I’ve written about them before but Murfreesboro’s Tomato Face exists in a place where I can’t tell if they’re a total joke or a completely serious undertaking with a bizarre aesthetic. Fortunately, there’s plenty of gray space between the two. These two songs will be available via a 7″  on Third Ham Records and feature a lot of slappy bass, simple drums and vocal rantings that are equal parts Mike Patton and Children’s Storybook. 

I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t stumbled upon it myself but Murfreesboro is making some great Vaporwave. The latest from Success Factors hits on all the right production aesthetics (visually and aurally) – reverb-y sax solo’s, MIDI galore and the feeling that you need to rewind the VHS tape when you’re done watching. Somehow the saturated nostalgia vibe doesn’t wear on me, it puts me in a relaxed trance. 

Which brings me to my only real complain about the collection of songs – the run time is entirely too short. Right when you’re being enveloped into the low bit-count VR world they’ve built, the song is over. This needs a remix, stat.

Recently, someone described We Own This Town as “very sincere.” I couldn’t help but feel a little offended as I took it as a slight that there wasn’t thought or proper critical thinking put into the reviews and posts here. I try to keep things generally positive around these parts and see no reason to write about a band just to shit all over them.

Despite the self-imposed rule of “keeping it positive”, I couldn’t help but carry the burden that being called sincere was a not-so-masked critique. Sincere people are boring. Being overly effusive is tiresome. By being nice about everything, it creates a homogenous environment where nothing can ever be particularly special. 

How do you try to help nurture a welcoming Music Scene by providing coverage for bands but intentionally side-step anything you might feel prone to say something bad about? 

Sincerity is hard. 

There is something downright adorable about the five-song EP from Midwestern Accent. The playful guitars remind me of the twee-ish pop of the late 90′s indie scene, straight down to the bullhorn’ed distorted vocals. The combining forces of bedroom production, overall earnestness, and “What’s this album cover really about?” vibe make for a nice summer companion.

The official full-length follow-up to Hammock’s 2013 Oblivion Hymns is a massive twenty-track undertaking that will be released April 1st. You can stream three of the spacey shoegaze tracks over on their Bandcamp, as well as pre-order from a slew of bundled merch options. 

If I described a band as “very 3rd and Lindsley”, would you know what I mean? For me, it’s a way of saying that the music is impressively technically proficient, a little bit leaning on the groove-y side of things and probably intended for an audience in the 35+ age bracket. This isn’t true of all 3rd and Lindsley shows but I stand by the idea that it’s true of any band that you describe as having “a 3rd and Lindsley sound.”

Anyway, I’m 37 years old and think these guys have a 3rd and Lindsley sound that works for me.

Inevitably, the solo work of Joey Kneiser is going to be compared to that of his other gig, Glossary. It’s a fair comparison and not one that Kneiser should shy away from. His distinctive voice is even more forelorn when paired with ex-wife Kelly Smith (maybe the divorce isn’t a bad thing for them but we’re all allowed some level of projection, right?). 

On the whole, the album is a stripped down affair that leans on ballads and quieter storytelling – as compared to the often rambunctious undertakings of Glossary – but that tempered energy level only lends itself to a finer end result. I look forward to listening to this on a porch on some anonymous warm summer night.

Listen to the title track from the forthcoming Tower Defense EP – due out March 25th. 

As much as it pains me, I’ll admit that I once thought of The Nobility as “The Features Lite” – a slightly lesser version of everyone’s favorite four piece. Having listened to Ashford Castle a multitude of times now, I can be man enough to admit that my quick pigeonholing of their sound was a callous and shortsighted call. 

Having been a band for fifteen some odd years, it’s clear that the band has found their confidence and knows how to execute exactly what they do well. There’s Beach Boy level harmonies, heartbreaking melancholy ballads and undeniable pop gems peppered throughout the record. It’s actually hard to determine exactly which of those styles they excel more at. 

If you haven’t dug your teeth into this record yet, fire up “On the Sly” and just try not to play it more than thrice. 

They say the official release for Shoo isn’t until March 4th but since it’s now available to stream in its entirety, I’d say that’s as good as available! Much like the two singles that preceded it, the album has a seriously Elliott Smith vibe; largely in part to the vocal styling. 

The album feels like an album should – cohesive and immersive from start to finish. You actually want to hear the entire album and not just piecemeal single song offerings. Every song has a beautiful arrangement of instrumentation and thoughtfulness. When’s the last time you heard Oboe used so well? I’m guessing it’s been awhile.