GOOD OLD MOUNTAIN DEW: Athens “jamgrass” band Peach Ice Cream Bluegrass has been kicking around for a couple of years now and just released its first single. It’s titled “Down by the Creek.” It has some expected bluegrass earmarks like fingerpicking and a steady shuffle of a melody. It is, however, also a very mellow track with some country leanings. Ultimately, it’s a fine tune very well performed, and should serve as a nice calling card for all these out-of-town shows that the band seems to be stacking up. Find this wherever you stream music, and if you get stumped, just drop a question to the boys over at instagram.com/peachicecreambluegrass, and hopefully they’ll get you set straight.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?: Joshua Nathaniel is the current operating name for the artist you’ve previously known as both Cortez Garza and Niño Brown. He’s releasing the first single soon, maybe this week even, but nothing is solid yet. Anyway, it’s titled “Deja Vu,” and was made in collaboration with producer and DJ low.again. In a press release, the artist said the new iteration is “the final phase of a ‘holy trinity’ type project that was conceptualized to be a source of creative liberation.” The song was recorded, mixed and mastered by Matt Tamisin at Japanski Studio. The song itself has a nice new wave-throwback feel but features a relentless, albeit relatively low-key, beat that is just this close to a drum-and-bass rhythm. It’s definitely a departure from anything you’ve heard from either Garza or Brown, but easily among the best work done so far by any of his personalities. Find this on your favorite streaming service.
GOOD GALOSHES: Wet Meadows, the only self-professed botanical rock band I’ve ever encountered, released the three-track “maxi-single” back in April named Mall Walkers. Please note that the band has made its threat clear in the liner notes for this, and they say, “This is the first installment in a series of releases that will compose a long-playing album addressing the Mall.” So, consider yourself warned. With the exception of the horn riffs in the title song, none of these tracks have any of the expected 1980s trappings. They are, for the most part, a timeless mash of soft psychedelia and indie pop. None of which is to say this isn’t pleasant, just that it doesn’t appear to have finished the work it set out for itself. The final song, the crushingly lethargic “Echoes,” takes some will to get through, but after the first spin it was OK. I’m still on the fence with this, but you can feel free to choose a side by heading to wetmeadows.bandcamp.com.
FLOAT AWAY: Although formed in Athens, the mellow fellows in Sun Trick Pony are now based in Durham, NC. Even so, they report that the band’s newest single, “Cinnamon Chapstick,” was recorded here in town and even features a few locals, such as Iain Cooke and Jacob Mallow. This is an exceedingly lightweight song with a breezy melody, gentle vocals, and just an overall sense of hesitation that I can’t really put my finger on. Find this on Spotify, and for more information, please see facebook.com/suntrickpony.
KINGAGE: Hot on the heels of his last single “Bad Habits,” here comes Phantom Dan with a new pop/punk/emo banger named “We Were Kings.” It features guest vocals from Emilee Campbell Harden (Way Past Cool, Swear Jar) and her contributions fit very nicely. Lyrically, this is right in the vein of Bryan Adams’ “Summer Of ‘69” or whatever youth nostalgia tune you decide it fits along with. And it packs it all into fewer than three minutes, which is pretty dang efficient. Phantom Dan will headline the 40 Watt Club on Saturday, June 22 during the AthFest 2024 club crawl, and will be joined by openers Burns Like Fire, Left Front Tire and Here Be Monsters. Find this on Spotify, and for more information, please see facebook.com/phantomdan88.
EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUDGE: The new EP Almost There from Deaf Condors is a very well-played mixed bag of heavy styles, but mostly stays between the ditches of 1970s dirt rock/proto-punk and 1990s grunge which, actually, aren’t terribly far apart to begin with. That’s a fairly broad descriptor, though, considering the band branches out into semi-psych on “The Will” and reaches a nice level of sophistication on the reggae-tinged “Hummingbird.” Find this over at deafcondors.bandcamp.com.
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