Ted Pitney was one of the founders of the bluegrassy collective King Wilkie. He’s just released a solo EP called Genesee. As you might expect the record is more stripped bare than a regular King Wilkie record. Instead a full range of instruments you get just one or two (or on the more rocking tracks 3 or 4); instead of rich vocal harmonies you get just the one voice. This leaves more room for the song.
On “In & Out Of Place” you get a sleepy rock song reminiscent of the early country rock of the 70’s. Images of back roads, canyons, and hilltops attach a physical location to the idea of a better life with a loved one.
Harely Dean is an unlikely Texas troubadour. He’s a college educated man with degrees in Biology and Animal Science. He isn’t one of those guys that sat on his Dad’s knee absorbing all kinds of Texas country music. He didn’t pick up the guitar at 3 years old and he didn’t write his first song at 12. He took a more mature approach buying his first guitar at age twenty five and getting his first gig for beer and tips shortly thereafter. He released a record in 2003 and tried the whole go-on-the-road-with-a-band-and-play-shitty-clubs-for-no-money-thing but tired of it. He’s now working on a more acoustic singer/songwriterly thing.
His new record Brighter Days was produced by Walt Wilkins (wrote about his new one yesterday!!). This song features Harley’s rich vocals and splashes of organ and pedal steel. Buy the new record here.
There are a couple of sounds that I’m always on the lookout for. One of them is represented by the songs on the new EP by Austin band Black Coyote. The best way to describe it would be “ragged and frayed” (I have a feeling this new genre name is not doing to take off like Chillwave). In essence the bands sound mirrors it’s lyrics and the emotional tenor of the music. That’s a pretty fine description of the songs on the new ep Cigarettes and Dust.
Slightly unrelated but I’m heavy into all four seasons of Friday Night Lights and I’d just like to nominate this song as the new anthem of this Texas based show. “Of Strippers and Cowboys” is a perfect fit as it lays out in compelling detail the realities of life in a small Texas town.
Howe Gelb of Giant Sand fame doing Flamenco inspired music makes as much sense as his gospel project Sno Angel. But to some extent Howe Gelb is one of the artists tyhat can simply do no wrong.
In the past Howe’s music has been inspired by the Arizona desert and the rustic sounds that heat combined with despair and a level of remoteness that urban dwellers can only dream of. Now on Alegrias he has joined forces with the members of Band Of Gypsies and several other world renowned Flamenco players to deliver this new record which features older Giant Sand songs along with 4 new songs inspired by the Spanish town of Cordoba.
I never thought to put the two words “country” and “funk” together. But that’s just what the guys in Stone River Boys are up to. You can hear both ends of that spectrum on “The Struggle” from their latest record Love On The Dial with it’s incessant bass line, groovy horn section, and and both funky and country guitar. I’m honestly not sure if it works for me.
The band consists of Dave Gonzalez of the Hacienda Brothers and Mike Barfield of the Hollisters. Live they have a full band with pedal steel and I imagine it’s a funky good time.
Alright let’s go from one living national treasure (Johnny Dowd here) to another (Bob Cheevers). I jumped the gun writing about this record back in January. It seems the February 2010 release date was pushed back and now Bob Cheevers’ new record, Tall Texas Tales, just got a proper American release on April 20 with a record release show at Saxon’s Pub on May 15th.
“Luckenbach” with it’s tex-mex accordion and references to Lone Star Beer, banditos, and breezy front porches is a perfect example of the songs on this Texas themed record. Buy it now here via Village Records.
This song from Mark Erelli’s new record Little Vigils is not really representative of the sound or the style of the record. But that’s the case with just about every song on the record. There’s no one sound or style that can sum up Little Vigils. On Little Vigils Mark is content to use different textures and tempos to convey different emotions on a wide range of songs. Whether it’s the delicate twang of “August” or the deathly folk sounds of “Hemlock Grove” this record can simply not be pinned down. Mark Erelli has made a record that is suitable for multiple listens and new discoveries (and new favorite songs) on each listen.
