by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

In this week’s column, third quarter CD reviews (a little late). I’ll be tweeting random selections throughout the day at @tim_mcmahan — what better reason to finally get a Twitter account? The entire list is in this week’s issue of The Reader, or online right here… Here’s a taste:

Hospital Ships, Destruction In Yr Soul (Graveface) — Death Cab meets Arcade Fire, too often tries for epic, too often falls flat.

Destruction Unit, Deep Trip (Sacred Bones)  — Just plain burn-your-face-off garage rock for the damned (damned good).

Lloyd Cole, Standards (Tapete) — Don’t call it a comeback, it’s the best thing he’s released since Music in a Foreign Language, and could be a hit if he ever tours the U.S.

Twinsmith, self titled — Blessed by the Creek, a sort of Vampire Weekend / Beach House mash-up, might be too cute for its own good.

Read all 32!

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Conduits at Dundee Spring Fling, May 21, 2011.

Somewhere in the heart of the city there’s a going-away party being held for Jenna Morrison.

Jenna is/was the golden-voiced siren who fronted Omaha’s epic shoe-gaze odyssey called Conduits. What did Conduits sound like? From an April 2011 review of their performance on Slowdown’s big stage:

Conduits closed the night with grand aplomb — just an absolute wall of sound — thick slabs of droning feedback, subtle synth tones, and throbbing, tribal rhythms a la Slowdive, MBV and all the other shoe-gaze masters that obviously influenced their style and that we all know and love.

Conduits could have been huge. The conventional wisdom at the time was that they were the next Omaha break-out act, especially after word leaked that their debut LP would come out on Team Love Records (the label that Conor Oberst started). But time took its toll on Conduits. They spent a year playing the same songs, released their record then spent another year playing the same songs. But (I’m told) none of that had anything to do with their eventual demise…

Though there’s been no official announcement, the band has been broken up for more than a year. Everyone’s gone on to other projects, the most notable being Oquoa. Everyone, that is, but Jenna Morrison. Conduits fans have sat back waiting for her next move. Well here it is:

After going on a walk-about through the Southern Tier (documented on her Facebook page), Jenna decided to move to Los Angeles in the coming days/weeks. What she’s chasing out there, I cannot tell you. I can only wish her luck, godspeed and say thanks for the memories. And watch out LA, there’s a new kid in town…

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Tonight is Night 2 of Cursive’s 3-night stand at The Waiting Room where the band is recording for a possible live album. Night one was a real doozy. And of the three shows, tonight’s might draw the largest crowd thanks to stellar openers Criteria (they’re baaack!) and David Bazan (Who we all remember from Pedro the Lion).

If the first night was any indication, this trio of shows attendance should be mandatory for any Cursive fan. The band is digging deep into the back catalog. Heck, they played a song off their Lumberjack debut 7-inch last week. You will hear songs performed that you may never hear performed live by this band again…

As of this posting, tickets were still available for $12. You may want to get yours online now to avoid disappointment. See you there.

Also tonight, Hear Nebraska is hosting a listening preview of its Vol. 2 album at The Omaha Bicycle Company in Benson.

The vinyl album is a snapshot of the best bands of 2013, with tracks from Universe Contest, Pleasure Adapter, Noah’s Ark, Millions of Boys, Tim Kasher, Skypiper, McCarthy Trenching, Conchance, Lloyd McCarter and Simon Joyner. HN is less than $700 away from its $4,000 Kickstarter, which is really just a pre-sale. A $20 pledge gets you the vinyl and the mp3. Pledge more for other fun stuff. Do it.

Not sure you’ll dig the record? Then head over to Omaha Bicycle Company tonight at 5:30 and hear for yourself. More detail about tonight’s event here.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2013 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.