Located in the Mountain Mall at 611 Parkway in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, The Rhythm Section is one of the smallest stores in the entire mall, yet it makes the most of its size by jam-packing the shelves and bins with a lot of browse.
That’s just one wall of this place. There’s another wall full of CDs just like this. There’s also a lot of vinyl and DVDs, and an especially large collection of horror, cult, and sci-fi movies.
There’s plenty of fun stuff there, and a lot of fun gems if you take the time to dig through the shelves, crates, and boxes. I mean, who wouldn’t be tempted by stuff like this?
I snagged a CD copy of Acid King‘s Live at Roadburn album there. I probably would’ve bought a lot more (especially from those shelves of cult movie DVDs) if I’d had more time there.
Located at 201 North Court Avenue in Tucson, Arizona, Old Paint Records is in a shopping center full of art stores, cafés, and interesting shops. It’s a small space, but they have a lot to like, especially if you’re looking for vinyl.
I love how they have a bunch of retro glow-in-the-dark posters for sale, too.
And check out that vinyl edition of “The Doll Squad” soundtrack!
There are cassettes and CDs as well, but the selection is limited. Still, it’s worth a look, as is the whole store and many other shops in the area.
My friend and I arrived at Chicago’s Salt Shed (the former Morton’s Salt factory) too late to catch The Steens, mainly due to chilly weather and heavy traffic, but we made it in plenty of time to see Viagra Boys. The venue is pretty damn big, and they packed the place in a near sold-out show that lead singer Sebastian Murphy said might’ve been their biggest show in the United States.
They certainly brought the energy to back that claim, opening with a pounding version of “I Ain’t No Thief” that had beer cans and water cups flying everywhere over the large main crowd floor. Following that with “Ain’t Nice” was like pouring gasoline on a fire.
The crowd was jumping, yelling, singing and even sometimes dumbfounded as Viagra Boys ripped through old and new tracks and sometimes wandered into weird psychedelia, including a Captain Beefheart-like saxophone solo by Oscar Carls.
Other highlights included the crowd favorites “Sports” and “Troglodyte” (which had everyone chanting), the graphic deep cut “Liquids” (which Murphy admitted, on stage, is “a song about getting peed on.”), a trippy version of “Creepy Crawlers,” and a long, wild version of “Shrimp Shack” to close out the main set. It was also cool to hear “Worms” during the encore, as it’s a sharp song about impermanence but almost a relaxing tonic before “Research Chemicals” hits you in the face.
They set a high bar for bands the rest of the year. Enjoy the chaos with them if you get a chance.
DECASIA is a heavy psych rock trio who released its debut album “An Endless Feast for Hyenas” on last April. The band is coming up with an explosive cocktail mixing stoner, doom, psych rock and grunge. Inspired by what heavy rock scene does best (All Them Witches, Colour Haze, Elder…), DECASIA stands out with its own recipe. The band also has a really rock’n’roll energy, especially on stage where they offer supercharged and immersive shows.
This summer, the frenchies shot a music video in the middle of Auvergne’s countryside, not far from the barn where they recorded the album. The video features not one but two songs from the album : “Ilion” and outro “Hyenas At The Gates”. A clip shot in total DIY over 4 days in the countryside, written and directed by the band with the help of audiovisual students. Spoiler : a very special old car is featured in the music video 😉
Meanwhile, the band has just announced tour dates in France, Belgium and Germany from April 7 to 22.DECASIA will be playing at Hellfest, on Saturday June 17 (Valley Stage, 10am).
This is the second of the three Reckless Records locations I’ve visited in Chicago. This one is in the Loop at 26 East Madison and is a great way to kill some time if you’re downtown with extra time before your train leaves (as it was in my case).
The place has plenty of LPs, CDs, DVDs, and other stuff to tempt you, and I love how they mix up stuff in the same sections of the store.
Richard Marx next to Punk / Metal / GarageJohnny Cash next to the “Harold and Maude” soundtrack and Yard Act’s “The Overload”
The variety of stuff there in the relatively small space is impressive. There are bins of LPs, stacks of 45s, shelves of DVDs, and boxes of CDs.
Check out that vintage Naked Raygun poster!
There’s also plenty of collector stuff, too, for all you vinyl lovers.
Yes, that is a first pressing original copy of Mariah Carey’s Christmas album up there.
I feasted on their boxes of 99-cent CDs and came away with a bunch of gems.
