Pat Coyle - "Long Soft Life"

There are few artists that trigger a level of introspection like Pat Coyle. Upon hearing his new single "Long Soft Life" I was shook to the core. The blissful combination of careful drum work, lo-fi sampling, and uniquely captivating vocals really sent me home. I say home specifically in regards to the audio samples pulled from a home video at the end of the track. The song is a incredibly intimate piece that, if listened to with undivided attention, will send you on a trip through childhood memories both vivid and vague. It was a very good trip for me.

I guess I (21) am really one of the last of a generation whose parents used a big camcorder to capture family events and important childhood moments. There was a greater purpose and a dedication to remembrance and appreciation of such happenings in the era before smartphones, etc. that made it possible to record so easily. For me at least, when looking back on old videos of myself alongside relatives, you can see the efforts that went into making it work for you, your siblings, cousins, grandparents, etc. Buried beneath those familiar smiles of your elders there are anxieties and fears of challenges life presents, but everyone puts that aside for these moments that mattered the most. For some reason grainy video and audio captures those times best in a fleeting, deteriorating fashion.

"I love you"... "I miss you"... *laughter* ... "Happy birthday, Pop Pop"... weaved in between dings and keys struck me in such a profound way. By the end of the track I felt as if my mind was just a tape rewinding and fast-forwarding in a loop through "the memories I love" and "the memories I hate." I think what I found the most interesting about the track is that although there is a emphasized link to the past in the lyrics and dialogue, I felt that "Long Soft Life" hinted to the future and what that holds, which is lovely and terrifying at the same time.

Per what I have been told, Pat Coyle expands upon the what was documented in "Long Soft Life" in a collection of related songs. On his upcoming EP Iridescent Cue (Out August 23), Pat explores emotional growth through the visions of a 1993 home video that set in Yardley, PA, which explains the audio bits you heard in this tracks. It is through these joyous scenes and palpable connections with loved ones, Pat thinks deeper and wonders how much these experiences have fed into a current misplacement of identity.

Pat will relocating to LA in September. Pittsburgh will miss him for his vision, kindness, and creative influence on others. His contributions to other projects like IT IT, Blød Maud, Soft Gondola, and others are definitely works that should not go unrecognized or unappreciated. I'll never forget when he hopped on stage during the Bat Zuppel MIRROR|RORRIM release and howled during "The Witch" or some other song. I was like, yup, this guy has it. It was only later that I started piecing together the other things he had been a part of. I caught a set of his earlier this summer, and I can say with confidence that this next EP will hold up well. I am excited to see what is next for Mr. Coyle.

You can catch his EP release show on Friday, August 23 at The Government Center, my favorite record store in the city, where he'll be supported by Natural Rat (WV), Anthony Heubel and the High Lonesome Band, and The Childlike Empress.


RIYL: Atlas Sound, Palm, IT IT, Panda Bear, home videos, the human experience, existential dread
Hot Take: Call your relatives and tell them you love them.

Follow Pat Coyle

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Writen by Connor Murray (@craftedsounds)

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String Machine - "Death of the Neon"

I think the first time I saw String Machine I was playing a show with them when Soda Club was trotting and boppin’ around. It was at, the now defunct (RIP I really liked the venue), James Street Gastropub. It was kind of a surreal evening for me I was soaking up in friendship because a couple days later I was going to be leaving PGH for a month to study on a Native American reservation, very far away from a lot of the urban landscape I’d been accustomed to for quite some time. Anyway, here’s all these feelings, magnified by the city and the multitude of people who were at the show. Lights, friends, laughter, music, and I WAS FEELING it. Being caught up in a dopamine rush//heightened awareness//whatever you want to call it, String Machine was just about to start and close out the night. David started playing his guitar and the band members started joining in steadily as if it were an orchestra feeling it out and sound checking, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, then it all clicked. Whatever anxieties I had dissipated for those few minutes and my brain had a momentary reset. The song was “Pit of the Peach” and I was completely blown away. I’ve been humming that song for about a year and a half now and I bet the band has had it in their back pocket for that long or longer, but now, now we all get to bask in the glory of the world this band has created with Death of the Neon, and let me tell you folks something, hell yeah. 

String Machine are a 7 piece collective hailing from north of Pittsburgh, the rural hinterlands above the city. Comprised of David Beck (vocals, lyrics, guitar), Dylan Kersten (synth, piano), Laurel Wain (vocals), Ian Compton (trumpet), Nic Temple (drums), Mike Law (bass), Katie Morrow (cello) this group has blended together to create the best version of maximalism I’ve heard in a long minute. Tender maximalism is hard; emotions meant to create a scope the size of the earth can either be narcissisticly hollow or pretentious to the point of drool, but String Machine have created an environment that puts the whole world in your heart while you’re shoveling snow in your backyard. 

The album begins and the first three tracks immediately capture me into a world of hope, despair and earnestness. Engine/It’s Time immediately grabbing me as Beck narrates how his brain is working and jumping across thoughts, scatterbrained yet focused, as he’s waiting for his car to start working again. It seems like in times of forced patience during chaos our mind can focus and create beautiful connections.

“I’m thinking of how friends treat friends differently. If I’m an engine to you, I have no use if I overheat.” 

The lyrics fall off and we’re transported into a second suite giving us a preview of how the album will teeter between earth and the ether finally bringing us crashing back with the rhythm section locked into a beautiful back and forth that leads to an explosion. The instrumentation and production on this track is incredible and this is just the first track? God damn. 

