Spider Bags Writes A Frozen Letter

Frozen Letter is full of firsts for the raucous rock band Spider Bags. It is the first album out with Merge Records. And it is the closest frontman Dan McGee has ever come to making the record he set out to make.

The band started recording in late June last year with McGee hoping to lay five tracks down and then finish it up later in the year. All that changed when his wife told him she was pregnant. If McGee wanted to be freed up for the birth, the band needed to wrap at least eight.

So Steve Oliva (bass) and Rock Forbes (drums) took to sleeping at the studio to get it done. At the end, it was pretty impossible to tell which five tunes McGee came into the studio with in his head and which three were composed off the cuff.

Frozen Letter is a sonically nimble album with overwrought vocals. 

Back With You Again In The World kicks things off with a late fifties du-woppy groove. McGee brings his best relaxed vocals, easing into the album like the jazz-anointed rock and roll playing in the background from a big and plush wingback chair. It's gripping and comfortable, start to finish, while teeing up the bouncier Japanese Vacation jangle to liven everything up.

Chem Trails starts with a juicy kiss before McGee and company unleash a trip worthy and blistering onslaught of distorted spooky-dom. The analogy of becoming zombified by chem trails works perfectly with this freakout ditty written by McGee.



The video makes the moment even more fun thanks to director Jonny Look and producer Chris Mast. As a head melt garage rocker, there really won't be any better produced this year. It's all good fun.

According to McGee, Coffin Car really kicked off the creative process and gives the album its name.  He imagined picking up an old refrigerator magnet out of the snow, making it feel like finding a buried treasure from yesteryear. That is the point of the album too.

When McGee started writing it, he wanted to make an album that sounded like someone was playing a stack of found singles from the seventies. It's one of reasons that even the occasional fifties influence sounds filtered by another era. Tracks like Summer of '79, for instance, finds its home in an era that would have likely paid homage to it (right up to the bass-heavy transition anyway).

Where Frozen Letter works overtime is in how the songs interrelate so well together. After recording a few records, McGee says it's one of the most important lessons to learn. People identify with songs that relate to each other and the rest just fall through the cracks.

"You can’t just put all your best songs on a record, because it just doesn’t work that way," McGee told AudioFemme in another interview. "People don’t hear it that way."

Although the front half and the back half almost sound like two sides to a record, McGee does manage to preserve a continuity if not the pace of a perfectly addictive and gripping album that is hard to turn away from. And with eight new tracks in the arsenal, Spider Bags will likely light up their live appearances with a 50-50 split between the new material and what have become classic fan favorites.

Frozen Letter By Spider Bags Ramps Up 8.6 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

For a band that started out as a long distance relationship between friends who occasionally played together, the band and its lineup have finally solidified into something that feels permanent. While McGee will always be at the heart of the band, it seems like Oliva and Forbes are making themselves right at home.

It only makes sense. After two albums, several singles, and playing as the backup band to North Carolina bluesman Reese McHenry, Spider Bags has come together nicely on the psychedelic landscape.

You can find Frozen Letter on Amazon or download the 8-track recording on iTunes. Barnes & Noble carries the vinyl edition of Frozen Letter by Spider Bags. Visit their Facebook page for upcoming engagements. See them live. It's worth it.

Divine Fits Unchains A Double-Sided

Most people know that the formation of the Divine Fits can be traced back to Britt Daniel (Spoon) attending a Handsome Furs show and approaching Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs) just to tell Boeckner he had one of the best rock voices he'd ever heard. 

Then Boeckner told Daniel that he used to order Spoon singles through the mail back in high school. More than that, Spoon had convinced Boeckner to give up on the Metallica cover band of his youth and set out on a path that would eventually lead to Wolf Parade. 

The exchange was enough for them to keep in touch, which turned out to be a good thing. The Handsome Furs was about to end; a thing called the Divine Fits was about to begin.

Chained To Love keeps the Divine Fits fresh. 

Almost nobody gave much attention to the double-sided single when it was first released, but then the co-frontmen turned up on Conan to cram the two songs into a four-minute melody that still has people nodding in agreement. The Divine Fits are more than a super group with Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks) and Alex Fischel. They are super performers, who can swap guitars mid-show and give their live performances life on sheer charisma alone.

The two singles are slated to appear on a brand new 12" that will be released this summer, but the singles are good enough that waiting for the album release seems pointless. Here's an upload of the television performance as a preview of things to come.

Conan wasn't the only place that the Divine Fits was making an impression. On June 17, the band set out to lay down a live record at Third Man Records in Nashville. To make it right, they wanted a live audience to give them additional energy. For $10, anybody could join them.

Thy also recorded a crazy outtake of four songs over at Daytrotter a few weeks ago. It's not something most people know about beyond hardcore fans. One track in particular, Neopolitans, is an especially nervy song that pulls you as taut as the uneasy music. Check it out after the double-sided singles. 

The singles themselves are everything you might imagine from Divine Fits. Chained To Love has an indie pop song feel with Boeckner delivering terse vocals against tight playing that will immediately remind anyone of a throwback beat several decades ago, with a strong bass line contrasting with the vocals.

If one thing sounds different from their debut it's that the band is clearly not content unless it's experimenting. The song doesn't have the same meat and grit that Shivers or some of the other picks off A Thing Called The Divine Fits, but it doesn't necessarily have to be cool. 

Ain't That The Way isn't that different either, with Daniel taking over the vocals and delivering a little Spoon to the overall sound. It's mostly more polished like Chained To Love, except with a much more roots rock underbelly driving the verse. 

 Some people might point out that parts of both songs feel like vintage Spoon or Wolf Parade. But that is part of the magic in the exchange that Daniel and Boeckner have been working out. Boeckner in particular has said that he likes revisiting sound and image-driven phrases, hoping to perfect them with every pass. I can only assume that Daniel is on board with this thinking, working to evolve favorites.

Chained To Love Unchains 7.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Listening to the singles really shows some progression as a group, especially in that Fischel doesn't distract but rather brings his talent to the table. If anything, in comparing the album to what might be coming up next, Divine Fits has found a sound worth the snapshot, leaning more pop rock and not so much electronic while celebrating the successes of their co-frontmen.

Chained To Love/Ain't That The Way are available for download on iTunes. You can also find the two singles on Amazon. Both tracks are expected to make the album. For show information, check the band  out on Facebook. The band is busy, with Daniel being even busier with both Spoon and the start of another band soon.

Hospitality Drifts Into More Coarseness

It was the bonus tracks and not the studio cuts off the self-titled debut Hospitality that made me a believer in the Brooklyn indie pop quartet. When Amber Papini isn't busy sounding studio pretty, she becomes more convincing as a bit of a punk. So does the rest of the band.

The Betty Wong studio cut is airy and a bit pretentious. The bonus track is raw and emotive. The Sleepover is wistful to the point of listless. The bonus track lays it down flat. Only the studio session, The Birthday, arguably plays better than the Amaya Sessions. But even then, it's only because Papini gives up too much vocal control in the bonus tracks.

But not everyone heard the bonus tracks, especially after the band garnered generally positive reviews. Never mind that most of it seems tied to the hit single, Friends of Friends, and a few other standouts like The Right Profession. The newest single, The Drift, would have gained more attention if they had. 

The Drift dazzles with Hospitality as it might be or could have been. 

The strength of the lyrics, powered vocals from Papini and punch of the instruments is only the beginning. After Papini powers through a couple of sparse verses, the entire song slips into a lazy daydream before bouncing back with some blistering guitar solos. 

This is the kind of song where Papini's idiosyncratic songwriting and the richly layered arrangements of the band earn the respect that has been put upon them. The limited edition 7-inch track smashes any chance that the band will be underrated. 

The near prog B-side isn't an exception either. Monkey has just as much punch, opening with a minimal percussive beat before layering in the guitar work. Between the two of them, there is every reason to reconsider whether indie pop is even fitting for the angst. 

Either one would have made a brilliant video and some people are hoping. Instead, the band put out a vid for Eighth Avenue, which is a funky little weirdo tune that leads the album but without the conviction of Papini's natural power. There is, however, a half-baked version of Monkey that was performed live for WFUV last February.

There ought to be an emphasis on the half-baked tune. The finished song as it was laid down on the single skips out on the sing-song and takes more advantage of Papini's voice and guitar work. There is also more to hear from Nathan Michel (guitar, keys), Brian Betancourt (bass), and newcomer David Christian (percussion) with the instruments being brought to crystal clarity.

Some added attention would be welcome for the band. Originally founded in 2008, the band almost went bust as members drifted away to work on side projects and Papini dealt with a death in the family. Maybe the wait had its advantages. Hospitality might not have played as well five years ago despite putting out a fine EP. 

It will be interesting to hear what other people have to say about these singles that stand out against the album. By cutting out some of the business and letting Papini deliver up biting lyrics with an irresistible rawness, everything about the songs seems like the right direction but maybe too big of a swing for people caught up with all the niceties of the studio album straight up. 

The Drift With Hospitality Stands Out At 8.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Both The Drift and the B-side Monkey could make a great defining moment for the band. Although both are beautifully layered, the roughshod arrangements are better suited for what Papini writes about, especially now. She's a little older, smarter and world weary. Isn't everyone.

