#Fat Possum Records

[ifelllikeastar]

R.L. Burnside played the harmonica and dabbled with playing guitar at the age of 16 learned mostly from Mississippi Fred McDowell. He credited singing at church and fife-and-drum picnics as influences in his music, along with Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins, and John Lee Hooker as influences later on in life. R.L. had a powerful, expressive voice, that did not fail with old age but rather grew richer, and he played both electric and acoustic guitar, with and without a slide. He was the grandfather to Cedric Burnside.

R.L. Burnside died September 1, 2005 in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 78.

[bandcampsnoop]

7/1/23.

Joanna Sternberg (New York City) came to my attention a couple of times over the past couple of days, but it was the Pitchfork "Best New Album" tag for the recently released "I've Got Me" that really caught my attention.

Their music is a joy to listen to. It recalls the songwriting of Randy Newman, or Daniel Johnston. The voice and melodies also remind me a bit of Arthur Russell and Kimya Dawson. Sternberg added that they were influenced by the songs of Elliott Smith.

And finally, there is a storytelling here that reminds me of Woody Guthrie, and Kora Feder to name a few.

This is being released by Fat Possum (Mississippi). Their debut was initially released by Conor Oberst's label, Team Love.

[gimmigezz]

Memphis '69: The 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival | Full Documentary

Fat Possum & No Sudden Movements present 'Memphis '69'. This concert documentary, shot over 3 days in June of 1969, celebrates an American art form that unites us all. Feat. Bukka White, Furry Lewis, Fred McDowell & so much more.

[myvinylplaylist]

The Black Keys: Rubber Factory (2004)

Fat Possum Records

[thoughtswordsaction]

OFF! Release Free LSD Set; Share New Single "Oblivion"

Photo courtesy of the band and record label. In an unexpected move that has delighted punk rock and hardcore punk fans, OFF! has surprise-released an exclusive Free LSD set. This comprehensive package includes the recently released Free LSD [Film], the Free LSD album—which now boasts four bonus tracks, including three previously unreleased songs from the album session—and a unique book. This…

[sinceileftyoublog]

Square Roots 2024: 7/13-7/14

Big Star Quintet's Jody Stephens

BY JORDAN MAINZER

One of this year's Square Roots headliners is calling it quits after their upcoming album and current tour, and another hasn't really been a proper incarnation of itself for a decade and a half. Nostalgia be damned, this past weekend, both X and Big Star Quintet beat the heat and sounded as good as ever. Okay, my in-person experience with X is limited to Riot Fest 2017, I never got to see Big Star, and otherwise, all I have are each band's multiple live albums to wonder what they might have been like in their heyday. Hindsight aside, X's cowpunk momentousness and Big Star Quintet's glorious sky-high rock and roll rendered them the unabashed standouts of a weekend that featured guitar music heavyweights new and old.

X's John Doe & Exene Cervenka

X has released only one song from their final record Smoke & Fiction (Fat Possum), and they did perform a few new chuggers during their Saturday night headlining set. But from the moment Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, D.J. Bonebrake, and touring drummer Craig Packham entered the stage to Link Wray's "Rumble", you knew their focus would be the past: "You're Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not", "In This House That I Call Home", and "Because I Do". Yes, Zoom whipped out his saxophone and Bonebrake his vibes; Cervenka and Doe's contrasting vocal timbres gave the whole set an rousing feel, as if the sonically diverse voices in the crowd were meant to shout along with them. They did, to the stuttering "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", and some of the more musically inclined, limber set goers perfectly air-drummed Packham's choppy thwacks on "Los Angeles". If X is truly leaving us, they're at least still having a blast.

Big Star Quintet's Chris Stamey

Big Star Quintet, meanwhile, may have only one member of the original power pop quartet in drummer and vocalist Jody Stephens, but they feel more Big Star than, say, the current Beach Boys feel like the Beach Boys. (I know, that's not a high bar to clear.) But at least two of the members have direct connections. Jon Auer (The Posies) was part of the reformed Big Star from 1993 until 2010, when the deaths of Alex Chilton and Andy Hummel effectively ended the band. Chris Stamey briefly played bass for Chilton in the late 70s before embarking on his own musical career with The dB's. And while R.E.M.'s Mike Mills (who participated in a Chilton tribute concert during SXSW 2010) couldn't join the Quintet in the Chicago area, not one, but two members of Wilco (bassist John Stirratt and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone) rounded out the lineup and provided a wonderful local connection to boot.

