WORLD PREMIERE: Naïm Amor "Home" (Official Music Video)

Video by Tom Moore

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OUT NOW: Kicking Bird "Verdun" [Digital Single]

 11 Short Fictions is the sophomore album from Wilmington, North Carolina band, Kicking Bird. Filled with the same jangly hooks and interwoven vocals that the band is known for, the record also dives into a soundscape and lyrical content that is much darker and heavier. 

"Verdun" is the third digital single from Kicking Bird 11 Short Fictions, and is available now everywhere for your enjoyment.

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OUT NOW: JPW & Dad Weed "Far Off Road" [Digital Single]

After 15 years of collaborative experiences and cheering each other on from various distances, Zachary Toporek and Jason P. Woodbury have finally teamed up on Amassed Like a Rat King. Toporek is best known as the leader of 1970s pop-style collective Dad Weed, while Woodbury fronts spooky desert-jangle combo JPW (alongside his work with the eclectic online music magazine Aquarium Drunkard).  Uniting the strands of their crisscrossing musical sensibilities, the duo’s collaborative debut sprawls across 11 tracks of hypnotic psych-folk, mid-century pop fantasias, and ‘90s alt-pop bliss-outs. 

"Far Off Road" is the third digital single to be released from the album Amassed Like a Rat King by JPW & Dad Weed, and is now available as of today on all digital music platforms.

Jesse Locke on “Far Off Road”:

“Far Off Road” brings the lights down low, casting a single spotlight on the whisper-soft vocals of Jason P. Woodbury as the song bobs along with a gentle pulse. Ghostly doo-wop harmonies and eerily processed guitar effects carry this avant-ballad into the realm of the otherworldly, like The Penguins set adrift on Brian Eno’s faraway beach.

LISTEN NOW | PRE-ORDER VINYL RECORD

New album: MindsOne || Stages — "A rock-solid hip hop odyssey through life’s many phases"

[Repost from Add to Wantlist; by Dennis, February 13, 2025]

Wait, what? Hip hop on this rock-oriented blog? This one is actually pretty cool (and universally relatable), so yeah.

Stages is the ambitious sixth studio album since 2006 from MindsOne, a collective from Wilmington, North Carolina, centered around KON Sci and Tronic, responsible for the lyrics and vocals of the 17 tunes—a whopping 63 minutes in total—here. Clever and inviting raps take us through the human life cycle, from inception to the reflective later stages in life, all those phases of development and maturation, growth and struggle, with an open ended conclusion to the project as opposed to a finite ending. Although it is a guest-heavy journey, it always feels coherent and cohesive, with energizing beats, atmospheric jazzy samples and magnetic turntablism. This is a bizarrely rich and thoughtful record.

Stages, a concept album engineered & mixed by Owen Dollar, is out now digitally and on vinyl 2-LP through Fort Lowell Records. Also featuring Kev Brown, Sam Brown, Shylow the Beat Yoda, Marco Polo, Da Beatminerz, Tink_Musik, Drew Dave, MentPlus, DJ Iron, DJ Noumenon, DJ Slim Deluxe and Jay Killman on select tracks.

Valentine's Day at The Underfront Co. in Wilmington NC

LET'S DANCE Vinyl DJ Set by Fort Lowell Record

REVIEW: Kicking Bird Unveil Their Latest Single, “What Did You Expect (with Such A Beautiful Wife)”

[Repost from V13; by Aaron Willschick, February 1, 2025]

There’s a good story behind “What Did You Expect (with Such A Beautiful Wife),” and Kicking Bird would love to share it. The band has arrived today with the premiere of their brand-new single. It comes from their forthcoming new full-length record, 11 Short Fictions.

This is the first song from the band’s highly anticipated sophomore effort, coming April 4th on Fort Lowell Records. It’s the follow-up to their 2023 debut album, Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, with more of that jangly, upbeat indie rock you’ve come to expect from the band.

