Atlanta super group What Happened To Your Fire, Tiger?, which includes Brian Slusher of Slushco, Corey Pallon of Pistolero, Hilary Kelley of No Disassemble and Aviator, and Carrie Hodge of the amazing but now defunct Parade, has finally released their first record on bandcamp. The self-titled effort includes six songs, showcasing a blend of the various talents and distinct styles of the musicians involved. Below is the opening number to stream. Then you can pick up the record digitally for only $3 and catch them live at The Earl Saturday (April 23) for their release show with Jupiter Watts and Spirits…

What Happened To Your Fire, Tiger? bandcamp

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Corey Pallon, Parade, Pistolero, Slushco, What Happened To Your Fire Tiger?

I just noticed that Slushco has added all five records to bandcamp, each available for a measly $3, so I thought I’d throw up a Slushco classic to celebrate. I think it would be hard to argue that there has been a more underrated act in Atlanta music over the course of the last decade than Slushco, so if you aren’t familiar with Brian Slusher’s brand of simple yet perfect pop music, dive into his back catalog. Slusher has been quietly working on a new Slushco release and a solo record in addition to finishing up What Happened To Your Fire Tiger‘s first release, which should be dropping very soon. Also, check out a video he recently soundtracked.

Slushco : “Getting Through A Normal Day”

Slushco bandcamp

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Slushco

Most of the time in this city, bands rise and fall based on who they know and how exciting they are live. But for this list, I’ve considered only what is contained on their recordings. Over the course of the year I’ve given roughly 75 records from inside the perimeter a spin, and these are the essential twenty that I recommend listening to most. There are actually many records that I really liked that just missed the cut, so this was very tough to piece together, especially the final spots.

Looking at this list and comparing it back to my favourite local stuff over the two years before, it’s apparent that music in this city just keeps getting better. Atlanta’s independent music scene is running deeper than ever both in terms of quality and quantity of music being produced. Outside of Brooklyn, you’d need quite a compelling argument to convince me anywhere else in America has a better scene right now. Promising young bands keep popping up out of nowhere, and the veterans keep delivering the goods. It sure makes my job here a lot easier to have so much great music to blog about.

On a technical note, anything that has been released over the holidays I’m grouping in with my 2010 lists, and so a couple of albums on this list were released over the holidays last year. Take a gander:

20. Noot d’ Noot: Cash For Gold

19. Harken The Hands Askew: Thou

18. Slushco: Sometime Tonight

17. Sound On Film: The Eloquent Reginald

16. Thy Mighty Contract: Thy Mighty Contract

15. Club Awesome: Dynamos

14. Jungol: Places

13. Lee Harvey Oswald: Lee Harvey Oswald

12. The Selmanaires: Tempo Temporal

11. Tealights: Take Us By Sea

10. Deerhunter: Rainwater Cassette Exchange

9. Slushco: The Silver Surface Demos

8. The Orphins: Wish You Well

7. Mastodon: Crack The Skye

6. Lotus Plaza: Floodlight Collective

5. From Exile: Monolith

4. Nomen Novum: Paradises

3. Untied States: Instant Everything, Constant Nothing

2. Atlas Sound: Logos

1. Nomen Novum: November

In the Atlanta music scene, 2009 was the year of Nomen Novum. While most musicians take a whole year to scrap together enough decent songs to fill a good EP, the prolific Nomen Novum were able to drop two virtually perfect full-lengths, plus a great live EP, and they’re already posting new stuff to their myspace.

Although, all five records at the top of my list were legitimate contenders for Atlanta album of the year, and I would have probably been content with any ordering between them. The other 3 records to round out my top 5 each happened to be crafted over about 2 years, and the extra time and care in putting them together just right payed off. A big mistake I notice younger bands make is trying to push out a record too quickly on some arbitrary time scale and in the end get stuck with something that is less than what they are capable of producing. Atlas Sound, Untied States, and From Exile all spent more time than they probably wanted to on their respective albums, but the extra effort was well worth it in the end.

Looking back over this list after I finished it, I noticed that it is almost entirely dominated by veterans of the scene, and mostly by artists I was already familiar with before starting this blog. There is only one true first recording from its respective musicians to make the list. If I were to make a “Best Atlanta Artists of the Decade” shortlist, most of those artists would have an album included on this list, so I feel like it is a good snapshot of not just where the scene is at today, but where it has been heading for the latter part of the ’00s. There is so much diversity in sound and so much talent in this city, and if you have any interest at all in Atlanta’s music scene, don’t let anything on this list slip by you, because all twenty are well worth giving a listen.

