Meet Indie Artist Brian Lopez

[Repost from Blood Makes Noise; May 4, 2023]

A lead player in crafting the sound of the Southwest indie scene for the past two decades, Lopez will drop his 4th studio album, TIDAL, in May 2023. According to Popmatters: “TIDAL’s debut single, “3000 Stories,” is indie rock and folk this side of Elliott Smith, finding its mellow vibe in subtle, undulating synths, guitar tones, and soft-sung vocals. It’s a gorgeously crafted, unassuming first single that sets the tone for something special from Lopez in the coming months with TIDAL.” 

Lopez released his first solo album Ultra in 2011 to international acclaim. Rolling Stone Germany described the record as “Psychedelic chamber-pop with the surrealist touch of Dalí.” After touring across Europe and the US as the opening act for KT Tunstall, Giant Sand and Heartless Bastards, he released Static Noise in 2014, followed in 2018 by Prelude, a lo-fi 10-song album written and recorded in his Armory Park bedroom during a two-week period. 

How did the band form?

I started playing guitar when I was 12…so it's been about a million years now. One of these days I might actually sound good.

Previous musical projects? How'd you first get into music?

I’ve been a hired  gun for touring acts like  KT Tunstall, Calexico, Nouvelle Vague, Mexican Institute of Sound, Giant Sand….The first indie rock touring band I started was called Mostly Bears back in 2006. We died in 2009.  I started the psych /cumbia rock project, XIXA, in 2013. We’re still active. And I’ve been putting out solo albums since 2009…I’ll always be doing the solo thing. It’s like brushing my teeth. Just gotta do it.

First concert that you ever went to?

Santana at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, AZ. I must’ve been 10 years old? Not so coincidentally the first time I smelled weed.

What's your writing process like? 

These days? Typically I don’t start until after 8pm. There’s usually some mezcal involved. Some edibles. And sometimes psilocybin. I demo songs at home on pro tools. Then when they sound fully formed, I take the song(s) to Dust & Stone Studios in Tucson, which my band XIXA owns and operates, and I record them there.

What other artists or songs inspire your music?

I love Peruvian chicha, French Chanson, Brit pop, singer songwriters like Nick Drake and Elliott Smith. I mean I love a whole lot of stuff, depending on the hour of day. But this playlist is mostly chill rainy day songwriter-y stuff.

What's the live experience like and your philosophy on playing live? Do you think the music live should be identical to the recorded version or should it be it's own thing?

There’s a proper time and space to represent the recorded version of a song while on stage. But there is certainly a craft in taking that recorded product and finding a new shape for it – a shape that better accompanies the performative aspect of the song. 

Has the band toured? What has the touring experience been, best shows? worst shows?

Lots. I’m in Cologne, Germany now on tour. I’ve had many great touring experiences. And a handful of really bad ones. One of the first tours I did was with a band called Mostly Bears, which I co-founded when I was 22. We toured across the country several times. One time we were playing a show in Minneapolis, Minnesota…and a local punk band was headlining. They brought approximately ZERO people to the show. And didn’t watch our set. We had a long night drive to Chicago the next day, so as they played their headlining set, we started to pack up our merch and head out. The lead singer, from the stage, started cursing at us for leaving early. And then the stopped their set and followed us outside to the parking lot where  I Had broken a glass beer bottle to fend them off while our sound engineer got the getaway vehicle. There was some yelling back and forth..some threats made…and in the end, we got into the tour band without any incident. But for a second there, I thought we were gonna get jumped by 7 or a 8 local punk rockers. One of them, by the way, was the local promoter haha. On the way out of the parking lot, there was a woman selling roses. I bought a dozen and had the woman distribute them to our new punker friends. The End. 

What's up next for the band?

New solo album, TIDAL, out June 23rd. Then hopefully more touring throughout the summer and fall 2023.

PRE-ORDER VINYL RECORD HERE

Desario: Eclipse

[Repost from Here Comes the Flood; by Hans Werksman, May 4, 2023]

Sacramento, CA based quartet Desario have found a way to mix jabngeling guitars with shoegaze on their new single Eclipse. It is a nice play of light and shade with a main hook that hard to resist. John Conley's vocals could have been turned up a bit louder in the mix. The twin guitars are commandeering the spotlights, but bass player Mike Carr has a found a spot to insert a lick straight out of the Sisters of Mercy playbook.

