Indiecast - The Weeknd’s ‘Dawn FM,’ Plus: Coachella + Bonnaroo Lineups

Episode Date: January 14, 2022

After the dearth of new music releases over the holidays, 2022 is officially in full swing and it seems like the docket of new music just keeps getting more and more exciting. To kick off a year of new music reviews, Steve and Ian are digging into Dawn FM, the latest album from The Weeknd that dropped without any preamble on January 7, but is simultaneously the biggest release of the year so far.Before any of that, however, it’s time to break down the newly-announced Coachella and Bonnaroo lineups. After a two year hiatus, Coachella is finally back with a pretty stacked lineup. That said, are people still going to be writing “rock is dead because there are no rock bands at Coachella” thinkpieces in 2022? What bands in the indie world even have the reach to potentially headline future iterations of Coachella?In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is plugging Little Green House, the latest album from Connecticut punk outfit Anxious, while Steve is getting excited for the forthcoming album from Guerilla Toss.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.0:12 - Intro: Music Festival Font Size + Coachella & Bonnaroo Announcements7:51 - What Rock Bands Could Headline Coachella?18:07 - Mailbag: Okkervil River Memoryhole?27:10 - The Weeknd 'Dawn FM' Review 44:49 - Recommendation CornerSee 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 Indicast. 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 review the new album by The Weekend. My name is Stephen Hayden, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host. He should have headlined Coachella this year. Ian Cohen.

Ian, how are you? I'm not going to lie. I mean, maybe it's just that, you know, I know Uprox has some pull and you got that book coming out, that every time that there is a festival, maybe not Coachella, but more like Innings Festival or Tree Fort, like the real I-chart ones, I still like reflexively look to see, hey, maybe we're on it this year. But, yeah, invite us to your festival. Really?

We could be on the bill. We can outdraw some of these smaller print indie bands, I think. We've got some, you know, clout in the podcast sphere. We really do. And I mean, on Coachella, I think the real I chart test is, like, you know, like, you know, Like, is your very real hardworking band in smaller font than Emo Knight? Like, can you imagine being Code Orange? Like a band that's, like, grinding it out for, like, 10 years in the metal core realm.

They get on Coachella and, like, you need, like, an electron microscope to see them, whereas Emo Knight is like, oh, yeah, like, you don't need the, you don't need the bifocals to see that. Or, like, black midi. They're on, like, the black midi's about the size of Emo Knight on the poster. Yeah, that's brutal. It just made me think about, like, what if, like, music critics had to be subjected to this, that, like, your byline was as big as your cloud. So, like, someone who's, like, really well-known has, you know, the headliner text,

whereas if you're just grinding it out as a freelancer making 50 bucks right in record reviews, you get, like, the small type. Don't knock 50 bucks for an album review. It took me a long time to make that. We've all been there. I'm not knocking it. I'm just saying that that would be quite the ego. leveler if you had yourself

worth defined by a font size. So I have sympathy for these bands. We should say Coachella, they announced their lineup this week. And for those who didn't see it, the headliners are Harry Stiles, Kanye West, Billy Elish and Swedish House Mafia. Yes. If you look at even in the smaller print,

very few indie rock bands. Yeah. Or relatively few. And it seems like we have, I mean, this has been the case for a while at Coachella, but it seems like even the expectation now that rock bands would be booked there is gone. Because I remember for a while, you know, the Coachella line would get announced, and then you would always see the think piece where someone says, rock is dead because it's not at, you know, you can't see rock bands at Coachella anymore. I feel like we're past that now.

Like people, it's like, no, this is not a rock festival. It's Coachella. they're attracting all the hype beasts from the L.A. area. This is the kind of music that they like, and this is what draws people. Yeah, I mean, even last night, I, you know, I would see friends of mine posting about Coachella, you know, being in Southern California and how, like, in the good old days, like, in 2013 or whatever, when you could see, like, red hot chili peppers two years removed from, like, I'm with you headlining. It's like, or Phoenix. That's a crazy year. Yeah.

Phoenix. Yeah. The Stone Roses had a year? That was so legendaryly bad. Like, first off, like, the Stone Roses, like, they're not even, like, my bloody Valentine as far as, like, bands who released one iconic album and just kind of went away for a bunch of years. Like, that, that draw, like, was so catastrophically bad. They, like, had to switch the next week and have Blur headline.

And, like, that wasn't that much better. I was going to say Blur. know how well they would do. I guess they would do marginally better than Stone Roses, but was that the beginning of the end of them booking rock bands as headliners? Because, I mean, that, because that seems like an insane bill, like that you'd have Phoenix headlining Coachella, or certainly Stone Roses. I haven't, I'm trying to think of the progression of, of headliners. My last year going to Coachella was 2015. That was the year that Drake headlined. And, you know, the previous year 14, you had Muse and Arcade Fire and Outcast as headliners, which, you know, like,

Muse, I don't recall what album they released at that time. To be real with you, like Outcast. I think that was drones. I think drones were like. Yeah, that sounds about right. Also, like, Drake was like, or Outcast, just terribly disappointing. They totally didn't want to be there. 2015, this is the last year I went. ACDC headlined, Jack White. Wow. And Drake. Wow. Yeah, you can just tell that there were like some older rock dude fans still booking shows there.

