On the Griddle: September

Arts Tribune

4 weeks ago

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On the Griddle is a monthly A&R column offering a buffet-style spread of sapid tracks discovered through the music platform, Groover. Every 30 days, expect an array of songs, diverse and delicious, served hot off the flat-top and waiting to be wolfed down.

Su Isaac – “Good Fruit”

What it feels like: You’re drinking fresh-squeezed juice while posted under the shade of a big sycamore tree. The sky has but a single cloud stamped on it, shaped like a rabbit or an angel, depending which eye you squint. There’s a tinge of hope in the afternoon breeze despite life’s uncertainty. You breathe in deeply, lean back, exhale, feel the wet grass between your fingers. “Shit’s gonna be okay,” you say out loud, to yourself, to everyone. Ripe, tender, and a little tempting, Su Isaac’s track evokes a sense of coming to terms with one’s circumstances, a full-body sensation of peace within. “Good Fruit” is supple to say the least, dripping with inner tranquility and confidence. Isaac’s voice is dreamy and raw, purposely relaxed while remaining powerful. The track itself possesses grand and groovy momentum, granting listeners permission to let it go right alongside Isaac.

CLIVE – “Somebody”

What it feels like: Some bands sit creepily, lazily in the music sphere, emulating their icons ad nauseam, sometimes to the point of pussy-whipped plagiarism. There’s no fun in that, no life, no pulse. It’s as good as good karaoke can be. CLIVE on the other hand? They shout, spew, sing, and pummel as a perpetuation of their beloved canon. Sometimes they’re beach-bum punk (“Somebody”), other times they’re Suicidal Tendencies sans bandanas and gang violence, add a little teen angst (“Talk Shit”). The four-piece channels a flamboyant, flailing energy that conjures images of a ‘90s garage in the summer night, the door flipped up, amps at full volume, and glass 40 ounces in hand. Girls braless in tiny white tops. Cop sirens somewhere west of the front yard. Skateboards. Love and listlessness stimulated by shitty weed. When the fuzz finally pulls up, everyone’s gone but CLIVE – they’re still playing, defiant as the day is long.

Describe your sound/aesthetic in three words…

DIY, DUI, DOA.

Tell us about your band name…

The name was Keegan’s (songwriter-vocalist) mom’s idea initially. We named CLIVE after the song, which we wrote about Jesse’s (songwriter-vocalist) car. That little suicide machine is the selfsame ’93 Camry Wagon on the album cover. Clive is, in fact, dead — we took the picture at the auto salvage.

Which other artists/bands would appear on a playlist with you? What would that playlist be called?

First-wave punk intrigued us because the genre is still embryonic, therefore necessarily unconventional — that’s something we really wanted to return to. Replacements, Kennedys, Descendants, Stooges. For a playlist, it’d be interesting to contrast the old vanguard with some exciting contemporary artists. THE BOBBY LEES, The Chats, Otoboke Beaver, Viagra Boys, Jeff Rosenstock, Stiff Richards.

What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?

Australia.

Would you rather have the ability to talk to animals or talk to the dead?

Our bass player is the head cantor at the Greek Orthodox Church off Airport Rd. They talk to a lot of saints there, and you have to die to be a saint. Anyways we cover more ground if we talk to animals.

Scarlet Fiorella – “Too Hot, Too Busy”

What it feels like: Scarlet Fiorella’s “Too Hot, Too Busy” arrives right on time: at a moment when pop is sizzling and surging once again, when female artists and sexy humor are holding hands via pinkies, and when being crass & crude while coquette is welcomed with open arms. The track is anthemic by nature – confident, femme-forward, need-no-man motherfucking music – but vulnerable and unconvinced in its bones. Fiorella, much like Sabrina Carpenter, smartly fuses the bossy/bitchy archetype with the doe-eyed lover girl paradigm, making for a fleshed-out stage presence and a layered listening experience that only begins to reveal itself once you’re ready. Fiorella is pulpy, kitschy, cool, and soulful all while leaving just enough room to be whatever the fuck else she wants to be when she wants to be it.

Describe your sound/aesthetic in three words…

Chaotic internal monologue.

Tell us about your artist name…

“Fiorella” is my middle name, it means “little flower” in Italian. My mom used to have a store on 13th Street in Philadelphia and named it Scarlet Fiorella. I’d go there after school and sing a ton and perform for my mom, and then I’d run away into the back room when customers came in.

I’m also very crude in my music so when I’m singing about like getting head and being someone’s “good luck fuck” it makes it a little easier to show to my parents when it’s behind this artistic character I’ve created.

Which other artists/bands would appear on a playlist with you? What would that playlist be called?

The playlist would be called Grit & Glamour and it would feature a hodgepodge of people. The more sassy, pop/R&B vibes I bring to the music would sit well alongside Ariana Grande, Victoria Monet, and Jazmine Sullivan. The drama/campy aspects fit well with RAYE, Chappell Roan, and Remi Wolf. Finally, the retro-pop vibes would bring along artists like Zinadelphia and Amy Winehouse.

What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?

