A Boy's Irrational Bedtime Fear: Let's Be Loveless Talk Recording and Nightmares

It feels like it's been forever since we've done a good old fashioned chat interview here on Hearts Bleed Radio. In my defense, I've been doing a shit ton of booking (May has 5 friggin' Fridays!). This week we have a showcase on Friday at Matchless and Saturday at Pet Rescue. You should probably come to both of them, because, whoever you are, I don't seen you enough and we need to hang out more. So... Friday's lineup is great. Opening up is me, Stephen Otto Perry, playing solo, like I never do. Second we have White Like Fire, all the way from Pittsburgh, PA (they are awesome!) and Shelter Dogs (Brian LaRue's other other band, which he fronts). Next is Let's Be Loveless, and closing out the night is The Black Black. I can't say enough about this lineup, it's diverse but it works. Anyway, we had some chat action with Abby and Eric from Let's Be Loveless. Here's the transcript:

Hearts Bleed Radio: You guys have been busy in the studio. You have a single and a B-side dropping this week and an EP on the way?

Eric: Well, we just mixed/mastered 2 songs out of about 7 tunes we've been painstakingly writing/recording. It's been a year process. We get a little obsessive when recording. We are hoping to drop one of them this week, and maybe another in May to keep people interested.

Abby: We are super excited to release these songs.

HBR: Which one is dropping this week?

Eric: Well, not sure. Which one do you think works. Stephen, You are like the 3rd person to hear them. Ha.

Abby: We'll get back to you on which single we're releasing, but it will either be "Hostages" or "A Boy's Irrational Bedtime Fear" or "Death to the Moon."

HBR: Do you enjoy recording?

Abby: Recording is actually my favorite part of the process. Liquor helps a lot when doing vocals.

HBR: Really? Haha, it's my least favorite.

Eric: Yeah, I'm a fan of writing/recording. It's when I feel like I'm actually creating something.

Abby: Yes, it's like giving birth.

Abby and Eric, I'm not even going to describe this picture, it's too perfect.

HBR: I think "A Boy's Irrational Bedtime Fear" is the first single.

Eric: I think so too. It's a rocker, and has awesome Smiths'y title.

The True Jacqueline's newest EP is a blaze of guitar glory

  The True Jacqueline are a three piece indie rock outfit from Northampton, Massachusetts.  They have just release an EP titled Like Way Out. I think it's pretty great. Full disclosure though, I used to play in a band with their guitarist, Noah Cerveny (the Billy Ripken Fuck Face Card, look it up)... and live with him too. And the album was produced by Planes' drummer Jeff Patlingrao (who also produced/mixed our last album). So basically, it's inbred cronyism. That being said, I'm honestly crazy about this EP. If you're into guitars and pedals, AND lo-fi/mid-fi recordings, you need to give this a listen. Recorded on a Tascam 688, Like Way Out captures the rawness of the cassette tape machine, without losing any clarity or definition in the guitars.

The actual, factual, for reallz... True Jacqueline

  Cerveny and bassist Kate Niemczyk share vocal duties on the EP, and despite differences on tonality, both voices maintain a certain innocent nerdy-ness and flow together quite nicely. Drummer Brian DiPippo stays out of the way of the more intricate guitar work, but just barely. He plays about as much as one really can, while still letting the tonal instruments ring through. A fun drummer to watch live, DiPippo shines during the EP's many transitional passages.

"Knock Knees" is the EP's opener is a lesson in crunchy bass playing. Bass distortion is something that I rarely like, but Niemczyk's tone is full and powerful. The song's jagged sections feel almost scotch-taped together, yet never quite come loose, giving the track an air of spontaneity. Throughout their career, Tru-Jaq have made the transition from heavily overdriven riffs to choppy clean, almost reggae-esque rhythm playing a signature move. Though this track is bigger and more raw than their earlier work, that finger print remains.