Obscurity Knocks #16: Visiting Friends (3/17/24)
The five best songs played on Obscurity Knocks on 89.9 WLCA this week.
Not gonna lie to you folks, this was a slow ass week (probably due to SXSW), and also a week where I felt especially picky about what made it onto the show, which are two problems that I don’t recommend having at the same time. But alas, I was able to scrounge together two hours of new music (including some previously featured artists/albums) for y’all, and I’ve got the five best tracks from the show for you below.
But before that, once again wanna remind you all that you can listen to previous, full episodes of Obscurity Knocks via the Indieheads Podcast Patreon. Just $1/month gets you any episodes I’m able to record, along with episodes of the podcast 48 hours before anyone else & access to our Discord. And if you’re feeling especially generous, we just put up a bonus episode for our $5 & up supporters on the wonderful mind palace of Lights Camera Jackson. Anyways though, onto the songs:
The Lemon Twigs - “A Dream Is All I Know”
RIYL: Wings/Paul McCartney, Foxygen, Drugdealer, Todd Rundgren, Weyes Blood
I’ve been pretty much mixed on The Lemon Twigs whole deal since I first heard about them in 2018 when Go To School came out (meh album, but “Small Victories” is a great song), and still wasn’t fully convinced by last year’s Everything Harmony. But even someone on the fence like me knew that album was a step up, and their upcoming A Dream Is All I Know might finally make them click with me, as all 3 singles for the album have been heaters, as turns out leaning more into the soft rock vibes of Paul McCartney/Wings is a winning formula for the brother band. While I still don’t inherently trust anyone that dresses & acts like it’s still the 1970s, I’m happy to let my guard down for this song.
Mk.gee - “I Want”
RIYL: Dijon, brakence, ML Buch, Astrid Sonne, Blonde by Frank Ocean
I first heard about Mk.gee from the following tweet from Nick León:
A tweet that was later backed up by fellow Buch-head and friend of the show Daniel Bromfield. I played a track from this album a few weeks ago on the show, and admittedly, I’m still not hot on the album as a whole. There’s definitely good ideas here, but it’s a bit too noodly and hard to grasp onto at times, a similar issue I’ve had with brakence along with Mk.gee collaborator Dijon (I’m not hot on Absolutely like many folks are, but “Many Times” is that fucking song). But when this album is cooking, it’s cooking with gas, as heard on “I Want”, which fully encapsulates that whole “Ml Buch for the fellas” vibe León & Bromfield hinted at. Shapeless in all the right ways, I’m excited to hear more from Mk.gee in the future, even if not all of it will be in my taste.
Cola - “Bitter Melon”
RIYL: Ought (duh), CAN, Faust, the first two Preoccupations albums, NEU!
Cola are a pretty good band. When you’re made up of 2/3rds of the best post-punk band of the 2010s, Ought, it’s hard to fuck up an evolution of the sound and vibes frontman Tim Darcy and bassist Ben Stidworthy created with their former band throughout the mid to late 2010s. While their debut album as Cola, Deep In View, feels like a more mature, but back-to-basics approach of some of the ideas they explored in Ought, their new single “Bitter Melon” really sets to motion a new era for the band. No longer do I feel like I’m listening to an Ought offshoot, but a brand new band entirely. There’s still some familiarity of course, but taking more influence from krautrock instead of the original post-punk canon does wonders for the refreshing Cola sound. New LP in 2024, please?
Chanel Beads - “Embarrassed Dog”
RIYL: late period Strange Ranger/Hollow Comet/Threshold, untitled (halo), Voice Actor, the Dean Blunt extended universe, Mk.gee (funnily enough)
I was tipped off to Chanel Beads via friend of the show Isaac Eiger, whose been featured on this newsletter multiple times now with his latest project Threshold. Eiger was especially excited to have Chanel Beads open for his band Strange Ranger for a run of west coast dates on what would end up being that band’s final tour, but Chanel Beads is just getting started as New York-based musician Shane Lavers preps his debut under the name later this spring. While I wasn’t too hot on the previous single “Idea June”, “Embarrassed Dog” is much more to my liking with its slinky, vaporwavy take on 90s R&B. If you’re a big fan of the Dean Blunt extended universe like me, or Mk.gee funnily enough, you’ll find a lot to enjoy with this track.
