Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Overcoming debilitating bouts with alcohol, jail time inform poignant lyrics-driven songs of Shane O’Malley Firek’s, The Ferdy Mayne.

L.A. based songwriter’s debut album out now, US tour continues. Hear latest single “Slipping On Dimes” via The Bluegrass Situation.

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Shane O’Malley Firek of The Ferdy Mayne as photographed by Alexander Harris.

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Hear “Define My Name” via Buzzbands.la. See the video via Culture Collide. Hear “Slipping On Dimes” via The Bluegrass Situation.






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The Ferdy Mayne – “Eponymous Tour 2017”

3/21/2017: New Haven, CT @ Cafe Nine
3/22/2017: Boston, MA @ O’Brien’s Pub
3/23/2017: Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbery
3/24/2017: Brooklyn, NY @ The Footlight
3/26/2017: Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit
3/27/2017: Canton, OH @ Buzzbin
3/28/2017: Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
3/30/2017: Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
3/31/2017: Detroit, MI @ El Club
4/01/2017: Chicago, IL @ The Floods
4/02/2017: Grand Rapids, MI @ Tip Top Deluxe
4/04/2017: Indianapolis, IN @ Square Cat Vinyl
4/05/2017: Milwaukee, WI @ Bremen Cafe
4/06/2017: Beloit, WI @ Coughy Haus
4/07/2017: Minneapolis, MN @ Reverie
4/08/2017: Winona, MN @ Ed’s No Name Bar
4/10/2017: Davenport, IA @ Moeller Nights
4/11/2017: Omaha, NE @ Under Lounge
4/12/2017: Lincoln, NE @ Duffy’s Tavern
4/13/2017: Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
4/14/2017: Denver, CO @ Lion’s Lair
4/15/2017: Albuquerque, NM @ The Tannex

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“A beautiful guitar solo, a pleading chorus, a spacey Western twang.” – Buzzbands.la
“Nuance and beauty. Provides an immersive and mind-altering experience.” – Culture Collide

The story of Shane O’Malley Firek, the single constant member of The Ferdy Mayne, is one of journeys – physical, spiritual, and a combination of the two.  Firek’s latest journey is a US tour in support of his just-released debut album, out now via Greater Peaks Records. Hear the latest single “Slipping On Dimes” via The Bluegrass Situation.

Joining Firek in The Ferdy Mayne band on this tour is Nick Zomparelli on Lead Guitar (Duane The Jet Black Eel, NODATA, Daughters Of Eternity), Nick Rapley on Drums (Ben Clark and The Long Shadows), and David Van Witt on Bass (Sidewalk Dave, Hnry Flwr). Van Witt’s Hnry Flwr will also open some dates. See above for full itinerary and remaining dates.

“I was going through massive change when I was writing this material,” Firek explains of the new album. “Before my sobriety, I was completely insane, in and out of jail, losing friends and putting myself in considerable debt,” he confesses. “I quit drinking around the time I began to perform in New York, and I’ve been sober a little over three years now.”

Free of the law, and free of the hold of alcohol, Firek accomplishes on this album what any artist hopes to who has lived through pretty good and really bad, and that is to fully inform the work with experience. Firek is most proud of his lyrics, and unlike some songwriters, he fights hard for them, sometimes over the course of many years.

“When I write songs, it takes a very long time. Very rarely do songs come quickly, aside from a few on this record,” he says. One that came more easily is the album’s first single “Define My Name,” premiered exclusively via Buzzbands.la, the music discovery website focused on Los Angeles, where Firek recently relocated from Brooklyn. Culture Collide recently premiered what they’ve called the “immersive and mind-altering” music video for the tune.

The self-titled debut album by The Ferdy Mayne is out now via Greater Peaks Records. Shane O’Malley Firek is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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The Ferdy Mayne
S/T
Out Now
(Greater Peaks Records)


Track Listing:

01. Factory Release
02. Real Shackle
03. Pears And Asian Wine (STREAM | MP3 | SPOTIFY)
04. Define My Name (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO | SPOTIFY)
05. Roseanna
06. In The Thick Of The Night
07. Slipping On Dimes (STREAM | MP3 | SPOTIFY)
08. Heavy Metal Heart
09. Greater Peaks Of Avid Laurel Evenings
10. Moonier
11. Sucker

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The Ferdy Mayne Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Jared Putnam of The March Divide releases additional 80’s cover tunes, this time taking on Culture Club, ‘Til Tuesday, and The Bangles.

