Review: Touché Amoré – Stage Four

Touche Amore - Stage Four

In a year full of good music, it can be difficult to decide which records deserve your attention most. It seems as though every week has at least two releases worth dedicating precious listening time to. At that rate it can quickly become an overwhelming task to simply keep up. That’s why I find it necessary to tell you that if there is one must listen record this year: it’s the latest offering from Touché Amoré, titled Stage Four.

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Review: Dawes – We’re All Gonna Die

Dawes - We're All Gonna Die

I’m of the mind that no artist—band or solo—has had a more stellar run this decade than Dawes. After debuting in 2009 with the promising North Hills, the Los Angeles quartet fired off Nothing Is Wrong (2011), Stories Don’t End (2013), and All Your Favorite Bands (2015) in the space of just under four years. Not only are all of those records among the best of the decade so far, but they are also all markedly different from one another. Nothing Is Wrong is pitch-perfect Laurel Canyon folk rock, emulating Jackson Browne so successfully that Browne actually agreed to provide backing vocals on a track. Stories Don’t End took the band’s sound in a more modern, studio-driven pop direction, while last year’s All Your Favorite Bands was an Americana road trip of a record that returned the band to their live, improv-heavy roots. The latter features arguably the best playing of any rock album released since 2010.

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Albums in Stores – Sep. 16th, 2016

This is a pretty damn good week for new albums. Of course I’m going to recommend that new Against Me! album. Also: Bad Suns, Touché Amoré, Cymbals Eat Guitars, and Taking Back Sunday. If you hit read more you can see all the releases we have in our calendar for the week. Hit the quote bubble to access our forums and talk about what came out today, what albums you picked up, and to make mention of anything we may have missed.

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A Back-Up Thomas (Encore Episode 132)

Encore - 132

This week’s episode of Encore is with special guest Deanna Chapman. (Thomas is on vacation and watching football games and stuff.) On this episode we talk about how the music scene has changed over the years and what first drew us to it. I’m always curious about what brought other people into this music scene, how it differs today, and the role technology and social media has played in shaping it. We also talk about Batman: The Animated Series, some of our favorite apps, Apple Music/Spotify/Bandcamp, and other fun stuff.

As always, thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy.

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