Welcome back, everybody. I want to issue a warning this week against the dangers of the malaise that sets in as soon as the weather gets a bit chilly. Did you know that people in the Arctic would love to be able to see a show in 50-degree weather? It's true. I asked them. So, don't forget to count your blessings. Oh, look! There are some right down there…

Dream Boat. Someone should probably tell him he's dissolving.

Sail Away: Cloud Recordings will release the debut album from Dream Boat on Dec. 4. It's titled Eclipsing, and the one available track points toward an apocalyptic vision that's somehow lifted into bliss. Dig it via soundcloud.com/dreamboat. The band—visual artist Daniel Donahue and singer Page Campbell (Hope for Agoldensummer)—recorded the album with engineer Suny Lyons and, honestly, what a killer set of collaborators, right? The record features several guests including Cloud Recordings' own John Fernandes, Scott Spillane (Gerbils, Neutral Milk Hotel), Claire Campbell (Hope for Agoldensummer), Kris Deason (Dark Meat), Andrew Rieger (Elf Power) and more. Easy terms like "ambient," "ethereal" and "melancholic" apply, but I'm eagerly awaiting the rest of the record, as I'm sure it's going to reveal much more.

The Name Game: Jace Bartet (Reptar, 'Powers) has a new band named National Anthem that includes himself, Brent Blalock (Marriage), Allen Owens (Pride Parade), Nick Splendorr and Tim Payne. So far, the band seems to have this kinda pop-metal feel to it and is clearly a product of Bartet's expansive musical tastes. All of which would be totally fine except that Athens has already had a great band called National Anthem. OK, so that was years ago, but I know that if I remember the combo formed by Keith Kortemeier (The Martians), Hugh Connelly (The Martians), Frank MacDonnell (Magneto), Keith Reardigan and Paul Trudeau (Harvey Milk), then chances are good a lot of other people will, too. Hell, the old band still has its MySpace page up (myspace.com/nationalanthemband). So, that's that. You can keep up with Bartet's new group via facebook.com/nationalanthemathens and sample it at natlanthem.bandcamp.com.

Remember When: Although it really seems like no one has seen hide nor hair of them in a billion years, The Figgs used to play around Athens a lot more frequently back in, you know, “the day.” As it stands now, the last remaining band on the planet to have a legitimate claim to inventing the college-rock sound hasn't played here in a decade. That changes on Friday, Oct. 26, when The Figgs, now in their 25th year, play the Caledonia Lounge with Casper & the Cookies and The Arcs. So, why am I breaking my own rule and talking about an out-of-town band in my staunchly local column? Hell, I dunno. Nostalgia? Good enough for me. Learn something over at thefiggs.net.

Do You Think They'll Drop the Bomb?: The fairly recent phenomenon—as in, it's reached a fever pitch over the last five years or so—of Athens bands playing locally several times a month comes with its own set of problems. It's easy to overlook these bands. Why bother today when you can catch them tomorrow? Or never? It's easy to not notice how they develop. Everything is everything, and it's all right out there, all the time. And you get sick of seeing the same damn names on every flier, too! All that said, maybe this growing-up-in-public thing works for some people, because Bubbly Mommy Gun's new record, Sand Roses, is pretty darn neat-o. It's a multi-layered, truly psychedelic affair, totally on par with the earliest psych experiments by of Montreal and would pair nicely with any old Frank Zappa record. It was released last week via Party Party Partners and can be heard over at bubblymommygun.bandcamp.com. Keep up with the haps proper via bubblymommygun.com.

Calling All Art: New Earth Music Hall has put the call out to artists who would like to display their work in the venues gallery space. If you're interested, I'd say jump on this pretty quickly. Wall space is in impossibly heavy demand around town, and tends to fill up very quickly. Plus, art always seems like it stays put for a very long time. Hop to it by dropping a line to [email protected].