Here's the skinny on the CD release show for Nick Dittmeier's "Extra Better" solo EP. It's a great lineup with Johnny Berry and Fifth on the Floor opening the show. Just $5 gets you in, so be at the Monkey Wrench next Friday night.
You'll likely already know Nick from his time as singer/songwriter/guitarist for Slithering Beast, who put out three great alt-country albums over the past few years. If you don't, now is a good time to get acquainted because Nick is picking up right where he left off with Slithering Beast. Check out the track below off the new album.
On the short list of artists whose work I blindly, or deafly, purchase without hearing, trusting that anything the put their name on is quality, Chris Knight is at the top. He's released album after album of the best gritty country music to be found for over ten years now. With Little Victories he maintains that streak, and while I'm not ready to name it my absolute favorite album of his, I can tell you that "Nothing on Me" is a definite favorite song. It's got all the classic elements of a Chris Knight song: knife fight, snow storm, lay-offs, and loyal dogs. The other tracks are excellent too. There's finally a studio track of "Hard Edges" where the banjo adds quite a bit to the acoustic/demo version on one of Chris's Trailer Tapes albums. Lucky for us, Chris plays Uncle Slayton's on May 31st.
It's shaping up to be a good year for Kentucky music. Houndmouth is opening the Iroquois Amphitheater summer concert season and having a New Albanian beer named after them. Fifth on the Floor has a new album out and is rubbing elbows with some pretty big names. And Shadwick Wilde's new band, Quiet Hollers, is doing its part by putting out a great new album with a release show at Headliners on May 18th. I first heard Shadwick on his solo release from a couple years back. I liked that album and still catch myself humming a couple of the songs off of it. That said, I think this album is a big leap for Shadwick. The production sounds better and the band really fills out the sound on this one. You can buy it right now on Itunes, Amazon, and CD Baby.
When the dust settles on this year of music, I think we will find Goodbye Normal Street near the top of the heap. If you've been wishing for a great country album for a long while, this one will scratch that itch. Salty lyrics, some downright nasty fiddle licks, and just enough twang. This album has moved in and taken residence in my CD player since I received it, and it won't be leaving any time soon.
I could tell you that Ray Wylie Hubbard produced Ghost of Browder Holler and that would be reason enough for you to buy it. I could tell you Brad Rice plays guitar on it and that would be even more incentive. But after you hear it you hear it, you'll agree that the best thing going for this album is Chelle Rose's gritty, yet tender, vocals and her flat-out honest Appalachian songwriting. Think Ray Wylie meets Elizabeth Cook and youll have a working description of Ghost of Browder Holler. This is one of my favorite albums I've heard this year and it spent a few solid months in my CD player. You can purchase it in your preferred format from Chelle's website below and check out tour information as well. Check out a couple tunes and video below in the meantime.
Here's a free compilation served up by the people (Shooter Jennings, Adam Sheets) heading up the XXX genre creation. There is a lot of good music included and you can check out the track list below. Head on over to Give Me My XXX to sign up and download for free, as well as learn more about the XXX movement.
Southern Independent, Vol. 1
1. Road to Hattiesburg / Robert Earl Reed
2. Southern Family Anthem / Shooter Jennings
3. Introducing Drake Savage / Slackeye Slim
4. Carolina Sunshine / Dallas Moore featuring Jody Payne
5. City of Shame / Rachel Brooke
6. Skateland Baby / Jimbo Mathus
7. The Fall / Fifth On The Floor
8. Guilty Until Proven Innocent / Last False Hope
9. Road Bound / Bob Wayne
10. I'm Bitter / J.B. Beverley and Ronnie Hymes
11. Used To Be A Cop / Drive-By Truckers
12. Rusted Up Old Pickup Trucks / Hellbound Glory
I first heard Maxim Ludwig & The Sante Fe Seven sometime last year when the self-titled debut album landed in my inbox. I listened, I dug, and I marked it to write about. Somehow I lost it in my ocean of mp3's and it didn't resurface until I received an email from Maxim recently with demos for a new album. Again, I listened. And I dig these new demos too. The songs across both albums are greatly varied, from sad-bastard, harmonica-accompanied minor chord ballads to completely careless guitar driven rock and roll. What's even crazier than how good these songs are is that Maxim and the band (not really seven, not really from Sante Fe) are still unsigned. They have some shows coming up at SXSW (schedule) so maybe those will help rectify that situation. Even crazier than that is the fact you can download the new demos and the debut album free from the website. Get it! Check out the tracks below and the killer video of an acoustic "Paradise Cove." Completely different from the album version but both are excellent.
