by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Feb. 10, 2023 – So, another showless weekend. The good news is there’s a lot going on next weekend. Until then, here’s a batch of new music that caught my attention to enjoy and ponder.

Specter Poetics is the electronic project of Jack McLaughlin. He released a new track last Wednesday, produced by engineering mastermind Ian Aeillo. Check it in Spotify (since it’s not in Bandcamp, or at least I couldn’t find it).  

Boston-based indie darlings Pile announced their new album, All Fiction, which drops next Friday. Here’s the first single:

M83 dropped the first single from their new album, Fantasy, this week. The whole thing comes out on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. This sounds like a return to form for the band that was so dominate a decade ago.

Shiner frontman Allen Epley has a new solo LP called Everything that dropped recently. Here’s the first single:

Saddle Creek Records’ roster of talent has been very busy lately. 

Black Belt Eagle Scout released a new track off their new album The Land, the Water The Sky, which came out today. It’s a leap forward to a denser, more complete sound:

Brooklyn singer-songwriter Shalom dropped yet another single for her upcoming album, Sublimation, which comes out March 10 on the Creek. Called “Soccer Mommy,” it’s kind of an ode to the indie band that she counts as an influence:

Rural Alberta Advantage is slated to play The Slowdown Feb. 26. They just dropped this new single last week.

And finally, maybe the most popular act on Saddle Creek’s current roster, Indigo De Souza, announced a new album, All of This Will End, is coming out April 27. The first single, “Younger and Dumber,” dropped this past week. 

And that’s all I got. Have a great weekend!

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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 © 2023 Tim McMahan. All rights r

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Minneapolis indie folk-rock band The Jayhawks have a history of sorts with Omaha. They’ve been touring through our fair city literally for decades, culminating in a spot on the Maha Music Festival last year — a victory lap of sorts for local fans who remember the band playing to small crowds during the early days.

The band is the product of the mid-80s Twin Cities music scene, releasing their first album in 1986 followed by their Twin/Tone Records debut, Blue Earth, in 1989. They broke in a big way in ’92 with Hollywood Town Hall (American Recordings). Viewed by many as their masterpiece,  the album would have sounded right at home on a ’70s rock radio station, thanks to its laid-back, afternoon melodies.

Often described as an “alt country” band, their sound, especially on their latest album, Paging Mr. Proust (2016, Thirty Tigers), has more in common with acts like Big Star, Pete Yorn, Crosby Stills & Nash and local alt rocker Matthew Sweet. Produced by R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, the new record finds Gary Louris reuniting with the band’s late-’90s line-up.

We tossed our Ten Questions survey to the Jayhawks and bass player Marc Perlman took up the reins.

1. What is your favorite album?


Marc Perlman: Big Star, #1 Record

2. What is your least favorite song?

“Kokomo,” Beach Boys

3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?

The music (when it’s working).

4. What do you hate about being in a band?

Washing Gary’s socks.

5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?

Chocolate covered raisins

6. In what city or town do you love to perform?

Utrecht

7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?

Utrecht (but it wasn’t my fault)

8. How do you pay your bills?

By the grace of G-d

9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?

Professional hand model; the guy who has to clean the dressing rooms after a Jayhawks show.

10. What are the stories you’ve heard about Omaha, Nebraska?

In 1986 the Jayhawks played in front of 6 people at Howard Street Tavern… Matthew Sweet and Conor Oberst sponsor and play in a sand volleyball league at O’Leavers (their team is called the “The Power Poppers”)… the dressing room at Sokol Auditorium is haunted… it’s easy to get lost driving from Omaha to Lincoln…

The Jayhawks play with Fernando Viciconte Sunday, July 31, at The Slowdown, 729 No. 14th St. Tickets are $25 Adv., $40 for balcony seating. Showtime is 8 p.m. For more information, go to theslowdown.com.

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Tonight at Stir Cove it’s the return of indie rock band M83. The band is on the road supporting their new album, Junk (2016, Mute), which was a shift in direction to a more dance-oriented sound than heard on their earlier albums. Opening is NYC-based duo Sofi Tukker. $35, 8 p.m.

Also tonight, the might Pro Magnum headlines at Pageturners Lounge. How will such a loud band translate to such a delicate setting? Find out. Leafblower opens. The free show starts at 9:30.

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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 © 2016 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Decisions, decisions… Of the two, Real Estate was probably the hottest ticket of the night last night (from what I’ve been told, it was the bigger draw); but to be honest, their latest album (despite the raves) left me cold, and judging from their YouTube stuff, I was afraid of getting a run-of-the-mill “stand-and-play” performance.

Which is exactly what I didn’t get from Future Islands. I don’t think any of the 30 or so people at The Waiting Room expected what they got from frontman Samuel T. Herring. Never mind that the trio’s music, half of which was pre-recorded samples (including the synth-drum-percussion), is like an homage to early Factory Records / New Order dance tracks — dramatic and fun. It was Herring that was the centerpiece, an absolutely mesmerizing frontman intent on connecting with the audience eye-to-eye from the stage.

He looks like a young Streetcar Brando combined with Deliverance Burt Reynolds and Kirkian Shatner, but with the intensity of a Rollins or Morrissey. He owned the stage like a Shakespearean actor performing a spotlight soliloquy with a voice that ranged somewhere between Richard Burton, Pee Wee Herman (in la-la-la-la mode), a monster and Billy Idol. Like a caged gorilla pacing with knuckles dragging on the floor, Herring leaned down trying to glean any sort of eye contact from anyone who would look at him, shifting from one to one to one to one. Dramatic, and the stage lighting only added to the drama — colored floor-mounted flood lights (think Mercy Rule but with colored gels).

