RiYL

In February of last year, Oliver Ackermann launched a new label. For some, such a project could easily have been written off as a pandemic project or platform for launching a few pet projects. But from the outside, at least, the Brooklyn-based musician rarely takes half-measures. Dedstrange, “built from the smoldering decay of the music industry,” per its online bio, currently lists a half-dozen bands on its roster. The list, naturally, includes Ackermann’s own A Place to Bury Strangers, which has thus far released an EP, with the full-length, See Through You due out next month. Prior to forming "the loudest band in New York,” Ackermann launched effects pedal company, Death By Audio, which lent its name to a beloved Brooklyn art/workspace and venu, which ultimately shut down in 2014.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There may be no singular figure in rock who has aged more gracefully than Nick Lowe. This year marks the 20th anniversary of The Convincer – perhaps the quintessential example of the singer-songwriter settling into a comfortable new role as a rock elder statesman. But while the artist notes that he’s happily left the Chuck Berry-esque rock and roll stage antics in his past, two decades later, he finds himself reimagining his catalog with luchador mask-wearing instrumental rock band, Los Straightjackets. You can leave the rock and roll behind – but if you’re lucky, the rock and roll never leaves you. Half a century after a brush with fame as the front man of pub rock group, Brinsley Schwarz, Lowe has continued to thrive. From serving as the in-house producer for Stiff records, to breaking through with like "Cruel to Be Kind" and "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass,” to penning classics covered by Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash and Dave Edmunds, he’s endured as one of great songwriters of his – or any – generation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2017, Greta Van Fleet did the seemingly impossible: broke through the pop music world as a new rock band. And while the Michigan-born quartet was chided in some critic circles as a throwback to the genre’s heyday, it’s a no less remarkable feat. That same year, the band’s second EP, From the Fires would go on a Grammy for Best Rock Album. In spite of its rapid climb to the tops of the international charts, the band – comprised of brothers Josh, Jake and Sam Kiszka and drummer, Danny Wagner – have remained restless in their pursuit of new ways to expand their hard rock palate. Singer Josh and bassist Sam sat down to discuss the band’s journey and life during the pandemic.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nine years after her last solo album, Julie Doiron returns with I Thought of You. Written and recorded prior to the pandemic, the album was shelved for a spell, in hopes of finding a more welcoming release window. Ultimately, Doiron and her label thought better – in part, due to the stark realization that this moment isn’t ending any time soon. While touring remains difficult, the record is a welcome breath of air, building on her joyful writing and singing in a way that’s both intimately joyful and broadly welcoming. Thankfully, in the years between releases under her own name, Doiron never truly went away, save for some breaks for family.She’s continued releasing music in a variety of configurations, including a rock record under the name Julie and the Wrong Guys and her second collaboration with Mount Eerie, Lost Wisdom Pt. 2. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A self-proclaimed theater kid, Tahlena Chikami spent much of the past decade landing roles on film and television, including a number of beloved series like Parks and Recreation and Gilmore Girls. In 2019, however, her IMDB page takes a turn. A year after forming Bite Me Bambi with with ex-pats from a number of Orange County ska titans like Save Ferris and My Superhero, the band had already made the scene. Punchy ska singles backed my memorable music videos gave way to virtual shows during the pandemic and, finally, the band’s debut EP, the fittingly titled, Hurry Up And Wait. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In September, The New York Times published a feature on Kevin Whelan bearing the headline,  “The 18-Year Wait for New Wrens Music Is Over. Sort Of.” The piece was exactly as bittersweet as the title betrayed, documenting the genesis behind Aeon Station, a musical project born out of the ashes of what would have been a final Wrens record – the first since the band’s 2003 masterpiece, The Meadowlands. Eighteen years is, of course, an extraordinaire amount of time to wait for a follow up album – particularly for one that ostensibly never broke up. In intervening years, life happened. For Whelan that meant a family and a job in the pharmaceutical industry that temporarily moved him around the world. But he never abandoned the dream of releasing another album, even if he ultimately had to do it on his own terms, aside from the long, looming shadow of The Meadowlands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More than anything, Ex Libris is a love letter to a medium. Framed as a meta-fiction mystery of sorts, the book is an exercise in flexible styles and genre, as the story leaps from book to book.It’s an ideal outlet for author Matt Madden, who happily serves the role of stylistic chameleon, expanding the short story form of his 2005 collection 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style into a book length narrative. A comics educator and coauthor of the educational Mastering Comics: Drawing Words & Writing Pictures Continued (with Jessica Abel), Madden is drawn to questions of style and form. His latest book is an ode to these ideas – and an exploration of how they can be subverted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Her music career wasn’t an accident, exactly. But it’s safe to say that Anika didn’t see it coming. A music journalist by trade, the singer assumed she was signing up for a guest vocalist gig on what ultimately became her self-titled debut. Largely comprised of covers, the LP featured a smattering of originals, cowritten with electronic rock band, Beak. After being handpicked by Portishead to perform at All Tomorrow’s Parties in London, Anika went on to form the group Exploded View in Mexico City. This year, she returned for Change – her sophomore solo album and first under her own name in 11 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“If a book is good,” Lou Mathews explains, “it will find an audience.” Finding a publisher, on the other hand, is often a different question altogether. “A writer writes” is perhaps a more appropriate adage for the author and educator who has thus far had two of his seven novels published. Luck, timing and connections are every bit as important in publishing. And thankfully, in the case of Shaky Town, the latter finally paid off. Last year, the book finally saw publication courtesy of newly-minted publisher, Tiger Van Books, which arrives with the following manifesto, “We believe in books. Our business model is failure. We plan to lose money and fold quickly. Join us.” A labor of love founded by Lodge 49 creator – and Mathews’ former student – Jim Gavin, Tiger Van aims to put good things into the world, financial windfall be damned. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s no lingering doubt after an hour-long conversation that Bonnie Bloomgarden believes in the power of music. And not in any abstract sense, mind. This stuff is transformative manifestations, filtered through almost ritualistic commutations of the spirit. But for many, such notions are understandably secondary to the power of rock. And by that measure, Under the Spell of Joy is a routing success. The Death Valley Girls’ latest delivers the joy it promises in a wonderfully fresh garage rock package couched with gang chants that provide the spell aspect of the equation. It’s feel good music without the self-help trappings at a time when we can use it the most.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.