it feels like we’ve moved past the era of tiny record labels putting exotic american towns onto the indie-rock map with a canon of music that feels broadly appealing in a contemporary way, yet possesses a distinct touch shared by most of its roster that unquestionably aligns it with the individual or individuals who curate that canon—individuals who either have deep connections within the music community or a certain cult appeal that’s permitted them to release 7-inches and/or reissues for much more prominent names, such as xiu xiu or jason molina.
saddle creek is always the first label that comes to mind when i think of this phenomenon, and it’s perhaps no coincidence that that label has plenty of overlap with the equally folk-curious graveface records, originally launched out of chicago yet more aesthetically based in its future home of savannah, georgia. it’s the passion project of former black moth super rainbow member ryan graveface, who, as a producer on a considerable chunk of the label’s output, has managed to inject a healthy amount of that collective’s take on indie pop that’s been soaked in acid and left to ripen in the garage alongside boxes of r. crumb comics. naturally, the faint’s todd fink and his wife orenda released their collaborative debut on the label, while plenty of the other graveface artists seem plenty inspired by the latter fink’s haunted work with and without maria taylor.
although graveface is still a functioning label (now largely based in chicago again, along with a brick-and-mortar shop/museum) whose roster seems to be adjusting to remain relevant genre-wise, there isn’t a whole lot in their discography that feels dated beyond a handful of records from the early 2010s that mine the specific sense of earnestness possessed by that period’s indie-folk songwriters. meanwhile, space rock, slowcore, and dream pop all seem like constants dating back to the label’s launch in 2000—when these subgenres had mostly fallen out of fashion—with their current roster proving a healthy balance of stalwarts among these subgenres and younger artists representing their next, queerer wave of popularity. there’s even a screamo band in the mix.
although it doesn’t appear as if most of the artists signed to the label were ever based in savannah, the most overt connective tissue between hip-hop releases and slowdive offshoots is an eerie—if not downright spectral—aesthetic that seems like it might come naturally to one of the most haunted towns in america (and i’m not even thinking of the near-novelty of the marshmallow ghosts, one of ryan graveface’s many musical outlets that essentially makes background music for halloween parties). far more so than saddle creek, there’s something nearly imperceptible that binds the majority of these releases to each other, as if they were all recorded in the same studio under the watch of the same ghosts that inhabited it before them.
it’s been interesting, then, to listen to all of these artists within the context of each other as i have for the past few months. i wanted to share some thoughts i’ve had between the unexpectedly slim volume of GFR releases i’ve listened to in full over the years and some of the ones i have on deck. if i’m taking nothing else away from doing so, it’s that i’ve begun to hear jason molina’s influence on some of jamie stewart’s music.
logged graveface listens
hospital ships, oh, ramona (2008) piano-centric appleseed cast side-project bringing a barely perceptible edge to indie-pop, as hinted at with an opening track called “bitter radio single” that balances the whimsical sound of accordion against a very intentionally-uttered four-letter word. i don’t think this has aged particularly well between some borderline-cancelable lyrics and the late-2000s twee-pop sound—it conceptually feels like a much more earnest version of ben folds. i also recall getting hospital ships mixed up with menomena’s pianist’s solo project, ramona falls (no thanks to this album title), but i think intuit had a little more depth. really brings me back to the period circa 2011 when i’d spend weekends scouring reckless records’ $1 CDs, mostly settling on stuff i’d barely heard of that inevitably sounded a whole lot like this. in fact, that’s probably literally why i have this album in my library.
the casket girls, true love kills the fairy tale (2014) revisited this last year for the 2014 recap, but this album might be the perfect illustration of graveface as a more giddily haunted version of what saddle creek established several years before them: it feels like orenda fink’s gothy concept of indie-pop from the post-beach house era refitted to better suit black moth super rainbow’s overt sense of weirdness. even if ryan graveface was heavily involved with this record (from what i’ve heard of their prior discography, the pre-gravefaced stuff was much more closely aligned with what au revoir simone was doing), how much of his influence could possibly skew a recording by twin sisters who allegedly penned the entire LP in a catatonic state neither claims to remember?
serengeti & sicker man, doctor my own patience (2016) it took a moment for me to connect with this album at the peak of my serengeti fandom if only because it followed his 2013 album with sicker man (also via graveface) which fell pretty flat for me. i think the oblique electronica and orchestral instrumentation made saal come across as a bit pretentious, while geti’s characteristically doomy lyrics made for an odd pairing—this feels like the direct opposite of that energy, from its upbeat lyrics and near-synthpop instrumentals to its punning album title. feels like another character geti’s doing to displace his grief a la kenny dennis, but instead of a prototypical chicago sports fan it’s like…the subject of a luxury car commercial who is quite possibly european, if the europop leitmotif is to be believed, and who rents fancy hotel rooms to go a little bit nuts in.
