Pink Nasty

payal — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:00:00 +0000

As a Pink Nasty novice, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that her musical style is a cross between Weezer and Rilo Kiley/Jenny Lewis. Hailing from Wichita, Kansas, Sara Beck, aka Pink Nasty, is rapper Black Nasty’s sister (apparently Black Nasty gave his little sis her name). She describes her music as "neurotic pop", which—as a feminist—I want to reject: is it based on the notion that heartfelt, raw lyrics are neurotic, or more specifically ‘neurotically female’? (Or, maybe I am just being a little neurotic).

Sara Beck has a powerful voice and makes no excuses for her bold lyrics that tell the story of inner monologues and conversations and arguments we’ve all had. In Pink Nasty’s own words, her music is “as if Julian Casablancas and Rivers Cuomo had a baby and guess what—it’s a girl!”

If she was your friend, she’d probably write you long emails of run-on sentences, spurting platitudes as well as brilliant insights. But count yourself lucky, you can hear her do that. She is one who could sing love ballads for a living with big studio-produced backing but we are fortunate that she has chosen the country/alt. rock combo that can have you nodding your head, banging your air-drums or quietly gripping that place where your heart is because at the end of the day, the drama of relationships and all the ‘neurosis’ it can deliver is universal. And, it sounds sexy as hell. Just listen to this line that got stuck in my head on the Underground so hard that I wanted to shout it out: "Down in the dirt, in my skirt, I will waaaaait!" (“Prince Pavement”). Is it just the banality of stringing together words that rhyme? Find out for yourself. This one is worth a listen.

Written by: Anna Matussek, March 1st 2011

Skin Collision Past

payal — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:00:00 +0000

By Wild Moccasins

Independent

I was excited about this album within moments of pushing play. Wild Moccasins could not be rebuffed by the aging speakers of my 1980s boombox. Their energy electrified the faux-fur seat covers of my red Volvo. I found myself sitting in the parking lot, unwilling to go into the grocery store until I had listened to all nine tracks. I resisted the urge to text my friends that I had found… something new! Something young! Something untouched by Brooklyn’s current brand of cool! Something imperfect yet full of promise… something worth keeping an eye on.

Skin Collision Past is the third output by a young band from Houston Texas: their first “full-length” album, though it runs only thirty minutes with no song outstaying its pop-song-welcome of four minutes. The songs are urban, confident, and joyful. It is delightfully not hook-oriented, and attempts to be much more mature than the age of any one of the band’s members. It is the best of 2010: full of retro nods, but incontrovertibly modern in song structure and rhythm.

This quintet must have a lot of fun together, and if they don’t, they sure do a good job of faking it. The two singers have voices to kill, especially Zahira Gutierrez, who sounds like a richer and more exact Jenny Lewis. Her buttery tones soar above the insistent energy of the band, never letting up for a moment. She is spot on. The best part is that they have avoided the feeling of her vocals being a decorative add-on to a male-driven sound. She is as much a part of the band as anyone, and is at the core of what makes their sound exciting.

The lyrics, all written by Cody Swann, are straight out of a late teen’s diary: full of anxiety, overly analytical social observations, and a sort of naïve paranoia. The text of the album is not what makes it special. Without the help of the CD insert, no one would be able to discern what words they’re singing, and I don’t think anyone would care. But if you do delve into Cody’s writing, you’ll find someone who is struggling hard with language to convey the vague social pressures they feel but cannot name. He writes in the song “Chapter Four” about being carried off by an imaginary sea, trying to finish writing his sentences despite the flood and sea demons: “Now I know/no one knows/what we’ve wrote”. Skin Collision Past is about trying to find a space for expression in the face of a world that seems inhospitable to being vulnerable. It is the voice of young creatives, just beginning to find their way. I for one am giving Wild Moccasins all my support as they keep on keepin’ on. I think great things are yet to come.

Written by: Beth Fagan, February 25th 2011