Over the past five years, arguably no one has done more for Wilmington's indie music scene than Tracy Shedd and James Tritten.
A regular presence at area concerts and other happenings — they share a DJ set every Tuesday evening at the Satellite Bar & Lounge on Greenfield Street, during which they spin, on vinyl, everything from classic hits to obscure bangers — the married couple has helped highlight Wilmington music in a way few others have.
Brian Weeks, the guitarist and songwriter for Summer Set and for the moody electro-pop act De La Noche, has been playing in various Wilmington bands since the '90s.
"There's been other local labels before, but not like this," Weeks said of Fort Lowell. "One of the strengths they have, especially James, he's just relentless and he's got the business side down."
RizzyBeats, the Wilmington DJ and producer who can often be found behind the counter at Gravity Records on Castle Street or spinning at various venues around town, said Fort Lowell has helped push artists to the next level.
"As creators, it's nice to be able to focus on the work," Rizzy said. "James is good about getting all the things together, taking it off our plates," including getting crucial publicity for new releases by Wilmington artists.
Tritten and Shedd say it's a labor of love for Wilmington and its music.
"I already have a full-time day job," Tritten said, working for Kwipped, an online equipment rental marketplace.
"Honestly, I think I'm so obsessed as a record collector, that's the only reason I run a label. I just fall in love with a band and it's like, 'All right, I'll put your music on vinyl, just because I want it,'" Tritten said recently from he and Shedd's super-sweet downtown Wilmington apartment, which comes complete with a low-ceilinged, noggin-bruising recording studio space replete with music equipment. "It just boils down to, I'm a fan of it. It's really that simple. And it's never just me, it's me and Tracy, both of us together. That's the key part."
James Sardone, who's been part of the Wilmington scene for 30 years (aside from a decade-long stint in New York, where he earned a write-up in the Village Voice as the rockabilly act Jimmy Nations), said that "Fort Lowell is important to Wilmington ... They've given a boost to the music scene by participating and promoting, as well as providing a voice and label support for local artists."
Tom Michels of Wilmington rockers Kicking Bird said Tritten will "send you a song or tell you about something you'd be into, and he's always right. He's got this amazing, encyclopedic musical knowledge."
Wilmington on their minds
Natives of Jacksonville, Florida, Shedd and Tritten have known each other since the early '90s when they played in a band called Sella. Later, Tritten would form the band Audio Explorations and back up Shedd, now his wife of 23 years, during her long career as a solo artist. The couple toured relentlessly for years, with Tritten also serving as a booking agent for dozens of acts.
Ask most anyone in Wilmington who knows them, and you'll probably hear the word "supportive." Tritten, often clad in a trucker cap, is loquacious and has an easy smile, while Shedd has a shock of wavy gray hair and a winning laugh, with a friendly manner that immediately puts folks at ease.
And even though they've only lived in Wilmington since 2018, they've got deep roots in the Port City.
"In 1996 we got invested and tied into the Wilmington scene very deeply and very quickly," Tritten said. That was when Audio Explorations played its first show here, and he and Shedd met Wilmington folks that they're friends with to this day. "All through the late '90s, all through the early 2000s, we were coming here multiple times per year."
In 2006 the couple moved to Tucson, Arizona, for what they thought would be forever. There, in 2009, they started Fort Lowell Records, named after a U.S. Army fort in Tucson that later became an artists' colony.
Then in 2013, Tritten got a job offer to be the general manager of the legendary Cat's Cradle music venue in Carrboro, and the couple moved to Chapel Hill.
That job didn't work out long-term, but it did lead the couple to Wilmington in 2018, where the scene here reinvigorated Fort Lowell, which had gone largely dormant in the Triangle. Shedd completed her 2019 album "The Carolinas" at their home studio downtown and they played a release party at downtown venue Bourgie Nights that same year. It's been on ever since.
At the same time, Fort Lowell continues to work with national artists. Upcoming albums include solo projects from Coley Dennis of Athens, Georgia, psyche-rock act Maserati, and from Neko Case guitarist Jon Rauhouse.
