Whenever I regret any of the tattoos I got at nineteen, I pacify the remorse by recalling the even more regrettable tattoos I did not get at nineteen. I still have a Pinterest board I can consult when I need to ridicule my half-baked prefrontal cortex; though no fine-line butterfly or cliche heart could come close to the surplus of relief I feel about having “wherever you go, there you are” in cheesy script on my arm. I got close; there was a time I praised that quote with a religious zeal. Today, I hate it. Sure, we cannot run from our own minds simply by changing zip codes, but I also think it is ridiculous to absolve our location of any impact on our own happiness. This can be in a literal sense, in terms of a home, community, environment, etc, but also through a broader, zeitgeist-considering lens. The state of the world, the technology that has permeated our lives, the information and slop at our fingertips. It feels out of touch to blame the disposition of our nervous-systems entirely on ourselves, as if a few deep breaths can reverse years clocked in a world constantly plummeting deeper down a catastrophic and backwards hole. In their latest work, Vermont-based Robber Robber captures just how detrimental it can be to co-exist with uncertainty. Written during a nomadic period for the band, the record blends Robber Robber’s housing impermanence with wider societal tensions. Out tomorrow, Two Wheels Move The Soul is an exhilarating sonic attestation to the enfeebling impacts of a society drenched in capitalism, as Robber Robber morphs anxiety into a sharp (and thoroughly enjoyable) listening experience.
The earliest seeds of Robber Robber were planted while Cates (vocals/guitar) and Zach James (percussion) were teenagers; the two began writing songs together towards the end of their time in high school. They continued collaborating creatively as UVM students, enlisting Will Krulak (guitar) and Carney Hemler (bass) as they began cultivating Robber Robber’s now robust identity – a transition that ultimately took several years. “It feels like it really became Robber Robber when we started putting together our last record, Wild Guess,” Cates tells me. “At that point, we had been playing together for a couple of years.”
They heavily credit their Vermont roots in the development of Robber Robber, though not necessarily in terms of their sound. In fact, the band is rather cautious about their sonic inspirations, avoiding any sort of “indie” or “punk” projects to prevent their work from being derivative. So while their sound strays from their peers (both local and within the indie-music scene at large), the community they were immersed in during their college years proved to be pivotal in attaining the dedication they have for Robber Robber today.
“The scene is great, I feel like we have been really lucky to be playing music and in school at the time that we were. It was around then that some of our other friends were starting bands and sort of pushed each other to take it to the next level. We saw one of our friends booking a DIY tour, and we were like oh yeah we can use those resources and collaborate. So now some of those friends are taking off a little bit more, like Greg [Freeman] and Lily [Seabird], and it feels like we have enabled each other more than in some college towns.”
The members of Robber Robber are now out of college, and their latest record, Two Wheels Move The Soul, is their first body of work to come out amidst this transition. Severing ties with the identity of “student” for the first time since childhood tends to reap anxiety for many, though their own circumstances quickly sent the potential stress of this milestone to the back-burner. Their apartment was demolished following a fire, an event that capsized an already skittish time in their lives. Following a series of failed sublet attempts, the band accepted that they may need to find other means of grounding themselves. In lieu of a steady housing situation, creating Two Wheels Move The Soul became one of the sturdiest constants in their life.
“At one point someone was like, ‘oh, that’s like a crazy year that you guys had, like did you think about pushing back the time line of the record?’ It actually didn’t cross our minds that maybe we should give ourselves more space with this. It was so nice to have that as an anchor and a main focus over the last year. If anything, it accelerated it.” Cates explains. They had recorded at the studio before, giving it a sense of familiarity and ownership for the band to cling to amidst a time where they chronically felt like guests in others’ homes.
The result is a refreshingly sporadic body of work. It teeters between burnout and overstimulation; often exploring how these two extremes have more in common than they contradict. Two Wheels Move The Soul wastes no time; the cavernous record is charged and busy from the moment it starts. You could consider it punk, though that label almost feels too dated for Robber Robber. Two Wheels is pumped with the modern and animated blood of a hyper-pop, and it wrangles the gritty feel of impudent noise-rock. Ultimately, it feels genre-immune; a scintillating and profoundly contemporary body of work all its own.
Lyrically, Two Wheels Move The Soul should read as almost manic. Cates assertively delivers lines like “Grind me down, blood computer. Mix my dust into a paste”, and “Shouldn’t bother, sucked back in and. Hours later, hours later. Hours later”. Though they can sometimes be nonsensical, they never register as gibberish; Two Wheels Move The Soul tells a commanding story, albeit one that can be interpreted in different ways.
“Writing lyrics can take a really long time. It depends on the song. Some come out in a day or two and then some of them take months to pinpoint. But usually what I do is I write pages of ideas, just sort of free form off a concept. I think that feels like carving it out of space. It starts very vague, very instinctual. It suits the mood of the song. I parse through them, and I try to do it on paper so I can crinkle them up in a ball and throw them and cross off ones that don’t work. Whatever I am left with, I try to puzzle and collage together.” Cates tells me. “I think something about that process helps me come back to the song later, after the lyrics have settled, and better understand what I meant. It is definitely a tool for figuring out the meaning of something, but it also means that there are often a lot of vague ideas connected.”
