The radio station in my head...

Monday, July 16, 2012

Concert Watch: Milo Greene at 3rd & Lindsley, 7/22

California-based Milo Greene began as an imaginary person. The band's founding members began pitching their pooled artistic endeavors under an imaginary talent manager they named "Milo Greene," through whom they hoped to garner added notice. In addition to opening more doors in the music business, it also led to one interesting answer to the question of how they got their name...

Milo Greene spent the last year on the road, supporting headliners such as the Civil Wars, Grouplove and Belle Brigade. I was lucky to catch them opening for the latter two last October, and their set that quickly found me scrambling to hear more. The band's intense focus on multi-part harmonies has drawn comparisons to Rumors-era Fleetwood Mac. On the group's upcoming self-titled release (releasing July 17), I also hear production shades of Fleet Foxes and of Monsters and Men.

Milo Greene is hitting the road this month for their first national headlining tour, including a stop at 3rd & Lindsley on Sunday, July 22. Stay tuned to for a review of the show next week.

Continue lendo »

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Super-Secret Black Keys show in Nashville tonight

Details are sketchy at best at this point, but the Black Keys announced this morning via Twitter that they will be hosting a highly-exclusive secret show tonight (6/20) at some TBA location in Nashville.

What is currently known is that only the first 40 people at the door will be let in, and more details (hopefully the location?) will be announced at 7pm tonight via Twitter.

The Black Keys pulled a similar secret Nashville show earlier this year at Silver Point Studios in Nashville, where they were rehearsing for their current tour. Here are some possible locations where tonight's show might be held:

- Dan Auerbach's Easy Eye Studio (probably unlikely, though. 40 people would be a tight fit.)
- Silver Point Studios (again)
- Soundcheck Rehearsal Studios in Nashville
- The Rutledge (website says "closed for private event, 8pm-2am" tonight)
- The Hi Watt (no acts listed for tonight)
- Third Man Records

Perusing the various Nashville clubs' schedules, the following venues appear to be already booked with others acts tonight, making them unlikely locations:

- The Basement
- The End
- Exit/In
- Mercy Lounge
- 5 Spot

All of these venues are within a couple miles of downtown, so I know where I'll be at 7pm tonight. Where do you think this will be held?

Continue lendo »

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

10 Best Albums of 2012 So Far

10. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar

Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit manages to nail classic Americana better than most domestic musicians. Soft, ethereal harmonies and warm production give the perfect boost to the excellent songwriting and musicianship.

Favorite Track - "Emmylou"

9. for King & Country - Crave

Christian rockers for King & Country were heralded as Australia's answer to Coldplay leading up to their debut release in February. I find them a little closer to the Fray than Coldplay, but their music does an excellent job of mixing a positive spiritual message with widespread pop-rock appeal that just might land them as a crossover success.

Favorite Track - "Light It Up"

8. The Shins - Port of Morrow

I was a big fan of the Shin's first full record Chutes Too Narrow, but they started to lose me with their next releases. Port of Morrow is the perfect mix of the band's early, stripped-down style with their later progressive leanings.

Favorite Track - "Simple Song"

7. Punch Brothers - Who's Feeling Young Now

The Punch Brothers blend traditional Bluegrass instrumentation with a curious mix of classical chamber music and almost jazz-like improvisation. Band leader Chris Thile lets his grass roots show through in many cases, but cuts it with dark dissonance throughout and a fascinating cover of Radiohead's "Kid A."

Favorite Track - "Patchwork Girlfriend"

6. The Vespers - The Fourth Wall

The Vespers' second record is a curious mix of upbeat pop, ("Flower Flower"), back-country spiritual ("Instrument For You") and Bluegrass ("Will You Love Me"). The breathy, sweet vocals from the Cryar sisters is at times refreshing, others dark and vulnerable.

Favorite Track - "Will You Love Me"

5. Zeus - Busting Visions

In a music scene dominated by either folksy, old-time styles or bass-heavy electropop, a band that explores early 70's classic rock is amazingly refreshing. Canadian group Zeus twists vintage rock radio with a contemporary songcraft, falling somewhere between Badfinger and Weezer.

Favorite Track - "Are You Gonna Waste My Time?"

4. Kathleen Edwards - Voyageur

Kathleen Edwards' Voyageur is dark, vulnerable and beautiful. Edwards manages to take the pain, uncertainty and vanity that accompany the end of a relationship and arrange it with a haunting intensity. Producer Justin Vernon's (Bon Iver) touch is definitely recognizable.

Favorite Track - "Soft Place to Land"

3. Fun. - Some Nights

Fun. It's that simple.

Favorite Track - "Some Nights"

2. Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit

I didn't quite know how to approach Delta Spirit's third album. It's not quite a departure from the sound of their previous two releases, but it certainly takes a couple steps into new territory. I think it's a good thing when great bands take a risk, and it largely pays off for Delta Spirit.

Favorite Tracks - "Empty House," "Otherside"

1. Jack White - Blunderbuss

I hear echos of every one of Jack White's collaborative efforts in Blunderuss, from the heyday of the White Stripes to the all-out rock of the Raconteurs and the dark moods of the Dead Weather. There is even at times an echo of Rome, last year's spaghetti western-themed collaboration with Danger Mouse.

Favorite Track - "Love Interruption"

Continue lendo »

Monday, April 16, 2012

You need to see Jonny Corndawg. Now.

Jonny Corndawg (photo by Geoff Turner

Country music is steeped in too many musical traditions to count. The Bakersfield Sound, Outlaw Country, Stone Country, Honky Tonk, Country Pop, Southern Rock, Alt-Country [ad naseum...]; all with their own set of symbols, stereotypes and icons. Jonny Carndaw's ambition to embody all of them at once seems almost limitless.

