Field Medic, the long-running project of Los Angeles-based musician Kevin Patrick Sullivan, announces a new album today, titled grow your hair long if you're wanting to see something that you can change. Out October 14 via RFC, Field Medic’s fifth full-length sees him completely reinventing his recording approach. The result is an ambitious, fully-formed, and emotionally resonant collection of tracks: a triumphant picture of an artist diving deep into himself and coming out stronger than ever, both as a songwriter and as a person.
With the album announcement comes a new single and video, “i had a dream that you died”. “I had a dream that you died, somehow made it about me,” Sullivan sings, continuing, “so I keep fighting each day against this maelstrom / I feel like a chia pet, the way my hair looks dumb and my heart is made of stone.”
grow your hair long contains some of Field Medic’s most immaculately arranged and ambitious recordings yet, like album opener “always emptiness”, the first track Sullivan brought into the studio. It also includes four self-recorded and self-produced tracks, some of which stemmed from his post-studio, late-night moments of clarity, like “i had a dream that you died”. Within these delicate and lovingly made songs, there’s an underlying and tangible hope someone finds a way out of their own struggles.
”Music is definitely a vessel for some form of healing,” says Sullivan. “Sometimes the best way to get out of your own head is to just get to work. Making this album helped me find my happiness again.
Beginning October 2022, Field Medic embarks on a headlining fall tour through the US and Canada, with support from Sadurn, Derek Ted, and Juliet Sunflower. For the first time, he’ll be accompanied by a band in addition to his trusty boombox. Find a full list of tour dates below; buy tickets here.
10-22 — San Francisco, CA — Bottom Of The Hill $ 10-25 — Portland, OR — Polaris Hall $ 10-26 — Seattle, WA — Barboza $ 10-28 — Salt Lake City, UT — Beehive $ 10-30 — Denver, CO — Globe Hall $ 11-01 — Minneapolis, MN — 7th Street Entry $ 11-02 — Chicago, IL — Beat Kitchen $ 11-03 — Columbus, OH — Ace Of Cups $ 11-04 — Ferndale, MI — The Loving Touch $ 11-05 — Lakewood, OH — Mahall’s $ 11-06 — Toronto, ON — The Garrison $ 11-08 — Philadelphia, PA — PhilaMOCA $ 11-09 — Boston, MA — Red Room at Cafe 939 $ 11-10 — Brooklyn, NY — Baby’s All Right $ 11-11 — Washington, DC — Songbyrd $ 11-12 — Richmond, VA — Richmond Music Hall at Capital Ale House $ 11-14 — Carrboro, NC — Cat’s Cradle $ 11-15 — Atlanta, GA — The Masquerade - Purgatory $ 11-16 — Nashville, TN — The End $ 11-18 — Dallas, TX — Ruins % 11-19 — Austin, TX — Empire Control Room % 11-22 — Phoenix, AZ — The Rebel Lounge % 11-26 — Los Angeles, CA — Moroccan Lounge #
$ support from Sadurn % support from Derek Ted # support from Juliet Sunflower
Young Guv (aka songwriter Ben Cook) has released his new album GUV IV. Out today via RFC, the album comes hot on the heels of Young Guv's previous full-length, GUV III, which just came out in March. The ever-prolific musician has amassed an impressive and wide-reaching catalog over the years and GUV III and GUV IV are the perfect place for new listeners to jump aboard.
Where GUV III captured Cook's most instantly accessible guitar pop songwriting, GUV IV represents the most sonically adventurous side of Young Guv. The record (which has drawn early attention from the likes of Stereogum, NPR, BrooklynVegan, Uproxx, Paste Magazine, and many more) effortlessly moves between hazy Madchester-inspired rave ups, twangy California jangle, and even homemade sophisti-pop, with Cook's knack for melody always leading the way.
Both 2022 LP releases from Young Guv have been packaged together in a 2xLP titled "GUV III & IV" featuring both full albums plus a bonus track "She Sparkles Everywhere". "GUV III & IV" vinyl is officially out July 15th, but copies are shipping from our store now.
Melbourne trio Camp Cope are releasing their first-ever music video today for the title track of their celebrated new album Running with the Hurricane, out now on Run For Cover Records.
The video was directed by James J. Robinson (who has previously teamed up with Camp Cope lead singer Georgia Maq for an epic photo shoot) and Rachael Morrow. Shot in Australia on Wurundjeri land, Camp Cope say of the video, "It's like a moment in time for us as a band. We were getting ready to fly out to the US for our first international tour since the pandemic started. Kelly is six months pregnant in it and keeps rocking out. Jenny, who has started playing guitar live with us graciously said yes to being in it. We really wanted to capture the energy of the song, and that sometimes the only way out is up. And who doesn't like to get dressed up and do funny things with leaf blowers all day?"