Desario:
Michael Yoas: guitar, keyboards
John Conley: vocals, guitar
Mike Carr: bass
Kirklyn Cox: drums, percussion

Eclipse is released via Fort Lowell Records.

Springing for singles II

[Repost from Poprock Record; Dennis Pilon, April 28, 2023]

On Kicking Bird’s debut LP Original Motion Picture Soundtrack you hear a band that is having fun, not taking themselves too seriously. There’s a Titus Andronicus shambolic feel to things sometimes (“Hickory River”), but a more measured sixties girl group pacing at others (“Just To Be Here With You”). Personally, I’m taken with the topical, jaunty “Talking to Girls (On the Internet).”

Will's Band of the Week: Lauds

[Repost from Will's Band of the Week; April 30, 2023]

Will and Jason discuss new releases by Lauds, Ulrika Spacek, and Cindy, plus a death of the week and bonus songs.

LISTEN HERE:

Video: Brian Lopez feat. KT Tunstall “Road To Avalon”

[Repost from Americana UK; by Andrew Frolish, April 20, 2023]

Tucson singer-songwriter Brian Lopez once again delivers the sound of the American Southwest in his new single ‘Road to Avalon’.  The song features Scottish singer KT Tunstall, with whom he has toured in the past, and the interplay of their voices is the highlight of the song.  Beginning with the pair’s melodic vocals and moody guitar, before ethereal piano notes and accordion from multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Sullivan drift in, the song is immediately absorbing.  Full of cinematic atmosphere, the song bursts with renewed energy halfway through when the powerful bass and percussion kick in and all those layers create a rich, full sound. The video for ‘Road to Avalon’ is an engrossing animation, directed and created by 10 Years Time (Charlie Elms), whose work can be seen here.  It’s a visual psychedelic trip, a vibrant journey into the imagination that reinforces the song’s themes of mystical escape and companionship.

Lopez says of the song and working in collaboration with Tunstall:  “It was just nice to work together again, especially during the solitude of a pandemic. I really enjoyed the challenge of writing a song that would fit into, not only a storyline of KT and I, but also a song that gave KT some creative license to do what she does best. And she delivered those beautiful vocal arrangements you hear that I would never be able to conceive of on my own.”

Lopez will be familiar to AUK readers as a frontman for XIXA and he has also been a member of Giant Sand and Calexico.  After a few years writing and recording with Calexico and XIXA, Lopez is once again focusing on solo material and ‘Road to Avalon’ is taken from his forthcoming fourth album ‘Tidal’, due for release on 23rd June 2023.  Expect more songs that blend the sound and feel of cosmic psychedelia with the mystery of the Arizona desert.  Enjoy.

Kicking Bird

[Repost from 3Hive; by Todd Simmons, April 17, 2023]

We are stoked to bring you the premier of Wilmington, North Carolina quintet Kicking Bird’s latest single “Just To Be Here With You”; a 4 minute dreamy pop track, packed with infectious guitar melodies and vocal harmonies from Shaylah Paul and her husband Shaun Paul.

Kicking Bird’s debut LP Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is out in May via Fort Lowell Records. Enjoy.

PRE-ORDER NOW: James Sardone 'Colors' [12inch EP]

For more than a generation, James Sardone has put his own unique spin on indie rock. Hailing from the Appalachians, the musical magpie has dabbled in an expanding number of genres on a journey that stretched up the eastern seaboard. What started in the late 80s as the irreverent noise of seminal post-punk trio Brickbat -- who toured with Jawbox, The Jesus Lizard, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion -- has given way now to electronica-infused, 80s pop-inflected solo work. In between, Sardone honed his craft, evolving in an array of projects from the country-tinged hard rock Burnley Brothers to the rockabilly sensibilities of The Jimmy Nations Combo to Loose Jets’ glammier hard rock. Like music itself, Sardone never rests, never stays in one musical space too long before branching out to his next cacoethes.

