Etienne de Rocher moved to Athens, Georgia from the Bay Area in 2008 but took his sweet time assembling his current group Haunted Shed. As the story goes, Etienne (on guitar, keyboards and vocals) needed a group to provide musical ambiance for a neighborhood haunted house he’d set up in his backyard shed a number… Continue reading Haunted Shed, Faltering Light. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Tag: New West Records
The Nude Party – Midnight Manor
Upstate New York’s The Nude Party will freely admit they’ve been inspired mostly by the classic rock ‘n’ roll of the 1960s and ’70s. With hearty tips of the frosty beer bottle to such giants as The Rolling Stones, The Doors and Lou Reed, their first album was a delightful detour that acknowledged and celebrated… Continue reading The Nude Party – Midnight Manor
Randall Bramblett Keeps the Fire Burning
Georgia music veteran Randall Bramblett jumps back into action on Nov. 13, when New West Records will release his latest solo album, Pine Needle Fire. By the time the Jesup-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist launched his own recording career in the mid ‘70s with a pair of albums on Polydor, he was already a highly… Continue reading Randall Bramblett Keeps the Fire Burning
Pylon
Scene Construction: Pylon Shines a Light on Morning Munchies, Exercising Caution and Getting Put in a Box The city of Athens has changed massively since the early 1980s – for better and worse. The University of Georgia’s national stature has risen, and it’s no longer a given for graduates to leave town in order to… Continue reading Pylon
Nude Party at Midnight Manor, and You’re Invited!
Cheer up, young buckaroo, things aren’t all bad – New West Records is putting out The Nude Party’s sophomore album on October 2nd! The 12-song Midnight Manor was recorded live-to-tape by the band in upstate New York, and will be available on digital, CD and an assortment of vinyl varieties, including a signed orange marble… Continue reading Nude Party at Midnight Manor, and You’re Invited!
All Them Witches Get Idealistic
Nashville psych-rock band All Them Witches return to action on Sept. 4 with a new 8-song platter titled Nothing as the Ideal, via longtime label New West. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, it’s their first album since shrinking to a trio following the departure of keyboardist Jonathan Draper, who very briefly replaced original keyboardist Allan… Continue reading All Them Witches Get Idealistic
Caroline Rose – Superstar
On her fourth album, Superstar, Caroline Rose choreographs a glitzy rise-and-fall scenario for a symbiotic alter ego. The record plays with the idea of it all, stardom and its catches, but it doesn’t get its feelings hurt; it’s got a chip on its shoulder and a tongue in its cheek. For that reason, it’s a… Continue reading Caroline Rose – Superstar
Lilly Hiatt Proves Her Point
New West Records recently announced the March 27 release of Lilly Hiatt’s Walking Proof, the follow-up to her critically successful 2017 album Trinity Lane. A music video for brand-new track “Brightest Star” accompanied the album announcement. It allows both sides of Hiatt – the Rickenbacker-slinging jangle rocker and the astute, country-influenced songwriter – to shine on a… Continue reading Lilly Hiatt Proves Her Point
Buddy & Julie Miller Return After Ten Years
On June 21st, New West Records will release Breakdown on 20th Ave. South, the first collaborative album from husband and wife Buddy and Julie Miller since 2009. The distance between albums was not planned. After releasing Written in Chalk in 2009, Julie was sidelined with health issues, while Buddy found himself increasingly in demand as… Continue reading Buddy & Julie Miller Return After Ten Years
Luther Dickinson Hooks Up with Weird Sisters
The North Mississippi Allstars’ Luther Dickinson flexes his creative muscles as a producer and guitarist while celebrating a broad range of roots music styles on Solstice, featuring a revolving cast of collaborators billed as Sisters of the Strawberry Moon. Guest vocalists on the album, out March 22 via New West Records, come from different genres… Continue reading Luther Dickinson Hooks Up with Weird Sisters
Parker Gispert Rises, Shines as Solo Artist
While The Whigs continue to play occasional shows, they pulled back significantly on activity beginning in 2017, leaving frontman Parker Gispert with a lot more free time. “It occurred to me that if I wanted to record and tour that I was going to need to do it solo,” he says. “I’d always thought about… Continue reading Parker Gispert Rises, Shines as Solo Artist
Release of Third Album, Back Catalog Gives The Glands Their Due
The notoriety of The Glands, the Athens-based art-rock outfit commandeered by lovable curmudgeon Ross Shapiro, seems to have only grown since the group was effectively terminated upon Shapiro’s death in March 2016, while their two albums (1996’s somewhat scattershot Double Thriller and 2000’s justly acclaimed tour de force The Glands) have become increasingly difficult to… Continue reading Release of Third Album, Back Catalog Gives The Glands Their Due
Ron Gallo
Critical Blast! Ron Gallo Throws Another Change-Up If you include his 2014 digital-only solo debut, last year’s blistering Heavy Meta, humorous/oddball eight-song EP Really Nice Guys from early this year, and his recently-released new album Stardust Birthday Party, Nashville-by-way-of-Philly musician and songsmith Ron Gallo has made four striking albums that sound very little alike. And… Continue reading Ron Gallo
All Them Witches Start the Ritual Anew
Nashville’s All Them Witches will have their new, fifth studio album ATW released by New West Records on Sept. 28. The six-minute opening freakout, “Fishbelly 86 Onions,” is available for investigating online, if you gots the jones. A lotta fall tour dates have been announced for the quartet, mostly Midwest and West Coast. Last seen… Continue reading All Them Witches Start the Ritual Anew
Drivin’ n’ Cryin’s ’97 Album Retitled, Re-Released
In 1997, after an extended run on Island Records and a one-album deal for Geffen, Drivin’ n’ Cryin’ took it back to indie basics for their seventh album, appropriately self-titled and released on Clay Harper’s local label of that time, Casino Music. Produced by onetime Stiff Records/Jam/Clash associate Kosmo Vinyl, a friend of Harper’s, the… Continue reading Drivin’ n’ Cryin’s ’97 Album Retitled, Re-Released
The Nude Party
Feels Alright! The Nude Party Takes Off “I’ve always thought rock ‘n’ roll was the coolest thing,” testifies Patton Magee, rolling a Danish Export tobacco cigarette on the concrete patio of the Clermont Lounge sometime around 1 in the morning one recent night. “It’s definitely not the most popular style of music right now… But,… Continue reading The Nude Party
Cicada Rhythm are Going Places
Despite being rightly identified as two of the Athens area’s most talented young champions of Americana, Cicada Rhythm’s Andrea DeMarcus and Dave Kirslis serve up more than amped-up country songs on Everywhere I Go, out April 27th on New West Records. That’s not to say that Southern roots music isn’t represented heavily. There are clear nods to folk-rock… Continue reading Cicada Rhythm are Going Places
Jessie Baylin Sails Strawberry Wind
Jessie Baylin calls her forthcoming Strawberry Wind a “children’s album,” but from what we’ve heard, her fourth LP sounds like more of a classic pop/Laurel Canyon throwback, and a superb one at that. “Since becoming a mother, I found myself being around the house a lot, and I started gravitating to these wonderful older albums… Continue reading Jessie Baylin Sails Strawberry Wind
Cicada Rhythm Launch Covers Project
A chance encounter between a Julliard-trained musician (Andrea DeMarcus) and a legit modern hobo (Dave Kirslis) set the wheels in motion for Cicada Rhythm to form and become one of Athens’ finest folk and roots music acts. On the heels of an opportunity for the band to tour the UK this month with Jim White,… Continue reading Cicada Rhythm Launch Covers Project
All Them Witches
Strange Brew: All Them Witches Stir Up the Pot “We’re definitely not the band we were when we met, and that was only five years ago,” ponders Charles Michael Parks, Jr., vocalist, bassist, guitarist and chief lyricist of Nashville-born band All Them Witches. “We welcome the change.” The quartet has certainly refined and grown its… Continue reading All Them Witches
Nikki Lane
Broken Hearts and Auto Parts: Nikki Lane Takes the Wheel It’s borderline cliché to slap the “outlaw” tag on upstarts with an ear for the past and no interest in toeing the commercial country line. That said, Nikki Lane’s new album Highway Queen, just out on New West Records, captures the rebellious spirit of the… Continue reading Nikki Lane
Ponderosa
Stampeding Through the Stars: Ponderosa’s Interstellar Overdrive The contrast is alarming, between the first album and this new one. If you haven’t seen them play in a good long while, you’ll likely be shocked as well. Pleasantly so. Released in January 2011, Ponderosa’s full-length debut, Moonlight Revival, introduced a group that seemed intent on re-stoking… Continue reading Ponderosa