Three months
Dang, been a while huh?
Huh, three months eh? Been that long I suppose. I’m long past the point of being in danger of starting these substack newsletters all the same way; low motivation, been trying to post my new music playlists on Twitter every Friday, would like to write move over here but struggling with that, etc. etc. etc.
So, I’m going to make this one a big ol’ collection of a bunch of things that have been happening and rattling around in my brain. Here goes nothin’.
Nicole Yun - Matter (Kanine Records)
According to my three month stats from last.fm, this has been one of my top albums in heavy rotation since we last spoke. Makes sense! I pure dose of catchy indie/alt rock 'n’ pop from Yun, who you may remember from Eternal Summers. A 2023 essential.
Bedspin - Liminal Spaces (Freeloader Records)
I’m always looking for new music to scratch my very specific pop-punk itch. There’s often a lot of pop-punk to choose from, but fewer that land just right for my personal tastes. I’m not above your average Ramonescore or Weasel-worship bands, and I’ll even dip my toes into Easycore-adjacent here and there (not a lot though) but those genres always seem to be the most populated these days. Bedspin just play really fast, just varied enough pop-punk that has a pinch of that straightforward indie-punk and power-pop sound. It has been working for me because it’s also quite near the top on my 3 month chart.
Brian Mietz - Wow! (SLUDGE PEOPLE)
Brian Mietz has been on my radar since their time with It’s a King Thing (who put out the underrated power-pop LP Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. in 2011.) Mietz has popped up here and there - don’t forget to look into Cabana Wear - and with Wow! has released their second LP under their own name. It’s a mix of easy-going jangle rock, dreamy pop hooks and even a bit of synth elements here and there. Very enjoyable stuff as always from Mietz.
Night Court - Humans! (Snappy Little Numbers)
Speaking of punk and pop earlier, Vancouver’s Night Court have been on a run of incredibly sturdy punk releases. On the heels of Nervous Birds! One and Nervous Birds! Two, they’re back with another exclamation-titled LP of garage-y, hooky punky pop. I hear some Dogs on Acid in here (major compliment imo) and if you’re the kind of person who hoards Scared of Chaka, Radioactivity or The Marked Men albums, Night Court will be right up your alley.
LONE WOLF - HAZE WAVE (Stardumb Records)
And again, on the topic of fuzzed out hooks, there’s LONE WOLF’s new record out on Stardumb. This ripper of a record sits right in the middle of the venn diagram between indie-rock, power-pop, garage-rock and pop-punk. I hear some Big Eyes in their sound, another big compliment because I fucking loved Big Eyes! It’s a tough place for your band to site - not so garage-y that they sound like any other vintage-aping garage act, not so pop-punk that it may put off people who don’t usually go along with that genre. It’s wildly satisfying and has kept me coming back a whole lot this year.
Doe St. - Stepping Stones (Legless Records)
While I was in the thick of a pop-punk/indie-punk scrounging session, I found Doe St. alongside LONE WOLF and a few other acts (like Discomfort Creatures) by band-hopping through the related artists section on Spotify. Been stoked to also see Tracy (Courtesy Desk & Turntable Report) singing their praises, because this stuff rules. They definitely lean a little further on the indie-rock or even a pinch towards post-punk in moments. They aren’t as lightning-quick, but I even hear a pinch of Sauna Youth in here.
J Church “Main Line” Discography Review-a-Thon
I had a bit of a bad-brain day this week and didn’t want to do anything except listen to J Church albums in chronological order. Since I’ve been using RateYourMusic a little more these days, I figured I’d compile my thoughts for each one there. Why not include them here for y’all too? I’ve even been cheekily stealing Christgau’s thing where they highlight a choice cut with a scissors icon now and again, in case you’re wondering about that. I’m not saying “these are the only good songs” but they’re a “these were my highlights” kind of a thing. Here ya go:
J Church - Quetzalcoatl (1993, Allied Recordings)
like a lot of bands that I am obsessed with, my experience with J Church for years and years was one of distance and a "sure I like a couple songs by them" kind of thing. then one day they clicked and now I celebrate their entire catalog on a regular basis. their debut album is a really strong one, but not their best. and still, I love it.
