20 years after their formation, The Privates returned to Battle Tapes in Nashville, TN to record two brand new songs. “Old Times” is one of the fruits of that endeavor. It’s available on the brand new Best Of compilation LP, We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We?

If you’re one of the rare few that grew up in Nashville, the “Old Times” video will surely stir up some memories. Pay close attention and you may see a glimpse of West End Ave that hasn’t existed since the late 90s, or a beloved theme park that only exists virtually now.

The song is a bit more on the melancholy side of The Privates catalog but it still manages to be a memorable banger. Truly a classic worthy of the Best Of, in my opinion.

If you’ve been tuned in to yk during 2024, you know that The Robe has been releasing new music every single month of the year. Here at the end of July, we continue that trend.

“Lights” b/w “River in the Ocean” is available on Bandcamp and all streaming platforms (Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, et al).

As with all previous releases from The Robe, I have no additional context to share with you about these songs. I am not privy to the impetus behind the lyrics or the inspiration that formed their compositions. Quite frankly, I appreciate this intentional dearth of information as it allows me to form my own connections with the song regardless of the original intent. I hope you will do the same.

Stream it, save it, share it. Works every time.

I want to tell you about the new Meadownoise album, The Foam Alone. However, every detail that is divulged will actually take away from The Foam Alone. To maximize the experience, I really must say nothing at all. But my job is to tell you about the thing. Quite an impasse to be involved in.

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To that end, let me tell you that Meadownoise is the name of Matt Glassmeyer’s project of songs recorded at his home studio. The three previous records, It’s 4:00, Dark Digest, and Threeve can be broadcast anywhere you like to stream your music.

For the fourth studio album, The Foam Alone, the crumbs are all here. You must decide if you want to follow the path or not. It’s not difficult but it does require action. If you are not interested in such effort, we still hope you enjoy what’s been made available in the world as of today.

For additional crumbs, keep your eyes out for Matt Glassmeyer’s other instrumental groups: including Glassmeyer’s Live Band (a quartet often playing Meadownoise compositions in improvised ways), Global Abacus Supply (a trio of horns and electronics), Hompulon (a progressive ensemble co-led by Tom Spiker), Slow Accordion (the Nashville improv side project) and in exploratory duos with Ben Garnett, Britney Haas, Ross McReynolds and others.

I apologize for the deceit but only marginally. I believe in your ability to proceed.

Happy to report that General Trust has broken the seal on 2024 and released two new singles today – “Hearses” b/w “A Season of Wrath.” These two new tracks from General Trust contain multitudes; they’re dark and moody but they’re also irresistibly dancy. They’re hard hitting and they’re melodic.

While no genre label ever encompasses a project fully or accurately, they do give you an idea of what you’re dealing with. To that end, we’re categorizing these tracks as “Neo-noir Duskwave” – an extension of the “Coldwave” and “Synthpunk” labels, that are extensions of “Goth” and “Post-punk” themselves. It may sound absurd to declare a distinct new genre but give it a listen and leave a comment. You’ll see.

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Plenty on the horizon for General Trust this year; we’re just getting started. Make sure you check out the new official website, follow along on Instagram and Bandcamp, and share these new tracks everywhere.

20 years after their formation, THE PRIVATES returned to Battle Tapes to record their first new material in over a decade. “Don’t Take It Out On Me” is one of two brand new songs from those sessions and it’s available TODAY.

The track evokes the same high energy, euphoric, good times (cut with just a dash of introspective melancholy) that their previous material did 14 years ago. It’s an absolute classic.

Adding to this great news is the fact that the song is also now streaming everywhere. So go toss it in a playlist, share it with a friend and spread the word.

You can get The Privates on vinyl for the very first time ever with their new Best Of compilation, We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We?

Back in 2009, THE PRIVATES performed and recorded with Lake Fever Sessions – an in-studio performance series that was filmed at Lake Fever Productions, the Music Row studio owned by Jason Bullock, Joe Baine Colvert and John Baldwin. The Privates performance was the inaugural session for the series, the very first of many great performances.

Bullock had recorded the majority of the bands material to that point and it was fitting for The Privates to kick things off. They performed a number of songs, including “I’ll Be Honest” – the second track from their then-recent EP, Motion. The video performance shown here is from that session but the audio is taken from the 2024 remastered version, available on the bands new Best Of compilation: We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We?

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You can still see the entire original session – with the original audio – over on the Lake Fever Sessions Archive. The band also performs “You Never Take Me Dancing” and a cover of Paramore’s “Misery Business.”

Get it on Bandcamp or stream it everywhere.

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For the past six months, The Robe has delivered batches of new music that both feel like one cohesive grouping of songs and, inversely, feel like an  evolution of ideas from one month to the next. You can experience this yourself firsthand by listening to this playlist of every release from 2024 (it’s also on YouTube if you prefer).

When these songs are delivered there’s no additional insight, background information, inspiration or context about each track. Details are not divulged and, frankly, I prefer it that way. Describing my response and relationship with these songs requires me to find my own context; what do they songs mean to me rather than what did they mean to The Robe? 

This isn’t a controversial way to listen to music but it is less common these days. Take some time to listen to these new tracks and ask yourself what they mean to you. Put on headphones and listen for the unique sounds that are layered together. Get your brain noodling around on them. I’ll let you in a little secret – these songs will also get your body moving too.. if you let them! 

Enjoy!

