Art Is Supposed To Be Fun! by Grady Philip Drugg

Art Is Supposed To Be Fun! by Grady Philip Drugg

Tracklist:

1. Leaving Lake Wobegone

2. Our New Home

3. I Fear So Deeply

4. Stuck In Time

5. Pretending Is Stupid

6. Ouch!

7. Where Is My Love Now?

8. Naked

9. Standing Brave

"why would I pretend

"Grady Philip Drugg is a musician from Canyon Lake, Texas. In February 2014, he relocated to Springfield, Missouri and toured the country in several DIY bands. In April 2016, he made his way back home after recording his debut self-titled full length album. He now lives in Austin, Texas."-his bandcamp

I've looked up to Grady, musically, for a hot minute now and I absolutely love this new release he put out. He goes in and out of different sounds so effortlessly and still manages to keep it flowing. Much like his self-titled release (linked below because I think we missed it, maybe? I'm not sure, but I am sure that it will be linked below :-))

Fun Fact: Leaving Lake Wobegone was originally on a 4-track ep that Grady put out under the name Toska, and it's great to see that it's back and sounding more lovely than ever. I love the instrumentation on all the songs, the tones and just what Grady's doing is just pleasing. I don't really know what else to say other than I don't know why you're not listening to this. 

Favorite Track: Our New Home

Art Is Supposed To Be Fun!

Grady's S/T (I'd definitely check it out if I were you)

What Did You Come Back For? by Community Theatre

Community Theatre --- What Did You Come Back For?

Tracklist:

1) Intro

2)Headlights

3)Blue Blood

4)Grenades

5)What Did You Come Back For?

6)Big Blue Submarine

Hi, it's been a hot minute, how you are doing? I'm great, thx :-)

Community Theatre is a Dream Pop/Surf rock/Indie/whatever band from Hutchinson, Kansas. I had the pleasure of accidentally booking these guys in Springfield, MO a couple months ago before they put this out, and they were spectacular, and we got Steak 'N Shake afterwards. Anyways I'll throw a couple of nice and get out of y'all's hair. 

Isaac has the voice of a literal angel and Micheal has the spiciest guitar licks. Everything is so drenched in the nicest reverb sound. IDK. It's just a sweet sugar pile of nice sounds. If you're into drugs or getting fucked up this probably yr album. Check it out :-)

I think my favorite track is Headlights but I'm not real sure. 

Their Bandcamp!

Bone Bats---Entry-Level

Bone Bats////Entry-Level

this is my pet Jimmy, he's cute.

SMASH HITS:

1) Quarantine the Pabst

2) Cash Bone

3) Ghost Channel

4) Fake Science Monthly

5) Never-ending Sass Equation

6) Weed Jeans (Jazz Cords)

7) bonebats.bandcamp.com/

8) Baby, You Can Extend My Metaphor

9) Jesus Could've Gotten Into Any Frat He Wanted To.

10) Selfie Destruct 

#spookymonth anthem right here, skele-ladies and skele-men.

Entry-level was recorded in some west philly basement that was probably lit up by black-wax candles and and bone-torches. Recorded with only the best microphones available from the grave. Melodies are loose and enjoyable, just like the joints in between your bones. Faint traces of influences include bands like, Dinosaur Jr., Smashing Pumpkins, Joyce Manor, and Bats. Bats are probably the pre-bonement version of Bone Bats where they finally realized they can have some fun in their little bat caskets.   

This is you and two of your pals while you guys jam out to Entry-Level. You're all dancing. You're all dead. You've all decomposed down to the bone, but you're all dancing. (Them hips, though.)

WOAH DUDE, watch out for those sp00ky grooves, bud. This album brings us a great deal of ideas and textures from the grave that'll help make your bones rattle. Bone-Jams like Ghost Channel or Weed Jean (jazz cords) will spook ya. Ghosts everywhere. They'll possess you, and rock out to this jam, so if you notice any involuntary movement then you know why. These guys have serious songwriting creativity throughout the entire album, it effortlessly flows in-n-out of different styles to make the songs eccentric and interesting. I wonder how many bones they had to read to come up with these ideas. I super excited for whatever else they decide to conjure up in their spare time. Until then, rest in peace.