At the moment I am loving the nostalgic rock `n’ roll of “Basement Days” but check in with me tomorrow and I might be on to the anti-religion screed of “Kingdom Come” or perhaps it’ll be the bluegrassy goodness of “Mother of Mysteries”. Either way for now I’m loving the song “Basement Days” which is a look back at the teenage “lets-form-a-band” eagerness and naivety that is usually lost by ones early twenties. The beauty of the song is how it pegs that feeling of awe and wonderment that is usually left behind as we grow up. Ironically the song with it’s chorus of “can’t get back to those basement days” is not completely autobiographical as Mark Erelli has never lost that sense of wonder and the idea that the power of a song is unequaled. I highly recommend this record.
I should have a slew of posts about Slim Cessna’s Auto Club in the archives of Songs:Illinois. But somehow I have failed to write about this band from Denver. Their mix of folk, country, bluegrass and punk is a perfect fit for Songs:Illinois. The band’s new record is called Buried Behind The Barn and it’s an 8 song CD of lost songs that appeared briefly in 2004 as a limited edition cdr.
1. Cold. Yes, Texas was frigid the last couple of days.
2. Good food. Pizza, migas (for breakfast from Gueros) and cupcakes from that trailer on Congress.
3. Music (Carolina Chocolate Drops, Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, Skybox, Ha Ha Tonka, Waco Brothers, and all my favorite singer/songwriters (Danny Schmidt, Matt The Electrician, Adam Carroll, Lee Barber etc etc etc)
One of the unexpected highlights of SXSW for me was band opening up for John Hiatt at the New West party. Ponderosa is newly signed to New West Records and their brand of Stonesy southern rock played well in the hot Texas sun of Day 1 of the fest. The band has a 10 song (!) EP out called Moonlight Revival. Some of these songs may appear on the band’s debut. I like these two below. “Old Gin Road” shows the band’s soul rock side while “Little Runaway” slows it down a bit for a more contemplative, slow burn sound.
What is it about drinking and country music. If songs aren’t about trucking than they are invariably about drinking. And more importantly why do I like these songs? Me, a guy who has to stop drinking soon after the first one. I wrote about the Austin based band (duo) The Texas Sapphires back in 2006 here. There new record is called As He Wanders… and is out on April 6. You can order it here now.
“How Did I Get So Sloppy Drunk When I Was Drinking Neat” is the drunkenest song on the new record. Enjoy and treat this as a cautionary tale for the weekend ahead.
The band Big Smith from Springfield, Mo. had some nice high resolution pictures available for the press to use. But it’s this shot that gives you that “a picture is worth a thousand words” take on the band and it’s working class roots. I don’t know if Big Smith is one of these guys in the picture (they’re all pretty big as far as I can tell!) or if it’s just used for the collective. They are rather a large band at 6 members.
I’ve been a fan of the band in the past and always like their stuff. Word is the new record rocks a little harder than previous releases. On the song “Brady And Duncan” you can hear just that heightened level of urgency. The new record is called Roots, Shoots and Wings and is available here through MayApple Records. It’s a good `un.
Catch the band at their record release party at Off Broadway in St. Louis on Feb 20.
A couple of the goodtwangy websites have had news of a new Texas Tornados record. It’s due out in in March on Bismeaux Records and is called Esta Bueno. But no one shared an mp3 from the new record yet. Until now that is; here’s “Whose To Blame Senorita”.
It was my intention to post one of my “best of 2009″ repost series this morning but these guys have pre-empted that with their excellent 2010 album Stale Champagne.
State Champion is a band that personifies the mid-western work ethic; musically that translates to blue collar rock and rugged, sloppy garage-country. The band has spent some time in Chicago but are now based out of Louisville, KY. The sound on Stale Champagne is loose and the recording of is rough and ramshackle in all the right places. The band’s one sheet does a surprisingly good job of describing their ethos:
Having created a sound that is a product of its upbringing, with Sweetheart of the Rodeo on the radio, Bleach in the tape deck, and a Smog song stuck in its head, State Champion drives through forty minutes of sincerely howled, sloppily executed, stripped down garage-country on its full-length debut.
To make that paragraph perfect I’d just throw in a line about sitting on the porch and listening to Uncle Tupelo and/or driving down a dirt road listening to Big Star. But that paragraph pretty much sums up the band. The new album is available in early 2010 but I bet you can get it now if you send a nice email to Ryan at sophomorelounge@gmail.com.
Whether you’re a fan of Pettyesque rockers or Townes influenced gently fingerpicked tales of inner turmoil and torment there is something for you in the 5 song free EP by Austin based singer-songwriter Jonny Burke.