Big Star Quintet's Pat Sansone

The Quintet was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Big Star's sophomore masterpiece Radio City, but on Sunday night, they didn't adhere to any self-imposed rules and play the album front-to-back. Instead, before even mentioning Radio City or playing any of its songs, they started their set by banging out 9 (!) straight from Big Star's debut, #1 Record, switching off lead vocals and instrumentation. Stirratt unleashed a feverish falsetto on "In The Street", immediately answering the question of who would sing "September Gurls" when the band inevitably played it last. Sansone and Auer gorgeously harmonized on the ripping rocker "Don't Lie To Me", while Stamey provided some welcome quietude on "Give Me Another Chance" and "Watch the Sunrise". The band itself was in sync, but not stuffy, deft enough to tackle the funk-to-stadium rock breakdowns of Radio City's "O, My Soul", loose enough to adhere to the snappy ramshackle spirit of the harmonica-imbued "Life Is White".

Big Star Quintet's Jon Auer

When Stephens sang, though, it felt a little bit like time stopped, and not because he brought the house down or anything. (His voice does remain strong!) He dedicated "The India Song" and "Way Out West" to Hummel, stating, simply and heartbreakingly, "He was a close one to me." And when the rest of the band stepped up to the microphone with acoustic guitars in hand, and it was clear they were to play the beloved "Thirteen", Stephens admitted, "I remember being 13, don't you? I was really uncomfortable with myself, but it makes for a great song!" Here was the last remaining connection to one of the greatest bands in American history, still vulnerable, reminding you that no matter how old you get or how long certain songs and records have been around, the emotions never die.

Sansone

Lydia Loveless

Oh, I'll throw in a bonus weekend standout: the great Lydia Loveless, less than a year removed from their sixth LP, Nothing's Gonna Stand in My Way Again (Bloodshot). The record is classic Loveless, heartbroken, all while dealing with the trials and tribulations of life both regular ("Toothache") and time-specific (pandemic isolation). Their high and lonesome twang pervaded each song, save for Nothing's "Poor Boy", during which Loveless belted, showing off their vocal chops. "Sex and Money" proved to be the cheeky live anthem you knew it was going to be the first time you heard it. At the same time, Loveless continued to give their previous album Daughter its due. (Introducing "Wringer", Loveless quipped that it was "from Daughter, which came out in 2020, which means it was very successful...everybody was out doing stuff, money burning holes in their pockets.") From the prickly guitar strums of "Say My Name" to the deliberate drum beats of "Don't Bother Mountain", the latter of which saw Loveless switch to synth, their performance of the Daughter songs showcased that it's Loveless' most thematic and instrumentally diverse album to date. That's not a small feat, with a catalog as deep as theirs.

Loveless

Loveless

[mymelodic-chapel]

Hoops- Routines (Indie Pop, Dream Pop, Indie Surf) Released: May 5, 2017 [Fat Possum Records] Producer(s): Hoops, Jarvis Taveniere

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

New Video: Bass Drum of Death Shares Scuzzy and Groovy "Head Change"

New Video: Bass Drum of Death Shares Scuzzy and Groovy "Head Change" @bassdrumofdeath @patrickcarney @FatPossum

Slated for a January 27, 2023 release through Fat Possum Records, Say I Won’t, Bass Drum of Death‘s highly-anticipated fifth album marks three major events for the punk outfit founded and fronted by John Barrett: Barrett relocated from New York, where he had been based for much of the band’s run together, back to his hometown of Oxford, MS. “Moving back to Oxford was a much-needed…

[applepiesandalibis]

Btw I'm so glad to see more and more TPC fans getting into Xiu Xiu

Like. Yes. That's absolutely right. It was always a mystery to me why don't I see people who like both. Their music kinda has the same vibes (sometimes) and John and Jamie are good friends so :)

(these pics live in my head rent free I'm so glad to know they exist. there was one more but I can't find it rn)

Also there's this cover of John's song they made that I absolutely adore. It's so different from the original version but that's why I love xiu xiu covers

And they made a little Nick Cave cover album together!! I wish more people talked about it. Cool stuff

[femmeterypolka]

XIU XIU JOHN CONGLETON AND THE NIGHTY NITE COVER???

[dustedmagazine]

Jake Xerxes Fussell—When I’m Called (Fat Possum)

Folk musician and curator Jake Xerxes Fussell was initially known for recordings with a front porch vibe. On his latest, When I’m Called, some performances hew to traditional lines. The album’s opener, “Andy,” is a story about Andy Warhol by Maestro Gaxiola, depicting a pseudo-rivalry between the artists. Fussell plays it simply, just acoustic guitar and voice, giving the song a rustic rework.

Elsewhere, new and past collaborators perform with Fussell. Like his 2022 release, Good and Green Again, James Elkington produces, creating elaborate arrangements and contributing instruments to several of the songs. Other frequent collaborators join them, including horn-player Anna Jacobsen, guitarist Blake Mills, bassist Ben Whitely, who plays both electric and upright bass and drummer Joe Westerlund. Musicians new to Fussell’s orbit include string player Jane Cook and woodwind performer Hunter Diamond. Throughout, Fussell’s understated baritone allows the words practically to speak for themselves.

Fussell culls another selection from a different source than usual. Composer Benjamin Britten collected many folk songs, arranging them for classical and scholastic musicians. Britten’s collaboration with Jane Taylor, “Cuckoo,” is given the Fussell/Elkington treatment, obscuring its rather formal source. Joan Shelley provides backing vocals on the chorus.

One of Fussell’s mentor figures, the poly artist and folklorist Art Rosenbaum, passed away in 2022. Several songs from Rosenbaum’s collection are featured on When I’m Called: “Leaving Here, Don’t Know Where I’m Going” the Scottish ballad “Feeing Day,” “Gone to Hilo,” “Who Killed Poor Robin”, and the album closer “Going to Georgia.” Each is treated a each bit differently: “Leaving Here…” has a pastoral vibe that includes winds, harmonica, and piano, “Feeing Day” has sustained horn chords in the background, “Who Killed Poor Robin” incorporates an inexorable character in the rhythm section and Elkington playing tangy organ chords and autoharp, “Gone to Hilo” has guitar soloing from Fussell and Elkington on pedal steel and organ, and “Going to Georgia” has Mills providing an extra guitar, Cook strings, Elkington organ and feedback, and Whitely and Westerlund grounding the whole in an Appalachian mid-tempo pattern. While many of the songs are given relatively brief renditions, “Going to Georgia” allows the musicians a chance to stretch out a bit.

Fussell is still a captivating figure singing by himself with a guitar; I wouldn’t want to see his front porch abandoned. However, this album's changes in approach and material invariably work. These and the talents of his collaborators help When I’m Called to be one of Fussell’s strongest recordings to date.

Christian Carey

[julio-viernes]

X, la gran banda punk de Los Ángeles, anuncia su retirada. La semana pasada anunciaron su último LP, "Smoke & Fiction", que saldrá el 2 de agosto vía Fat Possum Records, y las fechas de su gira final.

En el haber de X, discos tan buenos como "Los Angeles", "Wild Gift", "Under the Big Black Sun" o "More Fun in the New World", sus cuatro primeros álbumes editados entre 1980 y 1983, todos ellos producidos por Ray Manzarek, el teclista de The Doors. De lo mejorcito que dio el punk norteamericano.

Ese "Big Black X" mola un rato, con vídeo de Gilbert Trejo y Shane McKenzie, “inspirado en el videoarte de los 80 y los grandes documentales punk de la época / filmado en VHS, editado cinta a cinta, usando Polaroids + fotografías de 35 mm, destrozadas junto con mezcladores de video analógicos y televisores CRT / es un tornado del pasado y del presente: las fotos de Ed Colver fueron una maravilla para la mezcla de videos y son el pegamento que lo mantiene todo unido”.

[protoslacker]

Al Green - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart (Official Audio)

Fat Possum Records

I always check to see what Shrinkrants posts. Today I learned about Nipun Mehta and Tiokasin Ghosthorse, neither of whom I'd heard of before. And from Tiokasin Ghosthorse reminded to reflect on Wakan Tanka of which I've heard, but surely do not know.

Music can touch my heart. In an interview with Tiokasin Ghosthorse in the Spring 2019 issue of Reflections something he said touched the soreness I feel over the calamity and suffering we are witnessing all around. I thought of this song as a kind of balm:

It’s not enough anymore to “do our best.” We have to do what’s required – a new way of thinking. Some people are ready for this. For others, I don’t think showing them the data will matter. You have to change the heart. If you can do that, you can change the body and the way people think about nature. It’s not sentimentalism. The earth moves for them. ~Tiokasin Ghosthorse

[thoughtswordsaction]

No Windows Announce "Point Nemo" EP On Fat Possum Records; Listen To Lead Single "Song 01"

Photo by Humble Film Productions No Windows have returned with details of a new EP titled “Point Nemo”. The announcement is accompanied by the news of the band’s signing to Fat Possum Records who will release the EP on 3rd May. Taking its name from the location farthest away from land in the world, the five track EP evokes wintry isolation, and marks a significant step forward for the duo,…

[sinceileftyoublog]

Nailah Hunter Album Review: Lovegaze

(Fat Possum)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Devotion has been a big theme throughout Nailah Hunter's musical life. Sure, much has been made about her early days; the daughter of a Belizean pastor, Hunter played drums and guitar and sang in the church choir. When she enrolled at CalArts for music and first took a harp lesson, she committed to the instrument, purportedly studying it for 6 hours a day. And over the past few years, she's diligently developed a cosmic ambient voice, releasing various EPs and singles and collaborating with everyone from Montreal shoegazers No Joy to generative music app Endel (via their Leaving Records series). But it's on her debut full-length album Lovegaze where the idea of being steadfast finds its way into every element, from Hunter's clear musical prowess to the songs' themes.

First and foremost, if some of her earliest material floated along, Hunter's process on Lovegaze seems much more deliberate. She wrote the demos while spending time on the coast of the English channel, on a borrowed Celtic harp, before fleshing out the songs with producer Cicely Goulder. From the get-go, Hunter's vocals hold their weight against the instrumentation, rasping over soft piano lines, ripples of cymbal, thumping percussion, and textured soundscapes on opener "Strange Delights". On "000", she draws out syllables to make her voice an instrument: "Sparrow on / Billow, yawn." On closer "Into The Sun", her soulful contralto is much more upfront in the mix, a complement to tactile harp textures as she sings of dreams of "beheadings and goose-feather bedding," giving off certain traditional folk vibes.

Overall, Lovegaze's songs' styles are much more varied than the rest of Hunter's discography to date. "Through The Din" builds into a trip hop sway over the top of a circular harp melody. "Finding Mirrors" cascades down a trap beat. Free jazz elements creep up on the title track and "Adorned", icy drum skitters and low-mixed saxophone, respectively, appearing like background characters you nonetheless can't take your eyes off of. Still, there are songs like "Cloudbreath", an instrumental foray back into ambient harp and synth collage, that recall her earliest work.

Perhaps the best part of Lovegaze, though, is Hunter's deft treatment of the work we put into ourselves, each other, and our surroundings. "Finding Mirrors" and "Bleed" portray the exhausting nature of love. On the latter, Hunter coos and cries, fighting for someone or something while longing for someone else to fight for her, desiring reciprocation. And standout "Adorned" is inspired by the human tendency for destruction--of natural spaces and other people--as Hunter sings with a vulnerable warble over a synth hum. "Space is my only relief / Space, my only reprieve," she sings. Later on in the song, she layers ghostly backing vocals as if to illustrate a collection of living things, together in their aloneness. With Lovegaze, Hunter moves beyond mere sound composition to build a cohesive world.