CITY AND COLOUR LITTLE COMETS HURRY AND THE HARM LIFE IS ELSEWHERE DINE ALONE DUALTONE “I just wanted to make an honest record.” So says Dallas Green, otherwise known as City and Colour. He’s not really talking about confessionals (though that might happen, too) but truthfully incarnated music: organic songwriting, natural process and sincere moments captured in the studio. Captured—not manipulated. For his fourth LP, The Hurry and The Harm, the former Alexisonfire frontman not only wanted to present an honest album, but an honest version of himself. To do so, he had to leave some things behind, confront others and let the rest simmer. The resulting album is a journey through a state of mind, exploring everything from Green’s struggles to leave his previous band (“Of Space and Time”) to his distaste for gossip media (“Commentators”). Musically, the artful evolution can be felt in the crushing, sweeping rush of the first single, “Thirst,” with its aggressive vamp and both acid instrumentals and tongue. There is a longing in the words but a certain direction in the songs, such as on “Two Coins” which balances a quiet folkiness with an unexpected guitar solo, searching through the play in his voice and the introspection of the ironically upbeat strums of “Harder Than Stone.” In summation, The Hurry and the Harm is the sound of an artistic rebirth. The unlikely combination of a Cambridge graduate, particle physicist and a local sailor make up the three legged didactic table that is Little Comets, proud descendants of the hue drenched hills of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a northern city in the British Isles. Starting out as an antidote to the problem of being unable to adequately express themselves in conversation, the group whose sophomore album, Life is Elsewhere, is its stateside debut, formed when brothers Robert and Michael chanced upon Matthew in the corner of a crowded room. Quickly eschewing the established methods of relentless gigging and label baiting, Little Comets chose instead to perform in the furtive surroundings of front rooms, trains, trams and university lecture halls - creating small pockets of rapt listeners who would return to see the band in more established concert venues. Life is Elsewhere staunchly demonstrates the ability of Little Comets to blend vernacular and content - pairing propulsive beats with layered melodies in the vein of a more sedate Talking Heads or less conspicuous Vampire Weekend. Life Is Elsewhere will make you think. It will make you smile. It will leave you wanting more. OCTOBER 2013 JOAN JETT FRANKIE ROSE AU REVOIR SIMONE UNVARNISHED HEREIN WILD MOVE IN SPECTRUMS BLACKHEART RECORDS FAT POSSUM INSTANT RECORDS Unvarnished, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts first studio record in more than seven years, breaks new personal ground for the pioneering female rocker, while remaining true to the veracious sound that Jett is known for. Jett teamed up with some stellar collaborators on Unvarnished, too. “Soulmates to Strangers” was written with Against Me! singer Laura Jane Grace, with whom Jett first became acquainted while on the 2006 Warped Tour. Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters co-wrote the single “Any Weather.” Amazingly, the single features just the two musicians performing the song, with Jett on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Dave playing every other instrument that is on the track. “Make it Back” is about the spirit that Jett saw first hand in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. With her neighbors being some of the hardest hit, not to mention Jett being displaced in the wake of the storm, she was able to see this spirit that was really beautiful come out in all the people, and people helping each other. Among the more lighthearted commentaries is “TMI” — a meditation on one of today’s more deplorable trends: Over-sharing. Unvarnished is inspired, as always, by Jett’s overriding philosophy: Rock �n’ Roll is about a certain integrity: Just being true to your own self. Frankie Rose, pardon the pun, rose to prominence as an original member of Vivian Girls, Dum Dum Girls, and as the drummer of Crystal Stilts. Eventually she struck out on her own making records that explored the fuzz and reverb of her previous bands while liberating 80’s music from itself. On her latest album, Herein Wild, Rose is taking her love of the South Pacific pop of The Go-Betweens and Flying Nun Records into an ethereal world all her own. What further separates Herein Wild from Rose’s previous work is its introspective nature and creating lush string-laden atmospheres. The lyrical focus is stronger this time around, with many of the songs inspired by vivid dreams… Which is fitting as songs like “Sorrow” and “You For Me” come across as un-earthly ruminations on escape. Rose’s guitars are chiming and sublime, her vocals provide a tremendous lift (even on the more melancholic songs like “The Depths” and the spare “Cliffs As High”), and the Peter Hooky bass lines give the whole affair a confident sense of purpose. Lush, sexy, confident, and intriguing, Herein Wild is Rose’s best work yet. Following their two well-loved albums, The Bird of Music and Still Night, Still Light, the ladies of Au Revoir Simone felt they needed a break. They tirelessly gave their all to audiences around the globe, filling rooms from Tokyo to Reykjavik, from Montreal to Sao Paolo. And when the touring cycle ended, they decided to each take their own path, unsure where the band would end up in the process. Individually, they started writing again, collecting vintage keyboards again, focusing on the incredible power of sounds and sine waves again. Eventually, they shared their creations with each other; the result produced the sort of excitement and magical chemistry that has always marked the friendship between these three ladies. They started playing together again, with all level of sonic experimentation happening, until they realized they were actually making a record. What commenced after that was the most intense, collective songwriting of their lives, revising and revamping every keyboard and vocal line until each song had a certain luster that matched the intensity and sheen of the band’s own passions. The result is Move In Spectrums, an album that – like its title – creates different melodic textures and aural colors via the finest songs Au Revoir Simone have ever recorded. WILLIE NELSON JACUZZI BOYS TO ALL THE GIRLS... JACUZZI BOYS LEGACY HARDLY ART Decades of heartfelt performances and compositions in popular music have long solidified Willie Nelson’s reputation as one of country s greatest romantics. To All The Girls... continues Nelson’s musical