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Inside the Harmonic Prism with Jeremy Kiran Fernandes, And More Music News and Gossip

Inside the Harmonic Prism by Jeremy Kiran Fernandes

DON’T ASK ME: Preorders are open now for the upcoming sophomore album by The Pink Stones. It’s titled You Know Who and is slated for release via Normaltown Records on June 30. The first single “Who’s Laughing Now?” is out as we speak. It features a whole guest appearance by Nashville’s Teddy & The Rough Riders, and is distinctly more of a chooglin’, Southern country boogie-styled tune than you may have become accustomed to from the group’s previous LP. The band will play three regional shows surrounding the album’s release at Atlanta’s Terminal West (June 17), Macon’s Grant’s Lounge (June 22) and at AthFest (June 24). You can pre-save the new album on streaming services via newwst.com/youknowwho (Note: not a typo. The second “e” in west is supposed to be missing.), and preorder the physical album via newwestrecords.com/collections/pre-orders. For all other information, please see thepinkstones.com.

CHERNOBYL SUNRISE: It feels like it’s been forever since I mentioned anything about Nuclear Tourism, so here we go. The group has a new album set to release on May 12, but has released two singles from it so far. They are, in order of appearance, “No Never!” and “Computer Wife.” What’s interesting about these guys is they’re, in the most convenient definition, a skate punk band that’s totally unbeholden to any accepted skate rock orthodoxy. To this end, they’re adept at squeezing new life out of familiar psych riffs and pop structures. There’s a third single, “Cut Your Hair,” slated for release Apr. 21, too. Find these guys on Spotify, and follow along at facebook.com/nucleartourism.

THIS IS HOME, WE LIVE HERE NOW: Jazz merchants Kenosha Kid has decided to extend its residency at Hendershot’s to such a degree that you may as well start sending its mail there. The group’s Tuesday night appearances, each featuring two sets of music, start at 7 p.m. and, you know, go until they’re finished. The specific upcoming dates for these shows are Apr. 11 and 25 and then May 9, 16, 23 and 30. For all other information, please see facebook.com/KenoshaKid and kenoshakid.com.

REST IN PEACE: Former Athens musician Eric Groff Agner died on Monday, Jan. 30 at the age of 56 after complications from cancer. A life-long musician, he was active in the local scene throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s in Banned 37 and The Woggles. In Baltimore and the Washington, D.C. area, he played with The Dilettantes, Dames Rocket, Lawn Chair, The Racket, The Paper Tapes, The Sugar Biscuits and The Judith Hour. He was also an avid participant in the global songwriting challenge February Album Writing Month. A committal service will be held Saturday, Apr. 15 at 4 p.m. at St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church. A memorial gathering will follow from 5–8 p.m. at the Lyndon House Arts Center, where guests will be welcome to share anecdotes, photos and songs. [Jessica Smith]

CLUTCH GEAR: Ben Hackett (New Madrid) has finally released a full-length album from his project BennyHonda SuperShifter, and it’s named SuperShifter, which feels like when your mom used to write your name on the tags of your shirts so they didn’t get lost at summer camp. This is a very taut, seven-song collection that draws heavily, and occasionally improves on, the Amer-indie underground of the 1970s-‘90s, which itself was often impressed upon by the pop sounds of the ‘60s. Specific tracks that fit these admittedly elastic parameters are the Robitussin-soaked “Terrified,” the sped-up Galaxie 500-ish “Self Help” and the swaggery garage rocker “Talk.” Find this on Spotify.

EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER: The Monty Greene-curated live music series Sonic Space at ATHICA (inside the Leathers Building at 675 Pulaski St., STE 1200) is going swimmingly, and next up is a show by well-known Athens musician and personality John Kiran Fernandes. He is known, of course, for his time in Olivia Tremor Control and Circulatory System, his label Cloud Recordings, and nearly a million other projects over the past three decades. On Friday, Apr. 14 at 7 p.m., he will perform a solo set on clarinet which he describes as “minimalist ambient looped clarinet.” For those familiar with his work and resume none of this comes as new information, but hopefully it will guide newcomers to the right place. This show is free but donations to support the performer are greatly encouraged. For more information, please see athica.org/event/april2023sonicspace.

RELATED AND BELATED: I meant to get to this last week, but y’all would do good to turn your ears to the new album Inside the Harmonic Prism by musician and visual artist Jeremy Kiran Fernandes. This 14-track album is a deeply meditative experience across a few different styles. Notably, Fernandes explores late-1960s-style English folk (“Leaves Fall,” “Cypress,”), drones (“Seadust”) and Jandekian arrangements (“Wind Zither”), and closes with the legitimate American primitive sounds of “Walls Painted Like Sky.” What’s so cool about this is that everything is of a piece and nothing here is short-sighted, rushed through or gratuitous. It’s a fully deliberate and complete work of art that deserves to be heard thoroughly more than once. Find it at jeremykiranfernandes.bandcamp.com.

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