So I’m back for my second edition of Summer Jams to let you know what’s been in heavy rotation for me. This edition is all about two of my favorite songwriters, Tim Kasher and Chris Staples.
Recently, Saddle Creek Records just announced that Tim Kasher of Cursive and The Good Life fame will be releasing a solo record this October. Kasher has long been one of my favorite songwriters and has consistently written amazing albums, so needless to say, I’m very excited to hear his solo record. That excitement has driven me back to some of his previous works, especially The Good Life’s Lovers Need Lawyers EP. This album is probably my favorite 10″ EP, and I feel like this gem never gets its fair share of attention next to the other classics Kasher has written like Cursive’s The Ugly Organ and The Good Life’s Album Of The Year. Though it was actually release before Album Of The Year, it picks up right where that album’s journey leaves off with an amazing musical allusion to the AOTY track Inmates right at the beginning of its first track, Leaving Omaha, a song about moving out and moving on (presumably after AOTY’s nasty ending). It’s title track, Lovers Need Lawyers, is a classic example of Kasher’s ability to comment on relationships, in the form of a catchy song about distrust that was later featured on AOTY. I really can’t say enough good things about this EP, and I feel it’s just as seminal of a release as anything Tim Kasher’s ever put out.
Next up, I’ve been jamming a lot of Chris Staples lately. Chris has actually been my favorite songwriter ever since I realized there was more to the word of music than Eve 6, MxPx, and the morning video rotation on MTV and VH1 with a little help from my cousin Shaun. He’s actually released two new albums this year, an acoustic record entitled Badlands and a full-band record entitled Future Paths on Lujo Records under the moniker Discover America. Both of those releases are absolute GOLD and I can’t stress enough how much you need to get your hands on those. I actually had the privilege on hosting Chris twice at 60 South during my time there, and they were both amazing shows. Now, this release comes from Chris’ younger days, when he was fronting an act called Twothirtyeight on Tooth & Nail Records. They partnered with labelmates Further Seems Forever to put out this split 7″ single featuring the track Modern Day Prayer from their 2002 release You Should Be Living. Further Seems Forever’s contribution was the track Pride War off of How To Start A Fire, my personal favorite album (and lineup) of theirs. This 7″ is as solid as a split single gets, and both of the albums it features tracks from are well represented. As an aside, Twothirtyeight’s first full-length, Regulate The Chemicals, was recently just repressed and is a must-have for your collection (and it’s seriously just $8 right now). It’s available here.
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