Hiss Golden Messenger is the band name that former Court & Spark members MC Taylor and Scott Hirsch have been using since the dissolution of their previous band in 2007. Since then there have been four releases under this moniker: Live in Big Sur in 2007, Country Hai East Cotton in 2008 (which was re-released last year on Black Maps ), and in 2010 we saw Root Work which was based on live in-studio Country Hai tracks and [...]
I've mentioned Talk Talk's final studio album before , but it has been a few years. Recorded in 1991, Laughing Stock and the previous album Spirit of Eden were a departures from the band's more pop efforts previously. These albums represented Talk Talk stretching their creative muscles by incorporating a less-synthesizer and more acoustic instrument approach, drawing from many music styles, but employing a very jazz-influenced approach. It's this overall ambiance and approach that confounded fans and caused a dramatic drop in sales. Much as albums from bands like Big Star and Velvet Underground [...]
Since my article which broke down the versions of The Rolling Stones Exile on Mainstreet was so popular , I thought it would be cool to do one for another essential release campaign- this time for the legendary Beach Boys SMiLE which is getting a massive box set treatment as well as a standard CD and vinyl release tentatively slated for November 1st if you believe Amazon.com. When news broke earlier this year that Capitol and the remaining members of the Beach Boys gave the long-awaited green light to dig into the Capitol Vaults to [...]
I made a quick run to Iowa City last week- mostly with the intention of picking up the August issue of Little Village Magazine so I could have a hard copy of the review I wrote for it (Rockygrass band Finnders & Youngberg's new album FY5 ). While I was there, I stopped into the Record Collector to see if there was anything worth picking up. Of course, there was. One great aspect about the Record Collector is that they have a pretty extensive used vinyl section that has a lot of 902s college rock in it! Like a [...]
This afternoon Ryan Adams posted the link to the preorder for his upcoming release Ashes & Fire to Facebook which is due out on October 11th on PaxAm Records through a distribution arrangement with Capitol Records. The album was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and produced by Glyn Johns who produced albums from the likes of The Who, The Clash and The Rolling Stones among many others. Glyn happens to be the father of Ethan Johns who worked on Adams' Heartbreaker , Gold and 29 . [...]
My wife had a wedding makeup gig in Mt. Vernon on Saturday and since I didn't have a lot going on I offered to come along and help her load in and out. I figured I'd check out the antique shops to see what books or vinyl they might have. Unfortunately, there used to be a really great record store in Mt. Vernon above one of the art stores. I guess the father of one of the owners of the store had a large record collection that they wanted to sell, so they ran a store for a while. [...]
Red House Records and Pieta Brown announced today that her new album titled Mercury - her second for the label will release on September 27th with an iTunes download of the title track available immediately . There is also a pre-order on iTunes with two-minute samples of every track on the 13-song album. At first blush the album continues the honey-drenched laid back bluesy folk sound that is her trademark sound. Pieta's first album on Red House Records, One and All [...]
In the last year or so it seems that a few groups that I follow have chosen as a template for their recent albums the genre-defining and game-changing 1969 Miles Davis album In A Silent Way . In the Davis oeuvre, In A Silent Way represents his first full-step into electric fusion jazz and the precursor to Bitches Brew . The album itself is two compositions- on the LP, one per side- which are made up of edits of a much longer recording session by legendary recording engineer Teo Macero. In 2008 musicians gathered [...]
Very soon on the heels of their self-released 2 LP and digital-only release of 2010 Hall of Fame that I reported on previously , Umphrey's McGee announced their new studio album! To be titled Death By Stereo , it will be released on September 13th. Death By Stereo marks the first release by the band since their move to ATO Records - home of Dawes , My Morning Jacket and Drive-By Truckers . While no explicit reason is given for the move from long-time [...]
Aside from the face-melting live performances delivered during their marathon touring schedule and the growing catalog of evolving studio albums, one aspect of Chicago band Umphrey's McGee that continues to amaze me is their ability to constantly keep their finger on the pulse of their fanbase and use that to deliver performances and products that are tailored to the fans. Back in March, the band asked the fans via a survey which songs performed during 2010 they should include in a "Hall of Fame" release. On Tuesday the band announced the results [...]
Over the long weekend, I was hoping to get in on some of the sales that were going on- specifically Guitar Center in Cedar Rapids, and the full-weekend 20% sale at Half-Price Books. While I didn't actually get over to Guitar Center, I did hit HPB, but also managed to see David Lowery and Johnny Hickman tape a Java Blend session in Iowa City with my friend Erik , which also resulted in a great trip to The Record Collector. I also visited Moondog Music in Dubuque on Thursday and picked up some "missing titles" and hit a Half [...]
