Retread Sessions & In Context: brought to you by Austin's KUT 90.5 FM and Super!Alright!

A little while back I posted about the "Burn To Shine" series which features artists performing in small, intimate spaces, and I just recently discovered the KUT 90.5 (Univ. of Texas public radio) & Super!Alright! (Collective of audio & visual media artists) online series, "Retread Sessions", which seeks to document musicians in a similar type of intimate setting. The first few sessions showcase some of my favorite bands including Shearwater (!!), YACHT & Red Before Black (whom I love). The first three sessions are online now (I've got a few of them below), check them all out here.
KLRU (Austin, TX - PBS affiliate) is also hosting their "In Context" series there as well, which showcases artists of all kinds focusing primarily on process.

Both KUT 90.5 & KLRU are non-profit public media outlets, they depend on donations to survive & to continue to bring you wonderful performances like these, for FREE. So if you have some extra money lying around, and you were wondering what to spend it on....please stop by their respective websites (which you can find below) and drop a few bucks their way.

[VIDEO] Shearwater "Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five"


[VIDEO] YACHT "See a Penny (Pick It Up)"


[VIDEO] Black Before Red "Matagorda"


KUT 90.5 (University of Texas) - website | Super!Alright! - website
| Retread Sessions & In Context - website | KLRU - website

GREAT NEW MUSIC: Black Before Red "Belgrave to Kings Circle"

So color me impressed. I was sent "Belgrave to Kings Circle", the debut album from Black Before Red today and told, "prepared to be impressed". But I still wasn't quite as prepared as I needed to be. Now I'm in the best mood ever, and I was really trying to cultivate some deep-seeded anger today but now that's all shot to shit. Between well-crafted melodies & amazing harmonies lies some really, really happy laid-back pop. In the best sense of the term. I don't want to diminish their music with comparisons because they really have found their own sound, but I can't help hearing little bits of Okkervil River, The Sea and Cake and even Stephen Malkmus & The Shins. And that little Okkervil River I hear might be because some of those guys play on the album, as well as members of Zykos & The Lemurs. If you're content to wallow in a depresssion, then leave this album alone, but if being "happy, happy, joy, joy" is where it's at for you then download those MP3s below. You can also pre-order the album from their Myspace page for $10, which comes out August 14th.

[MP3] Black Before Red - Matagorda from "Belgrave to Kings Circle" (via Box.net)
[MP3] Black Before Red - Teenage America from "Belgrave to Kings Circle" (via Box.net)

Black Before Red - Myspace | Label - i eat records