Written and recorded by Adam London. In Adam’s words, “A Thousand Harmonies in Silence is an album that highlights the idea of being “safe”. Since writing this record I wanted to portray personal memory and experience that had me feeling at peace. Each track signifies a special place, thing, person and time. All of which had some sense of security. I challenged myself to really embody these moments and record my guitar in single takes. I can only hope you enjoy listening to this record as much as did writing it.”
On April 24th, three-time Grammy Award winner Lucinda Williams unabashedly takes on some of the human, social and political issues of our day with her boldest and most direct album to date, Good Souls Better Angels. During the course of her celebrated four-decade, pioneering career Williams has never rested on her laurels as she continues to push herself as a songwriter. On Good Souls Better Angels, she has much she needs to get out.
In 2014 and 2015, Williams released two critically acclaimed double albums back to back with Down Where The Spirit Meets The Bone and The Ghosts Of Highway 20, respectively. Both releases found her experimenting with arrangements, vocals, song structure and personal subject matter. On Good Souls Better Angels, Williams changes course and chooses to forgo the personal and narrative-based songcraft that has become synonymous with her name and instead speaks to some of the injustices permeating our society. The new songs cut straight to the core with frank and honest commentary on domestic abuse (“Wakin’ Up”), the constant barrage of news (“Bad News Blues”) the dangerous, quick to judge and convict aspects of social media (“Shadows & Doubts”) and the haunting reality of the “Man Without A Soul”.
Williams recorded Good Souls Better Angels backed by her remarkable, long time band, featuring Butch Norton (drums), Stuart Mathis (guitar) and David Sutton (bass). The rock-solid unit propels the music with both fire and finesse, particularly on the raw blues number “You Can’t Rule Me”, which kicks off the album with equal parts attitude and swing.
Good Souls Better Angels also features some of Williams’ most intimate and up front vocals on record. She addresses the pain of depression on the achingly beautiful “Big Black Train” and tenderly delivers a poignant song of hope with “When The Way Gets Dark”. She encourages us to push forward on the path of promise and perseverance on the deeply soulful and moving album closer “Good Souls”.
Soul Step Records is proud to announce the release of Multimagic’s upcoming LP, “Manic Daze.” This is the second release that Soul Step has done with Multimagic after a successful 45 release of two tracks off this LP, “Dreams” and “Sunshine.”
Multimagic is for fans of Death Cab for Cutie, The Cure, and Fleetwood Mac. This album shares the journey of lead singer Coran Stetter and his “Manic Daze” that changed his life. This album is an uplifting listen that will pull you from your hardest times. Jangly guitars, pulsing synths, and a pounding rhythm section drives this album. This record will give you a much more positive mental outlook in these uncertain times.
Sweet Trip‘s Velocity:Design:Comfort is awash in ethereal Slowdive, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine guitars and vocals, Aphex Twin and Squarepusher leftfield electronic and acoustic beats, and ambience. It is all at once leftfield electronic, Afro-Cuban, glitchcore, tropicana house, MBV indie but most of all uniquely Sweet Trip. No other band on the planet sounds like Sweet Trip. No one ever before has done such a proper job of genre-hybridizing. Soundscapes as beautiful as Eno’s. Dense multi-tracking of sound a noise that never tires the ear. They blend alternative rock subgenres with electronic dance music and in such a unique and clever way. It’s a timeless hybrid.
Since it’s release in 2003, Velocity: Design: Comfort has steadily bubbled under, ever finding new popularity. Sweet Trip did achieve some moderate, respectable, indie-electronic, shoegaze success with Velocity: Design: Comfort when released. And Sweet Trip’s three records have always maintained a respectable level of popularity. Over the last five years, however, the popularity of this one Sweet Trip record in particular has surged, finding exponentially more new fans now who are sharing their love for, and propelling new discovery of this unique San Francisco band. There’s a whole new generation of shoegaze, glitch-pop, electronic music kids, some only just born in the late 90s, embracing it and proclaiming loudly that the singular sound of Velocity: Design: Comfort is now more than ever, a substantial and important record.
This is the first time this album has ever been available on vinyl. Order from Darla today!
