Cotton Jones (formerly The Cotton Jones Basket Ride) is an American

indie folk Indie folk (also called alternative folk) is an alternative genre of music that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Characteristics The staff of '' Paste Magazine'' said in 2020: "No music genre ...

band, with elements of

psychedelic folk Psychedelic folk (sometimes acid folk or freak folk) is a loosely defined form of psychedelic music that originated in the 1960s. It retains the largely acoustic instrumentation of contemporary folk music, folk, but adds musical elements common ...

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

, and

chamber pop Chamber pop (also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmonies, and other components drawn from t ...

, based in

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,075. Located on the Potomac River, Cumberland is a regional business and comm ...

and currently signed to

Suicide Squeeze Records Suicide Squeeze Records is a Seattle, Washington-based independent record label that releases rock music, rock, pop music, pop, and metal music, metal music. Suicide Squeeze releases content on vinyl, CD, cassette, and digital. The label has als ...

. Michael Nau (born October 31, 1984) is the lead singer-songwriter and plays guitar, Whitney McGraw (born July 20, 1986) is on keyboards, organ, and electronic autoharp, Todd Gowans (born February 4, 1986) also plays guitar, with Greg Bender on bass.

Albums

''The River Strumming''

On September 23, 2008, the band released their first LP, ''The River Strumming'', through the indie label St. Ives. It was a hand-made package limited to only 300 copies and was described as a "delightful slab of fuzzed-out dream folk." The album was reissued by Suicide Squeeze Records during the summer of 2023 for its 15th anniversary, limited to only 1000 copies, 400 on 180 gram half coke bottle green and half bone, 600 on 180 gram black vinyl. Mark Lager, in a retrospective review on ''

Aquarium Drunkard ''Aquarium Drunkard'' is an online music magazine based in Los Angeles, California and launched in 2005 by Justin Gage, who chose the name "Aquarium Drunkard" based on a reference to a lyric written by the band Wilco. Along with its music revi ...

'', described ''The River Strumming'' as "a summer night trip through the swamps, a car rambling down lonely backroads...macabre and magical psychedelia, southern gothic style."

''Paranoid Cocoon''

On January 27, 2009, the band released their second LP, their debut for Suicide Squeeze Records, '' Paranoid Cocoon''. It was described as a "weepy, reverb-drenched blend of Pacific Northwest, 1960s folk-pop, and heartland rock."

''Tall Hours in the Glowstream''

On August 24, 2010, the band released their third LP, '' Tall Hours in the Glowstream''. It was described as "classic country music filtered through a dream-pop haze."

''About the Game''

On August 21, 2012, the band released ''About the Game'', a 7" record limited to only 500 copies.

''Mowing''

On November 18, 2015, Michael Nau announced his solo debut ''Mowing'', introducing the first single "Winter Beat" via SoundCloud. The album's release date was February 19, 2016.

''Some Twist''

On June 16, 2017, Michael Nau released his second solo album ''Some Twist''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described it as a "high-humidity set for long summer days, present or imagined" and Red & Black described it as "outer space road trip music...songs that feel unreal in their otherworldliness."

''Accompany''

On December 8, 2023, Michael Nau released his fifth solo album ''Accompany''.

Far Out (magazine) ''Far Out'' is an independent British online culture platform founded in 2010 and headquartered in London. The site focuses on independent and alternative culture, providing analysis of music, film, travel and the arts alongside exclusive intervi ...

called ""Painting A Wall" one of the finest tracks this year" and Glide Magazine called the album "Nau’s best solo effort to date."

Band members

Current members

* Michael Nau * Whitney McGraw * Todd Gowans * Greg Bender

Touring members

* Chris Morris * Bryan Martin * Matt Smith

Discography

References

External links

Cotton Jones - Suicide SqueezeCotton Jones - BandcampMichael Nau - Bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cotton Jones Indie rock musical groups from Maryland Suicide Squeeze Records artists