Archive for the ‘News’ Category

November 29, 2021

Pinch Points sign with Mistletone

Mistletone is super proud to announce that we will be releasing the brilliant new album by Melbourne post-punk four-piece, Pinch Points. Process by Pinch Points will be released on March 18 on Mistletone Records (Australia/New Zealand) and Exploding in Sound (USA).

MELBOURNE 7″ LAUNCH: Pinch Points launch their debut 7″ single for Mistletone, “Reasons to be Anxious” b/w “Boy” on Sunday, December 5 for Melbourne Music Week at Max Watt’s House of Music with special guests CLAMM + Delivery + Zig Zag. tickets on sale here.

“  
This band — if you’re into punk, you’re going to love them. They are so, so fun. It’s spiky, angular, awesome punk music” – ZAN ROWE, DOUBLE J

check out the life-affirming video for the first single, “Reasons to be Anxious”, directed by Jasper Fearnley & starring Brenton Aylward:

“The video is a high intensity ride, that gels perfectly with the tone of the song, following a crop-top wearing, pink haired Brenton Aylward dancing around Melbourne in an almost anxiety inducing mania to match the lyrics” – BEAT


“ ” one of the most relatable songs I’ve heard in the past two years” – FEE B SQUARED, TRIPLE R ON “REASONS TO BE ANXIOUS”


mail order “Reasons to be Anxious” b/w “Boy” on limited edition 7″ vinyl via Bandcamp below;

Pinch Points burst forth from the Melbourne underground with their 2019 debut Moving Parts, and were hailed by Double J as “the sharpest new band in the country” and Music Victoria’s Best Breakthrough Act of 2020. The band toured with Tropical F*ck Storm, supported Amyl and the Sniffers, Kikagaku Moyo, Viagra Boys, RVG and Cash Savage and the Last Drinks, and opened 2020’s Golden Plains to a packed amphitheatre. 

The hotly-anticipated new Pinch Points album Process was recorded with Anna Laverty (Courtney Barnett, Nick Cave, The Peep Tempel) and is a momentous leap forward into full-force post-punk empowerment, with 10 songs engaging with the fractures in so-called ‘Australia’ — from catastrophic bushfires, gendered violence, mental health struggles to First Nations incarceration and deaths in custody — with clear-eyed directness, along with an uncommon nuance and empathy.

The album opens with “Reasons to be Anxious”, an all-too-relatable laundry list of the fight-or-flight triggers that frazzle our nervous systems;

“I get anxious when I get a text / I get anxious when I don’t get a text / I get anxious when my doorbell rings / I get anxious about f**king anything / I get anxious when I take time off / I get anxious that I’m not good enough / I get anxious going to therapy / to try and treat my anxiety”.

The B-side, “Boy”, dives deep into the cesspool of toxic masculinity and the repressed emotions that boys are socialised to deny, with disastrous outcomes for everyone. 

As the album title suggests, Process is a commentary on structural collapse; the systemic failures and baked-in inequalities that are ravaging ecosystems, the mental health system, the gig economy workforce and all aspects of our lives. The title Process also recognises the emotions processed and channelled in the songs, as a collective expression of empathy and shared grief.

A true collaboration, finding consensus from the experiences of four individual humans, Pinch Points embody music-making as an act of friendship and community, upholding the band’s shared belief in the music scene as a real-life platform for connection, strength and solidarity.

PINCH POINTS are Acacia Coates, Adam Smith, Jordan Oakley and Isabella Orsini.

Nothing is normal — but PINCH POINTS are here.

November 10, 2021

Beach House – Once Twice Melody

On February 18, 2022, Beach House will release their eighth album, Once Twice Melody, on Mistletone Records via Inertia (AU/NZ), Sub Pop (USA) and Bella Union (UK/Europe). Pre-order the gold vinyl box or silver vinyl double LP, here.

Once Twice Melody, the first album produced entirely by Beach House, was recorded at Pachyderm studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota; United Studio in Los Angeles; and Apple Orchard Studios in Baltimore. For the first time, a live string ensemble was used, with arrangements by David Campbell. Once Twice Melody was mostly mixed by Alan Moulder, but a few tracks were also mixed by Caesar Edmunds, Trevor Spencer, and Dave Fridmann.