relationships with some of the most talented women in country, pop and soul. Among the centerpieces of To All The Girls... is the emotional duet with Dolly Parton, “From Here To The Moon and Back,” a song Parton wrote for the 2012 motion picture Joyful Noise. Willie also tackles the Bill Withers’ classic “Grandma’s Hands” with Mavis Staples, duets with Sheryl Crow on the Great American Songbook selection “Far Away Places,” and brings a new shade to his self-penned classic “Always on My Mind” with Carrie Underwood. To All The Girls... also features performances by a few of Willie’s familiar contemporaries including Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, Loretta Lynn and Roseanne Cash. Eat your heart out, Julio Iglesias! The year, 2007. Hatched inside a vulture’s nest, Jacuzzi Boys emerged from deep within the Florida wilds, three radioactive chicks cawing for their piece of electric rock pie. With No Seasons they freaked their way through the swamps, a psycho stomp of a record, all hallucinations and hand claps. Glazin’ found a more polished sound. They installed AC units inside their mobile homes, found a way to turn neon into ice cubes. Now, with their third full-length, the self-titled Jacuzzi Boys, they’re going grand, building limestone monuments to those that boogied before them, while writing hypnotic ear worms by the light of a cigarette. Gone is the swamp-thing snarl. In it’s place, the indestructible cool of the casino slot-jockey with nothing to lose. Recorded at Key Club Recording Co. in Benton Harbor, Michigan—same as 2011’s Glazin’—the new record takes full advantage of expert engineers Bill Skibbe and Jessica Ruffins’ sonic sandlot, with legendary sonic architect Kramer in charge of mastering. The end result? A smashing set of tunes as dazzling as a sparkler. OCTOBER 2013 EYES SET TO KILL DAVE STEWART YIP DECEIVER MASKS LUCKY NUMBERS MEDALLIUS CENTURY MEDIA WEAPONS OF MASS ENTERTAINMENT NEW WEST At some point or another, everybody wears a mask. That façade doesn’t just hide imperfections or insecurities either. It allows its wearer to assume a different face. Sometimes, that’s a dangerous proposition. Other times, it’s the only way to find oneself. Eyes Set To Kill uncovered their identity within Masks. In 2012, the band found itself mired in the search for a new label. That proved to be a rather daunting and frustrating undertaking where every meeting yielded a conflicting third-party perception of who Eyes Set To Kill should be. Instead of pandering or worrying about expectations, the band — Alexia, her sister Anissa [bass], Caleb Clifton [drums], and Cisko Miranda [screams] — hunkered down and demoed two of its strongest songs to date, the irresistibly incendiary “True Colors” and “Nothing Left to Say”. Both merged anthemic scope and jarring metallic elegance, making for some of the group’s catchiest fare. “Those two songs served as a blueprint for the entire record,” explains Alexia. “When we were writing, I didn’t try to do what everybody else does. We didn’t need to throw a ton of riffs into one song or get overly technical. I wanted to make music that was catchy.” Now, with the Masks off, Eyes Set To Kill stand primed to be heard louder than ever before. Dave Stewart is recognized as one of the most respected and accomplished talents in the music industry today. Beyond his creative work as a musician, Stewart is a renowned producer, author, director, photographer, filmmaker and philanthropist. And, of course, there’s the small fact of his 100 million in album sales worldwide, highlighted by his collaboration with Annie Lennox in the groundbreaking pop-rock duo Eurythmics. Anyway: Once more, Lucky Numbers merges Stewart’s rock and country influences, backed by some of the best players in Nashville, including Guitarist Tom Bukovac, drummer Chad Cromwell, bassist Michael Rhodes, Pianist Mike Rojas, accordionist Kieran Kiely and steel Guitarist Dan Dugmore. These elite musicians also joined Dave on his acclaimed Nashville-recorded album Blackbird Diaries. Highlights include lead single “Every Single Night,” – where Dave is joined by Martina McBride for an amazing duet – and “Nashville Snow,” which features the lovely and talented Karen Elson. “Two dudes, two mics. Anything can happen…” Behold, the proclamation of Yip Deceiver, the tag-team all-analog dance duo, who broadcast sexxed-up jambox jaunts and light club floors ablaze at home in Athens, Georgia and beyond. Their debut album, Medallius, dishes out 11 tracks of rump-shaking, fist-pumping ecstaticism, from the minimalist Detroit-style bassline and funkdafied guitar strums of “World Class Pleasure” to the tightly-wound dance-anthem, “Get Strict.” The sonic lovechild of producer/songwriter, Davey Pierce, and executive vibes manager, Nicolas “Dobby” Dobbratz, Yip Deceiver fills the void for music that can stoke a party-fire and eschews cooler-than-thou posturing. The result is undeniable: Motion. Emotion. Undulation and perspiration. It’s all by design. “Most of the songs on Medallius started as completely different songs before getting to the final version,” Davey says, “�Tops Part II’ started as a sort of homage to Led Zeppelin’s �Kashmir’ and we decided that it would be better if Babyface produced it.” Yip Deceiver wants to be your guilty pleasure — that secret music that brings friends and strangers together for their outlandish and irresistible brand of new New Jack Swing, post-proto synth-funk, or whatever… Just boogie. THE WOOD BROTHERS CAGE THE ELEPHANT THE MUSE MELOPHOBIA SOUTHERN GROUND RCA The Wood Brothers’ new album, The Muse, shuffles between bluesy, classic country and swampy funk, mining the brothers’ timeless influences (Robert Johnson, Willie Nelson, Charles Mingus) while sounding fresh enough to win over fans of today’s mainstream roots-music acts. The title track shows Oliver’s songwriting at its most tender and autobiographical to date, as he sings of his “finest work yet” — his newborn child — in his endearingly offbeat voice. Chris takes the vocal lead on “Sweet Maria” and “Losin’,” and capably so, while on his standup bass, he’s often playful, even rascally, imbuing the songs with humor with his warm, unpredictable notes. New member Jano Rix, when not banging on his shuitar, adds refreshing flourishes of piano and melodica. The Muse is first fulllength they’ve recorded at Southern Ground Studios in Nashville. The choice of location was practical and symbolic: The Wood Brothers are now officially a Nashville-based band. It’s the first time the brothers have lived in the same city since they left their parents’ nest; both are eager, along with Jano, to plumb the sense of collaboration. As Oliver says of The Muse “This is the first record that really feels like a band record… And I think this is the pinnacle of it so far.” On Cage The Elephant’s third album, Melophobia, the band was faced with the challenge of finding cohesiveness in the ideas of five different people. After touring for nearly five years straight, the musicians took some time off the road, to write as individuals before getting back together in August of 2012 to begin work on Melophobia as a collective. The album, a varied collection of unabashedly vivid and thoughtful rock songs, was written and recorded over the course of a year, with various recording sessions taking place in Nashville over the winter and spring with longtime producer Jay Joyce. The approach was highly experimental and based around the idea that that you don’t write a song — you find it. The band focused on bringing each track to its greatest potential, which sometimes posed a significant challenge. The album’s flagship single “Come A Little Closer” marries the raw energy and playfulness the band is known for with their present interest in creating intimately expressive music. That sensibility carries over to “It’s Just Forever,” which features guest vocals from The Kills’ Alison Mosshart. Overall the album captures familiar sounds in a new way. Melophobia resonates with a sense of joyful abandon, which comes from facing those initial challenges head on. OCTOBER 2013 HANK 3 RJD2 A FIENDISH THREAT MORE IS THAN ISN’T THE BLOODY BEETROOTS HIDE MRI RJ’S ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS ULTRA MUSIC A Fiendish Threat is a rippingly fast blast of sounds reminiscent of The Misfits, Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, The Ramones and other punk rock greats that are as much a part of Hank 3’s (as in Hank Williams III – he’s the grandson of Country Music legend Hank Williams Sr.) musical identity as his country roots. But A Fiendish Threat, like all of the man’s musical output, is anything but a formulaic, by-the-numbers rehash of what has been previously done by others. Stand up bass, fiddle, and banjo are not exactly standard instruments in punk rock, but they are on this record, riding beneath 3’s howling distorted vocals. Perhaps this is the birth of rebelcore punk? Whatever you want to call it, Williams has left his own touch on the genre, even utilizing a bizarrely beautiful Hulamusic-on-acid sounding Hawaiian guitar at times. Some of the songs can make the listener feel like someone dropped LSD in their cheap draft beer at a CBGB matinee show headlined by a ghoulish Hawaiian punk band. A Fiendish Threat is yet another of Williams already numerous signature sounds, and he’s ready for you to gobble it up. Spanning 15 years, the recording career of RJD2 (aka RJ Krohn) is starting to exhibit the type of resilience generally reserved for golfers and bebop musicians. The relevance of this should not go unnoticed; it is increasingly rare for artists in the sphere of hip-hop and electronic music to maintain a presence this far into a career. This feat becomes even more impressive considering it was all done via independent labels. Writing the theme song to Mad Men doesn’t hurt either. More Is Than Isn’t sees RJ incorporating new production techniques and approaches while still keeping an eye on the basic aesthetic that has always driven him: Soulful, melodic, beat-oriented music. A largely instrumental affair, the record does feature several vocalists: Phonte Coleman (Little Brother, Foreign Exchange), Aaron Livingston (Icebird, The Roots), rappers Blueprint, P. Blackk and STS, and Khari Mateen. Conceptually, the album is tied together by three instrumental pieces that are different explorations of the same harmonic theme. It captures a dynamic range not seen before on an RJD2 album, ranging from subdued jazz-tinged pieces to bombastic club music, and a lot of funk in between. Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo a.k.a. The Bloody Beetroots has always been an anomaly amidst the cocooned trends and coddled pedigrees of dance music. After fits and starts in Italian garage-punk bands, Rifo launched The Bloody Beetroots in 2007 and over the next three years, he would win the support of electro house heavyweights Etienne de Crecy and Alex Gopher in Europe, and Dim Mak’s Steve Aoki stateside. On Rifo’s watch, anything’s not only possible – but from the sheer vastness of sounds and media that have materialized – probable as well. From the start Mr. Bloody Beetroot has been capable of seamlessly crossing genres, diving into everything from new wave to the primal screams of hardcore punk. His sophomore album, Hide, features a number of cameos including the legendary Paul McCartney & Youth on single “Out of Sight,” as well as Brooklyn-based rapper Theophilus London, Grammy-winning guitarist Peter Frampton, founding member of Mötley Crue, Tommy Lee and Australian singer-songwriter Sam Sparrow. That’s a lot of talent… So you can go ahead and expect Hide to blow your mind. BASIA BULAT THE BLACKBYRDS TALL TALL SHADOW SECRET CITY RECORDS WALKING IN RHYTHM: THE ESSENTIAL SELECTION 1973-1980 Tall Tall Shadow, the third album by Toronto singer-songwriter Basia Bulat, is the bravest album she has made. Raw and spectral, heartbroken yet jubilant, these ten songs tell the story of a very hard year in the artist’s life and all the love that helped her through it. To get to this place, Bulat co-produced the album with The Arcade Fire’s Tim Kingsbury and Mark Lawson. Whereas the singer’s past two LPs were made in Montreal’s all-analogue Hotel 2 Tango studio, Tall Tall Shadow is a more modern thing. This is a record with echo and reverb, electronic flutters and electric autoharp, voices that charge and incandesce around buzzing guitars, lonely piano and rattling percussion. Bulat’s goal was to keep challenging herself. “Promise Not to Think About Love,” with shimmying bass and dancing handclaps, is the poppiest track she has ever released. “It Can’t Be You,” played on an Andean charango, is one of the simplest. “Never Let Me Go” is all crescendo, a woman in a storm, and the title track reaches soaring for another day. “Two months before I was due to begin recording, I suffered a deep loss,” Bulat says. “I kind of started over.” Yes… But she didn’t stop. Some of the sharpest, jazziest funk you’ll ever hope to hear – a smoking collection of the legendary 70s work by The Blackbyrds on Fantasy Records! The group started as a jazz combo under Donald Byrd’s supervision – right at a time when Byrd was making his own fantastic funky records in the 70s – but working for the Bay Area Fantasy label, they really took off into an amazing groove that was all their own – still informed by jazz, but free to open up to lots of