It was like wishful thinking that we're going to book. Like, I wonder how ACDC did. They were great. I mean. I mean, they're a great band, but I'm just wondering how they went over with that crowd. Pretty good. Like, I remember that being, like, that Friday night is the one that you can book maybe like the third, like the third biggest or like the third biggest draw. Because, you know, most people would just come for Sunday.

And, yeah, I mean, I think they did pretty well with the classic rock line, with the classic rock people. Yeah, it was, it was fun. It was definitely fun. Is that when Axel was singing with them? No, no, no, no. That I would have remembered. Okay. Because I remember I saw them, I think, the following year, right before Brian Johnson left.

And then Brian Johnson subsequently came back, but then Axel was the lead singer. I wish I would have seen the Axel. Same. That would have been amazing. Yeah. These, it was pretty good, but I mean, yeah, 2015, that was the last year that I covered Coachella and probably the last year that it was rock base. Then, look, yeah, Coachella is not, they don't have to reflect what you and I listen to. Like, they, they're way.

I think the bigger deal is that not Coachella, but Bonneroo's lineup this year. because like no matter what the trends have, you know, what trends have been hashed out over the years, they've tried to stay true to like a jam lineup. And now I think like Tool and Jay Cole are headliners. Yeah. And well, on Friday, it's Jay Cole, the Chicks. Oh, okay. Well, that makes sense.

And Illinium? I don't know. I don't know. Too old to know who that is. And then Saturday it's Tool, Flume, and 21 Savage. Okay. Sunday, it's Stevie Nix, Machine Gun Kelly. Yep.

Rock is back, baby. Yeah, there you go. One thing I will say for Bonnaroo is that Goose, who are the best young jam band in America right now, they're built higher than bleachers and Japanese breakfast on Friday. So that's a small concession to the jam world, that Goose would get a solid, I guess the third line they're on, right behind King Gizzard and the War on Dros. I also like the fact that they have Tool and Pusufor. You're getting like the Maynard double-dip right there, and the same way Coachella's got

Caribou and Daphne. Do you think Bonnaru asked for Pusufur or that Maynard insisted on also doing Pusufor because he wanted to double-dip? Yeah, they get them, get a perfect circle. I mean, go for the trifecta. Like all Maynard all weekend. Going back to Coachella, I was thinking about, you know, indie bands, rock bands that still could headline Coachella.

I was just trying to think. Who could you say? I just want to do a quick lightning round with you. All right. Lightning around with you. Like, if you think these acts could headline, Tama Pala. Yeah. Yeah, I'd say yes. Absolutely.

They have headline, haven't they? They have headlined. I don't know. Like, I think, I don't know if they're, I think they could be a Friday headliner now. Like, given the fact that, like, the door is open to sign, you know, to have the biggest pop acts in the world play. Like, I don't know if Tame and Paula competes with, say, you know, Billy Island. or whatever, but yeah, you put them on Friday and no one is mad.

How about Vampire Weekend? They've headlined before. Could they do it now, you think? Ugh. I don't, I don't, I, yes, I lean maybe, yeah. Yeah, I would, it would depend on how their next record does. Yeah. But I lean maybe on Vampire Weekend.

What about Heim? That's a possibility. I still, yeah, I think that they could, but they seem more like second line. Like, they seem like second liners, yeah. I think they could maybe because it's Southern California. I think they could. Yeah. That's what makes me say yes.

But yeah, I. They could do it in a pitch of like Frank Ocean headlines and then decides to, to dip, which has happened before at FYF. So, Hyme, yeah, I think you could do that. They're just, yeah, just bring a van to the San Fernando Valley. Bring them out to Coachella. They'll be there in a couple hours. Bonnie Vair. No.

You think Bonnie Vair? No. You don't think he could? I mean, he's badmouthed Coachella a lot. I don't think he would want to do that festival. He's played it. They did really well. I enjoy.

That was a while ago, though, wasn't it? No, but they don't have, like, they're not headliners. See, they're arena headliners, though. Yeah, but there's a difference. Like, you got to be, like, not like, BoniVare, like, I would say is a second, a top liner, but not. What if Kanye was going to show a lot? up for a couple songs. Does that bump them up to the headliner status? I feel as

if Kanye and Boniever have played the same year and that didn't happen. Okay. All right. I probably lean no on that. Again, I also think that he wouldn't do it now because after he started his own festival, he started bad mouth in Coachella. But I feel

like he could do it more than you could, but yeah, I'm still maybe leaning no on him. The War on Drugs? No. No, no, they couldn't. No. They're on the second line of Bonaroo. Yeah. They're kind of,

I feel like the, that would be true the national too. I don't, I can't say the national. Yeah, they're as big as they're going to get, I think. Yeah.

Very solid. Yeah. But, and also the audience skews older. Yeah. I think for those bands. Well, turn style.

