by LE Francis
I took a several column break & have come back with a biweekly schedule because my neck was fucking killing me from all the hats I was wearing (& being over 30 & going apeshit at the nothing.nowhere show, obviously).
This month’s picks include new music from a foundational band that I’ve listened to since my teen years, three tracks from bands I came across for the first time this year as openers, & a quick paragraph about an album re-issue that isn’t a single but I’m so incredibly stoked about it.
I’ll be back in two weeks with a review of the Seattle Sleep Token show. Until then, here are my thoughts about some songs…
“Hell” Sleater-Kinney
I’ve been listening to Sleater-Kinney for a long time. I was a choir kid & I started playing guitar in high school & Corinne Tucker, Ryann Donnelly (Schoolyard Heroes), & Lucia Cifarelli (KMFDM) really formed who I wanted to sound like as a singer as I started joining bands in my late teens & early twenties. & while my favorite S-K album will always be “All Hands on the Bad One,” I liked their return with “No Cities to Love,” but didn’t quite resonate with the albums that came after the same way. However, “Hell” strikes an interesting balance to my ear between the catchy rawness of the classic Sleater-Kinney sound & the more experimental, electronic sound they’ve adopted over the last few albums. It’s feels like an emotional & sonic bridge between the two eras & has me itching to revisit “Path of Wellness” & “The Center Won’t Hold” with my 2023 ears. Lyrically, the song is pretty simple but poignant. Hell is a concept, a very human creation, a place where there is no redemption, where time doesn’t really exist because there’s no chance for movement, no point in reflection. & that stagnancy easily seeps into the moving world, it’s hopelessness. & I wonder if the “young man with a gun” is a nod toward a school shooter, bringing hell to earth because he’s lost any hope for a future in a society that has become increasingly hostile toward forward thought. — putting all the focus on the individual & their flaws to shift eyes from the toxic stage of capitalism where the profit motive owns the government & speaks through the media. It’s been lingering between the lines for decades, but the font has bolded & edged shoulder-to-shoulder in the narrative of modern “free” society. We no longer plan for the future but simply sell people more useless shit to placate their worries. Could “Hell” be an updated, grown-up version of “Number One Must Have?” I’d like to think so.
“Gloandi” Holy Fawn
This release is a re-imagining of a 2016 single from their first album, “Realms.” The original track is brasher, rougher — just the opening line “Bury me, I want to feel the soil smothering” comes at you with a different sort of intensity. There’s a dreamy sense of drift to the reboot, a restraint that is in the performance as much as the production. The lyrics to this song are hauntingly beautiful — an aching sense of wanting to truly be home for someone, not just comfort but healing. The chorus cuts the throat out of me: “I will always carry you in my heart / pounding your fists against the walls / somewhere no one else can reach inside.” The song is declaring sanctuary in a way that bleeds through the levels of existence — my soul with yours, my body with yours, all within the quiet home of nature which both is & holds us both. It is perhaps the most romantic song I’ve encountered in awhile & I mean that in the classic sense of the term — romance as the artistic use of emotion & imagination to join the self & the natural world. I am not well-versed on Holy Fawn’s discography, my primary encounter with the band being quite liking their opening set when I saw them this summer with Thrice. However, this single really crawled into my head, before I even bothered to look up the lyrics I was just pulled in by the weight of the arrangement. Not only did I absolutely love this single, I’m definitely going to be digging around in their full discography now.
“Starchild” Sweet Pill
It took me a few listens to figure out what the song reminded me of & I realized it sounded like a pared-down, pop-punk Hail the Sun song — I think it’s the punchy dynamic of the vocal melody laid against a noodly lead guitar that is reminiscent. There’s a rush & release that gives the song a more complex feel even though it truly lives in the emotional rawness & simplicity of expression. I came across Sweet Pill opening for The Wonder Years on “The Greatest Generation” anniversary tour & with it being their latest single, of course they played “Starchild” in their set. They were probably my favorite opener & have a very high-energy live show. & there’s a level of intensity to the song that doesn’t quite translate in the recording but that’s a rather commonplace problem bands have. Ultimately, the song is lovely — lead singer Zayna Youssef has a warm alto voice that I personally love & feel is less commonplace in popular music. As a mezzo singer that leans more into the alto range, anytime I’m singing or even talking, I’m constantly critiquing myself, worried that my voice doesn’t sound pretty or feminine enough. So, I personally really love hearing mezzo & alto singers absolutely nail it. & Youssef manages to cultivate a sultry, beautiful, & incredibly powerful tone that really shimmers over the chaos of the instrumentals. At its core the song is a really fun, interesting piece of music performed by some incredibly talented young musicians. Is it better live? Undoubtedly, but I say that mostly to encourage you to check these guys out on the road if you have a chance. (EDIT: You may have a chance as they just announced a tour with Hail the Sun of all bands, it’s perfect).
“Swallowed by the Earth” Being as an Ocean
There is something about the way this track is mixed that is jarring — there really are three distinct vocal styles that seem to have the same crisp, up-frontness to them that doesn’t necessarily suit all three the same way. I do like the electronic elements mixed into the vocals but otherwise I think that the way the voice sits on top of the music really only suits the harsh line & even that could use a little bluntness. The lyrics are a little direct for my taste but encourage perseverance & offer a sense of comisseration. The song itself is a very catchy metalcore track with a great rhythm & some fun proggy elements to it. But let me side-step for a moment. Being as an Ocean is an incredible live band & I had a great time watching them when they opened for Hail the Sun, but I’m very obviously not the target audience here. It’s an aggressive song talking about misplaced aggression & its appeal is definitely aimed at a target audience that is predominantly younger & male. There’s definitely a place for it & it’s good art that could make a difference in someone’s life. It’s just not for me, but not everything can be, & I’m willing to bet there are plenty who would find a lot to like in the track.
Quickly talking about The Dear Hunter’s “Migrant Returned” even though it’s an album re-release & not a single
Listen, I got tickets for the upcoming tour on impulse because I love The Dear Hunter & haven’t seen them since they were touring on like Act III. I’ve been listening to them constantly since that long ago tour. They were opening for The Fall of Troy, & though it was all new to me, I immediately fell in love with the fact that they all seemed to be singing along to every song. But while I regularly listen to the Acts & The Color Spectrum, I legitimately forgot how much I loved “Migrant” until I popped this revisited version on the other morning while writing weird fiction in a dark hotel room (it really sets the perfect tone). There’s both a freshness & a timelessness to Casey Crescenzo’s composition that feels old & new & so fucking comforting. It’s not just the historical storytelling in The Acts, it’s a refrain from the glowing home that exists in the backlot of all of our memories & the hearth is burning in the soul of Migrant. This remixed re-release adds in the bonus tracks from The Migrations Annex & switches up the playlist. If you’re a fan of The Dear Hunter you should definitely give The Migrant Returned a listen. & if you’re not a fan of The Dear Hunter, why the hell not?
Verses on Verses is a biweekly music column from the perspective of a poet. Inquiries can be directed to LE Francis, lefrancis@sagecigarettes.com.
LE Francis (she/her) is the managing editor of Sage Cigarettes Magazine; a columnist & staff artist for Cream Scene Carnival Magazine; co-host & staff editor of A Ghost in the Magazine & The Annegirls Podcast; & the author of THIS SPELL OF SONG & STAR available through Bottlecap Press. She is a writer, musician, & visual artist living in the rainshadow of the Washington Cascades. Find her online at nocturnical.com.
