Wednesday, 9 September 2026

*** WELLNESS exclusive song premiere ***

WELLNESS
"Countering"
exclusive song premiere
For fans of: Moments Of Being, Crowning and Ghola


cd/cassette/12" pre-order full release September 18th via Third House


Started in 2025, this band features members that have spent time in some incredible projects including Heavenly Blue, Kayo Dot, Liturgy, and Massa Nera. WELLNESS has their first seven-song, self-titled album releasing next week on Third House via cassettes, cds, and vinyl. I've got the honor of premiering their single "Countering" right now. Aeryn had the following to say about it.

"A lil about the context of the song - The lyrics are my own take on a protest song and finding the will to continue to fight back capitalist systems of oppression. We all deal with misinformation online, polarizing culture war bullshit/leftist infighting, and state violence that punishes people for speaking out...all while we're exhausted from work. But action has to happen regardless because ICE is abducting our neighbors off the street and our planet is being heated so rapidly that it will kill/displace even more people, and destroy agriculture and ecosystems that sustain life as we know it. We have to reach into ourselves and find what drives our own motivations and empathy for fighting back the system and accepting our own personal capacity to do so. We should also reach out to our communities to give/receive help because together we're stronger and we can start building the world we want to live in."


(2026) WELLNESS "Countering" (from 'Wellness')
https://youtu.be/Lh-Z5hQd2Ho


     This song is just 1:38 in length but holy shit it goes places. The stop/start instrumentals paired with anguished screams open the song and lead to some mathy/noodly goodness before diving into the deep end. By the one-minute mark the song has already run a few circles around the listener, mixing melody, drive, and screaming into a lip-smacking screamo soup - but those final six seconds are fucking catastrophic. Good lord that's some yummy stuff.

COUNTERING (lyrics):
Separated by false pretenses, a blur of misinformation. Worn bodies - mechanisms for labor, scraping by, rusting away. Tearing away, tearing away, tearing away our time. Tearing away, tearing away, tearing away our time, our lives. Smoke gets in your eyes: burning blue, shattered glass. Smoke gets in your lungs: gasoline scented air. Smoke gets in your teeth: broken bones, swollen tongues. Smoke gets in your lungs: chemicals cloud the air. Reach inward. Reach outward. Dismantle violent systems and take back our lives.



Monday, 17 August 2026

*** 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 things 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


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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Saturday, 15 August 2026

*** VALATIE exclusive song premiere ***

VALATIE
"Deafinitely"
exclusive song premiere
For fans of: Ambretta, Burial Etiquette and Aspertame


     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')

     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!!!