Top 50 Tracks of 2018

Cool Music Central waves goodbye to 2018 with the traditional year-end selection of our favorite tracks of the year: 50 great songs selected from albums, singles and EPs released in the last 12 months.

As usual, our singles list includes only one track from each artist or band in order to help us with the difficult task of narrowing down the selection to just 50 songs and also to represent as many of our favorite releases of the year as possible.

Check back next week for the list of our favorite albums of the year. In the meantime, hit play in the playlist below to listen to our Top 50 Tracks of 2018 led by U.S. Girls' "Pearly Gates", a soulful slice of retrofuturistic art pop describing a woman's efforts to gain entry to the heavenly realm by seducing a predatory St. Peter, a song which according to Meg Remy was inspired by a story recounted to her about a man attempting to convince a woman to engage in unprotected sex by saying “Don’t worry, I’m really good at pulling out!”.

Top 50 Tracks of 2018

 1. Pearly Gates - U.S. GIRLS

 2. Talking Straight - ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER

3. How Did This Happen!? - BODEGA

4. Don't Beat the Girl Out of My Boy - ANNA CALVI

5. Woman - CAT POWER

6. Lemon Glow - BEACH HOUSE

7. Comeback Kid - SHARON VAN ETTEN

8. Need a Little Time - COURTNEY BARNETT

9. Make Time 4 Love - THE GOON SAX

10. Nobody - MITSKI

11. I Shall Love 2 - JULIA HOLTER
12. Nervous Mary - THE BREEDERS
13. The Man - GOAT GIRL
14. Danny Nedelko - IDLES
15. Total Football - PARQUET COURTS
16. MX Liberty - THURSTON MOORE
17. Wheel of Fortune - PROTOMARTYR
18. CIA Man (NSA Man Violation) - SNAPPED ANKLES
19. Over And Over And Over - JACK WHITE
20. Complex - THE CHILLS
21. Loading Zones - KURT VILE
22. Four Out of Five - ARCTIC MONKEYS
23. The Rover - INTERPOL
24. Shiny One - BELLY
25. Heat Wave - SNAIL MAIL
26. Your Dog - SOCCER MOMMY
27. Apathy - FRANKIE COSMOS
28. For You Too - YO LA TENGO
29. Refute - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
30. Crisis Fest - SUNFLOWER BEAN
31. Fanny - TY SEGALL
32. Catch It - ICEAGE
33. Static Resistance - HOOKWORMS
34. Brean Down - BEAK>
35. You Can - GABE GURNSEY
36. IDK About You - FEVER RAY
37. Heart Attack - TUNE-YARDS
38. Lotus - GANG GANG DANCE
39. Surface To Air - DJANGO DJANGO
40. Curse of the Contemporary - LUMP
41. Little Dark Age - MGMT
42. Put Your Money on Me - ARCADE FIRE
43. Last Lion of Albion - NEKO CASE
44. Severed - THE DECEMBERISTS
45. Nervous Young Inhumans - CAR SEAT HEADREST
46. What a Time to Be Alive - SUPERCHUNK
47. Never Coming Back - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
48. Lucky 88 - SPEEDY ORTIZ
49. I'm Your Man - SPIRITUALIZED
50. Disarray - LOW

Live: Peter Murphy @ Tae Kwon Do (Athens, December 14th, 2018)

It's been 40 years since the formation of Bauhaus in Northampton, England, the band that defined goth rock more than any other, and 35 since they played in Athens in one of the first ever indie rock gigs that took place here. Back in those days I was just starting to get into this type of music and "The Sky's Gone Out" was one of the first records I bought with my pocket money.

Unfortunately in '83 I was still too young to be allowed to go to a rock concert while the band split up soon afterwards so I never had the chance to see them in their glory days.

Although I'm not too keen on going to concerts for nostalgia's sake, when I learned that Peter Murphy along with David J would be returning to Athens to play "In The Flat Field", the first Bauhaus album, in its entirety plus several of the band's classics in celebration of their ruby anniversary, I could not resist the temptation to book my seat at the Tae Kwon Do stadium.

 

 

After a set by local act The Steams who presented their debut album "Wild Ferment", combining psychedelia with eastern melodies and prog-rock influences, it was time to turn the clock back and revisit the dark side of 1980 as Murphy and his band, featuring David J on bass, came on stage and the first notes of "Double Dare" filled the stadium.

