Mixtape: Oração
Recent concerts, movies, TV shows and bylines:
We had a nice crowd for a screening of Jim Herbert's short film Carnival at Lost Origins Gallery, featuring the music — and gorgeous-looking people — of Limbo District, an extremely obscure Athens post-punk band from the early '80s. Chunklet's Henry Owings and I had a nice chat onstage afterward, but the audience was so curious and engaged that it just made sense for me to act as a moderator for the conversation. Met a lot of cool folks, including Pen Rollings from the Richmond bands Honor Role and Breadwinner.
The last time I endured four days of Maryland Deathfest, my knees literally buckled one song into Portal's festival-ending set. Lately, farflung friends and I just pick a day with the most crossover taste and sweat it out on Baltimore asphalt together. For 2024, I pretty much only wanted to see Abbath. He was just as outlandish and outsized as ever, but also knows what we're there for: Immortal classics, though everything for the set was culled from Sons of Northern Darkness. But I can't complain — I'm just happy Abbath's still out there as a barrel-chested black metal wizard.
Mad Max: Fury Road is one of my favorite movies of all time, so I truly tried to temper expectations for Furiosa. George Miller's settling into his role as the Terence Malick of apocalyptic action movies; Furiosa pushes that visual atmosphere forward, yet still manages to inspire brilliantly weird dialogue (see: Chris Hemsworth's show-stealing villain).
I'm on NPR's New Music Friday podcast with the illustrious Ann Powers; we talk about Arooj Aftab, Shaboozey and Lungfish lullabies performed by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Nathan Salsburg and Tyler Trotter. I also published another edition of my 8 Tracks column, which is all about newly released music from Brazil, a country whose traditions and innovations I've been obsessed with for a couple decades. Do not miss that Luiza Brina album!
I'm late on The Bear because I'm late on most television. Everything I'd read beforehand made the show sound like a gritty drama, which I have little use for these days; instead, I've found it's just a show about doing hard work for the things that you love. I feel that. And even though the characters yell at each other a lot, there's an intense care there. Side note: I can't get over how much eyebrow acting there is — apparently, I'm not the only one. —Lars Gotrich
Stream the Viking's Choice mixtape via BNDCMPR. Follow my Bandcamp collection. Tracklist below:
Luiza Brina & Silvana Estrada, "Oração 2"
Alsarah & Qais Essar, "Ya Zamani"
小王XIAOWANG, "Steal (偷心牛仔棒棒糖)"
Senyawa, "Vajranala"
Birthday Girl DC, "Dirtier"
Oceanator, "Get Out"
Leilehua Lanzilotti, "for Toshiko, iv. to you"
Nathan Bowles Trio, "The Ternions"
Jeffrey Silverstein, "Headcleaner"
Perennial, "Up-tight"
Liquids, "I Hate This City"
Sharp Pins, "You Don't Live Here Anymore"
Winston Hightower, "Insubordination Rules"
Lower Automation, "Mercaptan"
Descartes a Kant, "Graceless"
Hermeto Pascoal, "Porto de Madeira"
Janel Leppin, "As Wide As All Outdoors"
Alessandra Novaga, "Erbarme dich"
Ex-Easter Island Head, "Easter"
Fire-Toolz, "RE: Official Request for Reciprocal Indwelling Procedure"
Zoe Efstathiou, "Omphee"
Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Nathan Salsburg & Tyler Trotter, "Hear the Children Sing"
Black Eyes, "No Sleep (live Huggy Bear cover)"
ShrapKnel, "Illusions of P"
Krallice, "Flatlines Encircled Residue"
Whippets, "Splinter"
Alambrada, "Primer Mundo"
Oneida, "Here It Comes"
Honor Role, "Anonymous Cave"
Oruã, "Real Grandeza"
Aaron Dilloway, "Single Rozart Tape Flip 2 Stereo"
Dylan Henner, "Nursery Rhyme"