The 3 Stars – October 5, 2024
Before we get started with the business at hand, I’d love to share a little bit about the hometown days, if you don’t mind. The first full week of October is when the West Side Nut Club descends on Franklin Street. A week of fried food, glad-handing politicians, and carnival rides that one tends to grow out of by age 25. The Fall Festival is also when many non-profit organizations and school organizations raise some funds by selling corn dogs, funnel cakes, and brain sandwiches.
Yep, you read that right. Brain sandwiches.
It’s a touch point of nostalgia; as a kid riding rides, working a booth for choir, and manning the 103 WGBF Hummer to hand out bumper stickers and a limited number of T-shirts. I still have fond memories of it, despite getting food poisoning from a stromboli I bought from one of UE’s frats.
While the Festival doesn’t really play in the 3 Stars for this week, it’s a part of the stream of consciousness for the upcoming week. Thanks for letting me share.
On with the 3 Stars!
The Number 3 Star: Divorce – All My Freaks
By all rights, this should be the Nottingham band’s second appearance in The 3 Stars Blog. It was slated for what would have been the June 24 edition; however, unforeseen events prevented me from publishing it.
Auto-biographical songs about being a musician can be a hit-or-miss endeavor. “Running on Empty” by Jackson Browne is a brilliant look at how touring is a grind on body and soul. However, Sarah Burrellis’s protest track “Love Song” is a shallow and utterly meta look at record labels’ demand for love songs that will sell. It was also a watered-down tale that Public Image Ltd did so much better nearly two decades before. For Divorce, this song is a charming look into the psyche of an emerging artist. In an interview in NME, vocalist and bassist Tiger Cohen-Towell said “All My Freaks” is “written from the perspective of a humorous/tragic caricature of an up-and-coming artist, this song is laughing at our own egos and yet acknowledging the power that they wield.”
“All My Freaks” will also be the first track featured with a 2025 designation for its release date, as their 12-track debut album, Drive To Goldenhammer, will be available on March 7.
The Number 2 Star: Driver – Soccer Mommy
“Driver” is the third release from the album Evergreen, slated to come out later this month. This song is a bit different than the previous two releases, with an uptempo beat that’s…well, driving. It’s a lighthearted song about taking the reigns of a relationship. Soccer Mommy, also known as Sophie Allison, said in an interview with Philly’s WXPN that “Driver” is “a love song that’s really about someone being there for you in spite of your shortcomings. It’s more light-hearted than some of the other songs I’ve put out this year, using my distractedness as a bit of a punchline.”
Soccer Mommy will play the Ogden in Denver on March 10, 2025.
The Number 1 Star: JD McPherson – Just Like Summer
JD’s fourth album Nite Owls dropped last week, and the second single, “Just Like Summer,” has been in the air stream for a little bit longer. JD’s been on the outermost fringes of my musical orbit. I can tell you where I first heard “Signs and Signifiers.” It left that much of an impact. I was picking up some food at a crappy Chinese restaurant whose best feature was its proximity to my place. It was one of those moments when you sat in the driveway to finish listening to the song, then logged on to an online digital music retailer to buy it before you opened your “Mongolian” beef.
Or am I the only one who does that?
The song has a heavy ’60s revival vibe to it. In a way, it reminds me of Lust Lust Lust era Raveonettes. It’s an upbeat song about heartbreak and how life moves on when people leave. “It’s a tragedy set to danceable music,” JD said in an interview with Magnet Magazine.
JD has two upcoming shows in Colorado next month. He’ll be at the Aggie in Fort Collins on November 22 and the Gothic in suburban Denver the next night.