Josh Frazier: guitar, vocals
Aimee Bowen: keys
Courtney Corcoran: bass
Zach Inscho: drums

Engineered and mixed by Mat Leffler-Schulman

Download MP3s - 67.96 MB

Co La’s first album, Daydream Repeater, could have taken the prize for most aptly named album of the year. Daydream Repeater is full of sunny loops that repeat in an aimless way, almost like a needle stuck in a endless Beach Boys groove. The album is full of charm even if the songs occasionally feel overly simple and transparent.

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The first single from Moody Coup should let you know that things have changed for Co La’s Matthew Papich. “Melter’s Delight” features complex, syncopated beats made up of water drips, hand percussion, and hi-hat. Synths pop in and out with gestural motion, rising or falling. Sounds seem willfully singular, each striving to act individually not as a whole. A vocal sample from the Upsetters repeats, but there is no real melody in the track. There are some great rhythms and timbres on Melody Coup, but melodies are like hen’s teeth here.

But there’s still a lot to love here. Opener “Sukiyaki” features jazz inflected samples with skittering beats underneath bringing to mind the sublime Flying Lotus. Or “Deaf Christian” which makes excellent use of the melody from Neil Sedaka’s “Next Door to an Angel.” And even tracks like “Un” which seem to cry out for a melody to tie the song together are full of wondrous sounds. At the end of the day, perhaps Papich is interested in disorienting rather than lulling the listener the Daydream Repeater could. Like it or lump it, there’s a lot to be fascinated by in the strange world of Melody Coup.

 Jenn Wasner and Jon Ehrens formed the duo Dungeonesse after individually becoming two of the most compelling figures in Baltimore’s underground rock scene – she with the massively successful duo Wye Oak, who record for Merge Records and play big rooms across the country, and he with dozens of lesser known projects ranging from the lo-fi solo excursions of Repelican to the high strung high concept trio The Art Department. But the two began collaborating as both were beginning to explore the world of synthesizers of drum machines, particularly on Ehrens’s wildly catchy pop project, White Life, which Wasner sang backup on.

Because of the precedent of White Life and last year’s singles from her solo project Flock of Dimes, it’s not a shock to hear Jenn Wasner’s voice over gleaming keyboards and looped handclaps on Dungeonesse’s self-titled debut, out May 14^th on Secretly Canadian Records. But after three Wye Oak albums that have largely utilized that amazing voice’s capacity for melancholy and longing over reverb-drenched guitars, it’s nonetheless a revelation. She croons and coos flirtatious sweet nothings over Ehrens’s bright, sometimes even club-friendly beats. On “Private Party,” the album’s most upbeat banger, Wasner even indulges in a little spoken, almost rapped bridge that manages to sound winningly playful rather than embarrassing.

The best Dungeonesse songs, however, combine the tender introspection Wasner is best known for with banging drums and fluttering keys. The spacious, spacey beats on “Anywhere You Are” leave room for Wasner to swathe her lead vocal in luxuriously warm harmonies. And the closing “Soon” features close harmonies in her upper register, always one of her most devastating vocal techniques.

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Dungeonesse comes on the heels of another Ehrens project that shows his increasing confidence in assembling beats. His latest solo alias, J.Ek, released the Jynettix EP for free on the web label Immaterial Tech in March, collecting six instrumental tracks that are sonically of a piece with his Dungeonesse and White Life work. According to the liner notes, the release is something of a compromise in less than ideal circumstances – a computer containing the multi-track files for this music was stolen, and so he is simply quietly releasing the songs as mp3s of varying bit rates in lieau of being able to present them in the best possible form.

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In spite of those unfortunate origins, Jynettix is an enjoyable minor work. Ehrens has had instrumental projects here or there in the past, but primarily he’s shown his greatest talents in songcraft, lyrics and vocal arranging. Here, vocal loops take center stage, leaving little space for anyone to sing anyway, the opening highlight “Ooooohi” setting the playful tone. It’s not always a breeze, though — the title track of Jynettix is little more than an excuse to loop a dialogue sample of the word “genetics” over and over, and it gets old fast.

