Category: 2019 Best Albums

Album Review: ‘My East is Your West’ by Tripmaster Monkey

Posted on by IRC Staff

There are many terrific indie and DIY albums dropped in recent months that we highly recommend for your isolation time. One of those is from an indie band we have heard from in a long, long time.

Returning from a two-decade hiatus, indie rock trailblazers Tripmaster Monkey made a successful comeback with the band’s latest album, My East is Your West.

MEISYW gets going right out of the gate with the upbeat, booming track, “Summer Bummer (Strummer Stunner Version).” The song is an enthusiastic indie pop-rock number that sets the tone for the 11-track album. The parenthesized part of the track is titled ‘Strummer Stunner Version.’ The track is the first single off of the album.

“The song is the curtain opener to begin the movie that is our album,” says bassist Chris Bernat.

“It speaks of a character that is the lifeblood of the scene…the narrator talks of unforgettable times when summer nights could last forever and the energy of youth was aplenty,” he adds.

The plot of the track ‘takes a turn’ when the protagonist is overcome by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). “Perhaps bi-poler or at least bi-curious,” Bernat reveals, ” our hero/antihero continues down a path that leads to self-isolation.”

The genuine friendship between the two wins out in the end and the worst doesn’t happen. “It’s a real coming of age kick-off that trails with the multi-layered refrain. “La La La la la/winter spring and summer and the season that would follow you round/of your own choosing feed the forces that were bringing you down/the beginning, to begin to begin in the beginning”.

The second single to emerge from the album is the hard-chuggin track, “Ruined in Rouen,” a hook-swinging rhythm teamed with sweepingly melodic guitars that then switch halfway through, transitioning into a punk-pop blazer. The band says the song is “about a bad trip on a good trip,” whatever that means. IRC listeners liked the song so much that it made our Top 10 Songs playlist series.

Near the end of the track, a heavily bumping bass jumps front and center with a flowing chorus and a sudden but reverberating finale.

“And Yet Maybe?” opens with a hook-friendly and melodic pop tone carried by angling guitars, bumbling bass, well-timed percussions, and the whispery vocals that are accompanied by the chorus – all making this one of the most memorable tracks on the album.

TMM is obviously having a good time on the album; that really comes across. On the forward-driving, put-the-sunroof-down track, “Letter to Dresden,” the band rocks hard and diligently, pumping out yet another indie pop-rock slugger.

The tone changes on “Jonathan’s Song.” Here we have a much more stripped-down and lo-fi track than any of the previous numbers. The bass bumbles through a thick riff that is coupled by the drumming parts and youth-filled vocals and verve.

You’d think TMM was a relatively new band because they sound so fresh, young and alive – and yet at the same time, it is clear these are veteran indie rock musicians.

The title track is a signature indie-pop track that reminds us of the days of indie past when bands were experimental, enthusiastic and depressing in uplifting ways – mostly of course through the music.

“Against It” is an anthemic, sing-a-long track without being pretentious; it evokes pure fun even if the main chorus of the song repeats the sort of confounding line: “when the waves start crashing and the walls come tumbling down.” Wait, we were having fun with the waves; what walls came tumbling down? This slick track embodies the spirit of the golden days of 90’s indie rock.

On “New York,” the band drives forward with upbeat melodies, chugging guitars, pumping basslines, and yet another catchy chorus. Things slow down and come back to earth on the quieter, ambling track, “Antidote Shuffle.”

But once it hits the chorus (again the chorus!), it reminds us of Mojave 3. The remainder of the track runs through more verses of a story were still not sure about.

Interestingly, the slacker vibe here harkens the old days when some alt. rock and indie rock styles began to merge; at times blurring the lines between the two genres, and giving fans and critics alike plenty to say about that subject.

As with many of their songs, the guitar hooks are front and center. The latter part of “Antidote Shuffle” features a sweet instrumental jam. Altogether the track clocks in at exactly six minutes; some may say six minutes is almost double the time of the standard song. So what – this is indie. Regular ‘rules’ do not apply.

“Silvis Blues” is a smoking alt. rock track with an errily chorus that reminds us of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy For the Devil” – the woo-woo, woo-woo part.

If you were a fan of Tripmaster Monkey back in 90s as we were, you’ll want to listen to this album. It may even better overall than the band’s classic 90’s releases – Practice Changes and Goodbye Race. (Strongly recommended if you’ve never heard them.)

