Americana

Hawk

payal — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Mark Lanegan—hey, I know that name.
You sure do. Mark Lanegan fronted Screaming Trees, one of the better bands to come out of the early '90s Seattle grunge scene. They never gained the attention or commercial success of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Nirvana, and their minor success was propelled mostly by “Nearly Lost You,” a track from the soundtrack for how-very-zeitgeisty film Singles. After grunge was discarded in favor of nu-metal, gangsta rap, boy bands, and factory pop, Mark Lanegan didn't remain with his old band churning out increasingly bad records or touring on nostalgia value. He joined Queens of the Stone Age, made music with Greg Dulli (of the Afghan Whigs) as the Twilight Singers and the Gutter Twins, and has released well-received solo records.

Isobel Campbell—that sounds pretty familiar, too.
Well, it should. Isobel Campbell was a member of indie darlings Belle and Sebastian from their inception in 1996 until her departure in 2002, as cellist, keyboardist, and backing vocals. She released two records under the name The Gentle Waves and has collaborated with Mark Lanegan for three albums, which is considered her breakout.

It's an odd pairing—the twee Scottish lass and the aging, rough-singing American troubadour, sounding here for all the world like a low-living Leonard Cohen. Campbell, who is credited with most of the songwriting and all of the producing and arranging, mostly sings backup or harmonizes with Lanegan throughout the record. She has a fine, serviceable, and lovely voice whose femininity works well with Lanegan's bluesy-grungy growl. Most of the record is a quiet hum, including a nice cover of Townes Van Zandt's “No Place To Fall,” but a New Orleans-style jazz/blues number (“Get Behind Me”) placed directly at track six cuts through the lull with all the subtlety of a brass band at an Ash Wednesday service.

Hawk is slightly uneven, but I don't find that to be a fault. It's a little piece of obscure southern-style Americana, with its jazz/blues/alt-country/gospel influences, and Isobel Campbell's voice is mellifluous enough to pass for any number of American female pop-rock singers pre-1980. I was fond of this record and it grew better and better with repeated spins.

Written by: Natalie Ballard, February 26th 2011

Acoustic Project

alicia — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

By Laura Cortese

When I moved to Virginia over four years ago, I didn’t know what folk music was. Growing up in Portland Oregon, I was raised on the quickly growing West Coast indie rock scene. But sometime in my teenage years I started finding artists like Sparklehorse, Nickel Creek, Laura Gibson, and Blitzen Trapper and I couldn’t get enough. I didn’t know then what it was about these different artists’ sounds that made my mouth water, but there was something they had in common, something earthy, something gritty, that I absolutely loved.

And when I arrived in Virginia, it finally dawned on me. It was folk. It was bluegrass. It was Americana; that’s what I liked so well. I found myself in the pocket of “real” American country music, the influence of which I had been drooling over for years. This is where that sound was bottled. I was at the source of what had morphed into the post-folk-indie-rock that I had been listening to on the other side of the country.

Laura Cortese, too, is a migrant from West to East Coast, having grown up in The Bay Area and then moving East to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. Based in New England since, she has reached acclaim both at home and abroad, touring the U.S. as well as overseas in the countries where all that fiddling began—Ireland, UK, and Denmark. Her newest effort is called Acoustic Project: a collaboration with Natalie Haas on cello, Brittany Haas with five string and fiddle, Hanneke Cassel on fiddle, and Laura playing fiddle and singing. Singing quite well, I might add. She is well suited to her genre, and melds sugary pop songs and traditional fiddling that makes for a happily surprising combination.

The first track, “Overcome”, is deeply felt and lovely, with the instrumental line and the vocals moving between complimenting and contradicting each other. It is as if Laura has split her vocal chords and is harmonizing with herself: the instrumental and her vocals are equally strong in delivering her voice. “Perfect Tuesdays” is much less interesting, with lyrics that lie flat and fail to surprise. The middle two tracks, however, “5 Tune” and “Du Petit Sarny” are absolutely perfect.

