Sloan Simpson (Sloan Brothers) teams with Robert Schneider (Elephant 6 / The Apples In Stereo) for new four-song split EP, out now.

Project is debut of duo’s Obligatory Refractions; First pressing clear vinyl sold-out, red vinyl now available via Chunklet Industries.

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Sloan Simpson as photographed by Sean Dunn

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

Obligatory Refractions | “Stranger In My Head”

[STREAM]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S0yOUhAs6o
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“‘Stranger In My Head’ is the first song finished by my new songwriting collaboration with Robert Schneider,” explains Sloan Simpson of Sloan Brothers. The song is one of four on a newly-released split EP via Chunklet Industries that combines two new Sloan Brothers tunes with two songs by Obligatory Refractions, Simpson’s new project with Schneider, who is best known as the leader of The Apples In Stereo and co-founder of the Elephant 6 Recording Co.
An initial clear vinyl pressing of the EP is now sold out and a limited red vinyl pressing has just been made available. The songs are also available on all streaming services.
Simpson continues, “Robert had a chord progression and a few words. We texted those back and forth until we’d written the lyrics, and I fleshed out the rest of the arrangement. Robert wanted me to sing lead on this song, but we plan to rotate that duty going forward. That’s Robert singing the harmony on this one.”
Sloan Simpson is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
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Sloan Brothers / Obligatory RefractionsSplit EP(Chunklet Industries)Out Now
Streaming Link:STREAM FULL EP

Track Listing:

01. Girl From The Internet (Sloan Brothers)

02. 48M (Sloan Brothers) (VIDEO)

03. Robert’s Psychotropic Teatime (Obligatory Refractions)

04. Stranger In My Head (Obligatory Refractions) (VIDEO)

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Also Now Available | Sloan Brothers | System Update

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Sloan Brothers | In The Press

“Spirit of adventure is evident... and is one of its finest qualities.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Simpson’s compositional ear is crafted by his expansive tastes.” — Flagpole Magazine

“Begs to be played on repeat.” — Glide Magazine

“Infectiously fuzzy pop.” — Treble

“A musical force of nature.” — Athens Music Junkie

“Beautiful... Pleasant, sunny and energetic!” — Indie For Bunnies

“Challenging psychedelic music.” — Last Day Deaf

“Hits perfectly.” — Closed Captioned

“Simpson may not covet the spotlight, but he sure knows how to share it.” — Immersive Atlanta

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Sloan Brothers

System Update

(Science Project Records)

Out Now

 

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP

 

Track Listing:

 

01. System Update (REMIX)

02. Cleopatra Echo (STREAM)

03. Cryin’ Shame

04. Anxiety (STREAM)

05. Songs Like This (STREAM)

06. Love You So Good (STREAM | VIDEO)

07. So Good (Reprise)

08. Amplified

09. Coffee Black

10. Into My Mind

11. Mirrorball

12. Smile Down On Me

 

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Sloan Brothers | About

  

Sloan Simpson has been recording for over two decades. Until now, none of the music has been his own.

 

This changed with the release of his debut album System Update (out now via Science Project Records) under the name Sloan Brothers.

 

Though Sloan Simpson says that while making his debut album he was “listening to mainly The Cure,” the album’s opening one-two punch of the title track and the instrumental “Cleopatra Echo” feels like Daft Punk invited Herbie Hancock to form a trio jamming with The Grateful Dead during that band’s most spirited era of ever-evolving journeyman collaboration.

 

Wow, how did Simpson get here?!

 

The Athens, Georgia-based musician played rock and jazz guitar growing up, but was frustrated by the hit his talents took when a serious car accident sidelined him. Simpson sold all of his guitars and quit the instrument.

 

With music still in his blood, if not in his grasp, Simpson began to document, through live taping, the local scene in his new hometown of Atlanta, eventually relocating to nearby Athens after years spent driving between the two as part of his recording endeavors. His new hobby had become a good habit.

 

“I had a permanent recording setup installed and the reality of losing my favorite venue really set in when I had to go remove it,” Simpson says of The Caledonia Lounge, a nationally-recognized Athens club that closed in October of 2020, sidelining him again.

 

Like the life-changing event that inspired his recording career of recording others, the closing of the Caledonia was eerily fortuitous for Simpson. While live music was in shutdown, he wrote and recorded his first song.

 

“It was the first vocals I’d ever sung into a microphone,” Simpson says. With his friend, guitarist Kevin Sweeney contributing solos, the first Sloan Brothers single “For You” was released later that month.

 

Pleased with the experience, Simpson picked up a bass, more microphones, and drum software. Though he returned to guitar, he says that even without formal training, “playing keyboards is what allowed me to start writing songs.”

 

He also started calling up more friends.

 

Simpson explains, “I asked my friend Robert Schneider (co-founder of The Apples In Stereo and Elephant Six Recording Co.) if he would record backing vocals on the song “Into My Mind,” and he agreed. As I kept writing more songs, I would ask more friends I knew from recording shows over the years to contribute guest parts.”

 

In addition to Sweeney and Schneider, some three-dozen or more local luminaries also appear on System Update, including current and former members of Maserati, Olivia Tremor Control, Japancakes, of Montreal, Drive-By Truckers, Cracker, Casper & The Cookies, Camper Van Beethoven, Elf Power, and more.

 

In fact, it was Elf Power’s Andrew Rieger that inspired Simpson’s songwriting on the album’s first single, “Songs Like This.”

 

“I asked Andrew if he would sing on something if I wrote one he liked,” Simpson jokes. “Andrew sings the high part in the choruses and it was perfect for Kevin Lane of local pop legends The Possibilities to sing in the verses with me. I’ve been friends with Bryan J. Howard of Cracker for nearly 20 years now, and he jumped in on bass.”

 

The tune has one the most relatable indie rock crush-couplets you’ll ever hear and is a defining example of the quality of Simpson’s songwriting future.

 

“I saw you buying records and I saw you at the coffee shop

 

I didn’t hear your order but I bought the same record you got”

 

These words provide a mere glimpse into Simpson’s ability to explore emotion with the kind of candor that only comes from experience brought by age.

 

“I had long been avoiding expressing feelings as some sort of misguided version of the ‘cool’ that rock ‘n roll had taught me growing up,” he admits. “Once I lost family, I realized that it’s okay to express pain, trauma, and desires.”

 

After half a lifetime taking home tapes of the personal struggles of others in song, it’s about time that Simpson is giving us the same opportunity with his unexpected, thrilling work.

 

System Update, the debut album by Sloan Brothers is out now.

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Sloan Brothers | Links

 

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE

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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

 

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

An all-vocal, feminist mini-opus, Jenny Parrott’s “Pregnancy Choir” is “joyful, somber, chaotic, and dissonant all at once,” says Austin Chronicle.

“An internal chorus grapples with the realities of pregnancy, from the thrill of life to the policing of women’s bodies” on artist’s latest release.

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Jenny Parrott self-portrait with baby Juno

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Jenny Parrott | In The Press

In its soaring review of the new all-vocal, feminist mini-opus by Austin-based artist, Jenny Parrott, the Austin Chronicle writer, Alejandra Ramirez states:

“‘Pregnancy Choir’ digs in – clawing back layers to reveal a beautiful glimpse into motherhood. Joyful, somber, chaotic, and dissonant all at once. An internal chorus grapples with the realities of pregnancy, from the thrill of life to the policing of women’s bodies.”

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Jenny Parrott
“Pregnancy Choir”
(Rachel Rachel Records)
Out Now

 Streaming Link:

STREAM ALBUM

Track Listing:
 
01. Tree Funeral
02. In 6 Rows (STREAM)
03. Runnin’ To You (STREAM)
04. Origin (YOUTUBE)
05. Rain
06. Sharp Sound
07. Make Me Love

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Fellow Feminist Artists on “Pregnancy Choir”

“Illustrates voices in our heads and voices all around us.” — Rachael Price (of Lake Street Dive)

“A beautiful, literate window into a parent’s soul.” — Brennen Leigh (Singer-Songwriter)

“Strange and beautiful echoing vocals that wrap around your heart.” — Raina Rose (Songwriter)

“Radical! High concept and beautifully feminist.” — Mary Ellen Iatropolous (Literary Scholar)

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

Jenny Parrott | “Origin”

 

[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAOq6Ag3X8s
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“With ‘Origin,’ I’m thinking of where I came from, who I want to be, and how to end cycles of abuse, so Juno and I can be free,” Jenny Parrott says about the “Origin” segment of her eight-minute, all-vocal, feminist mini-opus “Pregnancy Choir,” out now. “It’s a dark topic, but the music is light and airy and gentle.”
“Pregnancy Choir” was recorded using only Parrott’s voice during pregnancy with baby Juno.
Documentarian and mixed media artist, Jillian Godshall has created an animation for “Origin,” explaining the piece by saying, “I relate to Jenny’s expression of the many voices we hear throughout pregnancy and parenthood. As a recent mother myself, I found it overwhelming to have so many people share their opinions about my body and my baby.
“I created the animation for ‘Origin’ as a reminder to return to the voice within. Incorporating images inspired by medieval and renaissance art, ‘Origin’ is an invitation across time to tap into the divine feminine.”
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Jenny Parrott | About

 
Austin-based artist, songwriter, and new parent, Jenny Parrott has released “Pregnancy Choir,” an eight-minute musical poem presented over seven tracks.
 
