Misty Boyce was at a meditation retreat when she came to the following realization: “The Adam and Eve story is the first ‘bros before hoes.’ God and Adam were like, ‘Sorry Eve, we gotta keep this tight between us so we’re gonna throw you under the bus.’ And that’s shaped society ever since.” READ MORE…
In January 2018, Colleen Duffy, front-woman of L.A.-based rockabilly band Devil Doll, emerged from a four-year health-related hiatus to announce a crowdfunding campaign for her third album. That album, Lover and a Fighter, has now been completed and comes out May 1. READ MORE…
Michelle Billingsley has just released two new singles, the first of which is ‘Portia’, a song of which she says “Portia’s an everywoman. Actually, she’s my front. This song is about my most private insecurities, so it felt freer to package them up as someone else.” The song drifts and slow-dances along on a lilting melody—a touch of Emmylou about the sound of her voice. Musically it’s a perfect blend of old-timey country and soft shuffle. READ MORE…
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“Triumphant.” – Consequence of Sound
“A mark of excellence in modern Americana.” – UNCUT
“Breathtaking.” – Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Surrounding you in a dirt devil of sound that lies somewhere on the spectrum between Americana and psychedelia.” – KUTX 98.9, Austin
Margaret Chavez’s new folk-rock opus, Into An Atmosphere, is a headphone masterpiece. From the very first track, it’s clear why Consequence of Sound, Mojo and Uncut have all been extolling the many virtues of project mastermind Marcus William Striplin—the music is undeniably ambitious, mixing latin freak-folk rhythms with a topicality the microgenre has never dared to approach, even in its heyday. But to call this record “folk” or “even folk rock” would be to curtail its progressive ethos, as Striplin weaves reverb-soaked guitars, undulating synths and effervescent acoustic plucks to create what Uncut calls “a mark of excellence in Americana.”
Striplin’s barbed wit rises to the forefront, riding his gentle croon and lilting sonics past the kind of cliches that often accompany albums of such deep pathos and political awareness. Moving effortlessly from a scathing indictment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the government stooges who enable it (“The Croupier’s Unite I.C.E.”) to a poignant narrative in which he assumes his mother’s point-of-view during her most harrowing moments (“Honeysuckles”), Striplin deftly balances his heartbreaking stories’ jarring content with dense sounds and creeping earworms.
Mixing elements of modern indie rock, psychedelia, mid-2000s alt-country and folk, Striplin croons over layers of chiming acoustics and burbling electronics, building his songs from comforting lullabies into the kind of cathartic anthems upon which Echo & the Bunnymen and The Cure built their careers. “H O R A,” arguably the album’s most rousing moment, demonstrates the best of Striplin’s capabilities: building a Spector-like wall of dissonance, kept at bay only by his voice’s coiled urgency.
In the studio, helping to nurture Margaret Chavez’s ambition, was Striplin’s longtime recording partner Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, Loretta Lynn, The White Stripes, Phosphorescent), and mastering genius Greg Calbi (John Lennon, Tame Impala, The Strokes, Iggy Pop, David Bowie), as well as Paul Williams and Don Cento—all of whom brought a clarity and ceaseless energy to the recording process. In tandem with Striplin’s songcraft, the efforts of this cadre of engineers are felt most powerfully on “Honeysuckles” and “The Croupiers Unite I.C.E.” The former opens with a stark and harrowing vision of death—“a snapped neck, a snapped neck in a truck / I watched my daddy die”—as Striplin narrates from his young mother’s perspective, detailing the horrific experience of watching her father die as she remained stuck upside down in the truck for two full hours, eyes locked on her dying father. Gentle acoustic guitar cascades through the song as synths zip in and out of focus, like a U.F.O. observing some desert-road horror show. Meanwhile the pitter-patter percussion works double time, cementing one of the album’s most breathtaking moments. “Honeysuckles” acts as not only a showcase for Striplin’s voice and songwriting, but also the album’s attention to sonic detail. Synths buzz and whir, guitars moan, strings yearn, and not a decibel is underserved by the mix, an emphatic credit to the bevy of talent and expertise Margaret Chavez assembled in the studio.
