Yeah, the guitarist and the drummer are brothers. Once I realized this small, yet crucial fact after a quick wikipedia search, their entire performance made sense.
The Pale White are a three-piece rock band from the United Kingdom. I saw them play as the opening act for the Pixies at the Olympia Theater in Dublin, which I was lucky enough to visit with my mom on her birthday trip. We bought the tickets last minute the day before the show, as we had previously thought it wouldn’t even be worth trying to attain them. The Pixies were playing a three show stint and the first two nights sold out instantly. We were thrilled to get seats in a stroke of fortune and went in blind about the opener. I had never heard about The Pale White.
We went early to the venue, and it wasn’t quite full yet. Our seats were up on the balcony. The Olympia Theater is beautiful, with French-style plaster flourishes in white on the maroon walls, chandelier, and a large red, velvet curtain half-hoisted behind the stage.
In a chaotic burst, the drummer came first onto the stage to hype up the audience. His presence was instantly frenzied as he raised his arms for applause and cheers. I think the entire audience instantly got the sense that this guy was wildly intense about his craft and meant serious business. Then, in succession, emerged the lead singer and guitarist, as well as the bassist.
Instantly, my mom leaned over and whispered, “Who’s band do you think this is?”
“Yeah, well, you know, that’s just like, uh, your opinion, man”
Jeff Bridges as The Dude, “The Big Lebowski” dir. Joel & Ethan Cohen, 1998
I’m sure most of you are well aware, but Kings is a gem in the middle of downtown Raleigh.
The sound is good, and the beer is cheap — what more could you ask for?
On Saturday evening, March 23, 2024, the Kings stage transformed into an altar of bowling pins and White Russians in honor of “The Big Lebowski’s” 25th Anniversary.
Album art for Julia Holter's "Something in the Room She Moves".
Julia Holter’s new singles are part of her new release which came out March 22, 2024. The new tracks are part of a project Holter is working on about human bodies’ ability to transform and be corporeal (as mentioned on her Bandcamp page).
This is Holter’s sixth full-length album. I began listening to her majestic sounds a little over a year ago looking for strange, ethereal compositions. I fell in love with her album “Tragedy” for the song “Goddess Eyes”.
The singles released for “Something in the Room She Moves” have an aura of gold and beauty that have been slowly reaching a climax thanks to the direction of her career. The three songs include “Evening Mood”, “Spinning” and “Sun Girl”.
In “Evening Mood”, we get to experience creeping beauty, skirting the shadows as the sun sets for the day. Moments of bliss and relaxation permeate the track, leaving the listener in a state of placid peace.
“Spinning” is my favorite release from the singles. An electric little start to the song winds us up for an unveiling of magnetic and addicting grace. The world swirls around in confusing spirals as we get to experience Holter’s delicious composition.
I’m not the biggest fan of “Sun Girl”. Specifically the first half of the song is a bit too long winded and doesn’t keep me engaged like the lengthy “Spinning” or “Evening Mood”. The second half, after the cacophonous odd noises, is enticing. It’s the strange addicting music that Holter is able to create so well (but only for half of the song). I’m sure many folks will love the whole track, but the first bit wasn’t for me.
I am excited to listen to the full album when I get the chance. These tracks were awesome teasers and make me want to dive back into the rest of Julia Holter’s discography.
Eat the abstract leaf (don’t poison yourself though),
Rod Argent in 1961 asked his family, friends and classmates to start a band. At the time, they couldn’t have predicted their impact and longevity. This cornerstone of British 60s rock music, The Zombies, are still performing and recording music.
I had the privilege of interviewing Rod Argent who is a vocalist and keyboardist for the band. Here is a few questions I asked him regarding their newest album. Note that the interview has been edited for this blog.
Q: So, I wanted to talk about your new album. I think the biggest achievement of “Different Game” is it standing out from the rest of your music. I think a lot of older bands, stick to their guns, to a fault. And they’re kind of stuck where they used to be, like decades ago. Y’all experiment with the formula. How do you all have that forward thinking mentality when making new music, but also making sure it fits within like The Zombies catalog?
A: Well, we never worry about it sticking within The Zombies catalog to be quite honest. Because as I said, right at the beginning, we always do things the same way. I don’t know any other way of doing it. It’s just me playing around on a piano. You never know where the idea might come from. You could hit a chord sequence that you think, oh, that’s tasty. And oh, God, I really want to write something around that. And strangely enough, the very first song on the album, “Different Game”, my wife and I went to the bar festival in Leipzig, just before the COVID, actually.