Centered mainly around her layered vocals (recorded while pregnant with baby Juno), Parrott says, “‘Pregnancy Choir’ explores what it’s like to be in a pregnant body and to hear many voices: Ancestors, doctors, lovers, friends and relations all talking to and at you. “Literally ‘Joe Everyone’ tries to give advice,” she jokes.
 
The voice we hear the most through Parrott on “Pregnancy Choir” is the one she describes last: “Your own brain’s ‘Lil Greek Chorus.’”
 
The piece is a surprising change from the twang of Parrott’s 2021 album The Fire I Saw, but no less deeply felt. It’s her ability to effectively channel emotion that has brought attention to Parrott’s work over the years, regardless of style.
 
This time, “Pregnancy Choir” piece came out of necessity.
 
“I tried to record using my usual gear and instruments,” Parrott remembers. “I just gave up one night and was like, ‘Let’s see what I can do with just vocals. No bending, no lifting! Also, I’ve been obsessed with Bernice Johnson Reagon, Grouper, and Björk for a while.”
 
While “Pregnancy Choir” is deep in concept, it’s also a joy. The circumstances surrounding its creation, and the cover art featuring the duo of Jenny and Juno, may subtly remind of the Talking Heads baby-based hit, “Stay Up Late.”
 
Still, Parrott reminds of the reality that sometimes the “Lil Greek Chorus” is “at odds with itself, experiencing the thrill of life, fear of death, excitement, and foreboding all at once. It rejects the ‘Earth Mama’ ‘Pinterest-y’ branding of pregnancy in favor of an honest dive in the conscious, sub-conscious, and general cacophony they create in a mind.”
 
Parrott is also acutely aware of what experiencing pregnancy and becoming a new parent means at this moment in our society.
 
“Being able to create and sustain life is a magical thing,” she confides, “But the magic is dimmed by living in a culture that seeks to control bodies. It can feel like a pregnant person’s body is a public commodity. Some of the dissonance in the album is meant to reflect that.”
 
When it’s done, Parrott hopes to leave a listener without “the barrage of opinions and messaging you receive living in a pregnant body in Texas in 2022,” and more with the ability of the “Lil Greek Chorus” to support, transform, and uplift.
 
“Pregnancy Choir” by Jenny Parrott is out now via Rachel Rachel Records.
 
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Jenny Parrott | Links
 
ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE
 
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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact
 
WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : BLOG : E-MAIL

Hear “coolest Telecaster in town,” gifted by Lou Reed to Moe Tucker's son Richard Mikulka, on Sloan Brothers new holiday tune, out today.

“Ain’t Goin’ Home This Christmastime” is “imaginary B-side” to Springsteen’s “Santa” that shakes up “setting sad lyrics to sad music” trope.

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Sloan Simpson as photographed by Jason Thrasher 

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PLAY, POST & SHARE

Sloan Brothers | “Ain’t Goin’ Home This Christmastime”

 

[STREAM]: https://Fanatic.lnk.to/SloanBrothers-AintGoinHomeThisChristmastime
“Envisioned as an imaginary B-side to Bruce Springsteen’s cover of ‘Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town,’ the song is an upbeat rocker that carries a bittersweet sadness,” says Flagpole in its premiere coverage of “Ain’t Goin’ Home This Christmastime” by Sloan Brothers. Click here to listen or follow the link above.
“It’s about reaching an age where you no longer go home for Christmas because there’s nobody left to visit,” says Sloan Simpson, the sole constant member of Sloan Brothers, about the song. A lot of Bruce Springsteen’s music deals with family and I have many associations with my own family and his music.
“I have become interested in expressing pain in my lyrics but setting them to an unexpected arrangement: a rocker like this song, a dance track, or even just adding vocal harmony to a self-deprecating line. There are plenty of artists setting sad lyrics to sad music. I want to shake that up where I can.”
One of the friends joining Simpson on “Ain’t Goin’ Home This Christmastime” is guitarist Richard Mikulka, the son of Velvet Underground drummer, Moe Tucker.
“I’ve wanted Richard to play on something and was waiting for a song to come along that was a fit,” Simpson says. “When I realized this song was an E Street Band tribute, I knew I needed a Telecaster in the mix and Richard has the coolest Telecaster in town, gifted to him by Lou Reed in the mid-90s.”
In addition to “Ain’t Goin’ Home This Christmastime,” the full-length debut album System Update by Sloan Brothers is out now. See below for more information.
Sloan Simpson is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
+++

 

Sloan Brothers

System Update

(Science Project Records)

Out Now

 

Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP

 

Track Listing:

 

01. System Update (REMIX)

02. Cleopatra Echo (STREAM)

03. Cryin’ Shame

04. Anxiety (STREAM)

05. Songs Like This (STREAM)

06. Love You So Good (STREAM | VIDEO)

07. So Good (Reprise)

08. Amplified

09. Coffee Black

10. Into My Mind

11. Mirrorball

12. Smile Down On Me

 

+++

Sloan Brothers | About

 

 

Sloan Simpson has been recording for over two decades. Until now, none of the music has been his own.

 

This changed with the release of his debut album System Update (out now via Science Project Records) under the name Sloan Brothers.

 

Though Sloan Simpson says that while making his debut album he was “listening to mainly The Cure,” the album’s opening one-two punch of the title track and the instrumental “Cleopatra Echo” feels like Daft Punk invited Herbie Hancock to form a trio jamming with The Grateful Dead during that band’s most spirited era of ever-evolving journeyman collaboration.

 

Wow, how did Simpson get here?!

 

The Athens, Georgia-based musician played rock and jazz guitar growing up, but was frustrated by the hit his talents took when a serious car accident sidelined him. Simpson sold all of his guitars and quit the instrument.

 

With music still in his blood, if not in his grasp, Simpson began to document, through live taping, the local scene in his new hometown of Atlanta, eventually relocating to nearby Athens after years spent driving between the two as part of his recording endeavors. His new hobby had become a good habit.

 

“I had a permanent recording setup installed and the reality of losing my favorite venue really set in when I had to go remove it,” Simpson says of The Caledonia Lounge, a nationally-recognized Athens club that closed in October of 2020, sidelining him again.

 

Like the life-changing event that inspired his recording career of recording others, the closing of the Caledonia was eerily fortuitous for Simpson. While live music was in shutdown, he wrote and recorded his first song.

 

“It was the first vocals I’d ever sung into a microphone,” Simpson says. With his friend, guitarist Kevin Sweeney contributing solos, the first Sloan Brothers single “For You” was released later that month.

 

Pleased with the experience, Simpson picked up a bass, more microphones, and drum software. Though he returned to guitar, he says that even without formal training, “playing keyboards is what allowed me to start writing songs.”

 

He also started calling up more friends.

 

Simpson explains, “I asked my friend Robert Schneider (co-founder of The Apples In Stereo and Elephant Six Recording Co.) if he would record backing vocals on the song “Into My Mind,” and he agreed. As I kept writing more songs, I would ask more friends I knew from recording shows over the years to contribute guest parts.”

 

In addition to Sweeney and Schneider, some three-dozen or more local luminaries also appear on System Update, including current and former members of Maserati, Olivia Tremor Control, Japancakes, of Montreal, Drive-By Truckers, Cracker, Casper & The Cookies, Camper Van Beethoven, Elf Power, and more.

 

In fact, it was Elf Power’s Andrew Rieger that inspired Simpson’s songwriting on the album’s first single, “Songs Like This.”

 

“I asked Andrew if he would sing on something if I wrote one he liked,” Simpson jokes. “Andrew sings the high part in the choruses and it was perfect for Kevin Lane of local pop legends The Possibilities to sing in the verses with me. I’ve been friends with Bryan J. Howard of Cracker for nearly 20 years now, and he jumped in on bass.”

 

The tune has one the most relatable indie rock crush-couplets you’ll ever hear and is a defining example of the quality of Simpson’s songwriting future.

 

“I saw you buying records and I saw you at the coffee shop

 

I didn’t hear your order but I bought the same record you got”

 

These words provide a mere glimpse into Simpson’s ability to explore emotion with the kind of candor that only comes from experience brought by age.

 

“I had long been avoiding expressing feelings as some sort of misguided version of the ‘cool’ that rock ‘n roll had taught me growing up,” he admits. “Once I lost family, I realized that it’s okay to express pain, trauma, and desires.”

 

After half a lifetime taking home tapes of the personal struggles of others in song, it’s about time that Simpson is giving us the same opportunity with his unexpected, thrilling work.

 

System Update, the debut album by Sloan Brothers is out now.

+++

 

Sloan Brothers | Links

 

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : BANDCAMP : SPOTIFY : APPLE

+++

 

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

 

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