Voice Piece

VOICE PIECE

“ Sc re a m a g a i n st t he w i n d .”

ISSUE ONE

Feminist · Music · Magazine

2017 RECAP: REVIEW: Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet • Page 9 Music by Women/Trans/Femme Artists • Page 14

$12.00 U.S.A. $15.00 CANADA

meet the staff

Sara Loebig

Emily Csuy

Founder

Contributer

Editor • Writer

Designer • Writer

Lily Makowski

Mollie Wiener

Contributer

Contributer

Writer

Writer

Jackie Lee Young Amanda Hatfield Maria Kanevskaya Marilis Cardinal

Andrea Betanzos

Photography

Contributer Writer

Dianna Settles Janis Joplin Artwork

[2]

table of contents A Letter from the Editor A Brief Introduction to VOICE PIECE Sara Loebig

5

What We’re Listening To Valentine’s Day Edition Voice Piece Staff

6

Album Review Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet Lily Makowski

9

Release Calendar New Music Releases: March 2018 Voice Piece Staff

11

2017 Recap Music by Women/Trans/Femme Artists Voice Piece Staff

14

OP-ED Spotify, Streaming, and the Erasure of Access Lily Makowski

22

By the Numbers The Grammy Awards Mollie Wiener

24

Show Review Profound Simplicity: Jen Cloher - Live @ Rough Trade, NYC Andrea Betanzos

27

Artist Spotlight Thao Nguyen of Thao & The Get Down Stay Down Emily Csuy

28

A Look Back “What Is Instead?”: Blue Hawaii’s Untogether, Five Years On Lily Makowski

30

[3]

“A Lot Like Me” (1965) · Artwork by Janis Joplin

[4]

a letter from the editor

In our first issue, we unveil our annual Music by

Welcome to VOICE PIECE.

Women list—a massive catalog of as much music Since we’re new, I’ll let you know what we are all

we could dig up in 2017 released by artists in the

about before we get started.

W/T/F spectrum. This project is what inspired the Voice Piece website! It’s our biggest effort yet—we’ve

This is going to be a feminist music magazine to

managed to compile over 500 different albums

accompany our blog (www.voice-piece.com). We want

this year! We’ll provide some articles and guides to

to cover music with the feminist eye we use on a day-

help you dig through the list. We’ll also spend time

to-day basis. This means you’re not only going to find

reviewing the albums, songs and shows that have

the typical articles you’d see in a music magazine—

made an impact on us.

such as reviews and playlists, but commentary on I’m really excited to grow this project into reaching

today’s music culture, as well.

as wide of an audience as possible. This magazine is We are also only electing to cover artists that fit in the

named after a Yoko Ono performance piece where you

W/T/F (Women/Trans/Femme) gender spectrum, as

are instructed to “scream against the wind.” So many

bands, solo artists, or front people, with the mission

artists that will be featured here do just that, and I

of helping our readers diversify their music libraries.

can’t wait to share them with you.

We think this music will fit in nicely with some of the Peace & Love,

music you’ve already got in your rotation.

Sara Loebig • Founder of VOICE PIECE

[5]

Artwork and Design by Emily Csuy

what we’re listening to . . .

Writing by the Voice Piece staff · 14 February 2018

Like many of you, music is constantly on our minds, especially

Beach House - “Levitation”

during holidays and other commemorative events. In this series,

To me, Beach House and Valentine’s

we give some thoughts about the songs that soundtrack our lives.

Day go hand in hand. Their beautiful, evocative music has

Valentine’s Day can be a real mixed bag of emotions for some—for

served as the soundtrack to mine

many it reminds us of the love from partners past and present,

and my girlfriend’s relationship

love gone unrequited, or even the fact that love gets a price tag

over the years. Beach House’s song

every February 14th. Here we talk about the songs that bring up

“Levitation,” which opens their

those emotions for us—and much more.

2015 album Depression Cherry, gives me butterflies whenever I hear those first steady taps on the

Liz Phair - “Shatter”

cymbal. Victoria Legrand sings romantically of a “you and me”

I realize that I don’t really come across as this type of person,

going anywhere we want to as the music lifts off to the utopian

but I actually really enjoy Valentine’s

dream state some call “love.” - Emily

Day. It consists of everything I dislike or don’t comprehend all mashed up

Warpaint - “Biggy”

into one big corporate holiday, and I

February in my city is a disorienting time, being one of the

think all those combinations together

coldest yet one of the sunniest

somehow make it something I have

months of the year. The confusion

a paradoxical fondness for. I often

and wonder provoked by the merging

find myself browsing the seasonal

of blue sky and black ice is perfectly

aisles of drug stores during this time of year, looking at all

encapsulated in the detached haze

the stuffed animals and other gift sets and imagining who

of Warpaint’s self-titled album. For

will be gifting them. These emotions immediately bring me

me, their layers of warm, enveloping

to Liz Phair, who wrote a whole album exploring these kind of

melodies and jagged rhythms always

feelings, specifically “Shatter,” which describes that same kind

conjure this part of the year, where spring shows itself in brief

of feeling I have about Valentine’s Day but instead about a

glimpses only to recede into the frost again. The song “Biggy”

person, which is something I’m no stranger to either. - Sara

especially captures the feeling of watching the winter sun

[6]

. . . Valentine’s Day Edition

glimmer through cascades of dust, swirling above a shelter

The Ronettes – “Be My Baby”

of blankets or the heat of a lover. It is a testament to the

Valentine’s Day always brings me back to 1997. I was 8 and

group’s ability to evoke moments of quiet intimacy, those brief

bought my father the kind of present you get for the man

glimpses into a shared otherworld far away from the cold. - Lily

who has everything: a jumbo-size Hershey’s Kiss. In the 15 minutes it took for my parents to get

Charly Bliss – “Percolator”

dinner ready, I somehow managed

I don’t feel strongly either way about Valentine’s Day, so it

to eat his whole gift in record time.

might seem odd that during this

Surprisingly, I did not go into a

season I’m drawn to an album

diabetic coma. This is by far the most

that focuses heavily on how shitty

successful Valentine’s Day I’ve ever

dating can be. However, Guppy by

had. Thinking of that moment, I

Charly Bliss is so infectious that my

chose something as reliable as a 7oz.

boyfriend and I often find ourselves

Hershey’s Kiss: “Be My Baby,” by The Ronettes off of their

launching into impromptu duets

Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica LP. It’s an

of many of the tracks, with album

old standard, but there’s a reason Brian Wilson was obsessed

opener “Percolator” being the most common. Filled with

with this song.

punchy lyrics and powerful guitar riffs, it’s a perfect song to soundtrack the Valentine’s Day of anyone who has been told

Yes, it was produced by one of the worst human beings and

they invest too much emotion in failed relationships. Vocalist

yes, it has one of the greatest drum phrases of all time, but

Eva Hendricks triumphantly rejects this notion, instead

the song simply wouldn’t work without Ronnie. There’s a

declaring that “it’s cool” to be “in touch with [your] feelings.”

sweetness and longing in her voice that no one’s ever been

Whether you’re single or not, I highly recommend unwrapping

able to recreate with all those unnecessary covers. The whole

some heart-shaped candies to that sentiment. - Mollie

album is filled with darling gems of a young woman falling in love, but everything is magical about this sweetheart of a song: the random castanets, the muted violins, the fade out. Joyful, a little sad and gender neutral—the perfect love song. - Andrea

[7]

Photography by Jackie Lee Young

ALBUM REVIEW:

Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet Writing by Lily Makowski · 14 January 2018

O

ver the course of her two albums as

early cassette works. Soft Sounds instead

scene with sparing-but-precise detail.

