Sparkling jangle pop from Chime School and the masters at Slumberland Records
Plus psychedelic house by Tycho, powerful progressive death metal by Vile Rites, and an experimental ambient trip through sound and memory by Beaunoise
We’ve got four new reviews for you this week, and it’s particularly special because they’re so stylistically and sonically different—the perfect way to represent all the diverse sounds and creators coming out of the Bay.
BTW! Producer, composer, singer-songwriter, and badass DJ Louie Elser will be the next guest joining our show on Lower Grand Radio! For everything from addicting charting reggaeton to experimental dembow,: tune into Louie Elser with White Crate on Lower Grand Radio this Tue Sep 10 at 8:30 PM PT.
— White Crate
SPARKLING JANGLE ARTISTRY
“Why shouldn’t everything sparkle?”
Chime School’s The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel begs this question. The sophomore full-length from the Slumberland jangle pop masters glitters in every way, from the brightly layered guitars to the infectious melodies to the nostalgic imagery. It feels like a sunny day.
Andy Pastalaniec, the creative driver of SF-based Chime School, is an inspirational force in the rich DIY landscape of Bay Area bands. Written, recorded, and produced by Pastalaniec in his home studio, The Boy Who Ran The Paisley Hotel attains an impressive level of production. Every sonic element (blistering drums, sparkling guitars, attractive harmonies, melodic bass) supports the expertly crafted songs, and the polish only helps the details stand out more. Bass doubling the vocal line, tambourine hits, organ! Chime School serves up craftsmanship and care—and leaves you wanting more.
Chime School just wrapped a West Coast tour and is headed to Europe, so mark your calendars for October 18th when they play with White Fence and NOW at The Chapel.
— Ainsley Wagoner
BALM FOR THE DEFAULT WORLD
“Infinite Health is about creating a space for healing and reflection, a mantra for spiritual, emotional, and physical healing. At the end of the day, all we really have is our health.” — Scott Hansen
I haven’t been to Burning Man in more than a decade, but for some reason this mellow psychedelic pop house is just the thing I’d imagine being a good soundtrack while biking through wild alkaline dust storms—despite the artwork depicting peaceful, vibrant verdure and a flowing stream.
Infinite Health is the sixth album from Scott Hansen’s GRAMMY-nominated project Tycho, one of the bigger names in Bay Area music. Over the course of a half hour, the work placidly bubbles and flows downstream, going easy on the listener. Ambient moments (“Green”, “Restraint”) don’t turn sleepy, they rise lightly with walking pace beats. More upbeat moments don’t grow overly passionate or ecstatic, opting instead for even electric energy (“DX Odyssey,” “Devices”). For anyone overwhelmed, whether you’re in Black Rock City or in the default world, Tycho’s new album offers balm. Out now on NY indie label Mom+Pop.
— Ronny Kerr
THE DEPTHS OF DEATH METAL
senescence (n.)
the condition or process of deterioration with age.
It’s not every day we see one release covering so much Bay Area ground, but here’s Senescence—the debut album by Santa Rosa trio Vile Rites, produced by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studio in Oakland, and released by San Jose’s Carbonized Records.
Vile Rites powers through the depths of progressive death metal, stopping only here and there for a reprieve from the noise. There is the minute-long solo guitar interlude of “Ephemeral Reverie of Eroded Dreams,” and then midway through “Transcendent Putrefaction” there is the moment when the fast-charging metal riffs and rhythms crumble away into ambient space, revealing a spacious backdrop to the music; when the drums return, it is as if they’re heard from the bottom of a vast cavern. Fitting for an album closer, “Banished to Solitude (Adrift on the Infinite Waves)” traverses from pummeling thrash to wailing psych rock solos across its 11-minute epic.
— Ronny Kerr
HAZY MEANDERING TRIP
“I made this music primarily for myself to connect to memories of a time and place”
Berkeley producer, recording engineer, and electronic musician Beau Sorenson returns under the Beaunoise moniker with experimental ambient album Ongaku, a hazy meandering trip through sound and memory. Inspired as much by a personal trip as it is by Chris Marker’s 1983 French documentary film Sans Soleil (which connects Japan to San Francisco and other places), the new work weaves synthesized soundscapes with recordings Sorenson made in Japan—in Tokyo, Osaka, Hakone, and Koyason.
The result is amorphous and unpredictable, like a walk through a foreign city: Here it’s peaceful and trodding, but suddenly there is noise and discomfort. Here it’s dripping and oozing, a murky soundscape, but around the corner there is light and clean air. It is a personal record for Sorenson, intended to capture the feeling of a specific experience in a specific time and place, but its wide and clear soundscapes gesture openly to the rest of us listeners, inviting us to meditate on our own hazy-tinged memories.
— Ronny Kerr
SHOW RECS
Our top show recommendations for the coming week:
[experimental] Grex, Foreign/Domestic, Evelyn Davis — Sep 5 at Ivy Room
[rock] The Plastic Cherries, Everyone Is Dirty, Mommy Mommy, Secret Secret — Sep 6 at Eli’s Mile High Club
[punk] Wameki, Rip Room, Fog Lamp — Sep 6 at Winter’s Tavern
[country] Country Risqué, Oh Lonesome Ana, Alvie & The Breakfast Pigs — Sep 6 at Ivy Room
[rock] Tony Molina, Unity, Galore — Sep 6 at Bottom of the Hill
[club] GORGEOUS: OAKLAND PRIDE ft. TYGAPAW, Jasmine Infiniti, Brown Angel, KKINGBOO, DE ALMA, Discnogirl, Yuca Frita, and more — Sep 6 at the New Parish
[metal] Laceration, Molten, Emblaze, Barbarous — Sep 7 at Thee Parkside
[rock] Silverware (album release), Asha Wells, Preschool — Sep 7 at Santo
[club] 13 YEARS OF DIRECT TO EARTH ft. CELL INJECTION (Truncate + Drumcell), Max Gardner, 9-System, Adra — Sep 7 at DM organizers for location
[hip hop] Afterthought & the Top Chefs, Lady OFLO, DJ Seamless, SUTRO — Sep 8 at The Faight Collective
[metal] Frolic, Hemotoxin, Creepo, Mortal — Sep 8 at Cornerstone
[rock] Dummy, Aluminum, Buddy Junior — Sep 11 at Kilowatt