Similarly, the scathing “The Croupiers Unite I.C.E.” stabs directly at the jugular of America’s corrupt brigade: “Their hands are forged in gold and their hearts are as cold.” Striplin himself pointedly admits that the song “is a ‘fuck you’ to I.C.E.,” and you can hear every inch of his middle finger rising in the way he holds the sibilance while singing “I.C.E.,” his clenched teeth barely holding an avalanche of epithets from pouring out onto the tape. But even songs bursting with ideas, like “Croupiers”—with its brilliant marriage of classic Roy Orbison rhythms and Will Oldham’s lonely campfire devotionals—can’t contain Margaret Chavez’s multitudes as Striplin touches on pulsating Gas-like ambience (“The Cheap River & The Broken Mirror”), stirring alt-country (“I Virgo”), and even throws in some undeniable indie-rock jams, replete with crushing linear drums, like the anthemic Broken Social Scene-indebted “H O R A.”
Born and raised in Texas, Striplin was fascinated with music from a young age, but had to keep his distance due to an abusive father. Fortunately, his mother Margaret—the namesake of this recording project—noticed her son’s interest and bought him a small tape recorder from RadioShack. Using this cheap little device, young Striplin was able to record his favorite songs off the radio and then, tucked into his bed at night, listen quietly with his ear resting against the tiny built-in speaker. The tape recorder was strategically placed under his pillow, so his father couldn’t hear it.
By the time he was 13, his mother bought him a guitar by paying a local bus boy at her serving job to bring back a guitar from his next trip to Mexico. Armed with an authentic mariachi guitar and newly free to indulge his fascination with music in the wake of his parents’ divorce, Striplin began forming bands immediately, eventually culminating in Pleasant Grove, which brought him his first taste of success as a musician. Since the creation of Margaret Chavez, Striplin has kept busy writing, recording, playing live, and personally and emotionally cleaning house, vehemently crediting therapy and sobriety before reassuringly insisting ”I’m not clean and sober, but I’m also not a mess anymore.”
Now that Striplin has finally put some of his demons to rest, he’s been able to channel that catharsis into this new album, a work of focused anger and empathetic heart. Borne of internal conflict and depicting America’s analogous struggles, Into An Atmosphere speaks of hope, something the songwriter himself bashfully cops to: “I think it’s no coincidence it’s being released in an election year. Maybe there are people who are still on the fence, and they hear it and are like, ‘Oh, man—absolutely!’ It’s most certainly gonna gel with my circle, but I really hope it touches people who are lost.”
Into An Atmosphere is due out 7/31 via We Know Better Records.
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There’s an uncertainty in the moments after a disaster; a tentative hope that the worst is over and a wary fear that you’ve only just reached the eye of the storm. Los Angeles indie-pop artist Misty Boyce’s new album genesis captures this moment with stark clarity and raw beauty. Throughout its ten tracks, genesis finds Boyce laid emotionally bare while simultaneously chronicling a society on the precipice of a long overdue shift, exploring mortality, new love, and changing gender & social structures. “There’s been an awakening about the female experience in the world,” says Boyce. “I found myself looking back at my religious upbringing and realizing how much that storytelling informed the way that I move through the world as a woman, and how toxic it is. It’s been really freeing to realize that those were just stories and that I don’t have to live by those archetypes.”
A sought-after keyboardist, Boyce has spent years playing alongside award winning artists including Sara Bareilles, BØRNS, Lord Huron, Sting, Ingrid Michaelson & more, all the while continuing to release records of her own to critical acclaim. Her third LP—2018’s chronicle of trauma, depression, & religion, Get Lost—was met with praise from numerous media outlets including NYLON, Uproxx, Gold Flake Paint, Issue Magazine, The Wild Honey Pie, Substream Magazine, The Autumn Roses & more.
Following the release, Boyce embarked on an extended touring cycle, where playing through her traumas every night informed a decision that her next record was going to be different. “I wanted to make a record that feels good, but also to talk about real shit,” says Boyce. “For better or worse, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I can’t avoid saying how I feel all the time. It felt natural & right to be honest and bear everything on Get Lost, but I’m happy to share another side of life on genesis—when you go through something sad or traumatic, you can come out the other side and move on.”
Boyce began writing the songs that would become genesis in 2018 with producer Jon Joseph (Børns, Gungor, Gothic Tropic), creating dreamy, atmospheric arrangements that blend folk’s intimate storytelling with lo-fi electronic & hazy psychedelic textures. When it came time to record, Boyce enlisted a rotating group of session musicians as her backing band and invited acclaimed singer-songwriter Doe Paoro and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith to contribute guest vocals to the album.
