ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Wallice

Photo by Nicole Busch

This week’s artist of the week goes to the LA-based singer-songwriter Wallice Hana Watanabe, better known simply as Wallice.

I had the chance to see Wallice at Thalia Hall last week, when she was touring in support of Jawny. This particular show was sold out like many that I’ve been to at Thalia Hall, but the energy seemed next level that night—and the fans were just as enthusiastic for Wallice as they were for Jawny.

Wallice’s lyricism reads effortlessly cool and honest, and her sound overall gave me hints of nods to Alvvays, Japanese Breakfast and Snail Mail.

In the song “Punching Bag,” which was a single released back in 2020, Wallice describes modern-day reminders of a breakup with lines like “I still got your number saved in my phone, I only every think of it when I’m alone/ I’ve still got your place saved in my maps, I’ll keep it for a rainy day when I relapse/Left my Hydro Flask in the back of your car, I’d like to have it back, but you live so far,” showing off her clever ability to take a timeless subject and add a refreshing spin to it. I also have a personal affinity to her song “Hey Michael” (which starts the chorus with lines “Hey Michael, you American psycho”) because I too, have had a less-than-positive experience with someone named Michael.

Wallice has been playing music since the age of six, and she’s said she’s inspired by “the lyricism of Thom Yorke, Lana Del Rey and the punky irreverence of Weezer and No Doubt,” which definitely comes across in her work. Creative and witty lyrics aside, Wallice put on a great live show that featured the perfect mix of banter, while letting the music do most of the talking.

She has yet to release a full-length album, but Wallice has released a couple of EPs and several singles, including her most recent, “Japan.” Talking about the backstory of this single, Wallice says, “My father was born and raised in Tokyo and lived there until he was 27, and my mother lived there for a couple years in the 90s, so Japanese culture has heavily influenced my identity. I don’t know my father’s family in Japan at all. I’ve only met them once when I was little at my grandfather’s funeral, and since then my grandmother has passed. Recently my mother moved across the country from California to Georgia which has left me without that familial sense of home. This song explores where home is and why I am so drawn to Japan.”

Tune into the video for Japan below, and keep up with Wallice on Instagram and Tik Tok.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Friko

The first Artist of the Week for 2023 is Chicago’s own Friko!

Photo by Nando Espinosa Herrera

I had the chance to see Friko when they opened up for Horsegirl at Thalia Hall, and their set that night proved that Chicago really does have the one of (if not the) best music scenes in the world as they mesmerized the audience with their dynamic indie rock style.

The trio composed of Niko Kapetan, Bailey Minzenberger, and Luke Stamos are relatively new to the Chicago scene, but Kapetan and Stamos have been friends since their kindergarten years. The pair officially became Friko when they joined up with Minzenberger during their senior year of high school. Now they’ve already made a big impact locally and released a steady stream of singles— most recently putting out their debut EP entitled “Whenever Forever” in March of 2022. Songs like “Half As Far” and “IN_OUT” captivate listeners by exploring quieter lo-fi moments that contrast against crescendoing guitar riffs.

Friko has also recorded an Audiotree session, featuring live versions of the majority of their aforementioned EP, and they kicked off on their first ever tour at the end of November last year, which ended with a hometown show at the legendary Metro. The band shared their excitement for getting out there and playing more shows by saying, “After spending a lot of time in the studio, we feel like we’ve really come into ourselves as a band and what we have to say, and can’t wait to share that with as many people that are willing to listen.”

Be sure to give Friko a follow to see what they get up to next, and tune into their music video for “IN_OUT” below. Also, if you’re in Chicago, catch them at Schubas on January 28th, along with a bunch of other Chicago bands, for an abortion funds benefit show.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Destroy Boys

This week’s ANCHR Artist of the Week goes to Destroy Boys, who I just had the pleasure of seeing perform at Riot Fest earlier this month.

