NYC anti-folk heroes The Moldy Peaches announced their triumphant return to the live stage after 20 years at Brooklyn Steel.
Prior to their performance at the Brooklyn Steel, the band announced their first European show in 20 years, with a date at London’s Roundhouse and performances at Primavera Sound Barcelona.
The Moldy Peaches was established in the mid-90s by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson in New York City. The indie band popularized “anti-folk” music that brought quirky, lo-fi punk elements into the music scene. What began as a duo soon transformed into a six-member band with members such as Brent Cole, Jack Dishel, Toby Goodshank, and Steven Mertens joining. In 2001, the band released their debut album, The Moldy Peaches on Rough Trade Records. Recognized for their sense of humor, whimsy and self-deprecation, the debut album featured gems like “Downloading Porn With Dave” and “Who’s Got The Crack.” In 2002, the group separated to work on solo projects.
Last year, founding members Kimya Dawson and Adam Green played their first show together in 11 years. The two performed together for a premiere of the documentary Meet Me In The Bathroom, inspired by Lizzy Goodman. When asked about upcoming events the band said, “We’re excited to be back, older, and moldier. Let’s see if we still got it! Once a Moldy Peach, always a Moldy Peach.”
Presale tickets for the show will be available February 15 via Amex. General tickets will be available for purchase on February 17th. More information about The Moldy Peaches can be found here.
With their eyes set on the State Theatre in Portland, Maine, moe. has just announced they will hold a special 3-night run at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg over May 18-20, wrapping up their winter/spring tour.
Presented by Relix, the run of shows follows the return of guitarist Chuck Garvey to the road full-time following his stroke in 2021, and the more recent announcement that keyboardist Nate Wilson, who first sat in with the band during Garvey’s recovery last year, is now an official member of the band and will perform at all of moe.’s performances, going forward.
A special artist pre-sale for Brooklyn Bowl is currently underway using password WINDITUP – click here for moe information. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, February 17th at 10amET. For ticketing and show info, visit moe.org/tour
moe.’s Winter 2023 Tour will resume with their 2-night run at the State Theatre this weekend, as well as an additional 2-night run at the Palace Theater in Albany, NY on 2/24-25, coinciding with “moe.day” in Albany on 2/24. Select February performances will include an opening set by Karina Rykman.
moe. 2023 Winter Tour Dates Friday, February 17th – State Theatre – Portland, ME* Saturday, February 18th – State Theatre – Portland, ME* Friday, February 24th – Palace Theater – Albany, NY* Saturday, February 25th – Palace Theater – Albany, NY Thursday, March 9th – Brooklyn Bowl – Nashville, TN Friday, March 10th – Mars Music Hall – Huntsville, AL Saturday, March 11th – Minglewood Hall – Memphis, TN Sunday, March 12th – Vinyl Music Hall – Pensacola, FL Wednesday, March 15th – Music Hall – Charleston, SC Thursday, March 16th – The Plaza Live – Orlando, FL Friday, March 17th – Culture Room – Ft. Lauderdale, FL Saturday, March 18th – Jannus Live – St. Petersburg, FL Sunday, March 19th – PV Concert Hall – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Tuesday, March 21st – Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC Wednesday, March 22nd – Jefferson Theatre – Charlottesville, VA Thursday, March 23rd – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC Friday, March 24th – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA Saturday, March 25th – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA Friday, April 14th – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT Saturday, April 15th – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT Wednesday, April 26th – Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK Thursday, April 27th – The Echo Lounge – Dallas, TX Friday, April 28th – Paramount Theatre – Austin, TX Saturday, April 29th – Tipitina’s – New Orleans, LA Sunday, April 30th – Tipitina’s – New Orleans, LA Tuesday, May 2nd – JJ’s Live – Fayetteville, AR Wednesday, May 3rd – The Truman – Kansas City, MO Thursday, May 18th – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY Friday, May 19th – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY Saturday, May 20th – Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY Thursday, May 25th-Sunday, May 28th – Summer Camp Music Festival – Chillicothe, IL Friday, June 16th – Red Rock Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO^ Saturday, June 17th – Red Rock Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO^ Thursday, July 13th-Saturday, July 15th – 4848 Festival – Snowshoe, WV
Rock trio Le Tigre (Kathleen Hanna, JD Samson, and Johanna Fateman) have announced they will bring their joyous, experimental post-riot girl antics and conceptual multimedia performance to stages across the globe this summer.
For the first time in 18 years, the trio have reunited and will kick off their North American leg at the Mosswood Meltdown Festival followed by appearances in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, NYC, Chicago, Boston and more. Tickets are now on sale.
Bringing Y2K Back
Forming in New York City in 1999, the band abandoned traditional punk instrumentation, pairing drum-machine beats and looped 8-bit samples with the simplest, serrated guitar riffs and call-and-response vocals. The members of Le Tigre shared a vision for multimedia performance, touring with a slide projector in their early days with video later becoming a key component of their live show which fans can still look forward to on the upcoming tour.
The band’s final show—until their reunion performance for the This Ain’t No Picnic festival at the Rose Bowl in August 2022—was on September 24, 2005, at the Operation Ceasefire concert at Washington Monument in Washington DC, where they joined a coalition of artists calling for an end to the U.S. war in Iraq.
Recently, Kathleen has been touring with Bikini Kill, running Tees 4 Togo (which sells artist-designed T-shirts to fund the non-profit organization Peace Sisters), and writing a book. JD has a full-time teaching position as Assistant Arts Professor and Area Head of Performance at The Clive Davis Institute at NYU/Tisch , performs with CRICKETS, and tours with the original live score for the film 32 Sounds, directed by Sam Green. Johanna is an author and art critic who writes regularly for the “Goings on About Town” section of the New Yorker and for 4Columns; she is a contributing editor of Artforum.
5/27: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 6/1: Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Sound Barcelona 2023 6/3: London, UK @ Troxy 6/5: Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall 6/6: Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowland Ballroom 6/8: Madrid, Spain @ Primavera Sound Madrid 2023 6/9: Porto, Portugal @ Nos Primavera Sound Porto 2023 6/11: Paris, France @ Le Trianon 6/14: Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso 6/16: Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys Neue Welt 6/17: Hamburg, Germany @ Markthalle 7/1: Oakland, CA @ Mosswood Meltdown Festival 7/3: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom 7/6: Seattle, WA @ Paramount Theatre 7/7: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater 7/9: Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre 7/15: Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed 7/17: Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theatre 7/18: Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre 7/19: Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage 7/21: Toronto, ON @ History 7/22: Montreal, QC @ L’Olympia 7/24: Boston, MA @ Royale 7/28: Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
On Friday, January 27th, indie-pop band Juice delivered a heartfelt and lively performance to their adoring fans at Lark Hall in Albany. This was their last show from their rescheduled Fall Tour.
Ben Stevens, Lead Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron Childs
The sextet band from Brooklyn found each other while attending Boston College. Their unique sound comes from a combination of rock, pop, r&b, and hip-hop. Lead on the vocals by Ben Stevens, he is backed up on vocals by singer/guitarist Kamau Burton and rapper/violinist Christian Rose. Other sounds come from guitarist Daniel Moss, drummer Miles Clyatt, and bassist Rami El-Abidin. Currently, Juice has one album, Boy Story, 4 EPs, and a few singles to their discography. There are plans for more singles to come soon, hopefully before the start of their next tour.
Juice was originally supposed to play in Lark Hall in November of 2022, but had to reschedule due to personal reasons. Nonetheless, they did not disappoint their young fans. Their show opened up with rising indie r&b band, The E-Block.
Luje Pascarella, Lead Vocalist of the E-Block – Photo by Jarron Childs
The band from Albany has been progressing from basement shows at The Laundromat, to bigger stages such as Albany’s Alive at 5 last summer. If you’ve been following them, you can hear that they are really starting to find their sound as a band. From being a jam rock funk band, to really creating a R&B, soul, and funk that they can call their own. The E-Block is really laying down a foundation that could be the start of a good career.
The E-Block opened with their newly released single “Stay.” Their performance was very r&b/soul heavy as lead vocalist/guitarist Luke Pascarella really pushed the limits of his vocals. They really played their hearts out and could’ve even brought the audience to tears at one point. They earned their cheers from the audience. Their set ended on a familiar note of a jam funk session that really had to crowd bouncing. They hosted an after party for their new single at Washington Tavern after the show.
