Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Micah Wu and Angie Willcutt of the Cincinnati-based project Age of Peace.
Wu and Willcutt have collaborated extensively over the years, forging sustainable creativity as members of the sharply pronounced post-punk band Artificial Go, and the minimal synth project, ROD. Age of Peace is the latest passion project for the duo, releasing their debut EP Ode To Life back in April. As fabled spirits grow like lush spring greenery, thick thistles of hissing tape and string work give volume to Wu’s enduring arrangements, each track makes room for Willcutt’s vocals to become focal points of curiosity and allurement, like a bright red cardinal adorning the shrubbery of its inhabitants. Ode To Life is playful, leaning into the subtle, the grace and the often after-thought beauty, as Age of Peace play through boundless reclamations of what is their own. There are parts that feel inebriated, biting lips and stumbling into a stride, while the duo fluctuates between security and anticipation of what it means to be present in this unpredictable world.
About the playlist, the duo shared;
Angie Willcutt and Micah Wu (Age of Peace, Artificial Go, ROD) have been in a romantic and musical relationship for the past 5 years. They came together as song writers in search of new sound. The two have explored numerous genres, the latest being atmospheric folk music. This playlist is comprised of past and current inspirations, road trip favorites and shared songs from their time together.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Nicole Rodriguez of the New York-based project Pearla.
Last week, Pearla released Song Room, a stunning collection of folkloric vignettes that ground a presence where much often goes unnoticed in this fast-paced world. Waking in a blurred daze, Rodriguez tries to find focus through each track, working out what shapes and colors could be interpreted as when compared to what is actually right in front of her. Blending colorful explorations with whispering tinctures that bleed like citrus, these songs peel back with sweet melodies, while dynamic voicings stick in your teeth like the pith of the fruit you bite into. Song Room is a remarkable sense of self, tracking bits of growth that can often be hard to visualize when you are the one laying the groundwork. But it’s in the imaginative depictions, the acute pieces of collective thoughts and the mental dust that builds up over time where Pearla begins to pick and peel at those inner comforts we so often long for.
About the playlist, Rodriguez shared;
“I gathered some songs about singing and songs. I’ve recently been drawn to songs that mention the medium of song itself, and my newest album is called ‘Song Room.’ I am endlessly fascinated and comforted by the form of song, so here’s a variety of songs that either celebrate that or even just briefly touch upon it”
You can listen to Song Room out now. Grab a copy on CD and vinyl. Pearla will also be playing at the Color Club in Chicago on April 30th. Grab tickets now.
Written by Shea Roney | Photo Courtesy of The Sourdrops
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week, we have a collection of songs put together by the Florida-based band, The Sourdrops.
With reverberated guitars that echo in clean chaos, and the inherently sweet melodies that skip hand-in-hand with the natural percussive movements, The Sourdrops elicit the most contagious daydreams and aimable anthems in their short and mighty collectives. Made up of Kate (vocals, recorder), Shad (bass), Gian (drums) and Matt (guitar), the band elicits a sound that feels so timeless, yet these songs own the present. Putting value to the simple and often overlooked, where moments like sharing a quick meal under a red and yellow Vienna Beef umbrella or closing the door behind a departing friend become synonymous to much larger feelings that can be hard to put into words. Late last year, The Sourdrops shared their latest EP, Just Throw It In!, a collection which was embedded in the jangly jurisdiction of lo-fi dreamers, DIY consumers and true-hearted believers that know that a better day is always in arms reach.
About the playlist, the group shared;
“We each picked some songs that we like, and we like what ugly hug is doing. Listen to these songs and have a good time.”
Written by Shea Roney | Photo Courtesy of Westelaken
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Jordan Seccareccia of the Ontario-based project Westlaken.
