SLIP-N-SLIDE: Did y’all know that Marcel Sletten (Primordial Void, Chairs, Rishis, et al) has a hip-hop side project named Baird? Well, I sure didn’t until the new single “Probably”—featuring Maine’s RonnyRX on vocals and co-production—came out a couple of weeks ago. It’s a very club-oriented track with a nice throbby beat, crisp percussion and a vocal that’s nearly lackadaisical but mostly casual. I wouldn’t mind a full album of this, but for now the single will do. Find it at primordialvoid.bandcamp.com.
SPEAKING OF WHICH…: The aforementioned Sletten will play a fully experimental set at the next occurrence of Sonic Space at ATHICA, which happens Saturday, June 28. Doors open at 7 p.m., and music begins at 8 p.m. Also on the bill that night is Shabbat, which is the solo project of Sam Miller of Los Angeles band Dividers. Sonic Space organizer Monty Greene (Nerve Clinic) describes Shabbat as being “for fans of mid-’00s hypnagogia à la James Ferraro and Sun Araw, and grimy ’90s IDM and techno.” And I can’t say I disagree with him or have anything to add to that perfect description. For more information, please see athica.org.
ONE HALF HOUR OF FEAR: I’m starting to believe the term “synth punk” is just too narrow for experimental electronic duo Obscurity. I mean, they’ve already accomplished being as nervy and brash as The Screamers, but are adept at delivering a dark terror that The Screamers didn’t approach with quite the same intensity. Obscurity just released a new nine-song album, Stretched Arms For Nothing, and starts the listener off by placing them on the precipice of “Lean And Fall,” then kicking them off. I was pretty impressed with the heavily and creatively arranged “Hit Me,” as well as the skin-crawling “Who Shot The Sheriff.” The title track and its classic boom-bap beat atop a garage-Stereolab melody was a nice surprise. I don’t know how many more superlatives I can give this without sounding unduly fawning, so I’m going to stop. Find this at hardtackk.bandcamp.com and obscurityy.bandcamp.com.
WELCOME HOME, AGAIN: Time was you could throw a rock in any direction in Athens and hit a John Berry gig. Since those humble days of yore, i.e. literally decades ago, the country singer-songwriter who cut his pre-Grammy-Award-winning teeth here in town has returned multiple times, and you have a chance to catch him again. On Saturday, June 28 Berry will play Normaltown Brewing Co. (425 Barber St.). VIP tickets at $100 a pop are already sold out. General Admission tickets are $40 (plus $7.45 in fees). The organizers say that the first 500 people are guaranteed admission and, after that amount is sold, they will assess how many more tickets, if any, they can sell. This event technically starts at 2 p.m. with food vendors on site and opening acts beginning to play, etc., but Berry is slated to perform at 7 p.m., so plan accordingly. For more information, please see facebook.com/JohnBerryMusic, and for tickets, please visit freshtix.com/events/john-berry—a-40th-homecoming-celebration.
DEM OL’ KOZMIC BLUES: Sometimes I wonder about people coming to town and wanting to check out the “world famous Athens, GA music scene,” then toddling into a place like Flicker Theatre & Bar only to get slapped across the head with, say, Rubber Udder. The band must’ve wondered this as well, because the eight-song live album, Koleszlaw Accumulating in the Depths of the Cridge Forner…, recorded at Flicker, just came out. Right out of the gate, during the introduction, Rubber Udder says, “… and we hate you guys.” And then it goes about its noisy and aggressive business of both embracing and rejecting its audience while everyone swirls around inside a gigantic space funnel that empties into a garbage dump. Specific highlights for me are “KonKrete,” “Accident At The Lumberyard” and “The Beef Industry.” Although some have tried, never before in Athens has such force been propagated by mere drums and bass. Go check this out at hardtackk.bandcamp.com and see what you think.
OCEAN SIZE: Although most recently releasing music under the project name Galaxy Tube, composer R. Grant Evans just put out, via Hooker Vision—his co-owned label with wife and composer Rachel Evans—the single-track, 59-minute record Asymmetric Foxhound. As is the case with most of his and the label’s work, this is best experienced as dedicated listening. That is, there’s no way to fully let an hour’s worth of creaks, static, electronic howls, drones, etc. wash over you without saying to yourself, “This is all I’m going to do for the next 59 minutes.” So, figure out when you’ve got an hour to spare, throw on your headphones, turn off the lights and head to hookervision.bandcamp.com.
ROCK DOWN TO IT: If you’re wondering where you can take your acoustic instrument on a Saturday morning and jam with others, wonder no more. The Oconee Farmers Market is hosting Jamarama: Acoustic Jam on Saturday, June 28 from 10 a.m. to noon. The market is located at Wire Park (1725 Electric Ave., Watkinsville). It’s got exactly what you would expect from local vegetables to artisanal this-n-that. For more information, please see oconeefarmersmarket.net.
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