Despite having released only three albums in their relatively short career, The Sundays remain one of the most influential bands of the 90s. With Harriet Wheeler’s undeniable voice at the fore, the quartet perfected the “indie-pop” that the 80s gave rise to and turned it into something timeless, idiosyncratic, and perfect.

Thirty years after its release, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, their first album, still sounds as magical and forward-thinking as ever. We’re taking a look at this possibly forgotten classic, the legacy of a band gone far too soon, and more on an all-new Discologist.

Since its inception in 2015 as the soundtrack to the end of the Grateful Dead's long strange trip, Neal Casal's Circles Around The Sun has evolved and grown into something much greater than the sum of its parts (keyboardist Adam MacDougall, bassist Dan Horne, and drummer Mark Levy) and original mission. In August of 2019, tragedy struck when Casal took his own life, but he didn't exit this world without leaving behind something for the rest of us: MUSIC.

Saxophonist and poet Alabaster Deplume is a true man of the people. With a focus on human interaction and togetherness, Deplume’s music, both on record and in live performance, serves one purpose, and one purpose only: To bring us all together. We’re taking a look at this legend-in-the-making’s remarkable To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals, Vol. 1, and uncovering some answers as to why music is such an essential force in our lives along the way.

PLUS: Percussionist Joe Westerlund’s Reveries In The Rift, uses jazz, folk, and more to create worlds for us to escape in a way that few albums can. Get lost with the rest of us and check out the single “Ituri Air” from this gorgeous, idiosyncratic gem.

More important than the fact that Dan Deacon is a motherf***ing wizard is that he is a human. And on his fifth LP Mystic Familiar, the genius from Baltimore is melds man and machine to remind us all how great it is to be alive and, more importantly, that we’re all in this together.

PLUS! Washington, D.C.’s the back with big plans for the future! We’re spinning their latest single “Freaks” just for you, BB.

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.