#The Native Cats

[goodbysunball]

Best of 2023

Toledo, OH, Dec. 30, 2023

It's going to take years to unpack the last few months of 2023. Whatever mental trauma is inflicted upon those removed from the situation in no way approximates the devastation and inhumanity occurring daily to millions. That the US is funding it all, and institutions and businesses domestically are punishing those who speak out about it, is sickening and terrifying. The latest Lulu's email newsletter wrote more eloquently about it all than I could, and plainly calls for empathy at the end: "Be good in a bad world."

And we do that, pretending things are normal for the sake of others, our kids, our partners. But things are not normal, and that pressure forces other changes, because while we can to some degree control what happens within our lives, there's no fix for seeing (let alone experiencing) dead, maimed children regularly on Instagram, victims of bombings without caution or consequence. A sense of powerlessness pervades. What we can do is keep talking, sharing and banding together. Being good in a bad world.

Some notes:

Lots more instrumental, or nearly instrumental, music than usual this year on my list, which tracks with the current climate. Music without words, or without discernible words, leaves space for thoughts to become untangled, sure; but a lot of what’s highlighted below felt more transcendent than meditative.

I still listen to rap quite a bit, but very few new songs I heard stuck around past a few days. Call it malaise from living in an era where every other song on the radio has a trap beat. Starlito dropped a clunker, which shouldn't have shocked me but did, and it personally felt significant. Maybe it’s indicative of the old guard’s demise, but hopefully it removes a wall and allows me to engage with newer rap music better. That being said: Veeze's Ganger was head and shoulders above everything else; billy woods' short verse on "As the Crow Flies" made me gasp the first time I heard it (and I also loved ELUCID's verse on "Baby Steps"); and I listened to The Jacka's The Jack Artist most of all.

Of all the books I read this year, two books by Fernanda Melchor, Hurricane Season and Paradais, stood out. Melchor’s prose is incredibly powerful, bleakly funny and vicious in equal measure. The sharp, frank assessments by characters in often ludicrous situations feel like a product of the contemporary but imbued with some ancient wisdom. Shout out to Julia S. for the new and notable South American literature tips.

In the midst of holiday/short day doldrums, amidst endless bleak news reports, it was difficult battling back cynicism to listen to anything, especially back to all of these records and tapes listed below. It ended up being oddly therapeutic, highly enjoyable and maybe necessary, the same as when I force myself out to shows when it's easier to stay home. That feeling chips away at the notion of this list-making exercise as futile, for me certainly, but hopefully also for you. Thank you for reading, and I hope you find something you like, too.

And so:

LP

Lewsberg, Out and About (12XU)

Equipment Pointed Ankh, From Inside the House (Bruit Direct Disques)

The Native Cats, The Way On Is the Way Off (Chapter Music)

Water Damage, 2 Songs (12XU)

VoidCeremony, Threads of Unknowing (20 Buck Spin)

Emily Robb, If I Am Misery Then Give Me Affection (Petty Bunco)

CIA Debutante, Down, Willow (Siltbreeze)

Olimpia Splendid, 2 (Fonal/Kraak)

Nusidm, The Last Temptation of Thrill (Bruit Direct Disques)

Incipientium, Underg​å​ng (Happiest Place)

Witness K, s/t (ever/never)

Leda, Neuter (Discreet Music)

12"/10"/7"/CS

Chrome Cell Torture, Laugh Then Lie 7" (Scarlet)

Joe Colley, Acting As If 10" (Substantia Innominata)

Disintegration, Time Moves For Me 12" (Feel It)

Life Expectancy, Decline CS (Iron Lung)

Gabi Losoncy, Lieutenant single-sided 12" (self-released)

Peg, We Know Who You Are and Everyone Is on the Lookout CS (No Rent)

Romance, Seven Inches of... 7" (self-released)

Sial, Sangkar 7" (La Vida Es Un Mus)

Slow Blink/Stomachache split CS (Hectare)

Howard Stelzer, oh calm down you're fine CS (No Rent)

Troth, Idle Easel 12" (Digital Regress)

Mark Van Fleet, Vordenal CS (Refulgent Sepulchre)

