Complex, layered, full of levity: Scope of upcoming new albums from Gloom Balloon, Christopher the Conquered reveal two of 2020’s underground masterpieces.

Arriving Sept. 25^th from communal Grand Phony Music label, both artists share music videos today ahead of multiple additional single, video releases to come.

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Patrick Tape Fleming of Gloom Balloon as photographed by Joelle Blanchard. | Christopher Ford of Christopher the Conquered as photographed by Jacob Boll.

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[VIDEO]: Gloom Balloon | “Credits Roll Up, Tears Run Down…” |  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNotg3zYGMA

[VIDEO]: Christopher the Conquered | “Slowest Girl In The World” |  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlWJ3vioxd4

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Gloom Balloon and Christopher the Conquered to release new albums via Grand Phony Music on Sept. 25^th

Gloom Balloon’s Patrick Tape Fleming lists no less than 32 instruments attributed to himself (including Static Electricity, Box of Bulbs, and of course, Balloons) in the liner notes of the upcoming So Bergman Uses Bach To Get His Point Across, I Feel Like I Have Chosen Rock But At What A Cost, before going on to rattle off another 22 participants in this recording. At a time when we as a people are isolated, and artists are making recordings that reflect isolation, Gloom Balloon’s latest (Grand Phony, Sept. 25^th) sounds communal, and that’s needed. [READ MORE HERE]

“There is something deeply off about everything that’s happening here and I’m 100% sold,” says Brightest Young Things about Christopher the Conquered. “You know Garfield, he’s a cartoon cat, you got a telephone in the shape of his body yeah, but you don’t pick it up! Why don’t you pick it up? Pick it up!,” sings Christopher Ford aka Christopher the Conquered, offering a confirmation of “deeply off,” and revealing the sense of humor that lets his performances go way off into outer space without ever failing to remain grounded in truth. New album I Am Christopher arrives via Grand Phony on Sept. 25^th. [READ MORE HERE]

Patrick Tape Fleming of Gloom Balloon and Christopher Ford of Christopher the Conquered are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Gloom Balloon | In The Press

“Gloom Balloon are full of surprises... Blindsides the listener in such a totally welcome way.” — SPIN

“Vaulted, vigorous indie-pop... into the experimental realm of spacey-jazz and electro-lounge grooves, employing tape loops and mellotrons, synthesizers and drum machines.” — Paste Magazine

“Begs you to listen on repeat.” — Des Moines Register

“Deep soundscapes that play with lo-fi sonics and swelling strings. ” — Speak Into My Good Eye

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Christopher the Conquered | In The Press

“Impressive.” — Consequence of Sound

“Raw, emotional.” — Alternative Press

 “Reminiscent of a young Elton John.” — Yahoo! Music

“His winning charm is subtle.” — Paste Magazine

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Gloom Balloon

So Bergman Uses Bach To Get His Point Across, I Feel Like I Have Chosen Rock But At What A Cost

Sept. 25^th, 2020

(Grand Phony Music)

Track Listing:

01. Tru Love Waits

02. Bergman Bach Rock (Not Burt Bacharach)

03. All Is Phair

04. Long Distance Love (Waterloo Sunrise)

05.. Beer Friend Forever

06. A Second Chance

07. In Our Dreams We Are Beautiful and Free

08. Did Anybody Leave Any Toothpaste Here?

09. Burnt Bridge Over Troubled Waters

10. Nicotine Glaze

11. Les Miserable

12. The Grass Is Always Green

13. Credits Roll Up, Tears Roll Down, Your Love Is Like The Sound Of The Rain Hitting The Ground (STREAM | VIDEO)

14. Advice On How To Write A Song

15. Sweet Women With The Sepia Stare

16. Bat Stick Crazy

17. Libras Don't Like To Be Alone (Except Logan)

18. Long Distance Love (Waterloo Sunset)

19. All My Feelings For You

20. Don't Call It A Comeback

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Christopher the Conquered

I Am Christopher

Sept. 25^th, 2020

(Grand Phony Music)

  

Track Listing:

