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Singles That Mingle 20240717

 

 

 

Singles That Mingle

With Captain Stavros

 

Andrew Combs – Eventide

Dream Pictures Out August 23 Via Loose

Pretty lovely ditty if we do say so ourselves.

 

Minny Pops – 1234 Satisfy

This has got that early 00s LCD Soundsystem stripped back vibe that’s got us feeling all sorts of nostalgia.

 

Body Meat – Electrische

Starchris Out August 23 Via Partisan Records

It’s got our attention.

 

J.R.C.G. - Drummy

Grim Iconic (Sadistic Mantra) Out August 2 Via SubPop

You don’t have to be a genius to enjoy this one.

 

David Lynch Theatre Presents – The Answers to Questions

Cellophane Memories Out August 2 Via Sacred Bones

Something to tide you over until TPS3.

 

TR/ST – All At Once

Performance Out September 13 Via Dais

‘80s club anthem vibes, check-it!

 

Porij – Stranger (Feat Elkka)

Teething Out Now Via Play It Again Sam Records

Not our usual but can’t deny how catchy this one is.

 

Nice Biscuit – The Star

SOS Out October 2 Via Bad Vibrations

Wish the weather was as reflective of this summer tune right about now.

 

Laura Marling – Patterns

Patterns in Repeat Out October 25 Via Chrysalis/Partisan Records

Really enjoy the pick and strumming patterns on repeat here.

 

Sam Akpro – Chicago Town

Out Now Via Anti-

Genre challenging but no friction listening.

 

Peter Alexander Johnson – Mountain

Knock back a drink and put this on, we have.

 

Lex Amor – A7X (Feat BXKS)

If you’re into Little Simz this will draw you further in.

 

 

 

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Singles That Mingle 202406708

 

Singles That Mingle

With Captain Stavros

 

Ben Brown – Blue

Counter to the song title a really upbeat ditty.

 

Blood Wizard – Babytooth

Out Now Via Sad Club Records

So-long, babyteeth.

 

Lunar Vacation - Set The Stage

Everything Matters, Everything's Fire Out September 13 Via Keeled Scales

Sonic vibrance greets you and passes through you on this fuzzy wuzzy gem.

 

Tindersticks – Nancy

Soft Tissue Out September 13 Via City Slang

The morose horn and clinical beat combo has got our attention.

 

White Hills - Killing Crimson

Beyond This Fiction Out August 23 Via Heads On Fire

Making the cut on weirdness alone.

 

Pom Pom Squad – Downhill

Out Now Via City Slang

Fun to say, fun to listen to.

 

Desire – Dangerous Drug

Games People Play Out October 2 Via Italians Do It Better

The opening sounds like the visual soundtrack to a lab that makes super sexy beats.

 

Previous Industries – Showbiz

Service Merchandise Out Now Via Merge Records

Didn’t even wait for the sample to finish before writing this out, it’s a winner.

 

Julia-Sophie – Telephone

Forgive Too Slow Out July 26 Via Ba Da Bing

Giving us Drive II vibes.

 

My Best Unbeaten Brother – Blues Fatigue

Out Now Via Kudos Records

Sometimes you gotta buck the fuck up.

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Singles That Mingle 20240621

 

Singles That Mingle

With Captain Stavros

Cassandra Jenkins – Petco

My Light, My Destroyer Out July 12 Via Dead Oceans

Aloof as it is listenable.

 

Katy Kirby – Headlights

Blue Raspberry Out July 12 Via Anti-

Find something new in this one every time you give it a listen.

 

PEM – Gut Health

Cloud Work EP Out now Via Fascination Street Records

Can’t get enough of that voice, check out PEM live currently touring.

 

Cigarettes After Sex – Baby Blue Movie

X’S Out July 12 Via Partisan Records

A restrained urgency on this tune, CAS keeping it consistent.

 

Cola – Pulling Quotes

The Gloss Out Now Via Fire Talk Records

Here’s an easy breezy one by Cola you’d have to try hard not to enjoy.

 

J.R.C.G. - 34

Grim Iconic (Sadistic Mantra) Out August 2 Via Sub Pop

Slow build that keeps you guessing.

