ROLL UP: On Friday, Jan. 27 at Ciné there will be a listening party for the new album, Legacy, by Athens hip-hop godfather Ishues. Fort Knox will host, JiiG will handle DJ duties, and special guest Cassie Chantel will perform. Also, Ishues himself will perform, which is a really special treat for a listening party. There’s chatter that album producer Sol Messiah might also show up and perform, but that’s still solidly in the “rumor” category. There’ll be a food truck present, too, and the event is entirely free to attend. For more information, please see facebook.com/ishuestheartist, and find the new album on all major streaming services.
WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING: In the very last days of December, Nana Grizol released its newest collection of tunes Dancing Dogs. These nine songs, recorded between 2008 and 2009, were the first versions of the songs that would comprise the band’s 2010 album Ruth. They’re raw and speedy and full of personality. For the uninitiated, Nana Grizol can be loosely described as folk-punk with a pure pop edge. These songs were engineered by Nesey Gallons and mastered twice, once in 2009 by Derek Almstead and again in 2021 by Jason NeSmith. Find this and enjoy over at nanagrizol.bandcamp.com, and lean into being a fan over at facebook.com/nanagrizol666.
LIKE, OMG!: The now decades-old band The Shut-Ups will celebrate the release of its newest album The Shut-Ups Are Girls Singing Songs, which hilariously, albeit a bit reductively, skewers online tropes, slang and casual conversation, and all the low-hanging fruit of internet/influencer culture. At least, that’s what I took from it. In another lifetime, these dudes would all be song-and-dance men. But in 2023, they remain among the most dependable pop craftsmen we know. The record release show happens Friday, Jan. 20 at Ciné. Get more up to speed via facebook.com/theshutups.
WOODSHEDDING: Rob Smith (Wieuca, Jack’s Johnson) just released his debut solo album under the name RV Smith. The nine-track album is titled Melt Water Pulse, and Smith recorded it in Atlanta and New York. The record is full of synth swells, razor-thin electronic beats (quite similar to those used by Salem and others) and an overall indie-electronic vibe. In particular, I dug the tracks “Freedom Fuel,” “Skullcandy” and “Thusly.” The album closes with an actual original take on Simon & Garfunkel’s “I Am A Rock” but is cataloged here as simply “I Am Rock.” I suppose there’s a certain amount of trap-rap influence here, but only just slightly. This was recorded and performed all by Smith but was mastered by Murk Daddy Flex (AKA Terence Chiyezhan). Find this at vineyardvines.bandcamp.com.
FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS: In a very special performance the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine will play the Hugh Hodgson Concert Hall Monday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. This is a presentation of UGA’s Performing Arts Center. The orchestra is conducted by Ukrainian-American Theodore Kuchar and is slated to perform Dvořák’s New World Symphony and Brahms’s brooding Tragic Overture. Ukrainian-American pianist Stanislav Khristenko will join the orchestra for its performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Tickets are $40–70 and can be purchased at the Performing Arts Center box office at 706-542-4400, Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–5 pm and by visiting pac.uga.edu.
OHMU LIVE AT POMPEI: Experimental improviser and electronic composer Winston Parker released a live video shot across two days at Ciné under his Ohmu moniker. He reports that this was shot with a friend visiting from Texas. The performance spans three pieces, of which Parker says the seeds were planted by being “… always gravitated towards improvisation, drawn to a potentially transcendent state of expression. This music was initially inspired while playing off of the dissonance of a plane engine echoing in the atmosphere.” I can tell you now that you’ll bliss out harder to this if you cast it to a big screen and turn off all other distractions. Parker will release a new collection of improvisational pieces, Gaussian Drift Vol. 2, on Jan. 20 at ohmushell.bandcamp.com, and you can be a pal over at facebook.com/ohmumusic. Find the new live video at youtube.com/@ohmumusic.
VISITING HOURS: Monty Greene (Nerve Clinic, Damage Report) is the new experimental music curator at ATHICA, and his first production happens Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. It features Gull, which is the solo project of Nathaniel Rappole. Existing since 1999, Gull has toured with some real cream-of-the-crop artists including Silver Apples, Adrian Belew, Dan Deacon, Melt Banana and many more. This is the first of a monthly series of shows Greene will host at the gallery. Find more information at both gullface.com and athica.org.
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