When Delta Rae first took flight in North Carolina roughly a decade ago, it was a folky four-piece centered around the hair-raising harmonies and songwriting of the Hölljes siblings—Ian (guitar, vocals), Eric (piano, guitar, vocals), and Brittany (vocals)—and their longtime friend, Liz Hopkins (vocals). As the band’s sound began to evolve, so did its lineup, and the following year, they added Mike McKee (drums) and Grant Emerson (bass) to help flesh out their singular mix of Gothic American roots and gospel-tinged country…
On the strength of an early EP, the band landed a major label deal for their full-length debut, Carry The Fire, which came out to rave reviews in 2012, with Rolling Stone calling it a “unique blend of blue-eyed soul and Americana rock” and NPR hailing the “bluesy roar” of its “modern folklore.” The music racked up more than 30 million streams on Spotify, landed the band in the studio with Lindsey Buckingham, and helped earn them performances on The Tonight Show and Conan alongside festival slots at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and more. In 2015, they followed it up with After It All, a similarly acclaimed sophomore album that debuted at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
By the time the band moved to Nashville and signed to powerhouse label Big Machine in 2017, they seemed poised for superstardom, but instead, Delta Rae found themselves in limbo, unable to record the music they felt most passionate about. Rather than give up, the band struck out on their own, leaving their contract and launching a Kickstarter in hopes of raising the $30,000 they needed to fund the record themselves. Within hours, they’d blown through their goal, and by the time the dust had settled, they’d shattered all previous records, raising nearly a half-million dollars from supporters to become the most-funded indie band in the platform’s history.
The Light marks Delta Rae’s first full-length independent release as well as the start of a bold new chapter that will include an upcoming companion album (The Dark), an immersive theater production, a live record, and more.
To be plain, without the support of the hundreds of wonderful independent retailers around the country and world, there would be no pressing plants.
Records stores, big and small, have supported us, and our customers large and small, from the beginning by stocking records and informing their customer base about our operation and wonderful stable of artists. These proud purveyors are facing a challenge many small businesses are currently facing: how to keep the doors open in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The answer for many is to move an online/mail order model temporarily in order to get through the current storm. So, if you’re thinking about buying a record online (and you’re not buying it from the artist directly), consider purchasing it from a wonderful independent retailer. Check out this list put together by our buds at Colemine Records. Keep it independent!
The Covid-19 pandemic is in full force, and artists have been hit especially hard as tours and shows are being canceled for the foreseeable future. With such a major revenue stream drying up almost entirely, finding ways to continue supporting artists in the coming months is now an urgent priority for anyone who cares about music and the artists who create it. The good news is that we’re already seeing many fans going above and beyond to support artists across Bandcamp.
To raise even more awareness around the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere, Bandcamp is waiving their revenue share on sales today (Friday, March 20th, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists’ pockets.
For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not. Still, we consider this just a starting point. Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come, so we’re also sharing some ideas below on how fans can support the artists they love and how artists can give fans new, creative ways to provide support.
Of course, it is clear that plenty of music fans are also seeing their livelihoods disrupted by this virus, but if you’re lucky enough to be in a position to spare some funds (or find yourself in that position in the coming months), please consider sharing your good fortune by buying music and merchandise directly from artists on Bandcamp. Today, Bandcamp’s share of sales will also go to the artists and labels you choose to support, and as always, it will reach them in 24-48 hours.
If Dinosaur Jr. wrote an album with Wilco, you’d get the alt-rock, americana, shoegaze cocktail that is Boston’s own, The Big Lonesome. The Gosselin brothers, Chad (guitar/vocals) and Luke (guitar/lap steel/vocals) along with bassist Seth Kellogg, and drummer Linecker de Silva team up again with New England Music Award Producer of the year, Sean McLaughlin, (Rush, Elliott Smith, Death Row Records) to release their third album – Payphones and Ashtrays. After a national tour in the spring of 2019 with San Antonio’s Ila Minori to celebrate the launch of their new music collective, Dream Coast, along with Jack Oats (Detroit) and Jesse W. Johnson (Chicago), The Big Lonesome continues their upward momentum with the release of this new full length album in the summer of 2020.