When I asked the band what emotions they were hoping to elicit with Two Wheels Move The Soul, their first response was “Joy”. I admit I was probably expecting something more callous, but the band went on to explain that it is important that joy go hand in hand with the catharsis of live music. “The world is also kind of exploding right now. I feel like being at a loud concert listening to music…” Nina Cates considers. “Joy in the face of it all is kind of a punk rock expression.”
Two Wheels Move The Soul will be out tomorrow via Fire Talk. You can preorder it below.
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 Joy Elizabeth | Photo Courtesy of Mold Gold
There is a quiet assurance in Mold Gold’s I’m Sorry I Dropped You As A Baby. The LP, from the project founded by St. Louis-based songwriter, Mere Harrach, is full of sprawling instrumentals (à la cello) and hypnotic electronica pads. What is born from the unlikely match is a tone both warm and pristine. Harrach’s voice, unassuming and sweet, envelops the listener in a near-whisper.
I sat down with Mere to discuss some of my favorite tracks, the DIY scene in St. Louis, and the inner-workings of the entirely self-composed album.
With an album title as visceral and striking as I’m Sorry I Dropped You As A Baby, we have to touch on it. Where did the sentiment come from?
The album title broadly comes from the feeling of the anxiety of letting something important to you, that you feel responsible for, slip out of your hands. When it came to me, I was thinking about my tendency to get over-committed with projects and ideas that I feel really excited about, and in doing that, I end up neglecting some friendships and obligations that feel equally important because I get pulled in all directions. Especially when it comes to corresponding and replying to texts, I’ll mean to get back to someone and two weeks have gone by and it’ll hit me, oh shit. The balance is delicate and it feels really bad to do that, like dropping a baby. I haven’t actually dropped any literal babies but my friend Nicholas who’s a father of a new baby told me it makes him feel really terrible thinking about the album name so I’ll apologize for the imagery, haha.
The electronica effects on “Emphatic” are stark against the acoustic guitars and mellow vocals, showing us this isn’t going to be a traditional singer/songwriter record. Where does that modernized sound intersect with the folk foundation of the project?
Mold Gold is largely a mostly-solo recording project for me, so I like layering fun synth & drum machine textures in the tracks. When I play live I’m often just playing acoustic guitar and singing, though occasionally I’ve had friends join in on live sets, too, but the arrangements are still not true to the tracks. This project feels particularly inspired by artists like Chris Weisman, Lomelda, and local musician Zak M’s music, so I’m definitely drawing a bit of influence from how they record and arrange.
Dub effects on “Yellow” are perhaps even more surprising, but elevate the sound and make it more robust.
Thank you, I almost swapped that beat out for something simpler but a friend told me to stick with it & I’m glad I did.
The cello adds a cinematic air to Mold Gold, sweeping in “Bloomed” beneath the verses and giving a sense of unease in “Indigo Blue Bunting.” Who are your biggest classical influences?
For classical string writing, I really like Shostakovich & Schubert. In the world of contemporary composition, I love how Caroline Shaw can take a theme that feels old and classic & arrange it in a way that disrupts & reinvigorates. I would be remiss to not mention how important Arthur Russell and Abdul Wadud are to me, too.
You’re a St. Louis-based project. How has the local music scene supported your work?
I’ve been in St. Louis for a little over four years now & feel so at home here. To me there is no better place to land. The scene is big enough that there are a lot of different creative pockets & so many inventive and talented friends to draw inspiration from but small enough that there’s a lot of genre overlap & the communities feel tightly knit. On the regular you’ll have folk artists playing with punks playing with noise artists, playing with poets, etc all on the same bill. You really get to know people this way too, and you open your heart to a lot of different experiences. Because of this overlap, I’m lucky to have collaborated with so many friends in several projects outside of Mold Gold. There are really too many friends’ projects I want to recognize in this interview but to name just a few who blow me away every time, I would recommend checking out Kids, Sloopy McCoy, American Beautifulness, Dee Bird, and Goo Man if you get the chance to. Also if you’re ever in St. Louis, take a peek at stlshowpage.com to find out where to go.
“Mississippi Kite” almost plays like a lullaby. Was this intentional (potentially alluding to album title)?
Hmm… I hadn’t thought of it as a lullaby but that’s sweet! I should give a shout out, I stole the lyric “nude with anything” from the title of Jamie D’Agostino’s poetry book of the same name. I don’t think I have his phone number anymore, so if you read this thank you for the borrowed line Jamie!
How was your string of shows back in the fall?
It was fantastic! I’d never been to several of the cities Harrison (Riddle M) & I ended up playing on the east coast but it was a treat to hear so many sick musicians and meet so many lovely people. It was my first time playing with many of the artists we met but I especially loved getting to hear imy3 from Philadelphia and Jacob King of T.T.T.T. in Buffalo.
”Tell me what’s so wrong with wearing my heart on my sleeve?” The question is begged in “Vulture,” an emblem of the type of vulnerability felt lyrically and sonically throughout Mold Gold’s discography. Where does this intimacy with the listener come from, and is it easy to access when you are writing?
I have a hard time not writing from life, it’s kind of just what comes out haha. I think that’s important about folk tradition though, even if you’re being poetic and indirect, you can tell when someone’s writing from a place of true feeling and experience. If I’m being honest though, it limits which songs I feel comfortable playing live sometimes. That song “Vulture”, for example, came from a somewhat bitter headspace that I’m not often in the mood to put myself in or bring an audience into. A poem comes from a moment or era of feeling a certain way too, so it can feel funny writing the song, taking months to work on it, and having a shifted perspective about something once the song is released.
What can we expect next from Mold Gold?
I don’t put a lot of pressure on Mold Gold, the songs just kind of happen when they happen. But I do think for whatever I work on next in my solo songwriting, I want to invite more friends in. I should say here though, my other band Piracy is about to release our new album April 1st! Piracy has been a dream to be a part of because of its incredibly collaborative nature; I’d never been part of a group where everyone has an equal hand in writing and our musical chemistry feels so natural and fun. My collaborators Julio, Antonio, and Colin are all incredible musicians and friends, some of the most inspired individuals in St. Louis. You can find the music soon at piracyweb.bandcamp.com.
You can listen to I’m Sorry I Dropped You As A Baby out now.
Written by Shea Roney | Cover Photo by Tanner Stangle
Gawshock is the solo project of Huntsville, Alabama based songwriter David Broome, who is gearing up to release his next album titled Leaves to the Sun, out April 17th via Patchwork. Started as a way to keep himself busy during the pandemic, Gawshock has become a place of exploration for Broome as he continues to push himself as a deliberate and enduring songwriter. Today, Gawshock shares “What Do You Dream About?”, the simple, yet stunning final single ahead of the new album.
Photo by Max Marcotte
Caught up in a commotion, “What Do You Dream About” begins with an amalgamation of sounds as the track finds its footing in a lush and stirring landscape. Built around repetition, Broome asks “what do you dream about?”, the question growing in size with unruffled harmonies that create an alluring cloud of bizarre, restless fascination. And just as the question begins to sharpen, the track falls into a grounded groove as drums blow in and guitars fly around like birds between branches; frantic, yet instinctual. And amongst the conversational backdrop that “What Do You Dream About?” exudes from comes a curiosity for answers, but Broome creates an atmosphere where sometimes it’s nice to just sit in for a while before you get to work.
About the single Broome says, “I’m the sort of person who thinks about dreams a lot- oftentimes I can’t remember them after I wake up, but when I do, I’m always curious about what they may have meant. “What Do You Dream About?” is a pretty simple song about that curiosity. Do most people walking around day to day know what their brain is working on while they’re sleeping, or why?”
Listen to “What Do You Dream About?” premiering here!
You can listen to Gawshock’s catalog now as well as purchase the previous single “Heat Lightning” ahead of Leaves to the Sun out April 17th via Patchwork.
Amongst Richmond’s animated DIY scenes comes the band K9, the five-bit rock band who released their debut LP earlier this year titled Thrills. Songwriter and guitarist, Jake Schmader, came up through the city’s hardcore scene, most known for his role in the heated project, Reckoning Force. But K9’s beginning was just as simple as finding excuses to record some covers with fellow collaborator and singer, Brenda. The project operated on the whim of possibilities for some time, as the band continued to grow with the additions of Ian (guitar), Evan (Bass) and Christian (drums). Soon with new voices, K9 has since shared a sparse, yet incredibly promising catalog of demos and EPs for public consumption, including 2023’s Harmony Kills EP and 2024’s In Blistering Stereo.
At its core, K9 lingers around those harsh pronunciations and “off with their heads” kinda daydreams that hardcore punk instinctually offers, but Jake has always been clear that they don’t want to be held down by it. The tracks on Thrills revel amongst the scruffy middlemen that come in and out for introductions, as each member performs with old back pocket magic that blends so seamlessly with these new ideas and some low-fi holy prowess. Making any formality just a bit more sweaty, K9 rips through with sharp guitars, conversational movements and pairs of sweet melodies as they embrace an instinctual type of looseness and pop song fascination. It’s a quick album, but its impact is in no way brief. And as they push on, K9 continues to play show after show, finding space beyond their home of Richmond, and becoming a conversational piece, a connecting thread when this band is brought up, “oh, yeah, K9? They rock.”
We recently got to chat with Jake about the project, keeping things open and starting a label.
