531 replies to this topic

[yank_eh]

I haven't heard Josh Ritter's "The Animal Years" mentioned anywhere! Doesn't anyone like it as much as me. It's not groundbreaking but it's darn good folk.

a dash of folky Springsteen. a touch of Petty. a pinch of Dylan.

whoa, that recipe sounds way too generic. Anyone else come up with a good description.

(as you can tell I'm not very musically trained)

[Hugues]

Kaki King: ...Until We Felt Red

I'm just amazed and blown away (as they say). It's Devon Sproule, another great artist, who recommended Kaki King on her newsletter. They shared some tour dates. So I went to AMG to know more about her, and of course Thom Jurek had already reviewed and praised her first previous records.

I've ordered them as well, can't wait to hear that. If it's as good as this third album, I'll be in Heaven for the next weeks.

How to describe her music? She has a sense of sounds and space, it's deeply pleasant to listen to, so pleasant actually, that it's far more than pleasant : it makes you feel GOOD. God only knows what she must have experienced, inside and outside, to reach such natural, easy-going, relaxed, secret mastery.

kakiking.com (you can see a video on her myspace)

[Darren H]

Thom, as an obsessive Little Feat fan, I was intrigued by your mention of The Bird and the Bee and so I checked out their MySpace page. Unbelievable. Any idea when I'll be able to buy a copy? The site just says "Jan. 2007 (at the latest)."

[Josh Hurst]

Thom, as an obsessive Little Feat fan, I was intrigued by your mention of The Bird and the Bee and so I checked out their MySpace page. Unbelievable. Any idea when I'll be able to buy a copy? The site just says "Jan. 2007 (at the latest)."

The new information from Blue Note is that it will be available at the end of Rocktober.

*Nods* I got the same info from Blue Note, though I haven't heard the album yet.

[Andy Whitman]

Horse Feathers -- Words Are Dead -- Baroque folk from Portland, Oregon. Violins (not fiddles), acoustic guitars, mandolins, and banjos, but this music has nothing to do with bluegrass. It's a folk/chamber music hybrid, and it's quite good.

Elanors -- Movements -- Thom Yorke/Rufus Wainwright crooning and lovely romantic piano (think Chopin) from this Chicago band.

The Kennedys -- Songs of the Open Road -- Great folk harmony singing on this covers albums, with classics from the likes of Dylan, Victoria Williams, Bob Neuwirth (!), and Gram Parsons. And check out that spine-tingling cover of The Byrds' "Eight Miles High."

Trolleyvox -- The Karaoke Meltdowns -- Melodic jangle pop. Beth Filla is a very fine singer.

The Memory Band -- Apron Strings -- Another UK folk band following in the hallowed footsteps of Fairport Convention. But wow, if Nancy Wallace isn't a dead ringer for Sandy Denny, and wow, if Jennymay Logan isn't a fiddler who can rival Dave Swarbrick. So Stephen Cracknell is no Richard Thompson. I'll take two out of three and sing their praises.

Edited by Andy Whitman, 28 August 2006 - 01:35 PM.

[yank_eh]

Hem - Funnel Cloud
The Evenng Call - Greg Brown

I have been disappointed with Hem since Rabbit Songs. Thom, can you compare this new one to their old stuff? ditto for the new Greg Brown?

[Darren H]

I iTunes'd Inara George's solo record, All Rise, and am madly in love with it. After watching this video for "Fools Work," I have a bit of a crush on her too.

[Hugues]

I think Pitchfork has been too harsh with Rose Melberg's Cast Away The Clouds, to the contrary of AMG.

I did need many listens myself to get into the record, but it's really a good one. Very delicate and sweet, but that never falls in cutesy. Quiet and peaceful, but not boring. Actually Rose's music is really naked and out of sugar. This record is different from The Softies years.

So I second AMG's recommendation.

[Overstreet]

Got hold of the Benevento/Russo Duo album Play Pause Stop and, yes Andy, it is decidedly more rock-oriented than the last album.

I miss the exploratory, improvisational jazz style of Best Reason to Buy the Sun, but there's no escaping the contagious enthusiasm of these performances. It's going to be a big part of the soundtrack to the next few months of my life.

[Holy Moly!]

I'll cast another vote for Rose Melberg's "Cast Away The Clouds". Rose played at a music festival I helped put together this summer, and was absolutely entrancing. She did a really beautiful cover of Iris DeMent's "Let The Mystery Be" as well.