funk and soul elements too – sometimes with vocals in the lead, sometimes more focus on the kinds of solos that always set them apart from all their contemporaries! The cuts have some wonderful keyboard work from a young Kevin Toney – who’s gone onto a lot of fame over the years – and production on all cuts is either by Larry Mizell, Donald Byrd, or George Duke – key 70s jazz funk forces who keep things mighty tight in the studio! The package features work from all Blackbyrds albums of the 70s – including the Cornbread Earl & Me soundtrack, and the Night Grooves remix set – and the package features 25 titles that include “Enter In”, “Party Land”, “Do It Fluid”, “Gut Level”, “Summer Love”, “I Need You”, “The Baby”, “Blackbyrds’ Theme… — Dusty Groove SOUL TEMPLE OCTOBER 2013 DELOREAN THE STEPKIDS CAMPFIRE OK APAR TROUBADOR WHEN YOU HAVE ARRIVED TRUE PANTHER SOUNDS STONES THROW FUGITIVE RECORDINGS Delorean has stuck together. They started the band as teenagers in the Basque Country town of Zarautz, informed by a love of hi-hatfrenzied dance music, then moved to Barcelona, where they fully embraced carefree Mediterranean club music on their celebrated 2010 LP, Subiza. After touring heavily in support of Subiza the band built their own studio in their adopted hometown of Barcelona - looking for a semblance of normalcy to record their follow-up, Apar. However, a failed relationship, a national financial crisis and an embrace of a more sophisticated relationship to sound recording and songwriting push the stories and dynamics of this album to a deeper more complex place. Lead singer, lyricist and bassist Ekhi Lopetegi calls Apar simply their “big production album.” But through his articulate lens, the record’s emotional undercurrent, and the band’s mastery of luxurious, coast-of-Spain beats, Apar is something altogether more illuminating. The world got to first hear The Stepkids through their self-titled debut — a gleeful blend of classic jazz, R&B, funk, 70s pop rock and countless other genres and styles that forms a uniquely personal brand of modern psychedelic soul. The album led to extensive tours of North America, Europe, Japan and Australia, which included stints supporting Kimbra, Mayer Hawthorne & The County, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Mates of State and The Horrors. “Along the way, there have been times where we’ve had to ask ourselves, �Are we musicians? Are we businessmen? Or are we both?’” Out of those questions rises Troubadour, the band’s second album, released on Stones Throw in 2013. From the opening “Memoirs of Grey” through the closing “The Art of Forgetting,” Troubadour follows the travels and travails of the titular character as he grapples with love, life on the road, and the commercial requirements of the music biz. “The album’s kind of autobiographical,” explains Edinberg. “The troubadour character represents an extremity of who we really are.” “Though honestly,” adds Walsh, “It’s a character anyone can find themselves in.” But don’t worry: You can dance to it. “I couldn’t stop thinking of Mariachi bands,” confesses Mychal Cohen of Campfire OK, “we wanted to find a way to perform for people where there wasn’t a commitment, a ticket, a formal venue.” Pretty soon they would grow a reputation as the band that famously performs pop-up shows, strumming and harmonizing while roving around tables and evading restaurant managers. When You Have Arrived takes a large leap forward from their first album, both thematically and instrumentally. The album demonstrates who the artists are and where they’re going. For instance, “Our Hearts Beat Light (To an Orange Grove)”, stripped down to soft instrumentals and rich vocals, waltzes tenderly between poetic verse and serene piano. Equally as captivating is the track “When You Have Arrived”, which candidly discusses the struggle and search for success. “Wishing You The Best”, “Pretty and Kind”, and “2+3” embody the same spontaneity, with animated outbreaks of banjo, horn, and harmony that make Campfire Ok’s music both appealing and impossible not to move to. The incandescent, matchless sound they produce has created a genre unto itself. THOSE DARLINS J.RODDY WALSTON & THE BUSINESS ESSENTIAL TREMORS BLUR THE LINE ATO/4TH SUN ENT. OH WOW DANG/THIRTY TIGERS J. Roddy Walston & The Business’ new album, Essential Tremors, borrows its name from a nervous-system disorder that’s long plagued the band’s frontman. “It’s this condition where my hands shake” singer/pianist/guitarist Walston. “I’ve referenced it throughout all our records in some way, but it made sense to be more open about it on this album, which is partly about owning and embracing your weirdness instead of letting it hold you captive.” For J. Roddy Walston & The Business who formed in 2002 in Walston’s hometown of Cleveland, Tennessee embracing weirdness means a mumble-out-loud celebration of that great and terrible burden of being human. Forcing the oft-clashing worlds of art and rock-and-roll to make nice, the band (including guitarist/vocalist Billy Gordon, bassist/vocalist Logan Davis, and drummer Steve Colmus) deals in a scrappy yet sublime sound that honors both their Southern roots and punk spirit. On Essential Tremors, J. Roddy Walston & The Business builds off that formula with a mix of heavy hooks and elegant melodies revealing their affinity for artists as disparate as Led Zeppelin, pre-disco-era Bee Gees, The Replacements, and Southern R&B. Essential Tremors will shake your booty and soul. Those Darlins’ self-titled debut carved out an ethos and a spot on the map. Their warning: they weren’t just anybody’s darlings; if you didn’t want them in all their wild glory, you didn’t need to hang. They followed that rural-tinged debut with Screws Get Loose – a spiky garage/art rock album that launched them onto the international scene. However, growth can be painful. In those travels and the travels that followed, the collective persona they had cultivated began to strangle their individuality. Jessi, Nikki, and Linwood set out to uncover the true complex, contradictory nature of themselves as individuals and as a band. Over a year in the making, Blur The Line is the product of this search — a first-rate album of powerful tracks that mingle heavy rhythms and distorted Neil Young guitars with ear-candy harmonies and a slew of captivating lyrics. The band called on Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo, John Cale) to produce Blur The Line, and it turned out to be a revelation. Blur The Line is a look inward, asking bigger questions and tackling an archetypal theme – the opposing forces that lurk in us and in our world. “This may be the most important theme on this record,” says Nikki, “Balance