Crème de la CREEM

Crème de la CREEM

Looking for new bands? Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome.

With this section, CREEM does the dirty work to find the next great thing coming around the block. This cheat sheet is, as we all know, a passport to endless cool and obviously leads to all the free sex, drugs, money, and literally everything else under the sun. We can already feel the chafing in our hands from all the incoming high-fives.

MEATBODIES

After a successful debut and their similarly regarded sophomore effort, Alice, the much-loved and hard-touring Meatbodies were beginning to show cracks in the band through fatigue and intergroup tensions. Eventually mastermind Chad Ubovich found his project to be back at square one with personnel, and he attempted to escape by partying away his problems. Spoiler alert: It didn’t work...can you believe it?!? “Almost every night in Europe was up to 10,000 people—so it was like, We’re here, we’re at that place now,”’ recalls Ubovich. “Right after that tour, all these crazy things happened and the band was falling apart, so it landed me in a space of ‘This is over.’”

Beaten down but not broken, Ubovich linked with writing partner Dylan Fujioka to start to write what would become the seeds of Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom, an admittedly much more ambitious undertaking in scope than previous efforts. The sessions bore fruit and created demos that would become that album until COVID pulled them (and the world) away from the studio, putting the project on hold. Retooling to focus on what he could accomplish within the confines of the home studio, Ubovich took to a new record, and 333 was born with the FOTB material taking a back seat, for now. But after having his home deemed uninhabitable, Ubovich found himself at a personal crossroads, and in the hospital. Little did he know that the setback would require him to learn not only how to walk again but also how to play again.

After a long road back to wellness, a tour as part of FUZZ, and the release of 333, Meatbodies released Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom. And as you may be able to tell from the fact that an established band is included in Creme de la CREEM, it’s a fresh new direction and a total rebirth—along with their best work and worthy of all the attention in the known psychedelic universe. Keeping one foot in the band’s previous focus of Blue Cheer-meetsIggy Pop-on-psychedelics with a Davies-esque sense of pop, Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom takes long steps into the previous unknown, playing like a radio station tied together with a cohesive but singular songwriting approach. Simultaneously an ode to ’80s Los Angeles punk and the rise of indie/alternative music in the U.K., FOTB also nods to Pink Floyd, Ramones, Roky Erickson, Gun Club, Spaceman 3, Suicide, and even Stone Roses across its 58-minute running time. It’s ambitious, varied, and well executed, but most important, it works in a way that keeps you coming back and back and back.

Now Meatbodies, an already great band, are in the best place they’ve ever been musically. It was a roll of the dice to switch gears, but that paid off with one of the best records of the year.

Or maybe it wasn’t a roll of the I dice and they knew it all along. Whatever it is, we’re listening.

FRED PESSARO

THEY ARE GUTTING A BODY OF WATER

There’s a strong glare, and it’s warm at the Mohawk in Austin—the kind of day where it’s too humid to wear a jacket but also too cold to go without one. Which is why it seems weird that They Are Gutting a Body of Water have opted to avoid the massive covered stage and instead set up in a circle on the floor. Back turned to the audience, vocalistguitarist Douglas Bulgarian straps on his guitar, then kicks things off with an Ableton-created electronic interlude that is ambient but also contains elements of gabber and breakcore. And then those guitars hit—enveloping us like a giant weighted blanket, shoving forward with a stuttering and lumbering movement that’s at once blissful, pensive, and muscular. Suddenly my damp shirt and discomfort are secondary to nodding along to this rolling, monolithic groove.

Philadelphia’s TAGABOW play a particularly crushing form of shoegaze. You can tell that the primary building blocks are there—your Shieldsian guitars and breathy-ambient vocals—but the band isn’t afraid to hit the brakes and play at a pace that borders on slowcore, and then the gas for a track that flirts with drum ’n’ bass. Although the band admits to being inspired by local heroes Nothing, it all comes back to the wider creativity of Philadelphia and, specifically, a small circle of bands in the 2010s admired by then Albany native Dulgarian. “I always just really loved it as a place,” recalls the frontman about Philly. “The music was so phenomenal when I was making the decision to move. Specifically bands coming out of the scene at the time were Blue Smiley, Horse Cops, Cooking, Spellbinder, and I really loved this band Sun Organ. All that shit was really just beyond cool to me.”

It all kind of started with 2019’s Destiny XL, which made waves with the underground community and created chatter about some weird-ass band from Phila. That drumbeat grew louder and louder, and once the band released their second LP, S, it became a full-on call to arms. “Destiny XL was definitely the first record I ever made where I felt like I had achieved the sound I wanted to achieve my whole life,” says Dulgarian emphatically. “I found a logical path for myself.”

Earlier this year, TAGABOW came full circle by releasing their latest single “Krillin,” which includes local favorites Greg Mendez and Sun Organ, the latter of whom was so inspirational to TAGABOW at the outset. But it’s just a taste of what’s to come. “I’ve been a longtime fan of both projects and everything that Timmy [Buzz from Sun Organ] did with Spirit of the Beehive. So in that way I obviously knew that whatever we all made together would be rad,” says Dulgarian matter-of-factly. “We have other singles coming up that all have such potent and separate, albeit similar sometimes, visions for shit based on our collective compromise. It’s been way worth it, though—1 Krillin’ sounds like all three of us separately at the same time.”

Look for TAGABOW to perform some of the new stuff on their upcoming dates with Pachinko and more—just don’t give them any shit if they do it on the floor of the venue. “People will always act really surprised about that. But we like playing in a circle, and I think that there’s different ways to approach everything. It keeps us locked in."

And everyone else tuned in.

—FRED PESSARO

DUST

’ll just come right out and say it: I Fuck Fear.

I don’t mean that in the same way that Stone Cold did before he gave the double bird and dropped a Stunner on Vince McMahon. I mean it in a way that I wholeheartedly and emphatically disagree with the ridiculous decree that “New York’s Alright if You Like Saxophones”—not for the antiNYCisms but for the offensive idea that somehow the horned instrument is lesser. Granted, there are plenty of instances where I could prove that theorem is close to bulletproof, but, as they say, for every rule there is an exception—like the Stooges, James Chance, or another band to (tastefully) take on the horned instrument...Dust from Newcastle, Australia.

Before we start to get the image of a shirtless Tim Cappello blasting away on the horn from the film classic The Lost Boys permanently etched into our brains, let’s take a moment to soak in “Ward 52” from Dust’s 2023 effort et cetera, etc. Starting with a driving bass line and a Mark E. Smith-style vocal, the track begins to swell and expand from the opening notes, eventually growing by crescendo before leaning into the dreaded horned instrument to add cacophony and eventually help punctuate and drive the melodic choms. There are people who will point to Sonic Youth, others to early Broken Social Scene, still others to their countrymen INKS—all will be right, and will show that this band of young'uns is on the right track.

It’s all very compelling, dense, and complex stuff that veers away from the cliché indie fare currently polluting the airwaves, but that could be based on the band’s background and influences from Down Under. “When we started this, I always felt like I had a lot of influence from my parents indirectly, and they were playing heaps of music,” recalls guitarist-vocalist Justin Teale. “But I listened to a lot of shoegaze and post-punk—so stuff like Shame, Fontaines DC, Iceage, and Preoccupations was really present for us. But there were also a lot of Australian bands like Low Life, Eddy Current, Civic, Royal Headache, and Total Control that were also important. I do think that My Bloody Valentine was a big influence on us, even though it’s not totally obvious.”

The thing that is most obvious about Dust is the flawless execution of their 2023 effort et cetera, etc., out now on Kanine Records. And with another EP on deck and another LP in the works, we’ll be able to see how much of Dust is just an extension of their excellent live show versus another well-done LP. “We’re working on a new album release. Just spending a lot of time writing, writing, writing,” says Justin Teale of the forthcoming new effort. “We’re really happy with what we’ve done and are excited to get back out there with new stuff. See if we can pull off a new LP.”

Dust will be fine, with or without saxophones. But preferably with.

—FRED PESSARO

NABIHAH IQBAL

Maybe it’s just me, an ignorant American.

But as U.K. native Nabihah Iqbal stood on stage at the CREEM/Third Man Records Day Party performing the Cure classic “A Forest,” a shiver shot down my spine and the vibes felt straight out of the Sade playbook. Yes, I realize the amount of level-jumping associated here, seeing a band in a tiny room and having feelings in league with an actual legend. And sure, I may be wrong, but it’s worth noting that the thought even came into my head. That poise, grace, and effortless cool all had to come from somewhere.

Most of it is Iqbal’s latest LP, 2023’s Dreamer, which was well received at the outset but has since

become a slow burn, eventually blossoming into one of the most beloved LPs of last year due to what feels like word of mouth. Combining a dark electronic goth approach with elements of dreampop and shoegaze, it’s all wrapped up in an urban-feeling package that feels just as tough as it does vulnerable. “It’s a snowballing, word-of-mouth thing that I think is exploding out,” explains Iqbal with respect to Dreamer’s trajectory. “I notice changes in the crowds, and it definitely seems to be very organic where people feel so authentically connected to the music and then they’re telling their friends or they’re coming to the show or sharing the music and spreading the word. That gives me a very profound sense of happiness because it feels so real. I’ve been doing music for 10 years, so this slow burn feels like the natural course of everything.”

Iqbal originally started performing music under the pseudonym Throwing Shade in 2013, all while DJing for the infamous NTS Radio. She eventually switched back to her government name for her debut record, Weighing of the Heart, in 2017 for Ninja Tune. Since Dreamer was released in 2023, Iqbal has had a steady diet of gigs, both DJ and performance, to keep her busy and grow that fanbase. All the love is great—amazing, even—but buddies...leave her alone. We need a new record! “I have literally been touring nonstop since the album came out, and the only downtime I had was Christmas,” recalls Iqbal. “I’ve got some rough ideas that I’m working on, but my plan is to start working on it seriously this year. I feel motivated, and I’ve got a lot inside just from the inspiration of touring. I don’t wanna jinx it. I wanna do it ASAP.”

So let the lady work! If the new material is anywhere near as good as Dreamer, you can bet big money that Iqbal will be touring everywhere. And it will work, because she’s so goddamn cool. Sigh.

—FRED PESSARO