PLAN AHEAD: Tickets are on sale now for the 2022 Wildwood Revival. This popular destination and camping event, always hosted at Cloverleaf Farm in Arnoldsville, was forced to cancel for COVID-19 the past two years, but is set to occur once again this Sept. 30–Oct. 2. The lineup at Wildwood has always been carefully constructed, and this year is no different. Featured acts are Black Pumas, Jenny Lewis, The Wood Brothers, John Moreland, Elizabeth Cook, Suzanne Santo, Early James, The Bones of J.R. Jones, The Heavy Heavy, Packway Handle Band, Zach Person, J.P. Harris, The Pink Stones and Leon III. For more information on tickets and camping, please see facebook.com/wildwoodrevival and wildwoodrevival.com.
HELLO, AGAIN: It’s been a while since Killa Cabbi (aka Cabbage Looper) appeared in these pages, but both he and his associated label Echobass Records have continued to put out a steady stream of music. Cabbi’s music can stretch an expanse of electronic styles that run a narrow gamut between hip hop and video game music. His newest release, Cali Ma, just came out at the beginning of April. While generally a self-contained unit, this release features guest vocals by Ricky B.E. and guest production on two tracks by Dollar (“Casino World [Feat Queen Seeva]”) and MedicusX (“Slowed Down”). This release functions more like a mixtape than a proper album but, as such, it’s also prime cruising material full of low-slung beats—exemplified best by “Just Doin’ My Job”—and it’s already spring, so go ahead and roll the windows down. Find this at echobassrecords.bandcamp.com.
RAISE YOUR VOICE IN SWELLS: As a general rule, I’m not immediately partial to live records unless there was something particularly spectacular about a certain show. That said, the new live record by Noise Mountain—Live: Southern Brewing January 7, 2022—is pretty killer. The band, whose own punk rock bona fides are unimpeachable, draws deeply from the rich well of latter 20th century rock and roll, punk and hardcore. Without going too into detail on a track-by-track basis, suffice it to say that, most likely, anyone that appreciates the intersection of Black Flag, Hüsker Dü and Hot Water Music will dig this a whole lot. I sure did. Discover it over at thenoisemountain.bandcamp.com, and pledge your loyalty at facebook.com/NoiseMountain.
STEAL AWAY: Ryan Ward (Midnight Mac) is an Athens-based songwriter who hails from Rome, GA but is embedded in schoolwork at UGA for the time being. His band released an EP last year, but he’s been pushing further out as a solo artist lately. To wit, he’s got a new single out on Friday, Apr. 8 named “All You Wanted,” and it’s got kind of a dark yacht-rock vibe about it. That is, it comes on smooth with its horn arrangements and lush percussion, but has a decidedly moody emotional component. He also released a single last month, “This Time,” and it too swims in the moody end of the pool, but even with its nice acoustic plucking packs less of a punch than this newest one. Find him on Spotify.
SUNRISE SERVICE: Ranjan Avasthi and Sofie Lute are the leaders of The Rishis (Cloud Recordings) and have a new single out now in anticipation of a full-length album, August Moon, to be released later this year. The single, “Wake Up,” is a poignant prayer of sorts urging listeners to pay attention to the world around them and turn off talking heads and the noisiest voices. Musically speaking, it’s a softly focused, shimmering track with a healthy list of guests. These include Scott Spillane (The Gerbils), John Kiran Fernandes (Olivia Tremor Control), James Husband (Great Lakes), Peter Alvanos (Elf Power) and others. The track was recorded at Amplify Studio, which is operated by Nuçi’s Space. Find this and listen in over at cloudrecordings.bandcamp.com.
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