No. Not now, but like, what do you think, maybe like five years from now? Uh, nah. I mean,

their, their font right now, like, is still, they're higher up than, say, Japanese breakfast, but still lower than, like,

way lower than like say still woozy um turn style like they're there i i would i'm happy that they're playing but no band like that is it like i i would love for them to level up even further beyond like what they're doing right now but this if this is the turnstile ceiling which i think it is uh yeah i think i just want to see them like uh maybe maybe reach the headliner status at like you know, a rock on the range or something like that. I wonder if Turnstile would ever be tempted to do like the panic in the disco thing where they have a song like High Hopes, just like a total pop song? Like if they would ever go that far.

I would, I would love it if, you know, like in some way, like in the past couple of years, like, you know, maybe like war on drugs or like have been kind of called on by like pop artists, like whether Turnstile is going to be like called in to like guest on a, I don't know, like a weekend album or something like that. Well, we'll talk about this later. I think he certainly could have fit on the latest weekend record. But yeah, I don't know. I wonder how interested Adam is in that.

He might be. He's a huge studio rat. So he might just like want to get in the studio with Max Martin, bang out some jams at some point. Arcade Fire. No, not anymore. They've done it like twice. They've done it twice.

It seems like they've maybe gone past their peak. Yeah. So I'm going to say no, too. LCD sound system No Absolutely not Have they have our headline Yes I think they have

Was that on their comeback year? I want to say it was maybe like 2010 Like maybe like they Like right now I think they could like Potentially headline like say Pitchfork Festival and it would be kind of cool But like Yeah

I don't think that I like they Actually LCD sound system Headline Coachella 2016 Okay yeah their comeback year then. Yeah. You know what?

Like they're, I just don't think they're the draw they used to be. Not for the Coachella crowd. Yeah, I would, again, they seem like they skew older. Yeah, and New York, not L.A., so. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not sure if the kids are listening to LCD. Arctic Monkeys.

Maybe. Yeah, there are maybe for me. Maybe. I think that the last album really took a lot of, like, I don't know, like, I think maybe, it just really depends on what direction their next album goes. in. Yeah, they seem to be a band that has some younger fans. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

Like, more so than any of the bands that you've mentioned so far, they could. Yeah. How about some Legacy X? What about Radiohead? They've done it like a billion times. They've done it. I think they did it last in 2018. I think they could still do it.

I think they're the only band of their generation, or one of the only bands of their generation that could still do it. The strokes? Yeah, probably. I think so, too. Maybe like a Friday night slot, as you were saying. Yeah, I mean, it wouldn't be like, oh, wow, strokes are playing. But like, oh, yeah, the strokes are playing.

Like, they draw it way big. Yeah. Yeah, they're like a, I feel like they're a T-shirt band now. Yes, absolutely. If you want to wear a T-shirt of an old rock band, you get a stroke shirt. What about the chili peppers? You know, we're talking about 2013. They were a headliner.

It's SoCal. It's Californication. Yeah. I feel like they could. Sure. Yeah. I'd say yes for them. Yeah, they could.

At Coachella, I think at Coachella, they could. I don't think the foo fighters could. I think they could. I think the food fighters could. I think the red-out chili peppers could. I don't know. If they got like wild and book like Pearl Jam maybe, like I can't envision that. But I can't see Pearl Jam.

Yeah. Because, and look, a Pearl Jam fan, I've obviously written a book about them coming out later this year. But they don't seem to have any real. dashed with younger people. Like, they haven't had, like, a hit in the last 10 years. Like, the chili pepper still had, they still have had hits, like, during the Klinghoffer era. The Klinghaw.

Wasn't it, like, Rain Dance Maggie, or wasn't that a hit? No, I mean, it was technically, like, by the way, one of the dumbest songs I've ever heard in my life. What's the full title? The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie. Which is, I think it was, like, kind of like a minor rewrite of Danny California. Right, right.

I got like, Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie. I mean, Danny California is like also like one of the worst songs that like I've ever heard on the radio. This is sort of like, rain dance Maggie is worse. That said, chili peppers, they're like a plug-in. It's like, oh yeah, let's just throw chili peppers on there. You can do that. With Frasante coming back.

Yeah, you can do it. It's a fresh excitement. They're doing a stadium tour this year. I think, yeah. I feel like there's like goodwill brewing for the. chili peppers just in the air, now that Frasante's back in the fold. Yeah. I think they could do it.

What about you two? Absolutely. Absolutely. You think so? Absolutely. Do you think people would actually see them there? Yes. I absolutely think that would be.

Like, I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. You two, easy. That's an easy one. I mean, I feel like that will happen eventually. I feel like Bono is going to want to do the thing where he's, like we're reapplying for the role of biggest band in America or biggest band in the world and we're going to do Coachella, you know, because I mean, they've done, um, uh, Glastonbury. Yeah.

So, why not do Coachella? Yeah. Uh, has Cole played done Coachella? Yeah, absolutely. Okay. They could headlines still. Yeah, absolutely still. Very much so.

What about, and this is just me doing wishful thinking. Let's say there was an oasis reunion. Oh, easy, easy. Like, you do, like, if you can get OASI. to play Coachella, you do that. That would maybe be the first time I would go to Coachella. I've never been to Coachella. I'd like to see them see Oasis at Coachella.

