JPW & Dad Weed 'Two Against Nurture' - 2024 in Review // Favorite EPs, Reissues and Albums

[Repost from I Heart Noise; by Ilya S., December 5, 2024]

“J Moss is a deeply authentic music maker. One of the most prolific recording projects I’ve heard of in recent memory, Modern Folk can be anything from fingerstyle acoustic guitar, to field recording laden soundscapes, to noisy spacious freak outs, to a free rock band full of friends” – Bud Tapes

J Moss, aka The Modern Folk, is no big fan of lists, by his own admission. Which is why we’re honored to have him kick off an overview of 2024 for us!

JPW & Dad Weed – Two Against Nurture (Fort Lowell Records)

FOR FANS OF: Amen Dunes, Calexico, Cornershop, Elephant 6, Flaming Lips, Gin Blossoms, LEN, My Morning Jacket, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, R.E.M., Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan, U2, Wilco, Link Wray

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.

Further Reading: Add To Wantlist / Here Comes The Flood 

Songs of Our Lives #60: Jason Woodbury

[Repost from Foxy Digitals; by Brad Rose, November 12, 2024]


On this episode of Songs of Our Lives, it’s Jason Woodbury! After a quick chat about the connection and influence of writing about music and playing music, plus his new EP with Dad Weed, we get into unfortunate moments with the Bob Seger Band, the lifetime of influence Vince Guaraldi has had, sticking up for The Smiths, Judee Sill’s transcendent lyrics, Bill Evans replayability, Bob Dylan, Cocteau Twins, Tom Verlaine + more!


CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO FULL PODCAST


Listen to all of Jason’s picks HERE
Jason’s Website
Jason’s Substack, “Range & Basin”
JPW & Dad Weed “Two Against Nurture”
JPW “Raw Action On Route”
Transmissions Podcast

Successful collaboration between two songwriters leads to melancholy, memory and magic in three atmospheric tracks

[Repost from Add to Wantlist; by Dennis, November 7, 2024]

New EP: JPW & Dad Weed || Two Against Nurture

Phoenix-based singer-songwriters (and longtime friends) Jason P. Woodbury aka JPW and Zach Toporek aka Dad Weed have joined forces, and the synergistic effect is inviting. The three tracks on their Two Against Nurture EP embrace sunny psych pop with a dark folk edge. A two-sided tension is reflected on all levels, including in the lyrics, such as “Well everybody’s talking about moving away // You think you’ll be sticking around” (from Everybody’s Talking (Again)) and “Sun tan lotion // Wearing mirrored skin // You’ve arrived here // Just in time for the end” (from Big Wave). Musically you’ll also hear a clash of styles and preferences, resulting in a rich and surprising orchestration that sounds experimental at times, but is always captivating.

Two Against Nurture, written and produced by Jason P. Woodbury and Zach Toporek, is out digitally via Fort Lowell Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

JPW & Dad Weed - Two Against Nurture

[Repost for If It's Too Loud; by Ken Sears, November 6, 2024]

JPW & Dad Weed is the collaboration between Phoenix songwriters Zachary "Dad Weed" Toporek and Jason P. Woodbury. The duo just released a three song EP titled Two Against Nurture. The three songs comprising the EP are this glorious mix of the more mainstream side of early 90's alt-rock such as Gin Blossoms and R.E.M. alongside the more experimental sounds of Polaris and The Flaming Lips. Despite it not sounding like a complete 90's throwback, songs like "Everybody's Talking (Again)" and "When I Get Lonesome" are going to hit a nostalgia button you didn't even know you had. Plus, the songs are just a load of fun and have a sunny side that is necessary here in New England when it's getting dark at 4:30 in the afternoon. "Big Wave" closes out the EP, and goes in a completely different, more early country infused Wilco meets Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco. Two Against Nurture is made up of three perfect singles.

You can listen to Two Against Nurture below. The EP is out now via Fort Lowell Records, and is available via Bandcamp. For more on JPW & Dad Weed, check out Jason P. Woodbury's website. Dad Weed can be found on Instagram here.

JPW & Dad Weed: Two Against Nurture

[Repost by Here Comes the Flood; by Hans Werksman, October 29, 2024]

Phoenix, AZ based musicians Jason P. Woodbury and Zachary Toporek themselves JPW & Dad Weed for their debut EP Two Against Nurture. The three tracks were recorded in fits and starts over the years, but they share the same framework: free-flowing, gnarly power pop that mixes the Byrds with unhinged 90s grunge.

Never mind the stoned teenagers having a laugh name for their duo. This is very much a release for music geeks, who will have a field day dissecting all the references Woodbury and Toporek managed to sneak in.

Two Against Nurture is released via Fort Lowell Records.

Tracks:

1. Everybody's Talking (Again)
2. When I Get Lonesome
3. Big Wave

OUT NOW: JPW & Dad Weed 'Two Against Nurture' [Digital EP]

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.

LISTEN TO DIGITAL EP HERE