There are a lot of good Americana / Alt-Country / Whatever bands that are currently making great music in the NYC area, and this is one of those bands. I know very little of their story, but what I could gather from their Facebook and MySpace pages which, as you’ll soon find, is also very little. I know that the band has 5 current members and 2 former members, and they’re calling Brooklyn home. I know that their current interests include shooting stop signs with buckshot, fire-crackers, and weed. I even know that they once played a show with God & Country and Poconos at The Delancey. Other than that, my knowledge of Golden Bones is very limited. Almost everything I know of them, I learned from listening to their awesome Self-Titled EP that they released last week. I suppose I could’ve just sent them an email if I wanted to learn more about them before writing this post, but I had to have something up for Tuesday, and let’s be honest, you come here for the music, not my ramblings.
The album is definitely something that is right up our alley, and if you like our alley, you’ll probably like this album as well. It’s got a fair amount of twang, a nice dose of folk, some country, a taste of the blues, and some great melodic vocals on top of all that. I’m hearing a little mix of The Band, Deer Tick, CSNY, and The Avett Brothers. How’s that for some toppings on your fro-yo? The album opens up with Bad Habits, with the banjo setting the tone for a bluegrass romper that turns to a sweet love song. Laureline comes next and really shows off their vocals. The instrumentation is great here too, and this is where I hear that CSNY reference I made earlier. Malibu is one of their most country leaning tracks, that recalls a drug trip, probably somewhere near Malibu? There’s also a great track called Adeline that features some great keys, twangy guitar and mandolin for good measure. They jam like The Grateful Dead towards the end too. Maybe Adeline is Laureline’s fiery younger sister? This is one of the best albums we’ve been sent lately, and we must thank one of the former members of this band, Matt Terrell for being a nice enough dood to think of us and forward it along.
Bad Habits
Laureline
Malibu
Adeline
Like I said, this is a really cool album from a band that I know very little about, but hope to learn (and hear, and see) more from these guys soon. One of the coolest things about these guys is that they’re offering this album fro FREE DOLLARS HERE. There’s nothing better than free music. When it’s legal. And, this is great free music.
Raleigh North Carolina’s American Aquarium will be releasing their fifth album in as many years come this May, and it just might be their most impressive creation to date. If you know anything about the band, or have managed to catch one of the roughly 600+ live shows they’ve performed in the last five years, you’re more than familiar with the things that make this band great. Like many of our favorite bands, American Aquarium’s general persona is a direct reflection of their lead songwriter, and his songwriting (see also: Lucero and Ben Nichols, or The Drive-By Truckers and Patterson & Cooley.) Among such great company, BJ Barham and American Aquarium will certainly hold their own.
The instruments behind BJ’s deep Southern drawl and incredibly creative yet natural lyrics fall perfectly into place to burn the finished product into your brain in a way that’ll have you tapping your foot in enjoyment and nodding your head in agreement. What’s the same about this album as those before it, is that it derives much of it’s inspiration from the things that cause us the most of our worries… women. BJ Barham must’ve had his heart broken more times than one man should, but he’s managed to take each of these experiences and illustrate his feelings more poignantly than most men ever could. What’s different about this album is that, to put it succinctly, it’s a real country album. That’s the only way I can wrap my head around it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got some rocking, but there isn’t a Katherine Belle and there are no Antique Hearts, and it’s perfect. And for a guy that STILL listens to Dances for the Lonely on a weekly basis, that’s saying a lot.
The album opens with “Hurricane” that starts off with the musical equivalent of what feels like waking with the sunrise, as opposed to preparing for the worst. Guess what? It’s a metaphor, for a girl. BJ sets the scene of a town preparing to be torn apart by a storm, while Whit Wright’s pedal steel swirls around like the wind picking up steam. From the get go, you can feel that the band is taking a more introspective approach to being used and abused, not looking for revenge, but rather looking back at what it was for what it was, and it’s a beautiful way to do it.
