Jared Bowers's Profile

The set itself played to new and old fans. I think the shows are just as much for Matt & Kim as they are for the people who listen to the music. And I sincerely appreciated that. 

I had a chance to talk with Dave Davison, vocalist and guitarist of Maps & Atlases, a Chicago trio (formerly 4-piece) who had been missing from a scene that they helped usher in for over half a decade.

Today, we’re excited to share the first single and video from Tooth Lures a Fang’s new full-length, Sharon is Karen, releasing on Lo Fi City this June. 

I spent some time before the Squirrel Nut Zippers’almost hour and forty-minute set thinking about how I might write about the trappings of nostalgia, or the idea of theatrics and persona and the possibility of deception - that it was all a schtick. And this would have been a valid angle considering the bands’ very specific aesthetic, both sonic and visual. 

For me, it was Menos El Oso. I have vivid, fond memories of driving around Savannah, Georgia’s outrageously humid streets getting way too down with that dance-y, challenging, quirky indie rock album blasting out of the mediocre sound system of my shitty, beloved Ford Taurus (RIP, Thricemobile).

Until a few years ago, Loveland, Ohio wasn’t a destination for new or used records. Or craft beer. Or food. Honestly, it wasn’t much of a destination for anything, was it? Picturesque, to be sure. But not really a hotbed for anything culturally significant in this part of Ohio. So it’s amazing what a few years, a lot of soul, and a community of devout music lovers who will do anything to score the Great White Buffalos of their record collection can do.

That The Slackers should arrive nearly 20 years after I first saw them perform live, and around the anniversary of their now classic album, Redlight, seems a bit of cosmic symmetry. Their mixture of traditional Ska, reggae, rocksteady, dub, jazz, soul, R&B, and whatever else they feel like playing is a welcome detour from the typically rock, metal, and folk heavy offerings we’ve seen over the past few years.

There’s not much I can say about Frontier Folk Nebraska that I haven’t already written of, many times over. Good folks, good music. Cincinnati is fortunate to have them in our midst. Their once and future tourmate, William Matheny, is no stranger to the area, and with his own take on earnest and nostalgic Midwestern Rock, he travels a good amount of common ground with Frontier Folk Nebraska.

About a third of the way through his career spanning set, Kevin Devine paused between songs. The Southgate House Revival was full of music–all 3 rooms were in use, each stage occupied. Some of the music below made its way through the ceiling, offering a chaotic, if muffled, contrast to the introspective and passionate performance taking place in the Revival Room.

Hey Propagandhi, it’s been awhile.

My connection to Kevin Devine’s music goes back some time now. I lived in New Jersey for a while, but was close enough to NYC and Philly to make regular treks to both for shows that were coming through the region. I won’t call it my “emo” phase, because if I’m being honest, I’ve always been a little bit emo. We all have. Don’t deny it.