Thought I’d change things up a bit. When the weather gets warmer I always wind up sharing my music with the neighbors because the windows are open. So I’m opening the windows here too to share what new music I’ve been listening to with Spinetingler readers.
It’s a bit of a rattlebag and I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to share what new music you’ve been listening to in the comments.
There is a lot of embedded content below so be patient.
Lucinda Williams, “Seeing Black” from Blessed – I’m a longtime Lucinda Williams fan and just immediately pick up what she puts out. I don’t have a standout favorite from the album but this one has got to be pretty damn close.
The Civil Wars, “Barton Hollow” from Barton Hollow – You won’t find the country music I like on the radio. Haunting, simple and powerful.
Adelle, “Rolling in the Deep” from 21 – Adelle’s latest album is fucking huge right now but I don’t care, awesome is awesome and this girl wails.
Rural Alberta Advantage, “Two Lovers” from Departing – Nerd exposed himself me to The Rural Alberta Advantage more then a year ago on Twitter and that debut album was on constant rotation. There isn’t a standout on this one either but this one is good.
Cadence, “Sketches” from Kisses Before the Sun – Cadence is a Texas folk/soul duo. There isn’t a proper studio cut available on Youtube, or even a lot of choice for that matter, but this kicks it and you can’t beat her voice.
Black Joe Lewis “Livin in the Jungle” from Scandalous – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears are bringing it. Get with them if you haven’t yet.
The Blackwater Fever, “Who’s Been Talking” from In Stero – A heavy blues band from Australia in the mode of The Black Keys and Hillstomp with, dare I say, a touch of Vanilla Fudge and maybe Deep Purple.
And here is the whole album:
Anders Osbourne, “On the Road to Charlie Parker” from American Patchwork – Swedish rocker that now calls the U.S. home, Anders Osbourne has a classic sound that is very timeless and contemporary.
JD McPherson, “Northside Gal” from Signs and Signifiers – This album came out late last year but I only heard about a couple of months ago. This is get up and dance music. So stop fucking reading and go dance.
And here is the full album:
Jason Isabell and the 400 Unit, “Codeine” from Here We Rest – Again, I would love to hear something like this played on country radio.
Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside – Quirky as hell in some respects but damn I do I love it. There are moments where the lead singers vocals remind me of the Cabana Chat skit on Mad TV. This manages to feel old and new at the same time.
And here is the complete album:
Amanda Shires, “When You Need a Train it Never Comes” from Carrying Lightening – Again, country radio, won’t say it again.
Radpdragons – The Rapdragons are a local rap duo and I just really dig their lo-fi/old school sound. Here is the full EP:
Natural Born Chillers EP by RAPDRAGONS
Old Man Brown “Boulevard Girl” – Another local band. This song isn’t on their latest album but there wasn’t a lot of choices and it is indicative of their soul sound.
Finally, Josh T Pearson’s album, The Last of the Country Gentlemen.
At first blush listening to Josh T. Pearson’s album The Last of the Country Gentlemen brings to mind Skip Spence and his seminal album Oar. While that may be a pretty obscure comparison I think it is an apt one. Spence was an important and influential musician from the psychedelic era. He met a woman, took some wicked acid and disappeared for three days. He came back damaged and changed and convinced his band mates were evil. He set out after them with a fire axe and would have killed them but was stopped and committed to Bellevue. After giving away all of possessions he left Bellevue with nothing but the new material in his head. His producer met him upon release to discuss the future. His producer bought Spence a new motorcycle and in some ways this motorcycle is the key to the legend. Legend has it that he drove it home to see his wife before driving 900 miles to Nashville for a scheduled recording session. The engineer was instructed to leave a tape running at all times due to Spence’s erratic nature, and he did. For seven days Spence went deep sea diving in his mind and inner psyche coming back with haunting refrains from a lost and damaged soul. The result is nothing short of the artist himself. It isn’t pretty, it isn’t commercial and it sure as hell isn’t pop but if it gets its hooks into you it won’t let go. After the recording session Spence hopped on his bike, rode home, and left the music biz behind forever.
Apparently, Pearson, after releasing a seminal indie album a decade a go has had a rough go of things. He did nothing, he toured, he preformed but he didn’t record. His experiences coalesced into the set of songs on The Last of the Country Gentlemen, a suite of songs he never had any intentions of recording. Then he made some Irish toughs cry at a small show and with the encouragement of Warren Ellis set up some recording equipment and recorded this all in one go. It’s raw, it’s rough and it’s Josh T Pearson.
The full album can be streamed here.
How about you, what new music are you listening to?
Man, you just made my day. Thanks, Brian. Just camped the San Luis Valley with Pearson as the soundtrack, but most of the rest of these haven’t been on my radar.
Thanks for this. Usually I have nothing to contribute to new music discussions, but this week I’ve been listening to a Saskatchewan band, The Sheepdogs, and really liking them. Allman Brothers influenced, to be sure, but very fresh.
I love the Allmans so I’ll check them out. Thanks.
Well, this was a lot of fun. Thanks, Brian. Kind of like picking up my son’s iPod and finding out what’s new in this world.
Adele is pretty much the best singer I’ve heard in many many years. Wow. I see what all the fuss is about.
Cadence needs a new boyfriend who can play the guitar.