Two Esquivel albums,a collection of Orbital singles and rarities, a greatest hits compilation from Sade, a Sugar album, The The‘s classic Infected, and that collection of rare tracks and live tracks from The Last Four Digits alone was worth the trip.
Again, if you’re looking for a great way to spend some time in the Loop, check out this store.
Tanukichan‘s sophomore LP GIZMOis due out March 3rd via Company Records. A project led by Hannah van Loon, in collaboration with the Grammy-nominated chillwave pioneer Chaz Bear of Toro y Moi, their album is the follow up to their debut LP, Sundays, arelease that saw an enthusiastic response when it was released in 2018, earning praise from outlets like Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, FADER, Stereogum, Loud & Quiet and The AV Club.
The album’s lead single “Don’t Give Up“ was greeted with excitement upon its release, earning best of the week nods from outlets like MTV and Pitchfork, and the follow up “Thin Air” that featured Aramis Johnson of the Tacoma, Washington band Enumclaw, earned similar acclaim when it was released alongside a Stereogum feature about the new LP.
Today, Tanukichan is sharing a final single from the LP, a track called “Take Care”.
“I wrote ‘Take Care’ when I was feeling especially depressed,” explains Van Loon. “I felt so down and bummed out that I started cutting people out of my life. I felt like whenever I had interactions with others I was such a drag that I would bring down the mood. I had nothing I wanted to talk about so I just cut off from people. It was painful to feel isolated and I craved companionship or friendship even more, but I knew that someday I would come out of it, and hopefully we would be friends again.“
Dry Cleaning, photographed in Max Miechowski’s studio in Tottenham, London, on 09/27/2022.
Stumpwork, the sophomore LP from Dry Cleaning, “vibrantly expand[ed] Dry Cleaning’s core sound” (Pitchfork), and became one of last year’s most acclaimed releases, garnering year-end praise from Rolling Stone, Sound Opinions, Uproxx, and many more. Following their performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the UK outfit announce Swampy, a new EP composed of two previously unreleased tracks from the Stumpwork sessions, remixes and a demo, out March 1st on 4AD, and unveil two bonus tracks, “Swampy” and “Sombre Two.” Of the additions, the band says: “These two songs (‘Swampy’ and ‘Sombre Two’) were recorded in the Stumpwork sessions and they feel like good companions to us. They share a dusty, desolate and spacey atmosphere. On the eve of this release we have been touring through the southwest US, where these songs feel at home in the arid, Mars-like landscape of the Arizona desert.”
Also featured on Swampy are remixes from Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul, recently featured in Pitchfork’s “25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023,” and Nourished By Time, who supported Dry Cleaning on their recently-wrapped North American tour. Swampy will be released digitally and as a limited edition cassette (band store only). Tonight, Dry Cleaning will begin the UK/EU leg of their Stumpwork tour, with full dates listed below. Tickets are on sale now.
DRY CLEANING TOUR DATES Tue. Feb. 21 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City Wed Feb. 22 – Sheffield, UK @ The Foundry Fri. Feb. 24 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall Sat. Feb. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute Sun. Feb. 26 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Tue. Feb. 28 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed Wed. March 1 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk – SOLD OUT Fri. March 3 – London, UK @ Roundhouse Mon. Mar. 13 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Wed. Mar. 15 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Strand Thu. Mar. 16 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Sat. Mar. 18 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust Sun. Mar. 19 – Groningen, NL @ Vera – SOLD OUT Mon. Mar. 20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tue. March 22 – Offenbach, DE @ Hafen2 Thu. Mar. 23 – Munich, DE @ Strom Fri. Mar. 24 – Vienna, AT @ Flex Sat. Mar. 25 – Prague, CZ @ Futurum Mon. Mar. 27 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy Tue. Mar. 28- Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz Wed. Mar. 29 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg Fri. Mar. 31 – Rotterdam, NL @ Maassilo Sat. Apr. 1 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix Sat. Aug. 26 – Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, FR @ Rock En Seine
Originally released in 2007, Tinariwen‘s third album, Aman Iman: Water Is Life, is a stunning piece of work that tells stories of rough desert living, friendship, spiritual searches, heartbreak, and blessings.
“Cler Achel” starts off the record with Tinariwen’s characteristic handclaps and Mohammed Ag Itlale‘s snappy, raw, and blues-influenced guitar work. I don’t know how Touareg bands do it, but only they can seem to make guitars sound like this, and Itlale is a master at making a guitar sound like a desert wind one moment and a chattering, happy bird the next.