Photo by ASH GELLMAN

Destroy Boys is a trio from Northern California, consisting of Violet Mayugba (guitar/vocals), Alexia Roditis (vocals/guitar), and drummer Narsai Malik. To date, Destroy Boys’ refreshing take on West Coast punk music has seen them selling out shows across the world and garnering nods from none-other than Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.

“California punk rock changed my life. It showed me exactly what I want to do and who I want to be,” Violet Mayugba says about the inception and inspiration behind starting the band with Alexia Roditis. From their early days getting inspired by other bands and playing in crowded garage shows, Destroy Boys have now released three full-length albums, including 2021’s Open Mouth, Open Heart. The band released their latest record via Hopeless Records, and through the label, they’ve still been able to maintain and grow their own vision. One key aspect of their vision, which comes across in both their music and the way the run their team, is that representation of everyone matters. “Men have made the rules, and those rules fuck everyone else over. Having more women and nonbinary people behind the scenes, which is where [a lot of] the power is, will hopefully curtail the abuse in the industry,” Roditis said. “It’s important to have women and queer people, people of color, and differently-abled people in all aspects of the music industry, to have that support.”

Open Mouth, Open Heart is chock-full of amped-up gems—take the distorted lead in and drum-heavy intro to “Te llevo conmigo” or the quick-cadenced and candid lyrics to “Muzzle” and it’s difficult not to get riled up listening to the album.

See where you can catch Destroy Boys on the road next here, and tune into the video for “Drink” below.

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ANCHR's Artist of the Week: James Bay

This week’s ANCHR Artist of the Week goes to James Bay, who has been a favorite around here since his 2014 debut record Chaos and the Calm. Bay’s debut holds some of his most iconic hits like “Hold Back The River” and “Let It Go,” but his most recent album Leap that came out in July is also full of incredible tunes.

Photo Courtesy of James Bay

To date, James Bay’s career has been packed to the brim with top-notch achievements and highlights that we’re sure most artists have on their bucket lists— from being nominated for a Grammy, winning two BRIT Awards, performing on Saturday Night Live, and joining legends like Alicia Keys, Mick Jagger and Sheryl Crow onstage, just to name a few. But prior to all this success, Bay started out teaching himself guitar as a child, using a guitar he found in a cupboard at home (it’s said he was inspired after hearing the classic “Layla” by Clapton). Eventually, Bay began performing at open mic nights in Brighton, UK and eventually a video of one of his performances caught the attention of Republic Records. The rest is history…

Despite the huge performances that he’s been apart of and all the sold-out shows that Bay has played, that didn’t stop him from returning to his roots before the release of Leap. On the “New Songs & New Stories” tour, Bay returned to perform solo acoustic gigs at many of the venues he first performed at in support of Independent Venue Week. Bay also recently gave some lucky fans a guitar lesson from himself, thanks to his friends at Fender. When asked about his advice for aspiring young songwriters and musicians, Bay said “If anyone wants to learn how to play guitar or get into music, do it for you. I feel lucky to get to a place where there’s fans and people who love what you put out, but you didn’t write your first music for them because they weren’t your fans yet, they didn’t know you existed. So there’s something to be respected for always trying to make stuff for yourself first because that’s what they loved about what you did the first time.”

Bay has achieved that same magic across the songs on Leap, and for third record, Bay enlisted the help of Foy Vance, Dave Cobb, Ian Fitchuk, Joel Little, and Finneas as collaborators and producers. All of the songs were recorded between sessions in Nashville and London, and there were some remote sessions thrown in amongst in-person sessions. Speaking about the album’s process, Bay has said, “It’s been a weird and winding road to get here over the past few years (as it has been for everyone), but all things considered it’s been a wonderful journey making this music. I got the opportunity to write more songs and was able to fully realize what this album was supposed to be.”

See where you can catch James Bay on the road soon here, and tune into the video for “Save Your Love” from the new record below.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Allison Ponthier

Photo by Julian Buchan

This week’s ANCHR artist of the week goes to singer-songwriter Allison Ponthier, who is currently based in Brooklyn after migrating from the Bible-belt of Texas.

