Salina Underground

What comes post-post-rock? Lo, the Loyal Conscripts stopped by this week to speculate about this and other musical mysteries. We spun new tracks off their upcoming EP, met their new trio-mate Andrew, and discussed Ancient Rome's anticipation of 20th Century science fiction tropes.

PLAYLIST HIGHLIGHTS: New tracks from Lo, the Loyal Conscripts, plus Pray for Sound, early Luscious Jackson, Rachel Mousie, A Delicate Motor, RANGES, and God Is an Astronaut

August, 2019 marked the official 15th anniversary month for Cincinnati boutique label Phratry Records, which boasts more than 60 releases. We welcomed the founder of Phratry's mutli-genre, DIY feast, Jerry Dirr (of Knife the Symphony), to the Radio Artifact studios to talk about his work, explore the Cincinnati scene's history, and discuss what the future might have in store.

Adam Nice (of Cincinnati indie alt-rock trio A.M. Nice) came along for the ride to provide context, give us some Latin lessons, and cast some spells.

PLAYLIST HIGHLIGHTS: All Phratry artists, including The Terminal Orchestra, LKN, State Song, Sleepcrawler, Knife the Symphony, Swear Jar, Mad Anthony, Mala in Se, Ampline, The Full Counts (featuring Don Fleming), ed fROMOHIO, and more!

Lexington-based neo-soul and funk band Joslyn & the Sweet Compression have been taking the Bluegrass by storm and, now, they're poised to do the same here in the Queen City, the historic epicenter of funk/R&B that gave rise to King Records, James Brown, Bootsy Collins, the Isley Brothers, and a host of others.

On Friday, September 20, Joslyn & the Sweet Compression will open up for international reggae stalwarts Steel Pulse at The Ludlow Garage. This week, Jonathan sat down with lead singer Joslyn Hampton and bassist / multi-instrumentalist Marty Charters, and turned the mics around to let them tell their story, in their own words.

Cincinnati's music history is long and rich. Still, the new music scene here tends to fly under the radar; a lot of people outside our region don't realize just how profoundly — and diversely — artistic the Queen City is.

Jim Nolan, host of WVXU's 'Local Exposure,' is one of the faithful keepers of the Tristate's creative flame. His show features local artists and introduces the wider NPR audience to them. This week, Jonathan sat down with him to talk about local music history, discuss the artists that are driving the scene today, spin an all-Cincy playlist, and finally tease out Jim's long-untold hero origin story.

PLAYLIST HIGHLIGHTS: Brand new music from Chuck Cleaver (Wussy, Ass Ponys), Carriers, and Phasmids. Classic spins from The Raisins, Over the Rhine, The Sweep, and Mad Anthony, plus tracks from Paige Beller, Wonky Tonk, Electric Citizen, TRIIIBE, Us, Today, and others.

Former friends-of-the-show Tooth Lures a Fang stole Phasmids' drummer. This episode, Jonathan fights Zach Starkie — possibly to the death — to win back John "K-Cups" Kathman's loyalty and re-establish Phasmids' indie dominance. Cheap puns and random references abound. Catch Tooth Lures a Fang on 9/14/19, at MOTR, with Human Heart (Cincinnati) and Zip-Zapp! (Cleveland).

PLAYLIST HIGHLIGHTS: Tooth Lures a Fang, Mammal Dap, Native Roses, and Tea Leaf Green, plus new music from Human Heart, Zip-Zapp!, Phasmids and MOBROS.

Finally, we learn the FLOCKS origin story! And, as it turns out, that story began in a synagogue parking lot, where a quantum singularity of musical energy unassumingly exists. Who knew?

With Christopher out on tour, Jonathan bravely mans the board alone and guides Josh, Stephen and Tom through another accurate and precise round of Send Me Your Demos.

Playlist highlights include: FLOCKS, Washed Out, GRLwood, Ratatat, School of Seven Bells, a brand new single from MOIRA, and new music submissions from the Harvey Roberts Band, South Africa's The Ninth, and Cincinnati newcomer Night Owl.

The Mitchells speak softly, but they carry a big compositional stick. The indie chamber pop collective have been making amazing music and releasing beautiful records for the better part of a decade, including last year's NEW LAWNS (out now on our favorite label, Self-Published).

Joseph, Carlos and Marc stopped by the Radio Artifact studios to spin some new tunes (hard for Joseph to do with his recently-broken thumb), set us straight on who's first-chair bass, discuss hink pinks, onomatopoeia and their ramifications on mortality, and revisit their live performance on the show way, way back in the halcyon WVQC days of 2013.

Playlist highlights include: Morphine, Björk, Okkervil River, Stuyedyed, Tune-Yards

Cincinnati shoegaze specialists Slow Glows are releasing their first LP, Shoegaze Rock & Roll, so they stopped by the Radio Artifact studios to spin some new tracks and chat. We debated the validity of the term "classic rock," kept a watchful eye on our friendly neighborhood studio spider and played a stellar psych-shoegaze-and-synth song lineup for you. Don't miss it!

The Bellwether Music Festival returned for its second annual installment in Waynesville, Ohio! Jonathan and Christopher highlighted the artists who were playing the festival, spoke with Bellwether founder Bill Donabedian in a special 'Salina 180' segment, and gave away weekend passes to the show. Great playlist here, including headliners Beach House, Cake and STRFKR, plus Eldren (Denver, CO), Caroline Rose (NYC), Twin Shadow (LA), Fern Murphy (Fort Wayne, IN), R. Ring (Dayton / Cincinnati) and more!