*** PODCAST #200 Cozy St. Jean ***

    On this very special 200th podcast I interviewed COZY ST. JEAN from St. Louis. I've been following her for years and longing for new material. Well I got the scoop on that on a whole lot more. It was an honor talking to her and uncovering her inspirations, background, and outlook on the future. Some thing we touched on: being quiet and shy, early Avril Lavigne covers, hooray for Nicole Dollanganger, surprise: a cover, representing your teen era, the sound of a rainbow, nice for ears, upcoming material, speeding up, apartment show test, upcoming show, Gooman, etc. Bands played in this podcast: Aspidistrafly, Corey Cash & Chuka Stergios, Current 93, Daniel Johnston, Elliot Smith, and Iced Tea And Smiles. Listen to podcast #200 which is available to stream and/or download for free via this link.

COZY ST. JEAN

Bandcamp

1 Avril Dollanganger

ELLIOT SMITH "Christian Brothers" (Cozy)

ICED TEA AND SMILES "Hospice [Cozy St. Jean cover]" (Dave)

2 Formal Request for Lost Voice Memos

DANIEL JOHNSTON "The Story of an Artist" (Cozy)

COREY CASH & CHUKA STERGIOS "Leaving" (Dave)

3 The Past Five Years

CURRENT 93 "Bloodbells Chime" (Cozy)

ASPIDISTAFLY "Landscape With A Fairy" (Dave)

~Dave

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PODCAST #200 linked here

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*** VALATIE exclusive song premiere ***

VALATIE

"Deafinitely"
exclusive song premiere

For fans of: Ambretta, Burial Etiquette and Aspertame

Bandcamp

     I was quite taken with the debut VALATIE album 'Dragged Through the Garden' that released back in 2025. The Chicago, Illinois six-piece is comprised of members have spent time in Indisposed, Excrucis, Sawamura No Hitter, Antillion, and Mira Corpora, so it's obvious this will be quite the treat. Their sophomore album 'echolalia' hits the streets on August 21st via Oliver Glenn Records by way of 70 cassettes. Today I'm premiering the 6th of 8 tracks titled 'Deafinitely' and Dylan from the band had the following to say about it:

"'Deafinitely' is a song we put together toward the end of the writing cycle. It was kind of pieced together out of a few separate ideas. It’s one of the more ‘high contrast’ songs we put together for this record, with the zany sass intro that leads into the waltzy, melodic second half. The lyrics mostly examine this metaphor of authoritarian American politicians ‘driving the country’ recklessly like a car. We fooled around with a few different arrangements for the opening section and eventually settled on the big, all screaming format that definitely feels like one of the punchiest moments on the album, in my opinion."

(2026) VALATIE "Deafinitely" (from 'echolalia')

https://youtu.be/8tQwWGtx0pc

     The song opens going full speed with a dirty and pummeling intro that boasts multiple vocalists, breakdowns, and some quirky guitar progressions. Just before the one-minute mark the song shifts its weight and settles on back-and-forth post-hardcore with some gorgeous clean vocals that lead it to a tipping point between melody and math that begins to resolve around 1:50 as it fades out and creeps back in with a dark groove. Love those harmonics and spoken word.

The band is going on tour next week so check it out if you're in the area!!!

*** HORSE FUNERAL exclusive song premiere ***

HORSE FUNERAL

"Sazerac Drinker"
exclusive album/song premiere

For fans of: Usurp Synapse, Missouri Executive Order 44, Aim Of Conrad and Lower Automation

Bandcamp
(becomes active upon its July 31st release)

Instagram

     HORSE FUNERAL are a math/sass band operating out Little Rock, Arkansas. Their email was the first I've heard of them but when they cited: Usurp Synapse, Febuary, .GIF From God, Terry Green, Euclid C Finder, Nerver, Antioch Arrow, The Locust, and generally from the 90's San Diego scene, Gravity Records, and 31G as influences I immediately dug in whilst salivating.

     I was tempted to premiere "Casket City" because it's the best track, but as it is partially already out there in various promo videos I'll stick with penultimate track "Sazerac Drinker", which leans a bit more to the screamo side while the former mixed in a lot of noise rock ala fellow Illinoisians Lower Automation. This track is fire and the mixture of drunken sassy rambling alongside piercing screams is awesome. They 've already booked a two day run in August, and are planning on touring further afteward. The debut record release show is planned for July 31st with tapes coming from texasheartusa and cds from Vamonos Records.

(2026) HORSE FUNERAL "Sazerac Drinker" (from 'Horse Funeral')

https://youtu.be/Kx2fBS4-No8