Category: New Vinyl

Vinyl on Tap: Pairing Music with Beer

by Kevin Sterne

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Girlpool’s Powerplant

On their first album Before the World Was Big, Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad navigated age and introspection—feeling young but being old—through specific lyrical scenes. Their sophomore effort Powerplant takes a more abstract and poetic approach in to the lyrics:

“She’s like a shelf the way she looks at the wall
A stock market dance while the poetry falls”

The addition of drummer Miles Witner gives backbone to the dual harmonies of Tucker and Tividad—the deserved draw of Girlpool. With Witner, the sonic representation is more expansive. We see the group explore Lyncheon dream pop, and classic stop-and-go alt rock that everyone seems to be doing. All is standard hipster-indie fare for the cool crowd, but the dreamy atmosphere and lyrical poignancy are what set Powerplant from what you’ll hear over and over and over in 2017.

The video for titular single, “Powerplant” shows the trio half-heartedly performing to coffee-shop art-types in a bowling alley—a setting so “un-hip” it’s fetishized for its irony. The video explores the theme of a singular moment, specifically live performance and a recorded one that is the same the first time and the hundredth. This idea plays out when the video’s director breaks the fourth wall, commanding the band to show more energy.

The moment and the video are comical and offer a meta commentary on the music industry, not unsimilar to Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Good Squad.

Pair the album and the book with Lakewood Brewing’s Vienna-Style Lager.

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Skip the $5 bowling alley pitcher of lager for one that is as drinkable but more flavorful. Subtle caramel aromas, a coppery pour and a light, malty sweetness paired with hop bitterness will make you rethink your notion of a lager. Enjoy this one with one of those rotisserie pretzels and accompanying Dixie cup of nuclear cheese melt. Cheers.

 

Kevin Sterne is a writer and journalist based in Chicago, the editor of LeFawn Magazine. Apart from Shuga Records, he’s written about beer and music for Mash Tun Journal, The Tangential and Substream Magazine. His creative fiction has appeared in Drunk Monkeys, Potluck Mag, Defenestration, Praxis Magazine, Down in the Dirt Magazine, and Word Eater, among many others.

kevinsterne.com
Twitter: @kevinsterne
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New Vinyl Releases 5/12/17

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  • All Hell – The Grave Alchemist (Gold/Blood Red Splatter Vinyl)
  • All That Remains – Madness
  • Between The Buried And Me – Coma Ecliptic: Live
  • Don Bryant – Don’t Give Up On Love
  • Dreamcar – S/T
  • John Frum – A Stirring In The Noos
  • Girlpool – Powerplant (Indie Exclusive on Translucent Red, Ltd. to 300 or Standard)
  • Gnarwhal – Crucial
  • Happyness – Write In
  • Marian Hill – Act One (2LP Expanded Edition)
  • Hobbs Angel Of Death – Heaven Bled (Ltd. Gold Vinyl + Bonus 7″ and Gold Foil Gatefold Sleeve)
  • Killswitch Engage – Alive Or Just Breathing (15 Anniversary Pressing)
  • L.A. Takedown – II
  • Little Dragon – Season High (Gatefold on White Vinyl)
  • Los Colognes – The Wave
  • Massive Attack – Mezzanine (1998) (Gatefold Reissue, German Pressing)
  • Mouth Of The Architect – Time & Withering (Oxblood Vinyl Ltd. to 300)
  • Amanda Palmer & Edward Ka-Spel – I Can Spin A Rainbow
  • Panic! At The Disco – A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out
  • Porcupine Tree – Coma Divine (Recorded Live In 1997)
  • Prick – Prick
  • PWR BTTM – Pageant (Maroon Vinyl)
  • Quantic & Nidia Gongora – Curao
  • Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else – Enjoy The Great Outdoors
  • Rick Ross – Rather You Than Me
  • Saturn – Beyond Spectra (Purple Vinyl)
  • Soundtrack – David Lynch’s Lost Highway
  • Soundtrack / David Bowie + Trevor Jones – Labyrinth
  • Christopher Paul Stelling – Itinerant Arias
  • Harry Styles (One Direction) – S/T Debut (12 Page Booklet)
  • Trial – Motherless
  • Ulsect – S/T (First Press, Ltd. to 250)
  • Various – Uzelli Psychedelic Anadolu
  • Venom – Skeletons In The Closet
  • Wilsen – Sirens

Lots of new Pre-Orders up on the website including Beyonce’s Lemonade! Don’t miss out, check out out entire collection here.lemon

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Vinyl on Tap: Ranking Music and Craft Beer

By Kevin Sterne

It’s the first week of May, so I figure we’d take a look back at the last month’s best singles and pair them with a beer list. In case you’ve been living under a rock (me, most of the time), Kendrick Lamar has released a new album. DAMN.’s 14 tracks plus “The Heart Part IV” demand to be on any playlist. To handle all the music, I have a tap list featuring some So. Cal favorites; an Oregon original; a Bostonian specialty; and one of the best porters I’ve had in a while—curtesy of Florida of all places. Expect the unexpected when it involves K. Dot and craft beer.

