Staff Pix 4/17: Aliascrate

“Ingenue” by Atoms For Peace

The beginning of this song reminds me of the first scene in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Stalactites dripping incessantly in the untouched hollows of the earth. Like saliva off the slack-jawed fangs of some granitic beast. Deep in those cratonic bowels where the water fell and sang. A death knell for each passing minute. Somewhere along the shoreline of a black and ancient lake a figure crouched. That wretched creature with eyes dead white and sightless as spider’s eggs. Loping around blindly in the soundless darkness. The 2013 moniker Atoms For Peace is one of Thom Yorke’s solo projects, bearing a more electronic lean than most Radiohead (save for King of Limbs & Kid A), but just as dark. His lyrics are still brittle as snapped bones: “I mistake/ All you say/ The seeds of a dandelion/ You blow away.” As much as Yorke proves himself, like McCarthy, to be a poet of hopelessness, one always finds in them glimmers of light: “If I’m not there now/ Physically/ I’m always before you/ Come what may.” Radiohead-lovers, listen to this side project, and, like waking from a bad dream and reaching out for comfort to touch the body beside you, you’ll find “You know like the back of your hand.” — Christian Jones

“Saturday’s for the Boys (Saturday is for the Boys)” by 1 Trait Danger

I don’t think a human being could make the kind of music Car Seat Headrest 24/7/365 without needing to be institutionalized. The emotions evoked in Twin Fantasy and Teens of Denial have a set shelf life past which creation and consumption is inadvisable at best. Enter 1 Trait Danger! Car Seat Headrest’s lighter and somehow chuddier little brother. Despite a loss in desperation and depression the loser streak is unshaken. Almost every song on 1 Trait High is either about getting bullied or getting horrifically drunk in the way perhaps only lame 13 year old boys could. Saturday’s for the Boys is the crown jewel. The crispy FL studio beats which would later be mirrored in the album Making A Door Less Open (the most egregious example being the tracks “D R O V E My Car” and “Deadlines (Thoughtful)” which have almost identical beats) give the track a sense of artificial energy the likes of which you could only find at a sober rave or a peloton class. Everybody’s just trying to keep it together. Katz delivers his monologue direct and monotone, bemoaning the struggles of his life. A dead dog, a cruel mother, even crueler peers. It’s simultaneously tragic and ridiculous, channeling the other half of teen angst Car Seat Headrest lacks, the irreverent loathing and begrudging acceptance that feels more typical of Slacker Rock than anything Toledo might be expected to produce. It’s awkward, it’s geeky, but most of all it’s a lot of fun. — Declan Ireland

“Bending Hectic” by The Smile

The Smile’s 8-minute epic “Bending Hectic” exists on the cusp of life and death. Telling the story of a near death experience, the track follows the frenzy of embodied thoughts and sensations that send the narrator into a rapidly spiraling sense of self. This moribund moment, this split second that teeters between carelessness and intentionality, lasts the entirety of the track as the narrator’s moral dilemma unfolds at an increasingly rapid rate. What once was a teary-eyed admiration for the view that would be his last transforms into a bitter acceptance of such; “I’m letting go of the wheel / It might be as well / It might be as well.” The instrumentation evolves, too, with the frantic drums and ominously descending bass subsiding, making room for a swelling orchestra. It’s here that the narrator makes a decision. From a bittersweet Hamlet reference in “I’ve got these slings / I’ve got these arrows / I’ll force myself to” to “If you’ve got something to say / Say it now,” death is imminent. 5-and-a-half minutes into this split-second experience, the track’s strings build to an uncomfortable boiling point of impatience – emulating a fall to his death – until the guitar thrashes in, Thom Yorke’s voice bellowing “I force myself to turn, turn.” The rest of the track is carefully constructed chaos, Yorke’s voice shrouded behind a wall of punching guitars and cymbals. Yet, his voice still remains, his pleas of desperation begging “Turn / Turn / Turn / Turn.” — Sophie Parrish

“Girls Like Us” by The Julie Ruin

If anyone isn’t a one-trick pony, it’s Kathleen Hanna, the rebel girl of bands. She formed Bikini Kill in the early ‘90s, lighting the fire of the riot grrrl movement with her anger in tracks like “Rebel Girl,” “Double Dare Ya,” and “DemiRep.” In the late ‘90s, Hannah turned that anger into poppier punk with the group Le Tigre, which boasts hits “Mediocrity Rules,” “Hot Topic,” and “Deceptacon.” And in the 2010s, Hanna created her most recent group, The Julie Ruin, a dance-punk band whose name comes from the alias Hanna claimed when working on a solo project in ’98. What’s special about The Julie Ruin is the balance it strikes with poignantly honest lyrics backed by tracks poppy enough to dance to. In “Girls Like Us,” Hanna’s crooning vocals celebrate the community of girlhood—all of its highlighter pens, plastic handbags, and handwritten poems—while commanding the swaying synth. What I love most about The Julie Ruin is that it’s no frills: you can hear the group’s passion and excitement in their sound music, a joyous effect if you needed one beyond simply Kathleen Hanna. — Heather Thorn

“So Much For The Fourth Wall” by The Ladies

In the mid-2000s, Pinback’s Rob Crow and Hella’s Zach Hill (long before Death Grips was even a thought) came together for a brief moment of time, in one 12-track album titled They Mean Us. Their project was recorded spontaneously over the span two years in various locations, and it’s madly underrated. The Ladies themselves have under 10k monthly listeners on Spotify, and a majority of the songs on They Mean Us go unnoticed, but the 9th track, “So Much For The Fourth Wall”, is the most popular of the project. The track combines Crow’s soft, solemn, reverbed vocals with Hill’s shattering layers of drums to create a captivating slowcore track that makes you feel like you’re floating through a deep pool of crystalline water and echoed guitar. Crow’s characteristic disillusioned feelings coil into the lyrics as he gently sings: “Not your thing / Get the hell out of my sight.” — Julia Schramm

“In the dark” by Venturing

Jane Remover is no stranger to side projects, but Venturing stands out as one of her most fully realized and conceptually driven aliases. Initially developed as a fictional band complete with its own lore and aesthetic, the project gives her space to explore different musical directions. The body of work created by Remover under the Venturing alias features a sound that leans more indie rock and emo than the rest of her discography while still staying true to her unique digital production style. This blend of musical influences results in a sound that feels nostalgic yet still new and exciting, a balance that’s captured particularly well in Venturing’s most recent single “In the dark.” The track, which was released in February of this year, does a really great job of combining the raw, emotionally charged guitar sections of ‘90s indie rock with the contemporary electronic elements reflective of Remover’s broader identity as an artist. — Emeline Chopin

“Son et Lumiere” / “Inertiatic ESP” by The Mars Volta

In 2000 when At The Drive-In played Later… with Jools Holland you can see Jim Ward forming his next band Sparta in his head, hell, you can also see Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala forming The Mars Volta as well. The chaotic nature of the live performance really showcases the rift in the band, breaking up not even a year after. In 2003, Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala released their first album under the band The Mars Volta, which opens up with Son et Lumiere transitioning into Inertiatic ESP instantly. Immediately their sound had changed. They take their Texan post-hardcore roots and mix them with Latin jazz rhythms, chords and even instrumentation. The entire album is filled with piano and Latin percussion instruments with Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers even playing trumpet on one of the songs. Although they’ve had mixed reviews from all sorts of people (because some people can’t appreciate awesome), The Mars Volta remains among my favorite bands, and that wouldn’t have been possible without the tragic breakup of ATDI. — Mario Sierra

“dresidents [rebuild] by DRES”

DRES is an acronym for the artists damon r. (formerly Damon Rush) and Extra Small. Damon r. also releases music under the alias smiley mug. Allegedly residing in Seoul working on new music, the duo occasionally incorporates Korean into their lyrics. There are very few transcriptions or translations of any of their music under this project. Dresidents [rebuild] is a remastered version of their single Dresidents released a year prior. Personally, I prefer the remastered version with the harsher electrical instrumentals. Performing alongside similar artists like Tommy Fleece, 2Hollis, and The Hellp, damon r. and Extra Small are a strong pairing. — Katie Lew

“Guitar Song [Demo]” Frou Frou

Almost twenty years after the release of their first and only studio album, Frou Frou (or, Guy Sigsworth and Imogen Heap) released an EP of demos, Off Cuts (2022). The first few notes of “Guitar Song,” which had been unreleased for the two decades prior to its release, are enough to cut right into me immediately. The same guitar melody is played through the song while Imogen Heap sings some of the most tender phrases ever uttered: from “Take your time, we’ll feel our rhythm / And find our feet, just like lovers do,” to “Damn you, boy / You have no idea how close we are,” and finally “Heaven will be the morning when you wake up next to me.” I’m a sucker for when electronic artists unplug, and “Guitar Song” doesn’t have to do or say any more than it does for me to love it. — Lauren Williams