The fun of it. I went to the NYU Clive Davis Institute of Music and it was so amazing, but it made music too serious for me for a while. I would be tweaking out, wanting to write really deep, meaningful, poetic things and make the next great American record. Then you have people like Chappell and Sabrina Carpenter who have come onto the scene and it’s just pure FUN. AND the songs are good. I have enough dire, sad shit in my brain that I don’t need to put it into my music too.

Would you rather have the ability to talk to animals or talk to the dead?

I’d rather talk to animals. I lost my grandparents at a younger age as well as my Uncle Keith, who inspired me to be a musician. This sounds kind of fucked up, but I don’t think I could emotionally handle knowing what they think of me right now.

I really want to talk to my dog, Ziggy, because she has to hear me sing in the house all the time and I wonder if she thinks I’m good or not. I’m also an only child, so it’d be nice to speak to her and have a sister so we could split some bills and figure out ways for her to contribute financially.

Virtual Nobodies – “Night of the Skinwalker”

What it feels like: Have you ever dreamed of driving through the wide-open desert with the top down at dusk? Wind in your hair, and nothing but black asphalt, cracked soil, and cactus for miles. You’re an outlaw, a troubled soul running from a life that shrinks exponentially in the rearview mirror. The sun sinks in the sky, the cool air kisses your skin. It’s only you now, and the scattered stars overhead. Destination: who cares. No matter your answer, “Night of the Skinwalker” is the soundtrack to that exact experience. Haunting and phantasmic, the track calls back to early Queens of the Stone Age with its hollow echoes and vocals that endlessly extend, stretching outward and upward like a yearning hand from the grave. The two-piece outfit use their stripped yet formidable vocals and clean riffs to seamlessly combine rockabilly, beach rock, blues, and more. The result: the unsettling yet satisfying sound of escape.

Describe your sound/aesthetic in three words…

Melancholy Alt-Rock

Tell us about your band name…

Our name kind of coincides with how it’s presented. We feel at the end of the day, we’re just the damned singing to the damned. In today’s music industry, it’s so saturated that we do feel like nobodies. We formed in late 2022 with the goal of making music we could really get behind; we stay true to ourselves and what the sound means to us.

Which other artists/bands would appear on a playlist with you? What would that playlist be called?

Maybe we would be on a playlist with Billy Idol, Muse, and Arctic Monkeys? That playlist could be called Midnight Mirage.

What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?

Our upcoming album. We’re heading back to 29 Palms to focus on our new 9-10 track set of songs to present to people. We feel it’s going to be our best work yet. At the end of the month we’re kicking off an upcoming single called “I Wish I Was.” Out August 31.

Would you rather have the ability to talk to animals or talk to the dead?

Honestly if I was able to talk to the dead I would probably go insane so I’m going to say that I’d rather talk to animals. Maybe then my cat Tito would tell me what he needs [laughs].

Modern Moxie – “RPG”

What it feels like: Picture this – you’re holding a massive waffle cone stacked high with scoops of different ice creams, varying flavors, varying colors, one atop the other. The dessert is melting down your wrist rapidly and you can’t seem to lap it up quick enough under the summer sun. The taste of each scoop is unique yet curiously delicious, everything working together in perfect harmony as if the combination was begging to be brought to life for eons. Now, hear me when I say Modern Moxie’s “RPG” is that deliquescing confection, a piquant combination of sounds and influence – Nancy Sinatra, Jefferson Airplane, Nirvana – that coalesce into a shocking listening experience: How has no one ever done this before? Much like the liquid sugar dripping down your wrist, “RPG” is full of momentum, deliberate, sticky & sexy, impossible to shake off.

Describe your sound/aesthetic in three words…

Dreamy, nostalgic, fuzzy.

Tell us about your artist/band name..

I (Madison Lucas) enjoy the letter “x” and came across the word “moxie.” I was stuck on that one word for a very long time. I kept a notebook of other M words to try and pair with it forever. Big alliteration fan. It’s extremely boring but driving home from my job I saw the word “modern” on a license plate, it’s a car dealership in Charlotte. I loved the pairing in my mind and I’m somehow still happy with this decision.

Which other artists/bands would appear on a playlist with you? What would that playlist be called?

Alvvays, Roy Orbison, Nirvana, Pavement, Fiona Apple, The Beatles, Metric, Faye, Regina Spektor, The Pixies, Sharon Van Etten. We would call this playlist Grew Up in the 90’s and Listened to A Lot of Magic 96.1 Golden Oldies in a Shed.

What’s the most exciting thing happening in music right now?

Chappell Roan. My brain has never been invaded so deeply by an artist. I wake up, “Hot to Go.” I go to bed, “I’m gonna keep on dancing at the pink pony club.” Her vocals are like butter. So happy Chappell is bringing some fun back to music, it’s been a very dark string of years. Three out of four members of Modern Moxie have been overtaken by this affliction.

Would you rather have the ability to talk to animals or talk to the dead?

We thought about this for more hours than we would like to admit. After much consideration we chose talking to the dead. This would let us know there is life after death and we would find that greatly comforting. We already talk to any and all animals freely. I feel like this is one of those MindTrap cards, do you remember that game?

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