Archers of Loaf
As sculpted shards of guitar—tumbling, tolling, squalling— shower the jittery bounce of a piano on opener “Human,” it’s obvious that Reason in Decline, Archers of Loaf’s first album in 24 years, will be more than a nostalgic, low-impact reboot. When they emerged from North Carolina’s ’90s indie-punk incubator, the Archers’ hurtling, sly, gloriously dissonant roar was a mythologized touchstone of slacker-era refusal. But this, the distilled shudder of “Human” (as in “It’s hard to be human / When only death can set you free”), is an entirely different noise. In fact, it’s a startling revelation.A few distinctions between 2022 Archers and the Clinton-era crew—whose “South Carolina” could be heard blaring out of Jordan Catalano’s car radio on ABC teen-angst epic My So- Called Life. First, guitarists Eric Bachmann and Eric Johnson, once headstrong smartasses inciting a series of artful pileups on the band’s four studio albums and EP, are now a fluidly complementary, sonically advanced unit. Notably, Johnson’s signature trebly lines peal clearly above the din instead of struggling to be heard. Second, singer-songwriter Bachmann, after throat surgery, relearned how to sing (this time from his diaphragm); as a result, he no longer howls like the angriest head cold on the Eastern Seaboard. And now, his lyrics balance righteous wrath with a complex tangle of adult perspective. He still spits bile, but it’s less likely to concern scene politics, music trends, or shady record labels thwarting the dreams of a young rock band.Bachmann puts it bluntly: “What I really think about going back to the Archers and doing a new record is that the three other members of this band are awesome. It’s not aboutresponding to the past or whatever our bullshit legacy is. I just wanted to work with these guys because I knew the chemistry we had and that we still have. I knew that was rare. I didn’t care what it ended up sounding like.”Archers of Loaf’s first tour of duty ended after 1998’s White Trash Heroes. The album did not raise the band’s once touted commercial roof, and the members—Bachmann, Johnson, bassist Matt Gentling, and drummer Mark Price—were a bedraggled bunch of coulda-beens. Price was unable to play without extreme pain due to carpal tunnel syndrome. Bachmann itched to try a different musical approach. Everyone was tapped out in one way or another. Though the four remained good friends and convened for occasional reunion gigs (to support Merge’s 2011–12 album reissues, for instance), they never worked on new music. Gentling had joined Band of Horses; Johnson, now a criminal defense attorney in Asheville, North Carolina, contributed guitar to projects when he had the time. On his own, Bachmann thrived, releasing 11 albums of atmospheric, folky rock/pop under his own name or “group” moniker Crooked Fingers. In recent years, he’d toured as a sideman/foil for torch-country star Neko Case.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
The Royal Arctic Institute, Shark Quest, Paul Swest
Paul Swest – BandcampThe Royal Arctic Institute – Bandcamp | FacebookShark Quest – Bandcamp | Website
Joseph
For nearly a decade, Oregon-bred indie-pop trio Joseph have performed a certain emotional alchemy with their music, channeling their deepest inner tensions into songs that spark a life-changing shift in perspective. In the making of their third studio album, The Sun, Natalie Closner and her sisters, twins Meegan Closner and Allison Closner, focused their soul-searching songwriting on the quietly damaging forces that keep us from living fully in our truth (e.g., gaslighting, cultural conditioning, unconscious yet painfully limiting self-beliefs). Rooted in a newly emboldened sound that lets their breathtaking three-part harmonies shine more brightly than ever, the result is a body of work that radically expands our sense of possibility, ultimately illuminating a path toward greater peace and self-reliance even in the most chaotic of times. The follow-up to Good Luck, Kid—a 2019 release that reached #4 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart—The Sun builds from its predecessor’s cinematic pop and imbues a thrilling new energy into each elegantly sculpted track. In bringing the album to life, Joseph worked with acclaimed producers like Tucker Martine (My Langdon (Meg Myers, Amos Lee, BANKS), Jessica Dobson (Deep Sea Diver), and Joey Burns (Calexico), alongside songwriting collaborators including, Tayla Parx and Wynne Bennett, known for their work with artists such as Janelle Monae, Twin Shadow, Haim, Khalid, Normani and Ariana Grande. Collectively shaping an irresistibly vibrant sound encompassing everything from the moody grandeur of the album-opening “Waves Crash” to the pure anthemic glory of tracks like “Kicking Up The Light.” With the band taking a decidedly more hands-on role in the production process, The Sun continually achieves the exquisite feat of spinning incredibly complex concepts into sing-along-ready pop songs, providing a captivating backdrop for Joseph’s fearlessly personal storytelling. The Sun endlessly reveals Joseph’s commitment to the clear-eyed self-reflection that’s guided the band since their earliest days. Raised in a musical household (their father was a jazz singer and drummer, their mother was a theater teacher), the three sisters officially formed Joseph in 2014 and got their start playing house shows, quickly landing a deal with ATO Records. After making their widely lauded debut with 2015’s I’m Alone, No You’re Not, which featured their hit song, “White Flag,” the band went on to attract the attention of artists such as Billie Eilish, and tour with the likes of James Bay, Amos Lee and most recently The Shins, in addition to taking the stage at major festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Glastonbury, and more. Over the course of The Sun’s 10 soul-stirring tracks, each member of Joseph adds new texture and detail to the album’s emotional arc by sharing her own distinct viewpoint on the journey toward self-realization. Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
