2 posts tagged “athens”

In 2005 we took a family vacation to Moab, Utah.  We brought along a bunch of CDs to play in our rented minivan, but The Sleepy Strange by Japancakes fit the surrounding desert landscape so well that we kept it on repeat and never took it out of the player... not even when we returned the minivan.  No problem, I just burned another CD, and maybe someone else discovered the languid beauty of this steel-guitar-centric instrumental band from Athens, Georgia.  It looks like Lala will let me embed the whole album for your listening pleasure:

Everything else I have in the queue just got pushed back, because I have minutes ago discovered the brand-new, phenomenal debut album by Brent Cash, How Will I know When I'm Awake.  This may mark the first music out of Athens, Georgia, that I've liked since the B-52's.  It's sunshine pop at its finest: Bacharachian chord changes, Carole King-ish piano rhythms, lush arrangements, and, well, sunshine galore.  The press release sums it all up, you can read it on his MySpace page, or you can listen here before clicking over:

If you want to hear more, you can sample the whole album at Brent's website.  [Actually, all the samples are here in this widget now, but visit his website anyway!]  This album is going to be a staple in the Veneer family minivan for months and years to come, I predict.  [I listened to it three times today (3/25) and it's holding up beautifully!]