Scene Recap: Railgun, Record Store Day, Cary Warren

Countless great outlets, organizations, and individuals cover the music scene in Richmond, so many that it might be hard to keep up to date on all of them. We’ll try and collect some great articles, coverage, and news bits we’ve read each week here at The Auricular.

• Today is a big day for new music out of Richmond. We premiered singles from Rikki Rakki, Wrong Worshippers, and Wine & Warpaint this week as well as an album by Eliturite, all of which are officially out today. In addition to those, there’s also a new solo record from Dorthia Cottrell, the lead singer of Windhand, a new single from Dead Billionaires, some B-Side bonus tracks from DJ Harrison, a new single from Chandler, and probably 10 other things I’m missing right this second. We’ll have the skinny on EVERYTHING released today and this week in our Roundup column. Speaking of that…

• I was able to crank out another Richmond Music Roundup article for this week, covering every piece of Richmond music I could find from April 9th to April 15th. I highly recommend you scroll through there and click on something if the description or album artwork speaks to you. If you give it a shot, I guarantee you’ll find something new and local to love. (Article link here.)

• Saturday is Record Store Day! Style Weekly had a cool rundown on their site. I don’t want to go too into the weeds since Record Store Day is such a big thing these days, but if you got time, maybe stop by a record store tomorrow. If you like what you see, go back the following week. Make it a monthly habit to pop in and see if there’s anything new to catch your eye. Of course, I’ll tell you to ask where the local section is, but be forewarned that I have probably picked over it very recently (sorry, not sorry). (Article link here.)

• We always call out fundraisers for members of our local music community and there’s a big one going on for Cary Warren, who spent some time in a hospital recently and has a long recovery road ahead of him. The fundraiser is about halfway to its goal and to help it along, there’s a show this coming Monday at Cobra Cabana featuring The Milkstains, Xed Out, New Lions, and Sea Of Storms. The show details are in the show column from this past Wednesday (linked below), but first, why not stop by the fundraiser and help if you can? (Fundraiser link here.)

• This Saturday was going to be Porchella in Bellevue, but the weather promises to be bad all day so now it’s moved to Saturday, April 29th! Make sure to go if you can! (Instagram link here.)

• RVA Fashion Week has been going on for the last few days. Obviously, we talk about music here, but their Gala Event tonight features music from Shockoe Records so check that out if you’re looking for something fancy to attend. (Event link here.)

• The James River Film Festival is also going on right now. Again, we talk about music here, but the Good Day RVA people are going to be there screening some of their music video work over the last decade. Their contribution to the scene is immeasurable and this Saturday’s showcase is a good opportunity to learn exactly why. (Event link here.)

• Here’s an excellent article from Style Weekly: Davy Jones talked with Drive-By Truckers frontman Patterson Hood about his relationship with Richmond before their show next Friday. Shout-outs to Jay Leavitt, Deep Groove, and Wes Freed (RIP). (Article link here.)

• Andrew Bonieskie was back again this week with another Sound Check column at RVA Magazine, this time looking at Ruston Kelly, Butcher Brown, and Rikki Rakki. (Article link here.)

• The MSQ Shop has had three good producer spotlights recently on PierceNoPaul, Chris Forte, and MØW, who are each growing the already teeming hip-hop sound in town. Make sure you got MSQ bookmarked — lot of good stuff coming from over there. (Blog link here.)

• I was on hand for this week’s Shockoe Sessions Live featuring hard rock band Merciful Zero. What a show. Cheez, Mark, and BK have been around the local scene for a local time and Hans is the perfect addition that really helps their sound soar. You need to see their set. And you need to make the trip to In Your Ear for Shockoe Sessions yourself! Sun V Set is up next this Tuesday night so head over if you can! (YouTube link here.)

• Wanted to give a quick update that we’ll be updating our resource list soon with venues, labels, studios, etc. It won’t be complete, but it will be in-depth like all things we do here.

• We’ll also be adding a new section to our website soon. If you’ve been following our Instagram stories each day, you probably have an idea of what it’s going to be.

• I talked about the weather being crappy tomorrow, but there are still plenty of great shows to see this weekend (and every day of the week, really). The gang behind Restless RVA always has you covered with tasting menus of local shows for Friday through Saturday (Thursdays most weeks too) so make sure to have them saved for any last-minute concert planning. (Instagram link here.) If you want to plan ahead though, you can read our show column here by the fabulous Marilyn Drew Necci, which picks out eight notable shows every week for you to learn about. (Article link here.) Whichever way you go, just make sure to see some live music soon!

• Time to wrap this up with a local song. This week, I really want to talk about Railgun, a punk rock trio that has been together for a while now with one of the most unique sounds in town. Clear and punchy, their music borrows from heavy metal and funk rock and if you listen close, you can even pick up some prog-rock and post-punk influence in their sound. Recoil was their first release back in 2017, but I probably didn’t listen to it until a few years after that. I enjoyed it, but it was really their 2020 record, Seishin No Tatakai, that blew me away. Released in the summer when the phrase “new normal” became a worldwide trigger, this album helped me funnel my rage from everything going on that year. “Failure,” the first track, captures this mindset perfectly and showcases their music’s raging force which has been honed and refined over the years. Last year, they released another great searing track entitled “Bastard,” which I should definitely talk more about… but in thinking back to Seishin No Tatakai, I’m reminded of how great a song “Life Lessons” is. Here, their punk sound is stretched out within a hollow sound tube that gives the song a cavernous mystique. It’s captivating and rousing, but really, it’s the live aspect of the song that spoke to me then. It’s something I needed in 2020 when the only live music I was seeing was outside at Brambly Park, thirty feet from everyone else while worrying I was still being irresponsible. You might think the song’s appeal is dated, but as I listen to it again, I’m reminded of the pulsating passion that won me over in the first place. It might not be the best representation of Railgun’s sound, but it is definitely indicative of how gripping and exhilarating their music is. Listen to it and check out more from them if you can. They play regularly in town so follow them on Instagram to learn about their next show. I’ll catch you all next week.