Hurricane
For every story of pain however, there’s a story of hope, of that beginning part of the relationship that feels so promising. “Nothing to Lose” tells this story of hitting the road and leaving everything else behind, and Bj does it so quickly and poetically that you’ll need to listen to it several times before you really feel it. The way this kid rhymes words with one another is truly a gift. Don’t overlook the musical aspects of this track though, as Ryan Johnson’s lead guitar and Kevin McClain’s drums created the tempo for this whole thing to go down.
Nothing to Lose
These guys wouldn’t be who they are if they didn’t show some real attitude, and this wouldn’t be considered a troubador country album if it weren’t for a song like “Rattlesnake.” Again centered around a dangerous woman, but the kind you know is going to burn you and you just can’t resist. This is a booze-soaked tribute to the kind of holes we tend to dig ourselves into, fully knowing the outcome. How can you not like the line “she’s got the kisses of a thousand angels, and the bite of a rattlesnake?” Zack Brown busts out an incredible piano solo towards the end of this one. I feel bad mentioning him this late in the post because Zack’s work is killer.
Rattlesnake
The last track you all need to hear isn’t about a woman at all. Well, there’s one woman mentioned, but it’s a Mama. “Brother Oh Brother” is proof positive that BJ Barham can write a song about something other than heartbreak. This is a heavy and proud song that will suck you in ala Kasey Anderson’s “I Was A Photograph” or Lucero’s “The War.” I hate to play favorites, but this is my favorite from this album. I love the way it’s written in a pattern, and emphasizes the important statements at the beginning and end of each verse. What do you call that? I don’t know, but it’s good as hell. Oh yeah, and I haven’t yet mentioned their bass player, Bill Corbin, but he’s really good too, way to go Bill!
Brother Oh Brother
All in all, if you’re going to buy ten albums this year, make damn sure that this is one of them. I’ve had it on repeat for the past two weeks and I hear something new every time I listen to it. There are ten tracks in all, each of which has a certain edge and consistency that ties it all together. If you’ve been listening to American Aquarium for a while, you’ll find a lot of familiar characteristics, but the changes should be considered promising. If it’s your first time hearing this band, this will be a great introduction to a library of music that won’t disappoint. I also must mention that you NEED to see this band play live. BJ runs a show that his half stand-up comedy, half party, and half rock ‘n roll mayhem. Yeah, it’s like 1.5 shows in one. Make sure you check out their MySpace page below to find out where you can see ‘em. They’re playing damn near everywhere from now through May, and you can bet your ass we’re doing a little work to get them out to California (stay tuned!)
I’ve got to leave you with what is probably my favorite YouTube video of these guys, and surprisingly, it’s not the one from our SXSW showcase (although they tore that thing up too.) The video below is for “I Hope He Breaks Your Heart” which was on 2009′s Dances for the Lonely. BJ tells the story of the girl, or demon rather, that inspired this song, and it’s hilarious. I wish we had the tape of the way he lead into this one at our showcase, because he wished that this girl had a bunch of “Water Head” babies. That’s one you don’t hear everyday, and I pretty much spit out my beer mid drink in laughter.
The other day my buddy Joey sent me an email about a band his buddy is in. He described them saying ”They fuse a kind of bluesy country Americana sound with an urban city classic rock. You can hear flavors of Dylan, Gram Parsons, The Band, Neil Young, Wilco, Will Oldham, The Allman Bros, Leon Russel throughout.” Naturally, I got a boner. And not one of those “Interesting…” boners either. This was a full-on “I gotta check this out immediately!” boner. Maybe I’m talking too much about boners, but you can see I was pretty damn excited. Turns out, it was totally justified. The band, named The Morning Pages absolutely rocked.
So these guys are from Brooklyn and after my first listen, I immediately thought they sounded a whole lot like another Brooklyn act, The Weight. The Morning Pages are straight out of the 70′s, so much so that if I gave my dad their record he would probably be all “Oh man, I remember seeing these guys in ’75 at The Fillmore!” Of course, then I’d have to tell him he was mistaken and he would call me a “Smartass”. Anyway, the point is that these guys take a lot of their sound from The Band and Gram Parsons. That makes me happy as hell. Throw in a little Waylon Jennings and now I’m swimming in my own filth. Such evidence of this “pig in shit” scenario can be heard on standout tracks like “This City Keeps Me Down” which is a boogie-stomp of Country Rock and Roll which features a guitar solo that makes me want to throw myself against a concrete wall repeatedly. My favorite track at the moment is the breezy “Move to the Country” which sounds like a sped-up CSNY song influences by the great Levon Helm. The vocals of frontman Grant Maxwell and backup vocalist Kendra MacDevitt really shine through on this ballad about leaving the city behind for a simpler life out in the country. I’m also a big fan of gospel music and the leadoff track “With the Lord” sounds like something you’d hear at a Felice Brothers concert. The song, seems to be about blind faith and has a killer hook to really grab you in. Awesome stuff.
