Baby J And The Reason For The Season

I’m not a religious person. I grew up in a house with the vague understanding that there was a God that would smite you if you didn’t behave, so you always tried your best to be a good person. What does that mean to be a good person? Think of others over yourself, help a […]

Darkside Return With “Liberty Bell”; New Album ‘Spiral’ Drops Spring 2021

Featured photo by Jed DeMoss One of my favorite albums of 2013 was from the Nicolas Jaar/Dave Harrington project Darkside. That album, Psychic, was a mixture of slow motion electronics and Dave Gilmour-like guitar licks. A cross between Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons, and Four Tet all mixed into this unique, slow burn of a record. […]

Delicate Steve : The Christmas Album

Delicate Steve(aka Steve Marion) is one of the best young guitarists working today. A eloquent mix of Ry Cooder, Santos and Johnny, and George Harrison, Delicate Steve makes his guitar sing in place of his voice, creating an often engaging and haunting sound. On Delicate Steve’s The Christmas Album the standards are covered in a […]

Wallet Size

There was a time before everyone had a professional-grade DSLR camera in their closet(or on their phone) when “good” pics were taken at picture studios. School photos, family photos, wedding photos, graduation photos, and anniversary photos were taken by someone you hired. You either went to their studio and posed in awkward stances, or they […]

Lockdown Memories : Favorite Moments of 2020

Despite this year being what it was, there were little pockets of normalcy. Even enjoyment, if I may be so bold. There was plenty of anxiety, panic, confusion, and even desperation at the beginning. “Do we have to wipe everything down from the grocery store? Like set up a table in the garage and assembly […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Top Ten Favorite Albums of 2020

We’ve made it, my top ten favorite albums of the year. 2020, what a shit show, huh? It sure was, but one of the things that saved it for me was the music. Despite an overall shutdown of the world there was a continuous flow of amazing records hitting my brain. And the most amazing […]

Enter The Void : Soundtracking The Void and Music For The End Of The World

Thomas and Ashleigh Ragsdale began their journey as music label owners at the end of 2018. Soundtracking The Void’s first release was Thomas Ragsdale’s Honley Civic Archives Volume 1. From there the two released music together as Ffion, Thomas released a series of solo LPs and then the label branched out to artists as diverse […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2020(Part Two)

Welcome back. Part two of this epic journey through the albums that mattered most(to me) in 2020. Here we’ve got 25 through 11. After that it’ll be my top ten favorite records of 2020. I do realize these lists are rather arbitrary to most. Maybe it seems like a self-importance trip or something. But to […]

Occult of Personality : Tom McDowell’s Library of the Occult

In a year of no concerts, quarantine, isolation, and Zoom meetings being the closest thing to getting together, it seems as though this may not have been the best time to start your own record label. Tom McDowell begs to differ. McDowell makes music under the name Dream Division, and has released several albums and […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums Of 2020(Part One)

Boy, I never thought the end of 2020 would get here. It seemed like five years rolled into one. Between Covid-19, isolation, quarantining, everything being closed, no concerts, weird work situations, family all home for at-home schooling, and a summer that felt like an extension of spring. Of course there was the election, anti-maskers, conspiracy […]