DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER: Electro artist Kye Fox says in the notes of their new album Reboot that, “After 4 years of learning to survive a pandemic, a new wave of fascism, and a series of personal crises, [they’re] back and on track!” Lucky for us, too, as this is a taut collection of some nice electronic work that butts up against electropop but never takes the full deep dive in that direction. Instead, we have a group of works that feels akin to one of the golden ages of electronic composition, the 1970s. The back-to-back tracks—the Tangerine Dream-ish “Sky City” and the Numan/Dolby-esque “Hero”—bring this variety into full relief. Find this at kyefox.bandcamp.com, and for more information, go sign up for their newsletter at newsletter.kyefox.com.
CAFFEINE SWEATS: A few weeks ago the date for the release show for the vinyl version of Weaponized Flesh’s Hurtful EP was up in the air. That’s all settled now as it’ll happen Thursday, July 18 at Buvez. The full bill is our headlining heroes along with Saddam Death Cave, Beer Piss and Multiple Miggs. This is a donation-based show, so please take a few cash dollars. Everything is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Learn the words and sing along over at weaponizedflesh1.bandcamp.com.
NEW NEWS: After clocking in over two decades of work, Athens death rockers Tears For The Dying really appear to possess a new burst of energy and have been rapidly expanding their activity. They recently returned to town from their tour supporting the new album In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun. They’ve got plans for another couple of short regional tours this year and are also entertaining some sweet offers. First, the band was invited to play the 2025 Gothic Pogo Festival in Leipzig-Connewitz, Germany as well as the 2025 Día de los Muertos festival in Los Angeles. Get in on the ground floor over at tearsforthedying.bandcamp.com, and follow along via facebook.com/TearsForTheDying.
WONDERING BOY POET: Athens musician Nick Ciarochi has been releasing music somewhat steadily for the past decade, and his new album, Another Man’s Comedy, just came out on Independence Day. I confess to being pretty unfamiliar with him, so this all kind of feels like that time in the early 1990s when the whole world discovered Guided By Voices, which already had a healthy catalog. You could slot this record right into your power pop section, and it would totally fit. However, that’s a little narrow, considering it also houses the artsy tango of “The One that You Asked to Leave,” the blue-eyed soul of “Space in my Heart” and the synth-based near-lullaby of “Staying Power.” Find this at nickciarochi.bandcamp.com.
HOT BOXING: The newest soundtrack for your summer sweat fest just dropped in the form of the new demo from hardcore blasters Big Trouble. While staying remarkably true to classic destructo hardcore, this is too fast to be sing-along and too committed to brevity to veer into thrash. That said, there are very brief moments here that allow you to catch your breath, but they’re so short they’re barely worth mentioning. Highlights here include “Song 5” and “Mutiny’s Breath.” Dig this up at bigtroubleathens.bandcamp.com.
FEEL IT ALL AROUND: A nice, brief, left-field entry into Athens’ July catalog comes “Role Models,” which is the debut (one-off?) single from baird x ssaucelord, which is producer Marcel Sletten with rapper ssaucelord. The short story here is, this is a chillwave-style track with trap-style vocals. This could have come out a decade ago and you’d never know. Nice little treat for midsummer. Grab it at primordialvoid.bandcamp.com.
RELATEDLY: The Georgia Museum of Art will host its Museum Mix Thursday, July 18 from 8–11 p.m. Museum Mix is the museum’s semi-regular evening of free admission to the public who can enjoy the current exhibitions, partake of refreshments and enjoy some music as well. This time around the guest DJ is Marcel Sletten (Primordial Void), who I’ve no doubt will pull out some really interesting stuff. For all information, please see georgiamuseum.org/event/museum-mix-8.
PASSAGES: Avid Bookshop will host author McCracken King Poston Jr. in celebration of his book Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom which is the “fascinating true story… of an idealistic young lawyer determined to free an innocent neurodivergent man accused of murdering the wife no one knew he had.” The event happens at the 40 Watt Club Saturday, Aug. 3 and Pylon Reenactment Society is also performing at this event. A meet and greet with PRS happens at 7 p.m. and will run you $33, but that includes a copy of the book. General admission tickets are 10 bucks. For advance tickets, please see 40watt.com.
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