“Default Parody” by Drahla

Leeds avant-garde post-punk band Drahla are back, with their second album “angeltape” on the way and a first song from the album “Default Parody” shared ahead of the April release.

 It’s been 5 years since “Useless Coordinates” was released, the year before the world, and in particular music/ band/ label plans were up-ended by pandemic etc. Drahla have added guitarist Ewan Barr joining vocalist and guitarist Luciel Brown, bassist Rob Riggs and drummer Mike Ainsley.

The added guitarist adds even more texture and rhythmic complexity to the band’s dark and intense sound, angular shapes stabbed out by percussive guitar chords over driving hi-gain bass and propulsive drums, while Luciel Brown delivers another intriguing sing-speak narrative. Great to have them back.

“Lammas Fair” by Henry Parker

We’ve lost a few of the great British folk guitar players and songwriters in the past 10 years – Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, and now Michael Chapman. But there is a new generation of guitar players continuing the tradition, by updating it as those players did, while also maintaining a strong connection to the past. One such guitarist and songwriter is Henry Parker, who has an album “Lammas Fair” out soon. Here’s the title track:

While the song (lyrics and voice) is in the style of traditional 1960s British folk, there’s a more adventurous 1970s exploratory character to the song. Parker’s use of the DADGAD open tuning, combination of acoustic and electric guitar and the non-traditional melodic diversions along the way in “Lammas Fair” bring some more exotic psychedelic rock guitar elements in to the music.

“The album explores an intersection between past and present, using the groundwork of folk music set out decades and centuries ago and moving it into new terrain, as it explores ideas, themes and lyrics that explore both historic and contemporary settings. The title Lammas Fair refers to a historical annual celebration held across Europe on the 1st August, which heralded the first harvest of wheat.”

“For Daze” by Faux Machismo

Leeds based △Stoner△Witch△Doom△Grunge△ duo Faux Machismo have shifted the tone from their sludgy proto-metal beginnings into a kind of trance-like doom grunge form. The hypnotic minimalism of new single “For Daze” captures the 2020 sensation of being trapped in a kind existential quicksand.

Faux Machismo is Maeve Munro on guitar and vocals and Anna Ridley on drums and vocals. Munro was, until a few years ago, an Auckland-based musician (Young Hellions, Cat Venom, Bengal Lights), now located in the small but significant NZ underground music enclave in Leeds.

The mood of their first release – a 4 song EP – was set on pitch-black sludgy doom metal (think early Black Sabbath rehearsal room DIY recording vibes) but with a solid melodic and hypnotic heart to the songs that was familiar to fans of Munro’s music as Young Hellions.

This new single ups the recording quality and dials back the pitch-back sludgy doom metal to allow in more air and light. The more textured approach to the loud/ louder dynamic on “For Daze” works a treat, and that “I could sleep for days” chorus release is a thrilling blast of melody, anguish, and abrasive guitar powerchords.

There’s a mention of Nirvana’s “In Utero” in the Bandcamp track notes, and there’s something of that in the chorus for sure. But, in its own way, the guitar tone texture shift between verse and chorus, and the way the song is propelled along by the drums, reminds me a lot of the kind of morose quiet/loud dynamic of San Francisco band Swell, also a stripped back guitar/ drums duo at first. (Refer to the blast from a forgotten past highlighted in the previous PopLib post.)

“Stimulus for Living” by Drahla

UK trio Drahla have released their first album, “Useless Coordinates”. It maintains the remarkable and exemplary standard of music, lyrics, performance shown by their single and EP releases over the past few years, and delivers on their promise, with interest. Here’s “Stimulus for Living” from the album:

“Stimulus for Living” is grainy and intense, with angular shapes stabbed out by guitar chords over repetitive nagging notes, driving hi-gain bass and propulsive drums, and punctuated by squalls of saxophone. It’s a template followed throughout the album, which each song twists in compelling new ways.

Drahla are Luciel Brown (guitar/ bass/ vocals) Rob Riggs (bass/ guitar/ vocals) and Mike Ainsley (Drums) along with Chris Duffin (saxophone). Their debut album “Useless Coordinates” is a powerful statement, full of an air of inscrutable mystery and intrigue. Within the debris-trail of beautifully dissonant noise Drahla merge in thrilling ways elements of post-punk with art pop and noise rock, and even some experimental free-noise elements.

There’s so much to love about this whole album. Melodic and musical, intelligent, artful and abrasive, dense and yet full of space and dynamics. It’s also crammed with lyrical labyrinths, delivered by Luciel Brown in her distinctive speak-sing stream-of-consciousness style, and fitting the atmosphere of dark paranoia invoked by the music, like overhearing the incantation of visions from a feverish hallucination.

Drahla’s debut album maintains the band’s remarkable and exemplary standard of music, lyrics, performance and also artwork and presentation. Yes, you do need to treat yourself to a copy.

“Sink” by Faux Machismo

NZ Music Every Godzone Month! sign from Too Tone Records in Dunedin.

Our New Zealand Music Month day #25 song comes from Faux Machismo. Here’s the ominous crushing stoner-witch-doom-grunge of “Sink”:

Faux Machismo is Maeve Munro on guitar and vocals and Anna Ridley on drums and vocals. “Sink” is one of 4 songs on an EP also available on cassette.