Great news for a rainy bluegrass day: Slithering Beast's new EP Delicious can be downloaded for free from their Bandcamp from now until the official release date of March 5th. After that you'll be able to get your physical copies from CD Baby and the band. You'll probably agree with me after listening that this little album has some of the best Slithering Beast songs to date (I'm looking at you "Fool Out of You"). It seems the pedal steel is not nearly as prominent on Delicious, with more focus given to the electric guitar hooks and even some horns. That's not a complaint, just an observation. Give it a listen for free this week and if you are inclined pick up the older albums (I highly recommend these as well) from the Slithering Beast store. Looks like they have a sale on T-shirts right now too at $5 each. You can't beat that. Also, they'll be doing a free in store show on the release date (March 5th) at Ear X-tacy, so come out and get the album in person if you can.
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 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.
I forget where I found this originally a few years ago, but it was probably on the Luceromessage 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 ithere!
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.
Kent Goolsby, singer/writer/guitar player for The Only Sons, has made his first solo album Wide Eyed Son available for free download from the TOS website. Wide Eyed Son was recorded by Glossary's Joey Kneiser and will get you through the winter until The Only Sons release their next LP American Stranger in February 2011 on Sophomore Lounge Records. While you are on the download page, be sure you pick up their 2008 release Steel Hearts while it is free too.
Ronnie Fauss is an alt-country artist based in Dallas that has put out three EP's to date on FTG Records. His latest, Mulligan, carries on a streak of simple arrangements paired with observant lyrics that are memorable but manage to avoid cliches, similar to John Prine's approach. My favorite number off of Mulligan is the honky tonk "It's a Long, Long Way," which I've posted below (click the link to download). New Songs for the Old Frontier Vol. 1, Ronnie's previous release, had Slobberbone's fingerprints all over it with Brent Best producing and Jess Barr doing the banjo work. So for your enjoyment (and because I don't want to post two songs off of a six song EP) I've posted a good track off of that EP as well. Look for New Songs for the Old Frontier Vol. 2 in the near future.
Also, if you go to Ronnie's Noisetrade page you can download his other EP, I Can't Make You Happy for free.
I may be late to the party stumbling across this band, but I'm damn glad I did. From the first verse of the album opener, "Tired Old Prom Queens," I could tell Truckstop Darlin's self-titled debut album was going to be a good one. But it wasn't until I'd let all twelve tracks play through that I realized I had an instant classic in my hands. I've always considered Wilco's - A.M. and the Drive-By Truckers' - Decoration Day the best examples of what alt-country is, but Truckstop Darlin' defines the genre just as well. The songwriting covers the essential dark country topics, but in a way that is unique but still familiar. Guitar hammer-ons give a nod to classic southern rock and the pedal steel mixed up front sets the mood on most tracks (see "Grandpa" below), with the bass and drums locking in to fill out the sound behind the gravelly lead vocals. The band [John Phelan (vocals/guitar), Eric Kotila (drums), Nick Foltz (bass/vocals), Michael Winter (pedal steel)] is based in Portland, Oregon so it may be a while before they make it to Louisville, so the best thing you can do for yourself is go buy their album until they do come through town. This is definitely one of the best albums I've heard in a long while and I am already looking forward to their next one. Check out a couple tracks below.
This is the first in what will be a series of In My Basement Room Primer posts: a handful of my favorite tracks from what an artist that I consider absolutely essential. The idea is that those of you not familiar with a Primer artist will have the chance to hear some of their better tracks and ultimately become a fan.
To start off the series, I could think of no artist better suited than Chris Knight. With seven albums released to date, Chris has not recorded a single bad song, where most artists with that size back catalog will have at least one complete dud of an album. Chris is consistent: he may make you wait two or three years between albums, but it is worth it. He's the best songwriter I've heard, with only Prine, Springsteen, and Dylan giving him a run for his money. But Chris's songs resonate more with me than those more prominent writers. His songs are about regular folks, usually down on their luck or in the wrong place at the wrong time. Card cheats, truck drivers, and pool hall townies (you get the idea) mixed in with murders, affairs, and child abuse.
