12.23 A wknd of looking (and listening) back
22 features from 2022 <3
WHAT A YEAR AMIRIGHT?!
Currently heading into the last week of it feeling incredibly thankful for the countless talented artists who released amazing music this year—and those who trusted Bands do BK to premiere and feature their work.
In the spirit of symmetry (and so this newsletter isn’t War and Peace-level long), below you’ll find a roundup featuring just 22 of the many killer releases we featured in 2022.
We’ll be back to the typical wknd itinerary action next Friday, but in the meantime, THE HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS TO YOU! No matter what/if you celebrate, we sincerely hope you have the best time ever with family, friends, lovers, strangers or solo—whatever feels right. And in case no one has told you, you did a really great job this year. We’re proud of you.
Sending all of the love in this beautiful and bizarre universe to you and your loved ones this weekend! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy it all. <3
[BUT FIRST: PRESS PLAY]
(^ The playlist mixing big names n local faves, created to DJ the Alphaville holiday party last wk <3 )
PETS // DEBBIE DOPAMINE
There’s no graceful way to deal with grief. No tidy way to work through trauma. You can’t undo what’s happened or know for sure what’s next, and you can’t just pack up your pain and put it away. All you can do, really, is work through it. And everyone does that their own way, in their own time and on their own terms. This process of… processing… is undergone in the most beautiful (and musical) of fashions in Debbie Dopamine’s debut EP , in which Katie Ortiz looks back on the past, out towards the future and inside herself, reminiscing on first love and mourning lost life, fleeing from certain feelings while facing, and embracing, others full-on.
“This EP is about digging up the bones of everything I’ve buried,” Katie said. “I don’t believe in closure, but I believe in keeping the ghosts of your past company.” Read more.
“OH MY GOD” // EDNA
Edna’s Michael Tarnofsky isn’t just a musician but a real writer whose love for, and skill with, language is evident. He wields and works words well, and Edna lyrics are equal parts poetic and punchy, humorous and heartfelt, evocative and stunningly, skillfully simple as he stays true to the characters he crafts, the worlds he builds and the messages—and emotions—he aims to impart. Michael’s mastery in this arena is exemplified by “Oh My God,” which is a story spun into song (featuring, btw, a perfectly executed sonofabitch) that is described by the artist himself as “the car crash of a lifetime in a race to the ultimate finish.” Read more.
I DON’T HAVE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF TO YOU // KISSED BY AN ANIMAL
The 12 songs on KBAA’s second full-length collectively portray the personal, unpack the universal and explore the existential, combining to form what’s simultaneously a thought-provoking and extremely fun and party-friendly album that serves as evidence of, and a tribute to, true creativity and originality, an invitation to be yourself and an examination of the beautiful and complex relationship every artist has with their art. (Fun fact: The band’s Dima Drjuchin does all the art.) Read more.
“BLONDIE” // TALON
Whether we’re talking Lizzie swooning over Ethan, Helga pining (and shrining) for Arnold or Steve Urkel’s undying love for Laura Winslow, crushes are a tale as old as time—particularly when they’re unrequited. The latest band to contribute to the crush-and-burn genre is Brooklyn-based “girlfriend rockers” Talon, whose debut single tackles this very topic through a queer and female lens.
“This hopeful banger about yearning for someone who’s never gonna give you the time of day is an anthem for simps everywhere,” the band say of the song. Read more.
“QUIT YOUR JOB” // HOT TEA
Say buh-bye to your boss, catch ya never to your coworkers and kiss my ass to capitalism! (For now!) There’s far more fun to be had when you’re permanently punched-out, and true happiness is nothing but a two-week notice away…
At least, that’s the belief held by best friends and collaborators (+ your new career counselors) Natalie Field and Danielle Salomon of post-punk project Hot Tea, who invite you to join them in this life-affirming ~liberation~ with their official anthem for the funemployed. Read more.
“BLASÉ” // MARY SHELLEY
In many of Mary Shelley’s songs, the band explores the often unsavory elements of human nature and the uncomfortable parts of the living experience, and in “Blasé”—what they describe as a “pop song that sounds like it’s drowning”—the group dives into ideas of indifference and self-sabotage, being overwhelmed and spinning out of control.
