Moderate Rebels, the London-based “Anti-Music collective”, they released both an EP and an album that year to some acclaim. So wasting no time, the band are already plotting a second album for later this year, and have this week shared the first taste of it, in the shape of new single, “Beyond Hidden Words”.
Discussing the track, the always intriguing Moderate Rebels have described it as an, “un-song”, the sound of “a repeating half hallucination set to building noise, an invocation of strong communal power and hope, through the confronting of the uncomfortable, and the taking of some personal responsibility for being part of that conversation.” Somewhat counter-intuitively, Beyond Hidden Words might actually be Moderate Rebels most accessible offering to date. Atop the repeated, multi-voiced, lyrical chant, “shine you white lights on the black sites, I’m beginning to see the lights”, the musical backing swells and dips. A steady, almost hand-clap like drum beat, holds the song in rhythmic focus, as rumbling bass, burbling keys (with a slight touch of The Who’s Teenage Wasteland) and what sounds like an e-bowed guitar, play off against one another, fighting for the musical attention. It’s a track that despite it’s somewhat minimal, repetitive nature, draws you in more and more with each listen; it slowly becomes important, moving and without ever feeling the need to explain why, stirs a multitude of emotions inside. They might call it Anti-Music, yet with each release they’re getting closer and closer to the primal elements of sound, a place where music began and where music still thrives to this day.
Last February, Omnivore Recordings released singer-songwriter JD Souther’s three efforts for Asylum Records on CD, remastered with extra bonus tracks and new liner notes informed by interviews with Souther. No Depressioncalled them: “A worthy upgrade and a good introduction for those who haven’t yet dug into JD Souther.”Relixpredicted the reissues would “bring belated appreciation” to the albums. “Kudos to Omnivore for re-introducing Souther and his work to a brand new audience.”
On September 21st, 2018, Omnivore Recordings will release the trio of classic albums John David Souther, Black Rose and Home by Dawn on high-quality vinyl. All three have been cut from the original analog masters by Kevin Gray at Cohearent, overseen by Souther himself and Omnivore’sCheryl Pawelski and pressed atRTI on 180-gram vinyl. These new reissues also feature a little bit of updated art on the Black Rosealbum — no longer featuring the artist name and title, as was originally intended. In every other way, they are presented as they were originally released.
Before he was co-writing Eagles hits like “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Heartache Tonight” with Glenn Frey and Don Henley, Souther formed Longbranch/Pennywhistle with Frey when they were roommates. Their downstairs neighbour was a fellow by the name of Jackson Browne, who took Souther to audition for his boss, David Geffen, who’d recently formed the Asylum Records label. After hearing two songs, Geffen told Souther to “go make a record.” And, that’s exactly what he did.
John David Souther released in 1971, and was immediately a critical success and established Souther as a, if not the songwriter to watch. (He would be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame 42 years later.)
Co-produced by Souther and Fred Catero (who had recently finished Santana’s Abraxas), John David Southerfeatured 10 originals — all stunning, and many of which would be covered by artists like Bonnie Raitt (“Run Like a Thief”) and Souther’s old friends The Eagles, who released “How Long” as the first single from their 2007 comeback and multi-platinum smash, Long Road Out of Eden.
John David Souther was, and is, the perfect introduction to the singer and performer behind the songs. Still relevant over four decades later, the recording shows the emergence of one of music’s most influential artists.
After his impressive debut, Souther worked with Chris Hillman (Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield, Poco) in the short-lived Souther/Hillman/Furay Band. But, at that same time, his songwriting reputation grew, as friends and colleagues took his material to commercial heights.
Five years after John David Souther, Black Rose appeared. Beautifully helmed by Peter Asher, the album was not only full of incredible songs, but a who’s who of musicians including Lowell George (Little Feat), Joe Walsh, Waddy Wachtel, Jim Keltner, Andrew Gold, Russ Kunkel, Donald Byrd, and Stanley Clarke — with David Crosby, Art Garfunkel, Don Henley and Glenn Frey adding their voices. In addition to the lush production and instrumentation, Souther’s ten songs were again exceptional. Linda Ronstadt had previously recorded “Faithless Love” on her breakthrough Heart Like a Wheel album, and would tackle “Simple Man, Simple Dream” in 1977 — even basing that year’s album title on the song. (For the record, Ronstadt has recorded 10 Souther tracks, a relationship that began with his production on her 1973 album Don’t Cry Now, also named for a Souther composition.)
