The past couple weeks have been rainy and a little spooky in St. Louis.
With that in mind, this week’s Audio Agitation is inspired by David Lynch and the last couple of rainy low-energy weeks.
Just go with it.
The bands selected for AA this week create unique atmospheres using a variety of traditional instruments (guitars, bass, drums) and electronics (synthesizers, samples, pedals, and DIY circuits).
They emphasize vibes over overly articulated melodies, precise musicianship or literary lyrics.
Each band could provide the soundtrack for at least one David Lynch film. So let’s take a listen:
Rip Rap: The four-piece band Rip Rap released an understated but enticing demo this February. The group embraces the late 1980s slacker indie-rock ethos while drawing some inspiration from English shoegaze acts like My Bloody Valentine and Ride. The music sounds effortless and somewhat melancholy.
Lynch pairing: "scout" for every time theres a shot of creepy suburbia in "Blue Velvet," "surf" for night driving and bizarre bar scenes of "Lost Highway."
Frances With Wolves: The duo Frances With Wolves hasn’t been very active in the past couple years but it recently uploaded some of their old songs to Soundcloud. There’s a pretty heavy reliance on organ sounds and digital drum-kits.
Lynch pairing: sweeter moments in "Wild at Heart."
Blank Thomas: Blake Butler's ambient music project "Blank Thomas" is the most experimental music featured in this lineup. His sounds are constructed entirely using electronic means like samples and synthesizers and manipulated circuit boards. He’s produced a number of releases over the past couple months and is starting to play more shows around town.
Lynch pairing: Henry Spencer's industrial wasteland wanderings in "Eraserhead."
There you have it folks.
Audio Agitation is a recurring six-song playlist culled from recent releases or shaped by events on St. Louis' ever-changing music scene. If you're from the STL area or Missouri and you're putting out a record you think we should hear, send a heads up to warnold@stlpublicradio.org.