The Steams, live @ Tae Kwon Do (Athens, December 14th, 2018)

It's unavoidable that time takes its toll on all but thankfully great music is timeless and Bauhaus songs retain their formidable power to thrill and move us. Perhaps Murphy's voice was not at its best on this particular evening but it was still more than capable to provide chills and thrills, while his presence on stage remains imposing. The band did a great job in faithfully recreating the Bauhaus sound in all its gothic glory despite the fact that the large venue, which is not built for rock concerts, does not offer the best possible sound.

After the presentation of all nine songs from "In The Flat Field" in the first part of the show, the band returned to perform a selection of highlights from the rest of their catalogue, with "Bela Lugosi's Dead" being, of course, the center piece and tracks like "Kick in the Eye" and "She's in Parties" reminding us of some of our favorite moments of the '80s.

For the final encore, we didn't get "Ziggy Stardust" as we would have liked, but it was time for a few more melodic selections, with "King Volcano" and a cover of "Severance" by old Bauhaus label mates Dead Can Dance closing the show.

Peter Murphy's return to Athens after many moons brought back vivid memories and the undead sound of the early '80s with a legacy that still resonates and influences to this date. Bela Lugosi may be dead but the legend leaves on! Here's the set list and three tracks from the show:

Peter Murphy, live @ Tae Kwon Do (Athens, December 14th, 2018)

Edit this setlist | More Peter Murphy setlists

Peter Murphy (ft. David J) - In the Flat Field (live in Athens)

Peter Murphy (ft. David J) - Bela Lugosi's Dead (live in Athens)

Peter Murphy (ft. David J) - Kick in the Eye (live in Athens)

Live: Fontaines D.C. @ Death Disco (Athens, December 13th, 2018)

It’s rather unusual to have an overseas young band to play a gig in Athens when it doesn’t even have an album out yet. Nonetheless, last Thursday Fontaines D.C. from Dublin, Ireland, made their live debut in Athens and managed to sell out the Death Disco club, proving that sometimes word of mouth and a handful of strong singles are enough to get people interested in all corners of the world, even though supposedly rock is not in anymore. Just look what kind of records are getting the critics’ vote in many established year-end lists.

However all is not lost yet; indie rock might be down but it’s definitely not out and with passionate new bands like Fontaines D.C., it’s still fighting back! If 2018’s rock sound belonged to bands like Idles and Shame, Fontaines D.C. seem eager and able to continue the guitar counter-attack in 2019.

The five young Irishmen have already switched gears with the two excellent singles they released this year (the double A-Side "Chequeless Reckless / Boys in the Better Land" and the recent "Too Real") and based on what we witnessed during their storming set here, they are on course to be one of the bands of 2019 with their upcoming debut album. If the studio recording can capture their raw live energy, I have no doubt we’ll have a lot more to say about them very soon.

Fontaines D.C., live @ Death Disco

The show opened by two local acts, The Man & His Failures, the side project of Manos K. from Mani Deum who presented his debut EP "Persona Non Grata" and s̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ , a power trio who play an interesting instrumental mix of post-rock and post-punk and recently released their debut album “untrue”.

The Man And His Failures, live @ Death Disco

s̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ , live @ Death Disco

Check out below two tracks from Fontaines D.C.'s powerful performance at Death Disco, "Hurricane Laughter" and "Peddlers":

 Fontaines D.C. - Hurricane Laughter, live @ Death Disco (Athens, Dec. 13th, 2018)

 Peddlers, live @ Death Disco (Athens, Dec. 13th, 2018)

New Releases: November 2018

As we approach the end of the year and start preparing the lists of our favorite albums and singles of 2018, here are a few more new releases to take into consideration that came out during November:

Albums

JON SPENCER - Spencer Sings The Hits!
LIARS - Titles With The Word Fountain
J MASCIS - Elastic Days
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE QUEEN - Merrie Land
AUDIOBOOKS - Now! (in a minute)
ART BRUT - Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!
JEFF TWEEDY - WARM
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY - Do The Get Along
LIELA MOSS - My Name Is Safe In Your Mouth
BILL RYDER-JONES - Yawn
DEAD CAN DANCE - Dionysus
MOONFACE - This One's For The Dancer and This One's For The Dancer's Bouquet
JACCO GARDNER - Somnium
THE WAVE PICTURES - Look Inside Your Heart
KAGOULE - Strange Entertainment
GRAPETOOTH - Grapetooth
EARL SWEATSHIRT - Some Rap Songs
VINCE STAPLES - FM!
DEMDIKE STARE - Passion
PETER, BJORN AND JOHN - Darker Days
THE 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
THE PRODIGY - No Tourists
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS - Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.
SUN KIL MOON - This Is My Dinner
DEAN WAREHAM VS CHEVAL SOMBRE - Dean Wareham Vs Cheval Sombre 
MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND - A Million and One
LYDIA LUNCH - Marchesa
DOG POWER - DOG Power
BRIX AND THE EXTRICATED - Breaking State
RICHARD LLOYD - The Countdown
THE GLANDS - Double Coda
THE MEN - Hated: 2008-2011
THE LIMINANAS - I’ve Got Trouble In Mind Vol 2 (7” And Rare Stuff 2015 / 2018)

Singles & EPs

FLAT WORMS - The Apparition / Melt The Arms
PREOCCUPATIONS / PROTOMARTYR - Telemetry at Howe Bridge
SHAME - All The Hits EP
GOAT GIRL - Udder Sounds EP
ARCTIC MONKEYS - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
AUDIOBOOKS - Dance Your Life Away (Andrew Weatherall Remix / David Wrench Extended Mix)
180db featuring MEREDITH GRAVES AND NICK ZINNER - Road Trip 
IDLES / HEAVY LUNGS - Danny Nedelko / Blood Brother 
PIP BLOM - Paycheck EP 
GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS - Fan the Flames EP
WOOING - The Clouds
ECHO LADIES - Overrated (Robin Guthrie version) / Rebel Rebel
KHRUANGBIN - Christmas Time Is Here
TY SEGALL - Fanny
THE CHATHAM FORTS - Not Fade Away / I Wanna Be Your Man
STARCRAWLER - Hollywood Ending
THE ORIELLES - Bobbi's Second World
PROJECTOR - How Does It Feel?
CAVERN OF ANTI MATTER - Play in Fabric
JOHNNY MARR - Spiral Cities
CHROMATICS - Camera EP
CIGARETTES AFTER SEX - Crush
EVERYTHING IS RECORDED - 8AM EP
HOOKWORMS - Microshift Remixes
COURTNEY BARNETT - Singles
MORRISSEY - Back on the Chain Gang
WEEZER - Africa / Rosanna
LITTLE DRAGON - Lover Chanting EP
ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER - Love in the Time of Lexapro EP
ROLLING BLACKOUTS COASTAL FEVER - Live @ KEXP
KURT WAGNER AND GREGOR SCHWELLENBACH - Flotus Movements
DIFFORD AND TILBROOK WITH ?UESTLOVE AND ROBERT GLASPER - Take Me I'm Yours
GARY NUMAN - The Fallen EP
NADINE KHOURI - A New Dawn EP
THE WOMBATS - Bee-Sting
DAVID CRONENBERG'S WIFE - The Octoberman Sequence EP
GREEN RIVER / U-MEN - Away in a Manger / Blue Christmas
THE WEDDING PRESENT - Huw Stephens Sessions

Jon Spencer - I Got The Hits

Flat Worms - The Apparition

Live: Eleanor Friedberger @ S.N.F.C.C. (Athens, November 26th, 2018)

The initial spark of inspiration for Eleanor Friedberger's latest solo album titled "Rebound" came from a visit to an Athens nightclub of the same name. Upon her return to our city, she had the opportunity to present us this album in a special event at the National Opera which was organized with the collaboration of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

In the first part of this event (a far cry from the last time we saw her performing in Athens at the humble Death Disco), Eleanor presented "Rebound" in its entirety accompanied by a string quartet which added a more luscious sound to her songs, opening up more possibilities in comparison to the simple, synth-based orchestrations of their recorded versions.

In the second part, it was time for Eleanor to pick up her guitar and revisit songs from the past, both from her solo career and from her time with The Fiery Furnaces. She reminded us with an acoustic version of "My Egyptian Grammar" of her first performance in Athens with the band she co-founded with her brother, while a jazzy version of "Tropical Iceland" and a rocking "Single Again" were also present in the set and among the highlights of the evening, which also included "My Mistakes", "Stare at the Sun" and "Sweetest Girl".

