Category: Blog

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Music News and Interviews

What happened to The Growlers?

The future looked promising for the alternative/indie band The Growlers. So where have they been for the last few years?

Content Warning: This story contains mentions of Sexual Assault Allegations.

The Growlers

Between the years of 2009 and 2019 The Growlers released nine albums. The band started its career in Dana Point, California in 2006. The Growlers began as a duo of lead singer Brooks Nielsen and guitarist Matt Taylor, later to add Anthony Braun Perry on bass and John Kaiser on drums. Though a few others were in and out, Nielsen and Taylor were the only consistent members throughout the decade.

Each of the albums garnered thousands of listeners and a lot of support, leading The Growlers to tour with The Black Keys, Devendra Banhart, Night Beats and more. They have also performed at Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza.

The Growlers are even credited for coining a new subgenre: “beach goth.”

It seemed like they had something great going. But they haven’t released an album since 2019 or toured since 2020 and have faded away from social media. A Google search will show you that longtime member and founder Matt Taylor is nowhere to be mentioned. What’s going on?

Scandal

On July 30, 2020, Arrow De Wilde, the lead singer of the rock band Starcrawler from LA, made an Instagram post explaining in detail the sexual assault that she faced while on tour with The Growlers. During January of 2020, Starcrawler joined The Growlers for a leg of their tour in Australia.

Sparing details, De Wilde explained that while none of the Growlers themselves were directly involved with the incident, they were responsible for encouraging it and should be held accountable.

After De Wilde’s post, The Growlers’ Brooks Nielsen responded the next day with his own Instagram post. He expressed that the whole band was taking responsibility for their actions and bad judgement. In addition, Matt Taylor would be leaving the band, though the post has since been deleted.

Since these statements, we have heard very little from The Growlers and it seems that their future is doomed. Ironically, frontman Brooks Nielsen seems to have rebranded himself and is now playing solo shows all over California. He typically plays his original music, but still plays a few of The Growlers’ songs. Conveniently for him, he can get away with carrying the sound of The Growlers’ alone – his vocals – while removing himself from the image of the band.

As for Arrow De Wilde, she is still singing for Starcrawler and making music successfully.

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New Album Review

“Deus Arrakis”, Klaus Schulze’s Final Trip into Space

Deus Arrakis album cover
"Deus Arrakis" album cover by Christian Bröhenhorst. Music by Klaus Schulze.

Klaus Schulze is a famous name in the synth genre. He basically built the genre’s foundations and roots. Starting in 1971, Schulze started his solo career, and in the span of 4 years he released 5 full length albums, most notably “Timewind” and “Irrlicht” are among his first 5 releases. 

Schulze died this year, 2022, on the 26 of April, and “Deus Arrakis” was released July 1 this year. This album is a continuation of his “Dune” album, which draws inspiration from the Frank Herbert science fiction classic that shares the same name. 

The most notable bands that were either inspired by or founded with Schulze are Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel and Popol Vuh. Klaus Schulze also produced many LPs by notable bands and artists over his long, illustrious career, and Schulze has worked on many movie soundtracks.

“Deus Arrakis”

Getting into this long winded music can be intimidating, but thankfully Schulze has broken up the three tracks that comprise the album into reasonably listenable lengths. As a huge “Dune” geek, I will be making constant references to the books, so if you can’t quite follow along, then go read “Dune”. 

The desert sands of Arrakis swirl with the deep red spice, mélange in the opening track “Osiris – Pt. 1”. In this song, Schulze composes a slow opening that wakes us into the dreamy nights in Sietch Tabr. Nights are full of breathtaking stars and trade guild ships zipping to and from spice repositories. “Osiris – Pt. 1” offers up a calm Arrakis night, and makes the world feel like home. 

In “Seth Pt. 5”, the cello takes the center stage. Slow movements bring floods of warmth and glitzy dreams in  another atmospheric song. One thing I have noticed about this album is how it creates a mood and emotional presence more than a concrete objective thought. This track is able to pull from the flow of water and meld your stream of consciousness into its own. 