Fort Lowell band Lauds is starting to make some ripples nationally, and there's a rising wave of younger Wilmington acts like Pleasure Island (probably the most popular band in town), Doggy Daycare and Lawn Enforcement, all of whom regularly play at Cargo District hotspot The Place and are represented by Wilmington's newest label, the Gen-Z-centric Suck Rock Records, a label Tritten and Shedd both praise.
"I put blinders on with that kind of stuff," Tritten said, when asked whether Wilmington music is ready to step into the national spotlight. "We're just releasing music we like. It's really that simple."
A collection of radiant reckonings set to a soaring dream pop soundtrack, Lauds’ debut album ‘Imitation Life’ is a spirited record of self-reflection and discovery on the road to cathartic enlightenment.
Listening to Lauds’ debut album is a bit like running a marathon, and after 26 miles, finally seeing the finish line up ahead on the horizon. You’re still in the thick of it – mind focused on each breath, body dripping with sweat, legs pretty much working on autopilot at this point – but relief is coming. You’ve found that beacon of light in the darkness, and it’s getting closer and closer with every passing second. Soon, you’ll be free. Soon, you’ll be at peace.
In Lauds’ case, the marathon is the stretch of time known as our 20s, and the finish line is a sense of place, belonging, comfort, and contentment in the world. Most of us are still figuring out what it means to be, let alone what it meansto be here now, but it’s easy to feel like everyone else has their lives figured out while you’re only pretending. Even so, the Wilmington, North Carolina-based band seems to trust that things will work out for the best; that we all eventually sort out these rhetorical, nagging questions of purpose and identity, make peace with our inner demons, and find our own personal meanings for being alive. There is a light in this darkness… There is a light that never goes out.
A collection of radiant reckonings set to a soaring dream pop soundtrack, Lauds’Imitation Lifeis a spirited record of self-reflection and discovery on the road to cathartic enlightenment. We may or may not ever find true nirvana, but at least we’re trying – asking the questions, searching our souls for answers, and putting in the work.
Released January 20, 2023 via Wilmington-based indie label Fort Lowell Records, Imitation Lifeis a soaring, stunning, and utterly soul-stirring deep dive into life itself. Marrying dazzling dream pop with visceral post-punk, jangle-pop, and noughties indie rock, Lauds’ debut album is as dazzling as it is dynamic and as enchanting as it is exhilarating: A rollercoaster ride of emotionally-charged sonics and sonically-charged emotion.
Active since 2023, the five-piece of co-songwriters J. Holt Evans III and James McKay Glasgow, bassist Gavin Campbell, multi-instrumentalist Boyce S. Evans, and drummer Ross Page have found their niche in a lush, blissed-out sound that recalls such alternative greats as The Cure, The Smiths, Slowdive, and The Chameleons. The found that strong footing over the past few years, releasing two EPs EPs (2021’s Laudsand 2022’sII) that effectively set the scene for what would ultimately result in their first LP (select tracks off both EPs are also present on the album as well).
“I think that each of the EPs we put out kind of showcased different aspects of our sound,” Lauds’ J. Holt Evans explains. “We wanted the record to capture all of those elements, while also highlighting the advances me and McKay felt like we were making as songwriters and collaborators… After the release of our second EP on Fort Lowell we really wanted to push ourselves to make a cohesive artistic statement as a band, and thought that putting out a record was the way to do that.”
“Part of the reason we used earlier releases on the album was because it made the album feel more cohesive sonically and thematically,” McKay Glasgow adds. “A lot of the songs on this record were written at a similar time but recorded or reworked over longer periods. We wanted the songs to be different enough from each other where it didn’t feel monotonous but, like many of our favorite albums, we wanted them to have an overall sonic landscape that is recognizable from song to song. Some people don’t like that similarity in a bands music, but we do.”
Imitation Lifearrived at the top of this year on the heels of a singles campaign that saw Lauds teasing out the songs “24” and “Somehow” – two standouts that highlight Lauds’ musical spark and their lyrical prowess.
