“First one to 16 full-length albums wins? Somebody give John Andrew Fredrick and the black watch a prize.” – Buzzbands.la

L.A.-based Fredrick says upcoming Witches! is dance record without drums that sounds like “if Syd Barrett joined New Order.”

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

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the black watch – In The Press

“One of music’s most perfect and unheralded rock outfits.” — MAGNET

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

“Salutes the great DIY pop canon and trophy hallways of heroes.” — Impose

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Buzzbands.la premieres “Georgette, Georgette” from Witches!, the upcoming 16^th (!) album by the black watch, out July 27^th

[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0gGBfuKkX4

[SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/the-black-watch-georgette-georgette

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpr.com/theblackwatch/theblackwatch-georgettegeorgette.mp3

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Two college professors spend an hour chatting about The Jazz Butcher, the pursuit of perfection, and being called the California version of The Cure. Listen to Alex Green of the Stereo Embers podcast with John Andrew Fredrick of the black watch here.

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

the black watch will release Witches!, the follow-up to last year’s The Gospel According To John, and the band’s 16^th album (July 27^th, Atom Records.)

Witches! was recorded acoustically on acoustic guitar and Beatles-esque Epiphone Casino by self-professed frontman-loudmouth-quiet guy-author, John Andrew Fredrick at Rob Campanella’s (The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Tyde, Mystic Braves) Hollywood studio, then seriously sonically embellished by producer/mixer/noisemaker Scott Campbell (Stevie Nicks, Shelby Lynne, Acetone.)

Listen to “Georgette, Georgette,” the first single from Witches!, via Buzzbands.la here.

Of the track, Fredrick explains, “Georgette, Georgette,” was the last song written for the record. I wrote the blasted thing at a backyard party at Rob Campanella’s house. I met a woman called Georgette and when she found out I was a songwriter, she challenged me to write a song with her name in it. I went into Rob’s studio control room and came out and played it for her maybe fifteen minutes later.’

About Witches!, Fredrick coyly notes that he was “deeply engrossed in obsessively listening exclusively (“and I mean I didn’t even put on any Beatles!’) to “The Pink Floyd” (Fredrick always includes the band’s original “The.”) The new collection reflects Fredrick’s goal to make something ‘that sounds like if Syd Barrett had joined New Order.”

Sixteen albums in, Fredrick is candid about his career, saying, “I reckon at this stage you could call me an artist who has been driven a bit mad by incessant creation. I know I cannot stop making things. Witches! is the work of a wee bit mad person. A functioning one -- an over-functioning one! Aren’t we all?”

Witches! by the black watch arrives July 27^th, 2018 via Atom Records. The album’s preceding EP “The Paper Boats” is out now. John Andrew Fredrick is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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the black watch

Witches!

(Atom Records)

July 27^th, 2018

  

Track Listing:

01. Dances For Sad Footsteps Slow

02. When We First Met

03. The Beginning of The End

04. Legerdemain

05. Graymalkin Comes

06. Georgette, Georgette (YOUTUBE | STREAM | MP3)

07. From Hampstead Heath

08. The Weird Sisters

09. Ode To Spring

10. 1966 Or So

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the black watch

“The Paper Boats” EP

(The Eskimo Record Label)

Out Now

  

Track Listing:

01. The Paper Boats (YOUTUBE | STREAM | MP3)

02. Oh You Little Witch! (YOUTUBE | STREAM | MP3)

03. Jingle-Jangle Loop De Loop

04. Your So Dark Sleep/Goodbye (VIDEO)

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the black watch – Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SNAPCHAT : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Scott Danbom of Texas alt-country pioneers Centro-matic (“an artist’s band, a muse to the creative.” – No Depression) announces solo debut, out July 27th.

Recording as Static Diary, songs span genres from ethereal keyboard-vocal arrangements to ambient-instrumental concepts. Hear “UFO’s” at PopMatters.

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Scott Danbom of Static Diary as photographed by Jenny VanDivier.

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“It’s an adventure... Unassumingly infectious.” – Jonathan Frahm of PopMatters on Static Diary

[YOUTUBE]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHwX9brc_zU

[SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/static-diary-ufos

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpr.com/staticdiary/staticdiary-ufos.mp3

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Static Diary – Live

Denton / Dallas! Sat., July 28^th: See Static Diary live! Record release show (w/ Margaret Chavez) at Dan’s Silver Leaf. Info / RSVP here.

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About Static Diary

“I’ve always been fascinated with UFO’s,” says Denton, Texas-based Scott Danbom of the track taken from the former Centro-Matic member’s debut solo album under the name Static Diary. “‘Close Encounters of The Third Kind’ is my favorite film.” Hear “UFO’s” now at PopMatters here. “This song also reminds me of the kind of songwriting that I fell in love with as a kid,” Danbom continues.

Static Diary’s self-titled full-length arrives on July 27^th via Goliad Media Group, and Danbom will play a record release show at Denton venue Dan’s Silver Leaf the following evening alongside label mate Margaret Chavez, the solo moniker of Marcus William Striplin of Pleasant Grove, who also released a solo record on the Goliad Media Group label earlier this year.

In addition to his work with the pioneering alt-country band Centro-matic, Danbom is a veteran performer and accompanist, who has also worked with Centro-matic leader Will Johnson (who appears on Static Diary), as well as Sarah Jaffe, Drive-By Truckers, and many more throughout his long career. As Danbom explains, Goliad’s Chris Welch played an integral role in motivating Danbom to bring his debut solo album into existence.

“Talking to Chris about my work, and the idea of Goliad as an outlet that could capture some of what had been collecting throughout the years, really inspired the latest collection of ideas and songs,” he says. The record is a long time coming for Danbom, who has been composing since he was a child.

“I’ve been writing and arranging pretty much since the first time I sat down at the piano,” he says. “I entered a couple of composition contests in early grade school, and the first synth I owned inspired countless compositions in high school and college.”

Even so, while Danbom has had the good fortune to play with many prolific writers and original voices throughout his professional life, he confesses that this scenario “can stall your confidence when you are trying to find your own voice. It was always in the back of my mind to find a situation where I could focus this creative energy.”

With Static Diary, Danbom succeeds at bringing his haunting keyboard and vocal arrangements, and his experimental ambient and instrumental concepts, together under one roof. He describes these divergent artistic personalities as “a word and a symbol that mean the same thing but just have a blurry, different feel. Nothing too complex and nothing too simple.”

Static Diary, the debut solo album by Scott Danbom, arrives July 27^th, 2018 via Goliad Media Group.  Danbom is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Static Diary

S/T

(Goliad Media Group)

July 27^th, 2018

Track Listing:

01. One Song

02. Phrase From Business

03. Cone

04. fORTRAN

05. UFO’s (YOUTUBE | SOUNDCLOUD | MP3)

06. Snippet

07. Remember

08. Pump

09. Grace

10. Carefully Poisoned

11. N5IWN

12. Open Close Letter

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Static Diary Links

ASSETS : TWITTER : GOLIAD MEDIA GROUP

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SNAPCHAT : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

The March Divide bows “infectiously poppy” first single from upcoming “Anticipation Pops,” San Antonio songwriter’s fourth full-length, out Aug. 24th.

Jared Putnam discusses upcoming Mike Major (At The Drive In, Sparta, Gone Is Gone)-produced album with Glide Magazine. Hear “I Don’t Care” now.

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Jared Putnam of The March Divide as photographed by Josh Huskin.

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The March Divide – In The Press

“Impressively hooky.” — American Songwriter

“Completely clever.” — Performer

“Bittersweet beauty.” —  Impose

“Catchy hooks and memorable lines.” — Innocent Words

“Eloquently simple and concise.” — Atwood

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Glide Magazine calls “I Don’t Care” “infectiously poppy.” Hear the first single from the fourth album by The March Divide here or at the link below!

