Fluxblog #262: Ultimate bangers power hour | Kate Bollinger | Cindy Lee | Muzz | Little Simz
This is sort of time sensitive, but I want to make sure you all know about a special event that's going to live stream on my friends Molly O'Brien and Chris Wade's Twitch stream for their show And Introducing this Friday evening! I made a ULTIMATE BANGERS POWER HOUR video with Molly recently that cuts together 60 all-time classic beloved pop hits into one hour, and the premise is you're meant to take a drink at the start of each clip. They will be airing this live on their Twitch channel starting around 6:30 PM ET on Friday May 8th. Please tune in, it's a lot of fun! If you can't tune in for this, you should definitely check out their podcast because it's one of the best music podcasts going.
May 3rd, 2020
I Tried Listening To The Blues
Kate Bollinger “A Couple Things”
The music of “A Couple Things” is so loose, smooth, and assured that it’s a little surprising the lyrics are so anxious and obsessed with making mistakes. Kate Bollinger’s voice conveys some vulnerability, but even that seems measured, like she’s answering the concerns of her past self with a display of casual “let it be” chill. It’s not a “nothing matters” sort of chill – there is a noticeable melancholy to her guitar parts – but more a relaxation that comes with perspective on how much anything matters when you’re not focused on the dread and insecurity that goes along with uncertainty and inexperience.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
May 5th, 2020
Eternity In Nothing
Cindy Lee “Lucifer Stand”
“Lucifer Stand” is built around a keyboard vamp that sounds like a hollowed out version of Goldfrapp in their electro-glam phase. Everything else in the mix seems to echo off the walls implied by that riff, with the vocals sounding especially distant from wherever you are in this. Cindy Lee doesn’t overdo it, keeping the tone from getting too campy in its spookiness, or too deep into horror film soundtrack territory. The context of the song is revealed at the end, as you hear a recording of a woman giving a testimony that ends with her saying she’d rather “spend eternity in nothing” than to spend eternity with Satan. The lyrics take that premise but take the notion of eternity in nothingness with Satan as a beautiful promise rather than a horrifying fate. The song begs for this oblivion – “remove me, if only for a night.”
Buy it from Bandcamp.
May 6th, 2020
That’s What All The Silence Means
Muzz “Bad Feeling”
Muzz is a new band by Paul Banks from Interpol, but despite the fact that he sings and plays guitar in this band, they do not sound much like Interpol. Banks still sings as he would normally, but without having to lock into the tight rhythms that define that band’s aesthetic. Whereas Interpol records can feel claustrophobic and oppressive, the Muzz songs feel spacious and relaxed – a deep sigh of resignation rather than a high-strung fit. Banks sings with a wounded, weary tone on “Bad Feeling,” a song built around chord changes that sound like slowly blinking Christmas lights. The arrangement is filled out with un-Interpol sounds, like gentle organ drones and soft female backing vocals and a mellow horn section. The horns are particularly beautiful, capping off the song with a grace that feels redemptive in the context of a song that’s otherwise sounds ragged and exhausted.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
May 7th, 2020
What’s A Wave To A Tsunami?
Little Simz “Might Bang, Might Not”
I love the way Little Simz’ vocal performance in this song feels like she’s competing with the beat, like she’s trying to outpace it or outlast it. I imagine it like an elaborate tap dance routine, fast and precise in its movements. It would be enough to carry the song, but the most compelling thing about “Might Bang, Might Not” is the way that performance is contrasted with the bass part, which is fairly simple and seems to wind casually around the groove. The vocal and bass don’t compete for space and complement each other nicely but it still feels like they’re at odds somehow, as though that relatively relaxed but tonally dominant bass part is taunting the more overtly aggressive vocal.
Buy it from Amazon.