THE HELD NOTE!

Posted on September 8, 2025September 8, 2025 Posted in SIGHTINGS, THE LABELTagged asentimentalsong, Benjamin Mauch, Church Of The Covenant, honeybrandy, HSAL, Lodge of the Fishermen, Lynchburg, paratextures, Silence & The Unwinking Minds, The Held Note, VirginiaLeave a comment

THE HELD NOTE CONCERT SERIES is a curated collection of soothing sounds created by artists from all over the eastern United States. Over six shows, HELD NOTE will present sonics and visuals that could be tagged as “folk,” “ambient,” “primitive,” “spoken word,” “drone,” “electronic,” and more. All shows will be held at the Lodge of the Fishermen in the Boonsboro neighborhood of Lynchburg, Virginia in cooperation with Church of the Covenant. For each show, $10 at the door supports this series and the artists who perform.

The series has been split into three fall shows and three spring shows. Here’s everything that’s been confirmed for the fall:

Saturday, October 4th: paratextures w/ asentimentalsong
Saturday, November 8th: honeybrandy w/ Lee Mattox (honeybrandy LP release!)
Saturday, December 6th: Benjamin Mauch w/ Silence & the Unwinking Minds

HSAL #67 (BANDCAMP EXLUSIVE)

Posted on April 7, 2025April 7, 2025 Posted in RELEASES, THE LABELTagged asentimentalsong, bandcamp, Columbus, compilation, Fainting Couch, honeybrandy, HSAL, indie rock, Lost In Space Camp, Lynchburg, music, new-music, news, Philadelphia, Plastic Hacks, reviews, Roanoke, rock, RVA, Sacramento, Sheetrock, Steve Scott, Stilyagi, Times Tables, TLVS, Virginia Beach, Young HierophantLeave a comment

RELEASE: HSAL #67
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2025

AVAILABILITY: DIG
ARTWORK: Courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

This, our ninth compilation, is a total “family & friends” affair. We’ve seen many artists come and go since dreaming this all up back in 2009. Consider this collection of tunes as a random card you get in the mail one day from a long-forgotten friend. It is steeped in nostalgic references and mile-markers from their journey that they think will at least hold your interest and at most rekindle a connection.

Here’s a track-by-track description of the compilation:

Track 01 – Fainting Couch, “So Long”: new single from the guitar half of “Powerviolet,” who we featured on HSAL #65.
Track 02 – Lost In Space Camp, “Aquatone (Attic Session)”: Instrumental take on a track that may include vocals on a future release…
Track 03 – honeybrandy, “Closed For Learning”: new track from upcoming album, “File Under Contemplative Protest,” due out later this year.
Track 04 – Plastic Hacks, “Slow Glow”: new single from the forthcoming album, “Fabulously Melancholy,” due out Spring 2025 on Friend Club Records.
Track 05 – Young Hierophant, “From A Room Forever”: this track is an unreleased composition from the sessions for his STELLAR 2024 album “Return To The Healing Church.”
Track 06 – Sheetrock, “Herald”: new single from RVA members of Toan Team.
Track 07 – asentimentalsong, “The Calm Before The Calm”: new piece presented by Joe from TLVS. #dronelife
Track 08 – Times Tables, “Zoom Meeting”: new single from Roanoke’s faux-midwestern emo sons. EP drops later this month.
Track 09 – TLVS, “Honey From Every Wind”: only track from last year’s split with Powerviolet that’s never been played live.
Track 10 – Steve Scott, “On A Personal Note (Stilyagi Drone Mix)”: Per Steve, this is a rough sketch of something being worked on.

HONEYBRANDY’S BACK IN LYH!

Posted on February 26, 2025February 26, 2025 Posted in SIGHTINGS, THE LABELTagged 4415 Boonsboro Rd, Church Of The Covenant, honeybrandy, HSAL, Lodge Of The Fisherman, LYH, Lynchburg, magic tuber stringband, ourlynchburg, thrill jockey, VirginiaLeave a comment

Thrill Jockey artists Magic Tuber Stringband are playing a bunch of east coast dates in support of their STELLAR 2024 album, “Needlefall.” Having fallen hard for them after their collaboration with fellow NC’ers Weirs (they live tracked a session in the Crozet tunnel!), we reached out to see if they would be able to camp out in the hill city for a date. THANKFULLY, the stars have aligned! Come soak in an early spring evening with us at the Lodge. Our own honeybrandy will provide local support.

