October 2020 - What's on Your Playlist? by Christian Joyce
I hope you enjoyed the September 2020 playlist and are ready to explore some new albums.
For the October 2020 playlist, I selected four eclectic albums from indie rock artists.
Titanic Rising is the fourth album of singer/songwriter, Natalie Mering who performs as Weyes Blood. It is Mering’s most expansive album to date. Titanic Rising addresses modern-day challenges such as climate change, the rise of social media, and internet dating. Instead of bemoaning our fate, Mering finds that glimmer of hope to propel us through the uncertainty of our future.
In interviews, she has alluded to friends lost to suicide and the importance of making sure everyone recognizes their own self-worth and the beauty around them.
Many songs on this album were influenced by the works of Joni Mitchell, Harry Nilsson, and the Carpenters. Mering’s lyrics are mixed with an undercurrent of intermittent dread and persistent optimism for the future – a future we still have a chance to save.
My favorite tracks on this album are “Andromeda,” and “Wild Time.”
Natalie Mering was born in Santa Monica, California, and raised primarily in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Mering grew up in a musical family and began writing songs at 15. After a year in college majoring in music, she dropped out and began her career in the underground noise music scene as the bassist for a Portland Oregon based group, Jackie-O-Motherfucker and playing keyboards and singing with Satanized. In 2011, she released her first album, The Outside Room as Weyes Blood and the Dark Juices. Mering relocated from New York to Los Angeles in 2014 shortly after the release of her second album, The Innocents. In 2016, she released her third album, Front Row Seat to Earth. Titanic Rising was released on April 5, 2019, on Subpop Records to critical acclaim.
Photo of Weyes Blood:
By Justin Higuchi from Los Angeles, CA, USA - Weyes Blood 04/04/2019 #7, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77943740Release Date: April 5, 2019
Titanic Rising Album Cover:
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60101804Label: Subpop Records
Gemini is the first album by Jack Tatum who performs as Wild Nothing. It was released on May 25, 2010, for Captured Tracks when Tatum was a 21year-old senior at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. It is in the Dreampop Alternative Rock genre. This well-crafted album is heavily influenced by the 80s sound of The Cure and the Cocteau Twins, but Tatum adds his own unique perspective. His reverence and knowledge of the era can be felt on every track. Gemini is one of those albums you can listen to year after year. The more you listen to this album the more you realize Tatum has created so much more than a simple homage to 80s music.
My favorite tracks are “Chinatown” and “Our Composition Book.”
John Alexander “Jack” Tatum started writing songs in college never expecting them to be heard by the rest of the world. After the release of Gemini, Tatum graduated and moved to New York City. During live performances, he is joined by touring musicians, Nic Hessler (guitar), Jeff Haley (bass), Joshua Sushman (keyboards, saxophone), and Cameron Allen (drums).
Other albums by Wild Nothing: Nocturne (2012), Life of Pause (2016), Indigo (2018) and three Eps, Golden Haze (2010), Empty Estate (2013), and Laughing Gas (2020).
Photo credits:
By Jwslubbock - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=49413659
By Emilywaf - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27045187
Gemini Album Cover:
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33443181
Ugly is the fifth album by Screaming Females. It was released on April 3, 2012, by Don Giovani Records. It is in the rock genre. Ugly marks the emergence of frontwoman Marissa Paternoster as a talented songwriter in addition to her ferocious vocals and astounding guitar work. Prior to Ugly, Screaming Females had a reputation as a band best seen live. Their explosive stage presence has secured their place as a must-see band. With this album, they have also established themselves as a band worth listening to…
My favorite tracks are “Crow’s Nest” and “It All Means Nothing.”
Paternoster was born and raised in New Jersey. She learned to play the guitar as a teen. Though never formally trained, she was named the 77th greatest guitarist of all time by Spin magazine in 2012 (Paternoster was only 26). In high school, she formed the band, Surgery on TV with bassist Mike Abbate. After the addition of Jarrett Dougherty on drums, they became Screaming Females. Screaming Females got their start in the basement show scene of New Brunswick, New Jersey. Shows were held in private homes (often in various band members’ homes) so people under 21 could attend. In 2006, Screaming Females self-released their first album, Baby Teeth followed in 2007 by What if Someone is Watching Their TV? before signing with Don Giovani Records. They released Power Move (2009), Castle Talk (2010), Ugly (2012), Rose Mountain (2015), and All at Once (2018).
Photo Credits:
By Jason Persse from Brooklyn, USA - Screaming Females & Ted Leo, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18691613
Album Cover:
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35511656
Atlas is the third studio album by the American indie rock band, Real Estate. It was released on March 4, 2014, on Domino Records. It is in the rock genre. Atlas is a departure in tone from their first two albums. The band members went from college and the single party scene to recording, touring, and developing relationships. The escapism of their earlier albums has given way to calm acceptance of troubling questions about existence and the changes we experience over time. Despite their new-found maturity, Real Estate remains committed to its guitar band roots.
My favorite tracks are “Crime” and “Navigator.”
When Atlas was recorded, Real Estate consisted of Martin Courtney (vocals and guitar), Matt Mondanile (guitar), Alex Bleeker (Bass & vocalist for “How Might I Live”), Jackson Pollis (drums & percussion), Matt Kallman (keyboards), and Julian Lynch (clarinet). Matt Mondanile left the group after its release.
Courtney, Bleeker, and Mondanile grew up together in Ridgewood, New Jersey. After graduating from Ridgewood High School, they went to different colleges, but reunited during a summer break to perform together as Lese Majesty, the recording and touring band for Julian Lynch.
On the strength of Courtney’s songwriting skills, the trio decided to form another band to perform them and Real Estate was born. The band is now based in Brooklyn.
Real Estate has released five studio albums, Real Estate, Days, Atlas, In Mind, The Main Thing, and two EPs, Atlantic City Expressway and Reality.
Photo credits:
By JGroff13 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20226619
Album Cover:
By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42108320
Sources for this article:
https://pitchfork.com/features/interview/weyes-blood-titanic-rising-interview/
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/weyes-blood-titanic-rising/
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14280-gemini/
https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-30-best-dream-pop-albums/?page=1
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16539-ugly/
https://music.avclub.com/screaming-females-ugly-1798172230
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19060-real-estate-atlas/