Catch Jonny in the new year opening up for James McMurtry. Get the EP free here or pay for it here. Here’s that Petty like tune but with an overtly bitter political tone (btw it features fellow Austinites The Band Of Heathens):
Honky-tonk Friday came a little early this week with the (virtual) arrival of the new record by Martinsville, Virginia natives Doug & Telisha Williams. The record’s called Ghost of the Knoxville Girl and sits squarely in the intersection of blues, country and roots. Much like the recent record from Eilen Jewell “Knoxville Girl” isn’t content to stick with just one genre. There are Bruce Springsteenesque social consciousness raising rockers like “20 Point 2″ and eerie murder/ghost ballads like the title track.
For honky-tonk fans it’s the first track that shines. I just love Telisha’s voice on “Kitchen Light” and the song features tasty pedal steel and just the right combination of bass and drums.
Yesterday’s post was from forty years ago. The music for today’s post is from this year but sounds like it was recorded a hundred years ago. Go figure! The Asylum Street Spankers’ new record God’s Favorite Band is a live concert recording of mostly gospel inspired music. But as you can see from the photo above this is not your grandpa’s gospel group.
To celebrate the new record the band is going out on a tour called Salvation and Sin. The first half of the show will feature the stomping gospel sounds of the new album while the second half will deal with more earthly, secular songs of lust, love and other important topics. Check their website for tour dates.
I looked near and far for today’s entry. My search took me all the way to Scotland. And what did I find you ask? Jangly power pop from the band Dropkick and their new record Abelay Hotel. The band has received plenty of accolades and some of them are quite funny. For instance the BBC called them “Scotland’s finest alt-country power pop band” (like there are dozens of them roaming the countryside!!) and the Scotsman said they were “Scotland’s 3rd best band for 2009 … fabulous melodies a-plenty and more hooks than Bob Nudd’s fishing bag” (I just find that bit about “3rd best” kinda funny). Astonishingly enough I wrote about the band here first.
If you’re going to write a power pop song with the word “California” in the title you had better give it a little bit of those wonderful sunny Beach Boy harmonies. The band accomplished that and even added a little Smithereens-like ruggedness. Buy the new record here in the states here at CD Baby.
I don’ have much time so please don’t hold the length of this post against me or more importantly against Jess Klein. Jess hits three of my musical pressure points: she’s originally from Boston (so am I), she recently relocated to Austin (I love Austin!), and she’s cute (shouldn’t matter, but it does). Her new record Bound To Love is influenced by the rootsy nature of that Texas town. And this song, “Postcard”, is dusty and nostalgic in just the right amounts. It sounds like very early Lucinda Williams (which is a very good thing).
There was a time when I religiously followed Camper Van Beethoven. I liked their sound more when it was frantic folk based rather than punky. I also followed all the spinoff bands and solo records. That time has passed though and I no longer am up to date on all the goings on in the old Camper Van clique. Enter McCabe & Mrs. Miller.
However, when I heard about this record by Victor Krummenacher and Alison Faith Levy of The Sippy Cups I was intrigued. From Victor’s past recordings I knew he leaned more folk/country than punk. Together Victor and Alison have that kind of California americana sound. A sound that is dusty but at the same time refined. I think of Chuck Prophet and Dave Alvin being in that same mold as well. Here’s a sample from their new debut record Time For Leaving. Pick it up now at the newly redesigned CD Babyhere.
I honestly don’t know where I’ve been on the new Owen Temple record. His criteria for appearance on Songs:Illinois are many (”the force is strong with this one”): he’s an Austin singer songwriter with debts to Guy Clark, Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt, he is #1 on the Euro Americana chart, and he’s net savvy enough to give away his new record for free.
“Golden Age” is a song about his old Austin stomping grounds (O Henry’s Back Forty) and its demise when the new Hilton went up downtown. Usually you’ve got to take my word on an album with just one song as a sample of its wares. But with Dollars and Dimes you’re free to download the whole thing here courtesy of Owen Temple. In return you should check him out on tour this summer
Glad you found me at my new url. Songs:Illinois is committed to writing about music that is under-appreciated and unique. I've found that the music I write about shares a couple of traits. And they are: lyrical integrity, musically diverse, and written/performed by compelling characters.
Most songs found here are free and legal and have been provided by either the artist or label. If for some reason you'd like to have a song removed, please email me at cbonnell (at) gmail.com.
