The band has always explored long form expressions and included plenty of moments of quiet amongst their loud. Magick Songs nods to “Black Cherry Pie” from the aforementioned Wasted on the Dream, “Health and Strength” from 2011’s We Are the Champions and maybe even as far back as “Pleasure Center” from 2009’s Heavy Days. However, even with that experience in mind, it’s an altogether unique album of songs due to the instrumentation and style of pacing they implement. It’s also an aural journey that descends into darkness as the album takes a turn towards the ominous once “The Mother” and “Magick Man” kick in.

On the whole, this is the JEFF the Brotherhood I personally prefer. They’ve got a knack for writing fuzzy pop songs that are impossible to deny but when they let themselves create more conceptually challenging albums I’m smitten. Fingers crossed that every new album from them from now until eternity goes somewhere new.

Recently, Lambchop (AKA Kurt Wagner AKA an impressive cast of rotating musicians) posted a massive amount of their catalog over on Bandcamp that encompasses almost everything they’ve ever released. If you’re a Wikipedia hound, you’ll note that it’s not absolutely everything but it’s a damn impressive amount.

I’m not sure how long all this has been on Spotify or any other streaming service but it serves as a nice reminder to familiarize yourself with the Lambchop catalog if it’s a journey you’ve never partaken.

It’s unclear why Lambchop took on the moniker “Nashville’s most fucked-up country band” when they started out in the early 90’s because from the first notes of the first song of the first release, there’s clearly nothing country about it. Sure, there’s a mild twang to Wagner’s voice and there’s flourishes of mandolin and steel guitar but all those elements could easily describe an R.E.M. song from the same era. Whatever inspired the moniker may remain a mystery in 2018 but it’s an amusing (and memorable) title to claim nonetheless.

Encapsulating an entire body of work spanning a quarter century is not a task that I’d be foolish enough to embark on but I’d be remiss not to recommend a light sampling of tracks from each album, as the sound tends to shift and evolve quite impressively through the years. Compare “Begin” with “Garf” with “The Gusher” with “Nine” with “The Hustle” (tracks I picked at random) and try to imagine another band that covers as much stylistic ground while still feeling definitively like themselves.

These shifts in style and sound are likely due to the hive mind of contributions from a cast of musicians too massive to try and cherry pick the notables. All that is to say, it’s time we all spent some time with Lambchop.

We’re just a few weeks away from the latest All Them Witches release, ATW, but the band isn’t making anyone wait for more new music. You can now go listen to the fifth track from the album (aka the keystone) entitled “Diamond.”

Much like the first preview of the album, “Fishbelly 86 Onions”, the track clocks in at six minutes. Unlike that track tho, the offering is a much slower, much more ominous, build. The track is a constant tease of pent up explosive potential, occasionally letting a drip of that kinetic energy unleash but never for long.

Is it a new direction for the band, a template for a live version of the song or simple a dark breather from an album full of bombastic tracks? With only two songs to base our judgments on, there’s just no way to know but to wait until the albums release on Sept 28th.

The full-length album from WELLES, Red Trees and White Trashes, is out everywhere for all to enjoy and he’s reminding you of that fact by releasing an impressive video for “Rock n Roll.”

The art direction is completely bonkers in the best way. It depicts a WELLES like character parading through a cast of wild characters and environments; all done in service to the choral refrain to “Give me all the drugs.” Visually, it’s part Fritz the Cat, part poorly printed catalog (seriously, check those offset print markers!) and part Ugly Americans.

It’s weird and it works.

WOTT faves PANGS have released a new track entitled “Someplace” that seems to continue their successful stylistic undertakings last heard on their Vanishing Point EP released in November of 2017. The song is a quiet one but contains a building tension throughout, despite a lack of release.

The dual female/male vocals echoing the same lyrics of yearning and meeting in the titular Someplace is a nice touch for the vague narrative of the track. There’s multiple interpretations to be made here – could they be talking about space travel “through the ozone layer”? Or are they contemplating somewhere even further beyond, perhaps the Great Beyond?

It’s only a single track but really speaks to the strengths of the band as of late. I know they’re capable of upbeat and danceable tracks but these slower jams are really working for them.