Delusions of June 2020 – Part 3

Every Monday morning, Still in Rock begins the week with an article featuring a bunch of recent releases. A playlist is dedicated to the very best of these articles at the end of each month (link). Make sure you don’t miss anything, join Still in Rock on Facebook (here) and WhatsApp (here). Cheers.


Chaque lundi matin, Still in Rock commence la semaine avec plusieurs sorties qui méritent leur pesant de cacahouètes biologiques. Et à la fin de chaque mois, une playlist rassemble le meilleur de ces articles (lien). Soyez sûr de ne rien manquer, rejoigniez Still in Rock sur Facebook (ici) et WhatsApp (ici). Cheers.

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Built To Spill Plays The Songs Of Daniel Johnston

LP, Ernest Jenning Records, 12 June 2020

[soft pop]

EN: Well, it’s no secret that I (literally) worship Built to Spill. My interview with Doug Martsch will remain a highlight in the history of Still in Rock (link). We were talking about his new album made of Daniel Johnston covers. It has just been released. The poetry of each of the two brings out one of the softest things of 2020. Rather than putting my own words on this music, I leave you with what Doug was telling me about it:

“In 2018, we were offered an opportunity to be his backup band for a few shows. That was quite exciting; we said yeah. I don’t think he really knew us, I think his booking agent was a fan of ours. So, we did that, we rehearsed a bunch, he set up a list of 100 songs that we could learn, we picked up 40 songs and eventually worked on 25 of them. We played four shows with him. One of our friends was at the rehearsals, and she told us that she would love to have a copy of those songs. So we had the idea to record these rehearsals to give her a copy.

A year later, we never did record the songs, and we had a few days off between gigs in the northwest, so instead of going home, we decided to spend three or four days going to the studio to record the demos of our new material. We went to Jim Roth’s place, who played guitar for Built to Spill. He had a little studio in his basement. Once there, I decided that I didn’t feel like working on these new songs, so we tried to do those Daniel Johnston songs instead. We finished the recording in January 2019. People are Ernest Jenning are putting them out. That’s pretty much the story.”

FR: Bon, il n’est plus un secret pour personne que je voue un culte particulier à Built to Spill. Mon interview avec Doug Martsch restera pour moi un temps fort de l’histoire de Still in Rock (lien). Nous y parlions de son nouvel album de reprises de Daniel Johnston. Ce dernier vient tout juste de paraître. La poésie de l’un et l’autre fait émerger l’une des choses les plus douces de 2020. Plutôt que de poser mes propres mots sur cette musique, je vous laisse avec ce que Doug me confiait à ce sujet (voir ci-dessus).

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Lance Bangs – Whammy

EP, Citrus City Records, 26 May 2020

[dark pop]

EN: It was one day in October 2016, I was writing an enthusiastic article about Lance Bangs (link). I had lost sight of him a little since then as he stayed silent. I was for that reason very surprised to listen to Whammy, his new EP (mini-album) that instantly sent me back to his first release. Lance embeds in his music 1% of post-punk, which gives his music a robotic aspect. On his voice, there’s 2% of a hip-hop flow. He reminds me sometimes of the independent scene linked to the anti-racist revolution. The music is pop, but foggy. In that, I recall Wise Blood. There’s also the mid-fi sound bathed in reverbs, a nod to the indie scene of the early 2010s (DIIV era). The rest is Lance Bangs as only he knows how. “Spike” and “Tour Song” are big hits, on the verge of English punk music from Manchester, Liverpool, and from the cockney brawlers. What a hit!

FR: C’était un jour d’octobre 2016, j’écrivais un article très élogieux à l’endroit de Lance Bangs (lien). Je l’avais depuis un peu perdu de vue; il faut dire qu’il n’a pas été très actif. Quelle ne fut donc pas ma surprise à l’écoute de Whammy, son nouvel EP (mini-album) qui m’a instantanément renvoyé à sa première sortie. Lance embarque dans sa musique 1% de post-punk, ce qui donne à sa musique un aspect mécanico-robotique. Sur sa voix, il y a 2% d’un flow hip-hop. Il me rappelle par secondes aux choses de la scène indépendante liée à la révolution anti-raciste. La musique est pop, mais noire. En cela, il me renvoie à Wise Blood (c’était bon). Il y a le son mid-fi baigné de réverbs qui est un clin d’oeil à la scène indie du début 2010s, époque DIIV. Le reste, c’est du Lance Bangs comme seul lui sait le faire. “Spike” et “Tour Song” sont de sacrés hits, à la limite du punk anglais du côté de Manchester, Liverpool, et des bagarreurs cockney. La claque !

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Ty Segall & Cory Hanson – “She’s a Beam“

Single, Drag City, 5 June 2020

[psych rock]

EN: Yeah, when the same artist is releasing hits for over 10 years straight, I get why that’d be enough to tire a lot of people out. I sometimes let myself think a new Ty Segall is… something normal to get. That it’ll be “all the same” because he’s done everything already. And then I listen to his music and find something wondering “how come?”. This time, he is accompanied by Cory Hanson, Wand’s leader (see my interview with the band). If “Milk Bird Flyer” doesn’t demerit, I find the structure of the single couldn’t be simpler: Cory signs the first part, Ty then takes over, and the grand finale links the two. It’s psychedelic, a kind of classic shit like the 2010s did, but in 2020. I’ll take it.

FR: Ouais, le même artiste qui sort des hits depuis plus de 10 ans maintenant, ça a de quoi en fatiguer plus d’un. Je me laisse parfois aller à penser qu’un nouveau Ty Segall est normal. Qu’il sera surfait, parce qu’il a tout fait justement. Et puis… je finis toujours par rester accroché à ses morceaux. Cette fois-ci, il est accompagné de Cory Hanson, leader du groupe Wand (voir mon interview avec le groupe). Si “Milk Bird Flyer” ne démérite pas, je trouve la structure du single on ne peut plus simple : la première partie est signée Cory, Ty prend ensuite le relais, et el grande finale fait la liaison des deux. C’est psychédélique, sorte de classic shit comme les années 2010s ont su en faire, mais en 2020. Je prends.

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Vintage Crop – “Serve To Serve Again“

Single, Upset the Rhythm / Anti-Fade Records, 10 June 2020

[post-skate]

EN: A member of the very closed circle of my favorite post-skaters, Vintage Crop is one of those upcoming heroes who are already killing the scene. The band’s the author of the song “American Living“, to be put in all the good compilations (here’s one, good or not). Just a few days ago, he released “Gridlock“, the first single of his third LP to be released next August. Oh, God! Vintage brings in a lot of those incisive riffs that make him the Freddie Gibbs of post-skate music: a true killer!

FR: Membre du cercle très fermé de mes chouchous post-skaters, Vintage Crop est de ces héros annoncés qui dynamitent d’ores et déjà la scène. Toujours saignant, il est l’auteur du morceau “American Living” à classer dans toutes les bonnes compilations du genre (en voilà une, bonne ou pas). Il y a quelques jours à peine, il faisait paraître “Gridlock“, premier single de son troisième LP à paraître en août prochain. Oh, God! Vintage y apporte des brouettes de ces riffs incisifs qui font de lui le Freddie Gibbs de la scène post-skate : un véritable bourreau.

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Bonus:

Shilpa Ray – “EMT Police and the Fire Department“