Eleanor's visit to the Opera was undoubtedly a unique experience and although a large portion of the audience was not familiar with her music, the event succeeded in highlighting her songwriting talent and presenting her latest record in a different, brighter light.

Eleanor Friedberger, live @ S.N.F.C.C. (Athens, November 26th, 2018)

Live: Big Sexy Noise @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)

Big Sexy Noise, the blues-punk band that came to be about a decade ago when Lydia Lunch joined forces with Gallon Drunk, is on the road again, preaching their sexy, noisy and indeed big rock 'n' roll gospel to the faithful!

Without a new record, at least for the time being, the tight, raunchy hour-long set the band presented at their second Gagarin 205 gig (read all about their first one from 2011 here) comprised of songs their fans already knew from their two older releases, 2009's "Big Sexy Noise" and 2011's "Trust The Witch", with highlights including "Your Love Don't Pay My Rent", "Kill Your Sons", "Cross the Line", "Collision Course".

The explosive rock energy coming from James Johnston's guitar and Ian White's drums was truly remarkable, making you forget the lack of other instruments and mainly that of Terry Edwards saxophone who was not part of the band this time. The focus of attention though could not be anyone else than Lydia Lunch and her ferocious voice who commanded the stage like a rock witch who you don't want to cross, sipping her wine and orchestrating the big sexy noise of her band.

Big Sexy Noise, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)

The night opened with a set from Omega Ray, a new psych rock band led by George Karanikolas of The Last Drive, who presented songs from their 2017 album "Ω-Ray", a different, more trippy experience from what we've heard over the years from his other projects.

Omega Ray, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, November 10th, 2018)

Check out below the set list and videos from two of the highlights of Big Sexy Noise's performance in Athens:

Big Sexy Noise - Collision Course (live @ Gagarin 205, November 10th, 2018)

Big Sexy Noise - Kill Your Sons (live @ Gagarin 205, November 10th, 2018)

Edit this setlist | More Big Sexy Noise setlists

Listening Habits 09-10.2018

It won't be long until the endless scroll of the "Albums of the Year" lists for 2018 begins on your screens and as we consider our own two cents on the matter, here are the latest new albums with the most spins on C.M.C.'s record player for the first couple of months of the fall season:

Anna Calvi's "Hunter", her third and probably best album so far, is at the top of our list and is certainly a strong candidate for 2018's year-end Top 5, while Martin Phillipps continues his songwriting rejuvenation with "Snow Bound", the second album for New Zealand's legendary The Chills after their comeback in 2015.

Six years ago Cat Power claimed the top of our 2012 Albums of the Year list with "Sun". Her return with "Wanderer", the 10th album in her amazing 23-year career, finds her returning to a more acoustic sound with minimal arrangements where her voice is the center of attention and shining as always.

Other notable releases this fall which also deserve prominent positions in the coming year-end lists are "Possible Dust Clouds", Kristin Hersh's latest solo release and first for Fire Records, where her electrifying sound reaches the fever pitch we usually find in her Throwing Muses records, and "Marauder", Interpol's sixth album who have collaborated with producer Dave Fridmann to give us perhaps their best work in this decade.

Add to these five excellent new albums, the strong releases by newcomers Bodega from New York, who have one of the best debuts of 2018 with "Endless Scroll", Australia's The Goon Sax who share some of the same DNA with The Go-Betweens (both literally and metaphorically as Robert Forster's son Louis is one of the founders of the band), Bristol's positive punks Idles, Denmark's Iceage and Japanese-American songwriter Mitski and you have a pretty solid Top 10 for September-October 2018. And, of course, there's more...

