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The name of the British artists Worldpeace DMT and Rowan Please’s new release, The Velvet Underground and Rowan, harkens back to the iconic album that Brian Eno once claimed launched a million projects. It’s a befitting reference for two artists in their own burgeoning gallerina-punk scene. It’s experimental in a topical way, indebted to the internet, and filled with silly sounds, stuff like squeaks and boings and chiptune motifs. Worldpeace DMT plays perfectly with Please, who is one half of two-hit wonder The Femcels.
In spite of its off-kilter quirk, the record is chock full of cloying earworms and pop sensibilities. On “Love Yourself,” the Leonard Cohen-esque line “Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the sand” is quickly followed by “sorry that I fucked your dude.” There’s seemingly an emo influence, which is also present on unfettered, shouty tracks like “Numbers” and “Hey Marshmallow.” The 60s come back full force on “Marina,” complete with handclaps and melodic familiarity. “The Ledge” covers a Fleetwood Mac classic and briefly interpolates “Blitzkrieg Bop.” All the harmonica and strings and bitcrushed buzz can’t distract from the fact that the bones of this music would be impressive on their own … But a little fun never hurts. - Madeline Frino
In spite of its off-kilter quirk, the record is chock full of cloying earworms and pop sensibilities. On “Love Yourself,” the Leonard Cohen-esque line “Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the sand” is quickly followed by “sorry that I fucked your dude.” There’s seemingly an emo influence, which is also present on unfettered, shouty tracks like “Numbers” and “Hey Marshmallow.” The 60s come back full force on “Marina,” complete with handclaps and melodic familiarity. “The Ledge” covers a Fleetwood Mac classic and briefly interpolates “Blitzkrieg Bop.” All the harmonica and strings and bitcrushed buzz can’t distract from the fact that the bones of this music would be impressive on their own … But a little fun never hurts. - Madeline Frino
4d ago
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A case of having to go backward to go forward for me, musically-speaking; I used to play bassist Matthew Flegel's band Preoccupations (formerly: Viet Cong) on my KXSF.FM radio show once upon a time but I wasn't familiar with Women, that band's predecessor. What a miss that turns out to be. This Canadian quartet is extraordinary and their second/last LP, 2010's "Public Strain," is an outright underground classic.
I can't recall a band more overtly influenced by Velvet Underground; not even outspoken Lou Reed acolytes like Dream Syndicate, Luna, Yo La Tengo or any of the Flying Nun bands who obviously worshipped them (the Chills come to mind) are close to the mix of grime, grit and golden-hued goodness encapsulated on this album's 11 tracks.
I've linked here to "Eyesore," maybe the best known cut on the album (certainly the most streamed) but I could have linked to any and you'd get the gist -- the album was recorded by fellow Canuck Chad Van Gaalen in the most lo-fi manner possible and is all the more charming for its sharp edges, reverb-soaked guitar primitivism and lack of polish.
The band broke up on the subsequent tour to support this record (supposedly after an onstage fight between frontman Patrick Flegel and the rest of the band at a bar in Victoria); the band's second guitarist, Christopher Reimer, passed away in his sleep less than two years later due to complications from a heart condition so we'll never again hear Women in exactly the same way you hear on this album but it's worth seeking out (just like fellow underground faves Unwound) every last note they recorded. This LP's wintry cover art neatly captures the frozen, spiderwebby vibe that their music so perfectly distilled.
I can't recall a band more overtly influenced by Velvet Underground; not even outspoken Lou Reed acolytes like Dream Syndicate, Luna, Yo La Tengo or any of the Flying Nun bands who obviously worshipped them (the Chills come to mind) are close to the mix of grime, grit and golden-hued goodness encapsulated on this album's 11 tracks.
I've linked here to "Eyesore," maybe the best known cut on the album (certainly the most streamed) but I could have linked to any and you'd get the gist -- the album was recorded by fellow Canuck Chad Van Gaalen in the most lo-fi manner possible and is all the more charming for its sharp edges, reverb-soaked guitar primitivism and lack of polish.
The band broke up on the subsequent tour to support this record (supposedly after an onstage fight between frontman Patrick Flegel and the rest of the band at a bar in Victoria); the band's second guitarist, Christopher Reimer, passed away in his sleep less than two years later due to complications from a heart condition so we'll never again hear Women in exactly the same way you hear on this album but it's worth seeking out (just like fellow underground faves Unwound) every last note they recorded. This LP's wintry cover art neatly captures the frozen, spiderwebby vibe that their music so perfectly distilled.
Sep 1, 2024
Rec
Dan Poppa’s project People I Love is too good to be reduced to a “RIYL: Alex G” tagline. The Brooklyn-based songwriter’s new single “The Witch,” brought to us by the also Brooklyn-based label Vinegar Hill Sound, is swathed in bittersweet production. It’s all guns and death and supernatural beings, yet it’s disarmingly gentle. The song’s strung-together series of vignettes shift between high-strung vocals, lo-fi fuzz, and tactile arpeggios, possibly played on a guitar. There’s a comfortable dissonance between Poppa’s whining frustrations and plucky sense of irony. The song is seasonless and thematically enduring, and I can only hope it’s indicative of the artist’s upcoming album.
