Locals Only 002: It was a Weird August, but at Least We Have Local Music
GRAPHICS BY ALINA PASQUA
All in all, August felt like a really weird month. (Does anyone else feel that way?) With the passing of legends like Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, the 96% lunar eclipse bringing forth a weird and unsettling energy and the long, sweltering days that haven’t dropped much below 95 degrees, it’s been hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
A few East Nashville musicians, including myself, watched the lunar eclipse at a house party meant to commemorate Dolly and Tim, a whole sidewalk stretch of about 30 East Nashville kids with cigarettes and cans of Busch Light drawing on the pavement with chalk and recording with flip phones and cheap nikon cameras manufactured in the early 2000s. Their necks stretched upward, trendy Local Honey haircuts waterfalling behind them as bewildered and wandering eyes landed on the moon that slowly lost its light to the shadows. It was bittersweet, and it was beautiful.
Despite the heavy blanket of uncertainty that never seems to lift its veil nowadays, there’s always one thing for sure– Nashville locals will not surrender their voices– and they know how to have a damn good time. It’s been a precious month of music, with the Lucinda Williams-esque Brennan Wedl releasing her brilliant and highly anticipated self-titled debut record and Houston Kendrick setting fires with the release of his soulful and illustrious record Portraits of a Boy on Fire.
Pleaser’s been listening local and looking out for new music from our friends, colleagues and community members showing up for one another, even in the midst of this ungodly August heat and weird eclipse season energy shift. These are some of our favorite Nashville end-of-August releases.
“Lets'‘s Be Models”
“On the Walls of My Old Bedroom”
“American Trash”
1. “Let’s Be Models,” Brennan Wedl
We’ve been in need of some real, genuine escapism, and Brennan Wedl’s “Let’s Be Models” is the path to alternative reality that is feeding that hungry stomach. As she sings about swimming in downtown hotels, wildly “shaking it like an etch-a-sketch” on the MSG jumbotron and playing hard to get, there’s a sweet, nostalgic feeling of a twenty-something freedom that feels like light and liberty. Truly, Wedl’s entire record that was released August 21 is a work of indie-rock art, with genuine lyricism and deeply specific imagery. The record, produced by Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee), balances rock n’ roll musical intricacy with brilliantly thought-of wording– a soundscape that coexists with her absurdity and honest truths.
2. “On the Walls of My Old Bedroom,” James Eichman
Contrary to other songs on St. Catherine Street, which released August 20 of this year, “On the Walls of My Old Bedroom” carries a more uptempo, indie-rocker soundscape that serves as a vessel for the Nashville-based artist’s sweet and sappy storytelling. Eichman’s lyrical imagery is so vivid, you could easily convince yourself that you have some form of synesthesia when listening to his music. It’s easy to get lost in his lived-in lyricism with “On the walls of my old bedroom / All our pictures seem to me / To be nothing near as bright as I remember them to be” building worlds of nostalgia and ache. His voice carries a solemn, melancholy sound, with vocal flips that sound an awful lot like crying– it’s enough to break a listener’s heart.
3. “American Trash,” Houston Kendrick
Houston Kendrick is hitting the scene fast and hard, like a pitcher throwing a fastball straight past the batter and into the gritty field dirt. He’s extravagantly pop while simultaneously deep and soulful, intertwining intricate storytelling with the glitz and glam of a pop/R&B artist. As an Alabama-raised deep Southern queer Black man, Kendrick is embracing his roots and elevating the Nashville music scene by speaking on things that were once seen as taboo in Southern culture. “American Trash” is an ode to American drag, smooth vocals pouring out the words “I’m from Alabama / I’m American Black / Made a little crown from American trash.” The song is catchy and true, delivering an incredibly important narrative of the beauty within the American gay South– it’s safe to say we’re obsessed.
“Saturn Returns”
“Plastic Tooth”
4. “Saturn Returns,” Tayls
A couple of weeks ago, Pleaser went to Tayls single release show at a makeshift thrift-store-turned-venue in East Nashville– and we had the best time. After an invite from band member Mo Balsam, we walked in not knowing much about the band, and walked out as Tayls superfans. In between slightly-too-expensive racks of tee-shirts from 1991, pageboy hats and post-vietnam bomber jackets, a sea of East-Nashvillians made it a point to stand almost too close to the band– a rarity in this city, as they enthusiastically sang along to every song that Tayls sang– including their newly-released single “Saturn Returns.” There were full splits, hulk hands, talk of sex swings, bubble blowing and a post-show faux-snow party outside on the patio — the epitome of fierce, freaky fun.
“Saturn Returns” feels like a guttural call of hope as frontman Taylor Cole screams the chorus “I only want someone to take me out / I gotta know if you think we’re gonna make it / I’m feeling low so don’t you fake me out I gotta know if you think we’re gonna make it.” The self-proclaimed power-pop, friendship-punk outfit is anything but boring, dipping toes into what I would call early 2010’s underground hopecore. It was hard not to let loose, making friends with strangers and freely flailing around Garagesale Vintage as we celebrated the release of “Saturn Returns.”
5. “Plastic World,” Sour Tooth
With the release of their eerie, depth-defying EP four songs Nashville grunge-rock ensemble Sour Tooth is making their way around the DIY scene. The heavy-handed drumming and offset electric strumming of guitar cradles dirty, unsettling lyricism– but that’s the point of the music. It’s supposed to make you feel full in an unnerving way, and Sour Tooth does a great job of that in four songs. The beginning of “Plastic World” sets up a soundscape that feels like riding a train by yourself in the middle of the night, as if you’ve found yourself in a scenario that doesn’t feel safe. The single builds, ending in screams and heavy noise– connoisseurs of DIY grunge-punk grime that feels like dirt under fingernails or mold in a basement.
“Yeah, Right”
“Halos”
“So Kute it’s Killer”
6. “Pretty Face,” Girltones
High-energy girlrock duo Girltones is no stranger to the Nashville music scene, translating years of classical training into grunge-y rock music that’s blossomed far beyond Nashville city lines– but still keeps it local in a lot of ways. They’ve played rambunctious, scream-heavy sets at festivals like Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee, carrying that same energy into into Nashville venues like OG Basement. Girltones latest single “Pretty Face” feeds into their rockstar narrative, complete with crunchy guitar riffs and powerful choruses the duo is known for. The single drop is another breadcrumb leading to their debut record Precious, set to release November 6.
7. “Halos,” Kazmyn, Joey Brodnax
It’s hard not to fall in love with Kazmyn and Joey Brodnax’s exceptionally human soundscape, with airy synths distancing acoustic guitar to angelic voices spilling secrets into a recording mic. Their projects feel like a sentimental burst of deja vu or a brief interaction with a familiar home from a past life. Lyrics like “Kids drawing halos with their chalk in the street” paint portraits in the minds of listeners, while through sound Broadnax is a master of building specific feelings like nostalgia and longing.Even with these angelic tones, both Kazmyn and Brodnax have the kind of voice that can command rooms, leaving space in the air for a pin to drop or breath to be heard. They translate that feeling well in “Halos,” fabricating a cradle of human condition through subdued sounds and metaphor-heavy lyricism.
8. “So Kute it’s Killer,” Stargurl
If you’re a Nashville local, you may recognize Sophia Keown, aka Stargurl from her presence in the deep underground scene. She was a frequent of Coco Cafe back when it was 24 hours, Villager Tavern open mic during their Sunday songwriter nights and Fran’s Eastside where she still hosts the open mic every Wednesday night. Her babydoll rock alter ego is notorious in spaces where music still feels real and folks are still eager to be in the presence of music that hasn’t hit charts yet. Stargurl’s latest EP Premarital Hex is a soft-rock ode to the sounds of the early ‘90s. The first track off the EP, “So Kute it’s Killer,” feels like a dream, carrying listeners into a world built around love, lust and everything in between.
“Betty’s in the Band”
"Burning Flag”
9. “Betty’s in the Band,” Abigail Rose, Weston Hunter
It’s been a sweet process, watching Abigail Rose, Weston Hunter and their broad band of local musicians go from playing at Brown’s Diner on Tuesday nights to all of a sudden having a viral hit that’s put them on the map internationally. Even through their success, Rose and Hunter still make it a point to keep community prevalent– inviting a slew of friends to help them play the song at shows– but that’s the beauty of “Betty’s in the Band.” The song is an ode to the American musician’s dream, the idealization of hitting the road and living a life so full of love and light and experience. It’s a precious story, one as incredibly lovesick as Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith or Carly Simon– and it’s one that Rose and Hunter captured well.
10. “Burning Flag,” Pressure Heaven
As a deeply-rooted seed in the DIY alternative scene in Nashville, shoegaze staple Pressure Heaven is reaping what they’ve sown through the recent release of their EP Aftershock. Frontwoman Grace Hall has carved her own path in the scene around town, playing anywhere from grunge-y basements to Tomato Arts fest in East. “Burning Flag” is a song made from the dust of ethereal soundscapes, heavy guitar and deeply compelling lyricism, exploring themes of political turmoil and dystopia. The entire EP is a breeding ground for artistic dialogue, touching on vulnerable themes written into poetry and laid over sludge-rock soundscapes.
