👼 It is with an abundance of joy that yk Records announces the arrival of Matt & The Watt Gives debut, self-titled, full-length, album. Without any context, you should tap play on the nearest embed, click purchase on your favorite download platform or start streaming on your favorite streamer. All three are acceptable actions.

The project is the undertaking of Matt Pelham, frontman for one of Nashville’s favorite rock bands (and fellow yk Records roster bandmates) – The Features. When that band went on hiatus in 2016, there wasn’t an announcement or a farewell show – they simply paused the band.

Fans wondered if there would be another album or if new music could be expected from any of the members. Drummer Rollum Haas releases music as The Robe – answering the question of new music (yes!) and bringing much delight.

As for Matt Pelham, his daughter Edith provided this short biography to explain his time between The Features and today:

Matt and the Watt Gives is the new solo project of long time Features front-dude, Matt Pelham. Since the disbanding of the Features in 2016, Matt has found himself very busy with a large variety of grown-up junk… Now, after eight years, for his sanity and the sanity of the people around him, Matt has decided to write, record, and play music again.

Not only did Pelham experience his fair share of “grown-up junk” (an unfortunate experience for us all!) but he also taught himself to home record and mix on his own. This gave him the freedom to create at his own pace and experiment with a new landscape of sound.

His voice is distinctive. If you’re a fan of The Features, you can’t help but literally hear overlap between the two. But The Features style changed over time and Matt & The Watt Gives is a unique offering as well. It’s personally introspective, it’s vulnerable and sometimes its an outright barn burner.

Words can only do so much justice to it. We’re glad to have Pelham’s voice and songwriting back in our ears. Find the record on limited edition vinyl, download it from Bandcamp or Ampwall, stream it on Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify and everywhere else.

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Matt & The Watt Gives will celebrate the release of this album on June 28th in Nashville, TN at Olive & Sinclair. The Robe and The Arcade Aquarium open. It will be a fantastic night for a fantastic album.

Chris Crofton is known for many things. He writes a regular column for the Nashville Scene called Advice King. Those articles were compiled into a book for Vanderbilt Press called The Advice King Anthology. He’s a stand-up comic and a podcaster with a long running show – Cold Brew Got Me Like (before that, Best of Bread). There’s a documentary about his comedy career called Chris Crofton: Nashville Famous.

By and large, he’s known for his comedy and sharp wit but through all of his endeavors, he’s always been a musician. In 2018, he released his solo album, Hello It’s Me with Arrowhawk Records. It was a new form of Chris Crofton compositions – introspective, thoughtful and sometimes forelorn.

After seven years, we are happy to report that there is a new Chris Crofton album on the horizon. “Vitamin D” is the first single from that album – due out Summer 2025 on yk and Arrowhawk Records.

When asked about the inspiration behind the song, Crofton says it was spurred on by “The realization that you can even get depressed in paradise. Sleeping all day, while the palm trees sway. Los Angeles, 2017.”

There are plenty more details to share about the upcoming album but, for now, soak in the gentle sway of “Vitamin D.”

The track is available in the YK Shop, on Bandcamp, Ampwall, Spotify and all the other usual suspects.

In July of 2024 I was asked if YK would be interested in releasing a collaboration between Cortney Tidwell and Tristen called phiz. These songs were recorded a decade prior but had recently been revived from a hard drive and were ready for the world to hear.

Of course I jumped at the opportunity and now two phiz songs are out in the world for all to enjoy – get them on Bandcamp, Ampwall or streaming everywhere.

Tristen and Cortney were kind enough to sit down and spend some time with me to talk about their long friendship, their relationship to the city of Nashville, their process for songwriting and how they’ve learned to ignore the critical voice. It’s a fantastic chat that covers a great number of topics; all quite compelling if you ask me!

It turns out, Cortney Tidwell herself had also recently been revived into the world having overcome some substance abuse struggles. She speaks very honestly about these experiences and how her involvement with Thistle Farms helped her overcome it all. It’s incredible to see her on the healthy side of things now. (If you are struggling, there is help!)

