I meant to do this a few weeks ago when everyone was piling back into town but, you know, best intentions and all. So, let me take this time to say welcome to Athens to all our new arrivals. Please enjoy our music and arts scene, form bands, go to shows, and just get off campus and explore our town. In all seriousness, there is no music scene in Athens without a constantly refreshed population of musicians, artists and fans. You make it happen. And now that we’ve done the sappy part, let’s get into it…
WELL, A STATEMENT NONETHELESS: Indie poppers Honeypuppy will release a new single each month until the new album DIRTY TV is finally released. Seems like that could be a while, though, because according to a press release the band is planning on releasing singles “over fall and winter of this and next (!) year on [label] Indecent Artistry.” At any rate, the first single is the lighthearted “Understatement,” which moves along quite nicely with a loopy guitar riff not entirely unlike the one in Blur’s “There’s No Other Way” but with a completely different sound, so don’t go looking for that. It’s a fine song to usher in the end of summer, and you can find it on Spotify and, presumably, honeypuppy.bandcamp.com. For more information, please see instagram.com/itshoneypuppy and indecentartistry.com.
GUESS WHO’S BACK?: Cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han will return to Athens for a performance at the University of Georgia’s Performing Arts Center. The recital happens Friday, Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hodgson Concert Hall. This performance is an all-Beethoven recital. The consistently superior programming by the UGA PAC continues its tradition of excellence by having this performance usher in the center’s UGA Presents Dynamic Duos series. This series spans the calendar and includes performances by violinist Maxim Vengerov and pianist Polina Osetinskaya (Nov. 15), clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Emanuel Ax (Feb. 2), and flutist Brandon Patrick George with harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani (Apr. 18). Tickets for Sept. 13 are available now, and you can find more information over at pac.uga.edu/event/david-finckel-wu-han.
NEW LIFE: Primordial Void announced a second run of its reissued Banned 37 cassette tape release. The release previously enjoyed a limited edition run in February of this year. Now, the reason you should care at all is that the punk-and-jangle-pop group Banned 37 was, in its time and for a time, a decently popular band here in town. There were many like them. Quite honestly, when you go back and listen to bands that were popular locally but never really made that leap out of town, you’re getting a much more accurate snapshot of what the music of Athens actually sounded like at a particular point. Sure, there’s a certain fishbowl quality to this approach, but what could possibly sound more like home than something that never left home? Anyway, preorders are $10, and these should ship around Sept. 7. Purchase directly online at primordialvoid.bandcamp.com.
WHAT’S MY SCENE?: It took a long time to cook, but The Vassar Blondes have released their debut album. It’s a self-titled, eight song release recorded at the UGA Dancz Center for New Music. Drummer Will Shine is a doctoral candidate at UGA’s Hugh Hodgson School of Music, so they got the ‘ol friends and family treatment. The opening track is probably the weakest song on the whole thing, and I just can’t get into its “Working Man”-era Rush groove. The next track comes to the rescue, though, with its Joan Jett-meets-Bangles song structure. “The Deluxe Memory Man” is the first time I’ve seen an effects pedal name dropped in a title since Mudhoney’s Superfuzz Bigmuff. Hell if I know what this light pop tune is about, but it’s a pleasant enough listen. The Caribbean rhythm of “Erasmus” would be better if it was carried all the way through instead of being broken up by heavy sections. Among the chunky rockers on here, “Chameleon” is the best realized and fulfills its rock duty all the way through. The final two songs, “Sweet Dreams Pete” and “Mount Kilauea,” are each steadily played, well constructed, clearly tuneful and sound like they’re from an entirely different band. Bands always say they hate being categorized until you tell them they’re uncategorizable because they change styles too often, but that’s where we’re at with The Vassar Blondes. Again, the only song on here I could totally do without is the first one. If you, too, choose to dive in, you just have to choose where to put the rest. Find this on Spotify and follow along at facebook.com/TheVassarBlondes.
TALK ABOUT THE PASSION: Congratulations are due to photographer Jason Thrasher on the release of his gorgeous new book Murmur Trestle which explores the beauty, engineering and presence of the Trail Creek Trestle. For the unfamiliar, this object is referred to as the “Murmur Trestle” because of its presence on the back of R.E.M.’s debut full-length album Murmur. The book is released by the University Of Georgia Press. A variety release show celebrating his Athens Potluck book, the release of this new book and a Grit potluck are all to be held simultaneously at the 40 Watt on Sept. 21. For tickets and information, please see 40watt.com.
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