Indiecast - Lucy Dacus, Lightning Bug + Faye Webster

Episode Date: June 25, 2021

Lucy Dacus! Modest Mouse! Pom Pom Squad! Tyler, The Creator! Lightning Bug! Free Throw! Faye Webster! All of these albums drop today, and that’s just the beginning of the list. Steve and Ian got in front of this week’s onslaught of releases by discussing the new Modest Mouse LP in last week’s episode. Even with advance preparation, it was difficult to choose just two albums to dig into this week, so they decided to tack on a third. The latest efforts from Lucy Dacus, Lightning Bug, and Faye Webster stand above the rest of the laundry list of releases this week, marking creative high points for all three artists.In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is digging Butterfly 3000, the latest in a string of 2021 releases from prolific Australian outfit King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Steve wants to spread the good word about The Veiled Sea, the new effort from indie jam band Six Organs Of Admittance.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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Indycast is presented by Uprox's indie mixtape. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Indycast. 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'll be talking about new albums by Lucy Dakesh, Lightning Bug, and Faye Webster. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host, Ian Cohen. Ian, how are you? You know, some days you just wake up, ready to talk about Rooney.

And that's, you know, today is one of those days. And look, in my defense... Rooney. What was Rooney? What's the Rooney news? Okay, so in my defense, I've been working on a very in-depth piece for Uprocks.com about a band that is highly correlated with VOC. And so, you know, that stuff's been on my mind a lot of late. And, you know, for me, the definitive episode of that show, in my mind, is not one that involves, you know, Phantom Planet or Death Cab. But this is how I remember this episode, so I'm just going to assume this is the way it

actually happened. But Rooney is on the show, and a Rooney concert is a major, major plot point. Every third or fourth word out of the cast's mouth happens to be Rooney. Like, hey, you guys going to the Rooney Show? No, I can't go to the Rooney Show. The Rooney tickets are sold out of the Rooney Show. Wow, of course it is because it's true. This is how it goes.

And I just love that episode because I've recognized lately that it, that it standardized a TV trope of when you get a band to guest star in a show and everyone just seems like inordinately excited about their presence. Wasn't that like 902 and O though? Like I remember 902 and O had the episode where Flaming Lips. Yeah, the Flaming Lips play the Peach Pit, inexplicably. So I think they laid the groundwork. but then, which by the way, the O.C, I've never seen an episode of the O.C. We're going to have, this is going to be, that's going to be your billions. Like, you're going to do this and like every episode you're going to come, like,

I'm going to have to ask you how you're doing, and then you're going to breathlessly retell about, like, the one time they played this Rogue Wave song that you've forgotten. But, you know, that actually sounds perfect. I, that seems like a good summertime watch to dig into the O.C. So I think I might do that. I mean, I know enough. just from being in pop culture to know some OC references. So I know, like, was Seth Cohen?

Was he actually in Rooney? Like, was he a member of Rooney? No, but I feel like Rooney was invented as like a fake band that was on the O.C. And then they became like a real band. Like they were the monkeys of early Outs. Indy. Yeah, something like that. Oh, the Heights.

Yes. Oh, man. Lots of good Heights references, by the way, because of that musical in the Heights. I like seeing Who's the main guy in that band? Jamie something? Yeah. Jamie, not Jamie Kennedy.

No. Some other Jamie guy. I know exactly you're talking about and like I'm really failing on some even for an episode where I'm like coming off hot talking about Rooney. I failed in remembering some guys. But you know this I've thought about this Rooney episode

because like I see it pop up more nowadays. Like for example, that mayor of East Town episode where they are like, hey, you're going to the Boy Genius concert. And of course, all the internet salutes are realizing absolutely no way Boy Genius was playing shows in 2019 because it's a universe where Madigan Pussy's album, Patience Exists. And also, like, if I'm setting up the chess pieces here, Steve, you might recognize this as like a very Chuck Rhodes ax type move. I finally saw the episode of Billions where after the huge capital raising, after the huge capital raising event, all the finance bros go to a club and they see their favorite band the Hold Steady.

You know, I was going to mention this episode when you were talking about getting into billions, but I'm like, no, I'm going to let this be a surprise for Ian that the Hold Steady shows up. And do they play a song? Do they show them playing a song? I can't remember. It's one I couldn't immediately identify which song. It was... Was it like a new song?

I would imagine. It definitely was post-stay positive because I know those songs. But, yeah, it was, it's just like, yeah, what, I mean, I know Bobby Axelrod is really into, like, Motorhead and Megadeth. And, you know, he does seem in some ways a potential Hold Steady fan. But it's just the best part is, like, all the finance bros and fleece vests rocking out to this, like, new Hold Steady song. I mean, as a Hold Steady, like, super fancy, I think it's fair to identify you. is that, like, do you feel a certain type of way about, like, the possibility of that being the whole steady crowd, or are you just happy that Greg Finn got paid?

Definitely the latter. I'm happy to see them get some exposure, and hopefully they made a good chunk of change from that. I don't know if they're going to get residuals from that, but hopefully Craig and, you know, Tad and Franz Nicolet, hopefully they're cashing some checks from that show. Franz was in that episode, so I guess. Oh, yeah. You've got to have Franz in there. I mean, you know, it's funny you bring up the Mayor of East Town thing with the Boy Genius show and like how that was outside of their tour cycle. So it somehow breaks the verisimilitude of that show because it would be quite accurate. Like perhaps you would say, I'm going to see a Julian Baker solo show in 2019. I think she was on tour at that time. But, you know, I could question whether the Hold Steady would be playing a private event for like a high-powered hedge fund.

I heard Deer Hunter would do things like that. You know, which, again, God bless them. I mean, play whatever show you want if that's going to help, you know, put food on the table. But I'd be curious to ask Craig Finn, actually, if he's ever actually done that in real life, if the Holds that he gets those kind of gigs. I can see that. You know, they're a dude band, you know, for lack of a better term.

