Gordon Lamb

Hey, y’all, it’s AthFest week, and y’all know what that means. It’s the one time of year we all have the opportunity to stand on hot asphalt with thousands of strangers and clap for a bunch of bands that we may or may not have heard before or, hell, may or may not even like. That said, it’s also one of the precious large, non-football events that draws people to our town to experience the things we largely take for granted. So, with this in mind, be patient and kind with folks who don’t know our streets, our local customs, our nicknames for drinks, etc. And if you’re one of the out-of-towners I’m talking about, please consider yourself at home. […]

TEARIN’ UP BOTH OUR TOWNS: While they weren’t Athens’ first country band by a long shot, there’s no denying that the Star Room Boys

THE NEW AMERICAN ELECTRONIC FOLK SONG: Marcel Sletten (Chairs, Primordial Void, et al.) released his eighth solo album right smack dab in the middle of last week. It’s titled Plastic Jazz

AS YOU LIKE IT: Atticus Roness, frequent visitor to Athens from points west, is releasing singles leading up to his Sept. 4 album Rock ‘N’ Roll Hit Parade. The newest, “Wives’ Tale,” is out as of July 16. It’s an acoustic-based tune, but with a full rock arrangement. Stylistically, it kind of straddles a fence between 1980s glam metal and 1970s glam pop. There’s tons of guitar flourish and arena-filling bigness. Roness will next play locally Saturday, July 18 at the 40 Watt Club along with Arkose and The Wraps. Find the new single wherever you stream things, and for more information, please see atticusroness.net.

WOODSHEDDING: Trvy & The Enemy release an ambitious new album this week, and you can begin streaming it on major services starting July 25. The whole album runs as a single 36-minute track, but inside this are 12 different songs. The record is named aura: spirals

SIX STRING FIGHT: Garage rockers The Grawks will release a new EP, Magnificent Little Deaths, on Saturday, Aug. 1 and will celebrate with a release show that same night at Nowhere Bar. It opens with the title track, which is a smoothly tuneful, tremolo-touched, mid-tempo groover. Next up is the band’s two-fisted take on Flamin’ Groovies’ “Slow Death,” which is so full of energy you’ll sit straight up. The previously released “Still Small Voice” opens side two, and it remains, as I mentioned before, a heavy, bluesy proto-punk number not at all unlike The Stooges or Mudhoney. The record closes out with “You’re My Girl” which feels celebratory with its harmonica undertone before flexing its muscles and punching up the middle and end. Doors should open around 8 p.m. with music starting around 9 p.m. For more information, please see facebook.com/grawksband, and find the new EP over at

BE ALL YOU CAN BE: The heavily anticipated debut solo album by Michael Stipe continues to get teased out bit by bit. The latest piece of news is the new single “Hum Desiderata,” and this sneak peek is released exclusively on the Joyfully Waiting platform. The song was written and produced with longtime collaborator Andy Lemaster, and also features vocals from UGA senior art lecturer and artist Elizabeth Hatmaker. To check it out, please see joyfully-waiting.ch, and for ongoing information, please see remhq.com.

STREAM ON: The equally irrepressible and irreverent Nicholas Mallis and The Borealis

BRING YOUR OWN NARRATIVE: The weird and wonderful world of French Exit has reared its head again with a new album named Music for Times and/or Occasions, and Other Songs. French Exit is the long-running project of AJ Griffin (Laminated Cat, Olivia Tremor Control, Casper & The Cookies, et al). The 14 tracks here can seem very disjointed and unrelated until the entire album is experienced, sort of like a jigsaw puzzle. It begins with the almost bleep-bloop near

CAREER IN ROCK: When Athens music luminaries Curtiss Pernice (Porn Orchard, Vic Chesnutt), Ballard Lesemann (Roosevelt, The Rock*A*Teens) and Larry Tenner (Magneto, The Lures) get together, it’s time to sit up and pay attention. Their group, Vicious Devil