Palebear Archives

Category : Alt Country

A Cat Called Cricket
Here Comes Another Melody

So how was your Wednesday? I spent the entire day listening to new CDs. Again. I need to go watch TV or something to unravel my brain which is seriously burnt out on trying to come up with RIYLs and synonyms for “indie pop rock”.

But before I do, here’s a nice little CD from a folksy, indie pop rock (ahaha) band from Maryland that reminds me an awful lot of Philly’s Matt Pond PA. Something about the strings I guess, which I’m known to be a sucker for. But seriously, there are some awful nice stringsy arrangements going on here. Bit ‘o Rilo Kiley perhaps in there. Nice banjo picking. Excellent layer cake harmonies, especially on “While You Sleep”. Slight alt-country feel. Vocals sound familiar, can’t place it. “More Of (Nothing)” is an awesome acoustic guitar and strings instrumental that turns Polyphonic Spree-ish at the end. I expect it to be played as background music on PBS soon.

Sorry, I’m about to collapse here, must go watch mindless TV now. Put the Cat Called Cricket back on To-Listen list. But you can head over to their Myspace to listen for yourself. Over and out.

…urgh, came back from watching TV because forgot to mention that the label that they are on, The Beechfields, also houses two great bands that a lot of us like: Private Eleanor and The Seldon Plan. Ok, now I’m really going.

Listen:
Tracks on Myspace

Visit:
A Cat Called Cricket website
The Beechfields website

by Palebear | No Comments

Amateur Radio Operator
Sirens Of Titan

I don’t know if it was intended or not, but the first thing that I noticed about Amateur Radio Operator was their album name - Sirens of Titan. Hello title-of-a-Kurt Vonnegut book. Needless to say, I sort of sat on this album for several months - even though I really dig it. This seems to happen frequently. The more I like an album, the longer it takes to get it reviewed. I guess that goes against common sense, but hey - you get what you get.

Anyhow, I really like the deep, vast alt-country soundscapes created by the band. It’s VERY Band of Horses (yeah, that Band of Horses). But at times I like ARO even more because of they lean even more toward the sparse and moody, with cello and quieter moments giving the songs greater swim and less swing. The vocals definitely land them in the My Morning Jacket territory but the music can be more Norfolk and Western at times. Unlike others, I think I actually like the speedbumps here - it fits wonderfully with the overall mood. But of course they’re capable of rocking out as well.

According to the bio, they’re big fans of “entropic music” - the decay that hides alongside bigger made-for-radio choruses. I like that. Broken Household Appliance National Forest - here we come.

by Palebear | No Comments

Armored Frog
Blasted Record Effect

I was recently clued into a band called Armored Frog, whose name was reason enough to check them out. But I really dug the 3 songs available on site which all come from their Weasel on a Weathervane CD. As near as I can tell from this selection, Armored Frog’s specialty is extremely hushed and weather-worn folky songs that have more in common with Mark Linkous and Norfolk and Western than any appalachian crowd.

The minimalist “Blasted Record Effect” moves along at the speed of sloth, and the empty space between the notes wonderfully highlights the vocals (either from George Ayres or Jake Baker, I don’t know which). Like a true frog, their singing is extremely throaty and croaky… someone give them a cough drop! But it actually works beautifully in all of their tracks. The atmosphere reminded me of some of the slower Hayden songs.

Continue reading “Armored Frog - Blasted Record Effect” …

by Palebear | 4 Comments

Band of Horses
Cease To Begin

So how’s the new Band of Horses album Cease To Begin? Hm… here’s the thing. Band of Horses released Everything All The Time to a immense landslide of public acclaim, and it similarly blew my socks off from the moment I first heard it. There were the insta-hits “The Great Salt Lake” and “The Funeral” and nearly every other song on the album went into me like a shimmering tornado.

