Spencer Krug’s Latest Album Unpacks the Mysteries and Mundanity of Songwriting

Photo credit: Simon Liem

There is simply no other songwriter like Spencer Krug.

Over his storied 25 year career—a tenure that has included numerous different projects, most notably Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown—the Canadian musician has evoked a uniquely distinct landscape of characters, stories and narratives. 

Whether referencing fantastical phantoms, dangerous monsters and mythical tales, or analyzing personal doubts and aspirations, the cerebral singer and keyboardist has managed to deliver his messages in a way unmatched by any peer. He is brainy, clever and inventive, but not high-minded to sprinkle in the occasional curse word or get uncomfortably real in his vivid descriptions.

Being one of the most gifted lyricists of his generation only makes it natural that he’s now devoted an album to the craft of songwriting—a meta, self-referential examination that picks apart and dissects his various approaches to the art of making music. With his latest release, “Same Fangs,” Krug has reaffirmed his place among the pantheon of legitimate indie rock geniuses while documenting the creative process in his own wonderfully inscrutable manner.

“I’m usually the first to be like—don’t write songs about songwriting,” said Krug. “But I cut myself a little slack in that department for this album. A lot of what is going on in my head right now is me questioning what it's like to write songs at this stage of life. I’m a 49-year-old who lives in Canada with his wife and kid in a house. I would feel like a bit of a poseur if I was writing songs filled with rage. These are more like journal entries of day-to-day life, and one thing I think about a lot in my daily life is writing songs.”

“Same Fangs” is a dizzying, byzantine work, with songs referencing other songs that weren’t written or were partially written or were abandoned altogether. The tone for the album is established from the onset, with the first track, “Get to Live,” including snippets of voice memos Krug sent to himself, offering a glimpse into how he crafts and shapes his inventions.

“It was very intentional starting the album off with that song,” said Krug. “I mean, this album gets pretty meta, right? It kind of nods to itself and there’s plenty of other songs on this record and it breaks the fourth wall. So, I wanted to start right off the bat with me working through that process—to acknowledge the self-referential nature of the album.”

The lead single off the album, “Timebomb,” follows in that same vein. Featuring a heavily-distorted piano—a cool new wrinkle for Krug—the song tracks Krug’s attempt to write a song called “Listening to Music in Cars,” which, he notes, was abandoned in favor of “Timebomb.” 

The self-referencing reaches its apex with “Listening to Music in Cars 2.5 (All The Tired Horses),” which not only chronicles “Timebomb” and the earlier version of “Listening to Music…” but also references Sunset Rubdown tours and songs and talks about incorporating the Bob Dylan classic into the track as it plays (catch all that?)

“That original song—'Listening to Music in Cars’—does still exist, it’s just bad,” said Krug. “These songs are really just another way to explore the kind of absurd nature of being a middle-aged person working in this industry. They’re about the complicated nature of being in a band, and how tours can go south and how those experiences become part of the songs.”

Always a prolific songwriter, Krug has been regularly sharing songs with his Patreon followers for the past several years, and “Same Fangs” is an assemblage of tracks he wrote mostly in 2024 and 2025. Even though the songs weren’t created for a specific album in mind, there is a clear narrative throughout, adding an obvious cohesiveness to the record. 

While it could be easy to dismiss an album with so many insidery allusions, Krug is sonically incapable of making a dull record. Buoyed by elaborate piano pieces, the album also features string flourishes, inventive sonic arrangements, and flowery vocal duets with the Canadian artist Elbow Kiss. And Krug’s voice—while not quite as animated and yelpy as in past efforts—is still a wholly one-of-a-kind instrument. It’s a reminder that Krug has never hewed to convention—while some songs in his back catalog have the forcefulness and immediacy of great pop tracks, accessibility has never been a top priority of his.

That’s all the more apt to consider, given the current newfound attention paid to Krug and Wolf Parade. The past year has been fairly seismic for the indie rock legends, with “I’ll Believe in Anything” turning into a viral hit, thanks to its prominent placement in the uber-popular Netflix series, “Heated Rivalry.” 

Now back in the zeitgeist, Wolf Parade—and Krug—are seeing a deservedly renewed interest. Initially, Krug said that there was a little noticeable difference for himself, outside of online chat, but now both he and Wolf Parade are getting more and more offers to play live shows, Unfortunately, due to some issues with the band’s work Visas, they won’t be going on any significant US jaunts until next year (Wolf Parade has only one scheduled American show—this November in Seattle.)

For longtime fans, the widespread adoration of “I’ll Believe in Anything”—a legitimate contender for best song of all time—was long overdue and much appreciated. Krug could have made a career out of replicating that titanic anthem, but he’s never seemed too interested in going down the same trodden path he’s explored before. From Sunset Rubdown to Moonface to Swan Lake to his solo material, Krug’s work has been defined by fearlessness and intense interest in exploring new territories and pushing boundaries ever further.

Which, again, makes him the ideal candidate to write an album about writing. “Same Fangs” is a testament to the artists and musicians who are averse to compromise and conformity. It’s also a paean to those who realize that the craftsmanship or art will always be a continual work in progress.

