The first time I saw Swear and Shake at the B.O.M.B. Festival in Hartford CT it was love at first listen. So when they agreed to play our Newport Nightcap folk festival after-party I was beyond excited. The band played a killer set, instantly winning over the packed, sweaty and sun-burned crowd just as quickly as they won me over a couple months prior. The next morning Swear and Shake woke up early and joined us on the pier in downtown Newport for an acoustic session. While I shook off the cobwebs [...]
Words // Scott Pingeton Each of these albums rightly deserves it's own full review, but I've been busy and procrastinating and it's just not happening. So, let's call this a quick catch up on new(ish) stuff you should be listening to... The Barr Brothers - self-titled Beggar In The Morning Since being tipped-off to these guys by [...]
Words // Scott Pingeton Photo // Music Savage Over the past few months I've made no secret of the fact that The Devil Whale 's new album Teeth is one of my favorite records of the year. Brinton Jones' often-obtuse, poetic turns of phrase mix with the catchiest amalgam of folk, psych and indie rock this side of Dr. Dog. Do yourself a favor and check it out , you won't be sorry. As big of a fan as I am though, I hadn't had [...]
Words // Sarah V. Rarely has an album been as perfectly named as Joe Henry's latest release, "Reverie." It has that dark, late-night feel that lets you lean back in a comfortable chair and lose yourself in thoughts and memories. Henry's decision to record live in his home studio with the windows wide open gives it a very homey ambience - you can distantly hear cars driving past, barking dogs, people talking, doors closing, birds chirping. Since it was recorded live, it has a very natural sound [...]
Words // Scott Pingeton As I tend to do from time to time, I was surfing blindly through the catacombs of Bandcamp over the weekend and stumbled upon this little gem. The opening banjo plucks on "All That Sultry Summer Long" off Caleb Groh 's brand-spanking-new Down, Dakota! EP caught my ear and didn't let go until the final notes of "Tegucigalpa" faded away. At which point I promptly downloaded the entire thing and put it on repeat. If you know Groh's previous work under the [...]
The Devil Whale 's latest LP Teeth has been in near-constant rotation since it's release in May. The band creates catchy indie-pop that draws from a deep well of influences - 60s British Invasion pop, psych, classic rock and folk. Brinton Jones' songs are fleshed out with rich multi-part harmonies, vintage keys and crunchy guitars - obviously right up my alley, and if you read this blog I'm guessing you'll dig them too. Currently touring with The Head And The Heart , The Devil Whale made their first [...]
Words // Todd Harrington Walking down the alley towards the historic Orpheum Theater had me feeling a bit worried. How would this post rock band from Texas handle the theater crowd? Blending some of the quietest to suddenly loudest music your mind, ear and soul can bear it was actually the audience I was worried about. Would they clap at the wrong time? Would the calmness of a moment result in the random yelps from the audience? [...]
Words // Sarah V Les Rhinocéros' self-titled debut album was the first release in indie label Tzadik's new Spotlight Series - a series of albums meant to throw a spotlight on some young up-and-coming musicians who are making adventurous new music. Les Rhinos fit the bill perfectly: a group of teenagers who are making some of the most creative music you'll hear this year. Their exact genre is difficult to pin down, with equal parts rock, jazz, and ambient with bits of world music, noise, and even a little circus music sneaking in. The instrumentation is [...]
Words // Adam Sharp There's something exciting about hearing a band for the first time that you never knew existed and who make the kind of music that's right in your wheelhouse. I had that happen today with Minneapolis' Portage , a band recommended to me by a reader named Lee. Ten bucks and five spins through their debut album, The Unsalted Sea , later and I'm ready to proclaim Lee made a fantastic suggestion. Ranging from soulful and joyous to contemplative and haunting, The Unsalted Sea [...]
Words // Scott Pingeton Since last December when I named The Head And The Heart 's self-titled debut one of my favorite albums of 2010 , the band has been pretty busy - they announced that they had signed to Sub Pop records, toured with both Dr. Dog and My Morning Jacket and played pretty much every major festival you can think of. Not a bad year. Still, before last Friday the band had never played a headlining show in Boston. From the time they took the stage at a [...]
