Indiecast - New Albums By Anohni + PJ Harvey, Artists Getting Hit In The Face At Shows, And Between-Song Banter Yay Or Nay

Episode Date: July 14, 2023

Last week, Steven briefly forgot how to work his podcast equipment, and the result was the first, instantly iconic "lost" Indiecast episode. Fortunately, Steven Googled "how to work podcast equipment" and he was able to match his vocals to Ian's for this week's episode.The guys begin with a discussion of a weird new trend in live music: People throwing things at artists' faces. Not only is this stupid and dangerous, it also makes no sense. But what is causing it? Also: Is it really that new? (4:43) Steven shares the story about David Bowie getting hit in the face with a lollipop in the early aughts, as well as the strange history of yahoos bringing firecrackers to concerts in the 1970s.From there, Steven and Ian launch into a discussion about the new Anohni album, My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, as well as the outlook for potential Album Of The Year candidates in the second half of 2023 (14:38). The guys also discuss the latest effort from PJ Harvey, I Inside The Old Year Dying, and give her overall career the "yay or nay" treatment (31:20). Finally, they make time to address the new Wham! documentary on Netflix, directed by Chris Smith.In the mailbag, a reader talks about a recent concert by the band Wednesday and asks whether Steven and Ian appreciate between-song banter (56:29). Then, in Recommendation Corner (1:02:47), Ian talks up the emo band Magazine Beach while Steven raves about the alt-rock-inspired band Palehound.New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 146 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.

Indycast is presented by Uprox's Indy Mix tape. Hello everyone and welcome to Indycast. On the 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 Anoni and P.J. Harvey. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host. I'm recording for real this time, I promise you. Ian Cohen.

Ian, who are you? I mean, would I prefer that our last episode be presented as it was recorded? Absolutely. But I think, like, I was like, it was really heartwarming to see the response. Like, it, like, our absence made the hearts of our listeners grow fonder. And I'm, like, wondering if we took our first step towards, like, full automation. Because, like, it looked like people were, like, kind of coming up with their own version of Indycast. I was thinking of the time, like, a few years back, like, Pup made a video for their song, Free at Last, where they sent out the chords and the lyrics to, fans who have not heard the song and asked them to like make a song how they think it went. There was like a boy band version, like a K-pop version. And I wonder, you know, like when the time comes when we have like a just a dead week, we send an outline out to our fans and see if they can come up with like a fake indie cast on their own.

Yeah, we could do that. You know, I think the thing about it is, you know, you think about the great lost albums in history. You think about like smile by the beach boys. and obviously that's been released. There's been outtakes. Brian Wilson, like, we recorded some stuff, so we know what those songs sound like. Part of the appeal of Smile for a long time was that people were like,

Brian Wilson recorded this masterpiece, and we can't hear it. And it becomes this album that you can imagine in your mind that it's always going to be better than anything that would actually exist. So that happened for us last week. I think it's better that it wasn't released because, quite frankly, I think it was it was a good episode. I think we had some laughs. It was a good time recording it.

But if we were going to lose an episode, that was the one to lose. Because we're in early July. There's not a lot to talk about. It is so dead this time of the year. If memory served, because I honestly don't remember really

what we talked about. I know we filled an hour somehow. But I know that like 10 minutes of that, at least, was us talking about joining Blue Sky. Yes. Which already seems like something we would have done in like 2018. We're going to have like a category at the end of the year for most memory holds social media sites.

Oh, yeah, Blue Sky, they had like two days. Look, I'm not going to get sucked into another blue sky conversation because I feel like we talked too long about it in our lost episode. But they had like two days. And then Zuckerberg drops threads, which. I'm committing myself to not joining. I'm going to try really hard not to join. Have you joined threads?

I like did. You know, I entered it in. Like, I haven't posted anything on there, but when everyone said. I joined. Okay. When everyone said. I like how you were hedging there a little bit. Like, you didn't want to admit that you joined threads.

You're like, well. I've not looked at it since. It's like everything you've heard about it being like the worst parts of Twitter combined with the worst parts of Facebook is absolutely true. Like, you can, like, all the bad shit you've heard about has not been overstated.

I mean, look, I'm going to end up joining this thing. I know I am. I'm, I'm just relishing the moment right now where I get to feel superior and I get to say I'm not joining threads. I know I may have already joined threads by the time this post. I, I don't have a lot of faith in my ability

to, you know, have the willpower to not join the next stupid Twitter knockup that gets introduced. I'm going to join every single one of them. But like in the meantime, while I do have the willpower not to join, I'm going to, I'm going to enjoy that. There's a good chance you might have like joined it by accident. What do you mean? Like I blacked out. I blacked out last night and I joined threads. No, like you click on Instagram or you just like mindlessly just like answer this email and all of a sudden you're on threads. It's like that kind of place. Oh my God.

Well, like I said, I'm going to end up joining this probably eventually, but for now I'm enjoying not being on threads. I want to ask you about this thing. There's this trend going on right now. It's a hot new trend. Although maybe it's not totally new, but it feels very of the moment right now. Have you noticed that there's been a run of stories lately about pop stars being hit in the face with flying objects at concerts? If not the face, like somewhere And it's all, yeah, I mean, I was wondering Like Harry Stiles got hit in the face this week I don't know what he got hit with But he got hit in the face

B.B. Rexa Got hit in the face with a phone I think that was like a week or two ago. Pink iconic pop singer Pink She got hit in the face This is like the strangest one She got hit in the face with

a fan's mother's ashes. It's like Big Lebowski style. Or death cab styrofoam plates. Yeah, wow. Like, okay, the last one like kind of makes sense to me. Like, not make sense. Like, oh, I would under, I could understand perhaps the impulse by like why someone might do that. But yeah, there's like two.

It was like the mother's wishes. Like, I want to be, I want to live on Pink's Face. So take me to a show. How do you get that in? I can't take shit into like a concert like that. How do you get that in there? Well, you can't, there's no metal detector for ashes, you know, so you could just, you know, put it in your sock or something and get it in pretty,

I mean, if you can sneak, you know, people sneak like, you know, like weed pipes in, so you can sneak in Mother's ashes, like easily enough. But I just wonder, like, if you're in the crowd, And you look over at the person next to you and they're holding like a baggy of ashes and they're like winding up to throw at the stage. Are you obligated as a fan of the artist to be like a secret service agent and like tackle that person before they have a chance to distribute their parents remains on the face of your favorite pop singer? I mean, is that something that you, is that like a good Samaritan type situation that you have to interfere? I just, the logistics behind this entire phenomenon are just completely incomprehensible to me to begin with. I mean, like, there's so much weird concerts that, like, I would say that, like, anywhere from 25 to 40% of, like, you know, sticky news of late is either pop star gets stuff thrown at them or, like, Popstar, like, says, don't throw stuff at me.

