Guitarist. Songwriter. Singer. Bandleader. Listener. That’s Kyle Reid. Whether fronting the Low Swinging Chariots or flying solo, Kyle strives to evoke a mood in the listener that transcends the sum of its musical parts. Alright, Here We Go… is his latest installment with the Low Swinging Chariots, and is available soon from Foolish Philosophy Records.
Fresh off her induction into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gretchen Peters has confirmed the February 10 release of her new album Blackbirds. Co-produced with Doug Lancio and Barry Walsh and recorded in Nashville, the album features a who’s who of modern American roots music: Jerry Douglas, Jason Isbell, Jimmy LaFave, Will Kimbrough, Kim Richey, Suzy Bogguss and more. Watch her website for updates on the release, as well as tour info.
MUCCA PAZZA was born in a steel mill parking lot along the Chicago river. Combining marching band traditions and street theater experience with rock band sensibilities, Mucca Pazza quickly found a home for its 30-odd members in the thriving Chicago underground music scene. Their eccentric, frenetic visual presence, and genre-bending original compositions earned them critical praise and a loyal local following. Before long, with their live show’s reputation preceding them, Mucca Pazza began to branch out nationally, appearing onLate Night with Conan O’Brien, WFMU, and the Kentucky Derby, as well as supporting major national acts and performing at numerous national music festivals like Lollapalooza, Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors and the Montreal Jazz Fest. Having worked with choreographers, filmmakers and theatrical groups, as well as performing in art museums around the country, Mucca Pazza is as comfortable in the fine arts and performance art world as the local rock club, or parking lot.
Comprised of 13 original compositions and clocking in at 43 minutes, the music on L.Y.A. runs the gamut from lush, cinema-ready orchestrations (“Rise Of The Elementals”, “Road To Joy”) to frenetic, exclamations (“All Out Of Bubblegum”, “Holiday On Ice”) to serpentine dance numbers (“Subtle Frenzy”).
yellowbirddd – the nom de plume of indie/folk singer-songwriter Liam McCormack – released his fourth album, CENTINELA, on December 2nd. CENTINELA is available digitally and on limited edition vinyl via flower/flour records. Both versions arecurrently available for purchase on Bandcamp.
Following 2012’s critically acclaimed Highway Birches, CENTINELA finds the musician approaching his craft from a renewed mindset fueled by a cross-country move from New York to Los Angeles.
A musical force from the moss-draped Old South, The Train Wrecks are a hard-working band of songwriters and performers who love nothing more than good songs and a good show. They deliver a dynamic, original blend of Americana- ranging from outlaw alt-country and bluegrass to rootsy rock and beyond, all with a distinctive Southern swagger. Their new album — We Roll On — is available on limited edition vinyl now.
With riffs that easily translate between the languages of classic, modern, and alternative rock, White Lighter features a team of people that have collaborated before, but not quite in this way.
Steve Dail’s bass and guitar compositions are both brute and melodic, with rhythm and song combining effortlessly, while Mark Salomon has once again crafted a lyrical and vocal character that strikes where it matters. Andy Prickett guitar lines are present throughout, swinging things wider than can be predicted, and beats provided by David Brotherton and Trey Many feel pocketed and heavy with bodily force.
Production overseen by Jason Martin, a mix by J.R. McNeely, and mastering by T.W. Walsh make this a listen that is as much of an experience as the words and music are themselves. Vinyl purchasers will be treated to a visual experience as well, provided by Ryan Clark.
Sauna was recorded between June 27th, 2013 and August 13th, 2014 at the UNKNOWN in Anacortes, Washington by Phil Elverum with singers Geneviève Castrée, Allyson Foster, Ashley Eriksson and Paul Benson, and flute by Evin Opp. Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk.
All of the song titles are single words and some of the songs are very long. This is music meant to weigh heavy on you like a lot of cold water at night, and also the sword glimmering at the bottom of the lake at night. Pre-order now!
Lost Themes is the debut solo album from the legendary director and composer behind Halloween, Escape From New York, They Live, Assault on Precinct 13, and many more. Available on Sacred Bones Records.
John Carpenter has been responsible for much of the horror genre’s most striking soundtrack work in the fifteen movies he’s both directed and scored. The themes can instantly flood his fans’ musical memory with imagery of a menacing shape stalking a babysitter, a relentless wall of ghost-filled fog, lightning-fisted kung fu fighters, or a mirror holding the gateway to hell. The all-new music on Lost Themes asks Carpenter’s acolytes to visualize their own nightmares.
“Lost Themes was all about having fun,” Carpenter says. “It can be both great and bad to score over images, which is what I’m used to. Here there were no pressures. No actors asking me what they’re supposed to do. No crew waiting. No cutting room to go to. No release pending. It’s just fun. And I couldn’t have a better set-up at my house, where I depended on (collaborators) Cody (Carpenter, of the band Ludrium) and Daniel (Davies, who wrote the songs for I, Frankenstein) to bring me ideas as we began improvising. The plan was to make my music more complete and fuller, because we had unlimited tracks. I wasn’t dealing with just analogue anymore. It’s a brand new world. And there was nothing in any of our heads when we started other than to make it moody.”
This project has been a couple of years in the making, but Colemine Records couldn’t be happier with the results. Half open drum breakbeats, half funky instrumentals from the Tee See Connection. Featuring breakbeats from Monophonics, Jungle Fire, Soulive, The Jive Turkeys, Los Sosepechos, and The On The Spot Trio. All new breaks ready to be chopped up! Check it out on YouTube.
The Love Letters are a band made up of Pittsburgh veterans Mike Shanley (bass), Buck Knauer (guitar), and Erin Dawes (drums). They blend together recent new songs, and past songs from their former bands reaching back to the mid-eighties such as Bone of Contention, Cousin It, and The Mofones. Check out their new Untitled double 7inch release…coming very soon!