Now working as a solo artist, Sardone's EP Colors presents us with an opportunity to witness the Wilmington, North Carolina guitar virtuoso's mastery as a pop songwriter. The titled track "Colors Of Your Brain" is a captivating guitar-driven dance hit layered with an abundant amount of compelling influence that spans four decades of Alternative music. Indie R'n'B duo De La Noche (Robert Rogan, Brian Weeks) contribute two versions of their solid four-on-the-floor remix for "Colors Of Your Brain"; one short edit geared toward radio disc jockeys, and another that clocks in over eleven minutes primed to keep you on the dance floor. To round out the EP, Sardone delivers a captivating rendition of Blondie's "Dreaming" featuring Tracy Shedd on piano, along with "Life of Love" — an upbeat original song chock-full of sophisticated, optimistic hooks.

James Sardone Colors will be release on Friday, July 21, 2023.

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER VINYL

What's In Our Inbox! Brian Lopez ft. KT Tunstall

[Repost from Blood Makes Noise; April 18, 2023]

Band Name:  Brian Lopez (Ft. KT Tunstall)

BMN Score: 9.2/10

What the band says they sound like: Alternative indie-rock artist Brian Lopez (Calexico, XIXA) shares his latest single “Road To Avalon,” with a special guest feature and longtime friend KT Tunstall. Tapping into the memory of shared exploration and experiences between the friends around Glastonbury Festival many moons ago, the waltz-leaning single narrates an escape into the unknown corners of your mind in the name of trust and the procurement of curiosity. It is less a love song and more of one that celebrates the power of companionship as you trek on towards greater unknowns hand in hand with the trust of a friend.

What we say they sound like: It's weird when you mostly review lo-fi stuff to come across something so hi-fi and perfect. It's cinematic in it's approach, a slow build into a very classic sounding song. It reminds me of something written by Burt Bacharach for a 70's cowboy film starring Paul Newman. The guitar lead when the drums kick in give it that whole Sergio Leone feel. What's interesting is I can only think of movie music to compare it to as musically it's in that vein of 70's pop and the full orchestration only helps it to feel like a soundtrack piece. KT Tunstall's vocals are a perfect fit but are hardly a centerpiece. Beautiful video to accompany it as well. It's not often that I lock onto lyrics either but the opening line “night is a savage bird of prey” just shows that all aspects of this song are great. 

Song to add to your playlist: Road To Avalon

OUT NOW: Kicking Bird "Just to Be Here with You" [Digital Single]

The third and final single from Wilmington, North Carolina's own Kicking Bird, titled "Just to Be Here with You", from their debut album Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is available now on all music platforms.

• "A four minute dreamy pop track, packed with infectious guitar melodies and vocal harmonies" ~ 3hive, Todd Simmons
  

LISTEN TO DIGITAL SINGLE // PRE-ORDER VINYL RECORD

OUT NOW: MindsOne / RizzyBeats "Overlord (Thoughts of a Madman)" [Digital Signal]

The second single from the brand new album The Time Space Continuum Redux, by MindsOne / RizzyBeats, titled "Overlord (Thoughts of a Madman)" is available now on all music platforms.

The Time Space Continuum Redux is not only RizzyBeats's revival of MindsOne's debut album, but it's his own personal gift for MindsOne to celebrate the two emcees, KON Sci and Tronic, as they both embark on their fourth decade around the sun and embrace the seventeenth anniversary of their first official release. For the Redux, RizzyBeats used the original vocal tracks from 2006's The Time Space Continuum and produced an up-to-date version reflective of the Golden Age of Hip-Hop.

PS: Happy Birthday, RizzyBeats!

LISTEN TO DIGITAL SINGLE // PRE-ORDER VINYL ALBUM

Premiere: Brian Lopez's new single 'Road to Avalon,' featuring KT Tunstall

[Repost from Arizona Daily Star; by Cathalena Burch, April 4, 2023]

Tucson singer-songwriter Brian Lopez reunites with Scottish singer KT Tunstall on "Road to Avalon," a song he recorded during the pandemic. It's the second single off his forthcoming solo album "Tidal," due out this summer on the Los Angeles-based Cosmic Records. The single is available on most major download platforms on Tuesday, April 4. Lopez, who also is part of the popular Tucson cumbia rock band XIXA, toured North America and the UK with Tunstall in 2013 as part of her "Invisible Empire Crescent Moon" tour. He sang backing vocals on that studio album, which Tunstall recorded at Tucson's WaveLab Studios with Howe Gelb. Lopez said he and Tunstall worked remotely on the single during the COVID-19 pandemic, exchanging digital files as he made the record at home and from his downtown Dust & Stone Recording Studio. 