Without a vocal line at all, the listener can dive into the instrumental energy that these women have together, reveling in their momentum and the tension between the lines. “Women of the Ages” is a welcome respite after two such energetic tracks. Harp-like finger picking and the simplicity of structure allow the listener to relax once more into the album. The poem that Laura sings is by John Beaton from 2005, with the refrain “We’re the women of the ages wooed to walk to the aisles of grief; we’re the wear on well-worn pages where posterity retraces deeds of men in bold relief.” A profound image, rightly sung simply and clearly to let the poem be heard. “Wade On In” is probably the best showing of Laura’s voice.

There is a beautiful depth and ease that she demonstrates here, and again it is in delicious tension with the instrumental line. I wish she would embrace her lower vocal range more often—it is rich and mellow. Finally, “Greasy Coat” finishes the album. A fun track, but a little out of control, and it lacks the subtlety of the other songs.

The album is overall an enjoyable listen, a perfect accompaniment to a rainy day or a drive in the country. The lyrics, for the most part, invoke a pleasant introspection and calm energy. Some tracks are more successful than others; the music succeeds when the different instruments and Laura’s voice all play well against each other. It is the friction between the lines, like the friction of a bow grinding the violin, which makes this music exciting. On this album, sometimes that friction exists and sometimes it doesn’t.

Written by: Beth Fagan, December 2nd 2010

Oh, Hear the Wind Blow

brittany — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 02:00:00 +0000

By The Chapin Sisters

Lake Bottom Records

The West Coast, indie feel to the Chapin Sister’s album Oh, Hear the Wind Blow could easily have made it my pick for this year’s perfect summer album. Sadly, it’s September as I write this, and soon flip-flops will make way for boots. However, I suggest you squeeze the last rays out of summer with this album.

The Sisters are nieces of musician Harry Chapin and the daughters of Tom Chapin. Their musical family and the thorough musical training they received as a result shines in their pieces. Simple instrumentation, easy-going rhythms, and the sisters’ reedy and mellow harmonies carry on the tradition of American music while incorporating a modern-folk-pop flavor. On some tracks, Abigail and Lily are joined by their other sister, Jessica Craven. Their instrumentalists are The Brothers Brothers: Dan Horne on bass, Louis Stephens on the keys, and Aaron Sperske on the drums.

Their tambourines and “ooh wa’s” on “Left All Alone,” echo the style of Zooey Deschanel, currently in vogue as the lead singer of the band She + Him (with whom the Sisters toured this last spring). The lilting melody and Stephens’ stylings on the keyboard of “Let Me Go” and the slowly rollicking guitar progression on “Palm Tree” drew upon the sound of their uncle’s generation. The exposed melody and chant line of “Digging a Hole,” combined with the almost tribal percussion stands out as the most unique song on the album. The lyrics are worth a listen as well, drawing on an attitude of strength and folk-inspired images of the natural world.

From the lovely handmade appearance of the cover art to the familiar and familial bond of perfect harmony, this album carries the Chapin signature and fuses it with the new era of American music.

Written by: Cristin Colvin, September 11th 2010

Hadestown

admin — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:01:00 +0000

By Anaïs Mitchell

Righteous Babe Records

Before reviewing the album, I have to admit, Ani Difranco and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, who are both major contributors to the project, definitely rake up the most counts on my iTunes top played lists. Bias.

That said however, Anaïs Mitchell’s folk opera Hadestown is a masterful album in its own right, originally beginning in 2006 as a live show that toured New England with a cast of twenty-two performers. The show, and now complete album, is an impressive Americana retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice that evokes a feel of Depression-era America and a doomed future in which all desperately seek to preserve their power, freedom, and riches.

