The Brothers Comatose "The Scout"

Just when you think all the good band names have already been taken, along comes The Brothers Comatose, an exceptional string outfit from San Francisco. Their second full-length CD, Respect The Van, comes out today and it provides a showcase for the quintet’s prodigious talents. Brothers Alex and Ben Morrison, vocals, banjo and guitar; Gio Benedetti, vocals and bass; Philip Brezina, fiddle; Ryan Avellone, mandolin, are rocking the room at places like the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, The Strawberry Festival, and High Sierra Music Festival. By the way, the comatose assignation comes from the trance that Alex enters when he plays banjo.

The Brothers Comatose simmer a stew that combines old and new for soul satisfaction. A quick note about what separates old school bluegrass from this music - it's the rock and roll structure to the composition. You gotta see these guys on their ambitious summer touring adventure, Respect The Van indeed! Speaking of ‘seeing’ them, there is a series of strip poker-esque photos, as the band did a countdown to this week’s album release. A layer of clothing was removed by each member for each photo, culminating here. Here is one of the songs from the new album, “The Scout,” which of course, features the van. I wonder if it has a name...

- Jessie Scott

Connor Christian & Southern Gothic "Sheets Down"

Did’ya see Mick Jagger on Saturday Night Live? He did a great job hosting, and made an especially joyful noise when he performed “The Last Time” with Arcade Fire. He also did performances with the Foo Fighters and Jeff Beck. I guess it takes three bands to replace the rest of the Stones (LOL). Lately, I have been picking tracks for my new radio show at KDRP and I have to tell you that there is plenty of early Rolling Stones in the mix. There is something so eternal about how they translated the great American blues and R&B traditions, and then brought it back to the shores of the U.S. The roots music movement owes those Brits a huge debt of gratitude.

Connor Christian & Southern Gothic’s music lives at the intersection of Southern music: Roots Rock, Americana and Country. CCSG's latest release, New Hometown (Part 1), an eight song set, is actually two EPs that were recorded at the same time. New Hometown strips down what the band did on the 2009 release 90 Proof Lullabies. Back in January none other than Billboard, the venerable music biz trade magazine, cited CC&SG as a “Best Bets 2012.” We had them come to our lair, the Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s during SXSW® music week, and I was most impressed with their honest, passionate, and impeccable delivery. Here is a taste, “Sheets Down.”

- Jessie Scott

Megan Reilly "Throw It Out"

Megan Reilly is a Memphis-native with a grounding in both the languages of Irish fatalism and Southern Gothic. She has just released her first album in six years. It's  called The Well, connoting both a dark and scary place, and one that is rich with depth and possibilities.

Megan began writing at age sixteen. At twenty-three, she moved to New York City, and was shepherded in her new hometown by Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. He acted as her guide into the New York music scene and introduced her to guitarist Tim Foljahn. That duet was soon to lead to a full band - Steve Goulding on drums, Tony Maimone on bass, and Eric Morrison on piano. The group recorded Megan's first full-length Arc of Tessa, which was hailed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, No Depression and others. Her second album in 2006, Let Your Ghost Go garnered more acclaim. It has been a long time between albums, and though they are luscious to dig into, it's the video that grabbed us. Impossibly well-cast, and utterly impenetrable. It is one of the songs from The Well, vast and deep, "Throw It Out."

-Jessie Scott