A BONE BAT FACEBOOK

GET THIS COLLECTION OF HIT TRACKS HERE

EP by TONER

TONER|||EP

TRACKS:

Bed Drowning

Awake

Bedroom Floor

Asleep At The Wheel

TONER is an offshoot solo project from one of the guys from the band Casket (r.i.p) based in the San Francisco area of California. Bummer Punk just like Casket, but more of a bummer. TONER brings that "Head To The Ceiling Fan" sound for the EP, and I'm guessing that's just the vibe he's going for here. It sounds good, it's catchy, and it's slow (hence "slowcore", haha). My only problem is that the songs morph together and just sounds like one song with different parts. When I'm causally listening to this, the only way I know that the album has restarted is because of the sample at the beginning of Bed Drowning. But all-in-all this a great first EP and quite relaxing to listen to. Reminds me a lot of Choir Vandals first ep, just more of a bummer though. It also reminds me of Casket, but that's to be expected. Lyrics are typical bummer-punk stuff. I personally connect with Bed Drowning. I'm excited to see what else this guy puts out, in TONER, or another band.

Fav track: Bed Drowning

Link to bandcamp below

Bummercamp

Slobber by Mason Mercer

Slobber {Mason Mercer}

1. Circumcision

2. Hunger

3. Scrappy-Doo

4. Slime

5. The Water Helps

Hailing from Ozark Missouri (hey that's where i live), New York resident Mason Mercer just released his five track release, Slobber. There has been a lot of build up to this release, and now that it's finally out, everyone gets to see what all the hype is about for themselves. Mason's music mixes electronic/tribal beats, guitars, and awesome melodies to make five songs that are really enjoyable to listen to. It's not an instrumental release though, Mason's vocals are relaxed and soothing. The music has just enough swing to it to move to, and all the tracks deviate from one another so it's not like it's boring. Tribal music really interests me because there is so much sound to it. What I really love about it all is that the music goes from the heavy drum/bass/jungle noises to acoustic guitar picking a lead and Mason does a really good job at making this an enjoyable listen. So many different noises being made at once, I love it. Slobber is a great listen and is one that I think you should check out. 

Favorite track: The Water Helps

bandcamp

Light & Sound|||American Merlin

American Merlin| Light&Sound

trackz:

Let The Wind Blow

Don't Forget To Be Patient

Black Sand

Magic (Science)

Aye

You Had It All Planned Out

Light

The Volume and Tone On That One Tom is Driving Me Crazy

Sound

This Does Not Exist

Light (flood-d remix)

Light & Sound is American Merlin's new release (Waybridge Records). I didn't listen to the other one Adrian reviewed (2303 is what I think it's called) but listening to this gives off that hypnotic vibe as the repetitive electronic beats and lazy vocal melodies. This album doesn't ever climax, but it's cool because it's just chill and sounds like something I'd listen to in my car on a rainy summer morning as I fantasize about drowning my car in the river. 

That being said, Let The Wind Blow has this almost modern-tribal vibe to that beat, it's pretty sweet and I thought I'd say something about it. I like the contrast of styles in each song but how it maintains the same vibes throughout. Like Don't Forget To Be Patient is a nice piano ballad and Black Sand switches to this nice ukulele (I think) tune that reminds me of sitting on a beach in the winter while the snow falls. Magic(Science) comes around with a Postal Service-vibe and I dig it. Aye is a little weird because it just goes into this 8-bit/hiphop groove and it kind of takes away from the total experience. I liked the concept behind "The Volume And Tone Of That One Tom Is Driving Me Crazy" and I also relate to the title because I have one tom on my set that sounds like lasagna being thrown at a wall and I haven't got it replaced yet. All n all, this album is just kind of a relaxer, almost in the drug sense, but minus the drugs. 

Fav track: Black Sand or Let The Wind Blow

Get over it, here.

