Don't Let These September Releases Fall Through the Cracks: Cold Atlantic, George Clanton and Nick Hexum, and Djo

Plus, the latest single from Gold Tides!

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Cold Atlantic - Copycat Guitar EP

Jared McCarthy started with the Brooklyn band Panama Wedding, but Cold Atlantic is his long-simmering solo project, and his debut EP Copycat Guitar dropped yesterday. Inspired by Brothertiger’s Paradise Lost album, McCarthy reached out to Jon Markson, the record’s producer, and soon found himself working with not only Markson but also Jon Jagos of Brothertiger on this set of songs. Copycat Guitar offers four perfect songs that almost lean too hard into the “pop” of the chillpop genre, but McCarthy pulls it off with bouncing beats and soaring choruses that rattle around your brain long after the EP is over. “Nobody Else” is a late-80s chart-topper, while “Stupid Heart” will have you asking “how’s it going to be?” like you’re Stephen Jenkins with some tasty synths.

George Clanton and Nick Hexum - George Clanton and Nick Hexum (Deluxe)

While we wait for the next record from vaporwave king George Clanton, here’s the opportunity to revisit his collaboration with 311’s Nick Hexum, which I ranked as my third favorite album of 2020, and I still stand by it. The bonus material here isn’t groundbreaking, but fans of the album will appreciate what’s found here. There is an instrumental version of the entire record, two songs from the Adult Swim Fishcenter set, a few demos, and a killer remix of “Aurora Summer” by Clanton under his ESPRIT 空想 name. Over two years later, I’m still listening to this one all the time.

Djo - DECIDE

Actors trying their hand at a music career usually ends up as a punchline. From Eddie Murphy and “Party All the Time,” to the nonstop Keanu and Dogstar jokes in the 90s, to Seth McFarlane’s corny ass crooning career, there’s always room for failure. Toss this notion out the window, though, cos DECIDE, the second album from Joe Keery, better known as “Steve” from Stranger Things, is an absolute psychedelic synthpop banger. Performing as Djo, Keery planted the seeds as a member of Post Animal and on his solo debut Twenty Twenty in 2019, but DECIDE is thematically more consistent yet never stays in one place as Keery sneakily lines up one club anthem after another. Full of Daft Punk vocoder and synths that pull from the 80s and early 90s, songs like “Half Life” make this one of the year's surprises. For fans of Tame Impala, this is far more exciting than anything Kevin Parker lined up for The Slow Rush.

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A few programming notes, yesterday, Mama Mañana Records released Gold Tides’ new single, “Satanas,” from their upcoming EP, Mareas de Oro. This is a fun one, an older tune excavated and updated from the group’s boneyard that finds guitarist Lorenzo Aragon on vocals for the first time while frontman Gabe Kohler mans some groovy synth textures. “Satanas” is on all streaming services, and you can listen to it right here:

The press for Hubba and Gold Tides is also starting to roll in, and we’re thankful to Karl Blakesley at New Music Weekly for his glowing reviews for the new Hubba and Gold Tides singles:

By Your Side by Hubba

Mama Mańana Records (a new label based out of Sante Fe, New Mexico) may have only launched in the last few weeks, but they have wasted little time showing off the great sounds we can expect to hear from them going forward.

Their first release was By Your Side, the first solo single from Jared Garcia whose award-winning band Thieves & Gypsys found a famous fan in Dolly Parton back in 2015. Now stepping out on his own, Garcia is due to release his new EP Empty Dreams in early October, a set of six new songs inspired by watching Westerns with his late grandfather. By Your Side is the gorgeous first taster of that EP, a song that simple radiates through the speakers thanks to Garcia’s heartfelt vocals, some wonderful soothing guitar tones and that warming lo-fi production. Safe to say, I already can’t wait to hear the rest!

Satanas by Gold Tides

However, that’s not been the only gem from Mama Mańana records over the last couple of weeks. Sante Fe collective Gold Tides who bill themselves as “Sand Surfin’ Desert Rock” also just released their vibrant new single, Satanas. Featuring some amazing hazy guitar riffs and whirring psychedelic synths, Gold Tides continue to back up the growing buzz surrounding them over in New Mexico.

Blakesley, who also writes for Gigwise, runs a wonderful weekly newsletter; you can read it here! Thanks, Karl!

Also, we appreciate Instagram follows if you aren’t already!

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I will take off Tuesday for my birthday, so see you all next Friday. Have a great weekend!

Hear songs from these records and so much more on the Good Ass Songs 2022 playlist!