Sorry for the lack of posts, been busy. This one took a bit of time to sink in. Shearwater started life as an Okkervil River side project, but now stand i their own right with Jonathan Mielburg as their guiding light and soaring tenor. A dramatic, reflective album.
Robert Fisher's ever-evolving ensemble return with his most ambitious offering to date. Pilgrim Road features the arrangements of the Scottish composer Malcolm Lindsay and has a a kind of neo-classical gothic twist to it and a vast array of different instruments (anyone out there play the Jerusalem Chuch Bells?). it also features the vocals of Iona MacDonald, on this:
Maybe I'm not alone in not being swept along by the tide of approval of The Historical Conquests. In any case, Josh Ritter still cuts it live. Here are a few samples:
The California Country band I See Hawks in LA return with a new album Hallowed Ground. As before, witty and perceptive songs rock and roll along with a real country lilt with echoes of the likes of The Flying Burrito Brothers. Try these:
Their last album, California Country featured this:
mp3 I See Hawks in LA: Midnight in Orlando As a bonus, that album featured this great song about the eponymous US senator's stand on the Iraq war. Here's a great live version:
The National released a new ep, The Virginia ep with a dvd A Skin, a Night. In reality, most of its is out-takes, demos etc from last year's brilliant Boxer. The lead song is pretty darn fine however:
Back in the mid-seventies, Graham Parker was touted as a to be big thing. Emerging from the london pub rock scene that saw the likes of Nick Lowe make their name, Parker's big push was his 1977 album Stick to Me. It went for broke withe big E-Street band style arrangements and Stax horns. Unfortunately, the 24 track masters went wrong, and the band were forced to record it damn near live in thestudio, which gives the record a raw quality. Unfortunately, in 1977, the album seemed out of place to many; compare Elvis Costello's debut. As such, it got lost. A shame, as these samples show:
Will Oldham returns with a remarkably sunny record, rooted in country but heading to all sorts of places, and very different from last times The Letting Go. This time, it's Ashley Webber singing too, and a few stray instruments, Try these:
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