Experimental indie artist Kathyrn Mohr performing live on Lower Grand Radio on 4/6
New music by Salami Rose Joe Louis, The Lost Days (Tony Molina + Dawn Riding), Cheree (Cherub Dream Records), sndtrak, Infinexhuma + weekly show recs
Announcing White Crate’s next live in-studio performance at Lower Grand Radio, featuring Kathryn Mohr:
Kathryn Mohr makes desolate emotions concrete by squeezing electric guitar, analog synthesizer, and vocals through lo-fi, DIY production techniques. Liminal, distant, and inexplicably haunting, her music draws inspiration from items washing up on the shore of the San Francisco Bay, representing the ephemeral nature of humanity, the warping of memory, and how trauma transforms one’s experience of this world.
Writing for White Crate, here’s what Elise Mills wrote of Mohr’s 2022 EP Holly:
Cast in sepia mystique, Kathryn Mohr’s sophomore album Holly explores a yearning that steeps into forgotten crevices of the mind, increasing in potency long after the first listen. Understated with just a touch of the avant-garde, Mohr nestles instrumental, time-defying vignettes of both whimsical melodies and field recordings within spell-binding indie ballads, reflecting on loss, memory, and other things intangible and precious. Poignant and captivating.
Listen to Kathryn Mohr perform live on Lower Grand Radio on April 6 at 8:30 PM PT.
— White Crate
WILD FREE JAZZ NURSERY RHYME
“I am enamored with the concept of listening to a sound when we don’t know the source. The act of listening in this great expanse of the universe, for answers, for questions, or just for something undefinable that we seek.” — Lindsay Olsen
The most beloved alien funk producer-keyboardist-vocalist of the Bay Area hip hop and electronic underground, Salami Rose Joe Louis just released the first two singles from her upcoming full-length album Akousmatikous. Both sound like classic Salami Rose—gentle as a nursery rhyme but wild as free jazz—and the album itself is written as the narrative sequel to her last album Zdenka 2080, so there will be a lot for long-time fans to love.
The title track, a collaboration with Soccer 96 which also serves as the opener, comes with an animated video illustrated in dark pastel and directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada (Disney, MARVEL), starting out simple enough but then accelerating into a violent episode of nature vs man. She also released another track from the album, “Propaganda,” a collaboration with Brijean. Akousmatikous is out May 29 on Brainfeeder.
You can get tickets to see Salami Rose Joe Louis celebrate the album release (matinee show and evening show) at Bandcamp Oakland on May 26.
— Ronny Kerr
JANGLY DITTIES OF LOSS & LOVE
“After meeting at a memorial for a mutual friend, Tony Molina and Sarah Rose Janko started spending nights into mornings playing guitar and singing their hearts out to an audience of empty wine bottles in the East Oakland warehouse where Sarah lived […] The days were marked in trips to Jackson’s Liquor store, the same spot Tony frequented while recording with his band Ovens a decade earlier.”
We’re a bit late to the party on this one, but Tony Molina records live forever. As The Lost Days, Tony Molina (Ovens) and Sarah Rose Janko (Dawn Riding, now based in New Orleans) form a silvery duet, strumming and singing together these jangly ditties born from heartbreak, depression, and the intricacies of loss and love. In the Store is a grey album but not a depressing one, rolling along with nourishing melodies and ardent rhythms inspired by the work of Cleveland musician Bill Fox and 1960s folk rock pioneers The Byrds. Released by Speakeasy Studios SF, they’re calling it a full-length album even though its 10 tracks end in 13 minutes, but it somehow feels more expansive than that. Kind of like those late nights and early mornings where the jam sessions started, it’s a deeply sad yet profoundly hopeful liminal space, where the rest of the universe disappears, and the present company is all that matters.
See the Tony Molina Band perform a record release show (for the upcoming reissue of Embarrassing Times) alongside the Umbrellas, Pardoner, and Unity as part of the Throwin’ Bo’s 5 Year Anniversary at Rickshaw Stop this Saturday, April 1.
— Ronny Kerr
PLAY IT LOUD
“I wish I could escape from this gilded cage.”
