-order via Bandcamp below.

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Listen dadá Joãozinho – “Pai e Mãe” [2023]

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Very Warm

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I’m VERY excited for the upcoming debut album from São Paulo musician dadá Joãozinho, tds bem Global, out August 31. Every taste we’ve had from the record, from the first and second singles (“Cuidado! (feat. Alceu, Bebé)” + “Ô Lulu”), to the most recent single “Pai e Mãe”, it’s something new and refreshing. dadá continually swerves into different pockets of psychedelia through the lens of Brazilian pop, at times embracing more modern pop sounds like Rosalía, then embracing space echoed guitars and synthesizers like Stereolab, then employing snappy hip hop drums and adlibs at moments. All of these elements combine for a kind of sound that constantly keeps the brain engaged. What is happening? This is amazing.

“Pai e Mãe” is the most “traditional” track he’s released thus far, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less entertaining. More like an upbeat samba ballad we’ve heard in the past, energetic guitar, forward upright bass, shuffling percussion align into a danceable rhythm, buoyed by a chintzy organ at times to really nail the era and the mood. Joãozinho’s vocals here shine the most out of the previously released singles as well, again establishing another element, another parlor trick to his already shifty approach. Listen to this song, and then check out the last two singles. You’ll be hooked.

dadá Joãozinho’s debut tds bem Global is out August 31 via Innovative Leisure. Listen more & pre-order via Bandcamp HERE.

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Listen: Glasser – “Vine” [2023]

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Very Warm

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I would be remiss if I didn’t excitedly feature a new-ish song from an artist that I posted about within the first few months of this blog even existing. Glasser, the musical project of Cameron Mesirow, is returning with a new album crux, out October 6 via One Little Independent. This is Glasser’s first full-length album since 2013’s Interiors, and prior to that her 2010 debut Ring, an album that I LOVED upon the creation of Warm Visions back in 2010, especially the lead single “Home”. I even featured Glasser as one of my “most exciting new artists of 2010”, a list I didn’t directly lift from Stereogum at the time, don’t worry about it. Interiors was also a favorite from 2013, with “Keam Theme” continuing to be a track I have in my “Favorites of the 2010s” playlists.

But back to the present. After some time away, Glasser is returning with said new album, crux. There are three singles from it out now, but I wanted to give some shine to the first one, “Vine”. It’s a beautiful, pulsating track that’s led its strings and percussion, each grabbing a hand of Mesirow’s singing voice, and thrusting it into a void that continually sinks further down, or further up and out, depending on who’s listening. The life-giving strings and thumping percussion fluctuate in the channels, weaving together (like vines, hmm?), telling a story without needing words, Mesirow is there to keep the story flowing.

I cannot wait for this album – crux is out October 6 via One Little Independent.

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Recommended Albums: July 2023

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Very Warm

Keeping it light this month with no descriptions. Sorry about that. Some good albums though.

Continue reading →

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Listen: Meernaa – “As Many Birds Flying” [2023]

Posted on August 15, 2023 by Very Warm

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On my streak of unexpected posting this week has seen, I wanted to highlight one album that’s still to come in 2023 and would love more people to have eyes and ears on. Oakland-based musician Meernaa is releasing her upcoming LP So Far So Good via Keeled Scales on October 6. I previously shared early single “On My Line” back in March, but with a few more songs out and two months out from album release, I thought I’d refresh the plot.

Meernaa’s music is a refreshing take on R&B, with each single revealing a new wrinkle into how she’s going about her songwriting. Each previous single features a band in a deep pocket, memorable melodies, and fantastic performances. This single here “As Many Birds Flying” places a heavy emphasis on the dreamy slide guitar, while beds of strings and steady drumbeat paint a cinematic, driving picture. Imagine The Blue Nile produced by Daniel Lanois. In a way it reminds me of another favorite record of this year, Westerman’s An Inbuilt Fault. It’s a soft rock that takes chances; not content to sit on its laurels, but rather take cues from cult classic records of the late 80s and 90s and bring them into the present. This is the type of music that’s been exciting me the most these days.

Meernaa’s So Far So Good is coming October 6 via Keeled Scales. Pre-order + listen more via Bandcamp below. You know I copped a pre-order on the last BC Friday.

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