Dig ‘in: The Telephone Numbers, Good Flying Birds, Dragnet
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
The Telephone Numbers - Scarecrow II (Slumberland Records LP)
On the band’s second full length album, San Francisco’s The Telephone Numbers broaden their sound, adding doses of organ and violin and a pinch of trumpet and mandolin into the mix. The overall effect pulls up short of approaching orchestral territory, but does push past the footprint of spartan jangle pop.
Lead vocalist Thomas Rubenstein signals a shift with the opener, “Goodbye Rock n Roll”—a lovely nostalgic number that’s softly strummed and nestled in warm violin and piano tones. The following track, “Be Right Down,” rides the supple vocal turns of Rubenstein and backing melody of Morgan Stanley (also of The Umbrellas) to power pop blissfulness. Cult Bay Area pop legend Tony Molina guests on 12-string for the energetic “Pulling Punchlines,” which also is buoyed by Anna Hillburg’s trumpet infusion. The spartan “This Job Is Killing Me” is heartfelt and affecting; chronicling the vagaries of public performance and the aftermath critical analysis. Near the end of the record, Morgan takes the lead vocal turn on “Telephone Numbers Theme,” an earlier penned number from when Glenn Donaldson (The Reds, Pinks & Purples) was a member. It’s a catchy blast of blister pop that well captures the overall infectious nature of the band’s music. -Bruce Novak
Good Flying Birds - Talulah’s Tape (Carpark Records / Smoking Room LP)
By initially naming themselves Taluhah God before switching over to their current moniker that was nicked from a Guided By Voices song, Good Flying Birds laid their cards on the table from the get go. The gambit has paid off for this now five-piece Indy/indie outfit that has embraced those inspirations for their own charming dose of lo-fi pop. After initially releasing the four-track recorded Talulah’s Tape as a cassette via the St. Louis label Rotten Apples at the start of the year, slightly revised versions were offered up on vinyl in October on Carpark and Smoking Room.
The band, headed up by vocalist/guitarist Kellen Baker, navigates the pop spectrum, from the jangle of “I Care For You” and “Dynamic” to the noisier “Wallace” and “Eric’s Eyes.” Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites from Wishy (and roommates of Baker), guest on the energetic alt rock-fueled “Fall Away.” With its DIY aesthetic and unchanneled exuberance, Talulah’s Tape is a worthy listening destination for the poptimist community. -Bruce Novak
Dragnet - Dragnet Reigns! (Spoilsport Records LP)
Against an escalating beat, Dragnet’s Jack Cherry intones on the album’s opener, “What’s It Worth”: “Start now / Read it in a book / Government Secrets / Got you on a hook.” The air of espionage is thick with ill intent driven by Machiavellian forces, which certainly hits close to home here stateside.
Cherry, who also fronts Aussie’s estimable Vintage Crop, cites Cold War hijinks as a songwriting launch pad for Dragnet Reigns! “Red Square” advances the theme—a blistering indictment of the impermanence of truces amongst the rancor of political divides. The rancor is turned inwards on “Alta Vista,” which chronicles a dead-end relationship due to a failure to communicate. Likewise, “Grandstand” pits incompatible parties at different ends of the spectrum; those who live in judgement of others and those that are unmercifully judged. Dragnet Reigns! serves as a reminder that the unsavoriness of our history doesn’t mean that lessons have been learned. -Bruce Novak
UPCOMING
Unwed Sailor at The Burlington - Nov 10, 8:00 PM
Typically, instrumental music targets a specific genre, like surf or ambient. Unwed Sailor has persisted over a quarter century stretching the boundaries of the format by also incorporating dream pop, post-rock, drone, shoegaze and goth into the mix. Started in 1998 by bassist Jonathon Ford in Seattle, coming off stints in Roadside Monument and Pedro the Lion, Ford set up camp in Chicago for a time (which later inspired the track “Windy City Dreams”) before finding himself back in Tulsa and his native state of Oklahoma. Unwed Sailor released their tenth album, Cruel Entertainment, this past May, displaying a deft combination of muscularity and finesse. There’s a cinematic scope to the band’s music that paints a beguiling picture without the need for the interjection of lyrical accompaniment. -Bruce Novak
Pink Mountaintops at Color Club - Nov 11, 8:00 PM
Black Mountain frontman Stephen McBean expands his runway with the side project Pink Mountaintops. While Black Mountain is driven primarily by ’60s/’70s classic rock and psychedelia, Pink Mountaintops navigate a larger swath of styles—incorporating punk and alt-country elements into its repertoire to boot. Tracks like “Paranoia” and “Ambulance City” are hot-wired juggernauts that are compelling and urgent. McBean honors post-punk icon Nikki Sudden with “Nikki Go Sudden” and “Swollen Maps,” and re-interpreted Black Flag’s debut recording “Nervous Breakdown.” Not everything McBean and Pink Mountaintops attempt lands on point, but you got admire the risk-taking and adventuresome approach. -Bruce Novak
The Saints ‘73-’78 / chimers at Metro - Nov 11, 8:00 PM
During the initial run of The Saints that covered their superlative string of albums, (I’m) Stranded, Eternally Yours and Prehistoric Sounds, they never made their way to the States to perform. Following Chris Bailey’s passing in 2022 and last year’s 4-LP Deluxe box set release of their landmark (I’m) Stranded debut, original guitarist Ed Kuepper and drummer Ivor Hay recruited multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey (The Birthday Party/Bad Seeds), bassist Peter Oxley (Sunnyboys) and vocalist Mark Arm (Mudhoney) to perform a dozen shows in their native Australia last year under The Saints ’73-’78 banner. The name distinction is notable because instead of trying to replicate Bailey’s iconic voice, this outfit aims to honor the original lineup by delivering an energy and intensity befitting of those pioneers who jumpstarted punk rock in a way much like The Ramones.
Echoing that dynamic is openers, chimers, a Wollongong, Australia duo comprised of spouses Padraic Skehan (guitar) and Binx (drums), who are making their U.S. debut. Their 2024 12XU LP release, THROUGH TODAY, is highly combustible—ratcheting up the tension and pushing the pace with whiplash ferocity. -Bruce Novak
UNCOVERED
Terry Reid - S/T (Epic Records LP)
When Terry Reid succumbed to cancer this past August he was fairly destitute, at one point having to hock some of his guitars to a West Hollywood pawn shop. Although he was revered among his peer musician group, he remains largely unknown to a considerable swath of listeners. All that despite being pitched by Jimmy Page to join his post-Yardbirds outfit that would go on to become Led Zeppelin (for which Reid instead recommended acquaintances Robert Plant and John Bonham due to his prior commitment to open for upcoming Rolling Stones and Cream tours). Later, Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore would come calling seeking a replacement for vocalist Rod Evans, but the band’s metal edge didn’t suit Reid’s tastes.
Reid was only nineteen when he recorded his self-titled second album, but his expressive, soulful voice could be easily be mistaken for someone decades older. His cover version of Donovan’s “Superlungs My Supergirl” that leads off the album would provide his future nickname in recognition of his vocal prowess. It wasn’t only his contemporaries that paid tribute to his unique talents—Cheap Trick plucked “Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace” from the record for their 1977 debut LP and Jack White’s Ranconteurs did the same with closing track “Rich Kid Blues” for 2008’s Consolers of the Lonely.
After the record, Reid and his manager/producer Mickie Most had a falling out, which sidetracked a promising career with litigation that would forestall his next release for another four years. The three albums he released in the seventies failed to chart and his sixth and last studio album, The Driver, wouldn’t arrive until 1991. In 2015, music journalist Richard Frias began working with Reid on a documentary titled Superlungs that potentially could have exposed him to a wider audience, but disagreements between the pair with the project’s direction didn’t allow it to come to completion, though a promotional trailer exists for the curiously inclined. -Bruce Novak
We recommend listening along over at our Spotify page. Here’s this week’s content: