Last year, Los Angeles-based indie singer/songwriter Tanner Houghton debuted his solo moniker Oh Bummer! with a new EP, Losing Sunlight. That debut found Houghton fusing his laid-back, indie slacker aesthetic with trip-hop-inspired beats from producer The KickDrums, crafting a woozy and charming style of indie pop with an insular frame. Houghton describes his sound as “songs that are a conglomeration of my manic ADHD thoughts - the diary of an overthinker.”
Later this year, Houghton is set to share his forthcoming sophomore EP. He has already teased the record with its lead single, “Talk About It All The Time,” and today he’s back with an early listen to another new track, “Listen Up,” premiering with Under the Radar.
“Listen Up” is another of Houghton’s breezy genre fusions, pulling together a sunny guitar line, mellow beat, and insistent hook. Samples from vintage TV shows color the margins of the track while Houghton’s expressive vocal delivery adds some melancholic shades, contrasting his easygoing style with introspective lyricism. Houghton explains of the song, “‘Listen Up’ is an empathetic take on what I know about my late father. He was taken by brain cancer when I was five, and lost the ability to walk long before that. I have memories of him trying with all his might to get up out of his wheelchair and walk, only to hit the ground. He contained multitudes, and seemed to carry so much darkness and light in his heart. Even though he hurt people I love, I stand firm in the belief that love is what heals. This all relates to me and my younger self too - lost, angry, confused. Constantly falling and sinking deeper into that black hole. I needed love and support more than anything, but you can only receive those things if you let them in.”
Yet, despite the track’s themes, the results feel brilliantly sweet and summery. That balance is central to Houghton’s music. He explains, “I remember sitting in an old abandoned Victorian house in Echo Park 4 years ago, writing this song and screaming the hook, ‘Sat and I watched you fall apart’ with my best friend Sasha on guitar. I kept the demo this whole time knowing it could be something special. Oh Bummer! is my first solo musical project at 27 years old, and it is the perfect outlet for me to express my love for hip-hop, while adding in some pop and folk-punk sensibilities. Little did I know the name Oh Bummer! would be so fitting, as it’s become abundantly clear that no matter how bouncy and fun the beat behind me is, I’ll find a way to make sure the theme of the song is as heavy as my heart. And if you met me in person, you’ll see why - I carry myself with whimsey to compensate for all of the weight underneath. Oh, bummer.”
Check out the song and video below. The sophomore EP from Oh Bummer! is due out later this year.
Local Natives are releasing a new album, Time Will Wait For No One, on July 7 via Loma Vista. Now they have announced some in-store performances at three Southern California record stores and shared a live performance video for the album’s recent single, “NYE.” Check it all out below.
Time Will Wait For No One includes three singles the band shared last year: “Just Before the Morning,” “Desert Snow,”and “Hourglass.” “Desert Snow” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then when the album was announced they shared another single from it, “NYE,” via an amusing music video, and announced some tour dates. “NYE” was also one of our Songs of the Week.
For the album the band worked with three producers—John Congleton (Angel Olsen, Death Cab For Cutie, St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten), Michael Harris (Lana Del Rey, Feist), and Danny Reisch (Sun June, Other Lives)—recording at various studios around Los Angeles.
The band collectively had this to say about the album in a previous press release: “Former selves melting away as some of us became fathers, endured periods of isolation, loss, and identity crisis. The highs and lows we were feeling at the same time were so extreme. There was a moment halfway through making the album, we played one of the most emotional concerts of our lives. A sold out show at the Greek Theater in LA, our first performance in almost two years, and we didn’t know if it would be our last. As individuals and as a band, we were on the verge of a collapse. Time flows on uncontrollably and change is relentless, and the people you love are the only constants. Out of that reckoning we dissolved everything down to start again, and had the most prolific period of songwriting in our history. This is the first chapter, Time Will Wait For No One.”
Whenever one of the members of Local Natives get married, the rest of the members become their wedding band. During the wedding of the band’s Ryan Hahn, he got to watch the rest of the band perform without him for the first time, as they covered some of his favorite songs (including one by The Strokes). That inspired “NYE.”
