Archive for July, 2008

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The Bittersweets

Monday, July 7th, 2008

I wrote about The Bittersweets here when their Virt Records debut was coming out. I haven’t given the band much thought since then. But they’re back with a new record and a new label. Compass Records has announced a September release of their followup to 2006′s The Life You Always Wanted. Goodnight San Francisco is due out September 9th. The title alludes to the fact that the band has left San Francisco and relocated to Nashville. The band has also left two members behind and become a trio. You can preview the song “Wreck” here now.

“Wreck” is a pretty solid bit of pop influenced alt-country. Hannah Prater’s vocals are just this side of pissed off and they add plenty of angst to this tale of heartbreak.

Wreck

Posted in Alt-country, Americana | 1 Comment »

Happy 4th In Advance – I’m Out Of Here!

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

So I’m at the beach for the forseeable future. I should be back in town and posting by Tuesday. Happy 4th of July.

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Pickathon 2008 (Music from Ian Thomas, Shinyribs, Tom Heinl)

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

I know Bonnaroo, Pitchfork, Lollapalozza et al are all the rage, but how great does this festival in Portland, Oregon sound? The name is Pickathon and it’s lineup is a who’s who and who’s that? of americana, folk, indie folk and eclectic roots music. Highlights include Langhorne Slim, The Gourds, Crooked Still, Jolie Holland, Wayne Hancock, The Everybodyfields, Sean Hayes, Justin Townes Earle, and on and on. The festival takes place on an 80 acre farm with views of Mt. Hood.

As is always the case with S:I here’s a couple of artists that you may not have heard of (but should have!) that are playing the fest.

Half Day Vacation – Tom Heinl
Poor Children – Ian Thomas
East Texas Rust – Shinyribs

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Bluegrass Tuesday – Erin McDermott – “Fowler Farm” (Rootstock Records, July 1)

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

My definition of bluegrass for this occasional theme day is very broad. Hell, if it’s mostly all acoustic and even has an inkling of Kentucky, the Appalachian mountains or Bob Wills than it’s ripe for posting. The new record from Erin McDermott conjures up the mountains of Vermont instead (her home state), but otherwise this record is rife with acoustic picking and yearning bluegrass-gospel inspired vocals.

“Fowler Farm” is one of the standout tracks on the new record and I have both the album version and a stripped down live take from WGDR’s fundraiser.

Fowler Farm

Fowler Farm (live)

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