““It’s about making blasé choices in life. Feeling so numb that you start hurting yourself or others in different ways…” said the band’s Sam Pinson. “We wanted to create this feeling of swimming in the decisions you made against your will and feeling powerless to them.” Read more.
“COUNTRY BOY” // SUE YOUR LANDLORD
With more high-rises than horses, cabs than cows, and bars than barns (plus a definitive lack of tractors and manure only of the oh-god-I-hope-that’s-not-human variety), NYC is no place for a cowboy—but hey, that doesn’t mean you can’t cosplay as one.
Put on a pair of non-ironic Wranglers, pull up a stool at Skinny Dennis and blast the new single from the Florida-dudes-turned-Brooklyn-boys in NYC alt-indie band Sue Your Landlord—who, btw, are playing the next BANDS DO BK BRUNCH on January 8th. Read more.
GLAD TO BE ALIVE // BROOK PRIDEMORE
Listening to Glad to be Alive—the seventh LP from Brooklyn artist Brook Pridemore—is like reading an autobiography. Actually, no. It’s like sitting in an empty saloon one afternoon with a fascinating stranger who doles out fascinating anecdotes and imparts lessons from a life thoroughly, dangerously, desperately and lovingly lived, keeping you even more glued than usual to your sticky barstool as you motion to the bartender for yet another round. In other words, this album is not just a set of songs but a collection of stories, a work of honestly with distinct personality that simultaneously makes you feel like you know the artist intimately—and makes you want, need, to learn more. Read more.
“DESIRABLE” // PARTYGIRL
In its most toxic form, love—or rather, what we sometimes mistake for love—can be destructive. It causes damage and doubt, makes you shrink and shy away. It wears you down and it tears you down. It isn’t an earthquake, a cataclysmic event that destroys everything in a split-second, but more like erosion, a process that takes place slowly and steadily, incrementally and often imperceptibly, over time. Until one day you might notice you’re different, and so much smaller, than you used to be.
This isn’t love; it’s loss. And it’s exactly this defeat—a surrender to another and abandonment of self—that Brooklyn band partygirl explores in their single. It’s not about the grieving of a broken relationship but the evolution of an abusive one and an account—and mourning—of what was sacrificed in the desperate attempt to salvage it. Read more.
“CHERRY TONGUE” // DD ISLAND
There’s nothing more simultaneously invigorating and heartbreaking than a summer romance. It’s intense, but temporary. Sweet, but fleeting. An experience with an expiration date and a relationship that, even after you let go, is responsible for memories you hold onto forever.
It’s this sort of short-lived, attached-at-the-hip kind of companionship that’s illustrated in the form of a relationship with a red balloon in the music video—a sweet stroll through a hazy dreamscape—for dream-psych artist DD Island’s “Cherry Tongue.” Read more.
“THE LAWN BEHIND MY HOUSE” // PICTURE SHOW
After years of “breaking [his] own heart” (a necessary part of the creative process) as he wrote countless songs and then scrapped them—flurries of excitement followed by feelings of frustration and embarrassment—Henry Tisch (Picture Show) finally landed on a track, written back in June 2020, that he truly loves.
“Above the song’s themes of sudden detachment from the ones you love, confusion about the unpredictable, strange world we live in, and the eventual joyous acceptance of that strangeness,,” the artist says, “this song is my battle cry as I begin the scary, thrilling journey of putting art into the world, hoping someone out there will get something out of it.” Read more.
“PARTIES” // PAMPHLETS
Contrary to what the title might indicate, the sixth single from Pamphlets (off their album Flowers for All Occasions) isn’t a rowdy anthem but what the band calls a work of self-reflection… a call to look backward and inward… to explore, examine and perhaps, in some sense, process the past—how the decisions made then and there have led one to this very particular present, and the choices, and changes, one might make for the future. Read more.
RAT CORNER // GRASSBROTHERS
Whether with an actual goal in mind or simply in an effort to stay sane, musicians Isabel Martin and Jenny Nelson started improvising together over FaceTime at the beginning of the pandemic—and recording the results.