As the album continues and we’re brought about the countryside as Beck narrates to us the angular didactics of his mind, with Laurel Wain’s harmonies pushing every song to greater heights. The layers of instrumentation, vocals, and weird car engine noises/found sounds make this album a great thing to come back for repeated listens to. Every track is either a city or a forest and you can’t explore Yellowstone or New Orleans in one day. Everything needs space to breathe. This might be accredited to them recording this album in Saxonburg. While still being listed as part of the Metropolitan area of Pittsburgh is more rural than urban. I feel that this is something that you can feel through the music as well, a distinct recognition of ruralness against the backdrop of urbanization, technology and desolation through industry. While all of this sounds bleak, which I mean yes of course it is, there is still the idea of resolution, strength, and most importantly, love. That’s the thing that String Machine is so good at doing, creating a space that you can float around in and feel surrounded by love while still being by yourself in vast isolation, whether it be through nature, walking alone in a city, or in your own anxious thoughts.

While I’m guessing String Machine will consistently be compared to big maximalist groups like TWIABP and Los Campesinos, I can’t help but think of Neil Young when I hear the first three tracks. Sincere, folk bounce amongst anxiety. It’s like String Machine is taking us along a scrapbook of their influences while not ripping any of the pages out to shove up their sleeves to cheat on the exam. I think it all comes together on Old Mack, my favorite song on the album. It’s a reflection on memories but also reassurance of everything; in the face of trouble we rely on our friends, community, memories to keep us safe. When the guitar solo hits I’m brought to the images of coming to in a haze after naps in the car when torrential downpours are going on, sitting there hearing the chaos around me while knowing a loved one is trying to safely maneuver through it all. Which brings me back to that feeling of ease I got when I saw them live at James Street. Here we are surrounded by a downpour of existential thoughts and chaos in the universe, but I can rest easy knowing String Machine is driving, trying to get us through this storm into better territory. 

RIYL: Grizzly Bear, Neil Young, Los Campesinos, your heart exploding with feeling all over the dashboard, the biggest bedroom you’ve ever cried with your friends in, “hell yeah, brother”

Favorite Tracks: Engine/It’s Time, Old Mack, DEATHOFANEON (Pt. 1,2, & 3), Pit of the Peach

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Outer Spaces - 'Gazing Globe'

Gazing Globe is the brainchild of Cara Beth Satalino, who wrote these songs throughout a daily
ritual of meditation and then lyrical composition; while on a romantic break from her life partner
and bandmate, Chester Gwazda. The amount of reflection, observation, and ascension
throughout this album is absolutely astounding. From the beginning you’re taken to another
realm, the muted bass and picked guitar taking you somewhere you know is familiar, but yet
you’re trying to place how? A fog of memory of who you were, or a vision of who you want to
become? Either way there are mistakes made, but god damn a lot of building too, and you’re
building you.

“I’m moving to the other side I’ve mostly lived here all my life...Do you know her...Hiding in the
sun I see her face”

Satalino has such a way with words that punch you in the gut with their candidness, it isn’t easy
being this direct with yourself on tape without coming off hackneyed like a lot of other singer-
songwriters. The instrumentation (Salatino/Gwazda, Dowler, and many others) on this album is
also moving as well as the production (Salatino/Gwazda). “I See Her Face” started me on a journey of my own anxious reflection and “Gazing Globe” had no trouble keeping me there. This song oozes Fleetwood Mac, in all the best ways. The drum and bass locking into tight rhythm, the Buckingham style strumming, and finally Salatino crooning into the personal void so well, that whenever she was laying it down in Baltimore, it sent a shiver up Stevie’s spine. Finally we reach the end of the song, the build coming, and I’m ready for this amazing “Chain” style solo from the violin, but then it fades off, after only a moment, because as much as I (maybe others too) wanted the solo, Outer Spaces didn’t need it. Their meditation was done, in the end this was for them to speak and for us to listen. Maybe we just gotta chew on what it means to leave the thought of wanting something hanging there in the ether, you can always come back to it.

Photo by Alec Pugliese

The album continues to rattle off hits ranging from the Angel Olsen drive of YWLGOML, so
perfectly accented with saxophone, to the REM bounce of TV Screen. Here we are speeding
down the highway of Satalino’s mind, trying to grab onto each idea and follow that vein to the
best river we can find for serenity or attempting to dam up all the mental factory runoff. Finally
we reach the end of this world with Outer Spaces; “Teapot #2” bringing us out of this album with
a John Prine-like reflection, simple, blunt, bigger than a mountain. When the album ended, as
exhausted as I was, my heart was so full. The album ends with Salatino singing.

“I want to love myself, and I want to love you.”

A 9 hour drive back from Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a lot when you’ve been on a 2 day no sleep
streak with copious amounts of fun had, but let’s make that a solo drive because your friends are staying another day and you have to go back to do something else. Now remember it’s three years ago and your data ran out. So….guess it’s time to play radio pinball the whole ride home and try to stay awake/alive. Driving out of, what is essentially, the Las Vegas of the South and hearing preachers condemn you to a life of sin really gets you pensive about every mistake you’ve ever made. At this point I’m praying for any type of radio relief to pull me out of this anxiety induced funk. Just as I pass out of preacher hell, I do some more dial dancin’ and STOP, what is this bassline?? I can’t stop feeling elated about how good it is, how much I’ve reflected on my own misgivings, and refusing to turn around even though I was probably was going the wrong way, I had no map, because now, the reflections and light were right in front of me, no mirror needed. The song was How Long by Ace, a 70’s rock diddy, but the exercise of positivity, growth and self-love it inspired is reignited again when I hit play on Gazing Globe and “I See Her Face” starts.