But then between songs, Herring turned into a bro’ just chilling with his roomful of new friends, laughing and talking about the road and how much he loved being on stage (despite, he said, his recent misgivings about performing). Charming. While all this was going on, keyboardist Gerrit Welmers and bass player William Cashion were stone. They never cracked a smile or changed expression. Welmers merely stared straight-faced at his battery of synth/computer equipment, poking out melodies while Brando pounded his chest and slapped himself in the face and bounced on all fours and held his hand skyward as if singing to a Hamlet skull or to an invisible moon. You can tell this guy was once an art student — or a closet thespian.

One of the best performances I’ve seen this year.

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Column 348: Third Quarter Reviews Roundup

Just like when Christmas decorations begin popping up at your local grocery store, critics know they’re on the home stretch when record labels begin sending out reminders of releases to consider in their year-end “best of” lists. Ah, but it’s still only November. We’ve two months left for records to hit the shelves (digital or otherwise). That said, I think we’ve probably already heard the best of ’11. Below are some of the third quarter releases that have been burning up my earphones. Who knows if any of them will make the “best of” final cut. By the time we find out, the labels will be lauding the first releases of 2012, and the grocery stores will be replacing those Christmas decorations with Valentine’s Day candy

A.A. Bondy, Believers (Fat Possum) — The former Verbena frontman may be best known as an opening act for Bon Iver a few years ago. Since then, Bon Iver has ascended to indie rock sainthood, while Bondy continues to toil in the clubs, waiting for the attention he deserves. With a voice strangely resembling Jackson Browne’s, Bondy’s music is a moody midnight throb headed to 3 a.m. all alone. There’s a simplicity in the music’s loneliness — both in sound and lyrics — that his fellow loners will find both familiar and comforting. Inspirational lines like “You didn’t know there was a killer inside / Won’t get to heaven tonight” from the title track are part of the reason why I like this better than Bon Iver’s latest (Sacrilege!). Who knows, maybe someday Bon Iver will open for Bondy (though he won’t be when A.A. Bondy plays at The Waiting Room this Friday night. You should go.).

Eleanor Friedberger, Last Summer (Merge) — Has the distinction of being the first album I purchased after discovering it on Spotify (Merge doesn’t send me promos, the cheap bastards). Those who expect the wonky art rock of her main gig, Fiery Furnaces, are in for a big surprise. Friedberger has left the proggy chord/key changes behind for a collection of songs that are SONGS, complete with melodies and choruses and playful lyrics that bounce atop piano chords, hand claps and the occasional sax riff. I’m reminded (strangely) of smart, laid back Hunky Dory-era David Bowie. My wife thinks she sounds like Carly Simon. She might be right (again). Has the distinction of being one of the best records of 2011.

PUJOL, Nasty, Brutish, And Short EP (Saddle Creek) — Saddle Creek surprised all of us when it announced it signed this Nashville phenom back in August. Who was PUJOL? The only thing we knew was that Jack White liked him and that Nashville Scene called him “The Socrates of the house show circuit” (whatever that means). Creek’s first stab at releasing anything resembling garage, PUJOL embraces a ’60s psych aesthetic on this slim 7-song collection that clocks in at just under 18 minutes. Its stripped down, grinding guitar rock owes a lot to early Beatles and is oh so catchy, probably the catchiest thing the Creek has released since… well, ever.

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks, Mirror Traffic (Matador) — With all the Pavement reunion talk earlier this year, a few of us were worried that Malkmus may be leaving his solo work behind. Silly rabbits. After a couple brilliant out-there releases (’08’s Real Emotional Trash, ’05’s Face the Truth) Malkmus returns to the more straight-forward, less adventurous and more tuneful style that marked his ’01 solo debut. In fact, Malkmus always came off (to me, anyway) as a more tuneful version of Lou Reed — deceptively simple melodies that belie some of the smartest (and this time, strangest) lyrics that cynically capture a life lived in America. Now that he’s “40 with a kid / Living on the grid,” his lyrics are more obtuse than ever. You may not understand what he’s singing about, but you’ll sing along anyway.

Matthew Sweet, Modern Art (Missing Piece) — Matthew Sweet returns after… wait a minute, Sweet didn’t go anywhere. He’s been steadily releasing music on Shout! Factory since ’06, though two of the last three releases were covers albums made with Susanna Hoffs. One would think reworking all those classic hits would put the pop back into Sweet’s step. Instead, there’s a psychedelic tang and guitar-noodling quality that recall the Altered Beast years (the meandering “My Ass is Grass” and “A Little Death,” the layered, synth-symphonic title track). Still, Sweet knows his sweet spot lies in pure, sing-along tracks like the pretty “Baltimore,” and the Byrds-ish “She Walks the Night,” which he could have used more of this time ’round.

M83, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute) – Sprawling, ambitious to a fault at 74 minutes, Hurry Up takes M83’s penchant for dreamy, ghostly pop and blows it up to sonic mountains. Like any great epic, it has its perfect moments, like dance floor chestnut “Claudia Lewis,” and triumphant “Steve McQueen.” But there’s also a lot of tonal fluff designed to build cinematic Tangerine Dream-flavored drama (“Another Wave from You,” “When Will You Come Home” “Klaus I Love You”) that lie somewhere between aural interlude and filler. It’s as if M83 is trying to become a modern generation’s version of The Cure, but skipped over the Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me era and went straight for Disintegration. Or maybe they’re just reversing the order. I’m willing to wait and see.

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Tonight at House of Loom it’s Conduits with Pony Wars. I was told that Loom doesn’t really have a “stage,” so it will be interesting to see how they set up the bands. If you haven’t been down there yet (it’s in the old Goofy Foot space) this would be great time to check it out. $5, 9:30 p.m.

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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 © 2011 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.