On the BlogReel!

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - "My Heart"

The Black Crowes (Letterman) - "Good Morning Captain"

The Dirty Projectors (Letterman) - "Cannibal Resource"

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - "My Heart"

Wildbirds & Peacedrums - My Heart from Leaf Label on Vimeo

The Black Crowes (Letterman) - "Good Morning Captain"


The Dirty Projectors (Letterman) - "Cannibal Resource"

Featured Releases 9/1/09

A.A. Bondy

When the Devil's Loose

[mp3] A.A. Bondy: "I Can See the Pines are Dancing"

When the Devil's Loose, Bondy's sophomore record, features the same excellent songwriting that made his debut American Hearts one of the finer folk/americana releases of the past few years. This go round the tunes are expanded into full-band arrangements, but retain their intimacy and charm. 

These United States 

Everything Touches Everything

[mp3] These Untied States: "I Want You To Keep Everything"

These United States have turned in a so-so effort, following up their praised album Crimes.  Everything suffers from a slight case of schizophrenia. It tries to update the americana sound with flashes of modern "indie" that somehow don't seem to gel. This is a solid band, and they didn't make a poor record, it's just hard to understand what it wants to be. 

Black Crowes

Before the Frost / Until the Freeze

[mp3] Black Crowes: "I Ain't Hiding"

We haven't made it all the way through this record yet, so we will reserve judgement. Yet, this morning we've been previewing tracks, and damn if this doesn't sound like a badass modern take on The Band. Of course, one would expect that, given the Crowes recorded in Levon Helm's home studio. Yet, there is a looseness and flexibility here that hasn't ever been seen on the Black Crowes' more radio focused records. So far, this has been a fantastic listen, and we're looking forward to hearing more. 

Black Crowes Channel '70s Glory

[mp3] Black Crowes "I Ain't Hiding"

As admitted previously, we've never been massive fans of the Black Crowes. Not to say they aren't a fantastic American band, but there just wasn't anything for us to immediately connect with in their music; it always felt a little distant. Yet, after reading more about their upcoming double-album package "Before the Frost..." and "Until The Freeze" our interests were significantly piqued. 

The Black Crowes will release Before the Frost... on Sept. 1, 2009 on their own Silver Arrow Records in conjunction with Megaforce Records. The second half of the double album ...Until The Freeze, will be given away for free exclusively through a unique download code which is included in Before The Frost… as a thank you to their fans. Both albums (20 songs) will come out on  limited edition vinyl which the Crowes will also release on Sept. 1.

To read what get's us really excited about this record and to see tour dates, click after the jump. 

The Black Crowes can be counted as one of the greastest American rock and roll bands still in existence, and perhaps one of the best ever. Yet, their songs always seemed geared to some other audience, that mainstream radio crowd. We never really felt welcome. Luckily for us, it was all still great music. Yet, on the Before The Frost... project, it seems the Crowes have sought a different aesthetic. They have always channeled classic rock and blues motifs, but it seems that the band is taking a more organic and direct approach to writing and music. They retired to our hero Levon Helm's home studio in Woodstock to record these records in front of an intimate live audience. It seems an attempt to tap into the creative roots found in some of the 70s' greatest country and blues records. Live recording, rural setting, organic writing, and great musicianship, are a long lost staples, rare in the realm of modern pro-tools, city-centric bedroom recordings. Not that that's bad, we just need something to refresh us now and again. Here's hoping the full album (waiting to hear all of it) can live up to the lofty ideals set forth by the band, and by the writing in this post.

TOUR DATES

Tue, August 25 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap/The Filene Center
Wed, August 26 Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Tent
Thu, August 27 Boston, MA Bank of America Pavilion
Sat, August 29 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Event CenterSun, August 30 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head Live
Mon, August 31 Lancaster, PA American Music Theatre
Wed, September 2 New York, NY Rumsey Playfield @ Central Park Summerstage
Fri, September 4 Westbury, NY Theatre at Westbury
Sat, September 5 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony Summerstage
Sun, September 6 Virginia Beach, VA American Music Festival
Tue, September 8 Bridgeport, CT The Klein
Wed, September 9 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn's Peak
Fri, September 11 Utica, NY Saranac Brewery
Sat, September 12 Rama, Ontario Casino Rama
Sun, September 13 London, Ontario Centennial Hall
Wed, September 16 Providence, RI Lupo's
Thu, September 17 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
Fri, September 18 Kingston, NY Ulster Performing Arts Center
Thu, September 24 Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma State Fair
Fri, September 25 Huntsville, AL Big Spring Jam
Saturday, September 26 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
Mon, September 28 Oxford, MS The Lyric
Tue, September 29 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theatre
Wed, September 30 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore
Fri, October 2 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
Sat, October 3 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Amphitheatre

We're Back.

Yeah that's right. We're back. Full of caffeine, energy, and an undying desire to bring to you, our most beloved reader, all the cool, fashionable, and downright tantalizing music coverage available on the web today. We also now have T-Shirts. Thanks Tim! While all of the above is decidedly not true (we don't cover that much cool stuff), we are back and do have a litany of things ready and waiting for us to dispel via blog. Below are some things we hope to get to this week. Not bloody likely though.    

We're going to continue to bring you news, updates and profiles of bands that are playing the fully stacked and undeniably awesome After The Jump Fest happening at Littlefiled August 28th, 29th, and 30th. Bring it. 

We've never loved the Black Crowes as much as other folks have. Yet, our ears perked when we heard they recorded their newest album (a double) at Levon Helm's home studio in Woodstock. Amidst the cliched, flower-power revival gongshow that has been this anniversary of the Woodstock festival, it will be interesting to see where the legacy of that generation stands today, and how it translates through the rock of some of 2009's most willing disciples. 

Our sites are set on Friday for what promises to be a spectacular evening with the epic, melancholy rock of The Antlers. While we've seen them numerous times this year, and their record Hospice will be in my Top 5 of the year, we've never seen them in an intimate venue like Mercury. See you there. Be sure to get your tix early. 

Furthermore to the point of our reemergence from the land of cocktails, fish, and sun, we will have coverage of new releases from HEALTH, Taken by Trees, Port O'Brien, Lissy Trullie, Mayer Hawthorne, Brendan Benson and Band of Skulls (not so new). 

This is only the tip of the iceberg of what we may or may not be covering. Not to mention all the new stuff coming in this week. We'll do our damnedest though. It will be nice to see all of you music people again around the citay. So, until then...