In other words, it was beautiful and try as I might, I couldn’t stop expecting something similar to happen with Cease to Begin. I think reviewing music, even as a part-time thing, tends to instill a bit of the jaded cynic in you. I expected rapid-fire, enthusiastic enjoyment immediately. I mean, I’m thrown so much music at once that it’s difficult to remember that some bands or albums take a little more time than others.

The thing is that there’s just no time - if I gave every band the time that I’m willing to give Band of Horses then I would be reviewing music 24 hours a day. And we all know where that leads…

Anyhow. Structurally, the music is intact - sweeping, dreamy and poignant rock. James Mercer meets My Morning Jacket meets Doug Martsch is still an apt comparison. Early on, the standouts for me were “Is There A Ghost”, “No Ones Gonna Love You”, and “Detlef Schrempf”. It’s not that the other songs are bad - I think they’re just going to need a little more time to percolate through my music-weary system. I also feel like this album seems a little too short - 10 songs clocking in at under 35 minutes.

But do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. Beards and all.

Listen:
Is There A Ghost

On Itunes:
Everything All The Time (on Subpop)

Watch:
The Great Salt Lake (video)
The Funeral (video)

Visit:
Band of Horses website
Subpop website

by Palebear | No Comments

Band of Horses
Everything All The Time

Somtimes I really hate Pitchfork.

I’d gotten the new Band of Horses pre-release of Everything All The Time more than a month ago and it had taken up residence in the trusty Ipod. Slowly winning me over with their intoxicating blend of dreamy and orchestral horsey musings. Forget Brokeback Mountain’s cowboys, I’ll take this band of horses anyday. I’d come up with a perfect opening comparison for them and was just about ready to take on writing them up. Then, the other day I turn on Pitchfork and see the EXACT same comparison waiting there for me.

What a bummer. Anyhow, what I had thought was an immensely original comparison was that Band of Horses remind me of My Morning Jacket fronted by James Mercer of The Shins. Looking back on it, that wasn’t such an amazing intuition. This is exactly how they come across to me.

I guess you snooze you lose. We don’t have a staff of millions. But enough about us, what about the amazing Band of Horses? Well, they are amazing.

Like The Shins, their music goes for the gut, with grand, sweeping, bold-is-brilliant aural colors. The differences are that they venture frequently into the alt-country outback frequented by a band like Wilco. Also, every song on the album is extremely strong which is quite unlike Shins albums to me. With Shins, the hits are farther apart. With BOH it’s nearly non-stop.

Continue reading “Band of Horses - Everything All The Time” …

by Palebear | Comments Off

Beltline
Welcome Nostalgia

Beltline is a Portland area band that offer up a heady mix of a number of styles including eclectic indie rock and more sparsely populated alt country music. They have succeeded in combing the cameradrie mindset of big band porch rockers like Lambchop with an edgier rock attitude that shines forth in their songs. Instruments like cello and vibraphone make a frequent appearance and add a lot of personality to the tracks. The band centers around the nice vocals of Rob Jones but includes a revolving crew of indie stalwarts from bands like The Decemberists.

Sample tracks from Beltline:
Bang / Head / Counter - Welcome, Nostalgia CD
The New Rules - Welcome, Nostalgia CD
Welcome, Nostalgia - Welcome, Nostalgia CD

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Turns out Bill Callahan, one of my favorite grumblyfolkers, is coming out with a new album in April called Woke On A Whaleheart. Couldn’t find any advance tracks on the Drag City site, but here are some recent videos to keep you going until they do get some tracks. Ah yes - some good ‘ol Cold Blooded ‘ol Times…

Watch:

“Rock Bottom Riser”
Directed by Paul McNeil & Brendan Cook
Produced by Picturedrift
(Quicktime, 5.6 mb)

“I Feel Like the Mother of the World”
Directed by Bryce Kass
Produced by Daft Arts
(Quicktime, 5 mb)

Visit:

Bill Callahan/Smog on Drag City

by Palebear | No Comments

Chris Koza
Patterns

Got this nifty CD entitled “Patterns” from Minneapolis popsmith Chris Koza. When we say popsmith, I should probably say alterna-country-folk-popsmith. Sounds like I did a little more work coming up with that. But truthfully, he has a knack for making some great pop tunes. Granted, some of these songs lean right up against the edge of mainstream AOR. But they’re still some great songs here.

