Freak Scene #40: Rocking Puppies, Mesmir and More
Blow off steam with Pema Crow Crigler, age 9; dive into Mesmir's latest LP; and hear Heather Maloney's new single.
A Guide to Music in Western Mass. (and sometimes Connecticut)
We’re at maximum capacity this week in Freak Scene, with recent albums from Rocking Puppies and Mesmir, plus a new single from Heather Maloney and a fundraising appeal (and new anti-holiday song) from Erin McKeown.
There’s something wonderfully cathartic in listening to a 9-year-old and her dad crank out punk-rock songs about ice cream, dinosaurs and going outside to play. That’s what Pema Crow Crigler and Michael Crigler do as Rocking Puppies, a Greenfield duo that doesn’t shy away from preadolescent real talk on Civilized Show-Off, their first album.
Sometimes they’re ready with practical advice. “Brush Your Teeth” consists mostly of the Criglers repeating the couplet “Brush your teeth, eat your vitamins” in differently pitched voices over a punchy guitar riff, accompanied by Marc Seedorf on bass and Monte Arnstam on drums. “TV Zombie” warns against the effects of too much screen time: “Or else you’ll become a zombie!” they holler in unison as Michael Crigler’s guitar careers through the song.
Elsewhere, though, Rocking Puppies give in to hedonism. Opening song “Ice Cream” is about exactly what it sounds like: craving ice cream, any flavor, so much that a trip to Ice Cream Alley just feels inevitable. They mine a similar vein on “Nice Shaved Ice,” which proves to be a surprisingly shoutable refrain. Last song “Sugar Rush” comes at Halloween from the perspective of most grade-school kids — “We’ll eat all the candy,” they sing — while also suggesting that people can be more than they appear to be on the outside. Monsters, for example, often seem scary, but are really just looking for a friend. And what can you do with a friend? Go trick-or-treating, of course.
Civilized Show-Off flies by in less than 20 minutes, but Rocking Puppies don’t waste a second of it. Many of the songs consist of Pema and her dad repeating a verse or two and one chorus, but Michael Crigler changes up riffs and guitar patterns so that no two songs are alike. Well, that’s not quite true: These nine songs share an infectious energy that’s rooted in the irresistible impulse to make noise and have fun.
Mesmir Closes the Circle on ‘Spin Cycle’
Spin Cycle is an apt name for Chris Croteau’s new album as Mesmir. It’s a collection of 15 alt-rock songs divided among new tracks and older material that Croteau had never previously finished or released. In another sense, it’s an album-length representation of a musician working to close the circle on a period of creativity and let go of it to make room for whatever comes next.
The vibe on Spin Cycle is moody and reflective, but never passive. Rather, there’s an undercurrent of urgency that is almost cinematic on many of the songs. It manifests in the clanging guitar and punchy drums of “Living in the Rain,” or the churning musical arrangement and multi-tracked vocals of “In Theory,” which smokes like a lit fuse.
Sometimes the tone is somber, as on “Skin on Skin,” where Croteau murmurs beneath ethereal swirls of guitar and a snapping drum beat. Elsewhere, it’s dire: “My Own Grave” rides snarling guitar on the verse into a big, hooky chorus that feels like emerging from a tunnel into a cavernous room with cathedral ceilings. Croteau, who played all the instruments, double-tracks his voice with a high harmony part, and the effect is like an afterimage on your brain.
Spin Cycle is Mesmir’s second album, following a self-titled 2023 release that he built along similar lines, with a blend of old songs and new. “It’s hard abandoning older tracks, not having a sense of completion with older material feels heavy,” says Croteau, who also plays in Trash Panda Kill Kill (they perform Nov. 23 at Se7ens Sports Pub in Easthampton).
With enough older material in reserve for another album or two, that sense of completion may still feel elusive. “It’s hard to live in the present, especially now!” he says, though Croteau is also just about ready to focus solely on new material.
Heather Maloney Posts First Single From New LP
It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from Heather Maloney, but the Northampton singer and songwriter is back with a new song, “Exploding Star,” from an album by the same name that is slated for release Jan. 31 on Signature Sounds.
The song has a yearning folk-rock feel, opening with strummed acoustic guitar before blooming into a fuller arrangement with drums, electric guitar and rounds of harmony vocals from Isabella DeHerdt and Isaac Eliot (who play together as High Tea). Maloney wrote the song, and the album, after the death of her father. It’s her first full-length album since 2019’s Soil in the Sky, though she put out a Christmas EP in 2020 during the heart of the pandemic, and a handful of singles.
Erin McKeown Gets Ready to March Against Hunger
March for the Food Bank returns for the 15th year Nov. 25-26, and Erin McKeown is lacing up her boots, or comfortable walking shoes, or whatever footwear will make it possible for the folk singer to walk from Hadley to Sunderland to help raise money for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. (She also just released a companion volume to her 2011 anti-holiday album.)
The annual procession, formerly known as Monte’s March after radio personality Monte Belmonte, who is now at New England Public Media, starts in Springfield and continues all the way to Greenfield. The march over the years has raised millions of dollars for the Food Bank, and with each dollar providing three nutritious meals, that’s saying something.
“This event is one of my favorite parts of living in our amazing community,” McKeown writes in a fundraising email. “I’ve participated in various ways for years: everything from support staff, shuttling marchers, performing at the after-party to walking the entire 43 miles in 2018.”
This year’s march has an overall fundraising goal of $500,000. McKeown is hoping to raise $1,000 herself, and has already lined up contributions of nearly $900. She would love your help getting the rest of the way there. You can donate here.
Upcoming Concerts
Mt. Joy, Courtney Barnett and Waxahatchee are slated to headline the Green River Festival June 20-22 (tickets). The initial lineup also includes MJ Lenderman & the Wind, Julien Baker & Torres, La Lom, Kabaka Pyramid, Kathleen Edwards, Balthvs, Ocie Elliott, Futurebirds, Mo Lowda & the Humble, Grace Bowers & the Hodge Podge, Chaparelle, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Olive Klug and Merce, with more on the way.
Madeleine Peyroux performs May 18 at the Shea Theater at Turners Falls (tickets).
Charlie Parr hits the Iron Horse March 16 (tickets). The Young Dubliners are there March 29 (tickets).
The Little River Band play Feb. 23 at College Street Music Hall in New Haven (tickets). St. Vincent is there April 18 (tickets).
Saxophonist Dean Mitchell, who performs under the name Saxsquatch while wearing a Bigfoot costume, plays the Space Ballroom March 4 (tickets). Post Sex Nachos are there March 5 (tickets). EXTC, featuring former XTC drummer Terry Chambers, plays April 16 (tickets).
Rufus Wainwright plays March 7 at District Music Hall in Norwalk (tickets).
Jim Armenti, the Mistress Miriam Show and Fawns perform tonight, Friday, at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton. Christa Joy, Rigby Summer & Scott Meyers share a time slot Saturday, along with Mill River Rounders and Wildcat O’Halloran.
Next week: we explore JJ Slater’s new album The Silver Key.
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