LEO Weekly has Spotify playlists for each Listen Local column featuring selected tracks from each reviewed release. Check them out here!
Feral Vices
We Did It All To Ourselves – EP
They have been slowly releasing the five songs that make up this EP as singles over the course of a year and a half, and now they are finally all together in one complete package titled We Did It All To Ourselves, (named after a line in opening song “Karma”). Vocalist/guitarist Alexander Hoagland and drummer Justin Cottner pull off what very few two-piece bands are capable of doing; create a sound as big as, or arguably bigger, than that of a full band. They have found an original, groove-oriented sound somewhere between alt-rock, modern rock, and post-hardcore with a grungy, punk edge to it. This is not a band that fits neatly into any defined genre. Think Queens of the Stone Age, Refused, and Highly Suspect mixed with a little Nine Inch Nails and The Jesus Lizard, and that will get you in the ballpark of Feral Vices’ sound. These are extremely well-crafted songs here, as Hoagland and Cottner are certainly no strangers to writing catchy tunes with big hooks that are easy to get caught up in. And they are able to pull it all off without layering in a bunch of additional guitar tracks or other instruments to fill out the sound, as a lot of other two-piece bands tend to do. This is just straightforward guitar, drums and vocals. No frills or gimmicks here because none are needed. It’s been a long road to get here, but We Did It All To Ourselves is so worth it!
feralvices.com
Grackle
All That Matters – album
Having been familiar with Grackle’s music for a few years now, I had an idea of what to expect with their third full-length album All That Matters. And I was wrong. Grackle, a 7-piece rock band based in Louisville, have always had an orchestral-driven classic rock type sound. However, their songwriting skills have grown tremendously over the past five years since their last album The Quiet Noise in 2019. All That Matters is a brilliantly executed collection of eleven songs that weave together a tapestry of classic rock, alt-rock, indie, classical, jazz, folk, Celtic, and even bluegrass for a sound that really defies categorization, all played by a master class of musicians. Tracks like “My Disaster,” “Odesa,” “Sanctify You,” and “Heaven on Their Minds” are just downright epic! Comparisons to bands like King Crimson, Emerson, Lake and Powell, Queen, Styx, and even Tool are certainly warranted, but fail to wholly capture the extent of what Grackle presents here. Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and vocals dance alongside piano, violin and cello to create dense, complex, sweeping soundscapes that pull the listener in and hold them there. This is, quite simply, a stunning collection of music that needs to be heard from beginning to end in one sitting without skipping or fast forwarding in order to fully take in the whole experience.
grackleband.com
Dewey Kincade
The Heights – album
Even in a city like Louisville that is bursting at the seams with an exceptional amount of musical talent, Dewey Kincade still manages to stand out from the crowd. Why he is not a superstar is beyond me. With as much heart as he puts into his music, and as much as he’s been through, he deserves it. The 15 tracks that make up The Heights date back to the early 2000’s when Kincade was living in the Washington Heights area of New York City and had just gotten out of a long term relationship, was couch-surfing with no permanent address while working on building a music career, and had begun and ultimately ended a short and somewhat tragic relationship. Love, loss, and deep introspection on Dewey’s part are all common themes here, but all sung with a glimmer of hope and a nod to the future. Of the 15 songs here, not a single one of them are filler. Each of these songs seems to exist because they needed to exist. Kincade recounts the story behind each song on his website’s blog, and is essential reading when trying to understand the depth of honesty and vulnerability in Kincade’s lyrics. It’s not hard to see that each song here holds a small piece of his soul during that period in his life. And musically, aside from his last record Standing on a Rock, Kincade has never sounded better! A combination of roots rock, Americana, folk, and bluegrass throughout make these songs sound downright celebratory. Bottom line, this is absolutely essential listening!
Jason Bemis Lawrence
The Grand Routine – album
Jason Bemis Lawrence has been around Louisville for quite some time, and you may know him as the drummer from Fire The Saddle and The Middle Men, or more recently Fool’s Ghost and Charm School. However, you may not know that he is also a gifted singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. After moving back to Louisville from New York City in 2020, Lawrence went about putting together his sophomore album, The Grand Routine; which is the first solo album since his 2018 debut Another Hotel Hallway. Released in July 2024, The Grand Routine is a 10-song journey into Lawrence’s psyche. Themes of loss, clarity, leading, following, lashing out and forgiving run throughout his introspective lyrics. Musically, the majority of these tracks are written more as cohesive band pieces rather than your typical singer/songwriter fair, and Lawrence is supported by a cast of extremely talented musicians here that include Anthony LaMarca (The War on Drugs, St. Vincent), Andrew Carlson, producer D. James Goodwin (Gosse, Bob Weir, Devo), and Heather Woods Broderick, among others. Comparisons to The Bends/OK Computer-era Radiohead, early My Morning Jacket, and Wilco are certainly not unfounded. While being firmly planted in the realm of indie rock, Lawrence knows how to tap into Americana, folk, roots rock, and even psychedelic to create amazingly catchy songs with dream-like soundscapes that are easy to lose yourself in. And The Grand Routine is certainly an album you’re going to want to get lost in time and time again.
