NSFW: Steve Fitzpatrick (Unus Mundus, Radio:Tahiti) has a new project going on named Zalpha. He made it clear that this is a project and not a band, as it’s a long-distance collaboration between him and a dude named Dave Free who lives in Kansas City, but he didn’t tell me which one. This is supposed to be a comedy album, but it didn’t exactly make me laugh. Honestly, the material delivered here is textually closer to, say, Negativland than any stand-up you may have heard, which is to say it’s deliberately unsettling, often inscrutable, and more of a curiosity than anything you’d put on for pleasure. Musically, it spans a wide path that encompasses hard rock at heart but sits solidly in the background. It reminded me of a non-funky Primus more than anything. If inclined, check it out at zalpha.bandcamp.com.
HAM2: Band leader Jim Willingham (Ham1, Old Smokey, et al) has a new group named Dim Watts that is celebrating the release of its debut album Eye Two Three Saturday, July 22 at Buvez at 5 p.m. The group is rounded out by John Ross Bleech (The Humms, Uncle Goo) on drums, Jason Trahan (Old Smokey) on lap steel and Adam Hebert (Los Meesfits) on bass. Also on the bill are Don Chambers, W8ING4UFOS, and Gainesville, FL’s Tierney Tough. If you’ve enjoyed Willingham’s work in the past, then you understand that his writing is a known quantity consisting of oddball folk, dark Americana, pop undertones and occasional languidly, but just as occasional bursts of irrepressible enthusiasm. And that sums up the whole of this new album. For more information, please see dimwatts.net.
HERE COMES THE SUMMER: Newer Athens band The Familiar Strange embraces multiple influences, but they’re pretty much all centered on the glam rock tradition and its associated tangents as it’s been interpreted over the decades. For example, on its brand-new, self-titled debut album, close listeners should be able to easily extract touchstone melodies and rhythms owing to such seemingly disparate sources as T. Rex, of Montreal, David Bowie, The Undertones, et al. Head honcho and songwriter Daniel Hogan has a vocal delivery that is often incredibly similar to the timbre of Feargal Sharkey and Marc Bolan, albeit never really going over the top the way they could occasionally. Specific highlights here include the guitar-centric “Johnny And Tony” and opening track “Love And Hate.” Keep in mind that the artists mentioned above should not be used as a guide to listening to The Familiar Strange, and I specifically named them merely as influences, not blueprints. Hogan’s songs stand on their own. Check this out at thefamiliarstrange.bandcamp.com.
AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME: If you ever receive any information that local folk-country artist Clover County (née A.G. Schiano ) just released her first single, you can dismiss this information out of hand because it’s simply not true. Fact is, she’s been releasing music intermittently for the past year. Now, she does have a new single named “Outlaw,” and while it’s not a huge leap for her as far as songwriting goes, it’s a brightly produced and slowly paced pop tune seemingly ready-made for summer. You can find it on all major streaming platforms. I’d encourage you, though, to listen to her older material first to hear where she’s coming from. Especially strong is her demo track from last July named “Black Leather Daydream.” If you missed her during AthFest this year, you can make amends by heading to the Georgia Theatre on Friday, July 21, when she opens the night for the equally enjoyable lighthearted. Find her old tunes over at clovercounty.bandcamp.com.
GIVE YOURSELF A ROUND OF APPLAUSE: AthFest Educates, the nonprofit organization that produces our annual AthFest Music & Arts Festival, has announced that this year’s event raised over $100,000, which it reports is not only the largest amount ever raised in a single year, but is more than double its previous highest amount. This is, needless to say, a major milestone for the event and a sure feather in the cap of newly crowned director Mary-Eleanor Joyce. These funds support music education across a series of initiatives for Clarke County schools. For more information, please see athfesteducates.org.
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