Dark and dreamy, “Falls City” is the first track available from the new Venice Is Sinking album, Sand & Lines. The song is a testament to this band’s versatility and ability to create a diverse set of music. Recorded using only two microphones in Athens’ Georgia Theatre, which burned down a few months after it was recorded, the album is set for a June 2010 release — one year after a fire destroyed the building. All proceeds from the album will go to the theater.

Supercluster may have that famed super group make-up, but it lacks in the pretentious ego-driven in-fighting to which such groups are prone. The artists behind Supercluster are responsible for some of today’s best groups, from Of Montreal and Casper & The Cookies to Deerhunter and The New Sound Of Numbers. Despite the who’s-who of indie pop, Waves is a portal into lo-fi psych pop famed to regions like Athens, GA.

“Okay” by Venice Is Sinking is easily one of my favorite tracks of 2009 and the album on which it can be found, AZAR, will be a tough contender to beat for the best album of the year. In support of their new maxi-single for “Okay”, they’ve now given us a most excellent video to accompany its promotion. The video itself is a joyous montage dubbed “How to Achieve Musical Greatness.” It’s a testament to how great this band truly is; “Okay” as a song is absolutely …