This edition of LITM Rock Picks brings you a rock and roll diary split between two coasts, William Blake’s poetry set to violin and banjo, a witchy downtempo ritual, garage punk straight out of Armenia, and a song its writer first put together at 16. The list features artists Harley DiNardo, {Blake}, HoneyBones, The Drunk Beavers, and Last Relapse.
Harley DiNardo - LA to NY
‘LA to NY’ is built on a heart that won’t pick between two cities. The riffs are kept low-slung and loose by Harley DiNardo, the drums get swung hard by Michael Chambers, and the bass bounces underneath. Some Rolling Stones can be heard in there, a bit of Black Crowes too. Harmonies are stacked up behind his vocals, and the hook gets stuck fast. Lyrically, the miles between the coasts turn into the distance between who he was and who he is now. One line about the skyline changing lands harder once you know he lost his sister on 9/11.
{Blake} - Introduction (Experience)
Poetry from 1794 rarely ends up on a rock list. William Blake’s poems have been set to music by the French band {Blake} for close to twenty years now, and ‘Introduction (Experience)’ is pulled straight from Songs of Experience. In it, a fallen Earth is called on by the Bard to wake up. Dramatic stuff, and it was always going to be. Violin, double bass, mandolin, and banjo get thrown in next to the usual rock setup, which gives the words plenty of room. It sits on IV. Here & Now, ahead of Blake’s 2027 bicentenary.
HoneyBones - The Call of Baba Yaga
If your Halloween playlist needs something darker than pumpkins and candy corn, this is it. ‘The Call of Baba Yaga’ is named after the forest witch of Slavic folklore, and HoneyBones dug into their Eastern European roots for it. A high, eerie cry is heard first. Then a deep, half-spoken vocal takes over, riding droning synths and a heavy electronic beat, with just enough rock grit mixed in so it doesn’t float off. Temples, aurora skies, fate, and desire get name-dropped. The chorus is chanted back at you, asking who will answer the witch’s call. Nobody does :")
The Drunk Beavers - Overheat
Tidy is not a word The Drunk Beavers care about. Out of Yerevan, Armenia, ‘Overheat’ is kicked off by a shrill, almost cartoonish blare, and then the guitars just crash in. Thick distortion, pounding drums, vocals that have to fight to be heard. Midway, a high-pitched screech gets thrown in for no real reason. The riff has a stubborn pull to it. Parts of the performance are buried by a muddy mix, and a little more space wouldn’t hurt, but that’s kind of the charm. Loud, scrappy, a bit exhausting. It lives up to the name.
Last Relapse - Throw Away the Key
Some songs are written at 16 and then left in a drawer for years. ‘Throw Away the Key’ was one of them. David Holding wrote it right after getting kicked out of his band, and it was the first song he ever finished on his own. Now, 13 years after Atlanta’s Last Relapse went quiet, it’s finally been put out. The teenage frustration hasn’t been sanded off, either. Jangly guitars with post-punk grit, bluesy drums that swing more than expected, some grunge and Midwestern emo hiding underneath. He sings it raw. The music video is out now too.
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