Songs accompanied by individual artwork depicting Putnam in each artist’s “era-compliant” styling. Listen now via Cover Me, Diffuser, Spill.

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Jared Putnam of The March Divide channels Boy George.  Photo: John Glover. Art: Krist Krueger.

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Jared Putnam of The March Divide continues his series of 80’s covers! See below for listening links!



“Voices Carry” by ‘Til Tuesday [SOUNDCLOUD | SPOTIFY | MP3]


“Mamma's Don't...” by Willie Nelson [SOUNDCLOUD | MP3]

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The March Divide – In The Press

[A selection of songs from three albums and four EPs released by The March Divide since 2013.]


“Impressively hooky.” — American Songwriter

“Catchy hooks and memorable lines.” — Innocent Words

“His work is uniformly intimate and thoroughly emotional.” — Nooga

Big Star-informed, strummy acoustic reverie.” — BLURT

“Completely clever.” — Performer

“Gifted with a serious set of pipes.” — The Aquarian

“Quality pop at its best.” — Popdose

“All about lyrics and melodies.” — Babysue

“Bittersweet beauty.” — Impose

“Immediately relatable.” — Atwood Magazine

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“I have an ongoing project, to record every song off of Disintegration.” – Jared Putnam, The March Divide

San Antonio-based songwriter, Jared Putnam, leader of the sometimes more, but usually one-man pop-rock band, The March Divide, is a prolific songwriter (three albums and four EPs worth over the last few years), but he’s also a studio hound, in general, who loves to be there recording.

As Putnam preps songs for a new album, he has been having some fun recording cover versions of songs that have inspired him, some that are beloved hits, and some that are both. Most of all, they are songs he grew up with.

“I feel like these are the songs that introduced me to music, around the age that I started to care,” he says.

Working with engineer Mike Major (At The Drive-In, Coheed and Cambria), who also plays keys on the majority of the tracks and has been working with Putnam for years, was a comfortable environment in which to have a good time with these tunes.

Artists including The Cure, The Bangles, Culture Club, ‘Til Tuesday, and Willie Nelson get a treatment from Putnam that isn’t ironic, but truly interpretive in the best way, as he takes his style and applies it with the thoughtful touch that makes it clear why we love these songs, and why he does, too.

“People might write this off as a rehash, but that honestly didn’t even occur to me until I was finished recording. For me, these songs are endearing. I was a little kid and these songs were on MTV. Everyone loves something about these songs.”

Adding to the fun, graphic designer Krist Krueger has taken Putnam’s image and created “covers for the covers,” with each song accompanied by Warholian art depicting Putnam “wearing” the iconic look of the artist he’s paying tribute to.

Putnam is currently working on a new EP to be released later this year.

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The March Divide – Live

3/23/2017: San Antonio, TX @ Sanchos
3/30/2017: Amarillo, TX @ Leftwoods
3/31/2017: Albuquerque, NM @ Moonlight Lounge
4/01/2017: El Paso, TX @ El Paso Brewing Co.
4/08/2017: Wichita Falls, TX @ The Deep End
4/13/2017: New Orleans, LA @ Checkpoint Charlies
4/14/2017: Galveston, TX @ MOD Coffeehouse
4/15/2017: Houston, TX @ Bohemeo's

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The March Divide Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion



Friday, March 10, 2017

Lawrence to Los Angeles: Tree Machines bears fruit of move west as soaring single “Waiting On The Sun” is released. Hear it now!

Band sweats bullets through the summer of 2016 to create “Up For Air,” an album of “naked cynicism mixed with a hint of hope.”

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Tree Machines (L-R): Douglas Wooldridge, Patrick Aubry. Photo by Kasia Nawrocka.

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Listen to “Waiting On The Sun” by Tree Machines via Popdust or the links below!





