PREMIERE: Holy Sheboygan! - Four

Kelly Kirwan

Holy Sheboygan! heard the call of the wild, a whisper from the woods beckoning them forward, and they followed. They’ve describe their beginnings as emerging from the forest, mud caked to their skin and tangles of leaves and twigs in their hair. Or, to quote them directly, “Holy Sheboygan! were founded at the beginning of time. They will be playing along to the thunderclap at the end of existence.”

This tight-knit collective—“band” doesn’t quite cut it with them—lived on the land while crafting their latest LP, Four, which is a bustling array of rust-lined folk. Percussion runs rife throughout the album, with the interchange of claps and acoustic drumming further fostering this sense that we’re on the cusp of a spiritual awakening.

“Sleep” braids an even-keeled feminine vocal line repeating abruptly, “Sleep, sleep, sleep / Creep, creep, creep,” as guttural growls permeate throughout. Slinky guitar plucks make a cameo, before the song takes on an airier, slightly eerie tone while singing, “Kiss my lips with every fingertip,” as the melody seems to build upward into a delicate spiral.

“Born of Man” is a much softer song (relatively speaking). The beginning is filled with lightly intertwining vocals, each member carrying a wordless note. As the song progresses it bustles. A subdued cacophony of trills and a funky guitar riff are punctuated every so often by a vaguely metallic clash, and a feeling swells in us listeners that everything will be all right. It's a calming condolence delivered without a snappy lyric, and it's enough to have you following in Holy Sheboygan!'s footsteps without a second thought. We too hear the call.

Pre-order Holy Sheboygan! - Four on Bandcamp, out March 3rd.

REVIEW: Jaill - Wherever It Be

Raquel Dalarossa

In their ten-plus years as an active Milwaukeean indie rock act, Jaill have undergone plenty of changes. But through several lineup revisions and label switches, frontman Vincent Kircher has remained at the center of it all, producing full-bodied garage pop with help from a revolving cast of friends. Now, with Wherever It Be, a ten-track collection exclusively for Infinity Cat’s cassette series, Kircher is putting out what essentially boils down to a solo release, and it feels like the best thing he’s done in years.

Though it was mixed and mastered by current Jaill drummer Josh Evert, Wherever It Be was written, performed, and recorded entirely on Kircher’s own, in his Milwaukee home. It could be classified as bedroom pop, and it certainly does have an intimate, homegrown quality, but it eschews the genre’s generally cloistered feel. Instead, there’s a vitality infused into even the most pared-down, keyboard-centric verses on this album. And in contrast to Jaill’s last full-length, in which Kircher’s lyrics tended towards pretty caustic self-deprecation, the content here is often droll and feels somewhat off-the-cuff.

The album’s opening track and namesake sets the tone wonderfully with a story about a hermit crab who is “Sold in a cup to a kid with one friend.” “It’s okay,” says Kircher, “You’ll be loved / You will be taken care of.” Quirky details abound in Kircher’s lyrics, as in “Helen You Sure Do Smell Bad For A Girl,” where Kircher regrets that he wants to “say some things that sound so sweet / But all I think is how I need to eat.” His unbridled honesty can hit a painful nerve at times, such as when he asks “Are you ok, darling / Feels like you’re bored” (“Bored”), but it goes down easy when buoyed by a sparkly xylophone and hoppy keyboard. 

Many of the songs take subtle psychedelic turns, like in “Spills,” which juxtaposes stomping percussion with high-pitched, childlike harmonies and video game-y flourishes. Electronic elements (as found in “Augmented 5th” for example) are well implemented, while softer touches, like a gauzy harp riff, are interestingly paired with fuzzy garage tunes (“Lala is All Icicles”). And pretty much all of the songs are catchy as hell—Kircher’s expertly-written and addictive pop fuses well with the cozy yet off-kilter aesthetic. There’s an easy, natural air to the album as a whole. 

Maybe it was just the one-off nature of this limited tape release, but Wherever It Be has a no-pressure, no-frills sound that seems especially refreshing in light of Jaill’s relatively long history. Kircher's talents happily shine in a way that's miles from his previous effort. Here's to hoping there's more solo experimentation in store for him, and for us.