Trudging punk with an industrial edge, Factory is a six-track EP recorded by Cheree at Oakland’s Sharkbite Studios. Most affecting from the start is the crispy digital crunch of the programmed drums, providing the mechanical rhythm for guitar and bass to match up against in cutting syncopation. And on top of the piled up throne of shattered metal shards sits vocalist Vanessa Hernandez, screaming black and white lyrics with not a glimmer of hesitation. Pick up a limited edition cassette or 12″ vinyl of the EP from Cherub Dream Records. Play it loud.
— Ronny Kerr
BRAZEN FLIPS FOR THE HEADS
Oakland producer sndtrak strikes back. True to its name, FLIPS V2: FLIP-TUCK (only available on Bandcamp for now) features well-known tracks from the 70s and 80s, dissected, blended, flipped, and rearranged into fat and juicy hip hop instrumental beats. It’s all hits—”Everybody Loves the Sunshine” by Roy Ayers, “I Can’t Stand the Rain” by Ann Peebles, “Computer Love” by Zapp, “Give It to Me Baby” by Rick James, “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” by the S.O.S. Band, “Remind Me” by Patrice Rushen—and that’s part of what makes it irresistible. But it’s also the brazenness of taking obvious tracks and actually having the creativity to make them new again.
My personal favorite has to be the flip of the “Castle Theme” from the NES classic Super Mario Bros. Maybe I just played those early video games at the right time in my childhood brain development, but something about 8-bit and 16-bit music sounds so absolutely sweet and luscious; sndtrak takes the original and turns it into a verifiable slap, making you wonder if Princess Peach even wanted to be rescued from Bowser.
You can stream last year’s collection FLIPS V1: Triple Lindy or pick it up on vinyl and tape from Street Corner Music.
See sndtrak and Otis McDonald open up for Carrrtoons at Rickshaw Stop on April 5.
— Ronny Kerr
SNARLING & OOZING
Infinexhuma’s Denown blurs the boundary between our world and the next, leaving the veil almost irreparably thin. Snarling and oozing, the piece features drawn-out demonic drones, detoxifying the atmosphere of fear and desire with an immersive, healing sonic tonic, providing the kind of relief that can only be savored after going through an intense, soul-wrenching experience. The piece invites us to question whether unfamiliar territory is truly foreign, or if we are simply returning home to our authentic selves once the mask has dissolved. Are we truly so estranged from our demons?
— Elise Mills
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[rock] Wayne Faler, Chime School, The Reds, Pinks & Purples — March 31 at Make Out Room
[experimental] Cube, Cel Genesis, Niki FM — March 31 at Thee Stork Club
[club] Marie Davidson, Laurel Halo — March 31 at Monarch
[club] Fool House ft. Aroma, Mars Kasei, Taraneh, Lil Bebe Cyborg — March 31 at Secret SF Location
[experimental] New Voices II ft. Alex Abalos, Sharmi Basu, Ronald Peabody (last shows) — March 31, April at Audium
[hip hop] Larry June & The Alchemist — April 1 at SVN West
[classical] Kronos Quartet with Wu Man, pipa — April 1 at Zellerbach Hall
[rock] Throwin' Bo's 5 Year Anniversary ft. Tony Molina (Record Release), The Umbrellas, Pardoner, Unity — April 1 at Rickshaw Stop
[rock] Spacemoth, Maria BC, Rose Haze — April 1 at Eli’s Mile High Club
[club] Fool’s Gold ft. Rayreck, Edgeslayer, DJ Juanny, On.Mommas, De Alma, Finishher, Honeybear, Boyfriend Dick, Ghostmilk, Micahtron, Veneco, Tom Marsi, DJ Ari B, Young Ellabaker, Banned Practice, Del — April 1 at Secret Oakland Location
[rock] NNAMDÏ, Luke Titus, James Wavey — April 2 at Rickshaw Stop
[hip hop] Jada Imani, Agua Pura, Stoney Creation — April 3 at the Chapel
[rock] System Exclusive, Body Double, Katsy Pline — April 5 at Thee Stork Club
[experimental] Caterina Barbieri — April 6 at the Lab
[punk] Hafner, Drainer, The Tunnel — April 6 at Amado’s
Want even more? Join our Patreon to get access to the full Bay Area concert calendar, featuring specially curated recommendations for upcoming Bay Area shows.