I note he’s been compared to a ton of different folks; for mine, let’s try Matt Pond P.A., Jon Brion, and M. Ward. The acoustic guitar songs are often introspective. Personally, I like more of the pop-rock stuff like “Midnight Rose” and less of the rootsy-rock harmonica songs like “Candle in the Dark”. His more mellow tracks like “Goldmine” do indeed remind me of Wilco as the press kit mentions.

Band Website:

www.chriskoza.com

by Palebear | Comments Off

Fionn Regan
The End Of History

Beautiful, clear fingerpicking is what originally drew me to Fionn Regan’s The End of History release. Added arrangements with strings and sparse, brushed drums kept me going starting with “Hunters Map”, a sort of spaghetti western style song meeting up with Iron and Wine. Great vocals and melodies rounded out the arrangements and continued throughout the album making this a very good folksy alt-country offering.

On tracks like “Hey Rabbit”, Fionn reminds me of James Booth a little bit - there’s a definite dramatic tinge in his voice. Other songs like “Put A Penny In The Slot” remind me of a super indie folk band I like called Ponies In The Surf. Overall, the songs are extremely strong, not watered down like some of the folk and country stuff that passes through the doors, and it’s been spending a considerable amount of time in the stereo over here. I think Fionn is Irish… this debut record is out on the Lost Highway label in the U.S, but on Bella Union elsewhere.

Listen:
Fionn Regan Myspace

On Itunes:
The End Of History

Watch:
Be Good or Be Gone

Visit:
Fionn Regan’s website

by Palebear | No Comments

Francine
Silver Plated 606

I heard a track from Francine off of SOMA FM and instantly needed to find out more about the band. Wow, I really liked the two songs available for download off their most recent album 28 Plastic Blue Versions of Ending Without You. These guys are masters of the unexpected (but nevertheless delicious) left-turn chord change.

The first track is called Silver Plated 606 and the chorus really showcases their talent at this. I mean the chord changes are super interesting, but are so natural that it doesn’t feel like they’re “trying” to be complex or anything. If I could point to any one band that they remind me of on this song it would have to be Heatmiser (Elliott Smith and Sam Coomes of Quasi got their start from this band). The loping tub drums and the aforementioned chord changes really remind me of “The Fix Is In” off of Mic City Sons. Their use of slightly twangy guitar with that engaging drawl led me to think of some of the Dandy Warhols’ slower songs.

Continue reading “Francine - Silver Plated 606″ …

by Bryan | Comments Off

I told myself I wasn’t going to label Great Lake Swimmers as Band of Horses meets Norfolk and Western. But there’s a big difference between telling yourself that and having it obliterate any useful RIYL information running around in your head.

But truly, this is a great band that plays the dreamy and reverbed type of Alt-Country Americana Folk (er, Canadiana Folk) that Band of Horses is known for. They’re much more toned down, however - less of the anthemic indie rock feel. Great Lake Swimmers are from Toronto, and I’ve yet to hear a song of theirs that I haven’t liked - which means I should probably get on the ball and buy their CD(s). “Moving Pictures, Silent Films” is probably one of the most starkly beautiful songs that I’ve ever heard - so full of yearning and open spaces. It is unbelivably gorgeous and has been known to move many a Hockey-playin’ man to tears… Ok I made that up but you get the idea.

Listen:
Your Rocky Spine
Moving Pictures Silent Films
Song For The Angels

On Itunes:
Great Lake Swimmers
Ongiara
Bodies and Minds

Watch:
Bodies and Minds video

Visit:
Great Lake Swimmers website

by Palebear | No Comments

Jim White
Static On The Radio

I found out about Jim White through the Sixeyes site. I’d never heard of him before but apparently he’s been releasing stuff for awhile.

This isn’t your normal everyday alt-country… the music is infused with a sort of strange, almost film-noir quality. It’s like the songs could be friendly porch tunes but refuse to sit still quietly, choosing instead to roam around under the moonlight. The track I heard was called “Static On The Radio” off of Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See and features White’s careful lurking whisper occasionally being backed up by his own falsetto. Sometimes I almost feel like this is a less quirky 6ths (Stephen Merritt) song. It has that playful but dreamy quality to it.

Continue reading “Jim White - Static On The Radio” …

by Palebear | 1 Comment

Juviley
How To Miss The Ground

Ok, so I sort of needed this album to right my sanity. After tossing quite a few CDs of Kinski-esque Melvins metal, it was nice to come across the beautiful, pastoral album by Juviley. Equal parts Kings of Convenience, Mojave 3 and Belle and Sebastian, “How To Miss The Ground” mopes melodically along at its own pace. In particular, I enjoyed the drowsy slide guitar which infuses his pop songs. Feeling no need to speed up the world, Or Zublasky encourages us to slow down and smell the music. Smells quite good to me.

Visit:
Juviley on Myspace

by Palebear | No Comments

Laura Cantrell
14th Street

I don’t know if it’s just me but Nashville’s Laura Cantrell has one of the sweetest and prettiest voices I’ve heard lately. This sort of came out from left field for me, because I found her music while just browsing the Matador Records site. When I think of Matador, I’m thinking Interpol and Yo La Tengo… all the big indie rock names. But Laura doesn’t really fit with that crowd, though Matador is definitely known for it’s eclectic lineup.

The first song off her new album “Humming By The Flowered Vine” is a cover of a song by Portland’s Emily Spray called “14th Street”, a catchy and straightforward (if slightly adult contemporary) pop song. A really beautiful tune actually, I could see how it would definitely catch indie label ears. It’s Cantrell’s voice that really shines through here, a combination of sweet airy vocals that ride just barely on the edge of melancholy. When she sings up higher its a bit Joni Mitchell, but when in her wheelhouse range it’s more Lori Carson.

Continue reading “Laura Cantrell - 14th Street” …

by Palebear | Comments Off

A beautiful, and all too short, new EP from Lys Guillorn came our way awhile ago. Three Songs are three of the prettiest home-recorded folky tunes to hit our ears in awhile. Shades of Edith Frost, Tarnation, and many other indie country artists bloom forth on her songs. She has a lilting voice that slyly lulls you nearly to sleep, but the pretty pastoral melodies and instrumentation (mandolin, bells and lap steel guitar) are enough to make you sit up and take notice. The music has a country garden feel but with a good dose of darkness to it so it’s not “skippin’ in the garden” country.

Band Website:

www.lysguillorn.com

by Palebear | Comments Off

Matt Pond PA
Emblems

Yes, I know that Matt Pond PA’s Emblems album is actually from 2004, but I just got a chance to pick it up at Amoeba the other day. Excellent, strongly constructed songs like his earlier work, such as the Measure CD which is where I originally heard about him. To be honest, the slightly weird name (does PA stand for “public address”?) was what first caught my eye in a music magazine. I believe it was an article in Magnet Magazine. But the interesting mix of straightforward rock, alt-country and a bit of folk along with his engaging lyrics was what kept me coming back for more.

Continue reading “Matt Pond PA - Emblems” …

by Palebear | 2 Comments

Nire
We All Shine On

I received this CD-R from the band Nire a few months ago and have been enjoying it on and off. I must say that this type of music is just definitely up my alley - hushed, soft folky pop songs with boy and girl harmonies. The Portland, OR band is actually going to be touring with the excellent Ponies In The Surf band who we’ve covered at Shmat earlier.

Like the Ponies, Nire makes music that is often introspective and quiet, perhaps referencing bands like Mojave 3 and The Yum Yum. The same minimalistic approach is there but where they differ is in the flavoring; where the Ponies use a slight Latin-American influence to spice up their songs, Nire’s secret weapon is Erin’s muted piano playing. The songs are a little less whimsical as well.