Researching the mythical story a bit so I could understand the compelling narration of the album, I found that it is a love story about Orpheus, a poet who swayed Hades with his beautiful music to bring back his beloved Eurydice from the underworld. As I already alluded to, Mitchell’s ambitious, bold, fourth album is a collaborative project, with the lead singer of Bon Iver as Orpheus (my all-time favorite), Ani DiFranco as Persephone (the strong-willed wife of Hades), Greg Brown as Hades ("king of the kingdom of dirt") and Mitchell as Eurydice, the beautiful young woman seduced into Hades' underworld.

"I recognized in the Orpheus character something a lot of artists feel: his heartbreaking optimism," observes Mitchell. "In the underworld, the rules are the rules, you don’t get a dead person back—but Orpheus believes if he can just sing/play/write something beautiful enough, maybe he can do the impossible, move the heart of stone, get through to someone. I've felt that feeling..." And alas, an incredible album is born, complete with human emotion, social commentary, and an incredibly impressive artistic collaboration.

In general, the lovely Vermont singer-songwriter has a unique, eclectic style all her own, but has definitely been influenced by "the earthiness of Shawn Colvin, the child-like bite of Joanna Newsom, and the urban jumpiness of Ani DiFranco." As this reviewer continues, "These elements, as disparate as they might seem, come together as nicely as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg" (Margaret Reges, Allmusic.com). In January 2008, I was actually lucky enough to see Mitchell play shortly after she was taken up by Difranco’s Righteous Babe Records, opening a show for the extraordinary anti-folk goddess herself.

Back to the album, Hadestown is definitely the most creative, inspired folk album I have heard in the past couple years, bringing a fresh perspective to the mythic tradition and timeless themes of power, love and desperation. Listen—to the feature on NPR or buy it—but listen to it all the way through. Even if the Americana style generally doesn’t appeal to you, and I admit it normally doesn’t for me, the inspired and compelling narration, craft, and featured artists on the album come together and truly form something magical.

Written by: Abigail Chance, May 28th 2010

Live in Louisville

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Carrie Rodriguez

Luz Music

“Well you have it, you love it, now it’s your turn to shove it…I don’t want to play house anymore,” sings Carrie Rodriguez on her newly released live compilation album, Live in Louisville. Her soulful voice, accompanied by rousing fiddles, makes her point with grace and force. The tunes on the album come from Rodriguez’ various other projects, but the most colorful are those she takes the credit for writing.

“I Don’t Want to Play House Anymore,” “Seven Angles on a Bicycle,” (from the album of the same name), and “Never Gonna Be Your Bride” are among the more upbeat sounds on the album, but that doesn’t mean the rest are purely maudlin. The slower tracks on the album are as much soulful as they are haunting.

The eclectic sounds of her band would put her solidly in an Americana, that amalgam of roots music that revisions country, folk, and blues, but the unique twists and turns of her voice bridge the renewed attention to the genre with more traditional bluegrass and even the more sentimental songwriting of Jewel, Indigo Girls, and Julie Roberts (of country fame).

There is an element of the unexpected in each song, whether it’s a musical bridge or a turn of phrase, and the dusky sound of Rodriguez’s voice seems to make her the perfect candidate for a closing credits track on HBO’s True Blood—a new Grey’s Anatomy of sorts for launching the hottest new music.

Rodriguez can please the country in you while reminding you through her pertinent lyrics that you’re alive, you share in disasters and joys like the rest of us. And just as you’re ready to dismiss one track as too country or too slow, the next places you squarely in New Orleans among an impromptu fiddle fest or back into a dark, dank bar with a lonely mic.

Live in Louisville's variety—in voice and vision—is well worth a listen.

Written by: Dr. Julie E. Ferris, April 14th 2010

Death of the Sun

admin — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:22:00 +0000

By Matteah Baim

DiChristina Stair Builders

Former singer/songwriter of the Metallic Falcons (with CocoRosie's Sierra Cassady), Matteah Baim branched out on her own not long ago and has come forth with her debut solo album, which includes collaborations with some of today’s biggest names in hipster folk, including Devendra Banhart and 90 Day Men’s Rob Lowe. While the musical composition stands out to me more than Baim’s crackling voice, her cover of the African-American spiritual, "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore (Michael Row)," is a delightful surprise halfway through the disc. The title track is a short but powerful ascent over a sonic incline, and “Who Knows” and “Far Away Songs” round out the disc’s haunting, minimalist flavor.

