You gotta hand it to The Nobility when it comes to hefty promotion. The bands forthcoming digital EP, Gentle Giant, is set for full release on August 14th and they have gone as far as to film an entire video for the titular track. Add to that the fact that the video is actually quite good and you can’t deny that these guys are going above and beyond the call of duty to remind you that they’ve got new goods on the way and that you should come celebrate the release this Friday at The Basement. Major credit to Brian Wilson for doing such a bang-up job.

The Lake Fever Session from The Features has officially launched. The session is comprised of three songs from their re-released Some Kind of Salvation and it is every bit as enjoyable as one would imagine it to be. The songwriting craft and performance chops of these guys has never failed to impress me – not once – and I’ve been listening to them for twelve years. And there’s the rub. Most bands that receive a level of notoriety and success no longer have any hardships to endure and their songs suffer for it. The Features have been through it all – multiple lineup changes, dropped major label recording contracts, full albums recorded and lost into the ether – but their songwriting has not once taken a step back from being entirely fantastic. I hope this session, the re-release of Some Kind of Salvation and the supporting tour take them to a place where they can finally write a bad song; it’s the one thing they haven’t done yet and I think they deserve it.

• Drawing Board
• Baby’s Hammer
• All I Ask