And we can usually track, like, we can chalk most of this stuff. up to like, oh, like, it's generational or like pandemic based, but I cannot figure out for the life of me where, like, how throwing stuff on stage at artists you actually like became a thing, because phones are expensive. Yeah, yeah, the phone thing, it blows me away. You're really showing your privilege there, audience member. You're throwing phones at people. It's like, okay, we get it, you're rich. You can just throw your phone at BB Rexa. The person who threw the phone BB Rexa was interviewed and he said that he thought it would be funny to throw a phone at BB Rexa.

Like he's a burner phone? Or is it their like real cell phone? Like you just get like a bunch of burners to go to the baby Rexa show. I don't know. I don't know if he's, because he pleaded not guilty too. I don't know what he said. I don't know what the not guilty. Like what's your defense?

It's a pruder film type shit. Like, you know, lone phone thrower on the on the grass. you know what? Well, I think he admitted doing it though, because he said, I thought it would be funny to throw the phone. So, like, is the defense then going to be, like, we will prove in a court of law that throwing a phone at BB Rexa is funny? And if it is, then I am not guilty of this crime. I mean, because he admitted it. So he is guilty of throwing it, but instead of the insanity defense, it's going to be like, it's funny defense, I guess. Yeah, it's the very, it's the very naked ladies defense because, you know,

their whole, am I remembering correctly, like, that their fans through, like, boxes of Kraft Mac and cheese at them, and that was, like, supposed to be funny? Am I, like, I figure, I'm not, I'm not going to Google this because I don't want to ruin this possibly fake memory, but that was a thing, right?

That sounds vaguely, is that, like, related to a song? Is there a song? I think it is. Okay, like, where they, like, If I had a million dollars, I'd buy, back, I think it's the other Baked, I think it's the other

Bear Naked Litt. I think it's like pre if I had a million dollars or Brian Will. Okay, I'm gonna stop right now because if we get in the bed just like Brian Wilson dead. I am so, yeah,

like one of the worst fucking bands that ever exist. I will not defend one week. I will not defend any of that. Like one of the worst fucking bands that ever exist. So I want to just stop. Yeah, just the entire existence.

I'm like, I'm just think. I'm lying in bed. I'm thinking to the Gordon album cover. This is somehow like burned into my memory. Yeah, it's awful. The worst. The fucking worst, man.

Well, I think like the most notable story in my mind of someone throwing something on stage is David Bowie. I think it was 03. And I think he was like in Denmark or something. And someone threw like a lollipop at him. And I got stuck in his eye. Like you can go online and Google. there's a photo of like

this like it's like stuck in his eyelid huh and uh I believe that was on his last tour like he didn't do a tour after that and I wonder how much did the sucker incident play into his decision not to tour anymore it's like I'm David Bowie

I don't need this shit yeah I'm Zicky Stardust you're throwing stuff at me like I'm David Bowie it's like not even David Bowie was safe so to me that's like the ultimate example. Like maybe, like if you love Harry Styles, maybe he's not going to tour anymore because he threw something at him. You know,

like you got to keep that in mind. Maybe he like engineered that because maybe like, you know, his whole thing is like wanting to be compared to David Bowie. So, you know, like I'm serious. There's cap in here. Like I think that this is like a false flag. Yeah, that's a good theory. I like that.

You know, I mean, people keep saying like, well, this is happening because of COVID. Like we were in lockdown and people don't know how to act anymore. And that's such a convenient theory that I'm inclined to be skeptical of it. Like, is there an equivalent of this elsewhere? Like, are people pulling down their pants

in restaurants because they don't know how to eat in public anymore? I mean, like, I don't know. I wonder if at some point we're going to discover that there's like an underground TikTok trend. Right. where it's encouraging people to throw stuff. It's always that, isn't it?

Or like some Reddit thing or 4chan thing, you know? Threads. This is what's popping in threads. If you get on threads, you will find the genesis of this entire phenomenon. I just feel like we don't know the whole story here because I don't know. It's such a, because it's like, okay, COVID was destabilizing, but it's like people now think you can just throw stuff at people. I don't understand. that seems like a bridge too far.

Like I understand, like to me it makes more sense that theory, like why people won't shut up at concerts. Yeah, that makes sense to me. Or like, you know, rum me over with a truck or,

you know, just making weird, like moshing it weird times. Like that stuff to me is a sign of social awkwardness. Like that part I get. You know, I was thinking about just this historically,

you know, people thrown stuff at, that shows. One thing that I think used to be common that isn't common anymore is people lighting firecrackers at concerts and I know this because I listen to a lot of bootlegs

live bootlegs from the 70s and if you listen to like the Grateful Dead or Bruce Springsteen or anyone from that era oftentimes you will hear them stop the show and admonished the crowd for bringing firecrackers like this famous I think it's the Cleveland 78 show with Springsteen.

Although there's a bunch of them though like where Bruce stops the show and he's just like can you not throw fire crackers here

you know and he's just exasperated he's almost like begging people do not throw fire crackers so like when I listen to that I think well

okay as annoying as this is now at least people aren't you know throwing combustible objects on stage like in a way

it was maybe worse in the past into this now It's like, yeah, it's like when you hear about like old school, like, you know, 1890s college footballs like, oh, five people died this year on the field, you know. In the 70s people like would go into the concerts and they bring like, you could bring like a 12 pack of beer like five packs of cowboy killers and like firecrackers. And that was what it was like to see a Bruce Springsteen concert. And that whole thing cost maybe like five bucks. Yeah, I think you could even like stab people.

I mean, they didn't care. Like in 78, you could just like stab someone. in the parking lot. And as long as they didn't die, it was fine. You know, like, if they didn't bleed out completely, it was legal in 78. So things are better in that regard now. Let's talk about the new Anoni album.

