Continuing in a run of guest mix tapes, this latest is set up as a primer to often overlooked territory. Like Jeffrey Alexander’s recent mix exploring the boundaries of the Raccoon Records catalog, this one comes from a place of personal passion. Drew Gardner should be a name familiar to most around here. As one half of Elkhorn, he’s been integral to the sound of the site for quite some time. The band’s name might be synonymous with an intertwined tangle of acoustic and electric guitars, but for this mix Gardner explores his love of the vibraphone. The instrument plays a large part in their la ..read more

I’m excited to announce the new Elkhorn album today, a marked departure from the band’s catalog. The album sees the group return to a duo, but it’s far from familiar territory for the pair. Jettisoning the electric strings entirely, the upcoming On The Whole Universe In All Directions finds the band’s Drew Gardner return to his jazz roots, weaving a tapestry of vibraphone among the acoustic nests built up by Jesse Sheppard. The pieces grew out of a set they’d done for the Psychedelic Sangha series of guided meditations. While in the studio among Drew’s assembled instruments the idea struck for ..read more

This one feels like it would have caught my attention somewhere around the early ‘00s and I applaud Fire for picking up something this steeped in psych folk and drama at this juncture. Coming on with the firelight flicker and potion-soaked soul of something like Odawas, Feathers, The Occasion, or The Gris Gris. The title track from the band’s upcoming album curls with curdled smoke, its acrid plumes of psychedelic folk pushed by an undulating rhythm section. The video captures the drama and mysticism of the track with costumed excess that plays into the Athens band’s theatrical qualities. I’m ..read more

Bristol’s Langkamer let out another corker of a single. The band’s embrace of of the ‘90s indie arsenal has long been their strong suit and they continue to let the winking charms of Pavement, Meat Puppets, and The Glands lead the way. They embrace a moment when Americana slipped seamlessly into the indie rock canon, not quite emerging as Alt-Country, but letting a bit of twang tempt the hooks of the day. “Hatchet” has a bit of that easy afternoon sway in its bones. Blink and its over, but you’ll want to hit repeat every time. The band’s second album The Noon and Midnight Manual is out May 8th ..read more

A couple of years back I put on a show Upstate NY that found Elkhorn’s Jesse Sheppard sparring with Turner Williams Jr. Williams was just off the collaborative jaunt he and Elkhorn had done while snowed in for the Storm Sessions. That night, as on the record, Williams employed the shahi baaja, an instrument that truly has to be seen to be believed. Somewhere between a piece of office apparatus, sitar, and banjo, the instrument can be something hypnotic in he right hands. Turner lets the shahi baaja ripple with a wild and whimsical abandon. On his latest record the instrument plays a central ro ..read more

Another RSTB fave pulling back the curtain on a single today. The new album from Spencer Cullum has been trickling out a steady stream of necessities over the past few months, from the Anglican meets Japanese folk of “Kingdom Weather,” to the rain-streaked roots of “Betwixt and Between,” dressed up in somber woodwinds. The rain clears away, though, for the country lope of “Cold Damp Valley.” The song has a sunny simplicity to it, but as usual Cullum’s arrangements turn a simple strummer into a deeply shaded portrait of rural pleasantries, revealing new colors on every listen. The new album, Co ..read more

The last two Triptides records were so guitar heavy that it takes a moment to recognize them as they ease into the new robes of Starlight. Draped in a ‘70s velvet sheen, propelled by the midnight dancefloor skitter of Alison Berry on drums, the new record embraces a new direction for the longtime RSTB faves. Not quite as lost in the stagelights as “Unwound,” but pretty close, “Thought Collector” finds the band padding into the room on the slippery trills of Glen Brigman’s keys, building the track from an ice water opening through second degree guitar burns by the time the track hurtles off int ..read more

The second single from the upcoming new Cory Hanson album shifts away from the heft of the first and back towards the more contemplative country that’s been a hallmark of his solo works. “Twins” has a soft lilt that’s buoyed by swells of background vocals, giving the song a bit of a ‘70s sway. Hanson’s prowess away from the gnarled psych of Wand has grown over the years, letting his works progress from private press folk trappings to the full confidence of the upcoming Western Cum. “Twins” is a highlight from the new record, a full bodied strummer that has sun streaked through its hair. The ne ..read more

Like his last record, Doug Paisley’s Say What You Like is threaded with a weathered quality — cracked and oiled like leather, rutted deep like bar wood, worn through like flannel that’s been patched and re-patched. Where the last record was steeped in a smoke-halo of heartbreak and a sunken-hearted urge to be made whole, there’s more of a free spirit to this one. More than a few nods arise to JJ Cale. It comes through in the rambling guitar lines. It’s imbued in the stagelight sparkle of Doug’s songs. They’re the kind that feel as familiar in the back of the local bar as they do over the speak ..read more

I’ve still got a soft spot for bands that wholeheartedly lean into the sound of bygone eras, hell so much so that I made an entire mixtape recently that was rife with band’s that embraced the ‘70s. Pittsburgh’s Sweat would fit right into the bunch, a group high on the glam-dipped drama of the era — combining the guitar flash of Townsend, the harmonies of Heart, and the proggier impulses of The Moody Blues, with just a touch of Boston’s Teflon exterior. What makes “Dark Horses (White Lies)” so enticing is how the band leans in without reservation to this aesthetic. They’re not alluding to the e ..read more