Dos Equis by Qualia

Dos Equis | Qualia

1.  Prehistoric Ovaries

2. Casual Astronaut

3. Woodson Blues

4. The Moon

5. Slim Pickin's 

6. Untitled

7. No Suits to be worn here

Ya know what's nice? When you're just strolling through bandcamp and you accidentally find something amazing. Ya know what's better? When you're starting to find most music boring and repetitive with the same sounds, and you find something that isn't like that at all. Thrash-Funk Jam band from Kansas, Qualia just recently put out this 7 song instrumental release. Starts out really funky and gets really thrashy. Those bass lines. I mean I guess a funk band wouldn't work without a bassist that knows how to funk the funk up on bass but ya know it's cool to listen to. The recordings are a little lo-fi but in a way that suits the band 100%. Any more super nicely done and it wouldn't sound right. It's all really spacey and is totally something that you can just put on and do other things while this plays in the background, like read the latest installment of 17 magazine  or worship Satan. "Woodson Blues" opens with a gosh darn blues part and is like a BLUES song. Wowz. Maybe I just listen to too many emo and hardcore bands to appreciate some good jam bands but idgaf this is a sweet jam band. All the song lengths are relatively long, which is pretty cool (for once). Anywho could go on for hours about how so much music is boring and repetitive and stuff but I'm just happy I found a band that isn't so check these guys out. 

Favorite track: Woodson Blues.

facebook

Bandcamp

Jonesing--Jonesing

Jonesing--Jonesing

Trackz:

Ted My Boy It's Gonna Be Legen...

DARY

First Interlude 

You're Not Even Listening

Coward Heart

Beacon

Second Interlude

My Dad Is Convinced To Live As Long As He Can

Five Twelve

Third Interlude

Well I WAS Writing This For My Girlfriend

Home Wrecker

Fourth Interlude//I'm Sorry

Jonesing (Not to be confused with Jonesin') is a emo/dream pop band from somewhere that starts off with a familiar-sounding, HIMYM reference-titled, interlude that builds with a twinkle-y melody into a Dinosaur Jr. mixed with Nai Harvest song talking typical teenage-angst that all sound very familiar but not stagnant. The whole album just kind of flows betweens songs and interludes all with the same overall looseness of a reverb of a big room.

Vocal harmonies bring forth more of that Nai Harvest-influenced vibe without much of the speed or energy. It's more a chill album that's probably more appropriate of end of autumn or rainy summer days. There is also vibes of Title Fight and Jawbreaker but they have their own sound with it. Beacon has a nice trumpet (or some horn instrument as I'm really bad at knowing horns from hearing them) melody but the vocals are kind of The Story So Far-ish and that makes me like it less. BUT I'm really digging how the drums are basically forcing the song to be in 6/8 and that beat towards the end is probably my favorite 6/8(or 3/4) drum beat and I think it fits well. My Dad Is Convinced To Live makes me kind of miss my dad, and it's a real downer. Five Twelve builds it back up and talks about how u mom is important. Nah it actually just three-line metaphor about how you shouldn't take things so seriously and shouldn't dwell on the past. Third Interlude is my favorite of the five interludes on this album.

if my mother can bare all the things that i put her through, then I can bare to think of this time we wasted away. It shouldn't be hard to deal with this pain

In general, I think this album is just a downer and makes you think about how sad you should feel. It's packed with emotion and is actually pretty tight release which is pretty cool for an emo band with the small amount of twinkle Jonesing plays.

Fav track: Beacon

Here's y'alls' bandcamp 

Mason Mercer announces "SLOBBER". May 15th

Mason Mercer announces "SLOBBER"

Upcoming release from solo artist, Mason Mercer, Slobber is expected to drop May 15 through a TBA independent record label. Labeled as “adventure pop”, this release was mixed and mastered by 417's very own Jonathan James from “Someone still Loves You Boris Yeltsin”. Mason originally hails from Ozark, where the writers for this blog are all from. Cool thing however, Mercer announced that a certain Celebrity discovered his music on the internet and will be grooming Mason to a higher level of music. The identity of this celebrity isn't going to be disclosed till May-ish so we'll have to wait to find out who that is.

Check out Mason on the following sites for updates:

https://twitter.com/masonmercer

https://facebook.com/masonmercermusic

Sick promo Video can be seen HERE

and also here

Also you can see a video of him interviewing people about his newest release. HERE

ALSO HERE