News | updated Aug 28, 2010


HFQ Fall Releases:


The Moaners - Nocturnal [HFQ012] CD/LP | street date: 09/21/10

Head south past the Mason-Dixon line and into the swamp-hot humidity of North Carolina's summer months, and a porch-swing singalong with The Moaners starts to sound very appealing. Melissa Swingle (formerly of alt-country darlings Trailer Bride) and Laura King (formerly of Grand National) have been conjuring the spirit of the South over five years and two records, with the ambitious goal of "[capturing] the feeling of ... Faulkner's South, O'Connor's South." With Nocturnal, their spell is stronger than ever.

Nocturnal is The Moaners' most mature statement yet, tempering their ferocious, stomping garage rock with a songwriting sensibility that is by turn mysteriously dark and whimsically joyful. Each track offers something new from the band: Humid Air and Raggedy Tune explore new rhythmic approaches and textures, while Cowboy Bob boasts their most adventurous arrangement to date. Earl Poole Ball, the long-time member of Johnny Cash's band who famously graced the piano bench on The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, flew in from Austin to Durham, NC to track piano for these sessions. His distinctive playing further illuminates The Moaner's significant contribution to the cultural landscape of the American South. It's a brave departure from their swamp rock stronghold - earnest, delicate, and stamped with southern soul.

RIYL: Trailer Bride, M. Ward, Dexter Romweber, Southern Culture on the Skids, The Mountain Goats, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter


Filthybird - Songs For Other People [HFQ014] CD | street date: 10/19/10

HFQ is proud to announce a partnership with cosmic American combo Filthybird. The five-piece ensemble has had an busy year, migrating from Greensboro NC to the Triangle, opening a guitar repair shop in downtown Graham (Fret Sounds), and putting the finishing touches on a brilliant new full-length record, Songs for Other People. The follow-up to the lauded Southern Skies, Filthybird's latest record reveals an astounding depth, effectively marrying the lilting vocal melodies of Renee Mendoza (Ashrae Fax) to Brian Haran's (Glenn Branca Orchestra, LaMonte Young projects, Viridian) layered guitar atmospherics. Anchored by a powerfully inventive rhythm section, these songs are both soulful and dreamy, familiar and fresh. Lush, breezy and cinematic arrangements may recall the best moments of Gram Parsons, Jefferson Airplane, and Brian Wilson, but this band is unique, reassembling the most colorful fragments of a mythic American music into something entirely new.

RIYL Gram Parsons, Jefferson Airplane, Roky Erikson, Big Star, Joni Mitchell, Brian Eno


Monsonia - 33.3 [HFQ015] LP | street date: 10/19/10

On the masterful 33.3, Monsonia’s first record written as a trio and their debut for Holidays for Quince, they are a tight, dynamic and challenging combo. Drummer Andy Williard (Ben Davis and the Jetts, The Strugglers) and guitarist Carter Browning (Blood Diplomacy) formed Monsonia in 2002 after the dissolution of Cold Sides, a Chapel Hill institution that featured a rotating cast of art-rocking whiz-kids. Willard and Browning patiently pieced together a new sound that’s equal parts Touch and Go-style noise rock and dynamic, jazz-inflected avant-metal. After playing a handful of shows, the band brought local audio engineer Nick Petersen (Track and Field Studios, Horseback) on board to play bass, filling out their sound with a formidable low-end rumble. Monsonia’s rhythms slither and shift like a snake-pit, coiling with serpentine menace, carefully positioning Browning’s wiry, barbed guitar lines within striking distance. Handle with care.

RIYL: Shellac, The Jesus Lizard, Isis, Mono, Caltrop, Unwound, Slint, June of 44


HFQ 2010 Releases:

Mount Moriah - The Letting Go [HFQ013] Limited Edition LP | released 08/03/10

In The Year Of The Pig - Jamon [HFQ010] CD | released 04/09/10

HFQ Records Compilation Vol. I [HFQ011] free digital download | released 03/03/10

Liza Kate - No Love Live [HFQ009] digital download | released 02/23/10


Other news:

Horseback has signed to Relapse Records.

Mount Moriah is touring with Indigo Girls and Amy Ray Band this fall.

Mount Moriah is finishing up a music video this month.

Caltrop is touring with Arbouretum and Valient Thorr this fall.

Both Caltrop and The Curtains of Night are recording new material.

Bellafea is writing material for their next full-length.

Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies have called it quits.