Courtney Marie Andrews’ debuted songs from her acclaimed new album, “May Your Kindness Remain”, on CBS TV “This Morning” as part of their “Saturday Sessions” series.
Watch the performances here: “Kindness Of Strangers,” “Two Cold Nights In Buffalo” and “May Your Kindness Remain.”
Singer-songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews left her home to focus on music at just 16 years old. Her 2016 album “Honest Life” was a breakout hit and a fixture on many lists for album of the year. Her latest collection, “May Your Kindness Remain,” was released last week.
The last U.S. tour stop of 2007 would prove to be Danny Federici’s final show as a full-time member of the E Street Band. Boston ’07 is a fitting farewell to Phantom Dan and catches Bruce and the band firing on all cylinders at the height of the “Magic” tour. Rich with core album tracks including “Radio Nowhere,” “Gypsy Biker,” “Livin’ In The Future” and “Girls In Their Summer Clothes,” Boston also features the tour debuts of “This Hard Land” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” with guest Peter Wolf.
Bruce Springsteen brought the E Street Band to TD Banknorth Garden in Boston for a two-night stand in November of 2007 to end the first leg of a tour in support of Magic. Springsteen has released an official recording of the concert from November 19th, 2007 which wound up being multi-instrumentalist Dan Federici’s final complete performance with the band.
Federici passed away just fourth months later on April 17th, 2008 due to melanoma. While he would perform with the group for portions of a show in Indianapolis on March 20, 2008; he never played a whole show with The Boss and his famed backing band after that night in Boston. Danny was spotlighted throughout the concert at the TD Banknorth Garden on songs such as “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Sandy” and “Kitty’s Back.”
“Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” was a tour debut as was “This Hard Land.” Peter Wolf joined the ensemble to add backing vocals to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” Springsteen and his band put an emphasis on material from Magic, which was their new album at the time. In total, eight songs from the LP made the 24-song setlist. to purchase the official recording of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s November 19th, 2007 performance in a variety of formats.
Bruce Springsteen – Lead vocal, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica; Roy Bittan – Piano, keyboards, accordion; Clarence Clemons – Tenor and baritone saxophones, percussion, backing vocal; Danny Federici – Organ, keyboards, accordion; Nils Lofgren – Electric and acoustic guitars, pedal steel, backing vocal; Patti Scialfa – Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocal; Garry Tallent – Bass; Stevie Van Zandt – Electric guitars, mandolin, backing vocal; Max Weinberg – Drums; Soozie Tyrell – Violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocal
Additional musician: Peter Wolf – backing vocal on Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
When you listen to the Shacks’s self-titled debut EP, you might imagine that Shannon Wise and Max Shrager are much older than their respective 18 and 20 years. But when Shannon’s whisper-vocals breeze through the speakers, you hear the youthfulness of their sound which then in turn explains the fearlessness of their songwriting. Both vaguely familiar and completely fresh, The Shacks are one of the most interesting NYC bands to surface in a minute.
Since the release of their first single, “Strange Boy”, which they recorded with El Michels Affair, The Shacks have been compared to 90’s indie icons like Mazzy Star, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Broadcast. As good as those bands are, you wouldn’t find a single one of their records in Max and Shannon’s music collection. All these bands are drinking from the same well, just 20 years apart.
Highlights from The Shacks EP include a cover of the Ray Davies-penned “This Strange Effect”, which Shannon sings as if it were written for her, giving the song an unnerving edge that’s way more interesting than Dave Berry’s tepid original. Also included on the EP is “Orchids,” one of Leon Michels and Max Shrager’s first co-productions, recorded at the legendary Diamond Mine studios. “Orchids” is a truly original piece of music that showcases The Shacks’ adventurousness in the studio. “Left It With the Moon” is a lo-fi lullaby written by Shannon and recorded to 4 track cassette at Max’s home studio in Princeton, NJ. And “Hands In Your Pockets” features the Frightnrs rhythm section laying down a pitch-perfect rocksteady backing track behind Shannon’s deadpan delivery a la Jane Birkin.
Trackslist: 1. Strange Effect 2. Left It With The Moon 3. Orchids 4. Audrey Hepburn 5. Tidal Waves 6. Rain 7. Hands In Your Pockets
Asta Rangu’s excellent debut EP, “Plasticine”. It’s the work of label co-founder Ley-Hamilton, and is a fluid rock ‘n’ roll record full of tightly wound guitars and soaring vocal melodies. In the post-grunge era of the late ’90s it would have slotted in nicely beside some of the greats, but in a contemporary setting it still sounds fresh.
The Clean is one of our favorite bands ever, and one of the most influential guitar bands of all time. The band–brothers David and Hamish Kilgour (Hamish is also in the band Mad Scene) along with Robert Scott (also of the Bats and the Magick Heads)–has been around for more than 20 years and made consistently, uniquely amazing records the entire time. Getaway is a typically mind-blowing array of sunny, chiming guitar pop, moody psychedelia, and melodic garage simplicity.
