Week of Dec. 20: This week, Pom Pom Squad covers a popular 90s tune; Mireya Ramos sends mariachi-reggae from New Zealand; and a hip hop tribute to Quentin Tarantino.
Pom Pom Squad Cover Nada Surf’s “Popular”
Consider it a little holiday present from Mia Berrin and her band Pom Pom Squad. Ending a year in which they made lots of fans with their rockin’, witty, and sharply-observed album Death of a Cheerleader, the band has released a cover of “Popular,” Nada Surf’s classic 90s tale of teenage anxiety, high school pecking orders, and ridiculous romantic advice. It gives Berrin one more shot at queering the narrative of the cheerleader, a theme that has run through a couple of the band’s songs and videos; and if you watch closely, you’ll even see Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws making a brief cameo (he’s also singing backup). The song hews faithfully to the original – and so, strikingly, does the video – and yet Berrin and company have found a way to make it their own.
RZA and Flatbush Zombies Offer a Cinematic Tribute to Quentin Tarantino
“Quentin Tarantino” is the name of the second collaboration between RZA of Wu-Tang Clan and the trio Flatbush Zombies. Rather than a preview of further works to come, they’re billing this as the conclusion of their “double feature” after the earlier single “Plug Addicts.” The title, of course, is a reference to the director of Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, and many other films – all of which are cleverly woven into the song’s lyrics. The music is redolent of movie soundtracks – both Tarantino’s and perhaps earlier, James Bond-style fare. In addition to co-producing the track, RZA also provides the chorus, a repeated chant of “what the fuck’s up in that briefcase?” Like everyone else involved, he sounds like he’s actually having a great time.
Parquet Courts Reinvent “Pulcinella”
Brooklyn rockers Parquet Courts released their latest album, Sympathy For Life, in October, and one of the standout tracks was “Pulcinella,” a slow-burning rock ballad with a moody guitar solo at the end. Named for the masked stock-figure of the old commedia dell’arte of 17th century Europe, the band’s song is a flawed character study, and despite its relative length, a model of economy. The final lines (Who am I when I can't be unwound?/"Darling, it's me", as the mask comes off/"It always was”) suggest a novel’s worth of doomed love and missed connections. Now, the band has released a video version of the song which is both more intimate and more epic. Clocking in at nine minutes, it strips the song down to a simple, repeating piano phrase and a couple of plaintive, haunting sax solos. Even more unusual, the performance duties are carried out by The Grayscale Clown – the duo of Jonny Campolo and sax player Chase Ceglie, whose closing solo steals the show.
Mariach + Reggae + New Zealand = Mireya Ramos’ New Song
Mireya Ramos is the founder of Flor de Toloache, the all-female mariachi band based here in NY. But she spent a year of the pandemic in New Zealand, and there she put together a local project she called Mireya & The Rhythm Aces. She’s just released one of the fruits of those labors; it’s a song called “Canto,” and it’s a reassuring tune that takes a reggae beat and softens it with a little South Pacific languor. And while Ramos was half a world away from her physical home, she brought some of her musical home with her as the sound of mariachi horns join in this improbable but irresistible mix of styles.
Big Thief’s New Single Is a Potato-Themed Hoedown
Big Thief’s brand of indie-rock has always had obvious folk influences, but even the band’s many fans may be surprised at “Spud Infinity,” unless they’ve seen the band play it live, of course, which they’ve been doing for a while. The song is one of two singles, along with “No Reason,” that the band released this past week; with the addition of fiddle and jaw harp, “Spud Infinity” immediately suggests the sounds of bluegrass and old-time music. Adrianne Lenker’s lyrics are playful and her vocals, especially in the chorus, echo the “high lonesome sound” of Appalachian music, and when she finishes with her extra-terrestrials, potato knishes, and a brief musing about elbows, the band takes us home with a spirited instrumental hoedown.
