Big Thief's Buck Meek on embracing joy in dark times on new solo album 'The Mirror'

This week we're doing something a little different. Dave and Bill talked to Mikey B Rishwain, who has been programming the M for Montreal Festival and industry conference for nearly two decades. BrooklynVegan first went to M in 2008 and we've been collaborating ever since, co-presenting showcases and day parties at SXSW, CMJ, M for Montreal and more. M for Montreal celebrated its 20th anniversary last November and BrooklynVegan had a showcase to kick off the festival. It was at another M showcase that caused the most buzz, however, and that's one of the reasons we wanted to talk to Mikey on the show. We're talking about a certain French-Canadian polka-dotted math-rock duo, Angine de Poitrine, who may have flooded your Instagram and other social feeds. We get into that, and also talk about Montreal bands who should've been bigger, Canadian hockey, Heated Rivalry and Wolf Parade, and more. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

This week we're talking to Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek who's fourth solo album, The Mirror, is out this week via 4AD. It was made with Big Thief drummer James Krivchenia in the producer's chair and together they envisioned a joyous rock record with an ambient sound design that really gives the album a unique sound.    Our discussion gets into the production of the album and how guitarist Adam Brisbin played a major role in the way it sounds, embracing hope in dark times, plus the many guests on The Mirror including Adrianne Lenker, Jolie Holland and more. We also talk about Buck's new band Kisser which is led by his partner, Germaine Dunes, his upcoming tour plans, five records he thinks everyone should own, a little food talk, and more.   -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

This week we're talking to Euan Manning of Irish band Cardinals who just released their terrific debut album Masquerade. We talk about the band's unique sound, which hinges on his brother Finn's accordion playing, and making their album at London's RAK Studios with producer Shrink.   Other topics of conversation include: getting to open for The Pogues in Boston and being part of Fontaines DC's massive show at London's Finsbury Park in 2025, the current music scene in Cork, their first trip to New York, five albums he thinks everyone should own, and more. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

This week we're talking to indiepop legends Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey whose bands include Talulah Gosh, Marine Research and Heavenly who this month will release their first album in over 30 years. It's titled Highway to Heavenly and is out via the Skep Wax, the label they run together.    Our hourlong conversation covers a lot of ground, including the new album, how TikTok turned their '90s song "P.U.N.K. Girl" into a 2020s viral hit, being part of the International Pop Underground, how Amelia's career as an economist came in handy for indie bands on streaming services, Heavenly's upcoming North American tour, their label Skep Wax, the dreaded "T" Word, and more. Lots more.   Pick up the all-Heavenly issue of Jane Duffus' Zine Things Happen we mention near the end of the episode here. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

This week we're talking to UK band Dry Cleaning who just released their excellent third album Secret Love via 4AD. We've got all four members with us: vocalist Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, bassist Lewis Maynard, and drummer Nick Buxton. We talked about making the album with producer Cate Le Bon and recording at Wilco's Loft Studio in Chicago and at Black Box studios in France's Loire Valley.   Florence tells us about her decision to sing more on Secret Love, and other topics of discussion include: their upcoming North American tour that had to be rescheduled, the Grammy-winning but polarizing artwork for 2022's Stumpwork and the uncanny artwork of the new album, and their first visit to the US which happened days before covid lockdown in 2020. Plus: a surprising amount of talk about food, albums they think everyone should own, and things devolve into chaos when Lewis accidentally knocks his laptop off his coffee table. It's one of a few wild moments that make this episode extra fun. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

This week we're talking to Ryan and Gary Jarman, two thirds of long-running Wakefield, UK sibling trio The Cribs. They just released Selling a Vibe, their terrific ninth album and first in five years, which they made in Brooklyn with Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift as producer. It debuted at #5 on the UK album charts so congrats Cribs on that. We discussed the new album and how having a long pause between records actually made it better. We also talked about The Cribs recent US tour with The Rapture, some of their earliest New York shows, the CMJ festival, how both Ryan and Gary live in the US now -- New York and Portland respectively -- plus Johnny Marr, Janet Weiss, reality television and more. One note: due to some technical difficulties our conversation gets cut off a little early but there is still plenty to listen to. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

This week we're talking to Jason Williamson, head shouter for UK duo Sleaford Mods. The band just released their 13th album, The Demise of Planet X and we talk about making that one and the large cast of guests involved, including actress Gwendoline Christie, Adlous Harding and Life Without Buildings singer Sue Tompkins.  Other topics of discussion include the state of the world and its influence on the album, the Sex Pistols and The Specials, Jason's creative process with bandmate-slash-producer Andrew Fearn, his burgeoning acting career, five records he thinks everyone should own, and more. It's a fun, if expletive filled, conversation - but fans of Sleaford Mods should expect no less. -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

Flogging Molly leader Dave King opens up for the first time about the traumatic brain injury that he suffered earlier this year that doctors say nearly ended his life. He was told by doctors as he was leaving the hospital that he was a “miracle.” During our conversation, Dave spoke about the scary incident that required him to undergo three brain surgeries and led to him spending three weeks in a coma, and the road to recovery he’s been on every since. His mood was nothing but positive and uplifting, and he says that, considering what he’s gone through, he’s doing really well. As he steadily recovers, he’s preparing to make his return to the stage at the October 2026 edition of Flogging Molly’s Salty Dog Cruise. He also mentioned potential plans to play Warped Tour in 2026 and he told us that he’s already been writing new Flogging Molly songs. He also reminisced about the band’s memorable first Warped Tour appearance, working with Steve Albini, and more. ** Credits: Hosted & produced by Andrew Sacher Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein Cover photo by James Richards IV

This episode is a little different as we're talking to three of the people behind new film GAME. It's the first feature from Invada Films, the movie arm of Invada Records, the label co-founded by Geoff Barrow of Portishead and Beak>. Barrow has scored many films and TV  series over the last 15 years, including Ex Machina, Annihilation and more but this is his first foray as a producer and co-writer. Helping him out are two old friends and collaborators -- director John Minton who has done live visuals and videos for Portishead, and artist and actor Marc Bessant who did the album cover for the second Portishead album.  Both Marc and John also get story credit for GAME, which is a thriller set against the early '90s rave scene. Marc plays David an aging partier who crashes his car in rural England after a rave and is found by a poacher in the woods played with menace and humor by Sleaford Mods frontman Jason Williamson. Things do not go as you might expect and we'll leave it at that. We talked to Geoff, John and Marc about the film, the difficulties of making it with a very small budget, writing new '90s-sounding acid house songs for the soundtrack, and more. Plus Geoff talks about his final tour with Beak> which wrapped up earlier this year, what's next for Invada, the future of Portishead, and lots more. Just so you know, we keep the first half of our conversation spoiler free but at the 34 minute mark we do start talking about specifics of the film, so if you haven't seen GAME skip ahead to the 54:40 minute mark for talk of Portishead, Beak>, and more.   -- Credits: Hosted & produced by Bill Pearis Mixed and mastered by Nick Gray Theme music by Michael Silverstein

Have you subscribed to BV Weekly yet? BrooklynVegan now has two podcasts! There's this one, BV Interviews (formerly known as The BrooklynVegan Show), as well as BV Weekly, a recently launched podcast in which BV founder Dave Levine and longtime editor (and original BV Interviews host) Andrew Sacher chat weekly about the biggest stories and trending topics in music, new albums, live shows, and more. New episodes go up every Friday morning. Like and subscribe now! https://linktr.ee/bvweekly