Founded by Daptone Records’ own Bosco Mann after building a new recording studio in his hometown of Riverside, California, Penrose Records will showcase the most exciting acts emerging on the blossoming SoCal souldies scene today. For its inaugural release, the label offers up five singles by five exciting new artists: Thee Sacred Souls from San Diego; Jason Joshua from Miami; East L.A. mainstays Thee Sinseers, and The Altons; and Altadena veterans, Los Yesterdays.
All five 45s + digital compilation will be available April 10th.
What better way to christen Daptone’s fledgling imprint Penrose Records than with “Can I Call You Rose?,” a sumptuous and serendipitously titled mid-tempo premier by San Diego’s blossoming young soul serenaders, Thee Sacred Souls. Stepping off the stage after their very first club date, Josh, Sal, and Alex were tugged aside by producer Bosco Mann whose seasoned ears had been tickled by their set. Backs were patted, hands were shook, and three days later heads were bobbing in Mann’s Riverside studio, as the Souls laid their first notes to tape.
As one of the most popular groups on today’s So-Cal soul scene, Thee Sinseers need little introduction. Their performance of “Seems Like” live at the Recordium went viral to the tune of over a million views, making them thee in-demand group for souldies parties up and down the coast. When asked what song they wanted to cut for their Penrose session, singer, songwriter, and man-who-can-play-any-instrument, Joey Quiñones didn’t hesitate to answer, “We need a proper recording of that song.” And so it was done. In the candle-lit studio, the band delivered unto us a starkly intimate rendition, stripping the tune down to its underthings, and laying bare Joe Q’s euphonious exhortations.
Since exploding onto the scene with his debut 45, “Rosegold” and it’s anthemic follow-up, “I Don’t Care,” Jason Joshua has built a dedicated following for his distinctive latin-soul sound and his notoriously titillating live performances. Following a string of homegrown Miami recordings with the Beholders on his own Mango Hill Records, Jason hopped the plane to Riverside to gather the Penrose Scholars for a session with his friend Bosco Mann, where he was eager to prove that just like a record, there’s more than one side to a man.
Though Bryan Ponce and Adriana Flores share the stage with Joey Q as part of the East LA souldies outfit Thee Sinseers, they really step into the spotlight with The Altons, a group they themselves founded along with drummer Caitlin Moss and bassist Gabriel Maldonado . On this their debut single on Penrose, Bryan sings the lead with a smoky-sweet falsetto that bends tenderly from growl to howl and back again. The group takes a turn through a classic Miracles-style mid-tempo groove on the A-side, leaving you helplessly addicted to their sweet eponymous refrain, When you go that’s when you’ll know… Watch the video for “When You Go (That’s When You’ll Know)”.
Los Yesterdays originated in an Altadena garage when Gabriel Rowland teamed up with his old friend Victor Benavides. Rowland, a long time drummer and eccentric creator of multitudinous soulful things, took charge of recording as well as playing all the instruments, while Benavides wrote and cut vocals. The project pretty much stayed in their garage for a few years until a mutual connection brought them to the attention of Tom Brenneck and Gabe Roth, who both dug the songs and offered to join in on guitar and bass respectively so that the duo might be able to perform their music live. The four soon found a handful of gigs behind them and a Penrose recording date in front of them.
On April 3, 2020 acclaimed folk-rock quartet Parsonsfield will release their highly anticipated fifth release, Happy Hour On The Floor on Signature Sounds. Produced by multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Lazar Davis (Joan As A Police Woman, Okkervil River), Happy Hour On The Floor was recorded in a small barn over three weeks. It is both subdued and danceable, exploring the in-between moments in life.
Chris Freeman reflects, “We took some time off the road to analyze where we’ve been over the last five years of touring. We made ourselves fresh again, but with a whole new depth of experience in our pockets. We tracked almost the whole album on one microphone, one instrument at a time. We didn’t see ourselves as a folk band, an indie band or by any other label. In a bigger sense, this album is a story diving deep into ourselves and leaning on each other.”
