Welcome Distractions
New releases from Gunn-Truscinski Duo, Silver Synthetic, and Circuit Des Yeux.
I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the handful of new subscribers who arrived here hoping to gain obscure knowledge about Chappell Roan’s rise to superstardom. Unfortunately for you, I don’t know much about pop stars. You pushed this newsletter above 100 subscribers. For that, I’m eternally grateful. I’ll try to deliver you something worth opening and reading twice each month, even if it isn’t the next Chappell Roan.
I’m also indebted to the handful of people who have so generously given me their time for interviews over the last month. I want to do those conversations justice. So, I need a little more time to turn them into feature-length articles. Keep your eyes on your inbox in the coming weeks. I have some good shit in the works.
In the meantime, let’s share a few tracks that successfully managed to distract me from our collective, pending apocalypse.
Silver Synthetic - Rosalie
New Orleans quartet Silver Synthetic recently dropped their sophomore LP Rosalie on California imprint Curation Records. Discerning blog era readers may remember the label’s founder Brent Redamaker as a member of Beachwood Sparks. On its surface, the relatively humble home for Rosalie may appear like a step back for Silver Synthetic. Their debut, self-titled LP dropped on Jack White’s Third Man Records in 2021. But it doesn’t take a deep dive into the new album to recognize these songs belong in the laid back, California surf. Listen to leadoff single “Yr Gonna Be Happy” for evidence. The song makes good on its promise. Guaranteed daymaker. It’s a rare sound that satisfies both my current listening habits and my college years spent passing a bong in Bloomington basements.
Circuit Des Yeux - Halo on the Inside
It’s nice to see people finally get hip to Lafayette, Indiana native Haley Fohr, best known as Circuit Des Yeux. Pitchfork gave Halo on the Inside a stellar 7.7 review. I’m a longtime fan. I first got hip to Fohr as a Musical Family Tree intern in 2013, when she dropped CDY3 on defunct Bloomington label Magnetic South Recordings. The stock on that release may be rising on the back of the new one.
Halo on the Inside is Fohr’s most ambitious release to date, and that says something. Anyone who has ever heard her four-octave vocal range knows Fohr has never shied away from her prowess as a vocalist. Here, the relentless synthesizers serve as a formidable backdrop for her vocals. Watch the official video for “Megaloner” here. Indiana readers can catch Circuit Des Yeux at The Bishop Bar in Bloomington next Wednesday (March 26) alongside Alan Sparhawk of Low.
Gunn-Truscinski Duo - Flam
Another musician for whom I’ve been a longtime fan is Steve Gunn. I still remember the first time my buddy Brett McGrath played me Gunn’s 2013 LP Time Off in his apartment. I’ve been obsessed ever since that day. I had a chance to interview Gunn for Nuvo a couple years later, before he opened for Wilco at Murat Theatre.
While I’ve always enjoyed Gunn’s songwriting under his name, I’ve found equal enjoyment in his less celebrated partnership with drummer John Truscinski released on Jamestown, NC-based Three Lobed Recordings. Flam is certainly not the duo’s most accessible release, but it’s a noteworthy extension of their evolution. Listen to “Fin” for the brain cleanse you didn’t know you needed this year.
It took a lot of self-restraint to refrain from sharing news clips worth reading at the top of this article. Like most of you, I’ve spent most of the year navigating our descent into fascism. But I promised to strive to keep this space devoid of politics. So, I hope you find these songs as a welcome respite from our news cycle. I hope you found something to explore. Next time I hit your inbox, I should have something more substantial. Please stay tuned.