BACK TO BETTER

Taken from Rips' forthcoming self-titled debut LP. Released by Faux Discx on June 16. Pre-order here: www.fauxdiscx.com/shop/rips
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TOUR DATES:
6/15  Brooklyn, NY - The Glove
7/1    Brooklyn, NY – Baby's All Right (record release) 
7/2    Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA w/ Joy Again
7/3    Richmond, VA - Strange Matter 
7/4    Washington, DC - Hole in the Sky
7/5    Cincinnati, OH - Northside Yacht Club
7/6    Bloomington, IN - Blockhouse Bar
7/7    Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle w/ Palehound, Clearance 
7/8    Minneapolis, MN - House of Lard
7/9    Omaha, NE - Brothers Bar
7/10  Denver, CO - Lost Lake w/ Howling Hex
7/12  Austin, TX - Cheer Up Charlies
7/13  New Orleans, LA - Siberia
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Brooklyn based Rips have quickly built a reputation amongst NYC showgoers, winning them over with their virtuous melodies and sheer ferocity amidst an endless flurry of shows. Their songs may channel late '70s New York City bands like Television and The Feelies, but Rips propels these references into something new. Their self-titled debut, produced by Austin Brown of Parquet Courts, is eleven tracks of buzzing guitar riffs driven by a charged rhythm section, all set under lyrics that are actually worth a damn.

Rips (the record) takes cues from the moonlighting era of rock, while delivering a set of songs distinctly fit for the modern age. Once described as a “hyperreal rock n’ roll group”, the phrase “borne forward ceaselessly into the future" is more what they’re going for here.

So break an old habit. Let your hair down (or up). Rips will take you there.

Rips – Losing II

Dead Famous People new single 'Looking At Girls' 
Released 24th October 2019

During their brief time together, New Zealand-to-UK transplants Dead Famous People released only nine songs spread over two 12” EPs. These sold next to nothing, the band split, disappeared from music.  Today, they’ve been largely forgotten.

It doesn’t seem like much of a story.

Yet front person Dons Savage is an unparalled talent, a savant of the perfect melody and lyrics which both touch and bite, a throwbook to the Carole King's and Gerry Goffin's of Brill Building pop, an instinctive penseuse besting the originators of the Riot Grrrl movement by responding to their conversations of rage and sexuality and finding a place in the world some years before the initial sparks of that particular revolution had even begun.

Dead Famous People originated in Auckland, New Zealand after Dons (then Donna) left an earlier combo upon finding she had no room in which to introduce her own songs. Gathering a few compatriots, Dead Famous People began playing out and were soon invited to make an EP for Flying Nun, label then in the early stages of subtle world takeover. Despite sharing a similarly breezy approach to pop arrangement (the light touches of organ, the wistful lyrical sensibility, the composition of each song a discrete story), they never entirely fitted in with their label mates (another all-female NZ group described Dead Famous People as “scary as hell and always looking for a fight”), the band decided to make the move to London to seek fame and fortune.

There they garnered favourable reviews and found themselves signed to Billy Bragg’s Utility label, by Bragg’s partner Peter Jenner, at one time or another the manager for Pink Floyd, Ian Dury and The Clash.

John Peel called the band “An important, exciting contribution to the often pallid world of contemporary pop” and granted them a session, Sounds described a song wherein “Donna Savage’s lovely, husky tones relate the tale of the girl who beats up boys in alleys and steals their leather jackets, while the band ride a pop merry-go-round reminiscent of their chums The Chills.”  David Cavanaugh wrote that “Dead Famous People are alive and unjustly obscure”, while other reviews mentioned Morrissey (“Donna . . . matches Morrissey for wit and exceeds him for melodic charm”), Pete Shelley (“A pop peer of The Buzzcock’s lead songwriter”), Elvis Presley (“Donna’s tougher than The King, without the sneer, but with the benefit of actually writing her own songs”) and other musical icons.

Despite this, homesick and unable to find a proper deal, the band fell apart. They recorded a series of final demos, posthumously released with faulty mastering.  Dons sang backup vocals on The Chills’ “Heavenly Pop Hit”, and eventually caught the attention of a pair of guys from Croydon starting a new act, Saint Etienne. Dons’ silky vocal delivery and knack for the perfect disaffected melody - not to mention her incongruous appearance – worked well with the pair’s lovingly deviant approach to pop music. Soon they asked her to become their vocalist. 

But soon after singing on the original version of their cover of the Field Mice’s “Kiss And Make Up” and a version of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Winter In America”, Dons received news that her mother was ill.  She returned to New Zealand and ended her musical activities for over twenty years . . . until Fire Records managed to locate her in Auckland, just a few months after Dons had begun writing again.

Looking At Girls is the first single release from Dead Famous People’s first real album, Harry.  Recorded at home and remixed by noted LA producer Dave Trumfio (Handsome Family, Billy Bragg & Wilco, American Music Club, Built To Spill, The Jesus and Mary Chain) in LA, Looking At Girls is a pure pop ode to life’s simple joys.

Dead Famous People - Looking At Girls

Boxes

Duckie's Lament

Fixed Or Floating

Seven

Over three albums under his own name, Devon Williams has honed a trademark blend of shining power pop, folk rock, and jangle pop that explores the shared spaces and nuances of each, anchored by his distinctive melodic gifts. After an uncharacteristic six-year break, he returns with "A Tear In The Fabric": 12 lushly arranged, deeply felt songs chronicling a journey from confusion to clarity, driven by a lilting dreaminess, rock-solid songcraft, and unerring hooks.

The long six years between 2014's "Gilding the Lily" and "A Tear In The Fabric" were defined by a series of changes: most notably, the birth of Williams' daughter four years ago and the illness and eventual death of his father in 2019. Williams found himself engaged in an endless dialogue with his thoughts and, in turn, incessantly tweaking and prodding the material. Even mixing became a place to labor over details, turning into a two-year process.

The finished songs are a series of evocative snapshots for Williams: questions asked, answers given, compromises reached, as captured with startling lucidity as on "Domesticated": "I'm under your skin, is this the price of forever? I don't mind if you just do what you like / I find it hard to re-adjust this tug of war / Is it part of the role? / Well, if it is, I can play." 

Rarely have songs so personal sounded so luxurious. In a catalog full of pop gems, "A Tear In The Fabric" stands out for its completeness – individual worlds of sound and sentiment, timeless and transcending their origins. Its creation may have been laborious, but the final product feels as natural as breathing.

A Tear In The Fabric 

Devon Williams - A Tear In The Fabric

The first single off of Personal Space's forthcoming LP, "A Lifetime of Leisure." Listen and add it to your playlists here ~ http://smarturl.it/personal-space

Boxes

Jonathan Bree