and finding balance within ourselves and others.” OCTOBER 2013 PAPER KITES LUCY ROSE STATES LIKE I USED TO HA HA TONKA LESSONS NETTWERK THIRTY TIGERS BLOODSHOT RECORDS Produced by The Paper Kites alongside ARIA award winning producer Wayne Connolly (You Am I, Josh Pyke), the emotionally intense and harmony drenched States will take the listener on a journey of delicate, folk-inspired landscapes with rich lyrics and a raw sonic beauty. Following on from the band’s first two EP’s, Woodland and Young North, States sees the Melbourne indie folk quintet put a moodier slant on their signature melodic sound. “The album is a lot darker than a lot of our previous work.” says lead singer and guitarist Sam Bentley. “We really pushed our soundscapes and composition. I’m interested in the things beyond a song: textures, adding strings, brass, touches like that. The strange little noises are what sets this album apart from what we’ve done before and puts it on a whole different level.” This eclectically sincere finish, evident on music-box and horn laden single “St Clarity,” runs right through the States – from the hazy psychedelic chords of “Living Colour” through to the rough and ready, messy rock stylings of “A Lesson From Mr. Gray.” Lucy Rose, is a singer/songwriter from Warwickshire, England. Originally, Rose began playing and writing songs on the piano in her parents’ house. She later bought a guitar and began to write pastoral, folk-inspired pop music. It wasn’t until she left home — after deferring a place at University College of London — at the age of 18 that she shared her material with anybody. Her fragile, emotive songs drew comparisons to Laura Marling, with whom she shares influences such as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. Opening with the powerful, urgent drumming of “Red Face” before segueing into the first single she ever released, “Middle Of The Bed,” Rose’s debut album, Like I Used To, is the result of almost five years of open mic nights and tireless touring both as a vocalist for Bombay Bicycle Club and as an artist in her own right. For an artist described by The Fly as “disarmingly candid” recording was never going to happen in a sterile innercity studio, with Lucy instead choosing to lay down the tracks at her parent’s house and the village hall in her native Warwickshire with the aid of her band mates and producer extraordinaire Charlie Hugall (Florence + The Machine, Ed Sheeran). Now that hard work and patience paid off: Like I Used To is a refreshingly honest and charming debut. Sitting at the crossroads of Americana and indie — where Alabama meets Arcade Fire – Ha Ha Tonka are back with a fantastic new album, Lessons, that rightly deserves prime placement in your musical life. As the title implies, the inspiration behind Lessons stems from life’s biggest ones. Motivated by late illustrator and renowned children’s author Maurice Sendak’s musings on the creative process and what it means to be an artist, Ha Ha Tonka captured this message and the fragile, oftirrational comedy of life in sonic form. The band toys with the theme of living beyond a normal lifetime- the concept of reliving and rewriting our lives, and the lessons we can all learn along the way. Sonically, Lessons marks a departure from Ha Ha Tonka’s more stripped down style to one that is filled with lush instrumentation. “Colorful Kids” is both bright and melancholy, while “Rewrite Our Lives” is an energetic cut containing a runaway chorus and rolling percussion. “Arabella,” meanwhile, is an initially more downtempo piece with a vulnerable hesitance that gradually builds to a stomping refrain. Title track “Lessons” is a bittersweet cut filled with buzzy, distorted electric guitar that perhaps carries the message of the album truest to form. YUCK ALBOROSIE GLOW & BEHOLD SOUND THE SYSTEM FAT POSSUM VP RECORDS Bands, to quote Mercury Rev, are “funny birds”… But sometimes they are like rivers – always in flux. This is sometimes hard to accept – just see the recent Pixies controversy. Some folks can’t handle a member disappearing… Especially when it’s a high-profile station, i.e. The Lead Singer. Such a blow would buckle most bands… But not Yuck. Produced by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, TV on the Radio), Glow & Behold is the next chapter from Yuck following the departure of frontman Daniel Blumberg, whose lead vocal duties are taken up by Max Bloom here. Along with the gorgeous, swirling, melodic miasma of the aptly titled “Rebirth,“ the 11-song set includes the effervescent pop verve of “Middle Sea” which brings Bloom’s beautifully evocative vocals to the fore for a galvanizing alt-rock anthem like only Yuck know how to do. The ghosts of other indie giants like Superchunk and Yo La Tengo abound for sure, but with horns, driving guitars and deliciously infectious hooks, Glow & Behold is entirely and defiantly its own beast — and yet another reason to get very excited about Yuck. Sound The System! Italian reggae artist Alborosie returns with 16 new studio recordings fueled by his passion for real reggae music. Alborosie makes a classic contemporary sound that is perfected through live instruments and analogue recording techniques akin to reggae’s golden age. The multi-talented artist produced all the tracks on Sound The System and played 90% of the accompanying instrumental parts. Alborosie was also able to score some pretty amazing guests on Sound The System, including Ky-Mani Marley on the Bob Marley classic “Zion Train” and Italian star Nina Zilli on the infectious, Ska flavored track “Goodbye.” The legendary Abyssinians make a guest appearance on “Give Thanks.” Alborosie creates a diverse musical blend and puts his unique stamp on roots reggae with strong production and killer melodies – so don’t let the season stop you from getting irie. Sound The System brings good vibes all year long. OCTOBER 2013 LISSIE TRAAMS ANNA CALVI BACK TO FOREVER GRIN ONE BREATH FAT POSSUM FATCAT RECORDS DOMINO “I gotta keep my identity and focus on what I can do,” goes the chorus of “Shameless,” the first single from Lissie’s new album, Back to Forever. “I don’t want to be famous, if I got to be shameless” she sings with equal parts strength and insecurity. It’s less of an introduction to the Illinoisborn/California-resident’s second album and more of a laying out of her entire ideology in a three-minute song. It’s classic Lissie – and a similar directness, delivered by the Mezcal-and-cigarette voice that grabbed our attention on her stunning debut album, Catching A Tiger, also infuses the other 11 tracks on Back to Forever. Beyond that, Lissie defies characterization. She understands how much our apparent contradictions contribute to who we are — like the observation of a new fan who described her as “so badass yet wholesome” — and that identity is something fluid, not to be nailed down. Opinions — of which she has plenty — are just that, subject to change and not necessarily correct. “No one knows anything for certain, so to have a strong opinion, but also have a sense of humor about yourself is important,” she observes. And, seeing how Back To Forever was recorded in Topanga County, CA, one might feel the presence of Neil Young in Lissie’s work. Dude loved tequila... You need this. Recorded throughout 2012 and 2013 with producers Rory Atwell (Test Icicles) and MJ from Hookworms, the latest album from TRAMMS – the aptly titled Grin — is 11 tracks of pure distorted joy. Grin successfully captures the raw energy of TRAAMS’ frenzied and sweaty live performances. Grin is the sound of a band finding true solace in music as a driving force. As such, the album is bristling and vital - a sonic escape. TRAAMS has both a both a pop immediacy and a more expansive, experimental element and incorporating the two sides is essential when writing a TRAAMS song. As the band’s Stu Hopkins elaborates, �’We really want to push both those areas as far as we can. We like seeing people dance and having fun but we also want to be noisy and aggressive.’� That tenuous balance is what keeps TRAAMS music endlessly exciting and keeps us coming back so often to dig into each new song with anticipations high. Anna Calvi’s One Breath is a bold and confident record that begins an exciting new chapter in this uniquely talented artist’s career. Produced by John Congleton in Blackbox Studios, France and mixed in Dallas, Texas, USA, One Breath was written in a year and recorded over a few intense weeks. One Breath is a more personal record than its Mercury and Brit nominated predecessor – an album with material so strong that it compelled the one and only Brian Eno to lend background vocals and call her “the biggest thing since Patti Smith.” Reflective and vulnerable, it strikes a balance between optimism and despair, beauty and ugliness. The fiery elements of Anna’s debut remain – the haunting textures; the sterling guitar work — but One Breath is more instinctive and urgent, revealing a wider spectrum of textures and emotion. “One Breath is the moment before you’ve got to open yourself up,” explains Calvi. “And it’s about how terrifying that is. It’s scary and it’s thrilling. It’s also full of hope, because whatever has to happen hasn’t happened yet.” BOB JAMES SAINT RICH RHODES SCHOLAR: JAZZ-FUNK CLASSICS 1974-1982 BEYOND THE DRONE SOUL TEMPLE Saint Rich is the musical partnership of Delicate Steve bandmates Christian Peslak and Steve Marion. Under the name Delicate Steve, Steve Marion recorded Wondervisions, an instrumental record released by David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label that entered the world via a glowing New York Times review. He followed it up with a second, equally heralded release, Positive Force. With vocal appreciation from many of the indie-rock world’s beloved bands and constant touring, the band began its own ascent into the indie pantheon. One day last year, during a pause in near constant touring for Delicate Steve, Marion began to work on some new material with Christian Peslak, the group’s guitarist and a musical collaborator of Marion’s since high school. Marion put down his guitar and got behind the drum kit. Peslak started strumming the opening chords to “Dreams,” a new song they’d finish within the hour. By the end of the weekend, neither had left the house. There were seven new songs. And a new band. They named it Saint Rich. Peslak has provided the rhythmic guitar bedrock to Marion’s wandering melody lines in Delicate Steve. On Beyond the Drone, the debut album from Saint Rich, it’s fair to say that Marion has created the bedrock for Peslak’s wandering. Check it out. Great work from a player who’s maybe one of the best cats ever to handle a Fender Rhodes – and certainly one of the few who really helped push it strongly in jazz during the 70s! The package is a wonderful look at all that’s great about Bob James – and brings together all the best tracks from James’ years at CTI and Tappan Zee – including some of his most-sampled cuts, each of them a heavenly helping of Fender Rhodes! The set also features some great numbers from later albums that are less classic, but which still have these wonderful nuggets – the kind of sweet keyboard tracks that James does better than anyone else. Presentation of the music is great, and notes are penned by Andrew Mason of Wax Poetics – who also helped produce the set too. 21 tracks in all – including “Valley Of The Shadows”, “Nautilus”, “Storm King”, “Tappan Zee”, “Heads”, “Night Crawler”, “You’re As Right As Rain”, “Take Me To The Mardi Gras”, “Farandole”, “Westchester Lady”, “Look Alike”, “The Steamin Feelin”, “Angela (Taxi)“, “I Wand To Thank You”, and “Caribbean Nights”. – Dusty Groove MERGE OCTOBER 2013 KODALINE SAN FERMIN IN A PERFECT WORLD SAN FERMIN AGNES OBEL AVENTINE RCA DOWNTOWN PIAS AMERICA For Kodaline, music isn’t just music. “It’s therapy,” says singer Steve Garrigan. Two years ago, Steve and his childhood friend Mark Prendergast helped each other through respective recent break-ups by shaping their thoughts into songs about love and loss. “Break-ups make it really easy to write,” laughs blonde-haired Steve. “When we write music, the first thing we think of is, it’s therapy for us. Then we think of how we can use that feeling to touch as many people as possible.” Teaching each other the principles of songcraft, the music they came up with – some of which can be found on In A Perfect World – isn’t wan or introspective or self-serving. Instead, it’s bold, epic and stirring. Having spent two years doing nothing but writing, with just a belief in their talent keeping them afloat, Kodaline is their be-all and end-all. “I dropped out of college and my parents were just freaking out saying, What the fuck are you doing?” says Steve. “There was no deal in place and no money, we just thought, Fuck it, let’s have a crack at it.” Fortunately, things have worked out well – and, with any luck, these stadium-sized anthems will reach the mass audience they deserve. Fans of Keane and Coldplay will find much to love here. A pastiche of post-rock, chamber-pop and contemporary classical composition, San Fermin is the work of Brooklyn composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. His self-titled debut album is strongly influenced by his unique background in classical music, which includes a job assisting composer/arranger Nico Muhly. After finishing his musical studies at Yale, Ludwig-Leone wrote the album in