Beach Bullies - We Rule The Universe - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Manu Delago - Metromonk [COMPACT DISCS] Digipack Packaging date 01/27/2017

SUGAREGG roars from the speakers and jumpstarts both heart and mind. Like My Bloody Valentine after three double espressos, opener InchAdd It OnInch zooms heavenward within seconds, epitomizing band leader Alicia Bognanno's newfound clarity of purpose, while the bass-driven melodies and propulsive beats of InchWhere to StartInch and InchLet YouInch are the musical equivalents of the sun piercing through a perpetually cloudy sky. A very old saying goes that no one saves us but ourselves. Recognizing and breaking free from the patterns impeding our forward progress can be transformative. Indeed, the third Bully album, SUGAREGG, may not ever have come to fruition had Bognanno not navigated every kind of upheaval imaginable and completely overhauled her working process along the way. The artist admits that finding the proper treatment for bipolar 2 disorder radically altered her mindset, freeing her from a cycle of paranoia and insecurity about her work. InchBeing able to finally navigate that opened the door for me to write about it,Inch she says, pointing to the sweet, swirly InchLike FireInch and slower, more contemplative songs such as InchPrismInch and InchCome DownInch as having been born of this new headspace. Even small changes like listening to music instead of the news first thing in the morning Inchmade me want to write and bring that pleasure to other people.Inch An unexpected foray into the film world also helped set the table for SUGAREGG when Bognanno was asked to write songs for the 2019 movie Her Smell, starring Elisabeth Moss as the frontwoman of the fictional rock band Something She. The experience was cathartic, infusing Bognanno with new energy for songwriting, and she dove into making the new album. Having engineered both previous Bully albums herself, Bognanno freed herself to focus on the songs by handing production and engineering duties to Grammy

The inception of Wax Chattels occurred rather rapidly. Several years after completing jazz school together, Peter Ruddell and Amanda Cheng reconnected at a Preoccupations show in 2016 at Auckland's legendary Kings Arms Tavern. The pair quickly decided that they wanted to create some noise together, and wrote a few demos before enlisting drummer Tom Leggett. It wasn't long before Wax Chattels were up and positively running, becoming a fixture at local haunts and dive bars with their punishingly abrasive, yet polished, live set. The band were a week shy of embarking on their 2017 DIY tour of Japan, China and Taiwan when they played a set at Auckland's independent festival The Others Way. Captured Tracks founder, Mike Sniper, happened to be in the room for just two songs of Wax Chattels' set, before he had to rush off to another venue. As it turns out, those two songs were proof enough for Mike Sniper and Ben Howe to co-sign Wax Chattels to Captured Tracks and Flying Nun Records on the spot. The band played an unscheduled set at an industry showcase the following night, which allowed Mike to fully comprehend what he'd got himself into. As the band have since said, InchWe want to play shows that make people feel uncomfortable. The goal is to leave the audience feeling slightly altered, like they have experienced - not just heard or seen - something.Inch It is universally agreed that Wax Chattels are a must-see live act and their eponymous debut album captured this perfectly. Their hypnotically sinister debut was released in May 2018 and was supported by six months of relentless touring a NZ tour, two tours of Australia, a stint in the UK and two major North American tours. The album reached #7 on the Official New Zealand Album Charts, and album week saw the title feature as #1 in Rough Trade's 'Top 20 New Releases' and AV Club's Inchmost anticipated albumInch. The albu