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Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Pitchfork Reviews Warm Brother
Shawn Foree is just your typical Midwestern American-Lit student who plays "new-wave Nazi fag punk" (among other memorable epithets he's coined) under Jay Reatard management. Since 2004, he's been releasing his home recordings as Digital Leather, seeming to court perpetual obscurity. His music fits squarely into an arcane lineage of indie-rock bands who combine awkward vocals, lyrics that run the gamut from weird to transgressive, and oddly-shaped instrumental parts into unaccountably catchy songs: The Frogs, Mink Lungs, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, My Dad Is Dead. In other words, he's sui generis, fitting in only with other acts defined by not fitting in.
Foree's up to his usual tricks on his first Fat Possum album, squeezing a Nazi reference and a gay joke into the title alone (look it up), and inscribing it on an old guy's chest for bonus lulz. That's offensive on so many levels, but at the same time, it's hard to get worked up about, because it's trying so hard for shock value. You don't get the feeling that Foree is really a Nazi homophobe, just a louche IRL-troll with a sense of humor stuck in South Park. Nevertheless, Warm Brother threatens to win him a wider audience. While it's still off-kilter garage- and indie-rock with a blown-out electronic sheen, it's his first album recorded in an actual studio, and from the tootling shlock of "Your Hand, My Glove" to the M83-in-a-garbage-can stomper "Not Now", the songs really pop. It still feels defiantly niche, even as it alludes to better-known acts. The album recalls the submerged, piecemeal anthems of early Guided by Voices and the hoarse-throated barnburners of Wolf Parade (see "Kisses", with its chant-like vocal exhortations, and flat-footed drums thwacking through ringing chords). And the lyrics are actually pretty sweet.
They're also negligible. Foree's voice is nothing special-- a deep, level croon-- and while he cooks up some indelible vocal melodies, the music is the main attraction here. The drums detonate and echo like mortar rounds in a canyon; the infectious guitar parts explore gnarled acres of timbre and distortion; and the synths-- good god, the synths. They roar and spark and rip holes in the music in a way that instantly elevates offhanded ditties into four-alarm blazes. "Photo Lie" blends guitar-fuzz and keyboard-fuzz into an indistinguishably pounding mass. But the best songs exploit the contrast between quiet guitars and loud electronics, seeming to actually explode in Foree's hands. "All the People" starts off as a blocky folk strummer, before a chewed-up synth line pops out, and in "Bugs on Glue", a side-winding riff-fest spills riotously out of an anxious tape-manipulated haze. The balance between carefully fitted parts and their edge-of-danger deployment keeps us on thrillingly unsteady footing for the album's duration. It's a kitschy, shticky, charming curio.
— Brian Howe, November 10, 2009
Foree's up to his usual tricks on his first Fat Possum album, squeezing a Nazi reference and a gay joke into the title alone (look it up), and inscribing it on an old guy's chest for bonus lulz. That's offensive on so many levels, but at the same time, it's hard to get worked up about, because it's trying so hard for shock value. You don't get the feeling that Foree is really a Nazi homophobe, just a louche IRL-troll with a sense of humor stuck in South Park. Nevertheless, Warm Brother threatens to win him a wider audience. While it's still off-kilter garage- and indie-rock with a blown-out electronic sheen, it's his first album recorded in an actual studio, and from the tootling shlock of "Your Hand, My Glove" to the M83-in-a-garbage-can stomper "Not Now", the songs really pop. It still feels defiantly niche, even as it alludes to better-known acts. The album recalls the submerged, piecemeal anthems of early Guided by Voices and the hoarse-throated barnburners of Wolf Parade (see "Kisses", with its chant-like vocal exhortations, and flat-footed drums thwacking through ringing chords). And the lyrics are actually pretty sweet.
They're also negligible. Foree's voice is nothing special-- a deep, level croon-- and while he cooks up some indelible vocal melodies, the music is the main attraction here. The drums detonate and echo like mortar rounds in a canyon; the infectious guitar parts explore gnarled acres of timbre and distortion; and the synths-- good god, the synths. They roar and spark and rip holes in the music in a way that instantly elevates offhanded ditties into four-alarm blazes. "Photo Lie" blends guitar-fuzz and keyboard-fuzz into an indistinguishably pounding mass. But the best songs exploit the contrast between quiet guitars and loud electronics, seeming to actually explode in Foree's hands. "All the People" starts off as a blocky folk strummer, before a chewed-up synth line pops out, and in "Bugs on Glue", a side-winding riff-fest spills riotously out of an anxious tape-manipulated haze. The balance between carefully fitted parts and their edge-of-danger deployment keeps us on thrillingly unsteady footing for the album's duration. It's a kitschy, shticky, charming curio.
