Indiecast - A Survey Of Indie Rock Lifers Featuring Silversun Pickups, Hot Chip, and McLusky, Plus: Oasis' 'Be Here Now' 25th Anniversary

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

Some bands make fans wait years between albums, and others have been very consistent with rolling out new releases. Early aughts groups Hot Chip and Silversun Pickups fall into the ladder category, dropping a new album like clockwork every two or three years. On this week's Indiecast episode, hosts Steven Hyden and Ian Cohen share their thoughts on Hot Chip's latest LP Freakout/Release (33:56) and Silversun Pickups' new project Physical Thrills (24:53), two albums which rely heavily on synths.The biggest indie news of this week came from a band no one has heard much from in over 15 years: McLusky. The Welsh group officially disbanded in 2005, but they just announced they're going on a North American tour this fall (41:45). Indiecast also discusses the 25th anniversary of Oasis' Be Here Now, partially reigniting the Blur vs. Oasis britpop discourse (47:39).In this week's Recommendation Corner (57:05), Ian tells listeners to check out Spielbergs' new album Vestli. Meanwhile, Steven endorses Cass McCombs' tenth studio album Heartmind.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 102 and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [e-mail], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Indicast is presented by Uprocks's indie mixtape. Hello everyone and welcome to IndieCast. On this show, we talk about the biggest indie news of the week, we review albums and we hash out trends. In this episode, we talk about new albums by some real indie rock lifers, including Silver Sun Pickups and Hot Chip. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host. It's his fault that we talk about the 1975 so much.

Ian Cohen, Ian, Ian, how are you? I would describe that relationship more as kind of codependent. Like, I'm going to bring up the 1975 just because I'm, like, excited about their music and I've been a fan for a long time. But, I mean, aside from, I don't know, maybe testifying to the greatness of Jerry Raffordy, I've never heard you more locked in than when we are talking shit about the 1975. We got a problem. We need an intervention. But for this time, maybe I'm just thinking in codependent terms because I've been listening to a lot of Jane's addiction lately. but yeah yeah you look I was joking in the intro I take equal responsibility for the

1975 content in this episode and uh I feel like we have to acknowledge that there is a I'll call it a minor revolt at this point it might grow into a full on rebellion among our listeners who are rising up to complain about how much we talk about the 1975 on the show I was looking at the mailbag and there are literally emails from people where they're not even like writing an email, it's just a subject line. And it just says, please stop. Please stop talking about the 1975. And all the emails are sent like from people's phones.

Like you know how it says at the end sent from an iPhone or whatever. So my assumption is that these people are on a walk or at the gym or maybe they're even in the, like they're in the car and they're pulling over. in the middle of the episode, they're pausing the episode, they're going to their Gmail account, and they're pleading with us in the middle of listening to the episode, as if we're hearing them in real time, as if we can stop the episode that we've already recorded and changed the subject, just pleading with us not to talk about this band anymore. I'm not hearing from the people who love it.

Maybe there's a silent majority that loves it, but the people who hate it. it are making their voices heard. I love the idea that there's this contingent of indie cast listeners if what you describe is true that are like they think we're kind of like a calling show where like halfway through like I'm going to have to pull out the much beloved Philadelphia sports talk voice here where it's like, hey yeah man, uh, we need to talk less about the 1975 and more about parquet courts because they're one of the great rock bands of Autonomic. you know, just kind of

just kind of going off on that can that part right now. I was like, Indycast, needs to start talking about pop records. And okay, I moved on to kind of like a Bernie Sanders sort of thing. This is going way off the fucking rails. But that's kind of the equivalent of like when I was

writing like Kid Cuddy and like Airborne Toxic Event reviews back in the late 2000s where the emails would always come from like three o'clock in the morning at a college email address. So maybe those are those people grown up now.

You know, before they were like drunk and angry and reading pitchfork at three in the morning before a midterm exam. Now they're on their lunch break, pissed off, listening to Indycast, and they're sending from their phones. Well, maybe they feel like this trend has already been hashed. And then we're just hashing it to a degree that maybe just feels like overkill already, which is hilarious because this album is coming out in two months. We already have 1975 exhaustion in the Indycast community.

This is going to be tough in the fall when this album comes up. But maybe we can pace it a little bit. I'm not going to dismiss the criticism on a hand. I understand the feedback. I'm going to listen to it. We'll pace ourselves a little bit with this. I'm just saying that if an interview drops with Maddie Healy, I cannot restrain myself.

from making fun of it. So just fair warning. Try to be quick about it. We don't want to have overkill with this. But it's just something that's going to happen. In this episode, though, we're really going in the opposite direction because instead of talking about this superstar act, we're really going to be talking about some lifers here in the indie rock world.

Several bands that have been around for a long time. Maybe they had their moment a decade or so ago, but they're still putting out records. And I don't know about you, but like some of the bands we're talking about I don't go deep on. Like I know who they are, but I haven't really listened to them. So I actually had a really fun time this week listening to some of these groups that I'm aware of, but I don't go deep on. And it was a fun experience because we're talking about big discographies here by, I would say like second or maybe even third tier indie acts. but that have been around for a while and they have a sizable catalog

so it was fun I'm excited to get into it yeah most of these bands I would say would peak you know 2006 to 2008 you know of course we have talking about hot chip and silver some pickups

and of course another rock band that has an album out this week panic at the disco so yeah we're not talking about them though we're not doing any panic talk because we didn't get the album in advance nope

but they are one you know we're going to do some mountain goats talk there's a McCluskey reunion that we need to talk about and also Ian's personal interaction. We also have some Oasis talk later because I wrote about Oasis this week. So a lot to get into. Before we get to all that, let's do our mailbag segment. And before we get to this week's letter, I wanted to do a quick shout out to Josh, who wrote us this week to talk about this playlist that he made with his friends. It's called The Josh playlist.

And I'm not going to read the letter because it's a very long letter. but Josh thought his friends, Chris and Charlie, who listened to the show, he thought that they would appreciate if we gave a shout out to the Josh playlist. It's the 10th anniversary of the playlist. So I'm going to do that. I'm giving a shout out to the Josh playlist.

Shout it out. Do you want to give a shout out to the Josh playlist too? Shout to Josh. You know, I got... I thought it said initially it's the Josh and Josh playlist, which would be totally awesome. Like, it just reminds me so much of growing up. up in Jewish youth group on the East Coast for like 75% of the people there were named Josh.

Multiple Joshes. Now, I believe there's only one Josh with the playlist, but it's a 10th anniversary of the playlist. So hopefully it has another 10 years or more ahead of it. So thank you for writing in Josh. And Chris and Charlie, I hope you appreciate the shout-out. Do you want to read this week's letter? Yes, I do. So, hi, Stephen and Ian.

My 10-year-old son listens to. Top 40 radio and it's pretty rare to hear any rock kids today. The one rockish song they seem to have in heavy rotation is Began by Monoskin. Now I kind of wish Steve that you volunteered to read this one because I was dying to know how you pronounce this band's name. I looked it up. Is it Monoskin? Yeah.

Is that the prop? Because you could go main skin. It's Monoskin. I looked it up. They have a, it's called a ring above the A. It's that circle that you sometimes see above the A. It's sort of Oomlaid adjacent. but anyway, so it sounds vaguely like some bad 90s stuff,

and I have no idea why they're playing it alongside all the typical pop stuff. I prefer the short-lived run of Machine Gun Kelly in the mix. Is this to why the Machine Gun Kelly era is over? I don't know. Do you know? I still see stories about him every week, like breaking a wine glass on his face. Okay. And bleed.

Like, that's his thing now, like where he breaks wine glasses on his face and he bleeds. Okay. He's at that stage right now. He's like the Homer Simpson and Hullabalooza taking like taking cat-eball. Or it's like a G.G. Allen? I guess. He's doing like the hot topic G.G. Allen act. He's going to be like, you know, taking a shit on stage here.

What a performer. At some point. Exactly. What an artist. Yeah. So speaking of the G.G. Allen's of our time. So John in Seattle wants to know, do you know who Monskin are and why they're getting mainstream airplay?

Yes. So this is an interesting story. I feel like some people listening to this might be aware of the Monoskin phenomenon, because this has been going on for a while. This song is like five years old. Just to give a little background here, Monoskin was, this glam rock band from Italy. They were on the Italian version of the X Factor.

When they played this song, it's called Began. It's a cover of a four-season song from 1967. And so I think the song was a hit in Europe because of this X-Factor thing. And then it got a second wind when Monoskin won the Eurovision contest in 2021. In this song, it just became like an internet sensation. Apparently, it was nominated for a favorite trending song award at the American Music Awards. I didn't even know that was a category. Yeah.

But it lost to Megan the Stalions' body. Moniskin subsequently has gone on to perform this song on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and the Ellen DeGeneres show. They were also on SNL in January. I don't remember that. Okay. At all. I believe that to be true. Let's check our sources.

Afterwards, we're going to go back to the tape, see if that was real. But it sounds like, I mean, I'm less inclined to believe, actually, I'm more inclined to believe they lost the most. trending song at the American Music Awards, you know? But yeah, just like favorite trending song as a category. I find that to be pretty funny. But I'm curious to hear your experience with this song. I've heard this song in the wild. I remember I was in my car with the kids and the local top 40 station was on.

And this song came on. And I was like, does Go Go Bordello have a hit song now? Because it kind of sounded like Go Go Bordello to me. the, like the, uh, the klezmer kind of gypsy rock act. I think they're from New York. I think they are, yeah. So I actually, uh, I shazammed it because I was like, what the hell is this song? And it came up monoskin, begging.

And, um, on one hand, it's a very obnoxious song. Yeah. It is really annoying and grating. But on the other hand, I was kind of fascinated that this song, which sounds like nothing else, on certainly pop radio has become such a big hit. Did you know this song has been streamed 1.1 billion times?

That sounds about right because you brought up hearing it in the wild like my only experience interfacing with this song has been in the wild. Not since Magic's rude. Has there been a song I've heard more often at 7-Eleven? Now mind you, we have to describe the difference between hearing a song at 7-Eleven

and the CVS slash Ralph's rock we've heard before. 7-11 tends to be more contemporary, a little bit more aggressively bad. And the first time I heard it, you brought up Gogh Bordello, which to me is like, this is a, Google Bordello is a band that I really feel could, you know, have a TikTok Renaissance in the right circumstances. I heard, like, I heard this kind of a strummy ovation, egg-shaped acoustic guitar, sort of hill song thing. I thought I heard slap bass. I swear to God, I thought this was like, a song from Lives Mental Jewelry. And there's like

a kind of overbearing, groaning voice. And I'm like, look, this is 2021. I know it's not Pain Lies by the Riverside. And it's like, oh. I could tell you, that's hilarious. That would not have occurred to me, but that's so spot on. I think we should merge this

and it's Go Go Bordello covering Pain Lies by the Riverside. Okay, I'd listen to that. That works as, like, for people who haven't heard this song, I think that's like a pretty accurate description of what this song sounds. Yeah, and then, you know, a month or so later when I went to Pitchfork Festival, I heard this song in like two out of three whiffs I took.

But yeah, I'm objectively fascinated by this song because in no way, shape, or form should this be as popular as it is if we're like talking about like trending or what have you. But it is, I mean, alongside like I would say, Glass Animals Heat Wave, this is just a song that has not gone away for two, three years. I can't figure out, like, what about this song got there? Because, I mean, before Monoskin, like, what would be the most popular Italian, like, you know, from Italy, rock band? Like, can you think of one? Oh, man.

See, this would be where you could have totally thrown down the gauntlet for refs. If you could have just busted out in Italian rock band ref. I can't think of anything. I mean, again, that's what is kind of endearing about that. this song, as obnoxious as it is, that it is such a curveball in this world. And, I mean, to me, it basically seems like a novelty song. You know, like, that part of why it's become popular is that it's this Italian rock cover of an oldie by the four seasons.

