[Video] Iron Jayne: “Ship”

The first single from Iron Jayne, which features Emily Kempf (Back Pockets), Ryan Odom (Cassandras), and Garrett Goss.

[Stream] Nobra Noma: “Lunatics In People”

Michael Jordan of the now defunct Cassandras just released his third record this year under the banner of Nobra Noma. This latest three song EP, Not as Lost as You are Now, came out on Halloween and is “all about the terrors of life.” Here’s my favourite track to stream, and then go get the whole thing for any price you name.

Nobra Noma bandcamp

Ohmpark Mixtape #24: Summer 2012

animas vast
deadcat bitchs
faun and a pan flute sunset dolphin boat ride ’98
nobra noma western shore
vox celeste be yourself
dark room let’s go back there
nomen novum ahhh silent field
tree witch laika
cassandras slow boat coming
hello ocho stickin to the sheets
new animal far away
the outer champagne

[Stream] Nobra Noma: “Everything Happens Today”

Michael Jordan, formerly of Cassandras, unveiled his new solo project, Nobra Noma, less than a month ago, and already today, he’s released a follow up record, another four song EP. Here’s the titled track.

Nobra Noma bandcamp

[Stream] Nobra Noma: “Western shore”

Michael Jordan, ex-member of the now defunct but eternally awesome Cassandras, has just released the first taste of his new project, Nobra Noma. Here’s the lead track from the four song EP.

Nobra Noma bandcamp

[Mp3] Cassandras: “Invitation to Love”

Cassandras, one of my favourite local bands to emerge from last year, followed up their two short 2011 releases with another EP earlier this year. Unfortunately, by the time I’m blogging about it, the band has already called it quits. It’s a shame because this act had so much potential, but hopefully the various members will go on to start even better projects, and you can still enjoy this wonderful record for whatever price you want.

Cassandras : “Invitation to Love”

Download/Buy Invitation to Love.

Ohmpark’s Top 25 Albums of 2011

Back in 2009, I listened to approximately 75 records that came out of Atlanta that year. This year, I blogged about roughly 75 records, and for every album I discussed, there were at least five I listened to and didn’t blog about. The quantity of music being made in this city is growing exponentially, and the Atlanta music scene runs extraordinarily deep. So needless to say, this was the most difficult year-end list to put together yet.

On a technical note, my 2011 year-end list eligibility extends through the 2010 holiday season because I like to be able to spend enough time with a record to properly evaluate it. So, any record that was not widely available before Thanksgiving this year will go into consideration for 2012.

Here are my twenty-five favourite albums from Atlanta this year:


25. Cassandras : Hari Pari Mandala Gosthi




24. Dark Room : Gothic Picnic




23. We The Lion : Boy Oh Boy




22. Easily Suede / Carey : Good Health Guide




21. Cassandras : Cassandras: 3 Songs




20. Book Club : Ghost




19. Warning Light : Wild Silver




18. Djarum : Don’t Let Me Down




17. Places : The Future




16. Nomen Novum / Magicicada / Tree Creature : Three Way Split




15. The Back Pockets : Fast Cloud Slow Cloud




14. Lid Emba : Terminal Muse: Blue




13. Vocabulary : Faded Days




12. Time Wharp : later.




11. Atlas Sound : Parallax




10. Mastodon : The Hunter




9. Places : Half-Dones




8. New Animal : Eleven Songs




7. Places : March




6. Spirits and the Melchizedek Children : We Are Here To Save YOU!




5. Lyonnais : Want For Wish For Nowhere




4. The Electric Nature : Mount Analogue




3. Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : Wildfire




2. Little Tybee : Humorous To Bees




1. New Animal : New Animal

The story of Atlanta’s independent music scene in 2011 was the rise of a new wave of artists that came out of nowhere and upped the ante on everyone else. Only four acts on this list (veteran mainstays Mastodon, Atlas Sound, The Back Pockets, and Nomen Novum) have appeared on my best Atlanta album lists in either 2010 or 2009. That’s a symptom of the fact that there’s a new generation of local musicians dominating the scene. And at the head of this new class is New Animal.

