🥤 SIPSMAN COMMUNIQUE: April 2024
Hour • Dana Gavanski • Nathaniel Russell • Katie von Schleicher • Lily Seabird • Truth Club • Hallelujah The Hills
Here are my fav songs of Q1.
You know my friend Les? Les du This?
HOUR
Tomorrow, Dear Life Records will drop Ease the Work, the new album by the Philadelphia instrumental ensemble, in all its homespun majesty. The group will swell to a 12-piece for release shows tomorrow at PhilaMOCA and Saturday at The Owl in Brooklyn, not to be missed! Revisit videos for singles ”Mom Calls and You Answer,” “Ease the Work,” and “Hallmark”—a new one will arrive tomorrow in release day celebration. Hour will perform shows all around the northeast in May with Joe Pera and Thor & Friends.
DANA GAVANSKI
Last week saw the release of Gavanski’s new record LATE SLAP on Full Time Hobby. Big love to the folks connecting the dots at Aquarium Drunkard (“dynamic, playful, and theatrical—like Bob Fosse choreography, or a one-person Roches”), Brooklyn Vegan (“Dana comes off like a descendant of the time-tested, tried-and-true songwriters of the pop canon.”), and Post-Trash (Album of the Week, “a menagerie of synth tones and guitar jangles, tasteful strings and enthralling melodies”). Gavanski released a new music video for LATE SLAP highlight “Singular Coincidence” on release day, and will be touring with her band throughout the year.
KATIE VON SCHLEICHER
"Pilea" is a new single from KvS, out now via Sipsman, her first new recording since the release of October's critically acclaimed A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night and January's NPR Tiny Desk Concert. It’s a song about taking care of things that you love, especially things that rely on you to take care of them (in this case, a pilea plant and KvS’ bird Ursula, show in the single art. “Pilea” arrives ahead of newly announced tour dates including shows with Frankie Cosmos and an appearance at Waking Windows Music & Arts Festival.
NATHANIEL RUSSELL
Songs Of by the Indiana-based multi-disciplinary artist arrives May 24 via Psychic Hotline, the recording company founded by Amelia Meath & Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso. It's an album Russell envisioned being sold at his funeral’s merch table, something I now think we should all have. Last month’s album announcement arrived with a lyric video for Songs Of’s opening song “Wonderful To Be In Love,” and earlier this week Russell shared its following track on the record, “Silver.” A visual will arrive later this month for that one.
LILY SEABIRD
The songwriter and musician is back in Vermont after touring for 2+ months nonstop, thawing out with the rest of the state and demo’ing out new songs for her followup to January’s beloved Alas, (revisit that album’s singles “Grace” and “Cavity”). In a few weeks, Seabird will perform four solo shows with Owen, followed by select dates with Babehoven and Allegra Krieger this summer.
TRUTH CLUB
West coast rockers rejoice: the North Carolina band is touring your way with Cloud Nothings next month, scooting back home just in time to play Sylvan Esso’s Good Moon Festival at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park with Fleet Foxes and Dhed on May 31. Play the shit out of their album Running From the Chase while u wait.
HALLELUJAH THE HILLS
The Boston band is knee-deep in a project titled DECK—a 52-song, 4-album collection of music with an original song for each card in a deck of playing cards. We were treated to “Alone, In Love,” the 5 of Diamonds, back in December. Another card will be turned over later this month. Those in NYC and Boston can catch HTH play Gold Sounds on May 10 and Deep Cuts on May 11, respectively.