“Black Rose” was an ambitious undertaking, and it took a long time,” Souther states in the liners. “I wanted to use all the musical influences I had, and I really had to dig deep. But when we were finished, I was almost as pleased with it as if it had sold a million copies. Almost.”
After hitting the Top 10 twice with “You’re Only Lonely” and his duet with James Taylor, “Her Town Too,”
Souther released his only 1980s album Home by Dawn, produced by David Malloy (Eddie Rabbit, Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire).Souther took distinctive creative turns with each release, Home by Dawn emerged at the beginning of the new wave of country music. In fact, legendary producer/engineer, and David’s father,Jim Malloy (Townes Van Zandt, Eddy Arnold, Sammi Smith), told Souther, “You were about 15 minutes ahead of your time!” That timing was confirmed when Dixie Chicks covered “I’ll Take Care of You” on their platinum album Wide Open Spaces.
The album has steadily earned a reputation as the groundbreaking and influential statement it was, and continues to be. From rock to roots-rock to rockabilly, Home by Dawn took Souther in a direction reflecting his Texas upbringing. Now is the perfect time to discover — or rediscover the songs of John David Souther.
He’s already achieved so much that it can be hard to remember Kiran Leonard is still only 22-years-old. The Saddleworth songwriter released his debut album back in 2014, took a giant leap forward with 2016’s Grapefruit and then proceeded to write,“a concept album in five movements inspired by five pieces of literature and arranged for piano, strings and voice”,a move as inspired as it was ludicrously ambitious. This week Kiran has shared details of his upcoming third album, Western Culture, as well as sharing the first single from it, Paralysed Force.
Kiran Leonard: “”Paralysed Force” is about how insecurities you should settle within yourself often get transplanted onto other people you know. Projecting the question towards another allows you to shirk responsibility for your own well being, but all this does is suspend the issue at hand, and prolong an inevitable falling back. “There’s also a sort of compulsiveness, a wanting to be suspended, that’s involved in it all, because sometimes it feels good not to have to think about yourself. I suppose the song’s about being caught between those two points — basically, that even if you know you’re being irresponsible (and possibly daft), there’s still a desire to give yourself up.”
Western Culture is the first album Kiran has ever recorded in a professional studio, as well as his first recorded with the involvement of his live band, and he has suggested it is, “both more accessible and more peculiar than my other records” – on the evidence of Paralysed Force you can certainly see where he’s coming from. Discussing the track, in his usual inimitable fashion, Kiran has suggested it is about, “how insecurities you should settle within yourself often get transplanted onto other people you know.” Musically it is as close as Kiran ever gets to a straight up indie-rock song, it’s still angular and awkward sure, however in the melodies and rhythms at times there’s an unquestionably hooky and approachable quality. With a title like Western Culture, it’s inevitable that this is a record that glances out to society, Kiran has suggested it looks to the power of words to shape the discourse, how, in his own carefully chosen comment, “the words we use have a funny sort of position, both as a feeble opponent to real-life violence, and as the critical foundation for that very violence.” With our own words, we’d strongly urge you to explore the fascinating work of quite possibly this countries most intriguing new musical voice.
Kiran Leonard releases brand new album Western Culture on 19th October 2018 on Moshi Moshi Records:
Best known as front man and lead singer for Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, following the band’s late-1960s collapse, Domingo “Sam” Samudio signed a solo deal with Atlantic Records. Released in 1971, in case you couldn’t figure it out from the cover photo with a somewhat ragged Samudio striking a standard born-to-be-wild poise on a nice lookin’ chopper, “Sam Hard and Heavy” was a clear attempt to update and modernize his sound and image. Teamed with famed producers Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd, the set was quite different from his Sam the Sham garage moves. Fairly diverse listen, the ten track album offered up a mixture of Samudio originals and interesting covers. Musically the LP bounced all over the spectrum. ‘Lonely Avenue’ opting for a conventional hard rock sound, while the Tex-Mex ‘Don’t Put Me On’ and bluesy ‘Key To The Highway’ harkened back to his frat boy roots. Elsewhere the collection featured support from guitarist Duane Allman (‘Going Upstairs‘ and ‘Relativity’), Also featured The Dixie Flyers and The Memphis Horns.
Covering John Lee Hooker’s ‘Going’ Upstairs’ as an acoustic blues number wasn’t the most original decision, but having Duane Allman provide Dobro was a great choice. The result was to turn what would have been a mundane cover into a snarling, threatening slice of the blues.
This was recorded during the Layla sessions at Criteria Studios in Miami~Sam was recording in Studio B~We were recording in Studio A~ Duane Allman is backing Sam Samudio…you know Sam the Sham and “WoollyBoolly?” This is actually real nice. Sam should have continued doing this type of material with other greats like Duane. The voice is excellent. released on his album Sam Hard and Heavy in 1971
The Dixie Flyers consisting of: Jim Dickinson, Mike Utley, Charlie Freeman, Tommy McClure & Sammy Creason The Memphis Horns consisting of: Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love, Ed Logan, James Mitchell, Roger Hopps & Jack Hale.
By the early-1980s Samudio was completely out of the business, working in the Gulf of Mexico as a deck hand on boats running supplies to drilling rigs. He didn’t reappear until 1982 when Ry Cooder sought him out as a collaborator on the soundtrack to the film “The Border”. Samudio reluctantly agreed to participate, playing organ and contributing a pair of songs to the package (‘No Quiero’ and ‘Palomita’).
After the release of this album, Arcade Fire’s popularity escalated at the same unwavering pace as lead-off track “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels).” What began with a twinkle and a passionate voice turned into a dance party before you knew it. The band’s rapid rise was a testament to word of mouth and a thrilling live show, but also the unmistakably winning material found on ‘Funeral.’ Like its title suggests, the album is both a mournful elegy and a celebration of life. Time signatures shift, guitars chug then blare, sweet noises drift in and out of earshot, and the folks in Arcade Fire never stop singing and shouting. It’s a beautiful slice of humanity.
I recall when I first bought it in 2005, I loved a couple of songs straight away, but wasn’t too sure about the rest of the album. Around two or three plays later and I was left in no doubt as to the greatness of the Canadian band’s first long player . When it was first released, I repeat-played Funeral like I was addicted to it; it made me feel euphoric, it brought me to tears… it made me feel so wonderfully alive. From the tinkling pianos that introduce the album like bubbling spring water on Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), the music, from tiny buds, bloom into an utterly relentless, gorgeous monster of a song with a beautiful streak of romanticism running through its core; the imagery of building a tunnel through the snow from “my window to yours” is truly endearing. Neighborhood #2 starts off with a thumping drum beat and disjointed shouted lyric in the verse, but soon explodes into a string-backed, thrilling chorus which provides a sublime juxtaposition. “My eyes are shooting sparks” croons Win Butler in the soft, yet shimmering Une Annee Sans Lumière and, even this gentle, more conventional sounding song ends with a thrashed guitar and high-tempo outro.
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) begins with a cacophony of percussive instruments and growling guitar, providing an adrenaline rush of drama and melody whereas #4 (7 Kettles) is a more subtle animal, a slow burning acoustic track augmented by persuasive strings which are simply beautiful. One song that made an immediate impact on me the very first time I heard this record is Crown Of Love, an unbelievably heart-breaking and gorgeous melody combined with the magnificent lyrics, which are a desperately sorrowful plea to win back a broken love; “In my heart there’s flowers growin’/on the grave of our old love/since you gave me a straight answer” The tempo shift and pounding strings at the end of the song is the superb finishing touch on that masterful piece.
It seems impossible to think that anything could come close to”Crown Of Love” at that moment and then the opening bars of “Wake Up” begin to rhythmically chug, a sparse drum beat joins in and then it explodes into one of the most glorious, euphoric, stunning tracks I’ve ever heard . “Wake Up” is a masterpiece, perhaps the defining moment on”Funeral” all the album is truly great, but this particular composition takes it to another level and the lyrics are excellent (any song that begins with “Somethin’ filled my heart with nothin’” wins my adoration instantly). After such a magnificent track, it’s fine that “Haiti” sounds a little ordinary, as it only suffers by comparison. In fact, it has a pretty, persistent riff which happens to masks the dark meaning of the lyrics. “Rebellion (Lies)” is a powerful, relentless song which draws you into the mesmerising groove until it throws the curveball of a minor key change and takes the listener in another direction completely. The final song, In The Backseat, which Regine performs with a perfect mix of fragility and feeling, is a melodic beauty and the metaphoric meaning in the lyrics weigh heavy when revealed in the last few lines of the song; it’s the final knockout blow on an album that packs many emotional punches.