Check out our Top 15 below and listen to a playlist with some of the standout tracks from these albums:

Top 15 Albums

1.   Hunter - ANNA CALVI
2.   Snow Bound - THE CHILLS
3.   Wanderer - CAT POWER
4.   Possible Dust Clouds - KRISTIN HERSH
5.   Marauder - INTERPOL
6.   We're Not Talking - THE GOON SAX
7.   Endless Scroll - BODEGA
8.   Joy As An Act Of Resistance - IDLES
9.   Beyondless - ICEAGE
10. Be The Cowboy - MITSKI
11. Sparkle Hard - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
12. The Church of Simultaneous Existence - THE AINTS!
13. Pinned - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
14. Hell-on - NEKO CASE
15. Goners - LAURA GIBSON

Top 15 Tracks

1.   As a Man - ANNA CALVI
2.   You Get  - CAT POWER
3.   Make Time 4 Love - THE GOON SAX
4.   Complex - THE CHILLS
5.   Breathe In - KRISTIN HERSH
6.   The Rover - INTERPOL
7.   How Did This Happen?! - BODEGA
8.   Danny Nedelko - IDLES
9.   Pain Killer - ICEAGE
10. Nobody - MITSKI
11. Refute - STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS
12. Last Lion of Albion - NEKO CASE
13. Domestication - LAURA GIBSON
14. Never Coming Back - A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
15. Red Aces - THE AINTS!

New Releases: October 2018

Round-up of October's most interesting new releases including albums by Julia Holter, Cat Power, Kristin Hersh, Kurt Vile and Ed Kuepper's The Aints! plus a new EP by Public Service Broadcasting about the Titanic:

Albums

JULIA HOLTER - Aviary
CAT POWER - Wanderer
KRISTIN HERSH - Possible Dust Clouds
KURT VILE - Bottle It In

THE AINTS! - The Church of Simultaneous Existence

CLOUD NOTHINGS - Last Building Burning 

TY SEGALL - Fudge Sandwich
PHOSPHORESCENT - C’est La Vie
LAURA GIBSON - Goners
SWEARIN' - Fall into the Sun
FUCKED UP - Dose Your Dreams
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA - IC-01 Hanoi
TVAM - Psychic Data
ADRIANNE LENKER - Abysskiss
JOHN GRANT - Love Is Magic
THE KVB - Only Now Forever
THE OSCILLATION - Wasted Space
FACTORY FLOOR - A Soundtrack For A Film
GOATMAN - Rhythms
EXPLODED VIEW - Obey
TESS PARKS AND ANTON NEWCOMBE - Tess Parks and Anton Newcombe
BAXTER DURY, ETIENNE DE CRECY, DELILAH HOLLIDAY - B.E.D
ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS - Look Now
WILL OLDHAM - Songs Of Love And Horror
ST. VINCENT - MassEducation
CALVIN JOHNSON - A Wonderful Beast
JIM JAMES - Uniform Clarity
CURSIVE - Vitriola
KINSKI - Accustomed To Your Face
BLUE ORCHIDS - Righteous Harmony Fist
THE NIGHTINGALES - Perish The Thought
MALCOLM MIDDLETON - Bananas
MICAH P HINSON AND THE MUSICIANS OF THE APOCALYPSE - When I Shoot At You With Arrows, I Will Shoot To Destroy You
SAY LOU LOU - Immortelle
EMPRESS OF - Us
HOW TO DRESS WELL - The Anteroom
SOAP AND SKIN - From Gas to Solid / You Are My Friend
THE DODOS - Certainty Waves
CONNAN MOCKASIN - Jassbusters
NENEH CHERRY - Broken Politics
RICHARD ASHCROFT - Natural Rebel
THE RESIDENTS - Intruders
THOM YORKE - Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film)
ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN - The Stars, The Oceans and The Moon

Singles & EPs

PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING - White Star Liner EP
GABE GURNSEY - You Can (The Hacker Remix)
DJANGO DJANGO - Winter's Beach EP
SOCCER MOMMY - Henry / I'm On Fire
BOYGENIUS - boygenius EP
AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS - Some Mutts (Can't be Muzzled)
TOY - The Willo / Energy
DRENGE - Autonomy EP
TITUS ANDRONICUS - Home Alone on Halloween EP
THE NATVRAL - Know You More
LAPS - Who Me? EP
MINUS THE BEAR - Fair Enough EP
COMET GAIN - If Not Tomorrow / I Was More of a Mess Then
FALSE HEADS - Less Is Better EP
RUBBER JAW - Feeling Funny
HOVVDY - Easy / Turns Blue
MUSH - Gig Economy
MYSTERY JETS - Live To Vinyl
THE TWILIGHT SAD - Videograms
PETITE NOIR - La Maison Noir / The Black House EP
STONE FOUNDATION - Next Time Around / Carry The News
THE SHADRACKS - Oh Bondage Up Yours! / I Am A Cliché
KEVIN MORBY - Live at Third Man Records
THE PASSENGERS - All Through the Night / New Life
THE PASSENGERS - Queen of Weird / Danger Zone

