Under the Stars: Lopsided Australian avant-punk coming to town, get ready for obsession

Welcome to Under The Stars, babe. A quasi-weekly column that presents new music releases, upcoming shows, still with the strong ass opinions this week, and other adjacent items. We keep moving with the changes and thinking outside the margins. We’ve been doing this for five years… Spend some time with us…

PRIVATE JOY, “PURE LOVE REMIXED” (RHYTHM SECTION INTERNATIONAL)

There is no better indicator that you’ve hit humid summer time (venturing north or west from San Francisco, of course; July can bring that fog like nobody’s biz) than witnessing a plethora of straight-up banging electronic music remix projects that go along with lemonade sippin’ and lazy days in a cold pool. Quality remixes not only hit better, but they leave vivid memories when dropped in the warm months. Manchester producer extraordinaire Private Joy blesses us with a “Pure Love Remix” four-tracker that cruises through syncopated highs by way of soulful drum and bass, electro spaces, and dub-wise reinterpretations that just seem to get better with each golden sunset.

Give your summer memories the correct soundtrack here.

TROPICAL FUCK STORM AT THE CHAPEL, SUN/6

I’m headfirst and loving it—going on a YouTube deep dive of Tropical Fuck Storm visuals, putting my ears and eyes at ease. This far-fetched Australian band, born out of the ashes of The Drones, doesn’t give a shit about cool points, cutesy trendy moves, or making Spotify bops for the populace at large. NO. Gareth Liddiard, Lauren Hammel, Fiona Kitschin, and Erica Dunn are freaky weird. They fashion lopsided avant-punk that doesn’t look where it shall land next. Yes, it feels like Talking Heads and the B-52’s had a 21st-century Australian shit-talking baby, and that sucker is forever on the loose—and we can’t help but be obsessed with it. They’re not called post-apocalyptic acid punk disco scuzzheads for nuthin.’

Grab tickets here.

CAL-C, BATH BOMB (BAR PART TIME)

As reported in Resident Advisor last month, San Francisco’s natural wine bar has expanded its brand. “The wine hole now also serves records, which are basically like bottled music if you really think about it,” Bar Part Time shared via social media. And its maiden voyage is nothing to sneeze at either. Toronto’s Cal-C delivers a rock-solid four-track EP, Bath Bomb, that tastefully works its way through different genres that a DJ could incorporate within one set. From chill breakbeat, ambient electro, heady ’80s freestyle excursions, and finally, dubby dancehall, just served warm enough for golden hour beach strolls.

Bar Part Time was already fly enough, with local DJs who chart and play internationally—but now being a label as well? This “wine hole” isn’t a secret anymore.

Pick up Bath Bomb here.

FERRY FEST AT SF FERRY BUILDING, JULY 13

That’s righ, the place where so many boat party memories get started is having a birthday party. Would ya say The Ferry Building is San Francisco’s most distinguished-looking piece of real estate? It’s been featured in TV and movie trailers for decades on end—from Venom to Sudden Impact—now that’s range, bub… and now, Noise Pop Industries has decided to throw a spirited, free with RSVP, all-ages celebration for this official San Francisco landmark, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Just in time for the Ferry Building’s 127th birthday, expect a full day of live music from Big Blu Soul Revue, Mae Powell, Liv Belda, Prophet Martian, and tons of other local Bay Area artists. Hey, you could even get some shopping done with the family at your favorite shops, bars, and eateries while you bop.

RSVP here.

ITALO BRUTALO, SECOND HORIZON (BUNGALO DISCO)

There is more ’80s drum machine knock here than in a Grand Theft Auto mission.

Italo Brutalo—wait, he’s German?—is in control of this keyboard fever dream, where Larry Levan and Giorgio Moroder are going back and forth, song for song, lacing up a dance floor rigged with a sub-bass woofer, fog machines up the wazoo, and retro analog synths running amok. Harold Faltermeyer couldn’t take this heat. Somebody call Michael Mann; we’re ready and soundtrack-equipped for that “Miami Vice” reboot.

Grab it up here.

TALKING HEADS, “PSYCHO KILLER”

Let’s get the obvious out of the way quick fast. Talking Heads released a new visual a couple weeks back for “Psycho Killer,” starring the multi-talented Saoirse Ronan and directed by Mike Mills, following the announcement of their More Songs About Buildings and Food (Super Deluxe Edition Box Set), which features multiple LPs, four CDs, and one Blu-ray Book, along with DVDs. There are varying versions of this, with the most extensive and expensive version topping out at around $180.

It’s a cash grab, folks, for one of the greatest bands ever assembled. But before we slag off about capitalism running amok, let’s celebrate some very cool things here. For starters, the visual is on-brand, unhinged, and could run as a short before the 1986 Talking Heads film True Stories.

Now, Saoirse Ronan.

Everything this performer does in the visual—reacting to the ins and outs of a scheduled life that leaves her character a bit disturbed, and then eventually reverting back to the calm of a person ruled by a tightly regimented existence—is the ultimate validation of pre-Barbie Greta Gerwig’s choice of Ronan for Lady Bird years back. The video’s vignettes will have you amazed by the physical comedy and drama Ronan pulls off like she’s some bizarro Carol Burnett-Robin Williams freak-a-zoid… It’s award-worthy.

That Talking Heads can still inspire elevated art, decades after their chart-topping reign, is the ultimate achievement.

You can pick up their expensive, important wares here.