Blog: Latest Disgrace

I'm not sure where Brother Hawk fits in the scheme of things around here. Their music contains no detached hipster irony to beguile you, no neo-hippie psychedelia to confound you, no sludgy swamp riffs to bang your head to. The Atlanta four-piece, consisting of guitarist-vocalist J.B Brisendine, bassist James Fedigan, keyboardist/organist Nick Johns and drummer Champ Hammett, plays big, bluesy, soulful rock that feels classic (in the Allman Brothers / Lynyrd Skynyrd -ian sense of the word) while still leaving plenty of room for some modern alt-rock grooves (think My Morning Jacket or Band [...]

Photo by Kevin Griggs I've been meaning to post this new single from garage-gazers Abby Gogo's latest 73 for a few days now, so I hope you'll excuse my lateness to the game with what is indeed an infectious slice of fuzzed-out garage pop songcraft. What I guess I find most remarkable about it is that stared at from afar, no one element on the track would seem to stick out—the grainy guitars, the dream-haze vocals, the lurking, semi-detatched melodies—it's all fairly standard fare for the genre. But the more you listen, the more [...]

Michael Mohan Jordan, a.k.a. Nobra Noma , recently cranked out three tyrannic tunes as a special Halloween EP, Not as Lost as You are Now , at Damon Moon's Birdhouse Recording Studio . Moon tracked and mixed the project for Jordan, most widely known for his guitar work in the (unfortunately) now defunct Cassandras . The EP marks the third release for Nobra Noma in well under a year, and it viciously floats under the mask of enticing melodic cascades and murderously ensnaring trances. The EPs final track, "Lunatics in People," imprisons shadows [...]

As they begin to prepare for the release of their new album, Atlanta rockers Death On Two Wheels have announced that they will be hitting the road for a two-week stint with Brooklyn-based Gasoline Heart . The 11-date jaunt will take the bands up the East Coast as far north as Brooklyn before they head back down through New Jersey, Virginia, South Carolina and, finally, Florida. The tour concludes with an December 16 date at Rehab in Tallahassee. Unfortunately an Atlanta stop has not been scheduled for the tour, although fans of Gasoline Heart can catch them [...]

Yesterday, Allen Taylor ( Lotus Plaza , Mirror Mode , Kolossi ) released a new EP from his Feast of Violet project, which he recently recorded while on tour in Europe with Lotus Plaza. Entitled the Transcontinental EP , the eight-song effort was culled from a variety of recordings that Taylor created while he was moving around from city to city. His goal on the road was to create a new composition every day, and the tracks that appear on the record are his favorites of the bunch. As a whole, The [...]

I regret to say that I've never seen Lazer/Wulf live. But, holy shit, does that need to change ASAP after watching these guys absolutely slay this session. Jesus Christmas. I thought that the indieATL Sessions had reached a high mark when they released that preposterously good Stallone jam a few weeks ago. But this here is every bit as ferocious, every bit as riveting, every bit as mind-blowingly tight and technical, as what Juan Montoya, Evan DiPrima and the rest of his crew delivered. Taken from their 2010 effort, The Void That Isn't [...]

With only two songs to their credit, it's difficult to judge exactly where Soft Continent's musical loyalties will take them, but as of now the Atlanta trio seem to fall nicely into a niche between the city's abundant country-folk and indie pop scenes. What's perhaps most impressive about their debut single, released last month, is how comfortably they tread in both musical waters and how seamlessly they're able to mesh the two styles together. Of the two tracks, the elegantly smoky "Scars" is the more immediately accessible, bouncing effortlessly between rolling organs, buttoned-up guitars and Jess Jones' coy [...]

Today marks the release of the new Book Club EP, Shapes On the Water , and to help promote the record the band has also unveiled a video for the EPs first single, "Oh! You Lied." Conceived and created by Emer Reilly and band frontman Robbie Horlick, the video utilizes classic claymation and stop-motion techniques to lead viewers on a journey alongside a lovable mouse-chucking, air balloon-piloting, space-to-Earth-plummeting sasquatch, whom the group has affectionately come to call Frank. Shot entirely on an iPhone, the candy-colored visuals are bold and vibrant, presenting a nice contrast to the song's [...]

I've been sitting on a few videos from the Whores. / Fight Amp / Hawks show from last month, and every day I tell myself that I'm going to get one of them posted. But then this little hateful thing called life and work happens and failure-to-post ensues. Lameness reigns supreme. But not today, folks! Today we get to revel in the muck and filth of Hawks' biting and brutal pig fuck noise. And while this footage may not reveal the band at their most visceral or unhinged, watching drummer Shane Patrick blast away at his kit more [...]