“I’ll admit that lyrics get harder to write, the songs don’t come to me as easily as they used to,” said Krug. “I still feel pretty blessed that I manage somehow to do this for a living. I care about the things I sing about it—I have to be sincere with myself—and I think I still have things to say.” 

A digital version of “Same Fangs” is available for purchase on Bandcamp here.

To become a Spencer Krug Patreon member, visit here.

Total Accord Fest Returning For Second Gathering Next Week

Total Accord Fest—a multi-week music gathering featuring a stacked collection of great local bands playing in iconic music clubs and venues throughout San Francisco—will return for its second rendition next week.

Hosted by Total Accord Agency, an artist booking and management outfit focusing exclusively on Bay Area talent, the festival will run from June 3 – 20, highlighted by headlining performers The Seshen and Brijean. 

The lineup is a ridiculously great collection of local favorites, including Al Harper, Marika Christine, Anna Hillburg, Mild Universe, Yea-Ming and the Rumors, Elujay, Outer Sunset and Silverware. The acts performing at Total Accord Fest represent a dizzying array of sounds, including neo-soul, psych-pop, indie rock, Americana, janglepop and electronica. The program was designed to be as diverse as possible, said Tyla Jones, founder of Total Accord.

“We want to reflect that the Bay Area is a melting pot of all different types of people,” said Jones. “We’re not trying to represent just one scene or one sound as an agency—that’s why the festival lineup looks the way it does.”

The event will launch next Wednesday with a festival kickoff party at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco’s most venerable music venue. That show will feature For Horses, Outer Sunset and Davia Schendel. 

Over the next two-plus weeks, the fest will shift around a litany of beloved local clubs, including El Rio, the Independent, 4 Star Theater, Café du Nord and Kilowatt, among others.  The Seshen headlining show will happen on June 7 at the 4 Star Theater and the Brijean show will take place on June 11 at the Rickshaw Stop. 

Nearly all the acts performing at Total Accord Fest are signed with the talent management company, a reflection of the agency’s growing resonance within the local music ecosystem. 

A Bay Area native, Jones spent her adolescence attending live shows throughout the region. She moved to San Francisco in 2005 and began a side career as DJ Tylawave, immersing herself in the local scene by spinning vinyl and opening for the likes of Thee Sacred Souls, Os Mutantes, LA Witch and Fantastic Negrito.

While working mainly in the nonprofit sector for most of her time in the city, Jones stayed deeply involved with music, and eventually she took on talent booking roles for the Chapel and El Rio. Buoyed from that experience and encouraged by the likes of musician pals such as Galine Tumasyan, Jones launched Total Accord Agency in 2024.

“There was a moment after I left the Chapel that I started with a small boutique agency based in LA, where I kind of learned the ropes of booking and management, and it really caught on locally here,” said Jones. “Friends started asking me questions about routing tours and that kind of stuff. That’s when I realized I could just do this on my own—to start something where I just basically work with my friends on this.”

Since Jones founded the agency two years ago, Total Accord’s roster has exploded—with the total number of acts tripling in size. Last year’s Total Accord Fest was much smaller in scale, making the logistics and planning for the 2026 version more complicated, Jones said. Because of the work needed to carry out an operation of this kind, Jones said that Total Accord Fest probably won’t be an annual event.

“I really want to focus on our mission, which is to be a booking agency and talent management company—not a promoter,” said Jones. “We want to make these kinds of showcases really special, so when the time is right, we’ll make it happen.”

That limited edition feature of Total Accord Fest makes this year’s gathering all the more special. In addition to uplifting dozens of Bay Area artists, Total Accord is also partnering with local mainstays White Crate and BFF.fm to stage the festival, making it a truly unique and special event for the community. Local artist Michael Bridgmon—also known asJames Wavey—managed artwork for the fest, as well.

“When I started Total Accord, I wanted to combine my love of music with my background in community organizing,” said Jones. “Having a strong mission statement of what we believe in—zero discrimination of any kind, for example—was such a key element of the agency. I’m being true to who I am, and it’s amazing to see people respond to that. We don’t want to think of ourselves as just an agency—we want to be a part of a community with like-minded values. And I think this festival represents that vision.”

Show Details:
Total Accord Fest:
Where: Venues throughout San Francisco
When: June 3 – June 20
Tickets: Available for purchase at participating venues
More details: www.totalaccordagency.com

Broncho Celebrating a Decade of “Double Vanity” at the Independent

Photo Credit: Broncho

Journeying through Broncho’s back catalog makes for a dizzying, thrilling experience. With the band’s chameleonic, ever-shifting sounds, one could be forgiven for mistaking Broncho’s five album discography as the product of five different bands. 

Ranging from scuzzed-out garage rock to slinky glam pop to propulsive new wave and moody atmospheric art rock, the Broncho oeuvre is one that’s impossible to pin down. Broncho frontman and chief songwriter Ryan Lindsey said the band never tried to intentionally create different sounding albums—they just always played what felt natural to them at the time. But he conceded that the end results make for an eclectic catalog.

“It’s funny to go back and listen to all our albums now, because I do realize how diverse sounding we are,” said Lindsey. “Maybe on a subconscious level, we were trying to make a sound that contrasted with the prior album, but there wasn’t like a master vision there. But I like how diverse we are—it feels like all these different lives we’ve lived. We can be several different versions of ourselves, but still have the same underlying spirit.”