closeness, personality therapy (2017) an even more explicit overlap with saddle creek is this one-off EP from the faint’s todd fink and azure ray’s orenda fink (it’s not a ramones thing—they’re married), which is a less-gothy version of the electronic/new wave influence both songwriters tend to lean into (orenda with O+S, specifically). kinda funny hearing todd’s (heavily-vocoded) voice on something that sounds this 2010s-via-1980s, given how hard the faint managed to fend off trends in indie rock throughout their run, though this is still far too weird to be reduced to any generic “synthpop” or “indietronica” tag—“early black” sounds a lot like the knife, for example. i think i accidentally got an exclusive on this in 2014 during my first-ever interview when i asked todd why he’s never collaborated with his wife and he just went “uhhhhhh.”
tennis system, lovesick (2019) hard to say whether this is a bit redundant from the perspective of 2025 or more apt for discovery than it was upon its release, but i’m glad i got to spend some time with this album prior to the over-shoegaze-ification of music in the 2020s. kinda drafts off the success whirr were coasting on before they were (presumably) nixed from the graveface roster as all that ugly transphobic stuff was going down, though the instrumental outro to “shelf life” reminds me of a pop-punkier, more compact version of guilty of everything.
on-the-docket listens
the appleseed cast, middle states (2011) can’t say i was entirely clear on what this band’s whole deal was before, but their evident deep ties to graveface only further obscures that. this track is like midwest emo done up as post-rock, and it isn’t even spooky?
beachy head, beachy head (2021) offshoot of the slowdive offshoot i mentioned in the intro, featuring a member of wayne coyne’s nephew’s band. sounds a lot like monster movie (said offshoot)’s dream pop with more emphasis on atmospherics.
blind mr. jones, stereo musicale retrospective (2017) vintage shoegaze pull from the label’s canon of reissues that may have caught graveface’s attention with the track “spooky vibes.” as a digital music consumer i’m a big advocate of bandcamp-accessible re-releases like this, but i don’t understand why this one—effectively the band’s 1992 debut padded out with EP cuts and demos—is only available with its 22 tracks lumped into what are presumably six vinyl sides?
dreamend, as if by ghosts… (2004) chicago-era graveface band that seems like it’s been one of the label’s most consistent draws over the past quarter century. later stuff gets a bit twee for my taste, but i like the early slowcore/post-rock stuff.
the fever haze, moonbow (2024) nu-gen shoegaze that reflects the morbid sounds of greet death, which may or may not be due to their vocalist being poached by greet death prior to this album dropping.
the holy ghost tabernacle choir, slow murder (2022) the screamo band i mentioned in the intro, which also appears to be the rare artist local to savannah. possibly exactly what you’d expect from a band with post-hardcore song titles like “unawarewolf” and guest features from members of soul glo and gillian carter.
monster movie, all lost (2006) again, the aforementioned slowdive offshoot, which seems to dabble in a poppier vein of shoegaze and also, evidently, was just a british version of low at some point.
the nighty nite, dimples (2011) antonoff excluded, i’m always fascinated to hear the obscure bands that in-demand producers once fronted. this is one of a few projects helmed by john congleton, the producer of seemingly every major-event indie rock album of past 15 years or so, and apparently an absolute freak. he’s from denton, go figure.
shouldies, :) (2019) seemingly the label’s biggest chaos agent: “queer american” alone lands somewhere between wet from birth and dogsbody—and that’s before the beat switch.
sondra sun-odeon, desire (2019) a deep cut from the growing canon of deep-woods, witchy post-metal for which emma ruth rundle, zola jesus, and chelsea wolfe serve as figureheads.
spires that in the sunset rise, s/t (2004) i guess i’m mostly including this as an inside-baseball reference for the true nu-freak-folk freaks, but this track is a dead-ringer for that last prewn album.
the stargazer lilies, we are the dreamers (2013) occabot is a classic of post-BMSR psychgaze, though apparently stargazer lilies released it following their stint with graveface. so i’m including another record here, which i assume is also good.
ten in the swear jar, an complete fort awesome recordings (2019) similar to blind mr. jones, this re-release package for jamie stewart’s old band combines their sole LP with various other recordings, though gracefully includes individual tracks. “sad girl” is a perfect pop song.
xiu xiu, nina (2013) i love black midi.