Athens, GA post-punks Pylon called it quits when guitarist Randall Bewley died in 2009, but for the last decade singer Vanessa Briscoe Hay has led Pylon Reenactment Society, that includes Kay Stanton, Jason NeSmith and Gregory Sanders, who all also play in Casper & The Cookies. The group perform Pylon songs as well as new ones in the spirit of the old band.
Produced by Briscoe Hay and NeSmith and recorded by former Sugar bassist David Barbe (Drive by Truckers), the band’s debut album, Magnet Factory, features nine originals — including “Fix It” featuring The B-52s‘ Kate Pierson — and two unrecorded Pylon songs from the group’s earliest days. The album’s out tomorrow, but we’re premiering a stream of the whole thing now. Listen below.
We also asked PRS to tell us more about the album, and Vanessa, Jason, Gregory and Kay take us through every song. Read their commentary below.
Pylon Reenactment Society play a record release show in Athens at Hendershot’s on Friday (2/9) with Organically Programmed Orchestra. They’ll also be at SXSW.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtkzRaLHnicuz-QEUm9cC4Tp_dl1FGSjQ
MAGNET FACTORY – SONG BY SONG
As told by Pylon Reenactment Society
1.SPIRAL
Vanessa: Album overtures with circular ambiguous layers of vocals that welcome the listener. I’m here.
Jason: All of the material PRS wrote for the album sprung from collaborative instant writing and significant editing, but for Spiral much remains intact. It’s an embryonic song.
Gregory: Like waking up. Might make this my wake-up alarm tone.
Kay: With endings come new beginnings.
2.EDUCATE ME
Gregory: Dub flavored frontend, razor thin guitar lines and mood galore as that one note bassline picks up a couple more notes and some Mick Karn slink before the chorus drop which feels like driving out of a long tunnel and being blinded by the sunny Swiss Alps.
Vanessa: Spoken vocals which develop into an anthemic sing along with backing vocals by Kay Stanton. Perhaps it’s magic, not tragic.
Jason: Writing this song taught me the most about how to simplify. It starts violently and remains caught between two realities.
Kay: There’s always something new to learn.
3. FLOWERS EVERYWHERE
Jason: Some of my favorite Vanessa lyrics are on this one.
Gregory: Lyrically my favorite track here. It’s my story as well as countless others. Athens has always been a magnet for “angels from nowhere,” kids from the sticks who found a community.
Kay: Your people are out there. Sometimes you just have to take a journey to find them.
Vanessa: That bass is joined by delicious pop guitar and drums topped by hopefully inspiring vocals giving both the viewpoint of the protagonist and some friendly advice. Don’t be afraid.
4. MESSENGER
Vanessa: One of my favorite songs to sing. A supple bass line is capped with deconstructed guitar and a big drum beat. War and peace. Sending love to you.
Kay: Communication is king.
Gregory: Vanessa in the last minute of this track is pure FIRE! Her take here was supposed to be the scratch track. As you can hear, that take was so insane we kept it.
Jason: An earlier version with a larger production served as our first release of original
music, a 7″ on Chunklet Records in 2018. This one is leaner.
5. 3 x 3
Vanessa: A lost gem written by Pylon in 1979 and never recorded in a studio. I saw you at a party…
Kay: The woozy drunk feeling of dancing at a party with your friends and crushes.
Gregory: Such a Pylon track. Designed like architecture (three lines x three times). Brutal and short. So stoked to record an OG Pylon track.
Jason: Randy Bewley used to include it on compilations of his favorite Pylon outtakes. PRS put our own spin on it, but the composition is so sleek I believe our result is close to what Pylon would have recorded.
6. FIX IT
Kay: We live in a throw away society, so let’s fix it.
Vanessa: If Pylon, Patti Smith Group and the Feelies had a baby, it might be this song. It’s a kinetic tribute to those who teach us how to fix it. Shero Kate Pierson joins me for a duet. I’ve been a fan of the B-52s since I first saw them at the Last Resort. About a year ago at the final date of their last tour in Athens, GA, I had the idea that Kate would be a perfect fit on “Fix It” — we had just finished laying down the tracks for our album and were due in the studio the following week to mix it. I got up the nerve to ask her if she would as we were saying goodbye. She said yes and recorded it the next week. Kate’s timing is perfect—her vocal track was delivered five minutes after we had finished mixing the rest of the album. We were “over the moon” when we heard her vocals.
Jason: Credit should be given to David Barbe for telling us to persevere with this one. Kate’s vocal, which seems practically central to the arrangement, was not even a
consideration until everything else was recorded. That’s how good she is. I like the way this song plays with extended tension/release.
Gregory: When the tempo changes and you hear the clanging metal, among the various lawnmower blades you can hear the repetitive opening and slamming of the tailgate of
my 2010 Toyota Tacoma.
7. BOOM BOOM
Vanessa: It could be a pop song about texting and the joys of overcoming boredom. Overheard conversation at the next diner booth — get a room.
Jason: My favorite memory of this is Kay and I sitting down to come up with the bass and guitar parts. I think there’s a touch of Keith Richards in my lines here to go with Vanessa’s lyrics.
Gregory: All about that bassline! Favorite lyric: “HAVEN’T YOU HEARD ABOUT CANDYYYY!!!!!!” I remember having the best time working out that ending.
Kay: Sometimes you’ve just got to do it.
8. HEAVEN (IN YOUR EYES)
Jason: This is one we knew we should record with Tom Ashton.
Vanessa: Another unrecorded 1979 gem by Pylon. A bit glam— twisty drums don’t mislead while the bass drives the engine. The guitar attacks, swoops and even solos
while the vocals alternately are drawn to and admonish a possible crush.
Gregory: Pylon stomping the loud-quiet-loud formula a decade early. Goes from Vanessa screaming in your face to Jason setting the controls for the heart of the sun
and back.
Kay: Beauty is pain and pain can be beautiful. The guitar solo makes me cry.
9. NO WORRIES
Kay: Take a breath and move away from your frustrations just for a bit.
Vanessa: A weird little springy interlude which asks us to seek facts not fears. What’s the fuss about?
Gregory: There’s a dance I do that I can only do to songs like this. Imagine Ian Curtis doing the “running man”. You should see me…actually, no, you shouldn’t.
Jason: This one popped out fully formed. The very moment of inspiration is still intact.
10. COMPRESSION
Vanessa: Time traveling via the standard rock and roll equipment of guitar, bass, drums and vocals. We exist on top of layers of time and in space. Are we there yet?
Kay: Hurry up and wait.
Gregory: To me this is the center, it’s our sound. It’s all here. This is us.
Jason: The previous lineup of PRS released a version of this song. We wanted to make sure this album represented the band as it is. There’s a wild eleven minute version I’ d like to see released one day.
11. I’LL LET YOU KNOW
Vanessa: Tense, laid back instrumentation iced with my heartfelt vocals inspired by Fado — a Portuguese genre of music meaning fate. When the curtains close, we all have
to go.
Jason: An atypical closing to mirror Spiral’s opening. The only instance of an acoustic guitar on the album. There are none in Pylon’s catalog. Both romantic and militaristic, this to me is the most daring track on the album.
Gregory: One of my favorite memories of recording was sitting in the room with Jason while he laid down all those guitar parts. The demo was skeletal but this feels lush, even with that old Korg Minipops snare. It’s a nice come-down at the end of the album.
Kay: When it’s time for me to go, you’ll be the first to know.
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