It came out last week. It's called My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross. This is the first album from Anoni in six years. She's back with her backing band The Johnsons for the first time in 13 years. And this is a, a very critically acclaimed record. It actually got me thinking about

the album of the year conversation because now we're in the second half officially of 2023, looking ahead to what other albums are going to be in contention for album of the year. I think if you look at the first half of the year,

in terms of the consensus, it seems like you got the boy genius record, Caroline Polichick, certainly on Metacritic. those are like two of the highest rated records. They seem like they're going to be in the hunt for the album of the year. Crown. I think Wednesday, when we talk about indie rock records, that's come up a lot.

Not even close. Like Wednesday is like so far ahead of any indie like coding album. I just can't even think of what number two would be. Yeah, I mean, especially in terms of like records with legs. You know, an album that, I think that came out in April and it's Wednesday's on tour. right now, and so they've been getting another wave of goodwill. We're going to talk about Wednesday, actually, in our mailbag segment, so we'll talk more about the tour there.

But before we talk about, like, the album of the year conversation and where this Anoni record fits in with that, I want to talk to you about something, you know, because look, we talk about music on this show, but we end up always also talking about the conversation about music and how that sometimes informs how we think about it is often against our will, but when you're in this business and you're being inundated constantly with other people's opinions that can't help but interfere with your own experience sometimes of listening to music.

And with this album, I feel like it's a really good example of how sometimes music writers do artists a disservice by talking about a record almost like it's a charity, like it's the Red Cross. Like this is something you should support because it's doing good in the world. Not because it's entertaining or because you're going to enjoy listening to it,

but because it's good for you. And I was reading a little bit about this record, and it seemed like a lot of things I was reading were talking about the themes of the album. You know, this is an album about grief. this is an album about inequality this is an album about climate change

very message forward in a way that made it seem dry and I was like am I going to enjoy this record like I've enjoyed what she's done in the past but I don't know this seems like a little self-serious I don't know if this is going to be

connecting with me and then I actually listen to the record and it really took me back because musically this is like a really accessible sort of like soulful record. Like the two things that jump out to me about this album are,

well, number one, of course, Anoni's voice, which is like this totally unique instrument that on one hand feels classic and sort of like a torch singer, Nina Simone kind of way, but also totally distinctive and modern. Like you hear that voice and you know who it is immediately. So the voice jumps out. And the other thing is like the aesthetic,

of the record, which is this very kind of throwback soul type album. It feels like a lost classic from the 70s, like the Marvin Gay record that you have always read about, but you haven't actually heard, you know? Right.

But also, it doesn't fall into the trappings of like a lot of retro soul records where you feel like, oh, they're trying really hard to sound like something from the 70s and it ends up being a little cheesy. and this record doesn't have that at all. And it's just interesting to be like,

I think the best parts of this record are musical, and yet I feel like those always, as often the case in conversations about music, like the music gets marginalized because it's easier to write about these sort of more thematic or identity-based things. And I just feel like with this record it did, that's kind of a disservice,

because it's actually like a much more kind of, I don't know if fun is the right word. but certainly accessible and very sort of like listenable type record that it is. Yeah, I mean, I think we, one of the constant themes of this show is that there's like two tracks of, you know, music conversation or music enjoyment. There's the narrative that like, and look, I've been there. I'm a writer. I've got to find something that makes it interesting for me to write about. And, you know, I do, it's not that I don't believe that the themes of like climate change.

It's always climate change, isn't it? And like, you know, I saw in the New York Times, like, future feminism. Like, I feel like that stuff is indeed very important. I don't think people are making it up. But I do think in some ways, I don't want to say sells it short, but it kind of limits, like, the possible engagement of the music. Because I listen, you know, my contempt prior to investigation of this record was, like, sky high because I think hopelessness was one of the most, like, overrated albums of the past decade.

like I was excited about hearing Anoni work with Wano Tricks Point Never and go listen to Obama. It's a song called Obama. You know, it's kind of thematically on point. But like some of this stuff is just like incredibly cringe. Does not hold up in my view. But yeah, I listened to the record and I was like surprised by how accessible it is and how emotionally accessible it is as well. Because, you know, this album, the great thing about Anoni is that they're voice, like they have this authority about them. It's very operatic.

And it just tackles like the biggest themes imaginable. And so I think that a casual listener can come into this, you know, not being super online and still find something to enjoy about it. And I do like how there's like this throwback soul sound without doing like that Bruno Mars or Silk Sonic or Leon Bridges type thing where it's like that commercial I see on streaming. It's like, you know the sound of an old vinyl? are whiskeys like that. I can't remember what brand it is. But yeah, I think that this record is, again, like I don't knock any writer

for finding a way to get a bag from this. You know, like, I've done it. We all do it. But, yeah, I like this album, like, way more than, like, my own little bullshit narrative in my own head would allow me to believe. But, I mean, do we think this is, like, something that's going to be in the running

for, you know, 20, 23 album of the year? Yeah, before I get to I just want to say quick, yeah, I mean, I'm not knocking anyone either. I think this is just more of a lament in general about conversations about music being very academic. Yeah. Which is a

trend I hate. And I wish that it was couched more in like sort of like a more emotional or soulful language than I feel like music gets talked about now. I think it's very pedantic and dry and

over-intellectualized. And I think with a record like this, again, it's the emotional qualities that really translate more than, I think, some of the intellectual underpinnings of some of the songs. I mean, and I think that's true in general with a lot of records, that

if you're going to records for ideas, it's not really the best place to go. It's more about expressing ideas in a musical and emotional way. Things that transcend language is like, where I think musical artists thrive. Yeah.

You know, sort of expressing something like a college professor would. You know, like that's not really something you want from music. And I feel like that's how it often gets discussed. And it's not the best way to go, in my opinion. I actually think this will be in the running for album. I mean, like, when we talk about album of the year, you know, there is like the crown, of course, the consensus number one. But I think I'm talking more broadly here in terms of like,

will this be in the top 10 for a lot of people? And I think it will be. Yeah, this strikes me as something that's, you know, Anoni is kind of legacy, you know, has been around for a while and, you know, probably has their critical cachet had peaked previously. I think this is like everyone's number six. This, that feels right to me. Like it, it doesn't feel like the one that, like, is going to carry a publication, but it's, it's a solid number six. you know, looking ahead, you know, I was looking at, like, the release schedule for the rest of the year. And obviously, it's going to get filled in a lot over the next couple months in terms of, like, what's coming out in the fall. And I, just yesterday, I got an album from a high profile band that I'm sure we'll be talking about on this show that, you know, it hasn't been announced yet, but that'll probably be in the mix when that gets announced.

but I don't know I was like trying to think of like kind of big ticket records because those do get announced like a little bit more in advance and I was coming up like a little bit empty like I was thinking about records that I'm excited about that I've either already heard or I'm anticipating like on the indie side but like the new ratboys record coming out in August I think is really strong

this band Slow Pulp that is now in Chicago they're originally from Wisconsin their band on the rise Their record was announced recently. I'm excited to talk about that. I think that's a quite good record. This band Slaughter Beach Dog that is headed up by Jake used to be in modern baseball, who I think they've been building for a while.

