New Noise Magazine Issue #51

UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES, UNIVERSAL JAMS

INTERVIEW WITH LEAD VOCALIST, VIBRAPHONIST, AND SONGWRITERÂ RAHILL JAMALIFARD BY J POET

Jamalifard grew up singing along to her dad’s collection of bootleg tapes of Iranian music. Those sounds get subtly mixed into the arrangements on the record, finally coming into full bloom on the album’s last track, “Come My Habibi.� Guest singer Mina Al Chokeil adds traditional vocal improvisations to the lines Jamalifard sings in Farsi, while tombak player Yahya Alkhansa adds her percussion expertise to the jam that closes the song. It’s a seamless amalgamation of American and Iranian influences. Is this something the band will be pursuing in the future?

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abibi write bright, uplifting love songs. divide in this country. As the rich stay in “I just finished a new song, partially sung in their bubble of comfort, we struggle to Even when they’re dealing with the Farsi,� Jamalifard said. “It’s always going to afford healthcare, pay our rent, and to do darker aspects of relationships, the music is lively, full of chiming guitar hooks, the things we need to do in order to keep sweet harmonies and punchy rhythms. peace of mind. Anywhere But Here is an The Brooklyn-based band’s new album, echo of that sentiment.�

Anywhere But Here, released by Mudguts Records on Feb. 14, 2020, features 11 mem- Habibi’s songwriting duo - Jamalifard and guitarist and singer Lenny Lynch - were orable tunes. These include “Bad News,� a raised in Detroit. The sounds of that city, break up song with a twang-heavy surf Motown, girl group harmonies, jazz, rock, beat, “Dragging Me Down,� an ominous ballad drenched in brooding harmonies, and Middle Eastern music permeated their minds, even before they had the idea of and “Hate Everyone But You,� a song that starting a band. uses a Bo Diddley beat to dream about escaping the realities of life in Trump’s America. Those feelings are implicit in the “Habibi is named after a familiar term of endearment Lenny and I grew up hearing,� album’s title.

Jamalifard said. “Lenny spent a lot of time with her Arab neighbors and friends. They “I would say the past couple years - since taught her about their culture, food, and the beginning of this presidency - have language. I grew up just outside of Detroit been pretty bleak and dark, with racism and spent a lot of time in the Muslim comand xenophobia reaching new levels,� said Rahill Jamalifard, Habibi’s singer, lyricist, munity, so we have a special appreciation for that term.� and vibraphone player. “There’s a huge

PERSONALITY

be an element, as it’s a part of me. There’s no planned out agenda about including or excluding anything. It comes when it comes. I believe people really like it, and are intrigued by it. Often, people tell me I should incorporate it more into our music, but as I said, it comes when it comes. Ideas come from everywhere. I'm inspired by my family or friends, the street, my thoughts, books, film, anything. When I hear a random line that I like, or a phrase I think sounds poetic, I write it down to work on later. It’s not my style to pursue something affectedly. It’s way more instinctual for me, not calculated.�

Stay tuned. đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTO BY BAILEY ROBB

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST AND GUITARIST BEN CARR BY JANELLE JONES

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orth Carolina’s Personality Cult are back with their sophomore full-length, the frenetic, nine-track tour-de-force New Arrows, released mid-February 2020 on Dirtnap Records.

“The band, which incorporate a lively, power-pop-infused brand of punk rock with highly thought-provoking, introspective lyrics, is the brainchild of Ben Carr, who has played

with Last Year’s Men and Natural Causes.

They started after Carr, who had written “a handful of songs, and I had a couple others buried deep in my demos folder in my computer,� says vocalist and guitarist Ben Carr.

He then talked with drummer Ian Rose who encouraged him to “just do it.�

So, Carr says, Rose played drums, “And then everything else I just did in my bedroom.� He

sent the finished product to well-regarded label Drunken Sailor, and they released Personality Cult’s self-titled, debut album in 2018. After that success, Carr says, “I was just like, ‘I guess I gotta form a band now.’�

He got together with friends Colin Sneed, Johnny Valiant, and newer acquaintance guitarist Stephen Svacina.

“I wanted to have somebody else to share this with,� he says. “There’s only so much talking to yourself that you can do. It was nice to share that experience a little bit.�

Carr still writes all the songs himself. “I’ll program out electronic drums and then write the guitar part, the bass part, the lead part, the vocals,� he says. “And then I’ll send those songs out to the band, and obviously they’ll put their tweaks on it. They’re a vital part of Personality Cult for sure. The pace we go at is how quickly I can pump out the demos.�

And those sparks of ideas for songs and writing can, naturally, vary. “I feel like it comes in spurts where I'll not write anything for two months, and then be like, ‘Well, great; I can’t write songs anymore; it’s just not possible. I'm tapped out,’�

12 NEW NOISE

says Carr. “And then something will click, and I'll write three or four in a row and then just spend the next couple of weeks after that demoing, demoing, demoing, and then eventually, you get to a point where you have 12 songs. Let’s go make a record.�

About putting this album out on Dirtnap, Carr explains enthusiastically, “I’m 28, and they’ve been around for 20 years, so all my formative years of listening to punk, I’ve been buying Dirtnap records.� “Ken [Cheppaikode, label owner] is really cool and pleasant to work with,� he adds. “There’s no pretension on anybody’s side.

I’m really happy to be a part of it.�

And part of being on the Dirtnap roster means Personality Cult will be playing the label’s 20th anniversary party in June in Madison, Wisconsin. As for playing other dates and going on tour in support of the record, that’s still up in the air at this point. “We’ve got a couple things in the works, but they’re really in the baby stages right now,�

Carr explains. “I’m in school full time, double majoring. And my partner has a kid, so I’m running around all the time.�

Stay tuned. đ&#x;’Ł