Digging for Something with Kevin Alexander of On Repeat Records
Overlooked, underrated, over-hated or regionally specific gems.
I’m reaching out and asking writers, band members and music curators to tip us all off to their favourite underrated albums, overlooked or unfairly obscure gems… even the downright over-hated. Hopefully it’s another fun way for you to find some new-to-you music to love.
Stoked to say that joining me today is Kevin Alexander of On Repeat Records. They’ve written an introduction for their picks:
A new independent music space recently opened up near my home here in Madison. One of the first events was a screening of the “Smart Studios Story,” with a Q&A with Butch Vig and the film’s director afterward. It’s a great rock doc that is well worth seeing if you haven’t already.
As the film played, I couldn’t help but notice the crowd’s reaction to the various bands and characters shown. These groups might not be known outside this area code, but judging by the reactions I witnessed, it meant everything to those who were lucky enough to say “I was there.”
Today, I’m here, or rather, “there,” and want to include some of the music made in my adopted hometown. Ultimately, I went with a couple of Madison bands, one from Lawrence, Kansas, and one I found while flying over middle America. The other one is from NYC, but someone from Ohio tipped me off to them, so I’m countin’ it.
When Dan first asked me to participate, I was excited. After all, yapping about records is kind of my thing, and this was a chance to do it. But trying to find something underrated or overlooked presented a two-pronged problem:
First, there are simply too many. I’m already incredibly fussy about list-making, especially when it comes to records. How was I going to narrow it down?
Second, I’m not sure there’s a record out there that Dan hasn’t heard of. I know this mission here isn’t to stump him, but I wanted to at least aim for “surprise and delight.” If I could get one on his (and your) radar that you hadn’t heard in a while, then I could call it a win.
I also wanted seeking these out to be less of a homework assignment and more of a fun challenge. You can find these on most streaming services, and/or grab a copy on Bandcamp or Discogs without too much trouble. I own 4 of the five on vinyl, and when
scrolling through Discogs at workdoing research, found a copy of the 5th fairly quickly. My goal wasn’t to send anyone on a scavenger hunt but to surface what hopefully will be 1-2 of your new favorite records.
And now, let’s get to their album recommendations:
Red Pants - Not Quite There Yet (2023)
Genres: Indie Rock
Kevin says:
Red Pants is the Madison, WI-based duo of Jason Lambeth and Elsa Nekola. Not Quite There Yet follows ‘When We Were Dancing’ LP and the ‘Gentle Centuries’ EP. Even as recording for those wrapped, the pair kept writing songs for what would eventually become this record.
Part of the band’s appeal is their layered, dense sound. It’s full of textures and sounds that reveal more of themselves with each listen. Lambeth is an accomplished artist; the sound reflects the collages and other art he creates daily.
Similarly, Nekola is a talented author, and her steady rhythm keeps everything moving along the way it should.
The edges are rough but not too harsh. The lyrics are wistful. The riffs are alternately jangly and jagged but not abrasive.
The resulting mix is a catchy, pop-centric track that reveals more of itself with each play.
Think early Sonic Youth, early Yo La Tengo, and anytime Galaxie 500. There are plenty of early 90’s influences, but the sound is very much 2023, with everything economical and in just the right amounts.
Dan says:
There’s something about the texture of this that is immediately very satisfying. “Watch the Sky” almost reminds me a little of early By Divine Right songs. Feel like there’s a little Duster DNA in here as well now and again. “Forever” sounds a lot like The American Analog Set, which is high praise. I also like that they stretch their legs out a little on songs like “Rockwell Kent”. Total grey-day indie rock that I will be saving for a rainy afternoon.
Sweeping Promises - Good Living Is Coming For You
Genres: Post-Punk, Art Punk, Dance-Punk, New Wave
Kevin says:
Depending on how you look at it, Good Living Is Coming For You sounds like the sort of slogan you’d see on Soviet agitprop posters or hear Peggy Olson come up with in a strategy session for Tupperware.