The final song of the album, “Der Hauch des Lebens – Pt. 5” feels like the patter of raindrops hitting the newly terraformed world of Arrakis. It’s a release of pure relief and contentment that moves through your body and makes you wonder what it would feel like to be exposed to rain for the first time. 

Final Wishes

I heavily enjoy atmospheric music, but I can only listen to so much of it in one sitting. This album did not allow me to listen through all in one go. I had to split up the tracks and parts to listen to the entirety of it, which isn’t inherently a negative quality of any album, yet I forgot how some tracks blend together or play off each other. I lost the ability to differentiate tracks and movements from each other. 

Schulze’s final studio album (that we know of) is great. I will always enjoy listening to this science fiction music because it’s so peaceful. “Deus Arrakis” may not be one of his greatest achievements in music, but will be loved and adored appropriately for what it is. 

I hope all those people and bands that Klaus Schulze supported here on Earth continue to pay tribute to his legacy and open minded nature by creating beautiful music and art for our simple Earthling minds to drool over and inhale.

Keep dreamin’

Ben

Categories
Miscellaneous Music News and Interviews Playlists

“Gilmore Girls” and Indie Music

Photo of the town Gilmore Girls took place in. Features a mountain covered in green trees in the background, and a white church building in the foreground.
An image of the town "Gilmore Girls" took place in. Taken by Flickr user Joe Flood under the (CC BY-ND 2.0) license.

For those of you who don’t know, “Gilmore Girls” was a show on The CW that aired from 2000 to 2007. 

The show was about a quirky mom, Lorelai, and her daughter, Rory. It focused on their mom-daughter relationship as well as their relationship with Lorelai’s parents and the people in their small town. 

Granted that their characters were seen as witty, sarcastic, and super knowledgable in terms of pop culture, music, and movies, the references to underground artists often came off as snobbish at the time. I would never understand the music references they made and felt like I was somehow behind.

A lot of moments on the show felt like Rory and Lorelai constantly wanted to seem “not like the other girls”, however, after watching it regularly I grew accustomed to their rapid banter and uniqueness. 

Eventually, their quirkiness turned into their charm.

There are a handful of bands I discovered specifically through that show. Rory and her best friend Lane, a female drummer, both were huge music geeks and after hearing their music references, curiosity got the best of me.

I wanted to see if the bands they referred to were truly worth the snobbery. 

Here is a brief list of the bands and artists that were mentioned in the show: The Bangles, Paul Anka, Sonic Youth, The Shins, Arcade Fire, The Go-Gos, New Order/Joy Division and The Libertines. 

The “Gilmore Girls” show writers were big music connoisseurs as well and wanted the music to be on the forefront to give the show its own vibes and sound.

Since the show’s primary audience was mothers and daughters, the music references in the show made pre-teen and teen girls get into music that Lorelai and Rory found to be cool.

A handful of the musicians they reference throughout the show actually made cameos as well.

The band Lane was a drummer for, Hep Alien, performed a lot of cover songs on the show too. They performed “London Calling” by The Clash, “Fell in Love With a Girl” by White Stripes, and “I’m the Man” by Joe Jackson along with many others.

The show is an acquired taste so I would only recommend watching it if you’re open to an eccentric family-centered show.

It’s a show that was revolutionary for its time making underground pop culture references seem like the ‘it’ thing and music was a huge part of Rory and Lorelai’s characters. 

If it’s not for the characters, there are a lot of great tracks found throughout the show.

Here’s a playlist if you’d rather skip straight to the music!

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Delightful Dessert Tunes for Your Free Time

Slice of strawberry cheesecake
Picture of a slice of strawberry cheesecake. Provided by the public domain.

Light, pop styled tunes create a dessert-like euphoria for my ears, which feed my soul a bit differently than the rage and chaos of punk and metal. I enjoy listening to bright, intoxicating melodies just as much as the metal and hardcore bands I dive into in my previous article. 

Sweet melodies bring new types of joy to my ears that can consist of light, beautiful vocals. The intoxicating factor of dessert flavored tracks is how an artist or band’s instruments emphasize and support their vocals. Heavy drums would lead to a heavy, forced rhythm, light electronic noises might cause a vocalist to create a dreamier tone and sharp guitars could influence the vocals to have a syrupy, smooth effect. 

I Am the World Trade Center

So what are some examples of these sugary rhythms and addicting tracks? 

Well, I have been unable to stop listening to I Am the World Trade Center. They are a duo from the late 1990’s who unfortunately stopped making music due to their name and a split in the partnership. Their three studio albums all have electronic, danceable beats and silky smooth vocals. 

Out of my favorite tracks, I think “You Don’t Even Know Her” and “Pretty Baby” are the most addictive ones. 

The airy vocals and deep, techno instruments in “You Don’t Even Know Her” create a soothing ambiance like a cloud covering the sun. In “Pretty Baby” the instruments are more rhythmic and the vocals more apparent. I equate the emotions that I get from “Pretty Baby” to the way an other-worldly being might get by smelling the emotion of jealousy. 

I don’t really understand my attachment to I Am the World Trade Center. I don’t think their music or beats are extremely unique from a lot of modern electropop, but my brain drives me to listen to their music often. 

Jens Lekman

Lekman is a Swedish pop artist who released two albums this year, “The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom” and “The Cherry Trees Are Still in Blossom”. I still have only listened to “Linden Trees”, but with how much I enjoyed it I will definitely be getting into “Cherry Trees” soon. 

A storyteller in music is always one of my favorite types of musicians. People that convey morals, humans and emotions through songs and albums are able to draw in listeners because of the story. Lekman is one of these artists. 

In “Shirin” off “The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom”, Lekman shows off his vocals, storytelling and emotions. The epic combination of drums and string instruments adds an ambiance to the sound waves. Lekman explores love and rejection in a quick four minute track, which is done with grace and loving personal anecdotes. 

Jans Lekman is able to offer a different type of intoxication than that of I Am the World Trade Center. His is more focused in the heart, while the latter focuses on driving you to move your feet in rhythm.

SPELLLING

How do I describe what makes SPELLLING’s (Chrystia Cabal) music so beautiful? Is it the way her voice puts every single one of my brain cells in a perfect bliss? It’s like every single nerve in my body twitching out of excitement and joy. Every moment of her songs pounce on you unexpectedly. They feel golden, epic and full of never ending joy. 

Her newest album “Turning Wheel” is produced masterfully. New artists worked with her to perfect the back up instrumentals, vocals and effects. How could I ever tire of something as elegant as smooth silky vibrations sliding up and down my spine to sedate me into the perfect rest. 

I can’t say I fawn over many artists, but Cabal is different. In “Emperor with an Egg”, Cabal uses unique metaphors to describe the actions of a determined emperor. Epic instrumentals spring forth and add to the absolute treasure hoard of sounds, and that’s only 3 minutes of music. 

I lay awake at night thinking about the hours and hours worth of B-Sides, new projects, off shoots and mistakes that might exist. My greedy fingers need to tear through the sublime worlds brought to life through Cabal’s evocative music

Post-Dessert Coffee Thoughts

SPELLLING, Jens Lenkman and I Am the World Trade Center all make dreamy music that spawned physical requirements for me to continuously listen to them. Syrupy tunes end up making beautiful, epic representations of life worth living. 

In the constant darkness that surrounds many of our daily lives, it’s great to feed that rage and chaos, but getting your daily dose of Vitamin D in the form of intoxicating, electro-pop tunes is extremely healthy.

Suck in the syrupy goodness of the world around ya

Ben

Categories
Music News and Interviews

Conan Gray “People Watching” Song Review

Conan Gray’s sophomore album “Superache” was recently released and there is a single on there that I haven’t gotten out of my head since 2021 when it was initially released.