The Bobby Lees
Iggy Pop, Blondie, Henry Rollins…just a few of the Punk icons who have shown support for Woodstock, NY based band THE BOBBY LEES.Their new album BELLEVUE was released on October 7th 2022 on Ipecac Recordings (The Melvins, Mr. Bungle, Faith No More) and was produced by multi-grammy winning producer and mixer Vance Powell (Jack White, Chris Stapleton, Beyonce)Their last album SKIN SUIT was produced by underground punk-legend Jon Spencer of the Blues Explosion and was released via Alive Naturalsound Records in 2020. Henry Rollins said “The Bobby Lees Skin Suit album is wild and different. I dug it immediately. Dangerous music is good for you”.Website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Bilmuri
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Coco & Clair Clair
Coco & Clair Clair knew from the moment they met that they were meant to make music together. Similarly, listeners are immediately drawn to the Atlanta-bred duo through their clever, infectious, and genre-defying songs. Their devoted fan base is primed to grow with the release of their debut project, SEXY. “It’s impactful, but it’s a really silly word,” Clair Clair says of the title. “And then, none of the songs are actually that sexy.” Coco & Clair Clair are used to being misjudged at first glance, but these 13 songs put forth their most authentic selves, especially dynamic, flair-filled singles “Cherub” and “Love Me,” and put to bed any questions about their artistry.“‘Cherub’ shows people our more hip-hop, rap side and then ‘Love Me’ is more lofi poppy [and] pop star vibes,” Coco says. “It’s showing people, hey, we can do both.”“We both really wanted to show our capabilities,” Clair Clair adds. “Some songs, Coco raps so fast, which she’s never done before. And some of the songs, I actually try to sing or I just talk. It was important to us that we tried new things and showcased what we can do without putting out songs that are like, Well, they just put this out because this is a popular sound right now and that’s why Coco and Claire are jumping on it. It’s still very much us, but it’s new and fresh.”Growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, Coco and Clair Clair’s respective skill sets were on display from early ages. Coco was an only child, so she turned toward the internet to find her community and ultimately found an outlet for self-expression: “I didn’t have anyone to vibe with at home, so I would just vibe online a lot, and I got into music through MySpace. I would make music videos for friends, and then I started making beats.” Clair Clair adds, “I always wanted to be a singer but I don’t think I ever thought I would actually be one.” Her natural love for music was aided by her father. “I learned a lot about music through my dad driving me to school,” she says. “He would always play me music in the car that I had never heard.”Toward the end of high school in 2014, Coco and Clair Clair met through mutual friends on Twitter and would soon influence and teach each other. Their foundational friendship and intrinsic trust are conduits for making music that is singularly theirs but also universally relatable.“We really rely on the other person,” Clair Clair says. “We’ll both go write our verses, and then we share them with each other and let the other person edit them. Everything is very much both of our brains combined, which we couldn’t do with someone who wasn’t a very good friend because it’s such a vulnerable process.”In 2017, Coco & Clair Clair decided to record, mix, and self-release the seven-track project POSH before Clair Clair left Atlanta for New York City — to at least get their music out into the world because they weren’t sure the next time they’d be together to make more. The confident, eclectic single “Pretty” took off, introducing their tongue-in-cheek lyricism and multi-layered soundscapes, and boasts over 60 million Spotify streams to date. But it wasn’t until May 2019, when they were flown to Santa Ana, Calif., to perform with Cowgirl Clue that they realized they were becoming career musicians.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Donovan Woods and Henry Jamison