— Brian Howe, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, November 6, 2008
RELEASE THE MASTER
I've been living at Cardiac studio, on and off, for about 6 months. I've lost all semblance of a social life. My only friends these days are my recording engineer and the studio owner. But what we've been working on makes it all worth it i believe. Once it's done, that is. I've kind of taken not a new direction in songwriting and arrangement; it's more of a transcendent direction. The songs themselves are more personal, more of an interpretation of my experiences.
The album is about 90% done. Although I have not yet even begun to think about labels or any of that business shit, I did come up with an album title the other day finally. For the last several months EVERYTHING was a potential album title. There was "Bring the Slum" and "Filament" and a slew of others. Now that the songs are coming together as a cohesive unit i've settled on on a name: "Release the Master."
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Sorcerer Lp Release & Blah Musings
Finally this record is coming out! It only took 3 years. As a songwriter I have, in some ways, evolved, but the collection of songs on this Lp is probably the most representative of the Digital Leather sound up until now. Gee, I sure hope everyone likes it. Check Goner Records to read more because right now, I'm tired of typing.
---s
www.goner-records.com
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Interview for City Trash Magazine (NE)
"With a whole slew of new records in the works and an upcoming European tour, it was time to get in touch with Digital Leather to spill some light on all this. Especially since, for a while, a lot of people hadn't been able to pin "what the band was up to" in recent months until the recent explosion of new material started pouring out again. So, through the appropriately cold channel of internet communication, myself (Mattt) cyber-sat-down with Digital Leather (aka Shawn Foree) to discuss the recent writing, recording, and touring plans. And also just to serve up a small "get familiar with the band" kind of thing for those just getting aquainted with the synth-punk genius of Digital Leather. Ok......let's get a crackin!" –MATTT
Matt: I see the Camel Toe 7" on Goner was a hit in most circles. What else have you been up to?
Shawn: writing, drinking, sobering up
Matt: You seemed like you were sitting quietly waiting there for a few months, but now you're blowing up all over the map suddenly. Did you take some time off to write?
Shawn: i was absorbing life (high)
Matt: How do you view Digital Leather as a band? It's obviously your own personal thing for the most part, but you have a lot of people that contribute here and there. Do they fit into the "band" mold, or is it mostly all you?
Shawn: DL has many incarnations and moods. it's a band and a diary. it's a bipolar shapeshifter. so to answer your question, i don't know
Matt: Your "style" is hard to pin down because it involves so many unique sounds. What would you describe it as? Any influences that stick out when you hear it?
Shawn: DL is new wave i guess. meaning it takes from pop, punk, dance, and experimental. i like being classified. i really do. new wave.
Matt: Everything sounds like it's working off it's own theme as a song. Do you have any thoughts of producing or writing for other people? You seem to come up with a lot of diverse but fitting "vibes" in your song parts. This could come in handy as hell for people who need a musical tune-up.
Shawn: i wanna write for other people and have. my songs get covered all the time, which is fun. writing for others gives me a chance to expand my range as a writer because that's what i am essentially, a writer.
Matt: Would you say you are more of a "scientist" or a "savage" in the studio when writing or recording?
Shawn: i'm more of a savage in the studio. my best work pours out of me faster than i can lay it down.
Matt: What's the genre or artist you absolutely hate right now?
Shawn: that's a very hard question for me to answer. there's so much music out there right now that i hate. so much phony bullshit. I guess I'd have to say as a whole, i hate the entire garage movement; if i only had one choice.
Matt: Since the records are usually very synth-based, and you write all of it yourself, how are you trying to replicate that live nowadays? Or are you doing it all with a live band?
Shawn: I've got a really great band behind me right now. We're drums, guitar, bass and synth. i stole each member from other bands. our live shows are gonna blow people away i suspect. we're loud and we sound punk as hell.
Matt: So you're playing Goner Fest again this year. Any word on that first live LP from Goner Fest II yet? When is that Live LP from Goner Fest II coming out?
Shawn: the live Lp is supposed to be out early 2008. that was a great show. i never seen so many sweaty, dancing cokeheads in one room, in the middle of the day!
Matt: I know a lot of people want to see you play in Europe, so what are your plans (if any) for touring there in the near future?
Shawn: I'm trying to wrap up booking a euro tour right now. we'll see if it pans out. i hate being so fucking DIY!
Matt: How are the Cutters?
Shawn: the Cutters will start doing live shows to finally, and touring with DL. I am eager as hell to play our first real show.
Matt: What's you favorite record you've done so far? Why?
Shawn: I would have to say hands down, without a doubt, all of them. they're my kids.
official releases:
Digital Leather s/t
DL simulator 7"
DL monologue
DL/ Angry Angles split 7"
DL cameltoe 7"
DL HARD at WORK
DL BLOW MACHINE
DL 7" on red lounge records
DL 7" on disordered records
DL SORCERER
Matt: I see the Camel Toe 7" on Goner was a hit in most circles. What else have you been up to?
Shawn: writing, drinking, sobering up
Matt: You seemed like you were sitting quietly waiting there for a few months, but now you're blowing up all over the map suddenly. Did you take some time off to write?
Shawn: i was absorbing life (high)
Matt: How do you view Digital Leather as a band? It's obviously your own personal thing for the most part, but you have a lot of people that contribute here and there. Do they fit into the "band" mold, or is it mostly all you?
Shawn: DL has many incarnations and moods. it's a band and a diary. it's a bipolar shapeshifter. so to answer your question, i don't know
Matt: Your "style" is hard to pin down because it involves so many unique sounds. What would you describe it as? Any influences that stick out when you hear it?
Shawn: DL is new wave i guess. meaning it takes from pop, punk, dance, and experimental. i like being classified. i really do. new wave.
Matt: Everything sounds like it's working off it's own theme as a song. Do you have any thoughts of producing or writing for other people? You seem to come up with a lot of diverse but fitting "vibes" in your song parts. This could come in handy as hell for people who need a musical tune-up.
Shawn: i wanna write for other people and have. my songs get covered all the time, which is fun. writing for others gives me a chance to expand my range as a writer because that's what i am essentially, a writer.
Matt: Would you say you are more of a "scientist" or a "savage" in the studio when writing or recording?
Shawn: i'm more of a savage in the studio. my best work pours out of me faster than i can lay it down.
Matt: What's the genre or artist you absolutely hate right now?
Shawn: that's a very hard question for me to answer. there's so much music out there right now that i hate. so much phony bullshit. I guess I'd have to say as a whole, i hate the entire garage movement; if i only had one choice.
Matt: Since the records are usually very synth-based, and you write all of it yourself, how are you trying to replicate that live nowadays? Or are you doing it all with a live band?
Shawn: I've got a really great band behind me right now. We're drums, guitar, bass and synth. i stole each member from other bands. our live shows are gonna blow people away i suspect. we're loud and we sound punk as hell.
Matt: So you're playing Goner Fest again this year. Any word on that first live LP from Goner Fest II yet? When is that Live LP from Goner Fest II coming out?
Shawn: the live Lp is supposed to be out early 2008. that was a great show. i never seen so many sweaty, dancing cokeheads in one room, in the middle of the day!
Matt: I know a lot of people want to see you play in Europe, so what are your plans (if any) for touring there in the near future?
Shawn: I'm trying to wrap up booking a euro tour right now. we'll see if it pans out. i hate being so fucking DIY!
Matt: How are the Cutters?
Shawn: the Cutters will start doing live shows to finally, and touring with DL. I am eager as hell to play our first real show.
Matt: What's you favorite record you've done so far? Why?
Shawn: I would have to say hands down, without a doubt, all of them. they're my kids.
official releases:
Digital Leather s/t
DL simulator 7"
DL monologue
DL/ Angry Angles split 7"
DL cameltoe 7"
DL HARD at WORK
DL BLOW MACHINE
DL 7" on red lounge records
DL 7" on disordered records
DL SORCERER
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