Vincas - Blood Bleeds

You would think that because only about 60 miles separate the cities of Athens and Atlanta, Georgia that maybe the same sphere of influence would affect both. In the past decade, Atlanta has seen the growth of a creatively sustainable music scene, and we sort of forgot about our neighbors up the road. There is no shortage of great bars, restaurants and clubs in Athens, but it’s been a little while since an Athens band made me want to jump in my car and make the trip. Vincas have given me that much needed excuse. Blood Bleeds is a monster of a record. They are playing dark and heavy songs that at once will draw Birthday Party and Gun Club comparisons. I’d bet they have some later Scientists records in their collections too as there is a discernible element of swampishness weaving itself throughout the record. It’s sexy in a super-bitter dark chocolate kind of way and has a pounding cohesiveness throughout. Vincas demonstrate total control from start to finish, and it’s pretty clear that they didn’t just stumble onto a style of music like this. We truly hope the folks over in Athens realize what they’ve got on their hands. Vincas self released the first 100 copies with screen printed covers. Good luck finding them. We do not have any. There are 500 total. All copies are on black vinyl and come with a download code.

Gentleman Jesse - Leaving Atlanta

Since Jesse’s first album came out in the summer of 2008, he’s had plenty of excuses to put the “Gentleman” part of his act to bed. In fact, the Mr. Nice Guy routine landed him in bed for a month after being mugged and beaten with a table leg while he was trying to help two strangers change a tire. When the economy shit the bed, violent crime in Atlanta hit home in a big way and really made the city a dreary place to live for a while. In addition, several tragedies strongly affected the Atlanta music scene and the DMR family. It was a bad time and Jesse took it very personally. He seemed close to throwing in the towel and retiring to a dark room with cheap beer and You Tube videos. To cope with the reality of living in a place that seemed to be going straight to hell, Jesse went down to the basement of his house and wrote twenty songs that would become Leaving Atlanta. What could have easily become a bummer record ended up being nothing short of inspiring. The record kicks off with “Eat Me Alive”, an anthem of perseverance that Jesse undoubtedly used as a demon-exercising tool. The album is bookended by another mover titled “We Got To Get Out of Here,” a song that turns out to be less about getting out of an actual location and more about getting out of a state of mind that makes you afraid of it. Stylistically, Jesse never strays from his bread and butter, which is short, hook driven, and delicately patterned rock n roll songs. We could compare him to Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, or Paul Collins till the cows come home but at this point in his career, Gentleman Jesse sounds like Gentleman Jesse. Leaving Atlanta is Jesse hitting his personal and musical stride. 100 copies on split white & green vinyl. (SOLD OUT) Just the black stuff left. It sounds just as good or better. Please contact wholesale@midheaven.com for wholesale orders and inquiries.

Barreracudas - Nocturnal Missions LP/CD

The city of Atlanta and the DMR gang are happy to announce the release of the Barreracudas appropriately titled debut record. Somewhere between The Heartbreakers (Petty) and The Heartbreakers (Thunders), the Barreracudas found a well of inspiration just deep enough to produce one of the biggest foot tappers of the year. Their sound shouldn’t come as a great surprise as most of these guys have been playing with Gentleman Jesse and His men for the past couple of years. While you wont find them dressed like their Heartbreaking predecessors, The Barreracudas have bound elements of 70’s dirt and glam with the radio friendliness of the likes of Dwight Twilley and Phil Seymore. You’ll discern no Pulitzer worthy poetry in the lyric sheet, but you will find eleven original tracks with hooks more infectious than encephalitis and a pretty sweet cover of Cheap Trick’s Come On, Come On. 100 limited copies are on split colored vinyl. October 25, 2011

If you have any notion of the concept of fun, you'll want to see Barreracudas on tour with Davila 666 in the following cities.

~~~ALL DATES WITH THE ALMIGHTY DAVILA 666 (except* 11/6)~~~
Wed 19-Oct Brooklyn, NY CMJ (Knitting Factory)
Thu 20-Oct Cambridge, MA TT The Bear's
Fri 21-Oct Montreal, QC Casa Del Popolo
Sat 22-Oct Toronto, ON Silver Dollar
Sun 23-Oct Detroit, MI PJ's Lager House
Mon 24-Oct Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Tue 25-Oct Bloomington, IN The Bishop
Wed 26-Oct Cincinnati, OH The Comet (w/Jacuzzi Boys)
Thu 27-Oct TBA TBA
Fri 28-Oct Baltimore, MD Golden West
Sun 30-Oct TBA TBA
Mon 31-Oct Atlanta, GA The EARL (w/Jacuzzi Boys)
Tue 1-Nov TBA TBA
Wed 2-Nov Nashville, TN Springwater Supper Club
Thu 3-Nov Memphis, TN Hi-Tone Café
Fri 4-Nov New Orleans, LA Siberia
Sat 5-Nov Houston, TX The Mink
Sun 6-Nov Austin, TX *29th street Ballroom* (with Flesh Lights and Bad Lovers)

King Louie's Missing Monuments - Painted White LP

Royal Pendletons, Persuaders, Bad Times, Exploding Hearts, King Louie One Man Band, Kajun SS, Loose Diamonds, Black Rose Band and now Missing Monuments. King Louie Bankston’s impressive band resume has the tendency to make regular folk feel unproductive. There are likely another dozen bands that we forgot to list. And while many of us are familiar with Louie on stage and the Louie that parties your town to smithereens after his set, I must honestly say that this is the hardest working guy we have ever had the pleasure of working with. It is a privilege and honor to announce the release of King Louie’s Missing Monuments debut album Painted White.
Painted White is a testament to Louie’s versatility as a songwriter and his ability to do pretty much anything but rap. Painted White is cleaned up, jangly, full of hooks and Louie’s coarse signature melodies. Stylistically, Painted White covers all the necessary bases. It’s got R’N’R jams, ballads, a super noodley track and our personal favorite, (It’s Like) XTC. Swear to god I thought this was a Raspberries song at first. Look for Missing Monuments on tour with the legendary Paul Collins next month. 100 copies are obviously on white vinyl, and all copies come with complimentary download cards. We’ll start shipping on June 27th.

JULY 2011 TOUR DATES W/ PAUL COLLINS

7/13 • Music Box, Mobile, AL
7/14 • Siberia, New Orleans, LA
7/15 • Ole Town, Jackson, MI
7/16 • Hi-Tone, Memphis, TN
7/18 • JJ’s Bohemia, Chattanooga, TN
7/19 • The Earl, Atlanta, GA

Please contact wholesale@midheaven.com for wholesale orders.

Cola Freaks LP coming May 31th!

Cola Freaks – Cola Freaks LP (DMR 044). After a very impressive series of singles, we are pleased to announce the release of the debut LP from Denmark’s Cola Freaks. Cola Freaks sound like a scheduled and perfectly executed panic attack. The songs these guys produce are as scrupulous as they are frenzied and eerie, however. Rare is it that a band can employ frequent direction change and herky jerky song structure and still command total attention. Cola Freaks singles have habitually drawn comparisons to European KBD bands and Mr. Jay Reatard, and the LP does not stray much in that regard. Quick, clean and nervous is sort of the Cola Freaks MO, and that’s precisely what you’ll get with this record. 100 copies are available on red/white split colored vinyl.

Predator LP

Predator – Predator LP (DMR 043) Our new years resolution in 2011 was to refrain from using the words “pop” or “catchy.” We’re sticking to our guns on this release at least as this LP is a punk behemoth. If you remember the Frantic, you know that Mike and Brannon don’t pick up instruments without asking themselves what Rick Agnew would do. This record is short and deliberate, but you can definitely pick up tinges of post punk too. The Adolescents worship continues, but you get the idea they may be secretly digging Warsaw. Comes with a download, fool. 1000 black vinyls.

Talbot Adams - Jack and Jesse EP

In case you've forgotten already, Talbot was the front man for The Black and Whites. With the birth of his twin boys, Talbot had to keep the noise down a bit and wrote some quieter stuff. Super sweet and frankly touching stuff from former wild man turned dad. He does it Douche Master style with four songs all under two minutes. Packed full of Talbot's patented male oooohhhs. 500 pressed. 100 on black vinyl.(Black vinyl sold out). 400 on gray marble.