Hahn further explians: “I was so psyched watching the guys play this from the audience, something I’d never seen before, that I thought we had to do a fast and wild song, and ‘NYE’ was born.”
The rest of Local Natives’ lineup is Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Matt Frazier, and Nik Ewing.
Local Natives released an EP, Sour Lemon, in 2020. Their most recent album was Violet Street, which was released in 2019 on Loma Vista.
Local Natives SoCal In-Store Tour Dates:
July 11, 2023 - Hollywood, CA - Amoeba July 12 - Long Beach, CA - Fingerprints July 15 - Encinitas, CA - Lou’s Records
Local Natives Tour Dates:
August 1, 2023 - Los Angeles, CA - Ford Theater (Hummingbird 10th Ann. Show) August 2, 2023 - Los Angeles, CA - Ford Theater (Hummingbird 10th Ann. Show) August 18, 2023 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue^ August 19, 2023 - Milwaukee, WI - The Pabst Theater^ August 20, 2023 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre^ August 22, 2023 - Boston, MA - House of Blues^ August 24, 2023 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club^ August 25, 2023 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club^ August 26, 2023 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE^ August 27, 2023 - Philadelphia, PA - Franklin Music Hall^ August 29, 2023 - New York, NY - Pier 17^ September 8, 2023 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre* September 9, 2023 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues* September 11, 2023 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall* September 12, 2023 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works* September 13, 2023 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern* September 15, 2023 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues* September 16, 2023 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater* September 17, 2023 - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom* September 19, 2023 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren* September 21, 2023 - Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom* September 22, 2023 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot* September 23, 2023 - Bozeman, MT - The Elm* September 25, 2023 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre* September 26, 2023 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre* September 27, 2023 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Grand Lodge* September 28, 2023 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater* September 30, 2023 - Del Mar, CA - The Sound*
^ w/ Annika Bennett
Every week the Stereogum staff chooses the five best new songs of the week. The eligibility period begins and ends Thursdays right before midnight. You can hear this week’s picks below and on Stereogum’s Favorite New Music Spotify playlist, which is updated weekly. (An expanded playlist of our new music picks is available to members on Spotify and Apple Music, updated throughout the week.)
05
Florry - "Drunk And High"
Keep the rootsy indie rock coming. Florry’s been leaning that way lately, and on the opening track from new album The Holey Bible — coming soon on the same label that gave us M.J. Lenderman’s Boat Songs — their flirtations with alt-country come home to roost. “Drunk And High” laces its power-pop jangle with pedal steel, fiddle, and Southern-fried lead guitar to glorious effect. Francie Medosch and friends hoot, holler, and harmonize atop the ruckus, until you end up wondering if Philadelphia somehow slipped below the Mason-Dixon line while we weren’t looking. —Chris
04
Slowdive - "Kisses"
How lovely it is to have Slowdive back (again). From the jump, “Kisses” is everything a Slowdive superfan could want: hypnotic and hazy melody, a tight, driving rhythm, swirling synths, and lush, whispery vocals from Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell that entwine with each other just so. The sheer dark romance of “Kisses” really makes you want to drive around Los Angeles at night (IYKYK). It’s not like we needed a refresher on why Slowdive influenced so many dream-pop and shoegaze acts of the last 30 years, but it’s great to hear from the OGs nonetheless. —Rachel
03
The Smile - "Bending Hectic"
“Bending Hectic” sure packs a wallop, and I can only imagine what it must be like to witness live (certain fans among us have, as the Smile debuted it on tour last year). An eight-minute odyssey of sound, “Bending Hectic” starts softly with elegant, harp-like guitar picks; every few beats, Jonny Greenwood curves the strings in an experimental manner that makes me think of early-career Animal Collective. Meanwhile, Thom Yorke’s murmur gives way to cinematic strings by the London Contemporary Orchestra, which curdle and turn dissonant — like that godawful THX chord at the movies, except more bone-chilling. The song’s conclusion is screeching, chaotic, thudding, and totally at odds with the song’s beginning. You can practically visualize its curvature, mirroring the title. —Rachel
02
Aphex Twin - "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f"
We shan’t be taking new Aphex Twin for granted! Richard D. James can go a long time without releasing music — even his trickle of ambiguous SoundCloud tracks has dried up. But earlier this month, he started making the festival rounds again for the first time in four years, and here comes Aphex Twin’s first official material in five: “Blackbox Life Recorder 21f” is a prelude to an EP, due out next month. And it slaps, at least in the transportive way one might expect. It’s groovy, not so frenetic as some of his more recent material, but still hypnotically unstable. There are no showy breakdowns, just a whole lot of impeccably layered sounds. —James
01
Doja Cat - "Attention"
Last year, Doja Cat got tonsil surgery, which forced her to pull out of the Weeknd’s stadium tour. She talked openly about career burnout. She shaved her head and her eyebrows. She mentioned the term “hardcore punk” as a possible future direction. Doja didn’t seem terribly interested in the pop stardom that she’d chased for so long, and nobody knew what form she’d take when she came back. But “Attention” isn’t the confrontational fuck-you that some of us were expecting. Instead, it’s a warm, honest, irresistible track about the pressures and headaches of fame — one that manages to pull us in rather than pushing us away.
