SCARY MONSTERS: Goth/darkwave/deathrock stars Tears For The Dying released its new single “Kaiju” last week, and it’s yet another fine entry into the group’s catalog. It hits upon several recognizable and canonical elements for this type of music (effects-laden guitars and vocals; throbby, persistent bass) and conjures up multiple reference points. I’m not crazy about the tempo changes it contains, but when it speeds up and kicks in fully, I all of a sudden don’t mind them so much. Find this at tearsforthedying.bandcamp.com, and follow the group via facebook.com/TearsForTheDying.
IT’S FRIDAY, YOU’RE IN LOVE: Adria Stembridge (Tears For The Dying) is half of the hosting team behind the popular Dark Entries Goth Karaoke events, which have darkened regular Friday nights at Buvez for a long time now. Longtime Athens musician, and member of more bands than you could even remember, Gregory Sanders, is the other half. All of which is to say that if you’ve got a hankering for belting your Bauhaus best then, by all means, get yourself to one of these nights. Your hosts have a massive collection of tracks for you to perform over and not just goth, either. Patrons can enjoy croaking out a variety of songs categorized as post-punk, industrial, punk and other related genres. Upcoming dates for Goth Karaoke are May 19, June 9 and 23, and July 7 and 21. Buvez is located at 585 Barber St. in Suite A, and these nights start at 7 p.m.
RHYTHM NATION, 2023: Immaterial Possession celebrated the release of its second full-length album, Mercy of the Crane Folk, last week and boy oh boy, is this thing hot to trot. Preceded in release by the singles “To The Fete” and the title track, anticipation for this has been high. And I’m here to advise you that, if you were anticipating this like I was, disappointment shouldn’t appear anywhere on your radar. The record is a stupendously arranged collection of 10 songs that offer, incongruously, both ecstatic—nearly spiritual—release and intermittent feelings of claustrophobia. For the uninitiated, Immaterial Possession can be loosely described as a dark-psych group, but its artistic debt reaches much farther back than the 1960s and beyond much of the expression of the genre’s most popular groups. One of my favorite aspects of the band is that they’re utterly unbeholden to any Athens musical tradition save one of continual growth and exploration. Find this at immaterialpossession.bandcamp.com.
LOOK OVER THERE: After another incredible season, UGA Presents will close out Saturday, May 13 with a performance by Nederland, CO’s Yonder Mountain String Band at Hodgson Concert Hall. The now-25 year old group was honored with a Grammy Award nomination for its 2022 album Get Yourself Outside and was honored in its home state with an induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. The group also suffered a tragedy last month when founding member Jeff Austin, who left the group in 2014, passed away suddenly following a medical emergency Apr. 6. Tickets for this show range from $25–60 and can be found at pac.uga.edu. You may also purchase tickets in person at the Performing Arts Box Office Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. or by calling 706-542-4400 during those same hours. For more information, please see pac.uga.edu/event/yonder-mountain-string-band.
NIGHTCLUBBING: The full lineup for AthFest Music & Arts Festival has now been announced and is available online. The popular club crawl returns this year, too, with stages at The Georgia Theatre, 40 Watt Club, Live Wire, Hendershot’s, Flicker Theatre & Bar, Ciné, The Foundry, The Globe, Paloma Park and Nowhere Bar. This year’s AthFest happens June 23-25. The full lineup and club crawl wristbands are available at athfest.com.
NEW, MAYBE NOTABLE: The brand spankin’ new group The Lickskillets will open for Norma Rae at Ciné Wednesday, May 10. While I’ve not yet seen them live in person, they reportedly perform “…country goth/murder ballads kinda stuff” which sounds alright in my book. The group is composed of the dedicated crew of Steve Fitzpatrick, Jason George, Wendy Bell and Rob Fluhr and led by vocalist Wynn Walter. Now you know exactly as much as I do about these folks, so why not head down and form an opinion, why don’t ya?
TANKS A LOT: Jameson Tank has a new single out now named “Side Mission” that sounds exactly like what you’d expect if someone melted down a bunch of Van Halen, Asia and Triumph records and mixed them all together. In other words, this is 1980s-style arena rock in the first degree. You can catch them at the inaugural Athens in Atlanta showcase happening Saturday, June 17 at Terminal West along with Heffner, The Pink Stones, Monsoon, AD Blanco and Bea Porges. Find the group’s music on Spotify, and for more information, please see facebook.com/jamesontank.
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