Although the The North Farm Sessions EP by Jonny & Lucy came out in February it’s only now i’ve been able to find time to post about it. Just finished wowing audiences supporting the magnificent Unthanks on a european tour they are now lined up to play some major festivals, namely Larmer tree, Green man and the best festival in the uk, The End Of The Road Festival. As an added bonus they will also be playing for us here in Brighton as part of a drifter promotions show straight after the end of the road gig, come along.
Even Jonny & Lucy can’t agree on how they would describe their music, Jonny say’s melancholic Lucy say’s thoughtful. Either way, it’s folk music drenched in an old traditional sound, it could easily be music from 100 years ago, however, apart from hares on the mountain, all other tracks on this six track EP are all their own. Jonny sings and plays guitar very sensitively to support Lucy’s fabulous voice and fiddle.It’s also nice to hear jonny sing in his accent (Geordie, like me) and along with Lucy’s sweeter, southern perhaps posher tone it works amazingly well. It’s all the things you’d expect, delicate, sparse, even mournful but together they create something really quite wondrous. None of them are trying to take the limelight, the balance is perfect, when they sing together it’s a combination that feels totally organic. So now the secret’s out, they are being haled in some press as the next big thing to hit the REAL folk scene, one word describes them for me, genuine.
Try and see them play if they come by your town but if this is too long a wait you can buy their debut EP here. Enjoy.
I first wrote about Essie here and have been keeping a close eye on her career since then. I recently contacted her in regards to playing a show for us here in Brighton (Drifter Promotions) and we got talking about her new album, Until The Light Of Morning which she then kindly sent me. To quote Essie from her liner notes she writes “This record is made for every parent and every baby(and anyone else) who needs to rest and head off into the land of sleep. The record is designed to unwind itself as it goes along, as the music becomes softer and more relaxed, eventually becoming as instrumental as the heartbeat”
It’s easy to think having read that this album is perhaps one dimensional with regard to it’s target audience, but I have no children, am single yet find myself completely submerged in it. It leaves me with a feeling of complete safety, of comfort, of peace. It’s as though when I play it, it wraps it’s arms around me and lets me into it’s mystical world, leaving me with a sense of wonder and hope . There is an ethereal quality to all of Essie’s music, so delicate and fragile that you don’t want to even move when you’re listening to it in case you break the magical spell it seems to cast upon you. It’s stunning! Her voice alone is enough to keep you enthralled, it’s so controlled and intimate with long, drawn out notes reaching right inside of you. As I say, it’s stunning, it’s a beautiful gift that she shares with us all.
To me, you have to listen to this whole album in one sitting and in the correct running order because it flows into one body of work rather than eight separate lullabies. Not only that but your day’s ill’s and woes will have been completely washed away for another time, this is therapy of the very best kind. Buy it!
No mp3 to download as yet because as I said, there is no single release from it, it’s one body of work and so one single track wouldn’t do it justice. However, her amazing daytrotter session has just been uploaded and I urge you to go and download it immediately and you can also listen to a couple of tracks here too.
The first thing I look for in music regardless of genre or mainstream popularity, is honesty. If I feel that the music is coming from the heart and it’s sincere then I will respect it. I may not always like it but I will at least applaud it for it’s earnestness. This is why I like Elephant Micah, the alter-ego of Joe O’connell. I first wrote about him here where he was kind of enough to grant us an interview and a couple of mp3′s. Since that interview he still hasn’t created a myspace or facebook page and is still intent of getting his music heard by the old fashioned method of word of mouth. Well, this seems to be working as he has an abundance of live dates from now up until at least May.
His latest offerings really show his versatility as a songwriter but also his various musical styles.With Echoer’s intent we have an album which was recorded using more traditional recording methods and is eight tracks of sparse, intense beauty. During the interview Joe did with us I mentioned he reminded me of Low, early Smog and J.Tillman. Well out of those three this album has a definite J.Tillman ring to it although with a less whispery vocal style, especially on the stand out track for me, field notes, but there is definitely elements throughout the whole album, still life blues is another really beautifully written and composed song, you find yourself falling into it and then pressing the rewind button a few times. Personally, I think this is Joe’s best work yet mainly because I think each song flows into each other brilliantly, you hardley notice the gaps in between but you will have to decide for yourself because even at such a young age he has released umpteen albums.
Then we have The songs of bible birds which (and stick with me here) is, or at least was meant to be an album of bible bird covers, bible birds being a band that Joe himself invented when asked once if he had ever seen the bible bird man in Indiana. So in other words he’s covering his own songs, or at least that was the plan. Full story here. Eventually though what we do get though is an album that Joe in his own words says was produced using ‘weird recording methods’ originally back in 2006 but has only become avialable now after some tinkering which Joe is finally happy with. I perhaps should have listened to this album first and then Echoer’s Intent because the final products are very very different, especially in the sound which has some hissing in the background, sometimes distant vocals which are hard to pick out but after i played it first time I immediately played it again and then again and now I’m loving every pop, crackle and hiss. In fact, after a while you just hear the music, Joe with some female backing vocals (Beth Remis),odd sounds bellowing from a pump organ and although a very challenging album to listen to, it improves more and more with each hearing, I’m loving it. As I said, it’s honest to a fault but it’s also trying something different which I think is rather refreshing as well as challenging, both for the listener and the creator. I admit though, I would love to hear these songs live and get another take on them.
