The Only Sons - American Stranger

I posted about the upcoming album American Stranger from The Only Sons a few weeks ago when I wrote about singer/songwriter Kent Goolsby's solo album release.  Well, the release date is just around the corner and the band is actually having an album release party tonight in Murfreesboro, TN.  If you like Kent's solo album or The Only Sons last release, Steel Hearts, (both of which are still available for free download on their website), you'll enjoy this one too.  You can stream the entire album over on bandcamp if you want to test drive it. 

The Trappers: Good music from Salt Lake City

The Trappers is a great band out of Utah that blends country and rock as well as anyone does.  The hooks in the songs are ridiculously catchy, but not corny.  Vocally, musically, and lyrically they remind me an awful lot of Scott Miller & the Commonwealth.  Their self-titled debut album is full from start to finish with solid alt-country tunes and I've posted a couple below for you to check out.  I also found a Youtube video of The Trappers doing "Freight Train" live at an outdoor festival in SLC with snow coming down.  If your a fan of Sons of Bill, American Aquarium, or Scott Miller you're guaranteed to dig The Trappers.



The Trappers - Solid Ground  (from The Trappers) (Buy)

The Trappers - Ain't No Reason Why  (from The Trappers) (Buy)

Yardsale - Hit It and Quit It

Yardsale has resurfaced from their indefinite hiatus long enough to record an album, Hit It and Quit It, and release it as pay-what-you-want on their bandcamp.  The album was recorded in one day five hours over last summer when the band could get together and has no overdubs, so it's basically a live album without the drunk dude requesting "Freebird" every other song.  I personally think the band sounds much better here than on the live EP Yardsale This Week from a couple years back.  There's plenty of interesting stuff to check out on the album.  A Yardbirds cover, a The Band cover, and some older Yardsale stuff too.  So if you are a fan, drop a few bucks in the electronic tip jar and enjoy.

Upcoming Local Shows of Note

There are a bunch of shows this weekend so you’ll have to make some choices. Here are some of the better one's you could make.

Friday, January 28th
Loretta Lynn with Joey + Rory @ Louisville Palace

Saturday, January 29th
Bodeco & Hambone @ Headliner’s

Saturday, January 29th
Slithering Beast & Shadwick Wilde @ Mag Bar
The Mag Bar
1398 South Second St.
 Louisville, KY 40208
$5 and show starts at 9 







Sunday, January 30th
Langhorne Slim & Bobby Bare, Jr. @ Zanzabar

Bodeco

Being a somewhat recent transplant to the Louisville area I have missed a lot of good local acts from years past.  Such was the case with longtime Louisville favorites Bodeco until one fan sent me an email urging me to get on the ball and check them out.  I have since done so and I'm glad I did.  Bodeco, fronted by guitarist/vocalist Rick Feather, plays a dirty sort of blues with a lot of rockabilly guitar flavor thrown in and capped with sandpaper-rough vocals.  They have a handful of albums that have been released over the last twenty years, but their latest effort is the Soul Boost EP from 2009, from which I've featured a killer track below.  Coincidentally, you can also catch Bodeco live at Headliner's along with Hambone and Johnny Berry later this month.

Bodeco - Hush Hush Naughty Baby  (from Soul Boost EP) (Buy)

Lucero: Acoustic Live at WESN

I forget where I found this originally a few years ago, but it was probably on the Lucero message board at one point.  A couple of the tracks popped up on shuffle this week and I wanted to share it for those that don't have it.  This is a 2002 recording of a radio show they did for WESN in Bloomington, IL.  It is primarily Ben singing and playing songs with the rest of the band harassing him in between songs.  It is a really good recording and there are some great acoustic versions of the older Lucero songs here.  Highly suggested if you are even a casual Lucero fan.
Get it here!

Caleb Stine - I Wasn't Built for a Life Like This

I was unfamiliar with Baltimore songwriter Caleb Stine before hearing his fifth (and current) album I Wasn't Built for a Life Like This, but he's now definitely on my "Pay Attention To" list.  The thing I enjoy most about this album is that it is simply Caleb with his guitar and his songs, but he draws you in with excellent songwriting and just enough vocal inflection, tempo fluctuation, and chord changes so that no song feels repetitive.  He reminds me a lot of Richard Buckner, so check out Caleb if you are a Buckner fan.  I've posted the title track below for you to check out as well as a video of Caleb doing another track off the new album.  I challenge you to really listen and enjoy the lyrics.  You can download them here.
 

Caleb Stine - I Wasn't Built for a Life Like This  (from I Wasn't Built for a Life Like This) (Buy)

Caleb Stine - My Service Isn't Needed Anymore

Free Music: Bobby Bare. Jr. - A Storm, A Tree, An Acoustic EP

 Bobby Bare, Jr. has a five-song acoustic EP that you can download for free in exchange for signing up for his newsletter.  It's a good chance to check out some of Bobby's tunes and consider coming to his show at Zanzabar on Jan. 30th.

