Late Cambrian is the artistic partnership of John Wlaysewski and Olive Hui, but they are also a romantic couple. Perhaps that level of closeness allows them to freely invade each other’s space when it comes to making dreamy, hella catchy pop songs, such as their new single “It’s Always Something.” READ MORE…
Today is a great day to share the latest single from indie rock and funk band, Baby Baby, called “Next To Me.” In this enchanting song, Baby Baby bring forth the best elements in their sound in a pop-pleasing song. The track comes from their forthcoming full-length record U Good?, out everywhere music is sold on September 16th. READ MORE…
Matthew Check’s attraction to the rootsy, honest pop/folk/introspective rock of the mid-late ‘70s takes hold on his forthcoming record, Without a Throne (out 9/30). The resulting hybrid of that sound—with his authentic vocals, somewhere between Jakob Dylan and the Waterboys’ Mike Scott—dominates and energizes the album’s approach.
On September 2nd, Coma Girls—the creative project of Chris Spino—will release No Umbrella For Star Flower, a twelve-track collection of maximalist, shoegaze-influenced folk/rock that finds Spino laying bare his struggles with addiction, love, depression, and more without ever coming across as alienating or self-centered. READ MORE…
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Maple Run Band – Used To Be The Next Big Thing
There’s a lot of power in not taking yourself too seriously. On Used To Be The Next Big Thing, the sophomore LP from Northern Vermont Americana/roots-rock act Maple Run Band, vocalist/songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Trevor Crist spins yarns of lost love, shattered dreams, and lost potential with a wry wit and a tongue-in-cheek lyricism that would make John Prine proud. The stories Crist pens rarely come with happy endings, but there’s an intangible glimmer of positivity that radiates throughout the album, keeping the mood from ever getting too dour. “Nowadays it feels like you have to either be super earnest, or be a novelty act,” says Crist. “But guys like Roger Miller and Buck Owens, and John Prine nailed that middle ground. I wanted to really explore that middle ground with these stories.”
Used To Be The Next Big Thing is a ten-track collection of Americana vignettes that primarily highlight Crist’s evocative lyricism and storytelling prowess. Rather than acting as a confessional, the album serves as a work of fiction, a collection of short stories about the average everyday woes that wear us down as we progress through life, but with a playful irreverence that reinforces the idea that things just might be okay in the end. Vocalist and drummer Nicole Valcour takes the wheel on a few songs as well, with her expressive but ambiguous lyricism playing the foil to Crist’s direct storytelling style and giving the album a sense of balance.
To record their sophomore LP, Maple Run Band—comprised of Crist, Valcour, guitarist Bill Mullins, and bassist John Spencer—retreated to Crist’s home studio in Northern Vermont, hunkering down through the Winter to arrange and track the album, with Crist acting as the primary producer. The band then brought in their longtime collaborator Joe Egan to mix the album, as well as Grammy Award winning mastering engineer Emily Lazar (Beck, Haim, Foo Fighters) to put on the finishing touches. To round out the record, Crist and Valcour tapped banjo player David Kammerer and cellist Nelson Caldwell, their former bandmates in the ‘90s alt-country band Construction Joe. “Recording at home, and producing everything ourselves, is perfect for us because we aren’t constrained to the studio’s schedule,” says Crist. “We’re able to take our time, and experiment with different gear and techniques, and Joe [Egan] is really collaborative with us on the mixes. We knew what we wanted and how we wanted it to sound when it was complete, and we knew we had the right people for the engineering and mastering to help us get to that point.”
Used To Be The Next Big Thing follows Maple Run Band’s debut self-titled LP, released in July 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no option to tour in support of the album, Crist decided to take the time to branch out and experiment with new instruments and genres, which would ultimately come to shape the overall sound of their sophomore effort. “Over the lockdown portion of the pandemic, I really spent a lot of time playing the Rhodes piano and the Hammond organ,” says Crist. “Our first album was very acoustic guitar driven, but this one was really built on keyboards. We wanted to really tap into that retro-vintage country sound, but produce it almost like a 70s soft-rock album.”
Used To Be The Next Big Thing opens with its title track, a driving, jangly roots-rock ripper about a Nashville musician on the brink of success that never comes, an expertly woven tale of the tragedy that occurs when the commodification of art takes the place of expression. From there, the record moves to the stripped-down acoustic country ballad “Loretta,” a eulogy for a lost companion inspired by The Louvin Brothers and Billy Joe Shaver that showcases Crist’s ability to blend genuine emotional expression with clever witticisms.
Elsewhere on the album, such as on the honky-tonk piano-led “Tears of a Fool,” Crist channels artists like Ray Price and Roger Miller to create a classic country barroom shuffle about regret and self-loathing. Occasionally, Maple Run Band do wade into the pool of sincerity, like on the album’s sweeping, seven and a half minute long closer, “Sunny Day,” which finds Crist singing in earnest about the need for support through dark days and belief in a brighter future. “‘Sunny Day’ was the quintessential pandemic song,” says Crist. “I literally wrote it to make myself feel better and to be like, ‘This shit is going to be over someday…right?’ But even with that, I wanted to write it more from the perspective of a character, not just my own perspective.”
