Locals Live
Tonight, CU’s Radio 1190 crew will host a Locals Live session at Innisfree Poetry Bookstore, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., Boulder, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday night with Boulder musician Taylor Tuke.
Out of the depths of the East Coast DIY scene, New York powerhouse Guerilla Toss released its 10th album, Eraser Stargazer, early this month via DFA records.
Though the band may be pegged as punk, Guerilla Toss is not an average punk band. Instead of focusing on simple chords and four-on-the-floor rhythms, the group creates incredibly groovy (yet fucked-up) danceable cadences that sound like a bastard funk/no wave hybrid. Over the punky start-and-stop rhythms lay fuzzy and colorful synthesizers that add texture and depth.
The star of the show is lead vocalist Kassie Carlson, whose unchained banshee howl is unabashed and in your face. Much like Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre), Carlson’s stream-of-consciousness yells are passionate, thoughtful and powerful. Carlson tackling issues of rape, societal expectations of women atop a flurry of bass, drums, guitar and synth make for a captivating and inspiring sound.
Tracks like “Perfume” have a strange head-bobbing rhythm with synth leads that are reminiscent of underground 1980s electronic dance music. Overall, Eraser Stargazer is an original, captivating look at a powerful young band proving that there is much more to come.
Out of Copenhagen, Denmark, synth-pop trio Lust for Youth is giving a little extra love on its newest record Compassion. In the same vein as New Wave and synth-pop giants Tears for Fears, New Order or The Cure, Lust For Youth mixes cold, dark beats with crooning, warm pop vocals.
Simple synthesizer melodies lead each track to a bouncy beat underneath, which kicks the composition into high gear. The vocals provide the human touch, as they are warm and emotional among the stark instrumentals. Though the vocal timbre is oddly similar to synth-pop groups of the late-’80s, the sense of hope that Lust For Youth conveys is what makes the band endearing. Though the album as a whole is not incredibly inventive, Compassion shows great songwriting skills and masterful production.
Out of Plainview, N.Y., pop-experimentalists Say No! To Architecture released SN!TA earlier this month, another album in the group’s massive discography. The album opens with “Wieder’s Floor,” a jangly guitar-based tune with a dancey, lo-fi beat.
Though the sound is homespun, it’s apparent that Say No! To Architecture has meticulously crafted these tracks. The melodies of the guitars are reminiscent of Parquet Courts, yet the grooves are more psychedelic than punk. Most of the tracks span longer than five minutes — with some that stretch to 10 or more — and follow a mantra-like guitar or bass lead that builds into a psychedelic jam.
Though these songs are a tad long-winded and a little formless, the composition and execution are engaging and interesting, to say the least.
Calvet is Radio 1190’s music director. Read more reviews: coloradodaily.com/columnists.
![“Tetris” is a video game that’s simple and, in its way, quite beautiful. People around the world know this, as the Russian puzzler requiring the increasingly quick arrangement of differently shaped four-block pieces that fall from the top of the screen has sold millions and millions of copies over a few decades. The new film […]](https://www.coloradodaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/TNH-L-FilmReview-Tetris-WBOX-033123-01.jpg?w=525 "“Tetris” is a video game that’s simple and, in its way, quite beautiful. People around the world know this, as the Russian puzzler requiring the increasingly quick arrangement of differently shaped four-block pieces that fall from the top of the screen has sold millions and millions of copies over a few decades. The new film […]")