This actually works really well as simple held chords in songs like “New Pair Of Shoes“, or more active plunking on “Something More” and “Let Go”.

It is also interesting how the album is called “We All Shine On”, because while there could be some shades of Lennon here, the piano instrumentals “Prelude” and “Interlude” seem to have a definite modern sort of influence to them, using repetitive arpeggios to create a minimal soundscape.

“So Small” definitely reminds me of Yum Yum, who were a great hushed folk-pop band with similar boy-girl singing. This song, like the rest of the ones on the album, is just so pretty and is my favorite track right now.

“We All Shine On” has become another great rainy day disc to put on when the skies turn grey outside. I’m actually hoping to catch them live with the Ponies when they come through town…

Members:
Josh Hinton - guitar / vocals
Erin Morgan - piano / vocals

Tracks:

Fading Stars
So Small

Artist Website:

www.niremusic.com/

by Bryan | Comments Off

Rocky Votolato
Makers

I’m not exactly sure how we missed checking out Rocky Votolato seeing as how it’s plastered on the splash screen for Barsuk Records. But miss it we did; it was probably one of those “I’ll just check it out later” things that got misfiled. (I was reminded of him from a post on faves 3hive)

Anyhow, though his last name may be a bit of a typingtwister (I keep typing Voltotado), his music is contains some really fine and serene folk-based acoustic musings. From Barsuk’s Northwest backyard via Texas, Votolato’s latest release is Makers out on Barsuk this past January.

“White Daisy Passing” was the first song I heard, and there’s a good chance that you have as well seeing as it was featured in the television show The OC a little while ago. That show has got a serious case of indie-artist-itis… not that it’s a bad thing. For us at least.

Anyhow, “White Daisy” is a really pretty folk tune that has a feel similar to The Shins “New Slang” of all things. The songs have a poignant as well as lonesome feel to them like they were created in wide open spaces. I wonder how much of that has to do with his Texan roots.

The songs are more straightforward folk than the Appalachian tunes of Sam Beam and seem a bit more upbeat instead of overly mopy. He has a pretty strong voice as well, and does some beautiful harmonizing with his own vocal melodies. He includes harmonica in a couple tracks, though that doesn’t make an appearance on “White Daisy Passing”.

Hmm.. interestingly, I read that he used to be in an “emo” band before? I’ll let that slide. Some good songs to be had from him.

Members:

Rocky Votolato

Albums available on Itunes:

Makers (2006 Barsuk)
Light and Sound EP (2003 Second Nature Recordings)
Suicide Medicine (2003 Second Nature Recordings)
Burning My Travels Clean (2001 Second Nature Recordings)
Rocky Votolato (1999 Status Recordings)

Rocky Votolato’s Webite:

www.rockyvotolato.com/

by Tyranosaur | Comments Off

Sera Cahoone
Only As The Day Is Long

I’d actually been looking forward to this album for a really long time. Funny, the first time I heard Sera Cahoone I had no idea she also sprang forth from the (now seminal) band Carissa’s Wierd. I just knew she was somehow related to Band of Horses and I really liked the songs from her first solo album that I heard.

Now that SubPop picked her up, she’s got another album out - “Only As The Day Is Long.” It’s a lovely little folky country album. Truthfully, I like the more sparse moments of the first 3 songs on the album - when “Runnin’ Your Way” starts up I get a little antsy. For me, the current alt-country-folk americana thingy that’s so popular walks a pretty delicate line between boring mainstream country and amazing indie folk. It’s never the Dixie Chicks (thankfully), but give me the slower stuff on the album any day. “You’re Not Broken” is a great track - plaintive and simple.

Visit:
Sera Cahoone’s website
Sera Cahoone on MySpace

by Palebear | No Comments

Sera Cahoone
S/T

I’d pretty much forgotten to post about Sera Cahoone who I found out about during my pre-Band of Horses absorption days. She actually is a drummer, having played with Carissa’s Weird which was an early incarnation of Band of Horses. She also contributed the drums on the latter’s Sub Pop release.

