Talkhouse Podcast

On this week’s Talkhouse Podcast, we’ve got a musician at the start of her career talking with a songwriter whose 35-year-old song she recently covered—after just discovering it. It’s Dan Littleton and Helen Ballentine, aka. Skullcrusher. Don’t let that name fool you. Skullcrusher’s music taps into elements of ambient electronic and traditional folk to create a mesmerizing stew: In other words, if it crushes your skull, it will do so gently. On her debut album under the name, last year’s Quiet the Room, Ballentine deftly explores some complicated emotions via gorgeous songs and words; the two artists she’s been most frequently compared to are Phoebe Bridgers and Grouper, and I think if you smush those together, it makes some sense.  The other half of today’s conversation is Dan Littleton, whose indie-folk outfit Ida made some incredible records in the ‘90s and the aughts. But the focus of this conversation is actually Littleton’s hardcore band from the 1980s, the Hated. The Hated was part of what emo scholars