News

We’re sitting for a minute, silent, as we consider the passing of Ed Askew. A kind and thoughtful man is gone from our living ranks! A gifted writer, artist and singer whose works will go on to be discovered and loved in the world beyond us all, is certainly a consolation of some kind.

Ed’s first album is a legend that continues to draw listeners in as it continues to grow, a legend born in the fire of his words and music. In his... (read more)

Antigone is Eiko Ishibashi’s latest musical masterwork, one rife with chilling speculations for the future calling from inside her own head. Out March 28, 2025, it marks Eiko’s first “traditional” songcraft album — that is, with lyrics and singing — since 2018’s acclaimed The Dream My Bones Dream, arriving on the heels of her celebrated soundtracks for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s films.

Within Antigone, Eiko teases out images from a dystopia not unlike the one we’ve already got. Hers is suffused... (read more)

Back on their own turf after a first-ever West Coast tour, Prison’s sought the heat and is now ready to unleash another single off Downstate, their second album stint. “In The Tall Grass / Made For You” is a pair of songs from the record, because you know how Prison rolls: the jams don’t end, so you get to (and gotta) hear ‘em together! Rick Charnoski filmed a new music video for the occasion just to prove it.

“In The Tall Grass” is a... (read more)

Whistle from Above, out February 28th, is David Grubbs’ first Drag City release in over a decade and his first-ever instrumental album for the label — and why shouldn’t it be? The suspiciously youthful Grubbs is now four decades into his career, with former bands including Gastr del Sol, Squirrel Bait and Bastro, along with a wild ride of collaborators over the years — lately, Tony Conrad, Taku Unami, Jan St. Werner, and Wendy Eisenberg. The list grows each year! If all... (read more)

After a near-total silence of twenty years, Edith Frost is back again with twelve new songs that revitalize the timeless luminescence of her voice and songcraft. In Space, out February 28 on Drag City, is her first new record since 2005’s It’s a Game, and it’s just in time — the world needs Edith’s voice back in the conversation. And her ineffable way with a tune...

It appears Edith needed something, too: from the notebooks of her long hiatus, a line... (read more)

Acoustics held high, Corey Madden (Color Green) and Ty Segall make their debut bow as Freckle and their self-titled LP reminds all of us that when the clouds are out, you can still get sunburned.

Lead single "Taraval" pulses with a heart-tugging progression, fluidly running the changes. This bristling, sunshiny tone offsets a moody vocal melody – Ty’s tenor voice paired with Corey’s baritone – lending the tune a searching feeling. In closing, piano, slide and lead guitars touch off a sweet... (read more)

A Shaw Deal, out January 31, is the first album by Geologist & D.S., an expanding sonic field built up by Animal Collective’s Brian “Geologist” Weitz that lovingly reorders and reconstructs a few minutes of Doug Shaw’s fine folk guitar chops and magic vibe. Utilizing a handful of pieces Doug posted online, Brian’s loops and edits take Doug’s playing on an affirmative trip through peaceful idylls and energizing spaces, melding their very different music into a singular intangible essence... (read more)

Ready to go back? Prison’s still out there, breaking rocks in the haze and rumbling in the heat, just waiting for you to come around. Downstate, the second official Prison stint, is out January 31, 2025, stretching to insane new places while pumping out some of the toughest jams around. Lead single “Eyes For Keys” is on the loose today!

Prison’s been active since 2015, but if you didn’t catch ’em live in NYC, then you didn’t know until the summer of ‘23... (read more)

Over the past two decades, Tashi Dorji’s distinguished approach to the guitar has unveiled sounds both materially unheard and eternally familiar. Striking upon the fuse of his 2020 record Stateless, Tashi’s follow-up is an acoustic statement: all improvised, always political, sounding sympathy for the opposition in the fabric of every experimental revelation. we will be wherever the fires are lit is out November 22; today, Tashi releases the album’s title track.

Strumming a march — countered by a deliriously fingered counter-riff... (read more)

The smoke has cleared: Papa M has finally reappeared! Ballads of Harry Houdini is David Pajo’s latest bag of dirty tricks, revved up n’ ready for the big reveal next month. We’ll shut up (yeesh!) and get to the shredding though: “People’s Free Food Program” is here for all today.

Over a swirling bed of circus-like synth lines, Papa M constructs a shred-for-the-hills, golden-age guitarismo workout on "People's Free Food Program" — burbling with notes of R’n’B, dub reggae and rich, Corinthian leather.... (read more)