songs:illinois

There’s lots of cool little stories associated with Scott Miller & the Commonwealth’s new Sugar Hill Records cd Citation. For fans of indie rock the best is that Scott Miller stayed in the same hotel as the Replacements did when recording their disc Pleased To Meet Me with Jim Dickinson. Jim produced this new record and he seemed to get ecerything he could out of Scott and the band in the 14 days it took to record it.

Although recorded in Memphis this sounds more like old school heartland rock than southern fried rock (think John Cougar Mellencamp unless you are revolted by him, if so think Patterson Hood). Scott’s vocals often sound eriely similar to Kevn Kinney’s (of Drivin’ `N’ Cryin’ fame). The band is perfect for the ballsy rockers and equally adept at the folksy numbers. I think you can hear a little bit of both styles in the song “Still People Are Moving”. Buy this March release from Sugar Hill here.

Still People Are Moving

Check out my post on the upcoming domestic release of Ane Brun’s A Temporary Dive on Swedesplease.

MP3, Music

Tim Easton’s new record Ammunition comes out May 16 on New West. Tim Easton’s hard to pin down as he appeals to the folkie in me but also knows how to crank it up and rock. I never know which side of himself he’ll show with each record. From the first listen of several cuts from Ammunition I get the sense that he has embraced the folk troubadour side. On record these songs have been enhanced with a ghostly sheen (the vocals are recorded with delay and reverb). I suspect live the songs revert back to an early Bob Dylanish vibe.

As a cool comparison go to Tim’s My Space page for demo’s of these same songs. Here’s the album version of “Before the Revolution” plus “Next To You”. I’d like to say more but am crunched for time. Buy Ammunition now through Amazon here.

Before The Revolution
Next To You

MP3, Music

(Editors note: I took down my Tim Easton post because EzArchive is down. I’ll put that post up again when they sort out their technical problems or I transfer the songs to my .mac account).

Little Teddy have a new comp coming out soon called Bang Crash Boom!!! A Pop Club Compendium. Songs from Tullycraft, Luna, The Bats, Decemberists and Koufax all appear on the 2 disc set.

Unreleased material from Starsilver, Havana Affair and High Tide probably give a good indication of the mix of styles you’ll find on the record.

More info and track listing here (scroll down to the last release).

Popcorn – High Tide
Havana Affair – Havana Affair
We’ve Got Love – Starsilver

MP3, Music

I’m about as agnostic as you can get, in fact I might as well be an atheist but as all good agnostics know being convinced that anything spiritual is true or false would be a mistake. So I continually amaze myself by posting music that is at least tangentally Christian. A few weeks back I wrote glowingly of Elijah Wyman (here). During my research and after I was touched by his music I learned that he is in some small way a Christian singer/songwriter. In the past that may have been enough to make me turn away and run but it was too late I was already hooked.

The same is true for Jon Black and the label he records for Rebuilt Records. I like humble singers (perhaps why I love the swedes) and from the song “Glory Hallelujah” you can hear that Jon understands his place in the music world. Jon Black has a love of music and he’s left his corporate cubicle and taken a leap of faith that he can somehow make it playing music. Buy his upcoming release October Sky here.

Glory Hallelujah

Bonus song:
My Days Are Numbered

MP3, Music, Christian

For some reason the band Saint Joe Hazelwood believed there was a chance I wouldn’t want to write about their new ep. Detractors say the new folk trio is “unbearably mello”. If I were them I’d take that as a compliment. In this hyperactive world it’s occasionally nice to take a break and let the melody (the real foundation of music) to take hold of us. While the band describes itself as a folk group, the quavering vocals of Chris Alspach (a la Antony and the Johnstons) and at times experimental, treated acoustic instrumentation belie a more genre jumping style.

Moth and Wool, the new 5 song ep, from St. Joe Hazelwood is only available at shows or through contacting the band directly (saintjoehazelwood@gmail.com). Prior to the release of the ep the band hit a string of bad luck including multiple, horrific car crashes and an unrelated collapsed lung. So expect their next ep to be even more morose and dangerously mellowsomber.

Moth And Wool

I just got the split cd by The Palace Flophouse/The November Story. It’s got six songs by each one man band on a cdr. Both artist fit the same mold of a guy with a guitar singing wordy, introspective indie folk. I’m sure this is the first release from both and it shows in the diy production and artwork. These guys, both from the Chicago area just jumped above all the cds sent in by Fanatic, Team Clermont and many established labels. Perhaps those guys should give a listen.

I like the songs below. Something this self-produced and done so early in a band’s career is why I have a music blog in the first place. I don’t think this is for sale exactly but you can contact the guys below for more information.

thepalaceflop@gmail.com
papermusic@gmail.com

The Lost Tracks of Edinburgh (by The Palace Flophouse)
Everyday Miracles (by the November Story)

P.S. Artwork above courtesy of Marco.

Tags: MP3, Music

Yesterday’s post was of an American trying to break into the European market (Lauren Hoffman) and today it’s reversed. Markus Rill is from Germany but plays a paint by numbers americana roots music. You may have bumped into him at SXSW where he spent several weeks meeting folks and making friends (actual people friends not My Space friends – those don’t count btw!).

His new record is out on the internationally acclaimed label Blue Rose Records. Check your vinyl for some of Tom Waits’ records on Blue Rose. Heck “Puppet” even reminds me of that old Tom waits song “St. Chistopher” since Markus’ song revolves around an old St. Christopher puppet lying on the ground.

Singin’ in the Cemetery
Broken Puppet

Bonus demo of Hank Williams “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”

I’m so Lonesome…

Random high-quality, slow-loading video of an unknown female singer-songwriter covering Lucinda Williams’ “Drunken Angel”

I should really just set aside at least one day a month for the Austrailian label Book Club Records. At the very least their “MP3 of the week” and the archive of each week is worth a visit alone.

But besides being simply a great catalog house for all things pop and twee, Bookclub Records also has their own imprint. Their latest release is a comp featuring married couples called Pop the Question. It may be the first of it’s kind and is very comprehensive.

Here’s a song called “Sea Monkies” (yes those Sea Monkeys) from the band Bellhouse.

Sea Monkeys

Bonus song from their 2003 debut

Salad Fork

Besides simple intolerance why did Jazz artists flee the states for Europe in the 50′ and 60′s? I guess they went where the action was and in part where the fans were. Is this the same reason American bands like Neal Casal, White Hassle, and The Great Crusades (covered here by the Reader) are once again leaving these shores (at least virtually by releasing their music only in foreign countries).

The latest example is Lauren Hoffman and her 2006 release Choreography. There’s no shortage of “big” names associated with the record, starting at the producer with David Lowery. She also brought in members of Sparklehorse, Labradford and Songs:Illinois fave Devon Sproule. Her sound is not uncommercial either, this record would have a shot in the states. At least the same shot that Fiona Apple, Tori Amos and Aimee Mann would have. Buy this release now from the Fargo store or through CdBaby.

Love Gone Wrong

Bonus demo of My chemical Romance’s “Helena”

Helena

Plus a song from 1997′s Meggido with Jon Brion and Bob Rupe (of the silos)

Fall Away

I discovered Remate’s music through his Spanish language label Limbo Starr. Fortunately he provides a English bio on his site and it served to confirm my initial thoughts about him. Born in Madrid he went on to study at The Welsh College of Music & Drama. He patterns his music on the indie folk scene of the states but since he is not singing in his native tongue and since he may not have a 100% handle on English idioms his songs have an air of mystery about them.

Bill
Don’t You Want To Live A Minute Longer

Kate York has been feeling the love from Womenfolk lately but there’s enough love to go around for Kate I suspect. I usually try not to repeat posts that have already been put up by other blogs but I’m making an exception for Kate York’s debut full length Sadly Love (self released, May 2006). The usual but extraordinary cast of characters shows up on this record; notably Mindy Smith, Mathew Ryan and Nelson Hubbard.

The two songs below show the range of emotions, sounds and stylistic ground Kate can cover. I’m quite partial to the song “All Dressed In You” esp. the undulating, sing-songy chorus of “there goes the sun, there goes my heart all dressed in you”. While Sadly Love officially goes on sale in May you can buy this now from Kate here.

All Dressed In You
Wished For Song

Tags: MP3, Music, Folk

Gregory Page (My space) has played with and produced a who’s who of the acoustic and AAA music world. He has worked with Tom Brousseau, Jason Mraz, John Doe, Jewel, Steve Poltz and AJ Croce. In fact it’s AJ’s label Seedling Records that is releasing his debut cd Love Made Me Drunk.

The title track is a woozy affair that would fit in at a prohibition era speakeasy in Chicago, despite it being recorded in Gregory Page’s bedroom in San Diego. The accordian is a beautiful addition (Phil Parlapiano – John Prine’s accordianist) as is the muted trumpet that appears towards the end. Buy it here on April 28th.

Love Made Me Drunk

Bob Delevante (formerly of the band Delevante Brothers) has just released his new disc. Besides being a tremendous musician and singer/songwriter it seems Bob Delevante has expanded his art to include photography. His new record comes with 5 special b&w toned prints. It also features guest artists like Emmylou Harris, Garry Talent, Buddy Miller, Kenny Vaughn and Fats Kaplan.

The new record is called Columbus and the Colossal Mistake and continues in the rootsy pop style Bob and his brother created on their first release together 1995′s Long About Time. No matter how they adorn their music and alter their vocals Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen are always going to sound like themselves and be instantly recognizeable by even the most casual music fan. Bob Delevante is no different as his vocals are rather nasally in a Buddy Holly kind of way. The music propells the songs along at an even pace and allows Bob to tell each of his 12 stories. The title track “Columbus and the Collosal Mistake” compares Columbus’ mistaken landing in America with a chance encounter of the female variety. You can buy this record directly through the Bob Delevante website by clicking here.

Columbus and the Collosal Mistake
Circles Round Me

Tags: MP3, Music, Photography

Elbo.ws is not only a great aggregator for mp3 blogs but is also the host of a great forum for talking about blogs and all the issues blogging tends to bring to the surface. Of late their have been informative discussions on ads vs. no ads, the music blog wiki, tags, negative reviews and tons of stuff about all the nuts and bolts and behind the scene stuff that’s so much fun. I encourage you to check out the Elbo.ws forum and if you write an mp3 blog then signup and give `em your two cents worth.

P.S. I’m loving this subsribe feature I just added to both blogs (Swedesplease and Songs:Illinois). It’s so simple and beatiful. All you do is put your email address in the box to the right and click submit. Then whenever I post you get an email of the actual post (with or without photos). Heck I even signed up for myself (I like getting emails . I’ll never spam you, in fact I can’t and they’ll never sell your email address so it’s win win.

Try this on for size Fluxblog! The Blow intrigued me in the same way as searching for a needle in a haystack might or sifting through the sands on a beach to find that perfect grain. A challenge so to speak. I’d read a thing here or there about this Portland based group but their website is difficult to find, the label is unhelpful and My Space just confuses matters. But they’re hot (or they were last week or is it next week…I’m not sure which).

Here’s a remix by Stategy of The Blow’s “The Love I Crave”

The Love I Crave

Also another Grizzly Bear song to add to last weeks bears post. This one off a 12″ white vinyl from Audraglint Recordings entitled sorry for the delay – the early recordings. More info on all of this here.