Ultimately, however, Ehrens’s most impressive adventures in beatmaking are on the Dungeonesse LP. And for the first time, he even collaborates with rappers — two Baltimore emcees, TT The Artist and DDm, show up in the secong half of Dungeonesse.  I first saw DDm, who turns in a typically scene-stealing performance on “Cadillac,” competing in rap battles several years ago, around the first time I spotted Wasner in Wye Oak and Ehrens in The Art Department at local rock shows. I am proud to say that I recognized that each had a unique talent from the first time I saw them perform, and I might’ve guessed that they’d go on to make some impressive records. I never would’ve imagined that all three would ever be on a song together, though.

Roomrunner is fronted by former Double Dagger drummer Denny Bowen. He was the first to release music after the bands’s unfortunate breakup. Roomrunner is definitely more melodic than Double Dagger. But at the same times there are still underlaying tones of aggression and angst a la early 90s rock, but all the best possible ways. I see Denny as a Dave Grohl. The dude can’t do anything wrong. He’s a great drummer and is clearly promising to be a great singer and guitarist.

I got to chatting with Denny in the B Room at Mobtown prior to their microshow. There was a nervous energy with him. I was slightly befuddled. Denny has clearly played some pretty huge shows. However, it was possible he wasn’t used to performing in front of an small audience five feet from his shoes. Either way, we had a great conversation about Nirvana, Dinosaur Jr. and Foo Fighters and lots of crazy awesome bands and mutual friends. I’ve always felt like success with bands (aside from writing awesome songs) lies mainly with being nice dudes and getting along as a band. Luckily they have it all. And do so effortlessly.

Denny Bowen: guitar, vocals
Jeff Byers: guitar
Dan Frome: bass
Bret Lanahan: drums

Engineered by Sean Mercer
Mixed by Mat Leffler-Schulman

Download MP3s - 60.01 MB

 Matmos, the duo of M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel, formed in San Francisco in the mid-1990′s, and enjoyed a decade of success, including a string of albums for Matador Records and collaborations with Bjork, before relocating to Baltimore in 2007. But given the way Matmos has integrated themselves into their new hometown’s music scene, it wasn’t too surprising when, during last month’s Super Bowl,  Daniel openly rooted for the Ravens over the 49ers on Twitter.

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The latest Matmos album, The Marriage of True Minds, released on Thrill Jockey, bears some immediate fingerprints of the group’s time in Baltimore. The concept of the album involved telepathy, with the duo conducting sensory deprivation experiments in which they’d attempt to telepathically communicate ideas about the album to volunteer subjects. Many of those subjects were Baltimore musicians like Ed Schrader, who shows up on the track “Very Large Green Triangles,” singing about what he visualized during the experiments. There’s even a bit of audible Baltimore club music in the track’s danceable second half.

In general, however, dancing has never seemed high on priorities for Matmos records, and The Marriage of True Minds is no exception — even a tag like the divisive “intelligent dance music” wouldn’t quite fit. Schmidt and Daniel have always explored electronics and samples with a heady, conceptual approach that leads to viscerally affecting textures and timbres, but not necessarily party-starting beats (although “Teen Paranormal Romance” has a nice midtempo groove). The framing device of The Marriage, complete with occasional vocal cameos by the experiment’s guinea pigs, only serves to heighten how surreal and disorienting Matmos’s collage approach to making music can be. But particularly in this case, that seems to be the aim, to shake things up. The Marriage of True Minds is often not very exciting or accessible, but it’s never dull or predictable.

Most artists constantly open themselves up to rejection. Once the creation is made public, it becomes open to criticism from outside of the artist’s own head. The artist is usually their own worst critic though it is possible for outside criticism to oppress the artist’s self-image. Some creators pay no mind to the critics, while others hang onto their every word. One way to avoid outside criticism is to never reveal your creation to others. Sometimes we find in the home of a deceased man or woman a treasure trove of incredible art, some of the best stuff in the whole wide world, and no one even knew this person was an artist. In these situations, even though they didn’t share their art when they were alive, I’m glad that we can enjoy it now.

Luckily, Christin Durham is not dead, so we can enjoy the music she currently creates with Silo Halo. Based in DC, the band plays intertwining stringed melodies gauzed with a dark wash of reverb. The relationships between the female and male vocals feel like they haunt the songs. The guitar effects can be dirty fuzz, overdrive with short delays, and jangly chorused reverbs all played with passion and bite. Christin supplies the driving bass and circus-like bass tightrope walks. She also provides an important layer to the band’s vocalizations. There is a level of maturity and songwriting that comes from years of experience.

