Pissed Jeans Half-Divorced (Sub Pop) Who says punk can’t be funny and bring the brutality at the same time? I’m thinking of a band that does this as successfully as Pissed Jeans and drawing a blank. And, I don’t count grindcore bands because no one can understand what they’re singing about. But with Pissed Jeans, the content is right there. You have to pick it out, but it’s surprisingly easy given Matt Corvette’s barking growl. At the same time, it’s...
METZAtlas Vending One of my first priorities when the quarantine is over will be to start going to shows again. Not sure how well it’s going to go with a newborn child (quarantine makes fools of us all), but the Metz have shot up the priority list as one of the must-see live acts ever since Atlas Vending came out. Why? Because it’s the best thing they’ve done yet. One of the reasons I wax philosophical about the Metz is...
Beach House 7 Photo: turntablelab.com Of all the ridiculous musical genres and subgenres, the one I’ve grown most pleased with is dream-pop. A long time ago, Mike Watt told me that musical genres are just something someone at a record label came up with to make their job easier. I haven’t quite found it to be that, exactly. Genres are important for listeners because it helps us find what we’re looking for. That said, there have been some subgenres so...