Saddle Creek Records remains very active in These Days of COVID. Today the label announced it’s releasing the self-titled debut EP by Quarter-Life Crisis, a new project from Ryan Hemsworth featuring collabs with Creek label-mates Frances Quinlan (Hop Along) and Meg Duffy (Hand Habits) as well as Charlie Martin (Hovvdy), Claud, and Yohuna.

It sounds like sort of an Alan Parsons Project-type deal, with Hemsworth handling production and instruments while the collaborators write the lyrics and sing. From Nova Scotia, Hemsworth won a Juno Award in the electronic album category for 2014’s Guilt Trips (Last Gang Records), and has produced tracks for Mitski and Tory Lanez, among others.

The EP drops Dec. 4 (preorder now), but the single “Postcards from Spain” featuring Quinlan, was released today. Check it below.

With that new Tomberlin EP, Projections, ready to drop Nov. 13, this will count as the 12th release so far this year for Saddle Creek.

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As everyone knows by now, yesterday Eddie Van Halen passed away after a long battle with lung cancer. Dudes of a certain age (I don’t know many female fans) grew up on Van Halen, scribbling their logo on the cover of their notebooks or scratching it into school desktops (along with Zoso and the Pink Floyd prism).

Van Halen music was ubiquitous with partying and having a good time. It always put me in a good mood no matter what mood I was in, and still does. I’ll be cracking open a cold one tonight for you, Eddie, while listening to the Van Halen mix tape I made back in ’84. Now what are we gonna do with all these brown M&Ms? Rest in Powerchords…

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily (if there’s news) 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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.