Posts Tagged ‘folk’
Just like pictures in my mind…
Josh Small is another of a small group of singer songwriters (Justin Townes Earle being another) that draw from old time music styles but end up sounding timeless.
His new release, ‘Juke‘ has sort of a ‘folk meets dixieland, has supper with bluegrass and waves hello from the front porch to blues and contemporary country’ vibe. All these influences combine to form a sound I can only describe as – Josh Small.
I love the banjo on Everyones Daughter and the wonderful fingerpicking on Grace Inez. I also like Hakuna Mata as do the folks on 9bninebullets.
This is Josh playing Waterwings, one of the songs on Juke.
For a little more of a blue sound (blues and bluegrass) and some nice resonator, here is the link to the Somebody’s Queen vid.
This is a great album and you all should pick it up. It comes out on March 22, but you can pre-order now from Suburban Home.
- Kit
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Gotta get there while I still can…
Okay, I can write a three page review describing in great detail every sound and nuance on Harlem River Blues, the new release by Justin Townes Earle or I can just let you all listen to it and save us some time.
Don’t get me wrong – the album is very, very good. Possibly his best and strongest work yet. But there are already hundreds of reviews out in print and on the net that break everything down, song by song and lyric by lyric so it seems a little redundant to go that direction.
Instead here is my review:
Harlem River Blues is really good. Listen to several of the tracks from it below, then go pick it up.
Harlem River Blues is available from eMusic, Amazon and other retailers.
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I’ve got the young blood blues…
I almost passed over this album. I am not a big fan of folk or country. Oh, I listen to a little now and then (with Kahuna in the house country music will be played) but unlike every other genre of music I don’t usually step outside my comfort zone of old favorites. I am so happy I stretched and picked up Young Blood Blues by Hurray for the Riff Raff. 
The band has an old time folk-ish bluegrass sound. Alynda’s voice is beautiful and while the lyrics are very timely the music itself feels timeless. This is an album you want to take your time on. The more you listen the more layers in the music and lyrics you discover.
I don’t hear the creole that other reviewers have mentioned but songs like Take Me sound very country blues. I don’t really have a favorite although the banjo on Young Blood Blues is just awesome and the fiddle on Slow Walk is cool as well and makes a light and melodious counterpart to the darkness and sharp edges of the lyrics.
I really like Young Blood Blues and can happily recommend it. You can only download it from Emusic and the band’s site but you can listen to it on their myspace page and on emusic. I also have a live track from the band at last year’s SXSW in the sidebar.
Website for Hurray for the Riff Raff
Hurray for the Riff Raff myspace page
- Kit
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I’m black coffee, she’s sweet tea…
The other day I went hunting for free mp3′s and found Summer’s Gone by Jackopierce. I liked it so much I
went back and bought the CD, Promise of Summer.
Aside from the utter coolness of Jack O’Neill as a name, this is just a great band. (I am sure Cary Pierce is cool as well, just not SF geek cool)
Most tracks have kind of a folk/alt-rock sound. The music is mellow but not sleep inducing. My favorites are ‘Everything I’m Not’ and ‘Something Good’ but the album as a whole has a great sound.
I say buy the whole thing -
But if you need a test drive you can listen to several songs over on the Jackopierce myspace page, cnet.com or samples of all the songs on Amazon. You can d/l the mp3 album from Amazon or other online retailers.
- Kit
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And you’re lying when you sing along…
I picked up The Stand Ins by Okkervil River last week. They have kind of a folk/alt rock sound.
I love Pop Lie. It has kind of a kicky beat and is just a little pop, all the while snarking on songs that…er, have a kicky beat and are pop. Awesome song.
I also like Lost Coastlines. It has a different feel and more of a folk sound.
As a whole, this is pretty good and I would recommend picking it up. I got mine from Emusic, but you can also get a copy from Amazon or from the band on the Okkervil River Website.
- Kit
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Thunder rolling over Clarksdale, everything is looking blue…
Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs:The Bootleg Series Vol 8
This is a 2 disk set of unreleased, alternate and live versions of his songs. If you are a Dylan fan you will want to pick it up. If he is someone you listen to casually you are probably better off previewing the tracks and only d/ling those you love.
My favorite is High Water (I have the urge to say ‘duh’) but there are many other nice ones in the set.
You can pick up a copy from Bob Dylan’s Official Website or from Amazon.com. (Where you can also see the video of Dreamin’ of You)
-Kit
When the robin builds in the holly tree…
I picked up Dar Williams new CD Promised Land a few days ago and I have been listening to it while I work on the blog. My first impression was that it’s nice. Dar has a very pretty voice and the songs have sort of an ethereal feel and a timeless quality to them. I can picture her singing them now, or decades in the past.
However, there is not one song (with the possible exception of Holly Tree) that leapt out, grabbed me by shirt and said,
“YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME!”(And I was in the mood for ‘you -will- listen to me’.)
But the longer I listen the less I think it needs a muscle song. Actually, the longer I listen, the better it gets.
So here is the deal. After hearing it I would buy it again and I am going back later this week to pick up some of her earlier work. If you are a Dar Williams or folk music fan, yes go -now- and buy the CD. If you are not, maybe go listen to it a few times first. Then buy it.
You can listen to Promised Land over on Emusic and you can pick up a copy there, or at CDBaby, Amazon.com or Dar’s website.
- Kit- edited because even for me this was short…and not really what I wanted to say -Okay, I really like this cd but I like it more for the way Dar’s voice sounds intertwined with the music than for any single song or lyric in particular. I have a difficult time actually remembering any of the lyrics from the individual songs on this cd (a drawback to purchasing from Emusic – no liner notes to use as reference) and while I may put Holly Tree on my mp3 player, I won’t listen to any of the others unless I play the entire cd.
(I should mention that I am the type of person that say, buys Mellencamp’s Scarecrow and puts ‘Minutes to Memories’ on my mp3, instead of one of the more popular songs.)
Buying a cd for the overall sound of it is fine with me, but it might not be for others. Something to consider before picking it up.
- Kit
- Blurred…
February 12, 2013 | 4:06 pm
I have been trying to write the review for Blurred, by San Francisco singer/songwriter Alex Wise for a few months now but can’t seem to finish it. This is difficult for me to say but I get about halfway through the process and find myself so homesick I just can’t continue. The past few years have been full [...] - Arc & Stones…
February 11, 2013 | 4:53 am
Now that Scooter is back sleeping nights I proclaim this ’dig myself out from under the mountain of un-reviewed music‘ week. Kicking off the week o’reviewing is Arc & Stones, the debut EP from Brooklyn band Arc & Stones. The guys are Dan Pellarin (vocals), Ben Cramer (guitar), Joe Doino (drums) and Eddy Bayes (bass). I had [...] - Telegraph Taboo…
January 21, 2013 | 8:45 am
So, I was in the mood for some blues and whoosh – blues appeared. Other people get coupons, bills and news updates in the mail while I get blues music. Cool new blues music in the form of the debut release Telegraph Taboo from the Chicago-based band Nick and the Ovorols. This is not a pretty album. The vocals on a few tracks [...] -
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