Music should happen at 7:30 PM. Hope to see many, many friends out for this one…

DETAILS

DATE: Saturday, March 22nd
COVER: $10 at the door (cash, card, and Venmo accepted)
DOORS: 7:00 PM
MUSIC: 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
ARTISTS: Magic Tuber Stringband (from NC), honeybrandy (from LYH)
VENUE: The Lodge (on the campus of Church of the Covenant – 4415 Boonsboro Rd, 24503)

HONEYBRANDY SHOW IN LYH!

Posted on September 26, 2024September 26, 2024 Posted in SIGHTINGS, THE LABELTagged 4415 Boonsboro Rd, Church Of The Covenant, honeybrandy, HSAL, Lynchburg, Son of Buzzi, Stoned To Death, The LodgeLeave a comment

Our Czech friends over at Stoned To Death turned us onto this Swiss instrumentalist who creates serenity with layer upon layer of acoustic guitar, synth washes, and field recordings. NATURALLY, we snagged a date on his US east coast tour. Come soak in a special autumn evening with us at the Lodge. Our own honeybrandy will provide local support.

Music will start at 8:00 PM sharp. Don’t be late. We’re taking donations at the door to ensure our traveling musician is taken care of while in the Hill City.

DETAILS

DATE: Thursday, October 10th
MUSIC: 8:00 PM – 9:15 PM
ARTISTS: Son of Buzzi (from Switzerland), honeybrandy (from LYH)
VENUE: The Lodge (on the campus of Church of the Covenant – 4415 Boonsboro Rd, 24503)

HSAL #66: “RITUAL DETERGENT”

Posted on September 10, 2024September 12, 2024 Posted in RELEASES, THE LABELTagged honeybrandy, HSAL, HSAL #66, Stilyagi, TLVSLeave a comment

RELEASE: HSAL #66
RELEASE DATE: September 6, 2024

AVAILABILITY: DIG
ARTWORK: Courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: UNKLE’s “Psyence Fiction,” Vacation Bible School, Early Nicolas Jaar

The creative itch for this single was birthed out of writing sessions for TLVS in the summer of 2024. Both Joey and Nathan shared a desire to push into more experimentation than what made sense for the three piece. Joey suggested that honeybrandy material may be just the thing to scratch said itch.

The upfront commitment to rhythm and samples mark something of a shift in the duo’s composition style. As they continue to work toward a new album, look for this newfound direction to compliment the more drone-based tension of previous releases.

HSAL #65: “POWERVIOLET / TLVS”

Posted on February 6, 2024 Posted in RELEASES, THE LABELTagged Cassette, Friend Club Records, HSAL, instrumental rock, powerviolet, Split EP, TLVSLeave a comment

RELEASE: HSAL #65, FCR110
RELEASE DATE: February 2, 2024

AVAILABILITY: CASS / DIG
ARTWORK: Rhys Meatyard, CASS layout courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: New Order, Trans Am (A Side), Tarentel, Tristeza (B Side)

FCR110 & HSAL #65: A take on “instrumental rock music” that glides across a sonic pendulum using electronics and groove to measure its amplitude. This is a co-release with a VERY LIMITED run of super special cassettes. TLVS had created a new EP’s worth of material to follow 2022’s “Beauty In The Ghost” and began shopping it around. Buffalo’s Friend Club Records expressed interest and the two parties began to collude on a release. TLVS connected with Powerviolet, who had released “Wavelengths” through Friend Club in 2022, on the prospect of a split release.

Fast forward to the winter of 2023 becoming 2024…The digital version of this collection is available to stream most everywhere. The physical version has been meticulously crafted and is nearly in the hands of Friend Club, who has decided to close up shop. Your friendly neighborhood record label has taken the reigns on this and are currently shipping out the last few unclaimed copies.