Those older albums were more lo-fi, stripped down, and less refined. That’s why the genre of indie/alt. rock sphere is so useful; it is where bands like Tripmaster Monkey are most at home, and where they also make and have made important contributions to indie rock, even if you’ve never heard of them.

The fact that after all these years, the band members – with jobs and families and living in different parts of the country – got back together to drop their best work yet solidifies their place in the annals of indie rock.

Even more, the album is the culmination of years of work between the band members who each added their own instrumental and vocal tracks by exchanging files via the cloud for a final mix.

Over the years, we’ve heard a number of albums that were recorded using the cloud and the results were less than impressive.

But in this case, you’d never know that the band members were working via the cloud. The album was recorded and mixed by Pat Stolley and mastered by Jeff Konrad.

IRC’s Top Albums of 2019, Vol. IV: ‘American Pastures’ by Storie Grubb

Posted on by IRC Staff

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For a number of years now, we have been following and featuring the music of Idaho solo musician Storie Grubb.

This prolific and multi-faceted artist has a way of writing and recording off-beat, interesting and melodic indie pop-rock music that also has a number of other genre stratifications.

On his album, American Pastures, Grubb brings it all home by writing the tale, it seems, of America, through his eyes. But on the opening track, “Visual Aids,” his music takes on a more personal nature.

The interesting melodies and lyrics of “Visual Aids” are a form of illustrations in sonic terms. As a visual artist himself, Grubb wanted to “pay homage to the artists and musicians that inspired me.”

“I also write songs from different perspectives quite often. Though I leave it up to the listener to make each song their own and join me on a strange symbiotic musical journey.”

“Most of us feel the same deep down about the things that really matter,” he says, adding, “I try to paint a picture that anybody can walk right into. In the end, it’s a song about being a struggling artist.”

At first, the number of tracks (13) is daunting, which is alleviated by many are less than two or three minutes long. The opening track slides right into the psychedelic swirls of “From The Bottom Up,” a track that clocks in at 1:41 minutes.

“Faux Lover” bumbles along with a pulsing rhythm, lo-fi jangling guitars, and Grubb’s nasally vocals.
“It’s a quaint, powerful song about dating, love, breakup and all that stuff,” he says.

The song practically merges with “Pop Singers,” which sounds like an extension of “Faux Lover,” in a way, but with a slightly different signature.

In fact, if one is simply streaming the album and not paying close attention, the two tracks could easily be mistaken as one track with two parts (or just one track).

That’s forgivable considering that the average track is a bit less than two minutes flat. Therefore, it’s easy, at times, on this album, for some tracks to sound like they are one, rather than two.

It is not a big deal because there are songs like the wonderful psychedelic strangeness of “Build High Aim Low.”

On “The Gaff of the Century,” Grubb changes it up with a manic sensibility that dominates the overall mood of the album. But with “Gaff,” he throws in some sunny guitar playing.

The album’s title track is Grubb’s attempt to fill a space; paint a landscape. “I wanted to create sunshine in a sea of darkness,” he adds. “It’s also the title track so I wanted to create something that any listener could appreciate.”

If you’re open to off-beat, lo-fi DIY indie tracks like “Latah and Rosehill,” and post-grunge alt. rock songs like “Trust Fund Punks,” you’ll find those little snacks on the album as well.

Before long you’ll be transported to another realm. “Honky Tonk and Two Smoking Barrels” blends in a marching drum-styled percussion together with guitar noodling and a honky-tonk outro.

The closing track, “Over The Hill,” is a lament about aging. “It’s a personal song. I turned 40 last November. I was in a strange headspace for a bit there.”

“I don’t know where I fit in this world a lot of the time. It’s only through art and music that I feel I’m doing what I was put here to do. This song and really this whole album is about me coming to terms with my existence.”

Even though he is now 40, as he laments so, Gruff (whose real name is Sean Kelly) has a childlike (not childish – big difference) charm in his music, lyrics, and vocal delivery. It’s not hard to be pulled into his world.

From one track to the next, Grubb treats the listener to an array of artistic lyrics and musical styles, from the flourishes of country and western barn music to lazy, stoner guitar-driven verses and from a lo-fi psychedelia to upbeat indie pop.

Still, the baseline, fast-paced percussions, vocal delivery, and unconventional instrumentation – like slacker dudes on speed – underlies almost the entire album. Other examples include “Slinky Beezel” and the somewhat lo-fi punk-fueled “Fall For Anything.”

His music, as long as we have been listening to him, is always unique, creative, wordy – sometimes poetic – and completely unconventional. The one danger of short tracks is that once a listener gets into a track they dig, it can end all too soon.

Numbschool, a 7-track album dropped in February of 2019, is another, among many, albums dropped by Storie Grubb worth listening to, as can be said for the seven-track album, The Rat Race, dropped the month before. In 2019, Grubb dropped an album every month of the year.

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Did we not say he is a prolific artist? In the past five years, he has dropped 20 singles or albums, all available on Storie Grubb’s Bandcamp page. And he is totally DIY – writes, performs all of the instruments (except where noted), records, and mixes.

Review by Phillip E. Daoust

IRC’s Top Indie Albums of 2019, Vol. III – Evan Mix’s ‘Described With Adjectives’

Posted on by IRC Staff

evanmixEvery time that we’ve listened to a new drop from Indiana experimental artist Evan Mix, it feels like a mushroom trip. It’s always surreal, entertaining, intriguing and completely different.

His newest album, a 10-track tour-de-strange, is titled Described with Adjectives, and it doesn’t stray from Mix’s well-establish brand of music: Mix music. That’s because it is unlike anything you’ll hear anywhere else.

Mix’s tag-line for his fifth album, he says, is “homemade pop music that represents the heart of southern Indiana.” Well, with all due respect, that is an over-simplification of a multi-layered, multi-dimensional work of obscure sonic and poetic art.

The album opens with the lazy, minimalistic chorus-sung track, “Greeting Quayvon.” How compelling it is; some might even think of it as a children’s’-leaning song – complete with a magical electric piano; an enchanting xylophone riff, and what sounds like drumsticks on cans, along with other unidentified instruments and sound effects.

On the album’s title track, Mix and producer/long-time collaborator, Kaiser, create a haunting – and yet somehow unintimidating – wave of sounds with organ whirls that transform into piano riffs as Mix sings theatrically – like an actor in a stage performance – in his strangely seductive way.

It’s no stretch to observe that Mix’s musical and lyrical influences and sentiments are of another age; but never in a boring or old-hat way.

On “Nobody Flees,” Mix and Kaiser collected the beats per minute ratio from several songs – including Justin Timberlake’s ‘SexyBack’ and Elton John’s ‘Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting’ – to come up with “an average beats-per-minute,” he says.

“The song ended up having a BPM of 157. To make the bass sound seem faster than the drums, the bass sound was filtered through an arpeggiator plugin. There are a few short tempo increases in the middle of the song as well.”

The track is completely odd-ball, but again, it’s engaging, fun and appealing. At first, some listeners may be turned away by Mix’s totally unconventional approach and sound.

But listen more, and with some different glasses on (if that makes any sense), it becomes quite an entertaining and enlightening experience.

Many of Mix’s tracks do just that: and yet, somehow, in all of their weirdness and free-form styling, they draw you in to listen more. And we’re not even going to dive into examining his lyrics in-depth because that would take many hours to examine competently.

Therefore, you’ll want to absorb the lyrics yourself. That is not hard: Mix’s sonic storytelling, if you will, is clear and well-spoken – but still quirky – on track after track.

In fact, there seems to be a deliberate effort to ensure the words are forefront in the recordings and the music and sound effects secondary so that there is never any chance of the words being drowned out (which is a common issue with many DIY recordings).

The genre-labeling of Mix’s musical escapades is hard to nail down, but essentially it’s avant garde/experimental/obscure and many of his tracks would play well on the famous and long-running Dr. Demento Show. I dare to say that even for Dr. Demento, many of Mix’s tracks are too different, too original and perhaps too trippy.

He reminds me of a cross between CAKE, Brian Eno, The Nails and any number of artists you’ll hear on the Dr. D show. Mix’s music is definitely not for everyone, but for those who do follow, or are open to ‘very different,’ experimental music, Mix is likely to become a nice new find.

Then there’s the trippy, exceptionally wordy, “In Heavy, Smoking Coats,” that comes off more like a slam poetry session in the Fifth Element than a song one would find on an album in 2020. A tepid, understated beat serves as the backdrop of his reading.