six weeks while holed up in a studio on the mountainous border between Alberta and British Columbia. He focused on life’s topshelf issues – youth, nostalgia, anxiety, unrequited love – and tied these vast themes to different characters through vocal contributions from longtime friend Allen Tate, as well as Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig. San Fermin is not an album of singles but rather a sweeping, full-bodied listen with multiple distinct peaks and ambitious thematic connections. Ludwig-Leone composed all of the album’s arrangements and lyrics in full prior to collaborating and recording, noting that “writing for a large group of unknown musicians infused the writing process with a kind of operatic scope.” The results are breathtaking. Aventine is the eagerly anticipated new album from Agnes Obel. Originally from Copenhagen, Agnes has lived in Berlin since 2006, where Aventine was recorded at her Chalk Wood Studios between January and May this year. Like her last album, Philharmonics, the new album was written, arranged, and produced by Agnes, who provides piano and vocals. Anne Müller, who has also played with Nils Frahm, adds cello, with Mika Posen of Timber Timbre playing the violin and viola on “The Curse,” “Pass Them By” and “Fivefold.” Robert Kondorossi of Budzillus plays guitar on “Pass Them By.” The genesis of Aventine came from creating space through intimacy. “While touring Philharmonics I kept on getting all these ideas for recording, and I wanted to explore the cello and other string instruments“ says Agnes of Aventine. “I recorded everything quite closely, micing everything closely in a small room, with voices here, the piano here – everything is close to you. So it’s sparse, but by varying the dynamic range of the songs I could create almost soundscapes. I was able to make something feel big with just these few instruments.” MIKE DOUGHTY CIRCLES ... JOHNNY FLYNN SNACKBAR/MRI TRANSGRESSIVE RECORDS/THIRTY TIGERS Mike Doughty has a new album. It’s called Circles Super Bon Bon Sleepless How Many Cans? True Dreams of Wichita Monster Man Mr. Bitterness Maybe I’ll Come Down St. Louise Is Listening I Miss the Girl Unmarked Helicopters The Idiot Kings So Far I Have Not Found the Science. Why the long title? Well, it’s a collection of 13 re-imagined songs originally performed by his former band, Soul Coughing. Doughty has famously eschewed the band’s repertoire as he built a solo career in the years after their 2000 split, but decided to re-explore his old songs after writing his memoir, The Book of Drugs, which was published by Da Capo last year. The album includes songs that originally appeared each of Soul Coughing’s three studio albums, as well as “Unmarked Helicopters,” a rarity originally written for the X-Files-themed 1996 compilation album Songs in the Key of X. Doughty claims that these are the way the songs were how he intended them to be… Which may give some fans pause. Nonetheless, the man’s way with words is undeniable… And Circles… gives them new life. Following the critically acclaimed records (A Larum and Been Listening) Johnny Flynn returns with his hugely anticipated new album, Country Mile. After two years of acting in high profile plays such as Jerusalem, The Heretic and Richard III at The Globe his profile and fan base has risen significantly with substantial pre-campaign press including a full cover feature in The Independent on Saturday magazine. He is also the male lead with Anne Hathaway in a film coming out next year entitled “Song One” in which he also performs musically… And speaking of music, Country Mile is his Flynn’s most focused and assured set to date, which will surely please old and new fans alike and will cement his reputation as a master songwriter beloved by all of his peers, including his high profile supporters like Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling – not to mention and his embracing of new artists such as Anna Calvi and Marika Hackman, who he has also produced. COUNTRY MILE OCTOBER 2013 DEER TICK TOUCHE AMORE EARTHLESS NEGATIVITY IS SURVIVED BY FROM THE AGES PARTISAN DEATHWISH TEE PEE RECORDS Each new Deer Tick record has stood as a progressive milestone for frontman John McCauley and the Providence, Rhode Island-based band (guitarist Ian O’Neil, bassist Christopher Dale Ryan, keyboardist Rob Crowell, and drummer Dennis Ryan), but Negativity represents an epic leap forward on virtually all fronts. Recorded earlier this year in Portland, Oregon with legendary producer/musician Steve Berlin (The Blasters, Los Lobos, and last year’s McCauley side project, Diamond Rugs), the album is McCauley’s most personal work thus far as well as the band’s most undeniable and universal, their famously freewheeling musical approach refined here into a gloriously cohesive whole. Negativity was penned over the course of a genuinely eventful 2012, an annus horribilus in which McCauley’s father pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and tax fraud, ultimately leading to a prison sentence. As if that weren’t enough, McCauley’s wedding engagement collapsed under the weight of his own excessive behavior and impossible lifestyle. Like any true artist, McCauley channeled his anger, sadness, and regret into his work, resulting in what can be safely declared his finest collection of songs to date. Is Survived By shows Touche Amore embracing a maturation of their trademark melancholy. The sounds are welcomingly familiar — inspired percussion amid a sea of imaginative guitars and impassioned vocals. However, the underlying unrest is more complex and touching than any previous Touche Amore release before it. Simply put, these are not simple “love” songs that dwell in the past, but complex “life” songs about living in the present. Throughout the entire album vocalist/lyricist Jeremy Bolm digs deeper in search of personal catharsis, allowing us to relate to his drive to be clearly heard, truly understood, and unapologetically remembered. Is Survived By not only shows growth in subject matter but musicianship for Touche Amore. The jangly guitar work of Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt is on a new level here. Throughout the release they effortlessly entangle one another to construct beautiful yet unexpected melodies. While the explosive rhythm section of Tyler Kirby and Elliot Babin shines in the frenetic pace they keep. Achieving a stunning balance of hook-laden listenability and emotion. Without question, Is Survived By is another masterwork from Touche Amore. Not a departure, but a continuation down the remarkable road that they alone travel. From The Ages is the first new studio album from San Diego power rock band Earthless since the release of 2007’s critically acclaimed Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky, From The Ages. Formed in 2001, Earthless prides itself on creating energetic, free thinking instrumental music inspired by an eclectic mix of Krautrock and Japanese heavy blues-rock. The Californian trio has dedicated itself to mastery of the mind-bending jam session, evoking the spirits of Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath in equal measure. Earthless’ sound has been called �’A sonic kaleidoscope of lava and lightning,’� earning it the title of �’California’s loudest band.’