Prompt: "The most recent song you heard for the first time"
Selected by Josh Terry. Josh is a professional music writer hailing from Chicago. Check out his weekly newsletter, No Expectations.
"Sea or War"
Robber Robber
single, 2024
When I first started my music newsletter No Expectations, I wrote about a songwriter from Burlington, VT named Greg Freeman. His 2022 LP I Looked Out remains a favorite for its apocalyptic, shoegaze-inflected twang. Through Freeman, I learned about a really great scene out in Vermont. The drummer Zack James, who played on I Looked Out, writes infectious, power-pop-adjacent indie rock as Dari Bay. Freeman's bassist Lily Seabird also makes tender, expansive, and knotty solo songs. Even though I've never been to Burlington, everything I've heard coming out of this small city has been excellent. It's important to look at music locally as products of supportive, adventurous, and exciting communities. What's happening there reminds me of what's happened in indie rock, jazz, and hip-hop scenes in Chicago, my home city.
Freeman and James are in Seabird's live band, along with a songwriter named Nina Cates, who fronts the band Robber Robber. The post-punk outfit, which includes James (confused yet?), is gearing up to release a bunch of new music in 2024. The ripping single "Sea or War" is the first taste. The song is a mesmerizing and muscular guitar jam that shifts into a gorgeous, psychedelic outro. The tune totally floored me this week, and made Robber Robber's forthcoming music my most anticipated of 2024. Shoegaze is pretty en vogue lately, but Robber Robber combine the best elements of the genre to focus exclusively on the song's substance over simply crafting a vibe. It rules. Of course, Greg Freeman directed the video.
1 comment:
Shoutout to Josh for slumming it with the Puke on Your Birthday crew for a day. No Expectations is absolutely worth the subscription, even if you don't live in the Chicago area (or Burlington, VT).
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