Photo Courtesy of K9
You recently released your debut LP Thrills this past year. How has it been sitting with you since you shared it?
Good, I guess! We’re glad that people are coming across it and enjoying it. We had recorded Thrills back in the spring of 2024 and it took a while for it to come out, so the songs feel older to us having been playing them for years at this point. It’s been fun to hear what people think of the record and what kinds of descriptions and comparisons we’ve been getting. I feel like a project needs to be out in the world for a while before I’m able to hear it for what it is, instead of just hearing the mix, or whatever.
Having spent time coming up through the Richmond hard core scene, playing in the band Reckoning Force, why did something like K9 come about in your world? Did it open up anything for you in terms of how you approached songwriting or being in a band?
Absolutely. Hardcore punk is what got me started going to shows, writing songs and playing in bands – it’s still a big part of my life. I started writing songs and the project came organically out of a desire to record and perform those songs. We think of K9 as a punk band, but we try to keep the project free and loose in terms of genre and just make what we want to make, or what comes to us. Everything we’ve done with the band is informed by punk, and I hope that shines through even when we’re doing a sing-songy tune.
What were those organic components that you noticed were building around these K9 songs? Did you want to try to make something apart from Reckoning Force or did they naturally feel like their own thing?
It sprung from a few things that had been bubbling for a while. Brenna and I would drink a bunch of beers and record covers at my apartment, Christian and I would jam and I’d do the same with Ian which turned into writing and playing songs together. I didn’t set out to make anything really, just in writing and playing together the project solidified. We have similar tastes and sensibilities that have steered our style all around and generally away from straight-up hardcore.
You first shared the project with the EP Harmony Kills back in 2022. What was that initial debut of the project like and how have you seen it grow leading up to Thrills?
We actually had a demo out in 2020 that Brenna and I recorded in 2019, so it has been a slow burn. I was not aware of much that sounded like Harmony Kills at the time of its release, and I wondered what the punks would make of it, but our friends in Virginia liked it and the tape has found its crowd in time. Thrills has definitely garnered more attention, but it’s great that people are getting hip to our other stuff as a result. We started playing live between those two releases and that had a big impact on the sound and makeup of Thrills. Ian also started contributing songs and riffs following Harmony Kills, and we’ve developed a writing partnership as a band that feels really nice. We want our releases to sound unique from each other, but we have ended up having some themes that keep a through-line; recording live, raw sound, room sound, etc. K9’s music is going to be wide in scope because we can’t help it.
Creating these writing partnerships amongst the group, what sort of things do you all bounce off of each other? Especially with the mission of making each release unique, how do you push each other as collaborators in order to meet that mark?
Songs, riffs, parts, art; a lot of times it’s as simple as everyone liking or not liking an idea. We find ourselves getting interested in the same kinds of things for inspiration and I like to think we share a vision for what K9 is, and we try to stay true to that vision and to stay honest. I feel like we just go with our gut; the direction of the project changes and we have never felt like we had to reign it in. Maybe saying that we are okay with releases being different from each other is more apt.
Thrills marks the second of three releases off of the label Who Ya Know records, including two releases of some experimental and ambient work of yours, No Mystique and Bug the Cat Mix. What does having this label mean for what you put out, or even decide to explore for that matter?
We knew, even before recording Thrills, that we wanted it to come out as an LP, and Who Ya Know Records was a result of that inclination. Like many bands before us, we were not going to let anyone decide for us if that was going to happen or not, so we did it ourselves (with a lot of help from many people, especially Green-o at Not for the Weak Records). We were admittedly impatient in the ‘sending it off to labels’ phase, but the more time passes the happier we feel that it happened this way. I’m sure we will have relationships with labels in the future, but it’s fun to have an umbrella to put our ideas and our friends’ projects under, even if they aren’t all in the same lane.
Anything coming up for k9 in the future?
Yeah! We’re planning a midwest tour set to start this June, a promo tape will go along with that. We’re finishing up tracking for a collection of songs we’d like to see on a 7”. We’ve been writing a lot and we want to go play all over, all in due time.
You can listen to K9’s catalog now as well as purchase Thrills on a limited-edition vinyl pressing.
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.
Written by Shea Roney | Photo Courtesy of Nat Tracks
We’re all familiar with the game of telephone; the classic time killer where someone whispers a phrase into a neighbor’s ear, passing it on down the line until it reaches the last person, and you all laugh about how such a simple phrase got so lost along the way.
Nat Tracks is the new project from Denton-based artist Natalie Hanne Winkler, who recently shared her debut EP titled Lost Signals. Animated through the colorful DIY ethos of her band Paper Jam, who have been rockin’ down Texas and beyond since 2024, Winkler is no stranger to an effectively good pop song. But it’s in that efficiency where Winkler stands out; not only engaging with familiarity, but also asking why these instances become so familiar to us in the first place. Where miscommunication prospers and simple courtesies are left to the side.
Branded as her latest obsession, Winkler spent the last year expanding on all things synthpop, exploring the most niche corners of its artistic endeavors, while homing in on an inherited Yamaha Portisound. With production help from fellow Paper Jam bandmate Mason Blair, Nat Tracks coats the pallet with vibrant synths and drums tracks that blink to the natural progression of her discovery. And it’s easy to get lost in the whimsy of these tunes, but Winkler stays anchored by the landline; each track becoming an individual conversation as sincere melodies chase pixelated dreams and busy work all throughout the house, wrapping the phone cord around chair legs, side tables and the family dog as Winkler keeps pulling ahead.
We recently got to chat with Winkler about our unmatched access, trying everything, new obsessions and throwing a midnight release show.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You described this project as something that came from having more access than ever beforeto your collaborator and friend, Mason. Working with Mason in the past with Paper Jam and then starting from scratch, what does that access mean to you for both yourself as an artist and as a collaborator?
I think that was sort of a sentiment to the subjects that I’m talking about in the songs, but I like that you bring that up as my relationship with Mason and my access to him. He lives in Chicago and I live in Texas, but he’s a really talented writer, and a really talented producer, and he had a lot of time. I was writing too fast for Paper Jam because that’s my biggest outlet; writing songs versus journaling, or, you know, going to therapy. Whatever your outlet is for the things that you’re going through in your life, I just really like turning that into music. I was writing really fast, because I was just going through a lot, and we had this idea to make something separate from Paper Jam. I was getting so into synth-pop music. I was listening to a lot of OMD and this artist called Brittle Stars, who changed my perception on mixing guitar with the drum machine.
Previously for Paper Jam, it was super rock and roll. Tallulah Gosh was obviously a huge inspiration and all of that jangle pop. It’s really interesting when your music taste changes while you’re still in a project, because you don’t necessarily want to change the project that dramatically. Obviously bands go through flows of how they want their music to sound, but when you’re really into a genre, not even just listening to it and making it, but also being it, like a mod or a beatnik, or whatever, you become what you’re listening to all the time. And that’s kind of my personality, I just love doing everything all the time. So, it was like, how do I do that, but also still focus on Paper Jam stuff. [Mason] was totally down to help me create these songs.
I’m horrible at using computers. I wish that I could produce my own songs, but I just can’t do it. I’m so much more of a lyrical writer. I obviously have a lot of opinions about everything, and I have to be like, ‘can you make the drums go like this’, and then Mason could go in and physically do it. His grandma gave him this keyboard, a Yamaha Portisound, and he gave it to me to play around with, and we wrote most of the songs on it. It has these drum presets, like, rock and roll, shuffle, and samba. I would find one that I liked, set it to a pace, and then I would play some sort of little melody over it. And then [Mason] would just put it onto the computer, and then he would add so much to it, a lot more of that twinkly stuff. He’s so essential to how the whole sound came out.
The idea of this quote-unquote access is interesting, because you guys live so far apart. Was it at all challenging to be able to communicate ideas?
It actually really wasn’t. It’s so interesting, because really at any moment, we could talk to each other. But even just him sending a song to me, and then me responding back, he understood enough. We recorded a majority of this stuff before he left or in intervals when he would come back. You can do everything from a distance, but I think having him here for the vocals was good because I’m not as proficient at recording and he could tell me stuff. But as far as finishing the mix and the master, that was super seamless. We’re already friends, so we would just FaceTime every week to talk about what we’re doing in our lives anyways. But then if we needed to, we could talk about the music. Especially with this project, we did it over a year’s worth of time, just very slowly whenever we felt like we had the time to. So it was always super low stakes, just something that we wanted to do when we’d hang out.
Using the pop song as sort of a vice, as you were referring to earlier, what makes songwriting, especially an effective pop song, so meaningful to you? How are you able to connect the things in your world by turning it into music?
I really like how you’ve said that, that’s really funny. It’s true, though. For me, I’m a huge lyrics listener, and I think that that’s why I gravitate towards really simple-sounding, sort of beep-boop, robot-y sounding music. There’s not as much going on underneath, so I can listen to what they’re saying. I think that the story of a song is a huge factor to connecting yourself in the song. Obviously, I don’t want to be too specific where I’m naming names and stuff, but it is totally like you’re telling a story. Like when you watch a movie, or when you read a book, and you see yourself in the story, you equate your experience and your life to it. I think having that as an outlet and connecting with people over experiences and issues that I go through is really therapeutic to me. I had some girls reach out to me recently who were like, ‘I really relate to this’. I think that’s my favorite part, when somebody feels like they can relate to whatever I’m saying. Music is also a language, and going to shows or listening to music is a way that people get over their issues as well. It’s all just one very positive motion, where we’re all just helping each other get through these difficult times.
And it’s really cool now, because you can make anything you want, and then just put it on Bandcamp. There’s really no pressure, and anyone that wants to hear it can hear it. It’s a really passive thing in my life, because I love music, and I love doing it, but I’m also in school for meteorology. That’s a really time-consuming struggle. And that’s another thing of wanting to just do everything all the time. So it is cool that [music] can just exist.
I understand being in school on top of everything is a lot. You said this project was very low stakes for you? Is it easy for you to keep the process fun?
Luckily, I have a very interesting relationship with music. It has always been something I do for fun, because it was never in my mind something that I was going to do as a career. So there was never any pressure with it. If I release something and it flops, or whatever the kids are saying, it doesn’t matter to me. And I am excited to do my school. I feel like it took me a while to get to that point, but it’s really nice feeling secure in both of these areas of my life that are things that I want to do. It’s about balance, and sometimes I struggle with that, especially with music. If an idea comes, I just want to spend the whole week doing that and finish that song, but you have to do those other responsibilities. I think that the hardest thing is not letting music not be fun, but it’s not letting it take up too much time for my other things I have to do.
Is that balance similar at all to the way that Paper Jam functions?
We definitely have a little bit more pressure with that, just being associated with more than just me. We get a lot more offers to do things, and so there comes more expectation with it. But we are all best friends, so everything is always very fun. We’re recording our second album right now, actually. We’re doing it very differently from how we did the first one in which we were all together, and this one is a lot more one-on-one with Taylor [Rivers], our drummer, who’s doing the recording and the production. But it gets to the point where the songs are written, and I have a huge part in writing the songs, but I definitely don’t have as big of a part in them being produced. So that’s really nice for me at times when I’m doing school. It does function very similarly in that we are on our own time. We’re not on a label or anything, so it is still whatever we want, but we definitely are aware that we should make deadlines.
The catalyst to [Lost Signals] coming out when it did was that I met this artist, named Elijah, who had made this print called “High Wire”, which ended up as the cover. It’s the guy on the telephone wires. I remember freaking out because the first song I had was called “Telephone Game”, and it was such a perfect visual. I loved the colors, I just loved his style. There’s a lot of artists in Denton, so it’s really fun to be able to say I have a favorite one. We tried making some different prints, but I was so set on “High Wire”. And at that point, I had a visual now, so I could keep going, and this project could be 20 songs, or I could just put these ones out, and then do something new, because we know that’s how I am. I’m probably gonna want to go in a different direction anyways, so I should just put this out.
And there are thematic elements to this project, as you’ve stated. What are those connections that you wanted to make through these songs?
The whole thing was inspired by this phone call that I had with somebody that was my friend at the time. It was a very intense and sort of a traumatizing phone call. I remember getting off of it and having to sort of process it. It’s crazy that somebody can call you on the phone and say these things. There’s so many things you probably wouldn’t say to somebody if you were face-to-face with them. And so I was thinking about that a lot, and just how negative phones can be. They’re very negative on our social existence as people. And so that’s where “Telephone Game” came from. That was the first song that we made, where it started based on a phone call, but then it turned into the thought of that game where people whisper, and then it goes around and comes out the other side completely incorrect. It’s a very relatable, very simple concept.
Also there’s this artist called Oppenheimer Analysis who has this album called New Mexico that is based on Oppenheimer. That concept is really funny to me, taking something like that, very historical, and making a whole album about it. Obviously, telephones and communication is a much more common theme, and it was definitely an easier one to execute as a theme for the first time. But I’ve always really been into albums that have a theme throughout the whole album, and this one was just perfect for what I was going through at the time. We’re just not listening to each other. We’re at a time where we have access to each other’s brains 24-7, but we’re almost just so desensitized that we don’t even care to actually utilize those tools that we have correctly.
Next week, you’re celebrating the release of Lost Signals with a midnight show at Rubber Gloves in Denton. What are the moving parts of this midnight show and what does it mean to have these different factions of your world come together for this event?
That idea actually came from Kellen of Good Flying Birds reaching out to me. We were just talking about Good Flying Birds coming to Denton, and that they wanted to just stay with me on their way to Austin. And then I was like, you guys should play that night, why not? But they were playing in Oklahoma that night. [Kellen] asked if they could play at Rubber Gloves at 2AM. I asked Chad, who’s the manager, and is such a huge fan of them. He said let’s do it, let’s make it work. Good Flying Birds was so down for that, because they’re crazy people, and they’re always down for a party.
Then also there’s this art collective in Denton called Steady Hands, who really try to bring art and music together, and give physical media artists a light in a scene where music is very heavily focused on. We were just talking about how we can get people to come, because it’s so late. [Steady Hands] was gonna do a gallery this week, and I asked what if we made the reception that night leading into a show. And then maybe I’ll do Nat Tracks for the first time, so my friends come. I asked my friends specifically if any of them just wanted to try something new that night, like if they are working on something, and they just wanted to try performing it. It’s really not too hard to book a show here, because everybody’s all super close. We all live close together, and everybody’s just very excited about things, and it’s just a good community for doing something like that. I don’t know what the turnout’s gonna be like, but it’s gonna be really fun regardless. Rubber Gloves is so awesome. I think that they’re definitely the biggest and most important factor, they have such an important and influential space for music and art. They have the art there now, and they just really uplift the underground music scene and whatever happens here.
Written by Shea Roney | Photos by Averi Love Little, Braeden Long, Kian Kermani and Lauren Schmit | Video by Eilee Centeno
Taking over Chicago for two weekends, Trash Tape Records celebrated 6 years of DIY merriment with a three-part festival, bringing out an array of artists both on the label and local Chicago (and out-of-town) legends. The party started at Bricktown on Valentines Day, followed by a night of DJs at the legendary Rainbo Club on the 19th and a final set at Lowdown on the 22nd.
Originally formed in the Chappell Hill and Durham area when they were in high school, Trash Tape Records was founded by Nathan McMurray and Evren and Eilee Centeno. The vision was simple; to put out their friend’s music that they loved so much. Building off of that youthful excitement with a sheer DIY ethos, Trash Tape became a home to many artists with similar mindsets, making their art accessible, exciting and incredibly enduring.
2025 was a banner year for the label, as they shared back-to-back-back debut releases, such as the acclaimed self-titled barn burner from Motocrossed, the brain-scratching pop goodies of Welcome to the Shower by Tanner York, and Charlie Johnston’s imaginative The Firetruck is Running Late. So far this year, TTR has shared WhatThe Red Flare Meant, the long-awaited debut record from mail., bringing obsessive expositions of harsh dynamics and commanding melodies out from the dark and into the spotlight. Fan favorite Memory Card also returns with Siren Surf Hurricane, as Henry Tart continues to grow his catalog of enduring sentiments and melodically rich lo-fi swooners. Then recently, NC pop-defibrillators, gumhead, share their debut single titled “Covered”. Not to mention Oh Good! Sacred Heart Academy Made an EP, the debut EP from the Centeno siblings’ new project, Sacred Heart Academy. And keep an eye out for a new release from sects in the near future.
Collecting photos from Averi Love Little, Braeden Long, Kian Kermani and Lauren Schmit, take a look at two weekends worth of Taking out the Trash.
Watch a compilation of the whole festival recorded by Eilee Centeno.
Hill View #73 by Shea RoneyPhoto by Averi Love LittleSects by Averi Love LittleLittle Chair by Averi Love LittleSects by Averi Love LittleMemory Card by Kian KermaniHill View #73 by Kian KermaniHill View #73 by Kian KermaniLittle Chair by Kian KermaniSects by Kian KermaniHill View #73 by Kian KermaniLittle Chair by Lauren SchmitSects by Lauren SchmitMemory Card by Lauren SchmitPhoto by Lauren Schmit
Current Union by Averi Love LittleCurrent Union by Averi Love LittleReceiver by Braeden LongPhoto by Braeden LongReceiver by Braeden LongPhoto by Braeden LongPhiladelphia Eagles by Braeden LongSacred Heart Academy by Braeden LongPhoto by Braeden LongKitship by Kian Kermanimail. by Kian KermaniChaepter by Kian KermaniSacred Heart Academy by Kian KermaniSacred Heart Academy by Lauren SchmitSacred Heart Academy by Lauren SchmitSacred Heart Academy by Lauren SchmitCurrent Union by Lauren Schmit
If you happen to be anywhere near Carrboro, NC this Friday-Monday, consider making your way to The Big Pop Show. Helped put together by Nathan McMurray, this legendary festival features several TTR artists as well as the best pop bands of today.
“I think in some ways it is pretty cool because you’re discovering another part of yourself that you didn’t even know was there.” If you’re a freakhead or not, there’s good news: untitled freak has released her first EP. 7 circles, a 5-piece release, introduces untitled freak’s atmosphere and sound into the world. What is the world though, you may ask? The world in this sense consists of a small city apartment lit like the Victorian days and you are whisked away in some corner of the bathroom. untitled freak begs to be listened to on the walk home on the rural street or in the depths of the bedroom you forget to clean. ugly hug had the pleasure of sitting down with untitled freak to discuss the new EP and what it brings.
How has it been since you released the singles and announced the debut EP?
It’s been really, really good! It feels different to have a new project that I’m in right now, because I’ve really only been in Laveda, and when I started playing in Retail Drugs, that was a bit of a shift. But it’s been really cool to see people excited about it and it’s definitely a lot different than other projects that I’m in. I’m just super open minded about it and I’m excited to continue to see how people react to the rest of the music when it comes out!
It seems like you have a lot more control over everything too – How has all that responsibility and authority changed the way you approach your music versus being more collaborative with bandmates?
Because I’m doing everything by myself, there’s a lot I don’t have to communicate with anybody else, which is a really interesting factor. I don’t have to talk to anybody, so I can just word vomit whatever it is onto the page, and if I like it, then that’s it. I think it’s a much faster process in general, which is cool. I have also been doing everything very spontaneously.
It’s been really fun to record by myself, because I never really have done that before. So it’s a new experience for me, and when I started recording music, I was always recording with other people, producers, musicians, somebody else always had the control at least in like DAW, whatever we were working in, which was fine, because I didn’t really care. And I’ve never really been super interested in more of the technological aspects of recording, I’ve always been more like a hands-on, interested in analog type of person. But I think it’s cool to actually be the person that’s pressing record and sitting behind the computer. You’re just gonna do things differently by nature. And make different choices because of that.
I think in some ways it is pretty cool because you’re discovering another part of yourself that you didn’t even know was there. But the one downside of recording by yourself is that I think it is fun to record with other people, and social dynamics are always fun and entertaining for me. It feels more serious in my head, the environment that I create for myself is very much like focus, but then what I’m actually doing, in some ways, feels a lot less serious.
How long does it usually take you to create a song?
I feel like most of the songs on 7 circles, like the bulk of the song and recording and even some of the mixing, maybe 5-8 hours? I think there were one or two songs that I worked on for maybe 3 hours and then I opened it up the next day and it was done. But the track “untitled freak,” that was written in two hours or something and then it was just done. The songs are a lot simpler, but very spontaneous. Sometimes I’ll sit down and I’ll open up Ableton. I feel like writing a song, but instead of going to my voice memos to find an idea that I thought had some merit, I just decided to write something new and then that was what I worked on. And then, if at the end, it’s not something I really love, then that’s okay, but at least I have a finished idea.
I really like your vocals, especially on “untitled freak,” the first single you released, especially that one part towards the end. I like how you’ve been using your voice on this project.
Yeah, a lot of that is also just spontaneous. I’ll write down words on my phone or sometimes in a notebook, and usually I’ll get halfway through the recording of the song somewhere, where most of the guitar parts are figured out, and I’m starting to hear vocal lines, and then I’ll write. I’ll just start scribbling some ideas for lyrics, usually very rough, and then I’ll just, whatever that says, I’ll embellish, and then one to two takes later, that’s the vocal take I’ll use. So I don’t really rewrite anything. Sometimes it doesn’t really make sense, because I’m just kind of going off an idea for lyrics rather than finished lyrics, but I think it makes for interesting vocal performances, because you have to dance with what you already have written and improvise.
Photo by Mars Alba
It plays out really well! I also wanted to talk about how you’ve been able to develop the visuals of this project. Seeing the photos and music videos, it seems very intimate with the apartment and lighting. I’m curious about how you want this to feel aesthetically/visually.
You know when bedroom pop was really having its moment? I always thought the aesthetic of bedroom pop was really interesting. I’m referencing what I imagined it to be in my head, and it was making music in your bedroom, and the little Tumblr vibe, people with guitars and microphones in the bedroom making music. To me, that immediately is something that came to mind. I want it to be close to my life, to whatever it is that I feel, and so naturally, visually it made sense to do the first music video in my apartment, and we filmed it in our bathroom. I also think I wanted to take my space and myself and add a weird element to it. At least specifically for the “untitled freak” video, I wanted to really emphasize being alone in your house and feeling psychologically crazy, your mind just going in circles, but then adding the element of washing myself with coffee grounds, I was like, “Oh, that’s really freaky.”
What shape do you think untitled freak would fit in?
It would be on brand for me to say circle, but no definitely I was gonna say triangle.
What are you gonna call your fan base? Are you gonna call them freaks?
Yeah, I thought about it. Freaks seem good, although it seems taken.
I think it’s fun to throw around, like what’s up you freaks?
I would love for someone to come up to me and introduce themselves, instead of saying, “Oh, I’m a fan of your music,” “I’m a total freak head!”
You can listen to 7 circles out now as well as get a limited-edition cassette or CD via Pleasure Tapes.
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 Indianapolis-based band Good Flying Birds.
Good Flying Birds are a treasure trove of dusty fortunes and healing tinctures. A band who proves that the ability to share a laugh, have a dance and hit the promised road with nothing but fond memories and bags under your eyes is what makes it all last. Before the reissue of their acclaimed album Talulah’s Tape late last year, Good Flying Birds traveled wheels up through the middle country, looking for found community in backyard bruisers, DIY institutions or any highway attraction that was down to host a rock n roll show. Amongst collected sounds, colorful textures and loose melodies, Good Flying Birds bring a new and exciting life to an already existing image. Not out of nostalgic revelry or diced-up inspirations, but rather the band’s own views on the sanctity of sharing. Where hidden gems lost to local profits find their worth once more, and abstract feelings of love, heartbreak, fear and boredom are sewn together with enduring pop tunes, all huddled under this notion of success derived from the pure joy of experiencing it with others.
About the playlist, Good Flying Birds shared;
We made this in the van while driving to Lafayette, Louisiana to play at the loose caboose with touch girl apple blossom. in that moment these were the songs in our heads that’s all I can say.
the ugly hug 