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Marky Edison

Marky Edison

Steel Wool Scrub Up for New EP

 

On April 10, rising Los Angeles shoegazers Steel Wool will share their self-titled debut EP (cassette and digital) via independent LA label Bug Body. Born out of their drummer Evan’s bedroom studio, Steel Wool has been making waves across the southland with plenty of local radio love, including shoutouts from KCRW and a live session at KXLU.

The group, consisting of Sean Lissner (guitar/singing), Jaden Amjadi (bass/screaming), Sam Schlesinger (guitar), and Evan Landi (drums) have developed a reputation for their boisterous live shows in garages, backyards, and DIY haunts of all stripes.

Their eponymous debut finds the dream-pop upstarts pushing the edges of the otherworldly, fuzzed-out sounds that inspired them. A reverb-drenched ode to wasting away, ‘Fading’ builds a hazy, atmospheric soundscape of modulation before erupting into an onslaught of feedback and noise.

Meanwhile, tracks like ‘Another Sunday’ and ‘Tired Movements’ revel in the subdued yet restless tension between Lissner’s pining vocals and the band’s ruminative instrumental concoctions. On 'Heaven or La Brea’, the band lets go of their restraints, and crescendos from a bursting-at-the-seams indie-rock anthem to a blistering collage of distortion.

Steel Wool is celebrating the release with a show in Los Angeles at Silver Lake’s El Cid on April 22 with support from bedbug and standingandlookingaround.

 

Frog Return With 1000 Variations on the Same Song

 

Acclaimed cult NY duo Frog return with their sixth album, 1000 Variations on the Same Song on February 14. The album is preceded by three new singles and will be accompanied by a North American tour. Following the critical and commercial success of 2023's ‘Grog,’ cult New York Indie duo Frog are set to return with their sixth album, 1000 Variations on the Same Song, on February 14.

An eclectic, emotional, and lyrically vivid collection, these songs see Daniel Bateman refer to My Chemical Romance, Gucci, Stillwell construction supplies, fatherhood, and the 6 train (“I was listening to a lot of Mozart, Kodak Black, and Prince, but it doesn't really sound like any of those.”).

Musically, songs like ‘Top Of The Pops Var. I’ and ‘Doomscrolling Var. II’ touch on the agitated Indie Rock that defined their earlier work, while the alt-country of ‘Count Bateman’ and ‘Grog’ can be heard on ‘Where U From Var. III’ and ‘Arthur McBride Var. X.’ Elsewhere, material like ‘Just Use Your Hips Var. VI’ and December’s ‘Did Santa Come Var. IX’ single introduce a smokey lounge sound to Frog’s sound, but as Bateman explains it, these are all just variations on the same song: “1000 Variations on the Same Song is a theme and variations—there are times in your life as a songwriter where you'll start a bunch of stuff that all sounds alike, which can be a problem, something that you want to excise from yourself. This time I decided to embrace it and take it as far as it could go.”

Since Frog returned from hiatus in 2023 with the addition of Daniel’s brother Steve Bateman on drums, they’ve received significant critical acclaim and enjoyed sold-out shows in the Tri-state area. These 2025 dates will see the band joined by Frog co-founder Tom White on bass and will take them to cities like Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Boise (Treefort Music Fest), and more for first-time-ever shows.

Tour Dates:

8 MARCH - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, US

22 MARCH - The Echo, Los Angeles, CA, US

23 MARCH - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA, US

25 MARCH - The Black Lodge, Seattle, WA, US

26 MARCH - The Fox Cabaret Projection Room, Vancouver, BC, Canada

27 MARCH - Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR, US

28 MARCH - Treefort Music Fest, Boise, ID, US

3 APRIL - Bowery Ballroom, New York City, NY, US

11 APRIL - Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, US

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