[Jason Panella]

I'll post it here too, since I can't seem to stop listening to it-- Los Lobos' the Town and the City is a great album. It's slower than their past few albums, more personal in nature, and deals very subtly with characters crossing borders (both literally and figuratively). The band has the entire album streamed on their site.

I also saw that the greatly missed math rock band Chavez has a collection coming out called Better Days Will Haunt You. I think it's a collection of their two LPs and one EP. I own their final album, Ride the Fader, and let me tell you--it's one of those albums that lurk in the back of your mind for years. In a good way.

[Kyle]

I also saw that the greatly missed math rock band Chavez has a collection coming out called Better Days Will Haunt You. I think it's a collection of their two LPs and one EP. I own their final album, Ride the Fader, and let me tell you--it's one of those albums that lurk in the back of your mind for years. In a good way.

When Chavez was in its heyday, I listened to emo (or to make me sound more hip - "post-punk" as it was often called at the time) exclusively. I just couldn't grasp Chavez and I'm not really sure why. It continues to surprise me how often they get name checked. It's also surprised me how jazzed people are for the Chavez collection. I can say I'm interested in going back and listening to my old copy of Ride the Fader and listen for what I might have missed the first time around.

[Joel]

I've mostly been captivated by very slow and fragile stuff lately, mostly:

Laura Gibson - If You Come to Greet Me (Hush)
Alela Diane - The Pirate's Gospel (Holocene)
Judee Sill - Heart Food (have we had a Judee Sill thread? she was SO INCREDIBLE. I haven't fallen for an artist as much as I have for her in a long, long time.)


Honorable Mention:
The Lonely Forest - Regicide EP
Wax Tailor - Tales of the Forgotten Melodies

[Jason Panella]

When Chavez was in its heyday, I listened to emo (or to make me sound more hip - "post-punk" as it was often called at the time) exclusively. I just couldn't grasp Chavez and I'm not really sure why. It continues to surprise me how often they get name checked. It's also surprised me how jazzed people are for the Chavez collection. I can say I'm interested in going back and listening to my old copy of Ride the Fader and listen for what I might have missed the first time around.

I think Chavez is very different from the emo bands circa the late '90s. I've always thought they were more math rock than anything else, or a more technical version of Archers of Loaf (one of my all-time favorite bands). One of the neat things about them is that realizing they're good is a reward for sticking with them for a few listens; the first time I heard Ride the Fader I thought, "eh." Second time: "Eh!" Third: "Eh HEH!" Now it's gem after gem.

[Hugues]

These two reissues of Judee Sill from Water (as well as Dreams Come True) are probably my favorite reissues this year. The rhinohandmade one was certainly great, but out of stock and too expensive now.

Judee Sill's music world is deeply spiritual. Regular listens of this music brings peace to the soul (at least mine). Andy Partridge's notes for Heart Food are remarkable.

The second Karen Dalton record is finally available on CD? Great news! I love her first one. But now Thom you have me wondering: the first album wasn't official? I didn't know about that. Do I miss something?

Edited by Hugues, 19 October 2006 - 11:52 AM.

[yank_eh]

I haven't heard the whold album yet but I'm really digging the song Belle by a band called Alif Tree. Anyone else heard this?

Bjork meets Morcheeba meets French chanteuse, backed by a piano-enhanced, looped Mazzy Star vibe.

PS- Thom, thom thanks for the info and Hem and Greg Brown. Mr. Brown is playing in my town on Monday. I'm too cheap to drop a twenty on him but I'm sure as heck gonna try to win tickets on the college radio station.

[opus]

Bjork meets Morcheeba meets French chanteuse, backed by a piano-enhanced, looped Mazzy Star vibe.

[Ears perk up...]

You wouldn't happen to have a URL, would you?

[yank_eh]

Opus, go here and click on Belle for a brief excerpt. I'd love to hear what you think.

[Chadb]

Thom (or anyone else)
Have you heard the new Converge album. I think it's amazing, it might be neck and neck with Jane Doe after my first few listens. Has a really interesting sequencing with the first five tracks just rocketing by, none over a minute and a half, then the great title track, followed by an almost 10 minute long doom like track. Really great stuff.

And to anyone with a passing interest in country music, I highly recommend then new Alan Jackson album. It's country soul, like if The Isley Brothers wanted to make a country album.