New Jersey Power-pop queer-punk band Teenage Halloween have released the third and final single for their upcoming Don Giovanni self-titled debut LP, titled "Sweat."
The band previously released singles "Holes", and "Stationary" which Paste Magazine called "... an explosive pop-punk anthem." The song ended up on several Best Songs Of July lists, including BrooklynVegan, Paste Magazine, and The Alternative.
“Sweat” is sort of a coming to terms song about loving someone so much that you don’t want them to live in a world filled with hate and oppressive forces and navigates how to help the people you love through their daily struggles. It’s also a song about taking the world on each day with full force
Predominantly a queer-identifying band, the songs on the album reflect that experience holistically with lyrics that grapple with vulnerability, community, extreme existentialism, mental illness, and gender euphoria. The album maintains constant energy, and that energy also celebrates the bravery of being a queer band. Further, the songs speak in narratives, making sure people are held accountable for their actions and in the same vein, given the opportunity to communicate that self-reflection.
The self-titled debut album Teenage Halloweenwas recorded by Evan Bernard in Big Mama’s Recording Studio and will be released this Friday by Don Giovanni Records.
Power-pop queer-punk band Teenage Halloween have released the second single for their upcoming Don Giovanni self-titled debut LP, titled "Holes."
Last month the band released lead single "Stationary" which Paste Magazine called "... an explosive pop-punk anthem." The song ended up on several Best Songs Of July lists, including BrooklynVegan, Paste Magazine, and The Alternative.
“Holes” is a punk staple fastened with energetic dance-like melodies that carries the narrative of a closeted queer person growing up in familiar spaces. They’re constantly reminded of the need to suppress certain parts of themselves in order to survive. It’s about falling deep into personal hardships, trying diligently to justify and validate them to come out stronger but recognizing a reality where it’s safer not to do so.
Predominantly a queer-identifying band, the songs on the album reflect that experience holistically with lyrics that grapple with vulnerability, community, extreme existentialism, mental illness, and gender euphoria. The album maintains constant energy, and that energy also celebrates the bravery of being a queer band. Further, the songs speak in narratives, making sure people are held accountable for their actions and in the same vein, given the opportunity to communicate that self-reflection.
The self-titled debut album Teenage Halloweenwas recorded by Evan Bernard in Big Mama’s Recording Studio and will be released by Don Giovanni Records on September 18, 2020.
Along with the single, Big Spoon Little Spoon Naturals, a soap maker based in Asbury Park NJ, has created a limited edition pumpkin pie Teenage Halloween soap, handmade of all natural and vegan ingredients. Each purchase of the soap comes with a digital download of ‘Holes.’
After numerous 7" singles and EPs, Seattle alternative band Supercrush have announced their debut full-length LP titled SODO Popwill be released on October 9th via Don Giovanni Records. The members of the band are primarily known for their work in the hardcore, punk and metal scenes, having previously been in The Shook Ones, Ceremony, Self Defense Family and Modern Charms, but Supercrush was a project formed with the intention of exploring the song-craft of sugary power pop preeminence.
What began as an occasional recording project designed to allow Mark Palm to indulge his pop sensibility through a series of two-song singles, Supercrush developed into a fully functioning band with countless live shows and many tours under its belt. Although best known for playing in a long lineage of hardcore, punk, and metal groups, Palm began exploring softer sounds in the late aughts as one of the primary songwriters of San Francisco shoegazers Modern Charms before adopting the Supercrush moniker as a vehicle for his pursuit of powerpop pre-eminence.
Recorded at various studios in Seattle by Supercrush bass player Phil Jones (Shook Ones, Self Defense Family, Ceremony) and long time collaborator Jackson Long (BOAT, Death Cab For Cutie, Wilco), the sessions then travelled cross country to Massachusetts to be mixed by Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, The Pixies) before returning home to be mastered by Ed Brooks (REM, The Posies, Juliana Hatfield). The sonic results demonstrate the type of attention to detail that comes only from countless years of combined experience and devotion to the craft of making great records.
After releasing his acclaimed full-length album Electric Park Ballroom earlier this summer, and a performance from the legendary Stonewall Inn to celebrate Pride Month, Paisley Fields has kept busy in quarantine producing a new variety series The Paisley Show. In the spirit of great country variety shows of yore such as the Grand Ole Opry, Porter Wagoner Show, and the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Don Giovanni is releasing the premiere episode today, which features special guest foundational queer-country artist Lavender Country.
Regarding the inspiration to create a variety show mid-quarantine, Paisley had this to say: "I was talking with a friend about touring, and what we can do until it comes back. He suggested some sort of weekly series to stay connected with my audience and community. I've always loved variety shows, and there is a rich history of variety shows in country music. I grew up watching and performing in them every year at my school. The idea of creating The Paisley Show got me enthused, so I knew it was the right thing to do. On each episode I'll be inviting friends I've met along the way to share their talents and stories. Future episodes will feature; Willie Huston, a permaculture farmer and banjo player, Kazunari Abe, a shino-bue player I toured Japan with, Scarlet Envy, season 11 contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, country artists Jason Hawk Harris, Mya Byrne, & Karen Pittleman, comedian Amanda Van Nostrand, chef Deena Jacobs and more. For the month of October we are planning to do a series of horror themed shows with murder ballads and spooky skits leading up to Halloween."
After releasing the critically-acclaimed album The Big Freeze in 2019, a recent performance at NPR’s Tiny Desk, and giving birth to her first child mid-pandemic, Laura Stevenson has announced that her long out-of-print sophomore album Sit Resistis receiving the deluxe reissue treatment with a special edition double LP gatefold vinyl packaging, to be released on September 4, 2020. The collection is available for a limited pre-order now.
“Sit Resist, is remarkable. It is unafraid of the darkness, and allows itself to be playful-- the lyrics are tender, honest, inviting you into a vulnerable place but quelling the vulnerability with candid, gentle testaments of living drawn from a deep well of experience.” – Julien Baker
“Laura’s records are full of the sensitivity and awareness that are her particular magic… She is one of my favorite writers because she is clearly a listener, listening to herself and clearing a path for the songs to go where they want to go.” – Lucy Dacus
“This record is a great document of a bunch of scrappy weird kids laughing through the terror of an uncertain future together. Sit Resist would be THE ONE if Laura didn’t continue to put out records that feel like THE ONE.” – Jeff Rosenstock
The thirteen song album has been remastered by Miles Showell at the hallowed Abbey Road Studios in London from the original 1/4” analog master tapes, with a new half-speed processing to ensure that the vinyl represents the highest quality audio possible. The bonus LP is a collection of outtakes of nearly every album track, including never before heard pre-production demo recordings, alternate mixes and arrangements, live material, an Archers of Loaf cover, as well as a newly recorded version of the album track “Caretaker” that was recorded in 2019 on the literal last night in the house Stevenson grew up in, ten years after the song was originally written there.
The album features liner note essays written by musicians Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus who drew early inspiration for their own music and songwriting from the album. Also contributing liner notes are Pitchfork, NPR and Stereogum writer Nina Corcoran, as well as longtime friend and collaborator Jeff Rosenstock who produced and played guitar on some of the bonus demo material contained in the collection.
The packaging also features many never before seen studio photos and tour photography from the era in which the album was written, produced and released, and outtakes from the photo session at which the album’s iconic cover artwork was shot by photographer Orlando Perez.
Don Giovanni and Better Yet Podcasts are co-producing a limited episodic podcast series chronicling the making of, and lasting influence of the album. Episode One is out now, available wherever podcasts are found, and new episodes will be released every Wednesday until the reissue is released on September 4. The podcast features interviews with Stevenson, album engineer Eric Bennet, as well as longtime collaborators Mike Campbell, Jeff Rosenstock and Don Giovanni owner Joe Steinhardt. Musicians Lucy Dacus and Adult Mom’s Stevie Knipe are interviewed about Stevenson’s songwriting, and how it has influenced their own careers. Also interviewed is comedian Chris Gethard who stated “the album was a game-changer for me.”
Don Giovanni and Better Yet Podcasts are co-producing a limited episodic podcast series chronicling the making of, and lasting influence of the album.