The Control Freaks - Fauvely - Jason Ewald
Background - Wait, The Control Freaks are putting out another single? How about that: I am the bearer of good news! Their last single, "I Am Crime", just came out last month. Next up is Double Dose of Hate, due out November 2. This single literally IS a double dose of hate, as both tracks are odes to...you guessed it...hate!
Who can't get behind that?! Sherrilynn Nelson (formerly keyboardist for The Omens) loved The Control Freaks so much that she learned guitar just so she could join the band. "Time's Up" from the last single was her CF songwriting debut. Double Dose of Hate opens with another song she penned called "I Hate Your Face". That's a damn fine title, and sure enough, the song lives up to it! I can never get enough of this sort of old-style catchy punk rock, and I really dig the back-and-forth exchange between Nelson and Greg Ripoff.
When it comes to garage punk in the year 2018, The Control Freaks are showing everyone how it's done. Double Dose of Hate is their fourth single - and in my opinion their best yet. I say this because of the impossible time I'm having trying to determine which of these two tracks is "the hit". One song can be played at max volume while you curse the name of significant others past and present. The other will feed your abhorrence for just about everyone else. Arguments over which track is superior could very well lead to drunken fist fights and ruined friendships. Do we really want that? So let's just call it a tie and agree that a double dose of hate is exactly what this world needs. FACEBOOK.
In 1967 we had the summer of love, fast track a decade and in 1977 we had the summer of hate thanks to the growing dissolution with anything that, well Er, needed to be hated. 'Double Dose of Hate' has plenty of the original punk vibes, reminding me in part of Scotland's deliciously punk The Rezillos, it's catchy, energised and as a contradiction - fun.
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Background - Fauvely is the project of Chicago-based singer-guitarist Sophie Brochu, who creates deeply personal dream-pop music. After completing her master’s in fiction writing and feeling frustrated with the constraints of her craft, Sophie turned to music for its raw and immediate release.
The title of her debut EP, Watch Me Over complicate This (Midwest Action, 2017), speaks to the confessional tone of songs that range from delicately self-effacing to hauntingly sad.
Fauvely’s forthcoming LP, Tides, transports listeners to the salty coast of Sophie’s hometown, Savannah, GA. Louder and bolder than her EP, these intensely brooding songs are the result of a new confidence possessed by Sophie, and the desire to come to terms with haunting memories in a place revered for its beauty.
Fauvely has cultivated a strong presence in Chicago, sharing the stage with internationally acclaimed artists Stella Donnelly, Gemma Ray, Ryley Walker, and Ultimate Painting. WEBSITE.
Live - October 11 - Schubas ( supporting Laura Veirs) Chicago, IL.
'Savannah' quietly opens with soothing vocals and a gentle musical backdrop. The layers gradually build, bringing more melodic hooks and a lush landscape of rich and pleasing dream pop.
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Background - A retro-modern reflection on the isolation and adversities of city life, Jason Ewald’s new single “Looking Everywhere” is a soulful homage to the pop songwriting of the ’60s and ’70s.
The song’s rich arrangement belies its humble beginning, conceived on a friend’s upright piano at her Brooklyn apartment. It started as two-chord vamp, a simple bass line, and Ewald improvising whatever lyrics came to mind. After sitting idle for two years, the idea was rescued from a digital recorder, and construction began in earnest. Throughout the writing process, the song stayed true to the sounds he and the band grew up with and love. Horn arrangements and rich harmonies provide a canvas for a soulful, reflective—and palpably melancholy vocal performance.
Ewald recalled, “It wasn’t until after recording it that I realized how lonely I was at the time. It seemed my subconscious was at work right under my nose. Such is existing in New York. What you love about it—what fulfills and nourishes you—is exactly what grinds you down and tests your resolve. Living in a city of millions, yet alone. Navigating periods of doubt, but always emerging victorious.”
“Looking Everywhere” is available everywhere now, including Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music. Ewald is active in the NYC music scene through a number of projects, and continuing to record and release new music under his own name, as well as the duo Jase & Stace. WEBSITE.
Cool, smooth and timeless 'Looking Everywhere' is a fabulously soulful song that takes us back decades whilst having all the quality modern musical production offers. The arrangement is pristine, the natural soul vibes are everywhere, for me this is late night city music to devour.
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