Tag Archive for: underground music

SHEHEHE, “Sorry You Love Me”

Shehehe’s “Sorry You Love Me” starts with a bang, as barely-bound harmonies hover above barreling drums and glam rock guitar. The first line sets the terse tone for this sweaty headbanger, shouting “I don’t know if I love me, but I love you!” before eventually diving into a “Kids In America”-tinged chorus. Shehehe’s sunbaked orchestration works really well for this three minute thrasher, with “whoa”s cascading over the heavy rhythm to supply plenty of grit to the Athens band’s bright sound.

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #107 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.

Ep 119 – ‘Female Vocalists and Tristan’ With music by: Sea of Dogs, Furies, Rhinestone Pickup Truck, Storm the Palace, Hayley & the Crushers, Foot Gun, Tilly and the Wall

Best of the underground, week of August 18, 2020: Lots of female vocalists. John’s controversial thoughts about the meaning of life and dominatrixes. Also, exclusive artist interview with Foot Gun. Also…great music. (All podcasts and reviews are on www.hlycrp.com, and you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.)

This week we played:

    • Old Woman by Sea of Dogs

      • Nutbush City Limits by Furies

    • Pretending by Rhinestone Pickup Truck
    • Clive by Storm the Palace

    • I Can’t Believe You by Tilly and the Wall

Hex Girls – “Cats With No Teeth”

Hailing from Cedar Falls, Iowa comes the 5 piece band, that is Hex Girls; not to be confused with the “fictional female eco-goth rock band” who made their first appearance on an episode of Scooby Doo.

Reviews of the bands sound have likened them to Iggy Pop meets The Talking Heads and I can get behind that. Pulling from an array of genres ranging from “protopunk, Psychobilly   and glam, to new wave and Motown”, their debut album released in December 2018, shows the range of vocal and instrumental talents they posses. Lead singer …is it Fischer? Having a hard time finding this Cat With No Teeth

sounds like Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground that one went willingly down the rabbit hole to on long nights with visions of all things under the sun. 

The potent glam rock sounds the band possesses with their solid bass and guitar mixed with the vocals and transport themselves to a night at CBGB’s, listening to the Stones or the Stooges, mixed in with a night of raucous play, beat style poetry and a yearning that keeps the solid reviews coming and a second album on the very much anticipated horizon.

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #106 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.

L’RESORTS, “We Don’t Make Love”

Kitsch and heartache combine in the poppy and surprising “We Don’t Make Love” from Milwaukee supergroup L’Resorts. Gentle slide guitar accents evoke the dreamy haze of a summer vacation, while a marimba spine and cozy harmonies soften the forlorn lyrics like a Vaseline lens. Still, when they sing “Look at me I’m dying/But we don’t make love”, the melody’s nontraditional resolve hits with the sting of an acid-tongued power ballad. L’Resorts meld these heavy emotions with 60s pop airiness to make an upbeat take on a downer of a relationship.

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #106 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.

13AGH3AD, “Spinner”

13AGH3AD’s “Spinner” is a song that would shine under a blacklight. This might be easy to assume given the single’s kaleidoscopic cover art, but from its opening reverb the song is inviting you to invert your expectations and succumb to its hypnotic groove. Swirling guitar licks leave psychedelic fingerprints on the group’s grunge-y sound, and the rattle of surf rock drums practically begs for a dark and smoky room to get lost in. It’s a heady combination, fueled by chant-like vocals and a prog-rock bridge that dilates the beat to its breaking point before snapping back for a sharp exit.

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #106 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.

Nocona – “Stabby Mike” 

Is Nocona huge yet? From the beginning of the song, I felt like I was stumbling upon greatness hidden in plain sight. By the end of Stabby Mike I was invested mentally and emotionally in Nocona. The beginning of love, the excitement of digging through their catalog, the growth of something special and something cool that maybe nobody knows about. Amazing. 

This one catches you in the cheek with a fish hook and just when you realize it, the entire band blasts in with a jerk that pulls you to your feet. It’s just a thing that happens sometimes, yeah, but that thing that happens is magic. Magic accompanied by vintage guitars, upright bass, slide guitar, western shirts… Why isn’t every band this cool?

The instrumentation is so textured and woven together, yet upon analytical examination each instrument has breathing room around it. You can feel the wooden boards of the room from your ears, smell the fireplace, and the leather on your arm. Or, is that just me? Damn. Get on my level and check these guys out. 

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #106 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.

The Prostitutes – “Shake, Rattle, & Die”

The Prostitutes have been around a while, and Shake, Rattle, & Die is one of their releases from this year. Aptly named for a year filled with certain death and doom, The Prostitutes deliver a raging take on bumming a ride from a stranger while they are out of their mind, all in under two minutes. It’s punk rock, raging and boiling over, recorded with all the attitude you would expect.

 I feel like the song could be the venting that took place after the awkward situation unfolded, we’ve all been there for sure. 

Shake, Rattle & Die is gritty, raw, and energetic. It’s perfect.

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #106 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.

The Deathbots – Just Go

The Deathbots was conceived as a brawling mix between Bad Religion and Johnny Cash, that combo of super speedy melodic punk and killer bad-ass country. Just Go is the epitome of this sound. Tight So-Cal inspired sound wreckage, with wrenched, riffing guitars and bass, driving drums – and then the melody and lyrics have such a soft heart – “The only days I don’t regret are the days I spent with you.” I try to write lyrics and this line makes me jealous – something so simple and beautiful and true. Something Johnny Cash would sing if he was fronting a So-Cal punk band.

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #106 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.

Anti-Social Club – “Empty”

Anti-Social Club leans back into familiar glam and electronica for their latest single “Empty” – this is an Erasure, Yaz, David Bowie inspired track. There is darkness and death and cancer and a bleakness that fills the song with a chill – “there’s a pain in his chest and a weakness in her knees – there’s a cancer inside and it’s making it hard to breathe” – but Anti-Social Club also understands song dynamic and a chorus that rises and offers hope. Bonus points for the wonderful female vocalist that adds real beauty to the chorus. 

Want to hear us talk about this song? Check out episode #106 of our podcast at hlycrp.com.