Hey y’all, since this is the week we’re giving thanks, I wanted to express my appreciation for your reading this column each week. I also want to thank every musician and band who claims Athens as their homebase. While my individual opinion on your work varies wildly, the fact is there’s no scene without you. And as someone who loves the Athens music scene more than many things, I thank you for another year of doing what you do. Now, let’s get into the news.
AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE: The collaborative album by Don Chambers and George Davidson, produced under the project name Call Letters, is titled Haint Blue and is out now. The immediacy of this record reflects the situation of its birth. All eight tracks were improvised and recorded in a single five-hour session at Japanski Studio, where it was engineered and mastered by Matt Tamisin. Only craftsmen such as these could produce something as touching as “Garland Of Flowers” on the fly. If you’re unfamiliar with the artists, know that each has decades of performance and compositional work under his belt. Chambers sings and plays guitar, and Davidson plays saxophone. This isn’t a jazz album, nor is it a rock and roll album. It is, rather, what perhaps Nebraska might have been were it recorded in downtown New York City circa 1975. Find this at callletters.bandcamp.com.
AN AURAL AUTUMN: Longtime readers and local music fans will remember the now-defunct Moeke Records Summer Singles compilations that were released for several years. Now, The Glow Studio operator and former Moeke head Jesse Mangum has reworked the concept and presented the inaugural release of some fresh studio activity. The first collection of recent recordings at The Glow are available on The Glow Recording Studio Presents: Fall Fingles 2025. Should you choose to engage, you’ll get tracks from T. Hardy Morris & Little Gold, Isra and the Paisleys, Floral Portrait, Drí and the Violence, Dog Person and Cardynal ft. The Flock. Each song here was recorded, mixed and mastered in a single eight-hour session at The Glow. Check it out over at theglowrecordingstudio.bandcamp.com.
NO JOY IN SLUDGEVILLE: If you were hoping for a fresh onslaught of kind of sludgy (but not too much) metal that’s at least somewhat aware of 1980s-era crossover metal, then End Times Vision has you covered. The group just released the eight-song A Career In High-Potency Capsules, which is exactly the kind of nasty gas station-inspired title this record deserves. The existential metal hammering of “blackbeansandrice” contains some surprising melodic instances, as well as notable, yet understated lead guitar. Similarly, “Strongman Competition/Warship” is a complex, multilayered piece that pretends it isn’t. Basically, y’all, there’s a lot more going on here than initially meets the eyes and ears. However, to be sure, if you were looking for a pick-me-up this isn’t it. So, go gloom it up at leadmouth.bandcamp.com.
SHUMWAY OR THE HIGHWAY: Now, as long as we’re taking a trip on the roller coaster of unhappiness, let’s talk about the new five-song, self-titled EP by Ralph. The enormity of the rock-and-roll racket this pair makes is off the charts. Careful listeners will hear dashes of Mudhoney and Bikini Kill, but uncareful listeners should enjoy this just as much without hearing that stuff. The record’s cover art is a clever/ironic play on two cultural phenomena: puppet TV personality ALF and the upside down Christian cross, each of which is placed in a comedic context. Specific musical highlights here are “The Benzos” and “Smells Like Money.” However, each of those is cut from similar cloth as the other three, so if you dig one you’ll maybe dig them all. Check it out at ralphcore.bandcamp.com.
STAY LIT: It’s been several years since there was any new music from Kites With Lights. Well, homie, project founder and main man Jonah Cordy has blessed us all with new music. It’s only one song, but it’s something. And it’s named “The Rules.” You’re completely forgiven for not being at all familiar with Cordy’s work because, as I said, it’s been years. But this is another compelling slice of well crafted and thoughtfully constructed synthpop that surfs along the shadow of an otherwise bright universe. Which is to say, yes, it’s synthy and melodic, but not particularly lighthearted. Find this at kiteswithlights.bandcamp.com, and demonstrate your fanship by checking out facebook.com/kiteswithlights.
LUCKY MAN: It’s been about 14 months since I had anything to say about Iodine Watt. But that ends now as the new album Human Music just came out. Only in the current milieu would I jump to the conclusion of surmising the title is a hot take on the expansion of artificial intelligence, so consider that jumped to. One of the album’s release tags, though, explicitly says “no ai” so I cannot be far off course, if at all. In any case, this album is another example of Iodine Watt being well versed in prog and orchestral rock, as well as other grand musical schema like video game tracks. In particular, I enjoyed “Jealous Trees,” “(This is) The End” and “Chase Scene.” Dig it at iodinewatt.bandcamp.com.
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