The Beer List

Mongo India Pale Ale by Port Brewing

A double IPA that bucks the west coast tradition. This amber wave spills five varieties of hops, splashing fresh orange peel and tangerine rind on the palate. When the Mongo waves reseeds you’re left with a tasty bed of malt and piney bitterness. Until the next sip. This is a bold IPA, with a hurricane of flavor typically seen on the east coast.

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Session Lager by Full Sail Brewing

A light, crisp, and refreshing Cerveza in a stubby bottle. Brewed with Pilsner malt, flaked corn and Celeia and Northern Brewer hops, this incredibly drinkable beer is another belt notch for Full Sail’s Session brand, accessible without compromising flavor—easier said than done. And with countless awards for their Session Premium Lager, Full Sail has cemented themselves as key leaders in the lager revival.

Colorado Trips

FORTEM by Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Their first release in the Leo V. Ursus Chronology. The beer jointly celebrates FW’s 20th anniversary and new Propagator brew house, which they are using for quarterly one-off releases. Fortem is the first of these beers. Not enough can be said about this IPA. It packs a huge tropical aroma. The first sip is a citrus tsunami of massive mango, tangerine and pineapple. This specialty brew comes unfiltered with an ABV that you’ll never notice.

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Framinghammer Baltic Porter by Jack’s Abbey Craft Lagers

Barrel-aged in addition to long, arduous brewing process, this Massachusetts-grown lager is a true cold-brewed labor of love. The lengthy conditioning periods renders this elixir silky smooth and with hints of chocolate rolled in oats and brown sugar. This one pours out of a pint-sized bottle in bourbony gobs. Anywhere else, and they call this a Stout. But it’s Boston-inspired. Pass the lobster roll.

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Last Snow by Funky Buddha Brewery

A coconut-infused coffee porter that doesn’t skimp on either. Pours with a pillowey mocha head and wafts of creamy coconut. Appearance and smell are where this triple-headed combination of coffee, chocolate and coconut typically ends with lesser beers. But Funky Buddha has made these flavors even more prominent in the sip. This is porter worth seeking out—in the least likely of places.

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The Playlist

*DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar*
In the first few spins, Lamar’s fourth LP seems like a series of punctuated meditations: Pride. Fear. Loyalty.—more a collection of songs than the a unified effort like To Pimp a Butterfly. But as you begin to unpack the album, the Kendrick Lamar as a Christ-figure narrative begins to emerge. The Easter weekend release is not a coincidence, and few things are with K. Dot.

“The Heart Part IV” by Kendrick Lamar
All that needs to be said about this song was said here. Listen. Be enlightened.

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“In Cold Blood” by Alt-J
If not for you-know-who, this would be the single of the month. The first cut off the band’s much anticipated third full-length Relaxer set to arrive June 2 via Canvasback Music, “In Cold Blood” sees Alt-J at their most conventionally energetic yet most inspired, seamlessly transitioning from jitterbug verse to look-at-me chorus. Alas, the only bad thing about this song is that it has no reference to the Truman Capote novel.

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“Darling” by Real Estate
A fun little dream-jangle from Real Estate’s forthcoming fourth effort. The guitars and bass swathe in dreamy synth textures as frontman Martin Courtney ripples with lyrics about the black and yellow finches in his best Elliot Smith copy.

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“I Saw You Close Your Eyes” by Local Natives
Kudos to Local Natives for trying something new and interactive with this single. Their site that welcomes the release of this song instructs listeners to literally close their eyes. Check it out here. If Local Natives haven’t already transitioned from low-key accessible indie to full on mainstream chill, this song puts all doubts to rest.

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Check out Kevin’s other work at
kevinsterne.com
twitter: @kevinsterne
instagram: @lefawnzine