“Are we up? Know what’s recommended. hit the pavement, sparks contended, but I’m not sure that I’m who I was before,” Evans sings, his voice a seductive hush complemented by glistening guitar riffs, driving drums, and immersive, spellbinding synth work. “Just fake it, you’ll make it, I know what to say,” he goes on to sing in the chorus. “I trusted you, but I can’t see it written in the sky.“
“It’s about overcoming anxiety and self-doubt and showcases a haunting keyboard line that chases along throughout the song,” Evans says. “I wrote it in grad school a few weeks before my 25th birthday and now looking back on the lyrics at 27 I hear myself expressing frustration about trying to break free from the vices that kept pulling me down at the time. Musically ’24’ features jangly interwoven guitar melodies and a pulsing rhythm section characteristic of the Lauds sound. My inspiration for the track was to sound like New Order covering ‘Boys of Summer’ by Don Henley. I’m not sure we got there but I’m proud of where we ended up.”
Glasgow even goes so far as to call “24” his all-time favorite Lauds song. “To me this song captures the emotional vibe of the album,” he shares. “There’s a determination to figure things out even with all the internal insecurity. I think it’s relatable, even though the lyrics are at times pretty abstract. It’s somber but uplifting and the synth and guitar parts really vibe with those themes.”
Of equal note is the album’s beautifully cathartic and captivating finale, “Misplace a Night,” a tender harmony-laden exhale whose Tristan Turner-directed music video is premiering today on Atwood Magazine. “I think it’s about feeling warm and safe holding someone you care about the next morning,” says Evans. “You still have the feelings of anxiety and regret but they’re overwhelmed by a feeling of peace and belonging.”
If this album really is all about finding our personal guiding lights and coming to terms with life’s ambiguity and emotional turmoil, then “Misplace a Night” concludes the record with a breathtaking moment of that long-sought after peace of mind. Tranquility is temporary and serenity is fleeting, but for a second – or rather, for four minutes – it feels like Lauds have finally found what they’ve been looking for all along.
Of course, those goalposts shift quickly and our inner voice never shuts up entirely, so there’s plenty more existential introspection and reckoning to be done, but with their debut album, Lauds have truly lit an intimate, resonant, and reverb-drenched fire. From its bookends “Parallel” and “Misplace a Night” to the charmingly contemplative “Rust,” the propulsive, pulsing “Don’t Mind,” and of course the utterly intoxicating and absorptive “24,” Imitation Lifeis an endlessly inspiring and invigorating listen.
Get lost in Lauds’ debut album below, and get to know the band even better in our intimate interview with McKay Glasgow and J. Holt Evans III where we discuss the genesis of Imitation Life, the music scene in Wilmington, the benefits of brooding music, and more!
A CONVERSATION WITH LAUDS
ATWOOD MAGAZINE: LAUDS, CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE ABOUT THE STORY BEHIND THIS RECORD?
McKay Glasgow: Lauds started when Holt and I met because I had recorded an album with his dad before. We roped Holt’s youngest brother, Boyce into the mix on drums. Short term he also played third guitar and strings for some shows and then we got our buddy Gavin to play bass even though he’s still the best guitar player in our band. That’s always a hard sell. We also recruited Color Temperature’s Ross Langdon Paige to play drums at one point but he moved to Brooklyn and we went back and have stuck with the four piece of me, Holt, Boyce, and Gavin. Other friends have filled in for shows at points and our pal Jeff Corkery, aka Dulce Hombre, co-wrote the song Distant Images on the album and has been a big collaborator with artwork etc. It’s been a labor of friendship and a lot of Holt and I arguing. At points other people have gotten involved arguing. Holt’s dad engineered the record and helped when the arguments were going nowhere.
J. Holt Evans III: Would agree with that. Lauds started as an outlet for me and McKay’s songs and has become a real band I guess over time. We put out some singles while I was back and forth between Chapel Hill and Wilmington for grad school and were excited when James Tritten approached us about releasing an EP with his label Fort Lowell Records. After the release of our second EP on Fort Lowell we really wanted to push ourselves to make a cohesive artistic statement as a band and thought that putting out a record was the way to do that.
WHAT WAS YOUR VISION GOING INTO THIS RECORD, AND DID THAT CHANGE OVER THE COURSE OF RECORDING THIS?