RIYL: Fleetwood Mac, Angel Olsen, REM, John Prine, just picking up and moving to where the
sunset touches the Tetons, “being 100% in it, dude.”

Fav Tracks: Gazing Globe, YWLGOML, I See Her Face, TV Screen, Teapot #2

Follow Outer Spaces

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Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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Truth Club - 'Not An Exit'

Steve Prefontaine was one of the greatest runners and personalities ever to exist in the sport. He was under six feet, had one leg shorter than the other, and still managed to dust every person that towered over him because, to him, there was literally no other option. “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.” 

So what exactly do the big lads of NYC and across the pond in the U.K. think they’re going to do when Truth Club steps up to the start line? To be quite honest, I don’t even think they’ll be able to get a step in before they’re left in the wake. 

Truth Club is an avant-ferry-garde, rare earth metal, post-punk group out of Raleigh, North Carolina and their newest release, Not An Exit (Tiny Engines) is an absolute slammer. 9 songs filled with layers of anxiety, longing, and dissociation that not even a trailer truck full of Prozac would slow these folks down. These songs are the culmination of early British post-punk grooves slammed head on with high pop sensibilities, say for instance if Bauhaus was walking down an alley, came across the Killers and the Strokes, and a brawl ensued. The instrumentation on these songs is perfectly arranged and you can’t help but boogie in your room by yourself in the dark while a candle is flickering in the background. 

Although there are dark tidings accompanying this album, there is still room for hope and beauty. “I Know There Is” starts it off with a message- “I hope that you hope that there is a right place for us”. Reflecting over anxious thoughts or morose feelings can only get you so far until you’re left empty with no growth, but Truth Club is able to do push ups during their deep digs and extract earnest meaning from their experiences. 

“No Planned Sequel” goes through so many different phases, ending with a gut punch of guitar and lyrics that blindside you, “I’m impressed with your willingness to redact unwritten contracts for the sake of potential mutual happiness and no planned sequel” Being vulnerable takes courage and the risks that come with taking off your armor sometimes become so overwhelmingly scary that if something isn’t continuously guaranteed then what’s the end goal? Is a day of true happiness really worth it if you don’t get to experience those vivid emotions again? Truth Club understand this type of reflection on relationships and emotion isn’t easy and taking responsibility for your own faults is crucial if you want to grow. In the end, these folks have created a phenomenal, concise record and want you to know that lying to yourself about the past and your interpretation of it only furthers the depressive cycle.

You can’t live without truth. 

RIYL: Quietly freaking out while your friends have a good time, Protomartyr, Everything all at once in your mind//nothing at the same time, Ba uhaus versus the Killers and Strokes in an alley fight,  Trying like hell to jitterbug your anxiety away

Favorite Tracks: Student Housing, No Planned Sequel, Tethering, Not an Exit

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Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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halfsour - 'Sticky'

Well... what’re you looking at? 

Listen, pal. I know the riffs are choice and the rhythm section is keeping the angst in the forefront, but that doesn’t mean that you get to talk about Pearl Jam while they’re playing, frick Pearl Jam. Eddie Veder can go kick rocks. 

halfsour is a power-pop three piece hailing from Boston and Sticky is their second full length following 2016’s Tuesday Night Live, released through Jigsaw records in 2016. Their newest, released through Fire Talk and Disposable America, is a powerful, concise zing dinger that brings the crunch with a steady stream of honesty, intimacy, and frustration. This is pop, this is punk, this is definitely not pop-punk. Boy howdy no siree. Those lame-o’s wanna get out of this town; halfsour wanna burn it down and analyze every burning ember to make sure we do better next time. 

The single “Blurred Camera Phone” helped to set the tone for what the lyrical environment of this album was going to entail. It’s a reflection of an everyday event pushed to profoundness by the instruments behind it and the strength in Zoe Wylner’s voice. I guess I should really think twice more about the shit I do everyday. With Sticky, the best parts are found in the small details and a constant reminder of how I need to slow down and think about the reason why I couldn’t stop staring at the one oil stain on the road for 4 hours when I was working as a flagger for PennDOT during the summer after my freshman year of college.

The reason I bring up that job specifically is because something about this album brings the memories of standing around and flipping a “STOP/GO” sign for hours up to the forefront of my mind. This album is strong in painting cohesive pastiches that meld together in the form of a landscape much akin to the cover art. Everyone talks about how at a certain point when you’re driving, the landscape blurs together to form one image, but what happens when you stand around for hours on end staring at the same patch of road, same group of people, and same trees? You’re mind begins to create a cohesive image of how this landscape is affecting you, and once you’ve created that image, what’s next? For halfsour, the only obvious conclusion is to write about the things that have occurred within this image in order to make sense of the mundane. 

There’s a moment in Paris, Texas when Harry Dean Stanton’s character, Travis, is picking up his son from school and they begin walking home. What could be scene as a simple, everyday task in any parent’s life becomes elevated because the focus is beyond the environment of the school and city which have become the blurred, still background. Take a moment to look down at an oil spill, or consider why those two people were walking the whole way home separated across the street? Everything’s important, even if it’s just gum on the sole of your shoe. 

