ANCHR Artist of the Week: Cola

This week’s Artist of the Week goes to Cola— yet another Fire Talk band that doesn’t disappoint! Cola is a supergroup consisting of Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy (formerly of Ought) and Evan Cartwright.

Photo by: Colin Medley

The trio got together in 2019 when Darcy and Stidworthy reached out to Cartwright about collaborating on something new, after they’d met Cartwright on the road with one of his many other projects. Darcy describes the initial period of time working together as very natural, especially one they met for some in-person sessions. “We really just took time to enjoy the process of collaborating and writing songs together,” Darcy says. Once the pandemic hit, the group had to end up working separately from one another, and Darcy describes the solitude work as being a “defining color as well as a barrier” to their debut album called Deep in View.

Sonically, Deep in View is packed with distorted, hazy guitar tones that contrast with bouncy melodies and bright drumbeats. Lyrically, the group comments on wading through the modern world and living with technology. Darcy describes the process of writing the record as solo work combined with team efforts— "Ben and I had a flow writing this record where we would send each other demos every Friday. It was a really motivating way to write, as I would spend the week working on something but then get the bonus of hearing what Ben had written when I sent him my track,” he says.

If you’re a fan of Ducks Ltd., Wet Leg, or of course Ought, you should tune into the new album.

I have yet to experience any of Cola’s songs in person, but luckily they are hitting the road soon, including a stop at Sleeping Village. Don’t miss out on their debut Chicago show on July 21st—grab tickets here.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Mamalarky

This week’s spotlight falls on Mamalarky— yet another group on the ever dependable Fire Talk Records.

Photo by Sara Cath

Originating between LA and Austin, but now based in Atlanta, Mamalarky officially began in 2018 with a fateful meeting sparked by Tinder. The band’s singer and guitarist Livvy Bennett put out a call for a bass player on the app and ultimately connected with bassist Noor Khan. Bennett had already been working with drummer and longtime collaborator Dylan Hill, alongside friend Michael Hunter on the keys and synth bass, but once Khan rounded out the band lineup, they set to work on their debut album. Released via Fire Talk in November 2020, Mamalarky’s debut is just one of those albums that keeps rolling bop after bop. Throughout their catalog, the quartet produces a carefree air of joy, intertwined with warm tones and intricate audio effects. With tracks like “Almighty Heat” and “You Make Me Smile,” listeners are taken on a dynamic journey, and left with an experience of omnipotent delight after absorbing Mamalarky’s album.

Months after the debut’s release, the band will be hitting the road with their sonic sunshine later this year, and they’ve even gifted us with two new singles “Moss” and “Meadow” in the meantime, which both live up to the magic of their prior releases. The video for “Meadow” perfectly captures the sunny and bright vibes conjured up by its plucky guitar and dazzling melody. Bennett wrote both of the new singles outdoors, and each focus on different experiences of nature.

Talking about the songs, Bennett says, “Monotony is an illusion, or at least it’s a very tired way to look at things. Nature always has something new to offer when we slow down enough to absorb it - isolation made me appreciate and deepen this relationship significantly. I realized I’m never actually alone when I’m out under some trees. Moss offers more of a coming to terms that the surrounding landscape could be my anchor and company for the time whereas Meadow is a spark of excitement at finding a less traveled path on my daily route that opened out onto a beautiful stream with singing frogs. I wrote both these songs outdoors which I had never tried before. I still go to these spots often and they hold me up!"

You can check out Mamalarky's self-titled debut here, and see all of their upcoming shows here.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Mia Joy

Photo by Ash Dye

One of my favorite aspects about music is that it can provide an escape from reality—with just the right mix of lyrics and melody, a song can wash away the worst of your anxieties and envelope you in a tranquil environment. Mia Joy is one artist in particular who excels in her ability to mollify listeners and provide an oasis through her songwriting. Take the hypnotic wind chimes that introduce Mia’s track “See Us” or the nostalgia-laced synths that fade in on “Haha,” and it’s no surprise that she introduces her latest single “Saturn” with meditative vocalizations. Despite the unique stamp that all of Mia Joy’s releases possess, there’s a common thread of peacefulness embedded throughout.

The Chicago based project of Mia Joy is fronted by lead singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mia Rocha with Joseph Farago on keys and Emerson Hunton on percussion. The latest single “Saturn” debuted last week, marking the final countdown before Mia Joy’s debut album Spirit Tamer releases Friday, May 7th via Fire Talk Records. Speaking about the new track, Rocha says, “I am a practicing astrologer and It is written in the voice of Saturn, the planet of restriction, isolation, responsibility, hard lessons. It mockingly asks me how it has affected my life, makes me question my faith in humanity and inner loneliness. All running themes of the album.”