� The group delivers �’one of the best live shows in all of modern, heavy rock,’� leading to one reviewer stating that the band’s �’epic shredding harkens back to the days where psychedelic rock had balls the size of grapefruits and wasn’t afraid to take its listeners on a ride for which they may never return.’� From The Ages promises more of the gigantic riffs and utterly unique heavy music that only Earthless can create! SAVES THE DAY PLEASURE SAVES THE DAY GLIDE: THE ESSENTIAL SELECTION 1975-1982 EQUAL VISION SOUL TEMPLE Saves The Day are back with a new, self-titled album and a new home that was once their old home – indie label Equal Vision Records. The album was produced by Saves The Day, engineered by Marc Hudson and mixed by Rob Schnapf, marking the first time the band has worked with Schnapf since 2003’s In Reverie. Saves The Day frontman Chris Conley explains, “Hard to believe it’s been 15 years since we put out the debut Saves The Day album on Equal Vision Records. Back then, I was just a kid, 17 years old and still in high school. Somehow, after our demo was rejected by all the other indie labels of the time, Steve from EVR called us up on a landline and asked if we’d like to make a record. We were in the middle of rehearsing some new songs in a basement somewhere in New Jersey, and we dropped our instruments and jumped up and down, excited and amazed. No way to know that when we got the call it was the beginning of what would be an incredible journey through the world of music and beyond. In retrospect, I can see clearly that without Steve and Equal Vision Records, there would be no Saves The Day. Signing back to Equal Vision feels like coming home.” A jazzy combo with a heart of soul – and a group who may well be one of our favorite funk groups from the 70s! Pleasure has an amazing way of being tight, yet never slick or commercial – a sound that’s right on the money, but far from the mainstream too – which has kept them at the top of the stacks for crate-diggers and rare groove collectors for years! This sweet double-length package is a very wellchosen set of their gems for Fantasy records, and a few later tracks for RCA – a really expansive look at all that’s great about the group – with classics mixed with overlooked album cuts and some great funky numbers you might have missed otherwise. Nearly everything Pleasure ever cut is fantastic, but this set is even more fantastic than the rest – and features 25 titles that include “Bouncy Lady”, “Dust Yourself Off”, “Joyous”, “Ghettos Of The Mind”, “Only You”, “Sassafras Girl”, “Glide”, “Farewell Goodbye”, “Special Things”, “Thoughts Of Old Flames”, “Give It Up”, “Sending My Love”, “Stone Love”, “Glide (special disco rmx)“, “Space Is The Place”, “Living Without You”, “Let’s Dance”, and a previously unreleased “Foxy Lady (disco version)“. – Dusty Groove OCTOBER 2013 THE DARCYS BOWLING FOR SOUP THE FRATELLIS WARRING LUNCH, DRUNK, LOVE WE NEED MEDICINE ARTS & CRAFTS QUE-SO/BRANDO BMG The Darcys are an art rock band from Toronto comprised of Jason Couse [vocals, guitar, keys], Wes Marksell [drums], Michael le Riche [guitar, synth, vocals] and Dave Hurlow [bass]. The band’s 2013 studio album, Warring, represents its third release and the final installment in a trilogy of albums that includes The Darcys [2011] and AJA [2012]. Warring was produced by Tom Mcfall and mixed by Dave Schiffman. The album was written over three years and recorded in Toronto during the final six months of 2012 with a focus on sonic detail inspired by studio opuses of the 1970s. Of the album and title, the band says: “Warring is moving forward. It’s learning in motion. Competition and survival, letting go to persevere. It is anxiety about the future and the triumph of life in the moment. It’s victory on will alone, the force that eradicates failure as an option.” In today’s disposable music industry, a twenty-year career is something almost unheard of. It takes a band with a big heart, a loyalty to one of the most varied group of fans ever and just a sheer love of making people smile to do it properly. It takes a band from Texas…that band is Bowling For Soup. Produced by Jarinus (Linus of Hollywood and Jaret Reddick), Lunch. Drunk. Love. is a completely fan funded album through PledgeMusic. The band were able to include their fans on the entire process from demos to recording and even allowed the fans to name the album through an online poll! With heartfelt breakup songs like �Since We Broke Up’ and �Envy,’ upbeat pop-culture / name dropping songs that ONLY BFS can pull off such as �Normal Chicks,’ and a surprising cover of the Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians song �Circle,’ this could actually prove to be Bowling For Soup’s most well rounded album to date... And it’s number freakin 14 for these dudes! How do you cope with sky-scraping success? Specifically, how do you live with a song that was a giant, culture-puncturing hit that remains as catchy and infectious and invigorating as it was when it was released seven years ago. You come up with an album such as We Need Medicine – the third studio album due for release by The Fratellis. Jon Fratelli knows �that’ song you’re talking about is �Chelsea Dagger’. The Fratellis’ deathless breakthrough single is the song that set the band on the road to selling over a million copies of debut album Costello Music and onto winning a Brit Award (Best British Breakthrough Act, as voted for by the listeners of Radio 1). But at the same time, he doesn’t know what you’re talking about. “I’ve long since stopped caring about all that,” says the Glasgow trio’s frontman and songwriter. “I’ll quite happily take the royalties,” he grins. “I couldn’t possibly dislike it.” In any case, there’s no point in looking back. It’s 2013 and the rebooted Fratellis are all about the future. We Need Medicine is the rallying cry of a band looking forward. Bend an ear to the brilliantly energetic and robustly tuneful songs propelling the band’s tonic of a comeback and you’ll feel better in a flash. That’s the smile-inducing Fratellis factor for you.
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