It's just kind of weird. Maybe people like the quirkiness of it. Although, if you go on Spotify or on YouTube, They have other songs that have hundreds of millions of streams. I don't know if that is mostly like the European market. I don't have any sense of them having another hit in America. But I don't know. It just seems like this is going to be a song that it's like the glam rock equivalent of like the macarena.

Or I'm too sexy or something. And I mean, it's even more incredible to think about how this song broke through because when you actually look at what rock playlists are doing right now, I just have to bring this up. Do you happen to know what the number one Billboard song on hot, the number one hot rock and alternative song in America is according to Billboard? No clue. Running up that hill.

Do you know what the number one hot hard rock song is? There's a clue in there if you know where to, if you know where to look. Uh, hard rock song. Is this like another oldie? Is it like another, like, is it the master of puppets? That is correct. So, yeah, and then I looked at K-Rox list and it's like, cannons, giant rooks, abso facto.

Like, I think we, if IndyCast has one last pivot, we are just going to go straight ahead to these bands that get played on K-Rock that no, no, I mean, they're super duper popular, but like nobody in music writing, Twitter is going to, to touch with a 20-foot pole. Yeah, that is a fascination for me, like the rock radio gruel that, like, program directors really like that, and this is an away going to segue into our Silver Sun Pickups conversation, even though I like, there's a lot of Silver Sun pickup songs that I like,

but they fall into that, too, where it's music specifically designed to get played on K-Rock and not exist anywhere outside of that context. Like every year when you look at like the best rock song category at the Grammys, there's always one band that you've never heard of that is really big in that world, like highly suspect. I remember that band. Oh, yeah. They're a band that's really big in that world that doesn't get talked about anywhere,

but they have like one song that connected with program directors at big rock radio stations, and they're the ones who nominate bands for those categories. So then they end up getting shine for that reason. Yeah, in a way that it's like, more fascinated to read about that stuff than like the most avant-garde ambient or jazz music out there because that stuff's supposed to be on the margins. But there's just this huge, huge void between like the pervasive pop-leaning writing world and the avant-garde-leaning writing world that just does not take account, you know, the most popular song by Cannons or actually Wet Legg is like with

the one band that's kind of breaking this play. So can't wait to see how their career trajectory goes. Yeah, glass animals who we've brought up before. They're the ultimate example of that. Exactly. Or, oh, I'm blinking on their name. The band that they started out as a psychedelic band, and then they started making sort of poppy soul songs.

Portugal, the man? Yes, they were another one. They kind of started in the indie world, and then they went into the radio rock world. So, good maneuver by them. Well, let's get into our conversation here, which there is a through line here with a lot of our topics this week about legacy indie bands that have stuck around for a decade plus that I would say the thing that a lot of these groups have in common is that at no point were people saying that any of these groups were like the best in their particular era. but they've managed to stick around. And some of them have pretty big audiences,

but I don't know. It's like with a lot of the groups that we're going to be talking about today, there's like no real sort of like touch-tone album that they put out, or there's not like a central like narrative that you could connect them to in a particular era saying, oh, they belong to this.

So that's why they're significant. It's an interesting thing. I mean, I think we have a lot of sympathy to legacy acts on this show because I think at some point, people just get sick of writing about you and you can fade out for that reason. But I don't know. Like I said at the top, some of the groups that we're going to be talking about, like, I don't go deep on them, but it was fun to explore their careers.

And I actually think that the new records that they're putting out today are pretty good, generally. Yeah, I think this also aligns with a story that the Guardian, I believe, put out this week about people over 35 stop listening. Like, people who reach the age of 35 and they just stop listening to music. And so, yeah, I mean, in a way. Which is everybody. That's most people, isn't it? I would think so, yeah. I don't know anyone my age.

Like, no, no, I don't think any of my friends, or very few of my friends, give a rat's ass about new music. Yeah. And the ones you... You know, like, occasionally they'll hear something, but, like, not really, by and large. That is, like, the normal way that most people age, I think. And I love how the people who, like, reach that point, like, still kind of hold on. to the bands they may have discovered at 23, 24. And so, you know, they don't really interface with much new music,

but they still have like a place deep in their heart for like hot chip or rah, rah, riot. It's a nice little personality quirk. So I'm stoked to talk about this stuff because we wrap that audience hard. Yes, we do. The first band we're going to talk about, we're actually not going to talk about very long because we've talked about this band before. And I have to recuse myself from reviewing this album just because I think I feel like

I've made my feelings known generally about their work. It's the Mountain Goats. They have a record out today. It's called Bleed Out. This is the 20th Mountain Goats album. I thought there was more. Well, they've really picked up the pace in recent years. I feel like they've been putting out at least an album a year.

They might have even had a couple, like, two album years. But they've been really, really prolific. And look, we talked about this fairly recently with the Mountain Goats. This is the number one band that I should like because there's a lot of things about the mountain goats that fall in line with music that I enjoy from other artists. Very literary lyrics. It's a singer-songwriter kind of sensibility.

Really good at building worlds. A deep catalog. Kind of an Americana aspect to it, but definitely like a, is it fair to call them emo on some level? Some level, yes. They wouldn't be classified as emo, but like emo people could claim them and enjoy what they do.

Absolutely. And I respect John Darniel as an artist. I think he's a really good writer. He's, you know, branched off into doing novels, very talented guy. My problem, again, is his voice. I cannot connect with the records because of his voice. That has been the stumbling block for me. And I know I like a lot of singer-songwriters who have quirky voices,

starting with the original Bobby D. Love Bobby D, my number one artist of all time, but I don't know. I just have not been in the right circumstance where I could hear this music and connect with it. And I hope that happens because there's 20 Mountain Goats albums. So if I ever have a change of heart, I'll have a lot to listen to and I'm excited about that. But for now, I just, again, it's confounding to me that I don't like this band, but I just have not been able to connect with them. Yeah, I'm like, I'm hoping that you have that because then I can see, you know, you make the kind of oasis or Bob Dylan-esque list for Uprocks. Yeah, I think there's like, there's an, I just think of the episode of The Simpsons where like the Lemon of Troy episode where the Springfield kids go to Shelbyville and like they're the kids who are like slightly altered doppelgangers of themselves.