The record’s press release hedges its bets and says it’s…both:
“For more than a half century, underground music revolutionaries have taken a whack at the mundane mainstream like a piñata. England punks spat “NO FUTURE’‘ at germ-free adolescents. Ohio new wavers devolutionized mankind with whips. Athens art school students chomped at hero worship. MetroCard-carrying riot grrrls rebirthed the bomp with a gasoline gut. In 2020, Sweeping Promises read our pandemic minds with Hunger for a Way Out. In 2023, they return with a new message: Good Living Is Coming For You. At first glance, this nouveau wave slogan offers hope wrapped around relief. At first listen, we realize this may actually be a warning. Darker still, a threat.
Their first record, 2020’s Hungry For a Way Out, felt constrained- literally (it was recorded in a basement) and figuratively (done during the pandemic). Good Living Is Coming For You was created in a Kansas art studio with lofty ceilings, and Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug have traded architectural constraints for artistic ones.
Listening to the record, you can hear the opposing forces battle it out in real-time. In one corner are the post-punk angular guitar riffs. In the other is a more experimental, free-form sound, and it’s all the duo can do to keep them corralled. Mondal was previously a pastry chef, and it’s not a great leap to imagine her adding a beep here or a squonk there the way she might to a recipe. These little touches go a long way toward adding depth to the record’s sound.
“Walk In Place” is the song Romeo Void never got a chance to make. “You Shatter” could easily be from a Blondie record.
Mondal’s vocals vary from snarling one minute to operatic the next, while Schnug keeps the engines running and keeps up with her, shifting from punk to new wave to synth pop and back again.
Look, on paper this record shouldn’t work. There are too many moving parts and too many opposing forces. But it does. And I fully expect it to be on all kinds of year-end Best Of lists.
Bottom Line: Someone described this band as “The B-52s if they never saw the Sun.” I’m not sure I can say it any better than that.
Dan says:
I have to say that this record was a bit of a grower for me compared to how immediate their previous record was. I always think I should find this sound completely played out - because in some ways it is - but they have that something special that I can’t put my finger on that makes it sound fresh again. Always a good reminder to revisit this band and listen to them more often.
The Ironsides - Changing Light (2023)
Genres: Soul, Easy Listening, Funk, Jazz, Psychedelic Soul
Kevin says:
If you’re of a certain age, you will remember the days of the Saturday matinee. Your local network affiliate would play these as filler (infomercials weren’t yet a thing) or if your baseball team was on a rain delay. They were usually cop movies. There were car chases, and if there was a foot chase, it invariably involved something like this that Beastie Boys played up so well in “Sabotage.” Jack Klugman was probably in it.
All that to say that Ironsides’ Changing Light record evokes the style of film—the rainy day matinee. It is a time machine disguised as a slab of wax.
There are weapons-grade doses of early 70s soul (think strings and airy sounds). Songs build to dramatic endings. There are little flourishes interspersed that would complement certain scenes just the right way. It’s orchestral and bombastic when the scene mood calls for it, and quiet when it doesn’t. Electric guitar and flutes don’t always make for good neighbors, but this is an exception.
Changing Light might not have a movie to go with it (I play it when I’m writing), but you’ll still find yourself trying to remember what movie(s) it reminds you of.
Dan says:
This definitely sounds a little like those library music pieces that are tailor made for different types of TV show scenes or movie scores. But maybe more accomplished from a songwriting perspective (no disrespect to library music because I love that stuff.) This has vibes for days.
Spooner - Wildest Dreams (1985)
Genres: Jangle Pop
Kevin says:
There is a bike route I like to take here in town. It loops one of the lakes (Madison is built on an isthmus), and is just long enough to work up a sweat and give me time to think. The other day, there was a detour for one of the seemingly endless road projects that take place during these months, and I found myself spit out at an intersection directly facing what was once Smart Studios.
