Vote Bloodkin


It’s only June, and 2009 can already be noted as the most accomplished of Bloodkin’s career. Critical acclaim surrounding the band’s Baby, They Told Us We Would Rise Again began prior to its February release, and it hasn’t slowed a bit. The album – the best the band has released – has drawn accolades from across the industry, including Rolling Stone, Paste and Hittin’ the Note.

Now, the band has been nominated for Best Album in Flagpole Magazine’s Flagpole Athens Music Awards in its hometown of Athens, Georgia.

This quaint nod certainly feels right. Bloodkin has been woven into the fabric of the sleepy college town since the early ‘90s, and both its rise and near-tragic fall have taken place there. However, Bloodkin has survived, is making the music of its career, and is receiving the elusive critical recognition that the band has long deserved.

Bloodkin is up against releases from an impressive group of artists, including Dead Confederate, Vic Chesnutt, Don Chambers, Harvey Milk, Lazer/Wulf, Liz Durrett, Madeline, Venice is Sinking and Modern Skirts.The winner will be determined by online voting through the Flagpole website until Friday, June 5. The award will be presented during the Flagpole Athens Music Awards Show at the Morton Theatre on Thursday, June 25. The awards show is part of Athfest, the annual celebration of the Athens music and art scene, which takes place June 23-25. Bloodkin will also perform on the main stage on Saturday, June 27, opening for Patterson Hood and the Screwtopians.

Cast your vote for Bloodkin today.

Learn:
Bloodkin Online

Listen:
Recorded April 18 at the Double Door in Chicago, IL.
Track 1 - Easter Eggs

Buy:
Baby, They Told Us We Would Rise Again

Guns for San Sebastian: From the Hip


Guns for San Sebastian is making ripples on the West Coast, but given time, these ripples will surely swell and crest as they roll east. Charlie Marvin, Lorne Smith, Matt Kelly, JJ White, and Ryan Lukas are bound by a love of '60s and '70s rock and roll, and their sound is uniquely marked by Marvin's soul-filled vocals and White's deft harmonica work.

This year brought the release of Guns for San Sebastian's eponymous debut, a 12-track scramble, ranging from driving rock to easy acoustic, all fueled by bluesy undercurrents. "World is a Blur" breathes easy, the vibrant guitar complemented by winsome harp; "To Be Well" is stripped clean and breezy; and "White Girl (Self-Defense)" is an electronic-textured romp.

Guns for San Sebastian has made a confident first statement, and with one under its belt, the quintet is poised for brighter days ahead.

The band will be playing two Left Coast shows in the coming weeks:

May 15, 2009 - Blake's on Telegraph, Berkeley, CA
May 29, 2009 - The Independent, San Francisco, CA

Learn:
Guns for San Sebastian Online

Listen:
Track 1 - World A Blur
Track 2 - Shades of Blue
Track 3 - Send it Home

Buy:
Reapandsow Music

The Coathangers Play with Fire


In the ‘90s, rock music was shaken by a girl group revolution. Riot Girrrls rode undercurrents of feminism, led by Sleater Kinney and Bikini Kill, and less political acts also grappled for a hold on modern music. L7 brought intensity and shock value, the Breeders added polish and alterna-chic, Babes in Toyland emerged from Minneapolis to counter Seattle’s burgeoning grunge scene, and Juliana Hatfield set self-deprecation to indie pop.

It was high school, and while too young to understand much of anything, I could sense the subterranean pull that was deeper than the death of glam metal at the hands of grunge. It was the liberation of female rock. Few female acts have captivated me with such zeal since, and the “movement” has sounded more like a television commercial than a revolution; Lilleth Fair and FM success diluted the edge that was so sharp, so jagged.

But there is hope. The Coathangers are not only bringing a fresh female voice to rock and roll, but they are reclaiming the recklessness of garage rock. Brash and unkempt, they have ripped out the guts of modern music and hung them out on the clothes line for all to see.

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, the Coathangers - Julia Kugel (guitar/vocals), Stephanie Luke (drums/vocals), Candice Jones (keyboard/vocals), and Meredith Franco (bass/vocals) – cut their teeth playing it raw and on cheap instruments before coalescing into a verifiable band. After a serious of 7” releases and an eponymous debut, the quarter has released Scramble, 13 tracks of unbridled energy that threatens to burst into pieces with each crashing chord. Punk abandon, distorted guitars, and surly choruses make Scramble a beautiful disaster. “Pussywillow” is a minimalist celebration, “Getting Mad and Pumping Iron” melds distorted guitar and plodding, off-key piano with sheer aggression, and the lead single, “Stop Stomp Stompin’,” breathes brilliant quirk.

The Coathangers’ mess is refreshing and long overdue, the threat of combustion emanating from every track on Scramble. And you know as well as I do that it’s hard not to play with fire when someone gives you matches.

Learn:
The Coathangers Online

Listen:
Track 1 - Stop Stomp Stompin'

Buy:
Suicide Squeeze Records