MELISSA AUF DER MAUR – BASS WOMB ROOM: My ’90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve grown past the experimental phase some artists may have with releasing material that probably shouldn’t have been released, remaining decades old. Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole, Smashing Pumpkins) though, has decided to release Bass Womb Room: My ‘90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings. Cool. There are some songs here- vocals, guitar, etc. – but lo-fi indie tracks back in the 90s were better left for artists like Guided By Voices, Ween, East River Pipe, and, of course, Elliot Smith. Ok, there are songs here that will be used for her ‘90s Rock Photographs exhibit in Ontario. Cool.

V TORRES – WOMAN EP

California’s V Torres might leave you a little confused with her new release, the Woman E.P, which is a bit more than what it seems. On her debut release, V Torres seems to be suffering an identity crisis. Listening to the title track alone, there’s a strengthened Americana feel shuffling about, which gives listeners an idea of where Torres might be headed. It’s strong in the jangled guitars, the spaghetti western-styled guitar notes, and rhythm. Again, the force is strong with this one, and Torres is no slouch.  There’s a shift from track to track in her particular sound though, which bounces around through varying subgenres. Now, for most artists, this would be a problem many wouldn’t be able to get over quickly, but here, Torres rolls with the punches, never allowing it to become an issue. She hits with a 1-2 punch of “Winter Solstice,” filled with crunchy guitars and an 80s giving-no-fucks attitude. It’s sharp and direct. But it’s the simple and easy-flowing rhythm of “Great Escape” that’s captivating. There’s no grande flamboyance, just a catchy rhythm with an alluring melody and Torres’ voice knitting it all together. The most evident thing about V Torres throughout Woman is her honesty. She can rock out or coo you softly, and there isn’t anything fraudulent about it or her. She delivers it straight from the heart.

MYKKI BLANCO – CAFÉ PARADISO

What? WHAT??? Ok, don’t get your panties in a bunch because it isn’t easy to surprise music aficionados. But then there’s a moment that slides past when you need to exclaim how you’re just completely fascinated by how the moment has shifted over the past four years and simply wonder, “How the hell did you get to this place?” But the question is rhetorical and far-fetched when we’re focused on what’s at hand: reimagining oneself yet remaining true to the artistry focal point. And this is where we are.

Mykki Blanco’s 2022 Stay Close To Music was an amazing piece of work, and Blanco remained a favorite of mine for a couple of years, drifting from memory considering we hadn’t heard any new music, and I doubted we’d get anything. That all changed with the release of Café Paradiso (Transgressive) an album that sees Blanco moving in varying directions. While Stay Close rarely strayed from Blanco’s laid-back hip-hop, poised with unnerving skill and style, Blanco’s voice was welcoming, inviting, in a world that continued to be dominated by braggadocious emcees flaunting whips & chains. Oh, don’t get it twisted, Blanco doesn’t stray from flaunting anything, but cat walks right through the crowd. One might even say Blanco is very demure. Initially, I didn’t know where Blanco was heading, but of course, I’m willing to take the ride.

Café Paradiso opens with the R&B-induced “Little Feet,” where vocals – which include Ian Isiah & Breakaway – aren’t raised above conversational voices. Here, the beat and low keys sweep across this canvas of sound and barely force any notes to land as addictively as they do. But the track doesn’t prepare you for what’s to follow with “NYC DOGS,” a quick-paced, grooving thrasher which allows Blanco to spread his wings into other directions through distortion, guitars, and noise, which sets the tone for his occasional maniacal vocal delivery. There’s such clever wording here though, beginning with “Jesus if you love me, where’s my fuckin money?/ Cuz the devil always pays on time,” which will make every Christian think for a sec before clamoring back, “I rebuke you demon!” But Blanco makes his move, addressing the audience for an interactive experience. What’s interesting is the sax that makes its way through halfway through the mix and sounds like it’s on the DL, barely noticeable but present. Ok so this is followed by “BUTT SEX,” which, ahem, yeah, just might be about what you think it’s about. Another interactive moment where Blanco exclaims how he needs all his “Baddies to the floor,” and adds, “No uglys, only baddies, uglys please exit the floor.” No minced wording here, but hot damn if that bouncy rhythm, that beat isn’t ever so enticing.

“Easy Does It,” we find Mykki Blanco gliding through familiar territory, albeit slightly foreign, as words fly around this sultry beat with the keys repetitively sliding underneath. A dreamy R&B focal point that subtly plays with dynamics. Benét, not Eric, is featured here, but his voice and cadence don’t seem to fit the pattern or route Blanco has set. It isn’t bad, just doesn’t seem to fit. We get back what we came here to find, and that’s the Hip-Hop lyricism we’ve come to love. When I write “we,” yeah, I’m the we I’m talkin’ about. But hot damn! There’s a fire here, and that blaze is set off with “Hey Dopeman.” Rumors of Blanco’s demise have been highly exaggerated, and all comers can get it! Mykki is chillin, with Henny in hand, and completely flossed out. The flow, it’s mad ill, contorted and controlled, filled with metaphors, and the Morenito Chulo will not be denied! The Dona Blanco is winning, and there’s no doubt it, set to a backdrop that’s an ode to that old Boom-Bap, but rooted within the contemporary. There are other moments Blanco moves through pop culture, like the guitar-driven “Cut Me Open,” the rocking “Spread For Me,” and Euro-pop of “Wasted In Soho,” which I wanted to mention because there’s so much territory trodden through and maneuvered really well. It’s “Tough Guy” I wanted to delve into though, which for some reason makes me think of an American Peaky fookin’ Blinders. Maybe replace Cave with Blanco, and let the Bad Seeds do their own thing. Once again, it’s those repetitive keyboard notes accentuated by the deep bass line and drawn-out guitar. The music allows Blanco to bring out his inner P. Roger Nelson, not in sound & cadence but in sheer attitude.

