Now Playing at TGE: July 2018

Now Playing at TGE is a collection of short reviews regarding some of the releases we can't get enough of.

words: Gordon Phillips, Kat Harding, Michael Brooks, and Lauren Rearick

Rich People - Grace Session (EP)

Rich People should be huge.  I really don't understand why more people don't know this band.  This EP is an absolute testament of a release. The choruses are behemoth, the instrumentation is thunderous, the vocals just roar. You've gotta listen to this band. 
Favorite Track: "White Mark" // words: GP

Cloud District - Don't Give Up, Skeleton

This is another band I think a ton of people would love if they checked out.  Think Sports-era Modern Baseball meets like the Front Bottoms or something.  I love the lyrics on this record and the production is quaint, but not limiting.  Cool guitar stuff, too.
Favorite Track: "Mug Drunk" // words: GP

Juniore - OUH LÀ LÀ

There is something so romantic to me about the French. They’re endlessly profiled for their style, their parenting skills, their cooking. And their music. French music moves me in a way no other nationality’s music has. OU LÁ LÁ, from Juniore from last spring is no exception. The tracks on the album rang from 1950s style ballads to angrier, edgy pop-punk tunes, all with the flair of the unfamiliar. Am I bopping my head along to a scathing takedown of former lover? Is it something else entirely? I should clearly learn French. // words: KH
Favorite Track: CANNIBALE

Sobs - Telltale Signs

Singapore-based trio Sobs, whose debut EP Catflap caught our attention last summer, have returned with their LP Telltale Signs. Known for its beauty and never-ending summers, Singapore is an immensely popular spot for vacationers, attracting tourists from all over who aren’t quite ready for the summer to end. But when you’re constantly surrounded by that kind of beauty, it doesn’t take long for you to notice the ugliness hiding beneath the surface. Inspired by a breakup, Telltale Signs is noticeably darker than their debut—if Catflap represented the unbridled joy of the first week of summer vacation then Telltale Signs is a sticky September heat that melts your smile away like an ice cream cone basking in the sun. Slow-burners “Astronomy” and “Party Song” perfectly capture the melancholic shimmer of Telltale Signs, an album that chronicles heartbreak through a warped beauty of fuzzy guitars and desolate vocals. // words: MB
Favorite Track: "Astronomy" 

Kevin Krauter – Toss Up

Kevin Krauter, who’s best known for playing bass in the Indiana group Hoops, has traded in the tape-hiss of his aforementioned band for a yacht-rock guitar driven tone on his solo debut Toss Up. Constructing a rich soundscape stuffed with sophisticated arrangements, hazy keyboards, and breezy vocal lines, Toss Up radiates warmth and serenity, making it the perfect album to unwind to. Toss Up lulls you into a state of euphoria where you can escape all the things weighing you down—whether you’re caught in the groove of “Rollerskate” or find yourself getting lost and daydreaming in the guitar-pop gleam of “Suddenly.". Brimming with confidence and clarity, Toss Up brings Krauter’s sharp songwriting to the foreground, positioning him to soundtrack the warm summer nights that lie ahead. // words: MB
Favorite Track: "Rollerskate"

illuminati hotties - Kiss Yr Frenemies

On their full length debut, illuminati hotties is here to defy your every musical expectation. In the earliest peeks of this band's potential it seemed easy to track their trajectory, to pigeonhole them into one sound. How wrong we all were. Kiss Yr Frenemies is eleven tracks of continual wonder and delight; "(You're Better) Than Ever" is the sunniest, catchiest, fuzziest sendoff to unrequited love your ears will ever hear, "Cuff" uses a collage of voices and contrasting instrumental elements and moods to create a moment of beautiful anger, and "The Rules" is a slow and tender acoustic-driven ballad that sparkles with a bewitching aura. As we settle into a summer heatwave, and look to the sun or even the stars for guidance, Kiss Yr Frenemies is a reminder that maybe the answers you need are really within yourself.  //words: LR
Favorite Track: "Patience" 

Mommy Long Legs - Try Your Best

It's hard to imagine a band that has more fun making music that Mommy Long Legs. The Seattle superstars make snotty punk rock that's both bold and individualistic. And after a number of EP releases, Try Your Best marks the group's official full length debut. The release moves headlong towards its conclusion, with many of the tracks clocking in at under two minutes. Never afraid to embrace their own mortality ("Alien"), to chaotically scream against a "Dick Move" or to turn a right to choose into a celebration ("Abortion"), the music of Mommy Long Legs have never felt so needed and urgent. This album is one to inspire, energize, and enrage you. // words: LR
Favorite Track: "Try Your Best"