This week’s post includes work from Lucero, T. Hardy Morris, Big Ups, pronoun, and Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, plus “Old Old Fashioned” by Frightened Rabbit with Kayne’s thoughts on the passing of the band’s Scott Hutchison.
Lucero
Memphis, TN
“To My Dearest Wife” from Among the Ghosts’out August 3rd.
It’s been a minute since Lucero or Ben Nichols solo has played Savannah, but at least there’s new Lucero on the horizon, and that’s very, very, good news. This doesn’t sound like a huge departure from their recent winning formula of Nichols world weary vocals in front of their signature blend of Americana, soul, and country rock, but why mess with perfection?
tom
T. Hardy Morris
Athens, GA
“Homemade Bliss” from Dude, The Obscure out June 22 via New West Records/Normaltown Records.
This second peek at the upcoming T. Hardy Morris album is damn near as good as the first, “Be”, which I’ve listened to pretty much daily since it came out a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure there’s currently an upcoming album I’m more excited for.
tom
Big Ups
Brooklyn, NY
Two Parts Together, out now on Exploding In Sound Records
The only thing more chaotic than a new Big Ups record may be the mayhem that happens on stage during their live shows. The NY band delivers a carefully curated blend of crushing post-punk guitar work interlaced with Galarraga’s sometimes softly spoken, sometimes violently shouted lyrics. Tune in and get ready for a sonic pummeling. ~ Petey
pronoun
Brooklyn, NY
“wrong” off of pronoun’s upcoming debut album
pronoun is back with a new single off of her upcoming debut album on Rhyme & Reason Records. More of the slightly lo-fi, dreampop goodness we’ve come to expect from the NY native. Here’s hoping the album isn’t too far in the future! ~ Petey
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Portland, OR
“Bike Lane”
Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus’ 7th solo album Sparkle Hard dropped on Friday. Three singles from the album have been trickling out over the last few months and I’ve loved them all (particularly “Middle America which really does feel like a lost Pavement track) so I was excited to hear the rest of the album. “Bike Lane” is a standout track that musically rocks a little harder than most of the album and lyrically deals with the subject of Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of the Baltimore police back in 2015. It’s a controversial move by Malkmus because the lyrics make you very uncomfortable while the music sublimely pushes you forward. My guess is that that’s the whole point as I can’t stop thinking about this track. -Kayne
Frightened Rabbit
Edinburgh, Scotland
“Old Old Fashioned”
This isn’t new music but perhaps it’s new to some of you. I’ve been reeling from the news last week that Scott Hutchison from Frightened Rabbit was found dead outside of Edinburgh from an apparent suicide. Truly one of my favorite bands, I was so lucky to see him perform many times, most recently in Atlanta in 2016 at Terminal West. When people would ask me who would I most want to bring to Savannah Stopover, my answer was always Frightened Rabbit. Scott’s music, which often dealt with the issues of depression and anxiety, helped support and comfort people the world over. If you don’t know this band, take some time to dig deep into the their canon. It’s a treasure. RIP Scott. -Kayne