Ben Swank from Third Man Records is our first guest curator for BoomBox, which means that he hand-picked our newest fifteen bands out of 75 who submitted their music.

My favorite of this new crop of artists is the Blackfoot Gypsies, Southern rockers whose new album To the Top is being released on Plowboy Records in April.  They will be playing an album release show at Little Harpeth Brewing on April 14, so mark your calendar.  In the meantime, check out their first full-length album On the Loose.  

I was also impressed by The Reneaus, fronted by Ashley Cooper Winn, whose voice calls to mind Mazzy Star, Portishead, and Nicole Atkins. And in exciting BoomBox news, The Reneaus are premiering their new album High Tide here as a pre-release exclusive, and Chill Witch created an EP just for BoomBox!

Another highlight is Blank Range, who will be playing a show with The Wild Reeds at the High Watt on April 26. They’ve also opened for Death Cab for Cutie, Spoon, Alice in Chains and the Drive-By Truckers. Their song “Circumstances” on their new EP Vista Bent reminds me of early Kings of Leon circa Youth and Young Manhood.

Here’s the full list of Swank’s recommendations:

1. Magnetic Forces
2. Ariel Bui
3. Tommy & the Ohs
4. Idle Bloom
5. Blank Range
6. Cloudmouth
7. The Chewers
8. The Farmer and Adele
9. The Reneaus
10. Irenka
11. Chill Witch
12. The Blue Velvets
13. Crave On
14. Eight O'Five Jive
15. Blackfoot Gypsies