I've selected six tracks for this first Primer. If you like Chris Knight (and if you are reading this blog chances are you will), go see him when he comes through your town and pick up his albums here.
"William" (from Chris Knight)
"Hard Edges" (from The Trailer Tapes)
"A Train Not Running" (from The Jealous Kind)
"Down the River" (from A Pretty Good Guy)
"Run From Your Memory" (from Chris Knight)
"It Ain't Easy Being Me" (from Trailer II)
This is a really good read on Chris from about ten years ago courtesy of No Depression.
And here is a great video from the musicfog.com folks of Chris doing "North Dakota."
I've been sitting on this album for too long, but I have a halfway decent excuse. I've had the album at work since I got it and it hasn't really left my CD player (yeah, I still have one of those). Better late than never.
The Famous is a four piece out of San Francisco that sound like they've spent a lot of time in Bakersfield. Their latest album Come Home to Me has plenty of jangly twang guitars but is mixed equally with punching pop power chords that combine for some really memorable hooks. Think Buck Owens meets the Old 97's. The Famous is Laurence Scott (Vocals, Guitar), Victor Barclay (Guitar, Backing Vocals), Chris Fruhauf (Drums), and G.D. Hensley (Bass). Definitely check this album/band out if you are a fan of great alt-country guitar and songwriting. No dates listed on the website, and I'd imagine they don't make it this far east too often, but maybe they'll come around soon. In the meantime you can pick up Come Home to Me and their 2005 release Light, Sweet Crude on the buy link below.
I stumbled across these videos of State Champion today so I'll share with you. It appears to be from the Stale Champagne record release show at Ear X-tacy earlier this year, before the store moved to it's new location, which was the first time I caught them live as well. Watch all four parts and it's like you were there man! Did I mention that Stale Champagne is one of my favorite albums of this year? Thanks to whoever shot these and put them up.
I'm way behind on this one, and I'm not going to make excuses. I'm posting my favorite song off of the rather short eight track album. If you are a fan of classic Rolling Stones style country-rock, chances are you'll enjoy this so do yourself a favor and check it out. I honestly don't know the best way to purchase the album, so contact Ben through his myspace page and see if he can point you in the right direction.
Coming straight out of Charlottesville, Virginia is a band with the best name I've heard in a good while, 6 Day Bender. Due to a slight failure in electronic communications I never got around to featuring the band when I first stumbled across their music last year. Fortunately, the new album E'ville Fuzz found it's way to me this year. The band is made up of Luke Nutting (banjo, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals), Clayton Avent (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, cello, vocals),
James Keenan (bass, harmonica), and Corey Gross (drums, percussion). A pretty typical country-rock outfit, right? Well, yeah, but where 6 Day Bender differs from the masses is that they hit that mark that everyone else is aiming for but falling short of. The banjo, when used, sounds like it is necessary for the mood of a lyric and not just an addition at the end of the recording session to cater to the "folk" fans. The songwriting cover all the topics I want from a rough country band, and the guitars, bass, and drums, are just ragged enough to do justice to the vocals of Luke and Clayton.
Since I didn't post anything last year, I'll put up a couple tracks from the new album and the self-titled debut. E'ville Fuzz features the electric guitars a little more prominently and tends to lean toward pure rock than the debut album. The musicianship sounds more evolved, as you would expect. In the end, each album is simply a different side to the same proverbial coin. You can buy either/both albums and other 6DB goodies here.
I could tell you that Ray Wylie Hubbard produced Ghost of Browder Holler and that would be reason enough for you to buy it. I could tell you Brad Rice plays guitar on it and that would be even more incentive. But after you hear it you hear it, you'll agree that the best thing going for this album is Chelle Rose's gritty, yet tender, vocals and her flat-out honest Appalachian songwriting. Think Ray Wylie meets Elizabeth Cook and youll have a working description of Ghost of Browder Holler. This is one of my favorite albums I've heard this year and it spent a few solid months in my CD player. You can purchase it in your preferred format from Chelle's website below and check out tour information as well. Check out a couple tunes and video below in the meantime.