Japanese Breakfast, Michelle Zauner

announces itself as a vast, wandering

On standout “Road Head,” she sings of

has turned the project primarily into an

landscape, one in which Zauner feels

“lightless miles of big rigs,” evoking a

act of world-building. From the family

appropriately lost. “When I get back

near-cosmic sense of smallness in the face

photo that graces the cover of her 2016

there, baby/I’m gonna make you a home,”

of her circumstances, her vocals blurring

debut Psychopomp, to the lengthy note

she declares without alluding to what

into the song’s grand instrumental sweep.

and freehand illustrations accompanying

“there” is or what that home might mean

each song in the lyric booklet for its

to her. Her trajectory is set, but without

This focus on songwriting and structure

follow-up Soft Sounds from Another Planet,

an endpoint, and this uncertainty defines

allows for a foundation in which Zauner

she evokes a highly personalized sense of

many of the stories on the album.

is able to explore a consistently novel

the world around her. Japanese Breakfast

palate of sounds. The album veers from

is a space in which Zauner mediates her

the space-pop of “Machinist” to the alt-

experience of this world and, through the

country leanings of the title track and

visual mythology that informs the project,

“Boyish” without missing a step, all thanks

invites the listener to do the same with

to the formidable melodic backbone

theirs.

underpinning the performances. This experimental edge, fostered in part by co-

On Psychopomp, this experience was

producer Craig Hendrix, gives the album

marked by a kind of claustrophobic

an equally engaging element of soundcraft

weight. The album portrayed a world of

that felt at-times absent in Psychopomp’s

heavy hands, hospital beds, and tattered

perpetual haze.

sleeves that reflected the slow violence of grief accompanying death by terminal

While Zauner may have imbued Soft

Soft Sounds presents Zauner’s growth not

illness. Naturally then, Soft Sounds acts

Sounds with a far more ambitious sense

just as a songwriter, but as a performer.

as an expansion of this world, taking the

of scale, it does not make her songwriting

Where previously, her vocals often reached

blunted narratives of Psychopomp and

any less focused. Here, the keen structural

for the rafters over entire tracks, she lends

casting them across a much wider canvas.

instincts she presented on Psychopomp

the album a newfound expressiveness

are honed to a razor-sharp degree, not

and dynamic range that enhances the

This newfound expansiveness is

wasting a second as tracks build and

lyrical subtext even further. The tired

established immediately on opener

unfold. This concision, however, never

way in which she states “that’s not the

“Diving Woman,” a sprawling six-minute,

comes at the expense of narrative, with

way to hurt me,” on the title track, or her

shoegaze-tinged odyssey. Gone are the

each verse given just the amount of

pleading “don’t turn away, I’m still awake”

compact song lengths that defined her

time it needs to build a richly informed

on “Till Death” make for hauntingly

[9]

“Diving Woman” · Artwork by Dianna Settles

effective moments. Zauner fully inhabits

Soft Sounds such a significant work. There

describes a house “full of women sharing

the stories she portrays, conveying the

is a reason for the expansive sonics of the

trauma, doing dishes” I know the place

pain, vulnerability, and determination of

instrumentation: it is an album about the

she is talking about. I have been in those

her speakers in intimate detail.

distances that form when a person has

spaces. Those spaces have saved me. To

been wounded by the world. Distances

hear them memorialized in song makes

This narrative precision ultimately forms

from oneself, one’s heritage, sexuality,

me feel known. It makes me feel seen. To

the core of Soft Sounds. Each track is a

interpersonal connections, body, and

hear those soothing bells enter the frame

vignette, a catalyzing moment in Zauner’s

more. Soft Sounds explores these spaces

makes me feel like I am capable of healing

life given shape by the song around it.

with a deft and sensitive hand, envisioning

too.

Throughout, she portrays a stunning

a far-off planet in which a reassembled

amount of nuance given her relatively

self might exist. On the album, that place

In years to come, Soft Sounds will be a

sparse lyrics. That she can portray a

at last draws near with the approaching

companion for so many of the wounded,

lifetime of empty sexuality with “Road

clarion of closer “Here Come the Tubular

the marginalized, the invisible who are

Head”s “pump and run” chorus, or leaving

Bells.” It is the sound of another world

contained in its verses. People will not

a partner for someone else in a way that

returning at last after two albums of

feel alone because of this album. People

somehow sympathizes with all parties

upheaval and pain: Home.

will see themselves in this album. People

in only two minutes on “12 Steps” is a testament to her lyrical and musical skill.

will heal because of the strength this Having detailed the album more than

album gives them. I have felt these things

enough, I’m going to break my own

because of this album. I know others

Said skill is not wasted on petty matters

writerly principles and speak candidly for

have too. That is why this album is so, so

either. Soft Sounds is laden with visceral

a second: As a woman, a queer woman,

necessary. Soft Sounds is a compendium

depictions of trauma and illness in a way

a trans woman, a woman who has been

for the unheard. It broadcasts their voices

few rock albums have managed to do. This

relegated to the edges of society, you have

into the sky, showing them a roadmap

is largely due to Zauner’s uncompromising

no idea what it means for a record like this

back to themselves.

vulnerability and clarity of vision as an

to exist.

artist. On her most daring moment, she

To heal is the most important thing a work

closes “Till Death” simply by listing these

Soft Sounds is an album about the

of art can do. That’s why this is my album

demons outright: “PTSD, anxiety, genetic

sensations of otherness experienced by

of the year.

disease, thanatophobia.” It is a powerful

women, and it portrays these in a way

act of reclamation, one that gestures

that feels ripped from my own head.

towards healing in a vital and necessary

When she sings “last ditch desperate,

way.

like a makeshift siphon,” I know exactly what she means, and it is not a feeling

This relationship to healing is what makes

I have heard in art before. When she

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RELEASE CALENDAR: Music Releases by Women/Trans/Femme Artists: March 2018 Compiled by the Voice Piece staff · 25 February 2018 Artwork and Design by Emily Csuy

MARCH 16

Green Text = Voice Piece Staff Recommends (These are releases by artists we’ve enjoyed in the past!)

oo oo oo oo oo oo

MARCH 2 oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo

All We Are - Sunny Hills Acoustic (Indie Rock) Anna Von Hausswolff - Dead Magic (Experimental) The Breeders - All Nerve (Alternative Rock) Camp Cope - How to Socialize & Make Friends (Indie Rock) Fanny Walked The Earth (FKA “Fanny”) - Fanny Walked The Earth (Pop Rock) Gwenno - Le Kov (Pop) Haley Heynderickx - I Need to Start a Garden (Singer/ Songwriter) Joan Baez - Whistle Down the Wind (Folk) Lost Girls (Jenny Hval) - Feeling EP (Experimental) Lucius - Nudes (Pop) Lucy Daucus - Historian (Indie Rock) Park Jiha - Communion (Free Jazz) Peggy Gou - Once (House) Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It (Mathcore) Rose Mercie - Rose Mercie (French Rock) Soccer Mommy - Clean (Indie Pop) Superorganism - Superorganism (Electropop) Tracey Thorn - Record (Singer/Songwriter)

MARCH 23 oo Alice Bag - Blueprint (Punk) oo Courtney Marie Andrews - May Your Kindness Remain (Singer/Songwriter) oo Fatima Dunn - Birds and Bones (Baroque Pop) oo Gin Wigmore - Ivory (Singer/Songwriter) oo Lissie - Castles (Pop Rock) oo Nicole Cross - Shapeshifter (Pop) oo The Pandoras - Hey! It’s the Pandoras (Garage Rock)

MARCH 30 oo Daphne & Celeste - Daphne & Celeste Save the World (Electropop) oo En Vogue - Electric Café (R&B) oo Frankie Cosmos - Vessel (Indie Pop) oo Hayley Kiyoko - Expectations (Electropop) oo Jean Grae & Quelle Chris - Everything’s Fine (Hip Hop) oo Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour (Country) oo Kim Richey - Edgeland (Alt Country) oo Lindi Ortega - Liberty (Alt Country) oo No Joy & Sonic Boom - No Joy / Sonic Boom (Shoegaze) oo Queen of Jeans - Dig Yourself (Lo-Fi) oo The Shacks - Haze (Indie Rock)

MARCH 9 oo oo oo oo oo

Caroline Says - No Fool Like an Old Fool (Lo-Fi) Essaie Pas - New Path (Synthpop) Fickle Friends - You Are Someone Else (Indie Pop) Lauren Auder - Who Carry’s You (Art Pop) Meshell Ndegeocello - Ventriloquism (Neo-Soul) Sunflower Bean - Twenty Two in Blue (Indie Rock)

Alexandra Burke - The Truth Is (Pop) Lisa Stansfield - Deeper (Soul) Liza Anne - Fine But Dying (Folk) Martha Ffion - Sunday Best (Indie Pop) Whyte Horses - Empty Words (Indie Rock)

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MUSIC BY WOMEN 2017

MUSIC BY WOMEN Project by Sara Loebig · 5 January 2018 Writing by Sara Loebig and Lily Makowski Playlists by Sara Loebig and Lily Makowski

Editing by Lily Makowski, Mollie Wiener, Emily Csuy Data Entry by Lily Makowski and Mollie Wiener Artwork and Design by Emily Csuy

Welcome to the 2017 edition of Music by Women!

What you’ll find here are selections from over 500 (!) tediously compiled albums and EP’s by artists within the Women/Trans/Femme gender spectrum, released in 2017 and categorized by genre and identity (see www.voice-piece.com for the full lists/playlists).

This time we go beyond genre to help celebrate the diversity featured on our full music list. In a year of marches, political turmoil, travel bans, the #MeToo movement and much more, women faced a daunting number of challenges in 2017.

Through our freedom of expression in music, we come together to form a sisterhood that will help us power through it all. This is illustrated in the playlist art (shown above in the header and on the previous page)— each playlist cover is a piece of the big picture. We hope through this music you can find artists that remind you of yourself—your nationality, identity and/or language, or find someone that is from a different world than yours.

ROCK

POP

Enjoy! Let’s dive in!

oo Slowdive - Slowdive (shoegaze) oo Waxahatchee - Out in the Storm (indie rock) oo Japanese Breakfast - Soft Sounds from Another Planet (indie rock/pop) [album review on page 9] oo The Courtneys - The Courtneys II (grunge/power pop) oo Wolf Alice - Visions of a Life (noise rock) oo Palehound - A Place I’ll Always Go (indie rock) [album cover pictured below] oo The Big Moon - Love In The Fourth Dimension (indie rock) oo Alvvays - Antisocialites (indie rock/pop) oo Spotlights - Seismic (metal/ post-rock) oo Big Thief - Capacity (indie rock)

oo St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION (electropop/glam rock) oo Adult Mom - Soft Spots (lo-fi bedroom pop) oo Lorde - Melodrama (electropop) [album cover pictured below] oo Fever Ray - Plunge (experimental electropop) oo Kesha - Rainbow (pop) oo Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life (pop) oo Rina Sawayama - RINA (electropop/R&B) oo Tennis - Yours Conditionally (indie pop) oo Maison Book Girl - Image (art pop J-pop) oo Mega Bog - Happy Together (indie pop)

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2017 HIP-HOP/R&B

SINGER-SONGWRITER

oo Jhené Aiko - Trip (psychedelic soul) oo Astrophanes - Humans Become Machines (experimental hip-hop) oo SZA - CTRL (alternative R&B) [album cover pictured below] oo CupcakKe - Queen Elizabitch (hardcore hip-hop) oo Princess Nokia - 1992 Deluxe (East Coast hip-hop) oo Syd - Fin (alternative R&B) oo Kelela - Take Me Apart (electroR&B) oo Linn da Quebrada - Pajubá (conscious hip-hop/ funk carioca) oo Sampa the Great - Birds and the BEE9 (jazz hip-hop/ neo-soul) oo Rapsody - Laila’s Wisdom (conscious hip-hop)

oo Florist - If Blue Could Be Happiness (lo-fi indie folk) oo Molly Burch - Please Be Mine (indie folk) oo Vagabon - Infinite Worlds (lo-fi indie) [album cover pictured below] oo Common Holly - Playing House (indie folk) oo Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps (chamber folk) oo Margo Price - All American Made (contemporary country) oo Circuit Des Yeux - Reaching for Indigo (avant-folk) oo Julie Byrne - Not Even Happiness (indie folk) oo Margo Price - All American Made (contemporary country) oo Linda Perhacs - I’m a Harmony (psychedelic folk)

ELECTRONIC

OTHER

oo Björk - Utopia (art pop/glitch pop) oo Jlin - Black Origami (footwork/IDM) [album cover pictured below] oo Pharmakon - Contact (death industrial/drone) oo Ikonika - Distractions (UK bass/wonky) oo Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Kid (progressive) oo Yaeji - EP2 (ambient house) oo Kelly Lee Owens - Kelly Lee Owens (downtempo/ambient pop) oo Laurel Halo - Dust (sound collage) oo Caterina Barbieri - Patterns of Consciousness (progressive) oo Guerilla Toss - GT Ultra (art pop/ zolo)

oo Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings - Soul of a Woman (soul/funk) oo Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black (soul/gospel) oo Somi - Petite Afrique (vocal jazz/neo-soul) [album cover pictured below] oo Lauren Alaina - Road Less Travelled (country pop) oo Sarah Davachi - All My Circles Run (drone) oo YolanDa Brown - Love Politics War (vocal jazz/reggae) oo Iona Fortune - Tao of I (tribal ambient/instrumental) oo Melanie De Biasio - Lillies (jazz) oo Valerie June - The Order of Time (Americana/country soul) oo L’Rain - L’Rain (experimental pop)

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MUSIC BY WOMEN NON-ENGLISH

TRANS/NON-BINARY

oo Juana Molina - Halo (Spanish folktronica) oo Charlotte Gainsbourg - Rest (French art pop) oo Cold Specks - Fool’s Paradise (Somali neo-soul) [album cover pictured below] oo Mooner - Tabiat (Indonesian psychedelic rock) oo Oumou Sangaré - Mogoya (Bambara Wassoulou) oo Slowgold - Drömmar (Swedish folk) oo Litku Klemetti - Juna Kainuusen (Finnish jangle pop) oo Or Edry - KIDOD (Hebrew dream pop) oo Seiko Oomori - Muteki (Japanese folk pop) oo Myrkur - Mareridt (Danish dark folk)

oo Ah-Mer-Ah-Su - Rebecca (art pop/electronic) oo Octo Octa - Where Are We Going? (deep house/ dance) [album cover pictured below] oo Fire-Toolz - Drip Mental (electro-industrial) oo ANOHNI - Paradise (electropop) oo Girlpool - Powerplant (lo-fi indie pop) oo Rook & Nomie - Superego Royal Jelly (glitch pop/industrial) oo CXDR - Someone Else’s Story (folktronica/bedroom pop) oo Girls Rituals - Emergency! (synthpop/noise pop) oo Quay Dash - Transphobic (experimental hip-hop) oo Worriers - Survival Pop (pop punk)