Words // Adam Sharp You'd be hard pressed to find another band like Typhoon . They are 13 (or so) members strong, and, while lead singer Kyle Morton writes startlingly dark lyrics, they produce some of the most infectious, triumphant and intense music you'll find. Their sound is a study in contrasts: between deathly quiet and riotous crescendos, between lyrics that cut deep and rhythms that make you want to stomp your feet and clap your hands, and between the delicate melodies and blaring horns and yelled choruses. [...]
More photos from Nor'easter 2011 Words // Scott Pingeton Over the past two years the Nor'easter Festival presented by Eastern Mountain Sports has become one of my must-see annual events, and the end-cap to summer music festival season in New England. The festival, which was held at Burlington VT's Waterfront Park this year, caters to outdoor sports and music fanatics alike. A mashup of rock climbing, cycling and music from Okkervil River, G. Love and Special Sauce, Rivery City Extension, Aunt Martha, Kingsley Flood [...]
Words // Todd Harrington The weather may have been a little threatening most of the first day of the Life is Good Festival but it held out. The festival made its return to Prowse Farm in the shadows of Blue Hills in Canton,MA for a second year and the fans came out in droves. The festival grounds are spread out well enough were the two larger stages almost face one another, but the music would be on pace so once one set ended you could turn, walk a few hundred yards and check out [...]
Conrad Plymouth - I Am Not Waiting Anymore ( buy ) Moon High - Autumn Leaves ( buy ) Josh Ritter - Wildfires ( buy ) Brown Bird - Fingers to the Bone ( buy ) We Are The Willows - Somewhere, Virginia ( buy ) Real Estate - Green Aisles ( buy ) Grey Kingdom - Love Is Fast [...]
Words // Scott Pingeton Like so many others, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was my first introduction to Wilco . It was the summer of 2001 and I must have read a glowing review in whatever music publication mattered to me at the time. I remember feeling super-cool as I walked out of the record store with both The Strokes' Is This It? and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot . In retrospect, that one trip to the record store has defined and shaped much of my musical life. But in [...]
Words // Adam Sharp It doesn't take long into Little Wind , the sophomore album from Caroline Smith & The Good Night Sleeps , to realize that they've taken a step forward sonically. Before the end of the first verse of album opener 'Tanktop' you hear an electric guitar, reverb, pounding drums and some distortion on Caroline Smith's voice, all things largely (or entirely) absent from the bands debut album. The extra layers and instruments add a punch not found on their previous work and helps to differentiate [...]
Words // Adam Sharp Talking Prison Boxing , Cataldo's latest album, has been one of the oddest endeavors over the last week or so. Eric Anderson, the guy behind Cataldo , made the album available to the masses to hear just last week, but those who contributed to his Kickstarter project have had the album for almost 4 months as a reward for helping the album see proper release at all. So, you know, I'm talking about something that is new that I've had for 4 months. [...]
Last year we made a last minute decision and headed up to Loon Mountain in Lincoln NH to check out the Nor'easter Festival. With a lineup that included The Walkmen , Dr. Dog , Gaslight Anthem , Alberta Cross , Eli Reed & The True Loves and more, I knew there would be great music - but the festival exceeded all of my expectations. I'm sure festival organizers were hoping for a better turnout, but the small-ish crowds made for [...]
Words // Adam Sharp The other day I got to open the windows in our place knowing that they wouldn't need to be shut again anytime soon (except for those especially cold nights) for the first time in a few months. It's among my favorite feelings each spring and fall, a sort of liberation from the stale, dank air we've had to sit in for the last few months. As with all occasions, some music is absolutely meant to be played when the outside air is welcomed back in again. [...]
Words // Adam Sharp You know when you hear a song and it just stops you dead in your tracks? That's what happened the first time I heard 'New York' by Blind Pilot . And the second. And the third. And just about every single time since. It is easily the most striking and gut wrenching song I've heard this year. Blind Pilot - New York It all starts with that droning harmonium, drawing you in each time and laying down [...]
Visible Voice
Boards of Canada - Reach for the Dead (from Tomorrow's Harvest)
Julia Holter - World (Official Video)
Washed Out - Paracosm (Official Album Trailer)
She & Him- I Could've Been Your Girl
Action Bronson - "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" (Official Video)
Today I Feel I’ve Sprung A Leak
No Title
Watch Sigur Rós perform “Kveikur” on Leno
