The Avett Brothers last release before heading off into the Sony paid Rick Rubin world sees them strip away the ornate instrumentation of Emotionalism and head back to the quieter waters of yore. Haunted tales and strong narratives, eschewing the wham bam Pogues go bluegrass moments. Try this:
Kiefer's Medicine Show, from 2002, is in many ways a companion piece to his Welcome to Hard Times (more of which anon). A song cycle woven around an old time travelling showman, looking at the Americam myth, with music quite unlike anyone else.
When his nibs went solo, he did a series of solo gigs and recordings. If you can get them, the likes of Destroyer, 48 Hours & The Suicide Handbook contain stuff that sometimes tops the likes of Heartbreaker, Gold and Demolition. At the same time, he did some great solo shows (or nearly solo shows). One came in Denver 2002, in which he was accompanied by cellist (whose nbame escapes). One is a lovely version of one of his finest songs, the other a remarkable cover that does what all great covers do, completely rewrite the song.
I've posted about The Weight before here, and I've been listening to their latest offering Are Men since I was sent a copy. It's no let down; I'm a big fan. The old elements are there, along with what sounds like a lot of good times had in the making. The label deny an alt-country tag; I think it applies still, but with a whole lotta twang. This is fast becoming one of my favourites of the year so far. Try this:
This was Robert Wyatt's first album back after his accident, leaving him in a wheelchair. It still sounds like nothing else. Wyatt played keyboards, hit all sorts of percussive instruments, had great people with him (such as Fred Frith) and sung his weird and wonderful songs with the same yearning beauty he's brought to everything else since. Try this:
Ok, I'll come clean, I'm yet another one of those fans of the frustrating one himself. But, when he's brilliant, he sure us. So, I thought I'd start posting a kind of live stuff by installments. The first two are from a gig in Santa Cruz, California, 2007; he'd just mended his wrist (broken skateboarding, Pewee) and was back on the big bad electric.
Ok. All the end of terrm shit and some holiday, time to get posting. To kick things off, today sees the official release of The Hold Steady's newie, Stay Positive. Having had a week on inertia with the old ipod firmly in ear, my digital advance copy has been well listened to and its a good 'un. Perhaps the outstanding track is Lord, I'm Discouraged? The label have asked folk not to post anything, though you could try here; you can hear samples and some observations from the band here.
As a bonus anyway, here's an acoustic live version of a fave from Boys and Girls in America:
All mp3s are posted for a short period and are intended for sampling purposes only. If any artist or their representatives want a link taken down, simply email me. If you like the music, then support the artists by buying their music and going to their gigs.
