DAYS N DAZE and ANDREW PALEY release split 7″ on March 5
Folk-punk band Days N Daze and singer-songwriter Andrew Paley have teamed up for a split release on Flail Records (USA) and SBÄM Records (Europe).
Andrew Paley’s original is a new wave and 80’s pop influenced track with a driving bass reminiscent of Paley’s band The Static Age. Days N Daze had in turn recorded the track for a covers compilation in their own sound guise. After positive fan feedback, this split 7″ was now created, interpreting punk rock in different ways, but still spiritually united in their DIY spirit.
The 7″ is available in different colors in the stores of Flail Records and SBÄM Records. Both labels had previously put out releases from Days N Daze.
In November of 2019, Kevin Day released his second solo EP under the moniker Graduation Speech. The project has been a vehicle to explore more acoustic and indie-rock soundscapes as opposed to the punk leanings of his band Aspiga. Maintenance Required expanded on the ideas found on Quiet and Calm by introducing layers of instrumentation and stepping further out of earlier comfort zones. “Small Apartment” might be the best example of this exploration. The chorus pulses with pounding toms and glinting accents, but each verse creates open space for acoustic chords and harmonic notes to breathe and bend into infinity. Now the song has an accompanying music video filmed by Brian Mietz and you can view it now at The Key (XPN). Maintenance Required is available both physically and digitally from Black Numbers. You can expect a new EP from Graduation Speech this April on Jetsam-Flotsam.
Bio:
Most solo projects seem to fall into one of two categories. First, there are those that resemble a simpler, stripped down version of the artist’s primary band—think John K. Samson, whose solo albums could be mistaken for Weakerthans records despite lacking the tell-tale guitar leads. Conversely, there are those projects that allow the artist to express a separate side of their musical identity than they can with their primary band—like Stephen Brodsky, who’s quirky solo songs contain mere shades of Cave In and Mutoid Man.
Graduation Speech, the solo endeavor of Kevin Day (who leads pop-punk grumblers Aspiga), some how fits both categories. On the project’s second EP Maintenance Required, Day takes his band’s songwriting approach and extends it in a more dynamic, more tender direction.
On 2017’s Quiet and Calm, Graduation Speech’s debut took the form of a quiet project that showcased Day’s saccharine vocals over simple, shuffling chords. But the first few beats of “Your Heart. My Lungs” suggests Maintenance Required will be more than another acoustic endeavor. Indeed, distorted electric guitar winds between Day’s scratching acoustic chords on this opening track and throughout the record, and light percussion punctuates each almost every measure. Drums thump on “Ourselves,” a song whose momentum bridges the gap between both of Day’s projects; likewise, both “Love and Patience” and “Shedding Myself” features a full drum set alongside a steady bass, a flickering electric guitar, even chiming piano, bringing these beautiful song to life.
Day succeeds at expanding Graduation Speech’s sound by adding, but also by taking away. The chorus on “Small Apartment” pulses with pounding toms and glinting accents, but each verse creates open space for acoustic chords and harmonic notes to breathe and bend into infinity. “Straighten me out when I lean into you / Straighten me out in the frames of your eyes,” Day sings, his acoustic snapping against the throbbing beat, a meandering piano melting into the sizzling guitar lead.
Maintenance Required shows a solo musician doing what he has never done before and what he can’t really do with his other band. More importantly, though, Graduation Speech manages to do what most solo projects cannot—that is, appeal to Aspiga’s fans while letting Day explore a more sentimental side of his songwriting.
TIM HEIDECKER ANNOUNCES VIRTUAL RECORD STORE TOUR DATES
In support of his recently released album Fear of Death, Tim Heidecker is “heading out” on a nine-day virtual tour of beloved U.S. record stores next month. Each night, a different store will host Heidecker playing a short acoustic set on their socials or website.
Heidecker says: “Independent record stores are really important and without being able to visit in person, this virtual tour is a small way for me to do my bit in supporting them, after they have been so kind in supporting me.”
“a sunny, psychedelic record that looks death in the eye and hums right along to it.” – INTERVIEW
“Glowing like a Laurel Canyon sunset, ‘Fear of Death’ is Dad rock for the end of the world or, at least, your youth.” – Washington Post
“Despite the dark subject matter, much of Fear of Death is deceptively upbeat, with catchy, uptempo numbers like ‘Come Away With Me,’ the title track or ‘Backwards,’ which sweetly warns us that ‘sun is setting on the good times, oh no.'” – Inside Hook
“[Fear Of Death] is his best so far, helped along by an impressive cast starring Mering, whose backup vocals dramatically enhance Tim’s raw tenor.” – FLOOD
“[Fear Of Death is] easily Heidecker’s best and most fully realized record yet, and not just for his earnest exploration of death’s inevitability and the future’s instability.” – AV Club
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 