It’s pretty. That’s the most striking thing. The backing track, from past Doja collaborators Rogét Chahayed and Y2K, is lush and pillowy, with murmuring jazz bass and florid acoustic guitar and light plucks of electric sitar. On the hook,, Doja sings in a dreamy, sleepy coo, and her words are a little nebulous: “It don’t need your lovin’, it just needs your attention.” On the verses, Doja raps with easy, conversational fire, lashing out at anyone who thinks she’s not living up to some imaginary standard: “Boo-hoo, my n***a, I ain’t sad you won’t fuck me/ I’m sad that you really thought your ass was above me.” It’s a striking statement from a true pop star — one who can go anywhere she wants from here. —Tom
more from The 5 Best Songs Of The Week
Osees Powerlift Their Way Through Synth-Punk on New Single and Video “Goon”
On their second single from their upcoming album, Intercepted Message, “Goon” wastes no time to turn the amps up with the help of some tasteful 80s synths.
June 23, 2023
Osees - Photo by Titouan Massé
Osees – Photo by Titouan Massé
Released just before they embark on their North American tour, garage-punk band Thee Oh Sees, currently going by Osees, are switching lanes into synth-punk on their latest track and video, “Goon.” Once a solo project of guitarist and vocalist John Dwyer, the band is known for constant name changes and reinventions from album to album. On their second single from their upcoming album, Intercepted Message, “Goon” wastes no time to turn the amps up with the help of some tasteful 80s synths. Ad
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Complete with verses and a chorus that comes rapidly in just over two minutes of track time, Dwyer’s voice, using his gravelly diaphragm, shouts like there’s no tomorrow. From the jump, the drums go at lightning speed without slowing down for a second, fitting for “your 24-hour news cycle eyes,” as Dwyer put it when describing his intentions behind the song. The quote also applies to the lyrics, with Dwyer seemingly speaking to conformities and embracing himself as a goon while simultaneously raising hell on the guitar. Ad
The music video clocks in at the same exact time as the song, keeping matters concise and tight. Perhaps just as tight as Zack Palmisano’s muscles, the focal point of the video. Alone in a mostly empty gym, he pumps iron through constantly changing frames, taking note of posters that tell him to “work hard” and “use every single inch.” He takes the latter to heart and comically uses his hard-on to lift heavy weights like the star of an absurd 80s movie à la Repo Man. artist to watch in 2023
“Goon,” described by Dwyer as “a pop record for tired times. Sugared with bits of shatterproof glass to put more crack in your strap,” just about captures that essence and then some. It also helps that the music video works so well with the track and understands how much it will get your blood flowing. But that should be expected from a band that, after more than twenty studio albums, still manages to keep everyone guessing about what’s around the corner.
“Goon” by Osees is out on all streaming services. For more on their upcoming album and North American tour, including a date at Substance Festival in LA on November 9th, follow them on Bandcamp and their website.
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Impressing in both twangy yearning and bright hooky rock, the I Don’t Hear You Anymore EP is a stellar release from The Money War. The Western Australian-based duo of Dylan Ollivierre and Carmen Pepper concoct a heartrending sound, authentically capturing a range of emotions.
