Thursday, October 26, 2017

Bay area-based rock bassist, drummer, Jade Shipman writes unexpected collection of classic-sounding folk songs with new trio Little Shrine.

“Delicate, yet powerful” debut “Wilderness” compared to Cat Power, Laura Marling. See the music video for “Stone” single streaming now.

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Little Shrine (L-R): Tony Schoenberg, Jade Shipman, Ryan Avery. Photo credit: Jen Hostetler.

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See the premiere of the music video for “Stone” at Groundsounds or watch + listen via the links below!

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Little Shrine – In The Press

“Fans of Laura Marling, Laura Gibson, and Cat Power will find much to love in this track.” — Independent Clauses

“Delicate, yet powerful. The musicianship and balance of the strings, guitars, and vocals create a distinct mood.” — Groundsounds

Shipman’s strength is in being able to convey the seemingly overwhelming quality of everyday traumas in a protective whisper.” — Spill

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“Wilderness,” the debut release from San Francisco-based trio Little Shrine, is an unexpected, classic-sounding folk record.  Unexpected, because the songs were written by Jade Shipman, best-known around the bay area as a bassist and drummer, playing in groups she describes as “rock bands with distorted guitars.”

Performing a record release show to a packed room at hometown venue The Lost Church last week, it was clear from the immediate response that Shipman is also a singer-songwriter.

The music video for “Stone,” the first single from “Wilderness,” showcases the city that Shipman calls home.

“It was our director, Justin Ramsay’s idea to start shooting the video at 5AM in order to get San Francisco’s pre-dawn light,” Shipman says. “And to also have empty streets, which allowed us to shoot in the middle of the road. It rained off and on throughout the day, but somehow that seemed appropriate and right for the song.”


Shipman continues, explaining the personal inspiration behind these songs, by saying, “This project came from something else, I guess from some tender, raw part of myself that I’ve been hiding musically. I didn’t set out to write folk songs, but I was going through some difficult life stuff and my experiences kept turning into folk songs.”

Writing music has been the way that Shipman has made sense of the world for years, but something was different this time. “The feelings were too raw to hide them in rock music,” she says of the revealing and relatable lyrics on “Wilderness.”

For a time, Shipman felt these revelations might be only for herself, too personal to actually share with the world.

“I was talking with a friend of mine,” she remembers. “He helped me realize that we never know how we will have a positive impact on someone. Making ‘Wilderness’ has been a long process of peeling away doubts and fears, but it’s part of having faith that people can gain something from hearing these songs.”

“Wilderness” by Little Shrine is out now. Jade Shipman is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Little Shrine
“Wilderness” Mini-LP
Out Now
  

Track Listing:

01. Stone (SPOTIFY | APPLE | YOUTUBE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3 | VIDEO)
02. Take The Most
03. Not Today (SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)
04. Morning Song
05. Move Forward
06. Hold You Heavy
07. Dreams Are Dead
08. The Thread

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Little Shrine Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Thursday, October 19, 2017

Hair Police drummer Trevor Tremaine leads ATTEMPT into “Against The Light,” arriving via Lexington’s Desperate Spirits on Oct. 27th.

EP’s title track is Paste Magazine’s “Daily Dose”. Writer Robert Ham says, “Keep this on repeat while you quietly melt into your office chair.”

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Trevor Tremaine of ATTEMPT by Kim Conlee.

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“Against The Light” by ATTEMPT is the “Daily Dose” at Paste! Listen here or via the links below.








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ATTEMPT – In The Press

“A bit of Holland-era Beach Boys as filtered through a UFO Club aesthetic. Keep this on repeat while you quietly melt into your office chair.” – Paste

“A satin-draped uncanny valley, a clever evocation of all the plush pleasures of ‘70s soft-rock. It’s just as likely to disturb as delight.” – AllMusic

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“Against The Light” (Desperate SpiritsOct. 27) is the new four-song EP from ATTEMPT, the Lexington, Kentucky-based recording project of Trevor Tremaine, best-known and most-adored as the drummer of the enduring noise band Hair Police.

Beyond that introduction, there’s no use in trying to describe ATTEMPT any better than what Elephant 6 co-founder / The Apples in Stereo front man, Robert Schneider says:

ATTEMPT is like listening into the future of underground music: 10cc plus Steely Dan playing jazz fusion on a peyote trip.”