"It’s like a moment in time for us as a band. We were getting ready to fly out to the U.S. for our first international tour since the pandemic started. [Bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich] is six months pregnant in it and keeps rocking out. Jenny [Aslett], who has started playing guitar live with us graciously said yes to being in it. We really wanted to capture the energy of the song, and that sometimes the only way out is up. And who doesn't like to get dressed up and do funny things with leaf blowers all day?"
Tour Dates: (All Shows On Sale Here) Friday, July 8 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club^ Saturday, July 9 - Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon^ Sunday, July 10 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall* SOLD OUT Monday, July 11 - Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern^ Wednesday, July 13 - Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre* SOLD OUT Friday, July 15 - Chicago, IL @ PItchfork Music Festival Saturday, July 16 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall% Sunday, July 17 - Lexington, KY @ The Burl* Tuesday, July 19 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat^ Wednesday, July 20 - New York, NY @ Webster Hall^ Friday, July 22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer^ Saturday, July 23 - Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups^ Sunday, July 24 - Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray Arcade^ Monday, July 25 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line^ Friday, July 29 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre! Saturday, July 30 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile! Sunday, July 31 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom! Tuesday, August 2 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall! Wednesday, August 3 - Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater!
^ = w/ support from Petal % = supporting Lucy Dacus % = w/ support from Kaina ! = w/ support from zzzahara
Healing Potpourri, the vibrant indie pop project led by songwriter Simi Sohota, recently announced their upcoming album, Paradise, due out August 5th via Run For Cover Records. The album finds the Oakland-based musician unpacking two tumultuous years and pushing the band's sound in exciting new directions while collaborating with co-producer Sean O'Hagan (of Stereolab and The High Llamas) and engineer Jason Kick.
Today the band have shared Paradise's second single, "What Do I Do Now?" The track follows "Wind" (which garnered attention from the likes of Stereogum, BrooklynVegan, New Commute, and more) and offers a perfect cut of sunny keys and horns that highlights Sohora's ability to blend Brian Wilson-inspired chamber pop with a touch of warm psych.
Sohota discussed the new song saying:
"I started writing the chord progression for this one on my girlfriend’s childhood piano at her parents house. They ended up gifting that piano to us as a housewarming present when we moved to Oakland at the beginning of the pandemic and I wrote most of the “Paradise” album on it.
The lyrics are about a childhood friend who struggled with mental health issues and passed away due to an overdose. Since writing it I’ve had two more friends die under similar circumstances and it just really breaks my heart. The song is about feeling guilt from not doing more to help and about how much more was left unsaid. I hope that it will inspire folks to tell their friends and family how much they love them because the future isn’t guaranteed.
I wanted to contrast the lyrical subject matter with the most sugary and poppy production we could come up with. Jason Kick and I had this one nearly finished by the time we brought it to Sean O’hagan, who co-produced. He added some really sugary backup vocal ideas which I re-recorded with my voice.
The music video has this really nostalgic feel that reminds me of the feeling of thinking about a childhood friend, and the innocence of that. We worked with Sarah Phenix and Claire Donohue that have a company called Rainbow Tunnel that specializes in analog film techniques and they did a really amazing capturing the feel of the song."
Where Healing Potpourri's previous album, Blanket of Calm, was made by a large cast of Bay Area musicians, Paradisewas created primarily by the more compact team of Sohota, O'Hagan, and Kick. But the result is actually an even more sprawling sound that seamlessly melds electronic instrumentation and colorful psych washes with Sohota’s knack for rhapsodic songwriting and gorgeous melodies. “There are more synths, it’s more experimental,” he explains. “Part of that was just trying to make a lush, full band sound with just me, Jason, Sean, and a computer, but the other part of it was just the swirling dread and fear and paranoia of the time.” Throughout the record Sohota’s lyrics wrestle with pandemic-era dread and social tumult, looking directly into the deluge of frustration and despair, but also refusing to be completely defeated by it. His words stand in stark contrast with the effervescent instrumentation, adding a new dimension to Healing Potpourri. “The lyrics aren’t about everything being fine," he says. "A lot of the record is about how bad things are and how I’m angry about it–but I realized that can be Healing Potpourri too.”
Guitar pop extraordinaire Tony Molina recently returned with the announcement of his new album, In The Fade, due out August 12th via Summer Shade, a new imprint from Run For Cover Records curated by Madison Woodward (Fury, Object of Affection). In just 18 minutes In The Fade manages to encapsulate all of the different elements that have been so appealing about Molina's songwriting over the years. The record bounces from satisfyingly crunchy power chords, to scrappy jangle, to legitimately Beatles-esque arrangements, never letting the sheer hookiness lag for even a second.
Today Molina has shared the second single from In The Fade, the sweetly catchy "I Don't Like That He." The song highlight's Molina's ability to incorporate the songwriting shine of '60s pop artists as well as their '90s torchbearers likeTeenage Fanclub and The Aislers Set--making for a timeless sounding track that you'll immediately want to play again.
In The Fade is due out August 12th via Summer Shade and Run For Cover Records.
