There’s something magical in albums like Child Ballads: where two people seem destined to play together and specifically play these songs together. Here Mitchell and Hamer take on a set of old English folk songs, long stories told through the harmony of their voices and acoustic guitars. Simple, beautiful, perfect.
{note: all of my 2013 picks can be found in a single Spotify playlist, updated weekly: RecommNeds 2013, enjoy!}
1939 Ensemble: Howl & Bite
Equal parts haunting, beautiful and funky, 1939 Ensemble are an instrumental duo comprised of vibraphone and drums. Yes, you read that right and if that doesn’t intrigue you a little bit, I don’t know what will (hey, would Neddy steer you wrong?). Floating between rock, pop, jazz and groove with lots of added horns and other percussive noise this album is a treat. These guys are definitely on my watch list.
Tell me what it is you like about music. Because I’m pretty sure Kiki Pau does it on this album. It takes this Finnish band four tracks to cover 45 minutes, each one more a rock-and-roll suite than a song, amassing styles, genres and varied instrumentation along the way. Moving, transcendent, unique, progressive and very, very good.
Now’s the time that we need to share…(new EP’s from three 2012 RecommNeds picks)
Zeus: Cover Me
Zeus is a band I am constantly trying to turn people on to, cuz… they’re awesome. Maybe this will convince you: as part of the “deluxe edition” to last year’s fantastic Busting Visions album, they’ve added an all-covers EP. This includes a killer studio version of their live-concert staple cover of Genesis’ That’s All, but also gotta-hear takes on the Flaming Lips, Michael Jackson, R. Kelly and more. Have fun figuring out which is your favorite!
April is here, so it’s time for some spring-friendly music. Start off your sunshine season with this wonderful debut from Gardner. He plays every instrument on this ’60s-infused album, giving it a lush, lively, sun-flecked feel…with the hash-scented lyrics to match (e.g. “open up the window to your mind…”). If you’re a fan of the Yellowbirds, like I am, you’ll definitely want to dig into this one. Also, holy crap, I just realized there’s a giraffe in the cover art.
How they play and play for that happy day…for that happy day…
Superhuman Happiness: Hands
Superhuman Happiness’s revelatory full-length debut is part dance party, part afrobeat-tinged indie pop, part loosey-goosey funk improv. In all cases, it’s just the right part: a perfect blend. I triple-dog-dare you not to smile while listening to this album, let alone sing, clap and boogie should the mood strike you. This is the well-mixed margarita for the spring and summer to come, a delicious gulp of sunshine. Are you ready?
“All they wanted was a villain… all they got was me.” So sings Thao Nguyen on the opening title track of her superb new album right before “The Get Down Stay Down” launch into an incredibly infectious, groove mixing banjo and handclap rhythms. From there it’s one perfectly off-kilter track after another somewhere between a swinging folk and sexytime indie rock. Some people can make an old t-shirt and ripped pair of jeans look hot…Thao is the musical equivalent of that.
One of my favorite jazz albums of the 1Q 2013 thus far is this one from this Californian guitar-bass-drum trio. First off, great band name. Being both the drummer and the composer/bandleader, Dylan Ryan is a rarity, but his rhythmic approach to the music gives it that something extra. But it’s his friends in the band that help make it special, the guitar especially channeling the unique laid-back aggression of Bill Frisell. This is the good stuff.
Like the second sock in a pair, these guys match up with Holydrug Couple, a RecommNed from a couple weeks back. Another Chilean psych group that plays stellar, hypnotic drawn-out mind jams perfect for starting into space to. The two countrymates will be playing shows together next month in the States – should be special. Enjoy the trip.
Hailing from Southern California, the Growlers’ third album sounds like Roy Orbison on acid on a surfboard – the entire album seemingly put through a reverb meat grinder whole. I mean every little bit of this music echoes with thick reverb amongst other embellishments. The sound is unique and infectious and a lot of fun. My favorite track is definitely One Million Lovers, one of the best songs of the early year.
The photo on the cover is dated 1978, which is about right, but the music is much more CBGB’s than cowboys-on-the-ranch as Parquet Courts mix heady songwriting with powder-keg-punk energy to perfection. The bombast and fuzzy guitar rock is enough on its own, but it’s the songs that’ll keep you coming back. Start with Stoned and Starving which immediately enters the pantheon of great tunes about being high, and then bounce around to the rest each with its own charm, energy, riffs and wit.
I’m back! Easing into my 2013 listening, may reach back to some of last year’s leftovers while moving on with this year’s goodies. Enjoy!
The Holydrug Couple: Noctuary
Lest you thought it was just a 2012 fad, an early favorite from the first month of the new year is a psych-rock keeper following in the footsteps of Tame Impala et al. Hailing from Santiago, Chile, the duo play a dreamy out-of-body music that’s equal parts cowboys on the windswept prairie and outerspace voyage. Lots of ear pastry to gorge yourself on here: layers of tripped-out guitar fuzz and gooey bass and beyond.
See, that’s why album art is still an art. Has an album ever screamed “mysterious woman peering through beaded curtain in daydream purple-and-yellow swirls” like this one? Psychedelic dream pop courtesy of Parisian Melody Prochet by ways of Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker whose ear-delicious production fingerprints are all over this top notch debut. Cue it up, pop on the headphones and enjoy!
Late in the fall I got turned on to this album and it hasn’t left the rotation yet. Goat is a sort of music collective from Northern Sweden, maybe the notion of a band more than a band. Regardless, the music is like your favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor: dense creamy base with a wild mix of tastes and textures swirled together. Pulsing world beats, heavy psychedelic-metal bass and guitar and a little bit of everything else in perfect proportion – with song titles like Goatman, Goathead and Goatlord, World Music is a must-listen.
I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed this album when it came out earlier this year until I saw Mitchell perform live a couple weeks back. Her sound is a mix of Ani Difranco, Neko Case and Lucinda Williams, equal parts sweet and dark. Her songs follow in the mold, sometimes haunting, oftentimes producing chills, this is a good album to have at the ready as dark winter nights beckon. One of the best Americana/folk albums of 2012.