I think Oasis, perhaps more so than some of the bands you've mentioned so far, like are kind of an influence, like are respected, are loved. And it would be by younger bands. And also, it would be an event in the way that like chili peppers or food fighters wouldn't be. Like, you get away. Now, granted, like, I am prepared. for like oasis to play and like it's nowhere near as like you know momentous as seeing them play

like a british festival but or like a european one for that matter but like you like i think that like oasis playing coachell is just something that's like years in the making it'll happen oh man oh man and i hope it's like just the most terrible set where they fight and they're like they fight with each other in the middle like i i want the full oasis experience I want it to be great, and then they argue at the end. Yes. Play like 90% of a great set and then do acquiesce and get into a fight during the song. That would be beautiful.

Yeah. Let's go to our mailbag segment here, and thanks again, everyone, for writing into us. Our mailbag is getting a little light. We've done a bunch of mailbag segments, I feel like, recently. So please hit us up with your questions. We've had some amazing letters lately. So just hit us up. We're at Indycastmailbag at gmail.com.

Man, are we in our LCD sound system, arcade fire, like, uh, downward slide phase? No. Ah, no. No way. Okay. I don't think so. All right. No.

Oh, well, you know, although if we are, that means that we're getting paid bank to do crypto events. We are, and I just want to say, if you are a cryptocurrency magnate, we, we, we, we, we are very open to ideas. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we'll hash out trends for a fee. Absolutely. Do you want to read this question?

Yes, I do. All right. So this comes to us from Curtis from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Once again, Indycast is doing numbers in Canada. Yep, Indycast Stronghold for sure. Love the show and hope this letter can find the top of the old mailbag. Well, Curtis, here you are. Dreams come true. I hope it feels as good as you hoped. I revisited some...

Okay, now, I should have looked up how to pronounce Ockerville River. Before we were... I think that's it. Ackerville River? Yeah, this is a great opportunity because we've just had some really incredible pronunciations from you over the past year.

So, anyway... No, I'm pretty sure that's right. Although, yeah, I am not an authority on pronunciations, but I'm pretty sure that's the right way to say, Ackerville River. So Curtis revisited some of Ackerville River's discography over the holidays,

and it dawned on me, they have a pretty much been memory hold since their prolific mid-aughts. They're seemingly absent in the mid-aughts indie revival that's been happening lately, particularly as contemporary acts, My Morning Jackets, Spoon Animal Collective, for example, release new records and have lots of coverage on their influence and impact.

They also don't seem to have the indie album turns 10 cottage industry the same way as their contemporaries. This feels odd for a band that had a five record run of well-reviewed albums and the aughts, and they might even pass the trademark, hide-in-five album test. So this leads me to wonder, was this a critical miss of the time, or is there something about their work and acts they influence that has made them uninteresting for a look back. Very good question, Curtis. Appreciate you writing in. So, Ackerville River, as Curtis said, they really had their prime in the mid-aughts. I guess you would say Black Sheep Boy is their most famous record. That got some anniversary coverage, didn't it?

It did. I do recall that I think they did a reissue. They definitely did a tour behind it. And I know Will Schiff did quite a few interviews about that album. So yeah, I I think there was, also, this was seven years ago. So, you know. Yeah, yeah, they didn't get any 15 year anniversary love. Maybe they get 20, I don't know. But yeah, it was that record in the stage names, the record after it. Those were the two big ones.

Yeah. Like, it's the worst possible. Like, if you were big in 05 to 08, like they were, like this is the worst possible time for the cottage. Like, you're the longest possible time between your 10 year and your 20-year look back. So I get where Curtis is coming from. But, you know, it's just kind of the nature of the cottage industry. Well, what do you think of Okravo River? I guess what did you think about them at the time and how do you feel about them now?

All right. So, I mean, I remember seeing Black Sheep Boy on like the, you know, like the number of 34 or 45 slot on the year end lists of 2005. I was vaguely familiar. Love that record. Love, like that to me is like a prime example of like what. What do you want indie rock to sound like? Yeah, that's it right there. But to that point, I think Ackerville River, like, any given year, there are the band,

like the big Hall of Fame A-list-type bands that determine the narrative. And then there are the ones who kind of draft on that, you know, who can fit within what indie rock is at the time. And, you know, like, they remind me a little bit of arcade fire. They have horns. They have these big cathartic, you. yelling sprees. They got,

they're kind of literate and academic like the Decemberists. They got really meta on the stage names and stand-ins like hold steady. But, you know, they never had one thing that made you think, oh, this band sounds like Ackerville River, you know?

And, and it's just the kind of nature of music criticism that, like, these are the bands that are the churn when the new generation comes in. because, you know, they're not bit, like, you stop getting, like, the profiles done because, like, oh, we cover them last album cycle. And, you know, the old guy at the publication is not, like, me is, like, giving your record, like, a 7.6 in the D slot. But, yeah, I mean, with a band like this, like, you either have to continually, like, top yourself in very obvious ways or you just end up, like, what Ockerville River is. Like, I mean, they describe themselves as a mid-level band, even on.

at the peak of their success. And yeah, I mean, I think that they just kind of played out the natural lifeline of a mid-level indie rock band. You know, they put out consistently good records, but none that would make a casual listener, especially one who's like trying to put whatever the past couple of years of indie rock did aside to say, oh, yeah. I mean, one thing I will say about Ackerville River is that bands of this nature, like, you know, like antlers, for example, or like Simblesi guitars who were like that sort of all-star band, like, but kind of became like, once the narrative moved on, they were put aside. If you want bands to sound like that, you got to go into the emo realm. Like bands like this are still really loved by people in this.

world. And, you know, if Ockerville River wants to reinvent themselves as like a band that plays like FEST, I think they could do it. Yeah, I mean, I think they would be classified as emo if they came out now. Absolutely. This is one of many bands from that era that would now be slotted in like an emo realm or like an acoustic punk type realm, you know, that whole world. Ocarville River folk punk like covert ops. Yeah, exactly. You know, I think it's very telling that when you were talking about them that you were referencing other more well-known and I think overall better bands, you know, Arcade Fire, the Decembris, groups like that. And I think even in their prime, Ackerville River was always like the third or fourth best band doing what they were doing. You know, again, very good. I like

Black Sheep Boy in the stage names. I haven't listened to those records in a long time, but this is the epitome of the band of a band that's going to appeal to the Indycast listener, you know, the deep listener who wants to dig deep into like the mid-aughts indie world and hear all these different bands. But for a more casual listener, you know, it reminds me of debates that people have about who gets into like a sports hall of fame. Like I was listening to pardon the interruption this morning and they were talking about the pitcher John Lester, who just retired and he played for the Red Sox and the Cubs.

He has like 200 career wins. He won three World Series championships. And they were saying like he's kind of the epitome of the pitcher who was always really good, but he was never, like he never won a Sy Young Award. He was never at any moment considered the best in the game. And it's always hard in retrospect, where do you put someone like that? Because we tend to remember the people at the top, and then everyone else kind of fades away. Because there's only so many bands you can remember from the past.

Again, unless you are an indie cast listener, we can remember people all day long. Yes. So, yeah, I would say with Ackerbell River, if this is a band that you haven't heard of yet, I would go back and listen to Black Sheep Boy. and the stage names and some of the records around there. There was a record called the stand-ins, which was, in essence, like... Companion piece. Yeah.

Companion piece to stage names, an out-takes record. I think they're worth revisiting. But yeah, like, they're like a B-B-plus band. Yeah. You know, they're not an A-band, but they're B-plus band. They made some good records. Yeah, and, you know, that's always the explanation of, like, oh, how come people don't remember this band?

It's like, well, you know, like, yeah, I'm surprised you pulled out the John Lester reference. I thought, like, the remember... See, this is why... Innings Festival needs to fucking book us. Exactly. We can switch hit. Yeah, we can remember some guys.

Like, we are legend in two games when it comes to remember in some guys. Yeah. I mean, the innings booker, if he's not listening to our show. Yeah, I know. Get another booker because that guy or woman needs to be listening to this show for tips. For that festival specifically. That's a total indie cast type festival. Yeah.

Well, let's get to the meat of our episode. Yes. And we're going to be talking about one of the biggest pop stars in the world who came from the indie world. And of course, that's the weekend. We talked about the weekend almost exactly a year ago around the time that he performed on the Super Bowl. Right. And on that time, we talked a bit about the indie R&B movement of the early 2010s. So if you want to hear us talk about that, I recommend going back to that episode.

I think it's February of 2021. So we're not going to talk so much about that. We're going to focus on the new weekend record, which is called Dawn FM. It's his fifth album. That's not counting the three mixtapes that he put out at the beginning of his career, that were packaged together as trilogy. Apparently those don't count in the official progression of albums. Kissland is the official first album by the weekend.

But I think people consider like House of Balloons from 2011 to be his first album. But anyway, the new album, Dawn FM, it's the follow-up to the weekend's 2020 album After Hours, which spawned the song Blinding Lights, which was recently named by Billboard Magazine, the biggest hit of all time, displacing the twist by Chubby Checker from 1960. So, you know, 60 years, Chubby Checker reigns supreme

until the weekend came along. That song, I believe, has been, streamed 2.7 billion times on Spotify. Just ridiculous amount of spins for that. And now he's made this new record. And once again, he's working with some long-time collaborators. Max Martin, of course, who's like one of the most famous pop producers of all time. And one of Tricks Point Never, who's like one of his most long-standing collaborator.

So you have a very pop producer and you have a very sort of indie, cool producer coming together. And that's basically where the weekend. lands on this album somewhere between those two worlds. I know how I feel about this record, but I'm curious, what do you think of Dawn FM? This record's getting really good reviews. People seem to love it. It was a surprise release. I think I forgot to mention that.

The weekend dropped a press release last week, and the album dropped a few days later. How are you feeling about this record? Well, I think first and foremost, we have to acknowledge the possibility that the weekend might be listening to Indycast. I know that he said in an interview that, you know, he reads all of his reviews. And just a quick aside, I know, like, I remember, like, I was the type of guy who would review trilogy back in 2012. And, you know, the night that album, that review went live, like, it's kind of a personal aside. Like, I was on, like, an OKCupid date or something like that. and I'd like, you know, gone to the bathroom, whatever.

