Sham's Shane Justice McCord Shares a Playlist of Recent Favorites

January 27, 2024

Photo courtesy of the artist

Psychedelic folk outfit Sham are just one of many incredible acts to emerge from Asheville’s vibrant scene in recent years, alongside greats such as MJ Lenderman/Wednesday, Yes Selma, and Dish, to name a few. Their most recent album, Machine Simple, was one of our favorites of last year, and it follows the equally amazing Field of Vision Expanded tape/CD, which was released right before the group went on tour with Animal Collective.

After being somewhat obsessed with Machine Simple ever since its November release, we asked Sham’s fearless leader Shane Justice McCord to curate a playlist for us. “These are songs I’ve loved deeply lately,” says McCord, who gathered tracks from the likes of Broadcast, Bridget St John, and Robert Wyatt. Find the Spotify and YouTube playlists below, along with a written tracklist (Orchestre National de Jazz’s “Kew Rhone” and Sammy Weissberg “III” are not available on Spotify – just a heads-up!).

In other news, Sham are set to embark on an East Coast tour on January 29, which includes a date here in Athens – February 23 at Bolo Bolo, to be exact – with John Kiran Fernandes (the Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System), Jake Brower and Friends, and Terry's Dolmen. Find complete details of that tour here, and grip a copy of Machine Simple here. — Marcel Sletten

Alejandro Jodorowsky - Isla (The Sapphic Sleep)
Alash Ensemble - Yrlaazhyyly
Broadcast - Elegant Elephant
Orchestre National de Jazz - Kew Rhone
Sammy Weissberg - III
Björk - Cocoon
Sister R. Mildred Barker - Who Will Bow And Bend Like The Willow
Cate Le Bon & Group Listening - The Light
Bridget St John - Downderry Daze
Robert Wyatt - Maryan
Sun Ra - Outside the Time Zone
Norma Tanega - What Are We Craving?
Alex Homan - Wayseeker's Hymn
The Beach Boys - Little Pad
Don Cherry - Malkauns