Steve Dawson’s new solo album tells a powerful story of faith lost and artistry reborn. 
Fans of Dolly Varden, Funeral Bonsai Wedding and Dawson’s previous solo works will recognize the beautiful melodicism, brilliant craftsmanship and emotional depth expressed in the soulful balladry of “Hard Time Friend” and “Forgiveness Is Nothing Like I Thought It Would Be,” the folky reflections of “The Spaces In Between,” the sublime yearning of “Beautiful Mathematics” and the gentle dreamscape of “We Are Walking in a Forest,” a duet with Dolly Varden’s Diane Christiansen. This is material that couldn’t have been written at any other time in Dawson’s life—and it addresses life in the here and now. His songwriting continues to grow in depth and lyricism while his voice has never sounded more rich or resonant. The album’s twelve songs (plus two CD/digital bonus tracks) tie together the American musical influences that span his life: the late 60’s/early 70’s folk-rock of California, where he was born; the country music of Idaho, where he grew up; and the blues, gospel and soul of Chicago, where he has spent the bulk of his adult life. AT THE BOTTOM OF A CANYON IN THE BRANCHES OF A TREE revisits depths that many of us have experienced in recent years and takes us to heights to which we all aspire.

The artist, Willie Jones, was “the first person to sing r&b in Detroit,” according to Bettye LaVette, who introduced the two of us. Willie is a fantastic soul singer, and at age 81 still has all his “notes.” He had a group in the 50s called The Royal Jokers that everyone in Motor City came down to see and said, “I can do that.” And they did (Berry Gordy, Marvin Gaye, et al), finding great success while Willie and the Royal Jokers languished as a singles act on Atlantic. This is Willie's latest 7" filled with social commentary.

It was 1996. No one had a mobile phone. You had a phone in your apartment. A land line. And you had an answering machine, your most precious device. There were real live humans doing what they called telemarketing back then. Sometimes you'd get two or three calls in a single day. To an emerging phone pranks artist, this was precious raw material.

Recorded by Chicago drummer and songwriter Jason Batchko, these conversations have been making the rounds among phone prank connoisseurs, bootleg comedy fans, musicians in vans and hard-laughers everywhere for over 20 years. Just a man and his answering machine, trying to amuse, confuse and possess unsuspecting telemarketers, and creating a world of bizarre characters in the process: the kindly old woman who’s "just found out" she’s Jewish, The Shaolin Priest, Ms. Carton Boxx, the excitable weirdo with a poor grasp of the insurance industry, and Jonn ("jay-o-en-en!"). Telemarketers, they and many more were each so happy you called.

Ryan is a workaholic multi-instrumentalist who has been playing lead guitar in Soul Asylum since 2016. Pony is a flamboyant performer and artist raised by deaf parents. Together they have made numerous albums and toured internationally leading The Melismatics. On Moshi Moshi they fuse Dream-Pop, post-Punk, Brit-rock, EDM, and good ol' fashioned Rock ‘n’ Roll into a sound all their own; irony, weirdness, and melody are at its heart.

The Red Step is the eponymous debut album from the powerful pairing of The Black Heart Procession’s Tobias Nathaniel with the cream of Belgrade’s Garage-Rock music scene. The Red Step is being released on colored marbled vinyl with a download card, for digital download and via streaming platforms by Chicago’s Pravda Records on December 11.

The Red Step’s first single “Black Summer” is the perfect introduction to the group’s dynamic mix of energetic garage rock, post punk gloom, and world-weary lyrics. Further singles to look out for this autumn are “Reset,” a call against stasis and a primal scream for vitality, “Before the Storm,” a slow burner with a bitter edge, and “For the Dead,” a haunting song of resignation and regret.

Assembled in 2015 in Serbia’s capital city, The Red Step is a formidable gathering of notable Belgrade music figures: keyboardist Boris Eftovski, bassist Rudolf Cibulski, and drummer Vladimir Markoski, all hailing from the longstanding Serbian garage rock band Kazna za uši. Londoner Sarah Jane Seatherton also joins The Red Step on cello, and Tobias handles vocals and guitar. In addition, Boris and Vladimir are current members of the Black Heart Procession lineup, and Vladimir has played drums with Andre Williams.

Beyond his work with The Black Heart Procession, Nathaniel has recorded with indie rock legends Blonde Redhead, and played piano on what became the “Evil Morty” theme on the hit TV show Rick and Morty. He has also played with Bauhaus bassist David J.

The Hideout Sessions stands as a powerful and highly listenable document of Smoking Popes frontman Josh Caterer stretching out with a new band of accomplished players for a one-night-only, live-to-tape recording. The album is being released by Pravda Records on 12” vinyl LP in gatefold sleeve, CD, as digital download and via streaming platforms on March 26.

On October 28th, 2020, Caterer joined forces with John San Juan (Hushdrops) and John Perrin (NRBQ) to rock out 21st century versions of songs your grandparents used to dance to “back in the day.” They covered a few Popes songs, too. It was an inspired evening of music.

The recording took place on stage at the Hideout, one of Chicago’s most beloved intimate music venues. Due to the pandemic, the Hideout’s doors had been closed to the public for several months, and the room had to be empty for this performance, save for the skeleton crew of sound engineers who captured the event. As Josh and his band recorded the album, the entire thing was live-streamed as a ticketed virtual concert.

The result was a high-quality rock show – raw, sweet, honest and cathartic. Harnessing the unique blend of punk energy and Sinatra-style sophistication that has made Caterer’s work with the Smoking Popes so enduring, The Hideout Sessions throws a surprising mix of musical ingredients into the power-pop blender, and what comes out is a truly satisfying and savory sonic experience.