Once Twice Melody features 18 tracks, and in the leadup to the physical release, will be presented in four chapters, with lyric animations for each song. The first four-song chapter of Once Twice Melody will be available on all digital service providers from 4pm AEDT today, November 10. The entire chapter and song release schedule will be as follows:

Chapter 1 on November 10, 2021

1. Once Twice Melody
2. Superstar
3. Pink Funeral
4. Through Me

Chapter 2 on December 8, 2021

5. Runaway
6. ESP
7. New Romance
8. Over and Over

Chapter 3 on January 19, 2022

9. Sunset
10. Only You Know
11. Another Go Around
12. Masquerade
13. Illusion of Forever

Chapter 4 (full album release) on February 18, 2022

14. Finale
15. The Bells
16. Hurts to Love
17. Many Nights
18. Modern Love Stories


Once Twice Melody is available to pre-order in the following formats:

  • Limited “GOLD” Edition 2xLP in a gold-embossed, hinged box on gold and clear vinyl with full-color booklet and 2 exclusive posters
  • “SILVER” Edition 2xLP in a silver embossed black sleeve, on classic black vinyl with double-sided exclusive poster

(photo: David Belisle)

June 23, 2021

Touring: Connan Mockasin * postponed

artwork by George Gillies

Mistletone is sad to announce that Connan Mockasin’s Australian shows can’t happen, due to lockdown and the closure of the NZ/AU travel bubble. We’re working on a Plan B and hope to reschedule soon. All tickets will be valid for rescheduled dates or refunded from point of purchase. All Vivid LIVE tickets will be refunded and we hope to find a new Sydney show soon.

CONNAN MOCKASIN TOUR DATES:

WED 11 AUG – ELTHAM HOTEL, ELTHAM NSW * SOLD OUT
THU 12 AUG – ELTHAM HOTEL, ELTHAM NSW. extra show added, tickets on sale now. *
FRI 13 AUG – THE TIVOLI, BRISBANE. Tickets on sale now. *
MON 16 + TUE 17 AUG – VIVID LIVE, SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE. Tickets on sale now. 
THU 19 AUG – FORUM MELBOURNE. Early show added (6:15pm), late show (9:30pm), tickets on sale now.
* presented by Jet Black Cat Music. 

Take a mind-expanding trip with Te Awanga’s own kink of rock’n’roll, Connan Mockasin, a fearless psych-pop explorer who has established himself as one of the most influential musicians of his generation. 

Bringing his Connan Unplugged, Bost’n ‘n Dobs’n Plugged to Australia’s east coast for a series of unique, fully seated performances, Connan will screen two never-seen-before episode of his TV “melodrama” Bost’n ‘n Dobs’n followed by an unplugged solo set. A musical chameleon and psych-pop savant par excellence, Connan Mockasin invites you to experience his strange world of sonic sensation.

Connan Mockasin is something of a mystery, even in his home country of New Zealand. Tales abound of him wandering Wellington’s streets in shoes cobbled together from motorcycle tyres and sheepskin (hence the surname); and projects with backstories about immunodeficient lounge lizards and human-dolphin love affairs.

Then there’s his legion of famous fans and collaborators— including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Tyler the Creator, Charlotte Gainsbourg, James Blake, Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange, MGMT and Mac DeMarco —who’ve been drawn to his snail’s pace R&B, dulcet falsetto, woozy psychedelia and disregard for recording industry release schedules.

With his singular talent for mixing psychedelic pop, trippy funk, experimental glam and prog rock, Connan Mockasin has made a reputation as an entrancing performer – and his live act has drawn ecstatic raves and head-scratching puzzlement in seemingly equal doses.

A prodigious musician and singular producer, Connan followed up his jazzy, soft rock inspired Forever Dolphin Love and its sultry follow-up, Caramel, with his most recent album Jassbusters which saw Mockasin roaming across country rock, soul and musical surrealism. Taking advantage of the New Zealand travel bubble, Connan brings his magic across the pond to Australia’s east coast.

“Connan Mockasin has the musical charm to bend notes in agreeable ways right up to the edge of good tuning.” – Neil Finn

November 11, 2020

On Time With Parquet Courts

Mistletone proudly presents “On Time,” a Parquet Courts concert livestream and retrospective in celebration of the 10th anniversary of their first show. Thursday December 10, 8pm AEDT with a 48 Hour rebroadcast; tickets here.

Parquet Courts have been praised as one of the decade’s essential bands. Over the years, they’ve released five acclaimed studio albums, countless EPs and singles, and played over a thousand shows.  Their influence reverberates through New York City’s music scene to Australian shores, where they’ve toured five times in 10 years.

Lyrically, Parquet Courts’ songs have revealed a desperately prescient quality, as narratives of isolation, climate catastrophe, technological dependence, and police brutality pepper their body of work and have materialised years later in some of this decade’s darker moments. Yet through this all, the band’s positive calls to action continue to invigorate audiences to fight through their malaise and to find it within themselves to move. It’s this polarity of cause and response, inventive action spurred by repulsed reaction, that led writer Lindsay Zoladz to call them “one of the most vital rock bands working today” in her Slate column at the end of 2018.

On Time with Parquet Courts celebrates their 10th anniversary with a concert livestream and retrospective. This special show, filmed live at Brooklyn’s Pioneer Works, commemorates their first show ever, which took place at Monster Island on December 17th, 2010. It will feature rare archival footage, new interviews, exclusive merch available only to ticket buyers, and much more. The band adds: “Ten years ago our adventure began by playing our first show to virtually no one, and to celebrate we’ve decided to play a show to everyone, virtually.”

In conjunction, Parquet Courts unveil the classically jittery “Hey Bug,” a previously unreleased track that came from “Sunbathing Animal”LP session. 

 “If I remember correctly, it would have been recorded at Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn, during the fall of 2013. We were working there with our pal Jonathan Schenke, who had recorded Light Up Gold, but this time in a studio rather than a practice space,” says A. Savage.

“We’d have been recording material for “Tally All the Things That You Broke”and Sunbathing Animal.  Editing the sequence for a record is often a tough process, and when it’s over it’s typically such a relief that I’ll purge it from my memory entirely.  And now I’m listening to ‘Hey Bug’ these seven years later and thinking what a cool song it is.  That period was a frenzy of writing and I know it’s not the only unreleased song from that session.  So here you are, our lone musical contribution in the year 2020: ‘Hey Bug’ (recorded 2013).”

photo by Samantha York 

Praise for Parquet Courts :

“Parquet Courts offer a fine testament to rock’s continued power and relevance.” – Pitchfork

“The most exciting young rock band in America” – Rolling Stone

“These musicians are self-styled rock traditionalists at a time when tradition is in short supply… you could call them a New York heritage band, if such a thing exists today.”  –New York Times

“It’s workmanlike rock…rock molded to make you shake and rattle and roll; rock to enhance or expel the rage and despair you feel about everything that exists outside your front door.” – GQ

“Originality in rock music has never been about creating something out of nothing. It’s about creating something out of a previous something and making that new something feel young, vibrant, and sexy. This is what Parquet Courts does exceedingly well.”- Grantland

October 15, 2020

John Sharkey III – Shoot Out The Cameras


Mistletone is proud to release the debut solo album by Philly-born, Canberra-dwelling John Sharkey III. Shoot Out The Cameras is out March 5 on Mistletone (AU/NZ) and 12XU (USA); pre-order vinyl here. The arresting first single, “I Found Everyone This Way”, can be heard below.

Written and recorded amidst the devastating bushfires which ravaged his adopted hometown Canberra, just before the wave of pandemic broke, Shoot Out The Cameras reveals John Sharkey III to be a master craftsman; honing in on the existential dread of living in a burning world, and the imperative to find beauty in what remains.

Perhaps best known as the creative force behind confrontational noise-punk band Clockcleaner, which erupted from the fertile soil of Philly’s DIY scene in the 00s, Sharkey’s solid underground creds include hardcore/punk bands such as 9 Shocks Terror and more recently, literate indie-rock explorations as Puerto Rico Flowers and Dark Blue. 

It was love (of course) that brought Sharkey from Philly to Melbourne in 2008, where he worked behind the bar at beloved venue, The Tote. Sharkey and his partner Yasmin moved back to Philly for several years; then, amid the darkening landscape of US politics, the couple decided to settle in Canberra, Yasmin’s hometown. A lunatic sports fan, Sharkey adopted the Canberra Raiders with the same fervour as his beloved Philly Eagles, and has connected with hardcore Rugby League fans, making several guest appearances on the wildly popular NRL Boom Rookies podcast. 

At a physical but not psychological remove from the horrifying dysfunction of Trump’s America, Sharkey watched catastrophic bushfires encircle Canberra, raging through the hills of the Southern Tablelands, the city glowing orange, the suburbs suffocating in smoke. This is when the songs of Shoot Out The Cameras took form.

As if to echo the craters of “before” and “after” that apocalyptic events leave in our collective consciousness, the songs arranged themselves into a cinematic narrative arc, from the foreboding of disaster (Side A) through its aftermath (Side B). The background horrors of totalitarianism, paranoia and surveillance also stalk the album – the cameras of the title inspired by Canberra’s omnipresent CCTV and speed cameras – just to add to the unmistakable sense of impending doom.

Such heavy subject matter brought into his music, for the first time, a treasure that Sharkey had carried within him since his teens; the mighty influence of one of Americana’s great auteurs, Iris Dement. Dement’s ability to cut to the bone, in her sweet and devastating songs, deeply informed Sharkey’s songwriting on Shoot Out The Cameras.

“My grandmother raised me on country music – Ray Price and Patsy Cline”, Sharkey recalls. “When I was 12, my mother would flog Iris Dement’s first two albums on drives to the beach. I was into Black Flag, but come 16 or 17, I was sneaking into the car to steal her tapes. Iris Dement crept into my psyche, and never left. She taught me not to hold back, when it comes to death or sorrow, doubling down on depressive lyrics.” 

Fate intervened in the shaggy shape of Philly hero Kurt Vile, who invited Sharkey onstage when he toured Canberra last year. In the audience that night was Canberra native Nick Craft, who stood mouth agape as Sharkey sang pristine country harmonies with Vile on a cover of The Highwaymen’s “Silver Stallion”. Once Craft heard Sharkey’s demos, he urged him to make an album. 

Holed up in a small studio on Queanbeyan’s industrial estate, Sharkey and Craft captured Shoot Out The Cameras in two marathon sessions. Beautifully recorded, the starkness of Sharkey’s lyrical imagery and pit-of-the-stomach emotions are honoured with nothing more than guitar and voice, and, on the album’s closer, the glisten of Philly homie Mary Lattimore’s harp. 

The result is an album of searing emotional depth, which faces the onslaught of disaster unflinchingly, with the hope and determination that families and communities must muster to pull through the personal and collective nightmares we all face. Sharkey remains a staunch optimist, his love for his adopted Australia only strengthened by watching it burn. 

“We will adapt, we will get through this together,” he vows. “The most important thing to have in your arsenal of emotions is empathy. Not many people have it; so you have to build your own resilience and strength to deal with that too. You have to be tougher than anything the world can throw at you.”

September 3, 2020

Cash Savage and the Last Drinks – Live at Hamer Hall

Titans of Melbourne’s live music scene Cash Savage and the Last Drinks have announced a live LP, Live At Hamer Hall, out on Mistletone Records via Inertia on November 27.

 This stunning live album documents a lockdown performance by Cash Savage and the Last Drinks in the iconic venue, and captures the ferocity of the band’s live show, astonishingly without an audience. 

watch footage from Hamer Hall for the new and previously unreleased single, “Fun in the Sun”:

Cash Savage explains the grim backstory of “Fun in the Sun”: “We’ve watched the world get hotter. We’ve watched Australia burn. We’ve watched as year after year the top scientists get disregarded by the dickheads we’ve voted for. We’ve been warned, we’ve been shown, we can feel it, we know it’s real, it’s the end of mammals, it’s the end of society, it’s the end.

“But what a beautiful sunny day it is today. Better put your hat on and some SPF 50+ sunscreen and disengage, because that’s all we have left.”

Reflecting on the Hamer Hall performance, she adds; “There were mixed emotions going into this performance. Melbourne had fared well through the first lockdown, and as we were rehearsing for this, it felt like we were going to come out of it okay. By the time we performed, it was the very beginnings of the second wave. 

“Having the opportunity to play Hamer Hall was huge. It was an adjustment of expectations to think of it as a gig with no audience. We decided to make this something different — not a gig with no audience — its own thing. A performance in one movement. No gaps, no empty space. No back and forth with the crowd. Just us. 

“We didn’t intend on releasing it when we recorded it. It was performed for the moment. 

“When we received the first mix, Melbourne’s COVID-19 situation had got worse. Nao Anzai’s mix was epic, and listening to it — knowing it was going to be a while before we could perform again — made it even more precious. 

“The band and I are very proud of this performance and appreciate how special it is, in this time, to have been able to do it.”

LIVE AT HAMER HALL TRACK LISTING:

01 Intro-Falling, Landing
02 Rat-a-tat-tat
03 February
04 Human, I Am
05 Good Citizens
06 Better Than That
07 Collapse
08 Fun In The Sun
09 Sunday
10 Pack Animals


photo: Naomi Lee Beveridge

Previous albums by Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, Good Citizens and One Of Us are available on mail order LPs or CDs here.