jasonbemislawrence.bandcamp.com
Andrew Montana
“Stained Glass” – single
Listening to Andrew Montana’s music gives one the sense of wonderment as to how these could be the songs of a man born and raised in Southern California. This is the kind of tried and true, good old fashioned traditional Appalachian music you’d expect from someone who’s been immersed in the culture since birth. Although he did summer with his family in North Carolina and lived in Virginia for several years before moving here to Louisville, so it’s not exactly foreign to him. Montana doesn’t sound like someone trying to mimic that Appalachian sound, but rather as it if is part of his very soul. His latest single “Stained Glass” is a perfect example. On the surface it seems like a simple little song about falling in love, but in reality is a very complex, layered arrangement that walks the line between traditional Appalachian, gospel, folk, bluegrass, and classical. Montana’s rich vocals shine as the listener is serenaded by a beautiful western waltz played on acoustic guitar that is brightened by a sparse but lush classical string arrangement that fills out the song wonderfully. This was not by accident, as Montana wrote the music “with the intent of having a song that would not just describe love, but also feel like it.” The production here gives all instruments and especially Montana’s voice a very warm, expansive sound with rich, meaty tones. Andrew Montana has discovered a sound that is uniquely his own, and “Stained Glass” is him at his best.
Quiet Confidence
“I Miss You” – single
Taking a well-known song and reworking it into your own style is certainly a gamble. You run the risk of drawing the ire of your own fans and souring those who love the original song on your other material. So when I saw that Ryan Lane and his project Quiet Confidence had taken on the angsty but beloved 2004 Blink 182 hit “I Miss You”, I was a bit worried. But Lane did something special here. This isn’t a straightforward cover steeped in early 2000’s emo nostalgia at all, rather Lane has completely deconstructed the song and turned it into something all his own musically, all the while retaining the feel and spirit of the original version. The lyrics stay the same and Lane doesn’t stray far from the original vocal pattern, (yep, “Yead” is still in the refrain). And although there are no dueling vocals here, (which I think is to his advantage), Lane’s vocals come off much more melodic than Mark Hoppus’ melancholic delivery, and far less obnoxious than Tom DeLonge’s, (sorry, but you know it’s true). The music gets a fresh, new, modern makeover into a sound that is akin to The Chainsmokers and Illenium. A much more exciting, upswing drum beat backs layered acoustic and electric guitars and atmospheric keyboards, all highlighted by Lane’s rich vocals. While it is a risk, reworking a cover song into your own style can pay off in spades; in some cases even eclipsing the original, which I feel Lane has done here.
Why DOMS
Just Because – album
“The undisputed tag team champions of Louisville rap, Why Mark & J DOMS, pay homage to the Datpiff era of mixtapes. Just Because, hosted by the unsung hero of the Louisville music scene, Señor Diablo, reprising his role as ‘Dr. Azmentis’ from No Comply 4,” reads the Bandcamp listing. Say no more, I’m interested! Going into No Comply 4, Why DOMS seemed like the odd men out, a rap band playing among punk and hardcore bands. Then they took the stage and any doubts anyone may have had about them were immediately bodyslammed through a table, (both figuratively and literally)! Why DOMS absolutely crushed it and won over an army of fans that night, and rightfully so. And that hard work has obviously paid off, giving them the confidence to take their rap game to new heights, as is evident in the eight songs that make up Just Because. Tracks like “Freak Show”, “Old School” (featuring JettBaby Dada), “Supa Dupa Fly”, and “diff.wav.pt.2” (featuring TRESHINO), hit hard and leave your head spinning. From J DOMS’ heavy-handed, in-your-face type flow to Why Mark’s hyperactive, rapid-fire delivery, the contrasting styles of both rappers complement each other perfectly, and their penchant for pairing 808 drums with rather odd, non-traditional choices for backing tracks, (usually in the Jazz genre), to rap over keep things interesting to say the least. Why DOMS is kicking some of the most ferocious, hardcore, exciting rap coming out of Louisville these days. Make no mistake about it; this is a rap band with the soul of hardcore punk rockers.
Cadillac Young
The Shively Shitfires & Cadillac Young’s Jug Band Christmas – EP
Yeah, I was as perplexed as you are when I saw the title. I know Cadillac Young is the guitarist for Shitfire, so he is responsible for helping create some of the best punk rock this city has ever heard, but what the hell is this? Is this going to be serious, or some kind of hastily recorded joke EP? I wasn’t sure what to expect. But then I listened to the two tracks that make up this release and quickly discovered that not only was this serious, but also damn good! It seems Mr. Young has quite the musical range. First track “Ain’t No Hole in the Washtub” is a cover of the Jim Henson movie Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas song. Backed by his cohorts in Shitfire and featuring the vocals of Mandy Keathley and John Calvin Fackler, Young and company deliver an upbeat, feel-good bluegrass song that stays pretty close to the original. The second track, an original tune called “Love Lost at a Truck Stop in Texas” takes a bit of a darker tone lyrically with a story about love, theft, and a drug overdose on Christmas set to a traditional country and western/honky tonk ballad. This track sees Young again backed by his Shitfire bandmates, as well as Forty Anderson on banjo, and Alexandria Crosby, Angela K. Berry and John Calvin Fackler on harmony vocals. I’m thinking this may just be the tip of the iceberg of what Caddy is capable of musically, and I’m looking forward to hearing more!
Want to see your music reviewed in LEO Weekly? Louisville and Southern Indiana-based bands/artists, send a link to your music along with a band/artist bio, a high-resolution pic of the release’s cover art, and any additional information that may be helpful for the review, (the more, the better), to music@leoweekly.com
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