Tonight’s selections are from Morgan and the Organ Donors’ 2023 debut album, M.O.D.s. One of my top ten albums of 2023. First published in October 2023. Another repost, plan to have something new next week. Happy Thanksgiving!
The M.O.D.s are rockers. There are many storied tales of bands discovered in some forgotten record crate but no such tales of one in such plain sight.
Morgan and the Organ Donors have been playing almost exclusively at one lone Olympia bar every December for the last decade. Featuring Tobi Vail (Bikini Kill, Frumpies, Spider and the Webs and The Real Distractions) as well as scene stalwarts James Maeda, Olivia Ness (C.O.C.O.) and vocalist Sara Peté.
This release continues the rich tradition of DIY bands crafting instant pop hits entirely on their own terms, which has long been the hallmark of the Olympia Underground. — K Records
Letter
SUPERGROUP ALERT!!! Morgan and the Organ Donors consists of Bikini Kill’s Tobi Vail, C.O.C.O’s Olivia Ness along with James Maeda and Sara Peté. “Letter” is their second single, and it’s reverb-heavy, power-pop meets country piece of hooky goodness. Maybe it’s the name of the song that forced me to think of Alex Chilton, but this track definitely is somewhere between Big Star and Best Coast, with just enough Southern Culture On The Skids to feel like you can smell the PBR and hairspray. — Spinning Platters
Motel Lights
Morgan and the Organ Donors are very much a local band, four friends who only play a few shows a year at a bar they like in Olympia, Washington. They're the sort of band that doesn't usually make an album, let alone one released by a widely distributed label, but Morgan and the Organ Donors happen to have Bikini Kill and Frumpies drummer Tobi Vail holding down the backbeat, as well as two K Records artists, James Maeda of Spider & the Webs and Olivia Ness of C.O.C.O., on lead guitar and bass, respectively. In Olympia, Morgan and the Organ Donors certainly qualify as a meeting of local heroes, and the group's wild card, lead singer, guitarist, and cool librarian Sara Peté, is more than qualified to take center stage with her friends. The band's first full-length album, 2023's M.O.D.S., is good fun that's also smart and satisfying. The music blends '60s garage rock influences with jangle pop ambience and a punk attitude of unpretentious creativity, and if the results sound a bit like a bar band in spots, they're a great bar band, one that can write songs with compelling melodies and play them with enough spirit and skill to make you set down your beer and take notice. — All Music
Freeze the Time
Olympia loves our local bands but the show got a lot of word-of-mouth hype. I hoped this meant people would actually show up but too much promotion sometimes works to your disadvantage here. Bands that are big draws sometimes flop because free shows and local bands create a lot of competition. This is why most touring bands tend to skip it. Generally local shows are better attended but it’s hard to predict, adding an element of drama to things, which causes band members to freak out pre-show.
Morgan And The Organ Donors (M.O.D.’s) were up first so I put my dancing shoes on (black low tops) and ran down the street to The Midnight Sun. The Olympia All Ages Project put on the show and are looking for a permanent home. You’d think that after 30 solid years of a vibrant music scene Olympia would have a regular all-ages show space but the city makes it hard; there is a lot of red tape and bullshit rules that punish the kids for being under-21. When we arrived, the volunteers working the door had given up on trying to find a door-stamp and their sharpie had run out of ink. This meant they had to memorize your face or the show was free. It kind of didn’t seem to matter as so many people had already paid to get in that it was already full. This was good news; the bands could chill and play for fun.
M.O.D.’s are a feminist garage-punk outfit from Olympia that rock out with style and substance. In fitting with their initials, the group’s sartorial choices were stunning – Sara wore a wiglet, purple suede boots and a psychedelic polyester dress that was in keeping with her recent switch from a vintage country-mod aesthetic to more of a John Waters-loud-lady-with-big-hair-and-extreme-eye-make-up look. James donned a classic red and black tartan flannel; Fajr, the drummer, wore a sporty plaid that matched and Leah, the newish-sometime-bassist, had on light colored jeans and a tuxedo shirt. I like a band that takes the time to dress up, it makes them seem cohesive and prepared. But M.O.D.’s always dress well, even when they aren’t playing a show.
Saturday night’s set was wild and high energy. Sara’s voice was low and loud on the angry feminist anthems and sweetly strong on the soulful ballads.
Don’t let her aggro-snarl fool you, this woman has a voice to rival Nico and the capability to sing country, soul and classic American R&B, although she doesn’t always get a chance to show it off in M.O.D.s. Hopefully they will do more of this, though I fully dig the feminist fury of their punk songs too. Rumor has it they plan to head into the studio as soon they get around to building it. — Collapse Board
So Dark
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Soon I'll Know Better
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WHO’S TALKING TO WHO?
Jimmy Kimmel: Colman Domingo, Doriane Pin, Nate Smith (R 11/19/24)
Jimmy Fallon: Jerry Seinfeld, Cody Rhodes, Billy Strings
Stephen Colbert: Paul Bettany, Mike Birbiglia, Robert Zemeckis (R 11/7/24)
Seth Meyers: The Meyers Family
After Midnight: Pete Holmes, Echo Kellum, Jess McKenna (R 9/25/24)
Watch What Happens Live: Pre-empted
The Daily Show: Pre-empted