OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE Vol. VII

VOLUME SEVEN

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE

MOVEMENTS _________ AMAARA TAYLOR DOW ____________ POINT NORTH CRISTINA RIZZA GUELFI

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE VOLUME SEVEN - QUARTER THREE

FOR THOSE WHO ARE COMPELLED TO WEAR THEMSELVES DOWN TO THE FLESH & BONE IN ORDER TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT SHOWS THEIR HEART.

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE C R E AT I V E T E A M

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R Brandynn L Pope DESIGN

Brandynn L Pope WRITERS

J a m e s L i a m Wa rd PHOTOGRAPHERS Brandynn L Pope

Cassie Deadmond Sean O’Day

W W W. O B S E S S I V E C O M P U L S I V E M A G . C O M E M A I L fleshbonemagazine@gmail.com I N S TA @obsessivecompulsivemag

INDEX 06 10 12 16 18 26 30 36 44 50 56

TIME THIEVES MUSICIANS TINY STILLS MUSICIANS VA L E R I E L I G H T H E A RT M U S I C I A N + V I S U A L A RT I S T RUNNING TOUCH PRODUCER TAY L O R D O W I L L U S T R AT O R P O I N T N O RT H MUSICIANS MICHAEL BERNARD FITZGARLD MUSICIAN CRISTINA RIZZI GUELFI PHOTOGRAPHER AMAARA MUSICIAN + ACTOR MOVEMENTS MUSICIANS ALBUMS IN REVIEW W RT N B Y J A M E S L I A M WA R D

TIME THIEVES How have you found that the scene in Chicago has influenced you all as musicians and then into forming Time Thieves?

Jonathan here. Everyone in this band has been in and around the Chicago punk scene for decades at this point. Annie was doing Ambition Mission and This is My Fist going back as far as the 90’s, Mike was in Sass Dragons starting in the early 2000’s, and I moved my band Brickfight up here from Ft Worth Texas in 2008. Tim and Lilly, the youngest ones in TT, have STILL been at it in Horrible Things and Chicken Happen for close to a decade too. This band was born out of watching my favorite Chicago punk bands play and begging the people in them to start this weird, decidedly “non-punk” band with me.

The only thing that would make this band more Chicago is if we hated ketchup (I don’t).

How did you all find one another to eventually form Time Thieves?

At some point, Mike and I had started talking about a mutual love for this specific song by Grandaddy (A.M. 180) and I mentioned having always wanted to be in a band that sounded like the Rentals. We started demoing versions of the songs that ended up on “Space” shortly thereafter. Annie and I had been friends for years doing shows with Brickfight and TIMF as well as Bullnettle, but I remember one day that she posted something on Facebook about loving some obscure Soul Asylum record, and that’s the day that I asked her to be in the band, haha. With Lilly, I’d always been mesmerized by her singing voice in Chicken Happen, and initially asked her to play guitar or bass in this band. There’s a demo of “Road” somewhere actually that has her playing guitar on it. But she didn’t want to do that, so a couple of years later, I begged her to come play keys in the band as she is a wildly talented piano player as well. Lastly, I listened to the Horrible Things records for a long time trying to dissect all the insane vocal harmonies Tim does on them, and watching him play all these crazy leads while singing over them sealed the deal. I suck at playing leads and his harmonies are impeccable, and I knew he was a power pop guy too, so that’s how I conned him into this band as well.

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With the branding behind Time Thieves, you have a very specific pastel colour pallet. How did you come to decide that this pallet, as well as, the linear graphics would become a part of your design package?

Tim is actually an insanely talented graphic designer as well, and he’s responsible for all of the album artwork. We’re obviously channeling some sort of throwback 90’s power pop vibe, and I think he just riffed on that idea in making this cover.

It’s simple and angular, which is kind of how I see this band musically as well.

Tell us a bit about your new record, Space, and how it call came together? What was the writing and recording process like for you?

Most of the songs on this record have been demoed and released prior to this album. My original idea for this band was just to write, record, and release songs ala carte- never really doing an album proper, but just recording here and there and trying to just continually put stuff out there. With Bandcamp, Spotify, and all the other streaming platforms now, it makes more sense to me to constantly be releasing material rather than spending a ton of money on a whole production, throwing it out there, then dropping off the map for two years while you work on the next one. That model of music making seems to be a thing of the past.

However, once these songs were all done, Mike and Tim both had an instinct to make one cohesive package out of them, and convinced me to do a whole record. I’m incredibly glad we did because the songs got the production they needed to be fully realized the way we envisioned them (in my opinion), and actually do have a narrative arc when presented as a whole.

There are a few musicians who have had a piece of Space.

How did this come to be and how did you know who you wanted to be involved with the record?

Just us folks in the band playing our respective instruments!

However, Joe Gac, bass player in Meat Wave, recorded all the instrumentation on this record, and early on, before Annie made it into town to record her bass parts, he laid down a few bass synth tracks to help us when we recorded guitars. Some of that synth stuff made it onto the final cut of the album. There’s a sick low synth line in “Road” on the second verse that Joe did on the first day of tracking that made it all the way to the final mixes. Luke McNeill from Hospital Job recorded all the vocals and did the mixing for this album and also put a few of his signature touches on there, all of which I love. Finally, I demoed all of these songs with my good friend Scott Witt who lives in Portland. He’s a musical genius and sent me tons of vocal melodies and lyric ideas. We wouldn’t be the same band without his influence and help, that’s for sure.

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Where were some of the themes that you explored on this record? What kind of emotion and presence do you hope that this record has on people who listen to it?

The album title was actually decided before quarantine started, but definitely feels more apropos now. A lot of the lyrics and ideas behind the songs explore isolation and loneliness- self examination and disdain, as well outerexamination and disdain.

Space as a both physical and non physical thing- this album can be taken a literal journey through outer space (that’s a fun way to experience it!- call it the Summer version), or an introspective journey through one’s own personal space through self assessment (the more bummer way to experience it!- call it the Winter version) Often coming up with singles can be a difficult process, how did you know that “Flicker Of Light” would be a song that you would want to have highlight the record?

Scott Witt wrote this song and it’s the most hopeful and positive song on the record. It makes sense to open with it before getting right into the heavier, less positive material before being bookended with an upnote on the last song on the record, “Night.” Plus, it’s a straight BANGER and if you don’t like that song, there’s a good chance you won’t like the rest of the album, so it’s an easy out for anyone listening.

Were there any particular plans that you had to step back from due to COVID-19? What have you done or taken particular time to do in order to combat it?

Not too much- a few shows here and there. We were waiting till this album was completed to begin booking any extensive tours, etc, so not much had to change. We wrapped up recording the vocals for it maybe a week or two before the world started circling the drain, so in a way I guess we can be thankful for that. Since then there’s been some demoing of what will be future material, and some fun cover stuff that will see the light of day at some point, I’m sure.

With the record now being released, what else do you hope to do moving forward?

Wait out the virus and the end of the country as we know it, and get out to whatever Mad Max style rock clubs that await us once live music is a thing that exists in the world again!

TINY STILLS What is the music scene like for you at this time and how have you found it has helped you out as musicians and a band?

Right now things are at a stand still because of COVID, but before this we were really enjoying finding our footing with our local Socal bands like Odd Robot, Bristol to Memory, Rat Fancy, The Gutter Daisies and bay area friends Pity Party and Get Married, Danger Inc, Sad Girlz Club to name just a few! I have met so many great people because of music - I’m never going to be able to do it justice because I know for a fact I’m leaving out a ton of people. It’s just nice to find likeminded musicians and do fun things together.

What are some artists that you particularly look up?

I think Operation Ivy, Descendents, Green Day are huge influences.

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Before COVID-19, you had a full US Tour planned. Since this is on hold, what have you been doing to combat the time spent?

We’ve decided to put out our EP as singles, one song every month for the foreseeable future. We have some more songs we’re considering going into the studio to record if it’s safe to do so- we’d love to keep releasing new music every month.

Our US tour is rescheduled for January 2021. Tons of Animal Crossing too!

You also had to change up your release plans when it came to releasing new music. How long had you been holding onto these songs and working on them prior?

We had these demos for a few months before we recorded them in January 2020 with Paul Miner. We’ve been waiting to release them to see if we’d be able to tour, but right now we’re having to push that back until January 2021.

Within your music videos, you clearly like to have a lot of fun with visuals. Talk to us a little bit about the visuals that you choose to pair with the music and some of your favourites that you have put out?

Kailynn: Our visuals have always been playful or fun but especially for these next few songs and releases we are incredibly limited to what we have at our disposal at our own apartments. Our music video for Craigslist bed was all shot from our separate apartments during quarantine. Dan Telfer drew all of our EP covers and I colored them in Pixelmator I think for what we had available to us we really had a lot of fun making it, but working with John Lafarira and Justin Nelson on our video for “Everything Is Going Great” was really fun too.

Taylor Allen has edited most of our music videos to this day and directed a bunch of them, and working with him is always fun too. Just being creative with friends is really a blast.

Chris: We try to capture the essence of the song or trigger a certain feeling in the artwork. This time around we definitely wanted something playful, vibrant and colorful and Kailynn and Dan really slammed it out of the park.”

What themes in particular did you cut into with “Craigslist Bed”?

Quarantine! And being alone and feeling lonely. It all worked out pretty conveniently for the time being!

What do you find are some of the most common themes that you like to explore in your music?

Usually songs that we work on are about taking the worst of a bad situation and trying to find the bright side of it through connecting with others.

What else should people keep their eyes open for from you?

We have new music coming out every month available on streaming everywhere!

VALERIE LIGHTHART How have you felt that Milwaukee has affected you as an artist, both in the opportunities that you have received as well as how it may have inspired you?

I think that I’ve been massively affected by my city, in all ways. I think that Milwaukee is on the brink of becoming a burgeoning music city and that’s deeply reflected in the culture of collaboration and inclusivity. Milwaukee’s creative scene embraces and highlights it’s diversity and work ethic. Being a smaller city, there is a deeper sense of camaraderie than competition. The tightly knit creative groups are really hardworking and supportive of each other. I think that the geography of my location has also really influenced and inspired my work.

I live outside of Milwaukee, in a forested and secluded town.

My home rests on a vast expanse of wooded land that carries within it a wild abandon, a feeling of timelessness, and an eerie and creeping energy. Frequently, I’ll hear hordes of coyotes howling at the moon around midnight and wake up to find bones somewhere in the forest. There are rustic and dilapidated sheds and tools hidden in the foliage, overgrown with intertwining vines. I grew up in a series of apartments, so when I moved into a 10-acre farmhouse, the land around seemed to teem with mysteries and the fables I loved as a child seemed to spring to life around me. As silly and childish as it is, I constantly feel as though I’m on the brink of discovering a water nymph in the murky and deep waters of the pond, or a witch around the cauldron at the campsite, hidden in the woods worshipping foreign gods. This connection to the natural world around me really inspires a lot of what I create.

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Talk with us a bit about your music video “Love & Money.” With it being a music video that you have directed yourself, what did you want to make sure to include within the music video? Are there any elements in it that viewers may not have noticed upon first view?

Coming into the conception of the idea with a very specific vision for the video, I wanted to create a space that was both performative and freeing. To me, a huge part of being a performer is creating an emotional atmosphere to embody something, whether that be a feeling, character, time, place or idea. So, a Midsummer Night’s Dream-inspired stage seemed like the best way to convey a feeling of timelessness, a commentary on a cultivated image, and an opportunity to let it be a vehicle for catharsis and joy.