Sonically, Ponthier blends rock n’ roll textures together with the Western twang of alt-country influences and velvety-smooth, rich vocals of pop powerhouses. Visually, Ponthier’s imagery and presentation possess both a classic, vintage feel combined with a surreal, other-worldly sheen. It’s the perfect display of her ability to expand her physical horizons alongside her artistic boundaries, while also giving a nod to the place where she grew up. Ponthier has described her big move to NYC as a creative inspiration for her, but it was also scary and challenging as she moved there without any ties or friends. Once she got settled into New York, Ponthier finally felt comfortable enough to speak her full truth. “Having a very supportive environment to a LGBTQ person is really that important because I didn’t feel safe to come out until I moved to New York. I think that being somewhere where you feel safe in yourself is a priority, and safety is always a number one priority when someone comes out,” she says about her experience coming out after the move.

Nowadays, Ponthier continues to express her vulnerable truths through her songwriting, which listeners have gotten to experience via her 2021 EP entitled “Faking My Own Death” and this year’s “Shaking Hands With Elvis” EP. The latter sees her opening up even more, and Ponthier acknowledges that maturity, stating, “I want to always feel like I can grow, and this project reflects that.” The EP’s title track has Ponthier sharing so much of her emotions with listeners, as she wrote the song following the passing of one of her friends. "Whether or not there's an afterlife, I want to believe that he is not by himself," she says. The lyrics in the song paint a vivid picture of an idyllic afterlife with The King himself, giving nods to Graceland and Elvis’ over-the-top wardrobe.

Throughout the other five songs on the “Shaking Hands With Elvis” EP, Ponthier also broadened her dynamic sound by working with different producers like Mike Del Rio, Dan Wilson, Ethan Gruska, and Luke Fitton. “The exciting part of this job is that you get to do something new every day,” she says. “So I was excited to make harder rock songs, songs that sound like they came straight out of the '70s, songs that are sensitive but that have guitar feedback all over them."

Make sure you tune into the full EP here, and follow Allison Ponthier on Instagram | Twitter | TikTok.

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: Ralph Pelleymounter

Photo by Flore Diamant

I first became acquainted with the songwriting of Ralph Pelleymounter through his band To Kill a King several years ago. The band’s music and Pelleymounter ’s voice instantly made an impression on me for a few reasons. First, Pelleymounter ‘s vocals have such a velvety richness and captivating depth to them—he’s one of those singers who listeners can immediately identify even if they don’t know the song because he has such a unique tone. To complement his voice, Pelleymounter has a songwriting knack for crafting lyrics that are both ruminative and descriptive, while remaining catchy and melodic.

While it’s been a few years since To Kill a King released music as a group, Pelleymounter has released a handful of singles and an album, 2019’s Dead Debutante’s Ball, as a solo artist. Following his debut record as a solo act, Pelleymounter filled his time during the pandemic performing online gigs, working on new material for himself, and even co-writing Bastille’s latest album Give Me The Future. Pelleymounter gave listeners their first taste of his new material just last week with the release of his single called “Steady Love.” The track begins with a harmonized embrace from Pelleymounter’s vocals blending with the backing vocals of Edith Violet from the band Fours, which is followed up by a guitar-driven melody that you can’t help but tap your foot along to. Pelleymounter describes the song as his reaction during the pandemic to “the 'will-they, won't-they' stories I was watching, and a thank you to those who showed me such kindness and love while everything was falling apart.”

To celebrate his new music, Pelleymounter has announced a show at The Social venue in London on April 6th. Tune into the new track below, and if you’re in London, snag tickets to the show 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 Day: Jack Garratt

I still remember how completely mesmerized I was the first time I heard “The Love You're Given” by Jack Garratt back in 2014. As an artist who writes, composes, produces, sings, and plays multiple instruments, there’s just no denying the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that Garratt puts into the work he creates, and that passion came across on all of his early singles and 2016 debut album Phase. The intricate production and thoughtful songwriting on that album connected with people around the world— enough so that Garratt played sold out tours, performed at major festivals and took home the 2016 Critics’ Choice Award at The Brit awards.