Commenting on the song, frontwoman Shaylah Paul states:

“‘What Did You Expect (with Such A Beautiful Wife)’ is based on real people and a real place. But none of it is true. Like most of my songs, it’s rooted in my debilitating nostalgia for the past. When I write I try to focus on a memory and zero in on a place, the people in it, how things looked, and what I knew (and didn’t know) about everything in that moment.

“Before I moved to Wilmington from Chicago, I managed a second-run, artsy movie theatre. ‘What Did You Expect (with Such A Beautiful Wife)’ is loosely inspired by my time there. The old men in the neighbourhood who made me keep the lights on until they’d had enough of their expensive, secret tequila, a desultory crush on the guy in the ticket box, and a despicable yet charismatic adulterer who led a double life.

“If you asked about a specific line, I might able to say ‘I’ll tell you exactly who that’s about.’ The rest is just patchwork. I love singing songs like this that even if the audience doesn’t get it, it transports me back to how that moment in time felt, in all senses.”

Discussing the recording process, Paul tells us:

“We recorded this before the band had played it live, so it really became a complete song in the studio. I don’t think I was there the day Robin laid his lead guitar down, so when I heard his parts I was like ‘oh ok!’ In a good way. It’s cool what having five musicians with unique points of view can do to a song from the onset to the finished product. And recording vocals, we usually do mine last and Tom (who records us) is great to work with because he doesn’t hesitate to say ‘I think you can do it better’ and he suggests the best ways to double vocals (or not).”

We previously got to know Kicking Bird a couple of years ago when guitarist Shaun Paul joined us for a High Huddle interview. That was around the time of the release of Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The band worked hard to ensure there would not be a significant gap between their debut and its follow-up. 11 Short Fictions was recorded in the same style as its predecessor, but this time, the soundscapes are a little more diverse, and the lyrical content is darker and heavier. You’ll hear about topics as unexpected and random as blood sports, black magic, and boathouse rendezvous.

Featuring, you guessed it, eleven tracks, the album title implies the storytelling element of the record. That’s why much of the subject matter is on the racy or even scandalous side. The band shows both a cheeky and a daring side at the same time. It’s just another step in the evolution of Kicking Bird.

OUT NOW: MindsOne 'Stages' [Double LP]

MindsOne, the auteur hip-hop collective from Wilmington, North Carolina (Emcees KON Sci and Tronic, along with DJs Noumenon and Slim Deluxe), present their most ambitious quest to date: Stages – their sixth studio album since 2006. As told through the lens of MindsOne’s perspectives, imaginations, and dreams, their new double album (with nineteen songs in total) explores concepts of the human experience, how we are forged through growth and struggle, and the connections that help us along the journey. MindsOne came together in the early 2000’s when four like-minded hip-hop performers from Southeastern North Carolina decided to join forces and transcend the tribal nature of the local music scene. Collectively, the group has produced and released 8 full-length releases, and found critical success within the international hip-hop community, as well as recognition from respected peers along the way. With each release, MindsOne has refined their concept-heavy approach to hip-hop music and challenged the status quo by offering listeners thought-provoking lyrics, cutting edge turntablism, and cleverly crafted song structures. Stages is a concept album through and through. The album traces the life cycle from inception, to the reflective later stages in life, and all the phases in between, with an open ended conclusion to the project as opposed to a finite ending. MindsOne uses various literary approaches to tackle all of the psychological, philosophical, sociological and spiritual stages we move through during the course of our development and maturation. Finally, Stages offers personal insight and detail into the unique yet sometimes shared experiences both Tron and KON Sci have encountered through.

MindsOne Stages is now available everywhere.

LISTEN TO FULL ALBUM | ORDER VINYL RECORD (ALMOST SOLD OUT)

REVIEW: JPW & Dad Weed "It's Happening"

[Repost from Here Comes the Flood; by Hans Werksman, January 28, 2025]

Phoenix, AZ based musicians Jason P. Woodbury and Zachary Toporek have released It's Happening, a new single by JPW & Dad Weed project, serving as a taste from their forthcoming Amassed Like a Rat King album. It's a scuzzy sounding exploration of left-field indie rock, as if the instruments have been gathering dust for a couple of decades.

