Freak Scene #4: True Jackie Stay True to Themselves
A Guide to Music in Western Mass. (and sometimes Connecticut)
Here we are for the fourth issue of Freak Scene. This week, we hear the latest from True Jackie, take on Kelly LaMay's new album Out of Tune, check out songs that Joe O'Rourke wrote for other musicians to record and brace ourselves for the metal onslaught that Capulet Fest will surely deliver.
True Jackie Balance Noise with Pop on Oh Um
One of my all-time favorite band descriptions comes from the Easthampton trio True Jackie: “Loud songs by introverts.” That’s a concise summary of what’s happening on the group’s new five-song EP, Oh Um, which came out in January. Introverted or not, the band has become comfortable enough with the listening public to allow us a bit more informality: True Jackie used to be known as the True Jacqueline.
The simplified name hasn’t changed the group’s musical aesthetic, though True Jackie has refined their approach between the 2019 LP An Adventure Somewhere Maybe and Oh Um. Specifically, the band plays a variant of noise-pop, but the noise never overpowers the pop for long. Oh Um bristles with Noah Dowd’s serrated guitar riffs and Kate Dowd’s blatting basslines, yet True Jackie sweetens their sound with Kate Dowd’s hooky melodies and harmony backing vocals. The group has a fondness for stop-start dynamics: “Chicken on Tap” opens with 10 seconds of hurtling guitar and amplifier noise, then dials back while Kate Dowd sings quietly over spare accompaniment from a clean-sounding guitar and tapping drums from Brian DiPippo. Eventually, the noise comes crashing in again, and the cycles repeats.
“Alien TV” is maybe the poppiest song on the EP, with a klaxon-like guitar riff framing close-harmony vocals on the verse. Kate Dowd lets her voice ring out on the chorus, buoyed by surging fuzztone guitar and a nimble drum part. The band’s previous releases — EPs in 2011 and 2013, in addition to the LP in 2019 — all have their strengths, but Oh Um sounds like the Dowds and DiPippo have melded together in a new way. It’s the difference between making music with each other as individual players, and making music together as a unit — a subtle distinction, but one that resonates.
Kelly LaMay Tunes in on Out of Tune
While we're on the subject of noisy pop, Northampton native (and Cape Cod transplant) Kelly LaMay takes a fuzz-tone approach on her new album, Out of Tune, which she released on Valentine's Day. There's an almost motorik beat pushing most of these songs, which are swathed in drifts of bristling guitar. Sometimes it's soft and subtle, as on "Spring in My Spring." Elsewhere, it's bold and gnashing, with a grinding organ doubling the guitar line on "I Can't Wait Anymore." LaMay's vocals throughout strike a balance between alluring and perilous: "You better never stop running / If you want to get away," she sings on "Keeps on Turning," and it's unclear whether she's delivering a threat or a come-on. The contrast between LaMay's voice and the rugged instrumentation creates a sense of tension that makes Out of Tune a compelling listen.
Right or Wrong, Joe O'Rourke Writes the Songs
South Deerfield songwriter Joe O'Rourke got a nice shout in the Greenfield Recorder last month for the album There Is No Right or Wrong, for which he wrote all the songs but didn't play or sing a note. Instead, he handed the tunes over to an ad-hoc studio band comprising singer Paul Yandoli, drummer Fraser Stowe and guitarist Rich Cahillane, who also played bass, keyboards and banjo, and produced the album.
It's a collection of rootsy songs, including album standouts "The Waiting Room (early pandemic)," which is built around a mournful piano part, and the evocative "Permanent Bruise," where Cahillane fleshes out O'Rourke's gritty lyrics with glimmers of electric guitar. "If I could sing, I’d front the band, but I can’t,” O'Rourke told Sheryl Hunter for the Recorder “I’m a passable drummer, I’m not a great guitarist, I’m not a great pianist. But I can write songs.”
Capulet Fest Serves Many of Your Metal Needs
If early-2000s metal and hardcore is your thing, Capulet Fest sets up shop at the Thompson Speedway in Thompson, Conn., the last weekend of June. The lineup so far includes August Burns Red and Blessthefall on Friday, June 28, Skillet and Adelita's Way on Saturday, June 29, and Nothing More, Senses Fail and Taproot on Sunday, June 30. Tickets are available in single day, weekend, and "Royal Pass" configurations; check their website for prices.
Last thing: I know I said this isn't a Mark Mulcahy-themed newsletter, but today he released You Can See the Future, a four-song EP of new songs — the Springfield singer's first since The Gus LP in 2019. It's Bandcamp Friday, which means that if you buy it, the platform doesn't take a cut.
Next week: Northampton's Lisa Bastoni puts a lump in your throat with her new album On the Water.
To submit your music for coverage consideration, send a note to erdanton at gmail or reply to this email. Check out these guidelines first, and read previous issues of Freak Scene in the archive.