Ball of Wax 55 Songs: Grumpy Bear – “‘Our Land'”

Posted on March 2, 2019 by Levi Fuller

“‘Our Land'” (placed in double quotes because the title itself is properly written with quotation marks, for all you punctuation-heads out there), is a new slice of dark pop genius – extreme emphasis on the dark – from our dear Arizona friends Grumpy Bear. A proto-apocalyptic report from the border, “‘Our Land'” hits the ears like a long-lost Brian Wilson demo – one he might have written in a dour moment, then dismissed as just too darn bleak before turning anew to his piano and writing “Surf’s Up.” The lyrics are beautifully crafted, with a clever nested rhyming scheme (I don’t know if that’s the proper term; I may have just made it up or totally misused it) that delights as it horrifies, closing with a verse that should leave a knowing pit in the stomach of all Americans: “There’s still bodies on the sand / Along the borders of our land / We feel no guilt, don’t feel the gravity / The world simply dies at our command.” The music gradually falls apart at the end, we hear steps and a door closing, as if the band themselves can’t get out of this nightmare fast enough. I’m right there with you, fellas.

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Ball of Wax 55 Songs: Guest Directors – “Parachute On”

Posted on February 28, 2019 by Levi Fuller

“Parachute On” is the first song (and kind of the title track) on Guest Directors‘ new EP Dream the Currents – their third in as many years. I’m not sure how I’ve missed this group until now, but I’m glad they reached out (just slightly past our deadline) to share this border-themed song. Guest Directors – at least on this track – occupies an interesting space between (or inclusive of) shoegaze and power pop. The song starts with a fairly straightforward verse/chorus arrangement, with singer/guitarist Julie D’s vocals both understated and commanding, her guitar and Gary Thorstensen’s intertwining playfully yet intentionally. (None of that tired rhythm/lead dichotomy for Guest Directors.) The rhythm section of Rian Turner and Charlie Russo provide the perfect support system to keep this sonic parachute aloft. After two verses, the entire second half of the song is given over to a mostly instrumental coda, the guitars further winding themselves up and releasing tension, building and folding in on themselves before the whole band comes crashing down together in a carefully controlled detonation. I can only imagine how delightful this joyous noise is live; I look forward to seeing for myself.

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Ball of Wax 55 Songs: Annie Ford and Corespondents – “Pájaros”

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Mariaugh Maestas

The moonlight casts shadows through papel picado in this collaboration between Annie Ford and Correspondents. Channeling early 20th century Rancheras, or Mexican Folklore-based traditional music,  Annie’s commanding alto extends dolorously into the end of each note, resolving in a graceful vibrato.

This song is released less than a year after the Trump administration’s family separation policy was enacted, which disrupted over 6,000 family units along the US/Mexican border, per an Amnesty USA report in October 2018. At first the lyrics speak of “birds with their wings hitting their cages” and “those who cannot escape from the bars of oppression,” then hone to describe a more succinct lack of empathy for those who “cannot continue on their way” to “escape bombs and hunger.” While as the listener, I wouldn’t usually presume to intuit the the artists’ exact meaning, the line “They do not talk about their dreams inside their showcases” seems to speak directly to the Trump administration’s stated desire to deter immigration by means of brutally and hyper-publicly separating and detaining families.The “showcases” mentioned seems to refer to the children in cages, whose vulnerability was used as political fodder.

The significance of subject matter is matched by the musicianship in this piece. Annie’s violin dances in exchange with Eric Padget’s silvery synesthete-tingle trumpet. Kieran Harrison and Doug Arney provide dark, lugubrious guitar, inclining the listener to lean forward into the song, compelled by the colors of their tones. The rhythm section, comprised of Todd Arney on drums and Olie Eshleman on bass, display tasteful skill – precise yet passionate, and the anchor around which the whole structure finds its cohesion.

This song typifies the skill and talent of these long-established Seattle musicians. I avail myself of every opportunity to see them, and recommend you do too – and the Ball of Wax 55 release show on March 15th is the perfect opportunity.

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Ball of Wax 55 Songs: Town Forest – “Crowns (Gold Teeth and Weapons)”

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Lattney B. Jones

Volume 55 of Ball of Wax storms the gates with Town Forest’s energetic revision of the opener from their 2014 EP, One Day After the First Half Moon. Where the original live-recording was all raunch and skronk (and I’ll be the first to sing the praises of crunchy lo-fi recordings), the new version is no less powerful and emphatic for its sheen and sonic clarity, and Mark Johnson’s voice seems to have acquired new powers of plaintive angst, sliding his syllabic notes like a crooner caught in a bear trap (this is a compliment, I assure you). If anything, Town Forest have given the song exactly the update needed for these times—new weapons to fight new enemies.

The great horror of these new enemies is that they walk among us—that, while many wear emblems or accessories that clearly identify them as “the opposition” (to what, though? No, we won’t go into that here), they are to a large degree our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones. Johnson shows his understanding of the implications of this with the declaration, “show us what you’re made of,” both meanings of the phrase more poignant than ever.

Sonically and thematically, the band cast an ominous atmosphere with “Crowns,” every phrase dripping with imminent action, the guitar riffs and bass runs serving to bring the flashpoint—the first shot of the war—excruciatingly nearer, almost lending the illusion of acceleration to the insistent beat. On a compilation regarding borders in this time of building walls and burning bridges, Town Forest deliver a fierce call to arms and help set the stage for what’s coming if we don’t get our heads and hearts straight.

