NYC punks The Muckers are back with the new single “Suffocation”. The track aired on BBC6 ahead of their upcoming UK tour, and is the first taste of their new batch of songs, leaning more heavily on noise and groove. The track was recorded by Lucas Carpenter (Studio Windows’ former assistant) at Diamond Mine Recording, and I mixed & mastered it at Studio Windows. Check out the video below, and their tour dates here. “Suffocation” is out now on Greenway Records.
“Highway Nightmare” is the first single from singer-songwriter Adam Lytle and his album This Is The Fire. Adam previously led Quicksilver Daydream and Wild Leaves (both of whom I also worked with), and this marks his solo debut. Adam produced the album and recorded much of it himself, with Trey Pollard (of Spacebomb fame) providing string arrangements and Ryan Jewell holding down drums & percussion; I mixed & mastered the record at Studio Windows. The album is beautiful and haunting – with dramatic strings and a mix of acoustic & electric instrumentation – and I’m impressed with the work done by Adam & his crew. Check out the single now; This Is The Fire comes out October 20.
Gift Horse is a new project between me and Matthew Hord (Pop 1280, Running, Fine Place, Brandy), and we’ve released our first single “Devised Program”. After opening for Bitchin’ Bajas last year, we finished our debut record Cultural Payout. The album came from electronic hardware jam sessions at Studio Windows, which we then shaped & refined before I mixed & mastered it earlier this year. We have two shows next week with Chicago’s Mute Duo (American Dreams) – 7/12 at Tubby’s in Kingston and 7/13 at The P.I.T. in Brooklyn. Cultural Payout is out September 1 on cassette and digital via Ryley Walker’s label Husky Pants.
Brooklyn-based indie-punk band Big Bliss have released “Tell Me When You’re Ready”, the latest single from their upcoming album Vital Return. The track premiered on Under The Radar, who called it “a supremely energetic effort, with Tim delivering a passionate vocal performance atop nervy guitars and feverish drumming.” I produced & recorded the album with lead singer/guitarist Tim Race at Figure 8 Recording and Light Show, and I mixed it at Studio Windows; Sarah Register mastered the LP. Vital Return is out August 18 via Good Eye Records.
NYC’s May Rio returns with her sophomore record French Bath. Following a series of singles and interviews in Dazed and Office, the album follows her first record Easy Bammer (2021). I worked with May to shape the arrangements and do some additional recording at Studio Windows, and once again had these songs pop into my head at random moments. I’ve worked with May on various projects over the years, and this is the most impressive one yet! French Bath is out now on DPI Music.
“Gorgeous” by Foyer Red is one of Rolling Stone’s Best Songs Of 2023 So Far! The single is from the group’s debut album Yarn The Hours Away, which I produced, recorded, and mixed at Figure 8 Recording and Studio Windows. Here’s what they have to say:
“The Brooklyn band’s debut is called Yarn the Hours Away, an evocative phrase that perfectly describes the conversational drift of its music — guitars pinging through the air, drums ambling at odd angles, voices building off each other in a lovely, ensnaring chatter. The appropriately named “Gorgeous” is almost like post-punk doo-wop, the sound of a slow, happily stoned stroll through the coolest part of town on the first night of summer.”
Yarn The Hours Away is out now via Carpark Records.
The Slab EP – the latest from Louisville trio Wombo – is out now on Fire Talk Records. This four-song collection – as covered by So Young, Flood, The Line Of Best Fit and others – ranges from post-punk thrashers to dream pop and acoustic songs. The EP was recored in Louisville by Nick Roeder, mixed by me at Studio Windows (in Brooklyn, NY), and mastered by Greg Obis at Chicago Mastering Service. The Slab EP is out now via Fire Talk Records.
Arthur Moon – the Brooklyn-based avant-pop project led by Lora-Faye Ashuvud – is back with Chaos! Chaos! Chaos! Side B. The singles were covered by New York Times, NPR, and Under The Radar, and Brooklyn Magazine profiled the project. The EP features a wide range of collaborators, and I was fortunate to have mixed two songs for the record (“Say Less” and “It Calls”) at Studio Windows. Both sides of Chaos! Chaos! Chaos! are available on limited-edition vinyl via Vinyl Me Please, and are available for download via Bandcamp.
NYC art-pop-freak quintet Foyer Red have released their debut LP Yarn The Hours Away. SPIN and Flood both ran features on the band, alongside rave reviews from Allmusic (Editor’s Choice), Loud & Quiet (“upfront, earnest music for upfront, earnest hearts”), Paste (“a roller coaster ride from start to finish that keeps you completely engaged and on the edge of your seat”), and Brooklyn Vegan (“technicolor blasts of manic pop, catchy whirwinds that shift gears frequently… sweeping you off your feet, spinning you round and depositing you somewhere else entirely, dazed and giddy”). I produced this album with the band, recording primarily at Figure 8, with additional overdubs & mixing done at Studio Windows, and the record was mastered by Joe Lambert. I love this band – they’re terrific live and absolute sweethearts – and I’m so proud of the work we did on this album! You should absolutely check this one out. Yarn The Hours Away is out now on Carpark Records.
Memento Mori – the debut LP from Bambara‘s touring guitarist/keyboard player Sam Zalta – is out now. “An album of ambitious, lush, evocative soundscapes” (Frontview Magazine), these songs were recorded & performed by Sammy – with assists from Blaze and Reid Bateh from Bambara – and I mixed & mastered the record at Studio Windows. Check out the video for opener “My Prayer” below, and pick up the limited-edition handnumbered LPs direct from Bandcamp. Memento Mori is out now!
Jonathan Schenke 