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Atlas Sound, Best of 2009, Club Awesome, Deerhunter, From Exile, Harken The Hands Askew, Jungol, Lee Harvey Oswald, Lotus Plaza, Mastodon, Nomen Novum, Noot D' Noot, Slushco, Sound On Film, Tealights, The Orphins, The Selmanaires, Thy Mighty Contract, Untied States

The Wild (Atlanta) : The Wild

Adron (Atlanta/Brooklyn) : Burdwurld

Mice In Cars (Atlanta) : 53 Bicycles and a Dead Man

Nomen Novum (Atlanta) : Room For Rent

Russian Spy Camera (Athens) : Mutiny In The Kitchen With Knives

Prussia (Detroit) : Blessed Be, Yours Truly In Spirit & Soul

Slushco (Atlanta) : Sometime Tonight

Lee Harvey Oswald (Atlanta) : Lee Harvey Oswald

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Adron, Lee Harvey Oswald, Mice In Cars, Nomen Novum, Prussia, Russian Spy Camera, Slushco, The Wild

One of my favourite Atlanta artists has just released another gem to an ever increasing catalog of stellar tunage. I already discussed the album a bit previously and I’ve only been enjoying it more and more since then. The record still has that distinct “Slushco sound”, but it also diverges away from his four previous 7 track albums and takes on a whole new sphere. I feel like calling it “matured” might do a disservice to his earlier works, but it definitely feels like this is a significant step in a bit of a new direction, and he nails it yet again. Mr. Slusher has released the album using a donation model, so you can download a copy for free, and it even comes with a bonus reworked version of a classic Slushco song. So go get it right now:

Slushco : Somewhere On A Bridge
Download Sometime Tonight For FREE
Slushco myspace

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Post tags: Best New Atlanta Music, Slushco

Nomen Novum:

Photo by Leigh Cooper

Last night at the show at 529, I picked up an advance tape cassette version of Nomen Novum‘s newest, Paradises. It is the missing link between their guitar driven November (my favourite album to come out of Atlanta this year up to this point) and their electronic, loop heavy live shows, and it showcases the various strengths of this extremely talented duo. The album, which is actually their third of 2009 counting their live EP Room For Rent (Still available for free), will be available on vinyl soon. You can preview some tracks from it on their myspace:

Paradises Track List:

The Color Of Water
Strength In Weakness
The Garden / Paradises II
Paradises
(Your Heat Is Like A) Lovewave
Mah-Mah-Lade
Miracles Come True
Paradises III

Not content with dropping only three of the best records to come out of the city this year, Nomen Novum have plenty more releases slated:

Nomen Novum upcoming releases for 2009:

Paradises – LP
ATL – lathe cut 7″ picturedisc
free digital EP no.2
Nomen Novum / Tree Creature collaboration recorded @ Eyedrum
Split 7″ with Scenic World (Scotch Tapes)

Buy November

Nomen Novum myspace

Slushco:

Slushco‘s first release this year, The Silver Surface Demos, was an unearthing of older material, so I had been wondering what direction Brian Slusher would go in after one of my favourite records from last year, When I met the Boss of Nova. His newest installment is entitled Sometime Tonight, and it is a bit of departure from his previous work. Here is what Slusher had to say about it via myspace:

“It was originally called The Softer Side of Synchronicity but the feeling changed midway through. Now it’s a 5 song EP…It’s a bit biographical and I use the word “I” a lot. They were songs that I’ve never known what to do with but needed to get it out and move on. It’s a very unSlushco vibe but it feels more like me than anything in a way.”

After a couple of listens, I really like it. It is very dynamic for a such a short release. I’ll have more on this as soon as it drops officially in about a month.

Sometime Tonight Track List:

Somewhere On A Bridge
Chandelier
#1 Fan Of your Car
You Are Truly Lovely
Golden

Buy The Silver Surface Demos

Slushco myspace

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Nomen Novum, Slushco

Operatin under the crooked American system too long
OutKast, pronounced out cast
Adjective meaning homeless, or unaccepted in society
But let’s look deeper than that
Are you an OutKast?
If you understand and feel the basic principles and
fundamental truths contained within this muzik, you probably are
If you think it’s all about pimpin hoes and slammin cadillac do’s
You probably a cracker, or a nigga that think he a cracker
Or maybe just don’t understand
An OutKast is someone who is not considered to be part of the normal world
He is looked at differently
He is not accepted because of his clothes, his hair
His occupation, his beliefs or his skin color
Now look at yourself, are you an OutKast? I know I am
As a matter of fact, fuck being anything else
It’s only so much time left in this crazy world
Wake up niggaz and realize what’s goin on around you
Poisonin of the food and water
Tamperin of ciggarettes
Disease engineering control over your life
Take back your existance or die like a punk
This is Big Rube, sayin right on to the real, and death to the fakers
Peace out

-from Outkast’s “True Dat (Interlude)”

