Algae & Tentacles is a band born of the contradictions between noise and quiet.

Singer-guitarist John Melillo started the band about five years ago in New York, but the project coalesced when he settled in Tucson in 2011. With different drummers, sometimes solo or sometimes adding additional guitarists, Algae & Tentacles has explored the two halves of Melillo’s musical aesthetic, always making the most of the inherent tension in styles.

“We started out playing more crazy performance stuff, but it always had this bedroom component to it. I was mixing between loud, noisy nutso stuff and quiet, home-recorded stuff. I’ve always bounced back and forth between those things,” Melillo says. “I like combining these styles, noise and folk, and have them play against each other. Both sound fresher, they sound new to the ear if you set up one context and then slap the listener with a different context.”

That musical mission is at the forefront of “Algae & Tentacles,” the band’s first full-length release, out this week on California’s Lightning Records. Though Melillo has recorded and put out small cassette tape releases on his own over the years, this more formal debut spans the history of the band as well as its musical breadth.

“Some of the songs are pretty old material, things I’ve been playing since the beginning of Algae & Tentacles. And some are Tucson artifacts for sure, created here in this space,” he says. “But there’s always going to be this constant bit of Melillo weirdness that will run through all the songs that I couldn’t quite escape.”

Melillo says songs like “Magellan” and “Cuddle Up” that come from the Tucson era of his life sound “have something that tries to expand spatially in a different way. They’re more stretched out.” And a New York song, like the relatively poppy “Little Body,” has “something very basement-y and claustrophobic, in a good way, about it.”

“It’s nice to have this sense of a layered effect of all the different types of songs I’ve written over the years,” he says. “It’s about the different parts of my life and it’s about the different spaces I’m in and feelings that happen because of that.”

Recorded in two phases, at the HangArt about two years with drummer Hannah Ensor, and last fall at Melillo’s home, the album has a feel of continual motion, the songs cast against each other to emphasize their contrasts.

“Other people have very specific projects, they say ‘This is going to be the shoegaze project’ and then they’re onto something different. I do want to try to combine the contradictory impulses,” Melillo says.” Sometimes it seems schizophrenic, but I also feel like it’s necessary to have those styles push against each other and meld into each other. I want to avoid having a single sound, or avoid having the boredom that happens with that.”

We're giving away two pairs of tickets to Thursday's Cut Copy show at the Rialto Theatre. Want them? We'll draw the winning names Wednesday afternoon. The show starts 8 p.m., and if you're not lucky enough to win, you can get tickets for $23 in advance and $26 the day of the show.

From Eric Swedlund's interview with the band in last week's Weekly:

For Cut Copy, 2015 is the year of doing everything differently.

In the dozen years since Cut Copy grew from the solo home-recording project of Dan Whitford into a four-man group, the Australian dance-rock band has steadily gained fans around the world, carving out a recognizable niche. But as the band wrapped up a New Year's Eve show in San Francisco, the goal was to strike out in new directions. From embarking on a full DJ tour for the first time to revamping the songwriting process to intentionally working at a slower pace, 2015 has been filled with experiments designed to yield fresh ideas for a new record.

"That process has consciously been taking a lot longer," says guitarist Tim Hoey. "We took time out at the start of the year and kind of just get re-energized by music again. We stepped away from it for a few months."

The changes have reinvigorated Cut Copy. While Hoey says it's too early in the process to describe the band's in-progress fifth full-length album, Whitford, bassist Benjamin Browning and drummer Mitchell Scott are all brimming with ideas and sharing them more eagerly than ever.

In yet another sign of the impacts of climate change, scientists at the UA Lab of Tree-Ring Research released a report showing that the snowpack in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range is the lowest it's been in five centuries; The release from UA News:

With the Tucson Festival of Films less than a month away, there's plenty for movie lovers to look forward to this year. However, local music fans will definitely want to check out the Sounds of Tucson documentary.

Making its North American premiere, this French documentary highlights some of the musicians that make Tucson the audibly unique place it is. Featuring Tom Walbank, Gabriel Sullivan, Brian Lopez and Mariachi Luz de Luna all performing together live in France at the Festival les Escales, you'll have to wait to see that moment until director Guillaume Dero's "love letter" to the Old Pueblo's music scene screens on Friday, Oct. 9. However, we do have the intro to the film on hand for you to check out, which features Howe Gelb stripped down, playing on his Tucson porch.

