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Joshua Powell’s 2018 release is a trip taken at the neighborhood pool or country lake on a warm summer day. Shimmering and bright, with a few gentle shadows that occasionally drift by from passing fluffy clouds. In one review they noted that the press release came with the claim that the record is “acid trip for the whole family.” The title Pyschotropic is absolutely an accurate description of the record’s sound. My top track is “Spirit of the Trailer Park” which has an anthemic vibe, but gently-so. Also great are “Arrowheads or Worse” which epitomizes the psych-dream vibe with a bit of jangle, the alt-pop flavor of “Bliss is a Flak Jacket” and “Ascension” which leans Americana/country with some harmonica and hints of twang in the acoustic guitar. A really excellent spin from start to finish for a lazy late summer afternoon.

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I think there’s a hidden track on the album – though I couldn’t actually find it (or it’s only on the CD version): “Self Control” by Raf (1984), a song that “started the explosion and dominance of Italo disco-style recordings in continental European charts during the 1980s.” (Wiki). Weirdly the playlist I chose for this morning’s class was Reflex v. Control which has the Laura Branigan cover of “Self Control” (also 1984, #4 US, #5 UK) – I did not know that it would appear on today’s vinyl pull, especially because it is not listed on the record except for in the liner notes for writing credits. (Speaking of credits, I love that two neighborhood dudes are thanked: Dillon from RushMor Records and Chris from Vanguard/Wiggle Room). Next time I run into Martin I’ll have to ask him about “Self Control” – I can’t find a link anywhere for Diamond Life’s version.

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Calliope Musicals at Cactus Club 2019

Color/Sweat is almost as much fun as a Calliope Musicals performance – highly danceable, dreamy, swirly pop with an edge to the shimmer. I can’t believe it’s taken me almost 5 years to take a listen. Singer Carrie Fussell’s voice is beautiful, lots of depth with a soaring range and the rest of the band is having an absolute ball backing her. I’m sure they played a bunch of songs from this record in 2019 but I absolutely cannot remember which those would have been. Top tracks include the opener “Fear This Body” and the title track “Color/Sweat,” the all-out dance party “That’s Why We Dance.”

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While Palm Ghosts has clearly been around for awhile, The Lost Frequency is the first record we’ve gotten so I’m not entirely sure which tracks they played live on Saturday. My top picks are the lead track “Bloodlight” which leads off with a killer industrial-goth beat, then layers on soaring synths and Seventeen Seconds-era Cure guitar licks. I also like “Nightsong,” which is dreamy and beaty (great bass-line!) and the driving and dark Bauhaus-esque “Young Empire.” The track “John Carpenter” is as gothy as expected, with the lyrics “A fragile stage constructed on a fantasy drawn in the simple realization that the demon is within.” 

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I only knew a bit of that backstory before listening to Kuchisabishii but I was immediately struck by the visual nature of the music: it truly paints a delicate soundscape, like an impressionistic painting in soft sunlit pastels. “Primordial” in particular immediately conjured up the image of cherry blossoms falling in slow-motion at the end of romantic arthouse cinematic drama. I’m a rock-n-roll girl who grew up playing classical violin so one of my favorite tracks is “Bacchanal,” one of the few songs on Kuchisabishii with a solid drumming rhythm but also a lovely and soaring violin accenting the melody. I also really like “Usufruct” (the second single from the album) which has Beach Boy-meets-choir boy pop harmonies, and the last track, “Repletion,” which is reminiscent of a classical music requiem at its start that crescendos into a soaring, densely anthemic conclusion. Overall, Kuchisabishii has a sweet atmosphere of emotion that just barely skims the edge of sadness: goth but goth if painted by Monet or Cassatt.

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Joshua Powell “Skeleton Party” 2021. Romanus Records. Limited edition (50 copies) tri-color variant. Dream pop with an edge out of Indianapolis. Whispers of psychedelia that one writer described as a “fever dream with experimental sounds weaving a story” (there’s theremin!) and lyrics that are intentionally poetic: Joshua Powell says “Songwriting is not very emotional for me. It isn’t a cathartic process. I look at it as academic or intellectual work. I want it to be beautiful and sound but I want it to be something I’m proud of as well.” (From an interview on Pattern) Despite having been written and recorded during the pandemic (Powell: “The world was a big hell mouth at the time of recording”), the darkness of Skeleton Party is far from depressing, more folky goth-inspired lush and dense with some swirly rainbow brightness glistening at the edges; the liner notes state that “this record has been certified as a magical artifact by all pertinent boards and covens of mages, clerics, witches and shamans.” My favorite tracks are the opener “Sad Boy at the Skeleton Party” (such a great title!), the danceable – and at times hard-rocking – “Coral Castle” and another guitar-forward, Pink Floyd-ish complex prog-rocker “Nine of Swords.” My only real criticism of Skeleton Party is the occasional use of autotune (i.e. at the end of the otherwise stellar song “Rainbow Trout“) of which I am never ever a fan.  We’ve seen Joshua Powell play live at least once – at Romanus Fest in Indy, 2018 or 2019, I can’t remember! – and I think another time, at Mile of Music maybe? We were hoping to catch them play again this year but sadly missed out when they came through our town. Powell and his crew did stay at my friend’s home after their Appleton performance this fall and she reported that they are the sweetest group of guys ever, great houseguests 😊

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