Darto

So, I guess I lied, got another post to bang out. Darto is from Seattle,and I learned about them through Emma of Big Hush. Ill be totally honest, anything before "Human Giving" I'm not familiar with. Around the time Emma clued me in, they had just released the first single of mentioned LP. I loved it instantly, it was a strange mixed of krautrock, americana and this rhythmic cello, that blended w the sing songy melody that felt like a lullaby from a dystopian world. The the whole LP, has this oscillation between human and machine, synths and acoustic guitars clang up against each other to create a disorienting world. One of the interesting things about Darto is their subvertion of the masculine kinda troupe of Americana and that is through the lyrics and delivery of the vocals, its like a take down of the cowboy. The follow up to their fantastic LP, is "Fundamental Slime" which is 4 tracks that further plunges into the depth of dystopia, with more dread and isolation vibes. Once again, I remember being on the last ever tour of my old band, and as we drove through the northern California mountains, seeing all the destruction from wildfires, this ep was the perfect companion to this wasteland of the USA. I count Nick and Candance as buds, full disclosure. 

https://darto.bandcamp.com/album/fundamental-slime

Big Hush

For my final in what I will call "punishing my friends and peers trilogy", I'm writing about DC's Big Hush, who like Smoke Bellow are truly great, inspiring and underrated. The first time I saw Big Hush was at a house how my old band was playing w them in DC, I THINK it was one of their first shows with Emma playing drums, and they killllllled it. It struck me immediately, a weird combo of MBV's bending guitars, with Lows vocal harmonies. It was like mixing folk and shoegaze, I was transfixed. We became fast friends that evening and would play tons more shows together. Over the course of their activity they release 2 cassette tape eps that were collected in one LP on Robotic Empire. These two tapes  are "Wholes" and "Who's Smoking Your Spirt". My humble flex is I'm pretty sure we played the release shows for both tapes and the LP.

"Wholes" was originally releasd by DZ Tapes, and it shows Big Hush in their more somber and folky side. The guitar work is subtle, and the riffs/chord changes feel timeless along with the 3 part vocal harmonies. These songs soothe, and have sooooo many hooks. The lyrics paint so many interesting imagines, and evoke small moments in life. The amont of yearing in these four songs.....it's chilling beauty that I have a hard time expressing correctly. The nooks and crannies musically in these songs are mesmerizing, like the end of  "Wrong House" feel so profound in execution, and still gives me goosebumps. This record is definitely more "chill" compared to their next but its effective in a completely different way. Its emotionally potent and beautiful. 

So, on the LP collection, they added a newer track called "Soft Eyes" that wasnt with the og cassette but it fits perfectly with the 5 songs on their follow up to "Wholes", "Who's Smoking Your Spirit" (which is the repeating coda on Soft Eyes). With WSYS, Big Hush added new drummer, Emma who adds a ton of urgency to the mix, and the become more loud, bendy and punk. Now the focus is alil less on vocals and more on the guitar textures, strange drum patterns but also now have FOUR PART HARMONIES. Like "Wholes" its still all about the subtle details in songwriting, transitions and mixing. Like how in "Soft Eyes" in the intro, low in the mix you hear tambourine pop in and changes up the groove of what you thought the song would be. My personal favourite song on the album is "Cough" and I have an extremely strong memory attached to it : I was on tour, listening to the album for the first time, I was V stoned, and enjoying the ep, and then "Cough" starts with a "Iron Man" guitar bend intro, and the song kicks in, and slow builds up momentum to the end of the chorus with lyrics "are you really, just letting this happen" twice with just vocals and drums, and then silence, everything cuts and then right back into the opening bending guitar and my brain just melted and i laughed so hard. I made everyone stop what we were listening to just to play them this small moment. And to me thats Big Hush, small mindblowing moments inside fantastically written songs, that blow away every single "shoegaze" influenced band. They understood what made MBV good, and it wasnt the pedals it was warping great melodies, great songs and exciting uses for guitar. It was punk but not pretentious, it was in your face but not masculine. Maybe one day we will get more music from these phreaks and they will get their due. Until then, please lend yr ears to this amazing band.

https://bighush.bandcamp.com/music

Smoke Bellow discography

Smoke Bellow, is from Baltimore, but also from Australia, and they are imo, the most underrated band of the last decade. I guess in saying that, it might be obvious they are also one of the most influential bands on me and the music I make. I'm gonna talk about their 3 main releases, "Old Haunts", "Blooming/Middling" and "ISOLATION 3000". I've been lucky enough to see and play with Smoke Bellow multiple times, and seen them grow from release to release, and its mind blowing to me how constant and adventurous theyve been over each release (and also their excellent Inner Light side project).