Following the album cycle for Phase, Garratt took the time to step back and make a sophomore album that didn’t compromise his complicated creative process. It took four years, but just last week Garratt announced his second album Love, Death & Dancing, and released Vol. 1 of the record, which includes the songs “Time,” “Mara,” and “Return Them To The One.” To say the least, the new songs are so powerful that the wait was definitely worth it. I’m excited to hear what the rest of the album has in store, and to hopefully see a US tour follow the album.

Garratt describes the album as “dance music for people who don’t want to go out,” and if that sounds relatable to you, make sure you pre-order the album here and listen to “Time” and “Surprise Yourself” below.

ANCHR's Artist of the Day: Kevin Garrett

Kevin Garrett is an artist I’ve been listening to since 2015—So when he released his highly anticipated debut album Hoax in March of 2019, the gratification was instant. In addition to garnering millions of streams on some of his singles like “Lit Bit of You” and “Stranglehold,” Garrett has also lent his songwriting chops to major artists, such as Beyonce (no big deal!)

Despite only having one album under his belt, Garrett consistently pushes out singles, and there’s a mesmerizing quality to his vocals that blissfully blends with his refreshing production style to hook listeners on each and every piece of music he’s released on his own. This past week, Garrett graced us with another new single called “Gone Again” which greets listeners with the lyrics “can we cut to the chase here?”—quite literally cutting right to the chase with no instrumental introduction. The song teases a new EP Made Up Lost Time, which will drop later this month on February 21st.

Tune into “Gone Again” and “Little Bit of You” below, and follow Garrett on Instagram for all the latest tour and music release updates.

ANCHR's Artist of the Day: Wombo

I only recently heard Wombo for the first time, when they opened up for White Reaper at their sold out Metro show last month. The second the Louisville trio of Sydney Chadwick, Cameron Lowe, and Joel Taylor hit the stage, they caught my ear with a sound that reminded me of so many of my favorite bands while also having a distinctive and unique twist of their own.

Described as “avant-pop / post-punk / whatever-rock” in their Facebook bio, Wombo doesn’t just stick in one lane on their 2017 debut album Staring at Trees. The band released a follow up single “Sad World” in October 2019, and here’s hoping we’ll get even more new tunes in 2020!

Tune into that latest single and “Claire’s Lair” from their first album below.

PREMIERE: "OH" by Dancing on Tables

Edinburgh indie pop band Dancing on Tables are back with a brand new single "OH," which comes after their successful 2016 EP, Don't Stop. "OH" is officially out tomorrow, but we're giving you an exclusive first listen below! Talking about the process behind the song, the band say:

"The idea for 'OH' came from Callum talking about the difficulties of trying to maintain a long distance relationship while he was at University. We wanted the track to convey how difficult these situations can be in the beginning, but how in the end it is always worth the perseverance. Taking the track to Nashville to work on was a split second decision, but going to a completely new city with such a rich cultural heritage was incredibly inspiring, and a decision which definitely paid off. When we were discovering Nashville, you can’t help but immerse yourself in its history. The first thing on the to-do list there was to visit the world famous RCA studio. There, we listened to records that had been recorded there by the likes of Elvis and The Strokes. That evening, we starting working on OH, inspired to ensure we created a track that not only stands out from our own previous music, but one that can hold it’s own against the musical history we went to discover."

There you have it...now get listening!

Dancing on Tables: Facebook // Twitter // Instagram

New Music Friday 3/24

Lots of new tunes out this week, including a single from Tei Shi's new album Crawl Space, out next Friday, and a special track from Twin Peaks. Check out all the new jams here...

Twin Peaks and Juan Wauters- "Back Door"

Kyla La Grange- "Love Harder"

Jacob Banks- "Chainsmoking"

Future Islands: "Cave"

Local Natives-"I Saw You Close Your Eyes"

Tei Shi- "Justify"

Perfume Genius- "Slip Away"

London Grammar- "Truth Is a Beautiful Thing"