Eric Clapton has spent the better part of his solo career populating his albums with the material written by composers he admires. It would be safe thinking Clapton would devote the debut recording on his own label with a clutch of self-penned tunes, however on Old Sock, Slowhand continues in the vein of standards he mined on its predecessor Clapton.
Having just wrapped up their first leg of the 2013 Winter Tour, Yonder Mountain String Band set their sights set on the western states with a swing through the desert valleys and mountain towns of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Montana, and Colorado. Their journey brought them to Flagstaff, Arizona to play their now annual show at the Orpheus Theater. White peaks, blue sky and a mountain sun greeted the band and bluegrass music-lovers in this picturesque mountain town. As if the weather wasn't adding enough excitement, Yonder Mountain had announced that Jason Carter of the Del McCoury Band would be joining them on fiddle. An old school, mountain jam was brewing.
Satellites, Skiggy Rapz’s newest album, showcases the 29 year-old’s fast-paced flow and intriguing and inspirational lyricism. The album, although classified as R&B, came off with a definite frat-rap feel, perfect from the upcoming summer months. Tracks like “Follow”, which features jazzy background instruments, and “Put It On”, which sounds remarkably similar to Macklemore, are fit to be played on a beach with a Corona in hand and neon bathing suits parading around.
When you have a genuine rock icon like Robert Plant not only taking a shine to you but covering two of your songs and making them infinitely better than your originals, perhaps its a non-verbal cue to completely step up your game. This is the conundrum faced by Duluth, Minnesota slow-core greats Low upon entering the creative process for their latest LP, The Invisible Way
Dormarion sounding like that of “a man figuring out exactly who he is” is not exactly a good thing. Given the variety of the songs, the record lacks cohesion, which translates to an often frustrating listening experience. The bright side, of course, is that Lerner is still young and early enough on in his career to one day truly discover himself and reach his full potential.
Maybe the most impressive thing about Screaming Females – besides leading lady Marissa Paternoster's well-documented shredding chops – is the consistency of the group's output. Since lunging out of New Brunswick, New Jersey's sweaty-basement party scene in 2006, the trio has released five full-length studio albums, not a clunker among them. On Chalk Tape, their second studio EP, the Females continue to solidify their reputation for delivering wickedly efficient DIY rock
Their relative youth, occupancy on the eminent Merge Records roster, and previous involvement in punkish outfits, they are also critically alluded as country music for the cool crowd, a band that even the bearded and cynical can get behind and support.
Despite no local radio airplay, (does any real band get played on commercial radio anymore?) or other promotion, the Paradise was filled to capacity. Further it seemed like the audience had this date circled on the calendar for a while. When the band lit into “Where the Devil Don’t Stay” opener, the crowd’s anxious buzz of anticipation turned to hootin’, hollerin’ enthusiasm.
On this night, even as an opening act, the sheer emotion behind his songs captured the ears of a group of strangers and left them stupefied, shouting for more. Hopefully someday soon we will be able to see Bohlke with a full-backing band and an opener of his own.
And where's that? It was at the Showbox in downtown Seattle, WA, watching Frightened Rabbit carry the torch quite successfully where the other Scottish bands before them have handed it off. They aren't a band trying to reinvent music, but in not claiming to, they release themselves from that pressure. Instead, with their new album, Pedestrian Verse in tow, they rifled through many of the new tunes and much of their older material, each anthemic chorus leading perfectly into the next as the crowd gained momentum.