The vocal trills on “Ahimana” instantly transport you out of your environment and into a desert landscape, and the languid rhythm of “Soixante Trois” curls around you like a warm cat at your feet. “Toumast” (one of multiple calls on the album for Touraeg clans to unite) might be one of the more psychedelic tracks on the album, as the guitar tones on it shift from mesmerizing to almost garage rock sounds.
“Imidiwan Winakalin” rolls along with a danceable beat and fades out like the sun going down behind a tall dune. Other tracks lull you into a sense of being part of something bigger and yet something that can be found in something as small as a sand grain. The closer, “Izarharh Ténéré,” drifts away from you like a warm breeze moving toward a night sky.
It’s another lovely album from them, and a perfect balm for stress.
Tinariwen‘s fourth album, Imidiwan: Companions sends you into a hypnotic desert landscape from the first notes of the opener, “Imidiwan Afrik Temdam.” The simple, yet haunting guitar, the handclap percussion, and the group vocals during the chorus instantly are uplifting.
The whole album is like that (as is pretty much every Tinariwen record). “Lulla” will get you and everyone around you dancing. The heavy guitar chords of “Tenhert” would make Johnny Cash smile. “Tamodjerazt Assis” has a cool psychedelic rhythm that will make your head sway like its turned into a willow tree in a soft wind.
The chant-like vocals of “Imazeghen N Adagh” are almost as hypnotizing as the dust devil guitar chords and unhurried hand percussion. “Assuf Ag Assuf” moves like smoke. “Ere Tasfata Adouina” is perfect for a ride through the desert with no particular agenda or destination with its dreamy guitar licks and relaxed, but soulful vocals. The album closes with “Desert Wind,” a slightly eerie instrumental of simple guitar and synth loops that creates a mind-warping effect.
Tinariwen were making a lot of international waves when this album originally came out in 2009, and its reissue is a welcome treat for fans of Tuareg music, desert rock, and the band’s early career.
Chicago trio FACS have been perfecting their brand of intense, cathartic art rock over the course of four ever-evolving albums. Beginning with 2018’s Negative Houses thru 2021’s landmark Present Tense, the trio digs deep into the gaping maw of a black hole and pulls back whatever debris they can grasp onto. Their newest LP Still Life In Decay, which arrives April 7th, comes as an addendum to their last album— a “post-event review,” if you will.
When the guitar punctures the lock-step swing of first album single “When You Say,” it hits like a hammer. Case utilizes his lyrics like a person suffering from anterograde amnesia, repeating phrases and holding onto old memories in a desperate attempt to avoid the slide into oblivion. Freeform poetic missives touch on themes of resignation, cynicism, class warfare, and a search for identity and meaning in a crumbling society; A primal desire to hold onto anything in a post-pandemic barrage of sensory overload.
While FACS are a heavy band, they don’t necessarily feel like one— Case’s fluttering, melodic guitar lines are buoyed by the insistent, underlying pulse of an expert rhythm section. Bassist Alianna Kalaba, who stepped in for founding member Jonathan Van Herik in 2018, makes her amicable last stand here with the group. Alongside drummer Noah Leger, they dance and twist around each other like a double helix, forming the DNA of what makes FACS sospecial. Collectively they approach rhythm from outside the groove as opposed to inside it, creating a lattice where Case weaves guitar lines like creeping vines, making the moments on Still Life In Decay where the band locks in even more powerful.
FACS have never been more solidified as a unit, and Still Life In Decay is a decidedly focused effort. The apocalyptic chaos that defined their previous album is waved away in favor of an examination of events with cumbrous clarity. Recorded by Sanford Parker at Chicago’s esteemed Electrical Audio, Still Life In Decay will be available April 7, 2023 from Trouble In Mind Records. Pre-order the record here and see FACS on tour throughout the year. More singles and news coming soon.
FACS, on tour:
April 6 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
April 7 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
April 8 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
May 15 Pittsburgh, PA @ Government Center
May 16 Washington, DC @ DC9
May 17 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
May 19 Providence, RI @ Fete Lounge
May 20 Montreal, QC @ La Sotterenea
May 21 Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
July 28 Indianapolis, IN @ Post. Festival
Keep your mind open.
[When you say you’re going to subscribe, I hope you mean it.]