Much of Used To Be The Next Big Thing is buoyed by Crist’s ability to create three-dimensional characters and rich, emotional narratives in just a few words. Each song stands on its own as a narrative poem, rather than as a chapter in a novel, and the characters in each are developed to help explore different perspectives and experiences through fiction. “Most of the songwriters that influence me typically aren’t confessional,” says Crist. “So as a result, I’m almost never the protagonist of my writing. I always try to find the voice of the character and let them speak in the song. Our last album had a number of storytelling songs but that were based on actual experiences or places that I’d been, but for this one I wanted to push it to be pure fiction.”
In the years since Crist and Valcour stepped away from Construction Joe, they’ve continued to hone their craft, pushing their songwriting to new heights and, with Used To Be The Next Big Thing, setting up Maple Run Band to be the next big thing once again.
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Red Rum Club – North American Tour 2022
9/19/22 – Washington, DC – Quarry House Tavern
9/20/22 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge (Early Show)
9/22/22 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
9/24/22 – Chicago, IL – Downstairs at Subterranean
9/26/22 – Nashville – The End
9/28/22 – Dallas, TX – Ruins
9/29/22 – Austin, TX – Ballroom
10/2/22 – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
10/4/22 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
10/6/22 – Seattle, WA – Barboza
10/7/22 – Vancouver, BC – Imperial
10/8/22 – Victoria, BC – Lucky Bar
10/11/22 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstone
10/12/22 – Los Angeles, CA – Peppermint Club
Red Rum Club – “Vanilla” b/w “The River”
Liverpool, UK indie-rock sextet Red Rum Club aren’t the type to take a break. Since their inception in 2016, the band has been relentlessly committed to bringing their anthemic, expressive brand of rock & roll to the masses, touring extensively throughout the United Kingdom and building a rabid fanbase in the process. Their electrifying live performances have earned them slots on major festivals including Glastonbury, Isle of Wight, Y Not & more, as well as supporting slots for global sensations like The 1975, Wet Leg, Pale Waves, Noel Gallagher and more. Now, Red Rum Club are preparing to embark on their second trip across the pond, with a fourteen date tour of North America supporting their brilliant new singles, “Vanilla” and “The River.” “Ever since we started, we’ve been like, ‘Keep going, keep going, believe in the music and the rest will follow,’” says the band’s trumpet player Joe Corby. “We just kept working away at it and never let stuff like missed opportunities slow us down.”
Red Rum Club—comprised of Corby, vocalist Francis Doran, guitarists Tom Williams and Michael McDermott, bassist Simon Hepworth, and drummer Neil Lawson— teamed up with their longtime producer Chris Taylor (Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Blossoms, Miles Kane) at Liverpool’s Elevator Studios to record “Vanilla” and “The River,” continuing a working relationship with Taylor dating back to their earliest studio recordings as a band.
“Vanilla” immediately kicks off with a fuzzed-out bass riff atop a thumping quarter-note stomp that acts as the backbone for the entire track and calls to mind the iconic cadence of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” if Jack White had the rhythmic inclinations of Alex Turner. There’s an admirable sense of delicacy and restraint that defines the track, each member steadfast in their refusal to overplay, allowing each melodic element to shine in its own right while simultaneously contributing to the song’s sticky, sensual mood. Lyrically, “Vanilla” delights in tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation, evoking a lighthearted sense of self-loathing in response to feelings of inadequacy. “We based all of ‘Vanilla’ off that irony of having such a bland flavor with such an exciting beat,” says Corby. “It’s got that kind of feeling of trying to make sure you’re not a bland guy, trying to stay a bit exciting, but it’s ultimately not to be taken too seriously.”
While “Vanilla” showcases Red Rum Club’s prowess when it comes to curating a vibe, “The River” is more concerned with storytelling. Opening with Doran’s soft, emotive vocals, “The River” is a nostalgia-soaked coming-of-age song propelled by folky acoustic guitars and pulsing drums, accented by Corby’s deliberate, tasteful trumpet lines. “We wanted to tap into that sort of British indie sound with that simple, in-your-face straight beat, kind of a Sam Fender style that’s popular right now, but with a slight country element,” says Corby. “We always stay true to our art, but we want to be aware of the art that’s around us as well. We want it to resonate with people; For us, one of the biggest things is that connection with the audience.”
Though Red Rum Club formed in 2016, their profile began to rise exponentially in 2019 with the release of their debut LP, Matador, which garnered rave reviews and found itself at #5 on the UK alternative charts. Unfortunately, as was the case for many, fate would find the band unable to tour in the following years. Rather than slowing down, the sextet doubled their efforts, releasing two follow up albums—2020’s The Hollow of Humdrum and 2021’s How To Steal The World—expanding their audience and building anticipation for their live return. “We ended up touring both of those albums together after the lockdown, and the reception has been absolutely crazy,” says Corby. “Our gigs have such positive vibes, just everyone bouncing around and having fun. Some of our fans see it almost as a kind of therapy, and it’s a great thing to know you’re doing that for someone—it’s more than enough to push you to keep going even when it’s tough.”
Red Rum Club first made the trip to North America in early 2022, touring across the country and returning to the kind of medium-sized clubs they used to play in the UK before the pandemic, an experience that allowed the band to connect one-on-one with fans and reignite their passion for fostering community at their shows. Now, on the cusp of their second North American tour, the band is doubling down and ready to hit the ground running yet again. “These tours in North America are almost a bit nostalgic in a way, even though we’d never been before,” says Corby. “It feels like when we were first starting out, just playing music and getting people’s reactions, having a drink and a good time with them. These tours might be a fool’s errand but who cares? It’s gonna resonate with some people and it’ll be a great experience.”