Born out of a love of vinyl, Fort Lowell Records began releasing 7-inch singles by Tucson bands five years ago. Label boss James Tritten and his wife Tracy Shedd left Tucson after seven years last fall, but didn't leave our music scene behind, with two 12-inch records from Tucson's La Cerca and Naïm Amor part of Fort Lowell's 2015.

In between those releases come two more, both officially out today.

Tucson fans of the Fort Lowell roster - Young Mothers, ...music video?, Tracy Shedd, Dead Western Plains, Howe Gelb, Andrew Collberg, Saint Maybe, Fairweather Friend and the Luz de Vida compilation - will find plenty to like in Tritten's choices of the Good Graces and moyamoya.

The Good Graces' "Close to the Sun" is Fort Lowell's 12th release, an indie-pop record for fans of Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield and Rilo Kiley. The Atlanta-based band recorded in Chapel Hill, N.C., near the new Fort Lowell HQ of Raleigh.

From Jacksonville, Florida comes moyamoya, a complex instrumental band like Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai.

Both 12-inch vinyl records are available for sale from the Fort Lowell homepage or Bandcamp.

And stay tuned Nov. 25 for Fort Lowell's 14th release, Naïm Amor's "Hear The Walls."

• Gungor

Considering I got my start writing about religious rock, it hurts my soul a bit that I don't get to write that much about Christian rock on the Range, so get your angry commenting/emailing fingers warmed up! It's time to talk about Gungor!

But wait a minute before you start your screed, you might actually like Gungor, which is basically Michael Gungor, plus generally his wife Lisa and then a bunch of other people in different combinations. Yes, he plays something that's like worship music, influenced by Sufjan Stevens and Arcade Fire, but Michael Gungor also burned basically every bridge there is with mainstream Christian circles earlier this year by questioning the idea of Biblical literalism (that the Bible isn't a book of allegory and imagery, but that the world was created in six actual 24-hour-days, Jonah was eaten by an actual whale, etc.) This made the Evangelical world explode, including Creationist-with-weird-beard Ken Ham, who condemned Gungor on his website and invited him to come to the Creation Museum to talk things out (I assume Michael declined because nearly anything else would be a better use of his time).

Anyhow, the point is that Michael Gungor is the best sort of artist talking about faith—the kind willing to upset people in the process of trying to figure out what's true and what matters and while the crowd at his group's recentish (sold out!) January show at Congress basically waited for the most simplistic worship song ("Beautiful Things") to get psyched for what was an interesting set of songs up to that point. Yes, unless you're a Christian of some sort, you might not be up for this show, but listen to some of his music under the name The Liturgists, try out some of Gungor's 2014 album "I Am Mountain," see what you think. At very least, the band should be appreciated for trying to challenge a status quo that doesn't care for much diversity of opinion. Tickets for the all-ages show on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. are $18 in advance, $20 at the door. More info at facebook.com/191toole.

Local "Desert Soul" trio Copper & Congress performs tonight, Oct. 22, appropriately enough, at Club Congress before getting in the van for a two-week West Coast tour in support of the band's excellent new record, "Fault Line."



Doors open at 8, with support from Tucson's own Carlos Arzate & The Kind Souls and Durango, Co.'s Hello Dollface. Find out more about the show from its Facebook Event Page and educate yourself with Tucson Weekly music writer Eric Swedlund's profile of C&C and their music factory from September.



  

Happy 43rd birthday to Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr., a.k.a. Snoop Dogg. While the guy has cranked out 127 singles in his 22-year-long career, my personal favorite is still this 2007 tribute to Autotune and horniness.

If you were lucky enough to catch Chilean hip-hop artist and musician Ana Tijoux performing in Tucson this week, then you know how lucky you were to catch her show and understand the beauty and talent of this amazing artist. But wouldn't it be cool to spend some time with her talking about her work and community? Yes, of course it would.

Look, Tucson, I don't mean to get pushy, but if I was your guide tonight, after work, head over to Pico de Gallo for some tacos and love, and then go across the street to the center to meet Tijoux and take in her observations about the border and what is sure to be a great community conversation.

From organizers:

Ana Tijoux-rapper, mother, and activist- will be performing at the Rialto on Wednesday night, and on Thursday will be offering a community conversation about politics, feminism, and the power of music to inspire social change.

The platica will be introduced by Alisha Vazquez and facilitated by Elva De La Torre from KXCI.

Ana Tijoux- cantante de rap, madre, y activista- va a tener un concierto en el Rialto el Miércoles por la noche, y el Jueves va a ofrecer una conversación con la comunidad de Tucson sobre la politica, el feminismo, y el poder de la musica para inspirar una transformación social.

La platica será introducida por Alisha Vazquez y facilitado por Elva De La Torre de KXCI.

We want to thank the following sponsors of the event:

Nos gustaria dar las gracias a las siguientes donantes:

Gender and Women's Studies at Arizona , the UofA Graduate Association of Spanish and Portuguese (GASP), the UofA Center for Latin American Studies, the Earlham Border Studies Program, and the Confluencenter for Creative Inquiry

Austin trio Megafauna returns tonight to kick our asses, Tucson, and admit it ... we could really use their prog-rock, garage loudness and what singer Dani Neff brings with her voice and that damn guitar of her's.

Tonight, Thursday, Oct. 16, at Flycatcher, 340 E. 6th St., 9 p.m. with Garboski and Ghostal. $5 cover. Facebook event page.

From Tucson Weekly music writer Eric Swedlund, his May review of the band's Maximalist:

As the title to Austin trio Megafauna’s sophomore album Maximalist might suggest, it’s optimistic, expansive and unabashedly over-the-top; an endeavor to take music to its utmost potential. The band’s supercharged mixture of sounds ranging from prog-rock flash to alt-rock iconoclasm to pithy power-pop and garage rock energy is as infectious as it is inclusive. Megafauna paves their own hook-laden path — much like the Pixies and Queen, who taught the world that even the most unusual pairings of styles can result in unforgettable and eternal classics.

Megafauna singer/guitarist Dani Neff was named Austin’s Best Electric Guitarist by the Austin Chronicle. Although she’s frequently referred to as a “shredder,” one should never mistake her tasteful and clever virtuosity for flagrant flashiness. She’s a woman of many talents: a dancer, musician, painter, feminist, lawyer, reiki practitioner, psychonaut — clearly someone who embodies the maximalist philosophy.

The album kicks off with the driving, time-signature leaping rocker, “Eggs” in which drummer Zack Humphrey, bassist Greg Yancey and Neff shift rhythms on a dime while showcasing exactly what makes Megafauna a band to covet: their expertise at fusing seemingly disparate musical styles. Likewise, “Hug From a Robot” somehow perfectly pairs gliding melodies with hard rock bite, something akin to The Breeders meets Red-era King Crimson. Elsewhere, the perfectly radio-ready track “Time To Go” blasts off with chiming guitar as Neff coos, “When it’s time to go/ It’s time/ Won’t you sail me down to the fields.” Death never sounded so uplifting in a 3-minute rock song. “Haunted Factory” gallops along Humphrey’s syncopated hi-hat/snare interplay as Yancey’s rumbling, distortion-ravaged bass lines cut like fangs across Neff’s swiftly-picked guitar work as her powerful voice soars above the proceedings. Throughout, Maximalist is a truly inspired effort poised to become a touchstone of rock innovation.

Run Boy Run are getting ready to release their new album "Something to Someone," co-produced by Ryan Hadlock, who also worked on the Lumineers record at the end of the month, so they're teasing their fans with preview tracks scattered around the internet. Today, you get the chance to hear "Spin a Golden Thread," a song with harmonies about as lovely as anything I've heard recently.

From the press release:

The album was recorded at historic Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington with producers Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Johnny Flynn) and Jerry Streeter (Brandi Carlile, Elephant Revival), whose attention to detail shines in Run Boy Run's multi-voiced, and multi-stringed arrangements. With three strong female voices, singing separately or in harmony, it's clear the band has a deeply rooted familial connection to traditional American music. It's in their collective blood. Continuing a sense of innovation in tradtional American music put forth by other bands such as Nickel Creek, Crooked Still, and Trampled By Turtles. Run Boy Run continues this journey into music that is dynamic, orchestral, and overflowing with beauty.

We have a pair of tickets to give away to see Mexican synthpoppers Belanova at the Rialto on Tuesday, Oct. 21. We'll draw a name on Monday the 20th at noon and email the lucky winner. All you have to do is go to our contest page and push a button (assuming you're already a member on our site...if not, signing up only takes a minute or two). Pretty simple.

If you'd like more info on the show or to buy tickets, head to rialtotheatre.com.

You have to applaud the hustle of the Southwest Terror Fest guys. They've consistently expanded their event, bringing in bigger and bigger acts and have worked incredibly hard to promote the shows on basically every media platform imaginable (there's a Terror Fest Tumblr!). In a town that sometimes lacks ambition, their hustle is encouraging. Anyhow, we'll have more on the shows starring Sunn O))), Neurosis and others in this week's issue, but for now, get into the spirit with the above Spotify playlist, which samples a few tracks from the bands on the multi-day lineup.

• Photo by Steven Dewall

The New Pornographers start with classic pop, crank the energy, add some wallop and a few wild flourishes.

That’s been the basic formula since the band’s 2000 debut “Mass Romantic,” but on the new, fantastic “Brill Bruisers,” The New Pornographers found themselves pushing the music to new heights.

“This is the first record where we really had an idea going in to it of what we wanted to do,” says frontman Carl Newman. “We new we wanted to belike the New Pornographers slightly super charged. Everything a bit more extreme.”

The band’s intentions shine through from the first peek at the cover art, with the band’s name in bold block type and the album title overlaid in scripted, multi-colored neon.

“The big black letters are like the rock foundation, the guitar bass and drums and then the neon is all the crazy synths that are flying around it,” says Newman. “When I think about it, “Brill Bruisers” is a pretty decent title for our career, the sort of songs we write. If you use Brill to mean the Brill Building and Bruisers to mean our songs, we’ve always taken this blueprint of classic pop and warped it and revved it up.”