Nat Puff, the mastermind behind Left at London, is frank. She’s frank about shitty people in her most popular acoustic ballad “I DONT TRUST U ANYMORE,” and she’s frank about her struggles in her newest single, “T-Shirt.” It comes from her forthcoming album Transgender Street Legend Vol. 2. READ MORE…
Similar to the way having a copious amount of choice can bring enthralling possibility or a paralyzing level of uncertainty, being left to one’s own devices in a place of quiet separation can yield vastly different results for anyone that embraces the environment. Though some might find the prospect of deliberate social withdrawal challenging, for songwriter and musical journeyman Spencer Burton, pursuit of a quieter life after extensive touring and becoming a parent served as more of a full circle milestone and Burton’s new single “Further” definitely supports that idea. READ MORE…
Margaret Chavez is the project of Austin-based singer-songwriter Marcus William Striplin, who fuses elements of space rock, freak folk, and alt-country. Having started out his career in the late 90s as one half of the psychedelic outfit Pleasant Grove, he recently issued his second solo album, Into An Atmosphere – a sprawling, ambitious, and often breathtaking effort co-produced by longtime collaborator Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, Loretta Lynn, The White Stripes) and mastered by Greg Calbi (John Lennon, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen).
In 2010 Pete Thomas, the drummer for Elvis Costello’s bands The Attractions and The Imposters, was in Little Rock to record some songs with Indy Grotto, wife of producer Jason Weinheimer, for her solo album. While Thomas was here, Weinheimer encouraged Greg Spradlin, the singer-songwriter-hotshot guitarist and longtime Arkansas musical stalwart, to come jam with the British drummer.
That session was a life-changing one for Spradlin, though he didn’t know it at the time. “I thought, yeah, I could spend a day with him,” the 51-year-old Spradlin says. “I had about three songs. That’s probably all we could get done anyway.”
He admits that he was expecting something more laid-back, but Thomas — who not only drummed on legendary Costello albums like “This Year’s Model,” “Get Happy,” “Armed Forces,” “Imperial Bedroom” and more, but is also an in-demand studio drummer who has played with Randy Newman, Sheryl Crow and others — had a different approach. “He’s a perfectionist, and it goes really quick,” Spradlin says. “We got through those three songs before lunch.”
There was an undeniable chemistry, and that informal jam started Spradlin on a musical trip that would take him to Los Angeles to record with, among others, Thomas, Los Lobos founding member David Hidalgo, the late keyboardist Rudy Copeland and bassist Davey Faragher of Cracker and The Imposters.
Listen to this week’s State of the Art Spotify playlist featuring:
Left at London – Safety First
Thundercat, Smino, Guapdad 4000 – Dragonball Durag – Remix
Sara Rachele – Sex and Candy (Marcy’s Playground cover)
Peach Kelli Pop – Cut Me Off
8 Inch Betsy – Night (Baby Robot Records)
L.A. WITCH – Gen-Z
Radiator King – Light of My Soul
Black Marble – In Manchester
Savants of Soul – Swell
Kero Kero Bonita – Bugsnax!
Doncat, Bobby Renz – Automatic Teller
Koncept, Brandon Bill$, Max Landry – Freeze
Guerrilla Ghost, Kool Keith – Algorithm Nation 1814
Family and Friends – Amadeus (2020)
Ho99o9 – Beneath the Earths Crust
Clipping – Say The Name
Mondo Cozmo – Come On
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down – Temple
Mike Dillon – Tiki Bird Whistle
Kill Lincoln – Confession Obsession
The Slackers – Nobody’s Listening
Alex Lilly – Amuse Me
2nd Grade – Velodrome
Fusilier- Upstream
Honey Lung – Big
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever- She’s There
Amnesia Scanner ft LYZZA – AS Going
Westerman- Think I’ll Stay
Holy Wave – I’m Not Living In The Past Anymore
NZCA Lines – Prisoner of Love
Pottery – Hot Heater
Jason Pyro, Bobbi$upreme – Fiji on Me
Ensiferum – Run from the Crushing Tide
Jockstrap – The City
Mich Cota / Kizis – In Our House
