I do my best to keep the emphasis of this column mostly on more broadly accessible music, but every once in a while I need to keep you informed about some of the idiosyncratic, off-the-beaten-path stuff that’s out on the edges of the local music scene.
This week I want to highlight The Sheen, an unpredictable group that blends elements of rock, noise, psychedelica, free jazz and the avant-garde into a surprisingly enjoyable stew. They’re getting ready to release their most recent album, “Psychic Bog.”
The group has been through a bunch of lineup changes over the course of eight years and five albums, with the only constant member being guitarist/vocalist Riley Reasor. Drummer Brock Muench was an original member who left the band and has now rejoined, while bassist Aden Lozar has been on board since their previous album, 2022’s “Holocene Rolodex.”
Compared to their previous work, Reasor says the new one is different in how it incorporates some surprising new influences. He’s been fascinated with modern surrealist Latin American horror literature, and says that has made its way into the lyrics. Musically, there’s new inspiration from the ‘80s goth scene (which I might have expected), and from the English folk revival (which I definitely did not). The final track, “Giddy Crosses,” even incorporates bluesy slide guitar. Reasor describes the lyrical content as an “amalgamation of nightmares, images and ideas”
They will be celebrating the album’s release with a show on Thursday, Sept. 26 at The Shakedown, featuring similarly-minded locals Pyrocene and ESO. Moving forward, the band is hoping to get some cassettes made of the album to give it some physical presence. They do mostly short regional tours of a couple days at a time.
The Sheen has also been involved in the local generator show scene, helping to organize improvised noise happenings in unusual locations. Reasor has a distinctively warped visual art style, and his work graces all their posters and album art. If you’re in the mood to have your expectations defied and your perceptions realigned, getting plugged into this group’s work might be a good way to go about it.
Reunions
Looking ahead a bit to Halloween, the absolute legends in Black Eyes and Neckties just announced a reunion show at the Shakedown for Halloween night. The event will double as a 20th anniversary celebration for their debut album, “Stilletto.” If you weren’t around for their heyday, they do high-energy horror rock, with dark organ and guitar riffs and plenty of corpse paint; a perfect show for Halloween. Grab tickets and start picking out your outfit now.
In a very different musical vein, Nuages are planning to release their final album in October and play a few local reunion shows to celebrate it. This is very good news for fans of “hot club” swing and Manouche jazz. No details yet on the time or place but I’ll make sure to share those once I know them.
New releases
The Spine Readers album I wrote about a few months ago is now streaming all over the place. They’ve also emptied out the vaults on their Bandcamp page, with a bunch of other new and unreleased tracks now available, including one track made by isolating their late singer Sean Meyer’s voice from a voice memo using AI. I’m pretty skeptical on using AI to make music, but this seems like one case where that makes a lot of sense.
One other recent Bandcamp find I’ve been enjoying is the gorgeous “Looking for Signs” EP by Bellflower. Very sweet indie/folk/rock, with some great harmonies. I especially like the way the songs build to massively layered choral endings. It’s fun to see local groups taking the time to craft something really big and ambitious in the studio.
Jesse Stanton's music column, The Beat Goes On, appears weekly. Reach him at jsbhammusic@gmail.com; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled. Live music events in Whatcom County: http://www.cascadiadaily.com/category/living/arts-and-entertainment/music/music-calendar