I’m exhausted, and the culprit is one Mykki Blanco. Café Paradiso shows Blanco as a multifaceted artist who is able to conceal, or rather, change musical stylings, like a chameleon can, and does, in forest settings. Blanco’s forest is much more urban but can shift from community to community with ease.

EXP – S/T

Memories of LES, walking from local record stores downtown on St. Marks to Tompkins Square Park, getting a dirty water hot dog on the way. Hardly any cash in pockets, but we’d bum a cigarette from someone now and again. But we’d scrounge up enough money for a burger over at 7A, on 7th and, yeah, Avenue A. Those were days without Flock or Axon cameras, leaving no proof or evidence behind. Cop Shoot Cop, it’s another distant memory, left circling my head, but I did catch them live towards the end of its existence. Switching over to a major label back then was a long shot for a band that’s made its mark independently, but it was happening more often. But it’s only part of the story; the rest follows after the dissolution and the remaining member, after Tod A.’s departure, continuing, this time as Red Expendables, a copy handed to me by drummer Phil Puleo at a showcase of other bands. The group also released a single in 2024.

They reworked songs to fit where they were heading, and while many continued on to work and create other outlets for themselves, the members continued to strike forward. This leads us to where we are now, years away from the past and into the future with EXP, the project centered on main players, AE Csaky (guitars/synth) and ex-CSC’s J. Natz (bass guitar/vocals). The band’s 12-song, self-titled debut (Reptilian Records) seems to wrap itself around repetition and rhythm, with the occasional tin-can-like percussion, which isn’t unusual if you’re familiar with the style and flow. It’s a very Lower East Side antic often played by creatives at one time, and it’s welcomed. “Armagedinstructionals” is a clear example in every sense, creating that trashy pattern for the repetition of guitar and bass. But it might just be one aspect of the group’s sound; it’s also Natz’ weathered voice that keeps you intrigued. On “Havok On The Astral,” he pushes to its limits. Mind you, it isn’t much different now than it was in the past, just slightly rougher. But again, the band melds its instruments in repetitive motions with a catchy melody that does the job it’s supposed to.

There are moments though, when the repetition becomes repetitious but those are sometimes far and fleeting. “Isle Of Skye” though is different, and while it continues the same path, the instrumental lacks nothing. The bassline doesn’t stray from the course set, while strings tilt and whirl around the rhythm. What’s probably meant to be background noise is more of a shifting dreamscape that will eventually find its way embedded in your head. But this seems to be the point of the release, offering listeners a chance to feel the throbbing emotion underneath it all, slipping across its iteration that soothes at just about every turn. “Radiant One,” another instrumental, gives that. Guitars utilize the foundation of the rhythm to wrap notes around the composition.  

EXP is interesting in its delivery as the group allows the music to find its own way, exploring its own sound, fitting it with melody and a throbbing bottom end.

BLACK BANANAS – BAD BUNCH

After a decade of silence since releasing a 7” single, and 12 years since the group’s last album, Electric Brick Wall, Black Bananas returns with a new album. For those not in the know, Black Bananas is made up of former RTX members Brian McKinley, Jennifer Herrema, and Kurt Midness, who were setting out to look for something new and fresh. Yes, I’m sure the irony in the group’s name doesn’t escape anyone. Through the band’s new release, Bad Bunch (Fire Records), Black Bananas dives deeper into experimentation, if such a thing is possible.

That experimentation is littered with songs that are tinged with funk, 70s-styled R&B, and pop treatments that ravage musical cultures, only to deliver something so energetic and palpable that anyone and everyone can enjoy it. Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself here, but as “Cold Bussin’” leans in, it’s the rhythm – those bass and drum patterns that lay the groundwork for guitar effect-laden instrumentation, Hip-Hop vocal samples, and Herrema’s ethereal vocal delivery floating all around it. The air is thick and your steps might be sluggish as your body moves around this composition. It’s layered with as much as the band could get in; that wall of guitar and effects is noisy and captivating at the same time but it’s Herrema’s voice, in front and in the back, that steers things to their final resting point. No two songs are the same though, and “All The Way” is a testament to that. The skewed pop song with an infectious melody, whose lyrics you can barely make sense of, is a banger! The keys strewn about are laced with juicy notes, clashing against an odd beat and stormy effects. It delights the senses while at the same time, intrigues your thoughts on WTF the group is actually doing here.

“Outta My Head” has effected vocal treatments over a mechanical beat, with a keyboard drifting all around it as washes of noisy melodies make their way in and out. This one is weird AF but addictive as sounds clash and collide. Things here are never what they seem. It’s the same with “Turkey Burgers,” which sometimes seems to defy the laws of gravity as the wash of keyboards allows it to stay in a constant state of flux, no corporeal form but lifted, atmospheric almost. The distant guitars are a sweet touch, coming close to the ground but PSYCH! It’s in the clouds baby. It’s groovy, swishing all around, leaving nothing to chance but at the same time allowing for happy accidents.  You might be left drowning in the creating that is “Eddie’s Album,” which is might have you throwing on your roller skates and cruising down to the park with your Walkman on, along with a couple of extra cassettes. It holds that vibe together with its deep bass, careening guitars & keyboards, with Herrema’s voice steadily focused on top.

One thing about Black Bananas, throughout Bad Bunch, they’ll have you nostalgic while at the same time questioning yourself and your choices because yes, the group has taken a different approach, a different path to create such an exquisite collision of sound, yet there you are sitting in a cubicle. Take on life the way Black Bananas do.