Randy Reynolds is Executive Producer of the PBS music documentary series Hardly Sound, columnist for Side One Track One music blog and former leader of the Austin, Texas band Leatherbag. Before producing TV, playing in a band or music writing, Reynolds cut his teeth as music director for Sam Houston State University’s student run radio station KSHU 90.5 FM in Huntsville, Texas. Some of his favorites include: ESP Disk’ free jazz, Richard & Linda Thompson, Big Star, Flying Nun label, Krautrock, Memphis music et al, and American primitive. Reynolds lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and son.
From Poor Moon in 2011 to Haw in 2013 to Lateness of Dancers in 2014, HGM has done nothing but become more clear eyed and full hearted. The proof is in Heart Like A Levee.
This past February, Austin’s Thousand Foot Whale Claw quietly released one of the best kosmische-laden albums of 2016. The BT spoke to Justin Goers (bass/synth/drum machine/guitar) and Adam Jones (synth/drum machine) through email about Austin, Holodeck Records and their newest album Cosmic Winds.
It’s the kind of record that quietly sneaks in your life and softly demands to be played every day…
The Magic is an album by a great American band that both embodies and defies everything that came before them.
The New Breed is a high mark in Jeff Parker’s substantial catalog.
In 2016, there are few records as lyrically and musically rich as Anagrams.
Into The Light scores those countless ever-changing landscapes Anderson can’t or won’t let go of.
L.A.‘s Thin Wrist Recordings has released the best album of 2016. The band is 75 Dollar Bill. The album is Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock.
Tyler returns to widen his expansive scope of Americana with Modern Country.
Terry Allen’s 1975 debut album, Juarez, is an existential Texican minimusical.
Disintegrator takes Markham’s already unique perspective, songwriting, and voice, and magnifies it by 1000.
On Will, each song is littered with Barwick’s unmistakable, magical grace while addressing the innateness of internal conflict within the mind.
When listening to Music of Morocco: From The Library of Congress – Recorded by Paul Bowles, 1959, it’s incredible to think about Paul Bowles and the journey that was made to capture these unique and utterly celebratory recordings
Noveller is the solo electric guitar project of Brooklyn composer/filmmaker, Sarah Lipstate. She’s responsible for Fantastic Planet, one of the finest albums of 2015 and has recently been the opening act for Iggy Pop on his latest tour.
David Kilgour doesn’t rest on his laurels. It’s just sometimes when you’re not busy looking back, it’s hard to remember the important works you leave behind you. Sugar Mouth is one of the those important works.
In it’s own beer-soaked way, Total Freedom is as cutting-edge as Rock has gotten in a long while.
Whatever Glenn Jones and Laura Baird experienced by the Rancocas in New Jersey, comes shining through on Fleeting.
Pollard continues along his trajectory on Of Course You Are with all his marvelous forces still in tact.
With Heron Oblivion, Baird and Co. have created a Neo-Psych classic and one of the best records of 2016.
The Heretic’s Bargain, is Rangda at its most eternal and precise.
On Wabi-Sabi, Cross Record successfully generate something truly mystical.
Kinetic Tones is a glaring example of the talent of Justin Wright.
Not many can do what The Chills make sound so effortless. Silver Bullets was worth the wait.
Parallelogram is a 5 LP set featuring never before released works by Hiss Golden Messenger, Michael Chapman, Six Organs of Admittance, William Tyler, Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, Thurston Moore & John Moloney (Caught On Tape), Alan Bishop/Bill Orcutt/Chris Corsano (Bishop-Orcutt-Corsano Trio), Bardo Pond and Yo La Tengo.
Whether the band’s every step is calculated or they’re completely unaware of their country’s underground rock distinctions and there’s just something in the water of Lake Te Anau that creates monumental jangle pop, doesn’t matter at all. Metalmania totally rips.
Vile has managed to tap into something that transcends indie trends and peers on B’lieve I’m Goin Down….
MV and EE have achieved a career high with Alpine Frequency. They have cobbled both their influences and their own musical/spiritual path together into one permanent song. Many paths are taken here but they all lead to the same road, the golden bummer road to unlimited devotion.
One of the finest EP’s by ANY rock band anywhere this year.
In a time where niche genres and artists are easily accessed and exploited, Barna Howard is a breath of fresh mountain air.
It’s almost shocking to hear guitars being played this way in 2015. Just when you think the instrument has nowhere left to go, you’re proven wrong by a pair of capable hands. Well, in this case, two pair of capable hands.
Over and Even is a quality record by a singer that has all the power and grace of a Linda Thompson or a Hazel Dickens. Shelley may even be one of the best female folk singers we have in America today
Those in the know have been aware of Tamara Lindeman’s authentic charm for a while, but for the rest of us, her newest creation Loyalty is a revelation.
Newcomers to and admirers of Jansch will be elated with_Live at the 12 Bar_. It’s a benevolent document of the man and the tremendous powers he possessed, even later in his career.
Bachman’s newest, River, is where all the labor he’s put into his work thus far, pays off and focalizes onto one singular piece of wax.
Songs From Suicide Bridge is not just a record for collectors. It’s an album for anyone who’s put their heart and soul into something, to see it crash and burn.
Much like 2013’s Electric, Still gives Thompson new context and the freedom he needs to continue chasing the muse.
Magnetoception is Earth music. It doesn’t have a specific locale or grab from easily accessed niche genres. It is music that is living, persisting and actively developing: it’s also one of the best albums of 2015.
On their self titled debut, Koes Barat, Alan Bishop looks to honor the music of a band made of up entirely of Indonesian brothers called Koes Plus.
Shirley Inspired exposes the timelessness of Collins’ music and the traditions she served to test and sustain. The depth of each contribution speaks to her significance and signifies the room still left to explore within the realm of British traditional musics.
Grass, Branch & Bone is an album that is light enough to take in and dark enough to stay with you.
The trailblazing music cited throughout his notable discography has contributed much to neo-traditionalist Americana history and his newest album Wood, Wire & Words, continues that.
Exploration seems to be the theme throughout Tangeir Sessions, going to show that even the most transient musical forms can become infinite in capable hands.
Hexadic finds Ben Chasney allowing himself room to freely express the boundaries of Six Organs of Admittance.
Switzerland 1974 is thrilling from start to finish. For those into fusion, prog, krautrock and/or face melting of the jazz variety, this is the release of the year!
With Smoke Paint, Daniel Markham and Tony Ferraro indulge in their more experimental leanings and turn in some pleasing songs in the process.
Seasonal Hire starts and finishes seemingly in continuum, as if it had been always there and always will be.
Crossroads is not only a welcomed addition to the collection of anyone who digs on 70’s singer songwriter fare but also for those looking to dip their toes into the more curious world of private press and loner folk musics
In a short time, Dick Diver have created some monumental works (New Start Again and Calendar Days spring to mind) that not only display deft and diverse songwriting but also some ace guitar and lasting melodies. Melbourne, Florida is no different than its predecessors, but does show a newfound confidence.
Twerps have a great record somewhere in them, sadly it’s not Range Anxiety .
After the hiatus announcement of Sonic Youth in 2011, the underwhelming Chelsea Light Moving LP in 2013, and a mild solo career, Thurston Moore reappears with the best solo record of his career entitled The Best Day.
Pretty Bitchin’ is not only confirmation of Markham’s arrival as a force to be reckoned with as a songwriter/performer but also suggests to be a crucial piece of the puzzle for Markham in the years to come.
The record builds upon the fusion and free of category feel of Sky Bleached, though this time with steeper hills and deeper valleys to tour.
Not unlike the classic New Zealand label, Flying Nun, Bedroom Suck is building its own roads to listeners and creating an incredible catalog in the process.
Brooklyn based songwriter/guitarist Steve Gunn releases his second full blown singer-songwriter record entitled Way Out Weather. Released by North Carolina uprisers, Paradise of Bachelors, Way Out Weather delivers on the lone wolf promise made on Gunn’s 2013 release Time Off.
Released in August by Austin, TX label Marmara, All Worries At Once finds Aycock assembling tinges of patterned synths, drone and gamelan into his singular guitar etchings.
Forth Worth troubadour Collin Herring steps firmly out of the shadows with his newest LP entitled Some Knives. His first record since 2009’s Ocho finds Matt Pence of Centro-Matic again behind the production wheel for an upbeat albeit melancholy filled affair where stately drums and synths take a front seat.
Even thru it’s darker and more experimental moments, in which there are many on Remember I was Carbon Dioxide, the group continue to have a conscious point of view that allows for both impulse and heritage to play a part.
