As we approach 2018’s twilight and the first few publications start posting their best of the year lists, we decide to keep focusing on brand new music for a few more weeks. This week, we highlight State Champion’s new LP, ‘Send Flowers’. We’ll let the Silver Jews’ David Berman (we miss you, come back) make the introductions: “If Bob Dylan was funny, if Tom Waits was relevant, Ryan might not be peerless at what he does best, which is writing large gregarious circles around his pitiful colleagues in the field. He’s the best lyricist who’s not a rapper going.”
Plus: new tracks by Superchunk, Richard Dawson & Rhodri Davies’ Hen Ogledd, Action Bronson, Altın Gün, Jacco Gardner, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Girlpool, Mercury Rev with Margo Price, Carson McHone, Craig Brown Band, Rhett Miller, Robert Ellis, Raoul Vignal, Eiko Ishibashi, Liela Moss, Nadine Khouri, Pearls Before Swine, and Jozef Van Wissem.