No Expectations 064: Will You Do Me a Kindness
Wading through 2024’s biggest album release Friday yet. Plus, Florry and Lily Seabird at Hideout.
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Headline song: Merce Lemon, “Will You Do Me a Kindness” (video directed by Greg Freeman)
Housekeeping
Thanks for being here! I appreciate your patience with the short hiatus last week. While this weekly newsletter is still a huge priority and pays some of the bills, occasionally, I need to press pause so I can work on my freelance assignments that pay the rest of the bills. I’d rather not publish something half-baked and these tiny, infrequent breaks give me space to plot out the next few editions of No Expectations.
If you sent in a mailbag question recently but haven’t gotten a response yet, don’t worry. While it’s been a busy few weeks for me, I haven’t forgotten you. I’ll get to it soon, I promise. The first few reader Qs will be published in the coming weeks, along with new Taste Profile interviews, timely essays, and a Discography Deep Dive.
Five new LPs that also came out on Friday
While it’s true that every New Music Friday is stacked if you dig deep enough, last week was truly a banner time for album releases. It almost felt as if independent music had its own version of Barbenheimer with both Waxahatchee’s Tigers Blood and Adrianne Lenker’s Bright Future dropping on the same day. Those two LPs are equally excellent: the products of singular artists and songwriters who’ve carved distinct lanes in folk, Americana, and indie rock. If you subscribe to this newsletter, there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with these acts: you likely rinsed St. Cloud in 2020 and Big Thief’s Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You in 2022.
A lot of ink has already been spilled by better writers on these releases: Friend of the Substack Jeremy Gordon had a killer profile on Lenker for the New York Times and I really dug the interviews Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield did with The Guardian’s Elle Hunt and Pitchfork’s Andy Cush. You should read those thoughtful pieces and check out the albums. On Lenker’s, I really love “Donut Seam” and the misunderstood “Evol.” Crutchfield’s album feels so lived in thanks to Crutchfield’s sparkling lyricism as well as her band of Spencer Tweedy, Jake Lenderman, and Brad Cook. My favorites on that are “Crowbar” and “Bored.” It’s all good though.
The bummer with marquee release days is that sometimes the conversation can focus solely on the biggest names. (When it’s Crutchfield and Lenker, it’s understandable and deserved). When you put out an album, you’re going to have to compete for attention no matter what. It’s not a competition so much as just How It Is. Because No Expectations is a newsletter that believes you can find the best music on the fringes of the album cycle, here are five other releases that are just as worthwhile. They might not have the glossy profiles or the Best New Music-designations, but they still rule.
Rosali, Bite Down
Faced between the Lenker and Waxahatchee LPs, Stereogum instead chose Rosali’s Bite Down as its Album of the Week. Take one listen to the fourth album from the North Carolina-based songwriter and you’ll see why. Recorded with Omaha rockers David Nance & Mowed Sound, with Nance on bass, Kevin Donahue on drums, Destroyer’s Ted Bois on keys, and Rosali’s co-producer James Schroeder on guitar, these are elliptical, compelling folk songs. They both rock as hard as anything from Yo La Tengo and Neil Young and mesmerize like Sandy Denny or Will Oldham. Rosali’s lyrics are character-driven and resonant with lines so good they take a minute for their power to settle in. The delivery on closer “May It Be on Offer” where she sings, “There is hope upon me/there is reason to try” gives me chills.
Villagerrr, Tear Your Heart Out
Columbus, Ohio’s Villagerrr is a mainstay on No Expectations because I think Mark Allen Scott is one of the most impressive young songwriters I’ve ever met. Long before he toured with a full band, he was cranking out tasteful, understated, and resonant songs under the moniker on Bandcamp and streaming. Though Tear Your Heart Out is his fourth album, it feels like a spiritual debut for the sole reason that he took his time to craft it, mix it, and put it out. The newfound patience pays off here: its 11 tracks are among his very best. Sure, there are songs I’ve already covered here like the alltimer “Barn Burnerrr” and the Merce Lemon-assisted “Neverrr Everrr” but the true highlights come with the introspective “Runnin’ Round” and the yearning “Come Right Back.” It’s homespun, Midwestern songwriting with a huge heart.
Sam Evian, Plunge
Sam Evian is a great guitarist but he barely plays a lick on his new album Plunge. Instead, he picks up the bass and enlists a cast of collaborators like Liam Kazar, Adrianne Lenker, and Palehound’s El Kempner to play lead and rhythm parts. The result is the loosest and most raucously direct LP of his career. Recorded at his home studio Flying Cloud Recordings in the Catskills, it’s Evian’s most collaborative LP and also somehow the one that feels the most uniquely his. He gleefully pays homage to classic ‘60s and ‘70s songwriting on this LP with ebullient power-pop and Beatles-esque riffage. It’s called Plunge because every day during these sessions, Evian and his band would jump into the sometimes freezing lake on his property. True to its title, these tunes are refreshing, rejuvenating, and totally worth the dive in.
Frances of Delirium, Lighthouse
Remember when indie rock records sounded arena-filling? 15-20 years ago you could put on a TV on the Radio or a Frightened Rabbit LP and just be hit with the most soaring, galvanizing rock music imaginable. This welcoming, nostalgic feeling was striking when I put on Lighthouse, the debut LP by the Luxembourg-based band Francis of Delirium. The songwriting project of 22-year-old Jana Bahrich, the 11 tunes here feel like they’ve always been around. It’s a remarkably assured debut full for atmospheric guitars and tangible emotional stakes.
Sun Seeker, House of Gold
I first saw Sun Seeker open for the Districts at the Empty Bottle in 2017. It was seven years ago, so the details are hazy, but I remember having a great time. Since then, I’ve gotten to know the Nashville trio and seen them play countless times across Chicago opening for bands like Rookie and Peach Pit. You may recognize drummer Ben Parks from his playing with Erin Rae, Rich Ruth, and more while Asher Horton splits his time in TWEN. They’re now buds—but I’m still such a huge fan of their music. They’ve been sitting on House of Gold for a while and now it’s out. These are breezy, occasionally rowdy tracks of immediate power pop anchored by frontman Alex Benick’s inviting voice and relatable lyrics of millennial malaise.
I was a guest on the Even Better newsletter this week
My first writing gig ever was interning for The A.V. Club in 2012. To me, it was the best website and its run from the 2000s to the early 2010s was unmatched. I still miss their franchises like HateSong, A.V. Undercover, Random Roles, Inventory, and Q&A. The latter series, where writers are asked one question and given about 200 words to respond, is being spiritually resurrected by the Even Better newsletter run by Friends of the Substack Shawn Cooke and Elliott Duea. They were kind enough to ask me to contribute to the inaugural issue of Even Better Asks, where the prompt was, “Tell us about a time when you instantly became a huge fan of an artist or band, solely from seeing them open for another artist.” Though I could’ve picked several dozen different artists for this like The Districts, PUP, and many more, I chose Hannah Frances. Read my blurb alongside great responses from other writers here.
What I listened to:
The No Expectations 064 Playlist: Spotify // Apple Music
1. Cusp, “The Alternative”
2. Merce Lemon, “Will You Do Me a Kindness”
3. hemlock, “bones”
4. Sam Evian, “Wind Blows”
5. Francis of Delirium, “Want You”
6. Waxahatchee, “Crowbar”
7. Adrianne Lenker, “Donut Seam”
8. Sun Seeker, “IDTLYIVGA”
9. Glass-Beagle, “Waiting for the Lizard”
10. Minor Moon, “I Could See It Coming”
11. Rosali, “Bite Down”
12. Villagerrr, “Come Right Back”
13. Bloomsday, “Dollar Slice”
14. h. pruz, “I Keep Changing”
15. Jackie West, “Snow Amplified”
Gig Report: Florry, Lily Seabird, Cass Cwik at Hideout (3/22)
It’s March and although Lily Seabird lives in Burlington, VT, I’ve had a chance to see her play three times in Chicago so far in 2024: once with Greg Freeman, another time with the full Lily Seabird band, and this latest time as a duo opening up for Florry at the Hideout. Seabird’s basically been on tour the entire time since I saw her last in February, including a blitz of 13 unofficial shows in Austin during SXSW. That said, there were no signs of burnout onstage. These songs still soared in a pared-down context, including a handful of brand-new songs written after her 2024 LP Alas.
Friday was also the first time I saw Philadelphia’s Florry, who put out one of 2023’s best albums in The Holey Bible. Compared to the record, which is still palpably energetic, their live show is somehow even more rambunctious. There’s ample guitar theatrics and shredding from lead singer Francie Medosch as well as fiddle, pedal steel, and more. They crammed seven or eight folks onstage. The whole thing sounded great—better than an already excellent studio LP—and they even closed things off with a cover of “Lay, Lady, Lady” with Seabird. As an added bonus, I got to see locals Cass Cwik for the first time as a first of three. Tasteful, ‘70s-indebted twang.
What I watched:
Strange Days (dir. Kathryn Bigelow, Max)
This week, I had a fun cyberpunk doubleheader movie night with Leigh Wannell’s 2018 film Upgrade and Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days from 1995. The latter is written by James Cameron and is set in the not-so-distant future of 1999 where the latest black market trend is virtual reality videos of other people’s experiences. Using a device called a “squid” that attaches to your scalp, users can “jack in” (literally the term they use) and experience vicariously snuff films that actually happened: robberies, murders, sexual experiences, and more. The film’s antihero Lenny (a young Ralph Fiennes), a former heartbroken detective, sells these tapes while attempting to solve a crime. It’s a brutal vision of the future and few directors are capable of capturing the visceral terror of violence quite like Bigelow.
Upgrade (dir. Leigh Wannell, Max)
This low-budget sci-fi film is a ton of fun. Think Limitless meets John Wick meets Minority Report meets RoboCop meets M3GAN. It’s the future: there are electric cars, smart homes, and a psychotic tech overlord who thinks he’s discovered something that will change humanity forever. His invention is a computer chip implanted into someone’s body that can fight, solve any equation, and speak any language. Of course, this ends up in the film’s hero Grey (Logan Marshall-Green), who attempts to use the invention for good, revenge, and much more. Made with just $3 million, Upgrade boasts more impressive set pieces and fight scenes than films with 10 times the budget. Despite some corny dialogue, the script is solid too.
What I read:
How Waxahatchee Made the Album of Her (Second) Life (Andy Cush, Pitchfork)
Saint Cloud became a sensation, peaking at No. 2 among folk albums, No. 6 among alternative albums, and even breaking into the Billboard 200. Crutchfield estimates that it roughly doubled the size of her audience. Waxahatchee’s new album, Tigers Blood, due out March 22 on ANTI- Records, seems poised to push her even higher, toward the kind of success that can be disorienting for a musician who started off touring in a $900 van that was prone to breakdowns.
“I came up playing in people’s basements, you know?” Crutchfield says. “So as the stages get bigger and the audiences get bigger, even if it’s technically the most natural thing for me in the world, because I’ve been doing it for 20 years, [Saint Cloud] was a pretty big leap. And this one will be even bigger. So I’m grateful, I’m excited for the journey, and also I have moments when I’m fully terrified.”
The Heartbreak of an English Football Team (Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker)
"Sunderland ’Til I Die” has little in common with the traditional contemporary sports docuseries that have lately flooded streaming platforms. It isn’t as preoccupied with day-by-day behind-the-scenes action as, say, Amazon’s “All or Nothing,” where each season follows a team (from the N.F.L. to English football) through a single season, with miked-up shots during games and a disembodied voice as narrator. It isn’t like another Netflix series, “Last Chance U,” which follows junior college basketball and football programs that, as the title suggests, offer one last shot for young players at risk of flaming out. In those shows, the coaches are often the main points of attraction, and the game is filtered through their many eccentricities (to say the least). “Sunderland,” by contrast, is first and foremost a study of place, which makes it something slightly beyond a study of a sport. Yes, of course, the show spends plenty of time on the players, and the games themselves (and, in the second season, perhaps a touch too much time on the activities of the front office). But it shines most as a portrait of a people in a town, people who have hitched their identity to a team that is, as of today, a hundred and forty-five years old, as embedded in the geography of the city of Sunderland as its old churches and shipyards and the river that divides the city in two.
The Weekly Chicago Show Calendar
Thursday, March 28: Colin Stetson, Moon Bros. at Bohemian National Cemetery. Sold out.
Thursday, March 28: Sun June, Wild Pink, Sinai Vessel at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Friday, March 29: Daniel Villareal, Greg Ward’s Rogue Parade at Schubas. Tickets.
Saturday, March 30: Ovef Ow, System Exclusive, Bloodhype at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
Saturday, March 30: Andrew Sa, Jake Bount at Old Town School of Folk. Tickets.
Saturday, March 30: Joe Pera (early show) at Vic Theatre. Tickets.
Saturday, March 30: Joe Pera (late show) at Vic Theatre. Tickets.
Sunday, March 31: Joe Pera (early show) at Vic Theatre. Tickets.
Sunday, March 31: Glass Beach, Arcadia Grey, Fleece Kawasaki at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
Monday, April 1: Cusp, Rareforms, Local Memory at Empty Bottle. Free.
Wednesday, April 3: Erika De Casier, Contour at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
Sun Seekers is very nice! Especially like that long jam at the end. You might want to check out the mysteries of The Beholder, Claire Dickson's second album, which also came out on Friday. https://open.spotify.com/album/1gYvI64Gs1zmjo6iHmhj3c?si=4VUM49-CTbquknh0RWC6yQ
You've given me so much to listen to, which is always a good thing. Can't wait to dig in!