Prose etched with keys into park benches and stall doors, the stories embedded within a Westelaken song animate the lines between the humdrum, the overlooked and the unrequited of our day-to-days. Like budding beds of flowers passing the collection bucket to fund the altar, each bandmate builds upon their purpose in the name of the gathered spirit. Releasing music for almost a decade, Alex Baigent (bass), Rob McLay (drums), Lucas Temor (piano), and Jordan (guitar/vocals) break away from any sort of structural dependence as they build out from the grandiose. While their melodies pull straws from folkloric wisdom and false prophets, Westelaken lean into the thoughtfully layered textures and striking dynamic displays that have continuously set them on their own path.
About the playlist Jordan shares;
My favourite radio show is called Barking Dog. It’s a college radio program on CKUW in Winnipeg. It’s researched and presented with such care and curiosity. I love listening to old episodes from their archive (explore it at julianacyoung.com). There’s all sorts of songs here but it can all be roughly categorized as traditional folk and roots music. I put a ton in this playlist. A ton of songs I heard first because I listened to Barking Dog, and some songs I don’t think they’ve played, but that I think fit right in.
Like rifling through an old shoebox full of photos, Sluice’s third album, Companion, listens like a stroll through dusted-off stories from the past. Capturing everything – from the most mundane moments of life to its peak insanity, Justin Morris packs the good, the bad, and the ugly into one pretty, 45-minute-long package.
Kicking off the record with single “Beadie,” Morris takes characters McNulty and Beadie of The Wire, and Sarah and Joe Pera of Joe Pera Talks With You, and turns them into characters in his own life. To those not chronically online, these references may go unnoticed; nevertheless, introducing these companions, admittedly fictional, brings Sluice’s album title to life in a matter of minutes. Mixing the on-screen dynamic duos with references to (presumably) real childhood memories, “Beadie” is an anthem for healthy parasocial relationships and the art of growing up.
One thing Companion does best is use the hell out of figurative language: from personifications to metaphors and analogies to allegories, you just can’t overlook Justin Morris’ genius way with words. In songs like “Ratchet Strap” it seems fairly obvious; the song isn’t really about a car, right? And then there are songs like “Overhead,” where, sandwiched in an ode to man’s best friend, lies a somewhat graphic depiction of human culture and its animalistic tendencies. “Like the dog sprinting after a deer/Ripping his old legs out his hips/That’d be the way I’d wanna go I say/Dad nods, he says him too.” With the glorification of this feeling, of always wanting or needing to be one step ahead, comes the abrupt realization that this modern standard isn’t necessarily “right.” “And I think about being very wrong/About needing to be the animal chasing/When you can be the sleeping dog.”
What better place to apply this message than to the two nine-minute-long songs on Companion? Though you can fit a story into three or four minutes, sometimes giving it a little more time to allow for slow progressions to hum melodically in your ears is even better. Companion proves this wonderfully. “Gator,” track number four, is full of harmonies floating above raw and honest vocals that feel very much like “New Leicester”-era Sluice. It’s full of nods to home and friendship and the difference between dying to live and living to die. Here, you could see the “companion” as any one of the many named or unnamed living beings that Sluice sings of. Whether a family member or an alligator, the companion is not seen as bigger or smaller, but rather another cog in the machine. In contrast, “Unknowing,” as the title suggests, is about a singular “companion” that may or may not exist. Here, the companion is bigger than any other, and the song follows a long stream of consciousness about believing in a higher power. The song is not meant to present the listener with a question or an answer, but more so to create a moment for Morris to reflect on his own beliefs and decision to put trust in a companion he can never truly know.
These days it often feels hard to categorize music into a genre, but Companion makes it easy. In this album, which seems almost like a collection of fables, Sluice has mastered the art of folk and the beauty of the lore it can create. With wildcards like “WTF” and classic jaunty tunes like “Zillow,” every indie music lover will find a song – and indeed a companion – in Companion.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Justin Morris of the North Carolina-based project Sluice.
About the playlist, Justin shared;
“Here’s a compilation of songs that feel relevant to the writing and recording of our LP ‘Companion’ – Things played in the Fust van, the massive monitors at Betty’s studio, or my little kitchen stereo.”