For me, Arcade Fire’s debut album is not only one of the greatest albums of the 21st century so far, but one of the greatest albums of all time. It’s one of an exclusive group of records that I will still listen to at least a few times every year and, each time, the power and beauty of the work never cease to amaze and astonish me. The musical composition, the inspired choice of instruments, the lyrics, Win Butler’s vocals, the frequent changes in tempo and emotions; it’s as close to perfection as it could possibly be. Funeral is a breathtaking piece of work (often literally) that sounded nothing pretty much nothing like anything that ever came before it and, in my opinion, that they have never quite managed to top or even equal since. Funeral is an all time great and, quite seriously, up there with the greatest releases of any artist.
Richard Reed Parry – electric guitar, synthesizer, organ, piano, accordion, xylophone, percussion, double bass, engineering, recording
Tim Kingsbury – bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Howard Bilerman – drums, guitar, engineer, recording
William Butler – bass, xylophone, synthesizer, percussion
What it did: Introduced the band as a family-and-friends gang-cum-cult. So titled because several of the band’s family members died while it was being made, ‘Funeral’ is a towering and life-affirming work about dancing through the darkness. ‘Wake Up’ was played at the start of Manchester City home games in 2006.
Today I’m releasing The Ballad of Davey Graham. This is the second track off my album ‘The Other Side Of Blue’, which will be available on 17th August. At thirteen years old my father introduced me to the music of Davey Graham and told me he was the best guitarist he had ever seen. Years later I was asked to play at an event which celebrated Davey’s life and his friend ex-partner told me that it was my music that he choose to listen to on the day that he died. It was mind blowing to me, and I hope that my songs comforted him in that final hour, like his music did in the spring of my youth. What goes around comes around I guess, and I hope his spirit lives on in this song. Rest in peace Davey and thank you for all your music. Best wishes. TB.
Tom Baxter – Ballad Of Davey Graham Tom’s new Album – ‘The Other Side of Blue’
Los Angeles – July 3, 2018 – Coming on the heels of last month’s vinyl release of his enigmatic Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Frank Zappa’s stylistically diverse and subversive 1970 album Chunga’s Revenge will be the next classic Zappa album to be reissued on vinyl as part of the Zappa Family Trust and UMe’s ongoing initiative to restore the iconoclast’s iconic catalog. The record will receive a 180-gram audiophile repressing on black vinyl on July 20 via Zappa Records/UMe. Supervised by the ZFT, the record was specially mastered for this release by Bernie Grundman with all analog production and cut directly from the original 1970 analog master tapes. Unavailable on vinyl for more than three decades, the last pressing was in 1986 for Zappa’s rare Old Masters Box Two on his own Barking Pumpkin Records. The LP, which will be pressed at Pallas in Germany, will include meticulously reproduced original artwork. A limited edition color vinyl version is also in the works to be released on the same date.
Chunga’s Revenge was one of three albums that the highly prolific composer released in 1970, followingBurnt Weeny SandwichandWeasels Ripped My Flesh. Although released under Frank Zappa’s own name, the album is most notable for introducing a new Mothers lineup that included the Phlorescent Leech (Flo) & Eddie, the pseudonyms for former Turtles members Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman who performed under the aliases due to contractual restrictions. The reconfigured lineup included bassist Jeff Simmons,keyboardist and trombonist George Duke, drummer Aynsley Dunbar and multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood. Derived from various sessions during that year, the record ebbs and flows between instrumental and vocal tracks and as noted by Zappa on the original sleeve, “All the vocals in this album are a preview of the story from 200 Motels,” his acclaimed film and soundtrack released the following year.
From the funky guitar workout of opener “Transylvania Boogie” to the bluesy send-up “Road Ladies” to the jazzy “Twenty Small Cigars,” a standout recorded during the Hot Rats sessions, Chunga’s Revenge is an eclectic affair that sees the ever-restless musician and his adroit band traipse through a variety of genres with aplomb. The album’s centerpiece, closing side A, is “The Nancy & Mary Music,” an almost 10-minute long three-part improvisational suite recorded live that sees each Mother flexing their musical muscles for a freewheeling freak-out of epic proportions. Side B opens with the hard rocker “Tell Me You Love Me” which gives way to the warped pop of “Would You Go All The Way” and the jammy title track, propelled by Ian Underwood’s wah-wah pedal sax solo. The album closes with two songs that showcase the vocal talents of Flo & Eddie: “Rudy Wants To Buy Yeza Drink,” Zappa’s jaunty, tropical-tinged response to his experiences with the Musician’s Union, and “Sharleena,” a soulful ballad that see Zappa putting his unique spin on doo-wop and R&B.
