Episodes
Friday Sep 13, 2024
79. Emilíana Torrini - Finding Miss Flower
Friday Sep 13, 2024
Friday Sep 13, 2024
In this episode, we get to meet Icelandic singer-songwriter, Emilíana Torrini. Torrini has been releasing music for quite some time, debuting in the 90s, but has just released a totally bewitching new album this past June called Miss Flower. The story of this record is so rich and layered and surprising, it makes sense that she and I mostly use this chat as an excuse to take a deep dive into its world. Miss Flower, the character of this album (because it is, indeed, a story album), was based on a real person, and the tale of how Torrini found out more and more about this woman's twisting-and-turning life (which includes love letters, crushes, espionage, and various countries) feels like some old classic noir film brought to musical life. (And for that matter - the album has also been turned into a full-on film as well, which we also touch on.) It's a great talk, and will hopefully make you want to delve into Miss Flower again and again, looking for clues, connecting dots, and getting lost. Thanks for listening.
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
78. Phosphorescent - Heart Open Wide
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
Sunday Sep 08, 2024
In this chat, we get to meet Phosphorescent - aka: singer, songwriter, guitarist Matthew Houck. Matthew's been at the game for a while now, and we caught up to chat about his newest Phosphorescent record, Revelator, which came out back in the spring. Truthfully, this chat was done around then, too, but kept getting pushed and delayed in posting. So here we are! Huzzah! It's a lovely chat, well worth the wait, as we dive into all things Revelator, including its themes, production, songwriting, history, etc. Matthew is such a lovely, warm guy; an open book down to chat about anything. It's a very laid back but engaging conversation, and I think you'll enjoy. Thank you for listening.
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
77. Kate Nash - This Moment
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
Thursday Aug 15, 2024
In this episode, we meet pop auteur/singer-songwriter Kate Nash. Kate Nash has just released her brand new record - her first in a little bit - on Kill Rock Stars, entitled 9 Sad Symphonies. In this chat, Kate and I discuss her new record at length, especially what went into creating it and some of the underlying themes across its songs, such as mental health and wellness, depression, and love. We touch on her early material, such as her hit debut record Made of Bricks (which spawned successful singles like "Mouthwash" and "Foundations") and how her relationship to these songs has changed over time. We also talk the early MySpace days that helped give rise to her career, and why she has such a fondness for that era of the music business. And of course we talk about GLOW, the great Netflix series she starred in alongside Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin, and more. We talk about what that show meant (and means) to her, and how sad we both are that it got unceremoniously canceled after three seasons. Thanks for listening!
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
76. Tracyanne Campbell - New Optimism
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
In this chat, we get to meet Tracyanne Campbell, the frontwoman of celebrated Scottish indie rock icons Camera Obscura. Back with their first album in over a decade, Look To The East, Look To The West, Camera Obscura have a lot to say now that they're back on the scene, and effortlessly prove that their return was worth the wait. In this talk, lead singer & songwriter Tracyanne and I discuss the new album at lenght, including some of its themes, its musicality, its production, and what led to them reconvening in the first place (turns out it had a lot to do with Belle And Sebastian's cruise ship music festival back in 2019). We also touch on some of the factors that contributed to their long absence, including the unfortunate passing of longtime keyboardist Carey Lander, back in 2015. It was such a pleasure to speak with someone I've listened to and looked up to for so long as a sharp and potent voice in music, and I'm so happy the band is back. Thank you for listening.
Friday Jun 21, 2024
75. Loreena McKennitt - Communion and Union
Friday Jun 21, 2024
Friday Jun 21, 2024
In this chat, we get to meet Canadian singer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist, folk music icon, Loreena Mckennitt. In this conversation, Loreena and I dsicuss her new live recording The Road Back Home, which is out now on her own Quinlan Road label , and how she distinguishes it as a “field recording” more than a proper live album. We discuss touring during COVID, and the trials and tribulations of that, as well as her love of world traveling and how those travels have impacted her work over the years. And moreover, we talk about how she came to love and be a part of the Celtic folk music world. We also touch on her expansive tour from this spring where she revisited her landmark album The Visit for its 30th anniversary — and be sure to check out her tour in Europe starting this summer to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Mask And The Mirror. So needless to say - Loreena has been making vital, beautiful music for several decades now, and so we had a LOT to talk about. It was an honor and pleasure. Thank you for listening.
