By It’s the first Bandcamp Picks of 2024, featuring folk-pop duo Edith Judith’s evergreen sounding 2022 record BONES & STRUCTURE and JOHN (TIMESTWO)’s reckless post-hardcore noise rocker A LIFE DIAGRAMMATIC!
Edith Judith – BONES & STRUCTURE
Genre: Folk-Pop
Favorite Tracks: “Hot Lava,” “Bridge,” “Carry Me”
Based in Chicago, Edith Judith is a folk-pop collaboration between Katie Ernst and Dustin Laurenzi. Their debut album BONES & STRUCTURE, released in 2022 via Ruination Recording Co., is a gem that deserves a revival. With experimental pop lean, Edith Judith pairs familiar melodies and folk sentiments to an evolving musical backdrop that shifts effortlessly between nostalgia and surprise. BONES & STRUCTURE is not only deliberate, but also earnestly cool sounding; Ernst and Laurenzi’s work with producer Ben Lumsdaine is a true flex of songwriting that feels intelligent without showing off—the trio have clearly been living with these songs for a long time, and we’re now welcome to chill with them for a bit.
BONES & STRUCTURE is earworm after earworm, and rewards with multiple full listens. The opener “Carry Me” is the ultimate thesis statement, inviting you in with a pulsing synthesizer, with Ernst poetically reminiscing on the circle of life as the band grows around her. Each round ends in the line “I carry things that will outlast me,” which speaks to the duo’s way of honoring folk music through hyper-production as much as its themes of heritage and legacy. From there we hear agile guitar work wrapped around classic analog synths (“Bridge”), anxious yet steady drum patterns (“Hot Lava”), and thoughtfully syncopated vocal melodies that create tension without breaking the spell (“Flesh and Bone” and “Worrysome, Weary”). The transition from lullaby to noisy rumination at the end of “Sleeping Giant” shows how nimble these arrangements can be (not to mention it’s an excellent closer for the Side A vinyl sequence). The closing track “Worrysome, Weary” summarizes the past 37 minutes with the choir-esque delivery of “Oh to be exactly where you are,” a vague and appropriate affirmation I embraced whole-heartedly while revisiting this album.
Edith Judith succeeds in providing a soothing record that sparkles in all the right places. I personally tend to avoid folk-adjacent music but the production and songwriting here keeps me present and involved until the very end. Check it out over on Bandcamp! [Thomas McNeely]
JOHN (TIMESTWO) – A LIFE DIAGRAMMATIC
Genre: Noise Punk, Post-Hardcore
Favorite Tracks: “A Whole House,” “Service Stationed,” and “Trauma Mosaic”
New records are an artist’s chance at rebirth. Whereas Madonna treats album cycles like the g-d Doctor, other acts are more understated—including JOHN (TIMESTWO). Drummer-vocalist John Newton and guitarist Johnny Healey fully impressed with 2021’s NOCTURNAL MANOEUVRES, which explored rock gargantuan and intimate via overt intensity, technical savvy, and efficient cohesion. September’s 10-track A LIFE DIAGRAMMATIC is both a powerful continuation and a novel step forward for these beloved Johns.
“At Peacehaven” could have easily made NOCTURNAL MANOEUVRES a touch more sweeping and ambient—it packs similar heft and kinetic force. Same with “Cote D’Adur,” which exudes sludgy-meets-Sleep vibes, and “A Whole House”—the band’s virtuosity hums as they maintain that snarling wit and sneer. The Johns know themselves profoundly, and they present the most streamlined messages that brim with pockets of texture and context. They’re perpetually engaging even as they’re actively re-orienting themselves and listeners in these spaces. From there, the pair make a concerted effort to push boundaries in a novel and refreshing way. “A Submersible” sounds familiar enough, but there’s a way that the loud and quiet parts interact that draws out more room for listeners to follow the band throughout.
You could almost make the same argument for “Service Stationed,” except there’s some ’70s-style twang, and that’s a minor left turn while playing brilliantly with the band’s love for big, bold sound that consumes bandwidths. Meanwhile, “Trauma Mosaic” may be among the duo’s most “serene” songs, and that air of sonic levity (still undercut by big rhythms and authority) highlights the scope of their ability to engage and confront with the utmost efficiency. They even experiment with spoken word (the Simon Pegg-sampling “Media Res”), and it’s extra proof that minor decisions carry weight. They’re not remaking the world but rather tossing in features and landmarks to make this aural journey even more gripping and compelling. They slow down into the realm of minor ambient, speed up with an intensity like never before, and toss in junk noise for the heck of it—it’s a record that charms with familiarity (bordering on nostalgia) before slamming us with something new and sharp.
In that way, the record completely and fully ensnares you, and it’s wholly novel because it’s just different enough to shake our understanding of the band’s already multifaceted approach. It feels fresh not because it’s this massive leap forward, but a step to the side with such intent and efficiency. It’s a record as a snapshot for how change happens not in backstories and bold costumes, but how bands know their audience and the ways that they can use that knowledge to tantalize and confront. If you liked NOCTURNAL MANOEUVRES, then A LIFE DIAGRAMMATIC toggles similar cerebral buttons. And it does so by having you become just unfamiliar enough to understand why the Johns are so impressive and why their sound continues to evolve in ever more beguiling and unnerving ways. Maybe change really can be a good thing, yeah? Listen to it now over on Bandcamp. [Chris Coplan]
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