HSAL #63: “The Way Of The Sevenfold Secret”

Posted on October 18, 2023October 19, 2023 Posted in RELEASES, THE LABELTagged California, emotional, experimental music, HSAL, HSAL #63, inspirational, meditation, poetry, Sacramento, spoken word, Steve Scott, Steve Scott poet1 Comment

RELEASE: HSAL #63
RELEASE DATE: November 3, 2023

AVAILABILITY: CD / DIG
ARTWORK: courtesy of Stilyagi
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: Eric Lunde, Allen Ginsberg, Gil Scott-Heron

The last time we were able to deliver a Steve Scott album, it was a collection of stories and feelings crafted over a decade’s (or more) worth of time. Perhaps it was the global pandemic’s penchant for driving focus, or maybe it was self-directed study of various religious texts, but something stirred our favorite British expat toward a cycle based on a 1926 booklet by Lilias Trotter. “Secret” begins with a pair of set pieces that read like memories as much as they do poems. The remainder of the album works through seven movements (plus an epilogue) that mirror Trotter’s writing.

Each poem is accompanied by subtly haunted tones that reinforce the presence of something more than Scott’s words. There are extended moments beyond the words that seem to invite reflection and internalization – as if the sounds that swirl around Scott mimic the role of Virgil leading Dante through the Inferno, Purgatory, and ultimately, Paradise.

Some albums resonate because the vibe they create invites an immediate repeated listen – the party doesn’t have to stop. “The Way Of The Sevenfold Secret” resonance is paradoxical in that the listener may find the silence replacing the final track to be the perfect headspace to make sense of the meditation through which they were just ushered.

HSAL #62, “Benjamin Mauch & Stilyagi”

Posted on January 31, 2023January 31, 2023 Posted in RELEASESTagged Benjamin Mauch, cassingle, HSAL, HSAL #62, LYH, RVA, split single, Stilyagi, VirginiaLeave a comment

RELEASE: HSAL #62
RELEASE DATE: February 3, 2023

AVAILABILITY: CASS / DIG
ARTWORK: courtesy of William Stichter
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: Jamie XX (A side), The Books (B side)

In a fortunate turn of events, HSAL found itself with some DIY inventory, including some blank cassettes, in the fall of 2022. Averse to squandering neat opportunities, we reached out to some friends to see about doing a split single. Benjamin Mauch, whose “Golden Bay Garden” still ranks as one of our favorite releases, took on the A side. Stilyagi, drinking the same potions that inspired his recently dropped, funky self-titled EP, took on the B side.

The physical copy of this single is magnetic tape housed in a clear shell contained in a “Maltese cross” style case. Each case has been printed by Grammy-nominated artist William Stichter.

“S T I L Y A G I”

Posted on December 10, 2022 Posted in UncategorizedTagged honeybrandy, HSAL, HSAL #61, Stilyagi, TLVSLeave a comment

RELEASE: HSAL #61
RELEASE DATE: December 9, 2022

AVAILABILITY: CASS / DIG
ARTWORK: courtesy of Joanna McGlothlin
STREAM/DOWNLOAD: HSAL bandcamp

FFO: The Art Of Noise, The Bomb Squad, 400 Blows (UK)

After turning in remixes and individual tracks for compilations over the past few years, Stilyagi has put in the work to craft a standalone collection of samples and rhythm. Detail-oriented visitors will find new things within conspicuous layers on repeated listens, while the causal listener will be content to bob their skulls to the pulsing bluster.

The physical copy of this EP is magnetic tape housed in a golden shell contained in a “Maltese cross” style case. Each case has been printed by HSAL house visual artist Joanna McGlothlin using gelli prints, screens, and stampers.

HSAL #60 IS HERE!

Posted on October 2, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged anniversary, Benjamin Mauch, Deluxe Edition, HSAL, HSAL #60, instrumental, instrumental rock, ourlynchburg, PJ Sykes, Porcelain, TLVS, Virginia, White LacesLeave a comment

HSAL #60: PORCELAIN (DELUXE EDITION) by TLVS

A fresh retooling of the entire album by TLVS
A collection of remixes from over the years by members of the band (Stilyagi, asentimentalsong) as well as friends (White Laces, Ben Mauch, PJ Sykes)
An unreleased 2010 master of the original album by Chad Clark, who went on to work on the Fugazi live series
A stockpile of photos from acclaimed RVA photographer PJ Sykes

IT’S BANDCAMP FRIDAY!

All proceeds from the purchase of this album go toward our continued efforts to support the unconventional rock action happening across the commonwealth of Virginia.