Christian Rose, Violinist/Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron Childs
Juice opened with a single, “DiCaprio,” from 2020. Their performance really went a lot of places because of how many music genres they have been able to incorporate in their style. Christian Rose played a violin solo so hard that it looked as if one of his strings broke, but he did not stop for one beat. The chemistry displayed on stage was undeniable, as their were many laugh shared amongst each other. There was also many moments when the band sat back and watched guitarist Daniel Moss serenade the crowd with powerful guitar solos.
Members of Juice watch a guitar solo performed by Daniel Moss – Photo by Jarron Childs
Vocalist Ben Stevens jumped into the crowd a danced with them which kept the good vibes going. The crowd was jumping, the music was bumping, and you could probably hear hearts thumping as Juice really pulled every ounce of energy from the crowd. There were begs for an encore at the end of their set, and Juice did not ignore them. They came back for a 1 song encore which brought many smiles to those in the crowd.
They will start “The Dip Stick on You” national tour on February 16th. In case you missed them this time, they will return to Lark Hall on February 23rd for another show.
Juice Setlist: DiCaprio, Shoot my Dreams, Peace of Mind, Audrey Tell Me, Stranger, Heartbreak in a Box, River, Workin’ On Loving, Stupidfreak, Make Pretend
Luje Pascarella, Lead Vocalist of the E-Block – Photo by Jarron ChildsThe E-Block at Lark Hall – Photo by Jarron ChildsLuje Pascarella, Lead Vocalist of the E-Block – Photo by Jarron ChildsChristian Rose, Violinist/Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsChristian Rose, Violinist/Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsVocalist Kamau Burton of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsBen Stevens, Lead Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsJuice – Photo by Jarron ChildsBen Stevens, Lead Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsBen Stevens, Lead Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsGuitarist Daniel Moss of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsViolinist/Vocalist Christian Rose of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsBen Stevens, Lead Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsBen Stevens, Lead Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron ChildsBen Stevens, Lead Vocalist of Juice – Photo by Jarron Childs
Brooklyn‘s Lou Tides (TEEN, Here We Go Magic) has just released a mini-movie for her Infinite Loop Visual Mixtape following her first track, “Sense of Touching.” Her debut solo EP Infinite Loop EP was released Jan 20th.
The 10-minute film includes 5 chapters and a visual ode to each of the EP’s songs. Throughout the film, there are many striking visual elements that bring the viewer through a variety of worlds. This includes a bizarrely drab yet hectic beach dance, to an apartment that feels straight out of a Wong Kar Wai film, followed by a dark void where Lou Tides shines in PVC and mystical movement, then finally in a womb-like creature concert.
Nearing the end, we journey deep under the peaceful, blue sea where the transformation is complete. Lou Tides transcends her form, reborn as a radiant human-cetacean hybrid.
“I think of these songs as a map. A sequence in time. And the sequence of the songs follows that map, that loop,” says Tides. A veteran of Here We Go Magic and TEEN, she has chosen a solo moniker for her newest project.
Performing and producing solo for the first time were natural choices for an EP this personal. Tides made these songs while reckoning with the profound ways she’d been disrupted by her past. “Emotionally this music would not fit into anything strictly shaped or precise, I wanted to embrace the moods of the emotions and how I felt they would naturally flow. Time then felt different, and lush arrangements with stretchy synthesizers felt appropriate. I wanted the music to emulate the natural peaks and valleys of our lives and relationships,” Tides says.
Of her former band TEEN, NPR wrote, “What makes these wrenching themes resonate is the way TEEN’s music balances darkness with buoyancy and immediacy.” On Infinite Loop, Tides maintains that balance while moving away from previous pop inflections. Opening track “The Rake” uses jagged synths and nets of altered vocal tracks atop a constantly evolving beat. The song becomes a ghostly chorus and a doom-electronica crescendo to mimic dissociation and its effect on intimacy–and it feels totally organic.
To listen to Infinite Loop, click the link here. For more information on Lou Tides, visit her website by clicking the link here.
On the Friday evening of January 27th, Brooklyn Steel hosted a heavenly evening with Gregory Alan Isakov. A sold out crowd strewn in through the doors, waiting patiently at the base of the stage for the show to begin. Gregory and his band have been touring consistently for the past year, though their solo trek began at the start of January. Fans stood shoulder to shoulder, faces illuminated with the anticipation live music ensues. When the velvety lighting dimmed and the smoke poured over the stage, the soft murmurs vibrating throughout the crowd simultaneously hushed into a hungry silence.
Photograph by Emma Dowd
Isakov has been making music since 2005, and his sound remains remarkably particular. He was born in South Africa and moved to the United States at a young age, so his music holds space for a little bit of everywhere. Gregory’s fans are able to depend on him and the band to deliver consistent words of universal consolation and epiphanic life perspectives. His latest release was a single cover of The Lumineers‘ “Salt And The Sea,” in 2021, so his show was set up to be a tasteful selection of his songs from the past decade or so.
Photograph by Emma Dowd
The band members made their way onto the stage to introduce their instruments slowly one at a time until their sounds melded together into song. The violin, the cello, the drums, the guitar, the ukulele, the banjo, the piano, and other complimentary instruments made their appearance throughout the evening, emulating the skeletal archetype of folk music. When Gregory Alan Isakov himself materialized from the smoke, he sang into their first song of the night, “Southern Star.” Isakov’s songs are long works of spoken poetry made to be heard aloud in acoustically sound warehouses like Brooklyn Steel. Each pluck, each percussion, each riff had the respected time to be consumed and digested.
Photograph by Emma Dowd
Gregory spoke to the crowd intimately about his songs, his experiences with songwriting, and live performances. Each song came with a story, and a dose of gratitude for their origins. The band emanated from Colorado, which Gregory paid ode to when he exclaimed “this one has a bit of Colorado in it,” when referencing the song “San Luis.” The rest of the fifteen song setlist flowed brilliantly with musicality and words of appreciation from Isakov. Smiling out to the crowd he rhetorically asked, “How lucky am I to do this?”
“This one has a bit of Colorado in it.” – Gregory Alan Isakov
Fans of Gregory’s music held a poetic stoicism to them. With their respect for esteemed lyricism and intentional instrumentals, the crowd devoted their attention to every filament of sound that came from the stage. The storytelling lore of folk music and the communal effect it curates laid the foundation for a silent conversation between Gregory Alan Isakov and the regardful audience.
Photograph by Emma Dowd
In Between concluding songs, Isakov announced that he and his band have a new record coming out. He did not specify the release date, but the news landed excitedly as cheers ricocheted off the steel walls. Without a ‘goodbye,’ Gregory and the band left the stage, and the crowd didn’t let up until they reappeared. For their first encore, they sang “Dandelion Wine” and “Saint Valentine.” Huddled around the microphone, the band played the songs acoustically. A multitude of laboring instruments like the tambourine, the spoons, and the harmonica made an appearance. These songs seemed to be a couple of the band’s favorites to play, for their high energy was infectious.
Waving to the crowd, Gregory and the band left once again. With a dimly lit waiting period, the crowd’s murmur resurrected in a ponderous curiosity as they wondered if the show would go on. At last, the stage lit up for the final encore. The band gave the crowd one last song, “All Shades of Blue,” with such tangible appreciation for the night everyone in the room had just shared. When the song finished, the band took their bows and thanked New York City for being an unmatched host and embracing their music with artful openness.
Photograph by Emma Dowd
Setlist: Southern Star, Dark, Dark, Dark, San Luis, Master & a Hound, This Empty Northern Hemisphere, Chemicals, Liars, She Always Takes It Back, Virginia May, Amsterdam, The Stable Song, Appaloosa Bones, Big Black Car, Second Chances, Caves Encore (1): Dandelion Wine (acoustic, full band), Saint Valentine (acoustic, full band) Encore (2): All Shades of Blue (acoustic, full band)
Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (JRAD) have wrapped up a weekend that saw the Grateful Dead tribute act celebrate 10 years as a band with a 4 night run, including one at the Brooklyn Bowl & three nights at The Capitol Theatre. Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir even made a surprise guest appearance at the Brooklyn Bowl show.
The first night at The Capitol Theatre run on Friday, January 27, started off with a jam > “Scarlet Begonias”. The first set featured “Six Days on The Road”, “Hell in a Bucket”, “The Eleven”, & concluded with a thorough jammed out “I Know You Rider”.
The second set featured a funky “Cats Under The Stars”, “Feel Like a Stranger”, and dead head favorite “Franklin’s Tower”. The second set was concluded with “Days Between” which was rather slow and somber but well executed. The band encored with “Not Fade Away” & “In the Meantime” a Spacehog cover that left some of the audience a bit confused, but thoroughly delighted nonetheless.
