INNER SANCTUM: JJ Posway spent several years in Athens making music with Scooterbabe and his solo project, Aprotag. Now, with a new project working under the name Sloping, he’s got a brand-new album about to be released this Friday, Feb. 26. This batch of tracks, assembled as Completed Songs, is a well-fitting set of nine songs recorded between 2018– 2019 in Nashville and Atlanta. The album arrives courtesy of the Sound As Language label. Posway’s songcraft really shines on this in a way that hadn’t yet been fully explored. The songs are largely acoustic guitar-based and somewhat shrouded by slight echoes. There are fine uses of found sound, none of which are accidental, that work just as well as any traditional instrumentation (i.e. the 10 or so seconds of rain sound at the end of “Nudge” and the ticking near-claps at the start of “Clay”). Posway’s delivery is often one of self-directed, inward-facing monologue even when he uses terms like “you,” “yours,” etc. It’s all just a gorgeous package of tunes that demand a quiet room and a dedicated, uninterrupted listening session. Check it out at sloping.bandcamp.com.
IN LIVING COLOR: Composer Andrew Steck reported last week that, pretty much on the heels of delivering vinyl copies of his album Inner Loop / Outer Loop to local stores, he also released a new EP. This short collection—three tracks total—is named Covers EP, which can only be assumed to be the most appropriate title ever for these three cover tracks. As expected, Steck makes everything his own. Included here are his version of “Jolene” (reconfigured here as “Jolene Rides West,” which he originally released a while back), plus his version of Danzig’s “Mother” (its presence here rendered as a wonderfully creative chamber-ish tune with Klezmer flourishes), and Ween’s “Transdermal Celebration,” in which he imbues the track with a grand and cinematic quality that would have been difficult to imagine had I not heard it. Now, you can, as well. Head to andrewsteck.bandcamp.com to stream, and follow along at facebook.com/andrewsteckcomps.
BANGERS EN MASSE: The second volume of Classic City Wax is currently being pressed at Kindercore Vinyl. The first volume was released exactly one year ago and was pretty much gone in an instant. The second volume will feature 15 tracks and includes the artists Blakeley Jones, Wesdaruler w/ Louie Larceny, Valley Girl D, Dope KNife with Anne Santos, Nony1, KidArsenic, Amun-Ra, Seline Haze, Young Gutta, Jahkiem, Blacknerdninja, Frank The Eagle, Graffitti’Heart and Athens hip-hop legend Duddy Ken. The comp was mixed and mastered by Joel Hatstat, sequenced by DJ Chief Rocka, and is presented by AthFactor/Liberty Entertainment. The exact release date is still unknown, but we’ll keep you as posted as possible, naturally.
HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?: After years of releasing music so quickly that listeners would have to make near constant U-turns to keep up with it all, Seth Martin & The Dish Boys have assembled a wonderful port of entry for newcomers. Indeed, the guys released two full LPs last year alone (Suitcase of Life and Sending Out My Love). This week, a whopping collection of 30 songs compiling band-favorite selections from the group’s first six albums comes out. It’s named The Golden Book of Favorite Songs. The last time I can recall an Athens album attempting to do something similar was Jack Logan’s Bulk, but that was full of unreleased music. Golden Book is full of songs you can revisit on their respective albums. Among my favorites here are “Waking In The Morning,” “Significance,” “Zebulon” and “You Got Me, I Got You.” Plan on spending a good week or so with this. It’s a big’un. Head to sethmartinandthedishboys.bandcamp.com for all the tunes, plus a novel’s worth of liner notes.
CLOSE TO HOME: Because there’s simply not enough new Athens music coming out this week, let me steer your ears to the new single by Wanderwild. The band has been working on a new album, and this is the first new music we’ve heard from them in a while. Named “Do The Work,” it’s a nice slice of dance-floor-lite pop groove that should set you up just fine for spring. Like everything else on your schedule, this comes out Feb. 26. So set that dial to facebook.com/wanderwildmusic and wanderwildmusic.com to check it out.
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