01. Pick Up Your Telephone

02. Put It On Your Credit Card

03. Try Again

04. This Is Not Love

05. You Can't Rush the Rain

06. Love Is Not Something You Find

07. Slowest Girl In the World (STREAM | VIDEO)

08. Ordinary Person

09. The Old Record Store Down By the Sea

10. Paper Man [BONUS TRACK]

11. Too Many Teardrops (Toby Wright’s Magic Barn Mix) [BONUS TRACK]

12. Try Your Best [BONUS TRACK]

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Gloom Balloon | Links

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Christopher the Conquered | Links

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

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With Speaker Face, violins become groove instruments; Earth-meets-electronics “Crescent” by JUNO-winning instrumental pair from The Fretless, out Oct. 9th.

Freeman, Wright joined by Ruby Randall’s haunting voice, completing transportive sound heard on “Phosphorescence” single, streaming now via Atwood Magazine.

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Speaker Face (L-R): Eric Wright, Ruby Randall, Trent Freeman. Photo credit: Jen Squires.

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[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/SpeakerFace-Phosphorescence

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Hear “Phosphorescence,” the lead single from the upcoming new album Crescent by Speaker Face, at Atwood Magazine or at the links above.

“It’s easy to get lost in the intimate waves of Speaker Face’s lush sound: They cultivate a strong hypnotizing presence that arrests the senses, tickling the ears while reaching out to each of us on a far more visceral level. They describe their sound as “the feeling of a twilight festival stage and a summer swim,” hoping listeners resonate with the richness of their tones and their beat’s natural qualities.” – Mitch Mosk, Atwood Magazine

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Speaker Face

Crescent

Oct. 9^th, 2020

(S/R)

  

Track Listing:

01. Phosphorescence (STREAM)

02. Trevor

03. All My Mind

04. Work Friends

05. Please, allow me to show you something

06. Call Me Out

07. Rest

08. Dusted

09. Sick Mind

10. Crescent

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About | Speaker Face

Toronto, Canada’s Speaker Face is a meeting of earth and electronics from two members of the JUNO award winning band The Fretless. Trent Freeman and Eric Wright are joined by Ruby Randall, whose voice haunts with an honest beauty that can’t be forgotten.

The band’s transportive new album Crescent (Oct. 9^th, 2020) is an immersive experience, layered with keys, beats, and atmospheric production, but also incorporating the propulsive strings that have made Freeman and Wright essential players in the mainstreaming of traditional Irish folk music with The Fretless.

“The violin is a very unique element in this genre of music,” Freeman says. “I approach it primarily as a groove instrument. I love the pulse and foundation it can create.”

Wright is a cellist in The Fretless and he brings the bass in Speaker Face, too.

“My inspirations are mostly derived from a hip-hop sensibility,” he says of the hypnotic beats he contributes to the album. “I’ve been making beats since I was 13-years-old. 2PAC, Dr. Dre, and Wu-Tang Clan were on repeat. For this album, I sampled crate vinyl for kick sounds and merged those with my own samples. The sampled vinyl with the liveliness of the natural samples creates the soundscape.”

Randall gilds the frame with her ethereal voice, which was recorded three different times in unison and “mixed all around your head so it feels like you’re swimming in the ocean of her vocals,” Freeman explains.

“I’m so excited to share these Speaker Face tunes with the world,” Randall adds. “Trent has poured himself into these songs and it has been an honor to be able to bring my voice to them.

Crescent, the latest album by Toronto-based trio Speaker Face arrives on Oct. 9^th, 2020. The lead single “Phosphorescence” is out now. Members of Speaker Face are available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Speaker Face | Links

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

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Reforester brings together three acclaimed Baltimore-based singer-songwriters on harmony-filled debut EP “Perpetuity,” available Aug. 14th.

Think about Bob Dylan’s “The Basement Tapes” if Jerry Garcia had dropped by. Hear debut “Drive By Feel” single now via For Folk’s Sake.

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Reforester (L-R): Steve Hefter, Chris Laun, Austin Stahl. Courtesy of Reforester.