So the high-powered atmosphere of a hedge fund. You throw on separation Sunday after at the end of a long workday, it could happen. Cranking and banking is a good hold steady song name. Like I actually know people who use that term unironically because they do work in hedge funds. But it's just like, I listen to the whole steady because it reminds me of those times in college where I was like, you know, doing Coke behind the, you know, at the E school or something like that. And now like it does, there is this element of like. nostalgia for like your crazier times like I don't it's not a knock against the whole steady that finance dudes might be into it but oh yeah absolutely I mean

come on also also I got to the episode where they played like gang of youths twice so there you go we should bring up I don't know if this is breaking news I saw Brian Coppulman tweet that Billions is coming back September 5th so I don't know if we're gonna need a special indie cast you know weekly recast that in succession like hopefully those two shows don't overlap when they come back, because otherwise we're just like fully pivoting to TV recaps and also probably like expanding our

suspending our listenership by like multitudes. They're like blur. I don't know if this has been talked about a whole lot. I've seen some chatter about it, but billions in secession, that is like the blur and oasis of, you know, shows about finance right now. Billions is definitely

the oasis of the... Oh, no question. It's hardier. It's like, you know, the hoisting the pint band versus the more maybe say esoteric band or like the hipper band. I love both shows. I think they're both amazing shows. I don't want to spoil the mood here of our opening banter segment, but I feel like we should do a quick shout out to our boy Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 who announced that

he has been undergoing chemotherapy for the last few months. He has been diagnosed with cancer. I don't know what kind. I don't know if he said what kind of cancer. Yeah, I don't know the answer to that off top. But I think he posted a statement on Instagram and he was very frank. He deleted it too, I think, though. Oh, did he?

I mean, he basically said, you know, I'm scared, but I'm hopeful about the future. I mean, very honest. I think it's how anyone would feel in that situation. But shout out to Mark Hop is sending him good vibes from Indycast. I know there's a lot of people in the Indycast community who grew up listening to Blink 182. Maybe you still love that band. But hope he feels better soon. Yeah, I'm pulling for him as well.

Like from all accounts, just like a really nice guy. And I'm also interested and I'm not to be like morbid or like make light of it. But like if, you know, blink 182 is going to like do a blink 182 type album about cancer where like the songs are about like him shitting his pants and like how he can't get a boner under chemotherapy or if they're going to like lean into like the wrist. Rubin direction for like this meditation on mortality that results in this like re-appraisal of like a serious re-appraisal of Blink 182. At the very least, I just hope he gets better first and foremost. But you know, you know this guy does like he pulls from his life to talk about like whatever's going on. So the Blink 182 cancer album, it's like when Joey Ramon made one like that, I think back in the day. Like when he would- See, I wonder if he'll go the opposite direction and make,

a totally old school silly Blink 1.82 album. Like, I'm happy I'm alive. I don't want to dwell on the darkness in my life. So let's just go back to like 1997 and run around naked in public. You know, maybe, so it could be that. Which in a way, I hope he goes in that direction more than like the, you know, black and white acoustic strip down Rick Rubin record. I don't think anyone wants that. you know, that's not their strengths. You want to hear them.

It's the joie de vivre. That's what people love that band. You hear that band and you're happy. And so he's given a lot of happiness to people, Mark Hopas. So we wish him the best, sending him good vibes. Hope he's feeling better and is back playing shows soon. This is like, this is something that I totally missed. And we don't have to talk about this for very long.

But my friend texted me this morning And he's like, have you heard the Weezer song Where they make fun of music critics? And this came out like two weeks ago. This was like an hour after we finished recording the episode for that week. Now, I wrote... He calls out pitchfork by name, Rivers Cuomo. Yeah, he really does.

And, you know, it's... I'm glad you did bring this up because this past week, what I've been doing is I've deleted Twitter off my phone and blocked it at work. And, you know, the one, like, I know that... Really? Was this like an intervention type thing? Where you feel like you run too much?

Yeah, I mean, look, I've been feeling that way ever since I've been on Twitter. But, you know, I'm like... And I... And my mood immediately improves. Like, I'm far more folks that work. But, you know, the reason... And, like, this is so humiliating for a 41-year-old to explain to people around them. Like, the reason I hadn't done it earlier is that, like, I'm scared that I'll miss out

on like certain news that like I need to be on Twitter for my job and lo and behold you text me last night about hey did you should we talk about like Mark Hopas getting like a cancer diagnosis and I'm like I had no idea and lo and behold like you missed this one from two weeks ago so like I got to be real man I'm going to continue down this path but it's good that we have a two person operation just so nothing falls through the net because otherwise like our banter but it did fall through the net because we haven't, this seems like this should have been discussed on our show already. And now it feels like old news. Yeah, but like, it dropped. It's like when an album drops in like December and you don't know whether like it's too late for one year end list, but like you forget about it by the next one. This was like quite literally like noon on Thursday. So it was the longest possible time before the next recording of Indycast. So but I mean was was this a big deal on, I did not see. one mention of this at all. Literally my front texted me this morning and he was

saying like, oh yeah, like are you going to reconsider your career now because Rivers Cuomo was calling out music critics and I was like, I assumed it was a new song but then I looked it up and it was like, oh this is like from two weeks ago. Like where was I when this dropped? I mean, Wieser put out... A lot of music. Yeah, have they put out like two records this year? Yeah. And we haven't talked about either one

of them. Yes, we have. We did. We did. Did we? I think I'm pretty sure we did. Like, I think that's saying a lot. We did talk about, I think we talked about OK Human, the orchestral one. We did not talk about Van Weezer because why, like, let's, you know, not dignify to Weiser. Oh, look, I'm like falling into the trap and next thing you know, there's going to be a Weezer song about Indycast and that. Oh, that'd be great.

Oh, my God. Actually, you know what I was listening? I wouldn't put it past them, to be honest. Someone said to Rivers Rivers, we know you like billions. There's this indie rock podcast where they talk about billions a lot. It's called Indiecast.

You should check it out. Rivers is like, oh, that should be great. So he starts listening and all of a sudden, he's like, what the fuck? They're like talking about, they're talking about me. Yeah, exactly. And also like I reviewed OK Human.

I did not review Van Weezer. So I'm like wondering, it's like, wait a minute. Oh wait. Is Rivers Cuomo mad at like me? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Wait a second. So, wait, you reviewed OK Human for Pitchfork? I did.