New Animal‘s meteoric rise over the course of 2011 is unparalleled. Without a label backing them, with very little major publication support, and without even playing a single show ever, New Animal became one of the Internet’s buzziest bands early on in the year solely based on the strength of their 75-minute self-titled masterpiece. It’s hard for me to think of another record with fifteen songs where I love each and every single one. And what’s even more impressive is that they continued to output new material seemingly on a monthly basis, creating a catalog in one year vaster and more compelling than most artists do over a lifetime. There is simply no musical artist in the world that’s had a more impressive year.

My #2 and #3 spots went to outfits that have been on their own upward swing lately, each respectively creating an epic record that delivered on all the brilliance and potential they had displayed in recent years. My #4 is probably the most inaccessible record to come out of the city this year, but if you can find your way inside, it’s a monster. And my #5 goes to a band that I had previously written off, but there’s no denying what an amazing album they’ve put forth.

Of course, everything on this list is spectacular, and if you missed one, be sure to pick it up.

Ohmpark’s Top 40 Songs of 2011

Now that this blog only covers local music, I decided that all of my year-end lists this year will be Atlanta music specific. There’s plenty of sites that do national/international lists anyway. So then, this is my 40 favourite songs of the year by artists affiliated with Atlanta. I spent a lot of time with each of these songs, and if you are unfamiliar with any of them, I strongly suggest you click on the song titles below to give them a listen.


40. “Black Leaves” by Slowriter

39. “A Letter To The FDA” by Where Are We?

38. “Nerve Pop” by Small Reactions

37. “Tomorrow’s Garden” by Imagination Head

36. “Barcelona” by Dark Room

35. “Islands” by Kinisi

34. “The Battle of East & West Virginia” by Mediocre Machine

33. “Santa Maria” by Beachtapes

32. “mandelbrotset” by Time Wharp

31. “Control” by Young Again

30. “Who’s In Bed” by Jungol

29. “Children” by Vocabulary

28. “Black Lion” by Places

27. “Movie Night” by Easily Suede

26. “Edita V” by Balkans

25. “Passion Seekers” by Little Tybee featuring Adron

24. “Q ‘n’ A” by Spirits and the Melchizedek Children

23. “Lights lights” by Beachtapes

22. “Breathe” by Exact Index featuring Casey Harper

21. “No Tomorrow” by Places

20. “Far From The Best” by Cassandras

19. “Things I Like” by Vocabulary

18. “I Think It’s Working” by New Animal

17. “Pacer” by BOSCO

16. “Rise Up” by Cassandras

15. “Creature Lives” by Mastodon

14. “They Don’t Know” by New Animal

13. “Sweet Melinda” by Places

12. “cuspcake” by Time Wharp

11. “Out There” by New Animal

10. “Ivan” by We the Lion

9. “History” by Little Tybee

8. “Old Monster” by Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun

7. “Wicca Chimes” by Nomen Novum

6. “Lift You Up” by New Animal

5. “Distinguished Critter” by Places

4. “Still In Mind” by New Animal

3. “Water Story” by Wowser Bowser

2. “Millennials” by Nomen Novum

1. “Two Faced” by Living Rooms






[Mp3] We The Lion: “Ivan”

We The Lion, which features members of Wowser Bowser and Cassandras, just released a debut record, a 4 song EP called Boy Oh Boy. After only one listen, I can tell I’ll be jamming this record a lot. Go get it for whatever price you want:

We The Lion : “Ivan”

Download/Stream Boy Oh Boy

[Mp3] Cassandras: “Rise Up”

Cassandras just released a new three song record called Hari Pari Mandala Gosthi. Between it and their record from earlier this year, Cassandras has fast become one of my favourite Atlanta acts of 2011. Go listen to this incredible song, and then go download the whole album for whatever price you want:

Cassandras : “Rise Up”

Download/Stream Hari Pari Mandala Gosthi

[Mp3] Cassandras: “Stars”

One great local record from the first half of the year that I had overlooked until just recently is Cassandras: 3 Songs. Over the course of four epic songs, Cassandras command a dynamic sound that puts a progressive twist on ’00′s-style indie rock. It’s an impressive EP, so go ahead and pick it up for free:

Cassandras : “Stars”

Download/Stream Cassandras: 3 Songs