Yeah, this has been going on since quite literally before modern baseball broke up. But I feel like they've been leveling up in this new record. I'm really enjoying. I think that's going to be in the mix. for me. Craig Finn gave a testimonial, so that's how you know.

It's like in our wheelhouse. Jeff Rosenstock has a record coming out. Curious to hear that. I'm guessing that there's going to be a big thief record coming. I haven't heard any. I'm not hinting. I have not heard a word about that confirming that. There's like always like rumors swirling around like Pitchfork Festival

when there's like a headliner that hasn't released a record. and sometime it's like, oh, they're going to surprise drop it this weekend. This is all based on like what Wilco did in 15. And people are saying that about like Big Thief and or Boni Vare. Oh, that'd be interesting. I didn't know that they were like, who's playing pitchfork this year? The headliner on Friday is The Smile. Oh, wow.

Big Thief, I believe, on Saturday and Boni Vare's closing it out. Those are just, those are like the headliners. But otherwise, yeah, always is playing. Kalea. My wise blood's there. I'm a perfume genius. I'm just thinking off the dome. I'm actually going to be there this year.

So that's like a kind of an old school type lineup in a lot of ways. You've got like three down the line indie rock. No the national, no Kurt Vile though. Yeah, but you know, I mean, A Smile or Bunny Bear are like, I mean, that's like the Rolling Stones as far as like pitchfork is concerned. I mean, like that's a pretty old school. Anyway, this is a Zach Bryan record, I think, that's going to be coming out, like, not indie rock, but in that... Oh, he was posting about...

He was posting about Front Bottoms and Joyce Manor that the other day. He was like, yeah, man, I love Midwest Punk. Yeah, I think I'm going to finally... I'm going to try to see him next month finally. I mean, he's a huge star. Huge, yeah. Like Arena Rock. He's playing that kind of stuff.

But I was trying to think of, like, the big ticket stuff. And, like, we talked about this at the beginning of... the year, like the Rihanna record, which is still in the ether here. You know, we were predicting, like, if Rihanna drops an album, it's hers to lose in terms of, you know, like, if she gets anywhere near the mark, she's going to be in the running for the album of the year conversation. But I don't know, I was kind of hard pressed. I wonder, like, if it's going to be something that emerges, because I don't know if there's, like,

the established person is going to be putting out. Oh, I disagree 100%. Who is it? I thought it was Rihanna's to lose, but now, like, it's obviously like Olivia Rodriguez to lose. Like, the only way I thought that this wasn't going to be, like, top five guarantee is if their first single was, like, a total flop. And people seem to like it a lot.

So, yeah, I think, I think, like on the indie side of things, like Jamila Woods, I feel like that's going to be a contender. That fits the mold of a lot of what critics are looking for over the past several years. Like, her albums have been really well regarded. You know, she's like a like an R&Buteur from Chicago. It's like kind of inherently political, but still kind of up and coming enough. But like as far as like anything that could challenge like, say, boy genius or Caroline Polichick, this is Olivia Rodriguez. Like I can't imagine a, I cannot imagine, you know, you're rolling.

stones or, you know, your pop-leaning publications not treating this like the album of 2023. And you think that's going to cross over into the indie world? It already has. I mean, like, you look at 2021 and she was, yeah, Olivia Rodriguez album, like, was, there was not this bifurcation of, like, pop and indie. Like, she is firmly in that world. I thought that album had, like, some good singles that didn't hold up in the deep cuts.

Like, I really like the idea of her doing this, like, pop-rocky meatloaf sort of. It's been compared, the new single's been compared to Meatloaf. Well, I was talking more about her first record, like, where she was doing, like, the, you know, this sort of, like, pop punk type thing, like a modern, almost like Avrilavine type sound, which I was digging that, you know? I haven't, I actually haven't heard that single. It's like, it sounds like, like, meatloaf generally or, like, a specific meatloaf track. Like kind of just meatloaf being a short hand for there's like several movements. It's like kind of rock opera, uh, theater kid kind of energy. Because like I'm glad that they left behind that pop punk 2021 sounds.

I haven't thought about that whole trend in a long time. And boy, that was played out. So. Well, is she trying to do like a born to run type thing? Because I saw an interview with her recently like where she was shopping for. Springsteen vinyl or she bought like a Springsteen bootleg on vinyl

and we should ask her if he's talking about firecrackers on that on that record I bet he is yeah if we get to interview Olivia Rodriguez like we will we will retract our no guest policy if we can talk to like Olivia Rodriguez

about Cleveland 78 or whatever whatever the iconic boss live albums are but it seemed like I just saw someone screenshot it It seemed like one of those vignettes that it feels like a little staged. Like, okay, we're going to make sure that she can pull this out. And I think she says, Springsteen's like my number one crush, celebrity crush.

It's like when Maddie Healy gives a shout out to this like minor ass emo band. It's like this small thing is going to like get me your like a lifetime of allegiance, you know? So, yeah, I don't know. So maybe if it sounds like meatloaf, maybe she's actually. doing like jungle land or you know wild and the innocent in the east street shuffle type thing i have to listen to that song i have 57 channels and nothing on that's her that that's what she's going for oh man well if she if she did the human touch record you know if this is her human touch i'll definitely be intrigued all right let's uh talk about p j harvey uh she also has not put out a new

album in a while before last week she dropped a record called i inside the old ear dying very confusingly titled record. What's the title of that dive record? Is the is R. But let me tell you, this is the most confused, like do I capitalize is the R? Like,

I always have trouble with whether or not to capitalize those things in album titles and they just threw, like it, it was a very anti-music critic sort of thing. Very, very subtle, very subtle passive aggression. Very anti-any one that wants to talk about that album.

Because I love that record. Great record. Whenever I recommend it to people, I feel like I have to Google the title on my phone to make sure I'm saying the right order of words in that title. It's very illogical how it's constructed. PJ Harvey, this record isn't as extreme as that, but it brings to mind that album. Again, it's called I Inside the Old Year Dying.

This is her 10th record, first and seven years, inspired by the epic poem that she wrote called Orlem. Have you ever written? an epic poem, Ian? Only have read. I only listen to albums that are inspired by epic poems. I was thinking of like, what other, like,

I know there are other examples of it. It seems like a Nick Cave thing. Maybe, like, sort of kind of that, what's that Mastodon album Leviathan? I know that, wait, that's Moby Dick. That's not an epic poem. Yeah. No, it's an epic novel.

Right. I consider your review of Childish Gambino's camp to be an epic poem. An epic poem to music writing. PJ Harvey, obviously, one of the iconic indie rock artists of the last 30-some years. And out of respect for her vaunted catalog, I figured that we would pay her the ultimate respect by giving her the yay or nay treatment.

So, yeah or nay, PG-Harvey, where do you land? Well, it would be a lot funnier for me to just like say yay or nay with no elaboration. but, you know, let's show our age and talk about, like, the way that most of us, you know, who are in our, like, late 30s, 40s probably encountered PJ Harvey if we weren't, like, at the epicenter of coolness in the indie 90s. Like, I remember I saw, I'm pretty sure I saw 50-foot Queenie on Beavis and Butthead. I'm pretty sure. I definitely heard down by the water on Y100 alongside, like, filter and sponge.

And so that was my experience with PJ Harvey. And of course, you know, I'm like a, I'm very much a cliche of like a teenage boy, like watching MTV obsessed with smashing pumpkins and weezer. Probably could have had an easier go of things at that time if I listened to like, you know, to bring you my love even like once. But like a lot of artists at that time, I mean, I do, I've had a very illuminating and productive experience trying to like reconsider these artists outside the lens of like being a, a, like a very isolated teenage boy. I mean, for people who were like, you know, like actual Rolling Stonewriters back then, like, was it weird that PJ Harvey was getting any radio play at all?

Or like, did they think she wasn't getting enough? You know what I mean? Like, it's really hard to compare the 90s to now. But, I mean, like, what was the general vibe? I mean, I think the feeling then would have been that PJ Harvey, you know, I think she was put on a binary at that time, with Alanis Morissette. You know, because Alanis Morset was really the biggest artist and alternative rock

after the end of Nirvana. Like, jagged little pill. I think that record sold like 30 million copies, something like that. Yeah, like one of the top of all time. Yeah, just a crazy successful record. There's like five or six singles that get spun off of that. And Alanis Morset is so big that she spawns this subset of artists who are following in her wake, like the Meredith Brooks's of the world and the Tracy Bottoms of the world.

You remember all those artists. Fucking right, I did. And Alanis, I think, you know, in her time, like, she was, I think, a bit of a critical punching bag. And part of the, one of the things that was held against her was the fact that she was so big. And someone like PJ Harvey, who I think people were, like, music writers were inclined to look at her as, like, the authentic article.

And Alanis is more of, like, the pop article. you know, people would have said, well, P.J. Harvey deserves to be on the radio and not ironic and you want to know on all those songs. And of course, that's changed over time. I mean, people have broken that down. I think rightfully so. I mean, the last more set was doing something very different. She's working, like, with Glenn Ballard, you know, writing these big pop songs. And PJ Harvey's working with Steve Albini, making these, like, punishing heavy rock records. And I know if like for me, like I'm kind of in the same boat as you were. Like I wasn't listening to PJ Harvey necessarily like in high school.

It was something I came to a little bit later like toward the end of the 90s when I was in college. And it was more I think of like a, like she wasn't making music for teenagers. She was making music for like people in their 20s really at that time, I think. And like for me, like just to answer the question, I'm going to say, well, I'm doing sort of like a split answer here. Because definitely, like, her 90s work up until Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea gets a big yay for me. Especially Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, which is, like, far and away, like, my favorite thing that she's ever done. To me, like, that's a record that sounds like the mature, I'm putting mature in quote marks here, a combination of, like, what she did on her first several records, which, again, were these, like, really kind of strong, feral. brutal, really kind of tough-sounding heavy rock records.

And with stories from the city, stories from the sea, it's like a little bit more refined. You could tell that she's at a maybe more grown-up place in her life. That record is really interesting as a New York record. Because I don't know if she was living in New York at the time, but it has like a New York feel to it. And it comes right before all of those New York City bands really come into promise. It's like it came out in 2000, the year before, the first strokes record. And in sort of like an accidental way, it kind of like predicts a lot of that New York rock that's going to happen for the next two or three years.

Like a lot of that New York rock... I thought you were about to say it predicts 9-11. Well, no, it doesn't break 9-11. But I don't know, to me, kind of like the vibe of that record, it reminds me a lot of, like, what those New York bands did. Like, she was ahead of that. Absolutely, yeah. And it's interesting because then after that, well, 2000.

she puts out uh-huh her which is like this kind of scuzzy sounding rock record but then like with white chalk in 2007 she makes this pivot to more of like a arty experimental pop type sound and that's where she's been ever since and those records have their merits i have to say that they have nuts uh they haven't connected with me in the same way that her earlier stuff did and so like like Let England Shake is like one of her most acclaimed records. Like that came out, I think, at 11. It'll won the Mercury Prize. That was a big deal.

It was a big deal. Yeah, that was like a big deal. And that record did not connect with me. Like, again, like the 90s up until stories from the city, stories from the sea did. I respect what she's doing. I understand the pivot because like she's not going to be able to make rid of me over and over again. Although I would love if she like made another record with Steve Albini. Like I would be totally on board.

she wanted to do like, I'm going to go back to the early 90s and make like a raging guitar rock record. I think that'd be amazing. But, you know, this new record, I actually enjoy this album. I think it has enough of that early energy mixed with this, again, kind of more mature, older, kind of experimental arty personality that she's developed later in her career. It's enough of a mix that I feel like it makes the stuff she's doing later in her career a little bit more palatable to me. And it actually makes me want to go back to her last several records and see if they hit different for me now than they did then. So I'm going to give her a solid yay for the 90s up until like the year 2000.

And then I'm going to give her a respectful yay after that. But, you know, in terms of like hitting my school. sweet spot, I guess I have to say it's, I don't want to nay PJ Harvey. You don't want, you can't nay her, but it's definitely, it's like the, it's like the respectful yay versus like the visceral yay for me. Yeah, I mean, I've, I, of course, like I came across stories from the city in 2000 because we played good fortune on the radio station. Tom York was on it. So, of course, like, you know, I'm going to get into that. But, you know, I had never really had a deep dive in PJ to PJ Harvey's catalog, the whole gothy, bluesy, super serious elemental rock and roll thing.

Like, I mean, I think she covered Bob Dylan, reference Elvis a lot. Like, that stuff never really appealed to me in the same way that, like, you know, Nick Cave is like a massive blind spot for me. But with the new album, A, because I got nothing fucking better to do right now, like, and B, I, maybe she'd be, like, swans or something like that, like an artist I'd get into. Really, really late in the game, because they sound nothing like they did in the 90s. You know, I gave the new album a shot. It sounded interesting. Like, it gave me that I am in the presence of art sort of feeling. And if I had been really, really, you know, intently following her trajectory for the past 30-something years, I imagine I'd get a lot more out of it.

But, you know, I think if we trace back to, hey, this is an album based on an epic poem that she wrote, I do find it a bit impenetrable. I feel like it's something to admire when I read reviews about it. I'm like, damn, I wish I was getting that. And I think that's kind of been my experience with PJ Harvey as a whole. So I'm going to give it a yay in theory because like it's not the kind of artist where I read people talk about it. And I feel like they're kind of trying too hard. I feel like people who like PJ Harvey are really being honest and really being earnest. and it's like a respectful yay but like a not for me sort of thing.

I think we need to develop a third way. Not in yak, but like just something where it's like, yeah, I believe what you're saying about this and it's perhaps not for me and I can live with that, you know? I just would love, and I don't think she has any interest in this, so it probably won't happen. But like to make the Steve Albini record again, I think that would be really cool. I think that would be like the real PJ Harvey comeback if she, could get to that rid of me type sound again. She was so good at that.

But at the same time, she's doing what she cares about. She's writing the epic poems. She's working with Flood. You know, so good for her. She's doing what she wants to do. But there is a secret hope in me that she could go back to that,

just like with a really heavy rhythm section, that great Steve Albini drum sound. Yeah. Just go to electric audio in Chicago make a record in two days. be so cool. Yeah, get on the bear season three, you know? Yeah, like, Karmie can, like, cater her studio time.

Like, you can bring some Italian beef down there. Someone drops a fucking pan, like, when the sound gets all loud and shit. Like, we are, like, totally executive producing, like, the PJ Harvey Island that comes out in 2030. Absolutely. So, okay, this is not indie rock at all, but I didn't want to talk to you about this, because I watched the documentary about Wham that's on Netflix, went up on July 5th, I believe.

And it's just called Wham, W-H-A-M, so if you want to find it on Netflix, it's very easy to find. Directed by Chris Smith, who did one of the Fire Festival documentaries, but more importantly, more importantly, directed one of the greatest films of all times,

as far as I'm concerned, American movie. with 1999 brilliant documentary so it's interesting that's a Wisconsin classic

oh my god that movie is like about my life and the life of my friends absolutely it's just amazing that he did American movie 99 and about 25 years later

he's doing a documentary about Wham showing off his range there but I really like this movie I was really entertained by it like I've seen some mixed reviews of it it seems like the more seriously

you take Wham the less you like this movie and maybe more casual fans will like it more I mean I remember Wham from being a little kid and seeing them on MTV and just having really kind of formative

memories of Wham and George Michael and how George Michael I mean, I think he's such a fascinating guy. The thing about this movie is that it made me want to see a really long documentary just about George Michael. And I think one's coming out. Is that? I got an email the other day about that.

He's an interesting guy, very interesting guy. Fascinating. Obviously, like a great musician, songwriter, producer. This is partly because of the age I was when his music was really popular. but he was a guy who emanated a kind of dangerous sexuality. You know, like where he was in this kind of kid context, but he sang about adult relationships in a way that did not sugarcoat it at all. And obviously you get the faith and like, I want your sex and father figure.

Like it becomes more explicit. But like watching this movie, I mean, it's hilarious because it's like him. and Andrew Ridgely, they come out and they're doing like rap songs that are terrible. You know, and then like the next year, they're doing a song like everything she wants, which I think is a brilliant pop song. And like one of the meanest like bubblegum pop songs ever. Like there's that line where he says, and now that now you're telling me that you're having a baby, I'll tell you that I'm happy if you want me to.

like whoa imagine Harry style singing that like that is not treating people with kindness or whatever like that is like to sneak that into like a pop song that kind of like brutal adult kind of interaction like where you're in a relationship and someone gets pregnant and you're not happy about it and you're just expressing it in unsparing terms I think that's such a subversive amazing thing On top of that just being like a incredible song I mean that's such an angry song too And it's on it was it was released I'm just looking at this now

It was released on a double A side with last Christmas Like what what range Yeah last Christmas and then you know they've got Wake Me Up Before You Go Go And then they have like careless whisper This like big melodramatic song That also has like a lot of darkness in it And massively influential

song. Like all that, every time you hear a saxophone in indie rock, like, it's kind of trace back to that. And I don't know. I just, because we've talked about this a lot on the show, but, you know, I can't help but think about pop stars now. I feel like there's so much modeling now in terms of like modeling, like, modeling, good behavior, modeling, like the best part of yourself and positivity. And obviously there's attributes to that.

But, you know, as someone like George Michael, I feel like he was such a sophisticated personality, you know, that he could be this big pop star, even in the context of Wham, which is like this, I mean, they had a great sense of humor. They were like, you know, I think that they were sort of knowingly frivolous in a lot of ways in the way they presented themselves. Like, they just wanted to be fun and be very pop and bright and, you know, not over-intellectualized things. But even within that framework, he could smuggle in so much darkness.

And like, again, this sort of like dark, uncomfortable sexuality, like, for me as like a seven-year-old or eight-year-old hearing these songs. Like, even then, like, it would kind of, like, disturb me a little bit because it was just like a picture of a world that I didn't understand. But it was in this very kind of kid-friendly context. So, I don't know. That was an amazing thing. But, like, this movie, too, it makes you wish that Andrew Ridgely was your best friend. Yeah, right. This movie is a commercial for Andrew Ridgely just being like the coolest sidekick of all time.

Yeah, I mean, first off, like, Faith was the first tape my parents ever bought for me. I was like seven or eight and I just remember being like frightened of like father figure and monkey. Like, what the fuck were they doing buying me? I mean, obviously because I like the song, Faith. But yeah, I think I haven't seen the reviews of this movie. so I don't really know what the narrative is. But, you know, my initial takeaway was like, I just wonder how much Andrew Ridgley had to do with this

because not since, like, Puffy and, like, the notorious movie has an artist come off, like, a better person. You know, like, Puffy was, you know, like, Barack Obama meets, like, Barry Gordy plus Quincy Jones, and he obviously had a lot to do with it. But Andrew Ridgely is like, okay, George Michael worships this guy's, they're growing up, and Andrew Ridgely gives him the confidence

to recognize his true talent. And when it becomes clear that, like, George Michael needs to go solo, like, Andrew Ridgely gets, like, also, like, let's not forget, I didn't know this, but Andrew originally apparently was, like, a tabloid fixture in the UK for just being way too fucking badass in public. Like, he was, like, scoring with models and, like, getting drunk all the time. And then when the time comes for when to break up, he's like, yeah, super graceful and cool about it. Like, how cool is Andrew Ridgely?

Like, how good does he come off in this movie? Well, exactly, because, okay, because the movie opens and, like, George Michael is this Greek immigrant, and he's awkward, and he's kind of like a pudgy kid, and he moves to, like, this new place, and he's in, like, the new kid in school. And, like, Andrew Ridgely is this, like, really good-looking, incredibly self-assured, like, unpretentious guy who, like, takes George Michael under his wing and is, like, just, he's. He's like the quarterback in the school that takes like the nerd. You know, like, becomes friends with the nerd. And it seems like a really unlikely, like, it's like, why are you so nice? Like, you should be a total asshole, but like you're the nicest guy in the world. And yeah, I mean, it totally flips the narrative for that band because Andrew Ridgely is like usually treated as a punchline.

That, like, you watch the video for everything she wants. It's George Michael doing everything. and then Richly comes in and goes, like, won't you tell me? Like, that's all he does in the song. Like, just that one part. And it's like totally just a, it seems like a token gesture to him.

But the movie does make a good case that, like, George Michael would not have had the confidence to do what he did and to also transform himself into this, like, amazing-looking person. It's, like, so weird with someone like George Michael to think, like, he was awkward. because I just imagine him in the 80s looking like the sexiest dude of all time.

You know, he's got like the perfect hair, the perfect stubble. He's got like the earring, leather jacket, the tight jeans. You're like, wow, this guy is amazing looking. Yeah. And like also that like, oh, Andrew Ridgely was like the real like girl magnet before, which, you know, I mean like obviously there's like the struggles with George Michael's sexuality that he's describing, which really powered a lot of the music. And, yeah, I just, I'm curious what the criticisms are, because, like, I feel like this movie

doesn't go out of its way to make Wham more, like, sociopolitically relevant than they really were. I think a lot of documentaries do that now, where it's, like, you'll get, like, the music writer talking head come on, where it's, like, wham, like, that bit about, like, the monkeys on The Simpsons. Like, the monkeys weren't about pop. they were about like social revolution and uh you know they have such a good sense of humor about their music i mean how could you hear okay i i didn't i wasn't overly familiar with like their songs prior to

make it big but like they put like they put wham rap right out there like that song is seven minutes long and it's like straight up like my name's george michael and i'm here to say like i'm from the uk in a major way type rap i mean like a lot of musicians were making that song in 1982 but this is like some of the most like this music is just so hilariously bad well and even like George Michael doesn't have it all together

yet either like he kind of looks like an awkward kid he's got like the leather jacket on but it's still like he doesn't look as amazing as he does in like the careless whisper video or which is like a year later yeah or like the freedom like freedom's another

just like amazing song from that time like we got like freedom the whim freedom and then Freedom 90, obviously, later on, which is an incredible song. But, yeah, I mean, I think the criticisms I've seen are kind of related to, like, what you're saying you're glad isn't in the movie, which is, like, the music critic people that would analyze the music. Like, there's not a lot of, like, talk about the music in the film. I mean, I think it's interesting, because, like, one thing I've seen a bunch when people write about this documentary is that, like, George Michael, like, isn't respected, or that, like, he, like, he's not. now getting his due. That's not true.

It's not true. Even in the WAM documentary, they show, like, George Michael, like, a big moment for him is, like,

he wins, um, An Evor Novello. Yeah, like the songwriting award, like, from one of the music publishers. And,

like, Elton John presents it to him and calls him, like, one of the great songwriters of... Yeah, like, he calls him,

like, McCartney and, like, uh, yeah, like, he puts him on the level of, like, that.

And obviously there were people that didn't respect him because he was in Wham and you know there were some of those people out there but I don't know I think that gets like a little overstated I mean certainly like in the years after faith

I don't think anyone was saying oh that's not one of the great pop records of the 80s like that's not something that people are just saying now I mean they were saying that for a long time so I don't know I don't want to drift too far into the pop-timism conversation here but sometimes I

I feel like sometimes people are like, oh, we just discovered five years ago that pop, like, music writers before five years ago didn't appreciate pop music. And like, that's not true. I mean, yeah, come on. They were putting out like Wham Rap and Club Tropicana. I mean, these are like highly frivolous songs. I, yeah, I think that people have trouble grasping or at least they're coming in bad faith, like the possibility that like, like people might not like the most popular music on the face of the earth. You know what I mean?

Yeah, I mean, I think like once his songs started becoming amazing, people recognize that. Yeah. You know, like, yeah, like, Wham Rap is a novelty song, but freedom is like a great pop standard, you know, and you can't really deny that. Yeah, it doesn't retroactively, like, turn the songs from a, what was it, fantastic, that record into genius. Like, I mean, like, I will take Wham's assessment. of those songs more than like any person who's just trying to put a thousand words together to get 200 bucks all right well let's get to our mailbag segment and thank you all for writing in uh you can hit us up at indecast mailbag at gmail.com uh this letter actually we talked about in the last

episode or the lost last episode so we're gonna we're gonna talk about it again because we like this letter this is the good vibrations of like the uh smile comparison so do you want to read this letter Yeah, I do. So this is Eddie from D.C. Amazing. I just love Eddie. Eddie from D.C. Love Eddie.

Not to be confused with Eddie from Ohio. We don't know Eddie, but Eddie from D.C. is a great mailbag name. Yeah, let's get some mailbag about Eddie from Ohio. Anyway, last week I saw Wednesday headline a sold-out show at the Black Cat in D.C., wonderful venue. Vives were great. I counted two MS. paint and five boy genius T-shirts. People knew the words sang along, and it had that feeling of this might be. the last time we get to see a band in a venue this small.

While I adore Carly's songwriting and how great she sounded live, I really felt like the flow of the show was disrupted by the banter between every single song. Her family was there and they were clearly excited about the show, but it dragged a bit. At first it was charming, but after a while, I just wanted to hear the jam. Still a great show and a great band. So, between song banter, yay, nay, or yack. Okay, so now we should clarify this is from a couple. weeks ago because, you know, this letter's a little bit old because it was in the lost episode.

But because I also saw Wednesday, I guess it was last month now. So, so around the same time that Eddie from D.C. saw his show. And I got to respectfully disagree with Eddie. I am a fan of banter. Because a lot of times when you go see bands, unless it's a jam band or something, you know, they're doing the same set for the most part every night. Or they're maybe changing things around a little bit, but they're playing the same songs the same way, night in and night out. And a lot of times the only thing that's different is the banter.

So if you get somebody who's good at talking, I think it adds a lot to the show. Now, maybe we'll circle back to our conversation from earlier in the episode about how people react to banter. And I have a feeling you're going to talk about that, Ian. You know, the reaction to banter, I think, can be problematic because some people, they don't know how to take an artist talking to them. They feel like, oh, I should talk back. This is a conversation when it's not a conversation.

Like, you are there to listen to them play songs and to hear them talk. But, you know, I like it when artists talk. And, you know, I think of like the great banterers, banterers that I've seen over the years. You know, obviously Robert Pollard, guided by voices. He's the all-time champ of that. Jeff Tweedy, I think, is really funny between songs, especially if you see him at a solo acoustic show. He'll go on for a long time, and it's almost like a stand-up comedy show at times. He's, like, very funny.

And Carly, you know, I'm not going to put her on that level yet, but when I saw the show, I thought she was really charming between the songs. And, you know, here in Minneapolis, they ended up playing at First Avenue downtown after being initially booked into a smaller club in St. Paul. And the place was like, not sold out, but it was like pretty full. And I think they were, uh, I think, you know, the band and Carly, I think they were all, like, pretty excited about how many people turned out. Uh, because as we've said before, you know, you can pack a room in New Yorker, L.A., a lot of

music bands there. but if you're doing it in Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, places like that, it really shows you're making inroads. You could draw people throughout the country. So good for Wednesday. Again, I appreciated her talking. What do you think? I'm giving it a yay.

Yay talking. I'm pro. This has been something where I think I've made a complete 180 over the past couple of years because, you know, like you, there was a time where stage manager was, one of, you know, like, that was part of the reason I would see a band live, especially if it's done well. But, you know, of course, the pandemic broke people's brains and now, uh, fans in the audience tend to, like, have this thing where they're either, like, they feel like they're friends with the people on stage or they see them as, like, a god. And, uh, yeah, there's, like,

nothing worse than, like, the people up front who feel entitled to banter along with the artist. Like, they'll make jokes that totally bomb or, like, run me over with the truck type stuff that stops the banter coal because the artist doesn't really know what to do with that. And, you know, I don't think that a lot of artists have that Robert Pollard in them where they can like clap back and tell people like to kind of just shut the fuck up.

So, you know, especially at like that level of a venue, like, where it's the, I don't know, 500,000 cap room where there's still like some degree of crowd interaction. Like I saw a cloud nothings a few weeks ago. And I used to think they were like a pretty unremarkable live band because they just ripped through the songs and did nothing else,

like no banter whatsoever. And I actually found it refreshing. You know, so, um, with Wednesday, I feel like once they get to the Wilco level, you know, or at least one where like you can't hear where it's like not a crowd interaction. Like banter, when it's like one person on stage is kind of doing their thing and there isn't a reaction. Yeah, that's, you know, I'm totally cool with that. But, you know, I saw a Fleet Fox's show like last year where people tried to do that new style of banter and it just stopped the show cold. It really took me out of it. So I don't know.

I think maybe we're going to have to, we might have to just kind of go back to like a no banter policy. But generally speaking, yay, in practice, kind of nay for now. We've now reached the 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? All right, so, you know, it's been, again, I've said this, like, damn near every other episode before, like, I recommend an emo album. But it's been kind of tough to find ones that really have stuck in 2023. It just doesn't seem like a lot of them have legs. Maybe it's just the people who would write about emo in the past or doing other stuff.

But over the last week, I had come across this band that I had been hearing mention every now and again, this band called Magazine Beach. they're currently touring with Origami Angel and I saw you know some trustworthy emo experts Miranda Reiner, Hugo Reyes saying it's a good record and yeah I've heard a lot their album Constant Springtime I mean which is the truth in advertising right there

I've heard a lot of music like this over the past couple of years where it sounds a little bit like early Tigers Jarre or Lemoria or the more kind of pop side of 08-2011 emo revival but this one also puts in some like blast beats and there's like a 10 minute song at the end. So it just shows me they have a little bit more ambition and craft that leads me to maybe be more invested in what they do because look, you can find a billion records like this and the band's probably going to break up in a year and maybe get like a track review in the alternative and that's about it. But I think I hear, I see some legs with this record.

And, you know, especially as real summer starts happening in San Diego, it's not like 60 and gray for like the first 12 hours of the day and then like 80 from 4 to 6. I look forward to enjoying this one more. So magazine beach, constant springtime, even though it's more of a summer record. Good record. All right. I want to talk about a band from Brooklyn. Apparently there's bands in Brooklyn now. Who knew?

It's the new Philly. This band is called Palehound. They have a record out today called I. of the bat. And look, I'm not even going to like try to describe this record in flowerly language or be overly elaborate with it. I think the pleasures of this record are pretty straightforward. Basically, you have lots of slice of life vignettes. And I should say that the singer-songwriter in this band, Ellen Kepner, describes their music as journal rock. I think that's a very good way of describing it because it does feel like

just ripped from daily life type stories in these songs. And the songs are set to like super catchy 90 sounding alternative rock. That's it. Simple formula. Hooky songs.

Slice of Life vignettes in the lyrics. I don't think it's super complicated. I just put this record on and it gives me what I want. Lots of pleasure on this record. And if that's the kind of thing you want, I think you're going to get it on this record. Again, it's called I Have the Bat.

It's by Palehound. I'm going to say put this on the patio, good patio record. You're going to have a good time this weekend, listening to this album. That about does it for this episode of Indycast. 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 Mixape 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.