Somehow everything still works, which comes as a surprise for the musicians themselves. The bass and drums only interlude is a 101 for less is more, before giving way wo a Tom Verlaine inspired guitar leading the way to a 60s Sci-Fi psych coda.

It's Happening is released via Fort Lowell Records. The Amassed Like a Rat King album (green vinyl, digital) is available for pre-order here. Release date: April 22.

REVIEW: Kicking Bird - "What Did You Expect (with Such a Beautiful Wife)"

[Repost from If It's Too Loud; by Ken Sears, January 28, 2025]

North Carolina's Kicking Bird floored us with 2023's Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The album had this amazing 60's and 90's retro sound that we loved, and reminded us of bands like Weezer and Fountains of Wayne. Now they're back with "What Did You Expect (with Such a Beautiful Wife)." This new song also has a 90's throwback sound, and while there are still some sonic references to bands like Weezer and Fountains of Wayne, I'm also getting a little of Lush's poppier side and Velocity Girl. It's a song that puts a little extra noise into dream pop with more of a DIY side than we'd normally associate with the genre. The new single is filled with swirling, slightly off guitars that's going to instantly suck a lot of our readers in.

You can listen to "What Did You Expect (with Such a Beautiful Wife)" below. 11 Short Fictions is due out April 4 on Fort Lowell Records, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on Kicking Bird, check out the band on Facebook and Instagram.

OUT NOW: Kim Ware and the Good Graces "Wish I Would've Missed You" [Digital Single]

The winter holidays, and that time shortly after they wrap, tend to be a period of reflection. Many hibernate a bit, take stock, and look back on past loves, losses, and lessons learned. The new single from Kim Ware and the Good Graces, “Wish I Would’ve Missed You,” explores these themes in a concise, heartfelt package sure to please the ears of fans of such writers as Aimee Mann, Kathleen Edwards, and Neko Case.

Written over a weekend during which she and her husband “took down the decorations” post- Christmas 2023, the song was masterfully produced at Union Recording Co. in Gastonia, NC, where Steven Fiore (Young Mister) and Justin Faircloth (Houston Brothers) helped craft a melancholy yet dreamy ode, their tasteful instrumental flourishes providing the perfect backdrop for Kim’s introspective, southern-tinged vocals. 

“Wish I Would’ve Missed You” by Kim Ware and the Good Graces is now available on all music platforms.

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OUT NOW: JPW & Dad Weed "It's Happening" [Digital Single]

After 15 years of collaborative experiences and cheering each other on from various distances, Zachary Toporek and Jason P. Woodbury have finally teamed up on Amassed Like a Rat King. Toporek is best known as the leader of 1970s pop-style collective Dad Weed, while Woodbury fronts spooky desert-jangle combo JPW (alongside his work with the eclectic online music magazine Aquarium Drunkard).  Uniting the strands of their crisscrossing musical sensibilities, the duo’s collaborative debut sprawls across 11 tracks of hypnotic psych-folk, mid-century pop fantasias, and ‘90s alt-pop bliss-outs. 

"It's Happening" is the second digital single to be released from the album Amassed Like a Rat King by JPW & Dad Weed, and is now available as of today on all digital music platforms.

Jesse Locke on “It’s Happening”:

It’s all happening on “It’s Happening.” JPW & Dad Weed glide into a winding, insistent groove, mesmerizing like snake charmers with a junk shop’s worth of ramshackle flourishes. Handclaps propel low-down basslines, shakers flutter over softly uttered vocals, and organs squelch throughout transcendent guitar solos. There’s something happening here — something you can feel from your head down to your toes—and even deeper within.

LISTEN NOW | PRE-ORDER VINYL RECORD

Watch the Official Lyric Video here:

OUT NOW: Kicking Bird "What Did You Expect (with Such A Beautiful Wife)" [Digital Single]

11 Short Fictions is the sophomore album from Wilmington, North Carolina band, Kicking Bird. Filled with the same jangly hooks and interwoven vocals that the band is known for, the record also dives into a soundscape and lyrical content that is much darker and heavier. 

"What Did You Expect (with Such A Beautiful Wife)" is the second digital single from Kicking Bird 11 Short Fictions, and is available now everywhere for your enjoyment.

LISTEN NOW | PRE-ORDER VINYL RECORD

'Palisades' Forest Fallows | Fort Lowell Records, 2024

[Repost by Daily Vault; by Tom Haugen, January 15, 2025]

The sophomore album from the bedroom project of Tucson, Arizona's Mike Barnett and Alex Morton finds Forest Fallows teaming up with John McEntire on mixing for the nostalgic sounds of these 10 tracks, which also embrace ’90s indie-rock and post-rock, too.

“Better Each” gets the listen off to a warm and dreamy start, where a soothing backdrop is met with a sunny ambience. “Reservations” then recruits a cozy jangle, as crisp drumming is met with flowing guitar, and “Clams Casino” continues the serenity via strong attention to atmosphere amid the pop ideas.

Moving into the middle, Connor Gallaher’s bright lap steel enters the lush and melodic “Ain’t Gonna Last,” while “Just Another Day At The Ace Lounge” is a rich and stylish moment of gentle yet exploratory pop fun. “Hotel Radisson” then welcomes Ramona’s well-timed saxophone and Emmanuelle Fahey’s French monologue for the charming climate and radiates beauty and sophistication.

Further still, “In Light” employs waves of scrappy and soaring indie-rock which flirts with the hazy, light side of the equation, and the title track exits with McEntire’s drum kit fueling the sonic, ambient and textured finish to a very meticulous record.

A truly unique listen that is eclectic enough to draw comparisons to Animal Collective, Steely Dan, Radiohead, The Sea & The Cake or even The Beach Boys, this album’s every moment wraps us up in a blanket of comforting, somewhat mysterious song craft that draws from the ’60s on.

The duo have worked together for 10+ years, and that chemistry plus the excellent production and focused harmonies, reverb and percussive noisemakers leaves an indelible impression. An ideal listen for deep contemplation or just lounging around, there’s just so much to enjoy from Forest Fallows and this limited edition LP.

Rating: A-

OUT NOW: MindsOne "Moment of Awareness" ft. Jay Killman & DJ Noumenon

MindsOne has been offering their listeners innovative lyrics, heart pounding instrumentals, precise cuts, and intense live shows since 2002. Their music embodies the spirit of independent hip hop culture and pays homage to those boom bap masters and others who came before. MindsOne have consistently delivered powerful and inspirational music over the years, and have continued to perfect their sound with each project.

The fifth and final digital single "Moment of Awareness", featuring Jay Killman and DJ Noumenon, off MindsOne's new double album titled Stages (due out February 7th) is now available on all music platforms as of today.

LISTEN NOW | PRE-ORDER VINYL RECORD

LET'S DANCE! Spend Valentine's Day with Fort Lowell Records at The Underfront Co. in Wilmington NC

Come celebrate Valentine's Day with Fort Lowell Records' owners — James & Tracy Tritten — who will be hosting their LET'S DANCE Vinyl DJ Night at The Underfront Co. in Downtown Wilmington NC on Front Street. James & Tracy together will be spinning all of their favorite dance music for you from their very own personal vinyl record collection. The music will span the past five decades of Pop, Disco, Boogie, Indie, Hip-Hop, R&B, Electronic, etc. — all of your favorites that will have you singing along and dancing — starting at 8:00pm and going all night long.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS | FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

MindsOne & MentPlus featuring DJ Noumenon - "The Way Back/Guiding Light"

[Repost from If It's Too Loud; by Ken Sears, January 13, 2025]

For their latest single, Wilmington, NC based underground hip hop collective MindsOne have teamed with MentPlus and DJ Noumenon. "The Way Back/Guiding Light" is a combination of two singles that flow together perfectly into one musical unit. This single is perfect for fans of both old school hip hop and modern underground hip hop. If you love artists like MF Doom, Gang Starr, Atmosphere, and Sage Francis, MindsOne are for you. It's hip hop without even a shred of R&B or pop music, melding the periods of late 80's hip hop and modern hip hop into one fantastic sound.