“People Watching” is one of his most relatable songs to me personally. Although, most of Conan’s songs hit super close to home for me.

At first, I was skeptical of Conan being such a famous artist who writes so much about love and yet somehow has notably never been in a relationship in his whole life. But watching interview after interview, I realized we both might be similar regardless of his status as a celebrity; we both have high standards and are super picky about almost everything. 

“People Watching” is an indie-pop track about how Conan is a people watcher and he observes all these couples and people wishing he could feel and experience the things they are. 

The swelling of the piano instrumentals and drums builds as the passion in his vocals does and gives such a distinct depth. It stays upbeat while maintaining this light energy to it.

As I discussed in the blog about “Yours”, Conan has strong vocals and isn’t afraid to showcase them in his bridges. The bass kicks in as the piano and drumming get more intense and instead of sounding chaotic the whole piece comes together to get this angst and longing across. 

For the lyrics themselves, Conan never hesitates to write about thoughts we all have.  The lyrics have a way of storytelling, not just to portray emotions but play a scene in our minds as we listen.

The song starts off with the lyrics ‘That wasn’t funny but she laughed so hard, she almost cried |  They’re counting months they’ve been together, almost 49 | He’s making fun of how she acted ’round the holidays | She wears a ring but they tell people that they’re not engaged.” 

It’s a simple people-watching scenario including the small details that those who don’t people-watch might not notice. It’s subtle but it highlights from the get-go that Conan is already micro-analyzing their relationship. 

The chorus hits the hardest and is the part of the song where he is the most vulnerable singing “I wanna feel all that love and emotion |  Be that attached to the person I’m holding |  Someday, I’ll be fallin’ without caution |  But for now, I’m only people watching” 

Personally, this hits the hardest because it’s so easy to watch people in relationships and think they are happy and living their dreams but we’ll never really know what their relationship is like. 

My favorite line in the whole song is “Someday, I’ll be falling’ without caution.” Overthinking often leads to problems and when you’re in a secure relationship, it’s something you don’t need to worry about or be afraid of.  Falling without caution. Being able to fall in love without worrying about yourself too much.

Anyway, before things get too sappy, the concept of People Watching is so interesting to me too.  Being able to observe people’s lives and imagine scenarios about them in mind for fun. It’s an easy distraction from the mundane every day.

Check out the music video:

Music video for “People Watching” by Conan Gray.

If you want to listen to the full “Superache” album check it out on Spotify.

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Weekly Charts

Underground Charts (7/12)

#ArtistRecordLabel
1FLY ANAKINFrankLex
2LAVA LA RUE“For You” [Single]Marathon Artists
3DIZUltra.VioletSelf-Released
4ILLISMFamily Over EverythingThe CRWN
5INJURY RESERVEBy The Time I Get To PhoenixSelf-Released
6JPEGMAFIALP!EQT
7LITTLE SIMZSometimes I Might Be IntrovertAGE 101
8QUELLE CHRISDEATHFAMEMello
9ROBERT GLASPERBlack Radio IIILoma Vista/Concord
10SKIIFALL“Bloodclarrt Business” [Single]XL
Categories
Weekly Charts

Afterhours Charts (7/12)

Man looking off into the sky. He has tattoos and a ring on his middle finger. He has brown hair, pale skin, and is wearing a white tshirt. His head is resting on his right hand and his back is facing the camera.
#ArtistRecordLabel
1I JORDAN“Always Been” b/w “First Time Back” [Single]Ninja Tune
2TDJTDJ123Disques Durs
3RANGE, THEMercuryDomino
4DIVINO NINO“Tu Tonto” [Single]Winspear
5MOGLII X TONG“Space Birds” [Single]Kitsune
6PINK MATTER“Bare It All” [Single]Self-Released
7ZETBEEAll These Things [EP]Salted
8BRAXE AND FALCONStep By Step [EP]Smugglers Way/Domino
9BARRY CAN’T SWIMMore Content [EP]Ninja Tune
10PHFPurest HellDanger Collective

