Y’all… I am so mad at myself that I am JUST NOW listening to this band!!! WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME THAT CYTOTOXIN GOES SO HARD???? My dad texted me a few months ago and was telling me to listen to their most recent album, “Nuklearth,” that was released in 2020. I am so happy that I listened to my dad and gave this band a shot because I absolutely love them. They have the perfect blend of chunky riffs, blasts beats, double bass, and growls that create a brutal sound.
This band is literally the definition of brutal death metal. The technicality that this band performs at is insane! Especially the drums, I always hear something new on the drums each time I listen to their album “Nuklearth.” I honestly have no idea how they make this seem so easy when they play live. Speaking of live shows, they have never been to the U.S., they only play shows in Europe and I am so jealous! One of the things that stood out to me when I first listened to Ctyotoxin was their vocalists. To me, the vocals sound a lot like Phil Bozeman from Whitechapel. Grimo is Cytotoxin’s vocalists and him and Phil Bozeman have similar vocal ranges within their songs, which I love!
Cytotoxin is a technical/brutal death metal band from Chemnitz, Germany, that formed in 2010. There’s not a lot of information on the band but I did come along some cool facts on their record label, Unique Leader’s, website. The band name, Cytotoxin, was influenced by the Chernobyl disaster which was a catastrophic nuclear accident that happened in April of 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
In a dirty, crowded basement, there is a moment of silence. As the song playing pauses for a brief interlude, you can look around and faintly make out the drops of sweat rolling down the band members’ faces, dimly lit by red LED’s and subtle string lights that line the ceiling. The pause only lasts for a moment, and the song picks back up with a roaring guitar riff. The camera pans to the crowd, jumping and pushing each other in a frenzy as they roll with the music. This is how I was first introduced to The Wisconaut.
I saw this in a video from last year before covid had hit and it reminded me just how much I missed basement shows. They allowed so many artists to shine in such a niche venue. When it comes down to it, those who will succeed off of house shows will be those who can be unique, get the crowd moving, and create a memory. And from what it seems, The Wisconaut were on a pretty straight path to this success.
Their music is somewhat of a mix between modern punk and surf rock. Their beats flow with ease and fit perfectly with their songs’ sparse lyrics. Right now The Wisconaut only has one album out called “F**k The Wisconaut.” It is easily something that I could listen to all the way through, however my two favorites are “Fox Point Cove” and “M.I.A.” Besides those two, my number one song from this band is a single called “Hippie Hippie Hourrah.” It was originally recorded by Jacques Dutronc, then translated into English by The Black Lips, then covered by The Wisconaut, who definitely made a version that lives up to the name of the song.
What’s going on Butcher Crew?! It’s your Master Butcher, The Saw, and I have the next band up on the slab in The Saw’s Choice Cuts! And you all will not be surprised by the band that we are talking about today. We will be talking about a band that has been one of my favorites for years now, a band that I have seen countless times, and the band that influenced my DJ name. If you guessed Whitechapel, then you guessed right!
Today, I will be highlighting some of my favorite songs by my boys in Whitechapel. This was really difficult for me because I love so many of Whitechapel’s songs! But I had to narrow down my songs because if I didn’t this blog would just be a list of every single Whitechapel song. I think my favorite thing about this band is their evolution. Throughout each of their albums, you can hear the progression of the band throughout the years. If you were to listen to Whitechapel’s first album, “The Somatic Defilement,” and then listen to their most recent album, “The Valley,” the band sounds very different. Although they can still be picked out by Phil Bozeman’s powerful vocals and their chunky black metal/deathcore riffs, the overall structure and theme of their albums change. Although all of the albums are brutal and heavy in their own way, each album incorporates different musical components that help the sound of the band evolve. I think that is why I enjoy Whitechapel so much; not one album sounds the same, there is always something different going on. I think this evolution is important and beneficial not only for the listeners to hear the cabler of the musician’s musical talent, but also for the band. They are able to try things and fully embrace themselves into the music so it can continue to be fun and enjoyable for them.
And without further ado, here is the list of my favorite Whitechapel songs!
