Aug 27 : "Big Apple, 3am" - Special World (Philly)

New Music / Freshly Written and Recently Relased (May 1)

Philly Music!

A WIDER FOUNDATION

Big changes in Special World's world. I went to see Special World at Cambridge Hall on Friday night. Big changes since I saw them last back in 2023. I'm saying I'm seeing "a wider foundation", and this I mean on a few different levels.

There are changes in the band's sound. When I saw the band back in 2023, I felt the music was loose and freewheeling, maybe some improvisaation, but at the time the band had only a couple tracks up on line and I admit I had a limited frame of reference. At Friday's show, in contrast, the music was tight, very tight. I also felt the music followed the composition of their songs closely to what we hear on line. It provided a basis or ground level which I couldn't really identify in the first show. In terms of performance, there was a hugely expanded set of keys Friday night.

There was also a stronger tonal foundation. At Cambridge Hall there was pounding bass and drums, which just weren't there at the previous show. I don't know how much this was a function of new composition, mixing, or just a difference in the equipment, or maybe all three.

There was also a wider foundation from the visual standpoint. At the 2023 show, Lot 49 Books had very generously stepped in to host the show when sudden rain predictions cancelled the outdoor show at another location, so the "stage" setting was a little constricted compared to the wide stage at Cambridge Hall. And, yes, their new keys and other equipment helped fill up the stage nicely. A broad and solid appearance.

And lastly I feel that, in looking at the new track, there is a wider foundation in terms of lyrics or content. When listening to some of the band's earlier work, I sometimes felt like I was eavesdropping on a relationship whose attributes I knew little about. In the new song "Big Apple, 3am", we're jolted out of the ethereal and made to focus more seriously on life, both outside and inside our selves. The band forwards the concept that complacency = complicity, and that, in looking for "malevolence", the answer might not be just with the actions of others, but, taking the first look, with our own failure to act.

Here is the new piece that's just been posted, "Big Apple, 3am" :::

Special World has another show coming up soon, on Friday, October 17th, at Johnny Brenda's. You can also keep an eye on what they're doing in the meantime, on Special World on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE), and on Special World on Facebook (CLICK HERE).

(Pic is from artist's Facebook page).

Aug 20 : "Out to Dry" - Droopies (Philly)

Philly Music!

ENDING, CONNECTING, OR BOTH

I did go to hear Philly shoegaze band "Droopies" play at Century. I'm always very busy and admittedly don't get to write about some of the shows after seeing them, so here is an update! Didn't see this show recently, but have still been thinking about it all along.

My major impression or takeaway of the Droopies' show at Century was that the band never stopped playing from the moment they went on stage right up to the time they left, that, even at the end of each song there was a musical interlude between every piece. I had never heard anything like this before, so many interludes in one show. So this show with its interludes was on my mind for a long time.

Fast forward to now when I started to go back and look at everything in more detail. When I now listen to the full pieces in the band's 2022 album, “Echoes Lightly”, I see that maybe those effects that I experienced at the show weren’t really interludes, because they also showed up even in the album as the way many of the songs wind down to a long conclusion.

I hadn’t been aware of this before I went to the show because, to decide what show to see that night, I just listened to the first halves of a number of the tracks and didn't listen all the way through to the last bars. So what I thought were interludes at the show might have been actual ending parts of the songs.

Having those frequent long wind-downs is very unusual and I wanted to know more about it, so I asked the band.

DROOPIES TOLD ME that there are a few reasons why they're doing this effect. It's partly a tribute to Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, as well as to Ronald Jones of The Flaming Lips. They're little bits and musical phrases that didn't become part of larger pieces, but are sometimes played in between the larger ones. They're also trying to experiment with the feeling of the flow of the total evening.

With an eye towards making the music more interesting at shows, another reason for doing the interludes or long wind-downs is that they're trying to experiment with lengthening their songs, maybe even integrating more small bits into the actual bodies of the songs as part of the process. Farther into the future they envision songs that might even be 15 minutes in length and that would feature every type of sound.

Here is the song "Out to Dry", which is the final track on "Echoes Lightly". With a long intro as well, I love the instrumentals in this, an intriguing combination of confidence and grandiose. To hear a sample of the long wind-down effect that I was talking about, notice what happens as the clock hits 4:25.

If you like what you hear and you want to see Droopies live, you're in luck! They'll be doing a show on Friday, October 3rd at Thunderbird Hall. They'll be playing with three other bands, and the whole thing is a charity event with all the proceeds going to Baitulmaal.

In the meantime you should also know that the band is working on a new album. Some of the music has already been recorded; a release date has not yet been picked. To keep up with what Droopies is doing, here is the click to their Facebook page Droopies on Facebook (CLICK HERE). And here is the click to Bandcamp Droopies on Bandcamp (CLICK HERE).

(pics are from band's Facebook and Bandcamp pages)