Stress Positions at the Pilot Light, Dec. 9, 2023

Shows

Bill Orcutt & Chris Corsano duo at Jackson Terminal, Knoxville, TN, April 1

Hell & My Wall at DRKMTTR, Nashville, TN, April 7

Cyberplasm, X-Harlow & FKA Ice at the Pilot Light, Knoxville, TN, May 18

Lewsberg at JJ's Bohemia, Chattanooga, TN, September 27

Stress Positions & Utopia at the Pilot Light, Knoxville, TN, December 9

Five songs favorably commented upon by my 3 y/o daughter*

*Something that happens so rarely that I try to take note when it does

Dua Lipa, "Levitating"

Martin Frawley, "Heart In Hand"

Mount Trout, "Hang Around"

Witness K, "In Knots"

The Young Senators, "Ringing Bells (Sweet Music) Part II"

[bandcampsnoop]

10/5/23.

I've been a Native Cats (Hobart, Tasmania) fan for quite some time. Their sound is truly a unique one - Julian Teakle's instruments and Chloe Escott's inimitable vocals. They were really the forerunners of a sound popularized by the more well-known acts like Dry Cleaning or Sleaford Mods. Apparently "the title of the album is drawn from the rules and principles David Thomas wrote for his band Pere Ubu."

I've also mentioned bands like The Cool Greenhouse and Woven In when discussing The Native Cats.

This is their first LP for Chapter Music (Australia). Speaking of Chapter Music, they've added a single from The Apartments on Bandcamp. You can listen below.

[kickerofelves]

My Risks Is Art — The Native Cats

[dougwallen]

The Native Cats review for The Big Issue

[emacrow]

Um.. Superman.. what that thing stuck on your cape?

Clark's brain short circuit for a moment as he just got back of flying at great speed in the middle of deep space to thrown one of Lex's giants bombs destroy the city and come back in record time.

He turn a bit to look at his cape to see a tiny humanoid starlight dust covered child with white hair, glowing full green that look like white specks stars were implanted themselves into his big ol eyes, nawing on a handful of stardust with inhumanly sharp itsy bitsy fangs.

A small yet floating crown that look similar to one of Nasa pictures of far out space.

Did he just accidentally abducted an royal alien child/teen?

[hiwaaranit]

I should have known if I brought up wc I’d have to talk about. But it includes of a lot of issues with feral/furry designs that use feathers in hair. I don’t necessarily know why the conversation only started and stayed in the wc fandom when horse/wolf/lion feral fandoms are still doing the same thing.

Now having feathers in the design isn’t a racial attack first thing off because there’s a lot of context around what feather’s are used, the shape, and where they are placed. If the look is anything like "rave Coachella looking tribal fantasy feathers and beads" it’s probably insensitive. I’m not to sure why it has to be feathers, I honestly think the wc fandom are holding themselves back when it comes to forwarding designs in a unique way. Tail feathers are also left out in this conversation as well, one or two feathers or feathers in the shape of a birds tail are fine but bunched together feathers are leaning to close to how we have our horses wear feathers. This is in the context of the design already looking like a "medicine cat" already its bad. it’s like those yt girls wear feather head bands but animal addition.

I’ve talked about this before but silhouettes are so important, like Native American stereotypes are on the global scale you cannot escape this silhouette you just have to avoid it. There’s no "but it’s in so many other cultures" no it’s not it’s totally unique to our people that’s why people flock to it because it’s so "mysterious, sacred" whatever their weird twisted up reason is. There’s so many unique ways to break this silhouette you just gotta be more creative. And I feel like instead of being more creative and coming up with totally different ideas it’s just easier to lean on these visual native stereotypes to get across "wild mythical nature fantasy"

I could get into the horse fandom and the weird situations they’re doing over there but that’s another crazy thing. I should say because someone will ask, ostrich feathers on like show horses or knights or puss in boots style is fine not the same thing (breaking the silhouette) they’re not related.

And it comes down to understanding what you are drawing and where this imagery comes from, I’m not gonna get my feelings hurt because of your design but I’ll question why are you drawing stuff like that. You cant remove that cultural/stereotypical imagery, and if you don’t care about it then you don’t care about the history or how it looks on your character and art.

I made it this far on the internet but if you want to be conscious about these things good on yea it doesn’t take much☺️👍

Edit: can’t believe I gotta say this but yes other cultures utilize feathers, if people are using feathers that are used in their culture then don’t harass them. That’s weird have some common sense. Ostrich feathers, peacock feathers it’s actually so interesting how native birds to an area affect the culture there.

