Posts Tagged ‘Cincinnati’

ARLO McKINLEY – ” Die Midwestern “

Posted: December 25, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Arlo McKinley has washed his songs in the blood of street soul, country, punk and gospel – and tattooed them onto the underground.
Filled with an honest weight and gritty-hope from rustbelt city life, McKinley rolled downriver to Memphis’ Sun Studio where Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Ross-Spang gathered a working man’s all-star band to record his Oh Boy Records debut,

Look, an album about Midwestern ennui delivered by a guy in his 30s was almost focus-grouped to appeal to me, a Midwesterner with ennui in his 30s, but Arlo McKinley’s Oh Boy Records debut belongs on this list for the greatness of its song writing, and the way that it captures the various stages of Midwestern Grief in all its forms. John Prine left us this year, but at least his label has artists who can fill the sizable gap in our lives. 

Had Jody Prine not played his late father singer songwriter John Prine a couple of McKinley’s songs, there’s every chance 40-year-old Cincinnati singer songwriter Arlo McKinley would have given up on music entirely and still be delivering tuxedos. However, John was particularly taken with Bag Of Pills and, as a result, McKinley became the last artist Prine and his son signed to their label before the former’s death.

The solo debut (he previously released a 2014 live album as frontman with The Lonesome Sound) opens with the understated strum of We Were Alright, a number that starts out as an upbeat road song about driving with his girl and how “for the first time in a long time we were alright”, only to play the dream within a dream card as he wakes to realise they’ve broken up and tries to get back to the dream to be close to her again.

McKinley’s 10 original songs bleed truth from a heart scarred by wild nights and redeemed by Sunday morning confessions. “She’s Always Around,” “Suicidal Saturday Night,” “Bag of Pills” and “Ghost” are all carved out in the key of life.

Drums & Percussion: Ken Coomer Bass Guitar: Dave Smith
Keys: Rick Steff
Electric Guitar: Will Sexton Acoustic Guitars: Matt Ross-Spang Fiddle: Jessie Munson
BGVS: Reba Russell
Acoustic Guitar/Vocals: Arlo McKinley Released August 14th, 2020

The OPHELIAS – ” Almost “

Posted: July 4, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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This Cincinnati quartet refer to themselves as “all-girl moth music” and whatever it is, we’ll take it and then some. Following up their stellar first effort, Creature Nature, comes The Ophelias’ Joyful Noise Recordings debut, Almost, filled with Spencer Peppet’s quaint and comforting vocals and Andrea Gutmann Fuentes amazing violin. Every track is brimming with youthful nostalgia and the presence of Fuentes’ strings — written into just about every track — really sets The Ophelias apart as one of our most delightful recent discoveries

The Ophelias – “Fog” off the album ‘Almost’ on Joyful Noise Recordings.

The Ophelias – “General Electric” off ‘Almost’ out July 13th, 2018 on Joyful Noise Recordings.

The HIDERS – ” Penny Harvest Field “

Posted: August 31, 2017 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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” Memory believes before knowing remembers ” . A cryptic quote from Faulkner that bannered The Hiders website and hinted at their own cryptic trajectory and identification with the disenfranchised.

Perhaps a self-fulfilling prophecy of their namesake, The Hiders have slipped through the mainstream cracks but after over a decade of watching bands rise and fall they have persisted and have become a stalwart of the Midwest music scene. Developing a cult fan base, creating a seamless and consistent body of work and garnering ‘off the radar’ success with international record sales and some high-profile licensing. This is the second album from Cincinnati’s The Hiders

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WUSSY – ” Dropping Houses “

Posted: June 21, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker are the best songwriters in America. They have been for over a decade, too. Hell, go back to Cleaver’s work with Ass Ponys and you’ll find its embryo whittled out of that sweet, melodic Americana. But that was all a while back now and Wussy are a different animal, Look to 2014’s Attica! for the signs of progression, though. The feedback of intro “Dropping Houses,” the songs at first sound tied down, never quite able to float away, centering around straight riffs rather than gentle inflections. But, a few listens in, they’re just as beautiful, and that awkward, lovely grace is at the front again, even if Cleaver’s voice starts out as singed as the accordion chords it unfurls with. Eventually there is a clarity and it’s Walker’s high harmonies that draw it out. The fact that it’s a worthy inclusion into Wussy’s catalog.

Formed on a dare in 2001, Cincinnati’s Wussy is at the forefront of New Midwestern Psychedelia. Following the release of their cult classic debut in 2005, “to certain fans of Lucinda Williams, Crazy Horse, Mekons and R.E.M., Wussy became the best band in America almost instantaneously with…Funeral Dress” (SPIN). Heralded by critics for both their songwriting and varied sonic palette,

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TWEENS – ” Forever “

Posted: March 10, 2015 in MUSIC
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Bridget Battle’s last band might have been a high school choir, but the 21-year-old singer for Cincinnati’s Tweens is no goody two shoes. Look no further for proof than their forthcoming Self-Titled LP, the punk-tinged debut from the trash-pop trio—Battle on vocals and guitar, Peyton Copes on bass and Jerri Queen on drums—that showcases a melodic, driven and exceedingly catchy sound that’s anything but well behaved. Tweens only formed in 2012, but has already made a name for themselves among fans—including The Breeders, who invited the band to open for them on a recent U.S. tour. The story goes that Kim Deal booked the band for one gig on the recommendation of Jim Blaze, owner of Cincinnati record shop Shake It Records, and was so impressed she brought on band to play select East Coast gigs and a full West Coast tour. Additionally, the band toured with the Black Lips, their partners in a party-centric attitude. Despite the established friends, Tweens are very much their own band, bratty and precocious, sincere and genuine. The band’s name conjuresjust the right image: screaming hordes afflicted with Beatlemania, teenyboppers out for a good time, the underage, over-the-top punks in Ladies and Gentlemen: The Fabulous Stains. Think of cheery kids at their most excited, but juxtaposed with lyrics about bad boyfriends and unrelenting independency. Tweens are not a riot grrrl revisionist band, but they are a ferociously honest one. The trio has come a long way from their early demos and previously released Live at the Mohawk EP. Tweens, is a collection of new, garage-influenced tracks—produced by Eli Janney—sprinkled with some of the band’s older, doo-wop influenced favorites. The first single, “Be Mean,” is a biting anthem, with Battle crooning, “I want you to be mean to me,” while “Forever” harkens back to a girl-gang sound, this time with driving bass. The band sites Bay Area punks The Donnas, The Trashwomen and the Bobbyteens as influences—and that bubblegum badass vibe is apparent throughout the full-length—but the sound Tweens are creating is truly their own. So rat your hair, slip on your leather jacket and hold on tight because Tweens may be young but they’re certainly not naïve, and with the release of this freshman LP, they’re breaking curfew and nobody’s safe.