What if I accidentally fell into another garage rock phase by accident?

This week from Sam and Josiah

Previous guest of the pod Dan Frampton made a YouTube vid about me.

Ughhhh what are we supposed to say in this little intro area? Wahhhh buuuuhhh guuuuhhhh. Sam didn’t write anything and I don’t know what to say. It’s officially the Valentine’s Day edition of the newsletter, I guess. Read it with your sweetie. As a form of foreplay. I’m sure Sam will share some nasty rockin’ pop songs that will get some of you all riled up down there.

Here’s what we’re listening to this week.

The Lemon Twigs “They Don’t Know How to Fall in Place”

Jos: I’m going to keep posting about the Lemon Twigs because with each new song, they seem to invite even more unjust hatred for their commitment to the bit. But like, there’s vintage stores, and then there’s vintage stores that feel like you’re stepping into an entirely different universe, and nothing will fit you but it doesn’t matter because you can’t afford it anyway. That’s the level these two bros are operating at. And it’s not in an annoying, overly studious way; it’s not stuffy (even though it has that vintage must). Instead, it’s a lived in way, like they are just always existing inside of The Muppet Movie. Maybe so many people hate them because in some grand binary they are the egg/Beatles/Letterman to Greta Van Fleet’s chain/Stones/Leno. It’s rare that I admit this but I’m being facetious, and I’m only saying that because I really love this band and think they are so much more talented than 99% of their peers.

Sam: That last Lemmie Twiggy song you shared was so good, heavy playlists adds over here. Can’t remember why you said people were hating because this is just more lovely sunny vibes from my shaggy pals. I keep clicking back to the video and they’re just having such a good time together and now so am I!

Tyvek “U-Hauls”

Jos: Must be jarring to have my great picks in the newsletter first. It’s like eating a delicious dinner and dessert before your Tums and mouthwash. I’ve always loved Tyvek, but I was scared to listen to the new one. What if I accidentally fell into another garage rock phase by accident? Well, luckily, Tyvek transcend Scion showcases and stinky forum posters and strange ad syncs — they’re just a legit punk band who have seemingly not improved at all, in a good way. All of the songs on Overground have a perfect balance of sloppiness, melody, weirdness, and songcraft. I was always annoyed at Parquet Courts for taking their mantle and applying a sense of professionalism that can only come if you’ve been in the New York Times society pages (OMG since I last checked, another member of Parquet Courts has been in there). But Tyvek have just stayed perfectly punk. It’s honestly a great feat to sound this raw this late into your career. Tyvek are basically the exact band everyone should aspire to be. 

Sam: I debated moving my section back up because this indeed does feel wrong. This morning I did my usual walking route backwards and the sensation was quite similar. Trying to write more about this than Josiah already has reminds me of my struggle to review any band like this in my scribin’ days - you’re like “solid punk that recalls uh punk while keeping things pretty you know punk. Um it sounds like the Sonics?”

Flight Mode “Thirtysomething”

Sam: I simply cannot get over this band being Norwegian. Imagine being in school and everyone else is just Varg (don’t know anything about Norway, assume this true) while you’re dreaming about… Dayton, Ohio, or whatever. This is really nice February Music. Do you think these guys have ever burned down a church (sorry, I really don’t know anything about your country, this is incredibly hack shit).

Jos: I was shocked at how American this sounded until it came in with some extremely Ren Höek vocals. I think the reason you can do tasteful pastel emo that sounds like Norway via flyover country is simply because of cultural Christianity. Hell, they’ve got Kinfolk all over the world. Everyone’s got the same coffee table and the same coffee table books. And yes, unlike Sam’s hack black metal joke I am hack-ly equating Norwegians with Danish hygge types. But who cares man at least I can stop listening to this.

Kid Kapichi “999”

Sam: Context clues have led me to believe that this band is probably very whack, but this super-compressed ROCKER shit always works on me. “Imagine a late-era C-tier Queens song but it’s Sleaford Mods” is apparently a combination that works for me. Quick check on Twitter and this band is playing a medium-sized venue in Toronto and the only people I follow who have ever mentioned them are one old baseball writer and Liam Gallagher. Who is the audience for this? It’s me I guess!

Jos: Ugh of course Sam is a guy who calls Queens of the Stone Age “Queens.” I think I prefer the unpronounceable abbrev “QOTSA,” which further ensures you’re less likely to talk about them IRL. OMG I see what you mean about SleaMods (cool abbrev I invented), but adding drywall-punching rock to it is a nauseating combo. We’re just back in Danko Jones country. And I bet Sam looooooves Danko Jones. Turning this off.

Jos: Gonna let the cat out of the bag. Sam and I are hanging out basically all weekend. And he’s DJing at Dundas Video on Friday. And I turned down the invite to join him. But I will still be here for at least 15 minutes of watching him go wild with his big ‘90s drops as I nurse a non-alcoholic Athletic Brewing Company IPA. I hope he lets me put it on the tab.

Sam: Was initially kind of disappointed Josiah didn’t want to relive our short-lived summer ‘23 DJ career, but now my picks for the night are almost entirely built around annoying him for the brief period of time he’s in the room (not hard). But just when I see him walking out the door… it’s Machine Gun Kelly time, baby.