The dark is arriving earlier each passing evening. The veil between the spirit world and the land of the living grows thin. Into the glooming emerge Phoenix songwriters Zachary “Dad Weed” Toporek and Jason P. Woodbury, aka JPW, noted podcaster, liner notes author, and songwriter, bearing a bag of autumnal psych pop. Recorded in Toporek’s backyard studio between 2021-2024, these three tracks showcase the birth of a songwriting partnership between these longtime friends and collaborators. Operating like an ersatz Becker and Fagan, handling singing, writing, arranging, and production in a 50/50 split, these songs indulge their taste for ragged power pop, chiming folk rock, and even semi-improvised jams. Opener “Everybody’s Talkin’ (Again)” pairs suburban Arizona ennui with “summer of ‘99” alt-pop. Driven by Woodbury’s muted bass rumble and Zach Toporek’s exalted breakbeats, the song finds the duo abstracting and stretching out childhood memories, reflecting on the often occulted logic that drives the process of belief and self propulsion. Drawing from early Halloween memories and the spirit of magical possibility that marks the shift from summer to fall, the song’s earnest message urges living in the here and now: “Everybody’s talking about moving away/you think you’ll be sticking around.” ”When I Get Lonesome” continues the thread of ‘90s pop influence, pairing Byrds-inspired jangle pop with scuzzed-out guitars. Closing number “Big Wave” is built on a loose, mostly improvised session, which finds Toporek reflecting on climate dread while Woodbury twists a Telecaster into an open tuning and channels his inner Neil Young. Two Against Nurture opens up the vortex and beckons you to enter. Don’t delay.
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JPW & Dad Weed Two Against Nurture is now available everywhere.
