Cathedral Ceilings "La La La… Whatever"
Dromedary Records is proud to present you with La La La…Whatever!, the band’s second album, due September 6th, courtesy of Ralphie, Nicky, and Tommy. It’s an album that presents a dozen hot, guitar driven rock numbers in quick succession, with the same intensity as their growing word-of-mouth live shows will attest.
But don’t mistake the band’s simplicity of style for lack of depth. Consider their first single, ‘My CEO,” which is a love song. “But not in the typical romantic partner sense,” says Ralphie. “This is a love song about money, and how it can cloud a person’s identity, trajectory, and moral standing. It’s about how people turn a blind eye to the evil wrongdoings of their bosses or the companies they work for, in order to pay rent, or pay back their student loans. I almost feel bad for these people who tackle the moral dilemma of working for Raytheon, Halliburton, or the Trump org. Almost. The three of us play on this song with a kill or be killed mindset. Rip them off, before they rip us off. The main riff was ripped off from Cheap Trick. Which they ripped off from The Move. Lie. Cheat. Steal. Smile. Repeat.”
Then there’s “Bill Berry,” a name that pays homage to the R.E.M. drummer, but more accurately serves as a tribute to that once-ubiquitous musical distribution system, the mixtape. “This song is kinda a period piece as people don’t make mixtapes anymore. But when I was younger, mixtapes were a massive part of the culture. It was a way to connect with people, and get turned on by a song you may have never heard before. (no internet, yo) This song is kinda a microcosm of a typical mixtape I would make. It’s upbeat with a great walking bass from Tommy. It’s got a couple of nice melodies with a soaring chorus. Bill Berry, being the drummer for REM, were a fixture on a lot of my mixtapes. I still have a milk crate in my basement full of tapes I made or traded in high school.”
And if you love those songs—and we’re sure you will—there are ten more equally fine, fiery rockers to be had. We’ll leave it up to you to choose which one will go on your mixtapes.
Ibibio Sound Machine "The Black Notes EP"
Ibibio Sound Machine on The Black Notes EP:
Moments of joy and feeling grateful for the sun on your face. “Black Notes” and “Honey Bee” are two sides of a coin—soulful dance and an electronic take on highlife for 2024. Captain Planet’s funky Afro house remix take on “Pull the Rope” and Vanguard’s acid-tinged version of “Got to Be Who U Are” round out the selection.
The Black Notes EP follows on the heels of 2024’s acclaimed Pull the Rope and follows that album in revealing even more facets of Ibibio Sound Machine’s perpetual groove.
The Medium "City Life"
The third album from beloved Nashville indie rockers The Medium, City Life is the first they’ve produced on their own. Recorded in their homes with the help of a few friends (Johnny Hopson and George Rezek), this grassroots approach to recording captures them simultaneously at their most relaxed as well as their most airtight. Ironically, City Life presents the quartet sounding their most country yet – sonically embracing some of the musical territory of their hometown (“Ghost in the Garden”) as well as lyrically wrestling with the challenges of its rapid changes (“Sellout City”). Songwriter/singer/guitarist Shane Perry’s whip smart writing always leaves room for the cosmic joke to wink right back, though – his delivery by turns sensitive and deadpan. The band’s penchant for saccharine harmonies, hypnotic riffs, and earnest ballads cohere everything into a uniquely relevant take on a classic 70’s rock sound. Inspired by the yearning refrain at the end of Harry Nillsson’s “I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City,” the record envisions ‘city life’ as a call for a better world – a society driven by care over productivity; by community over profiteering.
Nicole Miglis "Myopia"
From Sargent House Records:
Nicole Miglis, the multi-instrumentalist and voice behind revered indie pop band Hundred Waters, has announced her debut solo album Myopia is set for release August 23rd on Sargent House and shared the song “Autograph,” an unrepentant electronic earworm that surges out of the gate with infectious syncopation amid pleas for presence and authenticity. The song is an apt demonstration of Miglis’s mesmerizing ability to synthesize experimental production, pop melodies and classical form into a musical language completely her own. Throughout Myopia, Miglis crystallizes interwoven states of obsession, love and loss alongside an eclectic array of sounds, both organic and digital, while expounding on the album’s theme of being unable to look past the immediate in favor of the bigger picture. “There’s the myopia of desire, love, obsession—the feeling of only being able to see that one person in everything, everywhere,” she explains. “There’s also personal myopia of not seeing your potential or your power, of not zooming out; limiting beliefs.”