With Heaven Is a Junkyard, Trevor Powers returns to the Youth Lagoon banner. Crafted with producer Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele, Gil Scott-Heron) after period of medical strife that robbed Powers of his ability to sing his signature lilt—thankfully only temporarily—the album finds Powers at his most generous and adventurous.
Category: The AD Interview
Douglas McCombs (Brokeback/The Sea and Cake/Black Duck) :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Aquarium Drunkard speaks with Douglas McCombs about the formation of Black Duck, the approach they took for their album, the motivation behind his 2022 solo release VMAK
Bush Tetras :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
We recently caught up with both Cynthia Sley and Pat Place, in the first smoky days of summer, about Bush Tetras history and evolution, the new album and the legacy they’d like to leave. Said Place, “Girls come up to us after shows, and say that changed my life. We feel like, okay, wow, this is all worthwhile then.”
M. Sage :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Paradise Crick feels like a breakthrough for the Colorado-based musician. It’s not so much an album as it is an enveloping landscape, teeming with ever-shifting textures and vibrant colors. We dropped in on Sage in his home studio a few weeks back to get a personal tour of Paradise Crick, in the process attempting to answer a thorny question: can ambient music be funny?
Tim Rutili on Califone’s Cinematic Village
On villagers, the eighth album from Tim Rutili’s steadfast Califone project, the singer bemoans “a Roxy Music cassette dying in the dashboard sun.” That image serves as a fitting description of the sound here: open pop melodies and soulful singing at the mercy of time, nature, and memory. Rutili joins us to discuss his creative process, after funeral disassociation, and how reality television influenced the album as much as, or more than, his lofty cinematic obsessions.
Bonny Doon :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Bonny Doon came together in a scrappy DIY Detroit punk garage scene, but over time has moved towards the sunny clarity of classic pop. The band’s latest album, Let There Be Music, distills exuberant songs to their essence, tamping down the guitar mayhem to make space for the piano and breezy “ooh la las” waft over dreamy hooks.
Joshua Abrams :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
On April 19 of this year Abrams sat for a Zoom call in the Chicago home he shares with his partner Alvarado, backed by one of her signature glowing artworks. Abrams expressed his life’s work with the same reflective purpose and dedication he brings to his art. He discussed his Jewish upbringing, working with The Roots, jamming with Chicago’s finest improvisers and his unparalleled Eremite albums.
Jess Williamson :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
… the result is Williamson’s lovely Time Ain’t Accidental, an album that balances the lilting heartbreak of classic country with the fresh, modern sound of pop. The songs are restless and yearning, powered by the ache for change and movement. They are gorgeously simple sounding but subtly sophisticated, showcasing Williamson’s clear, pure, vibrato laced voice.
RF Shannon :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
RF Shannon’s new album Red Swan in Palmetto, out May 26th on Keeled Scales, finds the band exploring swampier parts of their native Texas. Gone is the wide open, desert-tinged sound of past albums; what has emerged is knottier and more enigmatic. Songwriter Shane Renfro talks to us about the long process of recording the new album and how he uses songwriting to explore and get closer to his natural surroundings.
Triptides :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Glen Brigman, the lead singer and multi-instrumentalist of the Southern California band Triptides, has been dabbling in variations of adjacent genres throughout the band’s nine album tenure. The band, and Brigman, continue to gracefully evolve from their bleached surf rock roots, through their wandering psychedelia breadth. Now, fresh off the heels of last year’s melodic, Heartbreakers-esque release So Many Days, Brigman draws from our collective past, both literally and sonically, to craft Triptide’s most recent LP, Starlight.
Catching Up With Lael Neale
When I’m listening to Lael Neale’s new album Star Eater’s Delight , it makes me think of the duality of “resistance.” There’s resistance in the sense of restraint: the songs are skeletal, […]
Joe Pernice :: On 25 Years of Overcome by Happiness
Originally released by Sub Pop in 1998, The Pernice Brothers’ Overcome By Happiness was a leap of faith. Joe Pernice joins us to discuss how the record came together on the occasion of New West’s expansive 25 anniversary edition and what promoted him to chase the chamber pop sounds he heard in his head.
Symphony Orchestra (Max Turnbull of Badge Époque Ensemble & Michael Rault) :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
Together as Symphony Music, Max Turnbull of Badge Époque Ensemble and Michael Rault have created Radiant Music, a zone where freak-friendly psychedelia, jazz, funk, and soul exist in a state of constant crossover. The Toronto twosome joined us to the radiance they found together and the influence of “The World Band in the World,” 10cc.
Cian Nugent :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview
On She Brings Me Back To the Land of the Living, Irish guitarist and songwriter Cian Nugent explores gentle revelations through impressionistic folk rock. Effortlessly blending mood, groove, and traditionally-based song craft, the album was inspired by a return home to care for his ailing mother. Nugent joined us to discuss how she influenced the album, psychedelic production tricks, and share a play list of music that inspired its knotty, soulful tone.
Catching Up with SQÜRL (Jim Jarmusch & Carter Logan)
Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan’s SQÜRL has been around for 14 years, but Silver Haze marks the duo’s long-player debut. They join us to discuss working with producer Randall Dunn, guests Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anika, and Marc Ribot, and the influence of poet John Ashbery.