by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Erie Choir, Starlight Veins EP (2020, Potluck)

Ah, to have been in Chapel Hill this past January to see the remaining members of Sorry About Dresden play a reunion for the Cat’s Cradle 50th anniversary — a once-in-a-lifetime event. Ex-Dresden-er Eric Roehrig now of band Erie Choir mentioned that concert in a letter about EC’s upcoming EP (which I’ll get to in a minute), saying not only were the three remaining Sorry About Dresden members performing that night, but that Tim Kasher of Cursive and Jason Sieling of Weld and a handful of others were there to sing some of the late, great Matt Oberst’s songs. There’s video out there on YouTube if you’re interested (and you should be).

Anyway, all of that was an aside to the news that Erie Choir has a new 4-song EP on CD and vinyl (2-song 7-inch) coming out April 24 called Starlight Veins on Potluck Records. The band is Roehrig, fellow Sorry About Dresden alumnus James Hepler, Bob Wall and Jack Watson.

“The song ‘Night Junction’ references some of the Dres’ mishaps that occurred in Indiana, including a broken transmission that prevented us from playing Omaha with Cursive and others for the Ugly Organ (I think?) release show,” Roehrig said.

Check it out below:

How and where you can buy this EP wasn’t mentioned in the email (Come on, Eric!), but I have to believe it’ll be available from the band’s Bandcamp page (eventually?) or through Potluck or the usual streaming outlets…

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This floated up on my Instagram feed — its Todd & Orenda Fink of CLOSENESS covering Will Oldham’s “I See a Darkness.” The masked man in the background on the pedal steel is none other than Jason Steady. They’re all living out in the desert near Joshua Tree, where dust never sleeps…

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-22o2rhHS7/

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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 © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Conor does a soft shoe in Phoebe Bridgers’ new video.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Catching up on some news, fans of Saddle Creek Records band Sorry About Dresden take note that Eric Roehrig’s follow-up band, Erie Choir, has a new album out.

Some background: After a pair of self-released EP’s and a few lineup changes, Sit-n-Spin Records released Slighter Awake in 2006; 11 years later the follow up, Old Rigs, was released on Potluck Records last month.

The album is a solid collection of folk-rock reminiscent of classic Big Star. The lyrics are a reflection of the trials and tribulations of band life. According to the one-sheet: “In 2016, Roehrig and drummer James Hepler’s long-time Sorry About Dresden bandmate Matt Oberst passed away. While all the songs on Old Rigs were written prior to his death, the album’s meditation on friendship and loss serve in some small way as a tribute to their friend.”

Check it out at Bandcamp, where you can also buy your copy.

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LA singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers released a new video for the single “Would You Rather,” a duet with Conor Oberst that appears on her latest album, Stranger in the Alps (2017, Dead Oceans). Conor shows up in the video dressed in cowboy gear and does a weird hoe-down dance that’s oddly inappropriate considering the songs’ somewhat dark lyrics. Fun!

Bridgers was just featured last week in a glowing LA Times profile and is headed out on a massive world tour in February that brings her to fabulous O’Leaver’s April 7.

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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 © 2017 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.