It’s not uncommon to feel a sense of gloom in today’s America. Beyond the wider environmental decay that’s happening the world over — and increasingly in our own backyard, if last month’s weather in NYC was any indicator — there are social and economic realities that loom ever-present in the background of day to day life.

Yet amid all of doom, we manage in our own small ways to create ephemeral moments of joy — and that Sisiphysian effort is the central theme of Matthew Danger Lippman’s latest effort, Touchdown USA, a five track effort about “finding tiny moments of ecstasy, compassion, and erotic confusion amid the massive wave of history.”

I sat down with Mr. Danger Lippman recently to talk about this effort, our mutual experiences of finding romance in the end times, his evolving relationship with the concept of intimacy, as well as his Kafka-esque desire to become a tarantula.

TRACKS FEATURED:

I Could Have Told You (Cover)

And

Tarantula

Follow Matthew:

https://matthewdangerlippman.bandcamp.com/

www.instagram.com/matthewdangerlippman

Produced, mixed, and edited by Billy Coughlin (aka Bilco):

instagram.com/bilco_bops

Hosted by Connor Beckett:

twitter.com/b_ck_tt

instagram.com/b_ck_tt

Follow LOCAL BOPS:


localbops.com


instagram.com/localbopsnyc

www.patreon.com/localbopsnyc

Rumination often provides a path forwards, an avenue through which we can truly, finally let shit go. It’s a process that songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nico Hedley is well acquainted with, and, after years of playing in various backing bands (including that of his Whatever’s Clever collaborator Ben Seretan), he’s released his debut record Painterly, 9 tracks of AM country catharsis, a reflective journey back in time.

On this episode, I spoke with Hedley about the long winding road that lead to this record, and over the course of our conversation we took the scenic route, discussing topics including closure, hyper self-criticism, the Emily Dickinson quote that informs the LP’s title track, and the very human attempt to, gradually, “be less of an asshole.” Hedley was also gracious enough to perform three tracks from this effort in the LOCAL BOPS studio — enjoy.

TRACKS FEATURED:

Tennessee / Lioness

Something To Make

Painterly

Follow Nico Hedley:

http://nicohedley.bandcamp.com

https://www.instagram.com/newyorksnico/

Produced, mixed, and edited by Billy Coughlin (aka Bilco):

instagram.com/bilco_bops

Hosted by Connor Beckett:

twitter.com/b_ck_tt

instagram.com/b_ck_tt

Follow LOCAL BOPS:


localbops.com


instagram.com/localbopsnyc

www.patreon.com/localbopsnyc

For this episode I spoke with folk musician and songwriter Livvy Marcus — who performs under the moniker Morninglory — about her 2021 debut record Livvy Marcus Eats Her Own Shoe, an album that she describes as “like a good banana bread, made in your kitchen with stuff that was getting a little overripe.”

It’s an apt self-description for an artist who, like many of her peers, worries about the ephemerality of songcraft — yet in the context of the mode through which Marcus waxes poetic on heartbreak and salad days, creates an interesting juxtaposition for a genre that’s historically maintained a timeless quality.

We talked at length about her own approach to songwriting, her personal philosophy about folk music, how she’d describe the spiritual flavor profile of footwear, and her predilection for using lampshades in album artwork over the course of a half-hour. Along the way we also got two hear two studio cuts of songs from her last record, as well as a new, incredibly spooky, unnamed track — take a listen.

TRACKS FEATURED:

Don't Forget Me

Lenny

Untitled Track

Follow Been Stellar:

http://morninglory.bandcamp.com

https://www.instagram.com/morninglory.music/

Produced, mixed, and edited by Billy Coughlin (aka Bilco):

instagram.com/bilco_bops

Hosted by Connor Beckett:

twitter.com/b_ck_tt

instagram.com/b_ck_tt

Follow LOCAL BOPS:


localbops.com


instagram.com/localbopsnyc

www.patreon.com/localbopsnyc

One month ago, on the eve of their summer tour, I was incredibly blessed to sit down with rowdy garage rock band Been Stellar, a five piece outfit that I’ve admired for a long time; mainly because I feel the project has always been marked by a comfortably, chameleonic quality.

I use that descriptor namely due to the fact that their sound has always maintained a dynamism that’s necessary to “staying in the biz” as long as they have, shifting from lofi buzz to cleaner cut indie (and back again and so forth) in a manner that provides constant groove while simultaneously finding space for experimentation.

Over the course of a half-hour and change we chatted about last year’s Nihilist EP, its companion extended play dropping later this year, hitting the road after 2020’s maladies, and which member of the band is most equipped to fight Julian Casablancas in single combat; along the way, the band found time to record a couple of in-studio performances, including two cuts that haven’t yet dropped.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did, because I truly couldn’t think of a better band to open this new season of LOCAL BOPS.

TRACKS FEATURED:

Louis XIV

Kids 1995

My Honesty

Follow Been Stellar:


http://instagram.com/beenstellar

http://beenstellar.bandcamp.com

Produced, mixed, and edited by Billy Coughlin (aka Bilco):

http://instagram.com/bilco_bops

Hosted by Connor Beckett:

http://twitter.com/b_ck_tt

http://instagram.com/b_ck_tt

Follow LOCAL BOPS:


http://localbops.com


http://instagram.com/localbopsnyc

http://www.patreon.com/localbopsnyc

Another month, another BOPS podcast (here’s hoping I can start getting these out more quickly).

While I’m a couple months behind on Sensations, the latest EP by NY based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Henry Grant, a singer-songwriter, I enjoyed it so much that I felt I need to give it space for conversation. Part of this is because the EP represents a distinct shift from a lot of Grant’s music I’d heard before (incorporating textures far less synthetic than his last LP, City Mouse), which in the context of this release’s primary theme of gratefulness, makes for a sunny, psych-y romp.

I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation, as well as a few excerpts from this really excellent project.

Tracks featured on this episode:


Goin’ In — Henry Grant

Reunion — Henry Grant

Want You Mad — Henry Grant

Mutual Friend — Henry Grant

Follow Henry Grant:


https://www.instagram.com/henrygrant_nyc/

https://henrygrant.bandcamp.com/

Theme music by Ambient Mice:


soundcloud.com/ambientmice/

Follow LOCAL BOPS:


localbops.com


www.instagram.com/localbopsnyc

Those who know me personally know that I am easily distracted, a quality that makes for entertaining-if-somewhat-nonsensical conversation but oftentimes put me at a disadvantage as a journalist. That said, I’m very pleased to present this extremely nonlinear interview with Elori Saxl about her recent record, “The Blue of Distance,” an album that splits the difference between ambient and neoclassical.

“The Blue of Distance” was constructed during two distinct periods — half during a summer artist’s retreat in the Adirondacks, and the other part, on a frozen lake in Wisconsin. It’s an LP that’s full of interesting dynamics — instrumentally, there’s interplay between chamber orchestra and digitally manipulated field recordings of water and wind, which congeal into a final effort that’s a pleasant, engaging groove — moreover, it’s perfect listening for contemporary weather in New York, which seems to modulate between winter and summer depending on the day.

While I wanted to explore the “headspace” of “Blue’s” creation, the conversation between Saxl and myself drifted almost immediately to what constitutes a banger, how Saxl sees her own music as an extension of the “palpable groove” she enjoys in disco and house, and the closure that only truly comes with the passing of time.

Tracks featured on this episode:

Blue — Elori Saxl

Wave III — Elori Saxl

The Blue of Distance — Elori Saxl

Wave I — Elori Saxl

Follow Elori Saxl:

http://elorisaxl.com

https://www.instagram.com/elorisaxl/

http://elorisaxl.bandcamp.com

Theme music by Ambient Mice:

https://soundcloud.com/ambientmice/

Follow LOCAL BOPS:

http://localbops.com

Https://www.instagram.com/localbopsnyc