Local artist Kid Mud, whom you might remember as the solo electronic/indie artist with two EPs out on New and Used Records, will release his first full-length, Now They Shut us Down on June 16. The following day he will celebrate and introduce the album to an audience at El Rio (8:30pm, $5), performing as part of Vive le Rock, an annual evening of local music and film. Gosta Berling and Skeletal System round out the bill, and two short films by Nick Gamino will serve as intermission between the live music.
“Federated” is a particularly jumpy track off the album, which progresses in and out of Duncan’s pensive and astronomical hums. While in the past Duncan recorded on his own, Now They Shut Us Down is a blend of home recording and studio time at Mountain Ghost Studios (Jamestown, CA), and with invitation to collaborators, including his own sister. Another of the noteworthy tracks, “909 Garden,” features vocals from Jim Ruiz; the faint repetition of acoustic guitar under the chorus rounds of this duet reminisces the ambient side of Grandaddy’s catalog.
