Pop Mutations is just under a week away and we’re super psyched about bringing this virtual extravaganza into your life! Head to Pop Mutations Instagram page to like and share the event poster (this yellow one) for a chance to win Free Tickets to the one off event!
Lot’s of El Rancho favourites on the line up, you would be a mad person to miss this! Check out parts 1 & 2 of our Clyde built special to hear tracks by all the artists performing. Type in clydebuilt pop mutations into the search.
Sunday morning coming down. This is the general vibe of Sunday’s Spiritual Fantasy on Clyde Built Radio. Tune in this Sunday for more of the same, if you don’t know what that is then tune in. OK, what I will say is that the music usually comes from a bygone era most often the 60’s/70’s, however; If the sound fits newer releases pop up every once in a while. This months show has three new tracks from Laraaji (All saints), Gold Dust Twins (Numero Group) and Bobby Lee.
Bobby Lee’s new album ‘Origin Myths’ was released digitally worldwide on March 5th, with a vinyl LP out May 7th with FOUR extra songs via Tompkins Square. There is an awesome tape option available on BL’s Bandcamp – home dubbed cassette of the album with one-off collage artwork plus a unique mixtape. If you dig the sounds of ‘Origin Myths’ and last years ‘Shakedown in Slabtown’ album, you can imagine what kind of vibe a Bobby Lee mixtape might sound like.
On ‘Origin Myths’ dusty desert jams, set to a slow BPM drum machine is the road Bobby Lee walks down. The sun comes up and down with this album, and in between cosmic country scorches eight psych instrumentals that are ambient, primitive and native. Bobby plays all the instruments; each track is a vignette of blissed-out meditative guitar and mellowed out reverb. Check out ‘Fire Medicine Man’, and let’s talk about Wilson Tan. This is so El Rancho! Now let’s get that mixtape!
Check out the full tracklist and listen to the show below…
Camel – Starlight Ride Dr Dopo Jam – In The Morning Sonia Spence – Jet Plane Bobby Lee – The Badger and The Locust Ted Lucas – It Is So Nice To Get Stoned Gold Dust Twins – Reach The Meters – Wichita Lineman Margo Guryan – Love Songs Karen Dalton – One Night of Love Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue Bunny Scott – Kinky Fly The Beach Boys – Little Bird Josephine Foster – Child of God The Byrds – Full Circle Thin Lizzy – She Knows Captain Beefheart – My Head Is My house Nico – These Days Laraaji – Quiet Journey Dave Bixby – Peace
This weeks show is seriously bursting at the seams! 18 songs in an hour, could it be a record? I’m not sure if I’m up for searching back through 91 episodes to check. Let’s just say today’s show is mighty stacked and leave it at that. The tracklist is below the show is available here: El Rancho Music on Subcity oh yeah!
Featured on the show today is Buffet Lunch and their snappy new single ‘Pebbledash’ which came out a minute ago. It’s from their highly contagious debut album ‘The Power Of Rocks’ out on May 7th through Upset The Rhythm. Check out the new vide here:
Buffet Lunch have a clever knack of sounding like they are teetering on the edge of collapse. There’s a spontaneity and fun running through their surrealistic songs which come tumbling down the hill in multiple directions and at various speeds. The album is packed with wonky vignettes that pop and fizzle with a edgy energy that doesn’t want to take itself too seriously, and that’s good! The songs on the album are full of colourful stories narrated in Perry O’Bray’s spoken voice – currently a go to vocal choice for most of the UK’s buzz bands including Squid, Dry Cleaning, Black Country New Road… I could go on and on – Buffet Lunch put on cool DIY shows in Edinburgh under the Good Grief moniker and release music occasionally via the Smooth Dad label. Their DIY aesthetic is strong, with Perry O’Bray from the band producing the artwork for gigs and releases including the masks on the cover of ‘Power of Rocks’. Those masks feature in live shows and were witnessed at Freakender 2019, where the band played an amazing Saturday afternoon set.
Their tracks are vigorous excursions, meandering into clattersome terrain as often as hiking up into the breezy, melodious foothills. The desire to lead the listener along a curious tale helps tie things together, showcasing a lyrical playfulness that pins down their puzzle of sound – Upset The Rhythm
Here’s the full tracklisting to the show…
The Muckers – So Far Away (Greenway Records) Paul Jacobs – Half Rich Loner (Blow The Fuse) Palberta – Corner Store (Wharf Cat) Children of The Pope – Street of Chance (S/R) Buffet Lunch – Pebbledash (Upset The Rhythm) Silicon Prairie – Born In Trouble (Silicone Prairie) Dom & The Wizards – Outlaws and the Cops (Tenth Court) Ohtis – Failure (Saddle Creek) Pansy – Women of UR Dream (Earth Libraries) Good Morning – Basketball Breakups (Caroline Australia) Tex Crick – Peaches & Cream (Mac’s Record Label) Spang Sisters – The Ballad of Joyce Vincent (Bathtime Sounds) Helado Negro – Sound and Vision (BBE MUSIC) Chai – Donuts Mind If I Do (Sub Pop) Honey Slides – Arrivederci, Motherfucker! (feat. Macie Stewart) (S/T) Silver Synthetic – In The Beginning (Third Man) Quality Used Cars – Spiral Of Lies (Francis Taite)
‘An Overview on Phenomenal Nature’ by Cassandra Jenkins
Cover photograph by Ole Brodersen
Released today, ‘An Overview on Phenomenal Nature’ (Ba Da Bing!) is the stunning new album from native New York songwriter Cassandra Jenkins. In the eight years since the release of her captivating and haunting debut ‘EP’, Jenkins has released a handful of self-released singles and live EP’s, including 2017’s debut album ‘Play Till You Win‘ (Cassandra Complex), which featured a cast of collaborators, including Jenkins’ brother and sister. On her acclaimed debut, Jenkins honed in on the elegantly lush sounds of cosmic Americana, alongside a nod to George Harrison’s 70’s slide guitar sound. The music and songwriting on ‘Play Till You Win’ was accomplished and dreamlike in the arrangements and instrumentation, matched with some lovely southern soul-pop production.
On ‘An Overview on Phenomenal Nature’, Jenkins took a discerning approach to make her new record, starting with a handful of unfinished song ideas and taking them to multi-instrumentalist producer Josh Kaufman‘s (This Is The Kit, The Hold Steady) studio. In a week of finishing ideas and writing, they produced a captivating album that is understated yet confident and fully realised. The sophomore album opens with the first single, ‘Michelangelo‘ and lyrically, the track sets the bar for the rest of the album, which features some of Jenkins most crushing songwriting to date. The first verse is packed with introspective lyrics, ‘There’s a fly above my head waiting for the day I drop dead’. Jenkins intimate voice is the first instrument to be heard on the album, and it captivates from the start. A brief and collected fuzzy guitar solo sits nicely in the slow-burning indie rock song which has a mellow country feel, similar to ‘Harvest’ era Neil Young.
On ‘New Bikini’, the laidback shuffling of drums and shimmering saxophone complements a memory of personal mourning. Jenkins’ takes the advice of friends and later advises a friend of ill health to jump in the ocean, ‘the water, it cures everything’. The track is sublime and melancholic but hopeful. ‘Ambiguous Norway‘ is another moving sentiment for anyone who has lost love or a loved one. In this case, as in ‘New Bikini’, David Berman’s passing influences the lyrical content, ‘You’re gone, you’re everywhere’, Jenkins was to go on tour with Berman’s Purple Mountains group before his untimely passing in 2019. The track is meditative and heavenly, as twinkling synths and yearning strings float behind the singer’s whispering vocals.
The second single, ‘Hard Drive‘, is something of a miniature opus that will undoubtedly be the track that claims the album and makes the best of lists of 2021. A novel and natural spoken word and conversational style of songwriting weave into a track with breezy flourishes of saxophone echoing ‘Kaputt’ era Destroyer. The track is wide open and rich with a cast of characters, including the ‘overview’ of an exhibition from a security guard in red lipstick. The singers perfectly pronounced New York accent fits the storytelling narration as the track drifts along and could go on forever. ‘Crosshairs‘ is a beautiful song that showcases Jenkins’ pop songwriting sensibilities and delicate range, featuring acoustic guitar and piano, with lush instrumentation, which drops in and out, adding to the graceful production. Throughout the album, Jenkins’ expressive voice sits on top and inside each track, maintaining a pace and style that drips gently, singing with a breath.
On ‘Hailey’ Jenkins sings and celebrates the power of a woman named ‘Hailey’ over a fingerpicking guitar accompanied by a synth drone which builds up slowly in the background. Closing the album is an immersive seven-minute instrumental/ambient sound art piece called ‘The Ramble’, which threads together the sounds featured throughout ‘… Phenomenal Nature’ including saxophone, flutes, synths and field recordings of birds.
‘… Phenomenal Nature’ arrives just under four years since her debut release. In that time, Jenkins has played across the USA, performing solo and with a revolving band and performing in several line ups such as Lola Kirke, Eleanor Friedberger and Craig Finn. The journey to this second album has been extensive, at times endless and weary. Jenkins has had to play the long game; however, she has knocked it out of the park, and it feels like stars have aligned with this release. With the world in a full-blown existential crisis, ‘An Overview on Phenomenal Nature’ nourishes the soul and resets the dials. On her sophomore release, Jenkins sounds like an artist in the moment, letting creativity and freedom pave the way. ‘… Phenomenal Nature’ is a highly recommended headphone listen. If you have the time to take it in, sit back and absorb the art of reflective emotion.
Midday. Wednesday. Fortnightly. It’s El Rancho Radio on Subcity. This week is as always stacked with new music. This week we’ve got a heavy tilt on rippin’ guitars and frenzied rhythms, for about a third of the show at least. I’m probably fixing on Beige Banquet, who have released ‘Beta‘ a post-punk, art-rock, Blitzkrieg Bop, sonic assault of a debut. Today you’ll hear ‘Cold Yoghurt’ from the tape release on the show which really kicks! There’s a strong DIY feel through today’s show, with lot’s of the music self recorded and produced. See Silicone Prairie, The Poppermost, Josephine & Hershguy, John Myrtle, Bobby Lee and cool Ghouls!
Check out the album below and pick up the digital copy to support the artist. Unfortunately the tape has sold out, but stay tuned surely someone is going to pick up on Beige Banquet.
Psymon Spine – Jumprope Beige Banquet – Cold Yoghurt Pom Poko – Andy Go To School The Gorls – Tracie Pushups – So Let Down Josephine & Hershguy – Let’s Jet Jake Elijah – I Knew Then Silicone Prairie – Silicone Prairie John Myrtle – Get Her Off My Mind Holiday Ghosts – Mr. Herandi Count Florida – HOT THINGS The Poppermost – Well I Will Bobby Lee – Fire Medicine Man Cassandra Jenkins – Hard Drive Lean Logic – Mother Machine Ryley Walker – Rang Dizzy Cool Ghouls – The Way I Made You Cry
