Obscurity Knocks #10: High speed calm air tonight, queen? (1/28/24)
The five best songs played on Obscurity Knocks on 89.9 WLCA this week.
Oh boy, this week was a fucking doozy to say the least. Usually I hear just enough new music to fill out two hours, this week I had three hours worth of new music to play, because this week was absolutely fucking stacked. I’m gonna stick with the five best songs format, but there’ll probably be a couple of extra honorable mentions this week, so sorry if I make your new music catch-up a little longer! With that being said, let’s listen to my five favorite songs I played this week on Obscurity Knocks on 89.9 WLCA:
MOP - “Poison”
RIYL: TAGABOW, Lowertown, Full Body 2, Sword II, Toner, Pardoner, just like noisy shoegaze in general, y’know?
Beyond being one of the best frontpeople in rock music today, They Are Gutting A Body of Water’s Douglas Dulgarian is also a man with good fucking taste. And it’s his good fucking taste that brought MOP my way this week as I heard a snippet of “Poison” from his Instagram story and immediately got hooked. As I mentioned last week with Flesh Tape, this new shoegaze wave could use some more noise rock influence, and MOP brings that to the fray with this snotty tune. The entire album, Secrets, is real good, but this is a hell of a way to end an album, and for me to get introduced to a band.
FRUITBAT - “See No Evil”
RIYL: Dean Blunt, Inga Copeland, Strange Ranger, Joanne Robertson, James Ferraro, if the phrase “hypnagogic pop” gives you a visceral emotional reaction
A few weeks ago, I accidentally made FRUITBAT’s face go viral when I pulled an Eric Alper and used a screenshot from a TikTok she made for a prompt tweet. I would apologize for that, but I can’t because it made me discover her music, as her new album Speak No Evil has become a quick favorite of mine this year, with the almost title track being my favorite of the bunch. As someone that is a huge Dean Blunt fan, I do not make comparisons of him lightly, so when I say this sounds like a lost WAHALLA b-side, I truly mean it. Or at least, it sounds like one until we get a glorious shoegaze breakdown in the back half of the song. This is fucking killer y’all, get in on the ground floor.
Astrid Sonne - “Do you wanna”
RIYL: ML Buch, Lolina, Slauson Malone, Julia Holter, Dean Blunt
I heard a lot of people compare this new Astrid Sonne album, Great Doubt, to ML Buch, so I had to immediately hop on board and give this a listen. And hey, they ain’t wrong! Similar to Buch, Sonne views spaces in a way like not many others, as she’s able to find great intimacy in what feels like the largest, emptiest warehouse ever. To be this up close and personal, and yet so distant at the same time. I don’t know what’s going on over there in Denmark to bring us two great minimalist composers/pop artists in such a short span of time, and frankly it’s none of my business, but please Denmark: bring us more. I want more. I need more, frankly.
Katy Kirby - “Drop Dead”
RIYL: Lomelda, Big Thief, Hand Habits, Squirrel Flower, Phoebe Bridgers, Indigo De Souza
Honestly, I don’t have a whole lot to say on this one, but god damn this is just some amazingly composed and produced folk rock. Based on the singles I was expecting Katy Kirby to deliver another smash, and that she has done. “Drop Dead” is just an immaculate song, and that’s all I gotta say.
DJ STEPDAD - “heaven’s on fire”
RIYL: The Radio Dept., DJ Python, Skee Mask, The Orb, Selected Ambient Works Vol. 1 & 2, the Bandcamp ambient column
Full transparency: DJ STEPDAD is my friend Ted Davis. And not only is he my friend, he’s also my former co-worker who probably got me my job that I have today. And not only is he my friend and former co-worker, he’s also edited a number of my writing works in the past, whether that’d be for Merry Go Round Magazine or other pieces I wanted his feedback on. But not only is he my friend, former co-worker and occasional editor, he is also an excellent musician in his own right, as his new EP time to figure things out is excellent, and opens with a killer, ambient house take on the Radio Dept. If you’re already reading his Bandcamp column every month, you should also be listening to this EP. But before you do…
Honorable Mentions:
Hooky - “Operation”
You like TAGABOW? Listen to this.
Emily Yacina - “Trick Of The Light”
You like Clairo’s Immunity? Listen to this.
Truth Club - “Siphon” (Audiotree Live version)
You like Polvo? Listen to this. (This is not in the top five because that’d be cheating. But yeah, this is a great live rendition of a great song from a great album. Excited to finally see them live next month.)
The Umbrellas - “P.M.”
You like Ducks Ltd.? Listen to this.
Memorial - “Corduroy”
You like Lomelda? Well she’s on this song, so listen to this.
Declan McKenna - “Mulholland’s Dinner & Wine”
You like Unknown Mortal Orchestra or Tame Impala? Listen to this.
Ty Segall - “I Hear”
I’m not even gonna do the whole “you like ___” thing here because it’s Ty Segall. You should already know the deal with this guy if you’re reading this.
Courting - “The Hills”
You like bands produced by Dan Carey but wish they were influenced more by DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ? Listen to this.
Force Model - “Variety Jones”
You like METZ? Listen to this.
Willi Carlisle - “When the Pills Wear Off”
You like Jason Isbell? Listen to this.
ML Buch - “Working it out”
It would be unfair to put this in the top 5 when I’ve played a number of ML Buch songs on the show before, but hey this just got officially sent to radio last week so it’s on the show this week.
This Week’s Playlist:
Hour 1:
Marbled Eye - See It Too
MOP - Poison
Wisp - See you soon
Hooky - Operation
verity den - priest boss
FRUITBAT - See No Evil
Astrid Sonne - Do you wanna
TORRES - Jerk into joy
Emily Yacina - Trick Of The Light
Jespfur - strapped
Malice K - Radio
Empress Of - What's Love (feat. MUNA)
gglum - Glue
Glitterer - The Same Ordinary
Truth Club - Siphon (Audiotree Live version)
The Umbrellas - P.M.
Hour 2:
Katy Kirby - Drop Dead
Memorial - Corduroy
Emma Ayzenberg - lucile
Cheekface - I Am Continuing to Do My Thing
Cuffed Up - Finer Things
Squid - Fugue (Bin Song)
The Smile - Under Our Pillows
Declan McKenna - Mulholland's Dinner and Wine
L'objectif - Puppy
Corridor - Mourir Demain
Ty Segall - Wait
Shannon & The Clams - The Moon Is In The Wrong Place
Stay Inside - My Fault
Heems, Lapgan, Saul Williams - Accent
Hour 3:
Liquid Mike - American Caveman
Yard Act - We Make Hits
Courting - The Hills
Vanishing Twin - Life Drummer
Bullion, Carly Rae Jepsen - Rare
DJ STEPDAD - heaven's on fire
Pillow Queens - Gone
Force Model - Variety Jones
Office Dog - Big Air
Finnoguns Wake - Strawberry Avalanche
Conchúr White - The Holy Death
Papooz - DOWN BY YOU
Willi Carlisle - When the Pills Wear Off
ML Buch - Working it out
Obscurity Knocks Highlights for 2024:
Listen to Obscurity Knocks every Sunday from 12 - 3 PM CT on wlcafm.com, the Radio FX app (Look for Lewis & Clark Community College), or the Radio Garden app (search for WLCA).