Smoke Bellows first release(just a duo for this cassette), that I'm aware of is "Old Haunts" and its their most "lofi" but still sonically you hear the ambition under the murky production. The whole EP(?), opens with a immediate ear grabbing organ riff, over time each new element is layered to create a very mystical/ritualistic drone, that sounds sacred. The influence of The Raincoats, Velvet Underground and Too Pure records bands like Pram are clear but theres something extra at work here that is hard to put your finger on.  The build this insular world, that the circular drones and chanting invite you in and listen, hushed and calm. Its the first steps into a fully realized sound.

Their next release, and first as a trio(added a "drummer" of sorts) is Blooming/Middling which ups the fidelity alil but the ambition a ton. Seeing them live during time was wild, they all had loop pedals, samplers, synths, flutes, guitars so many moving parts but only 3 of them doing it. Some shows were these transcendent experiences of hypnotic bliss, and sometimes technology failed them. It was like the work of 5 or 6 people but a 3 person orchestra doing it all. Which was extremely inspiring to watch, especially when everything was locked in and no technical issues happened.  The songs had a new sense of pulse, and urgency. Like their debut ep, the record opens with organ drone but instead of slowly building a sacred ritual they careen into the song, with jagged guitar lines and punding floor toms. It still retains the Raincoats, Velvet Underground and Pram vibe but the more in your face elements of those bands, while still having the meditative feel intacted. Its a amazing set of songs, and after this the core duo returned to Australia for a time.

I'm unaware of how active Smoke Bellow was during their time back in Australia in terms of playing live but with ISOLATION 3000, its clear they honed in, softed the edges and added some new elements into the mix. Krautrock had always been there with the early material but hear it was more overt with artists like Moebius, Roedelius and Neu, with hints of new age and ambient as well. They also between releases lost drummer, but gained a multi-instrumentalist. This is by far their most "accomplished" set of songs. Each song has its own little world built but they all come together in a blissed out and psychedelic listen. There are moments of pure joy thought this whole record, during flute solos or lyrics about saying goodbye to your hands. Its truly weird, experimental and filled with a sense of humor.

So yea, ive kept things slightly vague because I don't wanna ruin yr own listening experience, but hopefulling enough to get you to listen! Smoke Bellow have entered a new phase with a new live drummer and i cannot wait to hear what they do next! Also be sure the check out their project Inner Light

https://smokebellow.bandcamp.com/music

Mo Dotti

Hello, I've been waiting to make a blog about music I like for a long time, and since I am stuck inside/jobless for 

foreseeable future.....here we go.

Mo Dotti, is my favorite band from Los Angeles, I've seen them more than I've seen any other band here. They check off every box that makes my ears perk, shoegazey textures, mixed with energetic drumming and smart songwriting. But, unlike alot of shoegazey bands, Mo Dotti's songs are these winding compositions that switch up with subtle transitions and drum breaks that offer more than typical verse/chorus/verse/bridge type songs. We will call it working class shoegaze. They dont just float into the ether with nothing to grab onto(but pedals all being pressed), and they dont pummel you with the masculine down tempos of alot of their contemporaries. On their resently release ep "Blurring" the closest band that comes to mind is a more complex The Sundays, with guitar parts that truly resemble Johnny Marr at the height of his powers. Ginas melodies are sticky as fuck, its pop music but its grower pop, youll find yrself humming the melodies when you wake up in the morning or doing some mindless task, and boom, the little ear wormis there. Its the sorta music you could imagine having a blissful happy moment that you collapse onto the couch with joy.   Something else of note is all of the songs start off with the drums, like "Waiting for You" kicks off with four in yr face snare smashes and the song pummels you w lovely bending beauty. Within these 5 tracks there is a whole world of textures, blurring vocals, and frequencies that will send you to the moon and back. So, yea, heres a link to their bandcamp, do it.

https://mo-dotti.bandcamp.com/