On episode 120 of the WOTT Music podcast we played “December”, the lead track from Sam Hoffman’s debut album, Fairweather, and, surprise!, we liked it. As remarked on that episode, there’s something immediately familiar about the style of Hoffman’s music that is reminiscent of Matthew Sweet.

Also noted on that show is how lazy of a journalistic tactic it is to simply toss one musician into a “Recommend If You Like” category of someone with more familiarity to the listener. Yes, the comparison is apt but it’s a disservice to the discrete details of the record and Fairweather is full of discrete details. Hoffman’s voice has a melancholy aching to it that avoids every feeling saccharine or forced, the guitar work throughout the record is gentle but remarkably intricate and it’s all delightfully catchy.

Sam Hoffman was a complete unknown over here at WOTT HQ but each listen of Fairweather has proven to be more rewarding with each listen.

It’s been a minute since Okey Dokey released their last full-length Love You, Mean It but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been busy. Aside from a fairly relentless touring schedule, they’ve also been trickling out a stream of new singles.

The latest is “Wait On Me“, a mid-tempo pop diddy that pulls from plenty of 50’s doo-wop and drum beats that make you sway back and forth. That is, until the delightful keyboard solo comes in and you’re transported away to a magic land reminiscent of what I imagine the World’s Fair sounded like.

Given the current landscape of streaming music, releasing individual singles makes a lot more sense than full albums. This may be a sign of bigger things to come or it may simply be another excellent entry into your 2018 Faves playlist. Only time will tell.

Generally, I steer clear of any kind of music labeled “groovy.” That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a song that has a groove but there’s something about directly identifying your music as “groovy” that raises alarms for me. So, when the new single from New Threads starts with the line “This is as groovy as it gets!” I was prepared for a short preview.

Fortunately, we keep things positive around here and if I hadn’t enjoyed the track I wouldn’t be writing about it. Admittedly, the first chunk of the song has a basic “groove” to it that could get lost in your mental shuffle but the band opts for a much more grandiose release when the chorus rolls around. It’s that juxtaposition of the light verse paired against the more emotional catharsis of the exploding guitar chorus that gives the whole song some weight.

Groovy trepidations aside, the band successfully managed to make a song that would work as well at a frat party as it would at The End.

Let’s get this out of the way right up top, I think William Tyler has moved to Los Angeles. I might be wrong but, if true, his presence here on a site about Nashville area music is a bit of a stretch. However, Tyler has been involved with so many phenomenal bands and projects over the years – from Lifeboy to Character to Lambchop to Silver Jews to his own solo albums – that it feels callous not to continue to claim him as one of our own. Hell, his Bandcamp still says Nashville so let’s just embrace willful ignorance and go with that.

The real story here is that William Tyler will release a brand new album entitled Goes West on January 25th via Merge Records and has released the first single “Fail Safe” as a tease of what to expect from the full record.

It’s a bit early to be able to forecast what the album will sound like in totality but early press releases and insights note that Tyler only plays acoustic guitar on the record, as opposed to his excellent electric work on previous releases like Modern Country. That being said, I can’t imagine that one aspect of the recording being of any concern. Tyler has been making compelling music for several decades now and I imagine this record will be as intriguing as ever.

The album is available for pre-order and can include a bonus CD of exclusive songs that won’t be released elsewhere. I’ll also add that the Robert Beatty artwork is mesmerizing and I can’t look away.

Levi J. Miller puts out a lot of music. Like, R. Stevie Moore levels of output. His Bandcamp page has 35 releases listed at the time of this posting and that’s not counting his other music or other band Spaceride. We touched on his April 2017 release C.R.E.A.M. but have not been diligent in keeping up since then, as the deluge of music really is a lot to track. We fucked up.

What started as more of a slap-n-dash garage rock project has really grown and matured into a much more diverse set of offerings. His latest, the October release Tales in Red Writing, feels Halloween appropriate in its ominous vibe, spooky vocal arrangements and metal influenced guitar work. It’s a far cry from what we heard back in April 2017, which wasn’t all that long ago. It’s also extremely well executed. For an artist not known for making Doom inspired rock music, he certainly is pulling it off swimmingly.

To add an even finer point on it, if you go back one release, the sound is entirely different. It’s far more psychedelic and and sprawling but no less well executed.

The point here is, Levi J. Miller is publicly stretching himself into different genres and styles without falling on his face in the slightest. An artist that churns out 6-7 songs per month is likely to be judged for quantity over quality but that’s simply not the case here. We all should do ourselves a favor and subscribe to his releases, as there’s sure to be something new and interesting right around the corner.

Last we heard from Tom Gilbert, he was cranking out some big rock, original emo-inspired, tunes in the most excellently named band in Nashville Micro Jordan / Scrawny Pippen.* The works of that band are a far cry from Gilbert’s first mark on Nashville with his band Parachute Musical.

Now, Gilbert is back with the new project Little Vista and a first single entitled “Sidewalk.” It’s tough to judge a band off of one, and only one, song but this is clearly going to be a much gentler touch than anything coming out of the Micro Jordan / Scrawny Pippen outfit. That’s not meant as a complaint as I’m a huge fan of any artist that’s willing to stretch themselves across multiple genres. We’re diverse people with diverse tastes, why just make one kind of music? Gilbert clearly agrees.

Ultimately, “Sidewalk” is a light pop song with with a lot of pleasant flourishes that keeps things interesting. As the Summer and Fall are fading away to winter, it’s got a bit of a melancholy vibe to it but once Spring rolls around again, this will function as a great soundtrack to a blissed out walk around your neighborhood.

Way back in 1999, The Katies released a self-titled album on Elektra / Spongebath Records. They were a staple of the Murfreesboro rock scene at the time and had a reputation for a charged live show. After touring on the album and relocating to LA, the band ultimately dissolved in the early 2000’s. Brothers Jason and Joshua went on to form a band called WhenBreathingStops, Joshua recorded solo material as V to Z and bassist Gary Welch recorded some solo material under the name “SJ and the Props” (hear Volume 9 of the WOTT Music podcast for the excellent track “Tragedy”).

So, here we are in 2018 and the band has reformed and released the track “White Light.” For a band that has been together for over twenty years, you might expect something on the lighter side – swapping acoustics and low-key instrumentation. Fortunately, you’d be wrong. “White Light” hits on many of the favorable aspects you’d expect from the band – big rock guitars, great harmonies between Jason and Gary and explosive drums from Joshua. The song really finds itself about a minute in where the vocals unleash a feverish quality that’s new for the band. It works.

Given that it’s just one song, it’s hard to predict what the remainder of additional material will sound like but it’s a refreshing reminder that a band can work through their difficulties and come out a more-than-favorable offering two decades after their debut.