As both albums are only 8 tracks long I am only putting up the mp3′s that Joe himself offers on his website because if I was to put up a different one and then another blog does the same there could be half the album across the internet and for someone who is completely D.I.Y, this would be unfair. So please, if you like this then go and buy the album or if you buy both together you get them for cheaper. Please, enjoy and go see him play at any one of these shows. By doing so you will be supporting a totally independant artist and a really talented one at that.
March 2010.
26 Louisville, KY at the Lounge w/ Joe Manning
27 Nashville, TN at Betty’s w/ Kelli Hix
28 Memphis, TN at the Buccaneer w/ the Warble
29 Oxford, MS at TBA
APRIL
1 New Orleans, LA at Sidearm Gallery w/ Hurray for the Riff Raff
3 Athens, GA at TBA w/ Bubbly Mommy Gun, Steven Trimmer
4 Chattanooga, TN at JJ’s
6 Somewhere, TN at Ida
7 Asheville, NC at Harvest Records
8 Knoxville, TN at the Pilot Light
9 Lexington, KY at the Hive
III. ROUGH ROUTING
All shows with Mark Trecka except where noted (*)
13 Grinnell, IA at Grinnell College
15 North Manchester, IN at the Firehouse
16 Buffalo, NY at Sugar City
17 Rochester, NY at Casa Del Awesome
18 Montague, MA at the Book Mill w/ Oweihops
19 Portland, ME at TBA
21 Boston, MA at TBA
22 New Paltz, NY at the Inn
23 Purchase, NY at SUNY Purchase
24 New York, NY at TBA
26 New York, NY at Bruar Falls w/ P.G. Six*
28 Philadelphia, PA at Robin’s w/ Strand of Oaks
29 Baltimore, MD at 2640 Space w/ Small Sur
30 Columbus, OH at TBA w/ Time & Temperature, Deadsea
Just a quick heads up to all of you who are going to this year’s SXSW. Sam has been invited over to play his ‘yorkshirecana’ folk music at this years festival and he’d really love your support. He is playing a couple of other dates too, here’s the lowdown.
16th March Session for Smooth and Demented Radio Austin TX
17th March The Velveeta Room sxsw showcase Austin TX
24th March JJs Bohemia, Chattanooga TN
25th March The Five Spot Nashville TN
Seriously talented folk musician as well as skateboarder from Yorkshire who is a must see as far as I’m concerned. If you mention you came to see him as a result of reading this blog he will give you a free signed album. Actually that last bit might not be true but go see him anyway as you will be blown away by his talent and will most likely buy his album anyway. Enjoy.
In the last few months here in the UK I have noticed a big increase in the amount of shoegaze bands playing and many of them seem to be from foreign shores. Chimes & bells hail from Denmark and are signed to tigerspring records. I will be honest and tell you that I had never heard of them until I saw them playing a couple of days ago here in Brighton and I was totally blown away by them. A 5 piece, they blend folk harmonies with a shoegaze sound but it is swamped in atmosphere and a slightly other worldly feel. Lead singer’s Cecilie Trier’s incredible,deep vocal style sits perfectly alongside the organ and cello she plays and all of this is backed up with at times two screaming guitars, drums, bass and sometimes all five of them harmonising perfectly together. This four track EP doesn’t have a track that comes in less than five minutes giving each one time to build and develop into something really exquisite. After the last couple of years folk revival where so many people seemed to be getting comparisons made with either Nick Drake or Bob Dylan, it’s refreshing to hear a new band that seems to effortlessly blend elements of folk, pop, and rock and therefore doesn’t define a genre, somehow it creates it’s own.
As of yet no news on a full release but as soon as I know I will be sure to let you’s know. Enjoy.
I know I know, it came out in September and yes I am aware other blogs may have written about it, am I bothered? Not in the least, this blog has never been about being the first to post about someone although many times we have been but in the case of Mr Bondy I feel his new album, When the devil’s loose, deserves to be blogged about by as many people as possible as it’s an amazing piece of work. Recorded mostly in Mississippi by Bruce Watson of Fat possum records who has produced for the likes of Andrew Bird and the Black Keys as well as others and partly in New York by Jeremy ‘searcher’ Backofen (The Felice Brothers). In fact the brilliant Felice Brothers make an appearance on two tracks, namely When the devil’s loose and the final track of the album The coal hits the fire and you could argue they are the two stand out tracks on the album but that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of it as it’s full of acoustic gems. From the gentle opening track The mightiest of guns where his slightly croaked voice telling you to see the stars falling down like burning rain that were fired by the mightiest of guns, to the above mentioned final track bringing this fine album to a brilliant end. Of course with the Felice brothers connection there is some of their trademark sound to be heard here but I also hear in his voice similarities to Justin Rutledge and also just hear a later Josh Ritter singing I can see the pines are dancing. This is a must have album in my opinion by a singer/songwriter on the up who I think can only get better and better.
I saw Mr Bondy support the Felice brothers recently here in the UK and I urge you to go and see him on his current U.S tour as he’s a must see live act that will leave you astounded. Also, his new album is available on vinyl and it comes with a free mp3 download so please, without going into how right now, you are supporting these smaller artists by buying their vinyl so do it.
He has also done another session for hearya which is going to be up soon but you can still grab his previous one here. Enjoy.
Not a new album or anything but Sam has a nice video just posted on youtube I thought I’d share with you’s.
Sam’s brilliant album Close to home, can still be picked up either online at Jumbo records or Rough Trade now have them too, good work. Remember the CD comes with the vinyl so a bargain to be had considering there is a limit of 500. Pick up a rare treat while at the same time grabbing the best British roots album this year.
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