So he's obviously talking about you. This song is about you. Well, I mean, it could be any number, like, it could be any number of people. I bet it's at least you. Maybe like Sam Sadamsky, did he write a review of a Weasel record? Probably. He might be in there. Maybe some other people.

This is like, I need that gift. of Tim Heidecker's mind being blown. Not Tim Hedcker, the other dude. Eric, Eric Warham's mind being blown right now. Because this adds another dimension to this story that you reviewed

possibly, like, this might have been the review that sent Rivers Cuomo over the edge. Because Weasers been, because Weaser, I think, I think when Pitchfork did their new search engine for their reviews, so they did like,

who has the lowest, cumulative score. Weezer was definitely one. Yeah, I think Weezer was maybe number one or they were top five. Yeah, because I've reviewed, I've reviewed quite a, it appears that I'm looking at the archives, it appears that I've reviewed quite a few Weiser records over my time. So there's strong circumstantial evidence that Rivers Cuomo wrote this song about you. Great. This is, this is unbelievable. Yeah, great. Like, I'm like going back to like 1995 for me and saying, hey dude River like here's the good news

Rivers Cuomo is going to write a he's going to know you're alive and write a song about you oh what's the downside I'm look man it's like I'm mute man one year you know some years you get proto martyr some years you get Weezer it's just

oh man that's just that's how it is I'm just imagining like Rivers in the studio you know they're making okay human and they're like okay Ian Cohen's gonna like this way this is going to be our this is going to be our first you know

BNM in a long time and then he reads it and is like, what the fuck? I can't make this guy happy. I'm going to write a song about this. When I gave Pinkerton a 10 when I reviewed it, like when I viewed the reissue. But also, it appears I gave Death the False Medal with 3.5 in that very same review. So you might have been generous. Yeah. You might have been overly generous with that.

What did OK human get? I believe a five, it looks like a 5.9. Well, you know, Rivers. Yeah. You can't be too upset about that. You can do a lot worse. Let's be honest, Rivers. Yeah.

Do you think it's how much better than a 5.9? Do you think that record was? Who's to say? Yeah. Maybe, you know, I think. Well, Van Weezer got a lower score, so. What did Van Wiser get? 5-8.

So, Evan Ritluski, man, you know, you need to check. Watch your back, man. Maybe that's about you. Yeah. Maybe that was the last one. Maybe they were like, oh, not. Now even Ian Cohen isn't reviewing our records anymore. Like, oh, screw this.

I'm going to write a song about this. Oh, man, I'm glad I brought this up because I really feel like this, there's some legitimacy to this theory that maybe Rivers Cuomo was thinking about you when you wrote that song. Outstanding. Which, hats off to you, if that's the case. Yeah. I've really made my mark on this world.

You know, we've been talking for several minutes about this, uh, weas are something that came out two weeks ago. Which is insane because this is like a easily the most stacked release day of the year. Yeah, or maybe of like several years. I mean, like, I've like kind of lost track of everything. Like, you know, Lucy Dacus, we're obviously talking about that's like the big one. But like there's also a lot of like kind of, I don't want to say post boy genius, but like a lot of artists where I'm thinking, you know what,

if I were 25 and like really still at the bleeding edge of like, like popular indie rock. Like I would have no idea what to do with myself because there's, you know, Fay Webster who we'll talk about later. There's, you know, two acts called Squirrel Flower and Maple Glider who are different bands, but, you know, they're still kind of in that sort of folky, like sort of post-Tomberlin sort of vibe, Pompom Squad, who's now not beefing with Olivia Rodriguez, but people are bringing up the similarities of her, like, Death of a Cheerleader, sort of, you know,

multimedia presentation with that of Olivia Rodriguez. So there's all... That was something that we could have talked about. Yeah. I don't know if we want to... We need to gather more information on that one. Andy cast investigation into that growing beef. Rodriguez versus pom-pom.

Well, I think it's... Palm-Pong squad. Yeah, Pompon Squad. I think it's an invented sort of beef because, like, people... Like, look, I mean, cheerleader and high school, like, prom queen, iconography, are very, you know, prominent. Like, you're definitely not the first or the last will utilize it. And also, it's just like people were saying that Olivia Rodriguez, like, more pop

punk-punk-leaning songs were kind of similar to, say, Pom-Pom Squad or Illuminati. So, I mean, it's people drawing from the same well of inspiration. But, like, look, this is just how it is now. Well, you know, what about whole celebrity skin? Yeah, exactly. You've got the prom imagery right there. The prime prom. Like, it's 30 years ago.

Exactly. So, yeah, I mean, but that's, you know, those are albums that, like, in any... Let's live through this, not celebrity. I'm sorry, I think I'm correct myself, let's live through this and that's celebrity skin. Yeah. Sorry about that. Yeah. Any given week, these would be like, you know, the, I'd say like this is like the next generation of, like, bands that will appear on the, you know, three o'clock indie rock slot on festivals.

There's also hiatus coyote who's like the little dragon, like on every single festival type acts. There's Spelling, who's like one of those acts where they're on sacred bones and they sound like Kate Bush. So, you know, it's certain, you know, so there's that kind of artist. Also, Tyler the Creator has a new album out, which is going to be bigger than all these combined. But, you know, we still haven't heard that one yet. And also, like, Mountain Goats, his golden messenger. I mean, you know, I think it's hilarious that like all these bands that we've mentioned so far is being, you know, the reason this is such a stack week. like not a single one of them is just like a dude and a rock band you know there's yes there's like

his golden messenger and mountain goats and like all this other stuff that you would assume would be like indie cast core but i i think it just kind of speaks to um how things have flipped just in the past couple of years where it's like yeah this like you know the a dude with a guitar is really not at all the um you know the primary source of indie rock or just indy cultures. I mean, it's the only, I'm trying to think of who are like the hyped guitar rock bands. And there's certainly bands of that. Ice Age, of course.

Well, I was going to say Ice Age, I think, is the one that gets the Dap from like a lot of these indie sites, which is a very interesting predicament here. I'll shout out that his Golden Messager record. I think that's a good record, quietly blowing it. That's coming out today. I'd recommend that. Mountain goats are interesting because they're probably

the ultimate example of a band that I feel like I should love. And I've tried with them. And I respect what John Daniel does. I think he's a good writer. But the albums just have not connected with me ever before. And I hope that changes

because they have a huge catalog and I've tried with them. But yeah, it just hasn't really connected with me in the past. But good luck to them. You know, they have a new record. They put out like four records in the last, I think, year and a half.

