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Hi Sorry State readers! Welcome back. This week is actually flying by. I had a blast over the weekend at the Hopscotch festival here in Raleigh. I was lucky to get as close as anyone could probably get to the stage for all the shows I was most excited for. The first night it was Pavement. They sounded great and played a fantastic set list. I love bands that don’t do “festival set lists” where they play like ten of their biggest songs and that’s it. Pavement played for a good 90 minutes and they played a great mix of deeper cuts and old favorites. What I did not anticipate doing was meeting one of my long time loves. The king of 90s intellectual slacker rock, so effortlessly clever, and still foxy as ever, Stephen Malkmus. Got to take a few awkward pictures with him, so that was cool. Dinosaur Jr. was also killer. They are also one of my favorite bands, and even if you aren’t into their style, any music appreciator has to give it to J Mascis on guitar. Still standing in front of nine Marshall stacks after all these years. Not sure if there are city noise laws for outdoor music or just because the show was outside, but they didn’t sound near as loud as they did at Cat’s Cradle a couple years ago. I fucked up my hearing a long time ago so and still have never worn an ear plug in my life. Maybe not smart, but I am also not of this new generation of taking care of oneself. Anyway, I had planned on doing it up this year and seeing the smaller late night shows that started at midnight, but I was so damn tired. Every ounce of my energy and enthusiasm was gone by 11:30.
Ok now let’s get on with my staff pick. It’s the JJ and the A’s S/T debut EP brought to us by the ever so cool La Vida Es Un Mus. The band is a Copenhagen/Barcelona power punk band, and we recently received this new release. So far, it’s been pretty popular among customers. Oh how I love hooky, melodic, high energy power punk. At the risk of sounding elementary, it has a lot of sounds. Imagine that. Music having sounds. You will know what I mean when you hear it. There’s a bit of everything and it doesn’t let up. Garage punk, power punk, hardcore punk, late 70s punk. The treble is dialed all the way up on this one, with low bass, a lot of distortion, fast, no frills rock and roll riffs, and a shit ton of energy. There is even a splash of synth here and there. The vocals are great. They’re threatening and sassy with some cool layered harmonies that tie it all together. The song Head in a Vat is one of my favorites. It has a really cool layered vocal harmony thing going on and the song showcases their talent for playing different styles of punk and doing it really well. My other favorites are Unnatural Disaster and Show Me, which both pack more of a hardcore punch.
The record has some really catchy hooks and melodic parts that add depth and make things fun. And speaking of fun, the record scores high on the danceability meter. There’s no way your head won’t bob and your toes won’t tap to the infectious chorus in the song Predator. Of all the tracks, that one has the strongest early 80s power punk vibe. The main riff on that track reminds me of something off the newest Rough Kids LP, which is a great record and a past staff pickj of mine! Predator and Head in a Vat both have big catchy choruses and are the most melodic songs on the EP. They are thoughtfully placed in between the more hardcore tracks, which really makes for a cohesive record. I think they nailed it with their debut! Give it a try!
Thanks so much for reading, as always! Until next time...
-Angela