“The songs are special to me because they remind me of moments in the last year where I felt desperate to express myself,” Ollivierre says. “In the past, we often had numerous songs to choose from, but nowadays, with three young kids, our time has significantly decreased. Therefore, a song only progresses beyond the ‘idea’ stage if it strongly demands to be realized.”
The good thing about limited time is that selectivity becomes of greater importance; that’s emphasized in the EP’s 4-for-4 success rate, not wasting any time during its brief yet memorable runtime. Opener “I Don’t Hear You Anymore” is immediately indicative of such, presenting a caressing folk sound. A lush acoustic guitar complements Ollivierre’s affecting vocal lead. “Is this the cross I’m nailed upon, or just my ego out for blood?” the vocals stir.
Pursuing a more playful, peppy sound with twangy guitars and light reflective keys, “Was It Ever Really Anything?” enamors with its hooky, laid-back production. The duo alternate vocal leads, joining for the “if we gave up now, was it ever really anything?” refrain. Further captivation arises upon the gorgeous burst of guitar twangs past the two-minute turn. The track also features FEELDs, the Melbourne-based project of James Seymour.
Taking inspiration “by the beauty of living in the present moment,” “Ride” scales things back with beautiful twangs and a resonating vocal emphasis on the importance of love. “Come on ride with me, come and take the ride of your life with me,” the vocals entice, comforting amidst the western-y, desert-set sound. The closing “Somebody Loves You” brings back the vibrancy, exuding a nostalgic rock quality with its mellow pushes and bouncy guitars. The title-touting chorus shines with replay-inducing warmth.
Featuring two shimmering rockers and two scaled-down beauties, The Money War’s I Don’t Hear You Anymore is an EP with dynamic and melodically impactful resonance.
Although What Matters Most is his first studio album since So There, his collaboration in 2015 with the string ensemble yMusic, Ben Folds has been keeping himself busy. Aside from his day job as the artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, he’s written a memoir (A Dream About Lightning Bugs), launched a podcast, displayed his photography in galleries in the U.S. and Europe, and appeared onscreen in films and television (including the hit Amazon Prime series The Wilds.). He’s also been nominated for an Emmy for his composition and performance of the theme song to the Apple TV special It’s the Small Things. So, what made Mr. Folds go back into the studio to make something as old fashioned as a pop record?
We spoke to Folds, who made a name for himself in the mid to late 1990s with Ben Folds Five, about the new album (recently released by New West) and whether it’s better to retire or turn into a heritage act.
Ian Rushbury (Under the Radar): You’ve said that What Matters Most has a specific sequence which builds to a finale. Was that always the concept or was that organic?
Ben Folds: I remember talking to Scott Litt, the guy that produced R.E.M. and he said they were a fucking mess at the start of their sessions but then right at the end, when you don’t think the goal is going to be scored, you kick the ball through 36 pairs of legs and the goalie’s hands and you score. They did that over and over again with their music. I kind of think that this album had a little bit of that going on.
I was looking to make an album that made a trip because I felt that life is like that. I believe that keeping an LP as the template is the best way to make records. It gives you something to focus on—a format, a time limit and an intermission, because, in the era where everyone forgot about vinyl, I was one of the people that didn’t. Every single one of my records was pressed on vinyl and I was always so concerned about how long the programs are on each side and where the highest dynamic is. I always have those things in mind. I wanted it to be a journey. Sometimes, I got a little bit lost; I thought I was in the park but I was actually on the highway, but that’s fine. I felt my way through.
There’s a cinematic feel to the record and it finishes on a real high with “Moments.” Did you always have in the back of your mind that it was going to end on something uplifting?
I’m willing to admit that I’m not very good at [writing] an utterly positive song. And that’s my problem! I eventually went to my friends Tim Harrington and Paul Wright from Tall Heights for help. I had the first line of the song and I told them, “It needs to be like this but I just can’t do it,” and they finished writing the song for me. It became an “era” thing—my era is not that good at “everything’s gonna be okay” songs. In the ’90s, we thought that everything was gonna be okay but now, when we know everything isn’t gonna be okay, the kids like some fantasy! They’re cool with it. Kids can write positive songs now and I admire that.