In the middle of a run of dates with Cracker and some shows as Cracker Acoustic Duo, Lowery and Hickman managed to sneak in a Daytrotter session and a performance at The Redstone Room in Davenport as well as a Java Blend show in support of Lowery's first solo album The Palace Guards . Erik and I got to Iowa City well ahead of the 1:30 start time to grab some Jimmy John's for lunch and stake a good vantage point for the show. I didn't think that [...]
Photo credit: Steve Parke There is a lot that can be said about Prince, and at this stage in his life and career he has firmly established himself as one of the Rock and Pop greats and the sellout tour that he is currently undertaking is a statement made about his career to date- every night is a different lineup of songs from his extensive and prolific career and he is inviting guests to perform with him from his past and current notable artists. In this post-Elvis, post-James Brown, post-Michael Jackson time, we are lucky to [...]
On a snowy night in January I had an opportunity to see Rob Mazurek's newest band in an incredibly intimate setting at Monk's Kaffee Pub in Dubuque, IA of all places. Starlicker is a trio made up of cornet player Mazurek, Jason Adasiewicz on vibes and John Herndon on drums. The trio played a dynamic set of improvised jazz punctuated by frenetic and muscular solos by each. I had my appetite whetted for their eventual release titled Double Demon , which is due out on 5/17 on seminal jazz and blues label Delmark . [...]
Stefanie Berecz of the Right Now sings to her daughter in "Before I Know Your Name" In my opinion some of the best songwriting produces songs that can work on multiple levels or interpretation. Today, in recognition of Mother's Day and mothers everywhere, I propose that the "Official Mother's Day Anthem" (if I don't end up in some legal dispute with Hallmark Cards who may own the trademark on Mother's Day) is "Before I Know Your Name" by Chicago R&B band The Right Now from their 2010 album Carry Me Home . [...]
The much-anticipated sophomore release from North Hills, CA band Dawes was announced yesterday to much joy (at least around here...). The album called Nothing Is Wrong with the artwork above will come out on ATO Records which was the home of North Hills - the band's first release. Following the astonishing success of their first album and in particular the amazing "When My Time Comes" which ended up in a Chevrolet trucks commercial- Nothing Is Wrong is a tough act to follow. Thankfully, the band has been playing songs [...]
Following up 20092s GRAMMY-winning Potato Hole should have been tough for Booker T. Jones to follow. In fact, who would have blamed him if he took a break, resting on the achievement- which was a tribute as much as an updating of the Southern Fried B-3 fueled sound he effectively served on dozens of sides on Stax Records with his band The MG's. Backing Booker T. on Potato Hole was an Überband of Neil Young and The Drive-By Truckers and produced by main Trucker Patterson Hood which delivered [...]
Sherry and I were back in Chicago last weekend for her yearly America's Beauty Show conference at McCormick Place. My goal was to spend some time working on some writing and possibly do some record shopping. We were also planning to see The Right Now open for L.A. R&B band Orgone at Schuba's . Because I was concentrating on some writing, I primarily stayed holed up in our hotel room in Oak Park, but I ventured out on Sunday morning after dropping Sherry off at the show. I had been meaning to hit [...]
We're just past the Ides of March and although he has historically exclaimed "Et Tu, Internets?" this month has brought us a bunch of new Ryan Adams news. The last time we heard from our hero, he had fired up his PaxAm imprint and released two albums that had been hiding in his archives- his Metal Space Opera Orion and Cardinals III/IV which was two albums worth of Easy Tiger -Era recordings with The Cardinals. To accomplish his desired DIY apprach, he assembled a staff to handle the shipping [...]
Today Daytrotter posted a session I've been waiting over a year-and-a-half to hear- Pieta Brown 's encore session! The session was recorded Thursday, June 11, 2009 using a short-lived band lineup called "Dream #93 with Jim Viner on drums, Jon Penner on bass and Bo Ramsey on guitar. They performed only two shows in this configuration . June 11th at The Redstone Room in Davenport and then on June 12th at The Mill in Iowa City , which I reviewed . Here is a picture of that band [...]
Time to play b-sides
Azealia Banks - '1991' [Listen]
Metric Debuts Album via Synthetica Hide+Seek, Tickets On Sale Now For Fall Tour
THE MASTERSONS — BIRDS FLY SOUTH