Munro was, until a few years ago, an Auckland-based musician (Young Hellions, Cat Venom, Bengal Lights), now located in the small but significant NZ underground music enclave in Leeds, Yorkshire, in the U (for the time being) K.

Although the mood is set on pitch-black sludgy doom metal (think early Black Sabbath rehearsal room DIY recording vibes) there’s still a solid melodic and hypnotic heart to the songs that will be familiar to fans of Munro’s music as Young Hellions.

 

“Twelve Divisions of the Day” by Drahla

“Twelve Divisions of the Day” is a new 7″ single from Leeds-based post-punk noise band Drahla. This one is released on US label Captured Tracks and the early edition came with a newsprint art booklet.

“Twelve Divisions of The Day” continues that distinctive speak-sing stream-of-consciousness delivery from Luciel Brown. It’s a bit like eaves-dropping on someone narrating their hallucination.

The music is grainy, and intense, with angular shapes stabbed out by guitar chords over repetitive nagging notes and driving hi-gain bass and propulsive drums. But it’s also agreeably musical, the lyrical imagery combining with the atmosphere of dark paranoia invoked by the music.

On the B-Side of the single is an alternate mix of the song which incorporates experimental industrial/ dance elements without messing with the weird darkness at the heart of the original. If anything, the electronic noises and distortions layer on even more unsettling atmosphere and paranoia.

That’s a brace of releases from Drahla now that have maintained an exemplary standard of music, lyrics and also artwork and presentation. Can’t wait for a whole album now!

“Form of Luxury” by Drahla

Here’s PopLib’s 4th send as a gift tip for the month – the sonic blast of Drahla’s “Form of Luxury” from their just-out “Third Article” EP.

“Form of Luxury” is from a one-sided 4 track 12″ (a half-album?) and, as with all things Drahla, the music bristles with intelligent menace, partly from the discordant sheet-lighting of the opening guitar fury, but later through the withering dead-eyed delivery of the lyrics by Luciel Brown.

“Form of Luxury” rumbles through twists and turns, the Leeds trio’s exploration of underground noise pop ebbing into reflective oddness before ending with more destructive guitar. It’s exhilarating.

Drahla’s “Third Article” EP is recommended to send as a gift to the discerning post-punk guitar-noise art-rock fan in your life.  It’s also available in LP format.

“Silk Spirit” by Drahla

“Silk Spirit” is a brand new track from Leeds based trio Drahla, previewed on their Bandcamp page ahead of the release of their first EP “Third Article” on 24 November:

The “Third Article” EP is 4 new songs, available on a one-sided 12″. If you are late to the Drahla party there were two glorious and essential 7″ singles “Faux Text” and “Fictional Decision” released in the past year.

“Silk Spirit” continues the promise of those singles – mystery, noise, melody and another intriguing talk-sing stream-of-consciousness from guitarist/ vocalist Luciel Brown, as if recalling a detailed fever-dream.

“Faux Text” by Drahla

“Is it real? Is it real?” asks Luciel Brown throughout this potent follow up to the thrilling debut “Fictional Decision” by Leeds-based trio Drahla – PopLib’s essential song of 2016.

The song is due for release in April on the Too Pure label’s singles club. Coruscating bass sets a platform for a typically cool and mysterious sing-speak stream-of-consciousness artful wordiness.

The song builds through dense layers of sonic energy as guitars buzz and menace before pulling back, introducing saxophone – some of the best wild skronking saxophone since The Stooges “1970” from their “Funhouse” album in fact – and then re-calibrating the volume for climactic ending.

It all adds up to a powerful statement and the fulfilling experience of a song merging elements of post-punk with art pop and noise rock and leaving some mystery and intrigue in its trail of beautifully dissonant noise.

The only band I can think of who may have been within striking distance of what Drahla are doing right now was Sonic Youth at the absolute apex of their dark abrasive melodic cool, around the time of their 1987 album “Sister”.

“Fictional Decision” by Drahla

I love the random acts of discovery that come via Bandcamp and people doing the simple act of sharing a link to something new. Sometimes what you hear invades your brain so quickly and completely that resistance is futile and you click ‘buy’and pay more than the asking price just because it is that good. Like Drahla and “Fictional Decision”:

It’s a simple idea. Bass, drums, voice and that quiet/loud dynamic we are familiar with from Pixies songs. Part spoken/ part sung/ part chanted words and phrases that are strange, mysterious, threatening (and also as artfully abstract as cut-up Broadcast song lyrics), are a familiar concept to minds perverted by years of the free-form imagination of Mark E Smith in The Fall.

But on this song by Leeds based trio Drahla these components – familiar concepts from post-punk and noise rock – are assembled and delivered in a way that allows them to take on new life and provide an an electric shock.

Maybe it’s the way that when the guitar comes in LOUD it’s just a blazing storm of dissonance and beautiful abstract fury. Maybe it’s the way that bassist/ guitarist and vocalist Luciel Brown maintains an air of indifference to the setting in which her incantations are delivered. Classic tension and release.

Either way, I’ve played this a dozen times tonight and all I can conclude is that I’ll be playing it another dozen times tomorrow… and after that as well.

Postscript: There’s a wonderful lo-fi synthpop/ artpop split release with Swords from a year ago which has two songs from Drahla. “Stereo Maze” gave me flashbacks to an old Amos & Sara cassette tape from a long time ago. The post-punk art-pop spirit is clearly strong in this band.

And then there is this enigmatic “teaser” for something I’d love to hear more from: