Local Music Singles Roundup: September 2024
Local Music Reviews
Please! SLUG needs your help. We have so many good, local singles that need to be listened to. If you don’t listen and adopt them, they’ll be euthanized and no one will ever get to hear them again. You might just be their only hope!
Head Portals
“Mouth”
Self-Released
Street: 07.16
Head Portals = Pinegrove +Good News Modest Mouse (a little bit of Kishi Bashi)
Head Portals has always reeked of confidence, less of a group that’s feeling out a sound and more shooting the gun straight ahead. Though taking a hiatus from 2019-2024 (no obvious reason why they would’ve needed a break during that time), they’ve come back with a short EP in EP1 and the announcement of a fully new project in A Lesson In Object Permanence. “Mouth,” their promo single for the album, is a track that feels laid back but hard-driving, like dropping the driver’s seat back and going 100 on the highway. The choral quality of the vocals lifts the song above the muddy bass and high-tempo guitars, taking it into that sweet spot between grim and melancholy. This group’s overall sound is straight out of 2012–2016 indie-rock without all the horniness and twee, and it’s why I have gravitated to the band so much. By the time this review is out, the full album will be released—give it a spin and follow the group on Bandcamp. –wphughes
Melancholy Club
“u up”
Sleepy Heart Records
Street: 04.26
Melancholy Club = Jawbreaker +
Paramore + Brand New
SLC emo band Melancholy Club has released their newest single from their EP sle-ep titled “u up.” Distinct Midwest emo influences, along with guitar playing reminiscent of Jawbreaker, leads to this track being a pretty successful trip through the genre. The opening guitar playing is also very similar to Paramore’s “All I Wanted.” As the emo genre obviously suggests, the vocal passages carry emotional baggage throughout the song, almost sounding on the verge of tears with backing vocals that are closer to screamo in tone than anything (similar to emo legends Brand New or Rites of Spring). Later down the track through triumphant choruses we make a return yet again to the more Midwest emo instrumentation and influences, with the guitar in the bridge practically dancing down the fretboard. In conclusion, “u up” is a successful endeavor into the genre that Melancholy Club has declared their home, with impressive guitar work carrying the track all the way there. –Jake Fabbri
Painted Lines
“Didn’t Get Your Name”
Split End Records
Street: 06.04
Painted Lines = The Cure + The Sound
On “Didn’t Get Your Name,” local post-punk group Painted Lines serves up a wistful and dancey throwback to goth music’s early days. The track’s plush bass lines roll your brain around like a lollipop between a bombshell’s lips and the melancholy guitar riffs (which are reminiscent of Will Sergeant) melt with reverb. All the while, the band’s vocalist sings about an amorous encounter with an alluring stranger in a crowded dance hall. The story shimmers like neon through cigarette smoke as only a memory of a brief entanglement can. Unfortunately though, it amounts to nothing more than “a love story meant to be left in the past,” as the singer longingly croons. By the close of the three-and-a-half-minute track, the stranger has driven away without saying goodbye or imparting their name. C’est la fuckin’ vie. “Didn’t Get Your Name” can now be found on Painted Lines’ eponymous EP which dropped on all major streaming platforms on July 10. –Joe Roberts
Poeina
“Unloveable”
Self-Released
Street: 08.09
Poeina = Dolly Parton + Celine Dion
Like the whimsical aunt of the family with just a little too much time on her hands, something is enchanting about the commonplace fairies existing among us. In August 2024, Poeina brings a mystical single to the public in a soul-bearing and honest tone. There is something about the power ballads of the past that are continuously stuck in your head to this day—a quality that is hard to capture. It’s impressive to perform a piece with the same aura as the song at the end of a childhood movie, equal parts kitsch and cozy. There is not even a wink of irony in the melody; it’s oddly refreshing. Something turned me off of this track at first, the title felt too self-deprecating, or maybe it’s because I judge album covers too often. Book meet music. Yet when I listened to it, I enjoyed the intricacy of the production and how true it sticks to its guns. Ingenuity results in art that cuts through the ordinary it was born in, even if the lyrics are a bit barefaced. –Marzia Thomas
This Valley Glow
“On Its Way Out”
Self-Released
Street: 07.26
This Valley Glow = Ritt Momney + Noah Kahan
“On Its Way Out” has a title that begs a question: “What is ‘it’?” The song begins with gentle taps—four of them—before the drums kick in and then an airy acoustic guitar layered above hopeful, consistent chords. It’s these layers that begin to give the song its shape: a “fallback to the fallback,” as vocalist Ryan Delvie opens the song. These lyrics signify a return to simplicity, safety and comfort. The same gentle taps echo in the final seconds of the song. “On Its Way Out” is a sunset. As a warm, orange sky closes the day, This Valley Glow simultaneously celebrates and mourns the ending of a moment or a phase, finding peace with the truth that nothing lasts. –Harper Haase
Worlds Worst
“Motor Mouth”
Smoking Room Record Label
Street: 07.15
Worlds Worst = Soundgarden + Nothing + Foo Fighters + Whirr
With electrifying guitar and heavy drum beats, Worlds Worsts’ new single “Motor Mouth” has the perfect contrast of fuzzy vocals and upbeat instrumentation. The shoegaze punk-rock band layers the music louder on top of the lyrics, creating a softer effect against the wall of sound that the instruments make. Almost incoherent, the vocals add a delicate touch to the song along with a “trance-like” effect from the guitar’s wavy distortion. The shredding of the guitar transported me to a ‘90s grunge/emo bar, in the middle of a crowd, swaying my body and tossing my head along to the fast tempo music. “Motor Mouth” is the kind of song you can mumble along to, imagining your own lyrics to go along with the intensity of the instruments. Combining dreamy pop and hardcore elements, the band creates a song that could convert a pop fan to a shoegaze listener. This song is a great addition to a driving playlist or an at-home retrospective dance party. –India Bown
Read more Local Music Singles Roundups:
Local Music Singles Roundup: August 2024
Local Music Singles Roundup: July 2024