ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Disq

Photo by Daniel Topete

This week’s artist of the week goes to Disq.

Composed of Isaac deBroux-Slone, Raina Bock, Logan Severson, Shannon Conor, and Stu Manley, the Wisconsin-based musicians have been making music together since 2016, but Bock and deBroux-Slone have been friends since middle school. Disq’s discography includes two full-length records, 2020’s Collector and 2022’s Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet. Across both of the albums, Disq’s expansive soundscape refuses to be pigeonholed into one specific genre, but I pick up on elements of garage rock, 90’s Britpop, and psych rock. You know how some bands just have that distinct sound that you immediately recognize one of their songs when it comes on? Well, Disq isn’t one of those bands—they constantly surprise me as I listen to their material. If you’re a fan of Post Animal, Dehd, or Wednesday, I’d suggest giving Disq a spin as well.

Disq’s smorgasbord of musical influences likely stems from their unique formation and collaborative nature—on their sophomore album that was just released this past October via Saddle Creek records, Logan Severson and Shannon Conor branched out from their roles of guitarist to share songwriting and singing duties with deBroux-Slone and Bock. The album included singles like “If Only” and “The Hardest Part,” the former of which deBroux-Slone describes as being a song to listen to when there’s confusion about someone’s intent in a relationship, and the goal of the song’s sound was to stir up plenty of nostalgia. “The feeling of the song is longing and I thought some of the wistful chords and moods from the plethora of ‘90s and 2000's indie I'd been listening to at the time would fit just right, so I pulled those influences in,” he says. The latter track was one of the contributions from Severson, which he says originated years ago with the riff and melody, before the lyrics finally and suddenly came to him one night. “Because I just let the words come to me, I don’t know exactly what the song is about, but I can feel what the song is about and it holds deep meaning to me. I’m still in the process of understanding what I was trying to tell myself when I wrote it,” he adds.

Disq will be touring this fall with Shame, but if you’re in Chicago and want to catch them sooner, they’ll be at Sleeping Village on April 20th. See all of their tour dates here, and watch the video for “The Hardest Part” below.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

This week’s artist of the week goes to Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, AKA Pigsx7 (and also, probably the longest band name ever).

Photo by Ania Shrimpton

Hailing from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England and composed of Matt Baty, Sam Grant, Adam Ian Sykes, John-Michael Joseph Hedley, and Ewan Mackenzie, Pigsx7 has a sound that’s impossible to ignore— as in their music packs such a punch that it’d probably be detrimental to your hearing if you went to one of their shows without ear plugs. All jokes aside, Pigs entrances their listeners with a cathartic cacophony that combines the heaviness of metal music with the fuzziness of psych and garage rock.

The band’s booming presence has continued to grow throughout their discography, especially on their most recent album Land Of Sleeper, which was released this past February. Talking about writing for this new record, vocalist Matt Baty says, “Shouting about themes of existential dread comes very naturally to me, and I think because I'm aware of that in the past I've tried to rein that in a little. There's definitely moments on this album where I took my gloves off and surrendered to that urge." 

The push-and-pull tension presents itself when listening to the album on a track like “The Weatherman,” which has a slow, ominous build up that leads into an eventual explosion. This track also has a collaboration with Bonnacons Of Doom vocalist Kate Smith and a choir including Richard Dawson and Sally Pilikington, which further adds to its massive and multi-dimensional sound. The slower moments on Land Of Sleeper also artfully contrast with the urgency felt immediately on tracks like “Mr Medicine” and “Ultimate Hammer.”

If you’re in need of music that will amplify your soul, make sure you throw Pigs on your listening rotation, and if you’re in Chicago you can catch them playing Sleeping Village on March 28th. See the rest of the tour dates here, and don’t forget your hearing protection!

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Hatchie

Photo by Lissyelle

This week’s ANCHR artist of the week goes to Australian singer-songwriter Harriette Pilbeam, better known by her stage name Hatchie. Hatchie’s whimsical sound is vast and expansive, particularly on her latest album Giving The World Away, which was just released last month via Secretly Canadian. The song “The Rhythm” for example has a hypnotic beat that’s reminiscent 90’s electro-pop— think tinges of Ace of Base or Fatboy Slim. Then there’s the single “Quicksand” which is more moody and atmospheric with a swelling chorus that gives nods to Mazzy Star, or the title track “Giving The World Away” that opens with distorted guitars and a funky drumbeat.