 

Susanna – Elephant Song

Meditations on Love Out August 23 Via SussannaSonata

The quirky keys, playful sax and well-rounded vocals got us hooked.

 

Molchat Doma – Son

Belaya Polosa Out September 6 Via Sacred Bones

Fans of MD will not be disappointed at the bands ever evolving sound, if this sets the tone for the new album, we can hardly wait.

 

Common/Pete Rock – Dreamin’

The Auditorium, Vol 1 Out July 12 Via Loma Vista Recordings

Tapping into the feed that brought them the spotlight, instant classic.

 

Lou Terry – Canyon

Out Now Via State51 Conspiracy

He’s rubbed elbows with some solid musicians and it’s rubbed off.

 

Ghost Fan Club – Now and Then

A tune that begins like a guitar being slowly tuned steadily grows into a warm glowing track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Runner (Film Review) at the Rio

When the darlings of dark wave, Boy Harsher, released their highly anticipated new cult banger ‘Tower’ around Halloween last year, we were given a rich cut, pulsing with deep and rebounding synthesized pangs from the start.  It pushed through our monitors like the flesh gun through the TV in Videodrome.  Seemingly, an unattainable high bar had been set. Then, two months later, ‘Give Me A Reason’ followed and soon no bar could be set high enough.  As The Runner OST trickled out, bits and pieces of Carpenter, Cronenburg and Lynch’s influences were omnipresent.  What then would become of the marriage between soundtrack and the ‘reckless...out of control...pure evil’ scenes splattered throughout The Runner? 

The film follows Kris Esfandiari (a tranced-out blood witch) as she flees a motel, leaving behind a mess that could double as an abattoir.  The destruction in her wake ruins the lives of everyone she crosses paths with in the backwoods of smalltown USA.  Twice she reaches out by telephone on her journey to The Desperate Man, but his pleas for her to return home ultimately go unanswered.  Literally, she doesn’t speak for her entire performance.  Through television screens (portals?) in the scenes, we’re connected to accompanying, and seemingly unrelated, content in the form of music videos.  Those, in turn, jarringly transition into Jae and Gus’ garage studio, where we get a candid peak behind the curtain to see how the sausage is made.  Between these brief life out-takes, the new music and the end credits where their actors revert back to their playful collaborative friends, are actually the only engaging content worth watching. 

In terms of a directorial debut, Jae and Gus’ The Runner is much in the same vein as Dali’s Un Chien Andalou.  It’s graphic and immaterial showcases ability but lacks enough compelling content to do much more.  Through a discombobulated 40 minutes, the film relies heavily on its strengths: locations, lighting, props, and set design.  Unfortunately, these strengths end up holding a mirror to the film's weaknesses, highlighting a stark contrast between stripped back, one dimensional characters uncertain of their place within the scene, outside of James Duval who nails his role as the host.  Transitional scenes, edited to look like VHS, loosely pull the viewer into a distorted and confusing semi-cohesive narrative, tethering us to the story via nostalgic anchor points rather than actual horror.  We’re given the store-brand when we’ve paid for the name-brand. 

The Runner tracks like the manifest content of a dream, plausible to the dreamer but a half-baked idea to the rest of us.  Themes of escape, fantasy, loss, discarded people are woven alongside semi-autobiographical tones throughout.  Ultimately, these divide the viewers' attention like someone toggling a light switch on-and-off again.  The Runner doesn't conform to a traditional storytelling structure but instead dips from nonsensical to semi-lucid, arriving then to a perceived reality repeating as directed.  Even classic horror tools, like a character disappearing off screen after meeting our protagonist, insinuating unspeakable violence, ultimately leave cerebral elements to atrophy.  In short, the film flirts but doesn’t commit to any one thing long enough to do it well enough.  A non-horror horror, lacking identity and the stamina to push through to an audience outside Boy Harsher fans, and even then, only just. 

If you, as die-hard Boy Harsher fans, decide to follow your heart into this film, the aforementioned noteworthy moments won’t let you down.  The new tunes seriously slap and the playful chemistry between Jae and Gus behind the scenes talking about their music and characters are genuine moments.  If you’re going in wanting to see a horror, or even a film, you will be let down, six feet underground.  Where The Runner unwittingly succeeds is teaching us that ultimately the heart can be a double agent. 

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