Upcoming Albums

Time In The Studio Pays Off For Athens Artists, With Numerous Anticipated Releases Over The Next Few Months

originally published August 15, 2007

Tops on your list should be North Star Deserter, the new album from Vic Chesnutt that'll drop on Sept. 11. Recorded in Canada with current and former members of Fugazi, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Tra-La-La Band, it's both subtle and powerful, taking the best of Chesnutt's Southern songs and merging them with our northern neighbors' epic post-rock noisiness.

Don Chambers + GOAT spent a good chunk of the last year recording with the studio assistance of the Olivia Tremor Control's Bill Doss, and Chambers reports that the nine-track I Got the Recollection of the Blood of the Lamb should be released locally in September or October.

Earlier in August, Hope For Agoldensummer spent time recording with Andy Baker for the folk band's sophomore full-length album. The group has several times mentioned this fall for a full release, though it's been a long time coming; hopefully the momentum of 2004 and 2005 that has waned can perk up now that the the ensemble has trimmed down to a trio augmented by special guests.

Kuroma is the new recording project for former Whigs bassist Hank Sullivant, and he wrapped the recording of an album called Paris earlier this year, combining ambitious Wings-style pop with proggier, more substantial tunes along the lines of Yes. Sullivant has been on the road with electro-pop band MGMT, but has tentative plans to release Paris in Athens come October or November.

The first week of September sees rising local crooner Nate Nelson deliver Knobs Have Turned, his debut full-length. The pop-shoegaze fanatics in Push! are planning to release their debut Tea with the Lions digitally in October with a physical release to follow. Though no longer an Athens resident, Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck recorded most of his late-October release Pride here before moving to Brooklyn. Long-dormant crew Japancakes may have two releases for the fall; Giving Machines hits in mid-October, and there are rumors of an instrumental interpretation of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, with pedal steel replacing vocal melodies.

Down the Line

They're no longer local either, but The B-52's spent two months in Athens this summer laying down tracks for the upcoming release Funplex, the band's first in more than a decade. The dance band has been previewing tracks at recent live performances, songs like the hook-heavy "Hot Corner" and "Let's Keep This Party Going On" or the mall-themed title track. Word is the album, incorporating more electronic elements than in the past, may even boast a reworked version of "Mesopotamia."

Looking to the horizon, late 2007 and early 2008 should see new albums from nervy pop rock band Russian Spy Camera and the swoony rock dramatists of Venice is Sinking. And then there are the perpetual question marks like Circulatory System's long-delayed release, the debut from country crew Kimberly Morgan & the Everlovin' Band and solo releases from John Neff (Japancakes, Drive-By Truckers), Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers) and Adam Musick (Southern Bitch).

Speaking of the Drive-By Truckers, that band has been in the studio recently, as have Modern Skirts and Dark Meat. Stay tuned to Flagpole over the coming month for more info.

Back For More

DFA Records is behind a reissue of Pylon's seminal 1980 album Gyrate; the new Gyrate Plus doesn't have a firm release date yet, but the album has been remastered and there should be new liner notes and bonus material. The Bar-B-Q Killers' ferocious Comely will be reissued in a cooperative effort from Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records and Flagpole writer Gordon Lamb's revived Ultramod label; expect that in late September or early October, with a DVD release to follow. And with The Glands on permanent temporary hiatus, don't expect any new tunes; however, the pop band has been prepping its '97 debut Double Thriller for a remastered rerelease.