YK Records is pleased to announce that The Privates will be releasing We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We? on vinyl and digital this August 2024. The record is a compilation of the bands best work and includes two brand new tracks – “Don’t Take It Out On Me” and “Old Times” – recorded with Jeremy Ferguson at Battle Tapes.

For the uninitiated, The Privates were a Nashville based band from 2003 to 2010. They released two albums and two 5-song EPs in that time, playing a number of live shows that cemented them as a must-see, positively buoyant, good time. They weren’t together long but they made a big impact.

The number of hours I have personally spent listening to their entire discography – The Privates, Louder than Lightning, Barricades and Motion – is countless! Songs like “Hearts Got a Hole”, “I’m Telling” or “You Never Take Me Dancing” have never left the regular rotation. It’s an absolute honor to get to work with the band and cement this piece of Nashville rock history with a vinyl and digital release.

Pre-order the vinyl on Bandcamp now

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“No band has ever sounded quite like The Privates.”

That’s a quote from 2006, and it holds up.

For their seven years together, the Nashville indie rock outfit was a favorite of resident record geeks and the local press, who dubbed them “fiercely catchy, smartly arty and bursting with ambition” and among the era’s “top three bands to arise out of Nashville.”

On stage and on record, the band quickly won hearts and minds with controlled blasts of choppy post-punk rhythms, yearning melodies and general six-string chaos. The sound ricocheted off the walls of local dives and basements, and dipped into the sonic wells of Supergrass, The Strokes, Brian Eno, Deerhoof, The Walkmen and other fixtures of their CD binders. The band’s incendiary live show even inspired a short sci-fi film: Dylan Allen’s The Privates (2017), starring a fictionalized version of the band.

Unfortunately, Nashville was as far as the band ever staked a claim. In fact, they never played a show outside of their home state.

Still, The Privates were on the road. All four members, then in their 20s, had full-time gigs touring and recording with more established acts, including The Features, Lambchop and The Pink Spiders. It was a booming time in Nashville’s rock scene, a period that saw the rise of Kings of Leon, Paramore and Be Your Own Pet.

From 2004 to 2009, The Privates released two albums and two 5-song EPs, and quietly played their final regular show in 2010. Aside from a one-off reunion in 2013, the members haven’t performed, written or recorded together since.
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UNTIL NOW.

The Privates—Dave Paulson, Ryan Norris, Keith Lowen and Rollum Haas—have reunited to write and record two brand-new songs, “Don’t Take It Out On Me” and “Old Times.” They will bookend the band’s first-ever vinyl release, a best-of collection entitled We Are Really Rocking Now, Haven’t We?, which will be released on YK Records. The 14-track set also features remastered selections from the band’s entire discography, including “Heart’s Got a Hole,” “Pocari Sweat” and “You Never Take Me Dancing,” and features a gatefold sleeve with photos and artifacts from their original run.

In 2010, the band stopped booking shows, but never formally broke up. To mark the 10th anniversary of their first show, the band reunited in 2013 for a one-off gig, playing their debut album in its entirety. In 2023—20 years after their formation—they returned to Jeremy Ferguson’s Battletapes to record the new songs.

Plans are underway for a reunion concert/record release celebration in Nashville later in 2024.

Visitor is the debut full-length from Annie Williams. It’s far from her first foray into the world but it’s the first official collection of songs that felt ripe and ready for gathering together.

Chris Crofton’s writeup about the album refers to the the songs as “sacred and profane.” This excerpt is particularly perfect:

“I’m interested in the secular sacred – kindness, flowers, coffee, music, waterfalls, being of service – that sort of thing. If you get enough kindness and coffee in one place – for me, that’s church. Annie Williams takes you to that kind of church. These songs of hers are sacred spaces. Little universes, where, through the honesty of Annie’s voice, small subjects become large. In Annie’s world, a lost dog (“Midnight”), the movie “Thelma and Louise” (“Thelma”), a highway (“Hwy 287”) and love (“Oh My Love”) are all equally-worthy inspirations.”

— Chris Crofton on Visitor

That phrase “small subjects become large” really gets me. Listening back to “Midnight” or “Getting Old” I am struck by the lyricism of pondering events that have happened to us all. Annie is able to transform those experiences into an emotional expression that is rare, to say the least. With other tracks, “Lover Like You” and “Oh My Love” come to mind, my heart breaks with Annie’s delicate songwriting and delivery are ethereal.

This is only the beginning for Annie Williams. I’ve heard the next album and it’s just as brilliant as Visitor (albeit different). Her ability to articulate the feelings of her own experiences or those of a character (see “Louise”) are extremely poignant and wonderfully immersive.

The album is available on limited edition jade colored vinyl, digital download and streaming everywhere. Do yourself a favor and get it into your ears as soon as possible.

2024 has been a godsend for new music by The Robe. For the first four months, two brand new songs were released every month. Now, here in May of 2024, The Robe has delighted us with a four song EP – the May Throwaway EP.

Don’t be fooled by the title tho! These are not b-sides or recording scraps, these are fully fleshed out, delightful, new offerings from The Robe. If you’re one to pay attention to lyrics, you’ll find the release title tucked inside of “Passerby.“

You can pick up a digital copy of the EP over on Bandcamp or stream them everywhere you like.

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While we’re on the topic of The Robe – spend some time with this 2024 playlist of all of the releases for the year. They weren’t devised as an album but now that we’re at 12 tracks, it’s a treat to listen to them as such!

The Robe will be playing at The 5 Spot here in Nashville, TN on Thursday, June 6th with Baseball Bat. This is a 6pm show so get there on the early side.