Tag: potluck foundation

Erie Choir Preps Bad Tsars Was a Drag

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Erie Choir began as the solo-project of Eric Roehrig, at the time as a side-project from his other band Sorry About Dresden. Throughout, Eric’s drop an album here, an EP there, followed up with another LP, and at times, thrown a track here and there for benefits and compilations. But, in just over a week, Erie Choir will be releasing a 25 track collection of rarities and obscure tunes (not to mention a few rad covers) that fans have been clamoring to see put into one official release. Even better, Eric’s been kind enough to drop one of the more obscure tracks in our lap, so we could share it with you. At times, you can hear a more rocking version of the Walkmen, with Roehrig’s pipes positioning themselves right along Hamilton. Still, there’s this sort of haphazard nature to it, something that has made his work so endearing for the last 20 or so years. Bad Tsars Was a Drag will officially be streaming on June 10th via Potluck Foundation.

Spin This Erie Choir Track

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Many of you will likely find Eric Roehrig lurking in your record collection, particularly if you happened to spend a lot of time with Saddle Creek early on; he sang and played guitar in Sorry About Dresden. But, he’s spent the last few years working on his new project, Erie Choir. It was initially conceptualized as a solo affair, but Eric fleshed out a full band, and that decision definitely benefits the work of the track below. There’s a pop Americana feel here, and the details like slide guitar and piano tinkering develop the track into a moving piece. Perhaps it’s added years in my own life, but Roehrig sounds friendly and familiar here, like only the best of songwriters. This gem will feature on the group’s new album, Old Rigs, which drops next week via Potluck.

New Hooks from Nathan Oliver

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Nathan Oliver enters the setting of this song in the most simplistic fashion, throwing out monosyllabic “bah bahs” in quick succession; it serves to immediately grab the listener’s ears, bringing in an immediate sense of joy. Oliver then moves to a steady pop croon, related to the realm of old indiepop; while it’s settling, it jumps into a more emphatic burst during the chorus as drums crash and vocals are hurled through your speaker. I love the balance between a slight heavy edge and the natural pop sensibility that Nathan’s using…particularly in the last minute of the tune. He’ll be releasing Head in the Sand, his new LP, via Potluck Foundation on June 9th.