The last performance on the festival was in St. Thomas’s church, where (Johann Sebastian) Bach was for the last 10 years of his life. And he wrote the massive thing called Mass in B minor. And I have to tell you, there were 2000 people in the church. It was packed. And it’s a huge musical piece that you’ve got two organs, one on each side of the church. You’ve got two choirs ,you’ve got soloists, and you’ve got an orchestral section as well. It was so loud. I mean, most people listening to classical music think of it as being relaxing and everything. This is the reality of how it used to be. This is like a rock and roll concert, and it is fantastic. And, and there was this one section in called the Sanctus in the Mass in B minor. And it just blew me away.
When we got back home, just for fun, I kept playing it. Then I sort of kept playing this little chord sequence, which was part of it. And then I suddenly found myself singing a tune over it over it. I wasn’t trying to do that.(…)You know, it’s me in the studio, where I am at the moment, just just having fun, really, and making something work.
Q: You talked about wanting to work with an orchestra at one point, which I find kind of interesting. You have one song in the new album(Different Game), which is mostly just strings(I want to Fly). When you’re talking about your inspirations and what you kind of aim for. I feel like this, album feels a very balanced. And It delves into so many sounds. When you all get together, will you all have like a general idea of what genres y’all want to touch on? Or is it more just like, what the band members were kind of feeling at the time?
“I Want to Fly” by The Zombies from YouTube
A: It was to some extent, the fashion of how we were recording and what we were recording. So when we recorded maybe two or three tracks, you naturally think, oh, for balance, it will be great. I really fancy writing a song that is much more stripped down, you know. And at one point, I thought it’d be great to just have a track with just piano and vocals on the album. And that was the original idea for it. I think what had happened, I can’t remember what track I’d heard. But I think I’d heard an Adele track where it was just piano and her voice. I thought this can really work.
And I was just thinking in terms of some of the tracks we’ve recorded, and thinking that will be a nice balance. So that sort of can dictate it to some extent. But we recorded that. And this is what goes on when you’re recording. I love playing on acoustic piano. And Collin’s vocal, I loved his vocal, I thought it was great. Then I thought you know what, it would be great to score some strings. And I scored that arrangement myself. I said, just leave it, let’s just leave it there and keep it really simple and stripped down. And in the end, we added a little bit of bass on it, very subtle bass. And that was it.
The Zombies have an extensive catalog and they continue to innovate. The Carolina theater is a beautiful venue and you will have the opportunity to see old and new members of the band. They will be coming to Carolina Theater on March 31st(Sunday).
If you want to check out the full interview, here is the Youtube and Spotify link.
Rod/The Zombies Interview on Off The Record by DJ Veil
Rod/The Zombies Interview on Off The Record by DJ Veil on YouTube
We’re back this week with another installment of the Metal Minute. Many moons ago, I covered progressive metal, an artsy and psychedelic interpretation of the genre.
This week, we’re exploring the despairing world of doom metal.
What is it?
Doom metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that casts a gloomy, despondent shadow. If Edgar Allan Poe was a metalhead, this would be his genre of choice.
Cover for “Dehumanizer” by Black Sabbath
The genre can be traced back to the 1980s influence of Black Sabbath, a band that’s blues-infused style laid the groundwork for what would eventually develop into its own scene.
What’s it Sound Like?
The subgenre features slow, almost laborious tempos that compound an overarching tone of dread, despair and neurosis.
It’s common practice for guitarists and bassists to detune their instruments in order to achieve maximum heaviness. This effect leads many to describe the genre as “sludgy.”
Cover for “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus” by Candlemass
The lyrical content of doom metal songs tends to center around several core themes: depression, paranoia, despair and occasionally the occult. While other subgenres, such as black metal, lend themselves towards extreme vocal distortion, most doom metal vocalists sing in a clear fashion.
Thus, it’s all the easier to pick out a song’s bleak themes. For example, “Solitude” by Candlemass represents clear doom metal ethos in its lyricism.
I’m sitting here alone in darkness Waiting to be free, Lonely and forlorn I am crying I long for my time to come Death means just life Please let me die in solitude
“Solitude” – Candlemass
Subgenres Within Subgenres
Not only is doom metal a heavy metal subgenre, but is possesses several subgenres itself. Sub-subgenres, if you will.
Doom metal subgenres include drone metal, epic doom metal, gothic doom metal, sludge metal (also known as sludgecore), progressive doom, and many others.
Cover for “When the Kite String Pops” by Acid Bath
Each subgenre retains the core elements of doom metal but with the integration of qualities from other styles. For example, sludge metal is a combination of doom metal and hardcore punk.
Songs like “Finger Painting of the Insane” by Acid Bath feature the loping guitar rhythms characteristic of doom metal with the screaming vocals and “punch” of hardcore.
