Arts & Culture

5 songs to discover in San Diego in December

By Julia Dixon Evans / Arts Reporter/Podcast Host

Published December 1, 2021 at 2:46 PM PST

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Speaker 1: (00:00)

Each month, K PBS arch producer and editor, Julia Dixon Evans brings five songs to our attention for us to listen to including new tracks by locals or from bands coming to town on tour. And she joins us with her music picks for the month of December. Julia. Welcome.

Speaker 2: (00:17)

Hi Jade. Thanks for having me. So

Speaker 1: (00:18)

First up we have a San Diego band called the phases with their track remote control. Tell us about them,

Speaker 2: (00:25)

The phases. They're having a bit of a moment right now. They went on tour with beach goons earlier this fall and played shows across the country, including to a packed house at the observatory here. And they also just played with inflorescence last week at the loft at U C S D. And they're gonna play soda bar with the have nots on December 30th. And I love their sound. It's kind of a mix of, of lofi grit. Along with sweetness. It's kind of like a nostalgic yearning that definitely betrays their youth. And they recently put out a new single called remote control. The lyrics are equal parts, angry, fed up and a bit dystopic nursery rhyme like the lyrics. The jester lost his hand in the court. The king won't listen anymore. And it it's like this fuzzy synth out pop song. It's perfectly grungy.

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Look,

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That's remote control by the phases and playing soda bar. This coming weekend on Saturday is another artist from your list, Juliana Zacharia. She has a new track called she tell us why she wrote this song.

Speaker 2: (01:57)

Yeah, so Juliana Zacharia told me that this song is about how she wishes. She had come out to her parents and just kind of the strangeness of having to come out in the first place. She said that she had played this song on tour recently, and that the energy in the room absolutely transformed when the song would be played. It's about how being gay is not the life her parents wanted for her. But the difference is quote, just an S in front of the H and the E the song overall feels really Anthem, but also super intimate and personal from her own lived experience. And I especially adore that repeated line. Love is bigger than fear. Why do you think I'm here? I saw Julian Zach to play live in July, and it was such a joyous earnest and really fun show. So I can't wait to see her again on Saturday, she's working on a new album, which is expected to be out in the spring. And this single is the latest little taste of that album

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Love

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That was Juliana Zack R with she next, we head down to south bay to hear from Chula Vista's Los saints. They'll play a show on December 14th, also at soda bar. Let's hear their track. I'm in need,

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Baby fizzled, get better. Now that you are paying me attentions and things. Ain't right. This I,

Speaker 2: (03:56)

So Louis saints has the super melodic sound. I've seen them described as bedroom pop, which is kind of a genre defying sound known for intimacy or minimalism. And there's a ton of emotion in this, and just a little bit of an edge. I really like this single from 2020 called I'm in need. And they release this along with a bunch of other pandemic fueled projects, like in this burst of creativity, including a three part song cycle with music videos for each one, but I'm in need is about not really feeling like everything is perfect, but that it's okay. It's a relatively quiet tune with a lot of ache and definitely some solid and Los saints will play with three LH at soda bar on Tuesday.

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And that's Los saints with I'm in need now for your out of town, pick Oakland band fearing who are coming to town Sunday night, tell us about their latest, full length album and, uh, one of their singles pictured. Perfect.

Speaker 2: (05:05)

Yeah, fearing is a pretty goth post punk band. They kind of build on all of the members, former punk band chops, but then it all is kinda washed out with a, with a mellower darker mood, a little bit like shoe gaze. And I instantly thought of former local soft kill or blood ponies when I heard fearing and they put out an album in 2020 called shadow. One of my favorite tracks from there pictured perfect is this devastating sprawling and cinematic song, not just in the sound, but in the lyrics too. There's some really great scene setting in their songwriting and they're on tour right now and coming to soda bar on Sunday, performing with tennis system,

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The,

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That was pictured perfect by Oakland band fearing. And finally Oceanside's own. Shane hall is your next pick with his song life up

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Never. It's been since I live real distance, the real

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Jane Hall will be playing the CA by this Friday, December 10th. Talk to us about this

Speaker 2: (06:57)

Pick Shane hall is a blues and soul powerhouse. He recently put out a live album and then a brand new video for this track life up. And it's the very first glimpse we've had of his forthcoming release. It's an EP called the slow, and it's something like a detour from his more rock blue sound, but the energy still comes through. It's paired down with the Sonic backdrop, the FCI harmonies and descants, and then this, this dash of heartbreak. It really is a gorgeous track. And I can't wait to hear the rest of the EP for Friday show at the Kaba. Shane hall will be playing with the great Jake NA in the moment of truth, chunky hustle, brass band, and Emily Afton.

Speaker 1: (07:42)

You can find a playlist of all these songs and details on the concerts at our website. I've been speaking with KPBS arts producer and editor, Julia Dixon Evans. Julia, thank you.

Speaker 2: (07:53)

Thanks so much, Jade.

Speaker 3: (07:59)

The.

San Diego band The Fazes are shown in an undated photo.

We're listening to new music from locals The Fazes, Shane Hall, Julianna Zachariou and Los Saints, plus touring band Fearing — all playing shows this month.

'Remote Control' by The Fazes

The Fazes, a San Diego based-band, is having quite a season. They recently performed to a packed house at The Observatory, opening for Beach Goons, and they have two shows on the books this month. The first is at The Loft at UC San Diego, alongside The Inflorescence, Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. They'll also play Soda Bar with Havnauts later in the month, on Dec. 30.

The Fazes just released a new single this September, "Remote Control," which is a fuzzy, synthed-out grungy pop song. I love the lo-fi nostalgia that shines through, and the lyrics are equal parts angry, fed up and dystopic nursery rhyme. There's something tragic and yearning in this track, and all of their stuff.

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'Life Up' by Shane Hall

Hailing from Oceanside, blues and soul powerhouse Shane Hall has recently released both a live album and a new video for a track from his forthcoming EP. "Life Up" is the first taste we've had of "The Slow EP," and it's gorgeous. It feels something like a detour from his energetic blues and rock sound, with falsetto harmonies and descants that suggest a bit of Bon Iver, a pared down sonic backdrop and heartbreaking lyrics. Hall's mesmerizing R&B vocals tie it all together. I can't wait for the rest of the EP, or his show at the Casbah on Dec. 10, alongside Jake Najor and the Moment of Truth, Chunky Hustle Brass Band and Emily Afton.

'(S)he' by Julianna Zachariou

Could you list off the best concerts of your life? Maybe it was because Julianna Zachariou at Soda Bar last July was my first show back post-pandemic (not counting an accidental Led Zeppelin cover band I walked in on), but it was also probably the most joyous, hopeful, earnest and fun show I've ever been to. And lucky for all of us (me), to support Downers on tour, Zachariou returns to Soda Bar Dec. 11 with some incredible new singles in her back pocket. Her latest release is "(S)he," which is an intimately personal retrospective on coming out.

I adore the repeated line, "Love is bigger than fear / Love is bigger than fear / Love is bigger than fear / Why do you think I'm here?"

"I played ["S(he)"] to so many different rooms on this recent tour and you could feel the energy shift into something really exciting every time I did," Zachariou recently told me. "It is about how I wish I came out to my parents. It's also about how it's just kind of silly that we have to come out at all."

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'I'm in Need' by Los Saints

Chula Vista rockers Los Saints will play a show at Soda Bar on Dec. 14 with 3LH. They have a melodic pop-tinged sound with a mix of grit and genuine emotion. I'm especially drawn to the single "I'm in Need," a 2020 release, which came out in a flurry of pandemic activity from the band, including a three-part song cycle (the tracks "It's Easier When You Jump," "A17" and "As Bad as the First.") Combined with a steady string of shows this fall, keep your eye out for an album or EP on the horizon. For a special treat, check out their recent lyric video for "It's Easier When You Jump," filmed in Chula Vista.

'Pictured Perfect' by Fearing

The Oakland-based post-punk band Fearing formed about five years ago, feeding on each band member's former punk chops but also washing everything in a darker, mellower mood, almost shoegaze. I love "Pictured Perfect," one of the singles from their 2020 full-length album, "Shadow." It's sprawling and cinematic, both sonically and in the lyrics. The band has such a knack for writing intensely specific and evocative narrative scenes, and this is a devastating glimpse into a kind of numbness that's somewhere between resignation and — unexpectedly — empowerment. Ideal for fans of former locals Soft Kill or Blood Ponies. Fearing is touring California this month so you can immerse yourself in some goth music on Dec. 12 at Soda Bar (in support of Tennis System).

You can find a Spotify playlist of some of these songs here, or follow KPBS on Spotify for more playlists.