For Broncho’s latest stretch of shows, the band is digging into their third album, “Double Vanity,” a reverb-laden, garage rock masterpiece. Last year, the Oklahoma-based outfit toured extensively in support of their newest release, “Natural Pleasure,” and because they enjoyed that jaunt so much, they decided to extend their live playing schedule. This year happened to coincide with the 10 year anniversary of “Double Vanity,” so Lindsey and company thought it would be fun to play that album in full, which they’ll do on Monday night at the Independent.

“It’s been a blast playing these songs again,” said Lindsey. “It was hard for me to relax when we first toured this record, because I was so focused on everything sounding right. ‘Double Vanity’ is a challenging album to play live, based on how we recorded it. It was almost like I was in a blackout moment when I played those songs 10 years ago. Now, it’s a lot easier for me to just have fun and play these songs. Time does good things sometimes.”

Broncho first gained fame when Lena Dunham placed the band’s punk manifesto, “It’s On,” on her hit HBO show, “Girls.” The band increased their profile even more with the release of their second album, “Just Enough Hip to Be Woman,” powered by their skittery new wave number, “Class Historian,” one of the undeniably best songs of 2014.

The group could have just xeroxed the template for “Class Historian” for the rest of their career, but they took a daring left turn with “Double Vanity.” Dense, heavy and dark, “Double Vanity” took its cue from the psychedelic garage rock sounds of 13th Floor Elevators and the glam gauziness of outfits such as T. Rex. 

While there are plenty of classic cuts on the record, it was a more challenging and less accessible listen than their prior efforts. Still, it has a formidable place in the band’s discography, cementing their reputation as fearless risk-takers.

“We had that record finished and for some reason, it just didn’t feel right,” said Lindsey. “We just threw everything into the reverb chamber—with those slower paced songs, it just felt natural to do that. But that meant those songs ended up taking on a lot of space—they had a lot going on.”

Although the album represented a challenging shift, it remains a fan favorite for Broncho backers. Songs like “Fantasy Boys,” “Jenny Loves Jenae” and “Senora Borealis” have been live staples since the release of the “Double Vanity.”

The songs from “Double Vanity” also offer an intriguing contrast to the cuts from “Natural Pleasures,” the band’s 2025 release. During the “Decade of Double Vanity” tour, Broncho have played songs from that album as well, and those tracks are airy, atmospheric and bright, providing an exciting juxtaposition for crowd-goers

For Lindsey, the opportunity to play both old and new songs live has offered him a moment to do something he rarely does—reflect on the longevity and success of Broncho.

“Looking back, having these conversations, it’s almost like therapy for me,” said Lindsey. “I’m always focused on what’s next—on moving forward. So, it’s been nice to go back to the beginning and appreciate what we’ve done.”

Show Details:
Broncho
Where: The Independent
When: 8 p.m., Monday, May 18
Tickets: $42, available here.

British Post-Rockers caroline Coming to Great American Music Hall

Photo Credit: Henry Redcliff

Listening to the music of the eight-piece British art collective caroline (stylized with a lowercase c) is like hearing a love-crossed conversation between two distant travelers. The vocals come at you from all directions, sounding cavernous, pleading and desperate to be heard. 

The effect creates a distinct presence of space and geography—this yearning feeling that if one of the participants was only just a little bit closer, a little less removed, then that sense of unrequitedness would evaporate. Yet those distances remain, adding to the beautifully forlorn and fated undertone to the songs.

That persistent mood of satisfaction being just beyond the fingertips is not some accident, as the songwriters behind caroline—whose 2025 release, “caroline 2” was one of the best albums of the year—intentionally sought to create a dialogue of sorts within their tracks. No where is that approach more evident than the haunting, “Two Riders Down,” a ghostly, stirring epic from the second half of “caroline 2.”

“We wanted that song to be this really strong contrast between the first half and the second,” said Jasper Llewellyn, the band’s founding member. “We actually first recorded that song in a church, and we assigned the drums to one speaker and the vocals to another speaker and the guitar to another speaker. The idea was to spatialize the recording—to make everything sound distant and removed.”

The band actually ditched the original demo of that effort, but the original intent remained in their final product, which was recorded back in a studio awash with reverb. Like so many of the other songs on “caroline 2,” “Two Riders Down” is a testament to the grand ambitions of the band’s creative process—one that recalls early aughts acts like Broken Social Scene and Arcade Fire. The band’s inventive and eclectic song structures evoke Midwestern emo outfits such as American Football and Cap’n Jazz and their comfort with yawning negative space is reminiscent of post-rock groups like Slint and Talk Talk.

On May 18, caroline will bring their big-tent ensemble to the Great American Music Hall for the group’s first ever performance in San Francisco.

“We are incredibly buzzed about playing in San Francisco,” said multi-instrumentalist Casper Hughes. “For some reason, my main cultural references to the city are from ‘The Princess Diaries.’ So yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to making new memories now.”

Fans who make it to the Great American Music Hall will be in for a cathartic, emotionally rewarding experience. “caroline 2” plays out like a journey, a travelogue detailing the challenges of reaching genuine human connection and finding hope in a fractured society. 