Let's Not Forget: Southern Bitch

Today's post is a little collage in homage to the now defunct rock'n'roll band Southern Bitch that used to play a lot in Athens, GA a few years ago.  They put out two albums, Snake in the Grass and Strong Medicine, and those can be found on Amazon or you can download them from Itunes or Myspace.  I'm not sure if you can still get physical copies from the band directly.  Thankfully, Sloan Simpson over at Southern Shelter has recorded and archived a few of Southern Bitch's live shows and made them available for downloading or streaming.  I've posted one track here, but he has tons more so go check them out.

Southern Bitch - Snake in the Grass (Live @ 40 Watt, 11/5/04)

I also found a few Youtube videos.  The first are a live performances and the third is a little interview piece with singer/guitarist Adam Musick from a few years ago.

The Bluegrass Cardinals - Jubilee Road

Here is a great song from a great bluegrass band that has a slew of great songs.  The Bluegrass Cardinals are one of the earliest bluegrass groups I was exposed to, and this song, "Jubilee Road", reminds me of being a toddler and my dad cranking this album on the stereo and playing along.  It has a great Cajun fiddle rhythm that instantly recognizable.  A few years ago I picked up this CMH Records collection and it is, as the name claims, the definitive collection.  Buy it here.



The Bluegrass Cardinals - Jubilee Road

Free Music: Shooter Jennings - Missed the Boat: A Collection of Demos & Rarities

Here's a nice little collection of tunes from Shooter Jennings and the price is perfect too.  He put this up for download on his website a couple weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to listening.  Gotta salute Shooter for offering this up for free, because there is some stuff on here he really could have commercialized on, especially the "Good Old Boys" (Dukes of Hazard theme) cover.  You have to sign up for the mailing list or what not, but then you'll get the link for the download.  Sign up here.

Magnolia Mountain - Redbird Green

I didn't get around to writing anything about this Cincinnati outfit, Magnolia Mountain, when their album came out last year, so I'll just spend a few minutes to share some thoughts.  Redbird Green is a double LP, and it has a lot of different styles of Americana music on it, from old time fiddle and clawhammer jigs to minor chord alt-country ballads.  Myself, I prefer the more progressive numbers, but everything is done well enough that I can appreciate it, especially given the fact that it is,other than one track, original material and not a rehashing of traditional standards.  Check out the title track below, as well as a nice video for another good track, "Hellbound Train."

Magnolia Mountain - Redbird Green  (from Redbird Green) (Buy)

New Slithering Beast Videos

Check out a couple videos I saw posted over on the Slithering Beast Facebook page.  They come from this past weekend's New Year's Eve show at the Third Street Dive.  Looks like a couple new songs from the upcoming Delicious EP.  There are also a few other Slithering Beast videos to check out on their Youtube channel.  They have an acoustic show this Saturday night at Common Grounds in Lexington, so if you are looking for something to do, check them out.

"Trouble Coming Down the Road"


"You and Me"

Patrick Sweany - That Old Southern Drag

Patrick Sweany is a name that I was unfamiliar with when his latest album, That Old Southern Drag, showed up in the mail, but after giving it a listen I'm clearing off a spot in my good CD rack in the  listening room.  If I had to label it I'd call it bluesy soul music, or soulful blues music, somewhat akin to The Black Keys.  And that's not a huge surprise considering he's toured with and collaborated with Dan Auerbach for years.  The vocals are worn and rugged and blend excellently with the dirty blues rock guitar riffs Patrick lays down.  Put this on and let it play through and it is guaranteed to grow on you.  The album won't be out until February, but you can get it for $10 if you preorder from Nine Mile Records.  No tour dates listed for Louisville yet, but the year is young, so let's keep our fingers crossed.

Patrick Sweany - Heavy Problems (Peavey Rage)  (from That Old Southern Drag) (Buy)

Patrick Sweany - Frozen Lake  (from That Old Southern Drag) (Buy)

Happy New Year and What to Look for in 2011

Happy New Year folks.  2011 is looking good for our type of music.  Just check out some of these upcoming releases I'm looking forward to.


The Only Sons - American Stranger
Murfreesboro's rock and rollers are gonna hit a homerun with this one.  Their last album was really good (check out their site to get it for free), this one might be better.

Drive-By Truckers - Go-Go Boots
The songs I've heard from this one already put it way ahead of last year's The Big To-Do.  Let's hope that it is.

Hayes Carll - KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories)
I don't think Hayes could make a bad album if he tried. 

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit - Untitled as of yet
I'm really looking forward to hearing how Jason follows up the masterpiece that was 2009's self-titled release.  I've heard some live versions of a couple tunes and they sound promising.


Slithering Beast - Delicious EP
Should be out in the first part of the year, and will probably have a little more rock and roll flavor than the last two albums.  That's a good thing based on the recent live shows I've seen.

Kelsey Waldon - Untitled as of yet
I really like Kelsey's 2010 country release.  This one is supposed to lean a little more towards the rock side of things and even have a Neil Young cover on it.





Also, I added a "The Free Stuff" link in the upper right hand corner of the main page.  Check there for free albums or EP's.  I don't post everything I find that is free, just the good stuff.  So if it is listed, it is worth downloading.  Let me know if links are down or you have something you think I should add to the list.

I'm probably forgetting a few as well.  Most of these I've listed should be out in the first couple months too.