From the moment Corndawg takes the stage, you know your experience is going to be unique. The bone-white Stetson with matching pointed boots, the white-trash-tricked-out guitar (complete with leather pick guard and Jonny's namesake inlaid in pearl on the fretboard), and the sky blue western shirt with "Corndawg" embroidered on the breast pocket flap tell you all you need to know about the spectacle you are about to behold.

I caught Jonny Corndawg at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville on a Sunday night. Corndawg ran through several raunchy, tongue-in-cheek crowd favorites - "Life of a Bear" and "Down on the Bikini Line," - while also introducing plenty of new material from his forthcoming record Dad Country (which will feature a backup band consisting of none other than GeoffFM favorite Dawes).

Deer Tick's John McCauley with Jonny Corndawg (photo by Geoff Turner)

The true highlight of the night was a two-song cameo from John McCauley (lead singer and songwriter of Americana antiheroes Deer Tick) for covers of "Mom & Dad" and "Middle Brother" from McCauley's 2011 Dawes/Deer Tick/Delta Spirit collaboration album Middle Brother.

Jonny Corndawg is an act you simply must to see to completely appreciate. Is he seriously pure country, or is he a hilariously cornball tribute to trucker honky tonk at it's best/worst? You will have to judge for yourself.

Continue lendo »

Thursday, February 2, 2012

There's talent under all that...?

I will step up and admit that I secretly enjoy me some Ke$ha from time to time. Say what you will about her opulent use of auto-tune, trash-hipster fashion sense, or hedonistic lyrics. Her pop fantasias are incredibly catchy.

It's easy for me to get caught up in the popular notion that pop singers are the fast food of music, i.e. they are artificially-enhanced, mass-produced products made from the sub par throwaway pieces on the cutting room floor. Much like the "pink slurry" that McDonald's burgers and Taco Bell meat are made from, they are ground to a paste, washed in ammonia and dyed to an acceptable color to appeal to our American grab-and-go lifestyle.

Ke$ha recently contributed to an excellent new Bob Dylan tribute titled Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International. I noticed her cover of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," and I honestly expected something in the vein of "Tik Tok" or "Your Love Is My Drug."

What I discovered was a lot more akin to Feist and the Head and the Heart chanteuse Charity Rose Thielin than Britney Spears or Snooki. As it turns out, once Ke$sha applies some makeup remover, mutes the synth beats, strips away the auto-tune and allows some vulnerability to show through, she can sing. Well.

Sure, pop music is full of manufactured, off-the-shelf voices (see: Rebecca Black). It always has been. Still, I appreciate the occasional reminder that some pop performers are indeed talented singers, and they have worked hard for their success. I wish Ke$sha would show this side more often.

Continue lendo »

Monday, January 30, 2012

2012 Album Watch List

2011 inundated me with new music, and I'm still absorbing it all (thanks for the 11th-hour record, Black Keys...). Although the Radio Station In My Head is still working through last year's rotation, here are some forthcoming records that I expect to be talking about in 2012:

Avett Brothers - Title TBA - Spring (I'm assuming April, because that seems to be the trend here...)

While there's no official release date set, a Rolling Stone interview in January suggested their second Rick Rubin-produced album would be out in early spring. The trademark back-country acoustic sound will be present, but it also looks like some harder edges will get equal time as well. If you have ever seen the Avetts live, this should come as no surprise. They preformed the track "Once and Future Carpenter" on CMT's Unplugged last summer.

Delta Spirit - Delta Spirit - March 13

What a great present for me half-birthday. Delta Spirit recent released a preview of the track "California" through the Wall Street Journal's website (a strange venue choice) this month. This song is a lot more pop than their previous music. Personally, I am hoping this is not an
indication of a completely new direction for the group.

Mumford & Sons - Title TBA - 1st half of 2012

The followup to 2009's Sigh No More has been a long-time coming, mostly because the record only last year made a splash in the U.S. Mumford & Sons spend the end of 2010 and most of 2011 on constant tour to support their rising notoriety in the U.S.

The band has been promising a release in the first half of 2012. They have been performing new songs all year on the road. Based on what I heard at Bonnaroo 2011, the album is promising. There's also "Ghosts That We Knew," which was pushed as a preview late last year.

Justin Townes Earle - Nothing's Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now - March 27

Harlem River Blues made a big slash in 2010. The overall sound was a mix of rockabilly, Old time Hank, Sr.-style country and delta blues, capturing Justin Townes Earle's slappy-acoustic live performances very successfully. Nothing's Gonna Change the Way you Feel About Me Now, while also a contender for 2012's longest album name, looks to be more of a bluesier departure, based on the preview video released on JTE's website early this year.

Punch Brothers - Who's Feeling Young Now - February 24

My favorite bluegrass-meets-free jazz-meets-obscure classical band is launching their third record next month. Judging from the recently-released track "Clara," I can see this will probably be a shew-in my Best Of 2012 list.

Eric Hutchinson - Moving Up Moving Down - April 17

Hutchinson went Gold with his 2008 debut Sounds Like This. After 4 years of hectic touring, he's releasing his followup. The video for the first single "Watching You Watching Him" is pretty interesting to watch. Personally, I'm getting a Buddy Holly-meets-Paul Simon vibe...

Jack White - Blunderbuss - April 23

This Paste Magazine article announced that Jack White will be releasing his first solo record in April (I hate it when they get the scoop on me..). A preview stream of the song "Love Interruption" is available for subscribers to the Third Man Records Vault. For the rest of us less-hardcore fans, more previews will be forthcoming.

Continue lendo »