The Friday Dispatch
Ekko Astral, Alvvays, Leyla McCalla, Architecture in Helsinki and Savoir Adore
Ekko Astral are redefining the political voice in punk
While the latest album from DC post-punks Ekko Astral epitomises the glitz and hollowness of late stage capitalism, the band’s ethos is rooted in hope and community. Pink balloons bludgeons us with intentional brainrot to force us to confront the reality of the times in which we are living. Vocalist Jael Holzman paints extravagant images and detailed scenes using internal rhyme and cacophony with the goal of signifying nothing.
Holzman credits Alex Turner as her biggest lyrical inspiration, specifically Arctic Monkeys’ record Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino: "I love it because he paints these pictures of words that don't mean a thing,” she tells Best Fit. “Some of what he’s saying is ridiculous and he knows it is, and if you’re not in on the joke then you are the subject of the song. But if you’re in on the joke, you get that he’s making fun of people, and is doing it in a way that's winking, nodding, and captivating.” Holzman also cites Charli XCX and SOPHIE as major influences, describing the former’s Vroom Vroom EP as “the most important piece of sonic literature that I have in my brainbox.”
“Musically what I'm trying to do is far more analogous to what Charli does,” she admits, “which is to combine that very hyper internet-infected girly pop with the most dissonant shit you’ve ever had through your earholes. I love how her music makes you feel uncomfortable on the dance floor.”
Ekko Astral’s lyrics are often underscored by dark humour. They force entry into our heads and leave behind gift-wrapped nonsense, an auditory painting of modern vanity that pokes fun at the emptiness of the world. Their debut album is an invitation to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. “When we were making that record we saw Barbie coming down the pipeline and pink was fucking everywhere,” Holzman says, laughing. “You couldn’t go to a single bar in the United States without it being Barbie-themed; it was excessive to the nines–but what does that film even represent but this commodified version of feminism and empowerment that is hollow?”
Alvvays’ Molly Rankin on the B52s
This band! For me, it feels… not real. The way they’re so unhinged but militant - I don’t know how they have such a honed sound, and also sound like they’re partying all the time.
I guess that’s what it feels like when people fully commit…Kate Pierson playing keys with just her left hand, and headbanging with a gigantic wig on the whole time.
This song specifically, I can’t believe how beautiful the singing is, and then she rips into this really fraught chorus. I don’t want to use the word ugly, but I love it when singers who sing well aren’t afraid of sounding dismantled and wild.
There’s this live concert video of them playing the Capitol Theatre in black and white, and I’ve watched it so many times over the years. The universe they’ve built is so interesting, and the audience itself is so free. It’s a really special world they’ve created.
Leyla McCalla on her creative process
Making my latest record, Sun Without the Heat, I definitely wanted to break new ground in my artistic practice. My last record, Breaking the Thermometer, was inspired by a lot of archival research that I did about the legacy of Radio Haiti, which was originally for a theatre project, and involved learning a lot about people who were imprisoned, exiled or assassinated. Memory was such a big theme in that work, and I did feel kind of one step removed from it all, as a Haitian American who was born in New York. Both my parents emigrated to the United States when they were kids in the 1960s.
When it came to making Sun Without the Heat, I was like, ‘Okay, I just climbed the biggest mountain I ever climbed. What is the new path that I want to take with my music? What is it that I actually want to say? What am I even going to talk about?’ Working without the framework of a concept or a historical narrative, I really wanted to see a path forward, and that’s really where the songs came from. From recommitting to my own path, both creatively and also just as a human.
I wanted to explore what my life was about, and what life is about in general, and I do feel like these songs kind of came out like prayers for that to manifest. I think with creativity, as in life, things can sometimes be crystal clear and at other times really foggy. I knew I wanted to go on a journey, and I knew that, musically, I wanted to move into a more psychedelic realm and wanted to incorporate sounds that I hadn’t previously used, like synths and piano. I’m lucky to have been working with the same band for six years now, and I know that we can make a lot of noise.