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Tree Machines – In The Press

“It’s some LA soul that indie pop needs.” — Popdust

“Immediately aiming for the anthemic.” — The Wild

“Emotionally staggering.” — Diffuser

“Best new rock song of the year so far.” — BULLETT

“I’ve been unable to stop listening.” — Gold Flake Paint (UK)

“Grips you in such a beautifully brutal way.” — Innocent Words

“Gleaming placidity.” — BlackBook

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Tree Machines built a safe room in Los Angeles. Not for security of the conventional kind, but for a place to unleash, and make the kind of music that is at once vulnerable and strong, without fear of consequence. Anthems for times that don’t make sense, but carve a path forward. Call it a studio, if you have to. But you don’t have to.

Here, Douglas Wooldridge, Patrick Aubry, and producer Mike Giffin (all three contribute to the various instrumentation and music) have been creating Up For Air, the debut Tree Machines full-length album. Its first single, “Waiting On The Sun,” out today and premiered via Popdust, is “one of the best examples of the feel and vibe of Up For Air as a whole,” says Wooldridge, the band’s lyricist and vocalist. “Naked cynicism mixed with a hint of hope and understanding that no matter what, another day will come.”

The upcoming album follows-up 2015’s debut Tree Machines EP, which contained the single “Fucking Off Today,” a hard-to-ignore opening salvo that expressed Midwestern malaise (which these former Lawrence, Kansans know all too well) in a new way. Three more Tree Machines singles appeared during the summer of that year.

Once in Los Angeles (Canoga Park, to be exact), the band proceeded to go down the rabbit hole building the (very) small studio, an effort that took almost a year by itself. Regardless, they were determined to create a room where they could make music that moved, was moving, and was bigger than the tiny space in which it was created.

“I think people are going to be surprised that guys from Kansas can write music with a strong social conscience and unique ideas,” Aubry concludes. “Plus, it sounds pretty fucking good, too.”

Up For Air, the debut album by Los Angeles-based band Tree Machines, arrives in 2017. The album's first single “Waiting On The Sun” is streaming now.

Tree Machines are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Tree Machines Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Cotton Mather to release “Wild Kingdom” on April 7th, its second “Songs From The I Ching” collection, marking 30 of 64 tracks available to date.

Band scheduled to support Spoon at SXSW on March 15th, among additional performances. Hear new single “Better Than A Hit” via Popmatters now.

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Robert Harrison of Cotton Mather as photographed by Valerie Fremin.

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Cotton Mather – Live at SXSW

3/11/2017: Austin, TX Second Play Stage @ Sheraton Hotel (SXSW, 7PM, Acoustic)
3/15/2017: Austin, TX @ The Main (SXSW, 11PM, supporting Spoon)
3/16/2017: Austin, TX Rajiworld Showcase @ Palm Door (SXSW, 12AM)
3/18/2017: Austin, TX @ Yard Dog (SXSW, 1510 S. Congress)

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“Trust us, everything this band touches is gold,” says Popmatters of “Better Than A Hit” by Cotton Mather.




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Cotton MatherIn The Press

“Its first album in 15 years, is nothing short of a triumph. #9 Austin album of 2016.” — Austin Monthly

Harrison’s gifts are as strong as ever.” — AllMusic

“An exemplary specimen from Harrison’s seemingly endless collection of instant classics.” — Austin Chronicle

Harrison and his comrades have retained their retro vitality. 8/10.” — Uncut

“Save money on the next (Beatles) reissue and try this colorful extension of their sonic legacy.” — Los Angeles Times

“A record that is not to be missed. Grade: A.” — Goldmine

“Cerebral aspirations grounded in a classicist’s grasp of melody.” — MAGNET

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“One thing I’ve always liked about Cotton Mather music is that it’s always winking at you. This record has that quality.” – Robert Harrison

It took 15 years for Cotton Mather to return with 2016’s Death of The Cool (released July 19th, 2016), the first collection of songs compiled from band leader Robert Harrison’s ambitious, possibly impossible aim to write 64 songs, one for each hexagram of the I Ching, the ancient text which he refers to as an “extraordinary book about ordinary life.” Texas Monthly kicked off the “Songs From The I Ching” project on November 16th, 2015. Read about it here.

Now, in what seems like the passing of just 15 minutes, Cotton Mather will release Wild Kingdom on April 7th, 2017. The album brings together another 11 tracks, following up the 11-song Death of The Cool, and the three-track “Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins” EP (released December 30th, 2016), that are both also a part of the I Ching song cycle.

To date, 30 of the “Songs From The I Ching” have been released. Listen to 25 here.

