Americana Highways presents this premiere of Gwen Levey’s song “Not The Girl Next Door,” the title track from her forthcoming EP due to be released on November 3. The song was written by Gwen Levey, Will Rambeaux and Sherrie Austin. The album was produced by Will Rambeaux, mixed by Rory Rositas, and mastered by Dan Frizsell.
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Path through the Past gives us Vampire Weekend sized mega-hooks and uncanny demi-electronic drums. This hybrid electro indie rock banger entices us with a pentatonic melody and deliciously long chord progressions, echoing the song writing style of James Mercer of The Shins. Max’s defeatist lyrics about longing and confronting the choices we’ve made in our lives are bathed in cheerful melancholy. “Every path through the past reaches a dead end / My ex-girlfriend’s dog is probably dead / Every road through the snow leads to crooked bends / And no matter how fast you turn, you always crash in the end,” Max sings.
On July 21, 1966, the Ku Klux Klan held a rally in Overton Park. The chief speaker was Imperial Wizard Robert M. Shelton of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who “told the crowd of about 400 Klansmen, supporters and curious onlookers to work for ‘conservative candidates’ in the coming elections,” according to the evening newspaper, the Memphis Press-Scimitar.
A little over a week later, on July 30, the vibe was entirely different as “all the freaks in town” gathered in Overton Park for the first Memphis Blues Festival, a celebration of Black musical expression that was organized by young white music lovers and that showcased such elder giants-in-our-midst as Furry Lewis, Rev. Robert Wilkins and “Mississippi” Fred McDowell.
Listen to this week’s Captain Americana Spotify playlist featuring:
Gwen Levey and The Breakdown – Barefoot & Pregnant
The Handsome Family – Joseph
Old Heavy Hands – Coming Down
Lucy Dacus – Home Again
Bonnie & The Mere Mortals – Tennessee – Live & Unplugged
Mitski – I Don’t Like My Mind
Leeann Skoda, Sie Sie Benhoff, Dylan Rodrigue – The Living Room
Allison Russell – The Returner
Jax Hollow – Wolf in Sheepskin
Sufjan Stevens – There’s A World
Shannon Clark & the Sugar – This Old World
Margo Price, Lucius – Anytime You Call
Megan & Shane, Brit Taylor, Lille Mae – Things Don’t Have to Change
Shakey Graves, Sierra Ferrell – Ready or Not
Rick Hornyak – Shades of Grey
Wilco – Ten Dead
David G Smith – River Gonna Talk
Rissi Palmer, Miko Marks – Still Here
Jalen Ngonda – If You Don’t Want My Love
Esmé Patterson – Coming Down
Hannah Georgas – Beautiful View
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram – Something in the Dirt – Live
Elisapie – Californiamut (Going to California)
Rebecca Porter – Clockin’ Out
Rob Tait – Matilda
Mike & The Moonpies – Paycheck to Paycheck (Live)
Nate Fredrick – Low on Sugar
Neal Francis – Can’t Stop the Rain (Live)
Maya de Vitry – Stacy, In Her Wedding Gown
McKinley James – I’ll Be Loving You
Mick Flannery – Goodtime Charlie
Taken from their forthcoming debut album, Continue?, Super Cassette’s new single “Path Through the Past” is a wonderfully joyful blast of twee indie-pop from the Oakland-based, queer-pop sibling duo. At least, on the surface—underneath the chipper tune and its seemingly whimsical instrumentation is an all-too-real depiction of human mortality and the sad fact that everything we ever know will one day vanish into unexistence. “Every path through the past reaches a dead end,” sings Max Gerlock in the song’s first line, before they follow it up with the real kicker: “My ex-girlfriend’s dog is probably dead.”
Listen to this week’s State of the Art Spotify playlist featuring:
Coma Girls – Dirty Water (Baby Robot Records)
Florence + The Machine – King
Super Cassette – Continue?
Danger Mouse, Black Thought, MF DOOM – Belize
Mega Ran – Count Me In
Freddie Gibbs, Pusha T – Gold Rings
Josh Rennie-Hynes – When We Touch
Jamila Woods – Good News
Beekeeper Spaceman – Icicles
Slaughter Beach, Dog – Float Away
Helltones – Every Time You Pick a Fight
Fontaines D.C. – Jackie Down The Line
Old Heavy Hands – Coming Down
Jean Dawson, SZA – NO SZNS
Shane Rennison – Cold Winter
Phoenix, BENEE, Pusha T, Chad Hugo – All Eyes On Me
Volk – Stand the Test
The Drums – Plastic Envelope
Leeann Skoda, Sie Sie Benhoff, Dylan Rodrigue – The Living Room
Jax Hollow – Wolf in Sheepskin
Dylan Chambers, Alex Lambert – Don’t Leave Me
EE Beyond – Just Human
Squirrel Flower – Full Time Job
Paper Idols – The Morning
Rocket – Portrait Show
Soul Glo – If I Speak (Shut The Fuck Up)
Oso Oso – computer exploder
Enumclaw – Cowboy Bepop
Dry Cleaning – Swampy
AJ Suede, Steel Tipped Dove – Reoccurring Characters
Jay Worthy, Kamaiyah, Harry Fraud – 9AM