Tag: 2020s

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Tunes

Best tunes of 2020: #15 Venus Furs “Chaos and confusion”

<< #16    |    #14 >>

“Paul Kasner is a perfectionist in the same way Kevin Shields, Anton Newcombe, and Thurston Moore are perfectionists. So, it’s probably befitting that all three of the aforementioned artists were among the many influences on Venus Furs, the self-titled debut from Kasner’s solo moniker of the same name.”

These are not my words but those of music writer Dom Gourlay conjured for one of my favourite music zines, Under the Radar. These are the words that he opened his eight out of ten review for “Venus Furs”, still the only album released by Paul Kasner’s project. And yes, these are the words that goaded me into checking out the album after I had missed its initial launch in July of 2020. I gave it a handful of spins on Spotify and found that it was indeed within my wheelhouse and was quickly on the website for Silk Screaming records, the label Kasner set up to release said album, and ordered a copy of it on vinyl for my record shelves*.

Paul Kasner is a Montreal-based songwriter, multi-instamentalist, and producer, who has toured with The Horrors and The Twilight Sad, and has worked by himself for many years on this one album, working to get it just right. Indeed, it is a lovely and tight 8-song cycle of guitar heavy, psych rock, toying with shoegaze and noise rock along the way.

“Chaos and confusion” is the five minute opener that layers acoustic strums with wispy reverb drenched electric licks. Meanwhile, the poltergeist on drums keeps time and space in check with a menacing leer and the bass line eases its way in and out of the miasma like a perfect stitch line sewing up eternity. And floating just above it all is Kasner’s vocal track, affecting his best Jim Reid/Peter Hayes impression, a woeful tale of gambling and loss.

*It later muscled its way into my top ten albums list for that year.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.

Categories
Tunes

Best tunes of 2020: #16 Dehd “Haha”

<< #17    |    #15 >>

Dehd recently announced the upcoming release of their fifth studio album, “Poetry”, due out in May. Some very welcome news for fans of their energetic blend of surf, post-punk, and garage rock.

I only came across Dehd with the release of 2020’s “Flower of devotion”, but that was actually their third album, after forming five years earlier. They are the trio of Emily Kempf (bass guitar, vocals), Jason Balla (guitar, vocals), and Eric McGrady (drums), based in Chicago, which surprises me every time I remember this fact. Because for some completely irrational and unknown reason, to me, they sound like they should hail from the UK.

And though I’ve not heard anything prior to it, I felt completely at home with “Flower of devotion” when I first heard it upon its release in July 2020. It felt alive and raw and vibrating with nervous energy, though from all reports it’s shinier and cleaner than its predecessors. It was exactly the kind of music that we needed as we were coming into the first summer of the pandemic, very much like an invitation to go outside and play.

“How does one get here?
When did we cross the line?
When it comes to falling, yeah
I’m falling all the time“

My favourite tune on “Flower of devotion” was track three, right from the very beginning. “Haha” was never released as a single but it certainly sounds like it could’ve been one. It is just over two minutes of jangly guitars, a hopscotch bassline, tongue clucking, and he said/she said, call and response vocals. With its staccato and twitchy chorus but fun feel throughout, it all seems so simple. But sometimes simple is exactly what you need for a perfect pop gem. And yes, that title makes me laugh every time.

For the rest of the Best tunes of 2020 list, click here.

Categories
Vinyl

Vinyl love: Slowdive “Everything is alive”

(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)

Artist: Slowdive
Album Title: Everything is alive
Year released: 2023
Details: pale pink

The skinny: From the ‘in case you missed it’ files, I’ve replayed my top five albums from 2023, albeit in a ‘vinyl love’ post format, over the last five weeks; partially because I love these albums and partially because I have them all on vinyl and want to show off their physical beauty as well. If you’ve missed them again, you can go back and admire records five, four, three, and two, but if not, you can read on for my favourite album of the year. Slowdive announced their second album since their 2014 reunion, earlier last year, and I was onboard immediately because of my love for previous one. I preordered a copy of the indie exclusive pale pink pressing that came in a gatefold sleeve from one of my favourite online indie record stores and received it well in advance of seeing them perform songs from it on their North American tour. Spinning it regularly, I quickly fell in love. As I’ve said before: “Everything is alive is hopeful and joyful and full of life. It is eight songs that don’t want to be anywhere near darkness and solitude. It is five musicians and friends that have known each other a long time performing as one, familiar and familial, a large sound that can envelope and absorb and has room for everyone and everything. It is the album we needed, whether we knew it or not.”

Standout track: “Kisses”