The anti-folk pop track, “Sure, I’ll Spot You,” is propelled by Mix’s signature talk-singing style, and Casio and piano keys within a swirl of sound effects and homemade percussions.

Oddly, this track stands out; perhaps one reason is that it’s as close to a ‘song’ than most of Mix’s pieces.

For what it’s worth, it’s perhaps one of the more structured songs, with its funky beat, a vein of melody that underlies the track, and a tropical electric piano riff that is unmistakably joyous.

Then there is the freakshow number, “Years and Hours of Infertility,” which is like many of Mix’s works; it’s not a song in the conventional sense, but rather a conglomeration of words, instrumentations and experimentation.

A lyric from the bumbling track mentions ‘Hurstbourne,’ a reference to Hurstbourne Pkwy in Louisville, Kentucky.

It was there that Mix had a meeting canceled after having driven a half-hour from his home in Floyds Knobs, Indiana.

The lyric: ‘Scattered five dollars worth along Hurstbourne’ refers to how much money he spent on gas to get to and from Louisville.

“The melody was always planned to be in a major key so it would sound appropriate for several voices to sing together,” he adds. “It tells a tale of someone who sounds young but doesn’t think they’re young.”

“Deteriorating Spirit” is so strange and anti-pop that many may not even want to listen to all of it. It could be that to some it feels that at times Mix is intentionally pushing the boundaries of obsurdity to provoke an emotion or a reponse from the listener.

If that is true, I feel it’s innocently nefarious – like a devious child who plays tricks but is forgiven because he is so cute.

The fact is that in the final analysis Mix’s arrangements don’t necessarily come off as annoying or petty – at least to this listener – is another testiment to his child-like, theatrical and quirky talents.

The anti-pop number, “The Nights Between Travel,” features strangely tweaked reverb effects, a skipping drum machine beat and keys and xylophone riffs.

The closer, “Does Anyone Like January,” is one of producer Kaiser and Mix’s best collaborations on the album. Even though Kaiser produced the entire L.P., Mix also believes that “Does Anyone Like January” is his highlight work.

“In the original demo for the song, both the piano and vibraphone played straight through from beginning to end. Kaiser was able to listen to the arrangement and decide when to mute either part so it wouldn’t clash with the other sounds. He also made helpful recommendations on the phrasing of the vocals in this song.”

Some would say – without really examining his music closely – that Mix’s works are so offbeat; unscripted; demoey; chaotic, and unconventional that they are essentially unlistenable.

But, I disagree, but not without merit. That sentiment – that Mix’s work is ‘unlistenable’ – was my own at first. Soon, however, a transformation happened.

After some time of adjustment and settling into Mix’s weirdo world, and really listening, my mind was changed. Mix is an underground quirky 21st century beat poet who creates instrumental riffs, sounds and effects that are not music, but more like acts in a play or perhaps even adult child’s play. Whichever one prefers.

https://www.facebook.com/mixevan/

 

IRC’s Top Indie Albums of 2019, Vol. II: The Lighthouse Commission

Posted on by Rick Sosa

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The Lighthouse Commission’s debut album, Angels & Aliens, is one the first in a series of DIY/indie/alt albums of 2019 that we recommend the most for our readers and listeners.

The opening track “Colorado Water” is a rolling and tumbling soft rocker in the vein of classic rock with an Americana and country vibe. The reverb-heavy guitars, bass, and drums all come together nicely and in time signature with shifting melodies and rhythms throughout. The song may remind some of classic southern rock radio.

Sweet down-home melodies and lush harmonies mark the feel-good track (and ironically-titled) “Feel So Good.” It is a dreamy, comforting and perfect song for a sunny summer day; it even has a tinge of funk intertwined with the sultry melodies and harmonies.

The vocals are the main thrust of the song with quiet, understated guitars and percussion and instruments that take over the last half of the track.

The album title comes from this hazy laid-back track; band founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Jon “Chuch” Chuchvara sings: “I dream of the ocean/I dream of you and me/Swimming in harmony with the angels and the aliens.”

For a band that only has three members – Chuchvara; Kevin Grant (drums) and Jim Prange (keyboards; bass; vocals), they make a big sound.

“Down The Shore” is a mellow, spacious track with a lazy, hazy, hot summer day type of groove. The band nicely accomplishes a sense of summertime and anticipation for reaching the shoreline.

A chorus is supplemented with glittering instrumentation and Chuchvara’s fitting vocals. There are not too many DIY indie/alt-rock vocalists who have the right vocals for the songs they put out; in this case, the opposite is true.

This next track, with its clear Kurt Vile-like vibe, is one of the true standouts on the LP. “Woke Up in Detroit” features a character living in Detroit who is having a dream about New York City. The fuzzy guitar swagger, slacker-style vocal deliveries, and alt.rocker verve, organ jam, and chorus all lead to a fantastic song.

The lyrics for the track are interesting all on their own: “I dreamt I was in a Woody Allen movie/In the middle of New York City/Just about to win her heart/Flying thru Central Park/But I woke up in Detroit/Now I’m just as cold and vacant/As all of these crumbling buildings/Just waiting to turn to dust/Turn to dust and rise again.”

The mellow, meandering “Longest Train,” fits the mold of soft country-rock/Americana track with the band’s typical chorus singing, which by itself bolsters many tracks on the album from what could have been mediocre songs to terrific tracks. The band members’ playing and the overall recording and production quality of the album are also better than most we hear.

Pinning a genre on The Lighthouse Commission is impossible and even futile. What we have instead is a talented band that is able to put out fine tracks across genres and by genre-mixing of classic rock, Americana, country-rock, post-punk, experimental and jazz influences.

This is one of the hallmarks of indie rock music, and one of its saving graces, especially in an age when formatted Billboard cookie-cutter “popular” music taints the airwaves.

Similar in some ways to “Woke Up in Detroit,” the track “Don’t Let Go,” has a slacker alt-rock vibe and the band’s fantastic interplay and experimentation with their unique instruments and vocal styles.

Another big, standout track is “Sugar Buzz,” which Prange exclaims “is a memory of a trip to the carnival with a childhood crush.” Whatever inspired the song is less relevant to the fact that it’s a transformative track on an album flowing over with big moments.

The song’s busting, bumbling vibe is upbeat, celebratory and coated with a sweet, sing-along chorus.

The psychedelic melancholy of “Midnight” switches the mood quite dramatically from “Sugar Buzz.” One could say “Midnight” is the crash that typically follows a sugar buzz.

What we call a slow burner: a slow-striding song, reverberating vocals drift along a classic rock vein, “Three Legs,” as Chuchvara sings: “Yea and all the booze and all the pills/And all the thrills and all the spills/And all the joy and all the shame.”

The heartfelt number, “In the Trees,” was written for a friend and bandmate who tragically took his own life, Prange says.

A stern classic rock sound mixed with a slacker groove and some bad-ass guitar playing makes up the funky rocker, “Barricade.”

TLHC’s enjoyable, compelling album closes with the smoldering, “I’ll Be Waiting.” This is another standout track. Its laid back vibe and instrumentation experimentation allow the lyrics to come through loud and clear: “I got sticky fingers/you got sticky hair/my tummy aches/but I don’t care/you’re my Sugar Buzz.” This is another track that has a Kurt Vile vibe.

For older music lovers, Prange says, the song is an ode to the bygone days of vinyl; the experience of going to a record store; the excitement of finding an album and taking it home to play on a record player – those days are still present in places for some people, but nothing compared to the days when every small town in America had a record store or two.

According to Prange, the storyteller finds a rare vinyl album at a record store. Thanks to a turntable and needle “the magic that ensues and the everlasting timeless power of music comes through.”

Angels & Aliens is one of the many DIY albums that we heard in 2019 that definitely belongs in this series.

The Lighthouse Commission has been recording and performing live an eclectic mix of melodic and psychedelic sounds for more than a quarter of a century. They are good at what they do – very good.

The band was formed in 1993 by Chuchvara and Grant. Prange joined the outfit in 2004. The album was recorded at Soundfield Studios in Wyoming, Michigan by producer Pete Bass.
The other instrumental parts and all of the vocals are overdubs that were subsequently recorded by Chuchvara and Prange with ProTools. The album was mixed by Chuchvara and mastered by Rob Savage.

TLHC is heavily influenced by bands like Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Minutemen, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Grateful Dead, Beck, and The Velvet Underground.

IRC’s Top Indie Albums of 2019, Vol. I – ‘Hush’ by Tracy Bryant

Posted on by IRC Staff

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Los Angeles solo artist Tracy Bryant has a lot on his mind.

Living in arguably one of the most superficial and affluent places on the planet, he contends, is a challenge for any artist who is innately averse to a world of cars, concrete, fires, earthquakes, smog, and fake, back-stabbing people.

His newest album, Hush, is an artistic storyline of the post-apocalyptic world that southern California has become is today. More so, however, it’s one of the best DIY albums we’ve heard in 2019.

Bryant employs dystopian-like instrumentation and lyric to build this storyline, as evident on the alt. rock/anti-folk opener, “I’m Only Taking What is Mine.” The track adopts a slacker’s swagger, shifting melodies and an overall grungy vibe tinted by shades of sci-fi-like sound effects.

The following track, “The Fool,” picks up the pace quite a bit, rolling out acoustic and electric guitars, an upbeat rhythm enriched with cool time signatures, pop-rock-oriented melodies, and Bryant’s interesting vocals. The overall feel is a punk-pop strut reminiscent of artists like Mac Demarco.

Another strong track is “Mask.” It is an anti-ballad with verses that flow in a repetitive musical order and which then converge at mid-point into a wonderful desert-sky electric guitar solo. A terrific song.

After three compelling tracks right from the start, it only gets better with the surfer/slacker vibe of “Looks Like Gold.” The upbeat, surprise post-punk gem is undeniably one of the best singles we’ve heard in 2019. It was also the No. 1 track on Uncut Mag’s CD Sampler.

The album is boosted by the talents of drummer Nick Murray (Cate Le Bon, White Fence) and bassists Brian Allen (Burnt Ones) and Kyle Mullarky.

Byrant reveals himself, and his musical idiosyncrasies, little-by-little as the album hits the mid-point. He writes about a plethora of modern-day urban problems and concerns on “Nightmare,” which is predictably dark.

“It’s a portrait of a dystopian world; a nightmare that might as well translate to our times,” Bryant says, adding that the song was written during the height of the ‘Me Too’ scandals in Washington D.C., New York, and Hollywood.

“There is no denying the everyday nightmare that many [people] experience in America,” he adds. “The song is about the looming darkness that exists, not only in the current state of this country but also inside of those who refuse to evolve or recognize their imagined privilege.”

That is a good transition for the track “Hanged Man.” Thanks in part to its Elliott Smith-like riff, the song is a guitar-driven pop-rock nugget that belongs on a movie soundtrack.

The guitars and piano, together with percussions from the bass and drums, work so effortlessly with Bryant’s thoughtful lyrics and strongest vocals on the album.

The melody and rhythm of “Bury Me,” are impossibly optimistic-sounding for such a drab subject matter.

Unlike “Hanged Man,” Bryant’s vocal style reverts to his more hushed register that is evident on the album. The bass is nicely paired with the zoned-out guitars; it chugs along and drives the track forward.

It’s no wonder then that “Bury Me” was officially dropped as the first single from the album. Within a few days, it gained more than 10,000 plays on Soundcloud.

He wrote the song with his wife, Kimberly Fitzner. However, the song didn’t take shape the way he wanted it to in the studio. He put it aside until later.

“We laid down the guitar and vocals and approached the song from a less band-driven idea,” he recalls.

Bryant performed the organ and electric guitar parts; he said the track fit with the rest of the album, so he included it. His vocals often range somewhere between the spoken word and song. He has a remarkable ability to employ his signature style in just the right places.

Then there is “Everending Story,” a pop-rock/anti-folk anthem of sorts with a big resonance. The sweet, twinkling guitar riff that runs along the top of a heavy steady percussion is unforgettable.

The album closes with “I Tried,” which is probably the most underwhelming song on an album full of overwhelmingly strong alt. rock/indie rock songs from an Artist to Watch in 2020.

With a strong verve for alternative rock, Bryant also possesses many of the qualities of a true-blood indie rocker: the freedom to experiment, write and record without constraints.

Lyrically, the album is engaging, disturbing and honest. Bryant also takes well-deserved shots at the taboo music industry and the characters and charlatans that comprise it.

Recorded over a six-month period in a studio nestled in the mountains above the famous Topanga Canyon just north of L.A. off of the PCH, Hush was produced by Mullarky (The Growlers, Allah Las) and mastered by world-renowned engineer Dave Cooley (Ariel Pink, Animal Collective).

Altogether, it is one of the best under-the-radar albums of 2019 that we’ve heard.