And I get an email alert that 40, the guy who produced a lot of the early stuff, like wrote me an email, like a long email, like very grateful about the things I said. And this was like an hour after this thing posted. So I would not put it past the weekend. Even as he's displaced, chubby checkers, the twist and magic's rude as the biggest hits of all time. very well may be listening to this right now. So, yeah. That'd be awesome.

Yeah, that would be really cool. Or maybe, like, one of his underlings, they're going to, like, produce a transcript that he can read. Because, you know, he may not have time to listen to a podcast, but he might. Yeah, party next door or something like that. Or Maji, no, those are Drake's people. Never mind. But, yeah, as far as Dawn FM, like, I think I've intentionally, like, I've listened to this album with more intention than I've had weekend albums in the past. First, because, yes, it is becoming, like, more critically acclaimed than previous weekend albums.

And also, it's, you know, it came out on January 7th. What the hell else do I have to listen to? And I don't know. Like, I mean, at first listen, I really like the first song because it has, like, those really bizarre tuned vocals. It's like, okay, maybe he's doing a little something different. It's fine. Like, I think that it's fun to listen to just as a sense of like where pop is right now or like what songs I'm going to hear in 7-Eleven for like the next year. But yeah, I just get a weird sense of it like people comparing it to like thriller or whatever is sort of a if you can't beat them, join them sort of thing.

Yeah. Like have people just like kind of accept like because I think in the past, you know, prior to maybe after hours, there was a bit of like trying to. to reckon with the weekend. Like, you know, this person is super popular, but as far as pop stars go, it's kind of a blank slate. Like, we don't know much about the weekend aside from the fact that he sees himself as, like, taking up the mantle of Michael Jackson. And, you know, now maybe he's certainly not Michael Jackson level, but like it, like, is he,

like, he's bigger than Michael Jackson. He is the biggest pop hit of all time. Oh. You could say, I mean, he's bigger in that sense. Of course, he's never had an album as big as thriller. No. But, you know, it's interesting because just from talking to you about the weekend, my sense is that you prefer the early weekend. Oh, absolutely.

And, you know, I know that's kind of an unpopular thing to say because, like, there are a lot. These are very problematic works of art, lyrically speaking. And also, like, I think sonically, they are more innovative. They were more interesting. You know, now when I listen to the weekend, I like, oh, this sounds like 2008, not blog rock. Although there is one song, Christaville from Stereogam mentioned, it sounds a little bit like clap your hand say, yeah, less than zero.

Not entirely wrong on that front. See, I got a War on Drugs vibe from that song. That made me think of like, I don't live here anymore, the album. Okay, it made me think of this home on this house on ice. Oh, that's fascinating. See, with the weekend, it makes me think about this concept, which I'm going to explain something to the young people listening to the show. There used to be a concept called a sellout record, which is what happened when artists from the underground or the indie world signed to a major label, and then they made just a super slick and catchy pop record that alienated all their old fans.

And in the case of the weekend, that began with his 2015 record, Beauty Behind the Madness, which was the record that really, catapulted him to pop stardom. That's when he started collaborating with Max Martin on a lot of his hits. I mean, pretty much like all of his biggest hits have like Max Martin's name. Some were listed among the songwriters or the producers. He's also had some big hit collaborations with Daft Punk. But I have to say that for me, like when he sold out, if we want to use that term, like, you know, somewhat ironically, he got better.

Like, I like his post-sellout work a lot. Like, when I listen to trilogy, like that era of weekend, tend to find it to be kind of turgid and samey. And, you know, I hear you on the innovation aspect of those records, but they're just not that fun to listen to. Whereas when he just decided to go for it, rather than, you know, in the trilogy era, he covered Dirty Diana and a very sort of downtrodden,

sonically murky, kind of way, it was almost like a postmodern version of that song. And then around Beauty Behind the Madness, he just decided, I'm just going to be Michael Jackson. I'm going to, like, try to have Michael Jackson sized hits. And I've really come around on him during this era. I thought After Hours was his best record for me. Like, that's the record I enjoyed the most. And now Dawn FM is my favorite weekend record.

You know, I just feel a lot different than you about this album. I kind of want to call it an instant classic. Wow. I think this is a great record. It's super addictive to listen to. Like, I haven't been able to shut it off because I just think there's so many well-crafted songs. You mentioned less than zero, which is in the pole position for me for like best song of the year. Like, it's ridiculous to talk about that at this moment.

But I just think this album is got to be the best song of the year so far. In this song, it's set in the tone. For me, this album, it's kind of. At the head, it's like, hey, what album's going to be better than this for me? I feel like that with this record. But, you know, like, take my breath. You know, it's a great pop-banger, sacrifice. I mean, it's just one song after another.

I think it's just such a consistent record. I love the production. I love, again, this idea of him working with Max Martin and one Otricks Point Never, meeting those people in the middle, combining it. I think it's such a great aesthetic for him. You know, I think the obvious criticism to make of Dawn FM is that it's a very derivative record. And essentially what he did on this album is he took the formula of blinding lights and he

just made the entire album that that's like that. Can't blame them. Yeah, which is something you do when you have a song that's been streamed 2.7 billion times. And I hear what you're saying. I could see making the observation that, well, this is maybe in some way a cynical move on this part. But again, it's such a pleasurable record to listen to, so addictive. I don't know if he's the next Michael Jackson.

