In order to survive this long hot season of discontent, it's vital to chew down on stuff that's not just all negativity, you know? So if you're fixin' to stay positive, throw Ty Segall's "Fried Shallots" into your brain pan and flame on for a quick snack! "Fried Shallots" is a handful of numbers from different times and places over the past few years that all work together in a weird way. That's something that we should all be striving for: all working together... (read more)

ALL YOU LOVE IS NEED

Rambling through another summer of love here at Drag City – you might think we can't get enough of the stuff! But really, why not kick back with a little bit of the real thing as long as the weather's good? 2017's been a real so-far, so-good year, just based on the evidence of the release schedule alone. Why, Royal Trux, back and "LIVE"! A timeless tribute to Merle Haggard from the rather timeless-himself Bonnie Prince Billy... (read more)

Dig it, pals - The Silence are an analog unit, but the weight of their sound is unencumbered - they're also a mobile unit and that means they can, and do, hit the road! Masaki Batoh's group is more than a band, it's an energy passing through your body, starting in your ears and staring into your mind, making a clearing. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, and let the energy flow through you and into the earth. That's when... (read more)

Everybody feels they have a mission - David Grubbs' mission for the last 30 odd years has been to explore and exploit the potential of the guitar and song structure via hardcore, punk, post-punk and post-rock, both solo and with outfits as varied as Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr Del Sol. Grubbs is constantly moving and a massive collaborator as well; his current mission takes him overseas to Japan, where he's got a string of dates playing solo and in collaboration... (read more)

It was only just a few short weeks ago that Royal Trux duked it out, Pound for Pound-style, with ALL of Europe (and themselves!) on their first "real" tour in ages! Back home and victorious, there's little rest for the champs - they're 'bout to head back for round two, like an extended play. With just a few select dates in the cities that couldn't draw them the first match, Royal Trux will be in tour overdrive, fearing no one - stealing faces where... (read more)

Mike Donovan's latest opus is no mere studio project! Just off a set of Euro-dates, The Peacers are introducing Introducing the Crimsmen (their new record) to select audiences on the American road. A few dates up on in the Pac NW with Lavender Flu get it started in mid-August, then in Septo, The Peacers and the Crimsmen alike do the Goner fest and then a Chicago gig with bros from another mofo, Wand. This is the first time this iteration of the band is... (read more)

Laetitia Sadier's extensive US tour begins in just a few short weeks and what better way to kick off the party than with a new music video! Easily the headiest track on Find Me Finding You, "Sacred Project" electrifies the ears with an intimate immediacy, one anchored by incoming waves of measured and calculated double bass, baroque keys and lush synthetic experimentation. And then, THE voice. Oh that Sadier voice! The one that reaches you and wraps you up each time you hear... (read more)

Sapropelic Pycnic is the world debut of music presented under the name of Ka Baird. While this record is a commencement of many sorts, it is in no way a mere beginning: Ka was one of the founding members of experimental psychlings Spires That In the Sunset Rise. Formed in 2001 out of the Chicago scene, and described by late guitar legend Jack Rose as a "female Sun City Girls," Spires' sisterhood of sound deepened the New Folk slant with an array of... (read more)

Some artists are at a level of genius so singular and existing on it's own plane, it's difficult to fully surmise using our limited vocabulary. One such singer songwriter was brought to us by none other than Gregg Turkington (he of impeccable sharpness of ear only surpassed by the sharpness of his tongue as funnyman Neil Hamburger): the inimitable Frederick Michael St. Jude. Back in 2013 we gave a proper issuing of his inaugural, lost treasure, Here Am I - a trippy batch... (read more)

What do the greatest musical innovators of the 20th century, such as The Bjelland Brothers, The Blue Jean Committee, and Crisis of Conformity all have in common? Fred Armisen! A true renaissance man, Fred Armisen’s deep supply of locally-pressed records has presented undersung heroes from the history of music in his series Hometown Heroes. Without Fred, who else could bring you songs from the smooth and sensual yacht rock leaning The Blue Jean Committee or a band of young... (read more)