LGBTQ+

PEOPLE OF COLOR

oo Marika Hackman - I’m Not Your Man (indie folk/ singer-songwriter) [album cover pictured below] oo Partner - In Search of Lost Time (power pop) oo Julien Baker - Turn Out the Lights (indie folk/singer-songwriter) oo Fatima Al Qadiri - Shaneera (experimental electronic/grime) oo Quiñ - Dreamgirl EP (R&B/soul) oo Chastity Brown - Silhouette of Sirens (singersongwriter/country soul) oo Jen Cloher - Jen Cloher (lo-fi singer-songwriter) oo Petal - Comfort EP (singer-songwriter/piano rock) oo Young M.A - Herstory (East Coast hip-hop) oo The xx - I See You (indietronica)

oo Ibeyi - Ash (electrosoul/Yoruba) [album cover pictured below] oo Bomba Esteréo - Ayo (Latin electropop) oo Ravyn Lenae - Midnight Moonlight (neo-soul/alternative R&B) oo Rainbow Chan - Fabrican (experimental electronic) oo Deerhoof - Mountain Moves (art rock/noise pop) oo Mhysa - fantasii (ambient pop/UK bass) oo Rosalía - Los Ángeles (contemporary Flamenco) oo Crumb - Locket (psychedelic pop/jazz-rock) oo Aye Nako - Silver Haze (indie rock/punk) oo Jay Som - Everybody Works (indie rock/dream pop)

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2017 SELECTIONS FROM MUSIC BY WOMEN 2017:

HIP-HOP/R&B Artists Pushing the Genre’s Boundaries

Linn da Quebrada - Pajubá

Writing by Sara Loebig · 11 January 2018

On Pajubá, Linn da Quebrada tells her story, living as a queer transgender woman in Brazil, through powerful lyrics and hardhitting dance beats. The album is named after a common dialect shared between LGBTQ+ people in Brazil, and the lyrics stay true

Aristophanes - Humans Become Machines Most well-known for her collaboration

to that theme of exploring your identity

with Grimes on 2016’s Art Angels,

within your community and language.

Aristophanes debuts her first mixtape

The album was also released with a

with a number of collaborators,

crowd-funded music video series for

including Grimes, who produced the

every song, which she referred to as

title track. She spits her lyrics out at the

a “Trans Lemonade”—each video is an

speed of light, but with precision—once

artistic accompaniment to the songs.

her vocals kick in, you won’t know what

While her lyrics are in Portuguese,

hit you. Spoken mostly in her native

those who don’t speak the language

language of Mandarin, don’t worry if you don’t speak her language,

will often hear a few English words. Many people would consider

as she told Bullet:

some of these English words slurs, but these are also words that many who speak Pajubá try to reclaim, including one of the song titles, “Bixa Travesty” (“f-ggot travesty”), a phrase she uses to

“I love to explore with my lyrics,” [...] “I don’t even expect people to understand them. I just want to share my point of view with the rap world, generated from all my identities— I’m Asian and Taiwanese; I’m a woman, a literature fan and a cat lover.”

describe herself in an interview with Remezcla. Concerning her identity in her music, she says: “I make music to create strength to sustain this femininity.

I make music to reinvent in my own imagination the possibilities of potency that exist in feminized bodies.”

CupcakKe - Queen Elizabitch In a culture where male-created rap music contains a seemingly endless amount of objectification of women’s bodies, CupcakKe

Sampa the Great - Birds and the BEE9

is here as a counterpoint—and not in the way you’d think. Being

African-born & raised, but now based in Melbourne, Australia,

just as open as any man about her

Sampa the Great speaks about her

sexual preferences, CupcakKe breaks

identity in her new home as a visitor.

the mold with her dirty mouth on her

On the song “Bye River,” she laments

second album. Her fearless approach

the systemic racism in the country,

in her lyricism when it comes to

asking “How you supposed to be

topics like sex, love, violence, body

black down under?” Songs like “Black

positivity and more, CupcakKe is

Girl Magik” and “Protect Your Queen”

certainly one of rap’s rising stars. If you

pay tribute to black identity and the

enjoy this album, you’re in luck—she’s

matriarchal power structure of her

already released her third album Ephorize to rave reviews from

native continent. Her words are truly poetry, and her music has

publications like Pitchfork.

some funky, soulful instrumentation to boot.

[ 17 ]

MUSIC BY WOMEN SELECTIONS FROM MUSIC BY WOMEN 2017:

LGBTQ+ The Year in Queer Writing by Lily Makowski · 19 January 2018

Fire-Toolz - Drip Mental

Young M.A - Herstory

Chicago producer Angel Marcloid’s 2017 album presents itself as a

On her debut project, New York rapper Katorah Marrero exhibits

thrashing, confrontational burst of noise. However, an unexpectedly

a keen understanding of hip-hop signifiers—her braggadocio,

touching and melodically-inclined album unveils itself between the

wordplay, and infectious flows could hold their own against any

layers of digital overload engulfing Marcloid’s frenetic vocals. As

up-and-coming MC. On Herstory she uses these talents to a

she oscillates wildly between synthetic chaos, delicate melodies,

radical end, at once inhabiting and inverting the male-dominant

and musique concrete—often within the same song—her unlikely

vocabulary of hip-hop in order to express a defiantly queer brand

fusion of vaporwave and noise serves to create a poignant

of empowered womanhood, actively deriding the toxic masculinity

meditation on the experience of queer physicality in the

of her peers. This galvanizing mixtape reappropriates the familiar

internet age.

to convey an emerging perspective in thrilling form.

Ah-Mer-Ah-Su - Rebecca

Chastity Brown - Silhouette of Sirens

Star Amerasu’s debut EP is a beguiling and vulnerable mission

While Chastity Brown’s discography may not present itself as

statement. Through a series of stripped-back R&B instrumentals,

outwardly political, its very existence is an act of defiance in itself.

she sings candidly about topics ranging from self-medication

For a biracial queer woman to carve out a space for herself in the

(“Klonopin”) to the pitfalls of white feminism (“Meg Ryan”) with

staunchly white Americana scene is a

gripping tenderness and precision. Rebecca’s lyrical focus often

feat of radical visibility, and on Silhouette

feels like being guided by the hand through a series of interiors,

of Sirens, Brown presents her own

providing an intimate journey through the daily experience of a

humanity in vivid detail. Thoughtfully

stand-out voice in the making.

written and orchestrated, Silhouette is a collection of earnest, evocative ballads that transcend genre tropes, creating a

Octo Octa - Where Are We Going?

space for all to lay themselves bare.

This sophomore release from house producer Octo Octa—her first since coming out as trans—tackles identity in oblique ways. There are few explicit statements to be found in the music itself, but song

Girls Rituals - Emergency!

titles like “Fleeting Moments of Freedom (Wooo)” and “No More

Emergency!’s declarative title perfectly encapsulates the sense

Pain (Promises to a Younger Self)” imbue the album with a kind of

of detached anxiety that saturates the Toronto producer’s latest

impressionistic queerness. Its swirling synth figures and intricate

project. Backed by a set of eccentric instrumentals, she wryly

percussion provide an imaginative space in which sensations of

sing-speaks her way through an increasingly surreal set of

transfemininity are made to unfurl in vivid fashion, embracing

confessionals, in which plain, apathetic detail is often disrupted by

ecstasy and melancholy at once.

disturbing non-sequiturs. A self-described “computer music diary,”

[ 18 ]

2017 Emergency! portrays the pervasive mundanity of mental illness in a

Petal - Comfort EP

variety of witty, touching, and bizarre ways.

Pennsylvania songwriter Kiley Lotz quietly follows up her 2015 debut Shame with Comfort, a brief-but-devastating EP. In three short songs, she manages to chart the role of mental illness in a

CXDR - Someone Else’s Story

crumbling relationship with unrelenting detail. The care with which

In her own words, Avery Hutley’s final album as CXDR charts “the

she brings the narrative to life is made all the more impactful by

last three years of confusion, depression, self-love, […] visions,

her plaintive and powerful vocal performances, which deliver

revisions” and more. Appropriately, the album covers a large swath

lines like “I don’t fucking care anymore” in a hauntingly casual

of territory, from shimmering electronica (“Silent, Selfless”) to lo-fi

tone. Comfort is an affecting and necessary deconstruction of an

balladry (“Fan Favourite”). An immensely personal work, Someone

experience that far too often goes silenced.

Else’s Story traverses the vast peaks and valleys of a harrowing journey towards self-discovery. While Hutley resists drawing any conclusions, the project departs with a sense that we are never

Fatima Al Qadiri - Shaneera

alone in the process.

Experimental producer Fatima Al Qadiri continued her string of ambitious conceptual projects with Shaneera, a portrait of Qadiri’s “evil extreme femme alter ego.”

Quiñ - Dreamgirl

Rich with references and signifiers

Los Angeles singer Quiñ takes her brand of dreamy R&B to

embedded in Kuwaiti queer culture, the

ambitious and sophisticated heights on her sophomore release,

EP is a fascinating expression of campy

Dreamgirl. The project’s airy production provides an appropriate

menace and playful exuberance. Qadiri’s

backbone for a set of vignettes that tackle queer intimacy and

propulsive and sinister instrumentals

romance in a strikingly candid and organic fashion. These scenes

provide an engaging backdrop for a

are rounded out by a number of stellar features, most notably

rotating cast of collaborators who twist

Syd on standout “Sticky Situation.” In an age when queer women

conventional markers of gender into

remain drastically underrepresented in pop music, Dreamgirl

a fluid and indefinite realm. Shaneera brings Qadiri’s dancefloor

presents a refreshing antidote.

ambitions to the fore, merging headiness with the raw thrill of a vibrant underground.

Partner - In Search of Lost Time This Ontario-based duo’s debut is a collection of joyous power-

Rook & Nomie - Superego Royal Jelly

pop anthems that tackle off-kilter subject matter, spanning from

Off the strength of Ada Rook’s 2016 breakout Void Fantasy, she

daytime TV to rec-league dating woes (“Play the Field”). While

and indie-game sound designer Neotonomie joined forces for a

an encroaching malaise often creeps

remarkable collaboration. Superego is rife with vivid, inventive, at

into the corners of Partner’s music,

times tongue-in-cheek production, and impeccable songwriting.

they remain defiant in holding onto

Through these distinctive sonic environments, they explore

small, tangible joys as a means of

themes of identity, trauma, and healing in remarkably intimate and

finding stability and happiness in an

resonant ways. Superego condenses the burdens of trans survival

increasingly dire world. In the band’s

and transforms them into a necessary hopefulness, envisioning

own words, the album gleefully

a world of safety and strength in which the agonies of the past

illustrates “the existential predicament

transcend to a radiant embrace of life.

of being a lesbian barista in the year 2017.”

[ 19 ]

MUSIC BY WOMEN SELECTIONS FROM MUSIC BY WOMEN 2017:

SINGER-SONGWRITER Soft Tones but Explosive Songwriting Writing by Sara Loebig · 17 January 2018

Circuit Des Yeux - Reaching for Indigo

Common Holly - Playing House

The first thing you’ll notice about Haley Fohr, better known as her

Montreal’s Common Holly, also known as Brigitte Naggar, has a

musical project Circuit Des Yeux, is her deep singing voice—it’s a

quiet minimalism to her work—the instrumentation and her singing,

little Nico, and a tiny bit of Tom Waits—you can’t help but feel the

but the heaviness of her lyricism couldn’t be louder. Playing House

melancholy undertones of it. But Fohr also has another tool in her

isn’t your typical breakup album, as it deals with the aftermath—

belt—tremendous songwriting, and the two forces combined make

what you feel as an individual after a

Reaching for Indigo one of the best and most underrated albums

relationship comes to an end. It’s a

in its genre in 2017. The album is an introspective take on the way

more introspective take on a subject

we mentally interact with our surroundings. In an interview with

so common to singer-songwriters, and

Loud and Quiet, Fohr says the album was inspired by a physical

Naggar is able to do this with ease on

experience she had:

songs like “In My Heart,” which touches on the feeling of missing someone

“My life wasn’t terrible by any means but something really dark came down upon me and this new step happened in the process where things got so dark they combusted into this bright white light and I had this knowingness wash over me. I found this answer that I didn’t know I’d been searching for until I found it.”

even though you know it’s more than over. “There’s the greatest wealth/of memories and affection/I can’t help but/feel you in my self” she sings over a soft guitar pick—an instrument she has mastered, evident throughout the album, as the low guitar tones often build up to fuller instrumentation, guiding the lyrics along. Naggar is

This existential experience echoes throughout the album, in

aware of the complexities involved with making “guitar music,” as

songs like “Brain Shift”: “Cause it all feels the same/You’re just a

she told BUST:

container containing space.” Or “A Story of this World Part II,” a semi-instrumental piece, with unintelligible lyrics—the perfect

“I find oftentimes that, especially in the realm of guitar music, audiences expect less complexity in terms of composition, and that really bothers me. Someone at a show recently brought it up, and said they really admired women making complex guitar music. And to be honest, it kinda sucks that still even needs to be said. So, it’s kind of a way to debunk the myth that women and non-men have to play soft or vulnerable music. I mean, in a lot of ways, my music is sensitive [to an extent], but, like I said, I’m trying to do something different that expresses a world that exists outside of male-fronted music.”

soundtrack for a mental journey.

[ 20 ]

2017 Linda Perhacs - I’m a Harmony

makes me sad. But I think we should speak out against things like white supremacy. There are things that are bad, and we need to not be afraid to say so. To not worry about album sales. Because, man, hardly anyone even buys records nowadays.”

Linda Perhac’s first album came out in 1970, Parallelograms, a quietly received psychedelic folk album that soon became a record-head deep cut similar to Vashti Bunyan. Also similar to Bunyan, after Perhacs’s music increased in popularity over the decades, she

Vagabon - Infinite Worlds

made a comeback record—releasing

We’ve seen so many bands thrive in the New York City DIY

The Soul of All Natural Things in 2014.

scene, and it seems like the wave now is with indie rock singer-

Her latest release I’m a Harmony

songwriters, but there’s no one quite like Laetitia Tamoko, whose

highlights the collaborators Perhacs

stage name is Vagabon. A multi instrumentalist, Tamoko got

now works with, many of them indie

her start at small Brooklyn venues opening for other NYC indie

music stars, like Wilco’s Nels Cline,

superstars such as Frankie Cosmos. What makes her stand out

Devendra Banhart, and her most

is her mastery of the craft, especially the guitar which is often a

frequent collaborator, Julia Holter,

key ingredient in making her songs so powerful. In the opening

who appeared on her 2014 album and is featured on multiple

track “The Embers,” you can hear her guitar wail underneath

tracks on I’m a Harmony. Despite the passing time and with the

her words, “Run and tell everybody that Laetitia is/a small fish.”

assistance of her collaborators, Perhacs creates another album of

Another notable part of this album is that it doesn’t really care to

soft, psychedelic folk music. Listening to this album will most likely

be labeled as “indie rock” or anything

make you want to go back to her catalogue if you haven’t already.

like that—you’ll hear a bit of everything, from the wailing guitar, to soft acoustic picks you’d expect from a singer-

Margo Price - All American Made

songwriter, to an array of electronic

Leaning more heavily on the “country” genre, Margo Price has a

sounds that you maybe wouldn’t. With

crossover effect that can appeal to any fan of singer-songwriters.