From the opening track, “Total Euphoria,” where the narrator asks “Did we ever talk about /  How you left them?” to the album closer, the aptly titled “Beautiful Ending,” which is marked by more questions—"Did you recognize it? / I'm halfway off my island,” “caroline 2” is filled with the kind of existential riddles that permeate modern life.

But this is not a cynical album. Despite the chasms that appear in the song structures, there are persistent feelings of optimism, a gritty determinism that invokes hope against all odds. That sentiment is captured so eloquently in the band’s most famous song, “Tell Me I Never Knew That,” where guest vocalist Caroline Polachek mournfully and defiantly sings, “I don't even know if I'm alive / But I don't wanna be somebody else.”

Polachek, who started off as a vocalist for one-time indie rock darlings Chairlift, is now a legitimate pop star, making her appearance on “caroline 2” as a big-time coup for the band.

“We actually heard that she was a fan of the band, and so when we wrote that vocal line, we thought it would sound good in her voice,” said Llewellyn. “So, we just sent her an early demo of the songs to see if she was up for doing something and she said yes. We were really nervous to send her something, but she ended up making what was perhaps the weakest song on the album into one of the best. That’s how talented she is.”

While Polachek’s vocal performances are a highlight of the album, her contributions end up blending seamlessly into the rest of “caroline 2”—they aren’t some strange outlier. That can be attributed in large part to the band’s distinctly democratic vibe, an egalitarian, measured outlook that is grounded in genuine affection for one another. While caroline started out as a trio in 2017, the group’s ever-expanding roster has required the band to be intentional and understanding in how they work with one another.

“This band has always been based on the existing and interconnected web of relationships and friendships between us,” said Hughes. “And I think to maintain those kinds of relationships takes effort—especially under the conditions of touring together and making music together in one room. And I think that’s one of the things I’m most proud of when it comes to this band—is how purposeful we’ve been in maintaining those relationships.”

While never overt in “caroline 2,” that commitment to one another can be seen as the ultimate  moral compass for the album. It’s reflected in those long and distant, back-and-forth exchanges that occur throughout the record. 

Yes, those talks are strained and arduous—difficult to hear over the canyons of time, space and distance. But they are happening, nonetheless. Despite everything, caroline is keeping the conversation going.

Show Details:
caroline with Joshua Chuquimia Crampton
Where: Great American Music Hall
When: 8 p.m., Monday, May 18
Tickets: $34, available here.

Andrew St. James Beautifully Mines The Past With “Home Demos, Vol. 1.”

Photo credit: Cesar Maria

What would it be like to have a conversation with your past self? How would you interact with a younger version of your DNA? Would it feel as if you’re talking to a different person altogether?

That was the kind of existential experiment that Andrew St. James recently grappled with while revisiting his vast back catalog of demos and home recordings—some dating back more than a decade. 

“When I was going back to listen to these old songs, I would hear this energy there that I still personally react to,” said St. James. “It was nice to remind myself of that person who I was back then—someone who decided to make a life out of playing music as a 17-year-old. It felt special, and it definitely re-inspired me to continue doing this thing.”

St. James, the prolific singer-songwriter whose solo career enmeshes with group projects like Fast Times, Juan Wayne and Lucky, took to his archives this year in an effort to clear out dozens and dozens of previously recorded tracks that never made it to an official album. The result is “Home Demos, Vol. 1” an 11-song compendium released on April 10 that documents in real time the evolution, maturation and growth of a musician coming into his own.

Any collection that draws upon years and years of recorded material is sure to elicit big emotions, but “Home Demos, Vol.1” is particularly profound. That’s due to two primary reasons—the poignant tenderness of St. James’ lyrics and the bravado range of his vocal delivery.

Many of the songs on the album were written when St. James was a teenager or barely into his 20s and that youthful expressiveness is endearingly evident. When you’re young, the stakes are always incredibly high, and St. James conveys that thrilling immediacy throughout the record, most notably in tearjerker ballads like “The Great Divide,” which was written in 2017. 

A shadowy and austere fingerpicked acoustic number, that song is an impossibly heartfelt rendition of regret and loss, with St. James pleading out lines such as “I’m sorry if I hurt you / It makes me want to die,” and “I love you all my life / And that’s forever.” (I mean, wow.) With confessions so rough and ragged, the normal recourse would be to keep them hidden forever. St. James is brave enough to finally air them out, nine years after they were first written. 

“I was obviously writing and singing that song in an extremely vulnerable state where everything felt like it needed to be stripped down,” said St. James. “That’s one of those songs that I probably wouldn’t write now, but I clearly had these deep, intensely personal feelings at that time. I was drawn to that song now just because it is so personal.”

Adding to the resonance of those pleading words is St. James' voice, a magnificently warbly instrument. Recalling indie folk artists like Saintseneca’s Zac Little and Kristian Matsson of the Tallest Man on Earth, St. James natural register is one of mournful desperation, a craggy appeal that elevates every lyric into the contrasting realms of dire straits or unchecked euphoria. The recordings on the album are all in their infancy period, mostly just demos that have not been mastered—heightening the unvarnished and raw sentimentality of the songs.