Philadelphia-based musician Rosali (Long Hots, Wandering Shade) wrote the songs for her second album, “Trouble Anyway”, seeking empowerment by sharing openly on love, power, aging, suffering, confusion, self-doubt, and anger. Resulting in a full-bodied record that is at once sweeping and intimate. A vulnerable and powerful exploration of emotional narratives, Trouble Anyway showcases her background in diverse musical styles from free improv, garage rock, country, pop, to folk-infused song-craft. Following up her 2016 debut Out of Love (Siltbreeze), named one of the top 100 records of 2016 by Uncut Magazine, Trouble Anyway is a cohesive collection of lush, intimate rock songs, featuring her warm, natural vocals and powerful riffing and rhythm guitar, approaching the sublime when Rosali finds expression beyond lyricism, utilizing her voice as a human instrument.
Backed by A-list musician friends, the collective instrumentation simultaneously accentuates Rosali’s singular sound and magnifies its orbit. Trouble Anyway is both otherworldly and straight-forward. Lyrical and wordless intensity, alongside intuitive musical arrangements, make for a powerful sophomore release. With collaborations from musician friends – Nathan Bowles (Steve Gunn, Black Twig Pickers), Dan Provenzano (Writhing Squares, Purling Hiss), Mary Lattimore, Paul Sukeena (Angel Olsen, Spacin’), Charlie Hall (The War on Drugs), MikePolizze (Purling Hiss), Mike Sobel (Oldermost), and Gretchen Lohse (Carol Cleveland Sings)—Trouble Anyway was recorded and mixed by Uniform Recording’s Jeff Zeigler, who has also engineered records for The War on Drugs, Allison Crutchfield (also of Waxahatchee), and Kurt Vile, among others.
I first fell in love with Rosali’s songs for this reason, the way her work takes you straight to that brave and big-hearted dream within songwriting. Every song stands strongly as it’s very own world, well-worn by the history of the underground but accessible as daylight.” Meg Baird, Spring 2018
Hailing from the musical mecca that is Austin, Texas, Fanclub initially formed as the brainchild of Mike Lee, to re-record his favourite albums with a rotating cast of musicians. Thankfully after working with vocalist Leslie Crunkilton, Mike decided that actually, it might be a lot more fun to record his own songs. Now joined by drummer Daniel Schmidt, Fanclub as we know it were born, and this week the band have shared their debut single, “Leaves”.
Despite self deprecatingly describing their music as, “Indiepop that probably sounds like everything else”, on the evidence of Leaves, Fanclub are considerably more exciting than that sounds. Energetic rhythms play off against tumbling synths and New Order-like guitar exploration, before Leslie’s hushed vocals steal the limelight. On these somewhat overly scorching summer nights, there’s something splendidly Autumnal about the track, with the lyrics references to falling leaves, you can almost feel the nights drawing in around you in their own inevitable, melancholic way. A classic, perfectly formed, indiepop song,
Leslie sang on a couple songs Mike wrote and they quickly hit it off. They started writing songs together and soon knew there was something special. Combing Mike’s indiepop guitar sound and electronic aesthetic with Leslie’s ethereal yet poignant vocals felt just right. They recruited Mike’s old bandmate Daniel Schmidt to cover percussion duty and together they make what we now know as Fanclub.
Fanclub might just be your new favourite band. Leaves is out now.
For those of you who’ve been with me from the beginning you’ll know that I’ve always loved getting remixes done ever since my first EP of Middle Of The Bed.
I’ve made one more video for you too, to go with JMAC’s remix of Strangest Of Ways. Another spontaneous shoot where I stopped the car after crossing the border into Austria on my European tour and then asked my husband Will Morris to film it for me.
It was quite surreal listening to the remix in this awesome landscape. My dear friend George Cotterhill edited it together for us. This is the final message regarding my remix project.
It was just an idea to start with, where I wanted to get friends and musicians I loved to remix some of my songs, mainly because I was hoping something would come out of it that you would enjoy.
Today the whole remix record comes out and there’s a huge variety and range of music on there for you.
Official video for ‘Strangest of Ways (JM∆C remix)’ taken from ‘Something’s Changing’ (Remixes) out July 6th
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