Vinyl Emergency

Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and Aoife O'Donovan talk this week about their recent Grammy wins, family mixtapes over the years, favorite live albums and more. Sing Me Alive, the trio's own new live 2LP set, drops digitally later this month, with vinyl arriving May 8th. Pre-order it and get tour dates, social media and more via imwithherband.com.

Through a sprawling instrumental approach that blends post-rock, jazz, minimalism, electronic elements and more, British trio Mammal Hands still have a knack for ensuring rapturous melody is always part of the equation. On their new album Circadia -- topping the Billboard UK Jazz & Blues Albums Chart this week -- the band sounds at once both freeing and well-structured, finding arcs and chapters within tracks that blend the mysterious tones of Mogwai with the hushed escapism of Eno/Budd collaborations. On today's episode, saxophonist Jordan Smart, brother Nick Smart on piano, and new drummer Rob Turner give their backstory, and delve into how a wide range of influences (from Gétatchèw Mèkurya to John Frusciante to Wayne Shorter) have contributed to their artistic DNA. Circadia is available digitally, and on black or clear vinyl, from MammalHands.com. Follow @mammalhands on Instagram for news and updates.

Copping its title from a magic mail-order catalog from the 1920's, The Mysterious Production of Eggs sounds so confident in both its whimsical grandeuer and its pensive, quiet moments, one would have no idea that it took renowned violinist and songwriter Andrew Bird many top-to-bottom rewrites, over nearly half a decade, to complete. Today, he walks us through overcoming those initial struggles, when exactly his trademark whistle became part of his musical DNA, and how the current symphonic tour he's on is strategically sequenced much like a vinyl record. A whopping 3LP anniversary edition of Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs -- with live cuts, alternate takes, a 50+ page book and more -- is available now from your local record store or AndrewBird.net.

Vocalist/guitarist Bob Nanna, bassist Todd Bell, guitarist Mike Shumaker and drummer Damon Atkinson discuss their original start as a band in the early 00's and their upcoming vinyl reissues, dropping this March. Pre-orders and tour dates are available at polyvinylrecords.com.

On his third visit to the podcast, everyone's favorite musician-for-hire Jason Narducy (Superchunk, Bob Mould Band, Split Single, Verböten) discusses his new book — Mostly The Van, Volume 1 — and a recent full-circle moment in the childhood bedroom of R.E.M.'s Bill Berry. Jason will be hitting the road again next month alongside Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon, playing that group's legendary fourth LP, Life's Rich Pageant. Follow @jasonnarducy on Instagram for tour dates, copies of the book and much more. 
(To hear Jason's previous interviews, revisit Episodes 121 and 212)