Infinite Worlds, Tamoko puts together

After her excellent 2016 debut, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, Price

one of the most stunning debuts of

returns a year later with the same stellar songwriting and a Willie

the year. It’s also pertinent to note that

Nelson duet. Her writing has gotten much more political, most

Tamoko is representative of a small

notably on the song “Pay Gap,” lamenting the 75 cents women

minority in the indie community—black women, and black people

make per dollar. Her political writing is most evident on the title

in general, who are underrepresented in the music genre and in

track, which samples a multitude of overlapping presidential

the crowd, which Tamoko does not shy away from addressing in an

speeches, and comments on what we’re told in the U.S. versus

interview with Pitchfork:

what is reality—a topical subject that’s rare to hear from a country singer in

“I just also don’t want to be put into a box: ‘Look at this black musician.’ It’s like: I’m black. It is so clear. I do not deny it. I am doing this for all the black people like me who didn’t know that they could be in spaces like I am in. I have no crazy entry point. I had no friend who brought me in. I had no music school connection, and I want other people to feel like it’s OK to penetrate that scene. It’s cool.”

a post-Dixie Chicks world. She told Noisey: “I wish that maybe more people would speak out. Maybe they’ll start to. Things kinda seem like they’re at a changing point. Our country’s very divided, and that

[ 21 ]

OP-ED:

Spotify, Streaming, and the Erasure of Access Writing by Lily Makowski · 5 January 2018

W

henever I recommend a lesser-

in the process, or hold out hope that

If we continue to become increasingly

known album to my friends, I get

they’ll be fortunate enough to land on a

dependent on the algorithmic discovery

asked the same question right away: “Is it

reputable label. Either way, the pursuit of

engines and limited selections of

on Spotify?” In a time where fewer people

music-making becomes unsustainable.

streaming services, then the music of

than ever are buying music, and most can

marginalized women will continue to be

only afford a monthly streaming service,

Worse, the latter scenario is made

ignored. As our spreadsheet illustrates,

Spotify’s near-monopoly of the streaming

inordinately more difficult for

this comprises some of the most exciting

market gives this question a sinister

marginalized women. In an industry

and forward-thinking music being made

subtext. When those loyal to a streaming

landscape where even independent music

today. Instead of ignoring artists who

service ask, “is it on [blank],” what they are

is profit-driven and dominated by a white

aren’t on our choice of streaming service,

implying is, “if it isn’t, I’m not listening

cishet patriarchy, female/non-binary

we should be saying, “They’re not on

to it.”

artists are at a huge disadvantage when it

Spotify? Good.” It plays a large role in

comes to creating while maintaining their

maintaining a thriving, fascinating, and

In making the Spotify playlists for the

quality of life. If not outright ignored,

diverse music culture.

2017 Music by Women spreadsheet, I

artists from these demographics are often

took note of the releases which were not

pressured into sanitizing their art so as

So, in exploring our spreadsheet, I urge

available on streaming services. When I

to appease the higher-up gatekeepers.

you to pay particular attention to the

looked at them, I noticed an unsettling

The masses don’t like it when music

artists not featured on Spotify or other

trend: these albums were largely made

is too queer, too black, too feminine,

streaming services. These are wholly

by LGBTQ+, POC, and non-English

and labels often curate their rosters

independent artists, many of whom are

speaking artists. While the difference

accordingly. Faced with a choice between

marginalized and struggling to be heard

between being on Bandcamp instead of

compromising their art and compromising

on a multitude of levels. Stepping outside

a Spotify playlist may seem like a minor

their livelihood, the vast majority of these

the convenience of playlists and spending

technicality, it dramatically increases the

artists instead sacrifice platforms such

a few dollars on someone’s music is an

likelihood of these releases being ignored.

as Spotify and resist participating in the

effective and effortless way to expose

industry at all.

oneself to innovative, underrepresented

What this highlights is a disparity of

voices operating far outside the norm.

access that runs through the entire

This, in itself, is not an inherently bad

On a large scale, it serves to enrich not

music industry. Getting one’s music on

thing. Underground artists and scenes

only individual tastes, but the spectrum

a platform like Spotify requires either a

will always exist. They are safe havens

of musical expression. It is up to the

third-party service or a deal with a record

for the oppressed, and essential breeding

consumer to break down the barriers

label. This puts marginalized artists, who

grounds for new ideas to develop and work

restricting access to art.

often struggle to find the financial means

their way into the mainstream. But the

to record music—never mind distribute

underground is an ever-ailing organism,

Women are creating worlds. Do your part,

it, in an untenable position. An artist can

and ensuring its continued survival

and listen.

either buy their way into a platform and

requires a change in our individual

sacrifice a large chunk of their revenues

listening habits.

[ 22 ]

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[ 23 ]

the Grammys treated major female artists like Lorde, who was

BY THE NUMBERS:

not asked to perform solo. The most memorable female-led performance was by Kesha, who sang about the abuse she has

The Grammy Awards

suffered to a room filled with her abuser’s friends, colleagues,

Writing by Mollie Wiener · 12 February 2018

and supporters.

The Recording Academy’s lopsided treatment of women was

O

especially present this year, but when looking at the history

n January 28, 2018, the 60th Grammy Awards took place,

of the Grammy Awards over the past 10 years, it is clear that

during which The Recording Academy honored musicians

this is nothing new. When it comes to the main four Awards

like Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, and Kendrick Lamar with gilded

(Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and

gramophones. Though largely considered to be the “Oscars of

Best New Artist), the Grammys actually hasn’t been egregious

music,” the Grammys are somewhat unique as far as the main

in terms of female representation. For instance, a total of

award shows go, considering, well, no one seems to really like them.

127 of the nominations for these four awards since 2008

Many publications and writers before me, such as Randall

nominations — a much better showing than when you isolate

have been for men, with women receiving 94, or 42.5% of the the most recent Grammys, where women received only 5 (25%)

Roberts for the LA Times, have pondered the various reasons

of the nominations for these awards. As for the winners of

why the Grammy Awards are not taken seriously. As Lawrence

these awards, the results are almost dead even; men have won

Burney wrote for Noisey wrote after the ceremony, “the show

23 times, women have won 21 times. Not bad, Grammys!

felt more like a temporary solution to criticism concerning race and gender without doing the real heavy lifting that

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the rest of the

would ensure viewers that the ceremony actually reflected

categories. The Grammys have adjusted their awards quite a

what people thought and felt.” Critics such as Josh Daniel

bit over the years, so for many of the genre-specific categories,

with Slate have also noted the Recording Academy’s apparent

I was able to look back only as far as 2012. I selected 30

obsession with chart performance over perceived quality,

categories that include the main four and span the genres of

while others like Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic take issue

pop, rock, R&B, alternative, rap, and country. I also included

with the lack of diversity in both nominations and award

the “Producer of the Year, Non-Classical” award to round it out

winners. The former complaint will always carry some level of

to an even 30. Take a look at how the nominations have broken

subjectivity (what does it mean to be deserving of a Grammy

down by gender at the awards of the past 7 award shows:

Award?) but, when looking at the history of the Grammys, the latter is pretty hard to deny. For example, prior to Bruno Mars sweeping the main awards at this year’s show, the recipients of the Album of the Year Award have been overwhelmingly white.

In fact, you have to go as far back as 10 years just to find a non-white recipient of that award (Herbie Hancock in 2008).

Since the spectacle aired, the conversations about the 60th Grammy Awards have not been particularly laudatory. Across the board, publications like Vox, Stereogum, Variety, and Pitchfork called out the Grammys, expressing criticisms consistent with those mentioned above. This time around, be it in publications or on Twitter, the main issue viewers had with the Grammys was the striking lack of female

*Note that every year but 2012 includes the “Best Urban Contemporary Album”

representation amongst the winners, and the manner in which

category, which was added in 2013.

[ 24 ]

Looking at the numbers, it’s pretty hard to deny that the Grammys skew significantly male. This chart represents 1,055 nominations since 2012, 741 of which (70.24%) were given to men. When you realize that only roughly 30% of the nominations at the past seven Grammys have been for female artists, it is a little less shocking that only 25% of the 2018 Grammys nominations were for women. This lack of representation is staggering, but unfortunately, this is not unique to the 60th Grammys.

In terms of actual winners, the numbers are consistent. Among these 30 categories, there have been 209 winners since 2012.

The only surprise here is that, despite receiving only 46.5%

151, or 72.25%, have been male, and 58, or 27.75%, have been

of the nominations, female Country musicians take home an

female.

award 64.3% of the time. The only other categories in which women have won at a higher percentage than they have been

Which genres are most responsible for the disparity in

nominated are Rock (women have won 14.3% of the awards

nominations by genres? Here are the nominations across 7

despite being nominated for only 9.8%) and Alternative

individual genre categories since 2012:

(women have won 28.6% compared to being nominated for 20%). Other callouts to mention: Rap has not awarded a single female artist an award during this time period, and Dance has only awarded one.

When asked about the blatant imbalance of male vs. female winners and nominations, Recording Academy president Neil Portnow infamously stated that female artists need to “step up.” But how is it women who need to “step up” when they made up 4 out of the 5 nominees for Best Pop Solo Performance, and still lost to Ed Sheeran? How is it women who need to “step up” when Lorde released one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year and was nominated

Not a single genre category has favored female nominees over

in just one category, and not even permitted to perform?

the years, though Country has come close. Rock, Alternative,

Furthermore, how is it on women to make up for this disparity,

Dance, and Rap are the worst offenders in terms of lack of

when it is women who must overcome the ever-present burden

female representation.

of institutional sexism and—in the case of women of color— racism to make their voices heard?

Let’s look at the winners...

The answer, of course, is that it isn’t women who need to step up—it is the Grammys and the music industry as a whole that must shift priorities and acknowledge the barriers to success that female musicians continue to face. Until we see an unprecedented level of change in the music industry, we are likely to see next year’s Grammys play out the same way it did this year.

[ 25 ]

Jen Cloher · Photography by Amanda Hatfield

Jen Cloher · Photography by Sara Loebig

Courtney Barnett (left) and Jen Cloher (right) · Photography by Amanda Hatfield

[ 26 ]

SHOW REVIEW:

Profound Simplicity Jen Cloher - Live @ Rough Trade, NYC Writing by Andrea Betanzos · 8 February 2018

S

omehow, I missed Jen Cloher perform

After a fun performance from fellow

Some of the biggest cheers were during

twice in New York.

Australian Mia Dyson, Jen Cloher

two pivotal moments: “Analysis Paralysis,”

appeared onstage, without a word, and

where we proudly held our heads up high

The first was when she opened for

opened with “Regional Echo,” a welcome

at the lyric, “I’ve paid my fines. Taxes on

Courtney Barnett + Kurt Vile on The Lotta

surprise given its subtlety. It’s also one of

time. But the feral right. Get to decide… if

Sea Lice Tour. I had gotten the set times

the more stunning songs on her self-titled

I can have a wife?” as she gave a quick nod

mixed up and arrived in time to hear

record, released in August of last year. If

to the blushing Barnett.

Cloher retelling the origins of “Strong

you still haven’t taken the time to listen to

Woman,” her last song of the set. I was

this yet, you’re missing out on some of the

And when Cloher proudly declared her

devastated while everyone around me

most reflective lyrics in a very long time.

age, she proved once again how unfair

raved on. When I asked her to sign my

it is that we had to wait this long to get

record later, I told her she was amazing.

This record becomes more special with

the chance to see her perform live on her

I’ve never been so sure of a lie before.

every listen. Cloher’s intimacy will feel

own. However, it was at her very best and

familiar, but you’ll always be floored by

well worth the wait. “Analysis Paralysis” is

I missed her second acoustic performance

how each song progresses towards a more

an 8-minute odyssey made all the better

the next day in Brooklyn, thanks to a

truthful version of herself. For example,

because Barnett completely loses herself

mountain of work. After this record, it’s

to examine one’s envy of another’s

in it. “Forgot Myself” is more triumphant

likely she’ll never perform a room that

success is bold, but to even admit to

because we’re witnessing Cloher after

small again.

envy is an inconvenient task that Cloher

recovery. “Shoegazers” is playful with a

does so uninhibited, (“Forgot Myself”).

sneering tone.

For her latest date in New York, you could

For a record where relationships to love

say that arriving on time was a priority to

(“Sensory Memory”), to country and home

I’ll be honest, I was really excited to

say the least.

(“Great Australian Bite,” “Regional Echo”),

see how the band worked together as a

to womanhood (“Strong Woman”) are

whole. I wasn’t prepared for how much

Since Cloher’s last two performances

explored, this album is generous when

I would enjoy seeing how much Cloher

were acoustic, it was a welcome sight to

sharing the nuances of the very regular

and Barnett complement one another.

see her take lead of her band, in which all

lives we have with a partner. The most

Later on, I realized that so much of the

parts are perfect. Drummer Jen Sholakis

moving truth of the album is just how

allure was in watching two people who

is thunderous, and looks like she’s

hard it is to love someone from a distance;

have found one another’s equal in artistry

having the best time. Bones Sloane is

how impractical that love can be, how

and love. It’s romantic. If the album

steady and dependable on bass. Courtney

it’s loneliness can be permeating, how

was a precursor to introducing us to a

Barnett’s quiet command of her guitar

fulfilling it is to have found it. This is the

relationship, watching this show was the

almost outshines Cloher…almost. It was a

space where Jen Cloher lives and thrives.

embodiment of those lyrics and melodies.

performance from a band that knows one

For an hour and change, we watched love

another so well, a result of making tons of

After ripping through her first three songs

and success, complication and envy, find

great music and videos together through

with bravado, she welcomed a crowd that

resolution and coexistence and put on a

Milk! Records.

was nothing if not quietly in awe of her.

great show.

[ 27 ]

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:

Thao Nguyen Thao & The Get Down Stay Down Writing by Emily Csuy · 8 March 2018

Thao Nguyen is the lead singer of her band Thao & The Get Down

friend and collaborator Merrill Garbus (tune-yards) who is

Stay Down. She’s a talented multi-instrumentalist, switching

featured on the opening track “Eleven.”

between guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, bass, loops, drums/

Thao and Mirah take turns on lead vocals

percussion, and she has been known to beatbox on the side.

throughout the album. “Teeth” is a notable Thao-centered song, “Rubies and Rocks”

Fans of St. Vincent, Cat Power, tune-yards, Tegan and Sara, Dirty

is a notable Mirah-centered song, and

Projectors and Jenny Lewis/Rilo Kiley may be especially drawn to

“How Dare You” is a more vocally balanced

her music. Thao brings an infectious energy to her live shows and

collaboration between the two.

I highly recommend catching her perform if you get the chance!

We Brave Bee Stings and All

We the Common

2008 folk- and jazz-inspired indie rock

2013 folk-leaning indie rock/pop album

album produced by Tucker Martine. This

produced by John Congleton, who has

album showcases brass sections and a more

produced albums by St. Vincent, Angel

relaxed vocal style from Thao in addition

Olsen, and The Mountain Goats among

to her banjo, guitar and piano playing.

many others. We the Common is full of

Notable tracks include “Beat (Health, Life,

catchy, energetic jams and features some

and Fire)” as well as “Geography” and

of Thao’s biggest hits—“Holy Roller,” “We

Thao’s beatboxing skills on “Bag of Hammers.” The sweet,

the Common (For Valerie Bolden),” and “The Feeling Kind”—as

sincere song “Violet” is also a personal favorite of mine.

well as Joanna Newsom’s harp and vocals on “Kindness Be Conceived.” Thao’s voice, guitar, banjo and mandolin shine alongside explosive horn sections and strings. One of my

Know Better Learn Faster

favorite Thao jams, “Move,” also appears on this release.

