by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Cleaning out that ol’ email box…

More and more, indie artists are using Instragram almost solely for their announcements, moreso than any other social media platform. At least that’s been my experience. Facebook is for “old people,” Tik Tok is for the younsters, Twitter/X is for Trumpers, but Instagram still holds value for hip. young music fans, maybe because it’s harder for advertisers to usurp.

Take Bright Eyes, for instance. Earlier this week the band announced it has a new album coming out this fall via this video “reel” on Instagram featuring Conor Oberst’s nephew, Sam. And a day or so prior to that, Bright Eyes posted a photo from what appears to be the inside of ARC Studio in Omaha, with the caption “baking cake.” Ho-ho!

Online publications like Exclaim! glommed onto the posts and amplified the news with headlines like “Bright Eyes Confirm 11th Album Arriving This Fall.” More info coming soon… no doubt, via Instagram. 

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Monsters of Folk, on the other hand, used a traditional Press Release to announce the band’s just released reissue of their 2009 debut via ATO Records. The reissue includes five additional tracks recorded in 2012 with Centro-matic’s Will Johnson for use in an unproduced science fiction film scripted by Conor Oberst (which we’d all love to see. Maybe Conor can share the script with Icky Blossoms’ guitarist and motion picture director Nik Fackler?). 

Here’s another of those newly released sci-fi tracks…

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While Saddle Creek Records’ original crown jewel bands Bright Eyes and Cursive announced new albums on competing record labels, Omaha’s hometown record company last week announced it’s releasing the next album by Spirit of the Beehive, titled You’ll Have to Lose Something, on Aug. 23. 

The band dropped the first video from the album (below), and announced its U.S. tour, which unfortunately doesn’t include Omaha. Closest passes are Chicago’s The Outset Sept. 28 or Denver’s Meow Wolf Sept. 30.

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Closer to home, singer/songwriter Jeremy Mercy’s latest band — Jeremy Mercy and the Rapture Orphans — released a new single called “Dead Headlights (Another Winter in Omaha)” from their forthcoming EP Heavyweight: Volume II. The tracks were recorded at Make Believe Studio and were produced and mixed by audio engineer extraordinaire Ian Aeillo (Flight School). Check out the new track below.

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And what have I been listening to lately? I’ve been spending a lot of time with Cursive’s new album, Devourer, which comes out Sept. 13 on Run for Cover Records. I’ve already written a review of the album, but the band’s PR folks want me to hold it until the record drops, which is fine (whatever happened to building anticipation?).

I will say this about the album, however – it’s a return to classic Cursive and is, in my humble opinion, the best thing they’ve done since Happy Hallow. You’ll have to wait to read the rest of the review…

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

By Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

After Conor Oberst wrapped up his bi-coastal “Conor and friends” residencies speculation began as to what’s next for Mr. Oberst. His musical output used to run in cycles between Bright Eyes, solo work, Desaparecidos and other projects (Monsters of Folk, Better Oblivion Community Center, etc.). Well, a couple clues sprung up in the past few days. 

First, there was a casting call on the official Bright Eyes Instagram account for volunteers to appear in a Bright Eyes video, apparently to be shot in or around Omaha on May 23 and 23. The posted graphic included three sets of dice and faux casino lights, which leads one to believe they’ll be shooting it somewhere over on the boats (our local slang for the Council Bluffs casinos). 

You had to be 19 or older (or with a legal guardian) and also sign an NDA. Well, as quickly as the offer went up, the offer was closed due to having received enough “entries.” Of course, people speculated that this is a pre-cursor to a new Bright Eyes release, but I suspect it may have something to do with a rerelease of older material. Time will tell.

And then this past Tuesday a press release went out announcing the release of a 15th anniversary reissue of the Monsters of Folk debut album. Monsters of Folk consisted of Oberst, Jim James, M. Ward and Mike Mogis. 

First released in 2009, the rerelease includes the original 15-song album joined by five additional studio tracks from a previously unreleased 2012 session featuring “Fifth Monster” Will Johnson (Centro-matic).

From the press release: “Those five tracks – which include ‘Disappeared’ and the moody folk epic, ‘Museum Guard’ – were initially meant to accompany a dystopic sci-fi film based on a screenplay penned by Oberst, a project that was eventually shelved.”

A dystopic sci-fi film written by Conor? I would have loved to have seen that. And they could have shot it over on the boats and saved money on building dystopian-looking sets. 

The album drops June 14 on ATO Records and can be preordered here. Check out the Springsteen-esque newly release track, “Disappeared,” below. 

A Monsters of Folk tour to accompany this release would be pretty cool. So would new MofF material. Ah, but I’d still rather see that sci-fi movie. Come on, Conor!…

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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 © 2024 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

There’s a bit of Conor Oberst news bouncing around the internet.  Both SPIN and TwentFourBit have stories that include links to an unreleased Oberst song called “Night at Lake Unknown” (Do you think he was talking about Lake Manawa?). They also recap details about an upcoming Monsters of Folk film and music project that Jim James discussed on his Reddit AMA. Oberst made news last week with a massive Q&A at Drowned In Sound (right here) where he confirmed that we’ll be getting some new Desaparecidos material sometime in the future.  Desa plays Europe and stateside for nearly a month starting Feb. 7 in Dublin, right after Oberst finishes up some European solo dates.

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Check out The Faint performing “Agenda Suicide” and “Glass Danse” on Pitchfork.tv, below:

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The Waiting Room’s $3 showcase series continues tonight, this time sponsored by Boulevard Brewing Co. and featuring InDreama, Universe Contest and Arrows, which I’m told is a brand new Omaha band whose members include a recent Detroit transplant. Just $3 gets you in. Show starts at 9. Don’t let the snow, cold and wind slow you down.

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Tomorrow: Ladyfinger.

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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.