Sunday, August 10, 2025
'cause baby i've never seen brown eyes look so blue
All the previous Ethel Cain releases hinted at the promise that Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You fulfills.
'cause baby i've never seen brown eyes look so blue
I went to Red Gate on Thursday to see Colleen Green. It was one of those weekday shows, where I for sure wanted to go, but I was planning to just putter around at home as long as possible, sneak in and sneak out. But I've also been trying to spend less time doom scrolling and I managed to cobble together dinner at a reasonable time, so I made it down in time to see Sleeping Bag's last song and all of Rozwell Kid's set.
I didn't catch enough of the former to pass judgement, but Rozwell Kid plays that kind of "dudes' pop punk" (see also: Pup, Jeff Rosenstock) that young men fucking love. That sentence sounded like a criticism, but even though I'm an old man now, I also dig it. They were reminiscent of Pinkerton era Weezer too, but, crucially, without the Drake vibes on the lyrical side.
I love Colleen Green's music. I love the early power chords/drum machine/big girl group melodies thing the most. But I still love her more "recent" output a lot. And, especially considering the economics of touring in twenty twenty five, it was a treat that she brought the 10th anniversary tour of I Want to Grow Up here.
Rozwell Kid did double duty serving as a very good back up band for Colleen's set, where she ripped through I Want to Grow Up's ten tracks and then encored with "Time in the World," "I Wanna Be a Dog," and "I Wanna Be Degraded."
The latter two really underscore a big part of her appeal to me--songs that are nakedly and purposefully so referential, but turned on their heads enough to avoid being simply derivative.
It's the kind of music I was really enamoured with for a period of time and ultimately ended up making (or at least trying to make), so it was a pleasure to see one of my inspirations from that era wind the clock back for an evening.
Album of the week
Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
Obviously, "American Teenager" is it's own beast, but this really feels like the synthesis of what she was doing on the EP and Preacher's Daughter and what she was doing on Perverts.
There are moody, experimental instrumentals--sometimes as their own tracks, sometimes dispersed within the sprawling runtimes of what would otherwise be "pop songs." There's the Southern gothic story telling (and it's even sharper here than on previous efforts). There's big, big melodies that sometimes carry through an entire number and sometimes burst out of some wall of noise. And there's one of indie rock's best singers doing what she does best.
About the latter, the songs here are great, but they also wouldn't quite be the same in someone else's hands with someone else's voice trying to propel them forward. Hayden Anhedönia makes them soar.
You should also check out Cat Zhang's Ethel Cain profile in The Cut.
Song of the week
Lucy Dacus - Bus Back to Richmond
If you're of a certain age, you're used to getting bombarded by nostalgia. I mentioned my friend Lindsay's party photos coming back up online last week as part of the whole indie sleaze revival.
When I think of the actual artifacts of that time, it makes me feel about the aughts like Craig Finn's narrator in "A Multitude of Casualties" feels about the 80s though. Obviously, there's some stuff (some music especially) that I don't just think back on fondly, but still love. But it's the experiences that really made everything surrounding it feel special. And the experiences are why some of it still does.
It wasn't fun because my pants were too tight or I wore a sloppily tied tie or a fucking bandana around my wrist. Or because of whatever was happening in the bathroom. And it definitely wasn't the majority of dance punk tunes in a vacuum.
It was fun because I was at an age where I was nominally an adult, but I still didn't feel like I had most of the responsibilities of one. It was fun because my body still let me stay out all night without being too angry at me in the morning. And it was fun because all my friends at the time were in the same place.
In a weird way, this song makes me think fondly about that period between 2006 and 2013 or so way more than "House of Jealous Lovers" or Spank Rock does, because even though it takes place during a different time, it's about one of those nights.
Partying all night, dancing yourself clean, and crashing out crammed in someone's crappy apartment, plus that little spark of romance.
Sometimes the latter goes away and sometimes a little something finds a way to stay with you. I've been thinking about that a lot lately too.
Classic of the week
Dum Dum Girls - Heartbeat (Take It Away)
This was one of the other bands that I was listening to a ton of right before Pleasure Cruise became a thing. And I hadn't listened to them in ages, but I've been on a bit of a kick since Thursday.
More heat
Bananahaus - Black Hole
A local band?! We're so back. I first saw Bananahaus when they played with one of my friend Lindsay's bands at not Toast and not Take Your Time, but whatever it was called between that and I was smitten after the first few bars. When I think of watching Vancouver bands in quasi-legal venues, this is the sound I think of and it's so heartening to this middle aged man to hear someone carrying this specific torch (Piss are doing it very well too)
Casey Dienel - Your Girl's Upstairs
I've been blogging about Casey Dienel for nearly two decades(!) and apparently I'm going to keep doing it, because she's going to keep writing great songs. Casey's style has shifted around a lot over the last 20-years and this electric guitar driven "if that's your boyfriendgirlfriend (s)he wasn't last night" song is such a far cry from "Frankie and Annette"
Big Thief - Los Angeles
I've found Big Thief really hit or miss for a pretty long time now, but this one's a hit.
Jehnny Beth - High Resolution Sadness
An absolute fuckin' ripper from the Savages frontwoman. It does not, in fact, sound like she wants to feel sadness, it sounds like she wants to feel blinding rage.
now playing: The Get Up Kids - Holiday
