Radio, Play My Favorite Song

Here at the Rev, we don’t believe all the hype about people not listening to the radio. We’re sure you do. Or, at least, if it’s available on the Internet you probably do.

Well you’re in luck! Two great Albany radio stations are playing two great TRR artists! And, for your convenience, you can access them from right where you’re sitting.

Tom McWatters’s excellent rock and roll outfit The Sense Offenders are being featured on WRVE.com, web home of the River 99.5. Three of the songs on the site are from Tom’s solo release, atomicwaters, available through the Rev.

As you all heard, Laura Boggs in the studio working on her new album, Murder Ballads and Lies. She took a break to record a live session and interview at WEXT, and you can hear it tonight (Thursday, July 15) at 9 pm and again this Sunday at 11 am. You’ll get hear three new songs that will appear on the album this fall!

New Laura Boggs album this fall!

Huge news for the Rev: Laura Boggs, one of the founding members of our group and creator of our very first release, has announced that she is going into the studio this summer to record a brand new album! Murder Ballads and Lies will be recorded by fellow the Rev artist Jon Krakat, mastermind behind the enigmatic Xylophones, and all signs point to a fall release.

We’re still somewhat reeling from the news here at the Rev offices. First thing yesterday morning I received an email from Laura, who had previously declared that her quickly impending nuptiuals (Oh god I still haven’t RSVPed. I wonder if I missed the deadline?) would prevent her from making an album this summer. Well, she apparently changed her mind. Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity. Before I even knew what hit me, she’s recruiting people to be on the record, sending out a request for album art, and having me look up the licensing rights for a cover that I certainly wouldn’t want to ruin but am willing to tell you will knock your damn socks off.

The thing about Laura is that she has initiative. When I first asked to put out her album in the summer of 2006, she was by far not the first I had recruited into the Rev collective. But she was the first to actually call the next morning and say “Alright, album. Let’s do this.” She essentially birthed the Rev; I was forced to launch with my ducks arguably in the same room but surely not in a row due to the simple fact that a record was done and we needed to put it out.

Laura is attacking this new record with that same ferocity, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all  if we were ready to announce a release date in the next few weeks. Watch this space.

A Trio of Albany Albums

The 518 invaded Brooklyn in a big way on Saturday night, when The Rev’s spiritual siblings Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned closed up their month-long residency at Pete’s Candy Store with special guests Scientific Maps and Matthew Loiacono. The show was precisely what those familiar with the acts would expect: lively, joyful, and packed to the gills. I was left with no choice but to listen incessantly to the most recent record by each artist for the past two days, and I would encourage you strongly to do the same. In order of Saturday’s performances:

Scientific Maps – Hold On Whoever You Are
Written and recorded by songwriter/mastermind Aaron Smith in February 2009 for the RPM Challenge, Hold On is, like all things Scientific Maps, a wonderful pop music achievement. The album loosely tells the story of a man who is captured (By pirates? It’s hard to say.) and transported by ship before cunningly escaping. Equal parts surf-rock and acoustic indie-pop, with beautifully layered harmonies, dancy grooves, and the occasional atmospheric sound effects (no Maps record would be complete without them), Hold On is just as good as Get Off The Moon, and the fact that that’s true even though it was made in one month is a testament to Smith’s seemingly effortless songwriting talent.
Standout tracks: “Wherein We Are Introduced to the Author…,” “With Renewed Vigor…”
(FREE Download)

Matthew Loiacono – Penny Riddle
The Penny Riddle EP continues on the road paved by last year’s Kentucky, which was a dramatic departure from Loiacono’s previous work. This record, like the last one, is the result of a recording challenge Loiacono gave himself; while the many and varied sounds on Kentucky were all made by the mandolin, here the object was to make a collection of exactly-one-minute-long songs. While some leaked over slightly (the EP clocks in at 8:08), Loiacono has succeeded in creating some very affecting and exciting tunes, despite or perhaps thanks to their succinctness. His continued explorations into sound manipulation and sampling are yielding some really beautiful results, and on top of it, you can use this record as a unit of measure. (Ex: writing this blurb took exactly two Penny Riddles.)
Standout tracks: Penny Riddle is decidedly best listened to straight through, and repeatedly. It’s 8 minutes long, guys. You can do it.
(But it – Limited run, move fast!)

Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned – Charles Mingus’ Garbage Pile
Those that have followed Sgt. Dunbar since their beginnings will be awed by their rapid and amazing progress. The differences between this new EP and their previous recording, 2007′s The Thing About Time, are tangible and thorough. Their trademark sound, sort of a skyward-pointing frantic cacophony, has expanded from its freak-folk roots to include New Orleans jazz, stomping rhythms, and gang sing-alongs. The result is more well-formed than ever, the arrangements lush and tight, the execution focused and exuberant. These kids have always lived up to their hype, and the fact that they’re only getting better is at once inevitable and sort of unbelievable.
Standout tracks: “A March Through Charles Mingus’ Garbage Pile,”  “Goin’ Nowhere”
(Buy it!)