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New Vinyl Releases 5/5/17

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  • Atavismo – Inerte
  • At The Drive-In – Inter Alia (‘Deep Purple with Grimace Splatter’ vinyl)
  • Autopsy – Mental Funeral (Limited Edition Picture Disc)
  • Bad Brains – Build A Nation (10th Anniversary Pressing, Green vinyl)
  • Blondie – Pollinator
  • Michelle Branch – Hopeless Romantic
  • Rusty Bryant – Fire Eater
  • Brother Ali – All The Beauty in This Whole Life
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Lovely Creatures: The Best Of (1984-2014)
  • The Crickets / Buddy Holly – The “Chirping” Crickets
  • Day Wave – The Days We Had
  • Mac Demarco – This Old Dog (‘Indie Exclusive’ White vinyl)
  • Descendents – Everything Sucks (20th Anniversary Reissue)
  • Djustin – Voyagers
  • Tica Douglas – Our Lady Star of The Sea, Help and Protect Us
  • Flume – Skin Companion EP II
  • Delia Gonzalez – Horse Follows Darkness
  • Yasmine Hamdan – Al Jamilat
  • Hark – Crystalline (‘Ultra-Clear’ Vinyl, Limited to 200 Worldwide!)
  • Mickey Hart – Planet Drum (25th Anniversary)
  • Buddy Holly – S/T
  • HO99O9 (Horror) – United States of Horror
  • HOOPS – Routines
  • Household / Infinite Me – Split (Indie Exclusive Transparent Green vinyl)
  • Diana Krall – Turn Up The Quiet
  • Charles Kynard – Afro-Disiac
  • Walter Martin – My Kinda Music
  • Taj Mahal / Keb ‘Mo’ – TajMo
  • Me First and The Gimme Gimmes – Rake It In: The Greatest Hits
  • Jessica Moss (Violinist of Silver Mt. Zion) – Pools Of Light
  • Juana Molina – Halo
  • Moon Duo – Occult Architecture Vol 2 (‘Blue Smoke vinyl)
  • Mountain Movers – S/T
  • The New Respects – Here Comes Trouble EP
  • Nightlands – I Can Feel The Night Around Me
  • The Obsessives – S/T
  • Pentagram – Relentless (Limited Edition Picture Disc)
  • Psymun – Rainbow Party EP
  • Slowdive – S/T (‘Indie Exclusive’ Silver vinyl)
  • The Sword – Greetings From…
  • Doug Tuttle – Peace Potato (Clear vinyl)
  • Twin Peaks – Urbs In Horto (Live Chicago Recordings)
  • U2 – 18 Singles
  • Various – Cover Stories: Brandie Carlile Celebrates 10 Years of The Story: An Album to Benefit War Children
  • Warfather – The Grey Eminence
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Vinyl On Tap: Pairing Music with Beer

by Kevin SterneDreamville-jcole-4-your-eyez-only-vinyl_grande

Kendrick Lamar has had a stranglehold on the internet for this past month—and the cultural zeitgeist for that matter. But with the wake of Damn. finally levelling, timing is right for other rappers to tip toe the waters. J. Cole’s camp gives us 4 Your Eyez Only, which is not new (2016), but is new on (vinyl and in stock here at Shuga Records).

Though this one doesn’t come with demos or never-heard-before easter eggs, 4 Your Eyez Only on wax is worth seeking out, if not for a memento of hip-hop’s second golden age, but for it being an album that does some heavy lifting, especially on the back end.
“Neighbors” and “Foldin Clothes” are musically dynamic, but more important, culturally critical in digestible bites. The former moves as a meditation on racial profiling while exhibiting arguably the album’s most catchy lyric: “Okay, the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope.” The latter brings a tinge of Marvin Gaye soul to J. Cole’s inspired effort at being a better man “Baby I wanna do the right thing // Feels so much better than the wrong thing // I wanna fold clothes for you.”

The definitive stand out on the album though is “Change”—a deeply reflective narrative on the cycle of violence and crime in black communities. The song’s main character James McMillian becomes a poignant and somber symbol of this harsh reality. After a Kendrick Lamar-type flow in the early verse, the song ends in a memorial of the dead McMillian. “’Cause that was my nigga James that was slain, he was 22…’”

If “Change” is the album’s most dynamic and emotionally moving, then “Deje Vu” is it’s antithesis. It’s the mainstream winner here with its repetitive, finger-waving, big-dream anthems Aye, put two fingers in the sky if you want it and She fuck with small town niggas, I got bigger dreams. But this second line is where the song shows it’s shallow unravelling. The lyrics are mopey, and one-dimensional—more last-call-at-the-bar throwback than uplifting.

J. Cole’s fourth LP is a back-loaded affair, but these side-B tracks make up for the album’s early numbers in spades. I recommend pairing this one with Double Daisy Cutter by Half-Acre Beer Company. DDC tastes like the brew brains at Half Acre binged several cases of west-coast IPA then gave the original daisy a retry (and the same could be said of J. Cole and Chance the Rapper or Kendrick Lamar). The elder cutter is loaded with tangerine-peal and orange-rind citrus. A touch of malt balances this frothy affair, making it deceptively smooth and drinkable from first sip to last gulp. The ABV here makes this one perfect for this record. Make sure you’re on your second can by the album’s mid-way point so you can ride that buzz through the best tracks.

 
Check out Kevin’s other work at
kevinsterne.com
twitter: @kevinsterne
instagram: @lefawnzine

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