iBANDS IN THE STREAM, THIS IS WHAT WE ARE: The Flicker Theatre & Bar will launch its online series, Deadstream, on Thursday, Oct. 1. The series, which is to benefit both the venue and local musicians experiencing financial hardship, will run every Thursday evening in October and probably all of November, too. The performance will be mostly filmed live at Flicker, although some artists may record their own sets elsewhere and send in the footage. The idea as it stands is for the shows to feature two acts—one opener doing approximately 20 minutes and a headliner running 30-40 minutes. While the show-streams are free, viewers are asked to donate as much as they can or would like during each broadcast. At the time of this writing, no schedule of artists had been determined—a fact likely to have changed by the time you read this—but on deck to perform across the series are WesdaRuler and Louie Larceny, Blunt Bangs, T. Hardy Morris, The Pink Stones, Four Eyes, Hotel Fiction and more. Please check facebook.com/flickerbar.athens for updates and then tune in via this conveniently shortened YouTube URL: bit.ly/32OygWB.
EASTER FOR CHRISTMAS: It’s been eight years since their last album, and this new one’s been cooking for six, but Easter Island is finally able to announce that the band’s sophomore LP, Take All The Time You Think You Need, will see release on Dec. 11. The first single from the record, “Smoke,” is out now and can be streamed over at easterisland.bandcamp.com. Stylistically, the band is still a lush and tuneful bunch with its tell-tale ringing guitars and harmonic vocals. This particular track is a bit more measured and a little less overtly earnest than the band’s past work. In this way, it is perhaps more emotionally poignant and effective. It was primarily produced and engineered by member Ryan Monahan with additional engineering work handled by Mike Albanese (Espresso Machine Recording), and it was mastered by Joel Hatstat at High Jump Media. The band’s debut album, Frightened, was released in 2012. For other ongoing concerns, please see facebook.com/easterislandband.
LAND, HO!: Although the latest album by Pilgrim came out way back in late March—the digital release, at least—the band has launched pre-orders for the physical release. The record, Neverland, will be available on vinyl and CD, and the band’s got some new T-shirts available, too, for you to sport while you’re rockin’. As I wrote in my original review of the album, I’m “partial to those songs where Pilgrim turns the Foghat up to 11,” and that’s an assessment I stand by. The band expects that the physical goods will be available in early 2021. Honestly, you’d think with a name like that, they’d have been targeting a Thanksgiving release, but, oh well. Get on the techno tip and lay your money down over at pilgrimathens.bigcartel.com, and stream the record at pilgrim4.bandcamp.com.
HEY, OH: The new EP from AyoPaco (aka Paco Marquez, formerly known as Jack Frost) is out now and named Planet Pac. It’s been a long time since we heard anything from Marquez, and his last release, IceGod, came out just about this time two years ago. Yet again, Marquez excels at producing and performing super-slick, incredibly modern and contemporary hip hop that could easily slide into any playlist of new mixtape artists. It takes a couple of listens through to really catch up with his humor, but he’s quite adept at standing his ground, so to speak, while still being kind of disarmingly self-effacing. You can find this on Spotify and other major streaming services.
I WANNA BE A COWBOY: Ridiculously hot on the heels of his critically acclaimed album Place Without A Name, Athens’ favorite expat (hopefully a temporary situation) Garett Hatch is set to release another new album Oct. 20. This next one is named Home, and you can preview one song, “Sagamore Drifter,” now. It’s a steady-paced gallop of a Western-styled tune but crafted in that particular way that makes one dream for days of David Lynch characters, far-off coyote howls and tumbleweeds. Check it all out at garetthatch.bandcamp.com.
FIVE MINUTES OF FIGHTING: The oft-mentioned Ixian has done a split release with Wizard Spoon as part of the latter’s Cuarentena series, of which this pairing constitutes Volume 4. On the Wizard end of things, the highlight in their three-song thrash parade arrives in the space between 0:29 and 0:39 on the song “Hunger.” I realize that’s a long time to wait for a 42-second song to kick in, but deal with it. As if each decided to place their best right in the middle of their respective sections, Ixian’s best here is the art-punk-electro-smash thing “Skeleton Keys.” The final song, “Power of God,” follows in similar fashion but is no less satisfying. Each band has posted this individually, but the full release is available at ixian.bandcamp.com, whereas wizardspoon.bandcamp.com only features the Wizard Spoon tracks. So choose your own path, bruh.
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