MindsOne say of their upcoming album:

"This is the album we’ve always wanted to produce, but didn’t have the inspiration, experience, or resources at the time to accomplish.  Times are different now, and it’s been empowering to see it all come to life like we had imagined.  That being said, we may be older and wiser, but we are still aware enough to know that we don’t know shit."

You can listen to "The Way Back/Guiding Light" below. Stages is due out February 7 on Fort Lowell Records, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on MindsOne, check out the artist on Facebook and Instagram.

#34: Forest Fallows 'Palisades' - The 60 Essentials of 2024 for Hotel Arizona

[Repost from Hotel Arizona; by Pepe Prieto, January 5, 2025]

#34: Forest Fallows Palisades (Fort Lowell Records)

Yes, dear Hotel Arizona listeners, as every year, the time has come to reveal our favorite albums from the previous melodic year. 2024 has not only maintained, in its musical section, the stratospheric level of previous years, in our opinion it has surpassed 2023 (and that was quite complicated) and has once again been colossal - as much as others think otherwise. For this reason, we will broadcast two special programs in which we will sequence our 60  ESSENTIALS  of the past year . And the first of them is now available, the one that glosses the albums that occupy positions from 60 to 31.

As usual, we have compiled the complete list with complete independence, representing the chosen albums with one of their respective songs, which will serve to melodically gloss over a year that, for us, has once again been one of the melodic peaks of the century so far.

You can listen/download it at this link:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/los-60-de-2024-118961898

Here are the first three Fort Lowell Records releases for next year

MindsOne Stages - Release Date: February 7, 2025 - PRE-ORDER HERE

• FOR FANS OF: 9th Wonder, The Alchemist, Atmosphere, Beastie Boys, Benny The Butcher, Big Pun, Black Moon, Kev Brown, Common, Da Beatminerz, D.I.T.C., DJ Premier, El-P, EPMD, Gang Starr, Hi-Tek, Hieroglyphics, J Dilla, Jay Z, KRS One, Little Brother, Lootpack, Madlib, Madvillain, MF Doom, Mobb Deep, M.O.P., Mos Def, Nas, Organized Konfusion, OutKast, Marco Polo, Redman, Run The Jewels, RZA, Sage Francis, Skyzoo, Talib Kweli, The Roots, Wu-Tang Clan

Kicking Bird 11 Short Fictions - Release Date: April 4, 2025 - PRE-ORDER HERE

• FOR FANS OF: Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Broken Social Scene, Blur, The Cardigans, Cheap Trick, Elvis Costello, The Dears, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, KISS, The Love Language, The New Pornographers, The Pixies, The Presidents of the United States of America, The Rolling Stones, Silversun Pickups, Surfer Blood, T. Rex, Two Door Cinema Club, Weezer

JPW & Dad Weed Amassed Like a Rat King - Release Date: April 22, 2025 - PRE-ORDER HERE

• FOR FANS OF: Amen Dunes, Barenaked Ladies, Calexico, Cornershop, Elephant 6, Flaming Lips, Gin Blossoms, LEN, My Morning Jacket, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, R.E.M., Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan, U2, Wilco, Link Wray

JPW: Tiny Desert Concert

[Repost from KJZZ 91.5FM Phoenix; by Sam Dingman, December 16, 2024]

CLICK HERE TO WATCH FULL VIDEO

The Show's latest installment of the Tiny Desert Concert series features JPW.

Jason P. Woodbury has been in bands since he was in middle school. As he got older, he focused more on producing music as well as writing and podcasting about it.

He says when the pandemic started and he had more time to himself, songs started tumbling out. Woodbury joined The Show to discuss how JPW isn’t his first time leading a musical group.