Glasgow: We definitely didn’t want to rush. We took our time with all of the stuff we have put out. Part of the reason we used earlier releases on the album was because it made the album feel more cohesive sonically and thematically. A lot of the songs on this record were written at a similar time but recorded or reworked over longer periods. We wanted the songs to be different enough from each other where it didn’t feel monotonous but, like many of our favorite albums, we wanted them to have an overall sonic landscape that is recognizable from song to song. Some people don’t like that similarity in a bands music, but we do.
Evans: I think that each of the EPs we put out kind of showcased different aspects of our sound and we wanted the record to capture all of those elements while also highlighting the advances me and McKay felt like we were making as songwriters and collaborators.
WHAT'S THE MUSIC SCENE IN WILMINGTON LIKE, AND HAS IT IMPACTED YOUR SOUND OR SONGS IN ANY WAY?
Glasgow: The music scene in Wilmington is really fun right now. Bands on SUCK ROCK Records are great: Doggy Day Care, Lawn Enforcement, Ridgewood etc. and some new venues have opened up that have brought renewed energy and excitement to the scene. There is definitely a punk/ DIY ethos to a lot of the younger bands. We like our friend Colin’s band Spiral alot. Similar songwriting to us but spikier and more abrasive.
I definitely think the coastal scenery makes its way into our songs, most obviously on songs like “Sandpiper” (from theLaudsEP), but even on this record on tracks like “Somehow.” The music isn’t beachy to us, but we all grew up by the ocean and have a lot of experiences around the ocean so it makes its way into the music. I love to surf and fish and I got Holt pretty into surfing while he was living in Wilmington. I like to think that some elements of surf rock on the track “Distant Images” may have been influenced by that.
Evans: To me “Distant Images” sounds more like Lauds on a carnival cruise excursion… Wilmington has a unique energy to it that I feel like made its way onto the record. Downtown is old and cobble-stoney and sits right on the river. It really comes alive at night and definitely becomes the go-to haunt for everyone in our band on weekends. The city lake is a wild place that’s essentially a gator-infested swamp and I did a lot of my writing for the album while house sitting for a buddy who lives next to it. The back cover of the record is a picture I took of algae and moss on the lake.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE DREAM POP / SHOEGAZE / POST-PUNK GENRES THAT INITIALLY ATTRACTED YOU TO THEM?
Evans: My dad played the first two U2 records too many times for me in the car on the way to basketball practice as a kid and probably created a monster. I think I always loved the way the guitars and drums seemed to be propelling those songs without necessarily being like distorted classic rock. Getting older and starting to play guitar I realized it wasn’t much of a stretch to learn how to play some of my favorite Joy Division, Bauhaus, Swell Maps riffs etc. I think it was always an energy thing though. I’ve always wanted to write upbeat songs and we’ve always wanted to be an upbeat band.
WERE ANY BANDS FROM THAT SPACE YOUR 'GUIDING LIGHT' OR AN INSPIRATION AS YOU WENT ABOUT FINDING LAUDS' OWN SOUND THESE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS?
Evans: For sure. I didn’t get obsessed with shoegaze until like my late teens but the combination of noise and pretty melodies created by bands like Ride really appealed to me when I was first starting to write what would become some Lauds songs in grad school. Honestly that band is a massive influence on us. A record likeGoing Blank Againis a pinnacle of rock music to me. Noisy but immediate and irresistible songwriting. Awesome rhythm section with two incredible songwriters in Andy Bell and Mark Gardener. Deerhunter have that as well with Bradford and Lockett Pundt. It’s definitely something McKay and I aspire to.
NOW SPEAKING ABOUT THE ALBUM SPECIFICALLY, WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT THE SOUNDS YOU WERE ABLE TO ACHIEVE ON THIS RECORD? WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT THE LAUDS LISTENING EXPERIENCE?
Evans: I think we are really proud of just the vibe that we were able to capture with the production on Imitation Life. We love chorus and reverb and probably always will but I think with the help of Holt II in the studio we were able to find a balance to where the guitar melodies and vocals can carry the songs without over-reliance on effects. Sometimes we get labeled as a “retro” band or whatever and I can’t stand that. We really wanted to avoid cliches like adding crazy compressed snares, warbly chorus, etc. that are hot right now and focus on the strength of riffs and songwriting to make the album a cohesive experience for the listener that doesn’t sound dated.