Single Premiere + interview – Eclipse by Desario (2023) (Fort Lowell Records)

[Repost from Janglepophub; by Darrin Lee, April 3, 2023]

Despite an increasingly age addled grumpiness of personality, regular readers of our blog will know that I can gush like a teenager speaking awkwardly with their first ‘too hot for them’ crush the moment I find myself enamoured with a piece of music.

Thus it was so that I pledged my everlasting love for the Signal and Noise album that Sacramento foursome Desario released back in July 2022 on Sunday Records and Fort Lowell Records).

This double track single is their first release since that glorious album (you see, there I go again !?) and JanglePopHub are absolutely honoured to be asked to Premiere the initial Eclipse track today before both tracks are officially released on 07 April 2023.

If Signal and Noise saw the band jump more concertedly into a more jangle-pop based sound that often frequented previous releases without ever dominating, Eclipse sees a return to their more bruised, burnished and emotionally charged sound that simultaneously cavorts with the dank, industrial jangle-rock of The Wends / RGV aesthetic whilst managing to clutch onto the fringes of mid 80s post-punk oppression and anxiety.

The band were kind enough to grant us a short interview discussing their thoughts around the release.

The “Eclipse” A-Side and Indeed Desario’s aesthetic in general is notoriously hard to pigeon-hole to a genre. Various blogs describe it as shoegaze at one end of the spectrum to jangle-rock at the other end with all manner of indie rock, alternative rock, post-punk terms used in between…how do Desario describe their own sound, why is it so hard to describe and what influences simmer through on “Eclipse”?

John Conley:

That’s a huge compliment, I’m glad our sound is a little difficult to define. We are influenced by all of those genres. I would say this particular song was inspired by 80s post-punk and alternative bands like the Echo and the Bunnymen and The Church.

There is also some early 2000s influence from bands like Editors and maybe British Sea Power. Mike (Yoas) and I both love the BSP album “Open Season”. 

Michael Yoas:

Desario’s sound has always been tough to describe. The four of us have identical and at the same time, very dissimilar musical tastes and influences that we pull from. We are not afraid to wear our influences on our sleeves on any song, the influences just vary greatly from song to song.

Regarding “Eclipse”, I agree with John in that I hear E&TB, BSP as well as early 90’s Brit-Pop…and I don’t know why, but it also reminds me of Fleetwood Mac.

Mike Carr:

Speaking of notorious, Desario takes a notoriously long time between albums. Due to this, we usually have the core ideas that form the basis of the majority of the songs for the next album by the time the current album comes out. But we don’t rush anything.

Some songs start from 1 member’s ideas, but the majority are written and evolve together as a band. The longer we work on them, the more they take shape and mature, and the more each member’s ideas and influences come out. I believe this is what gives our songs their uniqueness and character. And sometimes an idea isn’t quite right for where we currently are as a band. “Eclipse” is no different – I’ve found practice recordings of what eventually would become “:Eclipse” from as far back as the end of 2014!

What was the songwriting and recording process for both tracks on the single? Was anything different to how Desario usually arrives at their music?

JC:

This song was recorded during the “Signal and Noise” sessions. When we were arranging the tracks for the album, we felt at the time it didn’t quite fit with the other songs on the album.

MY:

The recording process was especially interesting for me as this was the first album which I recorded and mixed from start to finish.

I have always had a hand in our previous records, but not the complete process. The end result of the sessions versus what I heard in my head going in was very close for the most of the songs…one of the exceptions being “Eclipse”. It ended up with a different vibe than the rest of Signal and Noise, therefore it made sense to release as a stand-alone single.

What is the lyrical context of both tracks? Are they repeated themes from previous releases?

JC:

We started recording the songs for “Signal and Noise” just before the pandemic. I ended up writing most of the lyrics during the pandemic. I think that had an influence on the lyrical tone, especially both of these songs. I would say an overarching theme is feelings of loss, separation and anxiety.

How did the pairing with Lavender Blush’s Ryan Leisure arise in relation to his “The Things We Left Behind” re-mix?

JC:

I’ve been friends with Ryan (Lescure) for a number of years. I have also designed the album covers for Lavender Blush, along with a 10″ EP and 7″ single. Mike (Yoas) did a remix for a B-side from the first Lavender Blush LP.

When we shared an early version of our album with Ryan, he had expressed some interest in remixing “Things We Left Behind”. What he did with the songs is really cool, it’s more of a reinterpretation. He added some new guitar parts and gave the song a heavier feel.

MY:

For me, it was a completely unexpected, but satisfying reimagination of “Things We Left Behind”. I would definitely love to continue trading remixes with Ryan in the future.

Desario; photo by Owen Carr

BMN Spotlight: infinitikiss (Fort Lowell Records) by Nic Ken

[Repost from Blood Makes Noise; March 29, 2023]

infinitikiss is an ever-evolving musical and visual recording project conceptualized by Nic Jenkins, and ambient music is his latest full length album, as well as first release with Fort Lowell Records. The core material for ambient music came from live improvisations that were recorded to cassette tapes, which originally served as backing tracks for live solo performances. It was an interest in sound healing, vibrational therapy, and chakras / energy systems that helped Jenkins realize this album. The song titles reflect the moods & colors (aka spectral wave) of the blending and bending of colors in a rainbow (ROYGBIV), as well as to the energy fields of our bodies; corresponding to the “roygbiv” sequence and play with imagery of said colors. Considering the nature of tape (magnetic film), Jenkins seized the opportunity to explore a range of microtonal frequencies which ultimately helped him to decide to tune down or up to 432, 440, and 444 hz.in an attempt to explore, to enjoy, and to hopefully gain an expanded awareness of shifting frequencies. infinitikiss is available to buy on translucent chartreuse green vinyl here [https://fortlowell.square.site/product/infinitikiss-ambient-music-/66], or you can stream the complete album on any digital music platform here [https://orcd.co/flr053]. The following is a somewhat free-association writing exercise provided by Nic Jenkins of infinitikiss, prompted by the imagery of the titles of the pieces, not so much a transcription of instruments or composition and production techniques utilized in the album: 

Track 1 | Key: A major | Frequency: 432 hz | Title: "drinking cherry hibiscus tea at a stop light at sunset" As you start your day, do you ever find it helpful to consider that a version of you is also going to sleep, another version of you is being born, and another of you is also dying? I’m interested in how we as humans make discoveries as tiny bits of an entire, whole, living, breathing, evolving thing. How can we give less energy to things that keep us from feeling incomplete, separate and/or in states-of-lack mindsets? How can we give more energy to remembering that right now we’re actually on a giant rock floating through endless time & infinite space? 

Track 2 | Key: B minor | Frequency: 432 hz | Title: "the smell of burnt turmeric" Isn’t it kind of comical that whatever practices we rely on for manifestation of what we define as “happiness” or “normalcy” can also become points of liberation? Through the whole scope of this music becoming an album, I was learning to let those practices just BE and not try to turn them into something MORE than what they are fundamentally. For example: physical intimacy can be this way, as it is a mix between searching blindly and also trusting in the soul’s ability to navigate purely based on energetic intensity (aka passion collaboration) and intuition. It can feel weightless, and certain kinds of weightlessness can be terrifying. Sometimes it gives more grounding to our sense of being.  

Track 3 | Key: B minor | Frequency: 432 hz | Title: "floating through holographic desert waves" I don’t usually remember many of my dreams. However, in dreams it seems that the roles we play are much less concrete that those we embody from day to day. In a way they are all so much more poetic in narrative and symbolism. Aren’t those symbols and narratives just as real? How does it contribute to our overall sense of being? What voices are telling us that we’re not enough? Explore those thoughts. If we die in dreams, do we not feel more grateful to be on this side of the living experience and waking life? How much of our private worlds are dictated by external inputs? If time and temperature are important factors in the culinary realms / sciences (and in nature), how much of our physical experience is influenced in this way? After all, our bodies are mostly made of water. 

