Produced by Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky), “A
Loupe” continues in the tradition UNCUT called “a mark of excellence in modern
Americana.”
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Margaret
Chavez (Marcus William Striplin) as photographed by Marcus William Striplin.
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PLAY, POST
& SHARE
“Whirring, lush sonics.” – Speak Into My Good Eye
Listen to “Call For Cull” from “A
Loupe” by Margaret Chavez via Speak Into My Good Eye or at the
links below.
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[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXEqcfYet3g
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Margaret Chavez – Live
12/14/2017: Austin, TX @ Cactus Cafe
1/26/2018: Fort Worth, TX @ Twilite Lounge
1/27/2018: Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silverleaf
1/28/2018: Deep Ellum, TX @ Twilite Lounge
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About Margaret Chavez:
“A
Loupe” is a 32-minute,
continuously mixed ten-track song cycle arriving under the name Margaret Chavez, a pseudonym that acts
a memorial tribute to the mother of the album’s creator, Austin-based
songwriter, Marcus William Striplin.
Striplin’s name is familiar to anyone who has followed the
indie rock scene that emerged out of Texas in the early 2000’s, specifically
Dallas, where Striplin co-founded
the band named after the suburb Pleasant
Grove in 1999.
In its relatively brief half-decade-or-so initial run,
Pleasant Grove earned praise for the
“simmering psychedelia” (KUTX, 98.9)
of its “songs of broken hearts and broken voices” (Dallas Observer) that, according to MOJO, mixed the “down and out ache of Texas country as well as the
sonic outbursts of Neil Young.” In a
four-star review, UNCUT dubbed Pleasant Grove a “mark of excellence
in modern Americana.”
Whether or not Pleasant
Grove broke-up or went on hiatus is irrelevant now, because in 2016,
working with Grammy-winning producer Stuart
Sikes (Loretta Lynn, White Stripes, Cat Power), the band completed and released the album that it had
abandoned ten years earlier.
Right on cue, the newly completed “old” album The
Heart Contortionists reminded listeners of what they loved about Pleasant Grove – a folk band’s command
of melody with a psych band’s command of reverb – and quickly drew the same
kind of love that the band had walked away from a decade prior.
Consequence of Sound called Pleasant
Grove’s return “triumphant,” the glossy Dallas-based monthly D Magazine proclaimed The
Heart Contortionists “beautiful,” describing songs with “an intensity
that sneaks up on you and a heat that never goes away,” and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram summed things
up with a nod to Striplin
specifically, saying Pleasant Grove’s
“melancholy folk-rock, blessed with shadows, brass and Striplin’s plaintive voice — are breathtaking.”
Two years later, Striplin
has made a record that surpasses his best work.
“A
Loupe” is everything a fan of Striplin’s songwriting and arrangement
ideas (here realized by visionary producer, Erik Wofford [Explosions In
The Sky, The Black Angels])
would expect and more. With the very personal context of a solo album to work
in, the work is indeed, very personal, and “A Loupe” is better for this
controlled creative environment.
“‘Call For Cull’ is a dystopian dance
song that I wrote days after the election,” Striplin says of the album’s first single, premiered
yesterday via music discovery site Speak
Into My Good Eye. “I took a long walk and it kinda washed over me, this
idea that modern civility could just roll over and die and that a new way of
life could begin if we didn’t swivel our heads on straight and practice empathy
and kindness.”
“A
Loupe” by Margaret Chavez (Marcus
William Striplin) arrives on Jan. 19th,
2018 via Goliad Media Group. Striplin is available for interviews.
Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
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Margaret Chavez
“A
Loupe”
(Goliad Media Group)
Jan. 19th, 2018
Track Listing:
01. Boy Mumble
02. American Fashion
03. Gone Gone Gone
04. Call For Cull (YOUTUBE |
SOUNDCLOUD
| MP3)
05. A Loupe
06. Grackles and Crows
07. Strange Bouy’s
08. Black Ambulance
09. Two Talons
10. Missing People
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Margaret Chavez Links
ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : BANDCAMP : GOLIAD MEDIA GROUP
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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion
