songs:illinois

(awwww cute…amirite)

So I’ve been off for almost two weeks. And now I’m back and recharged. I’ve got lots of great music to write about already in 2009. But I also have a new puppy to care for so we’ll see how this goes. It’s great to be back and I look forward to another great year in music.

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I never meant for Songs:Illinois to become the repository for all the great proto-gypsy punk music that’s out there but over the years it has become one of the overlooked genre’s that I’ve written the most about. So it seems fitting that the first post of the year is about Brooklyn based Luminescent Orchestrii’s upcoming record for Nine Mile Records.

The band is based out of Brooklyn and while its lyrics may be about current trends (see “Nasty Tasty” below) its music is based more in the old folk traditions of Eastern Europe combined with jazz, folk, and blues styles of the new world. “Nasty Tasty” is a good example of this dictotomy with it’s rampant sexual imagery mixed with gypsy fiddle. It comes from their upcoming record Neptune’s Daughter.

Nasty Tasty

P.S. Swedesplease is back up and running for 2009 with an exclusive first listen to the new song from electronic duo Val Venosta here.

No 2008 “best of” wrap-up would be complete without mention of Joe Pug. His debut EP from out of nowhere impressed this writer and many more influential blogs. But its best selling point are the rave reviews from ordinary folks up at the Cd Baby page for the EP. Read them here and buy the disc as well while you’re there.

Here’s my favorite rave review from Cd Baby courtesy of Stuart McClure:

Dylan comparisons aside, Joe Pug is Malcolm Holcombe’s son, Danny Schmidt’s half brother.

Here’s my original post from April:
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It would almost be impossible for me not to post the music of Joe Pug. He fits the Songs:Illinois demographic so well it’s like some computer program spat him out. He’s young, he’s just releasing his debut, he writes poetic songs, he lives in Chicago (for goodness sake), is clearly influenced by Dylan/
Young/Springsteen and has a record release show coming up at Schubas.

His debut EP is called Nation Of Heat and is being released on May 13. I’m sure you can pick one up at the Schubas show on the 3rd however.

On both the songs below Joe eschews verse/chorus/verse and instead lets loose a barrage of stream of consciousness that somehow is devoid of pretension and cliche.

Hymn 101

Bonus

First Time I saw You (recorded live for Hear Ya’s blog)
Bury Me Far From My Uniform (via MOKB’s Laundro Matinee)

Matt Keating’s 2 disc set Quixotic has been praised for its timeless mix of folk rock songs. I haven’t heard the whole thing but I’ll go out on a limb and call it one of the best records of the year. Here’s my original post about it from March:

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Hey all,

How’s your week going? Mine’s OK. Thanks for asking.

I just heard about a new record from Matt Keating. It’s a double cd called Quixotic. Matt made a name for himself in the early 90’s with albums that resembled the crunchy power pop of Mathew Sweet. He’s mellowed over the years (haven’t we all?).

I can’t claim to give you a full assessment of the new record, but if you were a fan of power pop back then but now like your music at a slightly less frenetic pace than you should look into Quixotic from Matt Keating.

St Cloud

Bonus track:

Who Knew

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On a completely unrelated note, there’s a new record by The Waybacks out now on Compass Records. The song “Good Enough” is a good example of their easy rockin’ acoustic country sound. You can buy the new record, Loaded, here.

Good Enough

That’s it for today.

Cheers,
Craig

When you write 600 or so music blog posts a year it’s sometimes hard to find a way to single one out as something special. Luckily I have another platform or two when I think something is truly deserving. So today’s band/song will both appear on Swedesplease and be part of this month’s upcoming M.A.P. post. I can’t say enough good things about the Swedish pop band The Bridal Shop. I think they perfectly meld the sounds of electronic pop of the 80’s with shoegaze of the 90’s and indie from the 00’s. In other words they’re the complete package.

Their Peruvian label (I know that’s kind of a weird locale for a Swedish group) deserves kudos as well for releasing some of the best indie pop this side of Cloudberry. This song is from the band’s Plastilina Records mini album called In Fragments coming out in February of 2009.

The Ideal State (originally released on a Happy Robots’ compilation)

Bonus

Violation
Marine Thing

Here’s a record that I’m astounded didn’t do better with the NPR set. The songs are clever and the musical arrangements a step above your ordinary singer songwriter fare.

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I was so enamored by the first song I heard off of The Brendan Hines new record that it’s no surprise that the whole thing is right up my alley. “Miss New York” was the clever song that stuck out at first (here). As an avowed East Coaster stuck in the Midwest I can relate to the nostalgia that one feels for a hometown.

The new record from The Brendan Hines is called Good For You Know Who. The songs on the record deal with subjects as diverse as drinking yourself to death, suicide, more death and drinking, and selfish behavior of all sorts. Sounds a bit dreary, I know, but musically the songs are fairly jaunty filled with horns, toy instruments, piano and guitar and they mostly come with a pretty big slab of sarcasm on the side. You can order this now via Cd Baby here.

Miss New York
Hard To Kill

Older songs:

Sh Boop
RE: Loving You

Alright moving along then. Here’s something from February of this year that even at the time I knew would end up on my year end roundup.

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For me, and with my particular tastes, I’m comfortable saying that the new record by Austin-based singer-songwriter Danny Schmidt is the best of the new year. By now Danny’s got a recognizable and distinctive vocal delivery and I love it. His songs are as literate, and can be as funny and clever, as anyone else in the songwriting racket today.

I’ve written about his upcoming record, Grey Sheep, here, but frankly I did so too early. His record has a Feb. 19 release date and at the time of my initial mention there was nowhere to pick up this great CD. But now there is. Buy it here via his label, Waterbug, now.

“Company of Friends” with it’s simple message of friendship being the most important force in life has quickly become one of my favorite Danny Schmidt songs. If there was any justice in this world (and if the song could be encapsulated in a 30 second clip) “Company of Friends” would be all over Grey’s Anatomy or playing during the end credits of the next big romantic comedy out of Hollywood.

Company of Friends

Bonus

Drawing Board

Joia Wood is the featured female vocal on this song. Paul Curreri (aka Mr. Devon Sproule) did wonders with a production job that at times is simple and lets the playing come through, and at other times is a little bit more atmospheric, which is well suited to the lyrics.

Bonus “cover” song from Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule from the free online ep - Valentine Duets

All The Best (John Prine “cover”)

I’m so excited about the new record from Lana Rebel of Juanita Family (here) and Last Of The Juanitas fame that I couldn’t wait `til honky-tonk Friday to post “Loneliest Love Song” from her 2008 release All I Need.

The new record is a combination of various dustbowl styles from folk to pure country, above it all hovers Ms. Lana’s wonderful rich voice. The songs I’ve heard from this record don’t have that hard edged honky tonk sound. Which is fine by me. Instead they all sound a little resigned, reserved and refined. This record certainly deserves to be in the most overlooked and deserving records of the year category. Pick it up now through CD Baby here.

Loneliest Love Song

Bonus

Road Song

Double special bonus from Juanita Family & Friends featuring Lana Rebel

Son of Mehitabel

Every year instead of a one off “best of” post I look back on the year that was with a series of reposts. These may not be on anyone elses best records of the year list, but to me they are some of the most important, most overlooked, or just plain “most” records of the year. Expect 10-15 of these type of posts over the next three weeks. This post on the band Antietam was originally published in early January of 2008.

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Antietam is one of these strange lost bands from the 80’s that deserve a reunion, but really, whoever thought they’d get one. Others in this category include Big Dipper, The Embarrassment, Fetchin’ Bones, Buffalo Tom and Swimming Pool Q’s. The band that released it’s early work on Cosloy’s Homestead Records, now sees it’s long awaited double disc of new material put out on the iconoclastic Chicago label Carrot Top. (Read more about it’s early releases here at Vinyl Mine).

At the time that Antietam was kicking around the Atlantic coast they were one of the noisiest “art-rock” bands on the scene. Like many of the individuals from that era the band has mellowed with age. On the new record, Opus Mixtum, Tara and company get the sound of the swirling, lightly psychadelic guitars just right and the vocals, a la Mo Tucker and Joan Jett, are equally adept. Tara Key had been called one of the best guitarists of her generation and you can hear why on the distorted intro to “Time Creeps” and the lead guitar lines on “Shipshape”. Perhaps this is the record the band should have made twenty years ago?

Preorder the new record here.

Time Creeps
Shipshape

Fat Cat Records in the UK reminds me a lot of present day Sub Pop here in the states. They release whatever the hell they want regardless of genre and regardless of commercial success. The new record out on Fat Cat by The Balky Mules (Sam Jones from Movietone) is an example of a record that will surely fail by all of the normal measurable stats. But artistically it’s a completely different story.

“Range” from The Length Of The Rail has a little bit of that Jonathan Richman sweetness and naivety mixed with a slightly twee assortment of lyrics about CSNY, “99 Red Balloons, and “beans and egg and hash”. Musically it’s got just enough oddball percussion and catchy folk guitar riffs to be perfect for repeat listens. Although this is out now it’s very hard to find on the Fat Cat Records site. Good luck tracking this one down!

Range

All I had to go on about Doug Keith was the generic genre tag “alt-country”. And that’s not too much so I wasn’t too confident that I’d like him. But from the first notes of “The Companion of an Angel” from his upcoming release Here’s To Outliving Me I was hooked. As a nice bonus Jennifer O’Connor is featured on a number of tracks including “Companion…”.

Its theme of an undying love for an angel-like woman is one I can relate to.

The Companion of an Angel

Bonus:

Salty Woman
Bird

I’m mostly taking the day off today after the arduous task of getting my annual Songs:Illinois Christmas mix online. But I do want to share with you a song from the new ep by Andrew Vladeck. Andrew’s a Brooklyn based singer-songwriter who I wrote about first here. His new EP is called The Magnet and is out now on End Up Records.

“Hold Me Back” is a song about the anger and powerlessness a lot of us feel over the war and the way our country has been run the past 8 years.

Hold Me Back

I once wondered if Brooklyn wasn’t the new Nashville (evidence here, here, here). But judging from the amount of country inspired bands that have come out of Canada in the past three years perhaps the great white north is the new epicenter of the country music universe. I haven’t spent any time in Canada but I’m sure there are both beautiful rural areas and sophisticated cosmopolitan cities. I’m also sure our neighbor to the north has the right conditions for honky-tonk: namely loneliness, isolation, depression and whiskey.

Scotty Campbell and His Wardenaires are the perfect example of this new face of honky-tonk. He’s been called Canada’s best unsigned country act and he and the band have also just won an award for Best Roots Music Act at the recent Hammy’s (Hamilton Music Awrds).

“Smokin’ and Drinkin’” is the title track from Scotty’s 2008 release. I’m guessing it probably encapsulates Scotty and the band to a T. Here are some upcoming dates to give you an idea of the true Honky-Tonks they have up North. Order the new record here via CD Baby.

Nov 29 2008 9:00 - The Ironwood stage and Grill Calgary, Alberta
Dec 21 2008 4:00 - The Cadillac Lounge Toronto, Ontario
Feb 6 2009 10:00 - The Dakota Tavern Toronto, Ontario

Smokin’ and Drinkin’

P.S. That’s it for me `til after the holiday weekend. Have a great Turkey Day and see you on Monday!

I’ve lamented before the unreliability of CD new release lists. Self-released records, despite all the hullabaloo about how that’s the next big thing, are most likely not listed anywhere on the net. That’s the case for the new record by Kesang Marstrand. Her new record Bodega Rose is more accomplished and more enjoyable than the bulk of the music I usually encounter.

Kesang lives and records in Woodstock, NY. So it’s probably been hard not to be influenced by the folk traditions of this now mythic location. But her music, at least lyrically and sometimes musically, is more of a travelogue than an ode to her hippy hometown. There’s an exotic nature to her songs that goes far beyond just her unusual name. She seems as comfortable with jazz as she does with folk, which gives her music an appeal similar to that of Norah Jones. And that’s clearly an appeal that is wide and deep. And I have tremendous respect for music like this; music that is beautiful, delicious, effortless and almost floats on air.

I hope the major media pick up on Kesang. I bet she has an amazing story to go along with her beautiful songs.

Here’s a song off of her debut Bodega Rose. Buy it now though CD Baby here.

Real Boys

Bonus track

Tibet Will Be Free

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P.S. And completely unrelated. Why are critics picking on Quantum of Solace. I thought the pacing and the story was interesting. I love a good tale of revenge and this one had that in spades. I guess because it’s following on the heels of the best Bond film in eons it’s getting a bit shortchanged. But I like it as much or even more than it’s predecessor.

I have no intention of providing timely folk/alt-country/americana news. You’ll very rarely hear about tour dates, Letterman appearances or anything of the sort. I’m sure there’s some place better to get that kind of info. But I would like to share this news story about Danny Schmidt. At last night’s house concert with Rachel Ries, Anais Mitchell and Hayward Williams (yes! it was awesome) Danny’s name came up and immediately a complete stranger to me said she thought “Stained Glass” was a perfect song. I quickly agreed and have always thought so myself. In fact I compared it to Greg Brown’s near perfect song “The Poet’s Game”. And that’s where the bit of news comes in to play.

See, Danny’ Schmidt has just been signed to Red House Records, which has been home to Greg Brown for the past 25 years. His new record will be out on March 10. And that’s something to be thankful for. Here’s a recent live recording of “Stained Glass” plus “Leaves Are Burning” from 2008’s Little Grey Sheep.

Stained Glass (live in Netherlands 11/10)

Leaves Are Burning

P.S. Swedesplease has the bizarre circus/cabaret blues of the band Francis. The song is “Bad To The Bone”.

Here’s a little something funky from Gwil Owen. Gwil’s been in a number of influential band since the early seventies but has also been a successful songwriter for Toni Price, Allison Moore, Kevin Gordon, Keith Richards and Levon Helm.

“Gravy” won’t win any awards for creativity but it’s organ and guitar driven funk and roll will get your Friday night party started right. Gwil Owen’s new record Gravy is available now from Cd Baby here.

Gravy

Bonus songs from 1999’s Magnetic Heaven:

Magnetic Heaven
Pull The Plug

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Today’s the last day I can remind you about Chicago’s first, only, and best winter music festival - Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival or CBGB for short. It’ll be held inside (thank goodness) at the venerable Congress Theater. The lineup is solid peaking with performances by Lil’ Ed, Ha Ha Tonka, and The Avett Brothers.

St. Nick On the Fourth In A Fervor
Caney Mountain

Here’s some classic early stuff from The Avett Brothers

Swept Away
A Lot Of Moving
Pretty Girl From Mathews
Kind Of In Love
Let Myself Live
Matrimony
If It’s The Beaches
Will You Return

Just a quick note to say the semi-bi-annual quarterly Songs:Illinois house concert is this Sunday night somewhere on the outskirts of Chicago. The lineup is a Guaranteed good time. I can say that because we’ve had the honor of having Rachel Ries and Anais Mitchell play for us a year or so ago. It was really a magical night and I’m expecting the same or better since they are touring behind a joint ep they issued on Righteous Babe called simply the country ep.

As of 5 minutes ago I’ve also added Hayward Williams as the opener. I’ve tried to get him to play before but never could put it together. This time the stars aligned so he’s going to open the show up. Hayward’s debut record, Another Sailors Dream, was produced by the great Peter Mulvey. Critics have called that record “fantastic”, “a masterpiece” and “the first major score for 2007″.

Hit me up here (cbonnell @ gmail.com) for an invite and directions.

Problems With Hemingway

Rachel Ries and Anais Mitchell

Waiting to Fall

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Speaking of house concerts: one of our most memorable (and shortest) was by singer songwriter Joe Pug. At the time he was a relatively unknown commodity so we gave him a shot at a doing a couple songs opening for Michael Fracasso. Now he’s practically a made man and I wish he would have just played and played.

My Old Kentucky Blog has a new video series called Laundro Matinee and this week he’s featured on it (along with a noisy cricket). Here’s two unreleased songs plus a video of Joe doing his signature song “Hymn 101″ from his new EP.

Not So Sure

Bury Me Far From My Uniform

Joe Pug - Hymn 101 from LaundroMatinee on Vimeo.

One of the big events in the Songs:Illinois family is our the trip to the circus in 4 days. I know it’s 4 days away since my sons have been counting down since day twenty. If I played them this song they wouldn’t get it. They don’t see that the circus is also a sad, nearly tragic place. Even the best ones are constantly under attack from animal rights groups, the performers live the lives of gypsy’s, and it’s a commercial rat-trap with worthless toys and gadgets for sale around every corner (they love that part).

I wrote about Rachel Harrington’s new record City of Refuge in September and I’m still struck by the song “Housewife’s Lament” and now I’m awed by this one too. Rachel Harrington’s song “Under The Big Top” uses the high wire act as a metaphor for life and just hopes that someone will be there to catch her when she falls. You can order City Of Refuge here.

Under The Big Top

It’s shocking that when I do a search on Elbo.ws for an artist that I’ve written about in the past and discover that I’m still the only one to have profiled the band. Jonathan Byrd is one such artist. He’s a known commodity in the Americana world but apparently that doesn’t translate well into the blog world. His most recent record delved into his southern roots and is titled The Law And The Lonesome. Jonathan describes it thusly:

“The ghost of Townes Van Zandt meets Hank Williams on the high plains. Several early listeners have told me that if “No Country For Old Men” had a soundtrack, it would be The Law and the Lonesome.”

I can’t describe it any better, but I can share a track off of it. Buy it now on CDBaby here (in fact if you want to read more about Jonathan Byrd’s tortured life and his slow and steady ascent to the top of the sing/songwriter circuit click on the link above).

“Houston Window Blues” is one of his more traditional numbers; it’s not as thoughtful as some the other songs on the record but it’s a bunch of fun.

Houston Window Blues

P.S. Austin singer/songwriter Matt The Electrician performs tonight in Chicago at the Horseshoe on Lincoln. I can vouch that Matt does a great live set.

Half Magic

I’m obviously a feverish proponent of mp3’s. In fact in all the years I’ve been doing this blog I have rarely linked to anything but. Sometimes though it’s the music that counts and not the format. The two founders of one of my favorite groups of all time have announced the release date, track listing, and details on their first record together since the band’s demise in 1995. Below is a stream of the first track.

To hear Mark Olson and Gary Louris of Jayhawks fame sing together again is a special treat. In the whole history of rock I firmly believe their vocal harmonies stand up against anyone else. From the few songs that you can listen to on various streaming services and the song below it seems that Chris Robinson’s production is spot on and the harmonies, along with the dual guitar interplay, are still intact. Check out the first track from the new record on New West Ready For The Flood below.

Pre-order here.

(Stream Removed)

Bakelite 78 is performing tonight (last night…oops) at Fitzgeralds along with Black Bear Combo and Jimbo Mathus (from Squirrel Nut Zippers fame). I’ve written about Chicago’s Bakelite 78 in the past and am happy to update you on the status of their new record. It’s called Delta Disc and it was recorded in Como, Mississippi by Jimbo himself with funding from Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs. The band is surely one of the few to incorporate styles as diverse as blues, swing, cabaret, dixieland and country.

The record release party is tonight (oops…sorry but it was last night!)

Buy it here.

Darkness On The Delta
Scotch

Bonus track from Jim Mathus

The Stranger