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23 may 2007
meet the monahans
undertow is honored to release the debut record by Austin / San Francisco's monahans. monahans is a new musical jounrey from the members of milton mapes. their debut record, low pining, will be release on june 12, 2007 via undertow. we absolutely love this record and can't wait for the world to hear it! for a preview, visit their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/lowpining
dolly varden's the panic bell named by Mojo magazine, 'americana record of the month'
dolly varden's the panic bell has been named by mojo magazine, 'americana abum of the month.' check out the article by visiting HERE. check out an upcoming review on the panic bell to appear in harp magazine!.
dolly varden to play twangfest
Just announced! Dolly Varden will play Twangfest 11 on Friday, June 8th at the Duck Room in St. Louis, Missouri. For more information, visit the Twangfest website: http://www.twangfest.com
glossary heads west
check out glossary on their first west coast tour w/ Richmond Fontaine and Grand Champeen. tour dates can be found HERE
undertow showcase @ sxsw 2007
Thanks to all who shows up at our label showcase at SXSW 2007. A good time was had by all!
undertow sale
check out the new undertow store. you can find our entire catalogue including titles from both the label and our management roster, and new items are being added daily. visit online!
also planned for a 2007 release is the latest record by christian kiefer. dogs & donkeys features members nels cline, alan sparhawk and mimi parker of low, as well as the inimitable garth hudson. I have been listening to this record everyday since the receiving his demo. prepare to be dazzled. more information about the record can be found here.
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coming soon
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christian kiefer | dogs & donkeys
available: July 10, 2007
Dogs & Donkeys is Christian Kiefer's fifth full-length album and the first full-length project released by Undertow. This album is “about” economics, although noting this fact so bluntly denies the subtlety with which the topic is addressed. Telling two narratives simultaneously, Kiefer’s new album interweaves completely disparate lives into a single narrative thread, ultimately exploring the relationships between economic pressures from a variety of angles. Dogs & Donkeys features te services of Garth Hudson of The Band, guitarist Nels Cline, and the sweet vocal harmonies of Low’s Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker. The effect is a devastatingly beautiful musical journey.
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available now
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dolly varden | the panic bell
available now
Chicago’s Dolly Varden marks their triumphant return with The Panic Bell. After a three-year hiatus marked by solo records, art exhibits, and raising babies, the record ushers in a new focus for the band. Recorded over the last two years in Chicago, the band learned the songs in the studio and tracked them live with minimal overdubs. The collective intuition born from nearly 7 years of rehearsing, recording and touring was alive and well despite their hiatus, and the joy of playing music together came back as a welcome rush. The record was mixed by Matt Pence (Centro-matic, American Music Club) in Denton, Texas.
The Panic Bell brings new rawness and energy to Dolly Varden’s sound, while still maintaining their melodic strengths and top-notch songwriting
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the artificial hearts | heavy rock
available now
Christian Carl and his 8-track take you from his spare bedroom in the Philadelphia suburbs to the wide open spaces of Pennyslvania's countryside, and the depths of his discouraged heart. His floating, drifting, hypnotic wash of guitars, electronics, and vocals evoke a contented melancholy that is at once consoling and indignant. One listen and you're not sure if you should feel happiness or sorrow. But most likely, you'll feel a little bit of both. With that said, Undertow invites you to sit back, relax, and surrender yourself to the bittersweet soundscapes of Heavy Rock, the debut folk/electronica record by the Artificial Hearts.
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glossary | for what i don't become
available now
Glossary, the pride of Tennessee, returns with For What I Don’t
Become, sonic snapshots of life in the south, in all of its cognitive
dissonance. Within this context of conflict and contradiction,
songwriter Joey Kneiser spins tales of grace, love, and forgiveness. Much like 2003’s How We Handle Our Midnights, Become teems with full-tilt rockers that capture the energy and passion of the band’s incendiary live set. Glossary’s music is at once poignant and powerful, running the gamut from scorching barn-burners to wistful ballads.
Engineered and mixed at Echo Lab by Centro-matic’s Matt Pence, For What I Don’t Become is a focused, mature record that marks a
definitive point in the band’s stylistic evolution, with songs that land a sucker punch to the gut and follow it with a long, slow kiss.
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waterloo | out of the woods
available now
Out of the Woods is the third release from Saint Louis’ Waterloo. This new collection of shimmering landscapes makes it clear that Waterloo is after something big, chasing down whatever it is that musically threads Badfinger, ELO, Radiohead, and REM together, and whatever it is that makes the American Midwest such a beautiful but melancholy place. Written, recorded, and mixed by Mark Ray, performed by Waterloo, Out of the Woods is a rich, melodic song cycle about fear and hope in troubled times.
