Yours Truly Does Middle Brother With Mountain Man

MP3 - Middle Brother, "Me Me ME"

We here at Stark are true believers in the healing powers of a lonely country ballad and a little hair of the dog. Looks like we're on the same page with the boys from Middle Brother. The group is made up of the frontmen from Deer Tick, Dawes and Delta Spirit. They connected with their Partisan label mates Mountain Man at the Troubador in Los Angeles for Yours Truly's Invisible Child Holiday Benefit. The charity raises money and awareness to end the use of child soldiers in Norther Uganda.

Site and Sound Does Mountain Man

Site & Sound: Mountain Man from VanLou Media on Vimeo.

[mp3] Mountain Man: "Soft Skin"

This one's a no brainer. We love Mountain Man, we love Site and Sound. The two got together recently to film a piece that perfectly captures the trio's delicate, yet immensly powerful vocal talents, and the character of three women perfectly at home in what they love to do. The video also debuted at another Stark fave, blog Microphone Memory Emotion.

Tweet

Mountain Man at Mercury Lounge

[mp3] Mountain Man: "Soft Skin"

Photos by Karp

It's not often I'll write reviews in the first person, but I feel that Jon Pareles will forgive me this one indiscretion today. Hopefully.

I'm writing this way, as my experience at Mountain Man last week was a personal one. There are many types of concert going experiences. Singing along to U2 or Bruce Springsteen in High School with thousands of other people, or watching that one electrifying performance in small club full of people, you feel like you're part of something larger, something bigger than just yourself. Yet, watching the three women from Mountain Man sing (mostly a capella) their way through the songs on their upcoming record Made The Harbor, I felt I was alone in a room somewhere (certainly not the Mercury Lounge) watching something timeless being created right in front of me.

It wasn't an amazing display of musical prowess on stage. While they sound wonderful together, I've heard more spectacular singing voices, and the guitar playing... well. I make this point only to highlight the specialness of the three women's charisma on stage, and the power of the songs that they manage to create together. From an old German field recording to a Psalm, to original material written about the age-less topic of sexual frustration, Mountain Man give the listener the feeling that they are looking in on some ancient Alan Lomax recording session, or a private rehearsal of sorts. It's almost a feeling of intrusion -- that you're somehow watching something intimate and personal -- a tender moment shared only between these three women, and you and only you, are lucky enough to have stumbled upon these songs and voices in some sort of otherworldly realm. All the sudden, the house music comes on, and the lights go up, and you realize much to your disappointment, that it wasn't a sort of lovely dream, but a real event, at the Mercury Lounge, and you have other shows to go to, and work tomorrow; but for that 40 minutes it was just you and Mountain Man, those timeless harmonies, and a deep feeling of satisfaction.

See more of Karp's photos after the jump. Check out another great review from Microphone Memory Emotion, who it's always a pleasure to catch a show with. Mountain Man are back in New York at The Knitting Factory June 9 and The Living Room June 10.

New Mountain Man

[mp3] Mountain Man: "Soft Skin"

We posted about Mountain Man's upcoming album Made The Harbor (7/20) and today we get the first song from that album "Soft Skin." Happy Friday. (VIA)

Mountain Man Signs to Partisan

[mp3] Mountain Man: "Dog Song"

Some equally great news over the wire today, that the haunting, yet vocally-pure Vermont trio Mountain Man has signed to Partisan Records and will be releasing their debut album Made The Harbor on July 20th. Channeling the ghosts and harmonies of old Carter Family records, these three women weave spellbinding patterns of American folk melodies with voices that are immediate and completely arresting. There are more than a few demos out there, you can grab an MP3 above and stream tunes here from Bella Union (their UK home).

Matt's Top 14 EPs of '09

Here's another for your list of lists Winston. I realized that I should give some love to the awesome EPs that came out this year as well as the albums. So without further ado, my top 14. That's right. 14.

Animal Collective: Fall Be Kind

I'm still convinced Animal Collective put this EP out to remind critics that they had a record out this year (who would forget?) for year-end lists. Yet, the motives do not take away from the fact that this was another excellent offering from the gods of indie rock.



Acrylics: All of the Fire

This band appeared on the radar in the spring with a few stand-out singles. The momentum continued for this duo (soon to be permanent full band) as they were signed to Chris Taylor's Terrible Records and released this stellar EP of well-written, 80s-inspired, pop-infused gems.



Best Coast: Make You Mine

Best Coast were one of the stand-outs from the cliched "summer/beach" movement that took up a lot of attention in '09. Yet, along with Real Estate, the songs here are very solid, and show a ton of promise. More to come in 2010 I'm sure.



Class Actress: Journal of Ardency

Class Actress were a late entry to the race. Also signed to Terrible Records, Class Actress are dead ringers for Glass Candy and Chromatics, but that doesn't make their songs less great. Again, another band to watch in 2010.




Delorean: Ayrton Senna

I honestly don't know too much about Delorean other than that they make infectious, dance-floor, elctro-rock jams, that really work well at parties that go past dawn. Not like I would know or anything.




Dinosaur Feathers: Early Morning Risers

Thanks to Pop Tarts Suck Toasted and The World in a Paper Cup for turning me on to this group of Philly acoustic-poppers. They purvey lazy, pleasant melodies that are at once arresting and extremely well-crafted.




Lissie: Why You Runnin'

Stark is heavy on the Lissie bandwagon. Check out our review. This EP heralds a new talent and force to be reckoned with. By far the most promising artist I've seen in 2009. Hands down.




Lissy Trullie: Self Taught Learner

This EP began what was to become a break-out year for Lissy Trullie. These songs eventually went on to become part of the excellent Self-Taught Learner LP, but the EP was so strong that it got everyone's attention and sufficiently whet their appetite for more from this fantastic new post-rock star.


Mountain Man: S/T

Thanks to Microphone Memory Emotion and Chocolate Bobka for these guys. Here is some of the most organic and well-written folk songs you'll hear all year. There is a strange ethereal quality to everything they produce, and the Vermont trios' vocals are utterly captivating and quite moving. Still haven't' seen them live, but I can imagine it's a thing to behold.

Pains of Being Pure at Heart: Higher Than the Stars

No one made it through 2009 without hearing about Pains. This EP could be called a victory lap, if it wasn't so goddamn good. The highlight here is the Saint Etienne Remix of "Higher Than the Stars." Worth the price of admission alone.



Sleigh Bells: Demos

Another late comer to the game, Sleigh Bells slowly released several demos which could constitute an EP over the past few months. The music is loud, trashy, catchy, annnnd LOUD. Fuck, even Sasha Frere Jones loves 'em. Did I mention that they're super buzzy right now? Yeah. That too. Oh well. It's good.


Tristen: Deceivers are Achievers
Full disclosure - Stark is in cahoots with Tristen. Does that make her EP less good? Not a chance. Tristen is the predominant talent in Nashville right now, in a field that's crowded and downright competitive as hell. Tristen turns out hand-crafted exquisite country-pop gems faster than us Yankees talk. And they are all amazing. THE artist to watch in 2010.



Washed Out: Life of Leisure

While the LP didn't deliver (like at all) this EP was a true standout in the EP collection. Call it chillwave or whatever stupid name the kids are calling it, this is good stuff, and some of the best in that whole weird genre. It's just great music, maaan.



Warpaint: Exquisite Corpse

This EP is filled with crazy, weird and boarder-line genius stuff. Most all of the time, I don't know what the hell is going on with Warpaint. I just like it.