BY B AO L E - H U U BUFFALO NICHOLS | PHOTO BY MERRICK ALES
LOCAL RELEASES
Support for Ukraine is so global that’s it’s become local. In the Orlando music community, indie-pop star Marc With a C has recently come out for the cause. Although he’s in the midst of a historical career overhaul and serious ongoing medical struggles, he managed to record and release a charity single to aid Ukraine. Besides the righteous purpose, the single also happens to be a bright rendition of a great, and aptly chosen, song. Marc paid for the rights to cover Jarvis Cocker’s “Running the World” and has released his reimagining of it on Bandcamp to raise money for Ukraine through Sunflower of Peace, a U.S.-based nonprofit working to help Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion. As Cocker says on the song, “C*nts are still running the world.” But by picking up Marc’s version of it, you can at least help people valiantly fighting a particularly imperial one. Earlier this month, Orlando rock band the Amphetamines dropped two very good singles as a lead-up to their just-released four-song EP Daggers in the Blacklight. While their 2019 debut was decent, this follow-up is a big leap that carves their shaggy rock with superior songwriting, dimension and aesthetic. The initial two singles laid down the goalposts, with the dark, powerful drive of “Greasy Wop” and the moody beauty of “Elmo Dramatic.” The rest of the EP sustains the quality through a recipe that channels the melodic economy and precision of the Strokes and the fuzzy swoon of Surfer Blood. With tall, perfect melodies and thrilling rock textures, Daggers is a strong batch of songs without an ounce of filler anywhere.
Fat Possum is a legit indie-rock label. But the Mississippi imprint built its cred on the blues, and it was Buffalo Nichols who convinced Fat Possum to dip back into the blues and release his sublime debut album This is some of the best homegrown music to emerge in a while and makes a cogent case for the Amphetamines as a new Orlando name to watch. Daggers in the Blacklight now streams everywhere.
CONCERT PICKS THIS WEEK Tonstartssbandht, Daisy-Chain, Death Tremors: After a succession of postponements in their attempts to get back out on the road, the hometown show by local psych breakouts Tonstartssbandht is finally happening. Although their touring life has been beleaguered by COVID, the Orlando brothers are actually riding high on a significant recent roll that’s seen them release a very focused album created entirely here (Petunia) on Mexican Summer and have some of their early albums reissued — complete with vinyl — through Brooklyn’s Fire Talk Records. (7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, Will’s Pub, $10 advance/$12 DOS)
Vacations, Dreamgirl, Mustard Service: Can’t go on vacation? Well, this lovely bill brings the vacation to you. And not just because it’s headlined by a band actually named Vacations, an act from Australia whose indie rock is a summery reverie. The openers will also keep you in a leisurely state of mind. Missouri’s Dreamgirl will make Tennis fans swoon with cooing indie-pop that’s a little less nostalgic but every bit as charming. And the Latin-infused coastal pop of Miami’s Mustard Service bring the tropical breezes. (7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, The Abbey, $16) Buffalo Nichols: Fat Possum is as legit an indie-rock label as they come. But the Mississippi imprint actually built its initial cred as a blues label, and an amazing one at that, releasing music from greats like R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and T-Model Ford. After almost 20 years away, it was Buffalo Nichols who finally convinced Fat Possum to dip back into the blues and release his debut album last October. And for good reason. Over generations, traditional blues has somehow become largely defined by a bunch of old white hacks who sound more inspired by Roadhouse than the Delta. Young guns like Nichols, however, are reclaiming it. Unlike the commercialized electric blues that’s become institutional, his largely acoustic style brings things back to a rural essence. Elemental and articulate, Nichols’ sound makes the blues something that’s both young and Black again. In a time of racial reckoning not seen since the 1960s, his brand of revivalism gives an old form an injection of poignant new relevance. (7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, Tuffy’s Music Box, $15 GA/$50 table for 2/$100 table for 4) baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com orlandoweekly.com ● MARCH 30-APRIL 5, 2022 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY
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