It’s easy to write off a band featuring one of the Stranger Things kids as a Hollywood gimmick, but Post Animal is for real. The Chicago psych-rockers are releasing their new record, When I Think of You in a Castle, on Polyvinyl Records, and though the aforementioned Joe Keery (aka Steve) isn’t a touring member anymore, he does contribute guitar and vocals. We dug their cheerful lead single, “Ralphie,” when it dropped in February.
Chicago-based Post Animal are a band of brothers. Though they formed in 2014 and just began touring in 2017, their affinity for slick riffs, pop hooks, and psychedelic tendencies join them in a bond much tighter than their years suggest. Initially formed when childhood friends, bassist Dalton Allison and guitarist Matt Williams, met keyboardist and guitarist Jake Hirshland, the band’s sound began to take shape when the three enlisted some more pals from both the Chicago music scene and through their time working at local burger joints. Rounding out the band’s lineup, Post Animal is completed by drummer Wesley Toledo and guitarists Javi Reyes and Joe Keery.
Like most band’s in Chicago’s inclusive music community, Post Animal got their start playing DIY basements and small rock clubs. With their wavy and warped first project 2015’s Post Animal Perform The Most Curious Water Activities EP and then 2016’s memorable singles collection The Garden Series, the band showcased mesmerizing and infectious pop melodies. Between their impressive early releases and their wild live shows which feature the band members sharing lead vocal duties, Post Animal have unquestionably solidified themselves as one of Chicago’s most exciting up-and-coming acts. Having taken that intensity across the country, touring with bands like Twin Peaks, Wavves, White Reaper, and more, Post Animal have found they are happiest when playing to a room full of fellow music-lovers. As a result, they are road tested and stronger than ever.
The Chicagoans’ debut full-length When I Think Of You In A Castle, via Polyvinyl, is the product of six friends creating music they love, even if the circumstances weren’t always in their favor. “Before this album, we weren’t sure what the future of the band was going to look like. I was considering moving to Los Angeles and Joe [Keery] was off filming Stranger Things. We didn’t know where we were all going but we knew we wanted to make an album with all of us in the same room,” explains Toledo. Being the first time all Post Animal members recorded together, the album’s collaborative spirit is more-than-evident throughout its 10 carefully curated tracks. Even Keery, who’s no longer an active touring member of the band due to his skyrocketing acting career, was integral to the album’s inception.
In the summer of 2016, the band retreated to a lake house in Watervliet, Michigan to record When I Think Of You In A Castle. For a week and a half, they tracked the LP—all while realizing they weren’t really alone in the house. According to the band, a ghost dwelled there that would jolt them awake from naps and even ended up with a guest appearance on the album. Toledo explains, “There’s a moment on ‘Heart Made of Metal’ where I hit the cymbals and, for some reason, it was recorded in reverse. We think that’s the ghost.”
Of course, not all of the magic on When I Think Of You In A Castle can be pinned on the supernatural. Following the lake house trip, the band finished the album at their house in Chicago with Allison perfecting the mix over the next year; even while on their 48-city summer tour in their beloved van (RIP Shannon). Take the first single “Ralphie,” which finds Keery and Allison gleefully trading lead vocals while sounding like what would happen if Jeff Lynne fronted Thin Lizzy. Though Post Animal’s live shows have long proven that swirling riffs are the band’s bread-and-butter, it’s earworms like “Ralphie” that show how easily they can churn out an infectious pop melody.
“Ralphie” isn’t the only song that finds the band sharing lead vocal duties. In fact, each band member contributes vocals like Hirshland’s mesmerizing turn on “Castle” or Williams’ punchy performance on “Heart Made of Metal.” Other songs, like the dynamic “Gelatin Mode,” shift from a lighthearted experience in dueling lead guitars to a face-melting dose of sludge with ease. It’s such a transportive track that when Keery menacingly intones, “Below, traveling slow out on your own / Your mind gelatin mode time to explode” it’s a welcome invitation.
Elsewhere, a longtime live staple “Tire Eyes” finds new life on the LP. It’s a swaggering ode to a timeless classic rock song with Allison’s falsetto beckoning, “So forget about your day and let this record float you away / As your mind is winding, finding cause to be easy.” The finished album, which was mastered by Jake’s brother, JaredHirshland, is a truly collaborative continuation on the band’s kaleidoscopic and sprawling early beginnings.
But most importantly, When I Think Of You In A Castle is a testament to not only the brotherly connection that these friends share, but also to the power of collaboration between like-minded musicians who just get one another. “Before we recorded it, it was an uncertain time for us as a band, but we all just had a magical time at this lake house in the middle of summer,” explains Toledo. Almost impossible to describe, the Post Animal bond is best observed while foolin’ at the merch table after a sweaty show. They look forward to seeing you there and, naturally, becoming your new best friends.