✂ Bottom Rung, Good Judge of Character, Yellow Blue & Green
J Church - Prophylaxis (1994, Allied Recordings)
J Church really hit their stride on Prophylaxis; the one-two punch of "Foreign Films" and "No Surprise" opening the record really set the bar high. they're firing on all cylinders here, I love the bass in "Lucidity" and how they can sneak an emo/post-hardcore kinda song in a couple tracks away from a jangly track like "New Dreams Broken" with just a poppy skate-punk-rock song like "Financial Zone" bridging them.
J Church - Arbor Vitae (1995, Honey Bear Records)
the first J Church album to really throw a few curveballs, opening with that organ line on "Cigarettes Kill". It's not that the song doesn't feel like a J Church song, it just feels like the first time they're tossing wrenches on top of their songs. See also the backing vocals from Julie (of Eggplant & Wat Tyler) on a number of songs or the 55 second acoustic ditty "Contempt For Modesty."
this one is a bit overlooked in the catalog, likely due to its unavailability on streaming. the youtube video is filled with comments saying it's their favourite J Church album. I could almost rate this a bit lower than Prophylaxis but it feels like one of those albums that really feels like it plays as a whole rather than just a collection of songs. there's a scattered, "let's try some different things" vibe here that somehow doesn't end up feeling like a mess. these songs really fit together well when you stand back from the album.
J Church - The Drama of Alienation (1996, Honest Don's)
a return to a more straightforward sound, with the benefit of slicker production value. rides on the strength of a few powerful songs like "Alone When She Dies". some tracks like "Undisputed King of Nothing" are almost too simplistic to register, despite Lance always being on point lyrically.
there's still a good bit of strong material here though, it just might not be a good introduction to the band. I could see someone hearing this album going "eh, heard this kind of thing before" and not listening to any more J Church that'd be a real shame.
✂ A Simple Gesture, Alone When She Dies, Secrets, Santa Cruz
J Church - One Mississippi (2000, Honest Don's)
"One Mississippi is meant to be listened to in little 20 minute blocks. I don't mean to get too pretentious, but each side has it's own… uh… 'personality' and flows as such." - Lance
I've struggled with the length and volume of songs this album has over the years... so today, I'm going to do what Lance themselves said to do and listen and absorb (with breaks between sides) as one would be able to do on vinyl.
SIDE ONE
"No Jazz" has always been a highlight from the band's entire discography. I continue to dig the addition of backing vocals on songs like "The Track." The band dips into their indie/jangle side on "Sunshine" with the ooh-lah-lahs and the reverb-y vocals. I think this set of songs are just a good straightforward example of what the band does well. a song like "Where the Trains Go" won't bowl you over immediately, and yet there's a power in its unassuming nature. This block of songs might have been a little too straightforward as the opening set (aside from No Jazz) but it's solid.
SIDE TWO
This set of songs definitely showcases Lance's storytelling abilities and feels like they intentionally collected some character sketches and slice of life songs together, which makes this chunk of the album feel really strong to me. Musically a bit of a poppier stretch here, at least at first. "She's so Mean" in particular has that "oh woah oh oh" chorus. "Diet Coke" into "Imaginary Friends" is fantastic, the latter being another career highlight for the band I'd say.
I'm not sure there's a stronger songwriter in punk rock when it comes to using small bits of world building storytelling to outline the bigger picture of a person in their songs than Lance. This shit could be so corny but Lance does it so fucking well.
SIDE THREE
A moodier set of songs, and definitely organized around literary/political/cultural references; stuff like German nazi propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, Manson family member Sadie Mae Glutz or Jean Seaberg (who was targeted by the FBI because of their financial support provided to civil rights groups, and who ultimately disappeared and was found dead in their car.) So you know, light stuff. There's almost some XTC influence heard on "The Devil and I". As usual I think this is a strong stretch of songs but I also think the grouping they've done on the album makes each chunk feel a little too organized. One of the things i've mentioned in other reviews is how much I love that J Church can have some seemingly disposable pop-punk song (before you realize the lyrical depth) sitting alongside something with a totally different style and about a wildly different subject matter. I like when their work juts up against each other in that way and here that effect is a bit lessened.
SIDE FOUR
The relatively weak "Rich and Young and Dumb" opens their final set of songs that are generally focused around the punk rock scene or interpersonal themes. "J Church Sucks" fares better, just a quick punk song about tour woes. "Reaching For Thoreau" is an acoustic-led number about songwriting, creativity and depression. Lyrically I think this is a very strong song but the acoustic arrangement is just pretty good. "Christmas Lights" continues the folk diversion. I think this also underlines the issue I brought up earlier; these two songs suffer by being sequenced back to back. "Stars are Exploding" wraps the album up with the most experimental structure and is the longest of the record at six and a half minutes. It mixes voice samples, sparse but heavy hits of drums and piano with noisy textural elements and I think it points to what they could accomplish as a band and I would have loved to hear even more stuff like this woven into an entire album. Lance would continue with some similar elements on the album of demos and experimental songs Palestine.
Overall, I think the double-album, thematically arranged approach to this record is really cool and I'm glad they approached it the way they did, but I can't help but feel like as it stands - whether taken in one whole go or as a set of four - it falls a little short. Unlike some of their other albums, it's not the sum of its parts, and truly does feel like a lot of small pieces that aren't in the right order to fully combine to their full powers. That said, there are many great songs in here. It's just.... a LOT.
J Church - Society Is a Carnivorous Flower (2004, No Idea Records)
Four years after the sprawling One Mississippi and two years after Palestine (a set of demos and other experiments) J Church returned with 2004's Society is a Carnivorous Flower on No Idea records. This album again splits the difference between the band's more straightforward stuff (poppy punk rock, indie rock, etc.) and their more experimental side (one entire side of vinyl dedicated to a single 15 minute track that is made up of many smaller song-like structures and telling the events of Paris '68.)
It's an interesting album since it both feels short (the first 6 songs are like, half the running time before the big finale) but also satisfying. The final song isn't so experimental that you'd be put off, its just a big long song with multiple stretches of instrumental changes. Good stuff as always, listen I love the band you're not gonna get any "oops this one album they did sucks!" from me lol.
J Church - The Horror of Life (2007, No Idea Records)
a return to three-piece line-up for J Church, and opens with the poppy and propulsive "Vampire Girl Prefers Me Alive" which I've always loved. Then it's straight into a fiery punk-rock banger with "Eric Dolphy."
There's always that one "back to basics" album in a band's discography and I'm not sure I'd call this J Church's, since Society... was a little bit like that, but there's a lot of fucking awesome songs on here that just sound like classic J Church with a bit of a production upgrade. "If I Have To Dance Then I Don't Want Your Revolution"? Fuckin' A, so catchy and with the little backing vocals, sounds just like something they'd have tried on their second or third album.
It's weird to miss someone you never met, let alone never got a chance to see perform live. They've always existed in my world on digital files - I don't even own any of their records on vinyl (note to self: fix this.) In 2007 when Lance Hahn passed away, as I mentioned in one of my earlier J Church reviews, they were one of those bands I'd hear on comps here and there or come across but never fully clicked. It's weird to have someone's passing hit you years and years later, but that's how it feels with Lance. some days are just J Church days, and it hits all over again.
You might think the final J Church album released before Lance's passing would have some finality, some "one last big effort to make a crowning achievement" kind of vibe, but no it's just more fucking great J Church songs - some indie rock ones, some punk rock ones, a little folky ending to "The World's Tiniest Violin." Just a grab bag of everything they did well.
In some ways that makes it a perfect final act for the band?
As I write this, I realize for one of my all-time favourite bands and songwriters I never gave an album they put out the full five stars. That somehow feels right to me, their impact on me is bigger than the sum of their scores? J Church never felt like they were trying to put together a perfect little collection of songs, they all feel diverse within themselves, messy and real.
They never put out a "bad" album and every one is full of songs that have left their mark on me forever, and some that haven't! that's ok too.
Lance Hahn forever.
🔁 2023 Heavy Rotation
Don’t forget that I keep my heavy rotation throughout the year updated over here.
🍬Pop-punk in 2023
Maybe all this pop-punk talk has you craving some sugary hooks?
That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.
Seeing this in my inbox was a nice surprise! Great to see you back.
Also: As noted on Twitter: Lance Hahn forever.