Atlanta Soundtrack: New music from Ciara, Vision Video and vintage Pylon

Ciara featuring Summer Walker | “Better Thangs”

Ciara Princess Wilson (nee Harris), once anointed the “Princess of Crunk,” has been a household name for almost two decades, having made her debut as a teenager in 2004 with the Lil Jon-produced single “Goodies.” That song went triple platinum and shot her into super-fame, and the Grammy-winning artist has worked steadily ever since.

Along with recording, Ciara has expanded her empire into business mogul-dom with skincare and clothing lines. She’s raising three kids with her husband, Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. And she recently wrapped work on her forthcoming eighth album, which will be her first full-length outing since 2019.

Ciara described the creative process for this new single to Billboard: “For me, joy is the ultimate feeling that I was feeling [when creating ‘Better Thangs’], and I wanted for people to feel that with this record.” Ciara last teamed up with Atlanta compatriot Summer Walker on Walker’s ABBA-besting album Still Over It, contributing an outro called “Ciara’s Prayer.”

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Vision Video (Dusty Gannon / “Goth Dad”) | Haunted Hours

Vision Video offers Southern gothic of a different variety. With reverberations of the Cure, the Smiths, Joy Division and Echo & the Bunnymen, the group provides an Athens-specific spin on moody, atmospheric ’80s. The group, led by army veteran, paramedic and firefighter Dusty Gannon, debuted last spring — check out our coverage of their macabre single “Comfort in the Grave.” Gannon has also gained a cult following as TikTok/Instagram alter ego “Goth Dad.” He’s joined by bandmates Emily Fredock (keyboards), Dan Geller (bass) and Jason Fusco (drums).

As a horror movie aficionado, Gannon seems to know how to tap into the many complexities of the genre. The opening shot of this video — with its spooky, spectral real estate motif — might remind you of the prose of Shirley Jackson: “Exorcism cannot alter the countenance of a house.” Of course, like Jackson’s horror staple Haunting of Hill House (especially the recent Mike Flanagan adaptation), “Haunted Hours” is about grief and loss, not just jump scares. You can catch them at their album release celebration and dance party tonight at Ciné Athens.

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Pylon | “Beep”

Pylon made its spring-loaded launch in 1978 as a performance art project by four art students at the University of Georgia who basically taught themselves how to play music as they went. All of this makes sense when considering how their name is a tribute to orange traffic cones. As documented by Grace Elizabeth Hale in Cool Town, a definitive musical history of Athens, the band’s bassist and co-founder, Michael Lachowski, said, “We chose Pylon because it is severe, industrial, monolithic, functional. We subscribe to a modern techno-industrial aesthetic. Our message is ‘Go for it!, but be careful.’ ”

Go for it, they did. And although their jagged punk minimalist style never hit it as big as their Athens contemporaries, the B-52s and R.E.M., the group got a whole lot further than they could themselves ever envisioned — even opening for U2 during the War tour. Their influence on Michael Stipe and Co. was significant, too. Famously, R.E.M. drummer Bill Berry called Pylon the best band in America in 1987, four years after Pylon had broken up for the first time.

The original lineup featured Lachowski, guitarist Randy Bewley, vocalist Vanessa Briscoe Hay and drummer Curtis Crowe. After releasing two albums, Gyrate and Chomp, the quartet broke up and reunited multiple times over the ensuing decades until Bewley’s sudden death at age 53 in 2009. Most recently, surviving members have enjoyed a reincarnation of sorts as the Pylon Reenactment Society, with some different members, but Briscoe Hay is still out front on the mic. Last month, they performed at Finster Fest in Summerville and “Beep” is our Vintage Track of the Week.