Stray Owls - A Series of Circles (Feb 2017)
"What A Series of Circles builds to, ultimately, is the cousin of Greil Marcus's ever-cited concept of "old, weird America." With its balance of acoustic guitars and fuzzed-out feedback, its tales of loss and isolation and woe, and its rhythms of collapse and decay, Stray Owls represent a sort of new, weird America—one born in Mebane." - INDY Week
Joshua Carpenter - Prey Tells (March 2017)
"With a fairly distinct style, Joshua Carpenter pops out as an interesting new listen. With a focus on lyrics and rhythm, Carpenter supplies a stunning performance that allows the listener to find joy in the tunes. Carpenter holds the audiences attention with his short but to the point songs and brings together the best of pop and folk." - WLUR Radio
North Elementary - ...And Every Color You Have Ever Seen (March 2017)
"As the excellent Carrboro rock band North Elementary has aged, its become more relaxed, and yet somehow also more focused. The band's eighth record, ...and every color you have ever seen, still find the long-running crew deploying swirling sonic tracers, but its North Elementary's tightest and most concisely attractive record. Songs burst and thrust with efficient verve." - INDY Week
The Library - Drinkin' And Watching The Mushroom Cloud (April 2017)
Organos/Faults Split 7" (April 2017)
"Organos' "Please Hold," is a sharp, biting tune about a friendship falling apart, and it's the band's most polished track by far. Faults, meanwhile, offers low-key bummer lyrics behind fuzzy guitars and an upbeat rhythm. The songs share a rough-around-the-edges charm, and they make for wonderful complements to each other." - INDY Week
Nathan Oliver - Head in the Sand (June 2017)
"The record is a high five to several classic alternative eras but still feels fresh. Take 'Marbles' for a spin and you will hear the pulsing rhythms of past groups such as Girl Against Boys and Brainiac while having the current edge of Wavves and Cloud Nothings." - The Fire Note
"'Sing Blue Silver,' a downtrodden rock song that begets quite the emotional apex in its slight darkness - like a warm, welcoming cut from Unknown Pleasures." - Magnet Magazine
"'Sing Blue Silver,' a downtrodden rock song that begets quite the emotional apex in its slight darkness - like a warm, welcoming cut from Unknown Pleasures." - Magnet Magazine
Bleeder - Bleeder (June 2017)
"The Chapel Hill, North Carolina based songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist brought in some top flight talent to help him make these songs spark to life – guitarist Drew Speziale and drummer Chuck Campbell – and this trio carries off Bleeder’s music with attitude and aplomb. Bleeder takes all of the best qualities from Smoak’s published book Bleeder: A Memoir and filters them through a different medium in such a way that those experiences seem even more gripping and visceral. This is one of the year’s best albums – from anyone." - Gashouse Radio
The Good Graces - Set Your Sights (July2017)
"Set Your Sights is about that midpoint -- evaluating the things you've done and trying to figure out where you can still go. The Good Graces is a revolving collective of musicians that centers around Ware. This is evident in the wide array of subgenres the band delves into: bratty punk, 90s powerpop, Americana, folk ballads. The unifying factor is Ware's incisive songwriting: one gets the sense that she's poised on the tip of a knife -- one edge is to plunge into despair, the other is to forge forward without ever learning from the past." - No Depression
The Kneads - When Nothing's Going Right, Go Left (September 2017)
"The NC musical DNA runs deep with this band...Take the earnest punchy Replacements rave-ups of Small (or Small 23 if you must), take some of the endearingly ramshackle punk pastiche of Erectus Monotone, take some of the D.C.-ish first wave emo of Vanilla Trainwreck, take the DIY pop damage of Bricks, take some of the skewed, noisy buzz of The Raymond Brake, take a hint of the insanely catchy but subtly venomous Archers of Loaf, take some of the Spatula dynamic punch, but most of all, take a whole bunch of the anthemic power pop of Superchunk. And then have Guy Picciotto sing on top of it all...Can you find fault with any of that? I can't. It's a very specific sound played with the rarest of authenticity, and it's fucking perfect. Look for this one on the (highly coveted) Best of 2017 List later this year." - Shiny Grey Monotone
Erie Choir - Old Rigs (November 2017)
"Many of you will likely find Eric Roehrig lurking in your record collection, particularly if you happened to spend a lot of time with Saddle Creek early on; he sang and played guitar in Sorry About Dresden. But, he’s spent the last few years working on his new project, Erie Choir. It was initially conceptualized as a solo affair, but Eric fleshed out a full band, and that decision definitely benefits the work...There’s a pop Americana feel here, and the details like slide guitar and piano tinkering develop the track into a moving piece. Perhaps it’s added years in my own life, but Roehrig sounds friendly and familiar here, like only the best of songwriters." - Austin Town Hall