In any case, her self-titled album is definitely worth a listen - a great blend of straight up country and more modern folk balladeers. A little Gillian Welch, Emily Haines and Edith Frost being channeled through her mostly mellow tracks. She has a really warm and distinct voice - uh, kinda like that Poptart that’s now almost completely done in my toaster oven.. gotta run, but have a gander:

Listen:

Last Time
Couch Song
Long Highway

On Itunes:

Sera Cahoone - S/T

Visit:

Sera Cahoone’s website

by Palebear | 1 Comment

The Shins
Wincing The Night Away

A funny thing happened to me on the way to the post office box the other day. I got the new Shins release Wincing The Night Away in the mail… I guess it’s not such a FUNNY thing, but I’d thought that with all the lack of coverage at Palebear that I’d been booted off their promo list. It seems like every other blog (and their mom) had this release already. Good to know I’m still on the list, albeit at low priority. =)

Anyhow, too much has probably been written about the new record. I’ve surreptitiously been avoiding reading about it. You probably just want to know: is it worth picking up. The answer so far, in the 10 listens since I received it, is generally Yes. I can hear the Shinfanatics yelling at me now.

I guess it just didn’t grab me as hard as Inverted World or Chutes did right away. Sure, you’ve got your anthemic hits like “Phantom Limb” and “Turn On Me” which will always elevate them high in indie hearts. But it took a full 5 listens to get into many of the other songs. The quirkiness which has always been their strong suit is definitely still there. But in my opinion it’s often overly squandered on the louder material. “Sleeping Lessons” contains an interesting Air-like arpeggio mapped onto a double time snare-fest worthy of the Interpol or the White Stripes. “Australia” bounces along quite nicely, but “Pam Berry” is basically just a gratuitous Dick Dale Pulp Fiction surf line. “Sea Legs” sounds like a Beck outtake, while “Girl Sailor” is also an outtake but of the Belle and Sebastian variety.

Continue reading “The Shins - Wincing The Night Away” …

by Palebear | No Comments

The Stalking Horses
This Is Your Signal

I have two words for you: Bettie Serveert. Indeed, I’d only recently looked up that group which was one of my fave bands of the 90s and found that they were still making music. So when I put in The Stalking Horses CD I thought that maybe for some reason I’d accidentally gotten a Bettie Serveert album mixed up with it. Sarah Pinsker reminds me so much of Carol Van Dijk, of course minus the Dutch inflections.

However, when the second song “Push On” kicks in, its clear that there are other musical ideas afoot. I definitely do hear the damaged post-punk reference to Afghan Whigs in the music, though the everything isn’t as over the top as Greg Dulli and company can get. The underlying music is more rootsy than punk. I have to confess I’m not such a big fan of “roots-rock in the heartland” type music, however indie it is… in fact if it weren’t for the Bettie resemblance this might have been a CD I’d have passed on. However, listening to the CD a couple times the whole thing started to grow on me.

They have other songs like “Still Be Here” that are a bit more varied and mellow, almost alt-country like if that phrase still means anything nowadays. A bit of an Americana-rock feel to other tracks. For some reason I also hear the echoes of a 90s band called Madder Rose. This is another worthwhile release from The Beechfields label.

Listen:
This Is Your Signal
Everything Bounces

Visit:
The Stalking Horses website
The Stalking Horses Myspace

by Palebear | No Comments

The Val Papadins
No One Wants To Move The Piano

I’m trying to decide if the Val Papadins put me in more of a “smoky jazz nightclub lounge” type of mood or a “backwater deserted Mojave Desert road” type of mood. I’m sorta leaning toward the latter feeling, even though the vocals on the CD are definitely going for that Walkman / Waits battered and bruised vibe. I don’t know too much about the band except that they are from Northern Cal, I believe the Sonoma area? If that’s indeed their origins, it would make sense that their music sounds the way it does. I drove through that area twice and except for the wine-seeking tourists, it’s a sleepy, slightly lonesome town - just perfect to make music like this.

