Week of 10/13: Spiritual Cramp, Magdalena Bay, The Softies
Eli fondly hears The Hives in a new garage-punk banger, Eric and Michael take a dip in Magdalena Bay, and Miranda wants to hear more music that's influenced by The Softies.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him), Eric Bennett (they/them), Michael Brooks (he/him) and Miranda Reinert (she/her). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. On Substack, we’re also a weekly roundup of songs. Our format is simple: each of our four hosts picks a song they love and writes about it. There will be one free post every week, and more at the end of every month for paid subscribers. For the sake of your wallet, don’t start a paid subscription on Substack. Instead, sign up at the 2$ tier or higher on Patreon and we will gift you a subscription.
Spiritual Cramp - “Dog in a Cage”
Eli Enis:
A band I haven’t really had any opportunities to talk or write about in recent years is The Hives, the Swedish garage-rock revivalists who basically got tagged as FFO: The Strokes in the early 2000s despite making music that, I thought, was way more fun, wild and enjoyable to listen to. The Hives were also a huge gateway band into punk for me when I was 12 years old (they were my first Favorite Band) and although I haven’t listened to them very much over the last decade of my life, they never fail to pick up my mood when they do come on.
One of the songs on the new Spiritual Cramp EP made me think about The Hives. The San Francisco band have been making a blend of danceable post-punk, dub, and garage-punk for a few years now, and their 2018 album Television is one I return to when I’m looking for something to crank and rock out to in the car. “Dog in a Cage,” the first single from this new joint, is my favorite mode of Spiritual Cramp song: a wild-eyed, slobbery, beer-stained, shouty yet still catchy punk banger that reeks of stale cigs crumbling in the breast pocket of a tattered Carhart. I can barely make out what Michael Bingham is howling about at any given point, but his untamed barks sound fucking great atop the overdriven chord progression and propulsive rhythm section.
For me, this is so much more fun and memorable and worthwhile than what bands like IDLES and Shame and Fontaines D.C. and their ilk are doing over in the U.K. It feels more grounded to punk than some snob’s idea of punk, which is how I feel about The Hives as well. Next time you’re looking to get into some mischief, make Spiritual Cramp your soundtrack and I guarantee it’ll go over well.
Magdalena Bay - “Hysterical Us”
Michael Brooks:
God bless Magdalena Bay for giving us a pop album that you can actually dance to, a welcome breath of fresh air in a year that’s found most of our biggest pop stars transitioning from sun-kissed grooves to moody ballads and deep introspection. Their debut album Mercurial World harkens back to the kind of indie-pop that dominated music blogs in the late aughts/early 2010’s—imagine a world where Dua Lipa puts out Future Nostalgia on XL Recordings and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what type of music the duo makes.
But Mercurial World is so much more than nostalgia bait, there’s plenty of moments on the album that sound like something Grimes would make had she never married a billionaire and stuff like “Hysterical Us,” the album’s blistering fourth single, which sounds like you and all of your friends chilling on a boat, wearing tiny shorts and drinking tasty cocktails as you ride off into the sunset. Whether you’re listening to “Hysterical Us” on the dancefloor or by yourself with headphones, there’s no denying how catchy it is. It’s pure pop bliss for the terminally online crowd, and it’s damn good.
Eric Bennett:
My awareness of Magdalena Bay started with them as a name I heard mentioned in that knowing tone that says “just you wait, they’re gonna be big.” And, with their debut album just released and then sitting pretty at a million monthly Spotify listeners, I’d say that’s bearing out. Rightfully so, as the pop duo are coming in this fall as a breathy, upbeat response to the sad, sullen pop records we got this summer. Their record Mercurial World has been a sleeper hit with me. I thought it was okay upon first listen, but returned more and more, falling further into it each time. By the time I went to pre order vinyl, they had long sold out. It’s impossible for me not to see this as 2021’s answer to Jessie Ware’s What’s Your Pleasure?, which came as a late entry titanic pop record made for high end department stores as much as it is for dancefloors, just as this has.
“Hysterical Us” was released as a single, and it’s easy to see why. It’s got one of the record’s strongest hooks, and carries its ever present vibrancy to the forefront. While I like this song, I am struck by how much it sounds like so many other things. Magdalena Bay seems to be the next act to try their hand at drawing in the bright pink camp of aughts pop. Kim Petras had her moment to do this, but didn’t fully revive it. Magdalena Bay also feels like a musical dead ringer for Kylie Minogue, right down to Mica Tenenbaum’s wispy vocal delivery. Despite this, the duo has found a winning formula, that while not breaking any ground, sounds fresh, fun, and inviting. I can’t wait to slip a song of two from Mercurial World into a party queue soon.
The Softies - “I Love You More”
Miranda Reinert:
Only second to Dillinger Four rip off bands, simple twee pop is the easiest way to my heart. I was told a while back I’d love The Softies so when this song, a track off their 1995 album It’s Love, came up on shuffle yesterday I decided to finally do that dive into the record. “I Love You More,” like every song on this album, is two guitars and two voices and that’s it. There’s never any drums and it never gets bigger. Despite that— or maybe because of it— the song forces your ears to notice the intricacies of Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia’s dual guitars. It’s cyclical and minimal in its approach.
I can hear this simplicity in the softer, sweeter Radiator Hospital and Trust Fund songs. I hear the harmonies in all the best early Girlpool songs. It’s a sound I find comforting and infinitely listenable. It makes me wonder if twee pop in this vein will ever really return to the dominant underground space. This is simplicity that works for me. I want it to be a little bit weirder and cooler if it’s gonna be pared back. The Softies do it perfectly and more than anything I’d like to see stuff in this decade pull from it. Or maybe stuff is pulling from it and I’m just not aware! If that’s the case, please tweet at me or send us an email with all your best minimalist twee recommendations. Thank you and happy Wednesday.