Premiere: Gus Baldwin and the Sketch Share Relief
I’m not entirely sure there’s a single that can capture the live energy the drips from the stage when Gus Baldwin and the Sketch are up there, but this brand new single is pretty damn close. This new single kicks off with a stuttering guitar lick before zooming off into the ferocious heavy jangles that aim to rip right through your speakers. At times, there’s certainly a West Coast psychedelic tendency that seeps out, like the Growlers or early Fresh & Onlys. But, the band goes beyond being a one trick pony playing into simple tropes, as the leap into a more Goner Records/Jay Reatard guitar explosion when the tune hits the 2 minute mark. Just goes to show you can still be catchy as hell while playing really fucking loud. Gus Baldwin and the Sketch play at Hotel Vegas tonight, then head through various cities across the South/Western US through the rest of May, so keep an eye out for shredders. Out today via GetWithIt Records!
If you wanted to start off your day with springing pop rock music, may we quickly turn your attention to this track from 
Honestly, there’s not really a lot of information about OWF; there’s no Instagram or Bandcamp, and barely a presence on Spotify. That said, there’s something intriguing about the music that I’ve heard from the artists. There are moments when there’s the wry humor and heart-on-the-sleeve sincerity of Stephin Merritt, but at other times, there’s this sort of poetic playfulness like a Juan Wauters. It’s a quick little jaunt of sparse bedroom pop material, but the more I listen, the more I’m fascinated by this sort of outsider pop approach. I’ll keep you posted if we get to hear more!
Okay, so “Swirl” has been floating around for a few days now, but to be fair, there’s been a lot of really great music, so I’m finally sitting down to enjoy new stuff from