One track on What Matters Most—“Exhausting Lover”—is a candid recounting of a liaison with an aggressive groupie, ending with some bizarre flagellation involving a length of Hot Wheels track. Please tell me this is drawn from experience?
I hate to tell you this but it’s a product of amalgamation, exaggeration, and straight up fiction. I did want to write a song like Ice-T’s “The Girl Tried to Kill Me.” It’s so good—what he really nailed in his song was the absurdity of it. How artists have a really inflated idea of who they are. It’s dudes telling stories and they get crazier and crazier. It’s okay with me if people think it’s true. I made most of it up—sorry! Let’s say the guy in this song is just some kind of middle American middle-class kid who’s in over his head. Just when he starts thinking, “I think this might not be the girl of my dreams!” she turns around with a piece of Hot Wheels track in her hand!
Another track I thought was really interesting was “Kristine From the 7th Grade.” It’s got a European feel to it. It’s quite unusual for an American artist to write like that.
Oh yeah, you’re gonna hear Nino Rota in there, and Jacques Brel. Definitely a European influence. You can’t erase Leonard Cohen from the equation either. The song is definitely within the field of rock ‘n’ roll but it owes as much to Neil Hannon [of The Divine Comedy] as it does to any American artist. It’s funny—I don’t know why that song came together in such a way after the content of the lyric.
You’re in the middle of a pretty exhaustive world tour, including a return visit to The Royal Albert Hall in London in November. Surely all the stresses and strains of tour bus life are behind you now?
My initial plan was that this was going to be my last album. I mean I’m 56, why should I be shaking my ass on stage in leather pants after this? I’m not saying I’ll never tour again, but I felt I needed to document my feelings about the changing world in a musical time capsule. I felt like the guy on the hill with a long beard looking down from his cave, saying, “Oh God I suppose I’d better come down from the cave and scare some children,” and go back home.
Have you still got the legs for the leather pants?
I’ve still got the stick-like pins I’ve always had and I’m going to shake my ass one more time. But the day after the Albert Hall I’m gonna be stuffing my face with cake.
Do you feel that more, older artists should be leaving the stage, rather than just carrying on regardless?
I do feel for all of us. Some artists are hard-wired to do what they do. It’s a working-class job—I don’t care how much fucking money you make; this is manual labor. You show up and you get paid. It’s an honest day’s work. Some of these guys have been doing it since they were 15 years old. Who are we to tell them that they can’t go out and make an honest living anymore? When I first heard the term “heritage artists,” I thought, “Are you serious here?” I am not going to be a heritage artist! I’m not saying that I’m retiring from stuff. I just don’t plan to do any of that album cycle stuff where you make an album and you go on tour.
I’ve spent my whole life learning a craft. What I need to capture about this requires every bit of craft that I can muster. The kids don’t got the craft now. They’ve got another kind of craft and that’s fine, but they haven’t got that classic ’70s songwriting craftsmanship. The art of shaking a song out of your sleeve. So, I think it’s time for the old fella to come down from the cave, show some kids how to dot I’s and cross T’s and write a proper three-verse song with a great chorus and modulations and cool chords and metaphors and all kinds of good shit. Then I can head back up to the cave and hang up my leather pants
While I totally agree, they ain't got shit on the volume of the whips! Though, I'm in LA, and I think it's on another level here than probably anywhere else on earth.
Noise pollution is the worst part of living in a city, personally. I cannot wait until everything is EV. Though I've still seen jackasses making them make loud motor noises with speakers. Fucking car culture my dudes
Back in my day we called it clogging it
And invite Frank over for some blue!
Don't forget to grab some Brawndo!
Loved this movie! Old af
So do many others. However, I think the 3rd party app makers have a new hobby, so give it a bit
It's foreshadowing
That would be amazeballs!
"Merica?!? Love it or leave it buddy" Some goatlover from my hometown
This one got me and my daughter laughing, so thanks!
Sure, it is a slang term that's been known to go as far back as the early 1900's s a slang for expensive cars. Then muscle cars whipped when they took off like to yeet these days. The term came back hard in hip hop culture in the nineties. So whips from the seventies on were often the more obnoxious, the better