- Madeline Frino
Jul 10, 2025
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Here are my fav records that I have been listening to lately, this lineup strikes me as very "pi.fyi-core". Hope you enjoy :)
(in order of appearance)
-Thinking Fellers Union Local 282: Lovelyville <discovered this reading some Robert Schneider interviews after seeing the Apples in Stereo play for the W.C. Hart memorial show in Athens>
-DJO: The Crux <That guy from Stranger Things has a set of pipes, great happy album>
Panda Bear: Sinister Gift <sounds like The Beach Boys! the parts that don't are kinda atmospheric and very very pretty>
Bon Iver: SABLE, fABLE <he strikes again. very stripped back but absolutely gorgeous. Justin literally can not make a song that isnt somehow lush and cold at the same, like being covered in a sheet of ice that keeps you warm. He has this interview where he talks about the work and thought process behind it. Very cool!>
Black Country, New Road: Forever Howlong <this album features almost entirely female vocals, a nice change since Issac Wood left the band, and the vocals, piano, and woodwind instumetaion are just absolutely gorgeous, sounds like rain smells.
Cameron Winter: Heavy Metal <since half of this app is from Brooklyn, I'm sure you know this guy! He sings for the band Geese, but this record doesn't sound much like Geese at all. It has some of the craziest lyrics.I have heard in a hot minute, and is adorned by ~usually~ sparse and skeletal instruments, as well as Camerons odd yet alluring voice.
Hope you enjoy! lmk what you think of these records :)
-Thinking Fellers Union Local 282: Lovelyville <discovered this reading some Robert Schneider interviews after seeing the Apples in Stereo play for the W.C. Hart memorial show in Athens>
-DJO: The Crux <That guy from Stranger Things has a set of pipes, great happy album>
Panda Bear: Sinister Gift <sounds like The Beach Boys! the parts that don't are kinda atmospheric and very very pretty>
Bon Iver: SABLE, fABLE <he strikes again. very stripped back but absolutely gorgeous. Justin literally can not make a song that isnt somehow lush and cold at the same, like being covered in a sheet of ice that keeps you warm. He has this interview where he talks about the work and thought process behind it. Very cool!>
Black Country, New Road: Forever Howlong <this album features almost entirely female vocals, a nice change since Issac Wood left the band, and the vocals, piano, and woodwind instumetaion are just absolutely gorgeous, sounds like rain smells.
Cameron Winter: Heavy Metal <since half of this app is from Brooklyn, I'm sure you know this guy! He sings for the band Geese, but this record doesn't sound much like Geese at all. It has some of the craziest lyrics.I have heard in a hot minute, and is adorned by ~usually~ sparse and skeletal instruments, as well as Camerons odd yet alluring voice.
Hope you enjoy! lmk what you think of these records :)
Apr 26, 2025
Top Recs from @ninaprotocol
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Hüsker Dü were in limbo in 1985. Their relationship with SST was starting to sour after the legendary Twin Cities band’s release of New Day Rising, and by the end of the year they were in talks with major labels (September’s Flip Your Wig stayed with Greg Ginn’s label, but Warner swept in soon after). Now, five live recordings from the top of 85, split between those aforementioned albums, were unearthed and freshened up by the archival titans at Numero Group, who also put out the group’s 2017 box set Savage Young Dü.
Don’t expect a bootleg. The hometown show at Minneapolis venue First Avenue was recorded to 24-track tape for an intended release that never came to fruition. Jan. 30, First Ave Pt. 1 highlights the band’s brash, pop-pushing punk, proving that good things come in threes. Their raw presence surely silenced a few naysayers who, at the time, thought their melodic inclinations and genre bleed pointed towards a “commercial” sound. Some people don’t know what they’ve got until it’s gone … and then recovered by the label that introduced Duster to Gen Z. - Madeline Frino
Don’t expect a bootleg. The hometown show at Minneapolis venue First Avenue was recorded to 24-track tape for an intended release that never came to fruition. Jan. 30, First Ave Pt. 1 highlights the band’s brash, pop-pushing punk, proving that good things come in threes. Their raw presence surely silenced a few naysayers who, at the time, thought their melodic inclinations and genre bleed pointed towards a “commercial” sound. Some people don’t know what they’ve got until it’s gone … and then recovered by the label that introduced Duster to Gen Z. - Madeline Frino
Jul 8, 2025
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What if the entire Splice library was launched into the ether, prompting a Pokemon-esque scavenger hunt to catch ‘em all? This is what ear pulls off. And yet, the duo’s voices are the best instruments in the mix. Chopped notes and cheeky whispers and sharp breaths abound in their latest singles, “Fetish” and “Valley Serpent.” A cut-and-sew craft project of a song, “Fetish” shows impressive restraint for as long as possible before mutating multiple times. It’s not just a glazed ambient track, or bass-boosted electronic, or .5 speed breakcore. The disjointed lyrics are hypnotically aphasic, as if having a stroke could be a beautiful experience. “Valley Serpent” has the same structureless setup, shrouding a poignant piano ballad in blown-out artificial noise. For all they add, they know when to get minimal. The gentle recitation “feels like a burden” is scripted to haunt. The most Lynchian release of the year!
- Madeline Frino
Jul 17, 2025
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The Norwegian experimental musician Håvard Volden has the CV of a lifer. For over a decade, he has played in the experimental rock band Moon Relay. For coming up on two decades, he has been a collaborator with the Norwegian singer and songwriter Jenny Hval. So it’s fitting that his new record is called Small Lives. It’s full of jazzy, experimental guitar music that lives on the edges of multiple genres, which is also befitting of an artist whose seasoned approach to the guitar is accommodating of a variety of methodologies and traditions. As a whole, it’s a pleasant listen, its moderate dissonance taking on a vaguely ECM feel at times, its guitar playing nodding to folk and rock and drone, its tactile electronics dancing in the corners of the composition. What is the ideal listening environment for this record? Headphones and a couch wouldn’t hurt.
- editorial
5d ago