The SPACE Sessions follows in the footsteps of his critically-acclaimed early 2021 release The Hideout Sessions, which was recorded at the beloved small Chicago venue that album took its title from. Caterer reunites with bassist John San Juan (Hushdrops) and drummer John Perrin (NRBQ) for another electrifying performance, this time recorded at SPACE, an intimate concert hall on the city’s north side.

In keeping with the format of The Hideout Sessions, this powerful, poppy trio performed to empty house, live-streaming as a virtual concert event. Josh and his cohorts played with all the inspired intensity of the performance at the Hideout, but with an even more tangible sense of self-assurance. The band tears through an ambitious setlist including visionary arrangements of standards like the Etta James’ classic “At Last”, Frank & Nancy Sinatra’s “Somethin’ Stupid” (delivered here as a stirring duet between Josh and his daughter Phoebe) and a handful of original compositions, spanning the breadth of Caterer’s impressive songwriting catalog. Caterer first burst onto the Chicago punk scene in 1991 with Smoking Popes who he formed with his brothers Eli and Matt. From their early indie releases to their critically acclaimed major label albums, Smoking Popes developed a unique blend of buzzsaw guitars, caffeinated rhythms and heartfelt crooning vocals.

Pravda Records proudly presents the sixth full-length by Iowa City Ambassadors of groove The Diplomats Of Solid Sound, entirely mixed and edited at The Magic Barn in Iowa City and inspired by the sounds of the best 60s style soul and funk. Having already cut 5 full-length albums, "Instrumental Action Soul" (Prescription Records - 2001), "Let´s Cool One"(Estrus Records - 2003), "Destination Get Down!" (Estrus Records - 2005), self-titled “Diplomats Of Solid Sound featuring The Diplomettes” (Pravda Records/Record Kicks 2008), and “What Goes Around, Comes Around”, the band is just getting warmed up. “A Higher Place” is chock full of irresistible funk and soul bombs ready to melt your heart or make you shake it on the dance-floor, strongly confirming their standing in the contemporary funk and neo-soul scene. LP includes free download.

Matt Wilson of Minneapolis is best known as a singer and songwriter for Trip Shakespeare, a band that blossomed in the 90s. But his new group which he calls an Orchestra is making waves both because of its appealing sound built around a unique combination of instruments including harp and banjo, and because Matt’s songwriting is as inspiring as ever.

Raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Matt and his high school friends formed a group called The Panic, and spent much of their youth as under-aged performers in Minneapolis nightclubs such as 1st Avenue and 7th Street Entry. In the early 80s, Matt followed his brother Dan to college in Boston where they formed a number of bands including the Love Monsters in which Matt took his first turn as a front man. Returning to Minneapolis, the brothers joined forces with bass player John Munson to form Trip Shakespeare, touring and recording together for a decade.

Matt’s music has been featured on MTV, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Spin, The Toronto Star and many other publications. Trip Shakespeare’s single, “Toolmaster of Brainerd”, was named by City Pages one of Minnesota’s 50 Greatest Hits, and that group was included by nationally-influential radio station The Current in its 2017 list of 893 Most Essential Musical Artists of All Time.

Matt’s new orchestra has a grassy sound that’s easy to fall into. Most striking to both the eye and ear is the harp mastery of Phala Tracy. The band’s sound is underpinned by the propulsive banjo groove of Quillan Roe. The bright sounds of harp and banjo are sent forth on black road of electric bass paved by Minneapolis guitar wizard Jacques Wait. The group sings together in striking close harmony. Their new album, When I was a Writer, represents not only a new and appealing sound but a 10-track songwriting triumph of melody, rhyme and pure emotion.

Special limited edition gatefold sleeve. At the heart of The New AM, the immensely appealing debut from The Imperial Sound, is the band’s mastery of the classic pop hook. Primary songwriter Rick Mosher references everyone from Todd Rundgren and Carole King to Elvis Costello and The Replacements, and the result is an impressively consistent album of perfect pop moments. Years of shared experience in studios and on stages have sharpened the Imperial Sound’s instincts, and their arrangements have an easy power that is only earned over time. As accomplished as the band is, they are never afraid to let their Midwestern roots show. An Imperial Sound song is like a semi-polished gem – beautiful, but unpretentious and still a bit rough around the edges. The best of them, like “Yesterday,” “Daylight,” and “A Man Like You” are both sophisticated and endearingly straightforward. It’s no surprise that a who’s who of Chicago rock and pop talent lined up to sing on this project: Kathy Ruestow, Dag Juhlin, Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor, Bobby Cornelius, and Peter Himmelman all lend their voices to the album. Listen to the slashing power chords of “Get Along” or the major-league horn hooks of “I Feel Strange,” and you’ll realize that you’re in the company of a band that understands the power and the beauty of a truly great pop song.

Soaking up a multitude of experiences for more than four decades, Ivan Julian, who has notably distinguished himself as guitarist and writer for (Richard Hell and The Voidoids, The Clash, Shriekback, The Outsets, etc.), releases his new album, Swing Your Lanterns, on PRAVDA Records. With songs that reflect experiences over the past five years and beyond that follow one another like a series of novelettes recounting both past and present.. To help make this possible, we find Florent Barbier of Elliot Murphy’s band on drums, Keith Streng of The Fleshtones on percussion and backing vocals- from Chicago, Nicholas Tremulis on guitar and backing vocals, Derek Brand also from Chicago plays bass, as well as bassist James Burke, and Jared Michael Nickerson, (Burnt Sugar Arkestra) to name just a few.