Don’t miss Town Forest’s set at the Ball of Wax 55 release show, March 15th at Woodland Theater.

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Ball of Wax 55: Borders! March 15th at Woodland Theater

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Levi Fuller

Ball of Wax 55 release show: Borders
Woodland Theater
Friday, March 15th, 8pm
Town Forest, Nic Masangkay, Annie Ford & Corespondents, and Levi Fuller & the Library
Ball of Wax 55 CD included with entry

For the 55th volume of Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly, we have assembled a powerful group of musicians to present a powerful group of songs. Join us for a live celebration of this collection on Friday, March 15th with a fine group of musicians, including friends new and old.

(Profits from Ball of Wax 55 will go to RAICES.)

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Submit to Ball of Wax 55: Borders

Posted on November 28, 2018 by Levi Fuller

Photo by David Lofink, via Flicker. (No Sammy Hagar covers, please.)

It’s time yet again to begin collecting a new volume of Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly. I decided the next volume – Winter 2019 – should be on the theme of Borders. Funds will go to RAICES, or a similar org selected by the participants.

The songs needn’t be about geographic borders, but they certainly can be. (Covers of “Borderline” will be ignored.)

Deadline: Sunday, January 13th
Submission guidelines: here
Questions: do this

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Ball of Wax 54 Songs: Trash Lights -“Spirals Down Part 3”

Posted on November 26, 2018 by Levi Fuller

“Spirals Down Part 3” is the second Ball of Wax offering this year from instrumental duo Trash Lights, and compared to the sprawling “Second Movements,” it’s a tiny, compact gem of musical concision. But Steven Andrea and Brendon Helgason can pack a lot into 2 and a half minutes and two musical ideas. We begin with a sharply-struck guitar string commencing a slow, arpeggiated guitar part in 5/4 (there it is again!), drenched in reverb. Overtones and subtones and strange crackling noises phase in and out. Just when we start to think it might be here forever, the guitar line starts to disappear, and up from the depths comes a strangely plucked descending bass line, sticking around just long enough to make you wonder whether it’s a bass guitar, an upright bass, or a long piece of twine stretched over a sheet metal shelving unit. Then it all fades out into more shimmering reverb.

“Spirals Down Part 3,” while it’s short and does work as a discrete track, is one part (I would wager the third) of a four-track EP that Trash Lights will be unleashing upon us before we know it. Keep your eye on their Bandcamp page for more.

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Ball of Wax 54 Songs: Rory Gannon – “The Waves”

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Mariaugh Maestas

Rory Gannon‘s “The Waves,” the initial track on his most recent release Panic Language, presents a driving, repetitious initial motif that builds upon itself in layers. In the absence of guitar, lyrics, or any of the usual armature, he presents a bare experiment in sound. This lack of musical infrastructure seems a purposeful strategy, in order to build a world in which the listener isn’t given typical points of reference; the experience is supposed to be new, and it works. Cerebral in its succession, it offers relief not in the form of hook and solo, but rather in instruments strange to the ear, a puzzle one tries to piece together by identifying the origins of their sounds. Strings give way to what could be a rainstick agitated to and fro, and are followed by blown-out percussion that intimates metal trashcan lids being beaten against one another in a dark, bilious alley.

Mournful, the sore keyboard tones pull a melodious yearning over the organized cacophony beneath. If one follows the tributaries upstream, Gannon’s Bandcamp description of the album can be found, which informs the conclusions here. After experiencing a violent assault and deep loss, he concentrated those misfortunes into a gift of communicative art. While the unusual structure of “The Waves” doesn’t prime it for the radio play or live performance where most of us encounter our music, it certainly presents a unique and worthwhile listen. I’d recommend headphones on a rainy November PNW night.

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Ball of Wax 54 Songs: Drekka – “Sense of Senses”

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Levi Fuller

From Ball of Wax newcomer (and musical veteran) Drekka comes the nuanced drone of “Sense of Senses.” This piece moves in like strange weather, all thundering low end and effervescent hiss, with melodic elements – shapeless falsetto voices, disjointed piano, something bowed – only slowly taking shape and forming into something like a song, albeit a glacially paced exploded drawing of a song. At about the 4 minute mark it all starts to come together, and you’re pretty sure you’ll figure out if it’ll just keep going another minute, and then – the skies clear, the weather moves on, and all you can do is go back to the beginning to try to figure it out.

“Sense of Senses” is from Drekka’s new album Examinations : 2016-2018, which requires further examination from all of us.

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Ball of Wax 54 Songs: Music for Dead Birds – “Hot and High”

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Levi Fuller

I’m very pleased to have new Music for Dead Birds, our old friends in Ireland – although for this recording I suppose I should say “our old friend in Vietnam.” Singer/guitarist Jimmy Monaghan has been living in Hanoi, Vietnam, for a while – long enough that he wrote and recorded an album’s worth of material all on his own. The result – at least as evidenced by “Hot and High” – is a fine addition to the Music for Dead Birds oeuvre, although the drums do have a bit of that “the singer/guitarist overdubbed the drums” feel. This does not detract from the snarlingly ecstatic quiet/loud push/pull that Jimmy has dialed in so beautifully over the years, but I am excited to hear what Jimmy and Donal get up to when they’re back on the same hunk of land.

As a side note, there are some strange hallucinatory effects around the bass sound that keep me cocking my ears and shaking my head every time I hear this song on speakers – is it left? right? behind me? where am I? – perhaps further communicating the feeling of being “hot and high.”

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