The video addresses the modern displays of femininity, and is meant to serve as a fairy tale expansion upon it. For most of pop culture history, we’ve turned on our televisions and seen a certain image of a woman, directed by men, singing songs written by men, and performing something tailored to a male audience. I wanted to create something that took the glamour created by this image, but was led by a group of powerful and inclusive femmes to reclaim the expressions of their own desires.

I also wanted to create something that felt historic with a folkloric feel to it, so I geared all of the costume direction towards the aesthetic vein of the 18th century, a time that women in some parts of the world were starting to experience real autonomy, despite the fact that that autonomy was achieved through the popularity of a dangerous profession.

The track itself identifies as this femme anthem of sorts, talking on topics like being vilified for having self-interest. Could you explain a little bit more on what else you are exploring within the lyrical content as well as the decision to have Solana be a part of the track?

Lyrically, I wanted to create something unique and visual. I wanted to paint an image of th is powerful fey-like creature that inspired me to create the character of ‘The Goddess.’ Imagining the way she might move about her own mythic realm, I wanted to cultivate a landscape that would frame her the way that I saw her: enchanting, exciting, ethereal, and alive. I wanted to elaborate on the imaginings of the supernatural being who embraced within herself everything I’d learned to be ashamed of: desire, self-interest, vanity, and reckless abandon.

Going into creating the track, I knew that I wanted to feature another artist who I admired that could really expand upon the sound of the track. I found that in Solana, who’s ownership of her identity and raw authenticity I was inspired by. I was so humbled by her work ethic and talent, and absolutely over the moon to be able to work with her. She was able to change up the style, adding in different melodic ideas, playing with speeds, adding unique lyrical ideas, and quickly switching between languages in a way that injected a sense of empowerment and drive into the song.

From my understanding, “Love & Money” is just one song in a series of songs for “By Moonlight.” Tell us a little bit about this series of songs and what they are going to be exploring.

The By Moonlight series is going to be a trio of EPs exploring the complicated realm of femininity and womanhood. The first EP, ‘The Goddess,’ is a pop exploration of desire, performatism, and worship.

Deviating from the realm of chamber-pop, the following EPs will delve into folk music as well as electronic music to explore darker elements like fear, discomfort, persecution, and rage. Each EP will have it’s own character who, to me, embodies that element of my own complicated relationship with womanhood.

Through your music you have explored both personal expression as well as narratives that take on another character. Talk to us a little bit about how you go about writing from another character’s perspective to create a song?

My background is in long-form fiction, actually. I have always been a very imaginative person (and a bit of a space cadet if we’re being honest), and I’ve always been a really ardent and avid reader.

That love of story-telling and characterization manifested as a keen interest in writing books throughout my formative years. I started writing long-form fiction when I was in sixth grade and it was something I was furtively passionate about for most of my life as a young creative. My writing was usually multi-perspective and usually first-person, so I think that informed so much of the way that I write music. I have a really hard time writing about myself, actually. Things that feel too close to me, usually also feel alienating and embarrassing and I prefer to focus on a feeling, a place, an experience, or a character and channel a story from that energy.

Being a multi-talented creator, how do you find yourself balancing these different pursuits together?

I feel like so many of these pursuits marry together in really exciting ways that allow me to create little pocket universes. I’m interested in film, music, photography, writing, and I’m able to unite so many of these things every time I start up a new project. The ‘By Moonlight’ series has the foundational music to carry the story, but I’m also able to expand upon it with visual storytelling through music videos to broaden and deepen the content of the messages. So far, I’ve released the first of four music videos within this new realm. I

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think I’ve always wanted to create a new place, as a habitual escapist, and I adorn that place with songs and poems and films and I live there until I’m thrust into a new place and, to me, the whole of my creative process is just trying to digest and decorate where I am.

What all do you pull your different inspirations from? Also being a model, has there been another creative that you felt has really inspired you, or that you have a particular respect for with their vision?

I think I pull most of my inspiration from emotion.

I have a hard time processing my emotions and they manifest in physical ways, so most of my work is trying to unpack that through visuals, songs, and stories.

I think that the creative who has been most inspirational to me is Andrew Hozier Byrne, who goes by the stage name Hozier. I’m incredibly moved both by his music and by his progressive and radical messages of outcry against oppressive political regimes. The poetry and thematic elements held within his content really resonate with me, and I feel like the realm he creates is incredibly immersive. Listening to the music and reading the lyrics feels like navigating a familiar and terrifying forest of mysterious figures, climbing foxglove, political justice, and familiar emotions.

How do you go about deciding visuals that you want to pair with your musical work? Is there any kind of symbol or motif that you feel extends throughout all of your work?

I think that for me, the visuals and the music usually go hand in hand and it can be difficult for me to separate the two. It’s hard to identify a unifying symbol or motif throughout the entirety of my work, but I think that one thing I always try to carry through is a sense of time and place.

I’ve always been very sucked in by books and films and things that transported you from one world and into the next. I think that I carry that escapism with me into all of my creations.

Is there anything that people should be looking out for from you over the next little while?

The ‘By Moonlight’ trio I’m intending to release throughout the rest of the year and early into the next! First is the Goddess EP, which includes songs that examine the myth of femininity and the ownership of desire through pop music.

After that is the Witch EP, a folk music experience that plunges into the depths of the fear that I feel pressed up against constantly and its relationship to my feelings about womanhood. The accompanying visual is going to be a very dark and uncomfortable project, but I feel the need to communicate a message about the oppression of women through it. It’s intention is to display how that history of oppression reaches its tendrils into the fabric of society even today, and chills to the core.

After that is the final EP, which I’ll leave a mystery for now. I’m very much looking forward to releasing the full image and sharing it with the world, but I don’t want to give too much away.

I’ve been brewing over these characters for quite some time, and being able to release them is immensely cathartic and very exciting. I hope that this body of work is something that resonates with people.

TAKEN BY SHEVIN D PHOTOS

RUNNING TOUCH Tell us a little bit about your single, “Signs.” What themes are you exploring on this track?

I didn’t want to hide behind too much of a dance-music form, so I went for something instrumentally driven. It’s about Confusion and the paranoia that comes with feeing confused.

Why did you choose the visuals that you had in the lyric video for the track? What is it about the nostalgic visuals that you like? How are these filmed or created?

The song to me had an older personality visually. Leaning toward film felt natural for everyone. I wanted something you could have watched in the last 30 years and it made sense contextually. We filmed the majority of visuals across signs on 16mm, a Canon a7 or a camcorder.

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These visuals also run through and into your single art work for each song. Tell me a little bit about the design aspect that goes into each single cover image.

The song usually feeds into a colour and format. The designers I work with are in leagues of their own and have so much individuality to bring ... And that goes a long way. The two main principles i push are negative space and making the colour the topic sentence.

When it comes to writing these songs, you have the approach of building a lot of singles. What is it that you like working in this way, without creating a full-length record?

I think I had to establish as a producer where I wanted to take this as a full length, with singles I could always take smaller detours.

As an extension of that, how do you go about recording and producing these songs?

It really depends what instrument I start on. That being said, that element usually is the focal point of the song. With Signs I started that from a video idea I had on my guitar. I will usually start from the pre chorus or intro and then work whatever instruments I have into Ableton and go from there.

You’ve had the opportunity to work with other amazing artists. How do these opportunities often come up for you?

It’s usually happenstance and then more of it from what comes of that. From just each other at shows, through management or instagram. The scene in Australia is relatively tightly knit.

How have you felt that Melbourne has affected you as an artist, both in terms of inspiration as well as building yourself into the music scene there?

Thats a good question. For the album I’m writing I got an apartment in between and with a view of a lot of the places I grew up amongst, so in that sense I think so. I really value the memories I have here. I don’t think I ever thought about building myself into the scene here since I’m from the suburbs. Though when I was touring with Ocean Grove that was definitely a thing when we started.

Now with “Signs” available for people to listen to, what else should people be keeping an eye on you for?

New music really soon (And a whole album to come) and more collaborative video for ‘Post Modern Collective sessions’ which I’m really excited about, involving some of my friends and favourite artists in collaborative projects has been a really interesting way to use time when we’re all not touring.

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TAYLOR DOW Not only do you have a formal education in Illustration, but you are workig towards an MFA. Tell us a little bit about your experience with post-secondary. How did you feel it benefited you? Do you have any criticism in regards to the school experience?

I decided to get a master’s degree for two reasons. First, because I didn’t really study art in undergrad. I went to The Evergreen State College, a wacky, interdisciplinary liberal arts college where classes were taught by hybrid groupings of professors. So you’d take a film class but it would also be taught be a social scientist or like, a botanist. I studied all kinds of stuff there: creative writing, political economy, narrative theory, dance... one of my classes included a “dream seminar.”

All of that informed and enriched my practice as an artist, but I never received a formal arts education. Grad school meant opportunities to fill in some of those blanks while continuing to my develop voice.

Second, I want to teach undergrad. It’s teachers, more than anyone else, that are responsible for the quality of my work.

Plus, it’s difficult to find ethical work in this world.

How have you felt that living in St Louis has influenced your work as an artist?

I like St Louis, it has a lot of character; It has a heart and a brain and hands. Seattle wasn’t like that. I don’t know if that’s because it’s newer, or because the tech industry casts such a long shadow or what, but every building I see in St Louis has a soul. There are these rusted-out industrial corpses all over the place in STL, of bridges and trains—even the Arch looks like an old bone.

Industries and their technologies rise and fall, and they leave behind all sorts of strange monuments. Stuff like that just makes you want to draw, because it’s mysterious and honest and slowmoving like a forest. Nothing like the condos in Seattle, which make you want to run.

What is it about working in comic strips that you feel attracted to? When did you come to find that this is something that you would want to dive into and practice?

I think there’s something so magical about the comic strip format, its brevity and its dense economy of meaning. I grew up reading Calvin & Hobbes obsessively, which I loved because it treated kids with genuine respect; Calvin’s emotional world was complex and full, and his cultural observations had teeth.

Later I discovered Jeff Smith’s masterpiece Bone, which lifts its protagonist from a 1940s comic strip and drops him into a fantasy epic. I spent a lot of my childhood making rip-offs of these two cartoons. Honestly, I never stopped.

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What are some of the themes that you most enjoy exploring in your comics?

Lately I’m interested in hashing out moral questions from conflicting viewpoints without picking a side. There’s obviously a lot of moral grandstanding going around right now and it really bums me out. The truth is we feel all kinds of ways about all kinds of things, we change our minds often, and we struggle to build ethical lives. In the age of algorithmdriven feeds, that struggle is rarely represented without some sort of moralistic conclusion, but that’s not how being alive actually feels. Our hearts often land on many sides of an argument simultaneously.

Were there any specific artists that inspired you as you developed your style?

Stefan Gruber, Fletcher Hanks, Eleanor Davis, Sam Alden, Dawson Walker, Lynda Barry, D.B. Dowd, Shreyas R Krishnan, Jonathan Smith, and Alex Schubert. I look up to all of these people.

Talk a little bit about Man Planet, and how this started to take form for you?

Man Planet emerged naturally from working in comics. I mean, maybe a majority of comics ever published include the word “man” in their title. What other medium has that going on? I was interested in the aggregate world all those titles had created, what all these dudes drawn by dudes would do together at camp. That comic will never get finished, by the way. I thumbnailed like three hundred pages, but I was trying to do too much. Better to take things one strip at a time. If a story emerges, it emerges.

Your work has evolved past a singular print image but has become physical, tangible things such as the tabletop games that you have been a part of. How else do you want to evolve your illustrative work?

I’m working on a card game right now that I’m extremely excited about! I can’t say much about it, but it’s gonna rule.

When you first started as an illustrator was there a specific goal that you had in mind for your work and what you wanted to do with it? How has that changed now after all of your experience?

Coming out of school I thought my work was always going to be super conceptual. I had this fire in my heart about comics and masculinity. At the time you had a lot of men making pretty wack comics about women in addition to some pretty wack comics about themselves and I was like, I’m gonna change this! I’m gonna fix this world! It was a lot of pressure and frankly turned me into a pretentious and judgmental person. Lately I’m taking it one day at a time, trying to express some of the psychic discomfort of living through an ambient apocalypse. Art based on tangible, day-to-day things: wearing a mask at the grocery store, watching a fake baseball game, Zoom- induced spinal pain, etc. I’m still a brat though.

What are your most common tools that you use in your work?

Is there anything else that you want to try out or get better at?

I have two sketchbooks: a big one for life-drawing, and a little one for thumbnailing and brainstorming. I draw with Sharpies and Papermate Flairs, and I draw all the time. I’ve also been dabbling in 3D animation, which has actually made my 2D art a lot better.

It’s very good for developing your spatial reasoning.

What projects are you working towards now, and is there any work that people should be looking out for from you?

That card game will exist eventually, but until then people can keep up with Bird Knight Comic, the weekly strip I put out on instagram. It’s about knights who look at their phones a lot.

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POINT NORTH The Los Angelos-based band, Point North, felt the pressure of releasing their debut record. This enabled them to put all of their focus into building a conceptual piece of work. For a little over a year, they had been working on different tracks that would become Brand New Vision. Throughout the process the band worked on creating an identity within the record as well as surrounding their own band.We were able to catch up with vocalist, Jon Lundin, to hear some of the details that went into the expansive world in their debut record.

“It’s probably the hardest we’ve worked on any release,” Starts Lundin, “I think our first album says a lot of that. A lot of overthinking, a lot of sleepless nights, but here we are.”

Ensuring that there was a strong sense of identity in this release was important to the group. To them, the bar was set high and they wanted to make sure that everything flowed perfectly. With Lundin being a producer based in LA, they had the upper-hand of equipment being available to them. As a band they would schedule times amongst themselves to work inside of the home studio and make a day out of discussing their intentions, “We have our process, it’s kind of like a hang, you know? We are all best friends and it’s insane that we get to do that and call it our ‘job.’ We talk about ideas, themes, vibes. Usually it’s Andy on the keys any time we start a session. Andy is a great piano player so he starts with keys and I already have guitar, and we vibe out with a bunch of trippy looking lights to figure out what we are doing. Do that, rinse and repeat.”

The process in creating Brand New Vision enabled a particular kind of growth between the members of the band. With it working as a conceptual record, they all had to figure out not only who they were sonically, but also socially and politically. Lundin explained that, “It was about finding out what we were standing for and figuring out the kind of messages that we want to portray and [will] actually mean something so we don’t just say dumb shit. We want to have substances and resonate.”

Drax is the name of the main character set inside the world of Brand New Vision. For many of those who are familiar with Point North’s music they will recognize him from earlier releases and most likely were able to identify him immediately on the

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cover art for Brand New Vision. This character was named almost as a joke, where in one of the times that the group was all hanging out together someone had said the name, Drax, and it ended up being the one that stuck. As for the world around Drax, it has a near Vulcan feel where people are more machine than they are human. The world is far off into the future and while the people in this world are still human they have lost their sense of humanity. Lundin goes on to explain that within the society, “Everyone is kind of logical and emotionless. When Drax finds a rose, it’s beautiful, it gives him a sense of empathy. He touches it and his hand begins to turn human, symbolizing his reuniting of humanity by finding something beautiful. He’s becoming this rebel against society. It made it easy to write a record [as he is] starting fresh because he’s this emotional baby, essentially.”

Brand New Vision shows off the journey that Drax feels as he is going through different emotions of positivity and negativity as well as how he is dealing with those feelings. The album itself is a reflection how he he wants to see the world.

This is why on the album cover you can see him reaching out to his partner’s hand and see that they are turning human as well: He’s putting that feeling into other situations in his life. Dissecting the tracks, Lundin continues to explain that in, “The Starter track, he’s saying ‘unaware and apathetic’ because nobody’s caring ... They are unaware of what they are capable of. No one else cares now. So the big line is that he can show them what they are missing and what he has become. I found this beautiful way of looking at life, this awesome perspective and I’m going to tell the world. I am pitying those who have no idea about this, so I am going to save the world.

He has this mentality that he’s going to change the world and save everything.

As you transition into the next few songs on the album, you get more and more callused. It’s a really cool listen, so you have to listen to it front to back. The second or third song is personal, dark, and about betrayal. The first time you ever got betrayed, that’s the feeling in your gut [and] you are like ‘why would someone do this?’ As you get closer to the end, he’s coming to realize a bunch of injustice and he’s seeing all of the dark things, but finding the good things. And then with the song, ‘Don’t Be The Same’ is this big ending anthem. After all of these thoughts and experiences he’s like ‘Okay, now that I have all of these collective feelings, I can see why the world turned to be lost, cold, and emotionless.’

He doesn’t want to be the same, and he’s seeing the flaws and the positives ... He still comes out on top after going through everything he went through on the album.”

When writing albums like this, there’s always a portion of the artist that goes into the characters.

To some extent, the songs could not have been written if Jon Lundin didn’t go through the same things as Drax, in some capacity. He notes that, “I am being honest and they are self-reflective for

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sure, but to write them through someone else’s experiences makes it a little bit easier. It makes me feel less judged. I write these things that are vulnerable but it’s Drax going through it to everyone else.” Ultimately, the theme of Drax is alive but it all boils down to something personal.”

What went into the design for Drax, and eventually what would become several of the artworks in Point North’s release, came from an unlikely place. The whole thing was something that Lundin referred to as, “Some kind of divine intervention.” While at a family reunion he had met his cousin once removed, only ever having met her as a toddler. This particular time she had been on her iPad and was showing different family members her art. Lundin starts describing the moment, “She was wearing tight jeans, dark clothing, and had this edgy vibe. My family is all pretty conservative and traditional, so to see a black sheep in the family who looks a little edgy, I had to ask ‘Who was that?’ I was told that it was my cousin’s daughter and it turns out she lives right near me. I asked if she could do artwork for my band.”

Lundin’s cousin, Emily, had been drawing anime and working on a graphic novel. She had this success in art that made Lundin excited, on top of his excitement that there was a member in his family that worked in a creative field as well, “I had always felt isolated because of that, I felt like I had found this new family member.” From there, Emily started doing work for Point North starting with “My Ghost In My Home,” where she had sent six versions with different ideas. Her talent as well as work ethic blew everyone in the band away and they wanted to get started on Retrograde, that would eventually become their EP. This is when the character of Drax was being thought of to be used.

“She sent over 8 or 10 different characters, 10 different drafts. A lot of them were a little darker and a little more evil, Kylo Ren looking. I hit her back and asked her to think of it as if you were to open the morning paper and see a 14 year old kid’s obituary. Your heart would just break, I wanted to see innocence and wonder. She sent back another story board and on the third or forth square was the first ever draft of Drax. You can see the whole process on her Instagram (@ studioemzi).” Excitement stirred over the fact that something that had once only been in the band’s mind was a tangible thing. They took everything from the colour pallet, the rose and what he was doing in those frames. Now, Emily has been particularly supportive of the band, coming out to all of their LA shows. Lundin makes it clear that she is their person, the one that they go to for all of their art now for as long as she will let them continue coming back.

With the cover of Brand New Vision specifically, they all embraced the idea of the cheesy couple photos of one following the other with a hand out-stretched. “It’s the idea of being in the dark and taking a chance on someone,” Lundin notes, “That’s part of being young and having that naivety. Your walls come down super easy, or they get broken down one too many times and then they never come down again and you’re jaded.” He laughed lightly at his own comment understanding how real his statement actually had been before going into a few of the Easter Eggs throughout the cover. These included the cityscape on the cover of the album is the same one used on the back of Retrograde. As well as, the rose that’s on the back of the album is the same one that was coming out of the ground in Retrograde.

As a way to celebrate the release of Brand New Vision, the band found a way to set up a live stream event. Even this happened to be a lucky moment that the band was able to, gracefully, stumble upon. A friend of Lundin’s happened to be helping him convert his garage into a studio space. In that time his friend also had set up a space specifically for live music production via streaming services. With the pandemic still very much prominent in North America, it works as a business for different bands to use for their fans.

The offer was there for if they ever happened to need it and while at first Lundin had not given much thought to the idea, as the release of Brand New Vision got closer they embraced it completely. While the band is unable to tour and act out the normal roll out plan that goes into an album cycle, the one thing that they were able to do is put on this professional live stream, tickets, flyers and all.

Frustrated, Lundin wishes that he could go back to touring, “It’s detrimental for our morale to not be able to go out there ... We were the first industry to go, touring, and we will be the last to come back. Not even the bands, the crew, the production staff, so many people are screwed.

Everyone is just as important as the next.” While he may be disheartened he knows that now there’s a lot of time for trial and error, to find out what works for them as they adapt to the music industry in this specific way, “We are at the mercy of our listeners. I hope that the music is good enough for people to love on their own merit.”

Jon Lundin left off with some final words of thanks, “First and foremost, we are amazed by the amount of support we have received from the singles. On behalf of the whole band, we can’t say thank you enough to the people who listen, care, and support. It’s a tough world to be in a band right now. Thank you to anyone who has supported us in any way.”

MICHAEL BERNARD FITZGERALD ______ 30

VISUALS CREATED BY BROCK MITCHELL

Between the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Golden Prairies comes musician, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. For years he has been known as a staple part of the Western Canadian music scene with his musical influence spread throughout North America. In his career he has spent his time in different musical hubs such as Toronto, Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles.

Towards the end of his time in LA he realized how much he had missed his home in Calgary, Alberta and decided to return.

During his time back he started creating what would become Love Valley, a thirteen song record set up to be released on October 9th of this year. While he has several records under his belt, Love Valley holds a particular warmth to it highlighted both through the visuals as well as through the singles that are currently available. We were able to have a conversation with MBF about this record, the process behind it, and the steps that he has taken to still be able to perform.

“I wrote it in my kitchen at home,” Fitzgerald starts off when asked about his upcoming record.

For the past few years writing music has been more of a collaborative effort for him. He had been working with other people throughout North America to create the sound that people would grow to know as his own. After working with various writers and producers Fitzgerald commented that, “It’s so cool to learn from all of those kinds of people. I had a lot of fun working in LA for a few years but in 2018, towards the end of the year, I was feeling like I needed to do it a little differently. I wasn’t feeling too creative and that my output was low.” After taking some time for himself, it came to February of 2019 and he was able to start working on this record.

It took a bit of time for Fitzgerald to fall into the rhythm of writing, and specifically the way he wanted to write this particular record. He would try a few different things here and there, and found himself working on the songs on his own.

Every evening he’d come home to write, listen back on voice notes, play, and then start writing more. Once he seemed to have gotten the hang of it all and compiled what he had wanted to he went to the studio for early morning sessions.

He ended up recording and working with long time friend, Josh Gwilliam out of OCL Studios, who also happened to be the first engineer that he had ever worked with. “I played a lot of the instruments,” Fitzgerald commented, “Towards the end of writing it we went to Memphis and started recording some saxophone and went to Nashville and recorded some pedal steel and then went into mixing it. In March we got into the mastering part of it right before everything was changing.”

