Truth Club:
“The band’s imposing, precarious new album cements them in a history of North Carolina bands making thrilling indie rock.” —Pitchfork
“Not An Exit was a success that firmly put Truth Club on the map, establishing the foursome as a budding, marquee name in alt-rock. It was a great debut where you could tell that, whenever their next LP was set to arrive, it was going to send them through the stratosphere—and that’s exactly what Running From the Chase has done and will continue to do.” —Paste
Skirts: When Dallas songwriter Alex Montenegro began writing songs, she stuck to her usual tools, an out of tune guitar, a loop pedal, a Tascam tape machine. After self-recording the entirety of her early DIY bandcamp releases, 2021’s sprawling debut Great Big Wild Oak saw Montenegro incorporate other musicians and recording methods alongside her established style. Great Big Wild Oak displayed Skirts at their most polished, weaving warm, traditional Americana textures with Montenegro’s lo-fi piano and intimate vocals. The album earned her the title of “Band to Watch” by Stereogum and a home on indie label Double Double Whammy.
Wished Bone is something of a well-kept Appalachian secret. Over the past 8 years, Rhodus has released two full-length albums (2019’s Sap Season and 2018’s Cellar Belly) as well as two collaborative albums and her debut EP, Pseudo Recordings. Rhodus’s songs tend to stretch and dream like blossoming buds while also radiating a buzzing warmth, like a baseboard heater coming back to life after summertime hibernation. The music itself is like a watercolor brushed with gently strummed acoustic guitars and lilting drums, keys and woodwinds bleeding in from the edges. Undeniably central is Rhodus’s singular voice, carrying an irresistible realness and guiding the songs like a lantern flickering down a wooded path. Wished bone is a love letter to the world.
A plant biologist and gardener by trade, Rhodus sees human experience as an organic reflection of the natural world and its processes. Currently studying cartography (officially) and Tascam-ography (unofficially) in Ohio, keep an eye out for new music and summer/fall tour dates.
During a west coast tour in 2022, Montenegro was insistent on spotting wild horses, though the patience and long drives required became too cumbersome. “The idea of seeing these beautiful creatures just run free for hours is still such a dream of mine. That imagery is what inspired the first line of the song.” she recalls. “I sort of swung into a place where I could only write songs on piano after covid, and ‘Run’ is a result of that.” Leaning into a more collaborative environment, Montenegro’s joined by Joshua Luttrull on lead guitar, Daniel Bryson on drums, and Bennett Littlejohn on bass. “I’ve always liked to create depth and texture by using cool production. I feel a lot of growth in our sound and I’m very excited to have something new out in the world.”