Record Store Day 2012

Officially announcing the return of 

Record Store Day at Von's Records!

We are looking for any local bands who wish to play throughout the day.

Spread the word!

The River Plays Deep

Motopony--Motopony

My favorite "new" artist of the month (from, um, last year...).  Holy hell.  It's Iron & Wine on whiskey. It's stomp-a-licious and quiet and roaring and sleepy all at the same time, and all over the place.  But it works.  This particular track--"Seer"--is all kinds of soul-infused '70s rock, but still manages to fit right into the album's overarching mood without sounding out-of-place. Why the hell wasn't I listening to this last year? This (belatedly) gets a nod on my top 20 list of 2011.

You Already Know This

The Jealous Sound--A Gentle Reminder
    Holy hell. I've waited nine years for this.  I'd heard rumors about this album over the years, but I always brushed them off and slipped Kill Them with Kindness back into my boombox and wistfully thought of a sequel, never quite giving up hope that Blair Shehan would come through for me.  And he did. Oh my god, he finally did.
    A Gentle Reminder sounds a lot like Kill Them with Kindness in certain aspects--two tracks in particular almost seem lifted directly from their debut album--except that Shehan isn't the same upstart cigarettes-and-gin-voiced post-Emo kid he once was.  He still has an uncanny knack for phrasing lyrics that could almost seem ridiculous if he didn't sing them the way he does, with a sidelong glance and a sad smile, bitter humor just beneath the surface.  But he's grown up in these nine years--you can unmistakably hear it in the deeper pitch he cops to and the wistfulness with which he sings--but it works, and I'm ecstatic.  Upstarts take note: this is how you age gracefully.
    Confession time: I've actually gone and dug all the albums I got into around the time I first heard Kill Them with Kindness out and have been waxing slightly nostalgic ever since.

I Want to Live!

Nellie McKay comes to Lafayette, 

courtesy of Friends of Bob

Tickets available at Von's, $20 in advance