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Gwilliam had been vocal about wanting saxophone and then Fitzgerald was vocal on having pedal steel. Their trip to Tennessee added up to about a 4 days to get those final touches together. It was when they gotten back that everything was all the longer process of mixing and then mastering. Working on this in the pace that they had enable them to just barely miss the restrictions in the initial lock down. In theory, if there had been anything that was a little bit behind schedule they might have been in a very different situation with the record. Even during this time he was enabled to have a mixing credit on his own record, something that he previously never had. Looking further at the positives, Fitzgerald is thankful, making the statement that, “I feel like a lot of people thought it was going to be a weird two weeks and then we would just reemerge, but then getting into this whole chapter of time I was thankful to have a project like that which I could work on.”

want instead. I thought that was so interesting and that was the day that I wrote the actual song, ‘I Want To Make It With You. So I started thinking, well what if a song was a little prophetic and what if you just sang about the thing you wanted instead of the thing that you had known or didn’t like or want anymore. It took a while to learn how to write like that and how to write on my own, which was so interesting.”

It was from here that Fitzgerald started thinking about the farm, and the calming that comes with home and the feeling of arriving. No matter how much he loves the city it’s just not the same thing that he longs for.

There’s this theme of rural vision throughout the whole record. It is all meant to act as a compliment to his other life of traveling and the interactions that he gets to have, “Within that, I wanted to dive into all those little details that are warm. I was focused on the theme of calm love, not something so flashy or extravagant.”

A lot of the intention and writing style with Love The simplicity extends form the record into the Valley is quite different than the treatment that Fitzgerald has used in the past. While someone of venue that Fitzgerald has built for himself to this can be a reference to him working completely actually perform these songs. In many ways it’s a direct reflection of the calm of the farm life alone with writing the songs he does note a bit and the ability to be accessible to everyone in of his experiences that lead him to work in this the room. When talking about how those shows particular way. “I remember making ‘I Want To look he commented that, “The record is super Make It With You.’ making that whole album and quiet. It doesn’t drive super hard, honestly, I was going through this brutal breakup. At the and I’ve been playing the songs just me and a time I almost was married, it was a tough time. guitar. I think that having a place where you can Like everybody, you have this breakup where hear the space between is really cool.” None there’s the story of what happened in your mind of the shows have been the same, even within and that’s what you embellish over time. I was in the same city where he was able to have these that, and I was writing those songs and feeling open conversations with audience members that. I remember having a conversation about in between the songs that he played. It all writing sessions and saying instead of writing came together like a collaborative performance about that, maybe I should write about what you revolving around his music.

While this set up is perfect for performances in this time of greater consideration, it was something that Fitzgerald had been thinking about back in January. He had been fixated on this idea of building a venue that he could design and create the feeling within that would be consistent every night and where ever he would go with it. Now it’s a part of his reality just with a few more restrictions to ensure that performances are done responsibly. He notes that, “It’s a different way to tour, which I was so open to with smaller towns and still big cities, setting up on farms and traveling in a bit of a different way.

I really like the idea of touring in a way where I could have my family there or my friends there ... It started making sense as this residency with a backyard tent, the Greenbriar is what I call it.” At first, he had only put up a few days of performances on his website thinking that there would be a few tickets that would sell and if they didn’t, then in the very least there wouldn’t be too many shows to worry about. But within 5 hours of various selling times he had sold out 50 shows.

The nature of the whole release is completely cohesive. The music is directly reflected into the performances that are circulating around it, and it also includes the album art work, video work, and the roll out of the different layouts created for the cycle. Similar to his friend, Josh Gwilliam, he had another friend of 15 years who helped him develop the photography and video for the record, Brock Mitchell. With the exception of a few select images from Allison Seto, all of the photos were composed and put together by

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Brock Mitchell. For years, the two have worked together which made it easy for him to let Mitchell take control over the layout with the art-direction.

After a conversation together they made it happen and Fitzgerald enthusiastically praised the ability to see his friend work in this way. From the videos, to the photography, and even down to the design of the collage squares, Mitchell helped build it all around Fitzgerald’s release.

When they were working on the music video for the title track, “Love Valley,” there was a moment where a still was taken that would end up being the cover for the whole record.

When asked about why this image in particular Fitzgerald comments that, “What he was doing was capturing an inner child. The front and the back cover come together to bring adult me and the inner child together and those warm colours tie into the whole narrative.” Much like the feeling

on the record, it was important to him to have that great feeling of warmth come through on the cover image as well.

With the release of Love Valley creeping up, Fitzgerald is releasing a few more singles off of the record as he is doing this Farm Yard Tour across Canada. On the day of the release they will be in Montreal and he is hoping to play it by ear to see how they are able to celebrate a day-of release, those being in the city itself seems celebration enough. More than anything, he is thankful for being able to have the opportunity to still tour on his record with as minimal risk as possible going on to comment that, “I guess I am just thankful that people are listening and will listen. I am thankful that [anyone] would take the time to support the record and the

tour.� But this is not the end of him acting in this way. He notes that this type of touring and way of performing is something that he will continue to do and will be a large part of the chapter that he is embarking on for the foreseeable future.

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CRISTINA RIZZI GUELFI ALL ANSWERS ARE AVAILABLE IN ITALAIN & ENGLISH

Tell us a little bit about your journey discovering your passion for the arts, going to post-secondary and obtaining your masters. As well as, what made you decide to go the route of getting a formal education?

Nonostante i miei studi scientifici e giuridici, l’arte e la letteratura hanno sempre avuto un ruolo primario nella mia vita, dopo l’università ho cominciato a seguire questa mia passione Ho cominciato a scrivere, brevi racconti ma volevo abbinare delle immagini alle parole, così sono arrivata alla fotografia. Ma alla fine l’ho preferita alla scrittura: più diretta. Un’immagine può sostituire mille parole e aggiungerne altre mille diverse, dipende da chi la guarda. Ho anche conseguito un master di regia a l’EICAR, perché un giorno mi piacerebbe girare anche solo un cortometraggio, appena troverò qualcuno disposto a seguire le mie malsane idee, dato che sarebbe sicuramente sulla linea di Russ Meyer o John Waters.

Despite my scientific and legal studies, art and literature have always played a primary role in my life. After university I began to follow this passion of mine. I started writing short stories but I wanted to combine images with words, so I came to photography. But in the end I preferred it to writing: more direct.

An image can replace a thousand words and add a thousand different ones, it depends on who is looking at it. Unhealthy ideas, as it would surely be in the line of Russ Meyer or John Waters.

How do you find that directing and film-making influenced your work in creating still-images? How has your education helped you as you leaned into your passion for photography?

Più che altro è stato alimentato dal cinema. Fin da piccola sono sempre stata una cinefila compulsiva. Sono attratta dai vecchi film e dai B-Movie dove l’assurdo è associato al quotidiano, dove i colori sono un elemento prioritario. Ho sempre trovato dell’ umorismo nel banale associato all’assurdo, per questo motivo adoro Hitchcock che era un maestro nel creare un effetto inquietante in un ambiente familiare, come Kubrick.

Shining è stato uno dei primi film che ho visto da adolescente, non avevo mai visto niente di più perfetto e immobile, con la capacità di combinare immagini così belle e visivamente sorprendenti con una trama davvero terrificante.

More than anything else it was powered by cinema. Since I was a child I have always been a compulsive cinephile. I am attracted to old films and B-Movies where the absurd is associated with the everyday, where colors are a priority. I’ve always found humor in the mundane associated with absurdity, which is why I love Hitchcock who was a master of creating a creepy effect in a familiar environment, like Kubrick. The Shining was one of the first movies I saw as a teenager, I had never seen anything more perfect and still, with the ability to combine such beautiful and visually striking images with a truly terrifying storyline

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What are some of the themes that you are exploring within your work? What kind of ideas do you find are your favourite to explore?

I temi variano, dipende da quello che leggo o vedo, un libro, un film un documentario. Deve “accendersi una lampadina” . Ad esempio la serie “Suburbia Life” è nata dopo aver letto Lewitttown, che è il nome di sette grandi complessi residenziali suburbani creati William Levitt e dalla sua società Levitt & Sons, costruiti dopo la seconda guerra mondiale. Insieme all’abitazione, che mediamente aveva un costo di 8.000 dollari, veniva consegnato un regolamento: tra le altre cose, non si poteva recintare il giardino, né stendervi i panni la domenica; in compenso l’acquirente si poteva permettere una vera casa, completa di elettrodomestici (televisore e lavatrice) al costo di un affitto in città. Secondo lo storico Lewis Mumford “Il sobborgo serviva come rifugio per la conservazione dell’illusione (…).

Questo non era semplicemente un ambiente incentrato sui bambini, era basato su una visione infantile del mondo, in cui la realtà veniva sacrificata al principio del piacere”.

Per questo ho usato la frase di J.G. Ballard “Prosperous suburbia was one of the end-states of history. Once achieved, only plague, flood, or nuclear war could threaten its grip.”

The themes vary, it depends on what I read or see, a book, a film, a documentary. It has to “light up a light.” For example, the “Suburbia Life” series was born after reading Lewitttown, which is the name of seven large suburban housing estates created by William Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons, built after World War II. Along with the house, which cost an average of $8,000, a regulation was delivered: among other things, it was not possible to fence off the garden or hang clothes on Sundays; on the other hand, the buyer could afford a real house, complete with appliances (television and washing machine) at the cost of a rent in the city. According to historian Lewis Mumford “The suburb served as a refuge for the conservation of illusion (...). This was not simply a child-centered environment, it was based on a childish worldview, in which reality was sacrificed to the pleasure principle ”.

For this I used the phrase of J.G. Ballard “Prosperous suburbia was one of the end-states of history. Once achieved, only plague, flood, or nuclear war could threaten its grip. “

A lot of your work has this really nostalgic feeling within it. What inspires you to create these images that are reminiscent of a different time?

Sono affascinata dall’artificio quasi surreale della cultura americana degli anni 50’. Ho una passione per le vecchie riviste come Better Homes and Gardens con le immagini di casalinghe che sbirciano nei frigoriferi o che stirano in completini perfetti con i loro capelli accuratamente scolpiti e sorrisi perpetui impressi con rossetto corallo. Molte delle pubblicità nelle riviste e nei programmi televisivi definivano in qualche modo il ruolo della maternità. Erano costantemente rivolti alle preoccupazioni femminili perché le donne erano normalmente quelle che compravano i prodotti per la casa. Programmi televisivi come “Le avventure di Ozzie e Harriet” sono un esempio di come dovrebbe essere normale la vita “americana”. Queste pubblicità spesso mostravano donne sorridenti con le braccia cariche di cibo cotto, o donne che pulivano la casa e sembravano felici e contente di fare quello e nient’altro. Erano casalinghe devote il cui unico obiettivo nella vita era soddisfare i piaceri del marito e dei figli. La società credeva che le donne si adattassero a questo ruolo e che dovrebbe essere l’obiettivo delle donne. Nella cultura popolare, l’archetipo di queste caricature femminili bidimensionali si presenta come puramente superficiale e privo di qualsiasi sostanza stabilendo dei costumi sociali molto arretrati. Nelle mie fotografie spero di offrire un ritratto più potente della femminilità.