Tremaine also speaks for himself, explaining the EP’s nearly-ten minute long title track, saying, “The conceit of ‘Against The Light’ is jaywalking as a metonym for taking a selfish and irresponsible and irrational risk, less for personal gain than to sort of course-correct reality, an act which this song seems to celebrate.”


The song is Tremaine’s first truly collaborative ATTEMPT piece on tape.

“It was built around my vocal harmonies,” he explains. “(Drummer) Dave Farris supplied the layers of Martin Denny (the “father of exotica”) clatter, and Robert Beatty (Tremaine’s co-Hair Police man) detonated the Lydian sinewave fireworks in the coda. On the final version, I patched a take of the full-band live jam from whence this melody sprung.”

“Against The Light,” the latest EP from ATTEMPT arrives on Oct. 27th via Desperate Spirits. Trevor Tremaine is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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ATTEMPT
“Against The Light” EP
(Desperate Spirits)
Oct. 27th, 2017
  

Track Listing:

01. Cancellations And Delays
02. Items On A Questionnaire
03. Overdraftin’
04. Against The Light  (SOUNDCLOUD | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY | APPLE | BANDCAMP | MP3)

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ATTEMPT Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Tree Machines drops two-years-in-the-making “Up For Air;” L.A.-based band launches two-week tour in Denver on Thursday.

See the video for title track from debut album now via Grimy Goods; Album sampler, in-depth interview available via Noisetrade.

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

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Tree Machines – In The Press
“A big, urgent, liberating sound.” (Buzzbands.la) | “Anthemic.” (The Wild) | “Gleaming placidity.” (BlackBook) | “Some LA soul that indie pop needs.” (Popdust) | “Viciously human.” (Atwood) | “Emotionally staggering.” (Diffuser) | “Best new rock song of the year.” (BULLETT) | “Beautifully brutal.” (Innocent Words) | “I’ve been unable to stop listening.” (Gold Flake Paint) | “Hope and illumination.” (The Vinyl District) | “Heart-quickening sentimentality.” (MAGNET) | “Best thing I’ve heard all week.” (Daytrotter)

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Tree Machines – On Tour

10/19/2017: Denver, CO @ Lion's Lair
10/20/2017: Kansas City, MO @ recordBar
10/21/2017: Lawrence, KS @ KJHK (In-Studio)
10/22/2017: Lincoln, NE @ 1876 Bar
10/23/2017: Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
10/25/2017: Chicago, IL @ Elbo Room
10/29/2017: Houston, TX @ Super Happy Fun Land
11/1/2017: Albuquerque, NM @ Burt's Tiki Lounge
11/2/2017: Tempe, AZ @ Time Out Bar

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See the music video for the title track from Up For Air by Tree Machines at Grimy Goods!



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Tree Machines shares the "Up For Some ‘Up For Air’" album sampler with Noisetrade and sits for an extensive interview with Noisetrade’s Will Hodge.

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“I wanted to create something that was a little more retro and hip hop-inspired,” says Mike Giffin, the behind-the-scenes producer and multi-instrumentalist in Tree Machines about “Up For Air,” the title track from the band’s upcoming debut album, out now. “Almost instantly, Doug (Wooldridge, the band’s lyricist and vocalist) he came up with the catchy melody and rhythmic patterns that are still there in the song to this day. Who knew it was going to be the album’s title track of the album?”

Wooldridge concurs, “I’ve always had an affinity for this song ever since Mike brought the beat in for us to listen to. Now that everything is said and done, it’s one of my favorite songs on the album.”

For the music video for the song, recently premiered via Los Angeles-based music discovery website Grimy Goods, director Andrew Shepherd explains his style.

“The style was meant to reflect a dream-like state of being in the cycle of a 9-to-5 job, while yearning for artistic freedom. The inspiration I drew from their music influenced this concept for the video in beautiful ways.”

“I loved shooting this video,” Woodridge says. “Our lead actress Amanda Kwasniak was the best person to bring life to the visual representation of this track. Her personality allowed us to get an incredibly intimate view of her life.”

Tree Machines will play songs from Up For Air, as well as its 2015 debut EP, on a two-week tour starting this Thurs., Oct. 19th in Denver at Lion’s Lair.