Hatchie describes the new album as being a deeper and unexplored territory for her. “There's more to me than just writing songs about being in love or being heartbroken—there's a bigger picture than that,” she says. “This album really just feels like the beginning to me, and scratching the surface – and even though it’s my third release as Hatchie, I feel like I’m rebooting from scratch.” The record features collaborations from musician Joe Agius, as well as percussion from James Barone, the drummer for Beach House.

Prior to Giving The World Away, Hatchie released 2018’s EP “Sugar & Spice” and the 2019 album called Keepsake, so there’s plenty of previous songs to tune into as well.

In the celebration of the new album, Hatchie kicks off tour this month and you can catch her show in Chicago on May 14th at Sleeping Village. Snag tickets here, and watch the video for the enchanting “The Rhythm” below.

ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Renée Reed

Louisiana singer-songwriter Renée Reed has a timeless feel to her music— her sound combines wispy, ethereal vocals with vintage-washed acoustic melodies. There’s a comforting sense of familiarity to the folk backbone in Reed’s songs, but she also supplies listeners with invigorating injections of different sonic stylings throughout her 2021 self-titled debut record. Songs like “Où est la fée” and “Drunken Widow’s Waltz” showcase Reed singing in French, while the guitars on the track “I Saw a Ghost” give nods to Flamenco music.

Reed’s unique sound likely stems from her wide array of influences growing up. Her parents owned a one-stop Cajun shop that hosted many jam sessions, and Reed also absorbed the sound of Cajun and Creole music legends in her native region of Southwest Louisiana. From music festivals to her own front porch, Reed was continuously exposed to live music at a young age. She also cites The Beatles, Kate Bush, the films of Rankin/Bass, video games and 60s folk music as creative inspirations.

During high school, Reed played in a band called Shrugs, playing with the group at house shows around Louisiana. Eventually, she began to experiment with writing and playing solo material, interspersed with performances of Cajun songs with other musicians in her community. In 2020, Reed began recording her music for the first time using a Tascam cassette four-track that her partner had brought home. The majority of songs that she recorded ended up making it onto her debut record, and perhaps the most impressive fact about this impromptu recording session is that some of the tracks were written from scratch during the process.

I have yet to see Renée Reed perform live, but I have faith that her performance will be nothing short of mesmerizing thanks to her extensive variety of influences and history with music. If you live in Chicago, she’ll be playing a show at Sleeping Village on Monday, October 25th with Half Gringa. Get your tickets to that show here, and check out all of her upcoming tour dates.

PREMIERE: "Northern States" By The Edwards

The Edwards are Kyle Maurisak (Nativity Beds), Chris DePorter (Torres), Emma McCall (Moonrise Nation), Stuart MacFadyen (Strange Foliage), and Chris Murphy.

Ahead of the next ANCHR Showcase on November 27th featuring The Edwards, we’re premiering their first single “Northern States.”

The song stands today as a reimagined idea that was originally conceived for a scrapped 2014 solo project of Kyle Maurisak. Brought to life by the launch of The Edwards as a full band, the song highlights the creative interpretations and contributions of each band member. Maurisak leaves the songwriting open to interpretation, but nods to the overarching theme of being about comfortable love and the desire to adventure alongside another person—something, for better or worse, we all find ourselves needing in 2018. That theme coupled with the patient guitar melodies and warm tones unfolds like a daydream.

The band recorded the single at Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio, with Maurisak taking on the role of engineer and producer. Doug Saltzman (Gia Margaret, Denmark Vessey, Mos Def) mixed and mastered the track.

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Take your first listen to “Northern States” before the official release on Friday, November 23rd.

You can catch The Edwards performing the song live at Sleeping Village, along with Pooky, Sun Cop, Thee Casual Hex, plus a DJ set from Cadien Lake James on Tuesday, November 27th. Tickets are only $5 and proceeds go to Our Music, My Body- more info here.

Keep up with The Edwards on Bandcamp and Instagram.