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[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/Reforester-DriveByFeel

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Hear “Drive By Feel,” the debut single from Reforester at For Folk’s Sake or at the links above or below.

“Steven Hefter, Austin Stahl, and Chris Laun are Reforester. The latest brainchild of three artists who share their fair share of accolades apart from their newest band, Reforester features three singer-songwriters and three-part harmonies. It’s subtle indie rock with folk influences that run into unsuspecting moments of sweeping layers of musicality, making for listens that are as accessible and lovely as they are impressively composed.” – Jonathan Frahm, For Folk’s Sake

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[LYRIC VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSqbSXd5A1s

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Reforester

“Perpetuity” EP

Aug. 14^th, 2020

(S/R)

  

Track Listing:

01. Deaf Stethoscope

02. Drive by Feel (STREAM | LYRIC VIDEO)

03. Flying South

04. Break with the Day

05. End of the Day

06. No Mouth

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About | Reforester

Steven Hefter’s 2011 album, released under the clever moniker of St. Even, was called a masterpiece twice, once by the Baltimore City Paper (“a masterpiece of dark pop songwriting”) and again by Portland, Oregon’s Willamette Week (“Spirit Animal is a masterpiece.”)

So, that’s it. That’s the bio. You should listen to Hefter’s latest songs with his latest band Reforester because he’s that good.

Need more convincing? Okay, let’s get into that.

Hefter left Portland in 2017 and returned to Baltimore and his good friend and collaborator, Austin Stahl, who he has previously played with as the rhythm section of long-running Baltimore-based band Small Sur – a band that has released three albums to date and shared stages with Angel Olsen, Damien Jurado, Vetiver, Strand of Oaks, Phosphorescent, and others.

With Reforester, Hefter and Stahl (who is also the recipient of some not-faint praise, being named “Baltimore’s Best Singer-Songwriter” by the Baltimore City Paper) have rounded out the trio with Hefter’s former Challenge Club bandmate Chris Laun, who may have been mistakenly overlooked by the local press, but did have his tribute song to the Baltimore Orioles played at Camden Yards on opening day, which frankly, may be the win out of these three.

In summation, Reforester is a whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts scenario, because masterful songwriters flock together.

Three writers, three singers, three-part harmonies. That’s what you’ll hear on “Perpetuity,” the debut EP from Reforester, out Aug. 14^th, preceded by the singles “Drive By Feel,” out now, and “Deaf Stethoscope” on Aug. 7^th.

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Reforester | Links

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

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Guitar duel from the depths! The Pinx burn it all down on scorching “It’s Electric,” single from Atlanta band’s upcoming “Electric!” EP, out Aug. 14th.

Following up 2019’s “Sisters & Brothers” album, new release exchanges brown leather for black. RIYL: Fantastic Negrito, Goodbye June, Joyous Wolf.

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The Pinx (L-R): Adam McIntyre, Chance McColl, Cayce Buttrey, Charles Wiles. Photo credit: @_rexway.

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“I was just straight-up shooting for The Hellacopters and Led Zeppelin. I’m a blues guitarist in a rock band,” says Adam McIntyre of Atlanta-based band, The Pinx.

McIntyre’s declaration amounts to an intriguing version of the trademark dueling guitar sound of The Pinx, as last heard on its third album Sisters & Brothers, in 2019. This time the duels draw blood on “It’s Electric,” the first single from the band’s upcoming “Electric!” EP, out Aug. 14^th. Hear it now at Spill Magazine or at the link below.

“We deliberately created the most lean, energetic rock guitar fest that Chance (McColl, Lead Guitar and Vocals) and I could muster,” McIntyre says. “Chuck (Wiles, Bass and Backing Vocals) and Cayce (Buttrey, Drums and Backing Vocals) brought the thunder to our lightning and I feel like my singing on this EP puts my best rock foot forward. My solos are some of the favorites I’ve ever recorded, too.”

[STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/ThePinx-ItsElectric

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The Pinx | In The Press

“Authentic tribute to classic American rock & roll.” — PASTE

“Perfect soundtrack for a dangerously reckless summer.” — Classic Rock Magazine

“Would make Alex Chilton proud.” — FLOOD

“Affecting and exhilarating.” — Creative Loafing

“Elegance and chaos.” — Glide Magazine

“Shakes the surrounding geography.” — The Southern Sounding

“The players can rip, and rip righteously.” — Minneapolis City Pages

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The Pinx

“Electric!” EP

Aug. 14^th, 2020

(S/R)

Track Listing:

01. Victimless Crime

02. Bad Behavior

03. Hammer of The Dogs

04. It’s Electric  (STREAM)

05. See You Later

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About | The Pinx

“I’m reluctant to ever pick up a slide again,” says Adam McIntyre of The Pinx about his artistic reaction to the band’s previous release, 2019’s Sisters & Brothers. This time out, the trademark guitar duels of McIntyre and bandmate Chance McColl draw blood. But, instead of reading about it, just listen to “Electric!,” scheduled for release on Aug. 14th.

It’s right there where the sex meets the road. An EP in length only, this thing will wear you out in five quick numbers.

“We deliberately created the most lean, energetic rock guitar fest that Chance (McColl, Lead Guitar and Vocals) and I could muster,” McIntyre says. “Chuck (Wiles, Bass and Backing Vocals) and Cayce (Buttrey, Drums and Backing Vocals) brought the thunder to our lightning and I feel like my singing on this EP puts my best rock foot forward. My solos are some of the favorites I’ve ever recorded, too.”

Comparing the cover art of the single ‘It’s Electric’ to the band’s previous LP, McIntyre offers a perfect analogy: “‘It’s Electric’ is the black leather jacket to the brown leather jacket of Sisters & Brothers.”

Hey, it’s all cow, and McIntyre isn’t disavowing his last record, he might just feel a bit over having his sound pigeonholed. It’s only natural, considering the varied sonic paths he has traveled this year since the onset of the pandemic.

In just the first half of 2020, McIntyre has written and recorded three albums of solo material with varying styles and concepts. He’s a blues guitarist when he’s not in a rock band, too, as the first of these records The Devil Got My Soul! shows. The third, as-yet-unreleased album “will largely be about becoming nobody,” McIntyre recently told hometown paper Creative Loafing, and is “based on Ram Dass’s talks on ego vs. identity vs. the soul.”

Even with all of this seemingly unending solo music-making going on, McIntyre is also in the midst of writing the fourth full-length Pinx album, which will likely be on the horizon soon if the process for “Electric!” is any indication.

“I just sat down and wrote this record with Chance when it came time,” he says. “All the music and lyrics were there within a few weeks. Nobody really told anybody else what to play, everyone knew what to do.”

The EP’s release on Aug. 14th will be preceded by “It’s Electric” on July 17th and a burn-your-fingers-to-the-bone scorcher “Hammer of the Dogs” on July 31st, the obvious Zep reference being something McIntyre is fine with copping to.

“I figured if Greta Van Fleet can so transparently graft Led Zeppelin onto their songs, I should be able to get away with it.”

Just don’t ask this dude to pick up a slide in the near future.

“Electric!” the latest EP by Atlanta-based rock band The Pinx arrives on Aug. 14th, preceded by “It’s Electric,” out now and “Hammer of the Dogs” on July 31st. Adam McIntyre of The Pinx is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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The Pinx | Links

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

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Inara George chats with PopMatters, which calls artist’s “The Youth of Angst,” a “brand of songwriting that elevated Cole Porter to a pillar of the form.”

Stream The Bird and The Bee vocalist’s new bundle – “Sex In Cars,” “1973,” plus KCRW “Today's Top Tune” sibling tribute “Brother” – at FLOOD Magazine.

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Pictured: Inara George Photo credit: Self Portrait.

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“Inara George is unafraid to explore life’s more difficult and tender moments,” says PopMatters in its recent interview. “Discussion of her latest music, ‘The Youth of Angst,’ leads to stories of working with Van Dyke Parks and getting David Lee Roth’s musical approval. It’s exemplary of George’s musical diversity and unique brand of songwriting. Though the music is decidedly contemporary, one can find various strands of the American songwriting tradition throughout, whether blues, radio pop or the brand of songwriting that elevated Cole Porter to a pillar of the form.”

FLOOD Magazine’s premiere coverage of “The Youth of Angst” states, “With ‘Brother’ already out in the world, she’s previewing that track’s two complementary numbers: the preceding ‘1973’ and succeeding ‘Sex in Cars.’ They match the sweet poppiness of their predecessor, and nicely complementing the work George has accomplished thus far as a solo artist and among the many other projects she’s been involved with.”

“Brother” also had the distinction of being named “Today’s Top Tune” by internationally recognized Los Angeles based community radio station KCRW, which says, “The Bird and The Bee’s Inara George and producer Wendy Wang have sporadically snuck away during the last few years to work on a handful of songs. ‘Brother’ speaks to their familial bond and is the first song we hear from their collaboration.”

 [STREAM]: https://fanatic.lnk.to/InaraGeorge-TheYouthOfAngst

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Inara George

“The Youth of Angst”

Out Now
(Release Me Records)

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL BUNDLE

Track Listing:

01. 1973

02. Brother

03. Sex In Cars

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About | Inara George

Inara George has been getting together with producer Wendy Wang for a couple of hours, here and there, off and on over the past few years, working on a handful of songs that has now been released as the three-song bundle “The Youth of Angst” via Release Me Records.

“Wendy started playing with The Bird and The Bee when we released our second album,” George says. “I remember being impressed with her right away. That was about 12 years ago, and since then she’s become an in-demand producer and songwriter, as well as a dear friend and collaborator. I’m equally proud of her and in awe of her.”

George continues, “There was no rush on my side, and Wendy’s been super busy with her own career, so it took a few years to finish by getting together for a few hours every so often. Maybe I had it in mind to make a full album? Or maybe a traditional EP?”

As it turns out, George got the word “bundle” stuck in her head after a conversation with a friend.

“Maybe I just thought she said ‘bundle?’”

No matter, it stuck, and in fact “The Youth of Angst” feels like a bundle. Fresh, even considering its long development, and innocent, even with a song called “Sex In Cars”.

“I wrote ‘Sex In Cars’ after the artist Terry Allen asked if I’d be a part of an art installation he was creating for The Contemporary Austin. When he asked me to write the song, I immediately thought of a photograph by RJ Shaughnessy that I had bought as a gift for my husband.” The cover of “The Youth of Angst” features that Shaughnessy shot and the song itself is as bare as the subject matter.

“Wendy and I recorded several different versions of this song,” George explains. “But there was something about more production that seemed to make it slip away from its initial intention.” The version that made it to the final recording is actually the original voice memo that George sent to Allen. “I still haven’t had a chance to see that installation, I hope I can someday... soon,” George says.

Innocence isn’t just for “Sex In Cars” here. Youth… memories of... loss of… is at the core of this group of songs that, although just a bundle, plays with a moving, dramatic arc.

“‘1973’ is a song I wrote for a friend,” George explains. “She lost a child almost ten years ago and to mark his birthday every year, I write a song. The songs end up being about him, but also but her and ‘1973’ is really a love song about our friendship. As for “Brother,” it’s pretty simple: “I wrote this song for my brother, haha. No one will ever know you better than your brother can.”

“The Youth of Angst” is the first in a planned series of collaborative releases “with a little theme and not the huge pressure of a full album,” George says about how she plans to make this long experiment into something more frequent. For this release “I wanted to write from the perspective of my younger self, but also with the idea that I could never actually have that perspective again. I suppose this bundle is nostalgic for a time and feeling that isn’t really possible to recreate, or only possible to recreate in my imagination.”

Understanding what once was and what will be is especially important now, in the new reality of 2020.

“I think we are all kind of grappling with this reality right now. We can only move forward from here. Life won’t be the same for a while, or maybe ever. But it’s nice to dream about the past while reimagining the future, and I like the idea of doing these little collaborations, especially in these times of isolation.”

Inara George’s three-song bundle “The Youth of Angst” is out now via Release Me Records. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Inara George | Links

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

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