You either have to like this band and be lumped in with my mute list or hate them by association
This week from Sam and Josiah
As time goes on and I no longer have a podcast to talk about it on or even really a functioning social media website to post it on, I still haven’t stopped rolling around collecting the absolute worst, most irritating dogshit posts on Facebook every day. If I ever die (which, let’s be honest, I probably won’t), they’re going to have a field day going through my camera roll, looking at hundreds upon hundreds of image macros about how music is my life. I even back them up onto our family computer, because between every 100th Amazing Factz image there might be a picture of me or my wife. But I’m just officially a digital hoarder, making a pile in case I might need it one day.
Anyway, here’s what we’re listening to this week.
Extra Arms “I Don’t Wanna Surrender”
Sam: Using the word “surrender” in the title of your power pop single is a risky move. Pretty loaded! Thankfully, this song is loaded with hooks that might lead a better writer to shy away from mentioning Cheap Trick. No such luck here! But what an easy-breezy vibe these Extra Arms have going - more Big Star than anything, really, but again, I’m a hack. I also never watch the music videos for songs I put in here and am often surprised when Josiah comments on them, but I saw a few seconds of this one and it’s funny!
Jos: Hmm a “funny” music video? Now I’m afraid to click. I remember back when being a Noisey writer or record collector or “Tom Scharpling quoter” were some of the main personalities you could have, it was often talked about how musicians secretly wanted to be comedians and vice versa. And now those are basically the two worst things you can want to be. They even had to cancel Just for Laughs! Hopefully Osheaga is next. Okay I’m watching. Using all stock is pretty funny. And this is a nice song, even though it sounds like Ted Leo, who fits the profile of all three guys I mentioned at the start of this. I’m not sure if you can do this kind of power-pop and be funny though. You have to give off the vibe that you’re going to stab someone if they look at you wrong. You can’t be relatable or fun.
Liquid Mike “Mouse Trap”
Sam: Evidently this song came out in the fall but I heard it for the first time on the excellent full length Paul Bunyon’s Slingshot which came out in February so I’m not that slow on the uptake. Truly steals from the best of the 90s that no one wants to talk about anymore - Everclear. This is music for Art Alexakis to sing about his dad to (highest compliment I know), and I’m glad someone is carrying that unloved torch today. I’ll be honest though, I just googled this band because I remember listening to their previous record and not loving it, and the article I just read attributed their notoriety to a Twitter account I fucking hate, so maybe this sucks. Josiah tell me how to feel.
Jos: I’m pretty sure I saw all the epic A-tier music ranking Twitter accounts talking about this band all week. I don’t think I can tell you how to feel. You either have to like this band and be lumped in with my mute list or hate them by association. I’ve already decided I don’t like it, based on my repressed jealous instincts, and I haven’t listened yet. Okay the guitars sound sick. This is definitely music for people to get slightly too caffeinated and have a late-night college stoner-calibre conversation about entry-level agnosticism and how Dril is basically inventing his own language, etc. I think it’s Pup trying to make indie rock?
AceMo “My Mind”
Jos: I’m still just listening to bleep-bloop music all the time in an effort to hide from all the aforementioned Art Alexakis worship, hypebeast hardcore, and our 15th consecutive year of post-punk revival, but I fear my wanker era might be turning into something a little more accessible because I’m really getting into the two new albums from AceMo, only to learn that he’s a collaborator with the Toro Y Moi sideproject Les Sins. Am I about to enter my Coachella afterparty chillwave era? I do enjoy the Ace Hotel…. Anyway, it’s sick when an artist just does a massive file dump, and this song “My Mind” from AceMo’s Save the World is one of my favs.
Sam: Put this on and kept waiting to write about it but just blissed out and came to and it’s over. This obviously isn’t as good as “Heartspark Dollarsign” but I suppose in the right situation (standing in the kitchen getting a snack going for the afternoon, working on your newsletter, wife playing with the dog) it does the trick. Let’s go hang out under the palm fronds together my brother!
In Mirrors “Atlantic”
Jos: In addition to bleep-bloop music, you already know this is a household that loves and celebrates the genre I will call OST Italo-disco. Anyone who’s even half paying attention gets the vibe that something’s amiss with Johnny Jewel, but fortunately there are plenty of other (former?) collaborators carrying on the torch. Among them is In Mirrors, the project of Jesse Taylor (who has held it down in Vancouver bands I once ill-advisedly called weird-punk like Shearing Pinx, Channels 2 & 3, Channels 3x4, etc.), who previously released records on Italians Do It Better. No fault of their own, the OST Italo-disco genre has been getting a little stale, but In Mirrors freshens it up by going deeper with out-there sounds and creepy elements. “Atlantic” is a standout, it sounds like a haunted Windows computer.
Sam: Lovely! Spooky! Makes me want to watch a movie. Which I can’t do because it’s not even 4:30pm. Sometimes I’ll wake up and think “I’m going to play a VIDEO GAME” today but I’m just too soft to fuck off with any zest. But at least if I listen to this while I work on cost reports or whatever it’s LIKE I’m doing something cooler. Thanks, Josiah.
Sam: My domination of Friday nights in Toronto continues with a last minute Junior Battles show at the city’s second-best dive bar that is really just happening because the Dreaded Laramie are in town and we wanted to see them play. We’re even renting a PA like it’s 2002!
Jos: I know Sam’s leftist ass is not using AI art for flyers. I can only wonder how much it goes to get this in-depth painting done, with such short notice to boot!