Dig ‘in: Ok Cool, media puzzle, Welcome Strawberry
Check out what the No Wristbands team is listening to and what’s in our show calendars this month on our latest Dig ‘in.
INCOMING
OK Cool - Chit Chat (Take A Hike Records LP)
Since crossing paths during their early college age years, Bridget Stiebris and Haley Blomquist Waller have developed a bond that’s telepathic at times. Being in lockstep has assisted their songwriting efforts that previously focused on brevity and an avoidance of wasted notes and wayward words. On their first full-length album, Chit Chat, the pair stretch out a bit with some fuller fleshed-out compositions that still manage to sound lean and purposeful.
The longest track, “Jeans (I Get It Now),” registers in at 4:38 and features a mid-song instrumental flourish that catapults the song forward to its closing stanza. The song title “Waawooweewaa” reads like gibberish, but its gut-spilling tone delivers plenty of intensity. The reverb-soaked voices of Stiebris and Blomquist Waller give “Splitting” a textural contrast to the persistent driving thrust of the rhythm section. “Loop” represents a new avenue for the pair; stripped down to piano, acoustic guitar and rolling toms, it offers a vulnerable vocal turn that didn’t previously exist in their repertoire. By way of OK Cool’s explanation, Chit Chat was built around the process of communication; its words and impact resonate with clarity and conviction that guarantee their efforts won’t fall upon deaf ears. -Bruce Novak
media puzzle - Intermission (Impressed Recordings EP)
As a band that found inspiration in Devo, I could not help but like the Lismore, Australia outfit media puzzle, seeing how the jumpsuited Akronites headlined the first concert I ever attended. Lumped in with the Egg punk genre that was originally titled devo-core, media puzzle embrace an irreverent and whimsical approach to their music. Vocalist and guitarist Tom Peter initiated the project when he set out to record an EP’s worth of music in one day from his university dorm room that composed the first release titled 14. Reared by a father who’s a children’s music composer, Peter was well tasked at creating guileless, uncensored songs.
The approach has allowed the group to pump out an abundance of material in a short time span. The five song Intermission represents media puzzle’s fifth release since their 2023 debut. “Ignorant” and “Bundy Vision” are two peas in a pod, connected by Solomon Jones elastic bass groove and a lyrical disdain for simplemindedness. Kellie Eden’s whirling synth is juxtaposed against the chicken-scratch guitars to give “The Scene” a new wave energy of decades past. Things wrap up quickly (under 9 minutes in total) with the frenetic “How Do Ya Feel?“—a risk-taking joyride that aptly sums up this whole shambolic adventure. -Bruce Novak
Welcome Strawberry - desperate flower (à La Carte Records / Cherub Dream Records LP)
Oakland’s Cyrus VandenBerghe has been creating music under the moniker of Welcome Strawberry since 2022, and cites cult film directors Jon Moritsugu and Suzan Pitt as personal inspirations on account of their distinct aesthetics. VandenBerghe distills a unique pop universe by combining elements of ’60s psychedelia, dream & jangle pop and shoegaze. While his reverb-laden vocal delivery steers hypnotic, his backing instrumentation varies in intensity. “Doings of a wraith” and “violets & honey” are shimmering and redolent. “Memory cube” and “cheek scratchers,” on the other hand, hit harder with forceful beats and serrated guitars and synths competing for space. Aluminum bassist and vocalist Ryann Gonsalves sings backup on a number of tracks, providing a welcome component with her enchanting harmonizing bolstering VandenBerghe’s yearning tone. The pair reach their zenith on the beatific title track that distills all the elements that make Welcome Strawberry such tantalizing dose of ear candy. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
American Motors
Where: The Burlington / Directions
When: August 20, 8:00 PM
When American Motors Corporation was formed in 1954, it was at a financial disadvantage competing with the Big Three domestic manufacturers—Ford, GM and Chrysler. Consequently, AMC needed to be ahead of the curve to introduce industry innovations in advance of the others. That scrappy mentality perhaps appealed to guitarist Dustin Travis White and drummer Alex Steward when they formed their band two years ago. Similar to the decline of post-70s US automotive manufacturing, American Motors chronicle a crumbling nation on their debut, Content, recorded with engineer J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines) and released last fall. That post-industrial focus from the group that hails from the rust belt region of Lancaster, PA comes wrapped in taut arrangements with just enough spatial separation to allow the listener to surface for air when needed. The trio (which includes bassist Brad Williams) reference personal outposts to underscore failed missions, half-baked dreams and absurd visions. Timely music for unfortunate times. -Bruce Novak
Blush
Where: Schubas / Directions
When: August 26, 8:00 PM
Singapore’s Blush exhibit a good grasp of dynamics. Beauty Fades, Pain Last Forever released this month, and its 2023 predecessor, Supercrush, avoid the content alikeness that often plagues otherwise promising practitioners of shoegaze and dream pop. Soffi Peters’ tender vocals provide a welcoming base palette for the varying brush strokes added by guitarist Darell Laser and bassist Daniel Pei, with producer Jared Lim kicking in finishing touches on synth and guitar. Blush’s sense of melody pushes them towards pop territory, but with enough grit to keep things reasonably spiky around the edges. This will be the band’s first foray over to the US and the Schubas pairing with Chicago’s like-minded sunshy holds the promise of a special evening. -Bruce Novak
Bleary Eyed
Where: Schubas / Directions
When: August 29, 8:00 PM
Guitarist and vocalist Nathaniel Salfi has been the mainstay in Bleary Eyed since forming the group in D.C a decade ago before venturing out to Philadelphia to attend Temple University. Reared early in his life by the sounds of Dischord label bands, he found his calling in the more opaque realm of shoegaze. The group have hit their stride on their third full-length LP, Easy, that came out on Born Losers Records in July. The increased presence of guitarist Margot Whipps sharing vocals with Salfi provides greater textural substance and the song construction is fuller and livelier this time out. If Salfi is able to keep this lineup intact going forward, expect even greater things to come. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Christ vs. Warhol - Dissent (Danse Macabre / Zvook! Records LP)
I had a different angle when I first offered to review this album. I had been under the impression that this was the only album produced by this LA-based modern-goth supergroup, made up of members from Scarlet’s Remains, The Deadfly Ensemble and Mephisto Walz. However, it seems that they had another release, We, The Victims Of History that was initially a very limited released in 2014, but then got a reissue in September of last year. Perhaps for another one of these posts?
Whatever the case, Dissent is the title of the album, and the mission statement. The band, comprised of eveghost (lyrics/vocals), Steven James (guitars), Marzia Rangel (bass) and Robert Sullen (drums) describe themselves as “a collision of post-punk edge, gothic atmosphere, and political resistance.” This shouldn’t come as a surprise, as goth is often political underneath the theatrics, the gloom, the esoterica and the black makeup. Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy and goth forebears Joy Division often used everyday life in dying industrial cities as basis for their ballads. (Northampton, Leeds and Manchester, respectively.) Despite an extremely problematic opening lyric, Christian Death’s “Romeo’s Distress” saw Rozz Williams rage against the Ku Klux Klan and his religious upbringing. Besides, goth is an offshoot of punk, so politics were baked into the DNA of the subgenre.
The album starts off with the instrumental “A New Model of the Universe,” setting the stage with very John McGeochy guitars from Steven James before going right into the rocker “Cross of Lorraine,” a paean to the symbol of French Resistance during the Nazi occupation. “Paper Dolls” rages against heteronormality and society’s continuing expectations of women’s roles. The title track “Dissent” lays it all out in no uncertain terms—“Dissent is more patriotic than obedience.”
The a cappella “At Exactly The Right Time” has eveghost pay tribute to an unknown singer of an unknown song that came at, well, exactly the right time. “Fool’s Gold,” not a Stone Roses cover, blasts at the superficiality of life in LA, and let’s face it, more cities besides. The closer “Robin Hood In Reverse” is another direct thesis statement, for those who “Steal from the poor, give to the rich.”
Indeed these were the politics of its time. It’s interesting because whilst they are still quite relevant in all too many ways, it’s also a little quaint. This was made in the era of Dubya, Obama, the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. Do YOU feel nostalgic for those times in these days of outright fascism? It’s a tough question.The only real duffer on this one is “The End Is Nigh,” the only track with vocals not sung by eveghost, but rather one of the men in the group (I don’t know which one), and it sounds rather stereotypical male-sung gothy darkwave. It’s a sore thumb on an otherwise good hand of an album.
Dissent is a window into another time, but still somehow feels extremely relevant. -Geoffrey D. Wessel
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: