There are some weeks when one or two Milwaukee artists drop new music. And then there are some weeks when four three Milwaukee artists drop new music on the same day. This week, dear readers, is one of those weeks. Let’s dig in!
First up is the title track to the upcoming Known Moons EP, Beginning To End. Known Moons is responsible for one of the great Milwaukee records of recent memory—2024’s Everything Is—and a handful of equally instant-classic singles. “Beginning To End” finds Andrew James and company further crystalizing their sparkling dream-pop with a gorgeous three-minute ode to getting off the floor and giving it another go. “When everything is beginning to end / Will you dust yourself off again / Or bury your head in the sand?” James sings.
The Beginning To End EP is due March 27, but you can listen to the title track and two other songs (both from the previously released Barely Known split EP with Barely Civil) now. Or, better yet, you can listen to a dual LP of 2024’s Everything Is and 2026’s Beginning To End called, well, Everything Is Beginning To End! (Even better yet, preorder a splatter vinyl copy of the LP today!)
Next is Tales Of The Hard Way, the long-awaited new album from veteran rebel-country band God’s Outlaw. Brian “Big Smith” Smith and Eric “E-man” Bulgrin formed God’s Outlaw more than 20 years ago, and the group has been a staple of Milwaukee and Wisconsin festivals and corner bars ever since. Hard Way is an impeccably produced 10-track backroads journey that genuflects at the altar of Cash and Jennings, while sneaking in a swig of “weird Americana” a la The Handsome Family. Highlights include the “drivin’ down the highway” rambler “Roll These Dice” and the hilarious shit-kicker “Nothingsville.”
God’s Outlaw will celebrate the release of Tales Of The Hard Way Sunday, March 8 at Puddler’s Hall.
Finally, it’s the latest hard-rockin’ track from ’70s-rock revivalists Lords Of Apricity. Wait, scratch that—the group’s new single, “We Bleed,” bears virtually no resemblance to the songs found on its 2022 self-titled EP. Instead of kicking you in the gut with fuzzed-out guitars and hot-shit swagger, “We Bleed” tugs at your heartstrings with a tender piano and emotional vocals from Susan Theide-Johnson. Lords Of Apricity leader David Koenig describes the track as an “intimate indie folk song that explores love, grief, and the identity shifts that come with early parenthood.” An identity shift, indeed.
Did we mention it’s lovely? It really is.
(Also: We thought the new Chris Rosenau / Nick Sanborn album, Two, was coming out today, too, but it looks like it’s scheduled for March 27. Stay tuned!)
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• Barely Civil, Known Moons team up for fantastic ‘Barely Known’ split EP
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• Meet Known Moons and check out the project’s debut single/video