Weekly RecommNeds | Abram Shook & Fletcher C. Johnson

You can stream this week’s RecommNeds and previous featured releases through these handy RDIO and Spotify playlists as part of the new JamBase channels for each.

Abram Shook : Sun Marquee

Thanks to the Twitterec from brother @lifftwit, I came upon this excellent under-the-radar gem from Austin’s Abram Shook. His debut LP, Sun Marquee, is an eye-opening, smile conjurer, reminiscent of the Broken Social Scene’s breakout You Forgot It In People. Gentle grooves, masterful arrangements, great, great songs, Shook will either be our special secret or a big deal. For now, cue Sun Marquee up, hit repeat and enjoy…one of my favorites from 1Q2014.

Spotify: Abram Shook -Sun Marquee
Rhapsody: Abram Shook -Sun Marquee

Fletcher C. Johnson : It Rained Something Wicked

“The lyrics to this song, I sing them and they’re gone…” so sings Fletcher C. Johnson on the opening song of his don’t-miss new album, It Rained Something Wicked. Johnson is a master songwriter, combining mid-era Beatles with Flying Burrito Brothers country-psych. But it’s the delivery that works: a confidently reverbed rock and roll that’s equal parts nostalgia and forward looking. The seven-minute “Gone Down the River” is an impressive keystone to a superb album that opens with a track called “Thanksgiving” and ends with another called “Merry Christmas.” Nothing bad happens between Thanksgiving and Christmas, right?

Spotify: Fletcher C. Johnson -It Rained Something Wicked