A combination of both creative and personal chemistry and playful spontaneity, this process didn’t just have the artists throwing sonic spaghetti to the wall to see what sticks, but ziti, fusilli, orecchiette and whatever it is that jaunty bowtie-shaped situation is. The wonderfully weird, yet honestly thoughtful, result is Grassbrothers’ Rat Corner, an album of 10 songs that feel more like sound collages—some you can envision hearing in some new-age spa and others in actual outer space, one you’d imagine being played in a forest clearing by fairies (you might have taken drugs in this example) and another blasting at, IDK, a breakfast rave in Berlin (you’ve obviously taken drugs in this example). Read more.
“RUBBER HANDS” // MY SON THE DOCTOR
There is a challenge that comes with being the kind of band that thrives live. How do you bottle that energy? How can you package this personality? How will you extend the experience beyond the 40 minutes you’re actually on stage?
The answer, of course, is via video, and this punk twist on Ratatouille (without actual rodents) has the musicians taking over the kitchen, with the three white-aproned bandmates working to whip something up to impress My Son The Doctor’s guitarist turned critique gastronomique—their house-calling, tracksuit-wearing, personal Pete Wells.
As MSTD says: “We’ve always felt like a great music video brings out the band’s personality. Unfortunately, this is truly who we are.” Read more.
“WUTHERING HEIGHTS” // KIRA METCALF
Stranger Things has singlehandedly transformed everyone into retroactive ’80s kids through a soundtrack that isn’t so much responsible for putting artists on the map but, through exposing a new group of listeners to the original map itself, has landed songs of yesteryear on the charts of today. Including, most notably, “Running Up That Hill” from Kate Bush.
So now that we’ve all happily jumped (back) on the Bushwagon, we have to—in true Brooklyn fashion—point you in the direction of someone who was a fan before it was cool (again) man. With her incredible cover (recorded in 2021 and released this summer), Kira Metcalf hasn’t simply duplicated the track but added her own spin to the song, trading the piano for guitar, drawing from additional musical influences and playing to her strengths while paying beautiful homage to the original. Read more.
(THISBODYISNTMINE) // LEONE
At its most powerful and pure, art exists not just as a means of expression or form of entertainment but something that hits on a deep human level. An act through which the creator is able to transform and transcend their pain, to take the bad and make something beautiful. It’s both a noun and a verb: a resulting product that make others feel less alone and a process that hopefully, on some level, helps the artist heal as well.
A prime example of is the debut EP from LEONE, the solo moniker of the artist formerly known as Richie Bee from queer glam rock band DEITRE. Written during the height of the pandemic, as the artist grappled with world-shaking change and life-altering loss, the music was a means for working through trauma and tragedy—an enlightening creative and personal journey that, at its end, saw the artist emerging stronger on the other side. Read more.
“LOVE COMES WITH A KNIFE” // ELIZABETH WYLD
Elizabeth Wyld admits that she usually focuses on a kind of contradiction, seeking out the shadows, finding inspiration in the uncomfortable and making music magic out of the misery that serves as the flip side to our favorite feelings. However, recently the NYC artist decided to defy her darker artistic instincts, daring instead to go against the pain grain and create something that doesn’t harness hurt but draws on joy. Which somehow feels much more raw, real and vulnerable than anything else.
The result is “Love Comes With a Knife,” an unapologetic proclamation of infatuation inspired by the lesbian love story at the heart of BBC series Killing Eve,. Read more.
“BAR BATHROOM” // COUVO
Beyond its utilitarian nature, the bathroom serves as the backdrop for much-needed moments of me-time, as a confession booth for pairs of close confidantes and as the cramped setting for the most ~scandalous~ type of group gatherings, its band-sticker-coated walls bearing witness to some of nightlife’s most sloppy, shameful, occasionally sweet and often significant moments.
Within the scene, these graffiti-drenched dens—anything-but-elite VIPee (sorry) rooms—are where, shall we say, shit gets real, and if these stalls could talk… well, it’s a good thing they can’t.
The significance of this particular sort of spot is no secret. There’s a reason “Meet Me In The Bathroom” evolved from Strokes song title to Lizzy Goodman’s book title to a label now frequently used to identify an entire era of NYC indie. This particular track is Couvo’s personal take on the theme, an unofficial ode to this very important place. Read more.
“CROP CIRCLES” // NAUTICS
In the Instagram post announcing this video’s release, Nautics claimed they are “channeling what we love about indie rock, UFO videos, and M Night Shyamalan.” Or, as they told us over email:
“‘Crop Circles’ explores the feeling of confusion, feeling lost in modern life, and love being a conspiracy.”