To say that this collection resonates with me would be a bit of a lie, but to say this isn’t a solid album with important collaborations and a couple of excellent stand-out songs would also be unfair. Clocking in at only thirty minutes, the album is composed of nine tracks that highlight to Baim’s style. Despite how much this record grew on me over the course of the weeks it spent in my stereo, I suspect this is one of those genre albums you either appreciate or won’t adopt based on this effort alone.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, October 4th 2007

Trailercana

admin — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:47:00 +0000

By Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours

DPR Records

As a former trailer inhabitant myself, I was quite curious to see how Antsy McClain and the Trailer Park Troubadours’ latest album, Trailercana, would move me. While I was not immediately turned off as Antsy and his band of rockabilly misfits cranked out twangy opener “Living in Aluminum” and other saloony sing-alongs, Trailercana isn’t an album I’d listen to more than once.

Not to say Antsy and the Trailer Park Troubadours don’t do what they do well. Fans should be more than pleased with the band’s latest backyard barbeque effort. I’m just not a fan of the genre - kind of Dire Straits meets Jimmy Buffet in a back-country bar. However, I’m highly appreciative of musicians with an authentic sound and sense of humor, and in that regard, Trailercana will resonate, given the right audience.

With track titles like “KOA Refugee,” “Ron Howard’s Brother,” and my personal favorite, “I Was Just Flipped Off by a Silver Haired Old Lady With a ‘Honk If You Love Jesus’ Sticker on the Bumper of Her Car,” Trailercana delivers melodic comical narratives with a genuine fondness for the trashiness of trailer park living – true Americana – with guitar slides and harmonies to boot.

And while I cringe at the thought of joining the Troubadours’ cult of fanatics (dubbed ‘flamingo heads’), I’m still a sucker for a well-groomed man in wingtips and black-framed glasses. If you are one to indulge your curiosities, Trailercana might just be worth a listen.

Written by: Annie Wilkins, July 14th 2007

Songs From Under the Sink

admin — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 13:59:00 +0000

By Mischief Brew

Fistolo Records

Mischief Brew describes the 14-track album Songs From Under the Sink as a “collection of anthems, ballads, marches, love songs, hate songs, and lullabies” written over five years, from 1997 to 2002. It is a “lost LP,” resurrected or “finally brought up from the cellar-or, from under the sink.” These descriptors help identify this album as being a non-identifiable hodge-podge of sorts, with a variety of distinct sounds. Some are “hot and spicy, some are just as fresh as the day they were written, and others may have passed their expiration date a bit. But that’s what happens when you clean out your cupboards.”

That sounds just about right. From the opening track “Thanks, Bastards,” with its raspy vocals and jabs at the political establishment, to the forceful lines “Fuck the city, burn it down” on “Save A City” to the jaunty sounds on “Gratitude and Thanks” and “All Our Comrades” and a folksy version of “Midnight Special” complete with cowbell – this album is the whole spice rack and then some. The lyrics on this album are politically charged throughout, but are heartfelt and not didactic. Most if not all of the songs are about some kind of rebellion, be it against The State or a state of things.

The more I listened to the album, the more impressed I became with the influence of a multitude of musical styles. What you’ll notice is how easy the songs are to listen to, learn the words, and sing along with. If you already know you have a predilection for olde-tyme-folk-punk-Celtic-gypsy-jazz, and even if you don’t, I am willing to bet you will find yourself swaying along to the lullabies and kicking your feet up in celebration for the marches.

Written by: Lillian B., April 14th 2007

Smash the Windows

admin — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 14:14:00 +0000

By Mischief Brew

Fistolo

I have truly never heard anything like Mischief Brew. Much of their music pairs such disparate elements as a heavy-metal bassline and a twangy mandolin, and a study of the lyrics reveals a similar discord: an aggressive expression of anti-establishment anger, under which lies a genuine desire to celebrate freedom and individuality. Their music feels at once like a barroom brawl and an intelligent, textured cultural critique.

While Smash the Windows incorporates solid musicianship and strong production, the vocals miss their mark. Erik Petersen growls his way through many of these songs as though he is determined to sound like a true punk-rocker, but he instead achieves a forced and grating melodrama. I picture him onstage in full pirate getup—a skull-tight bandana and crossbones punctuating a faded-black t-shirt. I appreciate the band’s tendency to combine unlikely elements (e.g., heavy metal rasping with a relaxed jazz riff), but I can’t help but think the vocals limit the potential of these songs to appeal to a wide audience.

Nevertheless, these songs are catchy and filled with a youthful sense of rebellion that dares listeners to not sing along. Raucous music and anarchistic lyrics create a powerful combination in the songs that work here, such as “Nomad’s Revolt” in which Petersen instructs us to “kill off Columbus and turn the world around.” “Roll Me Through the Gates of Hell” uses a fun, ska-influenced progression to declare “Satan’s army’s rising up soon/ well if it is, I’m the secretary of No-State.” Though some lyrics seem to stem from an immature or naïve perspective, Smash the Windows is a compelling call to action overall, and its integration of jazz, metal, punk and americana traditions treads some much-needed new musical ground.

Written by: Sarah Hudgens, April 7th 2007

The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes (1991-2006)

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:04:00 +0000

By Mercury Rev

When groups like Mercury Rev come to mind, one cannot deny that a band with such a rich discography and history has had obvious influence on other groups that emerged from their sound. The songs on The Essential Mercury Rev vary from lo-fi to jazz, at times, and the mood meanders from melancholy to whimsical from song to song. Upon listening to the double-disc set, it is apparent that Mercury Rev made way for more modern bands like Death Cab for Cutie and The Shins. Their sounds are similar, pairing a somber kind of lyrical tone with songs that maintain a common theme of a kind of happy sadness.

The songs on the first disc of The Essential Mercury Rev do not contain their earlier work, but the albums provide strong examples of their work despite the lack of presence of their more psychedelic songs. The second disc offers their versions of covers by the likes of David Bowie, Neil Young and the Chemical Brothers, to name a few. I felt as though the second disc was not necessarily imperative to the set as a whole, but fans will surely be happy with these songs that are otherwise considered rarities.

Often compared to bands like the Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth, Mercury Rev have proved their prominence in international music culture. The sound that they have so richly crafted still holds up today, and this album is a testament to that.

Written by: Lauren Begnaud, March 12th 2007

North

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 03:06:00 +0000

By Tim Emmerick and Cold Front County

Red One Records

Here is one golden child in the blended world of rock, roots and Americana; with his sometimes ranting but passion-filled album North, Tim Emmerick & Cold Front County do it up on their debut. Hearing desire and passion, struggle and reminiscing, you want to cry and hug the guy for his close to home storytelling and in-your-face lyrics.

Putting out a well-crafted and sing-along sound, Emmerick creatively hearkens identifiable rites of passage for all of us, and he echoes early '90s rock with a ripping and raspy start on his first track “Black River Bridge.” Hearing the influences of Wilco and Steve Earl, you harmonize with the lyrics of “This Time Last Year” while appreciating all instruments surrounding the lyrics. With a pack of musicians, Emmerick experiments with sound, sometimes throwing a punk beat into his distinct melodies. The pedal steel guitar in “Mercy” ends with a note and nod to his mother, and yes, this is heart-wrenching!

Somber and sincere, cohesive and warm, this album introduces us to the band; as they continue to create, their sound will only get stronger. Listen to it, and you will agree! North rocks!

Written by: Carolyn Espe, March 2nd 2007