It’s a common belief that bad things come in threes. For Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band, that theory just doesn’t hold up. Former Brooklynite and current Philly resident Chris Forsyth and his band (featuring Peter Kerlin, Paul Sukeena from Philly deep thudders Spacin’ and Steve Urgo, formerly of The War on Drugs) are countering this aged idea successfully at every turn, beginning with the release of Solar Motel on October 29th, 2013 .
With Luke Walsh of Blank Realm on board as producer, Ex Slug Guts member Cameron Hawes creates an album that references sounds from the late 80’s and early 90’s UK underground with minor revelations.
On their latest and first for Merge Records, Lateness of Dancers finds Hiss Golden Messenger affirming their past considerations and handing hope to their fiction.
Kilgour’s newest chapter, End Times Undone, is a collection of songs that lie between his hazy jangle and that heavenly heavy-vibed treble clang only he can produce.
2014 shows no signs of Fair slowing down his collaborations or Half Japanese.
Songwriter, Donovan Quinn, returns alongside longtime associate Glenn Donaldson, for the first Skygreen Leopards album since 2009 entitled Family Crimes.
It seems the speakers of the stereo can barely contain these songs at times, making Libertine a truly powerful document not just for Silkworm but also for first wave indie rock.
Earnestly reissued by Paradise of Bachelors and produced by Peter Eden (Donovan, Bill Fay), Trout Steel eloquently connects brit folk to free jazz with ease and originality.
After their startling debut, Light Up Gold, and the puzzling Tally All the Things That You Broke EP that followed, Parquet Courts are back with their second full length Sunbathing Animal.
After packing away his longtime project Frank Smith, Austin by way of Boston songwriter A. Sinclair, arrives umarred and anew with Pretty Girls.
Lost Colony manages to tap into that intoxicating East Nashville ardor, a place you never expect to find yourself, but once you’re there, you never want to leave.
Maryland trio, Trans Am, embark on their tenth studio album, aptly titled Volume X.
Place For One Day is that rare release that pushes tradition a few measures forward, this is no small feat nor is it anything to take for granted.
Atlas maturely reveals a band refining the indefinable thing that they do better than anyone else.
The long overdue bio reveals, for the very first time, Chilton’s early success and adventures in The Box Tops, exposes new and interesting details to the Big Star story, and gives frank insight into a somewhat arduous career.
Released by the nostalgia crazed label, Sundazed Music, the compilation plays like a greatest hits LP, boasting the many resplendent sides of the London quintet.
Released in early January on New Fortune Records, the album adds to the group’s already impressive canon.
Each Other appeare to be a band brimming with innovative indie pop ideas on their first full length, Being Elastic.
Austin’s reigning Americana champs, So Long, Problems, split the songwriting and find their sweet spot on Ashes in the Rearview.
Recorded in his mom’s garage in January, the short release reveals a skilled musician performing both lighthearted and austere compositions with command.
The Cold of the Morning was recorded in 1976 by Jim Dickinson and was the first release for Peabody. The monumental record exhibits Selvidge’s rugged understanding of African-American field songs, Tin Pan Alley schmaltz, regional blues, and coffeehouse folk.
The trio of Mary Halvorson (guitar,) Michael Formanek (bass,) and Tomas Fujiwara (drums,) known as Thumbscrew, make for an assured ensemble on their self titled debut.
Former Emeralds member, Mark McGuire, steps his ambient sketches into the spotlight on Along the Way. The pop sensibilities McGuire has alluded to on previous works finally come to full bloom on his newest full length.
Austin’s baroque composer collective, Some Say Leland, find new perspectives on their new long player, Brought Low.
Stanley Brinks (of Herman Dune) once agan joins his old pals, The Wave Pictures, for a booze inspired LP entitled, Gin. It’s a fitting title for an album brimming with snickered lyrics and tipsy melodies.
The new album entitled, Old Fears, trades in SOL’s charm for smooth intricacy.
The trio of, Belfi/Grubbs/Pilia, reach the spire of their collaborations on their newest, Dust & Mirrors. With Grubbs and Pilia’s guitars center stage, the unit give clarity to the sonic concepts first examined on 2010’s Onrushing Clouds.
New Bums automatically bring to mind the mystical songwriting duo of Dave Kusworth and the late Nikki Sudden. While Voices in a Rented Room does share obvious artistic similarities to Robespierre’s Velvet Basement, the album displays far more than the suave, scarf and cigarette shuffle regularly offered by The Jacobites.