STEVE AUSTIN – MARKED CARDS AND LOADED DICE

When someone told me Steve Austin (Today Is The Day) was making a move into country music, I think I was aghast. But yes, he is. It isn’t a contemporary country music move though; it’s more of a classic country you’d see/hear in the heydays of the Grand Ole Opry, where you’d hear a jig band or just someone with an acoustic guitar. He takes a chance here with Marked Cards And Loaded Dice (SuperNova) and opens with the fantastic journey of “So Far Gone” with the help of an assortment of musicians (pedal steel guitar, drums, fiddle, dobro), and it’s amazing! It bounces and careens along with eloquence. The darkness of country meets Austin’s own shadowy trail on “Am I Just Crazy,” filled with a dire melancholy. But he can change the mood back a bit with “Long Way To Hell,” give a bounce to that darkness as the two collide. Austin sidesteps his day job to challenge himself here, which many wouldn’t at this stage of his career, and does a fine job evoking the spirt of the music he’s conquered here.

SUB*T – HOW MY OWN VOICE SOUNDS

Sometimes you just don’t know what to expect. You have hopes. You have expectations. Will something live up to those hopes and expectations? But you sometimes have to deal with the reality of situations and how they fit into your own life. One can only imagine that compromise is at hand, but when you have to compromise what it is you do, there’s a little piece of your soul that you just might extinguish.

I think I had high hopes for Sub*t, a cross-country act I had been following for some time. Singles, EPs, etc., have been on the docket for the past few years, and yeah, you could hear the growth from release to release. Now, the moment is at hand, and the duo, now living in Brooklyn,  delivers its How My Own Voice Sounds. I’m not quite certain if the band is serious about the album’s title or if it’s completely tongue-in-cheek. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the album, it isn’t something you haven’t heard as of late. Whoever anyone compares them to, they’re probably right, but the band isn’t without its merits.

“Sister Species 2,” which was a single released last month, is delightful in its delivery. The duo takes a different approach here, slightly changing the dynamics in the song with the use of distortion and crash cymbals. The innocence of the band is captured within the song, and it allows the band to show its true identity. And even the punchy “Standing Room” captures that feeling of early releases; rough, unblemished, with a bit of naiveté, and a wall of fuzz surrounding. But even “Wide Load” holds onto that same purity.

Ok, I remain a bit of a purist of sorts. I wanted to enjoy Sub*t’s debut album without hesitation, but I stop and have to address what How My Own Voice Sounds is. For the most part, it’s not a clear reflection of what the band is capable of achieving. No one wants to view themselves as merely a carbon copy of someone else. The band’s true voice is in there, I’m sure of it. The duo just needs to find it again.

TOADIES – THE CHARMER

Do you revisit something old when you receive something new? I’m not certain if I’m the only one who does that, but yeah, it always gives a clear idea for growth. We see it in our own works, regardless of medium or job. Generally, you simply get better at your craft as the years accumulate around us all. And after years of silence, it’s something we occasionally have to take note of.

It’s been almost a decade since Toadies released The Lower Side Of Uptown back in 2017, but today the band shares its new full-length release, The Charmer (Spaceflight Records). While the band’s previous release was probably closer to the group’s earlier material, the new release takes a bit of a different turn. First, for the new album, the members took a different approach, recording these thirteen tracks with Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman, Shellac), known for his analog recording work. The recording took place before Albini’s passing in May of 2024, so it gives us an idea as to when this was pieced together. There’s a differential treatment this gets in respect to the band’s previous work, a sound quality that’s distinct and at times, distant. Aside from other specificalities.

The album opens with “Ash’s Theme,” a low-end driven instrumental rocker, filled with haunting cooing harmonies drifting in the background. Where there aren’t any lyrics, the band has no need or use of them as guitars burst into flame, abruptly changing the complexion of the song itself. These aren’t dynamic shifts but precisely thought-out torrents of sound layered on top from time to time. That distant sound comes into play on “Come To Life,” as it opens with guitar strumming coming from a back room as Vaden Todd Lewis opens with “Am I father, am I a son? I feel like a ghost, I know I’m not the only one.” The band moves with familiarity with its punk aesthetic, surrounded by pop sensibilities. We understand the drive of the track as the melody takes hold without any regret whatsoever. This is where the Albini familiarity comes in, but in sound quality alone, it might be comparable to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s debut, its eponymous release. It has that same feel, and Albini never lost the ability to allow a band’s rawness to come through with his dry recording process. But this is about The Toadies, and I don’t want to take away from that.