RIYL: Scraping your knees in the summer, drinking on a stoop yelling about it all, the best flannel….you know the one I always wear, The Breeders, Guadalcanal Diary, Speedy Ortiz

Favorite Tracks: Blurred Camera Phone, Built-In Guilt, All Gone, Big Teeth, Milk Bath

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Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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DEHD - 'Water'

Ahhhh here it is….that first thicc sweat of the summer. Soon enough it’s going be too hot to move and we’re all gonna die from global warming, but let’s just take moment to bask in the transition from winter to spring and from spring to the warmth of early summer. At this point every year I think back to when I was living in a dorm going to school at the University of Pittsburgh with one of my best friends. We both had penny boards and had been exiled to dorm purgatory over the harsh winter leading into finals hell. Finally we were free and he asked me if it was time to “Boardenburg”?, to which I opened the window, felt the warm sunshine, and said hell yeah. Cruising thru Oakland and feeling absolutely free, there it was, bliss.

DEHD is a trio from Chicago that’s been consistently been putting out great tunes since their self-titled album in 2016. Water, released this May has been another hurdle forward for these psych drenched garage rippers. These 13 songs fly by and are so enjoyable as they take you through different lanes of psych, garage rock, and absolutely stunning VU grooves. The guitar and bass are locked in so tight to their minimal, yet powerful melodies and everything is brought to an exclamation point by the drums. The drums on this album are bop hoppin all over the place in the best way, creating grooves and fills so choice. This is an album to feel like a smiley dirtbag too.


The other luring aspect of this album is the vocals, which I feel can only be described as chameleonesque; leaving you on your toes trying to pin down who the vocalist is emulating. The song “Wait” brings to mind Richard Hell’s drawl and songs “Lucky” and one of my favs off the album, “Lake”, have hushed lush vocals that are reminiscent of the Zombies, but much more relaxed, like if the Zombies knew how to kickflip and ate at Taco Bell. In the end the vocals here are of their own brand and to try to keep at this name game of who sounds like what takes away from how the singing is, which is, very good.

Ultimately, DEHD have created an album that slowly walks you through feelings and emotions in order to process things in the summer sun. When I write reviews I make it a point to listen to an album at least 3-4 times before writing a word. Everytime I listen thru this lovely album I get to the song “On My Side” and when the chorus hits I’m welled up with emotion about the memory of “Boardenburg”, the feelings of abandon and joy, and I realize that this band has punched me right in the stomach. I’m not young anymore, but I’m still young, and so are you, and that’s good and we’re going to try to make sure others know that too. Time is on our side and love is calling.

RIYL: Dirty hair doo-wop, Hanging ten at the sock-hop, Richard Hell wearing a Zommy Bamaha shirt, Feeling them Feelings

Favorite Tracks: Lucky, On My Side, Push the Crowd, Lake

Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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Mini Dresses - 'Heaven Sent'

I don’t think I could ever live anywhere that doesn’t have a noticeable change in seasons. Don’t get me wrong I completely understand why southern places like L.A. have their draws, the weather is incredible//sunshine forever, but there’s just something about it that my brain can’t get behind.

I was talking to a friend recently who said something along the line that they read somewhere it’s more difficult for folks living in stable climates to have more specific lines on their memories, like instead of a season they look to specific years as indicators since no markers of season change aid in their recollection. I have no citation and you can snopes me all you want, but the idea really struck a chord in me and right after that I put this album on.

Mini Dresses are a band from Boston, Massachusetts who create music that you crawl out of your seasonal depression to. Prior to this release, they’ve been consistently recording and releasing solid music since 2012. With Heaven Sent, their second full length after a self-titled album and a string of solid EP’s, Mini Dresses have really locked it in. Right off the bat “I’d Notice” comes in strong with driving drums and bass that compliments these slick dream grooves, and then there’s the guitar just willing you to open your blinds. Once you rip the curtain back, here comes the sunshine and the vocals.

How long has it been gray? God damn it’s bright, but wow I guess my body already drug me outside. I’m laying down in the grass and never moving.

Photo: Ty Ueda

The vocals on this album are pristine and the effects and production added to them only accentuate how strong they are, these aren’t masking effects, these are cherries on top. “Heaven Sent” is playing as I stroll along the street on this ridiculously Spring day; taking note of the blooming flowers amongst thoughts of relief that winter is over. This album to me is one of noticing change but also being thankful for how it got there. Winter is always tough, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything because there’s something beautiful about making memories with snow and solitude and struggle that wills spring to come and without it how do we know what progress is?

As I’m walking along thinking about all of these things, getting all up in a stoic tizzy, “Lady Running” begins and I’m stopped dead in my tracks. This is SPRING, I’ve made it once again, and I’m different than before, just take a minute. Crying as I’m walking the album continues and Mini Dresses have nailed the peaks and valleys of early spring, from “Shadow Play” to “The One Who Heard You”. Blooming, changing feelings, and a lot of dreaminess, yes thank you Mini Dresses, and thank you album art for invoking the same feelings.

In the end this isn’t a diatribe against warm climates, these folks are from Boston and I’m from Pittsburgh. This is as much a sunshine summer album for some as it is a springtime bop, but this is where I’m at now and this is how I feel about it. My only hope is you folks listen to it and feel yourself filled with bright beams and pensive thoughts in any type of variety like I did as soon as I hit play.

RIYL: Beat Happening, Alvvays, The Feelies, Beach House, Seasons changing//Sunshine//Snowfall

Favorite Tracks: Lady Running, Heaven Sent, I’d Notice, The One Who Heard You

Follow Mini Dresses

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Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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Speed Plans - 'Eeking Out'

It’s been a while since I’ve heard an album that is THE doozy of a ripper. A lot of folks try to get that 80’s thrash-punk vibe; there’s a million bands trying to be in the Decline of Western Civilization Pt. III. Here in Eeking Out we see it done right, no copy and pasting.