You know, I come from this background of playing old-time music with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, which I did for years, playing cello and bass. I’ve also played with a tonne of different singer/songwriters, and while I do love the intimacy that you can access with a smaller ensemble, this time I wanted a bigger sound. I wanted to experiment with distortion pedals and stuff like that. I had a new electric guitar and I was like, ‘Let’s plug this thing in!’
My mindset was really to just be more open and playful. Those were my goals. I was like, ‘Okay, I want to figure out how to keep on wanting to do this.’
As told to Alan Pedder
Three things to get excited about this week
The session: In a live session for Best Fit, LA-based experimental artist Angelica Garcia performed “Paloma” at Crouch End Studios this week. “Paloma” is lifted from Garcia's latest album Gemelo, released today.
The appearance: Last night, Charli XCX made an appearance at Best Fit’s spin-off club night, Pop Never Dies, to celebrate the release of Brat.
The EP: Today, brand-new alternative new age duo Vincent’s Last Summer release their debut EP, GET RICH QUICK. Based in Manchester, the pair draw on youth culture, the societal and financial pressures faced by young people, and meditations on modern life.
Something Old, Something New
Every week, one of our writers or editors share their recommendations of two records they love - one from the past, one from the present. This week, Jen Long on Architecture in Helsinki’s In Case We Die (2005) and Savoir Adore’s Savoir Adore (2024)
When I was at uni in Cardiff, I used to DJ a student indie night at the city’s legendary Clwb Ifor Bach. Not only did I get to blast out the anthems of the day, but the first couple of hours would always be filled with a mix of newer releases and requests. It was long before you could play something on demand. Instead you’d have to remember the band name then take a weekend trip to Spillers Records.
I’m pretty sure this was how I first discovered Architecture in Helsinki. The various members of Los Campesinos! and their friend Lizzie (who always danced without shoes) were weekly punters, all of us in our cardigans and drinking £1 bottles of Fosters. I have no doubt this band informed Los Campesinos!’ early output. I just remember being so captivated by this record, its lead single, “Do the Whirlwind,” a routine favourite. It was so angular, twee and loaded with immediate sentiment; soft vocals, gang shouts, handclaps and delicate production being everything I adored in that moment.
An indie-pop ensemble from Australia, Architecture in Helsinki’s broad multi-instrumentation, chaotic song construction and dynamic sound felt exciting and progressive. They also just had a great talent for writing hook after hook, be it a synth line or shout of call and response. I lost track of them after their follow-up and third record, Places Like This. Listening back these days it certainly sounds of the time, but there’s still a real warmth of nostalgia and ingenuity to this album.
Breaking through in the late noughties, we’ve been covering Savoir Adore on Best Fit for almost fifteen years. I first discovered them in the era of the blogosphere, their early single “Bodies” hooking me in with its sparring girl/boy vocals and rush of synth-pop chorus. Over the years they’ve always been the steady underdog, releasing a string of rich and escapist dream-pop records to a loyal fanbase.
Returning today with their first album in five years, the self-titled Savoir Adore, Paul Hammer and Lauren Zettler, who joined the band a decade ago, are reverting back to the aesthetic and approach that first earnt the group acclaim. It’s a heart swell of an album that pairs the duo’s voices in rich harmonies, blends organic instrumentation with capacious synth-lines and echoes the dynamic hooks of their early Neon Gold releases.
Informed by the lessons of experience and a career of experimentation (Hammer would never admit it, but his father Jan likely had some good synth tips), songs like “When It Rains” showcase their impeccable talent for penning instant favourites, while tracks like “Holding On, Together” delve into the warm embrace of nostalgia. I don’t think the band will mind the tagline ‘something old, something new’ here.
Listen to the week in new music by following our Discovery playlist
Dropping at midnight every Thursday, follow our playlist for a taste of the best new music from the most exciting breaking artists – 20 new tracks, top-loaded from the last five days in music and on repeat in the Best Fit office right now.
Leading the selection this week are new tracks from Angelica Garcia, Jez Karis, Willow Kayne, GB and coverstars BIG LOVE.