SAFE AT HOME: Preorders are open now for the upcoming album Thank The Lord…it’s The Pink Stones by, uh, yeah. Specifically, you can order the compact disc, the digital download and the 140-gram vinyl LP. Plus, for merely one dollar more, you can order the signed version of the LP. The first single, “If I Can’t Win (With You),” is out as we speak. The album is slated for release Sept. 19. Next month, though, The Pink Stones will do a quick 10-day run through the South and Midwest with Joshua Ray Walker of Dallas, TX. The closest this pairing will come to Athens is when they play Grant’s Lounge in Macon on Aug. 23, but that’s about as great a place as you’re ever likely to see them, anyway. Order the new record, and catch up on others, at thepinkstones.bandcamp.com, and follow the adventure at facebook.com/thepinkstoners.
HAZY DAYS: A newly remastered, and now matched with a bonus track, version of Kilkenny Cats’ 1984 debut 7-inch is now out courtesy of Propeller Sound Recordings. The original single featured “Attractive Feature” b/w “Of Talk,” and this new version, available only digitally, includes unearthed song “Seeking Shame.” Like a select handful of specific other groups, there’s something quite evocative about listening to Kilkenny Cats these days as its jangle/psych/pop rock, which would go on to become more muscular in its delivery, was so much of its time and so emblematic of the popular vision of the 1980s Athens music aesthetic. Find this on all major streaming services as well as kilkennycats.bandcamp.com.
LET’S BUILD: You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but the shaggy boys in Dadgum, by way of the band’s new four-song self-titled EP release, have done a pretty good job of petitioning for their claim to the title of the rightful current Athens heirs to the musical legacy of Prefab Sprout, The Housemartins, The Smiths, et al. Now, these four tracks aren’t as polished as those bands you remember, but their sense of melody, arrangement, instrumentation, tempo, et al make them quite akin to my ears and sensibilities. Find this at dadgum.bandcamp.com, and keep up over at instagram.com/_dadgum_.
DREAM WEAVERS: Astral Summer slipped out a new single last week. The band, composed of David Ferguson and Dave Martin, released the deep groove new wave tune “The Bigger Person” back in January, but before then it’d been a couple of years since we heard any new music. This new single, “Strange Patterns (Dear Claudio),” is—musically speaking—as if Laurie Anderson set a loop atop a moody reggae rhythm. It’s hooky, eminently listenable and enjoyable even though lyrically heavy. Listen in at astralsummer.bandcamp.com.
GOO GOO MUCK: Somehow punk rockers Delta 8 has managed to get even greasier on its new album Deluxe 70 than it was on last year’s Greased Lightning. This is a swampy tromp of 12 tracks and, while working largely inside a four-chord punk framework, it manages to squeeze new melodies out of the world’s most used chords. To wit, the fantastically propulsive and invigorating “Touch Grass.” Further, the Black Flag-and-R&B vibe of “Jaded” is a mind bender. Other specific highlights are “Imma Dawg,” “Beach And A Mule” and “To Kill A Man.” Dig this over at delta888.bandcamp.com.
GET THIS MUSIC OFF OF ME: Absurdity for its own sake may be no way to go through life, but it sure can be a decent distraction. The new seven-track album by Potioner can help. Titled Confusion Skank, it’s often as much of a test as it is a listening experience. Don’t try to make heads or tails of this; just go with it. Most of these tracks are barely a minute long, so it’s not a huge commitment in any case. What you’ll get are selections filled with choppy keyboard riffs, decently synchronized percussion, and nearly nothing to distinguish these tracks from each other. I mean, if you can discern any meaningful difference between “eAtInG a ViNtAgE cAnDy BaR” and “LoOtInG tHe GaRbAgE dUmP,” then bully for you. For the rest of us, this is a trip into the void. Look over the side yourself over at grangrumpmedia.bandcamp.com.
CATCH THE WIND: I’d actually completely forgotten this series was still happening, but the third installment of the massive and ongoing Kevn Kinney tribute, courtesy of Tasty Goody Records, has just come out. It’s titled Let’s Go Dancing: Said the Falling Rain to the Open Flame: A Compilation Celebrating the Songs of Kevn Kinney. Now, that’s a mouthful, innit? This new volume features T. Hardy Morris and David Barbe, Scott McCaughey featuring Peter Buck, Futurebirds, Old Crow Medicine Show, David Ryan Harris and more, each covering select Kinney tunes. For more information, please see tastygoodyrecords.com.
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