Recorded at Pallet Sound studios in Chicago by Michael Mac and co-produced with Rocha, Spirit Tamer highlights Rocha’s wide array of influences that range from Grouper to Sade and Selena. Prior to gigs being shut down, I only had the pleasure of seeing Mia Joy perform live a couple of times, but I’m certainly looking forward to venues reopening and getting to hear some of these new songs played in person!

Make sure you pre-order the new record here, and check out the video for “Saturn” below.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: PACKS

If you need a little something to shake up your energy levels and get you over the mid-week slump, look no further than PACKS’ new single "Silvertongue.” The fast-paced and fuzzed-out tune premiered last week alongside the announcement of the band’s debut album Take the Cake. “Silvertongue” gave me my first taste of the Toronto-based project, but when I learned that Fire Talk Records will be putting out the album, I was not surprised at all because they’ve never steered us wrong with any of the other artists on their roster.

PACKS is led by vocalist and songwriter Madeline Link, who started this journey as a solo project but is now joined by bandmates Shane Hooper, Noah O’Neil, and Dexter Nash. While the Covid shut down might have thrown a wrench in the momentum that PACKS had gained in the Toronto live music scene, it did allow for a unique creative process behind Take the Cake.

Photo courtesy of artist

Link explains that the album is a combination of old and new, due to the fact that some of the songs came to fruition in 2019, while another group of songs were crafted while Link quarantined at her parents’ suburban home during the early days of lockdown. “Old songs from a year ago where I'm having really horrifyingly awful days at work, getting doored while biking in Toronto and flying into the middle of the street, or going on dates with guys who I'm either instantly in love with, or who end up creeping me out a bit. Those songs are more packed with that feeling of hurtling-through-time-and-space-at-breakneck-speed, manic energy. The newer songs are infused with a foggier, slower-paced disillusionment, and deal with the strangeness of a reality morphing before my eyes every day. I still try to be optimistic obviously, but these songs are really glorified coping mechanisms,” she says.

Make sure you pre-order Take the Cake on vinyl here, and mark your calendars for the May 21st digital release date. Tune into ““Silvertongue” below.

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ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Dehd

Photo by Alexa Viscius

I mean, seriously…Can we just get these vaccines moving already!?  Dehd released Flowers of Devotion last summer and I haven’t been able to rock with all the new songs in a live setting yet. Like many others, I was looking forward to their set at Pitchfork Music Festival, but of course the ol’ Rona had to stick her nose in our business and ruin everything.  Luckily, I've seen them once before at an “In The Round” show at Thalia Hall so that’s been able to hold me over for now.  Once live music is back though, I highly recommend checking out their performance if they hit a stage near you. Unless you’re one of those people that doesn’t enjoy dancing, good music, and feeling good. If you identify as such, then please stay away— but even then, Dehd is a great band for anyone since they tend to take serious subjects and place them in fun, groovy melodies.

Dehd is a trio out of the Windy City composed of Jason Balla, Emily Kempf, and Eric McGrady. They have three albums to their name and have also found themselves on “Perez’s Best” annual CD mix for the last two years (if you know, you know).  Balla and Kempf were previously in a romantic relationship during the early years of the band, but thankfully their songwriting partnership didn’t die when the romance did. Instead, they continued to hit us with bangers and keep making the people happy. 

If this is the first time you are ever hearing of Dehd, their album Flowers of Devotion is a great album to start with, but don’t sleep on their self-titled debut or 2019’s Water either. I dare all readers when listening to “Haha” or “Loner” to not groove with the music. It’s just not possible.

Be sure to also check out the amusing music videos that the band has released for their recent singles, and snag your own copy of their newest record here.

ANCHR's Artist of the Day: Fran

As the project of songwriter and vocalist Maria Jacobson, Fran has quickly become an integral part of the Chicago music scene. Inspiration initially struck Jacobson when she was working as an actor at a summer repertory theatre in rural Indiana, and she taught herself to play guitar. She continued to play and write songs while teaching English in a small city in Mexico.

Eventually, Jacobson moved back to Chicago and found a band to perform with. Playing just about every local venue ranging from The Hideout to Thalia Hall, Fran has continued to connect with audiences thanks to Jacobson’s ability to illustrate her own narratives in a universal light that allows listeners to paint themselves into the plot lines. In 2019, Fran released a well-received debut album A Private Picture via Fire Talk Records to follow up the 2017 EP More Enough, and we can’t wait to hear more of Jacobson’s storytelling in the future.

2020 has already seen Fran on the lineup for Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, and they’ve got a couple of shows coming up in Chicago this month. Get your tickets to see Fran at The Empty Bottle tomorrow, February 7th, here and tune into “Company” and “So Surreal” below.