HERE COMES THE SUNSHINE: There’s a new single out this week from songwriter Drew Beskin, who has been on a particular tear of solid releases for the past few years. Between his solo records and those credited with his band The Sunshine, it’s been a long time since listeners could claim disappointment from him. And with this new release it seems that disappointment is going to have to wait a while longer. The new single, “Short Straws,” is a nice and steady indie rock track but with a mid-slow tempo, and is released via Super Canoe and We Bought A Zoo Records. It’s lyrically strong, which is an aspect of Beskin’s songwriting that I don’t feel gets mentioned enough. The weather outside is likely still a little too cold for this spring-ish tune, so if you find that to be the case, just hold on to it for a few weeks. Other players on this are Tommy Trautwein, Gideon Johnston, Hunter Pinkston, Mckendrick Bearden and Spencer Thomas. As of Feb. 22, you can find this at drewbeskin.bandcamp.com, drewbeskin.com and all major streaming services. Beskin will play a solo set on Mar. 9 at Flicker with Gracie Huffman (lighthearted) and Julianna Money.
LOOK ALIVE: Sebastian Marquez (ex-Dead Neighbors) first unleashed his project Slime Ring on the public a few years ago. Last month, Marquez released a new EP on Drew Kirby’s (ex-Mothers) Marching Banana label. It’s titled as a label catalog entry as 091: Explorer Series Vol. 1. While it’s nothing at all like the guitar-driven indie rock of Dead Neighbors, Slime Ring is an exploratory electronic and, seemingly, open-ended project. There are a few guests aboard this including Wieuca and, according to the record notes, Hannah Bo Lecter (Lowtown, Ladybusch), Keron (Vessel) and violinist Lily Zwaan (Scare Quotes). This is mostly enjoyable but remains a collection of sketches instead of a fully coalesced concept. Even so, it’s going to take a lot to beat the electro drum and bass of “S.I.D.S.I. (ft. Wieuca).” This is worth it for that track alone. Check it out for yourself over at marchingbanana.bandcamp.com and slimering.bandcamp.com.
PLAN YOUR PICNIC: Drivin N Cryin frontman and songwriter Kevn Kinney cranks up his residency at The Rialto Club this week. Specifically, he’ll be playing Thursdays, Feb. 22, Mar. 28 and Apr. 25. The Rialto Club is located inside Hotel Indigo downtown. Doors open at 7 p.m. each night, and music begins at 8 p.m. Tickets for these intimate shows range from $15–75. For more information, please see facebook.com/AubreyEntertainmentAthensGA or indigoathens.live.
IN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR: DC native, but now-established Athens artist, Wim Tapley released his newest full-length album, Red Door, earlier this month. From his first single in 2018, Tapley was always a promising artist and his recent success selling out the Georgia Theatre—not to mention the steady pace of releases he’s cranked out—are evidence of him fulfilling that promise. The new album is an incredibly well-produced record that showcases Tapley’s expansive songwriting style. Significantly, though, he can craft down-home, emotional whimsy like “Well Tequila” and lovelorn alt-country like “Errands,” and place them right alongside of neo-soul burners like “Talk To Me” and “Jefe.” For more information, please see wimtapley.com.
STAY LOUD: Some bands can’t stop themselves from releasing so much music that they wind up making their audience sick of hearing them. There’s likely no chance at all that Rosie & the Ratdogs will ever suffer such a fate. It’s already been three years since the band’s debut three-song EP. Only just this month did it finally release a new single, “Peench.” It packs a lot into this five-minute track that introduces itself as a fairly classic sounding 1990s-ish grunge/metal hybrid, but has a whole lot going on behind the scenes. Like an onion, it slowly reveals itself and becomes a theatrical, if not slightly psychedelic, tune before eventually ending on a note rawer than the ones with which it began. The band reported to me that it already has another single planned for March, so maybe you’ll get sick of ‘em sooner than I thought. Rosie & the Ratdogs next play locally on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the 40 Watt Club with Apostle (Atlanta), Attest and Oxystar. In the meantime, find this new rocker over at rosieandtheratdogs.bandcamp.com, and keep up with the fellas over at facebook.com/rosieandtheratdogs.
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