Things I Remember from Earth is the latest album from Maybird, their second release on 30th Century, the label founded by Danger Mouse, and in honor of the new album, the Rochester quartet will play at Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn on Wednesday, July 24.
The album has an other-worldly feeling – weaving pop, part psych rock, and part experimental into a sci-fi fantasy. Inspiration for the album came in part from Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan. For more on the album, read the NYS interview and the album review.
Josh and Adam Netsky have been mainstays on the Rochester music scene for the past decade at least. Older brother Josh was writing songs beyond his years, while Adam brought the songs to life both on stage, playing drums, and on screen, crafting accompanying videos. Their creative teamwork reached a new high in 2012 with a song-cycle and experimental documentary about the ghost town of Centralia, PA.
Part of being a great bandleader is crafting the songs. The other part is putting together the right parts to bring your visions to life. The Netsky’s pulled off a bit of a coup, scoring arguably the two best and most versatile guitarists in Rochester: Sam Snyder (Overhand Sam, Anamon) and Kurt Johnson (Moho Collective, Wallboards). Together they became Maybird, providing a more consistent outlet for their output. The band flourished on the Rochester scene and in 2016 they signed to Danger Mouse’s 30th Century Records, on which they’ve released two EPs, Turning Into Water and Unravelling.
On Things I Remember From Earth, their debut LP for 30th Century, releasing Friday, the band’s sound takes a huge leap forward. With major label backing and national tours with acts like Portugal. The Man under their belt, the Netsky’s creative visions are finally reaching their full potential.
The title, “Things I Remember From Earth,” was taken from Kurt Vonnegut’s “The Sirens of Titan,” as were the themes of many of the songs. “Human purpose, holding on to memories, and losing control of your mind/memory are all themes in the book that found a place on the album.” Josh Netsky explains.
No longer encumbered by the what-ifs of a shoestring budget, colorful sounds explode from the record like tubes of paint being smashed with a hammer. The opening track “In Technicolor (for the first time),” sets it all up perfectly: “If you mix the colors in your eyes / darkened tears will fall / into vivid seas and multiply.”
From the driving march of “To You,” to the slinky grooving “Gonna Lose Your Mind,” to the 80’s style bright pop of “Montreal,” track after track, colors are added and the vision becomes more complete and more impressive.
The band might consist three guitarists and a drummer, but they pushed the studio to the limit, layering sounds upon sounds for a complete sonic scrub that leaves no stone unturned: A perfectly placed horn track, catchy backing vocals, an eerie whistle, a burst of piano, a humming organ, alien bubbles and wails from outer space, not to mention, all of that glorious guitar. A bevy of beautiful and unique choices color the edges of the psychedelic pop songs throughout. Don’t fret about the how’s and who’s, close your eyes and let the grooves wash over you.
“When you feel it / for the first time / in spectacular color.”
How will it sound from the stage? Find out at their record release show this Friday, May 3 at Radio Social where they’ll be playing the album front to back. It’s a free show and Maybird will share the stage with Mikaela Davis, Cammy Enaharo and August West.
Key tracks: Gonna Lose Your Mind, Don’t Keep Me Around, When I Find My Out of the Circle
Rochester/Brooklyn band Maybird will soon be launching their second release on 30th Century Records. The first song off the recording, “Don’t Keep Me Around,” is indicative of the unique sound the band has crafted over the past six years – an amalgamation of indie and roots rock, filtered through a psychedelic veil. The four-piece band consists of singer/songwriter Josh Netsky, guitarists Kurt Johnson and Sam Snyder (aka Overhand Sam), and drummer Adam Netsky. NYS Music checked in with Maybird’s frontman to get the scoop on the inspirations and collaborations behind the new work.
Photo by Teagan West
Paula Cummings: You have a new song out called “Don’t Keep Me Around.” What is the story behind the song? Why did you choose to lead with this one?
Josh Netsky: We’ve been playing “Don’t Keep Me Around” live for well over a year now, so our fans are familiar with it and it’s just been waiting to be heard for a long time. We haven’t really explored many of the other songs on the record in a live setting yet, so it felt right to set this one free first. I wrote this song very quickly during a spontaneous recording session with producer Sam Cohen. Quickly in comparison to my usual writing process, at least. Quick songs are usually better in my experience… if you don’t have to think too much about it, that’s a good sign.
PC: Your songwriting has always been influenced by your own personal experiences. What people, places, or events lit the spark that led to the creation of your new songs?
JN: Some of the songs go pretty far back – I think the oldest track was written in 2012. So there are a lot of very different answers here from years of experiences and inspirations. But the overall arc of the album deals with a few main themes. Seeking purpose and clinging to memories/trying not to forget are the big ones. Kurt Vonnegut’s novel The Sirens of Titan was a huge inspiration for the album and put these ideas into perspective for me in the first place.
PC: Who did you work with on the album, and how did these industry professionals shape your work?
JN: For “Don’t Keep Me Around,” we worked a lot with Sam Cohen, who’s an amazing producer and our label-mate on 30th Century Records. He also mixed our entire album. Aside from that, we did most of the work ourselves independently. We all have small studio setups of our own, mostly we worked out of a studio that Sam and Kurt had set up in Ontario, NY. A few of our Rochester comrades put down some horn parts and extra instrumentation.
PC: Can you share any details about the new album?
JN: We’re looking at a late spring release, the date will be announced soon I’m sure. But we will be releasing singles up to that point, so there will be a constant flow of music from here forth. Plus we’ve got some videos and other material that we’re psyched to share alongside the tracks.
PC: Maybird’s Spotify playlist contains some great indie music. Which bands or musicians spur you forward by setting a benchmark that you’re striving to reach?
JN: I love having a Spotify playlist and updating it frequently. That’s exactly what it does, keeps inspiration flowing. We call it Maybird Mixtape. The whole thing started with an actual physical mixtape. We used to dub a bunch of tapes and give them to fans at shows to share what we were listening to. Spotify is obviously a lot easier to manage, but we still make the physical tapes every once in a while. I have a very open ear and use Shazam all the time. If I hear something that I would like to examine closer for whatever reason, whether it’s at a restaurant, in a store, on the radio or whatever… always Shazaming. A lot of what ends up on Maybird Mixtape is from that. I found this band Billy & Dolly that way, for example, and their album ended up being one of my favorites of 2018. Excellent songwriting and production. That’s really the only benchmark – to keep pushing forward in the writing and production… Cass Mccombs, Deerhunter, Daniel Ramano, Kendrick Lamar, Tame Impala, The Voidz, Danger Mouse, Wilco, Sly & The Family Stone are a few regulars on the mixtape. It’s all over the place, it’s all just really good. I think our sound is all over the place as well, and that’s the way we like it.
Check out Maybird’s new song over on Flaunt magazine. And be sure to follow Maybird on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram to catch their latest music and videos and find out about upcoming shows.