Speed Plan is a thrash group based out of yinzer nation, Pittsburgh, PA, and they’re here to go
FAST. This album kicks off with 3 songs, just under or right at a minute, and this is where the
guitar takes hold of me like a demon. Whoever is plucking the strings would make Billy Zoom
proud, holy hell. By the time I’m pulled out of this trance I realize that the bass and drums have
been locked in so tight there’s a vice grip on my head and all the walls are closing in on me.

Folks, there are so many good production choices on this album. One of the best parts for me is
how well the vocals are balanced against the instrumentation. It’s disappointing when vocals are
shoved down in the mix. Ya gotta have it all blended, like the best shamrock shake (yeah we
can argue about its edibility another time) I’ve ever drank, for it to be a BOP. Props to Speed
Plan and the Braddock Hit Factory for capturing this band in all its glory.

The album and claustrophobia continue at a breakneck pace, everything feels so upfront in the
speakers. There’s no space for you to breath, and that’s how Speed Plan wants it, inertia at full
force, you can’t even pick up your arms. Highway Star is one of my favorite tracks off the album.
In the same vein as Husker Dü, this song is thrash, but it’s also pop. You gotta dance, you gotta
headbang, and more importantly you catch yourself smiling because shit, this rocks.

I’m gonna wrap this up because I want to be as quick as this album is. As Eeking Out closes the
adrenaline is still coursing through your veins, and if you thought it was wearing off near the end
the 27 second song “Standing in Front of the Machine” is here to tell you otherwise. No
gimmicks, no schticks, just speed.

You ever get on an empty stretch of road and punch it to 100? Yeah, it’s a wild feeling. Now do
it blindfolded. Take your hands off the wheel. Ok here we are in foreign, terrifying territory, but
this...this is Speed Plans' home field advantage.

Plan to go fast.





RIYL: X, Sonic the Hedgehog (don’t even think he can go as fast as these rippers), Pissed
Jeans, The Slits, Husker Dü

Favorite Tracks: Highway Star, Money, Denialator, La Crunche, Standing in Front of The Machine

Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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THURST - 'Project Isle Demotion'

Hey! What the hell are you doing here?

Oh wait you’ve been here, before? Well, hell. Welcome back. Pull a chair up, soak in the sewage and bad feelings. The gutter really hasn’t changed except for the soundtrack to it. Yeah, when you’re down at rock bottom you just really have to embrace it. How else are you supposed to get out?

THURST is a project hailing from Los Angeles with credits going to Kory Seal, who seems to be a driving force behind these powerful tunes, with accompanying vocals from Jessie Seal, but more importantly credited for, and god damn can you feel it crawl over you as you listen to this album, Long-Distance Hexing. This is an album, for me, that takes me back to an old house I used to live in; like yeah, I’ll get reminiscent, but then realize there’s black mold in all the walls, but also will I ever get that feeling again the first time my friends and I spent a whole day on the roof? Driving bass, a keen ear for dueling guitar instrumentation, and brooding synths make you pull and push so hard in your emotions, and THURST knows this.

On Project Isle Demotion, right off the bat, you’re thrown right into the worst night you’ve ever had; like you’re waking up from a bad dream straight into a black-out. Instead of ending up in the middle of a bar fight (think Jesus Lizard’s kick off song on Liar, “Boilermaker”) you’re in a bar where everyone is trying to convince you they’re ok, including yourself. All the while on everyone’s faces, you can see you’re all processing every mistake, every valley, ALL the emotions, at hyperspeed. “For any kind of feeeeeeeeling”. Here we are in THURST’s world, and it’s all hecked and hexed.

The album continues to shine as we move through the grime, I still can’t believe how many times I’ve listened to Public Figure and had to check to see that’s IT’S ONLY 2 MINUTES. It’s absolutely incredible how these two worlds are created so well in one song and it ends so fast. Once again, there it is, that push and pull, an argument in your own brain.

In the movie Drive, there’s a rhythm created by the score to highlight Ryan Gosling’s cool brooding, while also building an environment for what it’s like to drive around Hollywood trying to process struggle, and don’t get me wrong, it’s good. What we have in this EP is what I’d really like to drive around to in order to process my feelings. A wrestling match in my brain ensues as soon I turn the keys and hit play, and by the end I’m exhausted and can’t believe I’ve driven my car vertically, straight out of the gutter.

Project Isle Demotion is available NOW on streaming and cassette via Too Far Gone Records. This is the label's first release in over 2 years. Their taste, DIY ethics, and dedication ultimately helped shaped what would become the Crafted Sounds label. Be sure to spin this record, and check out everything else TFG has been a part of.

RIYL: Interpol, Miserable, Fine Dining//Crying in a Dumpster (Not a band)

Favorite Tracks: For Any Kind of Feeling, Public Figure, Meet Me in the Cop Car

Follow THURST

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Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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Community College - 'Comco'

The Magical Possibility of Unlearning: A Review of Community College’s Comco

Boston based trio Community College just debuted their full-length album Comco on March 8 via Disposable America. The trio uses their songwriting to document the process of unlearning their extremely evangelical upbringing.

As much as we are constantly learning, we are constantly unlearning. The habits, vices, ideas, values that parents, old boyfriend or girlfriends, school, friends, have taught us so fickley have translated to how we think, talk, breathe, and live. This album is more about this. How do you become your own person? And what happens when all your values crumble like sand castles in front of you?

The lyrics aren't anything extravagant, they are simple and in this simplicity, you can find the profound. The way saying “I love you” can be so powerful and changing. The song “Novocaine” introduces the listener to the sadness consuming his life. The numbing agent is so wonderfully metaphor to the depression that comes into his life. A time where it is hard to feel, hard to smile, hard to live. Everything exists in waves. The 2010s have been turbulent troublesome years. Everything can feel desolate. Shooting after shooting, the rise of white nationalism, a general feeling of being unsafe. It’s hard to feel hopeful sometimes.

In “Gasoline” the voice and guitar chords change. The oh’s are painful, just a croak quivering on the vocal cords just right before a vocal break. It is like looking at a girl you used to love kissing another boy and realizing she’s moved on and you’re just existing like a dinosaur who has turned to gasoline waiting... just waiting to be used up, for your prolonged existence to just end. Or getting a fatally somber drunk, going to the bathroom to take a piss, seeing your face in the mirror and not exactly liking what you see but not knowing what to do with this news. A slow crescendo where they finally coalesce into one sound at the utter of the words “honesty is trouble to me.”

“Drunk On Sunday Morning” comes into the thick of depression. Depression, where things just aren't how they used to be. Even getting off becomes mundane and dumb. You’re tired, then you’re up for 36 hours. You’re hot, then cold. Everything doesn't change and somehow does. The landscape is too unfamiliar. It’s warping. Your insides don't feel right, like gasoline. You sleep all day yet you are still tired all the time. There is a sag to your bones, weight in your marrow.

The album ends with the song “Fine” marking coming out the depressive hole. It becomes gradually more upbeat but still somber. The song marks a change into a period of growth with hunger, sleep, and a new tattoo. Self-care isn’t always exciting, sometimes it regulating basic human behavior and needs. “Do you feel fine?,” things like these checking in with yourself so one day we can be fine and mean it. Even when you do the right things you cannot always feel “fine” there is no exact way to be “better.”

Although many great individual songs, an album is more than that. An album is a cohesive sound that needs variety. Humans love repetition, it’s comforting. We’ll make order out of disorder just to sleep at night. However, in art, we seldom do. Although songs like “Fine” break the mold in this album, a greater range and experimentation would elevate Community College’s Comco. The arc the album has presented is beautiful with the introduction of the numbing to becoming “fine.” The simple songwriting effortlessly describes this lingering sadness and has great power to it. I am excited to see what comes from Community College.

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Written by Rosa Pyo

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Harvey Waters - 'Soft'

This review has been a long time coming. Kinda crazy how life picks up and slows downs in mysterious ways. Fortunately, it is the time of year the kids call "Spring Break." Blessup. Anyway... self-described "Dreamo" band, Harvey Waters, just dropped their new record Soft a couple of weeks ago, and I'm here to make sure you get hip to it.

The record opens with a smooth buildup of guitar, vocal layering, and a nice drizzle of synth-work. Track one, "Taste," really put me in a good state of the mind from the very beginning of my listen. At first I would have said that this should have ended the record, but I do not think I would have it any other way as it leads perfectly into "Progress", a beautiful slacker pop track. This track in particular is aided heavily Grace McElhone's harmonizing vocals that sit just right. "Dreamo" sets in here with these two wonderfully put together desperation songs. 

Drifting further into this record, listeners bump into the rather welcoming drumming in "Drip." This is probably my favorite song on the record for just that reason. To my surprise, the track was shorter than I anticipated, despite the slightly slower tempo. I would come to peace with the abrupt ending as I thought through the following interlude track, "Needles." I have mixed feelings about placing pauses in records because I am not sure if they are always appropriate, but I liked this one and the one that precedes the final track on this record. I felt "Needles" served as a clear divide in songwriting on this record since b-side, if you will, is a little louder, cleaner, and confident.

The remaining tracks are not as washy as the others. They focus on sharper vocals and raw instrumentation. They stand together well in their own way as they do not fade into one another in the same fashion of earlier tracks. "Cracker" hits a little bit of that fuzzy, noisy element. "Pulling Teeth" is a wholesome breakdown that features help from Frankie (aka stolenchaptick) of Deadplant Records. The final track, "Buried," howls into space and concludes with twinkling piano and synth.

Harvey Waters has found a sound that works for them perfectly on Soft. Their emotional, jangle-heavy appeal crosses many sub-genres rooted in the worldwide DIY community. Be on the lookout for a show of theirs if you reside in the Kalamazoo, Michigan area. Soft is out now everywhere. This full record is worth your time. Spin it now. 

RIYL: Swings, Alex G, Strange Ranger, Spencer Radcliffe

Favorite Tracks: Progress, Drip, Inside 

Hot Take: Harvey Waters is your next hangover cure. 

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Writen by Connor Murray (@craftedsounds)

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Fever Dream Horror Scene - EP

For many audiences, the artwork of a record is oftentimes a major selling point as well as creates an expectation for what the music will sound like when the listener plays it for the first time. When I first saw the artwork of Fever Dream Horror Scene’s new self-titled EP, I was immediately intrigued; I wasn’t sure what I was going to hear from the mesmerizing mix of what seemed to be sticks and branches. For me, this was exciting. As I had hoped, in the opening seconds, I realized that the artwork was a beautiful summary of the essence of who Fever Dream Horror Scene truly are. This EP is such an enthralling combination of shoegaze and post-punk that it transports the listener to the very grey, rainy afternoon in the practice space in Indiana in which this material was conceived.