· The Saw Is The Law · The Somatic Defilement · Ear to Ear · Vicer Exciser · This Is Exile · Possession · Breeding Violence · Reprogrammed to Hate · Make It Bleed · I, Dementia · Let Me Burn · Mark of the Blade · Elitist Ones · Forgiveness is Weakness · Brimstone · When a Demon Defiles a Witch · Hickory Creek (the original, and the acoustic version)
(Left to Right) Lucy Dacus, Pheobe Bridgers, Julien Baker
Boygenius is probably the biggest thing in indie right now. Not the actual band, who only released one ep in 2018, but the members. Lucy Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers, and Julien Baker; these three 25-year-old queer white women from L.A. via the upper south have come to dominate indie rock in the waning days of the genre’s relevance. Thanks to the release of Baker’s “Little Oblivions,” in February, we now have one full studio album released by each of the band members after their collective breakthrough with Boygenius. The cultural influence of these women is only widening (a friend of a friend at UNC Ashville just got a Phoebe Bridgers tattoo…) so it’s worth looking at their music, how they are similar, and why they’re different.
Baker
Julien Baker was the most established of the group by far coming into the release of Boygenius. Having released two albums and been signed to Matador, she had several accolades under her belt. Her sophomore album “Turn Out the Lights” charted well, and received good reviews from most major publications. Her musical style has also seen the most change following her association with the other two artists. Initially, Baker’s music was strictly one woman and a guitar, but her latest work sees her working with a full studio baking band similar to her contemporaries. This was a great relief to me personally, as I found the stripped-back style of her early albums a little tiresome. In a probable effort to shed the persona of “Sober, queer, Christian,” her latest album has been characterized as a concept album about her struggles with faith. This conflicted spirituality and struggle with tradition is a consistent through-line to Baker’s work. She’s also the most, for lack of a better word, literate of her peers. She has been published in academic journals, literary magazines, and her backup career was becoming an English teacher. This background helps Baker’s more restrained and refined lyrics shine through with a kind of classical appeal. Her poetry aspires to the heights of the Bronte sisters, rather than rock stardom.
Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers is, in many ways, Baker’s opposite. Where Baker was well established and restrained, Bridgers had just debuted the year prior and saw a meteoric rise in popularity after joining the group. Her 2020 album “Punisher” has racked up three Grammy nominations and ranked among the best albums of the year in many listings. Her lyrical style has been characterized as emo folk, both as a compliment and as an insult. The music is passionate, straightforward, and unapologetically personal, discussing her relationship with her family, friends, and romantic partners. This makes Bridgers’ music the most accessible, and she has a devoted fanbase of young women and queer people who look up to her. In cultivating this fanbase, Bridger’s has created a more public life than the other members, sharing deeply personal stories of family conflicts, sexual assault, and mental health struggles. If any one of these women is likely to make a break for mainstream stardom, it’s Bridgers.
Dacus
Lucy Dacus is somewhat more versatile than her peers. Unlike the contemporary indie-folk of Bridgers and Baker, she styles herself something of a rock star, and the aesthetic suits her well. Her voice is by far the most powerful of the three, capable of hitting meteoric highs and contralto lows with ease. She also plays electric guitar as her native instrument. Her lyrical range is large as well, hitting styles like badass dad rock, straightforward love songs, and even flirting with country music. This makes Dacus something of a wild card, as she’s capable of changing her entire energy mid-album or even mid-song. She’s also my personal favorite of Boygenius, so I may be a little biased, and yes, I have screamed “Night Shift” at the top of my lungs at the three in the morning… multiple times.
Satan’s Pilgrims is one of those bands that you can’t forget about. They first got their start in 1992, playing at house parties in Portland and destroying living rooms in their wake. The group of five quickly realized that their unique surf-doom style was in high demand. They were bringing something new to the table. At the height of grunge, they offered a playful yet dark take on surf rock.
Made up of Ted Miller, Scott Fox, Bobby McAnulty, Dave Busacke, and John Cox, Satan’s Pilgrims is a force to behold. Donned in cheap Halloween vampire costumes, they made a name for themselves fairly quickly. Inspired by classic surf rock artists like Dick Dale, The Ventures, and horror B-movies, they were one of the first bands to master the “beach goth” style.
Since their founding, Satan’s Pilgrims have released five albums, each as wicked as the next. My personal favorite is “Psychsploitation” (2009), which was their last album before they took a brief intermission until 2015. Filled with sludgy instrumentals and tight riffs, it’s the epitome of a great psych, modern rockabilly album. Their most recent LP, “Siniestro” (2017), explores the hellish side of surf rock, filled with song titles like “Creep Beat” and “Graveyard Stomp.”
Best Songs: “Dilation,” “Tomorrow Night’s Mourning,” “Haunted House of Rock”
Promotional image from Amythyst Kiah - "Darling Cora" music video.
