Many Places' Another Oath is an album about renewal, but it's also about repetition. These two competing concepts are at odds through the record. Songwriter Kevin Rieg wrote and recorded the album in a 10x8 room in his coach house. Many of the songs date back to 2009, when Reig began gathering sounds on small field recorder and first wrote a version of the eerie song "Low Clouds". Another Oath a lovely debut that calls to mind the old and new, from Simon and Garfunkel to Bonnie “Prince” Billy.
 
Zapruder Point writes more to understand than to be understood.  Since he’s an oft-confused guy, this can mean quite a haul for any given year.  In 2012, he’s releasing a 7-inch record for each season. Dan Phillips (the Chicagoan behind Zapruder Point) records direct-to-laptop in a basement on the far west side, usually alone on nights and weekends.  On first listen, the results can feel deceptively slight.  Open-chorded abandon trumps musical virtuosity, and the tunes are atypically short.  But whether sweet, haunting or sentimental, a distinct voice swims to the surface of each. You could describe Zapruder Point as a cross between Paul Simon’s oblique yearning and Robert Pollard’s short bursts of whimsy.  Dan has also been likened to Leonard Cohen, the Mountain Goats, and Death Cab for Cutie.  More connections can me made to those he’s played with — Bowerbirds, Whitehorse, Bill Fox, Anders Parker, and Jason Molina among others.