I am fascinated by the almost surreal artifice of 1950s American culture. I have a passion for old magazines like Better Homes and Gardens with pictures of housewives peeking into refrigerators or ironing into perfect outfits with their carefully sculpted hair and perpetual smiles imprinted with coral lipstick. Many of the advertisements in magazines and television programs somehow defined the role of motherhood. They were constantly addressing female concerns because women were normally the ones who bought the household products. Television programs such as “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” are an example of how normal “American” life should be. These advertisements often showed smiling women with their arms loaded with cooked food, or women cleaning the house and looking happy and content doing that and nothing else. They were devoted housewives whose only goal in life was to satisfy the pleasures of their husbands and children. Society believed that women fit this role and that it should be the goal of women. In popular culture, the archetype of these two-dimensional female caricatures is presented as purely superficial and devoid of any substance, establishing very backward social mores. In my photographs I hope to offer a more powerful portrait of femininity.

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What does your process look like for creating an image?

How do you find a location, execute your work, and then use post-processing?

Nonostante l’argomento sia unico, le immagini hanno una storia a sè, io li vedo come episodi di un racconto come un modo di comunicare un momento immobile da una storia, congelata nel tempo. Non amo molto le immagini statiche per questo cerco di far sembrare la modella quasi in movimento Il “fermo immagine” è sicuramente una grande influenza nel mio lavoro. Sono affascinata dalla contraddizione di un’immagine che può essere sia in movimento che ferma. Le location le trovo girando, a volte la foto nasce proprio vedendo un luogo, una casa anche solo un recinto.

Per quanto riguarda la post-produzione la uso lo stretto necessario, prima ero un’amante dell’ “trasformazioni”, ma tempo fa le mie foto erano più elaborate più cupe, e la post-produzione mi aiutava a dare quell’intensità che non vedevo in uno scatto semplice.

Although the topic is unique, the images have a story of their own, I see them as episodes of a story as a way of communicating an immobile moment from a story, frozen in time.

I don’t like static images very much so I try to make the model seem almost in motion. The “still image” is definitely a great influence in my work. I am fascinated by the contradiction of an image that can be both moving and stationary. I find the locations by turning, sometimes the photo is born just seeing a place, a house even just a fence. As for post-production, I use it as strictly as necessary, before I was a lover of “transformations”, but long ago my photos were more elaborate darker, and post-production helped me to give that intensity that I don’t I saw in a simple click.

Would you mind talking a little about your Phobia series?

How many pictures do you have with it so far? How are you working on creating all these images and how long have you been working that project?

E ’nata per caso, leggendo un elenco di fobie. Mi sono resa conto che l’uomo d’oggi sembra essere sempre minacciato da se stesso, da ciò che lo circonda, ma ancor più, dal suo intelletto.

E questa multiforme alienazione porta al dramma dell’esistenza umana contemporanea, che vive sempre più nella paura. Ho voluto contrapporre questa “angoscia” con l’ironia e il colore delle foto associandole ad un testo più cupo e surreale. Sono circa venti fotografie in dieci dittici, cinque di queste sono state esposte un anno fa in una collettiva a Torino. Questa serie è stato il mio lavoro più veloce, circa un paio di mesi.

It was born by chance, reading a list of phobias. I realized that today’s man always seems to be threatened by himself, by what surrounds him, but even more so, by his intellect. And this multiform alienation leads to the drama of contemporary human existence, which lives more and more in fear. I wanted to contrast this “anguish” with the irony and color of the photos, associating them with a darker and more surreal text. There are about twenty photographs in ten diptychs, five of which were exhibited a year ago in a group show in Turin. This series was my fastest work, about a couple of months.

What was your decision behind creating dip-tics with several of your series rather than a stand alone image?

Probabilmente perché essendo partita con la scrittura, il mio intento è quello di raccontare una storia con un paio di immagini, ecco il perché dei dittici. Però con le immagini c’è un ampio raggio d’immaginazione, chiunque guarda può crearsi la storia che desidera, che vorrebbe o che realmente vede e il racconto diventa personale per ogni individuo non imposto.

Probably because having started with writing, my intent is to tell a story with a couple of images, that’s why the diptychs. But with images there is a wide range of imagination, anyone who looks can create the story they want, want or actually see and the story becomes personal for each non-imposed individual.

As of late, you have been using some elements of collage in your work. What is it about doing this that you enjoy?

La serie “we need a face [?] “ è nata per ironizzare la pratica diffusa dell’ossessione dei selfie, sostituendo i visi con fotografie acquistate da una banca di immagini. La maggior parte proviene dagli archivi statunitensi degli anni ‘50 e ‘60. Il punto interrogativo tra le parentesi è voluto perché pone due domande: 1) E’ necessario fotografare il proprio viso? Da un lato no, perché Il dismorfismo corporeo è un disturbo psicologico, proprio della nostra società fondata sull’apparire e sull’immagine di sé, che provoca in alcuni individui una continua insoddisfazione e crea nell’individuo una convinzione di avere dei difetti immaginari, attinenti al proprio aspetto fisico, tanto da diventare un’ossessione.

2) Ma senza fotografare il viso come si può capire l’espressione?

Per questo la frase di Arthur Schopenhauer A person’s face as a rule says more, and more interesting things, than his mouth, for it is a compendium of everything his mouth will ever say, in that it is the monogram of all this person’s thoughts and aspirations.

Il collage è stato, per così dire, reale dato che la modella aveva la foto letteralmente appiccicata in fronte, ma in futuro credo che mi piacerebbe fare dei lavori con i collage li trovo estremamente divertenti e multi uso.

The series “we need a face [?]” Was born to make fun of the widespread practice of obsession with selfies, replacing faces with photographs purchased from an image bank. Most come from the US archives from the 1950s and 1960s. The question mark between the brackets is wanted because it asks two questions: 1) Is it necessary to photograph your face? On the one hand, no, because body dysmorphism is a psychological disorder, typical of our society based on appearance and self-image, which causes in some individuals a continuous dissatisfaction and creates in the individual a conviction of having imaginary defects, related to your physical appearance, so much so that it becomes an obsession.

But without photographing the face, how can you understand the expression? For this Arthur Schopenhauer’s phrase A person’s face as a rule says more, and more interesting things, than his mouth, for it is a compendium of everything his mouth will ever say, in that it is the monogram of all this person’s thoughts and aspirations.The collage was, so to speak, real as the model had the photo literally stuck to her forehead, but in the future I think I would like to do some works with collages and I find them extremely fun and multi-use.

Where do you hope to see your work go in the future? How would you like to evolve yourself as a photographer?

Sinceramente non so come saranno i miei lavori in futuro, dipende tutto da ciò che riuscirà ad ispirarmi.

I honestly don’t know what my works will be like in the future, it all depends on what will inspire me.

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AMAARA Artist, Kaelen Ohm has been entwined with the music community for years now, working as a musician as well as a director. For the last few years she has been working as an actor in Toronto but during her breaks finds focus back to music and now is releasing a full-length record under her project name AMAARA. This record, Heartspeak, came out on August 14th of this year after a year of construction on them. We were lucky enough to be able to take some time and talk with Kaelen Ohm about the project as well as the general experience being a multi-talented working creative.

Having been familiar with Brock Geiger while playing in Reuben And The Dark, Ohm had come to the realization that the two had never really worked on anything directly together up until the point that they worked on a Radiohead cover together. The two had a good working chemistry together while performing with one another but when it came to actually recording and creating a record they were not completely sure what they would end up creating together. “I had no material at all,” Ohm comments while continuing to explain what the process build into, “The whole record came to life in 10 days. It was all done in this bedroom studio. I would go there in the morning and play on the piano or play the guitar until a song was done. Then, we would track it during the day. Once we got going we’d work on a new song in the morning until the evening.” Conceptually, the music was built into to a collection of feelings that Ohm of grief, evolving into a heartache album, something that Ohm never anticipated creating before, “Then the storm came and I really went through. For AMAARA that was the initiation of bringing that experience to life and bring it into the videos.”

Originally, Ohm had the intention of creating some more songs to go into the release but had been called into work, being cast into a film in New York. After returning back to the record she was able to take a look at it and decide that it was in its completed form and no longer needed more tracks added into it. With COVID being why Ohm was unable to continue working on set, she was still able to work on her own smaller production as the director in her music videos. When she was younger she had a dream of working as an actor and that dream lead her into going to film school to understand a little bit more on the production side of things. Part of this was out of fear of working as an actor, and the other out of genuine interest. It was not long before she fell in love with editing and directing eventually translating this into working on music videos for others, as well as her own. “I had the the dance background and started playing music starting playing music a few years after graduating film school ... Then I finally took up acting 5 years ago. It’s been a game changer for me. I knew I needed to approach acting from a backdoor perspective or a backdoor approach to it. I’m pretty shy and had to work through a lot of stuff and confidence challenges before stepping into a room or a set to really work.”

This all allowed Ohm to feel comfortable while stepping onto a set for the first time. She was aware of what everyone was doing, having been someone who had worked on nearly all different fronts of film production. With her ability to work here as well she also was able to handle the chaotic scheduling in order to film 5 music videos in 6 weeks for her record’s roll out plan.

“Directing a music video for other people carries a lot of responsibility in my mind because songs are so personal. They carry a lot of back-story.

To try to get another human to listen to the song and decide what visual accompaniment will support the song is kind of crazy,” Ohm comments while talking about their experience

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with working on music videos. She notes that while the artist might have an idea for what they are creating, often it is asked of the director to pitch input into the music video and hope that it’s something that the artist would want to do. Ohm continues to say that, “Any video I’ve done for people in the past has been beautiful but doing it for myself, I’m also thinking of the video when I am in the studio writing the song. I think really visually, so that’s my first modality of expression. I’m always thinking of the visuals ...

I know I am serving the song visually because I know where the song is coming from. Whereas when you are doing the song for somebody else you can only hope that you’re supporting and you know what the song means to them. That’s the biggest difference for me.”

go. It’s very low-budget where I am working with one or two friends.” This became the running theme for the videos surrounding AMAARA, responsibly making videos with a small skeleton crew to ensure that everyone is safe while COVID-19 is still prominent.

At the time of catching up with Kaelen Ohm, she was in the middle of working on the video for “Desert Storm,” one that you are able to check out now. With this particular video, she knew that she wanted to do a classic dance video.

“I had a pipe dream when I was young that I wanted to dance in music videos and that didn’t happen. I made it happen once and made it happen in one of my own music videos.” While Desert Storm had a focus on being a dance video, AMAARA has worked in videos that show off the beautiful Californian landscapes. Ohm continues to comment that, “Nature has always been my greatest ally for film making. I always find nature is the best set you are ever going to find especially being in California the last few months ... You kind of just roll up with the camera and hope the sun is in the right spot and

With the amount of work that Kaelen Ohm does not only as AMAARA but as an actor, and a director it’s a wonder how things come together and how she is able to find a balance. When asked about this balance, she comfortably noted that it all flows naturally into one another. “I will naturally have a month off or two months off and I can make a record, and then an acting job will come up and I’ll do that,” Between then she also is able to do a few music videos here and there but also states the realism that, “I did have to make decisions for sure. Early on in my pusuit of an acting career I was still playing in Reuben and the Dark, and I started booking rolls in Toronto. There would be tours booked so I would have to turn down the roles because tour had already been planned. That woke me up to make decisions here, this is something I’ve always wanted to do and I have to do it now. So I left the band and put myself in Toronto.” This allowed Ohm to be in one place for a while and take any job that she wanted to and was able to take. For her, this has made space in her life for her to feel like she can do all that she has wanted to.

“I think that now-a-days it’s easier than ever for expected [for an artist] to be multi-talented.

I think all of that is good but the respect of balance and allowing them all to reach their full potential for me is very spiritual. I have focused very little on the technical aspects. I’m trying to nurture that a little more now that I see some of the people that I work with have mastered their craft and what they do. I want to improve my of these things because it’s nice to have those technical foundations to fall back on if for some reason creatively you’re not feeling the spark.”

Music is still a passion for Kaelen Ohm, and that’s why she works on her creative ventures as AMAARA, but right now her greater passion is

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acting. After experiencing different landscapes as well as career paths, this is what brings her to staying in Toronto, and living in Los Angeles full-time eventually. “There’s a reality to different career paths for sure, and it’s devastating that dancers, for example, and musicians work for decades and it never happens. That is also the case for acting, of course, but I’ve found that it’s far easier to make a living as an actor as I’ve had more opportunities come up and I don’t really have to worry about the grind and try to get music made. I think my primary passion is acting. The more that I am doing that the more I am understanding that I want to do that,” Ohm makes a prominent note that

they are really privileged to be in the position that they are in right now, having the ability to work creatively, “I understand that regardless of my own challenges I’ve always had an open door and support for resources to do what I want to do and I know not everyone gets that.

Especially recently, with the Black Lives Matter movement and understanding living under white privilege and benefiting from white supremacy, and waking up to having gratitude for that and then being able to let it go and make way for systematic change. I hope that happens anyways.”

With Heartspeak out now and the pandemic leaving limited options for a usual celebration of a record, Ohm is happy knowing that they can just lay on the floor with a few friends and listen to the record. “I’ve never really had a big celebration on a release of anything and that’s something I’m trying to get better at.

It’s so much work to get done and by the time I’m finished I kind of just want to walk away because I’m so exhausted. So I am going to try to celebrate it in some way.”

MOVEMENTS In the last five years the California based band, Movements, has made great strides in their musical career. With their first EP, Outgrown Things they had left enough people talking amongst themselves about where this band would go and what they would do before having released any full-length. Whether they realized it or not, they would become a band that would harbour a lot of anticipation around them, quickly joining in the same popularity as bands such as Citizen, Title Fight or La Dispute.

With a heavy appreciation for art built into their package of music, they gathered a large crowd of fans. Their newest fulllength record, No Good Left To Give, comes out in a short few days [September 18th] and has a lot of excitement coming with it after three years between it and their prior release, Feel Something. Vocalist, Pat Miranda, was able to catch up with us and give some insight on the details of the release as well as the thought process that went into the graphics and imagery surrounding it all.

When compared to the process that went into writing Feel Something, there was maybe half the amount of time that occupied No Good Left To Give. The whole process took somewhere between six to eight months, something that Miranda comments is shorter than most of their process but it did have it’s ups and downs. A good portion of writing happened while they were on tour, creating a few blocks here and there and different hurdles for them to jump over. There came a point where they took an unofficial hiatus from touring as a way to focus on writing and then going in and recording the record. It was important that they work on each song to make them feel special and different in their own right. This was an every day process for them, an exhausting one, but one they were able to step away from satisfied.

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Their full discography thus far has been with the well known producer, Will Yip, someone the band had admired and hoped to work with even before the inception of the band was fully thought out. When asked about their choice to work with him, Miranda comments, “Will Yip is our dream producer. He’s recording most of the bands who were my biggest influences in creating this band, they are Will Tip bands. We have to [record with him]. He’s the perfect person to produce these records. When we got signed one of the biggest factors for us going with Fearless Records is that they were like, ‘Look, we can get you Will Yip, he’s already down.’ We were like, ‘Let’s fucking go’.

We just really love his insight and the way he approaches writing with the bands that he

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produces. It’s not like we just bring him songs and he records them. It’s very collaborative on his end. We bring him the initial ideas for a song, sometimes they are fully written and other times they are just shells of songs. We will bring them to him and he will work with them to fine tune and create a real song. I don’t know how to describe it the right way, we just work together to make a really polished product. All of his ideas are so good and every time we go into the studio he has these ideas and we are like, ‘Damn, why did we not think of that, that’s so sick.’ He’s insanely talented.”

Many of the themes that Miranda explores in his lyrical content circulate around darker topics, often reflecting on mental health and his own personal experiences. A lot of it are topics that

roll around in his mind on a day-to-day basis. But when approaching this record he did something a little bit different stating, “We sort of stepped out of the box a bit this time with my lyricism. There are a couple of songs that although I am speaking in possessive pronouns, saying ‘I’ or ‘Me,’ the songs themselves are about people I know and people in my life. I’m telling a story from their perspective rather than my perspective. That was something I had never tried before, writing to get in somebody else’s head and write a song from their point of view. That was hard for me.” They also dive into several other topics such as love, heartbreak, longing, and the idea of emptiness or the feeling of never being complete. In the beautiful way that music does, Miranda notes that while he’s writing these that each song can still easily be interpreted differently for others. That’s the thing that he likes about music, is the ability to apply it to yourself in a way that the artist may not have intended, but it still can apply.

When it comes to the album art surrounding Movements releases, Miranda makes sure to be involved with the process. For No Good Left To Give specifically he made the album art himself, having been inspired by collage the most recently, “At the end of last year, we had a show that I made the ad-mat for and it was a lot of collage. I was like, ‘Hmm, this is interesting, maybe I will continue doing this.” That lead to it being a prominent idea for the album cover once the band was brainstorming themes to go into it.

“I ended up landing on the idea of someone who is intertwined with someone else,” Miranda notes talking about the direct thought process but into the theme, “It’s this weird empty feeling of not really knowing who you are. There’s also a layer of gender identity that goes into it, what it means to really be a person. I just like the idea of taking two faces and making one person out of two people, more specifically two different genders.

When you look at the face as a whole, you don’t even notice that it’s two different people. You just see one person.”

Miranda’s roommate, as well as the band’s photographer, Anthony Purcella, helped him taking photos of a couple of models and they printed out all of the photos that came out of the shoot. From there, they ripped them all up and started making different collages out of the photos. “We used a lot of kaleidoscope effects with them, we have multiple eyes, meshing of faces, weird versions o itself before we landed on this version,” Miranda reflects on its creation.

For the first time of them working on it, they attempted this group effort as a way to say that they did it all together. That turned out to be messy and unfortunately not as productive as they had hoped. Instead, Miranda ended up taking all of it home and putting it together himself to create the final image.

On top of the album cover, Miranda also has created photo albums with the different pieces that went into the creation of the album. Teaming up with Lomography once again, they decided to do this give away as a fun part of their release. In the past, Lomography had given them cameras while they were recording Feel Something to document it all and then they would have a little write up about the band on Lomography’s website. With these little album covers it’s a different treatment, where each album is unique to the album cover as well as the designs of the single art.

For nearly all of the artistic design choices, Miranda has made sure to have a say in what would go into it all. With their Feel Something cover that they had shot with Kurt Cuffy, along with the music video for Daylily, to the lyric videos that they had done in the past, taking a projector to different places and projecting lyrics to their songs. Miranda, as well as Movements has a whole cements themselves as artists of all kind, not just musicians. He notes that, “I always like to find different ways to be creative with the band’s music because it adds a whole other level of depth to what the band is and what the music means, more than it just being listenable. You can actually see it being represented.”

There was a lot of new treatment into the visuals that went into No Good Left To Give, especially with the pandemic looming over musicians. As a band, they can’t all be in the same room and have to be as careful as possible. This was a large part of the reason that they went with an animated music video for “Don’t Give Up Your Ghost.” The idea was to do something that was in the same vein as “Breaking the Habit” by Linkin Park with this really cinematic animated experience. They went with this team of director Ben Kadie and lead animator Eric Bradford and were in awe of their attention to detail. “They captured each one of our characters so well, even down to the movements of Ira and Austin playing guitar, to Spencer with his drum arts. Even the drums themselves are Spencer’s drums. It’s so cool to see how much they paid attention to detail even with my tattoos,” Miranda goes further on to say, “We got to work with them and figure out a treatment for that video and they took our ideas and put together a whole story board. It was so fun and they are such a pleasure, definitely something we would do again for sure. I don’t think we would have done an animated music video if it had not been for the pandemic.”

For their second release, “Skin To Skin,” there was more of a time crunch that looked over them. Originally, they had wanted to do another animated video for it, this time with different animators but there had not been enough time to make something work. With this set back, they quickly had to switch gears and have everything set up within a week. Over the phone, they discussed different treatments for it but decided to brainstorm on their own and talk again the following morning. “I was falling asleep in my bed thinking about what were were going to do and then the music video for Move Along [by AllAmerican Rejects] popped into my head. What if we did that but we have to be more socially distanced and do that on green screen. So, we took influence from John Mayor’s “New Light.”

It’s all green screen and super intentionally cheesy,” Miranda discussed a little bit more on how they could add to this mix of ideas, “I wanted to add another element to it with two

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people who are trying to connect because the song is about wanting to connect with someone on a physical level. What if we had rthese two people who are trying to connect but every time they touch the scene changes? The girl is in an outfit that corresponds to the new scene but the guy is in his old outfit and every time they touch it happens again, and then again, and then it all reverses. It switches really fast, as a call back to the Move along video. At the end they touch and stay in the same place.”

Now knowing what kind of treatment they were going to give it, they got Jar in LA to meet with the guys and film all of their parts. With Miranda being out of the state, he ordered a green screen from Amazon and was able to film all of his parts on an iPhone and send it back to Jar for editing, “It looked good because it was supposed to look bad. It was a funny way of going about things and honestly is one of my favourite videos we have ever made.”

Now, they have released a third song and are gearing up for the release of the full record in a short few days. As a way to celebrate the release they are doing a live stream event, though it will not be as a full band, as much as they wish they could. At the moment, they have a lot of limitations and know that they are responsible for keeping their immunocompromised households safe. While they cannot do something with the four of them in a room, they are setting it up with three of them on guitar and bass to do a stripped down, half acoustic performance on Twitch.

There, they will be performing three singles and a couple of old songs as well as doing a little bit of a Q&A in between, “It’s a throw back to say, hey, we are trying to do our best with what we can do from home.” And after this performance, like many artists, they are playing it all by ear as they see how the world will change.

A

LBUMS IN REVIEW

WRITTEN & CURATED BY JAMES LIAM WARD

AMINE

08.07.2020

7.5

Limbo

Republic

After an incredibly entertaining first half, Limbo sees a notable dip in quality as the songwriting begins to fall into distinctively tiresome tropes. The melodic trap banger “RiRi” is solid enough, but the lyrics all Limbo is the second studio album from Portland over “Easy” are simply cringeworthy; Amine and rapper Amine, noticeably bolder than his previous Summer Walker fail to complement each other as they mixtapes and an entirely more consistent effort awkwardly trade off lines, and the cliché, slow-jam than his debut album Good for You. A notable instrumental goes absolutely nowhere. “Mama” is just soul influence comes through on the album’s first as predictable of a track, whose endearing sentiment half, including the balmy opener “Burden” whose does little to make up for its bumbling hook. The nostalgic vocal samples and strong refrain weave verses are sweet and some of Amine’s melodies are fluidly through Amine’s hook and verses. The soulful solid, but the vocal line introduced in the song’s bridge “Roots” further demonstrates this influence with a is cloying and irritating. From annoying to pointless, stunning ballad layered with humming organs and glimmering pianos. JID’s eccentric flows and pleasant the faux-deep “Kobe” was also far from a necessary considering its early placement in the track list. melodies make for a charming appearance on the track, and Charlie Wilson’s refrain is both forlorn and “Fetus” is the clear black sheep of Limbo’s latter powerful. “Woodlawn” is another early highlight that half. A bizarre, clunky song full of strange sounds calls back to Amine’s 2019 hit “REEL IT IN”, both of and samples, yet powerfully unique and emotionally which feature nimble flute melodies that soar over resonant; Amine’s stuttering hook compliments massive, bass heavy instrumentals. the marching groove and melancholic tone of the As the album continues, Limbo begins to adopt a tropical vibe with a duo of summery tracks produced by T-Minus. The gentle guitar loops and embellishments of “Can’t Decide” have a relaxed, intoxicating feel that only enhances the whispery hook; Amine’s counting pre-chorus drags far too long, but his chorus compliments the tone of the track perfectly. The lush keyboard loops and rubbery synth bass of the following “Compensating” evoke the same tropical tone, and Young Thug’s zany cadence makes for a unique and sticky tune. “Shimmy” delivers a bombastic boom-bap banger, that picks up the pace with grinding bass and dramatic choral loops. Amine is a commanding presence on the track, delivering his charismatic flows with a confident and destructive swagger. The rapper is equally impressive on “Pressure in my Palms”, over an instrumental that is almost entirely consumed by buzzing, roaring sub bass. Slowthai makes a brief appearance on the song before Vince Staples hops in for a cold-blooded and groovy verse; Vince would almost steal the show if not for the melodic beat switch that follows, introducing shimmering piano embellishments and uplifting keyboards for a blissful change in tone. It is a surprising yet effective switch, adding the muchneeded melody that was lacking in the song’s first half.