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Relocated from Lawrence, Kansas, 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.

Here, Douglas Wooldridge (vocalist, lyricist), bandmate Patrick Aubry, and producer Mike Giffin (all three contribute to the various instrumentation and music) spent two years creating Up For Air, the debut Tree Machines full-length album, out now on the band’s Man In The Machine label.

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

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

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Tree Machines
Up For Air
(Man In The Machine)
Out Now
  

Track Listing:

01. I’ll Float On
02. Waiting On The Sun  (SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3 | LYRIC | VIDEO | REMIX)
03. Up For Air (SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | YOUTUBE | MP3 | VIDEO)
04. Like A Drum (SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD)
05. All Your Lies
06. Don’t Give Up
07. Weights and Stones (SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3 | LYRIC | VIDEO)
08. Fade On (SPOTIFY | APPLE | SOUNDCLOUD | YOUTUBE | MP3)
09. Always Losing
10. Carry On
11. Monsters
12. Like An Ocean
13. Under The Weight

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Tree Machines Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


The Dream System is all-vintage synth project from Emmy-winning “Stranger Things” music editor, David Klotz, vocalist Erica Elektra.

Hear “Losing All of You” single now; Album out Feb. 9th via Minty Fresh. RIYL: Vangelis, Human League, Tangerine Dream, Duran Duran.

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The Dream System (L-R): David Klotz, Erica Elektra. Photo credit: Polly Antonia Barrowman.

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Check out the premiere of “Losing All of You” by The Dream System at mxdwn.com or listen via the links below!

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The Dream System – In The Press

“Jam packed with vintage synth tones that meld together into a straightforward pop track. While synthesizers form the core of The Dream System’s unique electronic pop sound, the song is elevated to a higher plane by its ethereal female vocals.” – mxdwn.com

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About The Dream System

The Dream System is a newly-formed, synth-based pop duo out of Los Angeles that combines the talents of veteran musicians David Klotz and Erica Elektra.

The vintage instruments used on the band’s debut album Music from The Dream System (Feb. 9th, Minty Fresh) are veterans, too, and include a large assortment of Rolands, Korgs, and Yamahas, along with the (attention, geeks!) Crumar Performer, LinnDrum LM-2, and Omnichord System 100.


Recording with synths from the early 1980’s, The Dream System’s debut emerges from these origins of artifice with natural-sounding pop songs inspired by Vangelis, The Human League, Tangerine Dream, and Duran Duran.

Not only is the musical partnership of the humans in The Dream System new, so is the relationship to the band’s large brood of keys. Klotz, whose day job has earned him four Emmy awards as the Music Editor of television shows such as “Stranger Things,” “Game of Thrones,” and “American Horror Story” among others, started acquiring the gear in 2015.

“I was inspired when I started working on ‘Stranger Things’ in 2015 and first heard the score,” Klotz recalls. “I loved the sounds that the show’s composers created with synths. It was unlike anything I’d heard before in the world of film scoring.”

Klotz, who has been making records under various band names for years, starting in the mid-90’s as Fonda and most recently in 2016 as People and Stars, began plotting to make a record of pop songs based around the sound of these keyboards.

His first stop was eBay.

“The first three synths that I got my hands on were the Roland Jupiter 8, a Korg Mono/Poly and a Roland SH-2. Those were the three main synths I used to record our first single ‘Losing All of You,’” says Klotz.

Elektra’s lyrics and vocals take the tune out of the atmosphere and grounds it in feeling – heart-tugging and delivered with emotion – exposing the roots beneath these musical landscapes.

The Dream System is the perfect name for us,” Elektra concludes. “For me, it’s literally a musical dream come true.”

Music from The Dream System, the debut album by Los Angeles-based duo The Dream System arrives on Feb. 9th, 2018 preceded by the single “Losing All of You,” out now. David Klotz and Erica Elektra are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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The Dream System Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion


Friday, October 13, 2017

Cotton Mather’s 64-track “Songs From The I Ching” project crosses half-way mark today with release of six-song “Young Life E.P.”


Robert Harrison’s collection honoring “extraordinary book about ordinary life” praised as “instant classics,” “nothing short of a triumph.”

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Robert Harrison of Cotton Mather as photographed by Valerie Fremin.

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Cotton Mather – In The Press


“Does not lack for chutzpah. An extended odyssey.” — Rolling Stone

“Nothing short of a triumph.” — Austin Monthly

“Smart melodies and lyrics. Heady, catchy, fun.” — Paste

“Instant classics.” — Austin Chronicle

“Everything this band touches is gold.” — Popmatters

“Always ruling on the riffs.” — KUTX 98.9, Austin (NPR)

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 Check out the premiere of “Eleanor Plunge” by Cotton Mather at Innocent Words or listen via the links below!






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Visit Noisetrade to download a “Sampler From The I Ching,” and read an extended interview with Robert Harrison.


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Texas Monthly kicked off the “Songs From The I Ching” project on November 16th, 2015. Read about it here.

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It took 15 years for Cotton Mather to follow-up its last album (2001’s The Big Picture) with 2016’s Death of The Cool, the first collection of songs compiled from band leader Robert Harrison’s ambitious, possibly impossible aim to write 64 tracks, one for each hexagram of the I Ching, the ancient text which he refers to as an “extraordinary book about ordinary life.”

As the year continued, one-off tunes were issued online in, as Harrison terms it, “real time and real weather.” Then, another official release, the three-track “Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins EP” came along to close out the year. On April 7th, 2017, in what now seemed like the passing of just 15 minutes in the world of Cotton Mather, the band brought out the Wild Kingdom album, bringing together another 11 tracks, and landing Harrison near the half-way mark on the “Songs From The I Ching” project.

Now, Cotton Mather has crossed that line with the release of the “Young Life E.P.,” adding six more originals to the “Songs From The I Ching” project (bringing the total number of tracks released to 35), while also offering up a more somber tone than Cotton Mather fans may expect.

“I never have perspective on my own work, but this one was an especially difficult release to get my head around, Harrison explains. “In short, I think this is a deep, poignant and gorgeous life journal offering. A dark collection of short stories in between novels.”

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More about Cotton Mather

Iconic Spoon front man, Britt Daniel once said of Cotton Mather’s 1997 underground classic album Kontiki that, “It gave me something to shoot for.”  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 – Cotton Mather’s “Songs From The I Ching” project continues in the Robert Harrison tradition of impeccable song craft that doesn’t ever let up on the hooks.

“Many successful bands are fairly monochromatic, which strikes me as both difficult and uninteresting,” Harrison explains. “My aim has always been to escape. To change the scenery behind the singer.”

A visit to the “Songs From The I Ching” website (ichingsongs.com) reveals a visual take on this idea, with imagery for each song from the project depicting Harrison standing in front of different scenes and locations such as Mt. Fuji, the Jardin des Tuileries, The Kansas City Monarchs, and the Terra Cota Soldiers, among others.
“But the problem always remains,” Harrison jokes, “It’s always just me.” For Cotton Mather’s loyal fans, that doesn’t seem to be much of a problem at all.

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The “Young Life” E.P., the latest release by Cotton Mather, is out today and contains six 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), the three-track “Cotton Mather with Nicole Atkins EP” (released December 30th, 2016), and the 11-song Wild Kingdom album (released April 7th, 2017), along with additional one-off, online-only songs released “in real time and real weather.”

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

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Listen to the “Songs From The I Ching” playlist at Soundcloud here, including commercially released tracks, demos, alt-mixes, and online-only cuts. Tracks are presented in order of corresponding I Ching hexagram number. See below for commercially available “Songs From The I Ching” releases along with a master song list with listening links of every song written, recorded, and released to date.


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Cotton Mather
“Young Life E.P.”
(The Star Apple Kingdom)
Out Now
  

Track Listing:

01. Mighty Girl
02. Death of The Cool
03. Dutch Light
04. Eleanor Plunge
05. Shepherds Purse
06. Postcard Home

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Cotton Mather
Wild Kingdom
(The Star Apple Kingdom)
Out Now
  

 Track Listing:

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

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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
02. Close To The Sun
03. The Middle of Nowhere
04. Candy Lilac
05. Life of The Liar
06. The Land of Flowers
07. Never Be It
08. Queen of Swords
09. Waters Raging
10. Child Bride
11. The End of DeWitt Finley

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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
03. Girl Friday

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“Songs From The I Ching” Master Song List (as of Oct. 13th, 2017)

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

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

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Cotton Mather Links


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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion