Richard Dawson - The Ruby Cord - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The title of Richard Dawson's new album End of the Middle is a suitably slippery contradiction, one that invites multiple interpretations Middle-aging? Middle-class? The middle-point of Dawson's career? The centre of a record? Centrism in general? Polarisation? The possibility of having a balanced discussion about anything? Stuck in the middle with you? Middle England? Middling songwriting? End of the Middle is a wonkily beautiful peer into the workings of the family unit, perhaps several generations of the same family InchI wanted this record to be small-scale and very domesticInch, Dawson explains, Inchto be stripped back, stark and naked, and let the lyrics and melodies speak for themselves and for the people in the songsInch. By paring things right back what is revealed is a suite of remarkably poised, oddly elegant, beautiful music.

In 2020, Rudy de Anda moved his homebase out of California for the first time. He was headed East. Somewhere in the back of the U-Haul, among the boxes and baggage, was a mostly finished record. Upon arriving in Chicago, Rudy quickly found the final pieces of his new LP, Closet Botanist. It's due out April 28, 2023, on Colemine/Karma Chief Records. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas at the Electric Deluxe recording studio. The space is owned and operated by Adrian Quesada (Black Pumas), who helped produce and engineer Rudy's new LP. InchIn the past, I've done most of my recording in California, Inch Rudy explained. InchThe new location changed the vibe. The band and I were 100% focused on the process.InchRudy's previous releases have grown synonymous with California sunshine. He was born in Los Angeles and spent most of his formative years in Long Beach. InchPeople often tell me my music reminds them of the beach and the sun, Inch Rudy said of his older songs. Closet Botanist isn't a total departure from Rudy's beachy, psych-rock roots, but it does sound more mature. InchThese songs are personal to me. More than ever before, I was able to get to the point and get some things off my chest. It's about lost love and lost friendships - it's more visceral than any music I've made before.InchMost of the songs were written back in California with the help of Rudy's previous bandmates. InchTu MiradaInch was one of the first songs he wrote in Chicago. Then, a local friend helped him find InchHey Mr. Sun.Inch Rudy connected with Blake Rhein (Durand Jones and the Indications) during the final weeks of writing. InchHe showed me a song and asked if I wanted to record it. I hadn't done that before, but I loved the song. It felt like I had found the missing piece.Inch To get the sound just right, Rudy called his California bandmates to the studio. Jon Rivera played bass, Daniel

Gordi - Clever Disguise [VINYL LP] date 07/08/2016