Track 4 | Key: C major | Frequency: 432 hz | Title: "and a wish for chamomile pillows after a lemon bath" Look up! Nice job. You’re doing great. This music doesn’t really demand very much, does it? It doesn’t really try to dominate anyone’s attention spans. It simply exists best as a full spectrum sonic hug, like a box full of letters from your dearest friends and family. It’s there. It can serve as a compliment to whatever beautifully real things are happening in your world at any given moment. Thanks for the time you have given to be curious and to enjoy any dimension of this music. Thank yourself! A cup of tea can provide numerous healing bene_frequencies, just as herbs are always around to reward you if you know how to identify them, I suppose? They can encourage a deeper awareness of what is; a more expansive awareness of now. The newness wants you, too.  

Track 5 | Key: D major, part 1 | Frequency: 432 hz | Title: "in the same vibration that pothos green grows" I have had such a complicated relationship with pothos plants, actually. Is it me? What do I need to learn to keep these green babies alive? Do you have a similar conundrum? Do I care too much or not enough? Is there enough light; enough water? Am I holding enough light / space / time as I can today? For myself? For others? Which version of me is most like the pothos plants in my life? How slow. So real. Very vibrational.  

Track 6 | Key: D major, part 2 | Frequency: 440 hz | Title: "or the minty jade of ginkos" Have you ever… let your face be gently and quietly caressed by the fresh flaky leaves of a gingko tree? Maybe you have one in your neighborhood or yard –– maybe a neighbor’s yard? It feels like one thousand tiny hugs and kisses on your cheeks. Thanks, Gaia. Ginkgo tree trunks are also very satisfying to hug, should you find yourself surrounded by them and in need of an embrace. Better yet, just go hug a tree –– any tree. It is a gift you can give yourself at any time you want.   

Track 7 | Key: D major, part 3 | Frequency: 444 hz | Title: "while matcha clouds are raining" Have you ever… tried googling: “What is the harmonic frequency (or vibrational frequency) of ________ “ ? [ Fill in the blank with your deepest inquiries. ] For example, I like to search various ingredients of foods. I’m curious how my body converts the energy of things like caffeine. Is it fuel? Is it food? What does it do? Recently, I’ve noticed that teas are more gentle to my body & mind. To each their own.  

Track 8 | Key: Eb minor | Frequency: 444 hz | Title: "tears of happy mermaids" In another life, I am most likely that which dwells among the deep, dark creatures of the sea. The idea of mer-beings fascinates me because the Earth is mostly water, and it seems like a totally peaceful way to exist (unless you’re always almost someone else’s meal). It also seems quite frightening. I have had a handful of dream vignettes of myself and former lovers as half-human, half-fishlike beings… just treading water, and other times venturing into deep, dark unknown mysteries. Have you ever… been there?   

Track 9 | Key: F major | Frequency: 444 hz | Title: "in the same shade of what blue jeans are made" Hands plus water plus dye. Is indigo more purple or blue or neither? Either way, don’t forget to breathe (on purpose). What a magical thing air is. 

Track 10 | Key: G major | Frequency: 444 hz | Title: "from a lavender halo we are projecting ourselves" How many different ways can one enjoy lavender? For valuable insight & feedback, consult an herbalist friend.  

Brian Lopez feat. KT Tunstall - “Road to Avalon”

[Repost from Remezcla; by Juan J. Arroyo, April 7, 2023]

Indie rock singer-songwriter Brian Lopez has spent the past few years recording and touring with bands Calexico and XIXA. However, he has now focused on releasing his newest full-length album, TIDAL, dropping June 23. In its latest single, “Road to Avalon,” he teams up with KT Tunstall for a precarious traipse down a shadow-brick road filled with melodies that border on the mystical. For the music video, visual artist 10 Years to Live leans into the track’s psychedelic waltz sound and concocts images that bring the lyrics to magical realist life.

An Interview with Kicking Bird (And a premier of "238!")

[Repost from If It's Too Loud; by Ken Sears, March 31, 2023]

When you have a music blog, you sometimes get to hear new music early. I got to hear Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, the upcoming new album from Wilmington, NC's Kicking Bird, and was instantly smitten. Some albums just seem perfectly made for my specific tastes, and that's how this one feels. The songs on Original Motion Picture Soundtrack have that perfect mid-90's power pop sound with a little retro 60's cool. It's like a less ironic version of Fountains of Wayne and Weezer. I got the chance to interview three members of Kicking Bird (Shaun and Shaylah Paul as well as Robin Cooksley) over email, so we discussed North Carolina, their upcoming album, and the song we're premiering, "238."

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is due out May 19 on Fort Lowell Records, and can be pre-ordered here. For more on Kicking Bird, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram. You can listen to "238" below the interview.

Your sound seems to invoke the early 60's and late 90's/early 00's. What are your favorite bands from those time periods?

• Shaun: I definitely think we take a lot of inspiration from garage rock. The Kinks are one band specifically that has been a major influence on our songwriting energy. They are also a band that made it ok to write any type of a song, and not be limited by any one "sound". I know that for me personally, Bob Dylan is the mountaintop for lyrical work so that is definitely a mile marker for quality. I also love his ability to only have a flirtatious relationship with melody, he can cram three extra words in any time he needs and no one is the wiser. When Shaylah and I first started playing together Arcade Fire was making really amazing records, so I think that kind of vocal interplay over really fun instrumentation became something we always worked towards. One of the most life changing concerts I ever went to was when some friends took me to see The Walkmen and I was able to watch Hamilton Leithauser sing in person.
  
  
• Shaylah: The Beatles and Weezer. The two greatest bands ever!
  
  
• Robin: I'm glad you can hear that, as my go-to music is 60's garage music and mid 90's indie. I love Bends/OK Computer era Radiohead, their guitarist, Jonny Greenwood is a genius, I lay awake at night dreaming of being able to make the insane sounds that he makes on the guitar ha! I used to play in a 60's mod band, so my love of 60's garage rock bands is strong, the Kinks probably most influenced me from that period. I can only imagine what it must have been like to first hear the rawness of the guitar sound and vocal swagger of You've Really Got Me, when most everyone else was doing bubble-gum pop in 1964. I love Ray Davies' storytelling, he can really set a scene and take you there, I think Shaun can pull that off in his lyrics, but instead of a 1960's rural England village scene, he's trying to take you to the moon on a rocket ship or riding on the shoulders of a bear, or some other crazy shit.

A lot of bands with your sound seem to cloak their songs in irony, but as fun as your songs are, they sound completely earnest. Is it tough playing songs that are so heartfelt?

• Shaun: We do feel it. At the end of the day we write fiction. We get to tell fun stories over jangly pop music and I truly love it. I really do connect with every member of the audience when we play live. It's great to feel like we are all at a party just dancing together. If something we've written resonates then that's amazing but I really want those narratives to be the soundtrack to someone's night, not something for reflective introspection.
  
  
• Shaylah: That's really interesting that that's the impression the songs give off, because literally not a word in any of Shaun's songs is true. Except maybe the distance to the moon. I think that's at least an accurate estimation. All of my songs are very specific and it is tough sometimes because people figure things out. All I can about Tom is he's a hopeless romantic.

What's the Wilmington, NC music scene like these days?

• Shaun: Building constantly. Post covid there was a real explosion of rock bands in this town. Up until that, it was starting to feel like if you weren't a punk band or alt-country there was no place for you. That has totally changed. A ton of different sounds are coming from the bands in this town now. There is some really great heavy garage stuff from bands like Narah and Cancel. Pleasure Island is consistently one of the best bands I've seen recently. I think the songwriters are getting better too. Mark Jackson of morning news is a phenomenal lyricist and has the best voice. The greatest part is the DIY feel that the music community has embraced. James at Fort Lowell records is a perfect example of that. He's totally been a really important part of the support structure that's allowed local music to get so good.
  
  
• Shaylah:  It's great and you know what would make it better? More venues with bigger stages and full sound!
  