While absolutely ridiculous (and surely intentionally so), the video works—first, because the song is a perfect, extremely catchy, indie banger, and second, because it’s made with love. The fun comes through, and by striking the perfect balance of absurd and sincere, this serves as evidence of a group that takes their music seriously, without taking themselves seriously. Read more.
“FIRE” // BRANDI AND THE ALEXANDERS
A soul-rock-funk anthem inspired by Brandi Thompson’s experience as a Black woman (and structured around, and starring, her emotionally stirring voice), this song is about a need to fight that has persisted for generations and a sickness that’s plagued our nation for centuries. In this case, the fire in question isn’t referring to what’s being fought, per se, but what—or moreso who—is doing the fighting. Sparked by the protests that swept our nation in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the song from Brandi & the Alexanders is named for and rooted in the fire that lives inside the artist, her ancestors and those who have and are continuing to battle racism, discrimination and horrific acts of inequality and violence every day. Read more.
“REASONS FOR THE DEAD” // AISLE KNOT
Not to break out French phrases on a Friday afternoon, but there’s a je ne sais quois to Aisle Knot, Brooklyn “sometimes solo project, sometimes four-piece band,” whose songs strike that elusive emotional chord. They’re often dreamy and sometimes twangy, a little eerie and occasionally emo, implementing countless instruments, incorporating unconventional sound effects and infused with ambient and experimental elements that, while they do come through on stage, are even better noticed, experienced and absorbed in recorded form, where the care and complexity can come through—and where Connor Bush’s creativity is even more obvious with every listen.
“Listening back, I think these songs walk the line between being melodramatic and genuine,” Connor told us of the EP, “and I am glad because I like that area.” Read more.
“EL DESPERTAR” // JOUDY
As anyone who’s picked up their life and moved to a new city knows, this upheaval presents you with a challenge—and an opportunity. To rebuild a life and have the rare chance to reconsider what you want to do and who you want to be. But as a band, Joudy hasn’t elected to start over nor to move on since moving to NYC from Venezuela. They also haven’t opted to stay the same. Instead the trio has chosen to evolve, to take the music of their past and incorporate elements and influences of their present, keeping a foot firmly planted in each world while continuously moving forward.
This approach is exemplified by “El Despertar”, a reinterpretation of “El Despertar del Instinto” from the band’s album Obertura, which was recorded in their home country in 2016. Read more.
Find more spotlights and premieres here.
MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
Huge thanks to everyone who came out to our BDBK Holiday Party! We got a whole sack o’ socks to donate to the homeless and we appreciate all of the artists who played and the people (and parents!) who came out and donated. <3
NEW CLASSIFIEDS HAVE ARRIVED! Bands are looking for bassists, synth players and more // a pedal steel guitar player and drummer are looking to join a band // one guitarist is looking for bandmates for a new post punk/new wave band // and more more more. Read all the ads here, reach out or refer your friends and go forth and make good music.
ICYMI via Instagram, the wall… like, actual wall… of the Montreal apartment of formerly Brooklyn musician Amelia Bushell (Grimstreaker, Extra Special) recently… fell off… leaving them unable to enter their apartment and their rooms (and the things in them) completely exposed. Anyways, it’s pretty nuts—and more notably, extremely unfortunate. A Gofundme has been set up to help the artist and other tenants replace belongings and relocate. If you have the means, please consider donating here.
RELEASE RADAR
New(ish) stuff from local (+ occasionally, once-local) artists we love, listed in no order whatsoever:
“Void Meditation Vol. 1” // HNRY FLWR, Rafting
“End of the World” // Edna
“Be Kind To Me (Michael Hurley Cover)” // Buff Ginger
IT’S HAPPENIN’
Here’s a look at the events we’ve got coming up. Mark your calendars and come hang!
1.1 BdBK Presents: HAIR OF THE DOG! Pons tour kick-off w/ Nara’s Room, AVATAREDEN, qirl - tix here
1.8 BdBK Brunch w/ Uncle Skunk, Sue Your Landlord, Lily Mao @ Arlene’s Grocery - tix here
Thx 4 reading! Find more fun stuff at bandsdobk.com and @bandsdobk. <3
Order the Bands do BK BOOK (!) (out now via Lit Riot Press) here.