[STREAM | MP3]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/TheMarchDivide-IDontCare

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You think we’d know Jared Putnam by now. 

Over the course of three albums, five EPs, numerous singles, and a batch of cover songs in a mere half-decade, Putnam’s mostly one-man project The March Divide has delivered a seemingly unending stream of songs that have established the San Antonio-based artist as one of the best rock songwriters working today.

Today, Putnam releases “I Don’t Care”, the first single from Anticipation Pops (Aug. 24^th, Slow Start Records), the upcoming fourth album by The March Divide, produced by Mike Major (At The Drive In, Sparta, Gone Is Gone). Hear the track now and read an interview with Putnam courtesy of Glide Magazine.

Putnam says of the tune, “I think there’s something really special about a two-minute pop song, it’s like a shot of adrenaline. Writing a song like that is like a flash. It’s a slow build of liberation and confidence, expressed in two minutes.”

Anticipation Pops is Putnam’s best work to date, mostly because the ten songs here reveal a greater emotional depth, along with performances, and lyrics, that go beyond anything that Putnam has offered up before. Perhaps his near-manic recording and touring schedule was prologue that has led to the relatable sensitivity that is this album.

“This record feels like a new direction,” Putnam says.

Putnam claims that the work on Anticipation Pops represent a thematic “consistent inconsistency,” different from his more planned past albums. And while he dials that back when he agrees that the album is cohesive, he’s either being modest, or is far enough outside of his comfort zone now not to notice that Anticipation Pops is actually his most thematic record of all.

Writing ten personal songs from a unique perspective, but relatable to everyone, is an artistic goal most songwriters never achieve. Putnam affirms that he made Anticipation Pops by deciding, “this is what I’m doing, take it or leave it.” Apparently he didn’t know that the result would be the work his fans can care for most of all.

Anticipation Pops, the fourth full-length album by The March Divide is out August 24^th, 2018, on the artist’s recently co-founded Slow Start Records label. The album’s first single “I Don’t Care” is available now along with digital, CD and vinyl pre-orders at Bandcamp.

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The March Divide – Live

6/23/2018: San Antonio, TX @ The Point Park & Eats (w/ Brightwire)

6/30/2018: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s Pizza

7/28/2018: San Antonio, TX @ Fralo’s Pizza

8/24/2018: San Antonio, TX @ Ventura (Record Release Show)

8/25/2018: Wichita Falls, TX @ Mustang Bar

9/8/2018: El Paso, TX @ Monarch (Record Release Show)

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The March Divide

Anticipation Pops

(Slow Start Records)

Aug, 24^th, 2018

Track Listing:

01. I Don’t Care (STREAM | MP3)

02. Spinning

03. Overexposure

04. We’ve Got Time

05. Stevie Doesn’t Know

06. I’ve Got Mine

07. Tie One On

08. To All My Friends

09. I Will Run To You

10. Lucky

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The March Divide Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : BANDCAMP : SLOW START RECORDS

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SNAPCHAT : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Dreampop trio Sleepspent, led by 21-year-old Austin North, launches three-week tour at hometown El Paso show this evening.

Chris Common (Minus The Bear, Chelsea Wolfe)-produced debut out now. Hear “Come Smile With Me” single at All Things Go.

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Sleepspent (L-R): Cecilia Otero, Josh Mendoza, Austin North. Photo credit: Jon-Carlo Diaz.

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

Check out the premiere of “Come Smile With Me” by Sleepspent at All Things Go or on your platform of choice at the link below!

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[STREAM | MP3]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/Sleepspent-ComeSmileWithMe

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“Hypnotically bittersweet.” — The Big Takeover

“Deep, focused vocals seem to glide effortlessly through a dense fog as a rhythm of soft strings keeps us on target. This may be the perfect soundtrack to the morning.” — All Things Go

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About Sleepspent

“‘Come Smile With Me’ started out being written while I was in still in San Diego,” says 21-year-old songwriter and guitarist, Austin North of the song (hear it at All Things Go), the latest single from his band Sleepspent’s debut EP, out now via El Paso-based Slow Start Records. Sleepspent launches a tour at hometown venue Neon Rose this evening, June 7^th. See below for full itinerary. “It’s mostly about miscommunication and how people don’t think before they speak, or don’t care about the impact their words have.”

