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Creators Monthly Indie/Indie Rock Punk/Rock Reviews Why We Love

Why We Love: Kitner

Kitner. From left: Conor, James, Will, Brianne

The local music scene is an ever changing landscape no matter where you come from. When I started making music with my band Friday Life back in 2017, there were around five bands that comprised the music scene, maybe a few more. However, four years on, Friday Life is the only band left standing, and that’s remarkable even to me. Local bands breaking up happens for a multitude of reasons: people begin going to college, members move out of state, scandals radically shift the prospects bands once had, the list goes on. It is as common as it is unfortunate.

For awhile, Boston based band Kitner seemed to be another local band come and gone. Forming in 2015, the band started as a five piece featuring Conor Maier (guitar, vocals), Brianne Costa (keys, vocals), James Christopher (guitar), Christine Atturio (bass), and Will Buiel (drums). They quickly recorded an EP of home demos, followed shortly by the release of a self-titled EP in September of that year. 

The EP gained momentum, with many people downloading it on bandcamp. The band played a few shows in Massachusetts over the next year as well. They even teased a return to the studio. However, due to their commitments to other bands as well as some member changes, the band vanished. For over four years, Kitner seemed to be just a memory, with the self titled EP being all that remained.

However, in 2019, Kitner quietly returned to the studio. Now a four piece consisting of Conor, Brianne, James, and Will, the band recorded their debut album, titled Shake The Spins. Announcing their return in April of 2021, Kitner set to work promoting their new album, set to be released in October through Relief Map Records. The hype was immediate, not just because the long absence had allowed their previous EP to garner a larger following, but because the music involved sounded incredible.

The first single from the album, Beth Israel, was premiered on July 29th by The Alternative. Starting with some mellow but present acoustic guitar, the muted vocals soon enter, giving the song a primitive feel, like a bedroom demo recorded on tape. It is warm, and it builds anticipation for when the wave comes crashing down. 

Sure enough, the wave hits a little over a minute in. Roaring, anthemic guitars meet steady, powerful drums that hit you like a train. The hushed vocals are replaced by rough, raw shouting from Conor that brings to mind an alternate universe where Jim James of My Morning Jacket fronted an emo band. Brianne’s light voice perfectly compliments Conor’s vocals, adding a dimension to the music that fits in your ears just right.

The wall of sound soon breaks in the final act of the song, with the acoustic guitar and softer vocals returning, accompanied by the solemn wail of a feedbacking guitar. The interplay of Conor and Brianne’s voices is clearer here as the two sing different lines, creating a tapestry of words and sounds. The drums begin building up again before sending the song off with bluster accompanied by some retro sounding keyboards.

Kitner’s return can only be described as triumphant, and that’s after just one single. If the rest of the album sounds like this, then Shake The Spins might easily be the album of the year. 

Kitner. From left: Brianne, Will, James, Conor. Photo by Brittany Rose Queen

Bandcamp: https://kitner.bandcamp.com/album/shake-the-spins

Spotify:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kitner.ma/

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Why We Love

Why We Love: Insecure Men

Three years ago today, the London-based band Insecure Men released their eponymous debut album.

After releasing two albums (Insecure Men and Karaoke for One) back to back in 2018 and wading through the subsequent touring, Insecure Men have maintained radio silence. However, rumors that the much-beloved band are due to surface in one form or another continue to buzz round the niches of the internet. 

Formed in 2015, Insecure Men is composed chiefly of Saul Adamczewski (Fat White Family, Warmduscher) and Ben Romans-Hopcraft (Childhood, Warmduscher) with sax player Alex White and a rotating array of keyboardists, percussionists, back-up singers and lyricists. 

In certain circles, Insecure Men are seen as veritable gods of the London alt scene—or maybe something better than gods, as the fruits of their labor are generally to be had more directly (and can be replayed until the groove wears out on the vinyl, or your Airpods die.) Their music is both soothing and thought-provoking: it makes you pay attention. It wakes you up.

Their Bandcamp bio attempts to explain their complex, layered sound: “Insecure Men…blend together exotica, easy listening, lounge and timeless pop music…”

Karaoke for One (which features a photo of Rasputin on the cover) is a record entirely composed of covers. Peter Andre’s Mysterious Girl makes an unforgettably bizarre and touching appearance, in which Adamczewski’s vocals somehow manage to turn the pop ditty into something deeper, a sincere paean to a cold, unreachable lover-–up until the last five seconds, in which he spits out an exasperated, “Fuck!” followed by a hack of phlegm. That’s Insecure Men for ya, keepin’ it real. 

Their debut album, Insecure Men, was produced by Sean Lennon, and features original compositions running the gamut between effervescent pop (Subaru Nights and I Don’t Wanna Dance with My Baby) lilting, pseudo-Hawaiian melodies (Heathrow and Ulster) and songs to make the skin crawl (Mekong Glitter and Whitney Houston and I.)

There are many crossovers from Romans-Hopcraft’s highly acclaimed band Childhood in the instrumentation and vocals, and traces of the Fat White Family in the lyrics (often insidious subject matter delivered in dulcet tones that make you forget exactly what story you’re being told.)

During the touring efforts for the album, Insecure Men were quite vocal about their intentions to continue on as a band, going so far as to announce in an interview that they’d already written a third album. Whether or not it will be come to fruition remains to be seen, but we can certainly hope that a release date hovers on the horizon.

Insecure Men have a knack for making the roughest bits of life bearable—or at least, they succeed in provoking us to have a laugh at ourselves, to let go of seriousness and embrace the escapist pleasures of “exotica pop,” with every fibre of our beings.

And God knows, we could all use a bit of escapism right now. 

You can find Insecure Men on Bandcamp and Spotify. 

Header Photo Credit: Neil Thomson

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Indie/Indie Rock

Lucia and the Best Boys: Poised for World Domination

Lucia Fairfull, the frontwoman of Glaswegian indie pop sensations Lucia and the Best Boys, is an ‘80s haute couture fever dream. 

Her constantly evolving sartorial presence keeps the group’s image in a state of constant flux, refreshing and revitalizing, but it’s her voice that’s the real star. I’ve never met anyone who’s found it directly comparable to another artist’s; it’s uniquely moving, sometimes vigorous, bright and soothing, sometimes edged with the purring rasp of a femme fatale in a noir film.

 The band’s recent EP The State of Things (released in 2020), features four tracks, Perfectly Untrue, Somewhere in Heaven, Forever Forget, and Let Go.

Perfectly Untrue is the smash hit of the EP, with nearly 700,000 Spotify streams thus far, an impressive feat indeed.

(Two intriguing remixes have been made from the EP, a Forever Forget remix by Dream Wife and a Let Go remix by synth sensation Jessica Winter. Both are guaranteed to be the high point of any two a.m. solo dance party, something we’ve all gotten very used to during the series of lockdowns.)

On Let Go, Lucia’s powerful, resonant voice soars and dips into deeply satisfying husky notes. It’s a delicate, touching ballad, and the subject matter is surely content that all of us can empathize with.

Overall, they’re break-up tunes that are just as satisfying to listen to when you’re happy as when you’re heartbroken. The Best Boys manage to keep up a level of emotional relevance few bands achieve.

It’s going to be very exciting to see what this powerhouse group will accomplish next… I wait with bated breath.

Today, Scotland– tomorrow, the world.

Header Photo Credit: Oli Erskine

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Indie/Indie Rock Why We Love

Why We Love: King Hannah

If you’re looking for a cinematic journey to detach yourself from the current mundane routine of the world’s lockdown (who isn’t?!), look no further than the smooth, moody, unfiltered odyssey of King Hannah. The Liverpool based duo have had an anything but conventional start to their musical journey together. Developing from Craig’s admiration of Hannah’s solo performances, to working as colleagues in a bar, to finally writing together to produce a sound rich in realism and tailored back production.

Hannah Merrick and Craig Whittle released their first single ‘Crème Brûlée’ back in September 2020 and since then released their first EP in November 2020 titled ‘Tell Me Your Mind and I’ll Tell You Mine’. The EP is centred around the details of the everyday, with quite a descriptive nature to Hannah and Craigs lyrics. Starting with an almost ominous prelude (‘And Then out of Nowhere, it Rained.’), it’s like entering into a new and uncharted world. Followed by a more humorous take with ‘Meal Deal’, taking us through the normality of a property viewing, while contemplating whether to make a housemate out of the arachnid inhabitant. Towards the end of the song, Hannah’s vocals are like flickers of light through an immersive jungle canopy of atmospheric sound and smoky instrumentals.

This is then followed by a song, which really epitomises the times we live in. Named after Mindhunter’s ‘Bill Tench’, the song carries some added energy creating a more relaxed and lo-fi feel. This really emphasises the depth to King Hannah’s production, intensifying the feeling of being taken on a journey through this EP. The emphatic ballad of the duo’s first single then follows, becoming much more expressive with drawn-out lyrics and a jaw-dropping guitar solo that you never want to end.

We are led out by a more reflective and vibrant track, ‘The Sea Has Stretch Marks’, brought to a close by an outro called ‘Reprise (Moving Day)’, combining some of the EP highlights with a muffled radio vibe.

If there is a more emblematic band for the times we live in I am yet to find them. King Hannah’s music has been a refreshing reminder that we can escape the madness and once again be enveloped by creative production techniques and bold sound. The duo has already made an impact on the stage, and now following their formal release this past November, I for one am really looking forward to seeing them back in front of the lights and creating more insightful explorations.

Check out King Hannah on Spotify here.

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Indie/Indie Rock Punk/Rock Uncategorized Why We Love

Why We Love: Sinead O’Brien

Sinead O’Brien is the Irish ‘punk poet’ that thrives on the edge; denying herself of anything cosy or familiar and instead opting for a ‘heavy heavy, busy busy life’ consisting of travel and new adventures. 

Always doing things differently, her spontaneous attitude and lifestyle result in a lot to be grateful for; helping her to deliver marvellous songs, exploring the beauty in darkness, that we can’t help but love and believe that you will too.

Born in Dublin and raised in Limerick, the singer has never felt much of an attachment to a particular place but has always sensed a calling from further afield. This free spirit and ability to adapt to new ways and places feed their way into her consistently evolving songs. Using expansive language and sounds that vary from punk and folk to a hint of soul and funk, she expertly provides tracks that take you on a journey where, just like her, you’re kept on your toes every step of the way.

Despite her desire for re-location though, there’s absolutely no denying O’Brien’s Irish roots. The moment that she opens her mouth, she has you hostage; her divine accent delivering mesmerising words with equal parts grit and beauty. Painting a picture with every line, including desolate wonders like ”I feel like the daytime chasing the night” to relatable longings for motivation with “Days like this are the wildest way, to tame the flames, to get the head to higher…” she always leaves you longing for more.

O’Brien is currently living (but most definitely not ‘settled’) in London; the city where her real musical journey began. Upon her move, she fully embraced her desire for fresh experiences by taking a page out of Jim Carrey’s book and simply saying ‘yes’ to any opportunities that arose. Fortunately, for music fans, that included attending a spoken word night in Brixton where she first performed her poems up on stage. Subsequently, the natural lyricist joined forces with current bandmates Julian Hanson and Oscar Robertson and began to put her words to equally grand music; turning dreams and expressive thoughts into songs.

Her talent in doing so was undeniable right off the bat which led to Chess Club Records; the same label as fellow alternative rockers Wolf Alice, signing O’Brien up. She then began to release her hypnotising tracks with them, before stepping up a level from South London pubs when king of the punk poetry game John Cooper Clarke invited her on tour. The two immediately hit it off (which is no surprise when you listen to each of their gutsy works), and, thanks to JCC O’Brien was introduced to Mark E. Smith who she describes as one of her “most valuable references ever”. 

As well as meeting one inspiration (who showed her the work of another), the tour with Cooper Clarke was also an opportunity to try a stint of something different once again, as like him she performed solo. After doing so she was told by a gig-goer that they could still “hear the music in it” which both she and myself completely agree with. Even without physical music present, you’re always touched by its essence thanks to her rhythm and heart, which is testament to the skill she has for her craft; consistently turning words into something so much more.

Her gifts don’t just stop there either, describing herself as incredibly determined from a young age, she pushed herself to excel in a range of areas both academic and creative- which even resulted in her moving to Paris to work for Dior. Just like her Irish upbringing, this motivation and affinity for style are also evident in her music; producing ambitious tracks that are sleek and well-tailored with a real artistic edge.

A sparse feeling is present in Sinead O’Brien’s songs, similar to that heard on Unknown Pleasures where space is intentional and meaningful; a bold move that not many even attempt to pull off. Each track contains an aura of magic, whisking you away on a different experience, that can vary from a trip to the dance floor on the snappy rhythmed ‘Taking on Time’ to dark dreams thanks to the strutting guitar and twinkle of keys on ‘A List of Normal Sins’. In doing so, she has laid the foundations to progress in any direction she wishes and seamlessly built her way up to releasing recent EP ‘Drowning In Blessings’; which to listen to feels like exactly that. 

O’Brien’s intense voice cuts straight through the musical foundations of Drowning In Blessings’ tracks, her strong delivery inducing chills and making every word hit. Exploring the cynical side of modern culture in the likes of single ‘Most Modern Painting’ she generates such existential excitement with her observations on this and ‘Roman Ruins’ that you can’t help but feel riled up and ready to rock. She perfectly balances this edge and gloom with slightly more gentle elements though; resurfacing distant childhood memories of lullabies and carousels on ‘Fall With Me’ and closing with ‘Strangers in Danger’, her packed song on relationships between people and life- a perfect opportunity for reflection after the journey.

Filled to the brim with talent and creating songs jammed with ideas that are not only personal to her but can also touch each listener, O’Brien creates worlds within her work, and I firmly believe that it’s about time you’re swept away into them.


Take a listen to Sinead O’Brien on Spotify.

Categories
Punk/Rock Reviews

Review: IDLES – Ultra Mono

Direct, divisive and darkly humorous, if you’re looking for an album that packs all of these qualities as well as a major punch then look no further than Ultra Mono, the third studio album from Bristol rockers IDLES.

Since receiving critical acclaim upon the release of their aptly named debut album ‘Brutalism’ in 2017 the band have consistently stayed true to themselves in speaking the truth- no matter how harsh. Frontman Joe Talbot refuses to be defined by genre and continually denies claims that they fit under the ‘punk’ umbrella despite comparisons to likes of Shame and even Fontaines D.C. a band at the current forefront of the genre. One thing there’s no denying though is that they’ve truly developed their own distinct sound. A belligerent beat creates a mechanical feel that ticks along at the heart of their music; more so on this album than ever before, helping to seamlessly transition between tracks and allow Talbot to fire off his often frenzied but equally thoughtful lyrics.

Blunt political statements are a prominent driving force behind both their music and in recruiting steady support from many however, the same proclamations also result in severance from others who feel they’re too judgemental. They recognise the irony in these opinions though and in no way care that it repels, continuing to speak their mind and confronting any hate in witty lyrics with examples including “there’s nothing brave and nothing useful, you scrawling your aggro shit on the walls of the cubicle” dominating second track ‘Grounds’. There’s no shying away from other charged topics either with passion filled songs on the likes of white privilege, toxic masculinity and feminism; even bringing onboard Savages Jehnny Beth to practice what they preach by featuring some defiant female vocals on ‘Ne Touché Pas Moi’ further driving home their beliefs of equality.

Ultra Mono encapsulates a feeling of doom simmering inside most listeners given the current climate. A sense of terror looms throughout but unlike many that internalise this, they break through the surface to address the sense of urgency and need for action by exploding in exciting anger with raging riffs and aggressive vocals. This, combined with the military coherence created by their rhythm section leaves you steadily riled up throughout the record, resulting in a sense of unity against the common enemy, building the “strength in numbers” referenced again in Grounds. There’s plenty more to the record than anger though; from the surprisingly tender ‘A Hymn’- a melancholic vessel for channeling their emotions and delivering opinions in a softer way, to the comically propelled Model Village, with a sinister undertone that that feels so familiar you can’t help but laugh. All tracks combined, you’re left submerged in an oppressive atmosphere, ready and raring to escape the constraints of the everyday and confront whatever darkness is on the horizon.

The main concern on the run-up to this third release was that the band wouldn’t channel the boldness they exude in their songs when it comes to exploring new grounds (no pun intended). To a certain point, this worry has been addressed as the band worked with producer Kenny Beats, infusing a touch of his hip hop background right into the record’s veins and also collaborated with jazz-pop pianist Jamie Cullum on ‘Kill Them With Kindness’ for a further twist. Despite this, they don’t venture too far from previous material but it’s clear to see that they’ve sustained a real direction and are more focused on upholding their own belief in what they should be, delivering something for existing fans rather than pleasing everyone and converting anyone that opposes.

As a whole, Ultra Mono is a strong follow up to their previous Mercury Prize nominated album ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ that couldn’t have come at a more apt time. The driving feeling evoked in their tunes looks set to continue, helping to thrust them forward and prove that when it comes to speaking up about what they believe in, Idles wont be staying idle.

Listen to Ultra Mono on Spotify now.