Check out the setlists and videos from JRAD’s 10 years anniversary run below.
Thursday, January 26 – Brooklyn Bowl
Set 1: Tennessee Jed > Till the Morning Comes > Jack Straw* > The Music Never Stopped* > Let It Grow Set 2: Shakedown Street > Truckin’ > Viola Lee Blues > Althea > Ten Years Gone > The Other One > How Many More Times > Breathe > Terrapin Station Encore: Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues * with Bob Weir
Friday, January 27 – The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester
Set 1: Jam > Scarlet Begonias > Six Days On The Road > Hell in a Bucket > Black Peter > The Eleven > I Know You Rider Set 2: Man Smart, Woman Smarter > Cats Under the Stars > Feel Like a Stranger > Franklin’s Tower > Throwing Stones > Days Between Encore: Not Fade Away > In the Meantime
Saturday, January 28 – The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester
Set 1: Foolish Heart > Slipknot! > Casey Jones > Cumberland Blues > My Brother Esau > Box of Rain > Playing in the Band Set 2: Rubin and Cherise > Hard to Handle > Eyes of the World > Brown-Eyed Women > Estimated Prophet > Ramble On Rose > Good Lovin’ > Touch of Grey Encore: Deal
Sunday, January 29 – The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester
Set 1: Lost Sailor > Saint of Circumstance > St. Stephen > Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line > Dire Wolf > Uncle John’s Band > King Solomon’s Marbles > Uncle John’s Band > It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry > Wharf Rat > Jack-A-Roe Set 2: Fire on the Mountain > Samson and Delilah > Mission in the Rain > Dancing in the Street > New Speedway Boogie > Dancing in the Street > West L.A. Fadeaway > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Going Down the Road Feelin’ Bad Encore: Bertha
On Friday, January 27th, Penelope Scott played a one-off show at the iconic venue Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn. With support from openers Hank and Yot Club, there was a dynamic and vivacious energy as the performances spoke for themselves and the audience participated in their own way.
Photographed by Chinaza Ajuonuma
Penelope Scott is an American singer-songwriter who has produced all of her own music. Scott’s debut album, Public Void, was released on Bandcamp on August 29, 2020, then on streaming services on September 25, 2020. In November 2020, her music found a larger audience on Tik Tok. Her song “Rät” went viral with tens of thousands of videos made with the song. The song expresses disappointment with Silicon Valley and technology billionaires, particularly Elon Musk “Rät” peaked at 29 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart.
A week after playing at the first annual This is Home benefit show at Racket on Jan 11th, Penelope announced the Jan 27th one-off show on Instagram. Her companions were Yot Club, aka Ryan Kaiser (who also played at the benefit show), and Hank, both of whom played their first ever Baby’s All Right show on the 27th.
Photographed by Chinaza Ajuonuma
Hank performed first, letting the audience know that despite being an NYC local, they had never played at Baby’s All Right. Hank’s music is self-described as “music for truck drivers who wear short jorts and rip juuls” which was evident in their setlist. With a sound that can be described as pop indie tunes with a southern twang, their set kicked the show off with an animated and captivating vibe.
After his last appearance alongside Penelope and friends at the This is Home Benefit show on Jan 11th, Yot Club (Ryan Kaiser) took the stage again right after Hank. Although it was also his first time ever playing a show at Baby’s, he has toured with Penelope before, revealing he loves opening for her fans due to their open and energetic demeanor.
During his set, Kaiser played his signature lo-fi bedroom pop beats with songs like “YKWIM?”, “Japan”, and a Mountain Goats cover of “No Children” for what turned out to be an electric performance with the crowd screaming back lyrics.
Photographed by Chinaza Ajuonuma
By the time Penelope Scott came on stage, the crowd was thoroughly warmed up and buzzing with excitement. She showcased her musical prowess by jumping from her borrowed guitar (courtesy of Kaiser) to the keyboard, to her prerecorded electronic tracks. Throughout the show, her moxie and vivacious spirit infected the crowd as she busted out some dance moves, accepted a fan-made bracelet, and did a bottle flip challenge during an instrumental break. By the time the show came to a close, Scott debuted a couple of half-baked bangers that she affectionately referred to as “campfire time”. After closing her eyes and throwing her setlist into the crowd, she left the crowd with a liveliness that defines a Penelope Scott show.
