The Medium and Forest Ray

The Medium

The third album from beloved Nashville indie rockers The Medium, City Life, is their first self-produced effort, recorded at home with help from friends Johnny Hopson and George Rezeck. This grassroots approach finds the band at their most relaxed and precise, paradoxically sounding their most country yet, as they explore their hometown’s musical landscape and address its rapid changes. Songwriter and guitarist Shane Perry’s clever lyrics, delivered with a mix of sensitivity and deadpan humor, complement the band’s signature blend of saccharine harmonies, hypnotic riffs, and earnest ballads, resulting in a fresh take on classic 70s rock. Inspired by Harry Nillsson’s “I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City,” the album envisions ‘city life’ as a call for a better world, valuing care over productivity and community over profiteering. The title track, originally about Perry’s brother moving to Chicago, evolved into a broader theme of rebirth and the personal and societal shifts involved. The album blends stories both real and imagined, such as “The Day Dale Died,” inspired by a flea market encounter, and “James Harvey,” influenced by high school sports rivalries. The addition of co-producer and drummer Peter Brooks brings a jazz-tinged style that complements Jared Hicks’ solid rock drumming, while each band member’s influences, from Sam Silva’s Bon Scott-era AC/DC riffs to Neil Young’s haunting folk ballads, are woven into a cohesive sound. The album’s themes of personal and collective discovery resonate through Perry’s lyrics, such as in “Horse in Heart,” celebrating the universal inner wilderness everyone possesses. City Life reflects The Medium’s commitment to exploring new musical paths and understanding the world around them through their enduring friendships and evolving sound.

Forest Ray

Seattle based folk n’ roll band, Forest Ray, has been described as “spaced-out, down to earth, Brit-pop gone country” that sounds like “the band covering Beatles songs no one knew existed”. Their songs regularly explore diverse instrumentation, which have become staples of the group’s brand of rock n’ roll. Through a consistent touring and recording schedule, they have become one of Seattle’s most known active bands. Their sixth studio album, Windfucker (Jebivjetar), was released in January 2024. They have since followed up with a US and Canada tour and a second tour of Europe promoting the LP and are now ending with a final 2024 tour for the record in the United States.

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