by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Azure Ray recently opened a date for Bright Eyes. Now half of Azure Ray — Maria Taylor — has announced a new project with Mike Bloom (Jenny Lewis, Julian Casablancas) called HAHA. They dropped their first single yesterday on Taylor’s Flower Moon Records, and it features Elvis Costello drummer Pete Thomas. The track was mixed by Jonathan Low (The National, Taylor Swift). No word if there’s more to come, but if I had to guess…

In other new music news, Teenage Fanclub has a new album coming out Sept. 22 on Merge Records called Nothing Lasts Forever. The album’s first single, “Foreign Land,” dropped awhile ago, and is classic TF. The whole album is pretty good. Here’s hoping someone books them here in Omaha.

Yesterday 1% Productions announced An Evening with Yo La Tengo Sept. 29 at The Waiting Room. The show supports their new album, This Stupid World, which Pitchfork has crowned with a “Best New Music” designation and an 8.5 rating. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. and are $32.

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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 reserved.

Talk about your boring January’s, there’s just not a whole heckova lot going on. Next week I’ll be posting my February column in The Reader, which has some reporting about when we can expect to see live music return to Omaha. Spoiler alert: It’s gonna be awhile until any tours come passing through, but there’s hope for the future…

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Omaha indie band The Sunks dropped their debut full-length, Wedding Season, today on Bandcamp. The 13-song LP was recorded at ARC by Adam Roberts. “Wedding Season marks the band’s debut album after playing in town for nearly six years,” says the site. “The album is a reflection of the myriad influences the band has and results in a finished product featured a variety of songs that can be enjoyed by any listener.” Check it out!

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This morning Saddle Creek Records announced the next installment in its 7-inch “Document” series will feature Illinois trio Ohtis, with special guest vocals by Stef Chura. “Schatze” b/w “Failure” is slated to come out on 7-inch vinyl Feb. 26, but the amusing video for the A-side dropped today.

From the release: “‘Schatze’ was mixed by Collin Dupuis (Lana Del Rey, Angel Olsen, St. Vincent) and it follows the release of Ohtis’ critically acclaimed 2019 debut album Curve of Earth, which was released via Full Time Hobby.” Ohtis was formed nearly 20 years ago, but went into a 15-year hiatus, according to the announcement. Check out the video below and pre-order the single right here.

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And all you oldsters will love to know that Teenage Fanclub is releasing its next full-length, Endless Arcade, April 3 on Merge Records. The band released the next single from the album, “I’m More Inclined,” this morning, along with European tour dates (September in the UK, and a larger Euro tour in 2022).

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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 © 2021 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.

Trying to work my way through a backlog of email and other assorted news items….

Coming out of the blue, Those Far Out Arrows dropped a new LP last Friday called Fill Yer Cup.

“This album was recorded in December 2019 at ‘The Library’ with Adam Roberts in Omaha, Nebraska,” says the liner notes. “These songs were born in a pre-pandemic world but continue to resonate in life today, as we know it. We love and appreciate all who support us and take time to listen to these recordings.”

Anyone who caught the band’s performances at Petfest this past summer caught a few of these new songs (“Snake in My Basement” was a standout). Buy your digital copy at their Bandcamp page for just $5.

Unafraid of any stinking pandemic, TFOA’s is slated to play at Reverb Lounge Nov. 27 with Cat Piss — that’s the day after Thanksgiving.

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Not local news, but legendary Scottish indie rockers Teenage Fanclub announced their new album, Endless Arcade, will drop March 5 on Merge. Check out the opening song, “Home,” below…

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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.