sevensevenseven #11
tickets for 7/7 show featuring all under heaven, push ups, and shep treasure on sale now! read on for thoughts on greg mendez, yhwh nailgun, bar italia, chanel beads, ultra q, crushed, and more.
Hello sevensevenseven nation. My sore throat from all of the Canadian wildfire induced smog is slowly fading away and I’m excited to get back outside without having a headache. I am having an intro-induced writer's block at the moment and I never know what to say in this intro without immediately fading into promotion of my latest project or waxing poetic about music. Sometimes I can be too earnest about everything but what else do you expect from someone who was reblogging dramatic Lana Del Rey lyrics from age 13? It’s a generational and now occupational hazard. One day you’re fourteen years old wearing a flower crown at the Oakdale Theater to see Lana Del Rey and listening to “Anna Sun” by Walk the Moon for the first time on the drive home and the next you’re in your twenties working in the “music industry.”
Anyways, did you hear that I’m putting on a show? I’m bringing my favorite bands, all under heaven, Push Ups, and Shep Treasure, to Mercury Lounge on 7/7/23 at 6pm and you should be there. Click here to add it to your calendar and click here to buy tickets. Tickets literally just went on sale so you should just go ahead and buy one; it’s a payday for at least one of you people. It’s an early evening moment on a Friday night so come hang after work and then you can go to another show after or literally even go to bed. I think an early show is revolutionary as someone that loves to go to bed and I hope you agree!
All three bands on the lineup stick out to me in the NYC/Tristate area landscape of bands, which is why I wanted to bring them together so everyone could see a few different sides of what rock music looks like here. I saw all under heaven for the first time recently and they were striking, but I’ll talk more about that later on. Same with Push Ups, Grey is bringing something new to emo rock. And Shep Treasure, I adore Sabrina’s music as I’ve written about before on here and I can’t wait to see them again. Their video for “Post Rave Glow” recently dropped and it’s hypnotizing, just like the swirling guitars all over their sophomore album 500 dead or alive. I’m a bit biased, but the lineup is just solid and sick so you should come hang out with us.
Onto what I’ve been up to… there’s some good stuff happening next week that I’m sad to miss while I’m at Bonnaroo, but I can’t wait to see Friko, Dehd, Black Midi, Alex G, Rina Sawayama, Sheryl Crow, Gustaf, Pixies, and of course… Shaq who is DJing at 2:30am. Maybe I’ll report back on that experience if you guys tell me how the Bar Italia shows were?
SEVEN SHOWS YOU NEED TO SEE
6/11 Greg Mendez, Shannen Moser, Allegra Krieger at Purgatory - Greg Mendez’s new self-titled record is a top contender for album of the year. If you haven’t listened yet, you should probably go to Purgatory on Sunday blindly and let me know what you think. Last year, he released a beautiful live album that was recorded at Purgatory, so his return should be unforgettable.
6/11 FONT, YHWH Nailgun, Shallowhalo at Union Pool - I recently heard a YHWH Nailgun song for the first time and it blew my mind. They’re opening for Black Midi and Geese this year, just to contextualize them for you, but I feel like their boundaries are looser than the latter bands. They are self-described as “a vibrant, violent burst” which fits just right. This is the kind of stuff that Speedy Wunderground should be releasing nowadays, but they’re inevitably going to get swept up by Secretly, Matador, 4AD, or even Warp. I love making signing predictions, but I hate that this is a symptom of the “music industry brain.” ANYWAYS. This will be a fun show with the always amazing Shallowhalo opening and FONT headlining, an Austin band that’s offering their own spin on post-punk. Speaking of Shallowhalo, you need to check out this remix of “Renaissance Affair” that Tyler McCauley did after going to We Take Manhattan at Old Flings, it’s major.
one of the 5? bar italia shows next week - They’re playing Public Records, TV Eye, Mercury Lounge, Union Pool, and The Hancock all in seven days’ time so if you haven’t been convinced to listen yet, you should probably check out bar italia now. It’s hard to pick a favorite off of Tracey Denim, but I think the album has some of my favorite song titles ever including but not limited to “Missus Morality,” “yes i have eaten so many lemons yes i am so bitte,” and “Horsey Girl Rider.” They are a band shrouded in mystery when it comes to their influences and personal lives, but Ted Davis’s review of the album for Stereogum helps contextualize everything. He gets it exactly right when he says “charger” “harkens back to a mournful strain of ’00s radio rock,” which is something I have been trying to put my finger on since its release. Their sound is a culmination of all of the trending sub-genres within rock music right now; post-punk and shoegaze with an emo ethos. All this to say, next week will be one of those New York weeks we’ll all talk about in 20 years and say, “Remember when we saw bar italia a bunch of times in tiny rooms?”
