The Matinee ’22 v. 062 features nine immensely powerful songs that address faith, misogyny, war, identity, reality, and friendship. The tracks range from the intimate and emotional to big and chaotic, and each are brilliant.
These tracks are, as usual, including in the Songs of May Playlist, which is available on SoundCloud and Spotify.
Julia Jacklin – “Lydia Wears a Cross” (Blue Mountains / Sydney, Australia)
RIYL: Mitski, Sharon Van Etten, Wye Oak
Just as we predicted (or more liked hoped), Julia Jacklin will be releasing her third album this year. PRE PLEASURE is one we’re highly anticipating since her first two albums – her brilliant debut, Don’t Let the Kids Win, and the vulnerable yet empowering follow-up, Crushing – cemented the Australian as one of the music’s finest and most important singer-songwriters. Like every great and influential artist, Jacklin refuses to rest on her accolades, which includes sticking with her original folk-pop and pop-rock sound. At least for one song anyway, “Lydia Wears a Cross”, she enters the art-rock realm.
The song commences with just an electric drum machine and sobering piano tones, and the solemn approach signifies a new Jacklin. However, two things remain: her beautiful, pillowy voice and her remarkable songwriting. For a couple of minutes, Jacklin keeps us in this vulnerable place, as she tells her story of a young girl trying to understand what faith is. The track builds as a grizzled guitar, a pulsing bass, and percussion emerge, intensifying the drama of the protagonist’s dilemma. As Jacklin poetically shares:
“We sung ‘Welcome to the Family’
Arms raised, at every assembly
Little sirens singing their songs
Where have the babies gone?
I’d be a believer
If it was all just song and dance
I’d be a believer
If I thought we had a chance”
PRE PLEASURE will be released August 26th via Polyvinyl Record Co., and it can be pre-ordered here and directly on Bandcamp.
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Stella Donnelly – “Lungs” (Perth, Australia)
RIYL: Christine & The Queens, Coeur de Pirate, Methyl Ethel
Like Jacklin above, Stella Donnelly has also cemented herself as one of Australia’s great singer-songwriters. Her debut LP, Beware of the Dogs, was a laid-back rock record with witty commentary on troubling issues in modern society. From singing about religion and television to the systemic protection of abuse and misogyny, Donnelly did not shy away from much. Earlier this year, Donnelly collaborated with Jake Webb of Methyl Ethyl on “Proof”. That single was a sign of things to come for Donnelly, as she just announced a new record, Flood, which is co-produced by Webb and Ana Laverty.
The first single from the new album is the electro-pop, “Lungs”. The laid-back guitar sounds of Donnelly’s debut are nowhere to be found; however, the wit and poignant storytelling are undeniably present. A great bass and drum groove kick the song off in a big way. Organ and a hypnotic piano join in, providing perfect accompaniments to Donnelly’s layered vocal track. After a peaceful moment, a bit of guitar distortion comes in and ends this insightful track in a really cool way.
“Аnd wе рut uр wіth уоur ѕ**t tо kеер thе роwеr оn
Таkе оf уоur hіtѕ lіkе уоu’rе numbеr оnе
Аnd І ѕее the wау уоu lооk аt mу dаd аnd mum
What mоrе frоm lіfе соuld реорlе wаnt
Dіg уоur hееlѕ rіght іn mу tееth whіlе уоu wаіt
Fоr the ѕuіtѕ tо ѕеnd mе оn mу wау
Віg mаn, рrоud wіth уоur nеw ѕtrіре
І’ll bе уоur сhіld, rеѕt оf mу lіfе”
Donnelly’s new album, Flood, will also be released on August 26th via Secretly Canadian. Pre-orders available here and on Bandcamp.
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Black Midi – “Welcome To Hell” (London, England)
RIYL: Black Road, New Country; Squid; Geese
Back in 2020, we thought the post-punk revival had peaked. Boy were we wrong and thankfully so. The emergence of bands like Squid and Black Country, New Road injected new life to the genre. And we also cannot forget Black Midi, who, like their genre cousins, create brooding fare with more of an art-punk vibe with awesome, imaginative songwriting to match. The London-based group’s music is like The Gang of Four on a wicked acid trip – theatrical, grand, propulsive, and memorable. They showcase their wide-ranging, mind-bending artistry on “Welcome To Hell”.
This tune could be and probably is the first stage to Dante’s The Divine Comedy. It is the Inferno, where at first Black Midi invite us into this manic place with a circus-like chaos. Off-kilter percussion entwines with whipping keys, a plugging bass, and a jagged guitar. Equally off-the-wall is Geordie Greep’s booming vocal, and he sounds like the ringmaster. But instead of introducing the performers, he directs his forked tongue at brainwashed soldiers, saying to them:
“So don’t tell me of your troubles
Your emotional grief
Take in the sights, this is shore leave
Don’t talk of true love
Unscrew your frown
Enjoy the entertainment of nighttime town”
Is this place really hell or is it actually the world we live in? Is the soldier dead or is he alive? His lyrics are sharp, clever, and savagely honest.