Donovan Woods was in on the joke when he named his latest release. Riffing on a lyric from a Martin Simpson song (“Never Any Good”), Big Hurt Boy is a six-song exploration of how our failures — and our fixations on them — not only shape but enlighten us.“I write about them again and again, just hoping people will still be interested,” the acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter says. “So the title is poking fun of myself, that I’m theoretically this big sad guy who keeps getting dumped and writing fucking songs about it.”Or you could think of it this way: Woods’ deep curiosity about the human condition is why we so clearly hear our own stories in his. The details differ, the characters change, but at their core, Donovan Woods songs are for and about everyone.That’s particularly apparent on his new EP, which will be released March 18, 2022. Trying to capture more of an “undone” quality, Woods wanted his latest songs to “get back to the feeling that my early recordings had.” You hear that in the spare, subtle ache of “No Time Soon,” an acoustic monologue Woods describes as “the story of my whole life.”I am a frightened rabbitRunning off a mapOnly loved you out of habitI ain’t proud of thatBut while I do the dishes I hum a little tuneSomeday, no time soonWebsite | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | TikTokHenry Jamison’s upcoming third LP The Years was produced by Doug Schadt (Maggie Rogers, Claud) plus long-standing collaborators Thomas Bartlett (Florence & The Machine, Sufjan Stevens) and Harris Paseltiner of Darlingside. Featured vocalist Maisie Peters and composer Nico Muhly (Adele, Bjork) round out the cast on what is Jamison’s most dynamic and diverse collection of songs to date. Since his 2017 debut The Wilds, which was humbly produced with two friends at a sugarbush/apiary in his native Vermont, Jamison has branched out to become one of the most interesting collaborators of his generation. His 2019 follow up Gloria Duplex explored identity, class and masculinity over baroque textures and performances from Thomas Bartlett, Rob Moose (Phoebe Bridger, Bon Iver, Taylor Swift) and Shazhad Ismaily (Damien Rice, Nils Frahm, Marketa Irglová). In 2020 Jamison released Tourism, a five-song folk collection, featuring JOSEPH, Ed Droste, Fenne Lily, Darlingside and Lady Lamb.Jamison’s uncanny ability to weave folk lyricism and instruments through a popular veneer has led to over 300M streams and widespread praise, especially from his peers. Adrianne Lenker describes, “Songs that sing me through mazes of my own sensuality and sadness and help me to feel less alone in the journey to understand myself.” Raised by a classical composer father and an English professor mother, Jamison was drawn to music and lyrics from his earliest days and began recording his own homemade cassette tapes while he was still in elementary school. Going further back in Jamison’s lineage, you’ll find George Frederick Root, the most popular songwriter of the Civil War era and the author of the iconic “Battle Cry Of Freedom.”Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Magic Giant
“The most festive band in the festival circuit,” MAGIC GIANT has amassed over 100M streams, had TV appearances ranging from the Today Show to Good Morning America, and been singled out by Billboard as one of “10 Awesome Bands” playing Coachella and by Rolling Stone as one of “10 Artists You Need to Know.” Their singles “Set on Fire,” “Window,” and “Disaster Party” have all broken the top 40 on the US radio charts.The Die With Zero Tour is inspired by the bestselling book and official tour partner, Die With Zero by Bill Perkins and its theme of living life with no regrets. The nationwide tour kicks off Mar 11 accompanied with the release of a new EP.Carrying forward the hopeful outlook of the alt group’s debut full length record In The Wind and sophomore studio album The Valley, their upcoming EP contains equal parts depth and optimism. Shares lead singer Austin Bisnow: We recorded our first album in between shows on a solar-powered mobile recording studio. Our second studio album we were hunkered down during the pandemic and going through lots of changes like taking our careers completely independent for the first time since we started. This EP is about finding hope even when it seems daunting or impossible. When the pandemic struck they responded by throwing one of the first digital music festivals of its kind with guests including The Lumineers, Woody Harrelson, Edward Norton, Walk the Moon, David Blaine, Jason Maz, LP, The Head & The Heart, Edward Sharpe, Glen Hansard, Walk Off The Earth, Ashe, Allen Stone and Local Natives, raising over $100,000 to deliver PPE to frontline hospital workers.Not only does the group write and produce their records and direct their music videos, they plant a tree through a non-profit partner with every album sold, creating a mini forest with thousands of trees; and have thrown an annual music-festival-meets-summer-camp for their fans called Camp Misfits.Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube
Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrels
Raised in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains of South Carolina, Sam Burchfield was brought up on Appalachian music: folk, gospel, country and southern soul. The young songwriter draws on these roots with a deep lyrical honesty that carries the tradition of folk music forward. Burchfield’s latest album, ‘Graveyard Flower’, seeks to reconnect to the Appalachian roots that raised him. In a world of cell phones and internet distractions, this body of work beckons the listener to plant their feet firmly in the soil. Reconnect to the land, reconnect to each other; ‘Graveyard Flower’ is honest music.Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Jphono1, Jennyanykind, Mayflies USA
7:00pm – Doors8:00pm – Mayflies USA9:00pm – Jphono110:00pm – Jennyanykind
