News

Lee Underwood’s syncretic blend of jazz, folk, and blues was a tremendous force behind Tim Buckley’s genre-stretching late 60s/early 70s music — but his 1988 acoustic guitar opus, California Sigh, has remained a unsung footnote to his story. Until now! On June 28, Drag City is excited to present California Sigh, fully remastered for vinyl and digital platforms. With today’s announcement is the title track, “California Sigh”.

Lee Underwood is usually mentioned first as Tim Buckley’s stalwart and lead... (read more)

What might appear to be the most unlikely collaboration of 2024 proves also to be one of the most invigorating listens of the year! Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance are in full aural/metaphysical alignment on Jinxed by Being: a no-brainer fusion of Shackleton’s bass heavy cosmic dread and Six Organs’ ritual folksong, out June 28. Get on their wavelength today with the first single/video, “Stages of Capitulation”.

Longtime listeners know that both Shackleton and Six Organs of Admittance have... (read more)

With Ghosted II out n’ about — unshackled from its phantom hull, phasing through the walls — Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin deliver one more visual to play out their polyrhythmic skeletons. Summoned before us today is a new music video for the second track, “Två”, directed by Cédrick Eymenier, the trio’s longtime collaborator and soul-bound confidant.

“Två” opens with a portal of spiraling, metallic organs, cast in circles by Oren, above the muted bass harmonics of Johan and intermingling... (read more)

Wand regenerates again with their most ambitious work yet: Vertigo, out July 26 on Drag City. Turning from their Plum/Laughing Matter-era quintet, Wand now emerges in quartet form (Evan Backer, Evan Burrows, Robbie Cody, Cory Hanson) with a noir-tinged record looming with tension, theatrical elevation, and lush orchestration. With today’s announcement, Wand reveal a new single/video: “Smile”.

Vertigo is the sound of feet lost, regained, and lost again: a vision of Wand that is... (read more)

Lit aflame with their first new release in what feels like an eternity, Gastr del Sol raise their crowbars and pry the vault open further today with “The Bells of St. Mary’s”, the second single off We Have Dozens of Titles. The track is a practically-unheard studio recording from David Grubbs and Jim O’Rourke’s trailblazing time together, joining the first single “The Seasons Reverse (live)” to dazzle us all twice-fold ahead of the album’s May 24 release date.

In contrast... (read more)

Drummer Chris Corsano is a tireless collaborator. Among the 150 or so albums that he’s contributed to over the past 25 years, only six have been credited to Chris alone — which makes the existence of The Key (Became The Important Thing [& Then Just Faded Away]), out June 28 via Drag City, a rare instance of Chris going deep on his own vision. A feverish essay of transcendent drumming, Corsano’s ambitious new record brings his encompassing focus on free improvisation and noise... (read more)

Jim Rafferty’s relatively unheard version of his own “I See Red” now finally makes its splendidly remastered debut on Drag City in the form of a new 7" out May 24!

Should the name Jim Rafferty sound a tad familiar, he is in fact the older brother of Gerry Rafferty, of “Baker Street” and “Stuck In The Middle with You” fame. As a songwriter, Jimhad signed a solo deal with Decca in the late 70s. With Gerry in the... (read more)

**NOW EXTENDED! Two additional shows have been added for Joanna Newsom's Los Angeles solo residency at The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever: on May 26th, an encore children's matinee, and May 27th, an evening affair. The links are live now; tickets will go on sale Friday, April 19 at 12PM CDT.**

Trill the trumpets!

Hoist the flags!

Raise the gates of the city!

Rip the protective plastic covers off the furniture!

For lo, Joanna Newsom, balladeer... (read more)

Next month, the Chicago-based singer-songwriter and captivating guitarist Bill MacKay will release his forthcoming album, Locust Land. The album serves as the long-awaited follow up to MacKay’s 2019 solo effort, Fountain Fire. Previously released album tracks include the dazzling “When I Was Here” and “Glow Drift,” and today, MacKay has shared “Keeping In Time,” an album highlight which finds MacKay employing a searching voice to explore themes of fate and love, as he sings “We take a step forward/Then a glance sideways/But... (read more)

Out June 28th via Drag City, Evil Does Not Exist is an expansive new soundtrack undertaking from Eiko Ishibashi. Her score harmonizes effortlessly with the state of nature as depicted in the new Ryusuke Hamaguchi feature, a nuanced tale of humans’ uneasy efforts to maintain co-existence with the delicate state of the planet. Following her marvelous 2018 Drag City album, The Dream My Bones Dream, and her score for Hamaguchi’s Oscar-winning 2021 film, Drive My Car, Evil Does Not Exist is... (read more)