“Shivering fuck, don’t stand in the street
You’re lucky I don’t shoot you on the spot
Our bullets were made for a man like you
The impotent idiots God forgot
Tonight you decide which corner takes residence
Which room lives forever in your mind
But now you’re on your own, we don’t need men like you”
Awesome!
Black Midi are Geordie Greep (vocals, guitar), Cameron Picton (vocals, bass guitar, synths), and Morgan Simpson (drums) with support from Seth Evans (keyboards, synths) and Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone).
New album, Hellfire, is out July 15th via Rough Trade Records. Pre-orders and pre-saves at these links and on Bandcamp.
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Wombo – “Backflip” (Louisville, USA)
RIYL: NewDad; Secret Shame; Black Road, New Country
When Wombo released “Below the House” earlier this year, a new album had to be forthcoming. Sure enough, Sydney Chadwick (vocal, bass), Cameron Lowe (guitar), and Joel Taylor (drums) confirmed what we expected yesterday when they announced Fairy Rust will arrive in the summer. The full-length presents an opportunity for the trio to build on their epic 2021 EP, Keesh Mountain, which was one of our favorite mini-albums of the year due to its unpredictability. Wombo again deliver the unexpected with the LP’s lead single, “Backflip”.
The band deliver a post-punk spell with their latest single. Chadwick’s chugging bass line induces delirium while Lowe’s tingling guitar is hypnotic. Only Taylor’s patiently-delivered drumming keeps us anchored, preventing us from floating away within this dizzying melodic. Chadwick, however, does her best with her ghostly vocal. She does not say much, and this is intentional. She has assumed the form of her grandmother, who is facing death in its face. “Another time around”, she repeats, indicating that life comes full circle. That is, “We meet ourselves again” in the afterlife, as our existence does not cease after we take our last breath. Musically and lyrically, the tune is like something from The Twilight Zone, unpredictable and jarring, just like Wombo.
Fairy Rust will be released on July 29th on Fire Talk Records. Pre-orders available here and on Bandcamp.
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Emily Yacina – “DB Cooper” (Long Beach, CA USA)
RIYL: Lomelda, Florist, Soccer Mommy
In 2019, Emily Yacina released Remember the Silver. It was a fantastic record from a promising young songwriter. While it’s arguably Yacina’s breakout, she has released music dating back as far as 2011. Now that her career has spanned more than a decade, Yacina is releasing a compilation of sorts, All The Things: A Decade of Songs. The LP will feature songs from her entire career that never found a home on vinyl, including some new tunes.
The first single Yacina shares from the compilation is a new one, “DB Cooper”. The song gets its name from the legend of DB Cooper, who famously attempted to rob and jump out of a plane in the 1970s. However, the song is not about Cooper, but about Yacina’s close friend and Remember The Silver collaborator, Eric Littman, who passed away in 2021. It recalls Littman telling Cooper’s story, but it’s more about grieving over the loss of someone so suddenly. Yacina thinks about the reality of the situation, and the promise to keep part of him with her. It’s a gorgeous song with Yacina’s vocals layered on top of itself. The Long Beach-based artist is joined by Gia Margaret on bass and Gred Rutkin (LVL UP) on drums.
“I wore my backpack to your funeral in case I had to escape
You were just telling me about DB Cooper jumping out of the plane
I came up here to breathe the air
It’s so simple but it gets me to land
People pushing to the front of the line
I’m just buying some time
Too fucked up to be real
But I know more than anything you’d want me to laugh
I want to dedicate my life to your mind
I’m just buying some time”
All The Things: A Decade of Songs is out July 29th via Danger Collective Records. Pre-order it on Bandcamp.
Opus Kink – “Dog Stay Down” (Brighton, England)
RIYL: Gogol Bordello, The Blinders, The No Smoking Orchestra
We’ve mentioned this before but it’s worth repeating – a band we’ll have to see one day are Opus Kink. The Brighton collective already have a cult following in England due to their lively and unpredictable shows. They literally are a party rolled up within its six members. “Wild Bill”, “I Love You, Baby”, and “The Unrepentant Soldier” evidenced their boisterous and energetic sound, although they’re not necessarily a “feelgood” outfit. Instead, they’re more fitting for a Halloween gathering thanks in large part to ront-man Angus Rogers’ imaginative and creative storytelling. At the rate Rogers and Opus Kink are going, they respectively will be recognized as one of music’s great storytellers and outstanding bands, and they build their cases with “Dog Stay Down”.
The song is a little more reserved than their previous tracks, but it possesses the same eeriness. Horns blare through the grimy soundscape, and Rogers once again channels the Brothers Grimm. He tells the tale of a man, possibly a soldier or an ex-mob man, trying to survive another night out in No Man’s Land. He’s the prey instead of the hunter in these parts, and all he can do is hope he will not be discovered by the oncoming pack. His lyricism is stellar, which is heightened by the Gypsy-infused art-punk that his friends blast behind him. Maybe this tune isn’t quite a party track, but it sure will get the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and have your eyes bulging.
Once again, Angus Rogers (vocals, guitars), Sam Abbo (bass), Jazz Pope (keys, synth), Jack Banjo Courtney (trumpet), Jed Morgans (alto saxophone), and Fin Abbo (drums) deliver an awesome track. It is is taken from their forthcoming, debut EP, ‘Til The Stream Runs Dry, which will be released June 17th on Nice Swan Records.
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Hause Plants – “Stranger Anywhere” (Lisbon, Portugal)
RIYL: DIIV, Beach Fossils, The Drums
Lisbon is home to the delectably sweet pastéis de natas, fabulous Gothic and Baroque architecture, and wonderfully friendly people. It also one day will be known as the home of Hause Plants, who could be considered the transatlantic equivalent of DIIV and Beach Fossils. Their catchy surf-rock is made for the oncoming summer days, where the gauzy guitars sweep by like a gentle ocean breeze. So as you prepare to spin “Stranger Anywhere”, find that sweet spot at home or outside where you can simultaneously bask in the sunshine and feel the wind through your hair. Then you can truly experience the Portuguese outfit’s musical magic.
“Stranger Anywhere” is like taking the first breath after a plunge into the ocean. It is vitality condensed into less than four minutes, as every little dangle from the chiming guitar and each pulse from the rhythms and synths attach to your soul. You cannot help but feel reinvigorated, refreshed, and alive. Front-man Guilherme Machado Correia’s lyrics also provide a shot of adrenaline, as he tells us that we are not alone in this world no matter how much we feel like a stranger.
“And I know this won’t last long, lighten up some fireworks
And then I’ll wake you up early, walk around New York, shouting down the street cause
If it happens, we’ll all be there
If it all goes wrong, we’ll go anywhere”
Hause Plants are: Guilherme Machado Correia (vocals, bass, guitar), João Simões (guitar, synths, backing vocals), Dani Oliveira Royo (guitar), and João António Nunes da Silva (drums). Their debut EP, Film For Color Photos, which is expected soon via BIRTHDIY.
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Taylah Carroll – “Have A Party On Me” (Melbourne, Australia)
RIYL: Angel Olsen, Maple Glider, Grace Cummings
Taylah Carroll doesn’t have many songs to her name at the moment. However, all it takes is one song to gain the attention of the masses, and “Have A Party on Me” invites listeners into her musical universe quite powerfully.
Carroll says she wrote “Have A Party on Me” on a night walk, and the lyrics channel that reflection and clarity those types of jaunts can provide. Starting out with just Carroll’s voice and guitar, the track goes through some huge changes as it progresses. Its quiet and delicate early moments give way to booming choruses. It breaks down once more to an incredible middle section before it all comes back in in a huge way. This paired with the emotionally baring and honest lyrics makes it all hit with a hell of a punch.
“And I’m like a killer revisiting death sites
While you have a party on me
I let you have them – all of my choices
When I’m small so too is my shame”
“Have A Party on Me” paired with her handful of other singles paint the picture of an artist we’re going to have to keep our eyes on for a long time. Her name will soon spread quickly, as the Australian is part of PIAS‘ roster.
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Ezra Furman – “Forever in Sunset” (Chicago, USA)
RIYL: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Will Butler, Trevor Sensor
Ezra Furman‘s music can been characterized with just one word – endearing. Her songs are filled with genuine emotion, and her stories are real and relatable. There is no unnecessary fluff, but instead each word is carefully chosen to ensure maximum impact. That’s why Furman is a musical genius, and few can match her ability to astound. And astound she does again on “Forever In Sunset”.
Coming right out of the great ’80s cinematic-rock canon, Furman delivers a moving, cathartic number. It brims with a delicate urgency from the start, as a throbbing bass drum mimics a quickening heartbeat. Light keys dabble as Furman compares the crisis of the past 2+ years with a car crash. Her lyrics are inspired by a conversation she had with a friend, who shared with Furman that they have been through far worse as queer people in an increasingly conservative world. In the end, Furman’s friend reassures her that they will be okay. Furman reveals this discussion when singing, “The summer of the crash, the winter of survival mode / You saw it in a flash, we’re entering survival mode”.
The song then soars, entering euphoric terrific. Furman’s voice, too, rises, nearly screaming out how right her friend was.
“Do you remember when we thought the world was ending?
Seems funny now.
The future is a text message sending – out, out, out
I live forever in sunset. An ending not quite done yet.
Some people don’t understand that”
Timely. Moving. Astounding.
The song is taken from Furman’s new album, All Of Us Flames. It arrives August 26th via ANTI Records. Pre-orders and streaming links are available here as well as on Bandcamp.
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