While the album is deeply intense, St. James clearly had some fun with these songs. He elongates every vowel to ridiculously cheeky lengths on the Supertramp-indebted “Nobody Else,” and he caterwauls like the great Hamilton Leithauser on the jaunty waltz “Reasons,” which, at just two years old is the newest track on the album. 

While St. James has been consistently writing music since he was a youngster—releasing his first solo album, “Doldrums,” while he was still in high school—over the past several years he’s devoted most of his professional career to collaborative efforts, from the desert rock trappings of Juan Wayne to the Strokes-inflected Fast Times to the alt-country leanings of Lucky, his most recent endeavor.

While St. James said those partnerships have been deeply rewarding, they also impelled him to revisit his back catalog. His last solo release, the wonderfully nostalgic “Light After Darkness,” was released nearly five years ago, an unexpectedly lengthy break between records.

“I made this choice when I was a teenager that this is what I was going to do,” said St. James. “There have been some successes, and maybe some failures, but it’s brought me to all these amazing different places and I’ve had so many great experiences. I made this agreement with myself when I was young that I would stay committed to this, and, in the past couple of years I’ve really been focused on playing with others in bands. That’s been great, but it’s also taken me away from the kind of thing I wanted to do when I first started, which is to put out music under my own name. You know, I’ve gone too far down this road to not honor all the time and effort I put into making my own music.” 

As evidenced by the Vol. 1 name on this batch of albums, St. James has plenty more songs to release. He’s planning on putting out at least two more compilations of older material while continuing to work on new music. By drawing down on that backlog, he can renew his focus on songwriting—a sort of creative clearing of the cobwebs. St. James said he hopes to issue some of those newly penned songs for a proper album later this year. 

When that new release comes out, it will add to a sprawling and impressive inventory, reflecting that vow St. James made to himself when he was just a kid—to see this life through as a creative person. 

“I’m hoping I don’t overload people with all this music, but I think I need to put everything out at this point,” said St. James. “I’m looking to get as much done as possible. It’s funny, because I’ve been doing this so long, but this is a way of giving me a little more courage, I guess, with my personal output. I’m ready to put myself out there again.”

Andrew St. James “Home Demos, Vol.1” is available for purchase on Bandcamp here.

The Reds, Pinks and Purples Returning With Another Stellar Album, “Acknowledge Kindness”

Photo Credit: Samara Dun

“No sunshine / Darkness at noon.”

Starting off an album with such an unremittingly bleak lyric is an incredibly bold move, even without considering that the line references a novel written about the dangers of totalitarianism. 

In the hands of a lesser talent, that couplet could come off as self-serious or melodramatic, but we’re talking about Glenn Donaldson here, the maestro of the San Francisco dream pop outfit the Reds, Pinks and Purples. Enveloping that opening line in a misty haze of warm feedback and acoustic guitar movements and delivering it with his soft and plaintive vocal styling, Donaldson somehow manages to sound inspiring and hopeful—like it’s a knowing gesture from a kindred spirit. 

Ultimately, that track—“Is It You, or Is It Them”—which kicks off the Reds, Pinks and Purples newest album, “Acknowledge Kindness,” evolves into an anthem of pure empathy, with Donaldson wondering in the end, “if you’re alright.” The song is a stunning way to introduce the album and the latest example of Donaldson’s unparalleled talent for wringing stirring and soaring emotions out of sad, ruminative ballads.

“I think I’ve resolved myself to writing miserable songs,” said Donaldson. “But I think I do it with some sense of wit. And there are enough twists and turns to the songs that make them interesting. I just lean into what I know best, which is writing big, emotive music.”

Donaldson specializes in writing strangely accessible pop tunes, but there are entire worlds to each track. His songs are imbued with atmosphere, layered with meticulous details that add depth and profundity to melodies and hooks that are inherently approachable. 

He takes a shoegaze application to song structure—marrying the ugly and the beautiful—without the maximalist, blown out noise of that genre. In the vein of acts like Spiritualized, Red House Painters or Low, Donaldson starts with a simple foundation—a small piano piece or minor guitar chord—and adds synths, samples and other DIY wrinkles that create lush, verdant sonic landscapes. Call it art pop or slowcore, but there is something undefinable and unique about the Reds, Pinks and Purples.

Throughout his prolific career—which long predates his more recent success with the Red, Pinks and Purples—Donaldson has mined a prodigious back catalog of singles-sounding tracks to assemble his records. But for “Acknowledge Kindness,” which will be released on April 24 through Fire Records, he took on a more focused direction. 

“I think this album has been the most deliberate Reds, Pinks and Purples one I’ve made,” said Donaldson. “I really spent months working on this one, whereas in the past, I’d kind of post something on Bandcamp as soon as a song was done, so I wouldn’t obsess over it too much. With ‘Acknowledge Kindness,’ I tried to create each song with an atmosphere that would be less immediate. I wanted people to sit with these songs for a bit.”

These are profound songs for sure—dealing with loss, nostalgia, uncertainty and doubt—but Donaldson is no mordant bummer. For every strikingly sad detail, there is a flash of humor. 

A perfect example of that approach is “Emo Band,” a standout track from “Acknowledge Kindness.” Seemingly a snarky riposte about pitiable, aging rockers, upon closer inspection, the song morphs into a kindly ode to those who refuse to give up on their dreams.

“I feel like American culture really pushes artists out a certain age,” said Donaldson. “I think that’s started to change in the last decade, especially in Europe, but there is this sense like, you have a band in college and then you give it up. There’s a little self-parody in there for sure, as someone who’s in a band and definitely not in college anymore.”

In addition to those fully formed character sketches, “Acknowledge Kindness” sprinkles in plenty of references to the Richmond District, the sleepy San Francisco neighborhood that has emerged as a flourishing and dynamic artistic center, due in large parts to residents like Donaldson. Tracks like “Blue Heron Lake” and “Houses” implicitly reference the neighborhood, and there is a misty, salt-speckled feel to the songs that’s reminiscent of the western community. Donaldson records in his home studio, meaning the Richmond can literally be heard in his songs.

“There are actual bird sounds throughout the record, because I record with my windows open,” said Donaldson. “If you’re listening on headphones, you’ll hear the birds coming at the end of tracks. So yeah, the Richmond is literally leaking into the recording.”

Although not an official record release show, the Reds, Pinks and Purples will perform for the first time following the debut of “Acknowledge Kindness” with an April 29 show at the 4 Star Theater (in the Richmond, of course) opening for American Moon and Mo Dotti. 

Donaldson said he’s working on additional live plans for 2026, although he concedes that, given the current dismal state of world affairs, it’s a strange time to be embarking on grand tours.  

“It’s a little hard to get into the mindset of, like, we’re gonna bring joy and happiness to people when the fucking world is on fire,” said Donaldson. “But we’ll figure out a way to make it happen.”

It may be odd, yes, but in many ways, the Reds, Pinks and Purples are the perfect band for the moment. If anyone can find a way to identify and extract some communal bliss out of these woebegone times, it’s Glenn Donaldson.

Show Details:
The Reds, Pinks and Purples with American Moon and Mo Dotti
Where: 4 Star Theater
When: 8 p.m., Wednesday, April 29
Tickets: $20, available here.

“Acknowledge Kindness” is available for pre-order on Bandcamp here.

British Act Westerman Aims to Bring Wide Range of Emotions to Rickshaw Stop Show

Photo Credit: Eric Scaggiante

Just hours before he was set to embark on an extensive North American tour, Will Westerman—the British native who records and performs under the moniker Westerman—was hit with a jarring bit of news. His bandmate and creative partner, Daniel McIntyre—a multi-instrumentalist responsible for numerous elements of the group’s live sound—was denied a Visa, suddenly casting significant doubt about how Westerman would pull off these shows.

Westerman had actually never even met in person with his touring drummer, Jacob Grissom—the only other band member who was cleared to tour—which made matters all the more difficult. Yet despite the incredible challenges presented by the last-minute roadblock, Westerman set out to make the best of a terrible situation, as he and Grissom engaged in a three-day crash course before the tour to determine how to play his songs as a two-piece outfit.

“Obviously, I wish this hadn’t happened, but at the same time, there’s always good that comes from these kinds of situations,” said Westerman. “It was kind of nice to strip these songs completely—to take everything away and then figure out how to rebuild the song in a way that makes sense. It’s kind of been incredible in a way, because it’s a reminder that there is no definitive way of playing a piece of music. I’m not going to lie—those first shows have been stressful, but the tour has really ended up being amazing.”

If any musician could be capable of paring back their sound under such inauspicious circumstances, it would be Westerman. Since his stirring, critically lauded 2020 debut, “Your Hero Is Not Dead,” Westerman has fearlessly explored avenues of minimalism and austerity, coercing atmospheric and ethereal sounds out of songs that are unfussy and skeletal. He is a worthy heir of his songwriting idol, Mark Hollis, the creative genius behind Talk Talk, which essentially invented the post-rock genre with their dual masterpieces “Spirit of Eden” and “Laughing Stock.”

“I love the way that he [Hollis] embraced space—how he left behind the ideas of rigid pop music,” said Westerman. “Something that always sticks with me is how he proved that space doesn’t mean emptiness.”

After spending extensive time working on his sophomore album, the ambitious “An Inbuilt Fault,” Westerman re-embraced the more cavernous, Dadaistic nature of Hollis for his most recent record, last year’s “A Jackal’s Wedding.” His current tour is in support of that album, and on April 4, he’ll perform at the Rickshaw Stop. He’ll be joined by opener Otto Benson, whose most recent album, “Peanut,” is one of the best releases of 2026.

Westerman wrote the album in large part about his time living in Greece, where he has called home intermittently for the past several years. His most recent experience was a five-week stay in Hydra, an island off the coast of Athens. Despite its relatively withdrawn production style, “A Jackal’s Wedding” has an undercurrent of warmth and brightness, imbued by a steady stream of billowing synth basslines. 

Westerman said the sonic template was inspired by the unique brightness of the Athens skyline—a blaring beacon of light set against a countryside that can be overwhelmingly dark in the evening. Those feelings were amplified during the transition from dawn to night, when the sun setting added to the explosion of colors.

“There’s a kind of crazy over-saturation effect as the light is changing,” said Westerman. “I’d be going for a walk in the hills over Athens and there were these extreme visual sensations. I really wanted to translate that feeling musically into the record, to balance the light and dark sounds in a more pronounced way.

One powerful way Westerman is able to evince those feelings of polarity is through his voice, a rangy, melancholic instrument that conjures a range of emotions. On the XTC-inspired “PSFN,” Westerman sounds lilting and inspired, a contrast to the somber, reflective moments of tracks such as “Spring” and the opening dirge, “S. Machine.”

“I really try and play around with the registers because they can engender quite different feelings—I’ve been doing that most of my life,” said Westerman. “Certain songs have to be sung lower, just because I’m aiming for a specific emotion. Others have to be higher, for the same reason. Some of the songs just wouldn’t make sense for me if I didn’t sing them in a particular manner.”

With just one other member in tow for the tour, Westerman is wielding that formidable asset in ever more creative ways. Fortunately, he’s not one to bury his vocals underneath a wave of guitars or dissonant feedback, so these live performances are even more of a showcase for him to elicit that boundless range of audience sentiments from his delivery.

“Any time you go out on tour it’s a journey—and I mean that in more ways than one,” said Westerman. “Obviously, this journey has been different, because we’ve dealt with some difficulties. But, it’s still incredibly rewarding.”

Show Details:
Westerman with Otto Benson
Where: Rickshaw Stop
When: 8:45 p.m., Saturday, April 4
Tickets: $34, available here.

R.E. Seraphin’s Re-Issued Albums Offer Fresh Glimpse At Older Classics

In the annals of album release dates, March 13, 2020 has to go down in history as one of least fortuitous days in history.

Do some quick research and you’ll notice that it happens to coincide almost directly with the onset of the global Covid-19 pandemic—not exactly the best time to promote an album, what with the entire world being shut down.

So, it should come as no surprise that Bay Area songwriter R.E. Seraphin recently decided to re-issue his debut solo effort, “Tiny Shapes,” which was originally introduced to the public on that miserably fateful day. That album is being packaged with “A Room Forever,” Seraphin’s follow-up EP that came out a few months after his debut (and yeah, right in the meat of the pandemic as well.)

“When I originally released these records, I had no real way of promoting them,” said Seraphin. “I did a few live streams, posted a little bit on Instagram and had a few very nice people write about the album on some blogs, but for the most part, it felt pretty anti-climactic at the time.” 

It’s an utter shame that the releases fell under the radar, because they showcase the songwriting approach that has made Seraphin one of the Bay Area’s most consistently vibrant musicians. 

Wielding the power-pop hooks of bands like Squeeze, Big Star and Cheap Trick with the lo-fi aesthetics and leisurely pacing of outfits such as the DBs and the Feelies, Seraphin has a preternatural feel for writing imminently catchy melodies. He’s equally adept at creating jangly fuzz rock tunes in the vein of Teenage Fanclub (“Safe to Say”) as he is making noir-ish, slinky synth pieces like (“Pillar of Shame.”)

Fortunately, those songs are now being brought back to the forefront, with the new reissuing of the album, which Seraphin is putting on his Take a Turn Records, the label he operates with fellow musician Luke Robbins. 

Seraphin said it was an enlightening experience to revisit the songs. Despite the albums only coming out about six years ago, his life has changed dramatically since their release. 

“In a sense, it did feel like I was looking back at a different person,” said Seraphin. “I was in a totally different part of my life. I hadn’t had children yet, which is a major development, as any parent will tell you. But I was just in a different headspace overall. I had recently dissolved my previous project [the Talkies] and so I was very loose and limber creatively. There was this kind of impetus to record these songs within this short period of my life to kind of usher in this new creative stage for me.”

The pairing of the “Tiny Shapes” and “A Room Forever” is remarkably cohesive, given the stylistic differences between the two releases. Whereas “Tiny Shapes” leans into brightly shaped, ebullient guitar rock numbers, “A Room Forever” is brooding and contemplative, with Seraphin employing melancholic synth movements, a more austere soundscape and a deeper vocal register. One album is the summer, the other its autumnal companion.

“I do think the two albums are very different, both in terms of the songwriting and the presentation,” said Seraphin. “A Room Forever” was essentially just recorded on my phone in my bedroom, so it was very skeletal. But I think they complement each other in an interesting way—I don’t think there is this jarring transition when going from one album to the next.”

Seraphin is incredibly prolific—in addition to contributing to countless Bay Area records, he also plays in The Pennys and frequently releases albums under his own name—and one can hear an evolution in his playing style and approach since “Tiny Shapes” and “A Room Forever” were released, but there are plenty of his hallmarks that remain comfortingly present. His keen sense for lyrical detail, ability to shoehorn pop nuggets out of unconventional places, and his soothing, unhurried vocal delivery have remained constant through the years. 

Much has changed since these two albums were first released, but much has stayed the same—the records are evidence that Seraphin has always tapped into a wellspring of creative energy. While he has no immediate plans to play live shows, with the pandemic long over, he at least has that option now. 

“We’ll see where it goes from here,” said Seraphin. “It’s been nice just to keep things moving along by releasing this album, to keep the momentum going. It’s definitely been a rewarding experience.”

The “A Room Forever” / “Tiny Shapes” album reissue is available for purchase on Bandcamp here.

New Orleans Outfit Twisted Teens Bringing Unique Blend of Sounds to Bay Area Next Week

There is something undeniably unique, thrilling and fresh about listening to “Blame the Clown,” the new release from the New Orleans duo Twisted Teens.

While bearing all the trappings of a gritty, revivalist garage rock band, the group incorporates an array of disparate elements, from hip-hop beats, Appalachia fiddle melodies, electronica flourishes, analog sound samples, and, most noticeably, a pedal steel that weeps and croons, courtesy of guitar player RJ “Razor Ramon” Santos. 

It is a collection of inspirations rarely heard in modern music, but Caspian, the (mononymous) founder and chief songwriter of Twisted Teens, insists that his band is only carrying on the legacy of countless acts before him.

“We are doing what musicians have always done, which is just to combine the cultural influences that are around them,” said Caspian. “For us, it’s the blues, or jazz, punk music, trap, experimental music. If you sit in my living room, you will hear hardcore punk and New Orleans bounce music. You’ll hear fiddle music from the mountains and a lot of Cajun music and brass bands. All of that stuff is literally coming into my window every day. It might sound complicated, but if you think of yourself as a participator in the culture, and not just a curator, it makes perfect sense.”

In support of “Blame The Clown”—an outrageously great new album that is one of the best releases so far in 2026—Twisted Teens will bring their ambitious mélange of sounds to a couple of Bay Area venues next week. On Tuesday, they’ll play at The Knockout in San Francisco’s Mission District and on Wednesday, they’ll head across the Bay to play at Thee Stork Club in Oakland. 

It will be a homecoming for Caspian, who grew up in the Bay Area and lived for years in Santa Cruz, where he formed his folk punk band, Blackbird Raum. Caspian’s first experience with New Orleans came in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where he squatted in abandoned buildings while busking and meeting musicians from the local community. 

He came back to the Bay Area for a stint, but eventually settled on New Orleans as his fulltime home in 2015. He quickly fell in love with the vast musical multiculturalism of the city, in particular the Holy Cross neighborhood where he lives.

“We feel like this album could only exist in a three block radius—I don’t think we could make this record anywhere else,” said Caspian. “I’m not from New Orleans, so I’m not about to say that this is about representing the city’s culture, but I can tell you about the neighborhood we live in and the community we have and the influences that are filtering through the air.”

It was in that creatively vibrant community that Caspian met Santos, a pedal steel player whose mournful, wailing slide playing provides Twisted Teens with its signature sound—a plaintive, yet raucous output that makes you want to dance a jig while artfully chugging your $2 beer. Those pealing guitar movements perfectly compliment Caspian’s gruff, raspy vocals—an ideal instrument to deliver his outrageous and uproariously funny narratives of characters living on the fringes of society.

“Blame the Clown” is populated with stories of down-on-their-luck drifters, desperate vagabonds, impish tricksters and manic individuals trying to navigate the perils of modern day living. While some of the tales clearly stray into satire, there is always a palpable sense of empathy to Caspian’s character sketches.

Take, for example, the main actor in “100 Bill is Gone,” a tragicomedy standout track about losing a precious wad of cash to a guy “who disappeared around the corner.” On its face, the song is about an illicit act gone awry, but Caspian imbues the track with a deep pathos, particularly when he sings about “working hard, every night” for that stolen money.

“That song is not judgmental—I’m not trying to throw shade at anyone who might be into drug use or sex work or anything,” said Caspian. “I hang out with people who smoke crack and I have friends who go to the gym every day—all sides of high and low.” 

The album reflects Caspian’s avowedly outsider point of view. He expresses disdain at all artifice and has zero patience for the grubby business side of the music industry. Caspian said the band is getting newfound attention, however, from those seedier elements, following a recent laudatory Pitchfork review. In that praiseworthy piece, the writer Nina Corcoran—one of the best in the field—heaped kudos on the band, exclaiming that Twisted Teens “shoot from the hip when writing punk songs and play with the precision of an in-house country band.”

Caspian said he appreciated the attention, but he reiterated that the spotlight would have no effect whatsoever on how the band goes about their daily life.

“It’s nice to have these people in your corner, folks who have dragged us up from nothing,” said Caspian. “We’re not out making Instagram reels or calling journalists—we're just making catchy music. And if people come out for us, that’s great, but we obviously don’t believe in the folks who just smell dollar signs. They’re going to be disappointed in my willingness to participate, because I’m not broke enough to compromise anything.”

Caspian said that Twisted Teens have at least a hundred songs recorded and are excited about bringing more music to the masses—but only in the way that feels natural and organic.

“The key is creating your own culture and your own community,” said Caspian. “And if you can figure a way to blow up off that while still owning your own music and identity, you’ve done your job.”

Show Details:
Twisted Teens with Croissant and George Jr and the 9/11’s
Where: The Knockout
When: 8 p.m., Tuesday, March 10
Tickets: $12, available at the door

Twisted Teens with Garras Sucias and Healers
Where: Thee Stork Club
When: 8 p.m., Wednesday, March 11
Tickets: $13, available here.