Overseas

     Will Johnson has forced me into 21st Century music acquisition. His latest project is the slowcore supergroup, Overseas, which also includes David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) and the Kadane brothers (Bedhead and New Year). In order to get this album I had to do two things that are against my music collecting religion. First, I had to order it from the interwebs and wait for it to ship. I have only done this a couple times when it's the only option. When I ordered the album, they sent me a free digital download. I have never downloaded an album, but I wanted the immediate gratification of hearing it so I went for it. I'm one of those crazy people who buys an LP with a download code, but still buys an actual CD as well. Then I give the download code to a friend. The LP isn't here yet, but I have listened to the download a few times and it's pretty good.
     If you're a regular to this blog you know that Will Johnson is one of my favorite songwriters. He splits singing duties on Overseas with David Bazan and plays drums. He is no stranger to drumming as he did it in his first band, Funland, and also in the Monster Of Folk. It's interesting to read reviews of Overseas, because you can tell which member the reviewer was a fan of beforehand. I had never listened to the other principles in this band before, but I like Bazan's contributions. His powerful vocal style is a great contrast to Will Johnson's fragility. The album builds momentum as it plays out and there are no bad songs. I can't wait to get the physical LP and really dig into it.
     Speaking of albums that I can't wait for, there are several coming out soon.

Hebronix (7-9-13)- This is the new project of former Yuck frontman Daniel Blumberg.

Robert Pollard (7-9-13) You may be shocked to read he has two releases, a solo record and a project called Teenage Guitar. I may or may not get the solo album, but I'll probably take a chance on Teenage Guitar. Oh, who am I kidding, I'll end up getting both. I have a problem!

Mountain Goats- All Hail West Texas (7-23-13) I'm stoked that Merge is reissuing this album. It's my favorite Mountain Goats release and I love the song "Source Decay". It should have been on my Top 50 list.

Polyphonic Spree (8-6-13)- I've heard one song from this album and it's good.

Superchunk (8-20-13)- See my post on Superchunk.

Franz Ferdinand (8-27-13)- Actually, my wife is the one excited about this. I did see them once with my oldest daughter. I took her to see Good Charlotte (arghh) and FF was one of the opening acts. This was about 10 years ago.

Julie Ruin (9-3-13)- The Julie Ruin band is actually Kathleen Hanna and friends. One of my favorite WRUW shows is called Stone Cold Bikini, which is a Julie Ruin reference. This will be fun time rock and roll.

     Oh, I almost forgot the other exciting thing about ordering the Overseas album. Will Johnson is also a painter who specializes in baseball prints and in the Overseas online store some of his art was for sale. For the amazing price of $10, I ordered a numbered and signed print of my childhood hero Mark "The Bird" Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers. I was 11 years old during that magical summer in 1976 when he captivated the baseball world. He was one of the great characters of the game. He was tall and skinny with long, curly blond hair and he talked to the baseball. He won 19 games as a rookie, led the league in ERA, started the All-Star Game and beat the Yankees on national TV. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by injuries and he died a few years ago in a tractor accident. I will always remember the summer of "The Bird" fondly. Peace.