#polyvinyl records

[innovacancy]

Xiu Xiu Nova Arts, Keene, NH 26 October 2023

[nofatclips]

Tara by Rodrigo Amarante from the album Drama

[polyvinylrecords]

Braid - “Killing A Camera” | Frame & Canvas (25th Anniversary Edition)

[disease]

666 PHOTOS OF NOTHING XIU XIU | IGNORE GRIEF, MAR 2023

A heaven of no ones and never nevers

[sinceileftyoublog]

Courtney Barnett, Bob Mould, & Squirrel Flower Live Review: 7/26, Illinois Science & Technology Park Field, Skokie

Courtney Barnett

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The three artists who played the inaugural night of Out of Space Skokie at its temporary new location took advantage of the open space's clear sound and turned up the fuzz.

Headliner Courtney Barnett, three years removed from her third studio album Things Take Time, Take Time (Mom+Pop), made even that album's understated songs come alive, live. Backed by bassist Thomy Sloane and drummer Stella Mozgawa (of Warpaint, and co-producer of Things Take Time), Barnett elevated sad sack jam "Rae Street", the motorik "Turning Green", the wiry "Before You Gotta Go", and jangly single "Write a List of Things to Look Forward To", emphasizing sounds and lyrics performed and delivered much more subtly on record. "Time is money, and money is no man's friend," she sang on set opener "Rae Street", as if to contextualize the drawn-out nature of some of her back catalog highlights: the wandering "Avant Gardener", bluesy dirge "Small Poppies", and driving bass-led "City Looks Pretty". Vocally, Barnett's screamed rasp was as gravel-throated as ever, a perfect contrast to her droll sprechgesang, confirming the status of "Pedestrian at Best" as a justified shout-along.

Barnett

Stella Mozgawa

Barnett

Thomy Sloane

Yet, true to Barnett's penchant for storytelling, the anthem of the night was also the slowest song, perhaps her best: the prescient "Depreston". At once a treatise on gentrification, mortality, and time itself, it's the type of song that stops you in your tracks when you realize you're singing back at Barnett, "If you've got a spare half a million / You could knock it down and start rebuildin'," occupying the persona of the grimy real estate agent viewing what was someone's home as a pure capital good. I suppose, after all, the ease at which we sing the song is a tribute to Barnett's empathy, evidence that those of us who participate in the same society with the same set of restrictive rules, have the potential for good and evil. Or maybe it's just a catchy melody.

Barnett

Barnett & Mozgawa

Bob Mould

Bob Mould, meanwhile, performed solo, but electric, and the set was basically the answer to the question, "What would it sound like if you took away bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster from a normal Bob Mould band set?" Indeed, Mould played at the same breakneck pace as always, running around the stage during solos as if he was hyping up his invisible band. The warmth of his vocals was discernible even beside his distorted guitar tones, whether burning through a Hüsker Dü song or solo material (my one gripe from the setlist: only one Sugar song, the chintzy classic "Hoover Dam"). "Out of Space...out of breath!" Mould proclaimed in triumph after finishing "Siberian Butterfly", nonetheless a reminder to himself to keep on going even when you're the one doing all the work.

Mould

Mould

Squirrel Flower

Local artist Squirrel Flower, the project of singer-songwriter Ella O'Connor Williams, opened up the night, playing what she said may be her last show in Chicago for a while. For one, drummer Jacob Getzoff is going to nursing school, an announcement that garnered rapturous applause from the crowd. Moreover, ever prolific, Williams shared she hopes to take a break from playing live and write and record, despite having released her most recent and best album Tomorrow's Fire (Polyvinyl) less than a year ago. I'm glad I got to catch Squirrel Flower now, then, each song from Tomorrow's Fire leveled up, the slowcore "Almost Pulled Away" becoming full-on shoegaze, the crunchy "Intheskatepark" featuring drums that could have been audible even at the expansive Canal Shores. If you really want to get a sense for what Squirrel Flower sounds like live, though, simply take a look at the project's discography from start to finish. In other words, the same artist who self-released the stark early winter songs from middle america in 2015 is now faithfully covering "Cortez the Killer". To clarify, Squirrel Flower played only original material for Williams' first ever show in Skokie. "I've only been up here to get bagels," Williams said. No word on whether she's a New York Bagel & Bialy or Kaufman's person.

Squirrel Flower

Squirrel Flower

[pretendpopstar]

Celebration Rock by Japandroids

[mymelodic-chapel]

Alvvays-Alvvays (Indie Pop, Jangle Pop, Dream Pop) Released: July 22, 2014 [Polyvinyl Records/ Royal Mountain Records/ Transgressive Records] Producer(s): Chad VanGaalen

[mindlessmutant]

Alvvays Brooklyn bowl 5/11/24

[bandcampsnoop]

1/25/24.

Good Morning (Melbourne, Australia) were one of the earliest bands posted on this blog - 2015. I originally mentioned their lo-fi melodies. 9 years later, and Good Morning have moved on from lo-fi. But the music and the melodies are still beautiful.

This album has sounds that remind me of Lawrence Arabia, Wilco, Pop Filter, Laurie Shaw and Holy Hive. This is just well played, well produced and well orchestrated.

Polyvinyl is releasing this 2 LP in March 2024.

[400negativos]

[pseudohendrix]

Independence Day - Palehound

2023

[innovacancy]

Jeff Rosenstock Roadrunner, Boston, MA 8 September 2023 words + more pics

[sleepingvillage]

Jeff Rosenstock - Doubt

HELLMODE by Jeff Rosenstock

This hit lately.

[polyvinylrecords]

Palehound - “The Clutch” | Eye On The Bat out July 14th

[disease]

ESQUERITA, LITTLE RICHARD XIU XIU | IGNORE GRIEF, MAR 2023

Poor little head my mind is not where it belongs Always in a narrow space Rended Ceded between death and not death Apart

[sinceileftyoublog]

Laura Jane Grace Live Preview: 2/16, Sleeping Village, Chicago

Photo by Travis Shinn

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Laura Jane Grace's debut solo album Stay Alive was--and sounded like--a product of the pandemic. Her inability to record with her Against Me! bandmates resulted in an album full of great songs that you couldn't help but think demanded a bigger sound. Her second album Hole In My Head, out today via Polyvinyl, in contrast, exudes sheer purpose. With a mix of solo acoustic tunes and "full-band" songs inspired by 50's and classic rock (Grace sang, played guitar, and played drums alongside Drive-By Truckers bassist Matt Patton), Hole In My Head is at once reflective and worldly. Grace had the opportunity, post-pandemic, to workshop many of the songs live before recording them, and the result is a collection filled with a sense of place, vulnerability, and humor.

Yes, Hole In My Head has a lot of reference points. Grace wrote the songs in and sings about Amsterdam and St. Louis, and namedrops a beloved Chicago hot dog joint and an auditory phenomenon tourist attraction in Tulsa. She interpolates George Harrison and Cheap Trick and uses Elliott Smith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as emotional and cultural benchmarks. But they're all just part of her increasingly stellar storytelling and confessionals, fighting insular tendencies by embracing feeling. "Dysphoria Hoodie", released before the album was even announced, encapsulates the dichotomy well. Though the namesake clothing item is a trans person's go-to garment to prevent the world from speculating on their gender, Grace opens up her inner monologue: "When it says A.D.I.D.A.S on my chest / All day long I dream of sex / When I’m not thinking about Jesus," she sings. "Cuffing Season" and "Tacos & Toast", meanwhile, occupy two sides of the same coin, the former seeing Grace diving deep into a relationship, the latter featuring her crossing out an ex's tattooed name to celebrate her birthday.

All in all, Grace does a lot of looking back. "Punk Rock In Basements" doesn't quite yearn but remembers her start in the DIY scene, Grace singing over handclap percussion, guitar jangles, and backing shouts. On "Hard Feelings", she sings, "Mother, mother, mother I've ruined my brain / With alcohol, weed, porn, and cocaine / Staring out windows / Staring at screens / I've passed right by everything I've seen." It's not so much a downer as a reminder to live for now. Fittingly, the album ends with Grace standing at The Center of the Universe, screaming at god, unable to be heard by anyone else, existing for herself and nobody else, alone by choice.

Grace celebrates the release of Hole In My Head tonight at Sleeping Village. Deanna Belos opens with a Sincere Engineer solo set, as does local bedroom pop band CalicoLoco. Doors at 8:00 PM, show at 9. At the time of publication, you can still join the waiting list for a ticket.