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September 20, 2004
Just kidding, I love you
Mazarin - Wheats
If I don't write about this song, my head will explode. Mazarin is from Philadelphia, so right away, you know they're going to be unstoppable and mean. But they're not!- they're actually quite nice, and although my friend once almost killed their gigantor bass player when he accidentally backed into him at a very crowded Beulah show, the lead singer, Quentin Stoltzfus, forgave him and spoke English words to his face in some semblance of a conversation. I say semblance because my friend had more alcohol in him than a Russian postal worker at happy hour - zing! Oh, comedy. Anyway, let me be serious with you: this (from their first album, Watch It Happen) is one of the best break-up songs ever, because the melody is catchy as fuck, and but it starts out so rough, with the palm-muted guitar, then you listen to the lyrics and it's just the most excoriating stuff. Nicely done, Mazarin. Unfortunately, it seems like the band is looking for some distribution for their third album (their second, Tall-Tale Storyline, is amazing), and no one is willing to give them a spot on their roster. So in the extremely likely event that any of you 57 readers both owns and operates a psych-rock label, please get in contact with this band, post-haste.
Here is a quote from Brian McTear (guitarist of Mazarin, main guy in Bitter, Bitter Weeks, and producer extraordinaire), courtesy of an interview with ShinyGun: [I'm excited about] Mazarin's third album (which was finished about a year ago, but there's still no release scheduled). This is Quentin [Stoltzfus]'s best record, in my opinion. I hope to god it finds its way to the public soon. When we did our first record together, Quentin, Sean and I barely knew one another, and we were pretty innocent to the music world. Nonetheless, it was the first record from Philadelphia that I can remember making an impact outside the city. ... The newest one was an excellent return to the old days. It was back to the original threesome, plus bassist Mike Walker. I think we felt a lot older and wiser (only four years later) and made it with very little care for what would come of it. It also has appearances by Kurt from the Lilys, Don from Icarus Line and Walt from the Walkmen. Now I just want people to hear what we did. [BUY ALL THEIR ALBUMS HERE]
Posted by matt at September 20, 2004 08:00 AM