Yeah. They've been super busy. Yeah. Yeah. I don't doubt that, I do not doubt that John Donnell would get more prolific in COVID time. Yeah, absolutely. Also, also shout to his golden messenger for like, for the fact that, you know, he was in like a Golita, California screamo band called Exignata. I believe that's how it's pronounced.

Like, I just think it's so fucking funny. the old school screamo to like chill country artist pipeline you know it's very real like I do want like maybe like the guys and like Albert the nerd or whatever are gonna like make like very uh you know stu very very uh you know sincere country rock in like five years so I'm look what's his name MC Taylor is that his name I believe so yeah I mean he lives in North Carolina so I feel like if you're hanging out in North Carolina you want to play an acoustic guitar at some point I mean, it just seems like that would be a great environment to sit on your porch and write beautiful country folk songs. I mean, I don't really want to scream my head off, I think, if I'm looking at mountains and beautiful green life and all that sorts of things.

You know, it's interesting to me that this is such a stacked day because it's inconvenient for one thing for people like us that are in the music criticism content creation business because looking ahead to July, you know, there's some fallow release days in that people. period. I think at some point we're going to, we might have to talk about like a new bare naked ladies album, uh, in July. Yeah. Are they ready for that? Because like, I feel like there's been like a reappraisal or like a refurbishing of like any, like, of every band possible. Like Scott, Scots happen, new metal, like, bare naked ladies are like, that is a, that is, that is a, that is a long play to use the, uh, the, the, the, the billions terminology. I think that's how it is. Their, their upcoming album is called detour, defa.

force. I think it comes out July 9th or maybe the 16th. So, I don't, maybe I've actualized us actually talking about the Bare Naked Ladies album on this show. I mean, I said that as a joke, but I think I've actually brought it into the world. This is like a Muse Second Law type situation, I think, with that album. But anyway, I just wonder if people were looking ahead and thinking, like, well, what's going to be a date where maybe we'll be coming out of COVID?

and people will be ready to listen to new music again. Why don't we just throw... How about June 25th? I think we'll probably be good by then. And like everyone had that same idea. So now you just get like a dozen records that we might otherwise have spent more time talking about on this show, but because there's so much coming out today

that we can't maybe spend as much time as we would otherwise. I mean, do you find yourself like preferring days where there's just like a ton of music to listen to? to and like it just drums up like excitement to just be a music fan in general or is it like no this is too much I'm going to like lose track of everything I want to listen to. Well you know I tend I mean I'm I'm forced to pay attention to release dates because of the business I'm in you know this is the business I've chosen to quote hymen Roth but um typically when I'm just like a music fan I don't really care that much about when music comes out it's not as if oh it came out

today, so I have to listen to it today. And then never again after that. I kind of like the idea of having an album that, like, oh, this came out last month, but I've heard this is good. So now I'm going to devote my time to it. I know I've heard people talk about how, you know, among the things that are broken about music writing is that we're so fixated on release days and that it'd be nice to be able to write about albums a month or two later when you've had more time to listen to them and

think about them, which I think sounds great in theory. The problem is that it doesn't seem like people want to read that stuff. You know, it's very hard to get the eyeballs on things, on pieces that aren't tied to a release date. It's like we're all brainwashed by this promo cycle and that includes readers, too. Or else you just look like you're behind the times, like us, talking about the Weezer song, two weeks late. So, I don't know.

But we'll see. I mean, there's lots of music coming out today. We might not get to it all. Definitely one. Life is long. We can catch up with it at some other point. But for now, we have to get to our mailbag segment. And if you want to write us an email, we always love hearing from you.

You can reach us at indecastmailbag.com. Please hit us up. I wanted to talk about this reader question, which, by the way, comes from Nick and Boston. Have you ever to Boston person? I don't know if we have. I don't think so. It might be the first Bostonian. It seems like the sort of town that we'd be popular in.

Oh, absolutely. I'm surprised that we haven't had a Bostonian yet. Maybe we have. We just didn't remember. But I wanted to pick this one because Nick is asking about the Just Like Heaven Festival, which that was popping up on Twitter this week. Lots of jokes about this lineup because it's, I mean, it's essentially like a millennial oldies festival in a way you could say. I mean, you have modest mouse, the shins, both bands that we talked about, Interpol.

We talked about Modus Mouse and the Shins on our last episode. Like, M.I.A. I don't have the festival lineup in front of me, but it's all... Yeah, it's got wolf parades doing the apologies to the Queen Mary in full. Yeah, I mean, you got Franz Ferdinand, Chromio, Santee Gold copy, the Hives, I mean, islands, the Raven Nets, Peaches, the Go team, the Cribs, Island. I mean, this is, what a lineup. Yeah. And I made a joke about it.

I think my joke was that it's called Just Like Heaven because when an old millennial dies, this is the festival that they see in heaven. Right. But just because I made a joke about it, it doesn't mean that I wouldn't go to this festival. You can make self-deprecating jokes about being old and also enjoy. this music. I don't think that's mutual exclusive. But anyway, let's read this question. He's a long letter, so I'm going to edit it a little bit here in real time.

He's just talking about how he listened to like a lot of older albums during COVID just for a sense of comfort. Then he brought up this festival and he said, full disclosure, I'm a 33 year old white guy, so the Just Like Heaven Festival is very much my shit. When the festival was originally announced back in 2019,

the refrain on music critic Twitter was very similar to this time around, a bunch of low-hanging fruit jokes interspersed with a few begrudging admissions of wanting to attend. To be clear, any and all joking about this festival lineup is completely fair game, and even as someone who definitely will attend this festival, or I would if I didn't live 3,000 miles away, I am at least self-aware enough to acknowledge how profoundly uncool this thing is. So my question is, are there any band's album somewhere on the scale from profoundly uncool to didn't age well that provide you a sense of escapism. Keep up the great work with the podcast.

So he's asking, like, what is the uncool music that we listen to for escapism? That's the question there. But he also brought up this festival, which people were joking about. But, I mean, I feel like you and I are on the same page with this. We've talked about this in the past with music festivals that, for me, for me personally, You know, music festival, it's not a great place really to see a band. You can't hear it very well. It's crowded.

Soutelines are bad. Typically, for me, it's more about the atmosphere. You go there because it's a good time. Like, the best festivals I've been to just had the best vibe. It was in a cool setting. You were with a good group of people. Maybe, you know, they were good drink deals or whatever. So in that environment, I tend to want comfort food.

Because I just want to hear songs I know. I want to have a good time. If it's a new band, I want to see them in a time. club. I want to see them in a theater so I can actually hear what they're doing. But if I'm just at a festival, like this lineup sounds perfect to me. Because like I'm going to know a lot of songs. I'm going to get excited to hear songs. And yeah, I think it's what you want. And I'm sure this festival, like, did it sell out? I mean, it's doing really well, isn't it? Yeah. When I went in 2019, like, the same exact thing happened. It was, yeah, yeah, yeah, as played as did Phoenix.

Jam T, Passion Pit, and like, the lineup got released. People were like, ha, ha, ha, ha, like, what a bunch of, what, like, LOL, Pitchfork Fest, 2009, but in 2019. And it sold out so quickly in its first weekend. They actually had a second weekend. And I went, and it was a good time, man. It's like, like, like we've talked about it with many festivals. The ones that really, usually, like, suck are the ones that try to, like, recreate Coachella without the, you know, without the destination appeal, without the, you know, the finances and so forth.

And, you know, A, I'm so, like, this was a good time. It was, yes, like people in their 30s, like feeling like they were seen. But also, there are a lot of young people as well because, I mean, like, you have to, you have to recognize, like, maybe these are the bands that they like that 12 years old, you know, because many people are like, oh, this is what I listen to in college. But, you know, there's always the younger, cooler generation. and it was just a good vibe all around. Well, these are like classic rock bands too. Like Interpol, I mean, in Modest Mouse, I mean, we talked about Miles Mouse last week. They put out their first record in 1996.

Like, if you were born in the year 2000, you know, they're like you too to you, I'm sure. You know what I mean? Like, it's a similar type of life. They've been around your whole life. So maybe this is the first time. They're like, oh, I love the Lonesome Crowd of West. This is the first time I get to see Modis Mouse. This is going to be great.

Or I love Turn on the Bright Lights and I'm going to finally get to see them. in the same way, I was excited to see the Rolling Stones when I was 16, even though, like, they were in their 50s. Just like all these bands now are approaching 50. Yeah, I just really wonder with these, like, what people are trying to get across when they, if they talk about, like, how lame it is for, like, you know, people who are, like, 35 to 45 to be actually enjoying the music they grew up on. I mean, the one thing I was wondering about, though, is how the bands themselves feel about it.

Like, I was kind of told on the low that in 2019, like, None of the bands were really made aware of, like, what the concept of the festival was. And you could kind of tell as they were playing. Like, I know Peter, Bjorn and John were, like, super, like, come see us play two hours tomorrow night instead of five minutes because they were playing San Diego the next night. But I think, or Grizzly Bear, like, some bands were, like, kind of bummed out that it was like this nostalgia fest. But, yeah, I'm just, I'm happy that it's back. It's near me. It's at the Rose Bowl.

So, you know, I'm definitely going to go. Yeah, and also as far as like the stuff that I listen to for a sense of escapism, I found that I'm so critic mine that I can't really turn off, like everything I'm listening to, I'm like, can this be reassessed? Can this be like, you know, it's always an angle. But nowadays I find myself when I'm really one of escape, I listen to like early 90s or like mid-90s electronic music, be it like orbital or like boards of Canada. because in some ways it sounds like dated because electronic music evolved so quickly.

But it just provides me the escapism of like thinking about if what would have happened if I had like turned into like a raver in high school because that was a very real possibility. I had some friends who were putting me on to Apex Twin and Chemical Brothers and they ended up, you know, getting going to the University of Vermont for college and I think getting into hard drugs. It's like, man, maybe what if I was listening to like rave music instead of Weezer? Where would my life have taken me? Yeah, exactly. It's a fork in the road type situation or sliding doors situation. Yes, exactly. With electronic music.

Yeah, I was going to say it in regards to the escapism question, I feel like my brand as a music critic, and I think this is true for you too, Ian as well, is that we tend to write about artists that are considered uncool, and we defend them. You know, like, that's the, we both have spent a big part of our careers doing that. So it's not really even. things that I would do on the download. I feel like this is front-loaded in what I do as a writer.

So I don't know if that question really applies. I mean, the closest thing that I have to what you're talking about where you're listening to these electronic records from the 90s is that I've been on this kick where I listen to Boomer Rock from the 80s on cassette. Like when I get done working, I have like a little half-hour decompressed time where I put on headphones and I'll listen to like Building the Perfect Beast by Don Henley or I'm Alive by Jackson, Brown. Basically, like, all of this, like, uh, you know, corporate soft rock that, like, Tom Brian in his stereo gum column, which I'm sure everyone who listens to us, they read that column. It's a very beloved column. Yeah, shout to Tom Brian. But he always shits on that stuff,

like Steve Winwood or like, uh, any of that corporate rock from, from the 80s. I respect that, though. Tom's got, he has this point of view. Tom's got like some, yeah, he's got some hateer opinions, which I respect the hell out of because those are really hard to But I have to say, like, whenever I see that, I'm always like, I want to reach out to StereoGum and, you know, if there's some sort of, like, equal time provision in music criticism, if I could have, like, a chance to rebut what Tom is saying. Because I know that every time there's going to be, like, a soft rock number one, that Tom's going to hate it. And I'm like, come on, man, higher love, Steve Winwood. Think about it. There must be higher love.

I mean, come on. I want to be able to defend those lame guys. in sports jackets who were like 45 and having number one songs in the 80s. So open invitation to stereo gum, by the way. Bring me on. I want to do a little counterpoint to Tom for his column so I can defend the lame corporate rockers of the 80s

on that site. So anyway, that would be the closest thing for me to escapism. But again, I think anyone who follows me or listens to the show would not be surprised that I, from time to time, listen to Building the Perfect Beast on Cassette. set in my office for enjoyment. That seems very much probably what people would expect from me. Let's move on to the meat of our episode. We have three records here that we're going to be talking

about. The big record, I guess, certainly in indie rock circles coming out today, is Home Video by Lucy Dacus. This is her third record. Of course, Lucy Dacis is a singer-songwriter, originally from Richmond, Virginia. She really started to become known, I think, with her second record, Historian, which came out in 2018. A little bit after that, she joined Boy Genius with Julian Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, and that really raised her profile. And I would say, you know,

for looking at the personality types in Boy Genius, you know, Julian Baker is the emotionally intense, cathartic member of the band. Phoebe Bridgers, I think, is the most charismatic member of the band, certainly the biggest star at this point. But I think that with Home Video, Lucy Dacus has really established herself as the best writer of her cohort. And I think really, like, one of the best songwriters of her generation.

And I think what really sets her apart as a writer is her ability as a storyteller. You listen to her songs, and I read about this in my review, I think there's, like, a cinematic quality to a lot of her songs. Like, you can hear them and you can see them unfold in your head. She's very good at describing scenes in her songs. I think maybe the most praised or love track from home video is the song Thumbs that she's been performing live for a few years where she describes this meeting between a friend of hers and her wayward father that, again, you hear this song and you

can just see it unfold in your mind. It's very well drawn. It feels like a short story or a film. And I think that she has really come into her own. own as a writer on this record. And I think it is her best record. I think another thing that separates this record for me from her past work is that if there's been a weakness to Lucy Dacus' previous records, is that I think musically she's not quite as strong as she is as a lyricist. Sometimes musically, it feels a little flat, not a whole lot going on in the production or

not a whole lot of dynamism going on. And I think that she's closed that gap on home video. I think that the music is stronger on this record. I think about that song Nightshift from Historian, which is the first song, which I think is clearly the best song in that record musically. It really grabs you. It has more of a big rock sound, more anthemic. And I think she's leaning into that more on this new record to really good effect. But I think in the end, it really does come back to her writing.

I think the lyrics on this record are really strong, and she really is like one of my favorite lyricists of this generation. I think she's really kind of stepped into that like, you know, John Prine, Jason Isbell type lane with this record. And I bring up Jason Isbell deliberately because you have a different relationship to Jason Isbell than I do. I'm a big fan. You're not as much.

But you would compare her to Isbell too, maybe in a negative way? Yeah, just more in the sense that, like, before this record, it was like, Lucy Dakesh songs like, you know, they have like great lyrics and they read really well on the page is similar to Jason Isbell, but like there's just something about the music that strikes me as being a little bit flat

where, you know, it's just, it's so obviously meant to like pull at your heartstrings and so forth that it seems just obvious is the wrong word, but it's like, I think it's just in general with a lot of like indie rock these days that a lot of it is so predicated on like the personality and the lyrics that if like you don't immediately connect to that it's a little hard to um you know it's a little hard to like find other things to find other ways in but you know with

with lucy dick is i think that and sort of like jason isbel what reminds me uh her of you know at least his status is that people really seem to root for her in the same way that like people really want to see like jason isbel succeed um and you know that's another i mean we could have several episodes about the way fandom or just like criticism in the modern day is like more about like having rooting interests you know because I think that like you know like Lucy Dake is very likable person like on Twitter very entertaining account you know it's it's good to see them succeed and also it's just kind of funny to view her as an underdog when in reality like she's on Matador she has

She's like very, very successful in a lot of ways. Like, I remember seeing some tweets about, um, from like this record store clerk about how the boy genius galaxy was basically keeping their store alive with vinyl sales during COVID. Um, I mean, do you think that like people in these days, like have conversations about like, you know, like a three person friend group, like which one of us is the Phoebe and which one of us is the Julian or, you know, like, as far as like personality profiles or, you know, like, I mean, is this like, what are we seeing, like, just like heaven 2032 playing out right now where this is like what strokes and Interpol and the shins are now?

I think so. I mean, it was funny because you made a comment earlier about how like none of the people that were talking about in this episode are like dude guitar bands, which for the longest time, you know, have dominated indie rock discourse. And really in the last, you know, three, four, five years, that's totally, I think, for the most part gone away. I mean, obviously there's still dude guitar bands

and there's bands that do well critically, but in terms of the artists that really command the spotlight, in indie rock, it's been female singer-songwriters. You know, and I mean,

that's clearly, like, the mode that we're in. So, yeah, if you're going to liken it to the early odds where you had, like, the return of rock revolution with all these, you know, throwback rock bands with New York,

the equivalent now would be the boy genius crew you know, Mitzki, you know, Japanese breakfast. You know, Big Thief is in there to some degree. Oh, Adrian Linker,

like everything she's doing. Like that is where the juices. And I think, yeah, in 20 years when people reference this era of Indy Rock, that is what they're going to talk about. Yeah, they're going to look at that mayor of East Town episode where they go to the boy, or they talk about going to the boy genius show,

and that's going to be, like you know put this on like when when you hear new slang in garden state yeah exactly and you know and again i mean i think um i mean i don't always want to just compare the boy genius crew to each other although again they are a peer group and it's a natural thing to do it's kind of hard not to um it is interesting to see they're also on each other's records i mean it's it's hard it's like impossible yeah i mean there's that thing of like well you always compare women to other women that's like a critical cliche that can be a sexist thing. But I don't think that's really true here just because, again, they are so closely aligned. And they are part of this thing in Indyrock. They're at the

vanguard of Indyrock. I mean, they're at the top. So in the same way that you would talk about the strokes in Interpol and the Yeah, yeah, yeah, as being contemporaries, it's natural to talk about it here. And I think the reason why people talk about Lucy being an underdog, even though, as you said, she has, she's on Matador, she's, I mean, there's been a million interviews with her this week. I mean, she's very well covered and very well regarded. Is that she just has an unassuming manner about her. And it is, I think, with her, if she is not a biographical songwriter, but I do think that