Late February, Lake Street Dive announced “Free Yourself Up”, the follow-up to their 2016 LP Side Pony, would be released May 4th via Nonesuch Records. The quartet shared an official music video for the new song “I Can Change.”
Emotion is central to Welsh-born Sarah Howells’ solo project Bryde, whether potently exalted, or hushed and tempered, Howells expresses with ferocious clarity and a strength of being that could withstand a hurricane. The full-length debut album collects a selection of already-released singles alongside a host of rather impressive new cuts, proudly chest baring the title: Like An Island.
The record lifts its title from a lyric nestled in track six [‘Euphoria’], illustrating the importance of language and meaning within the Bryde universe.”Coming out of the dark like an island,” Howells delivers hesitantly over a raw minor-key melody that incrementally softens to reach a blustered resilience. In a song which tackles internal darkness as an effort to overcome struggle, there’s something very admirable and inspiring to name a record in response to this acutely human pain: To admit the suffering but resist breaking under pressure. Possibly the most crucial element of Howells’ songcraft is her urgency and defiance to carry on, to never yield or break in spite of adversity. It is a powerful resistance that echoes great resonance to all who heed Howells’ sincere verse.
The record carefully allies tenderness adjacent to spiky dissonance, fragrant imagery with calmness of voice, transparency with volatile tugs of musicality. Bryde’s world is a harsh one but true, moments of comfort and recline rarely break through during its run-time, yet once they do, they offer versatility for the artist [‘Steady Heart‘ being one of these languid trailblazers]. Other highlights include blustery slow-burner ‘To Be Brave,’ wild-riffer ‘Flesh, Blood and Love‘ and crowd-pleasing tension-builder ‘Handstands.’
Howells masterfully examines the human condition onLike An Island: the self-editing, destructiveness, liberation, resilience, and overwhelming self-discovery. Told from a place of intimacy and recorded closely to detail every slight change in tone or cadence, Howells expertly captures the breadth of feeling the songs convey. Storms brew and distill a sensational, idiosyncratic performer on tracks like ‘Less‘ and ‘Peace.’ Through push and pull of heavy intensity vs. steady tranquility, the tracks offer a refreshing polarity in what makes Bryde’s work so interesting and compelling – as well as the prospect that each song structure will provide a plethora of twists and turns for its listener.
Although billed as a solo project, the landscape in which Bryde works is vast and expansive, and cannot be resigned to the makings of one single individual [the full-band live shows are just one example of this]. Howells heads the ship but she is one of many working behind the scenes to create this visceral exploration, with Catherine Marks and Mandy Parnell respectively assisting with mixing and mastering the album. Nevertheless, Howells writes and performs these songs – every word, every instrumental, every arrangement has poured out of her mind and onto the page, and this achievement alone deserves acknowledgement and due credit.
Like An Island in no respect feels like a debut record. Its astute self-awareness is not to be taken lightly, sculpting a passionate presentation of indie rock and singer-songwriter grit, fortified by a vocal ability of exceptional presence and a credibility that assures the artist’s longevity. Like An Island is a record of the heart: Sometimes heady, sometimes peaceful, sometimes restless – but never quiet.
‘Like An Island’ is released on 13th April 2018 via Seahorse Music
The Third Sound is the solo project of Icelandic singer-songwriter Hákon Aðalsteinsson, formerly of Singapore Sling and currently touring in Brian Jonestown Massacre. Now residing in Berlin with a fleshed-out live line-up, The Third Sound are gearing up for the release of their fourth album ‘All Tomorrow’s Shadows’ – arriving via Fuzz Club Records on May 11th. Recorded by the band themselves over the harsh Berlin winter, the new record is their most refined yet – offering an expansive exploration into krautrock-tainted post-punk and dark psychedelia.
Following on from their 2016 LP ‘Gospels of Degeneration’, the new album takes a much more sparse and rhythmic approach than we’ve seen before, combining hypnotic guitar drones, motorik rhythms and haunting vocals – the last track boasting a guest feature from Anton Newcombe, who released the band’s debut album on his own imprint A Recordings.
Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House have unveiled a new song “Dark Spring,” from their upcoming album,7, due out May 11th via Sub Pop/Bella Union/Mistletone.
“Dark Spring” opens with a thunderous drum fill that settles into a steady bass drone and layered vocals. The accompanying black-and-white video was directed by Zia Anger and features an array of enigmatic image sequences: an empty house, stark trees and swimmers floating underwater. Anger said the video was “a very organic thing made with a lot of people (who are also filmmakers), that I love and trust. An anomaly in process.”
Prior to releasing “Dark Spring,” Beach House earlier shared another 7 cut, “Dive.”7 marks Beach House’s first album since 2015’sThank Your Lucky Stars. Last year, the group released the compilation, B-Sides and Rarities.
