Strand of Oaks - Radio Kids

So play it, play it loud on the radio
I've got my headphones on and my parents will never know
It's something that we had
Before we lost control
Of the radio

2014's Heal, the last album put out by Indiana-based songwriter Tim Showalter, aka Strand of Oaks, was terrific and had a solid run on my heavy rotation, so I was excited to get some new music from him. "Radio Kids" is the first release from his forthcoming album Hard Love, is solid and interesting, with a bit of a swing back to the more folksy end of the folk-rock he's known for. For me, it also had a bit of a Gaslight Anthem vibe, which I like. Good stuff.

It's also got a fun, brightly colored video, have a look.

RIYL: The Gaslight Anthem, Okkervil River, War on Drugs, My Morning Jacket

Upcoming Shows

Finish Ticket - When Night Becomes Day

Sorry people keep me humble
They stop me before I stumble
Cause what I have is far too good to leave it all behind, I could
I am just the average person
Trying to make a lifetime worth it
But I worry it'll bleed me dry
Always try to catch their eye

I go where I go
You may not like it, though
The world at my feet
If I could find it, though
But when night becomes day, oh
Yeah, when night becomes day
I'm the better man

I'm trying to track down and post any artists/songs that we have accidentally skipped that made an impact in 2016. San Francisco quartet Finish Ticket made it onto the Billboard Alternative Top 40 this year with "Color" which is a great song, but since you've likely heard it a hundred times and their other songs are just as good, I thought I should feature a different track on TMIS. "When Night Becomes Day" is the title track off their third EP and the first thing they released after being signed to Elektra. 

RIYL: WALLA, Junior Prom, Knox Hamilton, Catfish and the Bottlemen

Upcoming Shows

Car Seat Headrest - Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales

It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
Killer whales, killer whales
It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
It doesn't have to be like this
Killer whales, killer whales

Will Toledo, the driving (heh) force behind Car Seat Headrest, came up with the name for his musical project when he discovered he preferred to record his vocals in his car than in his home studio. Fairly odd, sure, but whatever works. I saw Car Seat Headrest at SXSW and was impressed. Teens of Denial came out shortly after and it's been in fairly heavy rotation ever since. To get a taste of their live show, check this KEXP video.

RIYL: Modest Mouse, The Lonely Forest, Cloud Nothings

Upcoming Shows

At The Drive-In - Governed by Contagions

That's the way the guillotine claps
She's the one who's governed by contagions
That's the way the guillotine claps
She's the one who's governed by contagions

Now this is exciting: the first new music from At the Drive-In since, I think, about 2000. And it's great. Sounds like they've not missed a beat,  scream, machine gun vocal styling or wild metal-on-metal guitar riff. 

\m/>.<\m/

RIYL: Omar Rodriguez Lopez, The Mars Volta, Sparta, Fugazi

Upcoming Shows

Run River North - David Robinson

I do right by all I know
Images on the wall say the same
Spotlight or shadow
My life and my worth is my name

Take this farther
Makes me stronger
Make this harder
Makes me stronger
Feel the light inside me
Reaching beyond my failing
See the crowd surround me
Leave the ground, I feel higher

Run River North were one of the highlights of SXSW 2016 for me - even managed to see them twice! I was already hooked on "Run or Hide" via indie radio but had no clue about their unique instrumentation (two violinists) nor that they were a totally Korean-American (6 of them) band. Great live - the drummer alone is entertaining - I've continued to enjoy their sophomore album Drinking from a Salt Pond throughout the rest of this year. Perhaps overdue as a Most Important Song, here is the track that is named after my sweetheart, and (he swears it's just coincidentally) his favorite.

RIYL: Local Natives, Head and the Heart, Grizfolk, Ra Ra Riot

Upcoming Shows