I've actually referred to him as methadone Michael Jackson because I still want to hear Michael Jackson sounding music, but I feel guilty listening to Michael Jackson. And even for all of his, like, lyrical transgressions, I think we can agree that the weekend is a lot better, like, from a problematic standpoint than Michael Jackson is. So, yeah, I think it's a fantastic record. Yeah.

And I have to say that for me, like when we talk about pop artists, the weekend for me is like more the most reliable, if not the most reliable. And I don't know how you feel about that. I mean, we don't talk about that world a whole lot. I feel like when I read reviews of some big pop records that there's a lot of, as you say, can't beat them join them. Boosterism that goes on. But I don't feel like that in the case of this record,

just because it is such a pleasurable album, it's kind of impossible to hate unless you just have a problem with the weekend. Yeah. And I enjoy it. Like, I enjoy it. I enjoy it. I don't, like, find myself, like, you use the term addictive. I didn't think, like, oh, man, I got to, like, clear my schedule and listen to the weekend.

I think I'm going to absorb this album throughout the year and kind of come back to it eventually after the initial heat dies down. And I do want to point out, like, you were absolutely correct in that his post, I mean, like, I think there are degrees of selling out for the weekend. I mean, like, he was huge from the beginning. But, like, going, like, the very much pop route in 2015. Like, Kissland is just so awful. Like, I still, like, he had really reached the end of that road very, very quickly. I still can't believe that we are talking about the weekend in 2022. Like, when I think back of, like, Kissland, I'm like, this guy's, this guy is done.

Like this is complete like he is re like the well is already dry. And pop will move on because that was the year of like blurred lines and the 2020 experience and like R&B pop got very happy and we and weddingy again. And the weekend just seemed like totally out of step. But no, he he ended up playing like a bunch of huge outdoor amphitheaters. Like he was still very popular. I got a lot of angry emails from, it was exclusively guys who were mad, you know, who were mad that I gave Kissland a mediocre review. It's like, no, dude, like the old school, like you live in a basement, like, type emails.

I think that was like the last of that era. One thing I don't have a read on is to what degree does the typical weekend fan even go beyond Beauty Behind the Madness. Like is that the first record for a lot of people? Obviously there's people like like you and me

who know him from the beginning of his career but I wonder if for a lot of people if like Beauty Behind the Madness is the first record and then Starboy After Hours and the new record. Just because you're right,

he was really successful but I think Kissland went gold and Beauty Behind the Madness sold like four million copies. I mean it was, It was just like, he was like indie famous and now he was famous, famous after that record. Yeah, because in 2013, like, as far as like levels of fame, like he wasn't a headliner at Coachella at that time. Like he was still like a, like, oh, it's maybe a second liner like type act. But yeah, like in that time, he was definitely not a headliner.

But now it's like, yeah, the weekend headlines everywhere he goes. Yeah. And again, I like his, I'm going to call it his sellout era. No, I think this is a way better move for him. Or the Max Martin era. I just find his music to be like just so much more enjoyable. And it's like giving me what I want from pop music. I feel like in terms of this kind of pop, like he's the master of it right now.

And I feel like his albums have also gotten more consistent over the years. That was always my issue with the weekend. I always felt like his, he'd have. have really great singles in the albums themselves. There'd be some filler on there that I wasn't so into. But I really feel like this album and after hours are like pretty solid from top to the bottom. Yeah. Yeah.

For me, I have to say like I prefer these last two records to like the trilogy era, like hands down. And maybe I need to go back to the trilogy era because I haven't listened to those records in a while. But I just remember at the time feeling like he's kind of beating this aesthetic into the ground. Absolutely. There was a lot of mid-tempo kind of like self. piteing misogynist songs at that time. And they're all, again, like very turgid sounding synths, you know, very gloomy sounding.

You know, now he's just like, I'm going to make really catchy, you know, dance pop jams, essentially. And it works for him. And I really like it a lot. So, I mean, to me, again, I think this record, it does strike me as a record, too, that for the indie cast listener who does not like pop music, I think this album would translate more so than most pop records would.

Yeah, this is, I listen to this on Apple Music and, you know, to give a corporate shout out. As far as the production, like, the biggest, like, if you don't listen to the biggest pop acts, you probably won't hear Apple Digital Master, which is like a very, like, Apple Music has these, like, spatial audio things that, like, you really get to hear, like, the panning effects and everything. And yeah, it's really cool to hear the weekend's new album on good headphones using Apple's Digital Master. Like if you, if you like me, like to listen to a lot of like raw shitty sounding rock music, it is a change of pace to hear something like this. And also, if you're into the remembering some guys lifestyle, this stuff kind of sort of sounds like cut copy in a lot of ways.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I think that, again, because of the one old tricks point never connection, it grounds it like in an indie aesthetic. So again, if you're coming from an indie world, like a lot of the synth tones, I think will be like catnip. I mean, it's just the really, again, for me it's a very addictive sounding record. And I have to say, too, and this is sort of a minor point on this album,

although maybe not so minor. This is the rare album for me where the spoken word tracks are actually worth listening to. Wow. I don't skip the spoken word tracks. you have Jim Carrey playing a radio DJ on this record. Yeah. And I think he actually does like a really good job. You have a Quincy Jones thing like where he's telling like a pretty messed up story from his childhood.

So yeah, spoken word tracks even, I think work on this album. It's just like a really great package I think from beginning to end. So yeah, again, it's silly or ridiculous at this moment to be talking about the best albums of 2022. But I feel like this is going to be in the mix. Yeah. For me, at least, as we move forward. And by the way, Abel, if you're listening, which you might be, like, give us five stars, give us a shout on your Twitter or whatever.

Like, you know, just let the world know that you fuck with Indycast. We've now reached a part of our episode that we call Recommendation Corner. We haven't done this in a while. No, we haven't. Because no music has been worth discussing. Exactly. So good to be back in Recommendation Corner. Ian and I are both going to recommend something that we're into.

this week. Ian, why don't you go first? All right, so this album actually comes out in about a week, although I want to get ahead of the game here because there's a couple of albums coming out in the next couple of weeks that I want to talk about in subsequent episodes. But this

week, a new single came out from the Anxious album. It's a band from Connecticut on Run for Cover Records. They bring together, like, if you like, FEST music, You like, oh, I like pop punk.

I like hardcore. I like orgcore. I like Easycore. Anxious, they're a band for you. Their debut album, Little Greenhouse, it was produced by Chris Teddy from The World's Beautiful Place and I'm no longer afraid to die. They share members with the band called One Step Closer, who we've talked about on previous recommendation corners. This is more in a kind of a pop realm. Like some of it sounds a little like Jimmy World or like the starting line.

or at other points, maybe like the more catchy parts of the fiddlehead album. Obviously not inventing any new sounds or styles, but I think it's reflective of how, at least in the hardcore emo realm, it's not about like making huge innovations, but like bringing together styles that may have been separated in times past because, you know, you may have listened to the gorilla biscuits and you may listen to Super Chunk, but you probably wouldn't listen to both of them at the same time.

This album is a little something for everyone. It's a half hour. It breezes by. Very catchy songs, very spirited. They even have the acoustic ballad at Song 5, like any good Emo album should. So Anxious, good band. Yeah, I've enjoyed this band too.

I think they're good. They're a good melodic band, balancing sort of the punk side and more of like I guess like a melodic pop type guitar pop feel which I always enjoy in that realm the band I'm going to talk about is from upstate New York they're called Gorilla Toss and they announced

their new record that's going to be coming out in March it's called Famously Alive and they released the single from that record called Cannibal Capital and I like it a lot I've been listening to the promo of this record a lot and this is a band that I think could be at the you know, sort of the shared space and the concentric circles between me and Ian because they're a punk band, but they have jam band influences. They bring in funk and dance music. They also incorporate jamming into their sets, and they make a big deal out of playing unique sets every

night. They started encouraging tapers at their shows several years ago, but they also just play with a lot of energy, you know, that you would want from a punk band. And their upcoming record, it's their fifth album overall, but it's going to be their first. on subpop, so I would imagine that it'll get maybe more of a push than their other four records have. But again, it's just really great music.

It kind of has like a post-punk feel a little bit. Although again, a lot of punk bands or post-punk bands, they don't have like spectacular rhythm sections or sometimes the rhythm sections are a little substandard. This band really grooves, they really cook, and it really

kind of brings, I think, their music to another level. So I'm looking forward to playing this album a lot in the months ahead. And for now, I would just recommend that you all go to your streaming platform of choice. Check out Cannibal Capital, the new single. It's really good. I also have to do a quick shout out because there's a new Destroyer album that was announced this week. And there's the new single from that. It's called Tin Torretto. It's You. Really good single. Extremely destroyed. Like, that is the most destroyer song title you could come up with. And the new album is called Labyrinthitis.

comes out also on March 25th. And if you like the last Destroyer record where he was moving in this kind of like synth pop direction, he goes even farther on the new album. There's quite a few songs that kind of sound like New Order, but like with Destroyer vocals and lyrics on them. And I started listening to it this week

when I got the promo and really liking it a lot. Destroyer does not miss. So go check out the new single. I'm sure we'll be talking about that. at a later date. You are like Destroyer agnostic. I really like Caput. I love Rubies.

I think that Destroyer is a band that I enjoy but also enjoy making fun of. Yeah, I mean, I'll listen to this album. I'm definitely down. I look forward to our episode where we discuss Destroyer and whether they've hit the five album

test. But yeah, I wasn't thrilled with this new song. You know, I think it also just kind of came out on the same day As a lot of like hardcore bands that I'm into Like the new Soul Glow song We'll be talking about them, I'm sure, on a future episode And it just kind of seemed like old guard

Against, you know, the new stuff that I'm into But I'll probably come around by the time the album comes out Well, we will talk about that on a future episode I look forward to that For now, we must bid you all farewell So thank you for listening to 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 Mix Taped 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.