The instrumentation of the opener to this EP, “Blue Blood”, is heavily reminiscent of Sonic Youth while Matt Leetz and Shannon Brandon’s vocals deliver a hypnotizing, gloomy mood throughout the piece. This track is followed by “Teething”, a song that is riddled with a winding guitar riff and otherworldly, haunting vocals. In the last minute of the song, the guitar sounds as if it is trying to jump out of the speakers and attack the listener. This guitar tone is extremely grimy and a great dynamic change in the track. Finishing the first half of the EP, “Benedictation” begins with delay-heavy guitars but quickly dives into a cacophony of distortion, Sam Glidewell’s intense drumming, and passionate vocals. The song is a great blend of the stylings of post-punk act New Order and 1990s alternative rock bands like The Offspring and Nirvana.

The fourth track, “Reliquary”, is covered in guitar riffs reminiscent of indie rock legends Built to Spill, ultimately swelling until bursting into a guitar-laden eruption. This song is a perfect contrast from the other moments on the EP without straying too far from the band’s original sounds. Next, “Nascar” alternates between a sludgy verse and a rather melodic, catchy refrain. For me, this track is one of the standouts on the EP. At the end of the song, all aspects of the music are turned up to the dirtiest, highest intensity possible, blooming into an aggressive discordance for the final moments of the track. The use of dynamics in this track specifically creates many compelling and powerful moments. Ending the record, “Shill” is Fever Dream Horror Scene’s most progressive song on this project. Starting with clean, dissonant guitars, the track then moves into one of the best vocal performances on the piece, climbing up to a bridge that constantly builds. A sudden beat switch at the end of the track is a beautiful end to this carefully crafted work.

Fever Dream Horror Scene’s new self-titled EP is a refreshing take on the gothic sounds of early 1980s mixed with an exciting new twist provided by a more DIY, gloomy attitude. This is a perfect listen for your next grey, rainy afternoon. Released through Sister Cylinder, Fever Dream Horror Scene can be streamed through the links provided below.

Follow Fever Dream Horror Scene

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Written by Dylan Fitch (@DylanFitch3)

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Drowsy - EP

I’ve been thinking a lot about the time I drove across the country with a few friends of mine and what the future holds for each of us. Summer 2015, a group of 5 of us decided to pack up a Dodge Caravan and hit the road to Arches National park with high spirits and stops-a-plenty along the way. I think back on this journey and although the idea of picking up and road-tripping isn’t new; everyone’s lived experience of it is and should be cherished as such. Throughout the trip I had many great experiences, some of which I have completely forgot due to the poison of time, but nonetheless some part of me acts differently because of this short 8 day stint. Being able to witness the changing landscape at such a rapid pace, mostly because we had to speed to make time, made a lot of the country slam into a blur of all environments. Honestly, trying to remember these blurs creates a mushed painting of nostalgia and feelings, that I wouldn’t trade for anything else; this mental image, I also would say, accurately describes how I feel when I listen to this record.

Drowsy, a band originally from Denver and called “The Baltic”, have been on the scene
for sometime, recording a solid EP called Archipelago. They have now since up and rooted
themselves to Los Angeles and while living in this land have decided to create this self-titled
diddy and release it through Pittsburgh label, Misra Records (who also released Archipelago).
Listen, I get it, I could draw on endless comparisons of who these folks sound like, but
I’m just going to leave that for the lil’ text bump I do at the end of all these pieces. Drowsy have
created a soundtrack, that draws to the surface, an instance of feelings and memories in my
mind that I didn’t know I needed until I listened to it on repeat for the past couple of days.
“Simply Jess” carries the weight of every landscape that I saw from Pennsylvania to Utah, and
the instrumentation reflects that; going from valley to peak on a sonic journey with breathtaking
guitar, pounding bass, and a drum kit that feels like it’s the size of Lake Huron. “Lapsing” comes
in softly and then heaves its weight like the massive thunderstorm my friends and I drove
through in Colorado, and by the end of the song, much like the storm, I’m very glad to be alive
and thankful for the experience.

Annie Dillard talks about the cyclical nature of time in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, when she
stumbles upon a serpent skin that seems to be tied in a knot. When she attempts to find the
knot she is unable to. This leads her to go on a tangent about what exactly it means to
experience something; she wants her time spent at the cabin on Tinker Creek to be hers and
every changing of the seasons to be new. She professes she doesn’t want someone else’s
“used weather” while contemplating how the first person differentiated the seasons as distinct
and separate and not just one continuous event. What I’m trying to say is, I can sit here talking
about Jack Kerouac and a bunch of famous shoegaze, but I really want to stress the importance
of going into this record clean and finding out for yourself what these songs can help you
discover. You can listen to “used shoegaze” anytime, try something new on for size.

If you are reading/listening from LA, be sure to hit up their EP release show on March 2 with Ben McKenzie, Bandy, and Lo Haze at Ham And Eggs Tavern!





RIYL: Slowdive, Pity Sex, LSD and the Search for God
Favorite Tracks: Simply Jess, Lapsing

Follow Drowsy

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Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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Girl Fight - 'She's a Killer'

“She’s a Killer.” Album title, opening track and first furious words. Detroit’s two piece

feminist punk band, GIRL FIGHT, have followed their 2018 debut EP, Fights Back, with 11 new

songs that spark and flare across 18 sweaty, spitty, minutes. She’s a Killer is here to use your

hair as handlebars, your stomach as a footrest and your ears as a funnel for whatever Ellen

Cope and Jacob Boyle are seething about today. You’re gonna like it.

The opening title track, is a tantrum. As is the following the song, and the song after that.

Every song on She’s A Killer is a gleeful airing of grievances. As Cope explains on “Ladder”

they “will break through your ceiling” but when they do, they will “do it with feeling.” The dullard

drum work will tell you when to stomp and when to jump because GIRL FIGHT are as inclusive as

they are aggressive. Even better, by the time most of these songs hit their halfway point the

band has usually picked a refrain or two so listeners can spazz along. “All you see in my is fear”

on the song of the same name. “I am my god” also on the song of a similar name. There are no

wrong choices.