  
• Robin: It's really cool, there's a decent number of venues and more keep coming up. I love being able to play outside shows at Tiki Bar at the beach and downtown at Satellite/Palate. There's a ton of bands, and they're all really good, which means everyone keeps striving to be better, it's a very healthy scene.

Any plans to tour for this album?

• Shaun: Not yet, but we'd love to find ourselves at some of the awesome street festivals that happen this summer.  We're also open to trying to make it up to Raleigh and or the mountains, do some long weekends.
  
  
• Shaylah: No. We would love to do a mini regional tour out to Asheville and back or something, but it's hard because we have kids and jobs and whatnot. It would be so great though. Maybe one day.

Your songs invoke a joy that sounds like it's a blast to hear live. What's the Kicking Bird live show like?

• Shaun: Loud. Sweaty, Lots of eye contact.
  
  
• Shaylah: Chaotic and barely held together. Shaun has always been anti-senseless banter. Like, he hates when songwriters do the thing where they tell you what the song's about instead of letting the song speak for itself. I agree. His sense of pacing drives a lot of the momentum of each set, and the rest of us try to keep up. It's exciting. It's definitely a dance party.
  
  
• Robin: I think everyone's main reason for being in the band is to play shows, that's definitely where the band are at their happiest. It sounds a bit corny but we really do try and make our shows a bit of a party, there's always good energy that typically gets people up and dancing. Shaun and Tom are always giving it all they have, Tom can usually be found dancing in the audience playing his bass. 

What's the first album you bought?

• Shaun: Weird Al-Even Worse.
  
  
• Shaylah: With my own money? Probably something off one of the listening stations at Borders.
  
  
• Robin: I think when I was about 9 or 10 I bought Run DMC's "Raising Hell" with my own money. Shortly after, my brother played me the "Help" album by the Beatles, and then I immediately started to buy every Beatles album. I bought them pretty much in order of release date and I just remember being blown away every time I got a new one, and the feeling of really discovering and falling in love with great music, that was such a great time.

How do songwriting duties work with having three vocalists?

• Shaun: There are some occasions when one of us will show up with a completed song, beginning to end, all the parts, ready to go. More frequently one of us will show up something that is incomplete to some degree and we will work it out all together. Each of the five of us have different tendencies and skills that make for a really wonderful outcome. Lauren is a really great example of that. Robin showed up to practice with this really fun riff, Shaylah and I banged out the basic chords and words, and then once Greg and Tom threw in the rhythm dynamics the whole thing turned into a complete jam. We are very collective and I really couldn't feel luckier that I get to be part of a team that works together so well.
  
  
• Shaylah: Historically: Shaun will write most of a song, and then show it to me and I'll help write a hook or a bridge if I'm singing on it. If not, I'll come up with something on the piano. When I write, I'll knock it all out and then Shaun takes over on guitar. A few times, I've written the progression and turns out it was better suited for him to sing. When it's one of those great times where we all collaborate on a skeleton in the practice spot, I feel like it's usually Shaun, Robin, and Tom working out the chords, structure, and dynamic. We'll argue about whether a certain chord should be minor or major. Robin will often lead the process with a cool guitar riff.
  
  
• Robin: Pretty much everyone comes up with their own ideas and brings them to practice and we just jam around on the idea/song, sometimes it's a fully formed song and sometimes it's just a bit that we all try to add too to make something cool. I love playing in a band with three very distinct songwriters, Shaun's lyrics are abstract and often weird in a fantastic way, Shaylah's are heartfelt or beautifully melancholy, and Tom's are about young love and just having fun, it gives us a well-rounded mix!  

We're premiering the song "238." What's the story behind the song?

• Shaun: I was watching a skate video at work and a song by Joel Alme that just floored me. I went home and just straight up started ripping off the chords and melody. The words came pretty quickly one night just thinking about how far away and beautiful the moon is. The sounds of words together is the first thing I start working with, and then any narrative or meaning kind of gets discovered after the thing is done. 
  
  
• Shaylah: I guess it's a love song to the moon. Or our dog, whose name is Moon. It's one of my favorite songs to play.
  
  

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO "238" EXCLUSIVELY at IfIt'sTooLoud.com