Devon Welsh - “Best Laid Plans”
RIYL: Majical Cloudz (duh), Amen Dunes, How To Dress Well, Youth Lagoon
So turns out the singles for this Devon Welsh album were almost purposeful misdirects, as not much else of Come With Me If You Want To Live matches the electronic dance breakbeats of “You Can Do Anything” or “That’s What We Needed.” But I’m sure as hell not complaining, as I loved the melancholic singer-songwriter material heard on Welsh’s last album, and songs like “Best Laid Plans” continue to evolve the sound & deliver the strong emotions I felt when listening to songs like “Uniform” or “Somebody Loves You” off of True Love. If Come With Me If You Want To Live is the soundtrack to an action movie in Welsh’s head, this is the album’s “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”, but much much better.
Honorable Mentions:
Alejandro Escovedo - “Bury Me”
Mount Kimbie - “Empty And Silent” (feat. King Krule)
Didn’t expect Mount Kimbie & King Krule of all people to find the middle between Future Islands and Squid, but I’m glad they did.
Gustaf - “Close”
I miss Priests. This fills the hole they left pretty well.
crushed - “waterlily” (Real Lies Remix)
This is just a reminder that I really underrated crushed’s extra life last year, and I’m glad Ghostly re-issued this EP to remind me that I’m a fool for not having them higher on my year-end list. Also this remix rocks.
Gouge Away - “A Welcome Change”
Nothing productive to say so I’m just gonna share one of my favorite tweets.
Honorable, honorable mentions also go to En Attendant Ana’s “Teeny Tiny Tyche” and Threshold’s “California ‘07”, songs I felt like cheating if I included them officially, but they’re both great songs!
This Week’s Playlist:
Hour 1:
The Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All I Know (from A Dream Is All I Know) [Captured Tracks]
Alejandro Escovedo - Bury Me (from album) [label]
Mk.gee - I Want (from Echo Dancing) [Yep Roc]
En Attendant Ana - Teeny Tiny Tyche (single) [Sub Pop]
Cola - Bitter Melon (single) [Fire Talk]
Chanel Beads - Embarrassed Dog (from Your Day Will Come) [Jagjaguwar]
Threshold - California '07 (from Thief) [Self-Released]
Mount Kimbie, King Krule - Empty And Silent (from The Sunset Violent) [Warp]
Gustaf - Close (from Package Pt. 2) [Royal Mountain]
Dancer - Make a Decision (from 10 Songs I Hate About You) [Meritorio]
Cusp - Window (from Thanks So Much) [Self-Released]
O. - Green Shirt (from WeirdOs) [Speedy Wunderground/PIAS]
Hour 2:
crushed - waterlily (Real Lies Remix) (from extra life) [Ghostly International]
Devon Welsh - Best Laid Plans (from Come With Me If You Want To Live) [American Dreams]
Eve Parker Finley - Take it Away (from In The End) [Self-Released]
Horse Jumper of Love - Gates of Heaven (single) [Run For Cover]
A Country Western - Ridgeline (from Life On The Lawn) [Crafted Sounds]
Amiture - Collector (from Mother Engine) [Dots Per Inch]
Magana - Break Free (from Teeth) [Audio Antihero/Colored Pencils]
Halo Maud - My Desire Is Pure (from Celebrate) [Heavenly/PIAS]
Alison Cotton - Crépuscule (from Engelchen) [Rocket]
Taking Meds - Slow Leak (from EXT MEDS) [Self-Released]
Sweet Pill - Sympathy (from Starchild) [Hopeless]
Tierra Whack - MS BEHAVE (from WORLD WIDE WACK) [Interscope]
NAH - Please Allow Me To Begin Again (from TOTALLY RECALLED) [Difficult Sounds]
Gouge Away - A Welcome Change (from Deep Sage) [Deathwish]
C Turtle - Melvin Said This (from Expensive Thrills) [Blitzcat]
Fabiana Palladino - I Can't Dream Anymore (from Fabiana Palladino) [Paul Institute/XL]
Hour 3 (2004 to 2002 Deep/Album Cuts):
Interpol - The New
The Killers - Believe Me Natalie
The Rapture - The Coming Of Spring
Madvillain, Madlib, MF DOOM, Stacy Epps - Eye
Arthur Russell - You And Me Both
Hella - Cafeteria Bananas
Björk - Desired Constellation
Sufjan Stevens - Abraham
Animal Collective - Visiting Friends
Interpol - Stella was a diver and she was always down
Obscurity Knocks Highlights for 2024:
Listen to Obscurity Knocks live on Sundays 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).