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Ode to Gene : A Playlist
50 years ago, Gene Clark’s White Light came out, an aural and lyrical poem produced by Jesse Ed Davis that is so completely intimate, vulnerable, and warm. It’s the album that got me into Gene and although I love the maximalist, mysterious opus that is No Other, White Light is as close to my heart as Gene’s mouth to the mic. The raw vulnerability is at times too much –…
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The Roseline – “Paper Plane”
Today, Kansas City’s The Roseline shares a single from their new album, Constancy, that’ll be out later this year, so keep your eyes on them. Paper Plane by The Roseline “This song is arguably the most epic and ambitious thing we’ve attempted. It’s almost seven minutes long and bookended by spacey guitar loops, so it’s pretty decidedly anti-single. I just wanted to write a really propulsive heartland rocker. Lyrically, it’s…
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Jerry David DeCicca – “Texas Toad”
Today, the European label Worried Songs announces their vinyl release of Jerry David DeCicca’s The Unlikely Optimist and His Domestic Adventures. The album was released digitally last year and has delighted audiences since. JDD, an Ohio native, lives in the Texas hill country with a whole menagerie. The vinyl will be available on October 1st and you can pre-order on Bandcamp. Jerry is a whimsical and worldly songwriter, and The…
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Spencer Cullum – Seaside
In anticipation of the vinyl release of Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection, today the British-born, Nashville-living musician releases the previously unreleased “Seaside,” a breezy, carefree cancion featuring gorgeous backing vocals and effervescent flute-playing. The album Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection is out 9/24 and is Spencer’s effort to create a trad British folk album, weaving in elements of krautrock and prog-rock, with excellent Nashville players. Born in London but currently based out…
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Raphi Gottesman – Unwrapped Gifts : A Guest Mix
In early 2021, Oakland musician Raphi Gottesman released an album on German label AOsmosis. The instrumental The Clarity of Dawn features many guest instrumentalists around the world but the majority of the work is done by Raphi himself, broaching themes of finding hope in the face of his young son undergoing treatment for leukemia. The record is jazzy at times, atmospheric at others, but heartfelt and emotionally resonant through and through.…
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Corntuth – The Desert Is Paper Thin
Last week, ambient musician Corntuth released their record The Desert Is Paper Thin, a concept record soundtracking a long desert drive throughout the course of an entire day, from sunrise to late evening. Corntuth recorded it during the pandemic as a means of escapism, and summoned industry veteran Pete Finney to add lush pedal steel to the emotive and organic-sounding record. The video was filmed in Landers, Calif. The idea…
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Beachwood Sparks & Gospelbeach cover “You Don’t See Me Crying” from Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal
Today the Neal Casal Music Foundation has announced the full track list for the upcoming tribute Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal, a 5-LP box set featuring Neal’s friends, colleagues, and admirers paying tribute to the prolific musician’s immense body of work. Today the “second” single is out – Neal’s dear friends Beachwood Sparks (whom Neal played, toured, and recorded with) and GospelbeacH (of which Neal was a founding…
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Mouth Painter announces new album Tropicale Moon, shares first single
Mouth Painter is Barry Walker, Jr. (guitar, pedal steel, vocals), Valerie Osterberg (flute, saw, percussion, effects, vocals), and Jason Willmon (bass). Today they announce their third album, Tropicale Moon, and share the first single, “A Yardin’ I Once Went.” Tropicale Moon is out September 3 on Arrowhawk Records (digital/cassette) and Feeding Tube / Cardinal Fuzz Records (LP). Pre-order here. Of the song, Barry Walker, Jr. says: One of our close…
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Desert Sandscapes : A Playlist
Those who dwell in the desert tend to strongly identify with their terrain and integrate the landscape into their identity. We are the desert people. There’s a phenomenon I’m noticing in which people who call the desert home leave only to explore other arid zones. I meet people from Tucson who come to Joshua Tree for the month of August, or those who “escape” to Needles for inspiration and rejuvenation,…