North began performing as a UC San Diego student before eventually returning to his hometown of El Paso to form Sleepspent with friend and co-writer, Aaron Quintanilla. The band, now a trio including Cecilia Otero on bass and Josh Mendoza on drums, released its Chris Common (Minus The Bear, Chelsea Wolfe, Le Butcherettes)-produced debut “It’s Better If You Don’t Speak Or Think” via Slow Start Records on May 4^th.

North’s knack for creating music that is bathed in atmosphere (think Slowdive mixed with a more reverb-y Radiohead, led by a guitarist with an effects pedal fetish) that doesn’t lean away from authentic lyricism and captivating vocal performances (think Jeff Buckley) is proven on “It’s Better If You Don’t Speak Or Think”.

“We’re also definitely inspired by shoegaze and dreampop,” North says, elaborating on Sleepspent’s sound. “That can be heard in the alternate tunings used throughout our music as well as the melodic chord progressions and melodies.”

And though he’s young, North also takes influence from future hall-of-famers like The Cure and The Smiths – two more acts with definitive “sounds” that have never sacrificed art for artifice. North’s formative years studying jazz guitar wraps it all up in a solid technical foundation, too, but ultimately, Sleepspent songs exist to make you feel.

Sleepspent has already been nominated as a ‘Best Band in the City’ by The City Magazine in El Paso, who called the trio “completely captivating, live and through your speakers.” As Sleepspent’s local following has grown, the group has become a go-to local act to support nationally touring artists, in addition to beginning to hit the road itself.

“It’s Better If You Don’t Speak Or Think,” the debut EP by Sleepspent, is out now via Slow Start Records. Austin North is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Sleepspent – Live

6/07/2018: El Paso, TX @ Neon Rose (7PM)

6/09/2018: Wichita Falls, TX @ Gypsy Uncorked

6/10/2018: Amarillo, TX @ The 806

6/11/2018: Norman, OK @ Red Brick Bar

6/12/2018: Albuquerque, NM @ Moonlight Lounge

6/13/2018: Santa Fe, NM @ Second Street Rufina

6/14/2018: Denver, CO @ Lion's Lair

6/15/2018: Grand Junction, CO @ Cruisers Bar

6/17/2018: Las Vegas, NV @ Legends Bar

6/20/2018: San Diego, CA @ The Clutch Bar

6/21/2018: Bisbee, AZ @ The Quarry

6/22/2018: Phoenix, AZ @ Lunchbox

6/30/2018: Albuquerque, NM @ Tractor Nob Hill

7/6/2018: El Paso, TX @ The Lowbrow Palace

7/7/2018:  Marfa, TX @ Lost Horse Tavern

7/9/2018:  Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie's

7/12/2018: Memphis, TN @ Sounds Good Memphis

7/13/2018: Nashville, TN @ Drifters BBQ

7/14/2018: Cincinnati, OH @ The Comet

7/16/2018: Minneapolis, MN @ Char Bar

7/18/2018: Tulsa, OK @ SoundPony

7/19/2018: Wichita, KS @ Kirbys Beer Store

7/20/2018: Norman, OK @ Mom and Dads Place

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Sleepspent

“It’s Better If You Don’t Speak Or Think” EP

(Slow Start Records)

Out Now

Track Listing:

01. Something (LISTEN | MP3)         

02. Roots

03. Come Smile With Me (LISTEN | MP3)

04. Stars

05. Cracking

06. What's The Rush?

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Sleepspent Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : BANDCAMP : SLOW START RECORDS

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : INSTAGRAM : SNAPCHAT : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL