Burner Herzog arranges elements from rock & roll's seafloor on "Random Person"
West coast D&B by Soulox & Soeneido, a new album by reggaeton experimentalist DJ Juanny, citrussy guitars by Meernaa, and industrial noise by Field of Fear
Peace to Palestine.
No to war, always.
Let people be free.
— White Crate
ELABORATE ROCK AND ROLL
Just as it had been natural for movie buff Quentin Tarantino to work in a video rental store, it makes perfect sense for Burner Herzog frontman Jasper Leach to work in a music studio. Leach left the Bay for New York City in 2019 after helming a string of bands—including the Myspace-era Myonics, The Symbolick Jews, and Brasil—and wound up setting up mics for synth and audio recording pioneer Walter Sear.
Random Person, the new record from Burner Herzog, is an octupus’ garden, an elaborate arrangement of discrete musical elements Leach collected from rock and roll’s seafloor: the extensive instrumentation and wry lyricism of Jim O’Rourke, the overdriven heartbreak of Pavement, the honk and tonk of The Rolling Stones, the guitar spank of The Strokes. Leach manages a casual authenticity despite enormous attention to detail, and borrows extensively from the old to bring forth something new. Definitely worth a deep dive.
— David Gill
LUSH AND LAVISH D&B
One of the latest entrants for Future Retro London—Tim Reaper’s consistently high-quality label and “jungle testing grounds”—FR023 brings the California drum and bass stylings of Soulox and Soeneido to the world stage. Representing Sacramento and Oakland, respectively, the two producers get lush and “Lavish” with their west coast drum and bass, accented by psychedelic bird calls, pillowy piano reverb, and, of course, viciously sweet slicing breaks. The four-track EP includes original tracks by each artist, a collaboration between the two, and a remix by Toronto producer Comfort Zone. A pleasure in sound, and in the simple fact of seeing these artists showcased in the same spotlight as Dwarde, Coco Bryce, Sully, and many more great jungle producers.
— Ronny Kerr
BOUNDARY-PUSHING DEMBOW
“i’m the parker posey of bay area esoteric electronic music w roots in the americas + caribbean”
DJ Juanny—along with his music collective and digital agency Amor Digital—first landed on our radar in the fall of 2021 thanks to a string of boundary-pushing clubby reggaeton and dembow releases, opening our minds to the possibilities and ever-expanding influence of music from the Caribbean and Americas. Two years later, he’s still going strong.
On the 20-min EP Party Girl, DJ Juanny continues tapping into his many diverse influences—Black and Latin musical heritage, independent cinema, and, of course, the simple fact of living in the Bay Area. It can’t be said enough how challenging it is to survive here as an artist, and at the same time it’s always inspiring, whether dipping into early 2000s hits (“GAS BRAKE DIP” samples “Hyphy” by Federation and E-40) or collaborating with contemporary artists, as DJ Juanny does with SF-born singer songwriter La Favi (aka Natalia García). The music itself is typical DJ Juanny music in its expansiveness. Variously sexy, fun, playful, serious, hard, brooding—it is as ever music that could work for the club as well as the late night headphone session.
Don’t just dig into the music: Explore the world of Amor Digital, including a Q&A with Tal Robinson of No Bias and an essay on the State of the Bay.
— Ronny Kerr
TANGY GUITARS AND POETRY
“Yeah even through these darkened dreams I still need tending
And I’m just trying to get along”
So Far So Good by Meernaa tenderly embodies the enduring sense of loss, of nostalgia, of hope that’s hoped to last, like a sticky sweet residue left over on your tongue from childhood. While you can still taste the psychedelic haze from a pleasant past summer, the scene is gently taken over by citrussy, tangy guitars and poetry to guide us into more sobering territory.
Taking aid from a variety of childhood influences, singer-guitarist Carly Bond of Meernaa invites us to experience a different kind of warmth as she navigates, processes, and transforms painful memories to lay ease on the mind. No longer sticky sweet, the matured palette is more fitting now. Wiser than yesterday and standing a little taller, we can find comfort in leaning in and letting go. Bond’s soothing voice is safe and warm, protecting from erasing the memory of what once was, and allowing for the hope of even more vibrant days to come. Out now on Austin label Keeled Scales.
— Elise Mills
THROBBING NUMBNESS
“The album arrives and ends on a meditative sine wave – a nod to the looming sense that this depression, while temporarily lifted, will return as it always does. A faithful dog. Another winter. A record that has been written and will continue to be written in terminal loops.”
Anguish is set to a low simmer; tendrils of mind tenaciously grasp onto depression’s relentless waves. On Beyond the Reach of Light, Drew Zercoe (as Field of Fear) hones in on the duality of (dis)comfort that occurs when stuck in a state of throbbing numbness. And how in the depths of depression, you find yourself swimming in a different kind of reality soup. Its industrial noisescape shrouds the head in an all-consuming fog. Pain and numbness bubble and shift strategically between harmful and seemingly harmless guises, overwhelm followed by paradoxical bliss— and you realize you have forgotten to breathe.
Beyond the Reach of Light maintains listenability through moments of respite in tracks like “Cold” and “Lost,” and its swift transitions between tracks. No extent of this harrowing valley is left unhaunted. All emotion is left out in its rawest, least symbolic form—and where no language can interfere.
— Elise Mills
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[indie] Anna Hillburg (album release), Telephone Numbers, Will Sprott — Oct 20 at Makeout Room
[electronic] The Seshen (album release), Boostive — Oct 20 at the New Parish
[club] AYLI 13-Year Anniversary ft. Sama’ Abdulhadi, Annika Wolfe, Vitamin1000 — Oct 20 at Public Works
[electronic] AVW 2023 ft. MH the Verb, Umamifunk — Oct 21 at Sway
[club] Baalti — Oct 21 at Bar Part Time
[club] DJ Boring, Aida, Farsight — Oct 21 at Public Works
[r&b] Joy Dawn Hackett, Deon Brown, Dani Offline — Oct 24 at Tiny Telephone
[fest] Econo Jam Records 10th anniversary party ft. Ritmos Tropicosmos, James Wavey, Silent Pictures — Oct 26 at Thee Stork Club
[hip hop] Equipto, Monk HTS, Professa Gabel, MC Pauze — Oct 26 at Smiley’s Saloon
[club] Joy Orbison, Introspekt, nonsuit, Mars Kasei — Oct 26 at 1015 Folsom