Jams and Tea

In this week’s main episode, we are joined by special guest Mica to discuss two heavily hyped double albums from indie rock prodigies Big Thief & dream pop gods Beach House. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You and Once Twice Melody are both 80 minutes, but how do these bands’ sounds hold up at such extreme and sprawling runtimes?

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This week on Record Club, Jake and Ryley celebrate the 20th anniversary of a landmark IDM release, Boards of Canada’s eerie and disturbing Geogaddi. Together the two dive deep into the lore, hidden messages, dense soundscapes, and unique percussion of this multifaceted and remarkable masterpiece, to try and uncover what makes it so affecting and resonant two decades on.

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In this week’s main episode, August is back to discuss two of the biggest metal records of the year so far: atmospheric sludge metal / post-metal / post-rock legends Cult of Luna’s latest titanic opus The Long Road North, and spiritual blues-rock / black-metal hybrid Zeal and Ardor’s invigorating, eclectic, and intense new self-titled record.

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This week on Record Club, Jake and Ryley are joined by friend of the podcast Jakob for a discussion of one of the most influential and important bands in rock history, The Velvet Underground. In particular, we zero in on their notorious sophomore record White Light/White Heat, how the conflicting artistic personalities of Lou Reed and John Cale affected the direction of the band on this album, how its troubled production and notoriously loud mix have affected its reputation, and why it stands to date as one of their most daring, thrilling, and vital releases.

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In this week’s main episode we have multiple guests for the first time, as we dive into the new Black Country New Road album Ants from Up There, and the new Rolo Tomassi album Where Myth Becomes Memory. Our BCNR discussion proves to be one of our most divisive and in-depth to date, as we interrogate the massive hype circle surrounding this album, how to negotiate approaching a record with this level of intense acclaim, and how it relates to the sound and content of the album itself…

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This week on Record Club, Jake and Ryley discuss one of the most exciting and enigmatic voices of the 90s, a singer-songwriter who redefined herself and paved the way for a new generation of powerful female voices in popular music: Tori Amos. As her thunderous debut Little Earthquakes recently turned 30, we take the opportunity to break down the songs, sound, and writing of this sensational debut, and why it’s so impactful and affecting three decades on…

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In this week’s main episode, Jake, Ryley and Morgan are joined by special guest Jen to discuss two new records in striking and starkly different variants of modern country music: first up is emo-country mainstays Pinegrove with the gentle but emotional 11:11, but the main attraction this week is bro-country poser Walker Hayes, whose new record Country Stuff The Album (yes, that is the title) brings the most anodyne, formulaic, and cynical subgenre of country to a new low. In our What We’ve Been Listening To this week, we also talk about Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s fabled debut release which has just resurfaced online after nearly 30 years lost, and we go deep on an album we will never formally review but is unquestionably the worst album of the year, a spoken-word antiv*x diatribe from a legendary power-metal band. It gets dark this week, folks…

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This week on Record Club, Jake, Ryley, and special guest Connor break down a forgotten emo masterpiece that’s so extravagantly over the top that it proves divisive on our show. In 2004, Say Anything, the musical project spearheaded by one Max Bemis, released its theatrical opus of ridiculous self-indulgence and glorious hook-laden musical mastery, …IS A REAL BOY. Join us as we break down everything that makes this album so remarkable and unforgettable, and let us know what you think of it!

In this week’s main episode, Jake, Ryley and Morgan (for a bit) are joined by regular guest Connor to discuss two intriguing new releases. First off we dive deep into a promising new project from Connecticut-based post-hardcore and screamo act Foxtails, who are roaring into 2022 with their blood-pumping fourth album Fawn. We also take the time to review the latest from Japanese drone-metal legends Boris, who are following up 2020’s No (which we have also reviewed) with the more ethereal and eerie W.

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This week on Record Club, Jake, Morgan, Ryley, and special guest April break down a monolithic metal masterpiece from Maudlin of the Well, the Bath and Leaving Your Body Map duology, which recently turned 20, and which sits among the ten favorite albums of all time of Ryley and April. Join us as we dig into the lore, concept, and unique sound of this essential, one-of-a-kind record.

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