Wild Kingdom is more a change of season than scenery,” Harrison states. “While I was writing the first half of the I Ching project, I tended to circle the songs with a requisite richness and gravity because I thought it important to do something for the first release in fifteen years that we never could have done before. Otherwise, what’s the point ‘Relatively obscure indie cult band reunites to demonstrate that maybe going away the first time was just a fine idea?’ Uh, no thank you. You have to get better!”

Kontiki gave me something to shoot for,” Spoon leader Britt Daniel once said of Cotton Mather’s 1997 underground classic album. In addition to praise from musicians, the record was especially loved by the UK press, with both Uncut and The Guardian awarding it five-star ratings. Like the instantly memorable pop songs that made (and make) Kontiki influential – a two-disc reissue released in 2012 received similar praise all over again, and Kontiki was also finally released on vinyl at the end of 2016 – Wild Kingdom continues in the Robert Harrison tradition of impeccable song craft that doesn’t ever let up on the hooks, or the winking.

Wild Kingdom, the latest album by Cotton Mather, arrives on April 7th, 2017 containing 11 tracks comprising another portion of the 64-track “Songs From The I Ching” project that also includes the 11-song Death of The Cool album (released July 19th, 2016) and the three-track “Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins” (released December 30th, 2016.)

Visit ichingsongs.com to read Robert Harrison’s in-depth song commentaries explaining the relationship between each individual track and the I Ching hexagram it is based on.

Robert Harrison of Cotton Mather is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Cotton Mather
Wild Kingdom
(The Star Apple Kingdom)
April 7th, 2017
  

Track Listing:

01. The Cotton Mather Pledge (STREAM)
02. Fighting Through (STREAM | MP3)
03. High Society (STREAM)
04. Hijinks Dad (STREAM)
05. Better Than A Hit (STREAM | MP3)
06. King William (STREAM)
07. California (STREAM)
08. Girl With A Blue Guitar (STREAM | MP3)
09. It's Better Not To Be The King (STREAM)
10. The Army
11. I Volunteer

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Cotton Mather
“Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins” EP
(The Star Apple Kingdom)
Out Now


Track Listing:

01. Call Me The Witch
02. Faded (STREAM | MP3)
03. Girl Friday

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Cotton Mather
Death of The Cool
(The Star Apple Kingdom)
Out Now
  

 Track Listing:

01. The Book of Too Late Changes (STREAM | MP3)
02. Close To The Sun (STREAM | MP3)
03. The Middle of Nowhere
04. Candy Lilac (STREAM | MP3)
05. Life of The Liar (STREAM | MP3)
06. The Land of Flowers
07. Never Be It
08. Queen of Swords
09. Waters Raging
10. Child Bride (STREAM | MP3)
11. The End of DeWitt Finley

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“Songs From The I Ching” Master Song List (as of March 10th, 2017)

Hexagram # | Song Title | “I Ching” Hexagram Name | Where Available | Listening Links

#1 | Close To The Sun | The Creative | on Death of The Cool | (STREAM | MP3)
#2 | The Middle of Nowhere | The Receptive | on Death of The Cool
#3 | The Land of Flowers | Beginning | on Death of The Cool
#4 | Child Bride | Youthful Folly | on Death of The Cool | (STREAM | MP3)
#5 | Never Be It | Waiting | on Death of The Cool
#6. Life of the Liar | Contention | on Death of The Cool | (STREAM | MP3)
#7 | The Army (Acoustic Version) | The Army | non-album track | (STREAM)
#7 | The Army | The Army | on Wild Kingdom
#8 | Candy Lilac | Union | on Death of The Cool | (STREAM | MP3)
#9 | High Society | Little Accumulation | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM)
#11 | California | Advance / Peace | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM)
#12 | The End of DeWitt Finley | Standstill | on Death of The Cool | (STREAM)
#13 | The Cotton Mather Pledge | Seeking Harmony/Fellowship Among Men | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM)
#14 | “Call Me The Witch | Possession In Great Measure | on “Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins” EP
#15 | It’s Better Not To Be The King | Modesty | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM)
#16 | Girl Friday | Delight | on “Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins” EP
#18 | Shadow The Star | Remedying | non-album track | (STREAM)
#21 | Fighting Through | Biting Through | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM | MP3)
#22 | White Gold | Adornment | non-album track | (STREAM | MP3)
#23 | Queen of Swords | Falling Away | on Death of The Cool
#24. The Book of Too Late Changes | The Return | on Death of The Cool | (STREAM | MP3)
#25. I Volunteer | Without Falsehood | on Wild Kingdom
#28 | Carnival Off My Back | Great Exceeding | non-album track | (STREAM)
#29 | Waters Raging | The Abysmal | on Death of The Cool
#37 | King William | The Household | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM)
#44. Better Than A Hit | Encountering | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM | MP3)
#52 | Way of The Samurai | Keeping Still/The Mountain | non-album track | (STREAM)
#53. Girl With A Blue Guitar | Gradual Progress | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM | MP3)
#56 | Hijinks Dad | The Wanderer | on Wild Kingdom | (STREAM)
#64. Faded | Before Completion/Not Yet Fulfilled | non-album track (Robert Harrison vocal version) | (STREAM | MP3)
#64. Faded | Before Completion/Not Yet Fulfilled | on “Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins” EP | (STREAM | MP3)

