News

While we all long to feel the warmth and sunshine imminently approaching, nothing can mask the realism that Neil Hamburger brings to his "classic" "comedy" routines or to the songs to which he has become increasingly devoted to singing in recenty years. Dark times call for dark records, and that's why like it or not, this summer is when we'll be releasing First of Dismay - what were we supposed to do, wait until Christmas to bum everyone out with this? For the Hamburger fans... (read more)

Dead Rider ripped up the roadways between Chicago and the East Coast just after the release of their blistered and festering new album, Chills On Glass, proving that you really can visit Dayton, Ohio, and manage to escape not only with all your fingers and toes, but actually sell a coupla rekkids while you're at it! Or perhaps it only works like that when you're providing as skin-peeling and terrifying of a sonic landscape as Dead Rider? Such a phenomenon got everyone thinking,... (read more)

BOOM! "Physical Emotions," the first sonic slab to fall from Black Bananas' Electric Brick Wall, is a revolutionary listen! Released as a physical (not to mention emotional) 7" single two weeks ago, the density of the "PE" jam on its own is so palpable it virtually creates a kinetic visual representation behind the listener's lids; but how to manifest the sound into something physically fitting for the actual eyes? The sounds found on Electric Brick Wall are constantly moving... (read more)

Drag City's latest "signing," pop-art rock brood White Fence are on the road agin'! Fresh off a trip at LA's fabled Troubadour for a taping by AV Club's Pioneering series, they're White hot to boot! And their acid-shrunk chamber-garage attack shouldn't be left unheard - which goes double for their lordly-yet-disheveled presence. If you're in central Cali this weekend, don't leave them unseen. We're looking at you Santa Cruz - and no, we don't don't have no spare change! If you're everywhere else in the... (read more)

Matthew Young's genre-bending, acclaimed Traveler's Advisory was reish'd just a coupla years back by yours truly in conjunction with Yoga Records truly; at the time, critical ears took note and immediately grabbed all the fresh LP copies we could offer. Now Drag City/Yoga Records invite you to go deeper - back to Matthew Young's first solo album, Recurring Dreams! Dating back to 1981 and the apex of the Eno / Berlin schools' influence over a myriad of American followers, Young created eight EMS /... (read more)

Power duo Blues Control spent the better part of two years globally burning rubber (figuratively! our BC buddies are PC when it come to eco, friends) for their latest full-length, Valley Tangents. Four continents of fans, to be precise, reveled in their modified, cop-chasing whip of sound: a brutal racer with hood stripped away, revealing the glorious engine guts of keys, guitars, and beats oiled up and humming. Simply put: arguably the finest machine any two-lane blacktop or similarly traveled field has ever experienced... (read more)

Pop songs aired out and pasted, blown dry in today's new air. Old School psyike reimaged in 21st century, formed and free stripes n' dots. Lyrics to make us laugh in reverie, lines from the private libraries of the nobility of old, fucked. The jocundity of White Fence. Since stewarding Hair, we'd chased a shadow, guiltily wondering, who do we disenfranchise to make the pleasure of working with them ours? Suddenly, without warning: the arrival of a bulging, slight package at our door.... (read more)

The Howling Hex continue to patrol the borders of our shared musical culture, reflecting on the strange things a man might see out there in the wilderness- and more to the point, the details a man might miss. Their next release is a 10" single with two long tracks that push beyond previous entries in The Howling Hex's catalog - believe it! While it's true that The Howling Hex routinely set and achieve this goal on all their albums, on this special 10", the... (read more)

The bouncy pop-tones of Sean O'Hagan's High Llamas are timeless, at once occupying genres both modern and retro, for an entirely unique listening experience. And listening is the key; meticulous arrangements and airy acoustics have been most resonant in recent Llamas albums like Talahomi Way and Can Cladders, creating a most pleasurable aural experience for listeners and performers alike! On that performance tip, it's been over two years since the last Llamas show and the chaps are ready to play! Ol' London Town... (read more)

C(HA)OSMOS

Good April to you! It’s almost Spring wherever you are, or perhaps Fall down under? If so, welcome to it! We dig the seasons, all of ‘em. Change is important – remember we said so! And welcome as well once again inside the doors of Drag City, where weird gets wired into the system all year long, and every hour is another one in the endless loop known as record store day – because isn’t music forever, folks? Don’t we hear it... (read more)