And I feel like there's like an indie cast where there's like a version of that for us where like we're almost exactly the same except we're really fucking into mountain goats. Like I just think that was if someone had slid me say Tallahassee like at 23 or whatever like maybe I would have grown up to be an enormous mountain goats fan. But that just was not in the cards. And now like every single time they put it out now, I just assume it's about like wrestling or Dungeons and Dragons. It turns out they have some albums about that. This one's about like 60s horror movies. I respect John and John Yel. Okay.

I wish them the best. I think they're this sort of band that really plays well with the music writer world, so they'll always be protected. Yeah, I just, I always wonder whether they have like a, I guess like Benji or a Crow looked at me type album that could be. in the works that makes them like a very big critical thing again. But, you know, the Sunset Tree was that album, came out in 2005. It's the one Mountain Goats out of my love.

This year was a big song on TikTok. So I guess they've already had that. So, yeah, Mountain Goats, we'll have the same conversation next year. Yeah, I think that they're in that Wilco zone, like where they put out well-regarded late period albums. And if you are a fan, you can hear something fresh in it and enjoy it. Like, I love the Wilco record that came out this year, Cruel Country. I'm sure there's a lot of people who don't give a shit about Wilco, and if they heard that record, it wouldn't get them into the band.

You know, it's a similar thing, I think, with Mountain Goats, where if you were on their wavelength, this new album is probably really good, and you're going to love it. Whereas if you're not on board, it's just another Mountain Goats record. So more power to them. I'm glad they're making a lot of music. I know they have an audience that's very committed to what they do. So, Godspeed.

I wish them the best, and I hope I get on board at some point. I sincerely feel that because getting into a new band that has a huge catalog, that's always really fun. But I just haven't been able to do it yet with Mountain Goats. Let's talk about Soberson pickups. Let's talk about fucking Soverson pickups. I've been waiting for you to say that for 102 episodes. So they have a new album out today.

It's called Physical Thrills. It's their sixth album. That's it. Well, here's the thing. They've put out a new album. every three years, exactly, since 2006. That was their first record, I believe, was called Carnabas. Oh, it was definitely called Carnivus or Carnarvis?

Carnivus? Carnivus? We're going to spend the next five minutes. Fortunately, they moved on to calling albums things like Swoon and Physical Thrills. Right. But that was their biggest record. Their biggest record was their first record. That's the one that spawned off some of their biggest radio hits,

including Lazy Eye. and there's another song that I can't remember the title of. This is a band that I've always been aware of, and I've heard occasional songs that I've always liked it, but I've never investigated deeper. They didn't seem like I needed to dig deeper. And I was talking earlier about, like, the rock radio gruel bands out there

that seem to only exist in, like, the K-Rock extended universe. Like, that station or stations that are like that throughout the country, it seemed like when Silver Sun Pickups came out that that was the niche that they were filling. We need songs that are reminiscent of 90s rock in particular, Smashing Pumpkins. And here's another band whose initials

are SP. Oh, great. Let's plug them in. And it seems like that was the niche that they filled, and they've continued to do that for a surprisingly long time. I mean, six albums. They have a deep catalog at this point. I figure that they must have committed fans out there, even though they don't

they personify what I was saying before that this is a band that I don't think anyone has ever argued was like the best band of a particular year. Even people who love this band, I feel like it's like the second or third or fourth favorite band maybe in a particular period of time. And there's something about that I kind of love though,

especially since they're still around. Like they get compared to smashing pumpkins, but the difference is that they don't seem to have nearly as much ambition or certainly not as much grandiosity as smashing pumpkins. Like if you wanted like a modest smashing pumpkins, that's what this band is, like for better or worse. Does that make sense?

Do you think that's a fair assessment? I think it's a totally fair assessment. And also we have to like mention the fact that similar to smashing pumpkins, it's four people, a female vocalist slash bassist, the drummer that is way too active. Go watch the panic switch video. This guy is just going, nuts like he's playing in like a blastbeat black metal band but they're playing kind of uh watered down

smashing pumpkin stuff yeah i'm kind of surprised i don't like this band more for the exact reasons you mentioned because look i love me some smashing pumpkins i don't mind um you know bands that are trying to do like gish era stuff especially when like you know smashing pumpkins were making zeitgeist and songs for transformers movies um when you said there are people who aren't written there's no one who's really championing that band. Every now and again, someone will make that claim. Like, I think of this Onion article from 2003 called Sort of Attractive Girl Halfheartedly Hit On,

and it makes me think of these people who, like, try to make the argument that Silver Sun pickups are, like, underrated or, like, secretly great. And you can just tell their heart's not really in it. They just want to say, like, okay, lazy eye, I like that song on Guitar Hero, Panic Switch, kind of whips. But you just can't make the argument that they're underappreciated.

I think that there is this sort of band that is a rarity in that they are extremely accurately rated, which is to say that they come around every three years. They get reviewed by less and less places. There sound exactly like you would expect the Silver Sun pickups to sound in 2022. And they, you know, they somehow land on K-Rock. playlist in a way that would be just such a phenomenally a massive achievement for any band. Can I just tell a story about like the most ultimate radio rock thing that I've ever done?

Like it involves Silver Sun pickups. Like I got I have like my once like you have a billion of these stories I feel like just because of like where you live and like where you grew up. I actually I saw I lived in L.A. for like 10 years like during peak pickups. but the only time I saw them was during a 2000, for my, for my birthday in 2006, I agreed to go to the, I want to say this name as is. Spring Fling Rock A.F. Radio tour with Silver Sun Pickups, Caged the Elephant, Foles, and Bear Hands. I saw this in Bakersfield, California. Shout to Live Nation TV. Wow.

The most diverse crowd I've ever been a part of. Because it was, you know, like in Bakersfield, you don't get too many shows coming and, you know, the rock station is the one sponsoring this. And you get like teens and like biker dudes who weirdly seem to know the words to like one full song. Fascinating. They're all rep by Q Prime Management, by the way, which is like Metallica's management company. So that's my experience with Silver Sun pickups, just corporate rock to the core. Yeah. I just wonder, though, going back to your point about, you know, we were talking about, like, no one's reppping them or if people are reppping them, it's half-hearted.

I do wonder if there is a generation of people who were in their late teens, early 20s in 2006, who have a soft spot for Silver Sun pickups in the same way that we would for like Stone Towers. Absolutely. In the 90s, you know, like, just like, because this was on the radio a lot, it's catchy. and it was there for you at a formative time in your life and now you feel like people don't pay it enough respect. There probably is a genuine constituency out there for Silberson pickups in that regard. Absolutely.

You know, because they're slightly more artful than some of the bands that we've mentioned. Like, you know, you're highly suspects of the world. Like that, if, like, that is your main conduit to rock music. And, yeah, like, Silver Sun pickups are, like, artful. shit, man. They might as well be the pixies or whatever. I can imagine that's happening. And I got to say, you know, their new record,

physical thrills out today, I enjoyed listening to it. The thing with this record is that it does push my pleasure centers and my, I guess, the affection that I have for 90s bands that are on the second and third tier

that get overlooked. You know, even though Silver Sun pickups, they're not a 90s band, but they're certainly emulating 90s. 80s alt rock. There's something very professional and competent about the way they put together records. And I say that as a compliment. That doesn't sound like a compliment.

You know, this certainly is not going to revolutionize rock music. It's not changing the world in any degree. But I will say that I do think that there is, there's not a ton of bands that do this sort of competent professional rock in a way that I find entertaining. Usually I just find it to be totally boring. And there is an element, certainly, of Silver Sun Pickups that feels like a little generic, I think, at times. It actually made me think about the Smashing Pumpkin's comeback record, Oceana, that came out in 2012, which I think is kind of underrated. It's like the best record that they put out, you know, the post-2000, which isn't saying much, but I mean, I do enjoy that record.

kind of reminded me of that this Silver Sump Pickups record physical thrills again like I don't know if I'm going to go back to this record but when it was on I enjoyed it and I can see why this would work

on the radio because it is immediately accessible even if maybe it doesn't have quite the substance to stick with you over the world. Yeah I think it's hard to make competent good rock music so that is the

That is our ringing endorsement for the new Silver Sun Pickups album. I feel like I need to say that in like a K-Rock voice. That was the new Silver Sun Pickups from Physical Thrills this weekend on the shore. We're going to have, I would just talk about some fucking terrible music festival. I have to work. Apparently I've lost my touch with my Philly sports radio caller voice and my Southern California radio voice. Yeah, we've got to work on that. We've got to bring that more into the episode so you keep limber with the Philly.

Sports Talk Radio Boys. Well, let's transition to talking about Hot Chip. And I'm not going to say that they're the British version of Silberson pickups, but there's some similarities here. Again, we have another indie music lifer. They have a new album out today. It's called Freak Out Release. This is the eighth Hot Chip album.

And again, this is a group that has stayed consistent over the years. They've put out a new album every two or three years since 2004. And, you know, I said earlier that the groups that we're talking about today, have never really had a moment where they were at the top of the mountain. They've always been maybe like a mid-tier act, but they've managed to hang on and put up music over the years.

But was there a moment like where Hot Chip had their moment in the sun? Like, I feel like in the late odds, they were pretty buzzy back then. I think so. I mean, they were fuzzy enough to be, they live on mostly as a meme right now, perhaps like you've seen the one where it's like any female born after 1993.

can't cook. All they know is McDonald's, charge they phone, twerk, be bisexual, eat hot chip and lie. And people took that as like kind of

being about that band. But yeah, I think that they had a moment in the late aughts. They were like not, they were kind of blog house quasi-adjacent.

Like, you know, they could be in the same realm as like, say, justice, let's call it. But, you know, they were kind of more

of like a pet shop, a pet shop. Boys for the modern day or like Phoenix. Like if you like Phoenix, if you like Justice, they're kind of in that realm, but they're a little bit more dorky. They have like kind of a divo-esque appearance in some ways. Yeah, they always had more of like a writerly

or like smart person edge to them that like some of the other blog house acts or blog house adjacent acts didn't have, which is why in that moment. And we should mention, you know, like we're talking about albums like The Warning that came out in 2006. Made in the Dark came out in 2008.

I know those were both big hits in the UK, and they were critical hits here. To me, they always gave me, like you saw, like a Pet Shop Boys, top vibe, or maybe, like,

if XTC played synthesizers. Yeah. You know, like that would, they would be hot chip. You know, just a very kind of smart pop-up. Yeah, extremely UK.

Like, I mean, the fact that they're as popular as they are in the United States, and actually I think they're very popular in L.A. for that reason, like, UK bands across the board do really well

here. And, you know, Hot Chip was a band that I would all, like, basically if you were, like, on any, like, dating site from 2010 to 2016 to 2016 in L.A. You're probably going to, like, meet someone who's into Hot Chip. Yeah, and, you know, again, like, this is a group

that I've always been aware of, and I've heard certain songs here and there. And you will see, similar to what you were saying about Silver Sun Pickups, you will occasionally see people, stump for hot chip and their catalog, and then being a really consistent band. And I've never really dug deep, and this week I was listening to the new record,

which I was enjoying, and I was going into their other albums and really liking it. And they do seem like a group that could have a resurgence, because I think that they are pretty consistent. I was going to ask you, you mentioned them being blog house adjacent, do you feel also that they rubbed up against chill wave in any way?

I mean, they were more of a, you know, a glossier, classier version of electronic pop, but, like, they were running parallel to that more sort of lo-fi chill-wave thing that was going on. I feel... I mean, I feel like they had, like, overlaps of fans, but, like, Hot Chip was more, like, they were almost, like, a synthesizer band that was, like, men as a rock band. remember interviewing Michael from Passion Pit and his goal was to have more synthesizers on stage than Hot Chip. They, they, they, they, they, they, they, they're, I would say they're a lot more intentional, a lot more extroverted in terms of their lyrics. I mean, I consider, you could probably

make a late 90s movie or I'm sorry, like a late 2000s, uh, movie like set in that era where you play like feel it all around, but also ready for the floor. Uh, and it would make sense. But I don't, I don't see hot chip being really a chill wave in any real way. So what did you think of the new record? I mean, this is an example of something where I don't have enough perspective on their catalog to know where this fits. I know when it was on, I was enjoying it. And I know from listening to their previous records that it doesn't seem like a departure in any way. You know, from, again, being someone just dabbling in hot chip, it seemed like an extension of their sound, that if you like their other records, you're going to like this

one. Similar to what I was saying about Mountain Goats and making the Wilco comparison, that if you're into Hot Chip, you're going to like this record. If you have never listened to this band, this maybe won't be the one that gets you into them unless you just decide because you host an indie rock podcast that you're going to start listening to Hot Chip. Do you have any more Do you go deeper on them than I do? Do you have any perspective on that? Yeah, I definitely do. The warning, that's as close as they've gotten to like an end-to-end great record.

I think they're kind of similar to Phoenix and that none of their records really like do it from start to finish, but they can put incredible greatest hits together. The nice thing about hot chip, like or being hot chip is that they are at a point where they never got so big that people will just like review them just because like they want to get like that. assignment. Like, if a hot chip record is getting reviewed, it's going to be reviewed by someone who has followed them and is interested in them and isn't going, like, they're going to be kind to it. I thought this album, they sound totally fucking gassed. Like, I think, or maybe it's just my perspective because, like, I do want a good hot chip record. I think also they're a band that makes me feel, I don't know, comfortable because it is like a kind of indie slash dancey slash pop and

like the sound of indie slash dancey slash pop to me. I just cannot. It doesn't resonate with me at all. So I can be like, oh yeah, hot chip. They still got it. Well, do you think that they're gassed because they're just repeating themselves? Or do you feel like the songs aren't good? Because I thought that the songs on this record are good.

You know, and I was engaged with it. But coming from the perspective of someone who's deeper into their catalog, do you just feel like, well, I've heard this before. And it's not as good as what they're, they've done on previous records. It's just sort of reiterating a template that I know really well at this point. I feel like they're just kind of going. Like it's like, okay, cool. That's a hot chip song. If just, it feels, if not like going through the motions or phoning it in, it's like they're definitely not pushing themselves. It's a, it's a hot chip record that will

arrive to polite applause and the live show will probably be fun. I would probably enjoy it. But yeah, it's, I don't think this is the one where you can make an argument to, jump in. It's just something that, hey, let's get the band together. Let's go on tour. If nothing else, the warning and the one after that made in the dark, that's kind of peak, but yeah, it's there. Well, as someone who is just delving into Hot Chip, I did enjoy listening to those two records you mentioned from the late odds. That seems like the place to start with this band. If you're curious, you want to dive in. I think that they have a lot of good songs. They seem like they

have an interesting catalog, so a lot to explore there. Let's talk about McCluskey. The Welsh post-punk. It's fair to call them post-punk, right? Or are they just straight up punk? They're post-punk. I mean, they're produced by Steve Albini. They have a very much kind of sneering, abrasive sound that, to me, has more in common

with, like, you know, amphetamine reptile-type bands than punk, let's say. but they were one of the early crew of talky heavy riffing bands like they proceeded the hold steady and

you know art brute like when I listen to McCluskey this reminds me I feel like it was Art Brut just satirizing McCluskey because there is an element of like connection there

except Art Brut's just like way jokier than McCluskey although McCluskey has some jokey elements to them too with the song titles anyway. Anyway, they announced a reunion this week, and I believe it's been 18 years since they've played together.

So this is going to be a big deal with a certain subset of listeners out there. You know, we've made jokes recently about grumpy middle-aged punks on Facebook, and I feel like McCluskey is like a mascot band for that constituency. And I say that with love. I say that with love. But, you know, when I mentioned this in our outline, you reminded me, and I'd forgotten about this. I remembered this. This was, like, around the time that we became friends. So, like, I didn't totally know you when this was going on. But you had a run-in with the lead singer McCluskey when he was in his next band Future of the Left.

Yeah. But he got angry with you because you wrote a 6.0 review of this Future of the Left record. I did. And it's funny because I When you mentioned this I went back and I read Because he wrote this long screed Responding to your review And then there's also a vice interview

Oh I didn't I didn't see that Were they I think it was in Because this was like in 2012 right Yeah it was definitely 2012 So 10 years ago And then the following year there was an interview with this With the lead singer

And I should say his name Andy Falcice Yeah Also, that was Andy Falco. I think he goes by a couple different names. And anyway, they were asking, the interview was asking him about this review, and Falco was going off, and they asked if you'd ever responded to his response,

and he said no. And then he said something about how he wanted you to review the next future of the left record so that you could cross sabers again, and he called you D'Artagnan, which is a Three Musketeers reference. which is a very Welsh post-punk post-punk singer thing to do, I think.

But anyway, McCluskey reunion. Because you're a fan of McCluskey, right? Oh, I fucking love. And that was kind of the crux of that review I wrote, which is that band, I love to Dallas. That is a band that really was a big part of me formulating my identity as a music writer. And just to hear them, like, make what I thought were extremely

corny jokes about like Billy Corgan and like Howard the Duck on that record. I'm like I had to kind tell it like it was at least, you know, back in 2012 and I felt more inclined to do that sort of thing. And let me just say this. Like, of all of all the musicians who have like, you know, given me shit for reviews I've written about them, I think that one was the best. Like that one, I'm like, Dan, this dude really went in. Now, do, did it make me change my mind about that record? No, I think I'm still kind of right about it. But, yeah. And that didn't ruin, like, do Dallas for you?

Because I have to admit that if, like, that happened to me, I'd be kind of like, oh, this guy's an asshole. I kind of, this is ruining even the record that I like by him. Yeah. I mean, gosh, I've had, that's been one of the really tough things to deal with where, like, I'll write a negative review of a band I like or even just like, not a straight up pan, but they'll be super pissed off at me and to the point where it's hard to kind of separate that

from my enjoyment. But like with with with with with with musky like I mean the entire album due Dallas is just this guy yelling at you the entire time. So in a weird way it doesn't really change my relation to it. Like McClusky when they play you get the sense they fucking hate you. So you know what?

It gives us, it's like an added bonus to it. But will I see it? I don't know. It's in L.A. If it's on a Friday, maybe I'll come up. I would still love to interview Andy Falcas. I think that would be fun. Let's put that out there.

We're putting that out there in the world right now. Someone is going to hear this and take you up on it. And I hope they do. I think you should go to the L.A. show and set up a booth that says, Ian Cohen, I reviewed the 2012 Future of the Left Record. Andy Falco went after me. and then you just sign photos of yourself and sell them for $10.

I think you could make some money because that's the one place where that would be, people would be really excited or, or, you know, at least intrigued to see you because you're a character now in the McCluskey universe.

Yeah, and fun fact, Future of the Left, that was the first time I saw Japan droids, they were opening for Future of the Left. They, of course, have covered to hell with good intentions, which is McCleskey's most famous song. Very interesting. It all comes back together.

We have time here quick. I just wanted to get your take on something because I wrote a big piece this week about Oasis. And look, I've talked a lot about Oasis in my life and my career. They're one of my favorite bands, certainly one of my favorite bands of the 90s. And I wrote a big retrospective piece writing about my 50 favorite Oasis songs. And it's in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the 90s of the 90s' song. of Be Here Now, which is October 21st in the UK, I believe it was the 26th here in America.

I may be the only person who marks the 25th anniversary of Be Here Now. I hope I'm not. But I'm just curious, we've talked a bit about Oasis. I don't know if you saw my PC in or if you have any opinions on this, but I'm just curious to get your quick take on Oasis and be here now. Yeah, my first take is that kind of similar to your body. Bill and Neil Young album list. Like in the 40s and 50s, I'm like,

some of these got to be made up, especially when you're talking about like the post standing on the shoulders of giants one. But look, I like OASIS. I think your top 10 is impossible to argue with, although I put, do you know what I mean higher? Champaign Supernova seems like the obvious number one. It's so strange because, like,

OASIS is a band that, you know, when you talk about your experience, loving them as a teen. To me, they were just a band that was on the radio. And gosh, you're going to like Andy Falchus me after saying this. But I was more of a blur and pulp person in high school. That's fine. I'm cool with that.

I understand that. I understand, because was the first song you heard by them, Wonderwall? No, it was, it was lived for, it was, no, it was supersonic. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And like, I heard the records. I'm like, okay, this is cool.

Like, they're rock songs. I get it. but yeah i i i more gravitated towards like blur and blur and polk is like i needed to feel smart in high school like i'm going to get out of this town not in the oasis way but i'm going to go to like college they're everyone smart like how the fuck am i supposed to relate to anything that's happening on this is hardcore or like the great escape but uh with oasis like most people who also listen to hardcore i've done a complete 180 i've rediscovered oasis i've rediscovered Oasis's catalog.

I like the Verve more because they're kind of like Oasis in that they're like dumb, but like they think they're smart, which to me is just like a perfect combination. But be here now. I have a real soft spot for that album, only because that was the first one I actually bought

on CD and I made such a concerted effort to like it because, you know, I'm 17. What the fuck am I doing? Having $18 to spend on Oasis album. Do you know what I mean? It's probably my favorite song of theirs.

I try to listen to it. To me, it's just super interesting. It's so monumental. Like, I cannot think of another album that is more indicative of, like, a end of an era. Like, not, I'm not talking about like centipede hurts. Like, I'm talking, like, big level pop record. This is the end of what was before and a time to come. So I like Oasis.

do I think more, I think we're reached kind of a critical mass of hardcore bands trying to rip them off. But yeah, I'm pro Oasis generally. I just want stupid shit these days. Yeah, I feel like a lot of people have actually had the same trajectory that you have, where,

and this is just based on feedback I've gotten from my piece this week, but I heard from a lot of people who were like, I hated Oasis at the time, but I've really come to love them in retrospect. And I think it's because, no one has really taken over their lane since they ended. That there isn't really a band that is so shameless about embracing rock cliches

while also just being huge. Like they're not doing it in an ironic way and, you know, playing indie rock clubs and doing it in a small scale way. As you see some indie bands who do that, who embrace classic rock, but like they're not really a classic rock band. This is a band that aped, that stuff, and then they actually played stadiums.

And there's a swagger to them. There's a ridiculousness to them. And it's combined with like genuinely catchy songs that are really durable that I think have actually transcended the era in a way that I think a lot of brick pop doesn't. You know, I think even people who love blur, I think blur sounds very 90s. And Oasis has 90sness aspects to what they do. but at the same time, I think because of how even in the 90s, they were sort of like a retro band.

It's actually made them seem more timeless for that reason. And the fact that they broke up and there's always this chance that they might get back together. I don't know. I think there's like a lot of affection for them. And if they were to come back, there wouldn't be anyone for them to compete with because there's still like not that kind of band.

out there where they're going to make you laugh unintentionally and also make you laugh on purpose. Because they're genuinely funny, the Gallagher brothers. Like the first thing I wrote about in my column, it's the 50th song. It's not really an oasis song, but it's that track, Whibbling Rivalry,

which was a novelty release in England in 1995. It's a recording of Liam and Noel having a fight during an interview with an NME writer in 1994. It goes on for 14 minutes, and it's fucking hilarious. They're arguing about Liam getting kicked off a ferry in Amsterdam and about whether it's rock and roll to get kicked off of fairies. And it goes on for so long, and it's so funny. And, you know, there's just not a band like that where people are arguing and they're kind of dumb,

but they're also, like, pretty smart, too, because they're clever. I don't know. I just think that in combined with, I think, some genuinely timeless songs, it just makes them a band that I think has really aged much better than maybe you would have thought in 1995. I think they really translate as well as any band from that era. In a way, they remind me of Spanishing Pumpkins in that way, because they're another band that I think has aged really well

and has aged better than other 90s bands that were more acclaimed in their time. I would agree with that, although I will say that I, when you say age, I don't think Billy Corgan's whole deal has aged very well. Well, yeah, the music, of course. The music, yeah, like that people can go back to it, like, and younger people can go back to it and appreciate it more than maybe other stuff from that era that would have been, again, more acclaimed at the time. And, yeah, in the case of Oasis, again, like, there's just no band like that.

now. Is that entertaining in that specific way? There's great bands now, but they're not great in the same way that Oasis was great. So I think that's why they continue to endure and gain new fans. Hopefully, like, some rock bands are like reading up on this and just like, hey, maybe just like, let's just be like kind of dumb and shit. Like, I mean, I don't mean in that way. Like, they're obviously very clever and they're good at what they do. But yeah, there's, I just love when you look at like Oasis live footage and like the most exciting band in the world in 1995 is just standately fucking still on stage in enormous with their hands in their park. I would also, we got to recommend the Supersonic documentary that came out.

I want to say in 2016, I remember driving to Cincinnati to see it because that was the only place that was showing it in the Lexington Metro region. it does end with them playing Nebworth and cuts off before they make be here now but yeah just a really cool view of what it was like to be like literally the biggest band in the world in 1995

and I'd also say to and I included a link to this in my piece but there is a great YouTube video of highlights from the commentary track that Noel did on the Time Flies box set where it's just him

talking about Oasis videos. And in a way, I feel like that's the best Oasis documentary out there. It's a 20-minute clip. I have that box set, so I have the entire disc, and the entire disc is great. But you really only need that 20 minutes, because it is the highlights.

And it's just, yeah, it's just Noel roasting Oasis videos. And it's just sides-splittingly funny. So, yeah, see Supersonic, but if you don't have that time to commit to a two-hour movie, watch that 20- minute video, you will not be sorry.

You've now reached the part of our episode that we call Recommendation Corner, where Ian and I talk about something that we're into this week. Ian, want you to go first? Yeah, so this is very much up the Indiecast alley. It's a band called Spielbergs. They came out with a record in 2019 that was extremely celebration rock, not just like in the fact that it sort of sounded like Japan droids, but like other bands in that elk as well. and even better.

They were kind of like an older band from Norway, like in the late 2000s. Some of them were in kind of a orchestral blog rock band that opened for Yeasayer. So that sort of pivot from blog rock to Celebration Rock always makes me feel warm inside. But they're back now. They have a new album called Vestly. It's V-E-S-T-L-I. I don't know if that's how it's pronounced.

They're Norwegian. But look, they were unfashionable in 2019, probably even more so now, to the point where I'm like kind of wondering, hey, are people going to be checking for this one? But the thing is, this record is even better than the one before. It's not like they make a huge, you know, leap into electronics and like nine-minute songs, but it's just a stronger, more distinct version of what they did before. And nobody is operating in this lane right now. It is so hard to get that celebration rock sound without being kind of embarrassing.

But this band does it. It's done in a very artful way. It's done in a very crafty way. And if, I mean, let's be fucking real here. If you listen to IndyCash, you're going to like this band. So, I mean, like, like, this band sounds like bands that you like. It sounds like bands that we like. Good folks, too.

I've interviewed them back in the day. Yeah, so I recommend this album. It'll give you what you need. So for my recommendation, I want to say quick that I'm sure that there were people listening to us talk about legacy acts that have a new album out today that were upset that we didn't talk about Cass McCombs, who has a new album out today. It's called HeartMind. And the reason we didn't talk about it is because I am recommending it and recommendation corner. So delete your email, your angry email that you're going to write. about us, not talking about Cass McCombs. I'm talking about him right now because I'm a big

Cass McCombs fan and I really like this record. And of course, this is his 10th record. So Cass, again, another lifer, another big catalog. I have to say that I didn't really get into him until the 2010s. He put out two records in 2011. One was called Humor Risk and the other one was called Witsend. And that was really the beginning of me getting into his records. So I'm much more familiar with like the last six albums that he's put out more than like the first four that he put out in the odds. I'm still exploring those. I do like the record catacombs quite a bit, but like the ones before that I still need to explore more fully. But someone asked me this week, I have an ask of music critic column on uprocks this week. And one of the questions was about Cass McCombs. Someone was wondering,

has he passed the five albums test? And I was like, absolutely, he's it, he at least had six albums that I think are really, really good all in a row, the last six basically that he's made. And because I haven't fully investigated his catalog, the streak might be longer than that. But the thing I'll say about this album is that in recent years, over the past, I would say maybe his last two or three records, he's really taken more of like a jammy turn, really spotlighting his guitar playing in a really cool way. And I would say that this album is somewhat of a departure from that. It has, I think, an element of jamminess to it, almost like jazziness, I would say. There's not as much guitar.

But again, really good songs. He's a really interesting lyricist. Definitely not someone you can take at face value. A lot of different things going on. But again, this is a guy who I think continues to evolve. He's never made the same album twice. This album is definitely in its own world. I mean, there's guest shots from everyone from Daniel Heim to Wynonna Judd on this record.

So he's really drawn from like a wide cast of characters for this record. But in the end, it's still indelibly Cass McComb. So I did not forget him. I wanted to save him for the end for the recommendation corner. Definitely check out this record. It's out today. It's called Heart Mind. It's by Cass McCombs.

And true deformed fashion, my favorite, you know, kind of simple. Lord of the Mountain Goats and Hot Ship discussions. My favorite is catacombs. I love that record. I need to get it deeper into that one. The last decade for him has been really, really great for me. I've really come to enjoy everything that he does. Also a really good live act.

He always seems to put together cool bands. Although he's not coming to my town on his next tour, which is sad. I would have gone to see him, but be that as it may. We have now reached the end of our episode. Thank you so much for listening. We'll be back with more news and reviews and hashing out trends next week. And if you're looking for more music recommendations, sign up for the Indie Mix tape newsletter. You can go to uprocks.com backslash indie, and I recommend five albums per week, and we'll send it directly to your email box.