LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE: Longtime Athens musician Joe Rowe (Bliss, The Glands, et al.) plowed through his archives recently and unearthed a set of recordings he made, now newly released under his Fourth Mansions moniker, way back in 1995. Titled Sequined And Stoned, the set contains 11 songs recorded on Rowe’s four-track Tascam Portastudio. As a time capsule, this is a nice way to get a glimpse into, as Rowe put it to me, “an Athens far away.” The songs range from shambolic demo-style tracks to well-constructed and crafted tunes like “Black Stars,” “This Is My Life” and the Guided By Voices-ish “I Am The Rebound.” One thing I like so much about this is that this is from a time when, for the overwhelming majority of artists, there was basically zero hope of anyone outside of one’s closest friends ever hearing this kind of stuff. While some people had stars in their eyes, sure, the reality was that local art and music was nearly guaranteed to stay only local and, more often than not, at a micro-level. So, tune in and turn on. Check this out at fourthmansions.bandcamp.com.
CORRECTION: A couple of weeks ago, local band Wet Meadows was misidentified here as Wet Garden, which is another thing entirely. Specifically, I was leading you to check out the new EP Lotta Glocken, which was definitely done by Wet Meadows and not anyone else, no matter what you may have read. So, check it out here at wetmeadows.bandcamp.com.
GOTTA GET IT: Nicholas Mallis will release his newest pop jingle, “8k,” next Monday, Oct. 25. The song is from his upcoming album Product Placement, which is due out next spring. The album is based on the concept of the songs being ostensible advertisements for products but, as Mallis puts it, with “dark and twisted vignettes that interject.” With that in mind, “8k” is one such song, based around the idea of Apple promoting a phone camera that can capture 8,000 frames per second and through such lead folks to enlightenment. Musically speaking, it’s a hummable and danceable track with a solid guitar rhythm that stays in place very nicely—think ‘80s-era R&B. It was recorded at Mallis’ studio The Pringle Lodge and mastered by Jesse Mangum of The Glow Recording Studio. This’ll land on all major streaming services as well as nicholasmallis.bandcamp.com, so look for it wherever you generally find such things.
OLD SCHOOL MEETS OLDER OLD SCHOOL: There’s a special all-ages event happening at Southern Brewing Co. Friday, Oct. 22. Courtesy of Aubrey Entertainment, the Pylon Reenactment Society and Elf Power will play a nicely booked double bill. Tickets are $10 in advance (possibly more at the door, but I’m unsure of that). Doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. Now, chances are very good you’ve seen Elf Power perform its magic at least a few times over its eight-billion-show existence, but you might not yet have seen Pylon Reenactment Society. Let me tell you, and this is coming from someone who generally has a very jaundiced eye toward things like tributes, PRS is a real treat. Composed of Pylon vocalist Vanessa Hay along with Jason NeSmith, Kay Stanton and returning original PRS drummer Gregory Sanders, the band does indeed play Pylon material but does so with such panache and personality that it hardly fits the tribute mold. In a very real way, PRS makes these songs their own while negating none of the respect due to the originals. For this show, their first since February 2020, they’ll be performing the entirety of Pylon’s 1980 debut album Gyrate as well as some select other material. There will be a new Gyrate-themed shirt available at this show, courtesy of New West Records, as well as all available Pylon merchandise. Catch ‘em! For more information and ticket links, please see facebook.com/pylonreenactmentsociety, and for a deep dive regarding everything else, please see pylonreenactmentsociety.com.
KEEP PRINCE AVENUE WEIRD: Experimental wunderkind Michael Potter will play with Shane Parish at Normal Bar (on the patio) Thursday, Oct. 21. Also on the bill this night are Mary Margaret Cozart and Kiran Fernandes. It’ll run ya eight bucks and starts at 7 p.m., so arrive early. In related news, one of Potter’s labels—specifically Garden Portal—is planning on hosting a festival-type event next spring and is actively searching for artists that fall under the freak folk (or similar) banner. For more information on the Garden Portal Folk Fest, please write to gardenportalmusic@gmail.com and be sure to check out gardenportal.bandcamp.com in the event you have no idea what I’m talking about.
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