I am most impressed with Christin’s desire to help touring out-of-town bands play decent shows in DC and Baltimore. Punk and hardcore music left a strong do-it-yourself-ethic impression on me. Not just do-it-yourself but also “do it right,” with respect, with common sense, and with only the best intentions. Christin was also imprinted with the same DIY ethic and has made many touring bands feel appreciated and motivated to keep playing by helping them set up fun and smart shows. She not only creates but takes the time and energy to help others share their art. This is a rare quality for all too often we see other musicians as some sort of competition. Christin sees other muscians as friends and family.

I started out by talking about rejection, and it usually doesn’t feel very good. When someone says that they don’t like or approve of your creation, it can give you a chance to grow and gain perspective. But when someone doesn’t respond at all, well all I can say is that it burns, it burns deep. With silence the reference point is lost and you look into a black hole of indifference. A strong DIY ethic may put the power back into the artists hands but it also has them juggling many different roles. To create the art is one thing but to promote, publicize, and act as a booking agent may be skill sets that go beyond the artists natural ability. When booking an independent tour for your own little band you probably send out hundreds of emails after spending hours researching bands and venues in the town you want to play. You are lucky if 1 percent of the people you contact respond at all. That’s 99 rejections wrapped in silence. So when that one person gets back to you, they seem like the greatest person in the whole town. Because they are the greatest person in that whole town. They are special, one out of a hundred who actually took the time to validate you as another human being. A human being that is reaching out, and looking for help to make their passions come alive. These 1 percenters are also wealthy – with compassion, not money. Christin is one of these rare and special people that makes respect for fellow artists a priority. Thank you, Christin, for being an artist who believes in taking care of other artists. I hope you will inspire the other 99 percent to be better people. Here’s the interview. Enjoy.

If there was one trait that you could eliminate from yourself, what would it be and why?

Being sensitive and emotional. I admire laid back people and introverts.

If time travel was possible, would you go forward or backward in time first and why?

I would go backward. I think about past eras and civilizations a lot and almost never think about the future. There are a lot of places now buried or bulldozed that would be amazing to see.

Do you think that taking psychedelic drugs as you transition from life to death would be useful and why?

Probably. Psychedelic drugs are useful for breaking problematic neurological patterns, such as fear of death, I suppose.

Over a long period of time eating cooked food allowed the simplification of the human digestive system so that more resources could be used for brain development. If using computers frees our brains of certain tasks, will brain function move into different activities? What brain changes do you think might occur next?

Human beings will no longer have the ability to truly engage their imaginations and will need computers to imagine for them. If this involves holodecks, I suppose it won’t be too awful.

What made the first Interpol record, Turn on the Bright Lights, so good?

A perfect trifecta of melancholy, smart lyrics, and dead sexy bass lines.

Do you really want to hear a new My Bloody Valentine record? I think it would have been better if I never saw the new Star Wars movies.

I did not get as excited about the new My Bloody Valentine record as many of my friends, and I didn’t feel pressed to listen to it right away, although I have now, and I think it’s great. I don’t think I ever feel the need to listen to something right when it comes out necessarily.

What are the best and worst things that happened to you in high school?

Breaking the law and falling in love. Getting arrested and getting my heart broken. Ya know, regular kid stuff. I still have a healthy fear of cops as well as intimacy with men.

What are the most effective social policies and why?

Effective social policies reduce suffering in society by guaranteeing everyone has a safe place to live, enough healthy food to eat, and access to adequate health care. Without poverty, there would be less frustration and decreased crime, thus ensuring that public spaces and life in general can be better enjoyed by everyone. It seems simple, but people, at least Americans, have difficulty getting past the notion that individuals should get nothing unless they work hard to earn it, and that those who are successful in life got there without the help of society.

Have you ever had a paranormal experience? If so please explain.

I was a latchkey kid, and when I was in fourth grade I came home after school and saw four things in my living room that looked sort of like the creatures at the end of the Dark Crystal when the mystics and the skeksis become one, except more shadowy. It scared the shit out of me and I ran across the street to a friend’s house even though I was grounded. I called my mom and she could hear the fear in my voice, so I didn’t end up getting in trouble.

Where is you favorite place to see/hear live music in DC? Why?

I have to go with the Black Cat. Great rooms, great sound, great staff, and a little restaurant inside that sells vegan grub.

When was the first time you heard a song that perfectly captured an emotion you were feeling? Explain.

Unfortunately I don’t have this memory, but I used to have nightmares that my Siouxsie and the Banshees Peepshow tape was possessed.

Check out Silo Halo here: https://www.facebook.com/silohalo

The Bostonia EP is the reinvention of Baltimore pop-rock group Blind Man Leading. From late summer through October of last year, the four piece recorded their first electric studio project at Mobtown Studios, tracking together for the first time. Engineer/producer/drummer, Paul Mercer recorded and mixed the 5 tracks in-house, with mastering by Mat Leffler-Schulman.

Cellar Door
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The sound emphasizes emotive images and stories while contrasting those themes energetic drum patterns, bright-edged guitars, a humming cello, and melodic bass lines. Within the rhythmic and harmonic structures, a subtle jazz influence surfaces throughout. BML recently partnered with “International Justice Mission”, a non-profit that fights human trafficking throughout the world, and part of the proceeds from album sales will go to this great cause. The group plays regionally in the MD/ VA/ PA area, and the tracks are available now on iTunes and CD Baby. Keep on the look-out for a bangin’ EP release party!

Boston Ferry
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Raindeer began as a solo project for singer and multi-instrumentalist Charlie Hughes. But as he’s brought on additional members to fill out the band’s live quartet, the off-kilter lo-fi pop sensibility of Hughes’s early Raindeer recordings has been preserved remarkably well. That may be due to the fact that the other three members, Devin Byrnes, Liz Vayda and Nicky Smith, contribute primarily synths, guitars and bass, with no live percussionist replacing the loops and drum machines.

So when Raindeer came in for their Microshow, it was exciting to hear the songs from the self-titled 2012 release fleshed out, but not rocked up or drastically rearranged. “Moon Child” in particular simply just sounded right in this context. The result sounds like early rock’n’roll balladry filtered through the cutting edge technology of the 1980s – a similar process to, say, Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The U.S.A. with a very different result. One cover in the set, of the Talking Heads’ classic “Don’t Worry About The Government,” which is perhaps more relevant than ever now, was filtered heavily through Raindeer’s aesthetic, putting their own stamp on it instead of just being another band that tries to sound like the Heads.

Charlie Hughes: vocals, acoustic guitar, keys, samples
Devin Byrnes: keys, bass, percussion
Liz Vayda: keys, vocals
Nicky Smith: guitar

Engineered by Sean Mercer
Mixed by Mat Leffler-Schulman

Download MP3s - 103.35 MB

Lush Life is a new song-writing duo from Baltimore comprised of songwriter/guitarist Greg Wellham (Monteclair) and singer Ines Nassara that has an indie pop, jazz, soul, R&B and latin influence. They started working together almost two years ago, performing covers and jazz standards here in Baltimore. Lush Life has a strong musical connection and began enjoying not only playing covers with each other, but writing their own material as well. After writing a number of catchy songs they decided to record with producer Mat Leffler-Schulman.

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They plan on coming back pretty soon to record an EP. In the meantime be sure to support local music by contributing to their Kickstarter.

Over nearly a decade of recording and five full length albums Arbouretum have established themselves as stalwarts of the Baltimore music scene, so it may come as a surprise that Coming Out of the Fog is Arbourteum’s first record made with the same lineup as their last.

Started in 2002 by Dave Heumann, Arbouretum have been making enchanting stoner folk-rock with plenty of guitar solos; think Neil Young meets Lungfish. Aside from their first record, Long Live the Well-Doer which sounds more like proto-Arbouretum, Heumann and company have shifted subtly from release to release, making small changes to their druidic rock.

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Rather than making tonal or production tweaks between albums (although COotF is noticeably less reverberated than 2011’s The Gathering) Arbouretum play with concision. The Gathering felt a little bloated at times, with two seven minute songs and a ten minute closer, so Coming Out of the Fog feels like an appropriate title. The longest song is under seven minutes, the guitar solos feel more focused and the songs meander less.

But ultimately the album’s success comes from two of the finest mellow songs Arbouretum have recorded, “Oceans Don’t Sing” and the titular track. The typical Arbouretum album will have two songs that back off the fuzz, but on previous albums they never felt like the highlights. Coming Out of the Fog’s lush alt-country ballads soar with chiming piano and swelling pedal steel, and the songs freshen the ears for the next onslaught of riffs and incantations. All in all, Coming Out of the Fog is one of the band’s most complete and satisfying set of songs.

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