There are certain things you just can’t get away from, and it’s obvious as soon as the needle drops on the vinyl. “I Wanted To Be Everywhere” is complete bliss, and you can’t – you won’t – miss it. The chords are immediately infectious and alluring as the band builds around the movement of a simple verse-chorus-verse structure but it’s more than that. The track doesn’t play with dynamics, instead allowing the song to slowly build as it crescendos along with a gooey melody as Vaden dishes out, “Can you make me holy? Can you make me feel like a man? Like a man!” The song seems to border on the obsessive, with lyrics like, “I wanted to be, everywhere at the same time. I thought I could see exactly what you looked like. I thought you were real. I thought you were moving. Wanted to feel. To feel something.” This track is the perfect storm; the moment you realize there hasn’t been a song more captivating than this in ages. Let’s not forget that The Toadies are capable of roaring with rockers like “Damage.” But the band is in full control, never allowing things to get out of hand. Here, there’s a play with dynamics and guitars match wits with vocals here.

Everything about The Charmer is intentional, and we get a glimpse of that with the title track. It’s a slow & stark burn where guitars seem to build around Vaden’s words, where it seems the protagonist is actually the antagonist, and then it’s back to business for the band, as guitars growl atop a thundering rhythm. The song itself is intriguing, and yes, it was captured perfectly, allowing splashes of watery guitars to quell the dry haunting spell of the band’s composition.

If there has ever been an anomaly, it’s the Toadies. Surviving the rattling frenzy of major label signings in the 90s, turning into the fervent independent rock band it is today. That’s not an easy task to achieve because, first and foremost, you need talent, which the band has in spades. With The Charmer, the band is back! But then again, the band never really left. Let’s just pray it never does.   

WEIRD NIGHTMARE – HOOPLA

Sophomore releases always seem to have an impact on an artist’s career. Throughout at least the last 40 years, it’s been make-or-break time, but sometimes you can expect the unexpected. An artist might release an album with a song that’s a commercial hit, although you think it’s shit, and come back to shock the world with its follow-up and subsequent releases. Yeah, that’s Radiohead I’m referring to. But I digress.

Alex Edkins is no stranger to music, fronting the Canadian trio METZ for almost two decades. While the band sits in hiatus mode, or broke up – depending on who you ask – Edkins continues to write, record, and perform with his solo project, Weird Nightmare. He just released his second full-length album, Hoopla (Sub Pop), which is much cleaner than the self-titled debut, which does make sense simply because he’s moved away from a simpler DIY approach. But that doesn’t seem to be the only difference from one release to the next. Here, songs are much bolder, eschewing the staticky punk for added pop textures, and you know what? I’m definitely not hating any of it.

Ok, so I think I need to revise that statement. I’m not hating it, I’m actually loving it. Why? Probably because of the deceptive “Might See You There,” filled with luscious harmonies, churning out an enticing melody. But what was deceptive? Well, it was that opening guitar pulling on some notes, which has you thinking – for a split second – the song is going to move in a different direction. What you don’t hear and might miss, although it’s embedded within the song, is the piano tinkling throughout it. It surfaces mostly as the song closes out. It’s so easy to fall in love with the band here. Adkins is pretty masterful, playing with his composition, forcing a bit of nostalgia throughout some of his songs. Make no mistake, this isn’t a carbon copy of past recordings, but the musicality with song structure, melodies, and harmonies hark back to past decades when artists wore suits, moved in unison, and were completely about the craft of art and performance. But be clear, Weird Nightmare is still punk through and through.

“Forever Elsewhere” is probably the indie rocker you’ve been waiting for. Adkins and his cohorts deliver dissonant notes that linger around a driving rhythm engulfed in melody. Adkins’ voice isn’t drowned out though, but even if it were, it would still end up a fantastic ride through a condemned amusement park that still has enough juice for all of us to injure ourselves as the music blares through speakers. This is completely joyous, and as the world burns around us, man, this is all you need. There’s so much more, like the bouncy “Little Strange,” which staggers you into submission, briefly playing with dynamics and delivering it quite uniquely. Guitars are the driving force here, but the cooing harmonies, yes, that takes it to another level altogether. Hoopla is filled with a ridiculous amount of ideas, but they’re all cohesive, like the sweet wailing of “If You Should Turn Away,” which at moments sounds delicate but tough enough to grab and hold onto.

Well, one thing Weird Nightmare isn’t suffering from here is a sophomore slump, and I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot of hoopla about Hoopla, which doesn’t disappoint, combining Adkins’ punk aesthetic with his serious love of pop music. No one should ignore something this good.