there's like a literary quality in a way to what she's doing that people respond to. And maybe it feels like it's more about the music. music with her than with other people. I hate using that phrase. But you know what I mean? That there's something very, like it's about the work with her. Um, where, um, you know, Phoebe Bridgers is obviously a very serious songwriter. I mean, she's very committed to what she's doing. There's a lot of crap in what she's doing. But there's also like a lot of other stuff with her, uh, that I think makes her very entertaining. I, I'm a fan of Phoebe. I feel like there's maybe a little bit of fatigue with her out there just because she's been so ubiquitous in the media. But like, I tend to

like it when she pops up. I think she's really funny and entertaining. So, yeah, I don't know about that whole thing, but regardless, this is a really good record. I think you like this record, too, more than you have her previous records. I do. Yeah, I do like it. You know, I, like, when I've had a discussion with some people, they're like saying, yeah, this sounds like the sort of thing I'm here in a supermarket. But to me, that's like kind of a positive thing with like the synthesizers and the propulsion of it. It's like, it, it kind of reminds me more of like, you know, Phoebe Bridgers like Kyoto. Like if you're going to like, that that's sort of the mood that this album is in. And, you know, like, because before it was like I found like, like you, I found it a little bit flat musically,

a little two singer songwritory. But, you know, this is an album I could probably just like enjoy even if I'm not paying attention to the lyrics. And of course I'm going to like pay attention to the lyrics. I do like the. fact that a lot of it is from the perspective of someone who's like in Christian youth group or like Christian camp, which is, you know, because my fiance was like in that realm, you know, it's opened up a huge, a huge hole for me to like understand this part of indie rock and emo that is talked about so much. By the way, I got to, I got to use this part of the episode to point out the fact that I am now in a dual podcast household. My fiance is, does have a new

podcast about the business of massage. It's called In Session, the Business of Massage with Micah and Nelly. Look at you. Look at you. Looking at the plug for your fiancé. What a, what a, what a partner you are. Plug in your partner's podcast. Yeah, we are we are a two podcast household. Wow, that's beautiful. Well, good luck to her on her podcast. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, the vacation Bible school, there's a song on there called VBS that is like a really good song. Yeah, I mean, I think with Lucy, I mean, she's really bristled at being described as like a sad girl indie artist. Like that's been a recurring thing in interviews that she's done. Yeah, I don't want to be funny anymore was like the first song on her first record.

Yeah, I mean, I think she bristles at that because her songs actually are quite funny. Yeah. There's like a tragic comic aspect to a lot of her songs where there's heartbreak going on. But she's also really good with one-liners. And she has really funny observations. The one that stood out is like, you know, I think it's like you call me cerebral and I just wanted to be called pretty or something like that. That kind of ties back to I don't want to be funny anymore, which, you know, goes along with like why she's seen as an underdog. A lot of people would, you know, they get that, you know.

And so, yeah, I think that just adds another layer to her songs that I really like a lot. So yeah, home video for me, great record. Definitely check that out. Our next album that we want to talk about, this has not gotten quite, hasn't gotten nearly as much hype as the Lucy Day. Vegas record. But for me, this is one of my favorite albums that have come out in the last couple months. I guess it's coming out today. I've had it for a month or two, so it feels like it's been out for a while. But I'm excited for everyone else to hear it. It's called The Color in the Sky. It's by a band called Lightning Bug. And this is a band that, like, you might be aware of.

They put out a record. I think it was, um, two years ago. It was it two years ago, 2019 is October song. and I think it got well reviewed. I think Pitchfork gave it an 8.0 or something like that. But it wasn't hugely hyped, and I actually have a feature on this band that is up today. So you want to go to uprocks.com and read my interview with the leader of this band in the main songwriter Audrey Kang, who's a very interesting person.

But anyway, she talked about in our interview about how the band was, she thought the band was over after their previous record. and there was quite a bit of like strife within the band and she talks about this in the interview like she was she used to date one of the members in the band and they broke up I think they brought in some new people like this new record is the first time that they've actually like made a record together in the same room otherwise it was just doing overdubs and adding stuff before

but this is like a real band record and it seems like there's quite a bit of drama in the band as this record was being made and Audrey actually said in our interview that it's like painful for her to listen to this record for that reason because it's a pretty personal and bruising type album but if you don't know any of that backstory I think you can appreciate this is just like one of the most beautiful indie rock records of 2021 and they've been described as like a shoegaze band but I think they moved beyond that on this record.

This is almost like a laid-back, almost like Mazzie Star-type sounding record at times to me. Yeah, and the interesting thing is that like Mazzy Star is like one of the most like abused sounds in indie rock over the past several years. Maybe not as like much as it was several years ago, but like the whole like Lynchian Matt like there were so many bands that were like pulling from Mazzie Star to the where it was just like, it just kind of washes over me, like, regardless of how good it is. But in a weird way, like, maybe it's just the fact that, like, time has been compressed so much.

It actually sounds kind of fresh to me. And it's very, I'm surprised about, like, the drama and so forth that went into this, because what, uh, strikes me is just how narrative free this album really is. Like, it's not, you know, like, you can lean into the lyrics, but it's not like, you know, a personality. in the same way that say, you know, like Faye Webster or like Phoebe Bridgers is like, it's a band as opposed like a singular personality. And, you know, I think the last time October song was a bit more shoegazy, but this one is like kind of shoegazy by association in a way that I find like very

pleasing because like, look, I love shoegaze, but like there's just so much of it. And it's so much of it sounds like hum or like, you know, heavy kind of deftone style shoegaze, but this one, you know, I think what this band does in a way reminds me a bit of wild pink, um, in the just kind of very vast sound, even though they're from New York, it has this very vast kind of southwestern open skies like lay on, like lay in a valley and just like stare at the stars, um, uh, sort of thing to it, which, you know, is great. Um, it's an album I could throw on whenever I don't need to, you know, really connect. with this idea of like what it says about me

in the way that I have to with a lot of indie rock. And yeah, my, my whole thing is like, bands like this are really, really hard to stump for in 2021. And you just wonder like, what would it take for this album to get the attention that, you know, it deserves? It's like, is there space for a band that just kind of makes very beautiful, well-considered music without any sort of like, you know, hook of personality.