6/17 Strange Ranger, Chanel Beads, Goner (DJ Set), Stylo (DJ Set), xJermsx (DJ Set) at 4 Irving - A Perfectly Imperfect and Fire Talk Records moment on Irving Avenue next weekend. I will admit I’m not familiar with any of the DJs on this one, but Strange Ranger and Chanel Beads are both groups that can transport you to another place entirely. A dark smoky room is the best setting to listen in, which I imagine will be the setting of this show. Would be a good place to lose yourself next weekend!
6/17 Wavves, Cloud Nothings, Ultra Q at LPR - I saw Wavves on Halloween when I was 18 years old and with so much love I really don’t have anything else to say about them, but I love Ultra Q and I think everyone should check them out. Their sophomore album My Guardian Angel is out today and if the singles give us any indication, it’ll probably be one of my favorite records of the year.
6/18 Crushed at Baby’s All Right - Crushed came at me right out of left field this year. After finding out about them from Yasi of Bandsplain, Crushed is an LA-based duo who released this dreamy EP called extra life earlier this year and it’s been on my rotation since. They’re coming out to New York for one night only and I’m devastated to be missing them, but I’m looking forward to what they’re doing next. When you cite My Bloody Valentine and Jeff Buckley as your inspirations, it’s easy to see why their guitar pop just works.
6/20 Wednesday, Tenci at Music Hall of Williamsburg - You’re either tired of hearing about Wednesday or you just can’t get enough, there’s no in-between. I can’t really get enough and everything I read about the band just makes me more intrigued. It’s interesting to listen, enjoy, and relate to the songs of Rat Saw God as someone who has lived in the Northeast for their entire life, but the scrapbooked moments of mundane life and universal yearning can put anyone in touch with themselves. It’s no wonder the whole tour is almost sold out, including this sold-out show ahead of their headline next year at Brooklyn Steel. This will probably be the smallest room Wednesday play in NY for a while, so catch them before they’re doing Forest Hills or something.
SEVEN SHOWS YOU WISH YOU WENT TO
4/21 Father John Misty at Capitol Theatre - I know, this is a shocking show to start this section up with. It seems troublingly out of character if you kind of know me, but in character if you see how many times I listen to something from I Love You, Honeybear each week. You can’t find that album when you’re 15 years old and forget about it. The record brings up confusing and conflicting thoughts for me, not even time can bring me clarity. So this led me on a Metro North train to meet three of my best friends at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester to see Father John Misty in 2023. Did you guys know he did a music theatre-esque smooth jazz record during the pandemic? I missed that, but he caught everyone up to speed because it seems like a lot of other people who paid to be in the room didn’t know that either. He’s self-aware as always, he played the hits along with the biggest band I’ve ever seen? It seemed like every instrument was up there, which is enough to make me emotional. I love an orchestra, sorry.
4/22 Charlie at Rubulad - Charlie is just the best. I am biased but they are. They came up to NYC in April for an earth day celebration at Rubulad and just killed it. Sally, Ban, and Micah are really at the top of their game. Even one listen to Precious Metal, their debut album as a three-piece, brings you into their sun-soaked world of laidback rock. It’s rare that you see a band with as much chemistry as them, even rarer that you hear it in the music too. Every time I’m at a Charlie show, I just feel lucky to be in the room.
4/23 MSPAINT at Alphaville - I almost skipped this, but thank god I rallied. Living down the street from Alphaville comes in handy when you’re exhausted but need to be at the show. I met Jackie and Trevor at Alphaville shortly before they went onstage and then it was all a blur in the best way. I love when a band just engulfs you in their show, MSPAINT was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. As hardcore has made its way into the mainstream throughout the last few years, it’s exciting to see how the genre can be pushed forward without commercial compromises. This interview by Grace Robins-Somerville at The Alternative only made me love them more and Post-American has been on rotation ever since.
5/13 all under heaven at St. Vitus - Remember when I said I was gonna talk about all under heaven? Yeah, we’re at that portion of the newsletter. all under heaven make nu-metal that feels both melodic and painful, which everyone knows is the perfect recipe for emo. Not like emo scene pop punk music, but music that literally makes you emo, similar to how The Cure is an emo band. It was my first time seeing all under heaven and I was completely blown away, their live show is equivalent to their studio stuff or maybe even better. They do it all effortlessly too. A bit heavier than your favorite modern shoegaze bands, all under heaven stand out to me as a band that will stand the test of time in the midst of the shoegaze revival for their ingenuity. I can’t wait to see them again next month.
5/15 Shame, Been Stellar, Tony or Tony at Irving Plaza - Every time I see Shame, it becomes increasingly clear that there is nothing too wild for them. They could seriously join the cast of Jackass and excel in that if they weren’t so good at making hits. And by hits, I mean albums that I listen to on repeat for a month and then return to months later to repeat the cycle. It’s so confusing to me that they aren’t as celebrated as other post-punk bands known for extremity, could it be their lack of grotesqueness? Don’t get me wrong, they’re still a hard-cutting band with loads of masculinity at the forefront, but they don’t have the same gruffness as their peers and seem to embrace different lyrical themes in comparison as highlighted in Sadie Bell’s Alt Press feature with the band. Even down to their tour openers over the years, they stray from the playbook to tour with bands like Disq, They Hate Change, and Been Stellar, who are all known to people in the know but maybe not the 50-year-old dude who is just psyched for a post-punk revival. Whatever it is, if you weren’t at this show, you missed out. I wish I saw Tony or Tony opening this New York moment, but I caught Been Stellar and that is always a treat.
5/26 Push Ups, Bedridden at Heaven Can Wait - It’s not often you can catch a band play their first-ever show, but we were all lucky enough to see Push Ups debut in Manhattan last month. Grey’s first single, “Rosary,” came out in April and it goes completely crazy. What a stunning first single that brings back everything I love about early 2000s emo rock while maintaining a new edge and refreshing narrative. “Twist” is the same way but heavier, it’s just mind-blowing. I’m really excited to have them play the show next month and can’t wait to hear the full Push Ups EP that’s coming soon. Check out the interview Push Ups did with Texting Interviews for more!
6/6 Bully, Sub*T at Racket - First off, this tweet sums up how I feel about Bully’s new album Lucky for You. Alicia Bognanno is the next generation’s Juliana Hatfield and that gives me hope for the future of girls making rock music. The new record is impossible to stop listening to and Bully songs consistently have some of the most interesting narratives of modern music. All of the new tracks feel so dynamic in comparison to a lot of recent rock songs, which opt for a lo-fi style while Bully sounds punchy and refreshing. All of this translates immaculately to her live set, which captivated the entire room. It had been a while since I had been in a pit that was entirely fun and not violent, which I think is just a testament to the community behind Bully’s music. And of course, I’m Sub*T’s number one fan and it was special to see them so embraced by a room of unfamiliar listeners. Their first show in 206 days, Sub*T tore through their set of fan favorites like “Boxing Day” while also previewing unreleased tracks like “Shed” and “That Kind of Night.” They’ve come into their own whilst on live hiatus, playing their best show I’ve seen them play yet. A really special night of very special bands.
“Cordelia” by Clearbody
“Raisans”(Dinosaur Jr. Cover) by Sub*T
“Twist” by Push Ups
“Rebound” (Sebadoh Cover) by MILLY
“Sweet” by Feeble Little Horse
“Body” by Sword II
“Saturday” by Ultra Q
As always, invite me to your shows and send me your music! I’ve created a sevensevenseven inbox where you can submit shows, songs, questions inquires, etc - email me at 777newmusic@gmail.com! Also, don’t forget to buy tickets for the show on 7/7 or you’ll miss out!
Love,
Kenzie