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the cush | new appreciation for sunshine
available now
Undertow is honored to release the latest record from Burllington, Vermont's 'The Cush. Their sophomore release, New Appreciation for Sunshine, showcases the group’s gorgeous harmonies and hypnotic pulse sounds. The band features the sympathetic songwriting of husband and wife co-founders Gabrielle and Burette Douglas. Armed with vintage tape delays and a batch of psych-pop mini suites, the band cycles through everything from stygian dirges to revved-up rockers, with blasts of summery bliss in between.
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magnolia summer | from driveways lost view
available now
From Driveways’ Lost View is the second full-length from St. Louis’ Magnolia Summer. In contrast to the hushed, intimate quality of the band’s 2003 debut, Levers and Pulleys, Driveways reveals a louder, rawer, and more spontaneous side of Magnolia Summer, one that’s already quite familiar to fans of the live shows. Distorted guitars buzz and howl against the blast of drums and bass, but despite the aggressive edge, Magnolia Summer retains its distinctive grace and vulnerability.
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also available
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steve dawson | sweet is the anchor
available now
For his debut solo release, 'Sweet Is The Anchor', Dawson focuses all that has come before into a sophisticated and soulful collection of subtle and sonic beauty. Self-recorded in the comfort of his own home, mixed by Matt Pence (Centro-Matic, South San Gabriel) in Denton's Echolab studios, 'Sweet Is The Anchor' weighs in on themes such as perseverance and love, especially when balanced against loss. There are somber moments throughout, but Dawson offsets the downbeat with a near spiritual sense of hope. In a sublime display of deep soul, his 'Love Is A Blessing' sounds much like Paul Carrack fronting Al Green's rhythm section. Tracks like this are eased alongside rootsier fare, like the straight ahead acoustic strummer 'I'm The One I Despise', which has a sweet George Harrison inspired slide solo, sweetening an already catchy number."
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the love experts | cuba street
available now
It is always exciting to see there are still a few bands that adhere to their own rules. The Love Experts are one such band. Choosing substance over carpet-bombing self-promotion, the bands' periodic live shows have become must see events. Up until now, recordings of the band have been restricted to live board tapes and demos. Cuba Street is the first formal recording of a band whose career spans almost a decade. The songs highlight their penchant for catchy melodies full and Byrdsy chime but without the Dylan crutch. The EP marks a new chapter for the band while celebrating their history as one of St. Louis' best-kept secrets.
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milton mapes | the blacklight trap
available now
undertow is honored to present the third release from Austin’s Milton Mapes. The Blacklight Trap expands the group's cinematic landscape painted in previous releases, The State Line and Westernaire (Aspyr). The album is a snapshot of characters amidst troubled times. With stories of loss and salvation, the band interweaves atmospheric indie-rock with Americana fourishes throughout the record. From the anthemic “In the Corner Where It All Began” to the deep night ballad “Craters of the Moon,” the band combines ambient guitars, thundering drums, and a vocal delivery that renders quiet urgency behind Crazy Horse-like brute force.
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the amazing pilots | hello my captor
available now
“Hello My Captor” is the stateside debut from Dublin Ireland's The Amazing Pilots. Brothers Phil and Paul Wilkinson create eleven tracks of tear-jerking, heart-tugging, brain-teasing, genre bending pop that will have you humming for days. Recorded in Dublin, France, and the US, each song shimmers with textural instrumentation and melody that shakes out old memories and makes your worst days feel like stepping stones. We instantly fell in love with The Amazing Pilots the minute we heard “Hello My Captor.”
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various artists | brown eyed handsome man: st. louis salutes
the father of rock and roll
available now
John Lennon was once quoted as saying, “If you tried to give rock & roll another name, you might call it Chuck Berry.” He didn't exaggerate: Chuck Berry's songs embody not only rock & roll but the community and spirit of St. Louis, the city he calls home. “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” is a compilation of Chuck Berry songs newly recorded and re-imagined by a number of St. Louis' foremost artists, including Fontella Bass, Jay Farrar, the Bottle Rockets, the Rockhouse Ramblers, Magnolia Summer, and Waterloo. These 19 tracks of ragged, raw, smart, and sexy rock & roll is a love letter to both a city and a man whose vision and charisma helped usher in the modern age. It's only fitting that all the proceeds of the record go toward the support of St. Louis' community radio station, KDHX FM 88.1.
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