Tennessee Singer Amythyst Kiah released her new single “Black Myself” this year and it made some serious waves. The song is strong and serves as a mission statement for Kiah’s work so far. “They stare at me when I pick up the banjo because I’m black myself.” It’s a striking lyric. A black woman ostracized for playing an instrument of African origin associated with white culture. Amythyst Kiah is on the come-up, and I actually had the opportunity to see her live in Raleigh before the world ended. So let’s take the time to get to know this bold new talent.
Black Country/folk singers are in vogue right now, but the genre still has enormous barriers to entry for artists of color, and doubly so for a gay black woman working in the most traditional styles of folk music. However, there’s more to Kiah than just the novelty of a black bluegrass enthusiast. She also has songwriting chops and a voice to match the heavyweights of indie. Her music checks all the boxes for indie folk: deeply personal lyrics, complex guitar arrangements, a smoky beautiful voice. But it’s her influences that set her apart, drawing from old time folk, country, and blues more than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Her live shows are an engaging, if low-key, experience. Eschewing theatrics or hype, Kiah invites the listener into her world, sharing stories and the songwriting process. She creates an authentic experience, rather than a strictly entertaining one. Her band also seems to workshop her new material extensively on the road. She played “Black Myself,” in late 2019 when I saw her live, more than a year before its release as a single, and the song has seen some fairly significant structural changes since then. When the world finally opens back up, I recommend her show for anyone seeking a more relaxed and understated concert experience.
Warning: listening to this music may cause a significant increase in heat. Your body may feel hot and you will feel an overwhelming sensation of “fire.” The Sugar Candy Album “666” is a unique style of music that was perfected by the cross-section of the passing of early 2010’s Psychedelic Rock and the popularization of more mellow Indie Pop. All pretentiousness aside, 666 is a really good album. It is probably Sugar Candy Mountain’s best music that they’ve put out since they emerged back in 2014 with their first full album “Mystic Hits.”
While “Mystic Hits” was undoubtedly a hit, “666” showcased the band coming into their own unique sound. Most of their songs tend to follow a similar pattern. The beginning starts out with a lackadaisical, relaxed beat that goes on throughout the entirety of the song while multiple layers slowly get added on as the song goes on. Moreover, the songs steadily flow into each other, making it easy to listen to all the way through.
However, if you’re in a rush and don’t have time to listen to the whole album, I would suggest starting with the first three songs and ending with the eighth and ninth. “Windows” and “Change” make a good impression of the album and “666” is definitely going to be one of my most played songs of the year. With it’s echoed guitar and dreamy lyrics, the song can change around my mood on even the most stressful of days.
Well that’s about all I have to say for this album, would definitely recommend with a score of 9/10. Hope you guys enjoy the music, -The DJ Formerly Known as Chippypants
I think most people are ready to admit that Yoko Ono is not the worst person to ever exist. There may be a few of us still clinging to the notion that she was a talentless harpy that broke up the best band ever, but this narrative is out of favor. Even the most traditionalist rock publications (Rolling Stone, Ultimate Classic Rock, etc.) have accepted her into music history, putting out lists of her top songs and best albums. To more liberal presses, she’s become something of an icon. In this narrative, she was an artistic genius victimized by a misogynistic hate mob who resented her avant-garde influence on John Lennon.
There has also been a growing interest in Ono’s music as influential. In 1970, avant-garde music was a strictly classical business. Experimentation was a right reserved to “serious music” and while Stockhausen, Schoenberg, and Cage were celebrities in a certain realm, they were not recording artists, and their influence did extend to pop. Ono was, for many people, their introduction to experimental music. A generation of musicians cited her as an inspiration, from pop music weirdos like the B-52s or Talking Heads to underground celebrities like William Bennet and Meredith Monk.
From indie blogs to the Grammy’s, the press is ready to admit that Ono is important, but they seem hesitant to discuss any of the actual music Ono released. Critics have either focused on her more typical rock releases or simply avoid discussing her music altogether. The New York Times ran a fawning piece defending the place of challenging music that made no reference to any of her actual songs or albums. When Pitchfork reviewed her back catalog, they concluded that her experimental albums were less ambitious and less than her experimental work. When critics dare write less favorable reviews, the assumptions about Ono come into much sharper focus. A Collegiate Times review of her music referred to her 2018 album Warzone as “a stupendously pretentious assemblage of avant-garde schlock,” that “Continues [a] career of meritless prominence.”
What confuses me most about the critical apathy (and occasional antipathy) towards Ono’s music is that it does not extend to music that is clearly influenced by her work. Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Bjork, even Fiona Apple- you don’t have to look far to find popular music that imitates Ono’s vocal style. On the instrumental side of things, it’s easy to imagine a track off of Yoko’s 1971 album “Fly” on a Throbbing Gristle or Captain Beefheart album. All of these musicians are critically adored, and their music is analyzed in great detail, especially their more experimental albums. So why do critics seem so eager to talk around the music of Yoko Ono?
To answer this question, I think it’s helpful to consider how Ono arrived in popular music. While Ono was a celebrated visual artist prior to meeting John Lennon, her marriage to the ex-Beatle meant that before she had even recorded an album, she was probably the fourth most famous artist alive (sorry Ringo), and was able to bypass a lot of music industry gatekeeping as a result. We expect avant-garde music to occur at the fringes, to always be underrated or someone obscure, and we expect prominent musicians to always make music accessible to a wide audience. The Collegiate Times review I quoted earlier makes this explicit, saying that, “‘Warzone’ is simply the latest piece in a long career of failing to reach the heights of an avant-garde frontier of music in hopes of reaching the hearts of people around the world.” The claim that Yoko is trying to reach a mass audience flies in the face of the music itself. Her first two albums are, to put it literally, 45 minutes of a woman wailing over elephant noises. Even her more accessible projects like “Warzone” are still leagues away from the mainstream. Her music clearly has no interest in appealing to a general audience, but because she is famous and on a major label, these expectations are put on her.
The frustrating thing about critical interpretations of Ono’s music, at least to me, isn’t that people don’t like her music- I’m only lukewarm on most of it myself- but that she would receive far different reception were she not a household name. Critical attitudes of popular music have warmed considerably in the last 20 years, but this reevaluation has only extended to the aesthetics of popular music, not to the underlying mechanics. Popular music may be acknowledged as good “in its own way” but it isn’t given equal billing with so-called “serious music.” Yoko Ono is just a little too famous to be taken seriously as an avant-garde artist. Instead, she must be analyzed only in terms of her effects, as the New York Times did, or, as in the case of the Pitchfork review, she must be spun as actually secretly having been a pop musician this whole time. We are still brought up with the deep-seated hipster belief that popular culture is inherently the lowest common denominator. Successful, famous artists like Ono that challenge this narrative are deeply threatening to magazines that make their name by denoting what gets to be taken seriously and what is pop culture trash. She proves that people have wider tastes than they are often given credit for, that fans of independent music are not quite as special as we think we are.
It’s impressive when you think about it, half a century later and Yoko Ono is still scary.
Flatbush Zombies, stylized Flatbush ZOMBiES, are a hip hop group active since 2010. They first became noticed within the East Coast rap scene in the 2010s with the release of multiple mixtapes; since then they have produced three albums. Their most recent work is their 2020 EP, “now, more than ever,” and new single “Afterlife,” which has quickly become a fan favorite. Members Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick Arc Elliott met in grade school and have been great friends and co-performers since.
Flatbush Zombies have also produced interesting media. Their NPR Tiny Desk Concert and YouTube music videos are very entertaining. The group continues to create music together and build upon their previous discography with new and exciting styles.
I recommend checking out their most recent EP, “now, more than ever,” which they created in response to the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020. Their song “Big Shrimp” from their first album is another favorite of mine. Give Flatbush Zombies a listen and let us know what you think.
I can already tell that I am going to be loving this band. Loving is a slow-wave indie bedroom rock band from Canada. Their music gives off the impression of a lazy sunday, which pockets of sun poking in through the windows as the rain taps against the glass. The band consists of a group of three from Canada, who play sparse, intimate songs.
The band started back in 2015 when David Parry and Jesse and Lucas Henderson, who are brothers, started recording music together. It was initially a long-distance project, since some members of the trio were in Victoria while others were in Toronto. However, their initial success inspired the trio to become a full-time band and set up shop in Victoria.
The music of Loving is like psychedelic folk. It’s calming, relaxing, and uplifting all at once. Loving’s first album is their self-titled debut, which came out back in 2016. My favorite song is “The Not Real Lake,” closely followed by “Bowlly Goes Dancing Drunk Into the Future” and “A Long Slow Little Wave / Citizen, An Activity.” Their second album, “If I Am Only My Thoughts,” came out in 2020. It is a bit more fast-paced and features more acoustic sounds than their debut album. From this I would choose “A Mirror for Two Voices” and “Only She Knows” as my favorites.
You can love, you can leave it, and say you’re nothing without it, but don’t sleep on Loving. Hope you guys enjoy the tunes, -The DJ Formerly Known As Chippypants