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Cotton Mather Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Wednesday, March 8, 2017

the black watch announces “The Gospel According To John,” its 15th album in 30 years of music-making. Hear single “Whence” now!

“Sounds like the holy union of Guided By Voices, The Wedding Present and any number of New Zealand pop heroes.” – Buzzbands.la.

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John Andrew Fredrick of the black watch as photographed by Steve Keros.

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“Whence” is from The Gospel According To John, out April 21st. Hear “Whence” via Popdose or the links below!




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the black watch – In The Press

“Should’ve become a household name a long time ago.” — USA Today

“Salutes the great DIY pop canon and trophy hallways of heroes with an illustrious array of pepped up jangle pop.” — Impose

“Clever and extremely catchy songs.” — Popmatters

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“L.A. has not produced a band as capable of both My Bloody Valentine miasma and Nick Drake quietness.” — Andy Gill, Gang of Four

John Andrew Fredrick, a man that has been making music, writing books, professionally professing about both (that’s what professors do?), and generally being a ceaseless creative entity forever, has threatened to quit releasing music and concentrate on his other careers and hobbies (Dr. Fredrick also holds a Ph.D, plays tennis or ping-pong five days a week, and paints) for years.

But this product of 25 years of Los Angeles living continues to find songs and riffs and lyrics wandering into his head as he’s traversing the city’s traffic to California Lutheran University, forty-five miles north of Los Angeles, where he lectures in the English department.

The latest collection of wandering riffs and lyrics by Fredrick’s band the black watch, the latest in a line so long it’s like the painful reveal of an over-the-hill age (except this number represents an actual accomplishment), is Christened (emphasis on Christ) with a title wholly (holy) befitting Fredrick’s sense of humor and sense of artistic entitlement.

Put the puns away, it’s The Gospel According To John.

The new album, arriving April 21st, 2017, is the band’s 15th in 30 years of music-making (leaving out EPs, singles, wax cylinders), a pretty impressive feat, especially for a band that has “put the frosting,” as Fredrick puts it sweet, on its career more than once. The Gospel According To John follows-up 2015’s Highs & Lows, and was recorded over the course of eleven months with Rob Campanella of The Brian Jonestown Massacre producing. Hear the single “Whence” via Popdose now.

On the heels of the release of The Gospel According To John on April 21st, Fredrick will follow-up four well-received novels with the release of a non-fiction title about Wes Anderson, who Fredrick previously taught a course on at The University of Southern California. Fucking Innocent: The Early Films of Wes Anderson will be released on June 13th, 2017.

“This book makes film criticism fun,” Fredrick says. “It’s very ‘Lester Bangs goes to the movies.’”

The Gospel According To John, the 15th full-length album by the black watch arrives on April 21st, 2017 preceded by the single “Whence,” streaming now. John Andrew Fredrick is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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the black watch
The Gospel According To John
(The Eskimo Record Label)
April 21st, 2017
  

Track Listing:

01. Whence (STREAM | MP3)
02. Way Strange World (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO)
03. The All-Right Side of Just OK
04. A Story
05. Jealously
06. Orange Kicks
07. Oscillating Redux
08. Satellite

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the black watch Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion