Music Review: Tristen 'Dream Within A Dream' 7"

Nashville's Tristen (born Tristen Gaspadarek, but releases work under her first name only, like Lissie, or Lizzo), known to most as a member of Jenny Lewis' backing band, has been steadily making her own solo work over the last decade and has recently gained broader attention thanks to praise by NPR, Spin Magazine, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and others; including for her collaboration with Lewis on the song 'Glass Jar' from Tristen's 2017 'Sneaker Waves' on the Modern Outsider label.

Her newest release, the 7" single Dream Within A Dream, on the Louisville label This Man Records, will be released on May 10th, with a record release show that night at Odeon.

The title track plays out like a cross section of Lydia Loveless and St. Vincent, with slightly more teeth than her previous offerings; as if Cherry Glazerr relocated from sunny California to the Nashville metropolitan area.

Dream Within A Dream is backed with Red Lava Flows; a reverb soaked dream pop waltz that is more related to her earlier work, as represented on her 2013 album C A V E S, albeit more steeped in sentiment; leaning closer to Angel Olsen than Sharon Van Etten, but absolutely worth picking up for anyone interested in the more glossy side of current pop. 



Tristen plays at Odeon on May 10th with Ted Tyro and Howell Dawdy. More info here.

Album Review: A Howell Dawdy Christmas

Louisville's favorite misanthrope comic hip hop artist Howell Dawdy has just dropped a digital christmas album entitled A Howell Dawdy Christmas.



Howell Dawdy, the alter ego of Louisville Musician Alex Smith, is no stranger to holiday themed music, such as the halloween-esque 'Boo I'm A Ghost' from 2013, or 2014's Flying Reindeer,  which is a Christmas themed reworking of his cult hit Fire Extinguisher, much like James Brown's reworking of Papa's Got A Brand New Bag into Santa's Got A Brand New Bag.



Howell Dawdy's Christmas album runs the gamut from slapstick Alvin and the Chipmunks style holiday tracks such as Rat Christmas, to the surprisingly meaningful Don't Ruin Christmas,  much like LCD Soundsystem's  'Christmas Can Break Your Heart' marking a strange but triumphant return from retirement on Christmas eve 2015.



Christmas is a marvelous time when we do a bunch of things we would never do otherwise, like cover our houses in twinkling lights, drink egg nog, and listen to music we forget about the rest of the year. For those like me, who revel in holiday tradition (and holiday music) there is no lack for Christmas themed music. If holly jolly music is a must in your home this December, and if you are  the good Louisvillians that we know you are,  there is no lack of Louisville Christmas music to brighten your holidays, and you could do much worse than A Howell Dawdy Christmas, or last year's Louisville Covers Christmas from This Man Records.

New Video: Plastic Bubble featuring Will Oldham

Plastic Bubble just released a new video this week for their "Neanderthal Song" directed by Timothy Sauer of This Man is not My Father, and features Will Oldham as a modern day business man who gets fed up with the rat race and devolves into a caveman finding refuge in the wilderness.