[rabbitmilk]

10.31.24

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - November 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles!

1. Agrivoltaics for sustainable food, energy and water management in East Africa

“[… C]ertain crops […] thrived under the partial shade provided by solar panels. The shade also helped to reduce water loss through evaporation, leading to more efficient water usage. Additionally, rainwater harvested from the panels could be used to supplement irrigation needs.”

2. The world’s largest wildlife crossing is now standing in California

“The structure crosses a 10-lane freeway and has been built to help protect all sorts of wildlife[….] And it’s not just for fauna: some 5,000 plants grown from seed collected within a five-mile radius have been nurtured in two specially created nurseries. The bridge will be topped with wildflowers, shrubs and native grasses that will also benefit insect populations.”

3. Judge rules the military must cover gender-affirming surgery for members' dependents

“[Judge] Torresen found that [gender-affirming] surgery is indeed medically necessary and that the Defense Department had not shown that any important governmental interest was advanced by denying the coverage.”

4. Social Media Can Boost Caracal Conservation

“The team found that searches on the species doubled after the project [using “social media to educate about the caracal”] launched. […] ”The research demonstrates how a public interest in urban ecology and the global phenomenon of ‘cats on the internet��… can be harnessed to leverage conservation action.””

5. US Labor Board Bans Captive Audience Meetings to Ensure 'Truly Free' Worker Choice

“[T]he National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday ruled that employers cannot force workers to attend anti-union speeches. [… W]orkers will no longer have to take part in so-called "captive audience meetings," which employers often use as a union-busting tool and a form of coercion.”

6. Study links grazing with plant phenology and abundance

“In general, plants where caribou or muskoxen were present experienced earlier green-up and greater abundance later in the growing season. “We're used to thinking of the timing of plant availability as impacting the productivity of grazing animals, but not the reverse," Post said.”

7. Frog populations once decimated by disease mount a major comeback

“"These results provide a rare example of how reintroduction of resistant individuals can allow the landscape-scale recovery of disease-impacted species, and have broad implications for amphibians and many other taxa that are threatened with extinction by novel pathogens."”

8. California Announces Special Session To Protect Trans People

“Newsom’s directive is clear: safeguard reproductive healthcare, support immigrants, and shield LGBTQ+ people from what is viewed as existential threats to civil rights and democratic norms. […] California has a unique opportunity to set the blueprint for other states in resisting a Trump administration[….]”

9. When ‘OK, Boomer’ Means ‘Let’s Go Protest’

“Youth activists across the country recognize the efforts of their eco-minded predecessors and welcome them as mentors, role models, and collaborators in their battle against the climate crisis. […] “The idea that Boomers don’t care, he said, is “just misinformation.””

10. How Aussie Waste Warriors are Redirecting Excess Food to Those in Need

“A growing movement is working to reduce perfectly good food going to waste by redirecting it to homes and charities. [… C]haritable organisations [… are] transforming fresh produce that would otherwise have gone to waste into millions of cooked, nutritious meals for people in need each year.”

November 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[jimbenton]

Felis Navidad

[pineapple-frenzy]

omg friend i love your book 2 au posts and i would love to see zutara with their little animal buddy they pick up along the way!

Aahhh thank you!!

I wanted some kind of cat for them cause catparents!zutara real, so I think they would have a catowl

[summerwages]

lay low..

[goodbysunball]

The weight off

One last missive before list season consumes us and 2023 is vacuumed up by time.

The Lewers, 518A (Lulu's Sonic Disc Club)

Yet another new supergroup from the endless expanse of Australia's underground, this one featuring Yuta Matsumura (Orion, Low Life, solo, many others), some folks from Itchy Bugger and Rapid Dye, and more. The Lewers douse these seven tracks with loads of reverb and a couple great Itchy Bugger-style guitar lines worming under the surface. Think 4AD: gauzy, dreamy excess best paired with a juicy red wine, topped with deceptively catchy vocals. "Postcards for Terrorists," a big winner in the song title contest of 2023, is probably the poppiest number, the intertwining vocals of Yuta and (I think) Sarah Davis driving the chorus home. The songs led by Davis ("Kalopsia," "Specter Vermillion") and others like "Sin Tonight" have a 70's English folk-like quality, lilting and haunting, performances that seem inspired in part by the soundtrack to The Wicker Man. While every track on here sounds good, and I keep returning to the record during the gray days and long nights, most don't register in my memory after the record's done, with the exception of "Postcards" and "O Karina." The latter is almost an instrumental song, with Matsumura singing well beneath the shroud of guitars, and when that second, sharp guitar line that slices through about two-and-a-half minutes in, it trickles in through the brain and down the spine every time. This kind of lush, textural music often benefits from a little length, but the Lewers keep things trim, maybe to a fault, as a couple tracks could have been teased out like "O Karina." Likely I just wish the record was a bit longer; even if it isn't anything new, 518A's confines, most definitely outfitted with a white faux-fur area rug, are a fine place to sprawl in contemplation.

The Native Cats, The Way On Is the Way Off (Chapter Music)

Long-player number five from Hobart's finest, many years removed from their last, John Sharp Toro. In the interim, the Native Cats released two of the best singles in recent memory - Spiro Scratch and Two Creation Myths - so expectations were high. Their core sound remains Chloe Alison Escott's spoken-sung vocals and incisive, biting lyrics grounded by Julian Teakle's bass, but they're joined by live drums on a number of tracks here, and there are even points when Escott cedes control of microphone to backing vocals (The Last Gang Vocal on Earth, according to the credits). Over the past ten years, Escott's lyrics have shifted from fictional scenes to the semi-autobiographical, incorporating more personal details in the songs, sporting ferocious tenacity or tender self-affirmation depending on the song. Her queer and trans identity is inseparable from the Native Cats' evolution, including all the frustration, self-doubt and pockets of joy involved in coming out and being out. She hardly sounds defeated; given the spots of violent imagery across The Way On Is the Way Off, I wouldn't bet against her in a fight.

The record begins in fits and starts, and while the first three tracks are undeniably in the now-recognizable Native Cats style, I think the action really begins after the "Former Death Cult" interlude. "Small Town Cop Override" roars into action with a drumroll and features one of Escott's sharpest lyrical performances ("I strive for victory or hallucination" and "I've seen the future, it's a chain of tricks/Come 'round and watch me turn a crisis into six") atop pounding live drums and blaring chords, burning bright and out in 80 seconds. It bleeds right into "Vivian Left Me," a slow, plodding number with a bass line ripped from David Sims' playbook. Escott has free reign to prowl over the buzzing, ominous terrain, and drops one of my favorite lines of the year with "When your dreams come true, they feel/distressingly like dreams." The track sears and bubbles without cresting, endless tension floating exhaustedly into the haunting "Dallas," a spare, solemn ballad. The lyrics are opaque, tangled; it feels like a meditation on what has changed for Escott, and what can't be changed or outrun, all wrapped up in the album of the same name released ten years ago.

"Suplex" kick-starts the B-side, a mean bass line and Escott's sneering vocals competing for the first minute and a half, and then the song's taken over by keyboard and piano, a pillowy landing from the body blows of the first half. "Rain on Poison," like "Dallas," is moody and restrained, pounding toms and a single piano note ratcheting up the tension along with Escott's powerful vocals, and as the song progresses, elements are stripped back until it's just Escott in your ear: "Time is running out/At a rate I can handle." It's an almost absurdly powerful affirmation, implying some mastery over the passage of time, but such is the confidence espoused by the Native Cats across The Way On Is the Way Off. It ends the world-beating five-song stretch, and while the rest of the record is good-to-great, even including some of Escott's solo piano work at the end, the middle section is so rich that it feels excessive to have more music outside of it. Yeah, "Tanned Rested and Dead" is a burner, and the NYC-in-the-early-aughts bounce of "Battery Acid" is a good look, too; those tracks might be my favorite part of the record next week. That's the innate joy of a Native Cats record, now more than ever: still harshly resistant to snap judgement and best lived in, seeping into your skin like a sauna and pulling lost memories or feelings or chemicals to the fore. And yet, The Way On Is the Way Off remains endlessly listenable despite the weight of dreams or expectations, the band fully in control of their sound, as comfortable as ever in it. I don't know if it's their best yet - ask me in another few months - but it definitely feels like it might be. Stunner.

Howard Stelzer, oh calm down you're fine (No Rent)

Great tip from my brother to check this one out, he being an effective filter for No Rent's endless release schedule. Howard Stelzer is not a new name, but new to me, and oh calm down you're fine is a sterling example why digging for new music remains my favorite pasttime. Stelzer layers tape loops here, of anything and everything; during the impromptu Bandcamp "listening party," which Stelzer "attended," he revealed that samples include that of making an omelette and the school band warming up next to the classroom where he teaches, the latter featured prominently on "Everybody Thinks So." He's in the league of artists like Joe Colley or Jeph Jerman to my ears, though less wracked with anxiety than the former and more interested in the noise made by humans (as opposed to nature) than the latter. What makes Stelzer's work so exceptional here is the subtle sense of composition; the hard-to-follow logic in the way the sounds are paired, or layered, reminds me of how Philip Jeck would compose and arrange his music. One could mistake "Reconsider From Memory" for something by Jeck with unfocused ears, reminiscent too in the unhurried pacing across the tape. The results are decidedly much more abrasive in Stelzer's case, more smart aleck than somber, though like all experimental noise music worth its salt, what's being communicated is in the hands/head of the listener. As the somewhat disarming "Proportional" appears to wind down, Stelzer introduces some dizzying drum loops, conjuring some sort of ritual where you're at the stake, until the laugh track hits. Better luck finding the thread next listen. My favorite tape of the year, and lucky for you, still available from the label. Dig into more of his work on his Bandcamp.

Water Damage, 2 Songs (12XU)

2 Songs is my first proper run-in with Water Damage, and that is something I've committed to fixing after living with this LP in constant rotation for a month. The ensemble, running eight members deep, creates a thicket of psychedelic repetition, playing with tenets of noise, jazz, krautrock, and hip hop across two side-long tracks, appropriately titled "Fuck This" and "Fuck That." The former rips into action after a false start, a dense, throbbing miasma anchored by a tireless bass line and squalls of guitar noise and feedback circling each other. The band takes a quick breather after six minutes, coming back even noisier, and then inexplicably does the same thing again thirty seconds later - and somehow it all works, the two intentional hiccups swallowed by the aural equivalent of The Blob over the track's barely registered, but deeply felt, ebbs and flows. "Fuck That" is comparatively lighter, roomier, allowing room for a maddening circular xylophone (?) line and keyboards to float atop the distorted bass line and agile drums. Stick around until the bass line becomes loose and rubbery, the whole song submitting to its own weight, like the ghost of DJ Screw just took over your turntable. It's really difficult to do this record justice with words; it feels like it consumes the room, your house, then you when it's on. The density of the record is rendered in sharp relief through the high quality recording and the combined power of the players here, combining as one pulsating mass or frictionlessly bobbing and weaving. That they're an octet likely means I'll never have the pleasure of getting to see them do it live, but it's a consolation that 2 Songs is the best-sounding record of the year; it'll peel your scalp back plenty, and I recommend that you grab the LP and let it rip.

[bandcampsnoop]

8/21/23.

Brown Tower (Germany) appears to be the name behind the music of John Vincent. Equal parts Mountain Goats, The Native Cats and Bingo Trappers. If that seems like a weird mix, be sure to listen to the digital release "Karaoke Jumper". Check out the first song.

It looks like "Birkenstock Retreat" is a new album on Almost Halloween Time Records (Bari, Italy). I love this label - unique hand-painted covers are on every release. Right now there is no music on the release page, so be sure to click through on "Karaoke Jumper" to get a feel for this band.

The band was active in the mid-1990s and appears to be making a comeback of sorts.

[boughclan-clangen]

moon 0, page 4

>the doctor is in.

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[hearthoof]

i hope nonvegans realize i couldnt care less about what other animals do. i dont care if herbivores eat other animals sometimes. i dont care that carnivores need meat to survive. wild animals are gonna wild animal. that is completely understandable to me. why the hell should i care? i cant reason with wild animals. im trying to reason with human beings.

i want human beings to stop exploiting animals. wild animals can do whatever the hell they want because they need to for survival.

do nonvegans ever feel silly after they confidently express the idea that vegans somehow care about what wild animals do?

[murdleandmarot]

Cats art has stalled just a tad bc of artfight (a problem I plan to remedy soon), so I just wanted to share an old Lonzo from when I was in Germany :)