Conversation highlights

JASON P. WOODBURY: I grew up singing in my family's church in Coolidge, Arizona. And I was, even like at a pretty young age, brought in to like lead the singing. So like a prepubescent JPW was like leading singing — and then a post pubescent one as well.

SAM DINGMAN: And I'm imagining the songs you were singing in church were religious in nature.

WOODBURY: No. All, all Scorpions and Megadeath.

DINGMAN: Can I join your church? [LAUGHS]

WOODBURY: [LAUGHS] Yeah, it was a cool church. ... All you know, very traditional protestant hymnal, whatever that would be. You know, it's interesting because I don't think that that sort of sacred or religious or mystical quality has ever really left what I, what I do.

DINGMAN: I'm glad you brought that up too, because I know, obviously we're talking about a very small sample size of your songwriting ura here tonight. Just three songs. But it does seem like they share a preoccupation with whether or not to trust feelings, kind of gazing at things that are being seen through mediation, whether it's eyelids or mist or water. Do you find yourself as a songwriter returning to certain themes over and over again?

WOODBURY: Yeah. And when I was younger, it really bothered me because I was like, I'm always writing about the same thing. But I think at least for me as an artist, it's just been learning to like, accept that those preoccupations are there and that maybe the most like true thing I can do is sort of run towards them. You know what I mean?

DINGMAN: I became familiar with your work through your commentary and analysis of music on the Transmissions podcast and in other places. Jelp me connect the dots between your life as somebody who talks to musicians, somebody who analyzes music, somebody who understands it at a kind of theoretical level and somebody who makes music.

WOODBURY: Yeah, boy, how, I don't know how to entangle it all. You know, it's like in listening to other people's art, I feel like I gain the ability to synthesize my own feelings through somebody else's work, right? And so that's what draws me to music. That's what draws me in is that I feel like the best music for me creates a space for the listener to enter into something, you know, whatever that is.

DINGMAN: Can you think of a moment in the Transmissions podcast — maybe there's been many of them — where you've been talking to a musician and you had this thought like, "Oh my God, they just said the thing that I have been trying to figure out in my own creative process."

WOODBURY: Oh, yeah. Actually the most recent episode, the one that closed our ninth season was an interview with Matthew Houck of Phosphorescent. And listening back to it, I was like, "Oh my gosh, like I was really talking a lot in this one." You know what I mean? Like, and I was really nervous about that. But then when I was listening back to it, there were these things where I would say something and he would say: "I felt like you were like a fly on the wall. Like that's exactly what I was trying to write about." But he said to me: "It's validating for you to hear those things and to, and to remark on them and to like, confirm for me that they're in there."

DINGMAN: I feel like you're also, you're describing my favorite kind of artist interview, where you're talking to Matthew and you, in the interview, don't necessarily know what you're looking for other than to get closer to whatever his source is. And he is a songwriter, maybe, doesn't even really know what he's writing about other than he's just trying to channel what's coming from the source, and you kind of find it together.

WOODBURY: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's another thing that just over and over again I've heard from almost every songwriter I've worked with or talked to. I mean, the song comes from somewhere else and you have to just, like, make room for it. That's something I've experienced. You could think of it as, I don't know if you want to get mystical, some sort of shared thing that you're feeling and I'm feeling. And you listen to a song and you're like, this song is saying it for me. It's saying what I don't have the ability to say, and I think that's awesome.

OUT NOW: MindsOne & MentPlus "The Way Back / Guiding Light" ft. DJ Noumenon

MindsOne has been offering their listeners innovative lyrics, heart pounding instrumentals, precise cuts, and intense live shows since 2002. Their music embodies the spirit of independent hip hop culture and pays homage to those boom bap masters and others who came before. MindsOne have consistently delivered powerful and inspirational music over the years, and have continued to perfect their sound with each project.

The forth digital single "The Way Back / Guiding Light" with MentPlus, featuring DJ Noumenon, off MindsOne's new double album titled Stages (due out in February) is now available on all music platforms as of today.

LISTEN NOW | PRE-ORDER VINYL RECORD