The Drift by Hospitality can be downloaded from iTunes. You can also find the limited edition vinyl Monkey/Drift, which comes with an MP3 download. The download is also available there on its own. The band is currently touring in support of the album, recently adding new dates in January via Facebook.

Divine Fits Is A Powerhouse Plus One

Nobody ever knows what they might get out of the supergroup, not even Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs), and Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks). They even think the "supergroup" concept is a bad idea, but they wanted to try it out anyway. So they went ahead and did it.

Last November, the three met at LA Rehearsal & Recording in West Hollywood, not far from Highway 101. They loaded in some guitars and a single synth player for what became their first practice. Nine months and a few days later, Divine Fits has a name, label, and an album with a few tracks that will land on playlists for a very, very long time.

Divine Fits is exactly what it sounds like.

With the anti-climactic end of the Handsome Furs three months ago, it was good to hear Boeckner was already working on another project a few weeks later. But that doesn't mean all the songs sound like him. Some sound like Daniel too. Some sound like a collaboration that will create the foundation for Divine Fits. All have influences from one another, giving the band its own kind of indie rock recipe.

It kind of comes with the territory given the band started something just for the fun of playing together. Their first song written and wrapped, by all accounts, was What Gets You Alone (which Daniel had originally written on his own). It's one of the most electrifying and driving bits of music on the debut. It's also the song that enticed Brown into the band, hearing it with nothing but a drum machine.

It would have made a sensational introduction, but the Divine Fits chose a memorable, mellow and melodic number. My Love Is Real is impeccably smooth and contemplative from beginning to end, an externalized synth and percussion thump of an internalized thought.

It plays rougher live, much like the coustic lightness and tension of Flaggin' A Ride. Flaggin' A Ride is the song they are most likely to open with on the road. Its heavy bass and percussion are much more likely to get the blood pumping. There is a build to it that lets you know something will happen.

Would That Not Be Nice kicks and keeps up the pace, while maintaining that minimalist structure that both Boeckner and Daniel gravitate toward. You can feel everything, right down to each shake of the maracas. Here's the dirtier version as captured by freelance videographer Ryan Fitzpatrick.



The fourth member of the band seen in the video is Alex Fischel (Papa), who signed on to support the band on keys. You definitely want to see them live. While the debut was expertly produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave; Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs), there is something infectious about their less polished stage presence.

Another must listen track is Baby Gets Worse. It's brooding and urgent, brimming over with heartbreak and confidence. The guitar and bass work kicks up a notch to finish up the song with the words lingering in your head.

Civilian Stripes almost doesn't fit in neatly with the rest of the album, but be glad it's there. It's the closest composition on the album that qualifies as straight up bittersweet rock. It fits perfectly alongside the simple and always impactful Shivers. It's something to savor on this album, stronger than the original while paying tribute to the man who wrote it.

In case you don't know, it was originally written by the late Rowland Stuart Howard (The Birthday Party) when he was 16 and performing with a long forgotten band called The Young Charlatans. As Howard grew older, he felt like he was covering a song written by another person and sometimes called it an albatross. Nick Cave also covered the song with Boys Next Door (as have others), which is why some people attribute it to Cave.

A Thing Called The Divine Fits Throws Up 6.3 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale. 

Divine Fits sometimes leans on the synth more than they need to, which isn't a slight against the talented Fischel in the least. It's just my take that electronic experiments aren't always as strong as any given song's foundation. (I couldn't imagine other songs without it, though). And yet, Divine Fits still throws me, especially the songs highlighted.

You can pick up A Thing Called Divine Fits on Amazon. You can also download a specially mastered version of the album from iTunes. Barnes & Noble carries the CD and vinyl. They have a handful of shows slated, which you can catch on Facebook. I already saw them once. I will again too.

Wye Oak's Civilian More Than Wistful

Underrated indie folk rockers Andy Stack (drums, keyboards, backup vocals) and Jenn Wasner (vocals, guitars) from Baltimore, Maryland, have come a long way since their early beginnings as Monarch in 2006. With Civilian, the band takes advantage of their understated stylings to create melodies that grow as wiry as their namesake, Wye Oak.

Yet, their strongest tracks on Civilian aren't necessarily the mysterious atmospheric near-pop picks. It's when they add in more earnest indie rock that they sound their best and prove they are much more than a one trick pony.

There's a fire burning behind Wasner's vocals and we wish she would let it go more often. Some tracks on Civilian do.

Wye Oak's Civilian rocks when it's dirty and unrestrained.

Released by Merge Records, which sometimes seems neglectful of the last band on their list, Civilian highlights the duo's talent for blending multi-instrumental arrangements with Wasner's airy compositions. Except, as noted, on some of the best tracks like Holy Holy, Doubt, and the opening of Dog Eyes where Wye Oak plays with some piercing guitar work and pained vocals.

Civilian is also one of the strongest tracks on the album. It has an incredibly full sound on the album, but breaks up nicely as an acoustic anywhere the band decides to play it — even on a balcony in Amsterdam.


For a few months (before heading home to Baltimore and hitting select festivals), they took their loneliness-infused album across Europe. While in the States the band generally has to build their audience bit by bit, the tour abroad almost always provides a packed house. Where they win with their live performances is opening with their softer, folksy numbers before opening another level of rawness.

"I kinda holed myself up and came out with a lot of songs, way more than I’ve ever written in any small amount of time," Wasner told Venus earlier this year. "We had a lot of material to choose from, and we acted with a 'go with your gut' mentality on which songs would be on the record."

As an album, Civilian is set up to play the same way. Wye Oak is well known for its soft, loud, soft combinations within their albums and within some songs. It works, especially when Stack is driving things with his wickedly timed sense of layering keys and drums. Have another listen to the title track and you'll hear the layers pile on as the song builds to an epic finish. (Free download via Soundcloud.)

Watch for the band to get especially busy starting in August. Although they do have shows scheduled in Hartford and Northampton this July, the bulk of the tour carries them one month later and into October. Ironically, Civilian might touch on loneliness, but Wasner often finds herself craving isolation on the road.

Civilian By Wye Oak Isolates Some Greatness At 4.5 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

As a third album, it's pretty clear Wye Oak knows what they are doing. Personally, I'm hoping they invest more time in developing their sense of angst like you find on Holy Holy and Doubt. There is a beautiful ugliness to them that you don't hear every day, especially Doubt.

Civilian by Wye Oak can be found on iTunes and the album is discounted on Amazon (if MP3s are good enough). You'll also find Civilian at Barnes & Noble.

The Mountain Goats Turn Over With The All Eternals Deck

Back in 1991, John Darnielle sat down in his cheap Norwalk employee housing studio apartment with an inexpensive guitar and dual-cassette recorder to pound out poetry. But then something unexpected happened over the deco tiling on his tiny bathroom floor.

His poems began to sound more like songs and his friend Rachel Ware, who played bass, joined him to form a band. That was some time ago, and the Mountain Goats have gone through several transformations before settling on John Wurster (drums) and Peter Hughes (bass) in 2007.

Listening to some songs, you would never know. Darnielle is such a strong driving force to everything that the Mountain Goats has ever produced that anyone who knows the band would immediately recognize the sound. At least, for the most part. All Eternals Deck won't likely be a favorite among most fans, but there are a few songs that represent.

All Eternals Deck feels denser, punctuated by a couple of haunting gems.

Darnielle has always been a deep-thinking narrator that can make you ache from head to heart. He does it frequently too, with more than 26 LPs and EPs behind him. One of the first, my introduction years ago, was Nine Black Poppies. By the time he produced The Coroner's Gambit, Darnielle would be striking the chords for as long as he write poetry.

Right out of the box on All Eternals Deck, Damn These Vampires does exactly that as Darnielle laments in pained detail of growing up in a small rural town where one day rolls into the next. The people who populate our environments dictate who we were before, if we let them.


Like so many of his songs, the instrumental — brush sticks under the acoustic guitar and a piano — sets the mood. While I'm not certain, it feels reminiscent of a hazy morning in central California. And it's this piquant sound that earned him a cult following.

Never Quite Free captures a similar theme, but with a direct reference to faith getting you through the worst — the calm that immediately follows standing on the edge of tragedy. Almost unnoticeable annotation aside, the song carries more passion than many of the other tracks.

There are other solid songs. Birth Of Serpents, which the band played on Letterman. It's another song referencing a hometown, except this one reflects on returning home awash in semi-success only to learn a friend has died. Also check out Beautiful Gas Mask, Liza Minnelli, Outer Scorpion Squadron, and For Charles Bronson (because it's probably not the one you think).

On the whole, All Eternals Deck doesn't pack the same punch musically as some of the best picks of his work over the years. But there is no mistaking that almost all of them will snare you with the interwoven lyrics that still make Darnielle as much of a poet as he ever was. Wurster and Hughes tighten up on the arrangements, taking some ownership of the band.

All Eternals Deck By The Mountain Goats Flips Over With A 4.4 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Writing a review about the Mountain Goats is almost sublime in that it has always been one of those bands that I've held close to my chest. You know on the front end that not everyone who hears them is going to understand the appeal. So sometimes you don't share it. On any other album, they move the numbers higher. But then again, maybe they will anyway for someone.

All Eternals Deck by the Mountain Goats is available on iTunes. You can also find the album on Amazon or pick up All Eternals Deck from Barnes & Noble.