It’s not so much the stories we tell as it is the meanings they imply and what they say about us. Marisa Anderson has always been a storyteller, but even more, she follows narrative paths with her guitar, uncovering the core ideas they’re built on. Emotive passages become torchbearers for the long nights ahead, following steps in all directions – present, future, past – to … Continue reading Marisa Anderson “Still, Here”
It’s been a busy, exhausting week here at FDHQ to the point that I’ve only managed to get through about half of the pile of music I was hoping to investigate. Granted, a lot of time was spent in the studio (again), so sound has been (as ever) the main focus around here, but, unfortunately for Foxy Digitalis, it’s mostly been my own music in … Continue reading The Capsule Garden Vol 1.34: September 23, 2022
Another week in the books. Another pile of excellent tunes to dig through. Last week, my label, The Jewel Garden, released this blown-out proto dub gem from Carl Antonowicz’s Open Casket Sound System. Carl illustrates/collaborates on the Illustrated Reviews with me for Foxy Digitalis, and he’s put together a 16-page illustrated zine to go along with the album. Check it out! Meanwhile, on to the reviews… … Continue reading The Capsule Garden Vol 1.22: July 1, 2022
There are certain moments on Sally Anne Morgan’s delightful Cups where I think the whole world is about to fall apart while other sections pull at something ancient and divine. With some pieces improvised and others composed, Cups moves with grace and a touch of earthen whimsy. Morgan’s skill as a songwriter and musician is always at the center. “Pythagoras” is loose and beguiling. Tender threads are stretched, imbued … Continue reading Sally Anne Morgan “Cups”
Marisa Anderson and William Tyler as a collaborative duo simply makes sense. Their album, Lost Futures, is a heavy yet hopeful listening experience created in the ashes of yesterday. Talking to them in mid-September, their thoughtfulness and humor stand at the forefront. The idea of ‘lost futures,’ at least as written by Mark Fisher, isn’t exactly a cheerful one. Yet, when Anderson and Tyler talk … Continue reading Different Futures: A Conversation With Marisa Anderson & William Tyler
Leaving None But Small Birds does what a lot of collaborations between established artists are afraid to do. The Body and BIG|BRAVE both make loud, visceral music so one would reasonably expect a collaboration to be loud and visceral. Well, half that equation is correct, but where Leaving None But Small Birds absolutely triumphs is in the unexpected way both groups strip back what they do to find … Continue reading The Body and BIG|BRAVE “Leaving None But Small Birds”
On a day when one of the most blatant attacks on women’s bodily autonomy goes into effect in Texas, spending time with an album called Lost Futures feels cryptic. Guitar heroes Marisa Anderson and William Tyler have an uncanny ability to saturate their playing with an impossible range of emotions and difficult ideas. Lost Futures sits in a pocket of communal respect while imbuing the … Continue reading Marisa Anderson and William Tyler “Lost Futures”
Imperium Droop gloriously rolls off the tongue. When you bring together two artists like Mouse on Mars’ Jan St. Werner and Oneida’s Kid Millions (among so many other things – but my brain will always make that association first), something unexpected and magical is bound to happen and that’s absolutely the case with the Imperium Droop. When Werner’s rose-tinted drones calmly filter in on album opener, “Color … Continue reading Kid Millions and Jan St. Werner “Imperium Droop”
When Ripley Johnson laments, “Fever broke, I won’t hurt anymore. I come home to stay,” on the opening track, “Silver Roses,” his delivery is quiet and understated, but the impact hits hard. Inside these soft, laid-back rooms, Johnson reminds us of the weight held by simple pleasures and familiar pathways. It’s not always about the road-less-traveled, sometimes it’s about finding the shortest distance between where … Continue reading Rose City Band “Earth Trip”
James Ginzburg has been doing this for a long time. At a certain point, successes and failures blur together, becoming this formless morass that can hollow out the deepest of motivations and best of intentions. Cycling through those dark periods and finding a path to the other side is difficult in the best of times, fruitless in the worst. Yet, learning to find peace with … Continue reading The Death of Amibition: An Interview With James Ginzburg