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instrumental, and Injury Reserve’s contributions are both clever, nostalgic and potently heartbreaking considering the recent passing of their beloved member, Stepa J. Groggs. “My Reality” closes out the album on an uplifting note with a sample-heavy instrumental and colorful percussion reminiscent of Kanye West’s Graduation. It’s a decent ending but never fails to remind me of the relative lack of unique ideas throughout the album’s second half. Despite its slight inconsistency in quality though, Limbo flows smoothly as a project and is still Amine’s most mature work to date.

BEST TRACK: “Roots” WORST TRACK: “Mama”

DOMINIC FIKE 07.31.2020

6.2

What Could Possibly Go Wrong

transforms into a lush and lively string arrangement.

The instrumentation on this track is luscious, colorful, and stunning throughout, it is a shame the piece doesn’t pan out into anything more than a brief musical detour. “Joe Blazey” by contrast should have Dominic Fike is an American singer-songwriter who been cut from the album entirely, as its chipmunked signed to Columbia Records following his brief but charming Don’t Forget About Me, Demos. After inking hook is simply unbearable. The pitch-shifted vocals were more effective as subtle adlibs instead of the the record deal, Fike released a handful of singles main timbre of the hook, and Fike does little to save and collaborated with a number of major artists the song after a weak beat-switch and drab ending including Halsey, Omar Apollo and Kenny Beats. In vocal performance. anticipation of his debut LP What Could Possibly Go Wrong, Dominic Fike released two incredibly divisive What Could Possibly Go Wrong is not all blunders teaser tracks. The first single “Chicken Tenders” however, and guitar remains a strong point of could very well be the worst song Dominic has penned to date, while the second is, ironically, one of Dominic Fike’s music. Strong instrumental standouts his best. The latter track, named “Politics & Violence”, include the harmonized electric guitars descending through “Double Negative (Skeleton Milkshake)”, begins with ominous synthesizers and strings before transitioning into a nocturnal drum loop and humming and the prominently smooth guitarwork throughout the intoxicating “Vampire”. The layers of hypnotic organ. Dominic’s hook is incredibly strong on this vocal harmonies add tons of colour and flair to the song, and the layers of harmonies rushing into the latter track, and Fike’s performance compliments the mix support his gentle voice. Tracks like “Politics & song both lyrically and melodically. The project still Violence” were why I was excited for What Could feels too cavalier and scatter-brained to satisfy in its Possibly Go Wrong, forward thinking production and entirety however, and overall fails to live up to the well-written songs with the same charm and strong massive hype that is currently behind Dominic Fike. melodies that were so prevalent on Don’t Forget About Me, Demos. Instead, we are graced with songs Hopefully the sophomore effort reconciles this by delivering more consistently strong, refined ideas and like the previously mentioned “Chicken Tenders”. well-written, satisfying songs.

The pitch shifted vocals are not only grating, but the lyrics paint a drab and cringe-worthy picture at best.

The instrumental is peppy and enjoyable enough, but does anyone really want to hear about Dominic Fike’s BEST TRACK: “Politics & Violence” WORST TRACK: “Chicken Tenders” itchy back?

Columbia

The most frustrating aspect of What Could Possibly Go Wrong is the discernable lack of growth between this project and Dominic Fike’s 2018 demos. Songs like the opener “Come Here” and “Good Game” express uniquely distinct ideas and sounds, yet both feel equally unfinished and unfulfilling. Even the more soundly written tracks such as the quirky “Cancel Me” and the endearing “Superstar Sh*t” feel as though something crucial is missing. The gritty, alternative influence of the formerly mentioned introduction seeps into other tracks including the penultimate “Wurli” and the amiable “Why”, but these influences leave the album unfocused rather than eclectic. “10x Stronger” is an intriguing but perplexing highlight, as its recurring vocal mantra

DUCKWRTH 08.21.2020

7.8

SuperGood Republic

SuperGood is the highly anticipated sophomore album from eclectic rapper and singer, Duckwrth.

Sauvé and focused, SuperGood is Duckwrth’s most consistent batch of songs to date, delivering a wide variety of energetic, danceable and memorable tunes. A driving kick drum and ascending bassline introduce “New Love Song” as Duckwrth’s smooth, melodic delivery flows over jazzy piano chords and rhythmic hi-hats. The song builds effortlessly, working in claps and synthesizers as layers upon layers of vocal harmonies flood the mix. The song ends as the instrumental gradually fades out, leaving the complexly arranged vocal layers bare before transitioning into the explosive next track. “Money Dance” has a driving beat layered with swooping, sweeping synthesizers, raucous 808s and rattling hi-hats reminiscent of a Pharrell Williams record. The track’s energy makes up for the somewhat mindless hook, and while Jean Deaux’s contributions are more vibe than verse, her timbre adds plenty of kookiness of the song.

Another seamless interlude transitions the album into the infectious “Quick”, a bass-heavy banger layered with a colorful guitar loop. Duckwrth’s staccato flows compliment the instrumental’s prominent groove and ascending pianos, and the rattling acoustic percussion adds plenty of character. “Too Bad” is a strange detour with a strong alternative/indie influence reminiscent of the stranger material on the Gorillaz’ Plastic Beach. Playful in tone, the track’s rolling percussion and smooth vocal harmonies transition into a bizarre trade-off between Duckwrth’s hook and a set of dramatic, quirky melodies.

Although it is an admittedly weaker track, “Too Bad” has a strange rambunctious charm that keeps it sticky and memorable. “Kiss U Right Now” takes the album in a much moodier direction, with tense guitar melodies and a punchy, skeletal drum groove. The intoxicating, mystical tone of the track is reminiscent of Justin Timberlake’s earlier theatrics, and the wailing wall of harmonies and descending sub-bass make for a truly cinematic ending.

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The album shifts gears once again with “Coming Closer”, a hip-house instrumental with rubbery sub bass and off-kilter open hats. Duckwrth’s flow over the instrumental is great, and Julia Romana’s hook is incredibly catchy. G.L.A.M.’s locked-in but reserved flow suits the track perfectly, and her trade off with Duckwrth in the bridge builds fantastically, but Romana’s final hook comes in too abruptly and immediately kills the energy. “Coming Closer” is markedly the most Duckwrth-lacking song and definitely suffers because of it. Choppy guitar chords and a smooth bassline drive the beat for “Did U Notice?”. The hook is subtle and effective, but there are a ton of little colorful details throughout. Julia Romana contributes a verse for her second appearance on SuperGood, layering in plenty of melodic texture as well. A smooth, soaring bassline and gentle percussion drive “Super Bounce” as glimmering keyboards sprinkle melody throughout the track. EARTHGANG’s contributions are fantastically memorable and charismatic, complementing Duckwrth’s personality excellently.

“Tuesday” is another rap-driven tune, sporting a very 2000’s bling-era influence; the beat is full of colorful percussion, cheesy cymbals and elementary melodies, but Duckwrth’s charisma and technicality are able to greatly elevate this homage.

SuperGood has a decent closeout with an underwhelming title track, preceded by the fantastic refrain of “World on Wheels”; the funky synth bass and strumming guitars of “World on Wheels” greatly reinforce the sunny, 70s vibe to this track. “Find A Way” closes the album out with a strange fusion of world music and synthesizers, layered with groaning vocal loops and interlacing harmonies. This track, as well as the buzzing bass and prominent claps of “Say What U Mean”, have an irresistible and uncannily creative world influence, and really drive home the eclectic nature of Duckwrth’s music in SuperGood’s final moments.

BEST TRACK: “Quick” WORST TRACK: “Super Good”

JOEY BADA$$ 07.17.2020

8.3

The Light Pack EP Pro Era

Brooklyn MC Joey Bada$$ has returned after three years with three brand new songs, a satisfying glimpse of what to expect on his upcoming third studio album. “The Light” introduces the project with a tense piano melody and ominous thunder samples. Throughout the forlorn verses, Joey acknowledges his extended absence and in the hopeful refrain, assures his listeners that nothing but greatness is coming. The faint yet gorgeous piano and guitar embellishments add plenty of colour to Joey’s performance, whose delivery is both meditative and precise. If this introduction is a taste of what to come on the LP, then Joey has successfully whetted my appetite.

The groove of the following “No Explanation” is purely intoxicating as Joey delivers his verse in a laid-back and contemplative flow over steady piano chords. His delivery is consistently smooth throughout but remains engaging and interesting, particularly in the way he ducks in and out of the instrumental. Joey’s singing transition into PushaT’s mid-paced, cold blooded verse is an unlikely but solid change-up, and Joey’s return to close out the track is nothing short of fireworks. Bada$$ is able to bring the song full circle by reintroducing the mantra from the song’s beginning, as well as reprising the pleasantly sung refrain.

“Shine” closes out The Light Pack with a traditional east-coast boom-bap flavor, chock full of bright, sunny keyboards and catchy soul samples. The song has a strong nostalgic feel and the smooth guitars weaving in and out of colorful vocal snippets lay the perfect canvas for Joey’s charismatic verses. This is a noticeably brief set of tracks, only further emphasized by a couple of sudden or abrupt endings. The brevity of The Light Pack has little impact on its enjoyability however and serves as an excellent teaser for Joey Bada$$ inevitably expansive third album.

BEST TRACK: “No Explanation” WORST TRACK: “The Light”

MISERY SIGNALS 08.07.2020

6.0

Ultraviolet Basick

Long-running North American Metalcore outfit Misery Signals have returned for their first album in seven years with Ultraviolet. The album opens with a resounding bang on “The Tempest” opening with gentle, dreary tones before exploding into a pummeling double-bass kick section with punchy, single-string guitars. The band then busts into a technical and disorientating passage as the drums build into a powerful melodic section underneath. It’s a crushing hook, and the guitars sound absolutely huge, but the weakly sung vocals at the song’s conclusion are noticeably underwhelming, particularly the feeble bend up at the very end. The following “Sunlifter” builds dissonant and harmonious guitars between resonant toms before dropping into a driving drum groove, layered with thunderous chugs and momentous riffs. The chugging further descends into atonality before peppering in increasingly more melodic sections as the track soars into double-time drums, triumphant guitar chords and descending basslines.

seems to fumble in the last minute though, dropping into an excessively corny chugging breakdown, but quickly redeems the ending by reintroducing the killer main riff to conclude the song.

Between intense shots of heavy distortion, screamer Jesse Zaraska delivers huge, echoing screams on the dramatic interlude “Through Vales of Fire and Blue”. The massive hits of noise are accompanied by tremolo guitars as a melodic uplift before the band drops into yet another insanely over-the-top and spacious breakdown. The passage justifiably recalls the track’s beginning but sounds relatively bland by comparison and could have used further fleshing out.

“The Fall” opens with a single guitar on a single string, as ethereal tones and cymbals swell before a prominently choppy chord pattern is introduced.

The singing is much better utilized on this track as it is layered with the powerful screaming, until the bridge that is; it is clear Misery Signals is reaching for something they cannot grasp when it comes to the singing on this record, and ultimately becomes one of Ultraviolet’s downfalls. “Redemption Key” introduces a clean reverbed guitar, as gentle harmonies are worked into the mix, but once again, the clean vocals This track and many others on Ultraviolet distinctively just sound bad here. Poor delivery, tone and pitch fail to maintain any consistent tone or idea, and thus feels very scatter-brained and near incoherent. Despite overall; these sections would have been prettier if the band had just left them instrumental. By the time the quality of the riffage and particularly the hypnotic the massive guitars and screaming are worked in on instrumental outro, “Sunlifter” and tracks like “Some Dreams” suffer from a strong lack of cohesion and feel “Redemption Key”, there is little that can be done to ultimately erratic. “Old Ghosts” also feels inconsistent, save the track. “Cascade Locks” is the intentionally melodic and surprisingly pleasant penultimate with its strong, melodic edge and twinkling guitar melodies that are contrasted by the off kilter, chugging track. Gently plucked single notes and strumming build into an upbeat post-hardcore rhythm, further riff introduced halfway into the track. Outside of this transitioning into a dissonant double time verse. awkward riff, there is tons of nimble lead work and Modern Metalcore bands often include a cliché, throttling, technical musicianship, but the song on the whole fails to completely satisfy. The tense, eerie guitar upbeat and melodic song on their albums, which are typically weak by comparison and rudimentarily and ethereal tones of “River King” are complemented written. “Cascade Locks” however was both exciting by subtle cymbal accents and a rolling snare drum, and unexpected, an overall refreshing change-up in as well as a harmonizing second guitar. The deadpan an album rife with consistently inconsistent writing. delivery of the vocals makes the passage feel entirely inconsequential; this section would have been more effective completely instrumental, particularly because BEST TRACK: “River King” of the jarring yet momentous riff that immediately follows. The thunderous double bass and shots of vile WORST TRACK: “Redemption Key” distortion really add to the overall heaviness, as well as the following riff that jumps back and forth between rapid chugging and dramatic chords. Misery Signals

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PRIMITIVE MAN 08.14.2020

7.0

Immersion Relapse

Primitive Man are a doom metal band from Denver, Colorado and perform some of the bleakest and most crushing music in modern metal. For the uninitiated, Doom Metal is about as pleasant as it sounds; primal drums and guitars played at drudgingly slow tempos to build endlessly onwards into hulking, oppressive, monoliths. The opening track of the band’s latest album Immersion is a perfect example of this. “The Lifer” is a savage and suffocating introduction, boasting guitars that drone like idle chainsaws and plodding, primitive percussion. The final section of the song introduces a psychedelic tremolo guitar slathered in effects as it wails over a grinding bass line before the song devolves into a harsh wall of feedback.

The droning dissonance and booming shots of toms that introduce “Entity” are immediately attentiongrabbing as the drone meanders between eerie and atonal notes, but the length to which this section is drawn out quickly goes from tense to tedious.

Not until the two-minute mark is a shrill squeal of feedback introduced as the guitars suffocate the mix. The band descends into what sounds like an endless pit of despair as the drums continue on in a maddeningly slow pace, while the screamer’s performance becomes more and more manic.

“Menacing” opens with manic blast beats and blistering tremolo guitars before descending once again into a crushingly slow, dissonant chord progression. The drums transition into a groovy, open hi-hat section as the guitars strum on sinister sludgy notes before the song disintegrates into a wall of humming feedback. The grimy, grinding bass is brought back into the mix as the screamer heralds the return of the grim, oppressive guitars. The band then transitions into a momentous, descending chord progression that is both exultant and primal.

Beyond this point however, Primitive Man simply shifts between two notes in a meditative outro as feedback smothers the mix; it works as an ending but feels rather arduous considering the relative complexity of the song.

“∞” is a straight up noise piece, made up of static and other bits of harsh feedback. Considering how all-consuming the guitars are on Immersion, it is almost refreshing to hear this kind of noise, as sadistic as that is to say… It is however, the most uneventful of the tracks here, and works as little more than an abrasive palate cleanser. The dramatic and dissonant guitar chords on “Foul” are an intriguing example of how Primitive Man works in gruesome, dissonant melodies into their passages, giving this song a stronger sense of direction in the brooding chaos. The drums drag on as the guitars churn through the mix like an ocean of busted blenders.

Then a droning lead melody soars above the distorted murk, soaked in psychedelic effects as the band switches back and forth between atonal chords.

The final song on Immersion opens as a maelstrom of guitars storm around a driving drum groove.

The bass drones through the mix before opening up into a throttling blast beat section, making “Consumption” the liveliest of Immersion’s six songs. The drums then pound in a primal pattern as the guitars drone on and on, as the screamer wails over the building tumult. The band drops into a conclusively grinding and massive ending before a comparatively brief conclusion. It felt as though “Consumption” should have been played out longer, as opposed to the previous eight-minute behemoth “Menacing”, considering the former claims the final slot on the album. Immersion remains true to its name throughout, as it serves up over half an hour of soul-crushing material that builds upon itself into an endless black void, devoid of hope and all things warm and fuzzy.

BEST TRACK: “Foul” WORST TRACK: “∞”

PVRIS

08.28.2020

6.6

USE ME

Warner Bros

Use Me is the third studio album from American rock trio -- recently turned duo – PVRIS. Introduced by the prominent sub bass and sliding, rubbery synthesizers of “Gimme a Minute”, the albums opener builds to a raucous four-on-the-floor rhythm booming with 808’s. Beautiful rushes of harmonies are worked into the refrain of “Gimme a Minute”, adding elegant layers of melody to the high energy.

The guitar break at the bridge is a surprising and effective change of pace that adds an electrifying energy, although I can’t help but be reminded by the end of Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia”. The following “Dead Weight” further displays the band’s alternative edge with wailing, bending electric guitars and gritty effects slathering Lynn Gunn’s vocals. The blissful pre-chorus is a little out of place considering how bombastic the rest of the song is, but it doesn’t compromise the overall tone of the track.

Immersive, psychedelic synthesizers swirl through “Stay Gold”, as a gently plucked guitar and rattling shaker is worked into the verse. The song drops into a surprisingly upbeat and groovy dance tune, with strumming guitars and massive sounding synthesizers. A strong groove and refrain make this track a highlight, although the mix gets a bit cluttered during the song’s more climactic moments.

“Good to Be Alive” starts with a predictably punchy drum loop and a radio-friendly finger-picked guitar.

The song has a bit of a 90’s rock vibe to it, until the post chorus drops into a more bombastic timbre; It’s an ugly jump from the gentle nature of the verses, and Lynn’s lyrics come off as mostly melodramatic.

What’s worse is the awful distortion effect that overpowers her voice at the end of the song, the effect is so jarring and terrible that it sounds closer to a mistake than an artistic choice.

The high-octane single “Death of Me” picks things up with heavy, resonant bass and a driving electronic groove. The production is much smoother on this track, and becomes effectively more intense as the refrain kicks in. Lynn’s gentle falsetto builds the pre-chorus nicely with a faint guitar and building claps. “Hallucinations” contains one of the strongest

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refrains on Use Me, and the mystical, fluttering harps introduce the lyrical themes of this song perfectly.

Once again, the verses build with a four-on-thefloor driving groove and a finger picked guitar, before fluttering harps and bass build into a pulsing, synth-charged drop. The harps take an even more prominent presence on the next verse, adding to the dream-like quality of this track.

“Old Wounds” opens with subterranean bass and ethereal tones as shimmering synthesizers and arpeggiating harps build in the distance. The song then drops into a spacious groove comprised of skeletal percussion and booming 808s, reminiscent of 070 Shake’s recent material on Modus Vivendi.

070 herself makes an underwhelming appearance on the album’s title track, doing little to compliment the already scant and drab ideas PVRIS brought to the table on “Use Me”. Lynn’s ethereal singing on “Loveless” is much more emotive and enjoyable, and the harmonies sound great too; It’s refreshing to hear something more laidback from PVRIS, considering how energetic the album’s first half has been. “January Rain” keeps the tone moody through a consistent drum loop and reserved vocal hook, but the instrumental is laced with many so many strange vocalizations that end up more distracting than interesting. “Wish You Well” concludes the album with swaying guitar notes and smooth bass over a meditative drum groove. The bass line on this song is the strongest on the record but sounds painfully reminiscent of Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better”. Overall this is a solid effort from PVRIS, but the band constantly falls into their own tropes and are unable to deliver consistently unique ideas.

BEST TRACK: “Hallucinations” WORST TRACK: “Good To Be Alive”

RICH BRIAN 08.25.2020

5.2

1999 (EP) 88 Rising

guitar line. The subterranean synth bass and Brian’s rhythmic flow throughout this track sound great, but the answering-machine outro is nearly unbearable.

The message may mean a lot to the artist, but this does not always translate well to the listener. While some individuals may be moved by the heartfelt ending, it simply makes me turn off 1999 before it’s over.

1999 is the first EP from Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, and sees the young MC further expanding his sonic palate and experimenting with a broad range of sounds and genres. This project is a clear stylistic continuation of The Sailor, Rich Brian’s inconsistent yet admirable sophomore effort. The buzzing synthesizers, smooth snaps and ascending steel drums of “Sometimes” introduce a very tropical BEST TRACK: “Long Run ” feel to the project, which is furthered by the plunking, WORST TRACK: “Sins” watery synth chords and wailing mellotron on the following “Don’t Care”. Rich Brian’s flows on the latter track are fast and technical, and the aimable nature of the track would make it a surprisingly smooth fit for the radio. Rich Brian sounds hopeful and excited for the future, but his lyrics and melodies come off as juvenile and overly simplistic on these refrains; even though the flows and delivery remain solid, the repetition becomes increasingly stale.

“Long Run” keeps the tone of 1999 upbeat and bombastic with swaying synth chords and a whistling, echoing lead line. Brian croons over subterranean synth bass as the song builds for a full minute before the momentous beat kicks in, energetic and smooth, giving the track immense momentum.

Melodic, immersive keyboards and Brian’s lonely voice are the centerpiece of “When You Come Home”, a reserved and endearing ballad. This is by far the most skeletal and spacious track on 1999, and although Rich Brian’s melodies are solid, his singing still needs improvement as it comes off as boyish and amateur on such a bare instrumental. The following tracks feel more like homages than experiments, as a lot of ideas feel recycled rather than borrowed, such as the “Billie Jean” bassline over “Love in my Pocket” or the obvious Weeknd-Worship on the throwback jam “DOA”.

Despite an obvious lack of originality, Rich Brian’s performances on these tracks are solid; he is more than capable of matching the high energy, 1-2 groove of “DOA” and his rap verse on “Love in my Pocket” makes for an exciting and effective bridge.

“Sins” sees Rich Brian attempting a more personal, alternative-tinged track with a simple and gentle

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