Photographed by Chinaza Ajuonuma
Be sure to keep up with all these artists on socials, especially since there are some shows that just can’t be missed!
Yot Club can be found opening for Skegss during their US tour dates, and you can catch Hank next month on February 12th. They’ll be performing at The Sultan Room in Brooklyn with friends as part of Cumulonimbus, a collaborative music playlist that Hank is featured on.
Photographed by Chinaza Ajuonuma
Hank Setlist: Call Me Hank, All for You (Baby), Adore You [Miley Cyrus cover], Bugs, Good Guy Hard Life, One True Dear, Your Ex Man
Yot Club Setlist: u dont kno me, Comfort Zone, Dog Song, down bad, No Children [The Mountain Goats cover], YKWIM?, The Bay, Fly Out West, Mardi gras, anything, japan
Penelope Scott Setlist: Pseudophed, Sweet Hibiscus Tea, Feel Better, Bad Advice, Baxter 3rd Is Under Fucking Siege, 7’Oclock, Lavender, American Healthcare, Montreal, Runaway, Cool Girl Shuffle, Cigarette Ahegao, Gross, TOML, Rät, Lotta True Crime, Sineater, Cemetary Pigeons [unreleased], Something Blue [unreleased]
Photograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza AjuonumaPhotograph by Chinaza Ajuonuma
Brooklyn‘s Oropendola has announced the release of her newest LP Waiting For The Sky To Speak out on March 17th. Along with this exciting news, she has just released the single track on the album “Knocking Down Flowers,” accompanied with a beautifully hazy and shimmering video to go with it.
When listening to “Knocking Down Flowers,” Schubert finds life in the least likely of places: a construction site. Here, she recognizes and illuminates the power of living at the intersection of contrasts.
Waiting For The Sky To Speak is Joanna Schubert’s debut album as Oropendola, a word that means “golden pendulum.” The album’s emotional core comes through on roiling ballad “Trust the Sun” and clear-eyed album closer “When You Carried Me,” which both look to the sun, another kind of golden pendulum, as a guiding force.
Set to release March 17th, these tracks shimmer with bursts of energy and emotion, swinging from playfulness to earnestness with deft, technicolor brushstrokes. The album is a celebration of choosing life even in the face of its ephemerality, and of finding motion even in the midst of stillness.
While much of the rest of Waiting for the Sky to Speak careens across black-ice patches of inner conflict, both these songs offer a tentative hand outward, towards love, friendship, and family. The fixed sun in a changeable sky as she coaxes herself back out into the world.
Joanna says of the track and its inspiration, “In January 2020, I started recording myself improvising every morning – “morning pages” inspired by The Artist’s Way, a creative self-help book. I recorded morning pages #1 soon after a pivotal, complicated, on-and-off relationship “reached its end. Round and round we went, addicted to one another, unable to break free of a sticky cycle that prevented us from fully blooming together. That song seed turned into Knocking Down Flowers within a few days.”
To listen to more of Oropendola, click the link here.
For more information about Oropendola and upcoming tour dates, click the link here.
For the first time in 25 years, New York City based The Van Pelt have announced their upcoming fourth studio album, Artisans & Merchants, which will be released March 17th. The album will join a series of shows, including stops at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus Bar.
The album was recorded and mixed in Summer / Fall 2021 by Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording in Philadelphia, PA, and features guest appearances by Nate Kinsella and Ted Leo among others. The Van Pelt has returned to explore what was left behind with Artisans & Merchants.
This is not a reunion album. This is vindication. For lovers of The Van Pelt, listening to Artisans & Merchants is like hearing the voice of a dear friend you haven’t seen in years — a friend you used to share countless beers with over banter that went nowhere other than delivering a solid night. Your friend is older, they’ve changed. In some ways you’re worried for them. In other ways, it’s the same old them, a soul too unique to ever be altered.
The Van Pelt frontman Chris Leo
The first single “Punk House” is out everywhere now along with a brand new music video. The video features digitized archive footage from The Van Pelts US tours of the mid-90s.
When a bunch of old VHS tapes were unearthed, we had them digitized and they turned out to be from tours of the mid-90s. The footage is mainly of daily banalities: random purchases at rest stops, packing and unpacking the van, highway views that could be on the outskirts of Any Town USA. Yet there is a nostalgia to it that’s compelling to everyone
