San Diego underground heroes and newest proponents of twisted alt-gothic-country, Castanets are Americana at its most melancholy; singer Ray Raposa even terms it “derailed psych-country.” Obvious references are The Velvet Underground, No Neck Blues Band and Six Organs of Admittance, but there are hints of the Delta Blues seething just beneath the surface. These haunted tales of frustrated redemption and somber love ballads reflect the unsettled substrata of American life. If you like your music on the murkier side of “twang,” then this one should be perfect. — Alex Slawson and Herman Snell
Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.
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