Afterhours Adds

#ArtistRecordLabel
1I JORDAN“Always Been” b/w “First Time Back” [Single]Ninja Tune
2DIVINO NINO“Tu Tonto” [Single]Winspear
3MOGLII X TONG“Space Birds” [Single]Kitsune
4PINK MATTER“Bare It All” [Single]Self-Released
5BRAXE AND FALCONStep By Step [EP]Smugglers Way/Domino
6BARRY CAN’T SWIMMore Content [EP]Ninja Tune
7WORKING MEN’S CLUB“Ploys” [Single]Heavenly/PIAS
8ZETBEEAll These Things [EP]Salted
Categories
Weekly Charts

Chainsaw Charts (7/12)

#ArtistRecordLabel
1GREAT AMERICAN GHOSTTorture WorldMNRK Heavy
2MODEL PRISONERCompulsion Analysis [EP]COSMICLEVEL/+++
3FUNERAL CHIC“Roman Candle” [Single]Prosthetic
4CRYPTOPSYDivine CouncilEVP
5LORNA SHORE“Sun//Eater” [Single]Century Media
6IN FLAMES“State Of Slow Decay” [Single]Nuclear Blast
7THUNIIEat Lead and Die
8LIVING WRECKAGE“Endless War” [Single]M-Theory
9CALLOUS DAOBOYS, THE“A Brief Article Regarding Time Loops” [Single]MNRK
10BUMMERDead HorseThrill Jockey
Categories
Weekly Charts

Top Charts 7/12

#ArtistRecordLabel
1POST ANIMALLove GibberishSelf-Released
2BAKERS EDDYLove Boredom BicyclesIvy League
3BIG ORANGE“Love’s Not Enough” [Single]Self-Released
4FOOTBALL ETCVisions [EP]Self-Released
5GIRLPOOLForgivenessAnti-
6MITSKILaurel HellDead Oceans
7THE WHEEL WORKERS“Suck it up” [Single]Sinkhole Texas
8BEACH HOUSEOnce Twice MelodySub Pop
9CADENCE WEAPONParallel WorldMNRK
10CIV“Heaven On Earth” [Single]Self-Released
11CONWAY THE MACHINEGod Don’t Make MistakesShady/Interscope
12DAP THE CONTRACT“Sacrifices” [Single]Self-Released
13DINO SMOKESThe IgnorantVSR
14GUERILLA TOSSFamously AliveSub Pop
15INJURY RESERVESuperman ThatSelf-Released
16KWAMZAYMotherland! [EP]Corner Store Art House
17LANCEDAYUNGIN“Slide” [Single]Trap Illustrated/Playbook
18MOLLY ANNELLE“Dior” [Single]604
19NOSO1O“Fallin’ Out” [Single]Self-Released
20PUPThe Unraveling Of PupTheBandRise/BMG
21RAAVI“Lazy Susan” [Single]Self-Released
22REDVEILlearn 2 swimSelf-Released
23SASAMISQUEEZEDomino
24SKY FERREIRA“Don’t Forget” [Single]UMG
25SOCCER MOMMYSometimes, ForeverLoma Vista/Concord
26SOUND OF CERESEmerald SeaJoyful Noise
27THE CURLSSmothered & CoveredTruth Zone
28THE SHIVAS“Doom Revolver” [Single]Suicide Squeeze
29PARK HYE JINBefore I DieNinja Tune
30AESOP ROCK AND BLOCKHEADGarbologyRhymesayers
Categories
Music News and Interviews

Head Smashing and Sweat Inducing Bands

Ultra Violent album cover art by Zac Strum of Impulse Machine
"Ultra Violent" cover art by Zac Strum of Impulse Machine.

Hardcore and metal music aren’t some stiff sheet of protection from the elements. These genres are warm blankets when you have a 100 degree fever and your chills are shaking your body relentlessly. 

The hardcore and metal genres are reminders that it’s okay to not be okay. Rage, hate and pain should and does course through everyone’s bodies as they’re normal human emotions. 

The need to sweat in a pit, feel a bit of blood pumping through an accidentally split lip or accept the sharp pangs in your ears from loud guitars will course through me for a long time. In the chaos of a good pit, there are no rules. Working through the crowds of people to feel an elbow in the stomach is a good sign of a good pit. 

My day to day taste in music is driven mostly by my general feelings of the world and myself, as it probably is with many people. Whenever I get the urge for songs to thrash to, I have found a few bands that are worth supporting.

Impulse Machine

This North Carolina band defines their music as “experimental rock and metal”. They are an arts and media collective working to experiment as much as they can off and on the stage to bring new, chaotic sounds to metal and rock.

One of my friends introduced me to this band, and I enjoy what they do and that they are local. I haven’t been able to go to one of their live local shows, but I’ve heard they try to make their performances theatrical and thrashable, which is all I ever want out of most concerts. 

Some of their tracks are a little lost on me. For example, I found “A Town Called Liberty” to be a bit corny, but kind of in a good way. Still not sure about it. It’s not the metal I listen to them for, so I toss it aside. 

Some of my favorite tracks of theirs are “kill_me” and “I’m Not Going to Die a Horrible, Gruesome Death (And Other Hilarious Jokes You Can Tell Yourself)”. These tracks are roughly 5 minutes long and have heart pounding instrumental sections and good old metal screams too. 

One special aspect of Impulse Machine is their lyricism and vocals. I think their lead singer sounds great when he sings and when he does his metal terror rampage, which I can’t find when I listen to many metal bands.

Gulch

Gulch is one of those special metal bands that instantly connected with me. Their hard, fast rhythms, intense vocals and lyrics sucked me in immediately, and I don’t want to stop listening to their music when it’s over so quickly. 

A few of my favorite tracks include “Sin in My Heart”, “Lie, Deny, Sanctify” and “R.S.A”. All these tracks pierce right through your ears and electrify you in the process. Specifically, “R.S.A” brings that beautiful coarse guttural metal noise and then explodes into a flash of fury that makes me start punching the air. 

Also, one of my favorite parts of “Lie, Deny, Sanctify” is the opening screech from the guitar. The drums on this track bring an incredible dark beat to the deep sounds of the guitar and bass, and all this makes this short song burn right through your ears (in a good way of course). 

As a small, new band, the only thing I hold against them is that they don’t have enough music. I am craving more tracks and albums from them, but I will have to keep waiting for them to produce more in the future.

Lexan

I have so little information about Lexan it’s disappointing. All I know is that they’re from Ohio and they have one EP that was released earlier this year in February, but all that is okay because they released some banging tracks.

Their four songs off their “Demo” EP pump me full of death defying energy. The raspy vocals of this punk group work well with the rhythm guitar, bass and drums. Basically, their sounds combine, making a chaotic scene of rage feel comforting and moshable at the same time. 

I found “Man Made Ultra” to be my favorite of their four songs so far, as I like its lyrics the most:

“Polycarbonate fused to the hate,

Now im a carcass even earth wouldn’t eat.

I’m man made, ultra, plastic monster.”

Lyrics from Lexan’s song “Man Made Ultra“

Lexan is a hardcore punk band, so their lyrics are understandably dark and dreary. The whole EP talks about being a plastic monster of a man, which is a neat way to express the hollowness of the world surrounding the artists and emotions they might feel. 

Some Concluding Thoughts

All three of these young bands are still making music and trying to find their footing in the music industry. I appreciate their unique qualities and perspectives that they have brought to the hardcore punk and metal genres. 

I hope you all have been able to gain some comfort from the raging and screaming as I do, but I completely understand if the music doesn’t “click”. Absorbing other people’s emotions through music and art presents new perspectives to learn from and adapt ourselves better, which is why I try to involve myself with increasingly diverse content to appreciate the lives around me a bit more every day.

Devour some souls and proteins <3

Ben