The album is at its best when stepping away from what eventually becomes the

expected. The entirety of the song “White Girl is a perfect example and when Cope and Boyle

begin trading lines, first on “New Noise”, and then again on the impossibly infectious closer

“Out” their energy becomes exponential and it all feels that much more urgent. Even smaller

moments, like the sunken guitar EQ on “All You See in Me is Fear” or the strobbed noise solo

on the title track prove to be the kind of subtle tweaks that elevate these songs from the herd.

Though it may not be the first thing to grab your attention, the instrumentation here

should not be ignored. It is, in technical terms, dumb as hell. Cope’s drums sound like the guy in

the back of the pizza shop stomping boxes flat. If the knobs on Boyle's distortion aren’t turned

all the way to the right, I can’t tell. The music here is beyond simple. It’s also incredibly effective.

If these songs featured any more than three chords, they’d probably be half as good. GIRL FIGHT

might just be the first Detroit based boy/girl two piece to actually have the courage of its

professed minimalist convictions. As they proclaim, with what sounds more like a smile than a

sneer on “Out”, GIRL FIGHT are without a doubt, “walking the right way.”

To you Pittsburgh folks out there, GIRL FIGHT is set to play Air Studio on February 23. 

Follow Girl Fight

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Writen by Jake Rzeppa (@getoldordietrying)

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Cathedral Bells - 'Self Titled EP'

New York’s hottest new nightclub is Cathedral Bells. They’ve got everything; beeps, boops, goth
jazzercising, the bullseye in the middle of the Venn Diagram of musical interests between Claire
Standish and Allison Reynolds, and of course the Psychic Capital of the World. So what are we
talking about here? Just go listen to the dang thing.

Cathedral Bells is the shoegaze project of Matthew Messore and David Carey hailing from
Cassadaga, Florida. Their self-titled EP dropped February 1st on Good Eye Records and this thing is just crackling with kinetic energy. Messore says the album was written during a period in which he returned to his hometown and it centers on themes of isolation and space. These songs are the perfect encapsulation of the happy//sad formula, the lyrics touching on Messore’s stated themes and the music...the MUSIC! Cathedral Bells have really placed themselves atop the pedestal of
music to play while Robert Smith rides the exercise bike. “Homebody” is the single that
preceded this EP and for good reason. The song is an absolute bop; driving drums, the perfect
synth tones, this is music for walking in the cold while the sun shines on your face.

For me the standout track here is “A Passing Phase”, the lyrics are a gut punch of poetry, when
Messore sings “give me something to hold onto” you feel you’re soul reaching, connecting with
these feelings, existing with Messore’s spirit on some ethereal plane. The instrumentation is
superb too, the bassline is such an earworm and the synths not only pair so well with it, but also
help to create the environment of isolation Messore is conveying through his lyrics.

In the movie To the Wonder, Marina and Neil return to Oklahoma after falling in love in Paris
and Marina, a Ukranian, begins to feel isolated in this rural environment. Very much removed
from family, country, and comfort, Malick is able to portray the intense feelings of isolation and
doubt through sweeping landscape imagery as well as minimal dialogue. It’s somewhat hard to
put isolation into relatable words, hell even Malick had trouble with it, but with this EP, Cathedral
Bells are showing us a potential road map in how to express these feelings... and dance our
asses off while doing it.




RIYL: Goth Jazzercising (the activity I have no idea if this is a band), DIIV, Slowdive
Favorite Tracks: A Passing Phase, Homebody

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Written by Ira Mason (@spookEguy420_69)

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Goodnight Daniel - "Mountain"

Inspired by jazz and Brazilian music, songwriter and guitarist Brett Jones makes quiet rock songs that moves listeners. "Mountain" in particular was composed intentionally "with lots of space... to invite you to focus on finding little magic moments" according to Jones. His method is quite effective. I was hooked immediately by his gentle strumming and soft vocals in the beginning. The end of "Mountain" took me home, if you will, as keys trickled between the drumming in the background. All in all, this is a great track and a great sign for the future for Goodnight Daniel (Richmond, VA). They are set to release their debut 4-track EP on March 1 on digital and cassette formats via Sad Cactus Records. Give "Mountain" a spin today.



RIYL: Horse Jumper of Love, Hovvdy, Crumb, Twain

Follow Goodnight Daniel

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Writen by Connor Murray (@craftedsounds)

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Lo Haze - "Cosmonaut"

You told yourself to get up and go for a run. You were very close to staying bed, but here you are trotting along. For some reason the gap in winter extremities is rather nice. It sure helps when it is above freezing. Some time into your run it starts to rain, and you hit your stride. You look up and the sun breaks the horizon as droplets of water kiss your forehead and proceed to run down your face. Don't get me wrong... you are gassed as fuck, but this is not so bad after all. I'd imagine that the music that would fit naturally in that moment of cardiovascular humility would be "Cosmonaut," a new track from LA act Lo Haze. "Cosmonaut' is a powerful, deeply emotional track that reminds one what it is like to be human. It encourages one to reach for new heights with rather intense streaks of guitar and enchanting vocals.

Lo Haze is just getting started after recently coming together last year. Their debut EP is set for release this Thursday on streaming services and they have a EP release show planned on February 22 in LA as well. Get hip to Lo Haze and spin this single ASAP.

RIYL: No Vacation, Beach House

Follow Lo Haze: 

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Written by Connor Murray (@craftedsounds)

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