The Front Bottoms new album is perfect. Perfectly them, perfectly low key college rock that could also serve as a middle schooler's anthem album, with it's perfectly world-weary, sarcastic tone. Anyway, I sat and listened to the entire thing AGAIN this morning (something I almost never do) and could have picked any track to share so I just went with the first. Also, "You Used to Say" feels additionally perfect at this moment: dramatic imminent death declaration followed by a dance break. I didn't know the band before seeing them at ACL last year but count me as a big fan now.
RIYL: Death Cab for Cutie, XTC, Violent Femmes, Dead Milkmen, REM
K.Flay - Giver
Every day’s another shot
But all I do is fuck it up
Screaming cause I’ve got it too good to cry
I put the medicine inside my head
Apologize for all the things I said
Girl it takes guts to just surviveI gotta oh, I gotta find another way
I’m learning to live
I’m trying to be better
I’m learning to give
But I don’t know if I’m a giver
Kristine Flaherty was raised in Illinois and started making music while a psych major at Stanford. It kind of blows my mind that she started out as a hip-hop artist and still describes herself as a low-fi hip-hop-rock hybrid because I first heard "Blood in the Cut" last year and thought it was a pretty lame but solidly alt-rock anthem. Come to find out her make-it-up-as-you-go, true indie cred (leaving behind 60 songs written while under contract at RCA), and that her fans range from Taylor Swift to Dan Reynolds, who signed her to his small imprint and put her on tour currently (with Imagine Dragons). Anyway, this single reached my ears this week (from Everywhere is Somewhere, same album as "Blood in the Cut") and I can't believe how much more nuanced and enjoyable it is. Or how she slipped my notice before all this!
RIYL: Bishop Briggs, Lewis Del Mar, Meg Myers, Grieves
Upcoming Shows
The Killers - Read My Mind
The good old days, the honest man
The restless heart, the Promised Land
A subtle kiss that no one sees
A broken wrist and a big trapeze
Oh well, I don't mind, you don't mind
Cause I don't shine if you don't shine
Before you go, can you read my mind?
ACL is over for another year. They expanded the festival this time, throughout a bigger portion of Zilker Park, adding another medium-big stage, spreading out the sound for less overlap, and allowing a second area for eating and merch buying. AND they had awesome outhouses that flushed, were never out of paper, and the line was never very long. Great job, ACL! We were suffering from allergies and didn't hit as many shows as usual, but still saw some really great, memorable sets. A few highlights: Crystal Castles, Skepta, Foster the People, Car Seat Headrest, Ice Cube, Tove Lo, Day Wave, RKS, Run the Jewels, Gorillaz, and the set I was most looking forward to, the festival closer and they did not disappoint: The Killers. I hadn't realized how many of their hits translate spectacularly for a stadium/festival crowd - it was so much fun and is now ranked as one of my top concerts ever. Haters gonna hate (Keith), but I thought that such a sweet show earned the band another spot on TMIS. Also - if you haven't checked out the new album yet (I posted "The Man" before it was released, I think) you should, it's got a handful of gems (but esp "Run for Cover").