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WWMh threats & promises
A Supernova Rainbow of Fun
PLUS, MORE MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP
By Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@flagpole.com
COME ONE, COME ALL: It’s been just over a year
since the release of A Supernova Rainbow
of Fun, the album by Todd Nance, Danny
Hutchens, Jon Mills and William Tonks.
At that time, the record had spent nearly a
decade in the can. In the years since record
ing, both Hutchens (Bloodkin) and Nance
(Widespread Panic) passed away. William
Tonks crowd-sourced the funds for man
ufacturing the album, and one award for
donors at a certain level was a live perfor
mance by Tonks and Mills at a reasonable
place of the donor’s choosing. One of those
donors was Athens legend and enthusiast
Drew Alston, who requested a show in
Athens, and that’ll happen in very short
order. In fact, it happens at Nufi’s Space
on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. Tonks also
advises that this show will be a benefit for
The Atticus Gift, a foundation established
as a memorial for Atticus Cleaveland, who
died by suicide in November 2020. For
more information, please see nuci.org.
PLAN AHEAD: Jet Engine Dragons just
released its first new music in five years.
Specifically, it’s the two-song album teaser
named Shell of Reverie. It, of course,
includes the title track, plus a new version
of the old song “The Adversary” denoted
here as “The Adversary (2022)” so you
don’t get 'em confused. The main difference
between the two is Jet Engine Dragons are
now five years stronger, and the result is a
track that is much more aggressive and in
your face than the original. The title track
is a showcase blend of the band’s signa
ture progressive death metal sound with a
healthy dose of black metal thrown in for
good measure. The new album should be
out sometime next year but, for now, you
can check these out at jetenginedragons.
bandcamp.com. For more information,
please see facebook.com/jetenginedragons.
CALM DOWN: Songwriter and performer Ryne
Meadow is also teasing a new album and
just released their first single, “I Love The
Rain.” Like much of Meadow’s work, this is
a tuneful and gentle exploration of some
thing. In this case, it’s literally rain and how
it causes a person to, in Meadow’s words,
“stop dead in their tracks and stay still.”
That’s fine and all, but a little on the nose
and not terribly interesting. The strongest
thing about this is Meadow’s voice, even
in moments of emotional brittleness, and
his sense of melody. There’s always the
underlying feeling that this rawness could
slip into whining at any time but, so far,
he’s narrowly avoided that. The upcoming
album, Baptisms, is his first with London-
based publishing and synchronization label
OML Sync. Find this on Spotify and other
services, and for more information, please
see facebook.com/rynemeadowmusic.
CLOSE THE CALENDAR: As promised last week,
here’s another update on what’s going on
with the Hooker Vision label. Well, the non
stop production machine behind this often
inscrutable, yet always compel
ling, operation just wrapped
up its final two releases for
the year. First up is a single
15-minute drone-oriented psy
chedelic jam, albeit with extra
parts and added ingredients,
from the collaborative project
between label owners Grant
and Rachel Evans, Modern
Lamps. It’s titled New Spirit
House. It took me a few min
utes to really sink my ears
into this, but once I was there
it was A-OK. Next is the full-
length release from Night Body
Sky named Entire Seasons.
Although only eight tracks long, listeners
will find that’s quite enough, as this is an
intensely involved listen. It’s also one of
the only records in recent memory that I’m
having a very difficult time describing with
out falling into the blender of experimental
record go-to phrases. Suffice it to say, fans
of mid-period Throbbing Gristle, decon
structed post-punk and perhaps even Coil
should find something here to get excited
about. Find both of these at hookervision.
bandcamp.com.
ALL GROWN UP: It’s difficult to believe, but The
Shut-Ups have now been releasing music
for 22 years. I’ve never been a person drawn
to “comedy rock” or anything like that, but
this group is one of the standard-setters
for this type of thing. The Shut-Ups are just
so damn catchy and have such a firm grasp
on the entire history of 20th century pop
music that I’ve never been able to turn away
from them. They’re also among the most
lyrically biting bands I’ve ever covered, so
there’s that, too. Anyway, like everyone
else you’re reading about this week, they’ve
got a new album coming and have released
its first single and its b-side. They’re titled
“Everyday” and “Diary,” and the first is a
sunny, breezy spring-in-your-step kind of
tune not at all unlike a blend between LFO
and a souvenir album of Caribbean tunes
one might get when disembarking a cruise
ship. The second is a syrupy, slow number,
owing more than a passing glance to Big
Star, which is only funny if you listen very
closely. These are from the group’s next
album The Shut-Ups Are Girls Singing Songs
which the band describes as “a comprehen
sive exploration of the female perspective.”
Find this at shutups.bandcamp.com. O
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