This week Creative Loafing dropped their yearly Music Issue. The theme was mixtapes, and they created their own rather lengthy list full of Atlanta artists. They are even having some shows next week and a 10 song LP available from the artists they showcased in the issue. They also had a bunch of random people drop some guest mixtapes. Although I wasn’t invited to the cool kids convention, I figured I would play along anyways. Below are ten songs from musicians that get me excited about what is possible in Atlanta. They don’t adhere to any sense of some monolithic scene because each act is pursuing their unique vision. Many of these musicians are a little too “artsy-fartsy” or “good” to get their fair share of credit from some of the hype-maker dinosaurs around the city, but hey, that’s what I’m here for. Of course I’m leaving out a ton of other great ATLiens, but I think this is a pretty good litmus test to determine if this blog is for you because this is what Atlanta music means to me:

Untied States : I’ll Prove You Wrong (Again)
Slushco : Photograph
Nomem Novem : Permanent Makeup
All The Saints : Farmacia
Tree Creature : Rise Of The Bear Thing
Lee Harvey Oswald : Slore
Lid Emba : Rib Cage
Tealights : Passport
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : The Lightning Exhibit
This Piano Plays Itself : There Are Segments Of Revolving And Revolting

The last three songs on the mix are from bands all playing together at 529 tonight so I recommend you join me in attending. Also, go check out the Creative Loafing music issue and download their mixtape.

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: All The Saints, Lee Harvey Oswald, Lid Emba, Mixtape, Nomen Novum, Slushco, Tealights, This Piano Plays itself, Today The Moon Tomorrow The Sun, Tree Creature, Untied States

The Black Lips‘ new album, 200 Million Thousand, is out February 24. I really didn’t like the first single, but this second song that got released last week is pretty groovy.

Black Lips : Short Fuse

Black Lips myspace

From the demise of Slow Motion Crash comes a new project with most of the folks involved called Attention System. They just released a demo album for free at their myspace, and SMC fans will find more of what they like on this one. Here is the last cut from it:

Attention System : Nothing In My Head

Download Demos for free

Attention System myspace

Finally, I know I already mentioned Slushco‘s newest release, The Silver Surface. But since I have been jamming it rather hard for the last month, I figured I would post one more track from it to entice you to check it out. This one is the closer, and I really love the build up at the end:

Slushco : The Silver Surface

Buy The Silver Surface Demos

Slushco myspace

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Attention System, Black Lips, Slushco

Back in 2006 shortly after Slushco released their second album, Clouds, Brian Slusher had been working on a follow up. This new Slushco album was entitled The Silver Surface and delved into themes like robot domination and human reprogramming. Unfortunately, the band sort of fell apart before they got around to recording it. Slusher had recorded a demo version of the album, but let it sit on the shelves to work on last year’s exceptional When I Met The Boss Of Nova as Slushco had now become essentially a solo project for him. He had promised to release it eventually when we talked to him a year ago, and it looks like he has made good on his promise. This official version is the first mix he did with the demos, as the original recordings themselves were lost on a broken hard drive. Even with all of these factors working against it, Brian Slusher’s genius in a studio shines brightly yet again for another beautifully stunning Slushco album that I highly recommend checking out. Get hip to one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets. Here is the opening track for The Silver Surface:

Slushco : Sad Songs And Lonely Places

Buy The Silver Surface Demos here

Slushco myspace

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Best New Atlanta Music, Slushco

I decided to do something a little experimental this year with my best EP list. When I was comparing very short “full-length” albums to longer albums on my best LP list, I kept wanting to hold the time duration against the shorter album. Also, it seems the difference between EPs and LPs can be a bit arbitrary sometimes, so I decided to just draw a line completely based on album length to split up my best album lists. This list, then, is the best of all albums less than 35 minutes, regardless of what the record is labeled. I’m happy with the end result, as I’m able to really highlight some extremely worthwhile briefer albums and it made the competition on this list a lot tighter. When you really think about it, any classic album this short feels like it is in a different weight class. I want to give an honorable mention to Cynic‘s Traced In Air, Parade‘s Ghosts, and Mount Eerie with Julie Dorion and Fred Squire‘s Lost Wisdom because all three were awesome, but here are the 20 best albums under 35 minutes:


CONTINUE READING Ohmpark’s Top 20 Best EPs/Short-Length Albums Of 2008 (1,687 words)

© Davy Minor for Ohmpark, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Armada, Abe Vigoda, Air France, Animal Collective, Antony, Beck, Best Of 2008, Crystal Antlers, Cynic, Experimental Dental School, Moscow Olympics, Mount Eerie, No Age, Oh No Oh My, Slushco, This Piano Plays itself, Trail Of Dead, Twin Tigers, Women