So yeah, I think what I really like about these guys is the sophistication in their music. Brain spoke yesterday about how the Kingsly Flood writes stuff he can relate to, and I think The Morning Pages are the same type of band. The Porch is in the middle of a metropolitan city so sometimes we can’t really relate to Moonshiners and Mountain Men. The Morning Pages write country music handcrafted in a city and the results are pretty goshdarn great. I urge everybody to check out this record as I haven’t stopped playing it for the last week. I cant wait to see these guys out West soon. Going to be awesome…
If you’re a big bluegrass fan, you’ll really like this album. If you’re a fan of folk music, you’ll also be quite pleased by this album. If you like strong vocal harmonies, there’s something here for you too. If strings are your thing, you’ll enjoy the tracks that The Steel Wheels have put together here as well. I’m running out of ways to say likewise, and I don’t want to sound repetitive, so I’m going to start writing this post.
The Steel Wheels are the offspring of the musical chemistry that was developed between Trent Wagler and Jay Lapp. They make their home in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains where Lapp grew up and derives most of his inspiration from the music he heard in church and among local gatherings. Jay met Trent, who had been anchored in the Virginia music scene while touring, and the rest, as they say, is history. They added Brian Dickel on upright bass and Eric Brubaker on the fiddle to complete the Shut Eye Records foursome. When you listen to their first full-length album “Red Wing,” you’ll be taken on a very diverse journey that harkens comparisons to Old Crow Medicine Show with their strong fiddle backbone and amazing four part vocals. They also manage to strip down the music and create slower, romantic songs that have earned comparisons to Langhorne Slim. Surprisingly, they’re also really good at incorporating the blues into each of these styles, which is something you don’t see everyday. Call it what you will, this album has something in it for everyone.
The album opens with an amazing instrumental piece called “At Long Last.” I’m usually not a big instrumental guy, but this is one of the best fiddle songs I’ve heard in quite some time. Backed by some very subtle and soft banjo, this song really makes you feel like you’re in the mountains, and it makes me want to grow a really long beard and distill my own moonshine. The guys do a great job of backing up their obvious instrumental talent with some great lyrics on “Long Way To Go,” which I would describe as a mix of OCMS bluegrass, with good ole southern blues. Similar styles are on display in “Nothing You Can’t Lose,” but they create funkier chain-gang feel that’d make The Soggy Bottom Boys listen twice. Their creativity and vision is beautifully on display in the title track “Red Wing.” The song has been played among musical circles for generations, and Wagner decided to slow it down and re-write it. I mentioned earlier that their four part vocal harmonies will please some folks, and there’s no better track to do so than “Surround Me.” The four voices compliment each other amazingly well, and it’s hard to believe at times that this song is essentially all vocals. Pure gospel. There are a total of 14 tracks on this album, so you’re getting more than your money’s worth. “Valley” is a beautiful track that perfectly displays all of the positive elements previously mentioned into one smooth, soothing love song.
At Long Last
Long Way To Go
Nothing You Can’t Lose
Red Wing
Surround Me
Valley
This album was released in January of this year, and has seen some serious action on the East Coast, and Mid-West. It definitely deserves a listen out West as well though. These guys will be touring around the aforementioned regions throughout the year so make sure to check the dates on the link to their site below. Speaking of below, check out the video here of the 7 day, 7 show tour that they did a few years ago. You’re probably thinking “big deal Brain, tons of bands play 7 shows in 7 days.” First of all, don’t be such a jerk. Second of all, how many of those bands travel through that whole tour by bike. How rad is that?