Friday Jun 14, 2024
74. Molly Drag - Opening the Windows
Friday Jun 14, 2024
Friday Jun 14, 2024
In this chat, we get to meet Molly Drag. Molly Drag is the pseudonym of Montreal singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Michael Charles Hansford. In this talk, we dive deep into his brand new album, Mammoth, out now on I'm Into Life Records. But we also talk about...well, a lot of other things. Truthfully, this is quite a spontaneous and circuitous talk, because Michael and I have been following each other's work for a couple years now, and have chatted here and there before, making this conversation much more of a catching up & hanging out kind of episode. Which is great! We talk the new record of course, but also things like home recording, Kelly Reichardt films, the virtues of being a DIY artist, work-life balance, and more. It's an amiable talk with a super talented guy. Thank you for listening.
Friday May 10, 2024
73. Iron & Wine - We Are The Box in the Back of the Gym
Friday May 10, 2024
Friday May 10, 2024
In this chat, we get to meet Iron & Wine - aka: singer/songwriter/guitarist, and general indie folk icon, Sam Beam. Sam has just recently put out a brand new Iron & Wine record entitled Light Verse, so we do spend a good amount of time discussing this album. We touch on its themes of loss and acceptance, the time it took to make, and the collaborators he had on it - including none other than the legendary Fiona Apple. We also look back on his seminal 2nd record, Our Endless Numbered Days, which turned 20 this year. We talk about creative ruts, file sharing and leaked music, and do some light myth-busting about his debut album. I also get personal and tell Sam just how much his music has meant to me, and how integral its been to my development especially as a musician myself, over the year. It's a lovely, jovial conversation, and one I will go cross off the bucket-list now. Thank you for listening.
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
72. claire rousay - heart in the machine
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
Tuesday Apr 23, 2024
In this chat, we get to meet claire rousay. claire is best known as an ambient composer, crafting soundscapes with keys, found sounds, drone, and other experimental elements. But in this chat, she and I talk quite a bit about her brand new album sentiment, which is out now on Thrill Jockey, which includes much more singer-songwriter style material. Now, it's still a claire rousay record, and we discuss how she tried to keep a hold on her experimental spirit despite having more lyric- and guitar-focused songs than ever before, including her choice to produce all the vocals on the album with a sort of robotic autotune effect. We also talk about inspirations, how emo and folk music impacted her as a music listener and creator, live performance, and more. It's a very candid, down to earth, and occasionally lovably self-deprecating chat with one of our most intriguing voices in current-day experiment pop music, and I think you'll enjoy. Thanks for listening.
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
71. Julia Holter - She Moves the Room
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
Tuesday Apr 09, 2024
In this chat, we get to meet Julia Holter. Julia is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and composer extraordinaire, who just put out a wondrous new record, Something in the Room She Moves. In this chat, Julia talk a lot about this new album, including the production, the songwriting, the stories, and the risks of these songs. We talk titles, the Beatles, performance, as well as her work in film scoring (such as her score for Never Rarely Sometimes Always), and more. It's a lovely chat with one of our best artists. Thanks for listening.
Friday Feb 23, 2024
70. El Perro Del Mar - A Sucker for Melancholy
Friday Feb 23, 2024
Friday Feb 23, 2024
In this episode, we get to meet El Perro Del Mar, AKA: Swedish singer, songwriter, musician, producer Sarah Assbring. In this chat, Sarah and I talk at length about her newest full-length EPDM record, Big Anonymous, out now on City Slang. It's been a while since the last one, and we had a lot to talk about. We talk about the dark and emotional (and very personal) themes on Big Anonymous, the ways in which her sound has (and hasn't) shifted over the years, her lyrical technique, and the ways in which this album was more therapeutic than she ever thought it'd be. We also touch on the peculiar but fitting choice to include a Burt Bacharach cover on this album, as well as how she wrestles with being a contrarian in a world of immediacy and people pleasers. Thank you for listening.