Conceptually there isn't anything all that remarkable about the new Hello Ocho video. Stripped of its ritualistic associations and NSFW nakedness, it's just a series of soft cuts and beautifully lit footage of the band performing in a cave surrounded by fans who either sing along or dance ceremonially in the distance. But there's that ineffable something about the marriage of music and images here that resonates on an almost spiritual level. A lot of attention will certainly be be paid to the video's overt nudity, but what makes this work for me is how nonchalant it all [...]

The Hijacking Music Festival will be back for its third go around this December and in order to help spread the word, the organizers have compiled a free sampler highlighting all the artists scheduled to perform. Of the sampler's nine tracks, one is a new jam from soul-infused alt-rockers the Sneaky Hand . Entitled "XOXO," the song is said to be pulled from an upcoming EP, although I haven't been able to track down any additional details corroborating that fact. But in any case, what we have here is as good a primer as you [...]

• XOXO - Sneaky Hand

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET: Converge w/ Torche, Kvelertak, Whips/Chains Wednesday, November 7 The Masquerade - 695 North Avenue in Atlanta 30306 Admission $15 / Purchase Tickets THE BEST OF THE REST: The Who The Who perform Quadrophenia Monday, November 5 The Arena at Gwinnett Center - 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth 30097 Admission $59.50-$129.50 / Purchase Tickets [...]

Having built their reputation in the live arena, psych-hop duo the Difference Machine will seek to establish themselves at the forefront of Atlanta's underground hip hop scene when they finally release their long-awaited debut LP, the Psychedelic Sounds of the Difference Machine . No release details have been announced as of yet, but today the group dropped the album's fist single, "Futuristic Blast," on their Bandcamp page, and it's a mind-blower. On the boards, Dr. Conspiracy has outdone himself yet again, laying down an engrossing beat-laden soundscape full of rich textures, deconstructed samples and skittish [...]

The beginning of autumn always seems to be an excellent time for music releases and October seemed particularly obliging this year—especially toward the end when the debut record from Stallone began cramming its way into my earholes. What a magnificent slice of thundering experimental post-metal that little joint is! A furious cavalcade of galloping riffs and sprawling psychedelic guitar. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to leap down the rabbit hole, now is as good a time as any to take the plunge. I'm not certain anything quite that explosive lurks in wait for November, [...]

Photo by Brandon Belcher Hawks , stumbling around in a fury of guttural amps and broken rhythms, ascended the stage last Thursday night at the Basement . They were like a marching horde of disgust slowly making their way around a bend behind a rocky ravine framed by jagged mountain tops. As their set forged on, the band continued to gain energy, becoming louder with more clearly phrased melodies and progressions.The last songs were face crushing and demented. It was the kind of street-side dissonance that feeds on road kill and sleeps under [...]

Having just made a bit of noise at this year's CMJ Festival, Mood Rings recently teamed up with Converse to shoot this new video in a dilapidated building as part of the shoe king's Ready, Set Get Lost series. In the past, I've alluded to the band's strength as being their ability construct arresting songs out of simple structures that feel familiar. Listening to "Pathos y Lagrimas," a track taken from the group's forthcoming debut full-length on Mexican Summer ( Best Coast , the Fresh & Onlys , the Soft Pack ), [...]

Night Driving in Small Towns is not only a mouthful to say, but also an earful of music that incorporates simple yet elegant keyboards coupled with rhythmic guitar and pleasant vocal harmonies. The duo of Andrea Rogers and Colby Wright have been at it for a number of years now, writing together for nearly a decade. After listening to their new seven-song EP, Closure (out today), it's obvious the pair work seamlessly together; their dynamic musical chemistry shines through their songs. Overall, the EP is a short and sweet journey through the heart, mind and soul of [...]

It's always refreshing to see a local band express things in a medium outside of music, so I was more than a bit curious when I received a press release announcing that Jungol is actively working on creating and producing the band's own film. Aside from its title, Go Softly , details on the project have been scant; all we know for certain is the project will be released in pieces rather than as a single complete whole, and that the soundtrack will contain music from the upcoming Jungol album, as well as music from frontman Josh [...]

Photos of Whores. , Fight Amp and Hawks performing at the basement on October 25, 2012. All photos by Brandon Belcher. Click on a photo to enlarge. [...]

Just in time for the spooky season, local songwriter Elwood Kuddles, a.k.a. KIlling Kuddles , has released a new EP of Halloween appropriate covers that includes cuts from the likes of the Misfits , Bobby Pickett and Ray Parker, Jr. The five-song The Halloween EP is available now as an $8 digital download through his Bandcamp page. As a teaser for the EP, Kuddles has made the EP's second track, an amped-up but largely faithful rendition of the White Stripes' "Little Ghost" from their 2005 LP, [...]

• Killing Kuddles - Little Ghost (The White Stripes)