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The episode is in your podcast app now. Find it on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, Overcast, etc etc.

Also, since you’re paying attention – you can pick up tickets to the Tristen + Cortney Tidwell + phiz show happening July 12th at Soft Junk right over here.

In August of 2024, Fetching Pails released “Shattery” – the first single from a new batch of songs written and recorded as a trio. Previously, Jill Townsend had written and recorded the entirety of Telekinesis for Beginners and was looking to freshen up the process. Who better to help with that than Dillon Smith and Andrew Core?

Today they release “Ruiner” – the third single from the braintrust trio and it’s a slow burn that unfurls into a cathartic avalanche of sound.

This is one you must stick with to get the full effect. Even skipping ahead won’t do the trick. Turn it on, crank it up and let it sit with you. Townsend’s vocals transform and transcend through the duration as the music creeps it’s way into a massive wall of sound. It makes for a gripping experience if we say so ourselves.

The track is available everywhere today – Bandcamp, Ampwall, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Soundcloud, et al. You name it, it’s there!

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Bonus good news: Fetching Pails will play The Basement on Friday, May 23rd along with HR Lexy and Caroline Cronin – an incredible night of music. Tickets are available here.

phiz is the spontaneous collaboration of two of Nashville’s finest, Cortney Tidwell and Tristen Gaspadarek. These two tracks were found on an old hard drive, revived from a batch of bootleg recordings of jam sessions captured years ago. Tristen recalls, “We came together to play music and sing with each other and trade songs. Her house was bustling with her kids and their friends and music was at the center. “ Music remains at the center of it with these two songs being created purely for the job of creating together.

YK Records is excited to present these gems recovered from the past. Tristen and Cortney Tidwell are names that we have followed independently for years. Their work is consistently compelling and always in regular rotation. To discover that they had performed together was a shock and a delight.

It’s unknown exactly when these songs were recorded but I suspect roughly in 2014. A different time in both of the artists lives but also very prolific times for them both. “i lost my fkn mind” and “If I Had Known” are quite distinct from one another but both contain a striking introspection and simplicity. And the vocal pairings could not be more captivating.

For this unique collaboration, YK pressed a unique physical manifestation of the songs – a yellow Flexi 7″. Miles Price took photos in Tristen’s backyard. The artwork was printed by Risology Club. It’s a wonderful item that sounds delightful.

The songs are streaming everywhere – Apple Music, Spotify, etc. They’re on Bandcamp and Ampwall. The Flexi is in the YK Shop. Wherever you like to get your music, it’s there. Please enjoy.

The recent YK World episode with Talking with Hands was a real delight to record. The discussion around Organic Machine , Matt Smith’s songwriting process and inspirations was insightful to say the least!

In fact, we had such a blast that once the interview was over, we continued chatting.. for awhile! It was such an enjoyable time that we just left the recording on and didn’t worry about the fidelity or the topics we covered. We meandered a bit but never strayed too far from art and technology.

We’re calling this a B-SIDE podcast – a continuation of the A-Side but maybe not as focused or polished. It’s not any less enjoyable, just a little more free form. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

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The podcast is streaming on all the things – Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Overcast and, of course, Spotify. Subscribe anywhere and everywhere.

At the tail end of 2024 I got the chance to sit down with Matthew Smith – aka Talking with Hands – and talk in-depth about his third full-length record, Organic Machine.

Much to my delight, I got a lot more than just a track-by-track breakdown of the record. Matt divulged his history with music, his songwriting processes, his techniques for challenging himself to stay fresh and so much more. Having worked with Matt on all three of his TWH records – The World and Ourselves, New Public Domain and Organic Machine – it’s really enlightening to finally get such context around Smith himself.

If you’ve not heard Organic Machine yet, let this be your jumping off point! No time like the present. It’s on Bandcamp, Ampwall and streaming. There’s even a handful of vinyl copies still available.

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The podcast is streaming on all the things – Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Overcast and, of course, Spotify. Subscribe anywhere and everywhere.