Dinowalrus’s Week in Pop
Dinowalrus takes on Webster Hall; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
Celebrating their fourth Dinowalrus album with today’s release of Fairweather; leader Pete Feigenbaum presents the group’s following exclusive Week in Pop guest selections titled:
13 Songs (none of which are by Fugazi)
1. The Stone Roses, “Beautiful Thing”
I breathed a sigh of relief that their first new material in 20 years was solidly above average. This is the kind of track that holds its weight against the classics, without upstaging them either, and I love the persistence of Reni’s breakbeat. Seems to continue the groovy, atmospheric thread of Fool’s Gold and One Love while thankfully not falling prey to the Blueshammer thud of Second Coming. John Squire might be my favorite guitarist of all-time and he shows his full range on this.
Dinowalrus live on Webster Hall; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
2. Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Kiss Them for Me”
We are working on a cover of this, it was Meaghan’s suggestion; I love how it melds goth, psychedelia and baggy beats. Wait, that’s what we do!
Dinowalrus performing at Webster Hall; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
3. Echo and the Bunnymen, “Baseball Bill”
I love a good comeback album, and I’ve been listening a lot to Evergreen from 1997, and there’s something about the simple chord progression and Stones-y slide guitar that really grabbed my attention.
Dinowalrus at Webster Hall; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
4. New Order, “Crystal”
Now this list is apparently going down the road of late career gems; which I think is an overlooked category, and increasingly relevant to us as we start getting a bit long in the tooth. I love how this track has more of an up-tempo garage rock beat and thus stands out from the New Order back catalog; and when it came out in 2001, was probably the most compelling thing they had put out in 15 years. Also star of the video is a Bobby Gillespie look-a-like that’s the icing on the cake.
Dinowalrus diptych captured live at Webster Hall; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
5. The Charlatans, “Let the Good times be Neverending”
We had the pleasure of opening for The Charlatans at Webster Hall last fall; being able to open for a band that had a major influence on us was a huge milestone. Anyway, I was blown away by their latest album Modern Nature and how catchy and contemporary it sounded, while still staying true to their signature sound; I like how this track takes the usual Madchester vibes and swings them in a psychedelic disco-soul direction.
Dinowalrus bringing it at Webster Hall; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
6. Jagwar Ma, “O B 1”
Now to some new stuff. They are probably my favorite band to pop up in the past couple years; the fact that they have had so much success blending acid house and psych rock gives me hope that we are on the track. Its super interesting how they present themselves more as a DJ/production team than a traditional rock band. This one kind of reminds me of the Shamen, but with a Georgio Moroder sequenced bassline.
Dinowalrus bringing the swagger to Webster Hall; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
7. Psychic Ills, “I Don’t Mind” featuring Hope Sandoval
I’ve been following them since I first saw them play McCarren Pool in 2006. My interest in most bands from that era has long since dissipated (sorry, Black Dice), but somehow the Ills’ sound seems to be continually moving in the same direction as my tastes. I appreciate their restraint and dusty desert vibes. Collaborating with a legend like Hope Sandoval was a great idea; and also gives me ideas about new songs for Meaghan to sing on moving forward.
Dinowalrus live at Knitting Factory; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
8. Kristin Kontrol, “White Street”
I was a big fan of the Dum Dum Girls (who were clearly also influenced by Hope Sandoval!), but this new direction is even better, and maybe my favorite album of 2016. Kristin is one of the most naturally talented vocalists in indie rock, and yet she doesn’t let technical perfection over-shadow the grittiness and mysteriousness of her music. But the main draw might actually be Kurt Feldman’s production. I’ve followed his playing and production all the way back to the Depreciation Guild, a band we used to play with quite often (and scooped up their drummer Anton to make our second album). I think he has very similar sensibilities to me as far as blending synth-pop and shoegaze/baggy beats. Kurt’s first Ice Choir album was one of the main reasons we decided to work with Jorge Elbrecht on our 3rd album. This one’s right up my alley, it’s held down by a great breakbeat with TR-808 bongos, plus three modes of guitar goodness: fuzzed-out power chords, a woozy glide-guitar melody and icy clean roland jazz-chorus jangle.
Dinowalrus performing at Knitting Factory; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
9. House of Love, “32nd Floor”
I love the gospel-tinged minimalism of this song. It’s has a melancholy overtone that reminds me of Spiritualized, but without the self-loathing. This band sounds a lot like the Church, interestingly. They are somewhat new discovery.
Dinowalrus live at the Knitting Factory; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
10. Chapterhouse, “Everytime”
The second Chapterhouse record showcases some super interesting hybridization of bonafide Chicago acid house and dreamy shoegaze guitar textures, compared to their great, but down-the-middle debut. Nobody else really did stuff like this as far as I can tell. The Happy Mondays and New Order used similar house-y beats, but never this ethereal. This one sounds a bit like Seefeel but more pop, and the slide guitar is a surprising twist.
11. The Birthday Party, “Nick the Stripper”
I’ve lost interest in a lot of noise rock and challenging music now that I’m older, jaded, and more mellow. Yet Nick Cave is one of the few artists that heavily influenced me when I started Dinowalrus who continues to fascinate me eight years later. Even more so than the Bad Seeds, the Birthday Party managed to make brutally repulsive music that retained a highly sophisticated sense of style and showmanship, in part by utilizing a killer cast of characters including Rowland S. Howard and cowboy-hatted Tracy Pew. I love the swamp-y-ness of the bassline, and the nods to both ancient blues and rockabilly as well as no-wave futurism.
Dinowalrus dazzling at the Knitting Factory; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
12. The Byrds, “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better”
I previously wrote them off as hippie/dad rock, but recently they finally clicked, not because I became a hippie dad, but rather I began to realize that they were a major influence on a number of my favorite bands from Big Star to Primal Scream to the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and probably all those shoegaze bowl cuts in the early 90s. In fact the BJM’s “This is Why You Love Me” pretty much nicked this one directly.
Dinowalrus live at the Knitting Factory; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.
13. Screaming Trees, “Orange Airplane”
They were one of my favorite Seattle bands growing up in the 90s–however it seems unlikely they will ever reunite. In 1986, long before before they were perpetually panned as grunge also-rans, they were a highly convincing psych band not unlike the paisley underground stuff going on 1200 miles to the south. I love the buzzsaw perpetual motion biker riffage of this song, it sounds a bit like the early Jesus and Mary Chain with some Stooge-y overtones. Mark Lanegan’s voice has never sounded this youthful and high-pitched.
Follow Dinowalrus via Twitter.
