Dig ‘in: Prism Shores, Station Model Violence, Robber Robber
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
Prism Shores - Softest Attack (Meritorio Records LP)
On their third LP, Montreal’s Prism Shores continue to expand their palette with all four members now splitting the songwriting and contributing to lead vocals much like acclaimed pop purveyors Teenage Fanclub and Sloan. In a review of their prior album, Out From Underneath, I noted how they’ve cracked the surface in hopes of moving on to bigger things, and Softest Attack confirms the progression.
“Showed up to the ring with kid gloves ill-prepared for the softest attack,” they offer on the opening track (“Kid Gloves”) in admitting that the moment of truth took them by surprise. It becomes evident soon enough though that Prism Shores is capable of punching above their weight. The translucent beauty of “Gossamer” shines through on a number that combines the soaring sensation of shoegaze with punkish urgency, wrapping up in an efficient two-and-a-half minutes. Contrary to the title, ” A Faster Gun” is a loping number that gradually escalates, preserving its greatest firepower for the explosive ending.
“No hiding that I’m a few pints past an upper hand / And I know when I’m clearly out of my depth,” comes a confession on “Resigned to the Fact”. Despite what appears to be an admission of defeat, the group’s spirited playing on the song suggests otherwise. On Softest Attack, the members of Prism Shores are unafraid to lower their defenses, revealing that their true strength lies within their firm resolve and an unceasing desire to fight for another day. -Bruce Novak
Station Model Violence - S/T (Anti Fade Records LP)
When Daniel Stewart (Total Control, UV Race, Straightjacket Nation) and Buz Clathworthy (R.M.F.C.) got together in Sydney to collaborate on a project in 2024, they circulated through a bunch of potential names before coming to an agreement on Station Model Violence. Clathworthy had initially suggested Station Models, a term used to define weather conditions, and the pair added Violence at the end to fully capture the churning, cyclonic nature of their music.
The sense of turmoil shows up at the onset of “Learn to Hate,” a soaring anthem that unveils the growing desensitivity to polarizing hatred. Self-destruction by the way of climate change underpins the wistful observations of “Immolation.” “Drip Away” arrives with a punkish fury, unleashing a microburst of corrosive guitars to match the song’s lyrical content. The band takes an opposite approach on “Heat,” an eight minute-plus track that locks into a groove with a dynamic that feeds off a slight shifts in modulation. Stewart’s deep, reverb-tinged vocals provide a gothic veneer—a blackness that Station Model Violence attempts to puncture in pursuit of a more redemptive guiding light. -Bruce Novak
Robber Robber - Two Wheels Move the Soul (Fire Talk LP)
Noting that their second LP, Two Wheels Move the Soul, is comprised of “a lot of sonic unsteadiness and dissonance,” vocalist Nina Cates could very well be describing life in general, especially since she and bandmate Zack James were forced out of their Burlington, Vermont apartment in the aftermath of a 2024 fire. “The Sound It Made” opens the record in a frenzy with carpet bomb drum explosions and an industrial grind assault. Cates starts out “Avalanche Sound Effect” more serene, but by song’s end the collective weight of cascading issues starts piling up and she’s suddenly back in neck deep. There’s an ominous uneasiness to “Watch For Infection,” as the warning signs accumulate. On the driving “Talkback,” Cates rues missing the moment for a stinging retort.
On the whole, Robber Robber rise to meet expectations following their well-received 2014 debut Wild Guess. Their path forward has been far from linear, but on Two Wheels Move the Soul their advances are well earned. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Heavenly / Swansea Sound at Empty Bottle - Apr 23, 9:00 PM and Beat Kitchen - Apr 24, 7:30 PM
Beneath their effervescent indiepop exterior, Heavenly harbor a somewhat acerbic outlook that lead vocalist and guitarist Amelia Fletcher describes as “calm anger.” Their railing against gender stereotypes and embrace of feminism represents a more low-key personal politics that runs counter to the age of base sloganeering. Fletcher’s through line of musical endeavors (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research, Tender Trap, The Catenary Wires, Swansea Sound) is rather impeccable, not to mention the Skep Wax label that she and her spouse/music collaborator Rob Pursey have been guiding since the start of this decade. Heavenly’s music is proving to be rather ageless as the recent TikTok embrace of some of their early ’90s-era tracks attests to, and spurned the band to return to the stage in 2023, followed by their first studio album in 30 years, Highway To Heavenly that they released on Skep Wax in February.
Fletcher’s guest vocal appearances on a number of albums from The Pooh Sticks out of Swansea, Wales led to her joining forces with the band’s vocalist, Hue Williams, in Swansea Sound, along with Pursey, who functions as the band’s songwriter and guitarist. Their looser, swaggering sound offers an ideal counterpart to Heavenly’s refinement. In an abundance of riches, both shows are bolstered by blossoming indiepop upstarts: Chicago’s Humdrum at the Bottle and Indy’s Good Flying Birds the following night at an all ages romp at Beat Kitchen. -Bruce Novak
Times New Viking at Empty Bottle - Apr 24, 9:30 PM
Exploring the sounds of Times New Viking is a thrifting experience—you’re going to have to get your hands dirty sifting through multiple layers to unearth the hidden gems. As a relentlessly DIY outfit who formed as students at Ohio’s Columbus College of Art and Design in 2005, the trio pumped out their initial four albums on a home 8-track deck before opting for the ’60s vintage analog Musicol Recording Studio for their final album, Dancer Equired!, in 2011. Like their member’s art school origins, Times New Viking’s music takes on a collage-like quality; spliced and diced in construction, and littered with slogans and pop culture references. They were able to blend the unrefined clatter of a band like Swell Maps with loose indie pop inclinations of fellow statesmen Guided By Voices.
After putting the band to rest in 2012, member relocations and family rearing have kept them in hiatus since then, save for a one-off appearance at the 2016 4th and 4th Fest in Columbus. Keyboardist/vocalist Beth Murphy has returned back to Columbus after a spell in Memphis, rejoining drummer/vocalist Adam Elliott and guitarist Jared Phillips, who’s now up the road in Cleveland. A return to a live setting would seem to suit Times New Viking’s unfussed aesthetic and their appearance should reinforce the notion that one man’s trash is another’s treasure. -Bruce Novak
Stuck at Sleeping Village - Apr 24, 9:00 PM
Stuck wraps up the release tour for their new album, Optimizer, with this home town show. Viewing the world crumbling around him, Greg Obis searches for a ways of enduring in hopes that change will eventually come. Meanwhile, his search for improvement, let alone optimization, proves illusionary. Whether its being involuntary lead down a wayward path (“GG”) or ignoring the warning signs (“Totally Vexed”), he’s aware that there’s no middle ground to be shared anymore. The question of survival even extends to his resolve to continue pursuing music: “You say you’re done / this time it’s final / unplug guitars / and sell your vinyl,” Obis confesses at the onset of “It Isn’t.” If Optimizer proves to be Stuck’s swan song, at least they’re going out with a bang, and not a whimper. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Swell Maps - A Trip to Marineville (Rough Trade LP)
The cover of Swell Maps’ 1979 debut album, A Trip to Marineville, depicts a house in flames—an apt visual for the torching of convention that the band pursued on record. Gathered as teenage friends in the early ’70s, these six English lads from Solihull outside of Birmingham favored chutzpah over chops. With diverse influences that ranged from punk to prog to krautock, they were never beholden to typical structures; some of their songs would wrap in a minute’s time, while others would stretch out over eight minutes with no discernible direction.
Aspirationally, Swell Maps were driven to document as many of their left-field ideas as time and money would afford. A Trip to Marineville is sprawled across eighteen tracks with a first-take mentality. While all members participated in the song construction process, Guitarist and vocalist Nikki Sudden wrote the lion’s share of more tuneful numbers: “Midget Submarines,” “Another Song,” “Spitfire Parade” and “Blam!!” are all charmingly messy in a manner that Stephen Malkmus would later latch onto for his early forays in Pavement. Bassist Jowe Head brings an element of psychedelia to the wigged-out “Harmony In Your Bathroom” and his “Loin of the Surf” instrumental is a delight. Sudden’s brother, Epic Soundtracks, was the group’s wildcard, handling percussion duties, but also pitching in on piano, toy saxophone and xylophone. The band was quite resourceful in incorporating whatever was at their disposal in the studio, including a vacuum cleaner, alarm bell and water noise effects.
Sudden would go on to a noteworthy solo career and a stint with Dave Kusworth in Jacobites following Swell Maps’ 1980 break-up. Soundtracks also released solo work, in addition to playing in Jacobites, Crime & The City Solution and Red Krayola. Sadly both brothers met an early demise; Soundtracks at age 38 from unknown causes, and Sudden from a heart attack at 49. Jowe Head enjoyed an extended run with Television Personalities and a solo career as well. In 2021, he resurrected Swell Maps with new personnel that last month released the album C21 on former Chicagoan John Henderson’s Tiny Global Productions label. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: