On her fourth LP Myopia, Danish musician/composer Agnes Obel is looking deeper into herself than ever before. As an artist, Obel requires isolation to create, but what happens when that self-created world cannot be trusted? Love, death, and our relationship with the world around us all take a seat at the table on this atmospheric journey into the self.

PLUS! Who, or what is Maximilian and The Reinhardt? Tune in and find out everything you need to know about this new project, and bear witness to their first single, “Pardon This!”.

Peter Gabriel’s sixth solo LP, Us, might be the music icon’s finest hour, but it was born from some of the lowest points in his life. Fueled by the pain of his divorce, estrangement from his daughter, and a growing awareness of an unraveling world around him, Us takes an unflinching look at the messiness, pain, and beauty that make up our relationships to not just those closest to us, but humanity writ large.

All you need is love on a special Valentine’s Day edition of Discologist celebrating Gabriel’s often-overlooked masterpiece, Us!

John Moreland songs always could hit you straight in the heart, but on his latest effort, his deep baritone is resonating even deeper. His first album working with a producer (Matt Pence), LP5, finds new sounds and instrumentation seeping into what his fans have come to love about his music. The results are as surprising as they are revelatory, painting a picture of an artist who, twenty years into his career, is still evolving, still searching for some truth. 

PLUS! Elkhorn’s The Storm Sessions expands on the acid-folk duo’s sound with the help of their friend Turner Williams and an actual snowstorm. Tune in and drop out with their track “Electric One (Part B).” 

For over twenty-five years Austin, TX’s …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have been crafting atmospheric, psychedelic, supercharged rock n’ roll. On their tenth album X: The Godless Void and Other Tales, the core duo of Jason Reece and Conrad Keely are getting further out than ever before, delivering an exciting new chapter in this legendary groups history. Self-proclaimed super-fan PJ Sykes joins us to discuss the return of one of his musical heroes, the power of legacy, and more.

PLUS: The mysterious Kids Techno is back with The Harmony Of Spheres, and we’re spinning one of their latest excursions into inner space.

Guitarist Jeff Parker is best known for his work with Chicago post-rock gawds Tortoise. But anyone who has followed his career knows that he has a long history of sharing the spotlight with heavy hitters like Joshua Redman, Meshell Ndegeocello, and more while continuing to occupy the more experimental corners of the jazz world with the likes of Makaya McCraven and the new Chicago jazz scene. Suite for Max Brown, a forged-from-joy mixtape from outer-space, expands the lexicon of modern jazz even when it lets off the gas to pay tribute to Parker’s roots, and isn’t just a high-point in Parker’s discography, but maybe a new bar for jazz as we know it today. Wes Covey joins us to discuss this unimpeachable masterpiece and why the future of jazz in 2020 looks brighter than ever.

PLUS! Washington, D.C.’s Light Beams are here to save the universe with Self Help, their debut full length and we’re spinning it’s first single “Sacred Scales” to make sure you see the light.

For their debut album Bonny Light Horseman (Anais Mitchell, Eric Johnson, Josh Kaufman) — a supergroup that is ACTUALLY super — leaned heavily into a shared love of English folk music, updating sometimes centuries-old songs that still feel as relevant today as that did in an EXTREMELY pre-internet world. Wes Covey sits in this week as we explore why this music resonates still, the supreme power of teamwork, and how to talk about practically perfect albums, and more. 

Since 2008, Futurebirds have been stunning audiences with their potent mix of cosmic country, psychedelia, and good old rock and roll. Recorded “all over the place,” their new album Teamwork is the culmination of years of refining their craft and a testament to the bond they’ve forged not just between the band and their fans, but the family that Futurebirds has become in the process.

Get ready to fall in love with Futurebirds all over again as we take a ride through one of the first must hear albums of the year.

How do we know if a piece of music is good? How do we know if it is bad? How do we know why we feel the way we do about the songs that soundtrack our lives? Those are the questions that we’ve asked over and over for almost 500 episodes on Discologist. As we enter our 10th season, it’s about time we found some answers.

On the season premiere, Kevin and Eduardo are digging into legendary jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt’s overlooked masterpiece, Mr. Bojangles.  An album that is as transcendent as it is trashy, Mr. Bojangles asks listeners to consider what they REALLY want out of music and then gives it to them in an exquisite slow burn of schmaltz.

It’s really better than it sounds. Trust us. We’re here to help.

Even though they may have been flying just under the radar, Boston’s Hallelujah the Hills has spent the last fourteen years putting out some of the most consistently satisfying rock and roll that this century has to offer.

After garnering national attention and widespread acclaim for Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968 – one of the best books ever written about rock music, Van Morrison, Boston, or possibly all of the above – singer/bandleader Ryan Walsh knew that his next project would be a new Hallelujah The Hills album, and now I’m You, the band’s magnum opus is here. A travelogue of indie-rock history, existential fear, and joyful salvation, I’m You celebrates the search for truth in art, the truth about ourselves, and how our connections to each other are what will save us in the end. Maybe.

Twenty-five years ago, R.E.M was practically the biggest band on the planet. “What could they possibly do next?” was the question on everyone’s minds after the Athens, Georgia quartet’s career-defining double-shot of Out Of Time and Automatic For The People, and the answer, for many, was perplexing. Throwing glam-rock, psychedelia, punk, avant-garde, and a dash of pop sensibility into a blender, the band hit “crush” and the result was Monster, the most polarizing album of their careers.

It was also one of their best.

Let’s discuss.

Getting stalked

Getting eaten alive 

Getting shot in cold blood

Getting murdered by someone you trust

Getting cut to pieces

Getting hung

Getting murdered while people stand by and do nothing

Getting home invaded

Getting treated like an animal. Meat. Instead of like a human being

These are some of our greatest fears on Halloween…or everyday if you’re a person of color in America in 2019.

clipping. made an album about it.

This is important. This means something.

Happy Halloween, America.

Thirty years after the fact, Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” remains a landmark achievement of both songcraft and video artistry, but what about Heart Shaped World, the album that spawned it. Take a journey with us into the heart of hunkiness as we explore Isaak’s career and legacy, why “looks” are (unfortunately) an integral component of how we qualify our art, and much more.

If bands like Little Feat, The Allman Brothers, and NRBQ tend to take you into outer space, then transatlantic “supergroup” One Eleven Heavy — featuring James Jackson Toth on guitar/vocals, Nick Mitchell-Maiato on guitar/vocals, Dan Brown on bass, and Hans Chew on keys — has got an album for you. Desire Path takes the band’s shared love of psychedelic-tinged “classic” rock and blasts it into the 21st Century, pairing mind-bending guitar excursions and serious lyrical chops with an undeniable groove that bridge our heady rock ‘n’ roll past with what may turn out to be a seriously groovy future. 

Special guest Jonathan Hart (Brokedown Pod) joins us to discuss one of 2019’s most satisfyingly sweaty releases.

On their eighth LP Wave, Patrick Watson (the man) is figuring out how to stay afloat as personal tragedy and loss threaten to drown him in an ocean of hopelessness and despair. Lush, sophisticated, and at times transcendent, Wave isn’t just Patrick Watson’s (the band) best album, its ability to speak to not just personal pain, but the existential threats many are facing in 2019 make it a late entry in the race for one of best albums of the decade.

On The Good Graces new LP Prose and Consciousness, Kim Ware’s trademark wonder and wit are front and center. Tempered by love, loss, and a love of songwriting, this collection of songs is the strongest of Ware’s career and establishes her as an essential voice in the southern songwriting community and beyond. Tune in as we chat with Kim about storytelling, making it in the music industry, and much more.

Part razor-sharp condemnation of our modern world, and part journey through Jana Hunter’s recent reidentification as “they/he,” Lower Dens’ The Competition utilizes the power of the dance floor to make a case for love and acceptance not just in dangerous times, but as the law of the land. It’s a powerful and ultimately uplifting statement from this revered Baltimore-based band and not just the best album of their careers, but one of the most essential listens of 2019.

2015’s Star Wars and its 2016 follow up Schmilco delivered a shot in the arm to one of indie-rock’s most lauded and revered acts: Wilco. Both were shaggier affairs then what had come before — 2011’s The Whole Love, while it had its moments, was a more near-miss-than-hit power-pop extravaganza. And both showed that, at least for Wilco, smaller albums necessarily meant better albums as the band pushed into its second decade with the current, and most stable lineup in Wilco’s history.

Enter Ode To Joy.

Over 40 years ago, photographer and filmmaker Jay Blakesberg embarked on a long, strange trip that would find his lens in front of some of the most legendary acts in rock ‘n’ roll history. In his new book Jerry Garcia: Secret Space Of Dreams, Jay — a life-long, and self-avowed Deadhead — is taking a journey through his history with the band, and in the process capturing the deep humanity of one of music’s most revered artists. Special guest photographer/musician PJ Sykes joins in the fun as we discuss Jay’s new book, his lifelong love of music photography, and more.

Washington D.C.’s Broke Royals have worked HARD for their success and with their new LP Saint Luxury, they’re taking one step closer to being the superstars they were born to be. We’re sitting down with one of America’s best-dressed bands to talk about the importance of searching for answers, the rising pop scene in the nation’s capital, and much more.

On his 12th studio album under the moniker Hiss Golden Messenger southern soul-poet MC Taylor is singing as if it’s his last song. Terms Of Surrender is an intimate and vulnerable look inward that finds Taylor grappling with the smaller fears that creep into our relationships, parenthood, and day-to-day life in this 21st century. Special guests J.M. Hart (Brokedown Podcast) and Wes Covey (The Ten Thousand Things) join us to discuss the latest from one of today’s most respected songwriters.