Julia Holter - I Shall Love 2

Public Service Broadcasting - White Star Liner

Live: Radio Birdman @ Fuzz Club (Athens, October 25th, 2018)

It's been more than forty years since the outbreak of the punk rock revolution and it is amazing to see that Radio Birdman, one of the bands that started it all, is still able to kick up a storm on stage! The band that started by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in 1974 recorded only a handful of songs in its first period, released on two albums and a few singles, but time has proven that each and every one of these songs were true punk rock masterpieces which still sound vital today, either you listen to them on record or you have the pleasure to witness them played live on stage once again.

In their latest visit to Athens, 12 years since the previous one, Radio Birdman played a scorching 80-minute set, kicking off with "Do the Pop", the surf-punk smash hit that never was (surely a number one hit in any parallel universe with half-decent taste in rock music) and continuing with an electrifying parade of most of their '70s classics, along with a couple of later date tracks (from their 2006 comeback album "Zeno Beach") and a few choice covers that reveal their influences and taste, including The Doors' "Not to Touch the Earth", Blue Öyster Cult's "Dominance and Submission", Magazine's "Shot by Both Sides" and, of course, 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" which along with their own "Aloha Steve and Danno" were the perfect ending to an explosive punk rock night.

The night opened by a fast and loud set by local indie rockers Dark Rags which was sabotaged by bad sound (louder is not always better). Thankfully the sound mix was much improved when it was time for the main act to take the stage.

Dark Rags, live @ Fuzz Club (Oct. 25th, 2018)

 

Radio Birdman, live @ Fuzz Club (Oct. 25th, 2018)

Radio Birdman - Aloha Steve & Danno (live in Athens, Oct. 25th, 2018)

Radio Birdman - Shot by Both Sides (live in Athens, Oct. 25th, 2018)

Edit this setlist | More Radio Birdman setlists

Live: The Handsome Family / Laura Gibson @ Piraeus 117 Academy (Athens, October 19th, 2018)

The Handsome Family have been crafting some of the finest tunes you can find in alternative country for nearly 25 years now, yet it took a television show to bring them to the attention of a wider audience. Thanks to the fame brought on by this happy "accident", the band finally got an invitation to play a show in Athens and we had the opportunity to enjoy their dark, surrealistic blend of country, folk and rock up close and personal.

The husband and wife team of Brett and Rennie Sparks together with Alex McMahon (guitars, steel, keyboards) and drummer Jason Toth presented a set spanning a large part of their illustrious career, from their most recent work, 2016's "Unseen", going all the way back to the acclaimed 1998 album "Through the Trees" and including, of course, the hit "Far from Any Road" in a looser, slightly jazzy version.

Despite the fact that the choice of venue proved unsuccessful for this gig (there's not a big audience for alt. country in Greece and apparently True Detective was only a cult hit here), the band did a good job in creating an intimate atmosphere and communicating with the audience both with their melodic music and with Rennie's always entertaining, unpredictable song introductions.

The Handsome Family, live in Athens (Oct. 19th, 2018)

As an added bonus for us, before the fine set by The Handsome Family we also had the opportunity to enjoy an acoustic performance by singer-songwriter Laura Gibson. Her truly wonderful voice, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, was enough to captivate the lucky few who turned up early to the venue to sample her work.

Gibson's latest album titled "Goners" is out next week and we were among the first ones to get our hands on a copy after the show, which is certainly going to feature among our selections for October.

Laura Gibson, live in Athens (Oct. 19th, 2018)

Sample below two tracks from The Handsome Family's performance in Athens as well as "The Fire" by Laura Gibson, a song off her 2012 album "La Grande":

The Handsome Family - Weightless Again (live in Athens, October 19th, 2018)

The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road (live in Athens, October 19th, 2018)

Laura Gibson - The Fire (live in Athens, October 19th, 2018)

Edit this setlist | More The Handsome Family setlists