Ever-so-Android’s ‘Disconnect’
Monday, August 17, 2015 15:20 — 0 Comments
Ever-so-Android’s new record, Disconnect, is a series of battle cries. They’re aggressive, passionate songs where banshee front woman Hope Simpson wails over jagged sonic landscapes laid out by electric guitarist Drew Murray. The duo, who’ve been together since 2011, charge forward in search of new game and new territory on each track of the record, the first since their 2013 self-titled EP. Bolstered by instrumentation for shows by drummer Ben Hillzinger and bassist Ian Forrester, ESA’s live performances aim to override audiences with a carnal thrust. This same mood lives and breathes on Disconnect and is most evident on “Leash,†which […]
Spekulation’s “Can’t Wait”
Wednesday, August 12, 2015 10:12 — 0 Comments
The latest offering from one of Seattle’s brightest MC’s features a bouncy beat, a soulful, catchy hook, a collection of dope rappers and a necessary message: don’t wait, do, take what’s yours. It’s the type of song (and video) that inspires you to move, create and work on the projects you’ve always want to work on. We thought it would be fun to hear from the people featured on the track. How did the project come their way, what did they think of the work? So, without further ado, here are their voices: Spek:Â I played the beat for Mic […]
Prom Queen Fundraiser
Monday, August 10, 2015 10:31 — 0 Comments
On Saturday, the magical candy noir band, Prom Queen, will take the stage at Cafe Racer and play for you. Their music floats like smoke off the tip of a 9″ cigarette. It wafts and waves and, when completed, returns to the genie bottle from where it was born. On Saturday, their performance aims to raise money for the band, which is heading on a west coast tour together. We ask that you please donate a little bit of money (or a lot of bit of money) to their fundraiser here. And before you do, remember they are the band that […]
Three Songs To The Head vol. 32
Thursday, July 23, 2015 12:43 — 0 Comments
Hello and welcome back to Three Songs to the Head where we share three songs that moved us, three songs we love, three songs we can’t get out of our heads! Today, we’re featuring Sundog, Sisters feat. Sol and The Dusty 45’s feat. Annie Ford and Gus Clark. Enjoy! –Jake Uitti Sundog’s “Roadrunner” is a ramped up, vamped up, jam-packed jaunt down Ragtime Keys Lane, turning onto Rumble Bucket Drum Boulevard and ending with donut-down beats around ‘n around the cul-de-sac. It’s the kind of song that picks you up no matter where your spirit level is at. Check the […]
“Alright”
Wednesday, July 8, 2015 17:50 — 0 Comments
Shaun Scott is one of the smartest and most eloquent people I know. I’m lucky that he even talks to me! And recently I watched Kendrick Lamar’s video for “Alright†and it blew my mind. Shaun is The Monarch’s leading Kendrick scholar so I thought it only appropriate to ask him his thoughts about the creative triumph of “Alright.†Jake Uitti: The video for Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright†is packed with imagery – from police shooting black men, to those same black men enjoying themselves in a car (which later turns out to be a fake car held up by stagehands), […]
The Mama Rags Live
Thursday, July 2, 2015 10:34 — 0 Comments
The Mama Rags make revival music: sonic quilts from disparate parts discarded from generations before as an attempt to rise up and be somebody. They are a thread of Led Zeppelin, a patch of cigarette ash, a bit of Bowie, a down comforter ripped to shreds by the very metal guitar strings that once provided the melodies to a song they wrote and have now forgotten. The band, to their credit, wants to feel established but there is a great deal of room for them to grow. That’s not to say they aren’t capable talents, it’s just that the quilt […]
Vinyl Revival
Wednesday, July 1, 2015 15:20 — 0 Comments
Below is a story that appeared in Alaska Beyond magazine in July 2015 Seattle resident Chris Darrell, also known as DJ absoluteMadman at area nightclubs, finds a certain Zen quality to the process of playing a vinyl record. There is taking the album out of the sleeve, cleaning it, placing it on the turntable and gently dropping the needle. He maintains that the mechanics of the operation put him at ease. “Listening to records calms me down,” he says. “My mom recently came by and dropped off a bunch of old records she picked up at an antique store, and […]
Pure Ups EP Release at Blue Moon
Wednesday, July 1, 2015 15:00 — 0 Comments
As their name suggests, Pure Ups incline to a sunny sound. Couch surf drums and aquatic bass lines evoke summer’s cold beer and lakeside daydreams. Cooing back-up vocals and shimmer-shatter guitars buoy Hedin’s slacker happy lyrics, which are lazy and urgent by turns, and full of amorous appeal and wistful knowing. But for all the love and longing that glows and shines here, there’s a sense of submerged melancholy, a kind of shadowy undercurrent from which these songs emerge so brightly. The light feels earned by darkness. All Flowing by Pure Ups Pure Ups release their new EP All Flowing at the […]
College and Beyond with Jamil Suleman
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 10:47 — 1 Comment
Jamil Suleman recently released a song lambasting the American college experience – how, despite having an impeccable academic record, he himself still had amazing trouble finding enough work to pay the bills. Jamil is bright fellow with a butter voice and an eye on social change. We had the chance to chat with the man about his inspiration for the tune and what he might say to a young person on the come up. What was the moment when you thought you had to write and record this song? I’d graduated college back in ‘07, and since then was in […]
Summer Jams with Adam Prairie
Tuesday, June 23, 2015 11:50 — 0 Comments
The Hoot Hoots have a lot of things planned for the summer – from a July 3rd Birthday Show at Connor Byrne to a set at Timber! I wanted to chat with Hoot Hoots frontman Adam Prairie to see what the band has in store for its fans.Â
The answer isn't poetry, but rather language
- Richard Kenney