If you’re a Discover Tab regular, you don’t need me to tell you the magic that happened inside those walls. And you’d probably prefer I not tell you that it’s now an Airbnb. But the wizardry of Butch Vig and co. almost makes up for it. How many of your favorite records came to life on here? There were plenty of ‘big” alternative records, but also a ton of local bands. Smart Studios was not discriminatory; if you could pay the tab, they’d man the boards. It’s these groups I spend the most time thinking about. I’ve lived here a long time, but I’m not from here. I grew up two time zones away. Listening to those bands forgotten by most helps me understand the ethos of this place.
Long before Vig and Steve Marker made up half of Garbage, they were running Smart Studios. Before that, Vig and Duke Erikson were roughly half of Spooner.
Wildest Dreams is their sophomore record, and for my money, their best work. There is a specific vein of power pop that can only come from the Central time zone (think bands like Shoes, and to a lesser extent, 20/20). It’s hard to describe, but you know it when you hear it. The best way I can describe it is by saying it sits at the intersection of power pop and jangle pop. Better yet, give opener “Sacred Ground” or “Again and Again (Looks Like Rain)” a spin. Just as The Replacements could never have been from anywhere but Minnesota, Spooner wasn’t gonna be from anywhere but America’s Dairyland.
It’s worth mentioning that the screening’s largest applause of the night didn’t come from the film itself or an answer Vig provided during the Q&A. It came when it was announced that Spooner would be playing that very stage the next night. This band clearly mattered to a lot of people in the room with me.
The flyover states can be easy to ignore, and on some level, it makes sense that other bands would take this style to greater heights while Wildest Dreams went overlooked, but that doesn’t make it right. If you haven’t yet heard this record, now’s the time to change that.
Dan says:
I have to admit that despite my familiarity with Butch Vig and Smart Studios, Spooner is a total blind spot for me until now. But when you mention names like 20/20 and Shoes, my ears perk up. This is definitely janglier and a bit more… collegiate?… sounding than some of those more quote-unquote pure power-pop bands that might come to mind, but these songs do the heavy lifting. “Eyes of the World” reminds me a little of the kinda songs The dB’s might put between a couple more upbeat barn burners. This does make me want to get on a bike and ride around town.
Ivy - Apartment Life (1997)
Genres: Indie Pop, Alternative Rock, Downtempo, Alternative Dance, Neo-Acoustic, Twee Pop
Kevin says:
A follow-up to 1995’s Realistic, the trio of Andy Chase, Adam Schlesinger, and Dominique Durand didn’t know it then, but they were putting together what many would consider their best record.
Combining Schelsigner’s ear for a hook, Chase’s economical style of play, and Durand’s voice, they released something easy on the ear and hard to categorize. Was it Indie? Dream pop? Shoegaze? Power pop? The correct answer is “yes.”
Durand’s voice asked us to float off into the clouds while Chase and Schelsinger’s tight rhythm kept our feet on the ground. There is also a touch of Ye Ye here—Durand is French, after all—but while that often felt like empty calories, Apartment Life is anything but. Rare is the record that balances sounding light while also substantive. Modern but classic. Tracks like “I Get the Message” and “Get Out of the City” manage to sound as new today as they did in 1997.
Saint Etienne does this really well. On Apartment Life, so does Ivy.
Dan says:
I have tried a number of times over the years to get into Ivy, because I am a big fan of Adam Schlesinger. For whatever reason, they’ve never fully clicked for me on an album-level. I think I was always expecting more obvious, in-your-face Schlesinger influence on the hooks and the vibe here is a bit more ethereal and lounge-y than that. But you can hear Schlesinger’s hand guiding these songs, like in how “I’ve Got a Feeling” sounds a little like Fountains in slow-mo. I have more of an appreciation for this record these days, and I’ve certainly got a feeling it will continue to grow on me.
That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.
My ears too perked up at Shoes and 20/20...Nice one, all around.
RIP Dave Benton of Spooner, once proprietor of Mad City Music Exchange.