Patrick Gill

1 week ago | popmatters.com | Patrick Gill

Every Time I Feel Afraid Brassland Curt Kiser’s Carriers returns with their sophomore effort, Every Time I Feel Afraid, released on the Dessner brothers’ Brassland Records. Kiser is Cincinnati through and through. Some tracks on his new record even feature the National‘s Bryan Devendorf on drums. Notably (and unrelated to the Queen City), the War on Drugs‘ Dave Hartley (bass) also performs on a handful of songs.

2 weeks ago | popmatters.com | Patrick Gill

The Scholars Matador Over the past decade, Will Toledo has done the opposite of what helped him build a solid fan base early in his career. As an artist under the moniker Car Seat Headrest, Toledo released 11 albums over four years and was quickly snatched up by Matador. The record label milked a lot out of his early output, as Teens of Style comprises reworked older material.

3 weeks ago | popmatters.com | Patrick Gill

Separation Sunday Frenchkiss The first time I heard the Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday, I thought there must be some kind of mistake. This couldn’t be the band earning critical acclaim and making year-end lists. Who would want to listen to some guy scat-singing over bar music, especially this obscure kind that integrated blues guitar licks, organ notes, and tender piano chords as if it were all part of the same style?

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Patrick Gill

Everything Must Go No Coincidence The most popular jam bands have a tough go of it when it comes to studio albums. They will never capture the singularity of a live show, which varies not just in terms of setlist but in how each song is played. What ends up being featured, the length of a jam, or a nod to another work gets cemented in lore and shared amongst fans, like a badge of honor they wear just because they heard it or, God-forbid, they were there.

1 month ago | popmatters.com | Patrick Gill

A Study of Losses Pompeii At nearly an hour runtime, Beirut’s A Study of Losses is Zach Condon‘s most extended release to date. Condon was approached by Viktoria Dalborg, director of the Swedish circus Kompani Giraff, and asked if he would create music for their next project, based on the novel (translated as) An Inventory of Losses by the German author Judith Schalansky. If you’re thinking that’s a very specific request and relatively obscure, you’re not alone.