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Friday Roundup: Backlash, Record Store Day crackers and more

I am writing on a computer that has seen far better days. This was once a glorious laptop  I could take to coffee shops, but now it’s hooked into an external monitor out of necessity. It’s as if the poor thing is on life support, except I’m totally ready to blast it into smithereens.

You know who is seeing far better days?

The Portland Phoenix’s Jakob Battick, who who won’t have to face a repeat of The Great Fan Backlash of 2011 after writing a favorable review of The Mallett Brothers’ new album, Lights Along The River. You may recall that Battick didn’t like The Mallett Brothers’ second album in his review for Dispatch Magazine, prompting quite the spat with their fans. It sounds like he doesn’t want the fans to forget about those darker times, but he’s willing to make amends:

To anyone who still hates my guts for that Low Down review: when I was about 10, I waited a long time in line after a Dave Mallett concert with my grandmother so we could get his autograph. We’re not that different, you and I.

Battick also has an album review for Nashville-based Today Is The Day, what he calls “one of the most terrifying bands to ever emerge from the American South’s metal scene.”

Did anyone find anything sweet on Record Store Day? Mike Cunnane sure did.

It was pretty neat to hear that Lady Lamb will be opening for The Decemberists at their State Theatre show. If that isn’t your thing, you could try EMO Night Portland, “Tears in Your Beer” at Portland’s newest venue, the Portland House Of Music & Events.

WMPG, greater Portland’s beloved community radio station, was dealt quite the blow this week when a water pipe burst and damaged around 3,000 vinyl records (just the thought of it tugs at our collective Hilly Town heartstrings). As a former staffer of The Free Press, the University of Southern Maine’s student newspaper that is in the floor above WMPG, I’m heartened to see that our newspapers are finally being used as something meaningful: album covers.

We are sad to see Ben McCanna retire his amazing local music photoblog, Post Mortem, but as he explains in his farewell post, he needs to take this time to focus on taking care of himself and his family. While he writes that he “can’t say whether Post Mortem truly accomplished anything lasting,” I will just go on the record and say that you, Ben, created something of meaning for a community you care about and a community that cares about you. We wish you all the best.

Ben Folds, one of my favorite artists of yesteryear, told mainetoday in an interview published this week that he considers his latest project a rather “bizarre” one. But is mixing a classic ensemble with your pop-rock sensibilities really that strange?

If you’re curious about how that new Spencer Albee album is, Emily Burnham of the Bangor Daily News has you covered with her review of Mistakes Were Made.

Breaking news: Some band we know is back.

Oh yeah, those guys!

Hilly Town posts from the past week: 

HillyTown Goes Record Shopping with Fur
Jacob Augustine East Coast Tour

Song of the week: 

Remember when I was trying to find a certain song by Jared Fairfield. Well, he recently uploaded it and informed me through social media telepathy. Here’s “Maggie.” Thanks Jared.

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