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we celebrate the 100th volume in this series with a collection of playlists made by our contributors.
h. pruz curated our first ever playlist back in April of 2024. Since then, we’ve featured countless artists ranging from Allegra Krieger, Owen Ashworth, Ivy, Squirrel Flower, Jason Evans Groth (Magnolia Electric Co.), Little Kid, Villagerrr, 2nd Grade, Dead Gowns, Winston Hightower, Shep Treasure, Tombstone Poetry, My Wonderful Boyfriend, Fust, Kan Kan, Tex Patrello, Cootie Catcher and onward.
Over the past year, we have been extremely lucky to grow in size with the help of the many thoughtful and talented contributors from all over, who have offered their time and energy to share some great music. It’s been a great time getting to know these individuals, to learn from and be inspired by their work, experience and insight with everything they do. Below is a collection of 20 playlists made by contributors of the ugly hug (listed in alphabetical order), exploring their personal listening habits and interests.
Check out each contributor’s thoughts behind their playlist, what they’ve been working on at the hug, and the other projects they are a part of.
“Something people might not know about me is that I’ve been a runner for most of my life. The way I love it has changed – and with it, the music. Phases, eras, small obsessions that stuck a little longer than they should have. This is what’s lasted. This playlist is tested. Every song earns its place. It knows when to build, when to lock you into rhythm, when to hit that loud, necessary push – the kind that makes you feel a little insane in a good way. There are the songs that keep me moving and the ones that feel bigger than me; including the pop divas that raised me, the ones I try to channel mid-run (they wouldn’t quit, so neither do I). It’s not a soundtrack. It’s not even my coolest taste. It’s just a record of what I commit to, fully, a little obsessively, with my whole heart, even when it’s a little embarrassing.”
Along with her writing at the ugly hug, reviewing releases from artists like Motocrossed, Marble Teeth and Adeline Hotel, Arden curates her work on her website Arden’s Digest, where you can read everything from poetry and nonfiction to reviews, journals, and recipes.
“Thee Definitive Soundtrack. Headstone fodder. Grist for the mill. If they dig me up they’ll find the following 15 trax instead of teeth for my dental record. Or, if there’s 32 in a jawbone, then maybe this playlist and a loose handful of teeth. It doesn’t have to come to all that, though. (SISTER! Why won’t you give me your HAND!) We can just spin this together now and enjoy it in the sun. We are both Aquarius and I love you (hee haw).”
You can read Autumn’s work in many of our newsletters, our personal favorite being the intro to the first volume in our show flyer letter series. You can also find Autumn’s literary work in the New York-based Tasting Table food and wine magazine, various composed pieces for a lineup of acclaimed poetry journals like The Mill, as well as three books of her own poetry and prose. The most recent being “Tap Dancing through the Chicken House”, with her fourth on the way soon.
Averi is a Chicago-based photographer and has been the leader of some of our most engaging and expansive photo collectives, including their work on the Memory Card x Kitship Tour Diary and the Trash Tape Fest recap. Averi is also the creative mind behind Jeststink, a collective zine that catalogs their world through photos, stories and found keepsakes. Averi just shared volume two of Jeststink, which you can grab a copy of wherever you can find them around town.
“This playlist stems from what I would want to put on during a road trip with someone. Calling it a game might be a stretch, but the joy of it is the same: you pass the phone back and forth, showing each other new songs, and hoping they love it too.”
Avery fronts the Chicago-based band Wishbone, who are playing a show on April 2nd at the Hideout. Keep an ear out for new music on the way soon from Avery and the crew! Along with playing music, Avery has worked an impressive career in show booking, curating countless epic bills the past several years.
“This is a collection of songs I’ve only been able to find on YouTube. There are many collections like it but this one is mine. At the end, I’ve included the first of Montreal show its entirety, as well as Heath’s part in Sight Unseen, for your viewing pleasure.”
Cade is a skilled Chicago-based videographer, working with, but not limited to, short films, music videos, and helping us get our live sessions off the ground. Watch Cade’s work in our first ugly session with Sleeper’s Bell. You can check out Cade’s website, dublindoesstuff.net, and feel free to reach out to him to make any kind of music movie. He also writes and records music under the project Mingus W.
“I tend to move through song curation with a hyper-specific emotion or scenario in mind that I’m trying to better understand. These songs communicate the gentle energy that goes into respecting fragility in people & objects.”
Dylan also writes and performs in the Pittsburg-based project, Gina Gory. Read his latest piece reflecting on a memorable performance put on by Total Wife.
“My now-roommate and I became fast friends freshman year of college; after quietly revealing our backgrounds in choir/musical theater to each other and lamenting the fact that we never sang with anyone anymore, we proceeded to spend countless nights sitting on her dorm room floor huddled around her laptop opened to ultimate-guitar.com, sipping 2 for $10 bottles of wine from 7-Eleven, stumbling through harmonies to varying degrees of drunken success. This tradition of what we so generously call “jamming” together has considerably leveled up over the past five years: we now drink $5 Trader Joe’s wine instead of 7-Eleven wine; we have our own place with two couches (though we often still sit on the floor while we jam); we have more friends joining us—turns out most of them also missed singing—and our repertoire has expanded exponentially (though if this playlist were 100% accurate, it would honestly be 90% Big Thief songs). There’s sublimity in someone breaking the silence after a song ends and saying the quiet part out loud (“we fucking nailed that”) or, inversely, cracking up immediately (“so that was fucking terrible”). No matter how many times we sing them, no song ever sounds the exact same twice, which means every song brims with potential—we’re still figuring it out as we go and trying to pull our own weight, with no real “end goal” other than to maybe sound beautiful. This is a list of songs that are, as the title suggests, our bread and butter, songs we know by heart, songs we reach for when we need to start or end on a high note. You probably/hopefully have your own version of this list and you probably/hopefully know at least one of our songs, so you could potentially join in…”
Ella is a Chicago-based writer who has recently shared some awesome in-depth and in-person interviews with Chicago’s MaryMary! and Poolish. Ella also curates her work on her substack, Rubber Cement, where she collects musical musings, thoughtful essays, countless stories and all the small things she doesn’t want to forget.
“This is music that has been important to me in the past year or so. A lot of these songs have ties to special memories or people I love, and some are just things I’ve been excited about or inspired by in recent months.”
Emily is an Asheville-based writer and creative, who consistently shares well written and earnest interviews with artists like Shep Treasure, runo plum, 0 Stars and h. pruz.
“My playlist is pretty much just an amalgamation of music I’ve been listening to over the last couple of months! It’s mostly new releases, some local Chicago friends and favorites, but also just some recent obsessions mixed in there as well. I hope you find something you love in there! <3”
Helen is a Chicago-based writer who has worked on covering releases from artists like Samuel Aaron and Glass Beagle, as well as a feature on Colin Miller. Helen currently works college radio promotion with Terrorbird as well as helps run the DIY artist management group Sister Sign management.
“A collage of me recently. Some tracks are just in my rotation, some have carried me throughout the year. I turn twenty-six in a few days, and I like to celebrate birthdays as my personal NYE, so I’ve been doing a lot of EOY analysis. Self-exoneration and reclamation have been themes, and I think these tracks reflect that. Also tried to include some up-and-coming Boston/MA acts that I have my eye on!”
Joy is a Boston-based writer whose latest interviews have covered artists such as Mold Gold, Prewn and Soup Dreams. Joy also runs The Yellow Light Mag, a physical digest part-literary mag, part-collage, part-sharing-of-guts. They accept photos/writings/physical art always, and have contributors from all over the world. Keep an eye out for the next issue “From the Tarmac” dropping soon. Joy also runs a blog on their website and have been featuring local New England musicians there for a while now.
“My playlist is dedicated to the people who make up my hometown, Ithaca, New York. Every song here is a reflection. Either made by someone from this place, or chosen by someone who moves within it; musicians and supporters of the local scene who offered a song they see themselves in. Here and there. This was my way of mapping a community through sound and recognition. My hope is you will spend time with these songs and start to see the shape of something special form in front of you. Or maybe you’ll want to reach towards it. Support your local music communities. Make space for questions when they arrive. Ask what’s meaningful, what lingers, what feels like a mirror.
Thank you to: Sarah Noell, Steven Donahue, JT Tompkins, John Bueno, Hannah Toombs, Gianni Renna, Somer, Amber Martin, Cuchulain, Marcus Converse, Zach Totta, and Wallace Petruziello for sharing pieces of themselves with me. You can find me (Laura) in Ithaca, on The Creative Independent, or you can reach out and tell me about your corner of the world at lebrwn16@gmail.com.”
Laura is an Ithaca-based writer, who’s stunning work you can read on her piece covering one the latest EPs from hemlock. You can read more of Laura’s thoughtful and in-depth writing on her substack.
“These are all songs that I’ve been listening to in the first beginnings of spring, and that sort of excitement one gets as everything starts to come alive again.”
Lucie is a talented photographer out of Salt Lake City, who’s keen eye brings a refreshing and intimate feeling to all of her photos. Check out her editorial piece she did with Winter on her SLC tour stop last year. You can view more of Lucie’s work on her website.
“This is a collection of some of my favorite “therapeutic walk” tracks. Every single one has offered me a cathartic and meditative experience at one point. Some are new, some have been with me for years. They also double as excellent “late night solo bedroom dance party” tracks. Xoxo.”
Manon co-runs the ugly hug, joining as graphics and photo editor two years ago. She also runs a baking account called idontpreheattheoven, that often finds the sweet crossroads of baked goods and new releases.
“I don’t know if there’s much of a sonic thread winding through this playlist, but I chose these songs because they’ve all surprised me. Whether that’s in their melodies or instrumentation or how I was first introduced to them, I’ve experienced a lot of joy in their discovery, and I hope you feel the same!”
Natalie is a Chicago-based writer and musician, who performs under her project Prairie Scout as well as plays in Chicago’s dreampop band Humdrum. Natalie also works radio promotions with Secretly and artist management with fatback management.
“This playlist is a perfect mix of my all-time favorites and newer finds. I tend to artist hop as opposed to make playlists, so this is my first attempt at creating a short, cohesive mix of tunes from a variety of subgenres. If there is a tasteful amount of whining, the lyrics hint at a superiority complex, it makes me want to cry just thinking about it, or I start dancing after hearing the first note, it’s my kind of song. I hope it’s yours too. Enjoy!”
Natalie is a Chicago-based writer who spent a lot of time in the belly of college radio at WLUW 88.7 FM. You can read Natalie’s latest review of Charlie Johnston’s new album The Firetruck Is Running Late.
“This is a collection of songs for when I feel myself dissolving – Driving home late at night as the rain hits the windshield, crawling into the sheets of a bed where someone awaits you in their sleep, sinking into a plane that exists only before you dream.”
Olivia is a Hudson Valley and NYC based music and portrait photographer. Olivia has shared editorial shoots with artists like h. pruz and Bella Litsa. You can view Olivia’s work on her website.
““I’m coming around to… / The place we thought the car was parked,” songwriter Garrett Linck admits—the realization like an exhale. But he follows that near-reconciliation with a step back. “I don’t where I’m going,” he confesses after another pause. It’s a tender moment. And it really gets to the heart of how I feel in the wake of my recent decision to stay in New England, after finishing Divinity School. I always thought I’d head right back West at the first chance; I grew up in Oregon and thought I’d never leave, thought I’d never want to. But Vermont, without my really understanding it, feels like it might just be where my car’s parked, and where I want it to remain parked, for a while.
I’m coming around, I guess… And I think that the reason Vermont feels like the right place for me, right now, has everything to do with these artists, all New Englanders, whom I’ve loosely compiled in this playlist. These people, this music, and the landscape that undergirds it are my reasons. This is what I’ve fallen in love with.
No—I don’t know where I’m going. But listening to these artists—a couple of whom I’ve been lucky enough to call new friends—makes me feel like I can, at least, love the place I’m at.
Rohan is Vermont-based writer, whose thoughtful work you can find at the ugly hug and at our good friends over in post trash. Read Rohan’s latest deep dive feature of Peter Horses now up on our site.
“I was recently told by my close friend that my music taste is extremely overstimulating. I had never even considered this before, and just thought that what I like is what I like… until I was walking to the Division Blue Line Stop, and realized I was listening to Hella with the volume at max. I’ve designed this playlist to look exactly how my walks look. There’s everything from lo-fi industrial stuff, to electronics. This playlist can be whatever you want it to be. There are also some local bands :-)”
Ruby is a Chicago-based writer and musician, who drums in formative project, Uniflora, as well as the newly formed band, Leroy.
“My last apartment had a fire hydrant right outside the front door. Because no cars could park there, I would often gather an old milk crate, a couple drinks, and a pack of sunflower seeds and head down to sit on the curb and listen to music. In the middle of summer, sometimes it would be cooler on the curb than my apartment. I would watch the cars struggle with the limits of a one-way street while, while getting in some target practice with the husk of the seeds, and listening to the music blend in with a neighborhood making it through the hateful heat. This playlist is a collection of songs that I listened to a lot down on that curb, often meeting the night with a purposeful end to the day.”
Shea started writing under the journal name the ugly hug back in 2023.
“When I’m listening to music, I tend to gravitate towards a lot of long-running or anxiety-inducing songs. These are some of my all time favorites. From field recordings of wolf packs to experimental electronic folk from Edinburgh to a live gritty rendition of a cosmic country anthem, there’s something in here for everyone. So, next time you host a party, be sure to put on this playlist of undeniable crowd pleasers!”
Sophia is an NYC-based writer and creative who currently host “Seventeen Girl Days” on 8 Ball Radio in NYC, a radio show loosely inspired by the inventor of the selfie and the culture of girlblogging. Sophia is also an independent writer, whose work has been featured in a variety of online and print publications (though possibly the most important professional achievements of her life have been contributing to a blog about rom-coms, “The New Romantics”). Sophia also produces music for the Edinburgh-based experimental band, Stall Girls alongside her bandmates Mariángela and Freddy. Their EP, Bigger than The Beatles, was put out by PX4M and is available to listen to on Bandcamp.
Written by Shea Roney | Photo Courtesy of Dick Texas
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Valerie Salerno of the Detroit-based project Dick Texas.
Last spring, Dick Texas released their debut album All That Fall. Each track levies a patron’s holy prayer; two taps on the bar and shoot it back, the liquid warms your belly as you try to decipher the hidden message a glitching neon sign leaves you in the absence of its whole. Salerno’s songs become a dynamic exchange, a transfer of self as she pulls engagement in the face of grief and heartbreak. Yet it’s clear these songs aren’t meant to live in those spaces for too long. Amongst the sun-bleached bones and cinematic knots, embracing opportunity over any form of formality, guitars cut through the scenery while reverberated structures absorb the space they are given. And as wounds begin to scab over and all that was left to wither now grows with defined eagerness, Salerno’s instigations on All That Fall begin to feel more accessible with each listen.
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Donna, Adam, Cody, and Blake of the Austin to New York-based band, Chronophage.
Spanning several years, Chronophage have always mixed the witty and the weary, leading with a bold heart who knows that perfection is a waste of time. Last July, Chronophage released their latest EP, Musical Attack: Communist + Anarchist Friendship in which the band rips through societal ills and personal quips with what feels to be fresh and inherently hearty practice, these songs lending relief like the dripping discharge of an A/C unit 6 floors up on the hottest day of the year – meddling in the pool of what could be and how it really is. And to their credit, these songs are in no way hopeless, but rather refuse to blow smoke in just any direction. Utilizing loose structures, drenching unconditional melodic prose with the levity of tinkering keys and brash guitars, Chronophage linger in the purity of the ol’ reliable that’s living somewhere between triumph and defeat.
About the playlist, the crew shared;
Here is a playlist! Just a bunch of shite we’ve been listening to (we at this point is Donna, Adam, Cody, and Blake, all in NYC except Adam on tour in Europe with our friend Jana Horn!), on a personal note I would further recommend people check out Controlled Bleeding, who I have been listening to a ton in the last year. Frederic Rzewski, great composer in the left-wing tradition of Cardew, Wolff, and Andriessen. Love the Waterboys, lots of pop music on here but of course have to remind people to listen to PUNK every day lest we chance to forget the fertile field from whence we first took seed. Adam with some Tejano music that it sounds like Austin Powers dubbed over. Chopin- why not? Blake of course is very into Scritti Politti recently, and made a meme involving them and other playlist citizen, Aztec Camera. Wee bit of Akashic synthesizer impressions, no longer palate cleanser but indeed the main course— OOPS! ALL INTERLUDES. Hardrock Gunter is my dad’s uncle, I love showing people this. He coined the term “RockNRoll.” As for us—we’ve got a new album on the way (well, we are still extracting the raw materials from the mine, but it is of course necessary to do this before anything else can happen) on PPM records, and had an EP come out last year, and are gearing up for our “baller year”… can’t wait!
You can listen to Musical Attack: Communist + Anarchist Friendship and other releases from Chronophage now as well order vinyl from the LA-based label Post Present Medium.
Written by Shea Roney | Photo by Olivia West at O’Brien’s Pub in Boston
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Max Bottner, Henry Moskal, Will Carr, and Jason Shapiro of the Chicago-based band National Photo Committee.
National Photo Committee has operated on the whim of hidden pieces and lucrative secrets for some time now, sharing a sparse catalog of demos and live recordings for public consumption. But if you are lucky enough to come into the crosshairs of one of their releases, a National Photo Committee song comes and goes like smoke through the nose and a mouth full of blood, pouring out with thick, scabbing melodies and burning dispositions of alt-country heat. Plastered with loose movements and sweaty arrangements, at the center are the bruised vocals of Max Bottner, whose stories hash both the sincerity and falter of folkloric aspirations and rock n’ roll holy prayers. As a project embedded with a type of veracity and charm, National Photo Committee are not ones to weigh the experience with the product, or even the means for that matter, but have been on the front lines of their own home-grown revolution from the beginning.
Listen to National Photo Committee’s Playlist HERE
About the playlist, the crew shared;
MAX’s PICKS:
1. “I Wanted To Be A Rock N Roll Star” – Willie Hutch: Epic track. I learned about this song from perusing Theo Parrish setlists from the early 2000s on Setlist.fm, something everyone should do if they’re interested in expanding their dance music knowledge. 2. “Feel The Strain Of Sorrow Never Ceasing” – Beck: Love his funky ass. This song is incredible, feels like it could have been written by a 600 year old man. 3. “When Things Go Wrong” – Kevin Godley & Lol Creme: There has never been a song with a more dichotomously Jewish/British vibe than this, as far as I know. Beyond that, it happens to be a perfect song from the most underrated concept album ever made, Consequences. 4. “Don’t Ask Me / Sheep” – Toy Love: It was hard to pick a Toy Love single to include on here, one of my all time favorite bands. 5. “Punk Rock Secret” – Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments: Ohio is the Fertile Crescent of amazing punk bands. Will showed me this band I think. Just bought this single at Reckless Records the other day for 2 bucks.
WILL’s PICKS:
1. “Lutzko Lives” – Puffy Areolas: My 2010s Columbus discount scum rock goats. Imagine if Destruction Unit did drugs. 2. “Today’s Gun Permits” – Eugene Chadbourne: I remember bumping this one on repeat last Election Day. Feel good Americana. 3. “Welfare Music” – the Bottle Rockets: More of the above. We love welfare. Also, this was my first concert, but I don’t remember it. 4. “Journey” – Burning Spear: His first record is probably my favorite reggae album. There’s a YouTube comment on this song that’s like “Great mystical song I feel the whole sacred spell of the earth” and I have nothing to add to that. 5. “Oranges in the oaks” – Maxine Funke: Probably my favorite living songwriter. I’m sure adjectives like idyllic and pastoral are thrown around a lot. Great mystical song though. I feel the whole sacred spell of the earth.
HENRY’S PICKS: Being a member of National Photo Committee has brought some great people and great music into my life. In no particular order, here are some songs I like.
1. “Sick of Myself” – Matthew Sweet: Jason and his music have reminded me how much I love power pop. You haven’t really heard this song until you’ve heard Jason’s rendition. Matthew Sweet’s version is also awesome, and features Richard Lloyd on guitar. NPC played with Mr. Lloyd in January. So that’s crazy. Thanks Jason. 2. “Pick My Brain” – Bardo Pond: Leroy introduced me to Bardo Pond. Heavy stuff, and very awesome. Interesting rock at its finest? Thanks Leroy. 3. “Love’s Gonna Make It Alright” – George Strait: I love country music and I love NRBQ. Max blew my mind when he showed me this 2011 George Strait song, written by Al Anderson. It’s so good. It sounds so much like an NRBQ song, it’s insane. It changed the way I think about songwriting. Thanks Max. 4. “Mystifies Me” – Son Volt: I became obsessed with Ronnie Wood’s first solo album “I’ve Got My Own Album To Do.” Yeah man. Will reminded me that the first Son Volt record ends with a cover of Mystifies Me. I’m very glad he did, because it’s super good. Thanks Will. 5. “94 The Long Way” – Jim O’Rourke: When I listen to this song, I can feel every emotion. And also, Ken Champion’s pedal steel playing is amazing. Is this as good as it gets?
JASON’S PICKS: Here are my favorite 5 Motion City Soundtrack songs; “Hold Me Down” is a goated breakup song.
1. “Hold Me Down” 2. “Her Words Destroyed My Planet” 3. “When You’re Around” 4. “My Favorite Accident” 5. “The Future Freaks Me Out”
National Photo Committee is looking to release more music in the very near future. In the meantime, check out their EP Songs About Stick and Rocks as well as their epic live compilation Live Nude Photo Committee.
Written by Shea Roney | Photo Courtesy of gobbinjr
Every Wednesday, the ugly hug shares a playlist personally curated by an artist/band that we have been enjoying. This week we have a collection of songs put together by Emma Witmer of the New York-based project gobbinjr.
Over the years, gobbinjr has been able to accentuate the meaning of bedroom music to the furthest extent of the term. Along with the warming synths, fixated drum machines and loose, heartfelt melodies, Witmer’s writing feels to be embedded in the specific joys, routines, secrets, heartbreaks, embarrassments and reflections that our own rooms have held alongside us. Tchotchkes and trash, posters held up by bubblegum and CD collections towering over your bed with a dangerous lean, Witmer’s stylistic elements are intuitive of that prime real estate a bedroom offers for the most epic personalization. gobbinjr is gearing up to release her much anticipated new album, crystal rabbit moon, out April 10th. Exploring more colorful dynamics amongst her soft tones, Witmer continues to creatively stumble along the line of aching maturity and youthful reclamations that take time to explore, but are inherently worth it in the end.
About the playlist, Witmer shares;
“I chose these songs because, to me, they are all exceptionally crafted in a way that demands attention. Not all of these songs are “professionally” mixed, but the textures, structures, and/or performances are so perfectly interesting and satisfying. I was listening to a lot of these songs as I was mixing my upcoming album crystal rabbit moon, aspiring to make something that similarly compels you to take a closer listen.”
the ugly hug 