No Mercy

Last week, I finished a two-year contract at work. This position was a good get for me, was the first thing I did out of grad school, and will surely lead to more things down the road, but for now, I have time to myself.

Leading up to the end of the contract was a very busy time, we had to get our new exhibition in order, as well as all of the programs that went with it. Artists were hard to deal with and poets even more so and then before I knew it I was training my replacement. It was kind of a whirlwind month in which I experienced everything I loved about the job, everything that made it worthwhile, and everything I hated in rapid-fire succession, with each change not lasting long but making up for that in intensity. People said goodbye and thanked me and the machine of the gallery kept moving on at its usual boulder falling down a mountain pace.

Now I'm working part-time at that same gallery, but in a reduced role and with much more say over what and when I do things. I'm taking a bunch of time off for myself so that I can, hopefully, for fuck sakes, finally finish my second zine (which is in the final stages of editing) and then move on to the third one I'm currently planning.

I'm still figuring what I want to say and where I'll send up saying it. Here? In a zine? In a story? Hopefully all of them.

I don't have much else to say, so I thought I would leave you with two albums I really enjoyed listening to this morning.

First up is Dan P and the Bricks' second record When We Were Fearless. I adored the first one and played the shit out if it, so I was shocked to find out that I missed the release of this one this past February. Almost all ska that has come out this decade has been either a lazy effort from a washed up old band or a similarly lazy effort from a new band aping an old band. I say almost, because every now and then a record like this one comes out and reminds exactly why I love this genre so much. A huge band that gives the songs a trad feel without really dipping into that category and really great songwriting by Dan. Asian Man Records is lowkey in the pantheon of best ever labels. Love this one.



Secondly, I revisited Young Guv's album from 2015 Ripe 4 Luv and it holds up so damn well. So dreamy and dancy, with great guitar hooks too. Imagine if all dreampop was this good?