2009 indie rock/folk pop album featuring Andrew Bird’s violin and whistling on the title track. Other highlights include the toe-tapping “Cool

A Man Alive

Yourself,” the raspy pleading of “When We

2016 art pop/rock album produced by

Swam,” and the danceable closer “Easy,”

Merrill Garbus. This album is Thao’s most

but the entire album is worth a listen.

personal work to date as it deals with her father leaving her family when she was a child. Thao blends emotional subject matter (“Millionaire,”

Thao & Mirah

“Meticulous Bird”) with songs that are more sonically upbeat

2011 collaborative art pop/rock album with the indie singer-

(“Slash/Burn”). A Man Alive features some of Thao’s most

songwriter Mirah. This album was produced by Thao’s good

expressive guitar playing (“Guts”) and beat-driven work.

[ 28 ]

Photography by Maria Kanevskaya

A LOOK BACK:

“What Is Instead?”

Blue Hawaii’s Untogether, Five Years On Writing by Lily Makowski · 5 March 2018

A

t first glance, the cover art for

separation. Amidst its meditations on

“Yours to Keep,” she alternates between

Blue Hawaii’s sophomore album,

codependence, sexuality, and self-doubt,

statements of devotion and uncertainty,

Untogether, acts as an obvious metaphor

the album’s most fascinating thematic

calmly declaring, “can’t say I like this.”

for codependence. On it, members

strain is the way in which Standell

With the line “staying is a choice,” she

Raphaelle Standell-Preston and Alex

articulates the engrained behaviours that

remains aware of her agency, yet not quite

“Agor” Cowan embrace as ghostly figures,

lead to the inequity depicted on its cover.

willing to act upon it. That Standell is able

their bodies literally sinking into one

to allow such paradoxical nuance to exist

another. The dissolution is subtly one-

From a very young age, women are

in a digestible form is a measure of her

sided, however. Cowan remains solid,

conditioned to see romantic compatibility

extraordinary perceptive ability.

while Standell is transparent, the edges of

as the ultimate measure of self-worth.

her blurring into his. It is the nature—and

In the historically omnipresent Disney

The self-awareness exhibited on moments

subsequent fallout—of this boundary-less,

princess trope, the heroine’s crowning

such as “Yours to Keep” plays a major

imbalanced intimacy that lends the album

achievement is marriage to her prince,

role in Untogether’s resonance. Standell’s

such lasting impact.

and this notion of unwavering

state of mind is one familiar to almost

commitment centered around the

anyone who has found themselves in

construct of “true love” inevitably

a codependent relationship. Talk of

becomes the metric through which young

patriarchy and toxic narratives aside,

women come to judge the success of

sometimes being loved just plain feels

their relationships. It’s an enormously

nice, and it’s difficult to reconcile that

patriarchal and restrictive narrative,

immediate comfort with the knowledge

and while one might prefer to think of

that it stems from an emotionally

these ideals as the territory of naïve

unhealthy place. Standell’s vocal talents

little girls, they’re so aggressively driven

reaffirm this point on the chorus of the

into children that women often struggle

tranquil “Try To Be.” When she sings

to dismantle internalized notions of

“may as well just be me,” whether she is

romantic value well into adulthood.

saying it with a sense of resignation or

Strangely, the physical proximity of the

empowerment is strikingly unclear.

album’s artwork acts in direct contrast to

It is this struggle that Standell so often

the circumstances of its creation. Then

finds herself caught in throughout

“Try To Be” also acts as a skeleton key

a couple, Standell and Cowan recorded

Untogether. By 2013, she had already

to what appears to be Standell’s own

separately, alternating solitary work on

established herself as one of Canada’s

internalized notions of self-worth, stating,

the album, rarely seeing each other during

leading songwriting talents through

“felt like as a young girl/I barely knew

what would become the final year of their

her work with Braids, and here, her

what was happening/what I want to be,

relationship. By Untogether’s release, the

plainspoken lyricism deftly articulates

what I want to be.” At the song’s climax,

pair had split, leaving behind a roadmap

the feeling of being trapped between

she lays the nature of her feelings bare:

of the nebulous territory that arises

the need for self-preservation and the

“All I wanted/was a need to be wanted.”

between emotional proximity and physical

comforts of being desired. On centerpiece

Admissions like this populate much of

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Blue Hawaii · Photography by Marilis Cardinal

the album, standing as acts of immense

pitch-shifted vocals form the bulk of

much time for your life.” Coming on the

vulnerability.

Untogether’s melodic instrumentation.

heels of an album rife with self-doubt, it is

Over the course of the record, a duality

a touching moment of care. Still, it is laced

In a society where women are still

begins to appear between Standell’s

with the pain that such hard-earned act

expected to be single-minded and

unedited singing and Cowan’s subsequent

of self-actualization brings. In the tracks

unwavering in their interpersonal

alterations, forming a kind of symbolic

last moments, Standell sings, “The other

relationships, expressions of doubt and

push-pull. There are her emotions, and

day/I had the beautiful thought/‘What if

fallibility are hugely valuable. On “Sweet

the way in which he reconstructs them

I didn’t really care at all?’” True to form,

Tooth,” the album’s ode to unsatisfying

through his own lens.

the duo end the album with a mixture of

intimacy, Standell admits, “I’m still

empowerment and sadness, letting the

learning about my tastes,” and in a rare

Eventually, a clear shift takes place

two combine into something far more

instance of boundary-setting states

towards the album’s latter third. Where

powerful.

that “true O’s can only ever be achieved

Standell’s voice initially carries through

through love.” On an aesthetically delicate

unimpeded, on “Flammarion,” Cowan’s

As a collection, Untogether stands as an

pop album, this emotional bluntness is

unintelligible distortion form the sole

important embodiment of the trials of

stunning.

vocal content, distorting her perspective

modern romance. At a time where the

beyond recognition. In line with this,

boundaries set by society’s preconceived

With the knowledge that Untogether’s

Standell’s lyrics become increasingly

notions of love and sexuality are

creative process culminated in the end

defeated. “Sierra Lift,” the album’s most

beginning to erode, the album manages

of Standell and Cowan’s relationship, it’s

instrumentally spirited moment, finds

to express the muddy emotional waters

difficult not to apply that narrative to the

her apathetically asking, “someone come

left behind in the aftermath. Most

album’s overall progression. While an

and lift me out of here/I just want to go

importantly, Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s

emotional trajectory does take place, it’s

to sleep.” By “Daisy,” matters turn for the

lyrics encapsulate the ways in which the

less a step-by-step dissection of a break-

worse, her only intelligible words being

social pressures created by those long-

up as opposed to a vague passage through

“I’ve been caught in a mess.” Throughout,

held ideals affect how women perceive

the emotional states that occur leading

it sounds as if Cowan’s prismatic samples

and maintain relationships. She not only

up to one. Standell’s conflicted desires

are what is keeping her there.

charts the origin of that experience, but

gradually build into a state of disconnect

offers a crucial vision for how we might

and dissatisfaction, which progresses

In line with its characteristic emotional

be able to challenge and overcome the

alongside a unique instrumental parallel.

ambiguity, Untogether concludes neither

internalized beliefs that so often hamper

with a climax or resolution, but a small-

the existence of emotionally healthy

Throughout the album, Cowan—primarily

yet-powerful piece of attrition. On closer

dynamics. As the present-day social

on instrumental/production duties—

“The Other Day,” Standell finally gives

landscape becomes ever more fluid and

makes extensive use of Standell’s own

herself a piece of hopeful reassurance:

uncertain, Untogether offers an enduring

resampled voice. At times, her scrambled,

“Don’t give up now/and wait/there’s so

sense of how to find oneself in the murk.

[ 31 ]

“Scream against the wind.”