Even before genesis begins, Boyce has made her thesis known. Standalone single “the clearing” ushers in Boyce’s new era with muted guitars, minimalist percussion and reverb-washed backing vocals supporting her as she and Doe Paoro reflect on the past and future in the wake of society’s awakening regarding sexual assault and gender inequality. “When we wrote ‘the clearing,’ the LA wildfires had been really bad, and then were followed by really intense rain,” says Boyce. “It felt very representative of that particular moment. Like, we fucked up as a society, but it’s up to us to rebuild from here and redesign our social structure.”
Throughout genesis, Boyce critiques the social structures that created this gender inequality in the first place, while also looking forward at a better world we have the opportunity to create. On “genesis (n)one” and “skin,” Boyce invokes the story of Adam and Eve, ruminating on the way women have shouldered the blame for society’s wrongs since creation, and reflecting on how that affects self-image. Elsewhere, “bros” takes aim at Hollywood’s male-dominated storytelling that repeatedly pushes women into auxiliary roles.
genesis isn’t just a criticism of society’s shortcomings. As the title suggests, it looks towards a rebirth and a new beginning. The slow-building, piano-led “telephone” is a sonic realization of acceptance and closure in the face of grief, while the grooving, dancey indie-pop track “i do” and the muted vocal ballad “luh u always” celebrate new love, growth and progress that can help heal as we rebuild.
Boyce is aware that rebuilding will be a difficult task, but genesis bursts with a sense of raw honesty that is sure to inspire hope. “Social rebuilding is always a back-and-forth process,” says Boyce. “But we just need to take each other’s hands and get dirty and lose control. In losing control, we’ll get stronger together.”
genesis is out September 25th, 2020.
“As a writer, Boyce aims for the dark and mysterious, but executes many of her songs in such an uplifting manner that you can’t help but embrace them.” – Huffington Post
“Hits every emotion from anger to loneliness, desire, defiance and plenty more, owning each one completely and filtering it through [Boyce’s] delicate dream-pop sound.” – Uproxx
“Misty Boyce is a goddamn rockstar.” – Nylon
“Heart-breaking… subtle, soothing and jewelline” – Gold Flake Paint
“Beautiful and affecting.” – Nasty Gal
“Tugs at your heart strings, while pushing you to take action in your daily life.” – Substream Magazine
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L.A. native Cassandra Violet’s new single “Superbloom” (out June 5) is a psychedelic folk-pop dreamscape of friendships and flowers wrapped in scathing critique of modern social media. Produced by Joe Berry of M83, this song found its inspiration in ‘70s Harry Nilsson and Joshua Tree National Park. Violet’s haunting and beautiful music has been featured in films and series including Ozark (Netflix), Und
Every spring in Southern California, hillsides are covered in a spectacular fiery orange as the poppies bloom. Thousands of people flock to these vibrant hills to see (and take their photo with) the superbloom. This song illustrates how social media, like a drug, has ruined Violet’s mind.
“The performative nature of social media gives me this high, and then makes me feel terrible.” Violet says. “It’s a little show and we’re all waiting for cheers from the audience. Last year, it seemed like everyone I knew went to the desert to see the superbloom. I forgot to go until it was over, and I was angry with myself. Then I thought, do I actually want to see the flowers, or do I just want to post a picture in front of them?”
“Superbloom” is a thoughtfully constructed menagerie of infectious hooks, loops and layered vocals blended into otherworldly harmonies. Think Nancy Sinatra meets First Aid Kit meets King Gizzard. This song isn’t afraid to spiral into trippy solos and cosmic wormholes as Violet’s gorgeous voice guides you like a sherpa through her own labyrinthine relationship with social media. She explores the complexity of posting photos to maintain an orchestrated version of herself for a mostly anonymous audience versus simply living her life without every nature hike and baked cake being meticulously cataloged.
“I bake cakes just to post them on Instagram,” says Violet, “and it makes me feel proud. I do lots of things just to post them. I know social media was designed to bring people together but sometimes I feel like it does just the opposite. I got tired of feeling bad about myself and comparing myself to everyone else, so I wrote a song about it.”
The psychological effects of social media is becoming a common theme in art and culture, from films like Eighth Grade to the Black Mirror episode “Nosedive.” Studies have found a direct correlation between depression and time spent on social media. Violet’s music has always held a mirror up to where a woman stands in society, and “Superbloom” illuminates this modern issue that has us constantly questioning our own identity.