The Raveonettes: Making the Scene

Recently released on Vice Records, Lust Lust Lust, is the latest from The Raveonettes. However, pitchfork’s review of the album didn't entice me to buy the LP. Instead, it was an excerpt from writer Stephen Deusner that had me purchasing the band's 2005 release, Pretty In Black. Deusner wrote, "Lust Lust Lust is the Raveonettes' third full-length, and on first spin, it might sound like a step backwards. Their previous effort, 2005's Pretty in Black, was a look-at-me effort that scrubbed the grime off their past work and expanded the duo into a full band with guests like Mo Tucker and Ronnie Spector. But it also proved the Raveonettes don't clean up very well; they're most presentable when they're not presentable..."


Pretty In Black, has proved to be an eclectic mix of musical genres to say the least. Songs such as "The Heavens" and "Uncertain Times" recall bouts of Uncle Tupelo balladry, with a solo acoustic guitar, bass and harmonies presented on a backdrop of record-crackling rawness. The album changes gears in "Love In A Trashcan," with a guitar intro that is reminiscent of Sonic Youth circa Daydream Nation and a chorus that boasts lines such as, "People say she's a whore anyway/I think she looks like a nice vamp/Looking for love in a trashcan." The album leaves you searching for a classification, but then you say to yourself, who cares, it's a good album.

I have yet to listen to Lust Lust Lust, but if it in anyway echoes the musical synergy inherent in Pretty In Black, then they have done something right.

The Raveonettes: Myspace

So long and farewell to No Depression

Yes, I am sad to see No Depression go. Although the magazine will be survived by, www.nodepression.net, the alt-country publication says goodbye after 13-years. Will I be reimbursed for this year’s subscription fee? I don't know. Nevertheless, I will miss the magazines poorly laid out, heavily text-based pages, as well as the live concert and CD review sections. The Uncle Tupelo-inspired magazine failed to accumulate enough revenue and advertisements, forcing it to go under.

I could always relate to this magazine for some reason - perhaps it was because of the constant mention of the Drive By Truckers and Lucinda Williams, or maybe, just maybe, because they put Plant and Krauss' Rising Sand as the number two album of the year... wait, no, that’s not it.

Anyway, No Depression, we will miss you and I guess it is now up to someone else to Survey the past, present and future of American music.

I swear, somewhere I can hear the sound of taps being played quietly in the distance.

LAURA MARLING - "New Romantic" Video
Check out this new video from Stark Magazine's "artist to watch," Laura Marling. We've been spinning her excellent debut record Alas, I Cannot Swim , which has been released to much acclaim overseas on Virgin, which has not yet landed in the US. She plays with the delicate finger picking expected of the current crop of "indie folk" artists exploding on the scene these days - yet it's her striking vocals and lyrics that betray her real age, 18, and set her far apart from other singers.

I had the privilege to catch her at “Sidewalk Café” in New York recently. Although the performance was plagued with starts and stops (she admittedly hates performing,) her nervous fumbles endeared her to the audience whose patience was often rewarded by her great songs and captivating stage presence (when playing mind you). Enough chatter - dig the video.



5 out of 5 rave review from the Independant in the UK
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-laura-marling-
alas-i-cannot-swim-virgin-779553.html

Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/lauramarling

2008 Bonnaroo Line Up Annouced

The festival, taking place from June 12-15, as always, will be held in Manchester, Tennessee, drawing the same eclectic, hipster, crunchy and drug-laden-music fanatics. Featured among those performing are: Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, Death Cab for Cutie, M.I.A., My Morning Jacket, Vampire Weekend, the Raconteurs, Iron and Wine, Battles, Rilo Kiley, the Fiery Furnaces, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, José González, Talib Kweli, Drive-By Truckers and Ben Folds.

Oh yea I also forgot, Metallica, Pearl Jam, B.B King and Kayne. Don't fret, I am sure Widespread Panic will be there too.

Tickets for the illustrious event go on sale Feb. 16.

Check the Bonnaroo website for details at:
www.bonnaroo.com/default.aspx

Vampire Weekend play Letterman

I can't tell if the long-sleeve polo shirts and jcrew-style scarves are all just a cynical facade, hiding the punkish, more rebellious underbelly of Vampire Weekend. Maybe they were just cold, as Stereogum.com's review suggested. Who cares, the music is catchy and the band has a pretty good stage presence. Does lead singer Ezra Koenig remind anyone else of a more strait-edged-looking Jesse Malin? Maybe it's just me.

Drive by Truckers - Brighter Than Creation's Dark

Comprised of 19 songs and totaling 80 minutes, Brighter Than Creations Dark is a bold offering. On this, their sprawling, surprisingly cohesive and often compelling follow up to last year’s lackluster A Blessing and a Curse, the Drive by Truckers return to what they do best, offering striking, heartbreaking, and at times outright funny caricatures of the people and places of the American south.

Yet, while seemingly pigeonholed by their accents and weeping pedal steel, top notch songwriters and longtime friends Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley transcend the limitations of a specific region by delivering songs that capture the sentiments and conflicts of families and individuals throughout America.

Somehow, the textures and stories interwoven throughout the album sustain listeners through the unavoidable pitfalls of such a long record. While admitting that even some of the best albums in the Rock and Roll cannon come with some filler, Patterson Hood has stood by the record in interviews, claiming that the thematic sweep of the album prevented the band from cutting some of the weaker tunes. Gems such “3 Dimes Down,” “That Man I Shot,” and “Self Destructive Zones” keep the listener engaged and curious as to what’s next, even in the face of lyrical-low points on songs like, “You and Your Crystal Meth” and “Home Field Advantage.”

For the first time since the band’s high water mark of Decoration Day, Hood’s songwriting stands up against the critically underrated writing of Cooley. “Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife” finds a surprised man looking down from heaven at friends and family coming to mourn his death. A lilting banjo weaves through the song highlighting the laments of a father longing for a Saturday morning in bed with his daughters and wife.

Hood looks to the fate of what are now fatherless children in the gripping portrait of foreign war in, “That Man I Shot.” Hood’s writing often captures the anxieties, fears, happiness and sadness of domestic life in America, but on Brighter Than Creations Dark, it is stronger than ever.

In past records, Cooley’s songs have had the longest shelf life. When the ringing guitars of “Let There be Rock” and “Sink Hole” have faded, one turns, again and again, to the weary melancholy of “72 (This Highway’s Mean,)” “Sounds Better in the Song,” and the powerful “Where the Devil Don’t Stay.” While the true test of Brighter Than Creations Dark can only come after many more listens, Cooley’s humor and melodic levity shine. Cooley can pull off seemingly cringe-inducing lines such as “Bob ain’t light in the loafers / he might kneel but he never bends over” while Hood’s “I used to love you but now you suck” falls flat. Cooley continues his role as the reckless troubadour, with songwriting always tinged with true sadness and loss.

Although told through the stories of others, the songwriter’s personal struggles of balancing family life and road life are clearly on display here. One can’t help but see some of Patterson written into the father figure “trying to keep focused…on the ditches and the curves and the heavy load” in “The Righteous Path.”

For her part, Shonna Tucker, bassist and ex-wife of former “Trucker” Jason Isbell, contributes several tunes and shares in the vocal responsibilities. Unfortunately, she does little to fill the void left by Isbell. Luckily, Cooley and Hood show up in fine form.

Brighter Than Creations Dark shows a band taking risks and looking to the future. This is a positive sign. Although it could have used a few more classic driving rock tunes, the album shines as a showcase for songwriting, and that has always been what the Truckers do best, regardless of volume.

http://www.drivebytruckers.com/