ON REPEAT: X-Cetra, Soft Location, Puppet Wipes, Jonnine, Friko, Beak>, Doechii, Acopia, Chanel Beads, CSS
You found another girl, you said that she rocked your world, she said that you memorized her number
Long time, no post! Folks, it’s been a time. If you’re feeling melancholic, these songs are for you! Still building off of the post two months ago where I only posted the saddest quietest songs but these build a bit more.
X-Cetra “Wasn’t There”
This is the one I’ve been waiting to post about. X-Cetra is the latest Numero Group release, who run the gamut from early White Zombie to lost gospel. This is neither. This is sleepover-core.
In the year 2000, four pre-teen friends Jessica, Ayden, Janet, and Mary wanted to create their own pop group. Armed with a microphone, they recorded vocals and then one of their mothers married those vocals to like some obscure German minimal wave musician.
X-Cetra “Another Girl”
One of the kids, Ayden Mayeri, grew up to be a successful actor and has revisited some of these recordings over the years and now they have come to fruition with a killer physical release complete with old photos and doodles.
Doechii “CATFISH”
I feel like Doechii has hit the mainstream in a huge way since I last posted about her. That being said, have you heard this one? It’s why Kendrick called her “the hardest out” recently. She even says it in the song! She’s not wrong! I heard this one months ago and it still gives me chills.
Puppet Wipes “A Web For Every Garden”
There was a period in the late 2000’s where I like, exclusively listened to songs that sounded like this. Puppet Wipes are a group from Calgary who are way under the radar so if you like it, go visit their Bandcamp!
Soft Location “The Rescue”
This is one of those bands from the late 2000’s that I would have been listening to. This song is from 2007, but I’m just hearing it now. This a group formed in New York City that expanded in Detroit.
Jonnine “As You Sleep By My Feet”
Jonnine Standish, one half of the long-running Australian moody, atmospheric post-punk band HTRK, also makes solo stuff that I’ll let her bio describe: “Skeletal rhythms slink and echo through dimly lit streets framed by fragments of guitar, bass, breath, keys, scrapes, and haze.” HTRK inspired a lot of bands I’ve featured lately, like aso, Astrid Sonne and…
Acopia “What I’ve Been Looking For”
The kids these days love their dream pop. I actually couldn’t tell if these are kids because all of their photos are like intentionally blurry or shadow-y. This is the tradition of bands that sound like this, and I respect it.
Beak> “The Seal”
Beak> has been around for some time now, featuring some of Bristol’s finest talents, including members of Portishead. They came on my radar when they produced the debut Anika album many years ago. This is pure CAN and that’s not a bad thing to be!
Chanel Beads “Ache”
I’ve posted about Chanel Beads a few times here, one of the bands popping off in Brooklyn and beyond right now—a collaboration between musician Shane Lavers, vocalist Maya McGrory (Colle) and experimental instrumentalist Zachary Paul. The sound is a result of manipulated strings and something called “fake jazz” which I can’t describe but sounds right.
Friko “Chemical”
Friko is a band out of Chicago who released this last year, though it sounds like it could have come out 25 years ago.
THE GOLD STANDARD
CSS “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above”
I was at a party and this song came on, and it’s the best. Cansei de Ser Sexy (named after a Beyonce quote that she “got tired of being sexy”) were a Brazilian group you were either a fan of or at least heard played in Zune commercials. I completely missed a reunion tour last year and that is a bummer!
I always thought the Death From Above they were talking about were DFA but on closer inspection of the music video, it is indeed, Death From Above 1979 they are listening to while making love.