ABOUT CASH SAVAGE AND THE LAST DRINKS

“One of the most powerful bands in the country… you won’t hear much that’s better than this”  – THE GUARDIAN

“A f**king spectacular live phenomenon” – BEAT MAGAZINE

Cash Savage & The Last Drinks are a critically acclaimed, internationally renowned seven piece band with strong ties to the Melbourne music scene. 

Since forming in 2009, Cash Savage & The Last Drinks have played countless shows across the country, as well as embarking on five European tours. Some highlights include: Meredith Music Festival, Golden Plains, Boogie Fest, Wave Rock, Darwin Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival, Orange Blossom Special Festival (DE), Binic Blues Festival (FR) and Colours of Ostrava Festival (CZ).

The band’s most recent album Good Citizens (Mistletone, 2018) was universally lauded by their fans and local and international music media. Good Citizens topped The Guardian’s ‘Top 10 Australian albums of 2018’ list, and also featured in The Sydney Morning Herald’s Top 10 albums of 2018 and The Financial Review’s Top 10 albums of 2018. It was Album of the Week on RRR FM, PBS and RTR-FM. 

The album’s lead single, Better Than That, written about Savage’s personal struggle with Australia’s Marriage Plebiscite, was cited by The Guardian as one of the ‘great Aussie protest songs’; and Radio Eins Berlin placed the single Pack Animals in their Top 100 Songs of the Decade list.

In the wake of the release of Good Citizens, Cash Savage & The Last Drinks were nominated for the Music Victoria award for Best Band and Best Song 2019, as well as the National Live Music Award for Best Rock Band 2019 and Live Instrumentalist of the Year 2019 (Kat Mear, violin). Good Citizens was long listed for the Australian Music Prize.

The band’s 2016 album One Of Us (Mistletone/Beast Records) was also released to critical acclaim. It was Album of the Week on RRRFM, PBS, RTR-FM, Beat Magazine, received 4.5 stars in The Age and 4 stars in the Herald Sun. 

Current Last Drinks:

Cash Savage Vocals Guitar / Joe White Guitar / Dougal Shaw Guitar / Nick Finch Bass / Kat Mear Violin / Roshan Khozouei Keys / Rene Mancuso Drums

July 31, 2020

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith livestream


Join Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith on Thursday, August 13th at 8pm AEST for a special, one-off livestream premiere of ​The Mosaic of Transformation​, featuring visuals by Sean Hellfritsch (who has made videos for BJÖRK, GRIZZLY BEAR and PANDA BEAR amongst others, and records music as Cool Maritime).

This is a global livestream event with three different time zones to accommodate fans from around the world: make sure you choose the best time zone for you before purchasing. Buy a ticket here.
 
A message from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith:
“It has been challenging to accept that I may not play the live set I prepared for my most recent album for a long time… Instead I have decided to create a virtual performance so it can still be shared. I’m sorry I can’t be there in person… live performance has always been such a special form of connection. I have hope that new ways of connecting will continue to grow.
Your support means so much and I can’t wait for you to experience my album in this way.
A portion of proceeds will benefit B​lack Trans Femmes in the Arts.​
Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity.”

////
presented by Mistletone.
https://kaitlynaureliasmith.com
February 4, 2020

Touring: DIIV * cancelled

DIIV TOUR DATES:

PERTH: April 22
@ Rosemount Hotel. tickets on sale here.
SYDNEY: April 24 @ Manning Bar. tickets on sale here.
BRISBANE: April 25 @ The Zoo. tickets on sale here.
HOBART: April 26 @ Altar. tickets on sale here.
MELBOURNE: April 28 @ The Croxton. presented by Triple R. tickets on sale here.

With much regret, due to Covid19, the DIIV tour has been cancelled. Refunds are available from ticket agencies.

Rebirth takes place when everything falls apart. DIIV — Zachary Cole Smith (lead vocals, guitar), Andrew Bailey (guitar), Colin Caulfield (bass), and Ben Newman (drums) — craft the soundtrack to personal resurrection under the heavy weight of metallic catharsis upheld by robust guitars and vocal tension that almost snaps, but never quite. The same could be said of the journey these four musicians underwent to get to their third full-length album, Deceiver (out now via Remote Control). Out of lies, fractured friendships, and broken promises, clarity would be found.

A whirlwind brought DIIV here. Amidst turmoil, the group delivered the critical and fan favourite Is the Is Are in 2016, following 2012’s Oshin. Praise came from The Guardian, Spin, and more. NME ranked it in the Top 10 among the Albums of the Year. Pitchfork’s audience voted Is the Is Are one of the Top 50 Albums of 2016, as the outlet dubbed it, “gorgeous.” With total streams for the tracklisting nearing 100 million on Spotify by 2019, “Under the Sun” clocked 19 million with “Dopamine,” “Bent (Roi’s Song),” and “Out of Mind” each passing the 7 million-mark.

In the aftermath of Cole’s personal struggles, he finally accepted “what it means to go through treatment” and committed, emerging with a renewed focus and perspective. Getting back together with the band in Los Angeles would result in a series of firsts. This would be the first time DIIV conceived a record as a band with Colin bringing in demos, writing alongside Cole, and the entire band arranging every tune.

Another first, DIIV lived with the songs on the road. During a 2018 tour with Deafheaven, they performed eight untitled brand-new compositions as the bulk of the set. The tunes also progressed as the players did. The vibe got heavier under influences ranging from Unwound and Elliot Smith to True Widow and Neurosis. They also enlisted producer Sonny Diperri [My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails, Protomartyr]. his presence dramatically expanded the sonic palette, making it richer and fuller than ever before. It marks a major step forward for DIIV.

Even after the final strains of distortion ring out on Deceiver, these four musicians will continue to evolve. “We’re still going,” as Cole affirms. “Hopefully we’ll be doing this for a long time.” DIIV’s rebirth is a hard-earned and well-deserved new beginning.



December 12, 2019

Touring: Sheer Mag * cancelled

Regretfully Sheer Mag’s tour was cancelled due to Covid 19. Refunds are available from all ticket agencies.

SHEER MAG TOUR DATES:

MELBOURNE: Thursday March 19 @ ESTONIAN HOUSE for BRUNSWICK MUSIC FESTIVAL with Power + Bloodletter. Tickets on sale now.
HOBART: Saturday March 21 @ Altar with Slag Queens + The Dreggs. Tickets on sale now.
SYDNEY: Wednesday March 25 @ Red Rattler Theatre with Circle Pit. Tickets on sale now. 
WOLLONGONG: Thursday March 26 @ La La La’s with Concrete Lawn + Year 6 Disco. Tickets on sale now.
BRISBANE: Friday March 27 @ The Zoo with Bloodletter + Infinite Xmas. Tickets on sale now. 
BAMBRA: Saturday March 28 @ Meadow. Tickets on sale now.

Are Sheer Mag the rock’n’roll saviours this planet needs right now? Just named as one of the great rock albums of the year by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NPR to name a few, and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders chose their worker anthem “Expect the Bayonet” at his New York campaign rally.

“Five years since the lower-than-lo-fi underground hit “What You Want” shook some action on the dance floor, Sheer Mag has toured like maniacs, upgraded to well-respected studio engineers like Arthur Rizk and become the denim-and-leather-jacket-wearing standard bearers of truly independent rock and roll. A Distant Call refines the Philly band’s roots — Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, Blue Öyster Cult, Cheap Trick — with a bottomless well of hot licks and ripping guitar solos, brawny call-and-response and Tina Halladay’s soul-cleansing howl. Leaning into its signature sound, but adding unexpected textures here and there, Sheer Mag’s worker anthems and brokenhearted rock ballads fist-pump just as hard, but maybe a little more tender” – NPR

Sheer Mag’s dizzying rise initiated in 2014, when the Philadelphia band self-released the first of three 7-inches and started playing the Northeastern DIY circuit. Ironically, the music stood apart because it sounded so familiar. Indebted to ‘70s arena rock, power-pop, and proto-metal, Sheer Mag’s songs reminded a lot of us of the music we grew up with, but maybe couldn’t relate to because it was big, brash, and unapologetically macho.

Sheer Mag reclaimed some of that energy without perpetuating the toxicity. On their debut album, Need to Feel Your Love (2017), the band surveyed their contemporary political landscape through the lens of history. Singer Tina Halladay transported herself back to the 1969 Stonewall Riots, denounced redlining practices that undermine the popular vote, and paid homage to White Rose activist Sophie Scholl. On paper, it’s a mouthful, but accompanied by guitarist/lyricist Matt Palmer, guitarist Kyle Seely, and bassist/producer Hart Seely, those songs became hook-laden rallying cries.

Two years later, Sheer Mag returned with their sophomore album A Distant Call. They’re still writing about surviving our current hellscape, but this time around, the politics get extra-personal. The album verges on being a concept piece, and the protagonist resembles Halladay herself. The songs document a particularly alienating time in her life when she was laid off from a job. Broke and newly single, her father (with whom she had a fraught relationship) passed away, leaving her with more wounds than felt possible to heal.