songs:illinois

Somehow in my wanderings around the internet I learned of a new record by the Twin cities based band Western Fifth. I’d like to be able to say I heard their excellent debut EP when it came out in 2006 but I haven’t. But now I will. The new record is alt-countryish; the band creates roots music filtered through an indie aesthetic. The song “In The End I Went Away” has a hazy sheen over it’s americana roots. Banjos sound distant, guitars and vocals are distorted and loneliness and pain are the overriding emotions. In other words it’s wonderful.

If you’re a fan of special guests than you’ll be happy to know that there are contributions from Dave Boquist of Sun Volt and John Dehaven (who plays with Bon Iver). If you were going to drop a name Wilco would be the obvious choice, but I think I’d go a bit more Mercury Rev or even Built Like Alaska.

You won’t be able to buy the new record for several months (unless you see the band live) but join me in picking up their 2006 debut EP here.

In The End I Went Away

O’death has finally lived up to it’s ominous name with the first track off their new CD Broken Hymns, Skin, and Limbs . The record, the band’s third, is said to be a little dark and from this one song I can see why. It certainly reminds one of “Country Death Song” by the Violent Femmes or lyrically something like “Delia’s Gone” by Johnny Cash or even the crazed bluegrass from Deliverance. Pretty heady comparisons I know, but is there a better band in the country playing this style of possessed, Appalachian folk-punk?

You can pre-order the new record here or here.

Lowtide

“Delia’s Gone”

“Country Death Song”

Chris Knight has had a storied career up to now. His music has been universally acclaimed by critics, but never fully embraced by the teeming mass of humanity.

His new record is said to change all that. And from the songs I’ve heard it does have a little more of a muscular, anthemic nature.

Pre-order Heart Of Stone now here (Drifter’s Church, Aug. 19)

Hell Ain’t Half Full

Here I am to fulfill my contractually mandated 1 post a day. Plus it’s honky-tonk Friday so I didn’t want to leave you high and dry on that front.

This song from the Dedringers is more of a combination Big Star meets Wilco than say the true honky-tonk of Waylon, Merle or Johnny. But with lines like these it’s clear where these young Texan’s hearts reside:

Woke up in a van sleeping down by the river
Goddamn my liver, how long have I been here?
Knocked out loaded since the trailer exploded
I aint seen the sun since the last time I voted
in ‘88

The band’s new release came out in July, but is just now starting to tear up the americana charts and sympathetic radio stations like MMM in Madison. Buy Sweetheart of the Neighborhood here via Waterloo Records.

Institution

I was going to take the day off from posting today. The weather’s great in Chicago if you like 90+ degrees. And I thought I’d get out and enjoy it. But thanks to Crossbill Records I’ve got to stay in and blog about Silver Darling. Crossbill Records is a great, small California label with a roster that is growing. The label is headed by Michael Leahy who you also may know as host of the Cool As Folk radio show on KDVS. I’ve written about their artist Matt Bauer and now they’ve sent me new music from the Davis based trio Silver Darling. This is an advance preview as the record doesn’t come out til October and even if you did want to buy it now you wouldn’t be able to. I’ll remind you about this release once you can pre-order it though.

Although Crossbill usually focuses on some strain of folk music, Silver Darling are a slight stretch for them. They play a ramshackle, very loose, folk rock with influences from The Band to The Mountain Goats. It’s some of my favorite kind of music. Listen to “Roof and the Seed” from the forthcoming debut LP Your Ghost Fits My Skin.

Roof and the Seed

Eric Hisaw rather masterfully combines the best elements of roots music, blues and Austin folk in his new record Nature Of The Blues. Previously his style has been pegged as either a Steve Earl knockoff or too heavily influenced by the outlaw country of Waylon Jennings. The consensus so far is that the new record takes these influences, but combines them with blues to make a wholly original sound.

On “Cheap Living” Eric explores something he knows well. And that is living on the fringe of the American dream where not everyone has a living room based on the furniture porn of HGTV, flat plasma TV’s in every room, or even enough coin for a proper meal and a roof over their head. Buy the new record through his San Antonio based label site here or at our friends over at Miles Of Music here.

Cheap Living

This weekend we headed out to Six Flags Great America. We had a great time going on every roller coaster my 7 year old could tolerate (and a few he couldn’t)! As a result the usually stellar writing you’ve become acquainted to at S:I may suffer this week. But as I’ve said before the music will always sparkle.

The Duhks have a new record, Fast Paced World, coming out August 19 on Sugarhill. The band has been hailed as one of those at the forefront of the new folk movement. From what I’ve heard and from this one song the band is exploring more unusual sounds and song styles. There’s a a certain world music/gypsy sound that the band is flirting with that I like very much. Expect a bunch of traditionalists to become even more dismayed than usual about the band’s new sound.

You can hear this newly refined sound on the song “This Fall” below.
Pre-order the new record here.

This Fall

The Darling Downs are nothing like the sum of their parts. Combining the somber pop sensibilities of Died Pretty founder Ron Peno with Australian punk rock legend Kim Salmon should not have resulted in an album of understated gothic folk. But somehow it did. The duo’s debut together was 2006’s critically acclaimed recording How Can I Forget This Heart Of Mine. Now the followup is due out in September/October on Carrot Top Records.

“Circa `65″ is the “single” off of the new record From One To Another and it features a resonating guitar bed and Leonard Cohen meets Nick Cave vocals. This is spooky, ethereal music that will surely have it’s fair share of fans in Europe, but unfortunately will probably die a painful death here in the U.S. The inventive video is a great accompaniment to this song.

Circa 65

Video for “Circa `65″

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Plus here’s the new collaboration between Jon Langford and The Ex’s Kat Ex. They’re calling this get-together KatJon.

Do You

What should we say about something that sounds so like the past that it almost seems out of place in the modern day? The Moondoggies got me thinking such a thing with their Band meets Grateful Dead sound on their debut record for the feisty little label Hardly Art (The Duchess and The Duke, Le Loup). The record is pleasant enough (ie my wife didn’t ask me to change it `til the guitar jam halfway through track 3), but it really does conjure up images of Woodstock, the 60’s, and little pink houses.

Still “`Ol Blackbird” from Don’t Be A Stranger literally jumps out of the speakers and its mix of heavy guitars, Bo Diddlyesque rhythms, blues riffs, and soulful organ make it a joy to listen to.

`Ol Blackbird

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I wrote about Tim O’Brien’s record Chameleon a while back and linked to a weird remix by Danny Barnes of his song “Hoss Race” here. It’s been a long time, but finally here’s the original. You can buy Chameleon here.

Hoss Race

A Songs:Illinois post can be a small blessing or a kiss of death. Take for instance my 2006 post on the Lawrence, Kansas band The Roselines. A quick search of Elbo.ws shows that my post didn’t generate any other coverage and is in fact the only one ever for the band. Too bad, too, since this band continues to solidify it’s intelligent, earthy songwriting and americana vibe.

The band’s new record is called Lust For Luster and the only criticism I can dig up is perhaps it’s a bit too oblique, but in this day and age of “blog bands” that skip to the oversimplified chorus before the first verse this is more cause for celebration than concern. Get the new record here at Miles Of Music, it’s one of their “It’s A Cracker ” picks meaning it’s a 100% guaranteed.

Lions (via Lawrence.com)

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

I used to think of Ben Weaver as just another guy with an acoustic guitar. I’d put him in the upper echelon of that group, but in that group none the less. Now with the collaboration on the last two records between him and Brian Deck I’ve got to take him out of that category. And put him I don’t know where.

His upcoming record on Bloodshot is called The Ax In The Oak. Producer and artist made a conscious effort to make a more experimental record than any of Ben Weaver’s past records. That means the songs are full of odd noises and found sounds but the dramatic imagery of Ben’s songs and his deep rich baritone is still in tact. Here’s two songs from the new record as well as a couple from an earlier self-released record called Stories Under Nails.

Alligator and Owls
White Snow

To hear where he’s come from check out these songs from Stories Under Nails

Ragged Words
Grieve All You Want

I had a post all prepared for today, but the band’s label’s website went caput. So here’s a quick post about a Canadian roots rocker who has a new record out in June On Busted Flat Records. Lucas Stagg has myspace friends like Paul Kelly (whose song he covers on the new record), Townes Van Zandt and Peter Case. So you can see he’s right up my ally.

The upcoming record is called Great Big Gone and is a mostly acoustic affair with help from label mates Tanya Philpovich (who you can hear on “Great Big Gone”), Dan Walsh and Duane Rutter. Here’s the title track and a song called “Kensington Girl”.

Great Big Gone
Kensington Girl

I’ve been writing so much about this new string band renaissance I think I’m just about out of words to describe the music on Still Crooked the new record from Crooked Still out on Signature Sounds out on June 24.

On the song “Pharoah” the band mines a slightly gothic, darker sound to accompany the ghostly vocals (and subject matter) of lead singer Aoife O’Donovan. Pre-order this record now here through Amazon.

Pharoah

Bonus

Darling Corey

They don’t call NJ “The Garden State” for nothing. Parts of the state are as beautiful, green and lush as the famed blue grass of Kentucky. So then it should come as no surprise that one of the rising stars of newgrass (for want of a better term) is Railroad Earth from Stillwater, NJ.

Amen Corner is the new record out June 10 on Sci Fidelity (their previous two records were on the revered roots label Sugar Hill). The single is the jam band friendly tune “Hard Livin’” and while the song is certainly catchy enough and is probably indicitive of their energetic live show, it’s the more subdued song “Been Down This Road” that caught my ear. Pre-order the new record here.

Been Down This Road

Hard Livin’

P.S. Video commenting is now enabled. It’s easy to do but no one’s given it a try yet. I’d love to see a couple comments just to see if it works and if it’s worth keeping.

Jon Jackson wrote the other day with news of more uploaded video’s. And I swear him sitting in his trailer somewhere on the outkirts of Nashville is somehow better that each and every overproduced video I’ve seen on the web or CMT for God’s sake. I’m thrilled he put up “Green Apples” but also excited to hear his ode to the Waffle House girl song, “Excuse Me”, for the first time.

His debut record Green Apples is a Songs:Illinois must-buy recommendation here (do we even have that!?).

P.S. John will be playing the latest incarnation of the Songs:Illinois House Concert series on June 6 along with Joe Pug from Chicago and Michael Fracasso all the way from Austin, Tx. If you’d like to come email me here - cbonnell@gmail.com.

“Excuse Me”

“Green Apples”

The Old 97’s long awaited record Blame It On The Gravity will suck the oxygen from every other Americana release over the next month or so. Which is a shame because from the songs I’ve heard from Old 97’s bassist Murry Hammond’s new record I Don’t Know Where I’m Going But I’m On My Way deserve to be heard. Murry Hammond is the bassist in Old 97’s but he’s also connected to the new folk movement though his marriage to Grey Delisle.

The track “Lost At Sea” has a Paul Simon circa The Graduate feel. While “I Believe, I Believe” is more of an old country gospel song along the lines of something you might hear on Johnny Cash’s Hymns record. The new disc was recorded in analog which makes the slight reverb and uncompressed layering of instruments a wondeful byproduct of this technique. These songs were written during a period of time when Murry lost his parents, got married, had a child and was a leader at the Burbank Christian Church. So thematically the songs are a bit heavy, but musically they’re rather refined and quietly somber.

Rhett Miller will surely have that last laugh with the new Old 97’s record, but Murry may have made the better record. Ain’t that always the way of things.

You can buy it now here through Amazon.

Lost At Sea
I Believe, I Believe

These are a couple half-written posts from the last month. I never had the gumption or the wherewithal to fine tune them individually. So I added them altogether for a nice little group post. Enjoy.

This record, The Sun Is always Brighter, by Joshua James has been kicking around for a year or so. Due to his popularity, tour dates opening for some pretty fine artists (Justin Townes Earle, Lex Land and The Swell Season) and great press it will be be remixed and reissued on CD and vinyl in June.

FM Radio

Bonus

http://homepage.mac.com/cbonnell/Sites/.Public/custom-concern.mp3“>Custom Concern
Soul and The Sea

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Annie Keating is a NYC based Americana artist who has been compared to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch. But her slow tempo, often langorious alt-country is more in the realm of Mary Gauthier. Her vocal delivery always traverses the same range as well…it’s like a low growl. Her new record is called Belmont and is available here.

The title track shows why this genre is perfectly suited to nostalgic songs about growing up, growing old and remembering it all like it was just yesterday.

Belmont

For The Taking

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Matt Bauer is prepping a new record for Crossbill Records. It’s called The Island Moved In The Storm and is a co-production with the label La Societe Expeditionnaire. I’ve written about Matt’s introspective indie folk before here and here.

Matt’s recently moved from the West coast to NYC and I wonder if that move has influenced this new batch of songs. On “Don’t Let Me Out” there’s a bit more to the production (including a dissonant accordion) than just the acoustic guitar of the past. I’m really looking forward to this new record from Matt Bauer.

Don’t Let Me Out

From the stripped down Hinah session recorded on April 10 in France

Sea Lion Woman

Carve It Out

Eleven hundred Springs are a Texas based country band. They’ve been around in one form or another for a decade or so. The songs I’ve heard don’t stray too far what the band knows best and that’s Texas, trucks, Hank Williams, drinkin’ and broken hearts. The song “Texas Afternoon” has most of those bases covered and is the first song off their upcoming Lloyd Maines produced record Country Jam.

Pre-order the new record here (ships 05/06)

Texas Afternoon

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P.S. It seems Jon Jackson tried to slip a new song past us. The song is called “Great Big” and is not on the new record Green Apples. If you haven’t picked up Green Apples what are you waiting for; order it here through CdBaby. Jon’s going to be coming up to do a Songs:Illinois house concert with Michael Fracasso from Austin on June 6. So save the date!

Great Big

P.P.S.

The Bloomington, IL based band Backyard Tire Fire was invited into Sun Studios to record a session for their new video series. It came out pretty great. Here’s the video for the song “Honey To A Bee”. The band opens up for Nashville Pussy and Reverend Horton Heat at the Metro tonight.

It’s amazing how much music/videos/live shows/b-sides/remixes etc., etc., you can miss out on. I just found this little animated Hayes Carll video with him talking about his past, dealing with Freebird requests, and what’s it like playing your music in a honky-tonk. Also features songs from Hayes’ new record Trouble In Mind out now on Lost Highway. Pretty cool. Freebird!!