For the indie pop lovers, two new albums by Margot James and Silverware
On "Talker," Margot James leans into warm and gentle blues revelations; on "One True Light," Silverware aka Ainsley Wagoner lets loose the pop rock jams
We’ve never claimed to be 100% unbiased. In fact, we’re obviously biased as we only cover music from the Bay Area: That is, the music made by people in our community.
Inevitably, that means that we’re often covering music by artists only one or two degrees of separation from our personal lives. Today, we lean into that with two reviews of new music by people we know personally. Coincidentally, both releases inhabit similar sonic worlds, indie music by two super talented women singer-songwriters. Just another sign of the musical blessings we have here in the Bay.
— White Crate
WARM & GENTLE BLUES
“What is freedom if you’re not leaving your family in tears?”
Seemingly out of nowhere, Oakland singer-songwriter Margot James emerges with Talker, a seven-track suite of buzzing electric keyboard, softly rocking blues rhythms, and a bright husky voice melodious with introspection and growth. It feels all the more “out of nowhere” because (full disclosure) Margot is a good friend of one of my good friends; I knew she sang and played the piano, but like this?
Recorded at Hand Me Down Studios and featuring a crew of collaborators, none of the songs here warrant a skip: The album opens with the moody slow brooding “Eyes” (paired with a music video filmed in Perugia, Italy), before moving into the ironically light-hearted “Pirouette,” the country dance of “Pinky Fingers,” and so on. Each song a little piece of Margot’s heart, but warm and gentle with the revelations.
— Ronny Kerr
INDIE POP ROCK JAMS
“I don’t think there’s such a thing as going back to where we were.”
Silverware, the project by SF artist, producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Ainsley Wagoner, first popped into our radar in early 2021 with the irresistibly catchy “Important.” (And, in a beautiful new development of the Bay Area music constellation, Wagoner now contributes reviews to White Crate.) More than three years later, the artist debuts on Seattle’s Ghost Mountain Records with full-length album One True Light, featuring 10 feel-good indie pop rock jams.
The title track opens the album quietly with solo piano and voice that within seconds gives way to a thumping tight full band, Wagoner’s voice threading along softly, full and unwavering. From there the album flows through folksy moments, country rock dances, downtempo synth pop playthings, and more. With “Goodbye,” the album ends the same way it begins: Solo, lullaby-like piano-and-voice so intimate you can hear the heart pang as clearly as the plodding of the keyboard’s mechanical parts.
Celebrate the album release with Silverware, Asha Wells, and Preschool at Santo Recording Studio on Saturday, September 7.
— Ronny Kerr
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[electronic] Suzanne Ciani and the Bay Area Synth Scene — Aug 29 at KQED
[folk] CUT THE BREAKERS ft. Desiree Cannon, Sam Doores, Grace Cooper, Ryan Christopher Parks — Aug 29 at the Golden Bull
[rock] Quinn DeVeaux, Suzanimal, Cardboard People — Aug 29 at Rickshaw Stop
[alternative] Feefawfum, Pateka, Rumble Pak, Rays — Aug 29 at Thee Stork Club
[club] DJ Juanny (debut vinyl/digital set) — Aug 30 at Bar Part Time
[club] CLB INTRNCNL ft. BRIIZV, LBXX, Profesito, YOUNG ELLA BAKER — Aug 30 at El Rio
[club] Carozilla, Juicy Stemz, Mare E Fresh — Aug 30 at Churchill
[club] LOTEK & NATURAL SELECTION ft. Bored Lord, Soeneido, Natural Selection, SOBA — Aug 30 at Edinburgh Castle
[fest] WEST OAKLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL ft. Denyah, IDHAZ, Kwame Adu, Matt & DJ NFS, Raven, Tomu DJ, ZAYALLCAPS, Zero Charisma — Aug 31 at DM organizers for location
[club] COMPUTER CONTROL ft. Adra, Compromised Data, Eichef, Machino, Miagma, Terrestrial Access Network — Aug 31 at Yerba Buena Estudios
[club] Space Ghost, DJ Sober — Aug 31 at Bar Part Time
[rock] Thunder Boys (album release), Pink Mountaintops, Now, Big Nate — Aug 31 at Bottom of the Hill
[experimental] Kate Ramsey, Pirámides, Agnes Martian — Sep 4 at Shapeshifters Cinema
[punk] Rip Room, The Wameki, Diesel Dudes — Sep 4 at the Knockout
[indie] Ouch!, Majorette, Smile Too Much — Sep 4 at Kilowatt
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