CDs + Vinyl:
The Atlas Moth – Coma Noir CD/LP (Prosthetic)
While 2014’s The Old Believer saw The Atlas Moth gaze off into psychedelic realms throughout the album, new album Coma Noir is packed tightly with riffs and hooks. It’s the bands most rocking album by far, though it’s far from being a rock album.
Wade Bowen – Solid Ground CD (Thirty Tigers)
Waco native Wade Bowen began recording Solid Ground intent on making the artistic statement of his career – a high bar considering the twenty years of success he’s enjoyed – but as his personal odometer rolled over into his fourth decade, his focus is more on legacy than next Saturday night. Solid Ground is personal but not necessarily autobiographical, peppered with distinct south-of-the-border imagery and good-time revelry.
BOYO – Me, Again CD/LP (Danger Collective)
BOYO is the pseudonym of 20-year-old singer-songwriter Robert Tilden. Tilden’s been kicking around the L.A. DIY scene since he was 16 years old, spending the better part of it fronting the garage band Bobby T. and the Slackers. Me, Again, the follow up to his debut Control, taps into his sense of vulnerability, taking on themes of isolation, addiction, and regret. The album is a jagged collection of garage rock and soft DIY indie and noisey pop music, channeling everyone from Ty Segall to Elliot Smith to Deerhunter.
Calibro 35 – Decade CD/LP (Record Kicks)
The sixth studio album form Italian super cult combo. Decade marks 10 years of Calibro 35’s first release and it’s the very first album recorded by Calibro with an orchestral-inspired enlarged line-up that features horns, strings and various percussion instruments.
Dashboard Confessional – Crooked Shadows CD/LP+MP3 (Fueled By Ramen)
The first album in over eight years from the alt-rock band. Crooked Shadows was produced by band leader Chris Carrabba alongside Jonathan Clark and co-producer Colin Brittain. Includes the single “We Fight.” Carrabba says, “When I wrote ‘We Fight’ I thought it was just about the music scene that I came up in – a place where people who’d never quite fit in anywhere felt they actually belonged. When we began playing the song live on our summer tour, I realized that ‘We Fight’ held a much broader meaning. It’s a song for people who, in spite of their differences, can find common ground in their convictions and foster those into something bigger than themselves. That, to me is something worth fighting for.”
Mark Deutrom – The Silent Treatment [Reissue/2000] CD/2xLP (Season Of Mist)
CD and first-time vinyl (re)issue of the solo debut from the renowned ex-Melvins member Mark Deutrom. The album’s wild and quirky rock grooves tread the slow ‘n’ low ground Deutrom helped break with the eccentric trio, loosing hot and heavy ear worms that feel like old friends.
Alela Diane – Cusp CD/LP (Alela Diane)
Cusp was written in January 2016 in a small cabin deep within snowy woods where Alela resided during a three-week artist residency at Caldera, Oregan, alone for the first time since becoming a mother. A broken thumbnail resulted in Alela’s signature finger-plucking being replaced by songwriting on a grand piano, resulting in the most piano driven album of her career, fueled by that energy that only comes with facing and falling in love with something new. Cusp explores the weight and beauty of creating life, with Alela refusing to stray from her perspective as a mother and woman.