As far as band comparisons go, it’s a bit difficult to put a finger on it - but the Walkmen comparison is fair. For me, I actually like the music which is ominous and uneasy, but not so much that it makes you feel like heading for the hills. There is something very unsettling about this band that made me leave the CD in the player - kind of like how you end up picking up a sketchy hitchhiker that you probably shouldn’t have.

On certain songs the singing sounds almost like Frank Black, but not as screechy. The additional instrumentation includes piano, mandolin, ebow, accordian (or melodica?) and definitely contributes to the slightly creepy atmosphere. Many songs have a sort of faster folk, south-western or alt-country feel to them.

Listen:
The Val Papadins on Myspace

On Itunes:
No One Wants To Move The Piano

Visit:
Val Papadins website

by Palebear | No Comments

The Wowz
Happy Today

Well sit me on a porch with a washboard and break out that old time jug ‘o moonshine. The Wowz certainly put you in that sort of mood with their strange Appalachian musical ways. There’s a little bit of everything in here, country folk with drunken down harmonies, kitchen sink percussion, and the requisite banjo. But there is something strange and off kilter in the mix that makes them sound more like the Silver Jews or Bill Callahan.

The singing on “Happy Today” from their Long Grain Rights CD is pretty quirky as is the rest of the instrumentation. It sounds sort of like the boys just set up shop on grandpa’s porch and started in on the hoedown.

Continue reading “The Wowz - Happy Today” …

by Palebear | 2 Comments

Vivian Linden
Watch The Light Fade

One of the newer indie labels we’re keeping an eye out for is Seattle’s Tarnished Records. They’ve got a couple good artists in the folky semi-Mazzy genre that we dig. They recently put out Vivian Linden’s Watch the Light Fade which is an awesome, sultry alt-folk-country album.

As far as the vocal department goes Linden has that wounded and bruised semi-drawl in spades, reminding us of Edith Frost’s lonesome lost call, the emotional strength of Renée LoBue (Elk City), Paula Frazer’s smoky songwriting and maybe a little bit of woundedLori Carson. Pick out a few Hush or Barsuk artists to throw into the mix and you’ll be getting close.

What makes the album genuinely hit the sweet spot is the amazing backing musicians that surround her: twangy guitar dipped in vibrato, simmering brushed snare, lonesome tinkling piano and moody bass. It sort of reminds me of the Norfolk and Western vehicle that Adam Seltzer uses to create a pictoral atmosphere that’s like a heavily rusted, lonesome automobile awaiting the pre-thunder of a gathering storm. Sorry, it’s difficult to explain. It’s not gloomy folk - it’s more pensive than anything. She just really nails that timeless feeling of being stuck inbetween the rain and the shine.

Band Website:

Vivian Linden

by Palebear | Comments Off

Wax and Wane
Winter

I feel uneasy. That’s the mood that Baltimore’s Wax & Wane puts me in. I got a copy of their Winter CD and its spent a good amount of time in my Itunes playlist so far. Word is that they’re channeling Broken Social Scene.

I guess that could be correct, but the truth is they are channeling a TON of stuff here. There is a lot of moody strings haunting the tracks which definitely adds to the strange uneasy feeling they put you in. This seems to be another one of those great collective-type groups (Reindeer Section, New Pornographers - although there are only 5 members listed) where everyone plays “Various Instruments”. The other instruments range from horns and piano to what sounds like handmade bells.

Lead vocals switch from male to female nicely. Other RIYLs might include Low and Norfolk and Western. Uh, a little American Football perhaps? Anyhow, I dig the organic songs, dig the pretty melodies, and dig the overall folksy mood. Beautiful stuff.

Listen:
Wax and Wane on Myspace

Visit:
Valiant Death Records

by Palebear | No Comments