WHY THE TITLE “IMITATION LIFE”?
Evans: It’s a line that I sing on the song “Distant Images.” I didn’t have a lot of direction in my life when we were recording the album and had a lot of decisions ahead of me regarding my future and too much free time. I think the phrase came about from hours scrolling posts/stories and seeing friends that looked like they already had their lives figured out in their 20s. It’s a totally ridiculous and cynical response, kind of lashing out and (unfairly) ascribing their happiness to just making choices that imitate what society says is a “good life.” I pitched it to the guys and they liked it, but in hindsight I realize it was just an expression of pure jealousy. [laughs]
HOW DO YOU FEELIMITATION LIFEINTRODUCES LAUDS AND CAPTURES YOUR ARTISTRY?
Glasgow: This album is something we feel really proud about. It took a long time to finish but we were able to put a lot of thought into every part of these songs. We definitely overthought some of it too! haha. But often doubt and disagreement are part of the process to make it good. We sifted material and let go of some songs, but we found a shared vision for these 10. It captures the best of where we’ve been as a band so far.
“MISPLACE A NIGHT” IS THE LAST TRACK ON THE ALBUM. WHAT IS THIS SONG ABOUT TO YOU, AND WHY END THE ALBUM WITH IT?
Glasgow: To me the song is about staying out too late and then overthinking about how one spends their time to the point of toxicity. It’s about ‘wasting’ time doing something that probably isn’t going to pay the bills but is often fun or challenging. It’s also about being nervous before shows, wondering if anyone is coming, and realizing that people really don’t care that much about you but they do want a good time from you. When we were all living in town, we had many nights out, drinking beers and wondering why we fill the time out of our busy lives to stay up this late. And we had a blast doing it and are still very much at it although things get more complicated as we seem to keep accruing more and more responsibilities.
HOW DO YOU FEEL THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “MISPLACE A NIGHT” ELEVATES THE TRACK? HOW, TO YOU, DOES IT ADD TO THE SONG'S EXPERIENCE?
Glasgow: This video essentially shows us misplacing several nights around Wilmington, haha, sometimes in rather unfavorable weather. There is also some footage from shows scattered in there and practices in our space. We really let the videographer, Tristan Turner, have free reign to just come hang with us in different places we enjoy. We threw out a couple words, ‘southern’, ‘gothic’, “shadowy” and Tristan nailed it while tying in some of his own themes with the overlays and cool framing. We didn’t want it to focus on who we are as much as the places and vibe. Watching it feels like you are sort of getting lost in the night with this random cast of characters. That’s what shows felt like, especially during the period when we wrote this song.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO OPEN THE RECORD WITH “PARALLEL”?
Glasgow: I feel like the conventional wisdom is that the American attention span dictates that you put your catchiest pop song first on an album, but figured if we were going to lose people on the slow build up to the intro of this track, we had to live with it. It just felt like the opener to us. It eases in and goes out with a bang. The following track picks up the pace quickly from there.
I KNOW A LOT OF THESE SONGS WERE ORIGINALLY RELEASED ON YOUR PREVIOUS EPS; WHICH OF THESE ARE YOU PROUDEST TO HAVE ON YOUR FULL-LENGTH ALBUM?
Glasgow: We chose the 5 previous releases strategically, largely based on when they were written and how they meshed with the 5 “new” tracks. I personally feel proud that “Cedee Lamb” made the cut because it was a song we had to rework and even considered dropping at one point. We finally got it right and it fits well as a darker track instrumentally and thematically.
On the sunnier side, we really thought about not including our first single “Don’t Mind” because it was the pop song people who came to our shows really knew and were ‘too familiar with,’ but some older, wiser heads were basically like, “in reality, no one has heard your music and that song should be on there.” And that was the right call.
AT THE SAME TIME, WHICH OF YOUR NEWEST SONGS ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO HAVE OUT THERE?
Glasgow: I really love “24.” To me this song captures the emotional vibe of the album. There’s a determination to figure things out even with all the internal insecurity. I think it’s relatable, even though the lyrics are at times pretty abstract. It’s somber but uplifting and the synth and guitar parts really vibe with those themes.
AS A LYRICALLY FORWARD BAND, DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE LYRICS IN THESE SONGS?
Glasgow: I really like Holt’s verses on “24,” particularly the one that starts, “I wake up and taste the sun outside…” When I heard that lyric I knew what he meant and it gave a good feeling. I also have grown to appreciate verse 2 of “Ceedee Lamb,” “a sudden tugging on the dusty strings. There a mad dog wild and running off his leash.” That kind of imagery appeals to me because those images are rather benign but with that instrumentation you get a sense of the desperation of someone’s fragile self image coming unhinged. I feel like we had a pretty good grasp on the language we used on the album and didn’t try to overstep lyrically. We like psychology and we wrote about our own small experiences in an honest way.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE LISTENERS TAKE AWAY FROM IMITATION LIFE? WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN AWAY FROM CREATING IT AND NOW PUTTING IT OUT?
Glasgow: I hope they enjoy the experience of listening to it. I hope there are some moments in the songs that give them a good feeling or maybe even remind them of something in themselves they want to think on. The album is brooding, but there are many uplifting moments. It’s full of generally optimistic reflections.
LASTLY, WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO THESE DAYS THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND TO OUR READERS?
Evans: We are loving new music out of North Carolina right now. Wednesday and MJ Lenderman’s rise has been fun to watch. The entire band really loves Rat Saw God. We’re also really looking forward to the upcoming record from Truth Club, as well. On my end l’ve just been listening to a lot of heavier shoegaze stuff and a lot of extreme metal.
My girlfriend lives in Denver, CO right now and I’ve just been freebasing Denver bands most days: Blood Incantation, Spectral Voice, Primitive Man etc. Primitive Man, and Full of Hell’s split record has been my AOTY so far. Would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the Extra Life EP by that band Crushed. Has gotten A TON of plays from me. The song “Milksugar” is an absolute banger.
The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! To be more accurate, the day you’ve been waiting for has arrived. I’ve been listening to Kicking Bird’s debut LP for so long I kinda forgot that it wasn’t actually out yet. It was five long moths ago that I premiered the first single off the album, “Lauren,” and I received my vinyl copy of Original Motion Picture Soundtrackabout a month ago (one of the joys of pre-ordering is you may get an early surprise!).
The album is a beautiful piece of surf rock meets indie pop with allusions to the greats like Springsteen and McCartney mixed in to add a hint of familiarity to this musical introduction. Kicking Bird fills their music with relatable themes like alienation and disconnectedness, love both unrequited and lost, and the need for some kind of support to make it through this world.
“Lauren” pops up early on the album, but a couple of my other favorites fall back to back in the middle. “Stuck” has an amazing energy, with a guitar riff that absolutely rips. Eventually it turns into a screaming solo that is a certified face-melter.
The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! To be more accurate, the day you’ve been waiting for has arrived. I’ve been listening to Kicking Bird’s debut LP for so long I kinda forgot that it wasn’t actually out yet. It was five long moths ago that I premiered the first single off the album, “Lauren,” and I received my vinyl copy of Original Motion Picture Soundtrackabout a month ago (one of the joys of pre-ordering is you may get an early surprise!).
The album is a beautiful piece of surf rock meets indie pop with allusions to the greats like Springsteen and McCartney mixed in to add a hint of familiarity to this musical introduction. Kicking Bird fills their music with relatable themes like alienation and disconnectedness, love both unrequited and lost, and the need for some kind of support to make it through this world.
“Lauren” pops up early on the album, but a couple of my other favorites fall back to back in the middle. “Stuck” has an amazing energy, with a guitar riff that absolutely rips. Eventually it turns into a screaming solo that is a certified face-melter.
If you find any of this compelling, I urge you to go check out the full album. You can find it on Bandcampor any of the other DSPs.
Kicking Bird is an alternative rock band from Wilmington, North Carolina (US), Original Motion Picture Soundtrackis their full-length debut album without a movie attached (no, we’re not going to talk aboutDances with Wolves). Tom Michels (bass, guitar, vocals), Shaun Paul (guitar, bass, vocals), Shaylah Paul (keyboards, vocals), Robin Cooksley (guitar) and Greg Blair (drums) claim to have stolen chords and melodies from some of our favorite early 2000s’ indie names, who of course had also been inspired by their predecessors themselves (telling lyrics in closing trackRip Off: “He said: it sounds like Townes // I said: everything’s a rip off”), yet everything here sounds quite fresh and original in 2023. You’ll hear eleven guitar-driven rock tracks with influences from punk, Americana, 60s girl groups and power pop – energetic music with relatable stories, infectious hooks, woo-hoo’s and hand claps, and awesome harmony vocals. This just might be one of those records that future artists will be stealing from in 20 years.
WILMINGTON — A band that has traversed states and found its nest in southeastern North Carolina is releasing its first full-length album this week.
Kicking Bird will give fans a live taste of “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” Friday night at Reggie’s 42nd St. Tavern. The 11-track release is a testament to the band’s talent and thriving creation of punchy pop-rock.
“We’re just a sweaty dance party band,” guitarist and frontman Shaun Paul said Wednesday during a break from working at Hot Wax Surf Shop, his family’s business.
Shaun is the primary songwriter with his wife Shaylah (keys), whose collaboration is going 15 years strong. The two met in Chicago and first played in a band called Chaperone. That partnership — and eventual marriage — led Shaun to jamming with Shaylah’s brother, Dylan, in the first incarnation of Kicking Bird, a name that has its roots firmly planted in dance and cinema.
It’s a reference to the Kevin Costner movie “Dances with Wolves,” specifically the Sioux Indian from the Pawnee tribe known as Kicking Bird, who is friends with Costner’s character.
The Pauls are joined by Robin Cooksley (lead guitar), Tom Michaels (bass) and Greg Blair (drums), whose expansive soundscapes — fuzz guitars, pedals, driving ‘90s rhythms — are a bit cinematic as well. Though “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” isn’t a direct reflection of the Costner movie, Shaun said each track coalesced in a way that could be a musical short film of sorts.
“Like a day in Carolina Beach — on someone’s vacation,” he suggested. “You could write a whole story around it if you wanted to.”
The band was playing many of the songs live by the time it started recording. However, during the process, three new tracks were added into the mix: “Hickory River,”“Stuck”and “Talking to Ghosts (IRL).”
Shaylah wrote the latter on piano first and brought a loose representation with few words to Shaun, who added in the guitar melody. He said the G-flat note stood out, so he ran with it to blanket the song’s haunting vibe.
“I think that kind of permeated all the lyrics from there,” Shaun added.
On the song, Shaylah sings:
“Slip away/You can visit when the moon grows/I’m still on your mind/Slide away/It’s a mirror on a tightrope/I’m still on your mind.”
“It’s one of my favorites, as far as lyrical content,” Shaun said.
The husband and wife approach songwriting differently, but the polarity is what makes it work — along with mutual respect and constructive criticism.
“Her concept of music structure and kitsch and melody are far superior to mine,” Shaun said. “And my knowledge of chord structure and what makes a song move to the next part is something that she benefits from.”
Shaun writes from fiction, Shayla from personal experience.
“I like the sound of words first,” he explained. “And the meaning of them will come later. But this record is a fine mix of both.”
A lot of Kicking Bird’s lyrics center on proverbial rock ’n’ roll inspiration: love. Whether it’s online dating (“Talking to Girls (on the Internet),” which has a hard open conjuring ‘90s Brit rockers Hefner) or moving past an old flame (“Stuck”), each is punctuated by a solid hook. It’s one of the quintessential elements needed to make a pop song … well, pop.
“It has to draw you in and keep you singing, or humming it later that day or week, month if it’s really good,” Cooksley said.
He references “Talking to Girls” and “Just to Be Here with You.” The latter is Cooksley’s most beloved song on the record, due to the dynamics of guitar work that crescendos into noise.
“It has a killer drum beat, ripping guitar leads and gorgeous backing vocals — a bit of everything,” he said.
The perfect pop song, according to Shaun, comes with two verses, three choruses, and a bridge, and it must not exceed three-and-a-half minutes. Only one, “Talking to Ghosts,” from the album does so — by 11 seconds.
Shaylah finds herself drawn to the “melodic component” first, ensuring it’s an instantaneous attention-grabber for the listener. But it also must have “heart” and an “addictive quality, so you can’t help but play it again and again.”
She cites “Lauren” as a good example.
“There isn’t exactly a chorus that repeats multiple times; the catchiest part of the song is the verse near the end, where the band drops out besides the bass and handclaps,” she said. “That moment has the kind of energy that pop songs have, where they can move the energy in the room.”
Shaun was listening to a lot of Ty Segall and Bruce Springsteen during recording, which infuses influence even if subliminally. Power rhythms are aplenty on the album, tipping its hat to ‘80s and ‘90s bands. Particularly, he named The Clash and The Ramones as music that perfectly blends in tandem pop sensibilities with rock edge.
Though Motown girl groups, The Ronettes and Chantels, also are inspirations.
“There’s simpleness in the lyrics to those songs that kind of convey a lot with a little and that’s hard to do,” he said. “Where we have fun is turning the music into a party. We’re not looking to make anybody think too hard, but at the same time, we want everybody on the same wavelength.”
He said each member plays a critical role in reaching that end-goal. Shaun called Blair an “emotional empath” of a drummer, who secures the vibe of a song without much direction.
“I don’t know how to explain how to play the drums,” he said. “But Greg will just pick up the sticks and be like, ‘OK, I get you.’”
Michaels is the “wonderkid” when it comes to recording and electronics, and made the album “sound good,” Shaun praised. He added Cooksley runs checks and balances to make sure everyone and everything is in order.
“He is also an amazing guitar player when it comes to making a song better — by adding a part or just some riff where you wouldn’t expect it,” Shaun said.
The band is conclusive that recording “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” was smooth sailing. Kicking Bird has been working on its debut LP since 2020; the band released a five-track EP, “The Covid Tapes,” during summer 2021. Only one song, “238,” appears on both.
The band captured the intensity of their music in a shed in drummer Blair’s backyard — “where we practice and get loud,” Shaun said. It took roughly nine months to record, a process Shayla called “extremely fun.”
“It was the first time I truly heard the intricacies of what everyone is doing during the live show,” she said.
The group intrinsically works well together and feeds off each other with an ease of flow.
“So anytime Shayla wanted to do eight vocal effects on top of each other, Tom was like, ‘I’ll layer them together,’” Shaun said. “He was cool. Or anytime Greg said, ‘I want to do bongos here,’ it’s like, ‘Alright, let’s do that.’”
They sent the final record to Seattle to be mastered by Frank Mazzeo (Fleet Foxes), who Shaun said exceeded expectations: “Frank really bumped it up to the next level.”
Most of the challenges the band faced came over decisions in aesthetics or promotion — such as the record’s artwork.
“We all have strong opinions, so agreeing on something subjective like artwork was … interesting,” Cooksley said with a laugh. “But we got there.”
“Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” showcases Cooksley’s daughter swimming in the Atlantic Ocean on Carolina Beach — a photo captured by local photographer and Cooksley’s pal Shane Keenan.
The tight-knit nature of the band spills over to their families, wherein their kids play with each other while the adults are at band practice.
“It’s going on eight years,” Shaun said, noting they’ve already begun plotting record number two.
Many news songs have been penned in the last month or so. Though it won’t be a total departure from the vitality of sound Kicking Bird envelops, Shaun said a Brit influence is likely to find more impact on their sound.
“I’m listening to a lot of Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura,” he said. “The new stuff is going to still be poppy and snare-snappy forward, but I think there’s going to be a little bit more subtlety.”
The setlist for the “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” show at Reggie’s (1415 S 42nd St.) Friday night will feature tracks from the band’s new record, older songs, plus some of the new ones that have yet to be played in front of an audience.
“Everybody’s gonna be dancing and singing along,” Shaun said.
Roughly 100 vinyls have been pressed for “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack,” with the release for sale at the show. It also will be available on Kicking Bird’s Bandcamp page.
Joining the bill will be Pleasure Island and Cool Jerk.