For more information on this year's Tucson Festival of Films, which will take place at the Temple of Music & Art, you can visit the event's website. We'll have more film fest specifics as it draws nearer, as well, but until then, here's Howe Gelb doing what he does:

Hello everyone, my name is Towie. I've been with HSSA for about 6 months now and I'm currently in foster care. I can be quite shy around new people but I'm trying my hardest to be more confident. I'm very sweet and loving and I need a home that can offer me lots of patience and understanding. It took me a while to trust people after I was released to HSSA so I may need a longer adjustment time than most dogs. If you're interested in adding a handsome guy like me to your home, please call the Main Campus at (520) 321-3704 to arrange a meeting with me and my foster family.

Lots of love,

Towie—7-years-old —Queensland Heeler Mix—M—#803509

You might have a case of the Mondays right now, but that's nothing compared to that Tuesday drag. So, why not combat the effects of weekday number two and spoil yourself with two of the best things known to man? That's right, Reilly's beer garden (101 E. Pennington St.) is hosting a beer and cheese pairing event on Tuesday, Sept. 15, giving you the opportunity to pretend like you're a Trappist monk and become an expert on both. 

While Reilly's got the beer covered with a selection from their 40 rotating taps, they've also enlisted the help of Blu Wine & Cheese's Tana Fryer to bring some unique cheeses to pair up with the brews. The special one-night event will feature five beers and five cheeses. 

The beer and cheese tasting begins at 5:30 p.m. so you have enough time to scuttle over after work. The event is $20, which includes the tasting as well as $1 off your choice of beer if you stick around after class. Tickets can be found via Eventbrite.

We have a moment here. In a Media Release, Diane Douglas has declared that Arizona needs to add $400 million to its K-12 funding right away, during a special session, and she wants the extra funding to continue in perpetuity. Douglas has ideas about where the money can come from, but she's not making her proposal contingent on a specific funding stream. She says do it, beginning now and with a guarantee the funding will continue.

There are details to her proposal that I'll look at soon, but first, this is an important proposal, especially coming from the conservative Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction. It's as surprising and as encouraging as Jan Brewer's support of Medicaid expansion. Brewer, of course, had a hell of a lot more power than Douglas, who only has the superintendent's bully pulpit on the funding issue. But remember, Brewer didn't convince many Republican legislators to support her. She managed to get her Medicaid expansion passed with support from the health community, some of the business community, Democrats and a minority of Republicans. For Douglas' proposal to go anywhere, it needs full-throated support from the education community and Democrats. If some of the business community joins in, along with a number of her strong supporters during her campaign and some Republican legislators, it's possible, just possible, something good might happen to boost K-12 funding.

Now, let's take a closer look at what Douglas is proposing. First, here's an important point that's not spelled out in the Media Release but which Howie Fischer got from her spokesman Charles Tack. According to Fischer, Tack said that the $400 million Douglas is proposing has no connection to the court ruling about the yearly $330 million the state owes the schools or the $1 billion it owes from past years. It's in addition to whatever comes from the court ruling. So Douglas isn't proposing just another way to come up with the court-ordered money. She's talking about $400 million on top of that. That's a strong affirmation that the schools need far more than the legislature already owes them.

Nelly (Nina Hoss), a disfigured Holocaust victim, returns to post-war Berlin in search of her husband Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld). Nelly undergoes facial reconstructive surgery that renders her unrecognizable. When she encounters her husband, he doesn’t know who she is, but does notice a resemblance to his wife, whom he thinks is dead. He conspires with Nelly to have her impersonate his wife so he can be entitled to her inheritance. At face value, director Christian Petzold’s film might sound a little hokey, but it’s anything but. The film is best taken metaphorically, rather than literally. The movie is about Nelly finding out where true loyalty lies within her family and friends, and finding out who truly stood for her in her time of need. A good soul is represented in Lene (Nina Kunzendorf), who brings Nelly to Berlin and tries to protect her. The character of Nelly represents those who survived the Holocaust, embodying the confusion, anger, and sense of betrayal when they returned to everyday life. To watch this film as a straight, realistic drama would be a mistake. It doesn’t work that way. Petzold has made a movie of haunting beauty, especially in the film’s stunning final scene. Nelly is a character that will stay with you long after the movie is over. 

ZonaPol_9-10 from Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel on Vimeo.

On this week's episode of Zona Politics with Jim Nintzel: The Tucson Weekly, Tucson Local Media and KXCI team up to present the first in a series of televised debates between the candidates for Tucson City Council. This week, Tucson City Councilwoman Regina Romero (D) faces off against her GOP opponent, Bill Hunt. Among the topics: The bus strike, Tucson's pothole problems, the controversy over Grand Canyon University and El Rio golf course and budget priorities. Tune in online here or watch at 8 a.m. Sunday morning on the CW Tucson, Channel 8 on Cox and Comcast and Channel 58 on broadcast, DirecTV and Dish. Catch our new radio broadcast at 5 p.m. Sunday on KXCI, 91.3 FM.

Here's a transcript of the debate:

Hello. I'm Tucson Weekly senior writer Jim Nintzel, and we're here to talk Zona Politics. We're partnering with the Tucson Weekly Tucson Local Media, and KXCI FM to bring you the first of three debates with this year's candidates for the Tucson City Council. Today we have the candidates for the Ward 1 council seat, incumbent Democrat Regina Romero who is seeking her third term representing the West Side Ward 1 and Republican challenger Bill Hunt, an Air Force veteran who now works for Raytheon, and volunteers for the Flying Samaritans. Thank you both for being here on Zona Politics. Let's start by just giving you each one minute to introduce yourselves to voters and explain why you think you're the best person for the seat. We'll start with you, Councilwoman.

(Romero) Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. I have more than 20 years of being involved in the political process in Tucson I worked tremendously along with my colleagues on the council to create incentive programs to create high-wage, long-term jobs in the City of Tucson. Worked tremendously to create infrastructure investments in the City of Tucson that have leveraged more than a billion dollars in public and private investment in downtown and see it thriving. We have worked to make sure that we repair our roads we have a hundred million dollars road-bond project that is under budget, $140 million dollars, and on time. And so, we've gone through the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and, while we were going through that as a mayor and council, we were able to not close any fire stations, as a matter of fact, or lay off any police officer or firefighter as a matter of fact we received millions of dollars from the federal government to hire more We just received a ? grant to hire an additional, I believe it's about 16 to 18 firefighters on top of 43 more that are retiring, so, we are thriving, and I want to continue doing public service for my community I have an experience of seven years under my belt and energy to continue.

(Nintzel) Alright and Mr. Hunt tell us a little about yourself and why you got into this race.

(Hunt) Well I got into it because I'm not a politician. I haven't had that experience, but I do have experience in industry and government. I was in the military, and I’m a problem solver, so I look at problems and say, "Okay. How do I get this solved? How do I get it solved within the constraints that we have of budget and time. And so I started to take a look at running I drove through the city and I see empty storefronts and roads that clearly need repair so I look at that and say "Can I help with that? Can I look at the problem, and as I got into it, I see, well there are other problems, the budget and things. These are problems that we need to look at and make and they are hard decisions, but we need to make them to see if we can't make the city better. We need to bring businesses to the city. We need to increase the tax base, not the tax rate, to fund the city, fund what it needs and get it on a fiscal plane that is good for the city.

(Nintzel) Alright, let's start by talking about the bus strike. I'll start with you, councilwoman. This has been going on for about five weeks, now, as the bus drivers seek a pay raise and better working conditions. They city contracted a private company to manage the drivers, so the city council is not directly involved with negotiating negotiations, here, but the city also pays the bills, and you have increased the funding in the city's general fund, from about $18 million to $30 million over the last six years, so that's a growing portion of the city's budget. Is the city's general fund contribution too much, too little just about right, and should the council raise bus fares to cover more of the costs?

The Tucson Originals Restaurants and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson are joining forces to bring an afternoon of local food to Reid Park (900 S. Randolph Way). The first ever event will showcase 13 different local restaurants, serving up bites to attendees.

For the inaugural event, Noble Hops, Snow Peas, Rocco's, Mother Hubbard's, Fresco Pizzeria, Claire's Cafe and more will be on-site, as well as the "Lemonade by Littles" stand serving up refreshments courtesy of some little brothers and little sisters. The event will also feature music, raffles, games and activities for the whole family, with over $800 in prizes up for grabs.

Taste of Tucson hits Reid Park on Sunday, Sept. 20 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The event itself is free admission, but proceeds from any of the restaurants that you patronize at the park that day will go towards Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Tucson.