Posted
by David Hudnall
on Tue, Mar 5, 2013 at 7:06 AM
The scene in Columbia seems to be on a slight uptick over the past year - bands like Enemy Airship, Believers and Jerusalem and the Starbaskets have reintroduced smart rock into venues around the college town. Add to that list Richard the Lionhearted, an arty Americana group that recently visited the Horseshack studio in Rock Island, Illinois, for a Daytrotter session. Check that out right here. More Richard the Lionhearted tunes here.
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Tue, Jan 15, 2013 at 12:23 PM
Hello again!
It's been what seems like an extremely long time - almost three years - since Each Other All the Time, the debut album from Lawrence's Cowboy Indian Bear. The quartet's new record, Live Old, Die Young, will be released this spring, and yesterday the band released a single from it, "Does Anybody See You Out?" It's a six-minute bit of dark indie rock, both skittish and elegant, and you really ought to just download it right now. You can do so for free here.
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Thu, May 24, 2012 at 9:38 AM
We're big fans of Sam Billen's gentle, orchestral indie-rock over here at the ol' Wayward Blog. Billen has parted ways with his old label the Record Machine ("no bad blood!" he says) and is self-releasing a new album, Places, which you can help fund by checking out his Kickstarter here. (Interestingly, Billen was recently quoted in a Wall Street Journal article about Kickstarter security issues.) Check out "Saltine," a teaser track from the new album, below.
Posted
by Nick Spacek
on Thu, Mar 15, 2012 at 11:09 AM
Power-pop quartet the Dead Girls' latest release — a 7-inch single entitled "She Laughed A Little" — came out a physical release at the end of last year. But those who didn't get in on the release as part of its Kickstarter campaign, or simply don't own a turntable, were out of luck. No longer, however! You can now purchase the single (along with the b-side, "It's All Happening," featuring Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack and J.D. Warnock) on Bandcamp. Bonus: when you purchase it, you get two super-secret bonus tracks*. Check it out below.
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Tue, Feb 7, 2012 at 7:29 AM
I wrote about Continents, the more-or-less solo project of Jim Button, last summer. A couple of days ago, Button released two new songs as what he's calling the "Instant Life" single. It's not far off from the material on last year's Spiriting — great stuff for fans of dark, trance-y psych-rock grooves. And it's free to download, here.
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 10:03 AM
Right up above us there is the video for "Say You Love Me," a song by local electro-rapper thePhantom*. It features guest spots from CES Cru and a chorus sung by Leigh Gibbs, plus cameos from a bunch of local hip-hop figures. Also, pretty sure that's Mayor Sly James' troublemakingson, Kyle, walking down the hotel hallway with a Budweiser in his hand. Nice image rehabilitation, there, Kyle!
On Sunday, Stik Figa performed at The Pitch Music Awards. (He also won the Best Hip-Hop category.) Yesterday, he dropped Crown and Coke, his new record with D/Will, on the Internet. Head over to his Bandcamp and download the 12-track album for free. I'm listening to it right now. It's almost definitely one of the best local hip-hop albums that will come out this year.
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 7:20 AM
I've been really digging a few songs on "Lo-Fi Feeling," a new EP from local act the Tambourine Club, which as far as I can tell is just a guy named Bryan recording in his basement somewhere in the suburbs. Melodic pop songs with a hint of gloom — good stuff. He's giving away the EP online today, and you should go grab it. Here. Note the poorly translated French blog review at the top of the page, which is a funny joke if it's a joke. "Remember well the date of August 16," it instructs. Indeed.
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 7:36 AM
Stik Figa and D/Will drop their latest, Crown and Coke, next month. Yesterday, Stik Internet-debuted a track from the album, "Sheep Skin." It's a slow-tempoed head-bobber, driven by a hypnotic string beat and cut through with some inflating/deflating synths. Click through to grab it.
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 1:17 PM
click to enlarge
Very fine local singer-songwriter Richard Gintowt plays these days with Hidden Pictures. But many of us became fans of Gintowt with his previous band, OK Jones. I think there might be a cracked case of Elephantoms in my car somewhere, but that's hardly ideal, so it's nice that Gintowt has decided to post the OK Jones back catalog on Bandcamp. Plus! A new odds-and-ends collection of songs, called Stealing Dan.
"It documents the band's final days, when it was frequently and inexplicably likened to Steely Dan," Gintowt says.
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