Yeah, I mean, I think we're doing what we can on this show, and I wrote about this record this week, because I think it is a really just beautiful record. And like you said, it maybe doesn't have the big sexy narrative hook that is going to get the bulk of the music media behind it, but I think it has it where it counts. They're really good songs.

And your point about, like, a lot of bands hopping on that Massey Star sort of smoky, slow, psychedelic sound. To me, it's like a lot of bands do that, but a lot of bands don't do it well. And I think that when a band does it well, it means to me that it's actually standing out and it sticks in my mind,

and it's not just kind of going in one ear and out the other. And this is a record that has really gotten under my skin, and I really like it a lot. And I think it is, this is actually a really well-timed record coming out in June. This is an album you want to put on at dusk in the summer, time and watch the sun go down and let this record just wash over you. I mean, I think it has that kind of vibe. It's an album that I really believe that if people actually hear this record and give it a chance, that they will very likely enjoy it. It's a very well-made record. Again, it's called

The Color in the Sky. The band is called Lightning Bug. Records out today. I highly recommend it. Our last record we're going to talk about is Fay Webster. I know I'm funny. Ha-ha. I have to say, I have not really spent a lot of time with this record. So I don't have a whole. whole lot to say about it. I'm curious, like, are you into this record? Yeah, it's interesting, because to me, like, Fay Webster is someone who has, like, the potential to be on the level of, like, Lucy Dacus or, like, Phoebe Bridgers or, you know, Julian Baker. In a way, this album makes me think of Lana Del Rey in the sense that it's very slow and luxurious and funny in ways that are bit subtle. I mean, the album title in a little. I mean, the album title in

of itself. But it's like, imagine if like Lana Del Rey was like from the Atlanta suburbs as opposed to like playing on the, you know, the LA, like the glamour of Los Angeles. Like there's one song on the new Faye Webster album where she talks about like buying someone at saying base as like the guy in Lincoln Park. She actually says like the got one the Lincoln Park has, which is by the way a Stingray Music Man base. That's the same base I have. So, you know, that was a it was one of the rare times were like, yes, I identify with this. But, yeah, I... Speaking your language.

Exactly. And I think with this record, this, in some ways, like, maybe it gets, like, overshadowed by everything that comes out. But I know that a lot of people are, like, super into this artist because even if it is kind of in the same sort of galaxy as, like, what's popular right now, I know Faye Webster kind of comes from more of, like, a hip-hop background. I know she was, like, a photographer for a lot, like, acts like father. and awful records. And so, you know, it's, it's an album that, like, if I were 25 and, like, hanging out

by pools more often, perhaps, like, I would buy more with it. And I mean that in the most positive way. It's, like, I listen to this, and it's like, fuck, man, like, you get, you kind of see the generation gap where, you know, if your life is a little bit more dramatic, um, or, you know, there's a lot more, um, kind of misunderstandings and social situations because you're going out more and having more social situations. Like, this is the kind of album that you're quoting on Twitter or something along those lines. So I think at the end of the year of all the albums that we talk about today, this is the one

that just might rank the highest on year-end lists. Oh, I'm curious to see if that plays out. Yeah. I mean, I like your called shot here. We'll have to remember this. Someone will have to mark this episode, and then we'll bring it up in six months, like, when we're doing year endless. Fay Webster, you've been put on notice.

Yes. Also, I noticed that, like, I was about to say, like, oh, you know, they're, like, like, with the personality and so forth. But, like, I went to their Twitter account. They haven't posted anything since 2020, man. Well, okay. Well, maybe she'll mention this episode. Yes.

We've now reached a part of the episode that we call Recommendation Corner, where Ian and I talk about something that we're into this week. Ian, why don't you go first? Yeah, so I can't believe I'm saying this, but like this this does show you what like content prior to investigation does but i'm here to recommend the new king gizzard and the lizard wizard album now mind you nice i do recognize that a like five more could drop by the time we this episode actually publishes but the one i'm talking about is butterfly 3 000 and look i just assumed this band was on some like you know tie seagull type psych rock

shit and i put on this new one just because like prior to this past week there was like a couple of really fallow weeks. And I was just shocked how pretty this one is. It's a lot of like sequence synthesizers. And reminds me of like bands from the 2000s, like Oneida or like Dunien or what have you where there's just like a real playfulness. It's like not really just about like, you know, recreating like psychedelic rock from 1971.

But, you know, the lyrics, the lyrics are like kind of stupid, but whatever. It's mostly in falsetto. so I can't hear it. But the music itself is really interesting. And I'm like, oh my God, am I toe dipping into being a King Gizzard guy? Like, we're just going to do TV recaps and King Gizzard. This is how Indiecast is going to pivot in the second half of 2021. You know, this is a band that I really appreciate.

I definitely want to see them live because I've heard great things about their live show. There are albums I still have not connected with yet. But I'm going to give this one a shot because they make so many. many that one of their albums I'm going to end up loving one of these days. I want to talk about another album that comes out today. One of the many, it's called The Veiled Sea. It's by Six Organs of Admittance. This is a musical project by the American guitarist Ben Chasney.

He's put out 20 records under this name. This is the 20th coming out today. This is a big album, depending on where you are in Twitter. I follow a lot of people in the jam community, and the indie jam sort of nexus there. The, I guess you could call them like the Aquarium Drunker Twitter, perhaps. Maybe that's like a, that's like on that Twitter, this is like maybe the biggest album of the week. And this is a really strong record.

You know, Six Orders of Admittance Records tend to be kind of all over the map. Some of them are a little fokier than others. Some are more sedate. This is definitely on the noisier end of the spectrum for his records. A lot of very scrunky, distorted sound. guitar solos on this record that just kind of go on for like six or seven minutes. Songs that don't have like a lot of vocals necessarily, but just like a really good kind of noisy record.

And I'm tempted to call it like a rock and roll record, although it feels a little bit more esoteric than that. It's just kind of beautiful noise in combination with like a real kind of visceral power coming across on this record. So, you know, if you've listened to this episode, you know, we're talking a lot about singer-songwriter records, you know, more kind of low-key albums. If you want something just noisy, put on the veil C. I think you're really going to like it. Again, that's by Sixth Ordin's of Admittance. That is out today. So go check that out. That about does it for this episode of Indycast. Thank you again 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. mixtape 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.