An electrifying R&B singer from Athens, Ala., Anderson East relocated to Nashville after college; there, he spent a few years doing session and engineering work. Dave Cobb, who’s produced Jason Isbell’s music, heard East at a songwriter’s night. Together, they made his album Delilah, which is influenced by both R&B and country.
NPR Music called Delilah a ” …eclectic, fully formed debut album.” Daytrotter wrote “It’s one of those 10-song records that’s damned near perfect, traveling through the old, smoky bars of older days and down the twisted back roads of love.”
Alright, this tune is up to you. Everyone always wants to know if it’s a true story. I’ll let you be the judge. I will say there is usually something that makes a young and youthful boy drawn to things he should stay away from and the snow white daughter of a pastor just seems like good subject matter. Again, it’s all about love, my dear.
A vivid crossroads of punk, blues, garage, and folk mark the arresting debut from Nashville’sAdia Victoria. A native of South Carolina raised in a strict Seventh Day Adventist household, her relationship with the Deep South is as complicated as the place itself. The album’s title,Beyond the Bloodhounds, is taken from Harriet Jacobs’ compelling 1861 autobiographical novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, and Victorias defiant songs whip up a bitter wind howling with themes of race, religion, and her own personal narrative of escaping and then returning to the South.
Co-produced by analog-leaning indie rock vet Roger MoutenotBeyond The Bloodhounds shimmers with overheated guitars and instruments nimbly exploring the edge of fuzz. It’s an aura matched perfectly to Victoria’s melodious voice, which shifts between demure testimonies and fiery incantations at the drop of a hat. Highlights abound, from the rollicking swamp rock of lead single “Dead Eyes” to the spooky dedications and condemnations of “Sea of Sand.” It’s a version of the oft-romanticized American South that still gets far less media exposure than it should.
On “Stuck in the South,” the album’s thematic centerpiece, Victoria’s rasps sweetly over a springy blues creep, tossing out lines like “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout Southern belles, but I can tell you somethin’ ’bout Southern hell when your skin give ’em cause to take and take.” And yet for all its troubles, the South remains both her home and her muse, and these eerie gothic blues make for one very enchanting debut.
Members
Adia Victoria
Tiffany Minton
Mason Hickman
Jason Harris
Alex Caress
If Glam Rock is supposedly back with a vengence then in truth it’s back as a slightly weird simulacrum in keeping with the Strangest Year of Our Lord Twenty Sixteen. Roman gladiators Guida have tapped into obscure 70s bovver rock, French glitter Moodoïd are more experimental psychedelia than anything else, while if the UK has revivalists then they’re only tenuously so Welsh singer Meilyr Jones crediting him with a glam rock “state of mind” .
The American strain is yet more attenuated still, along with Long Island’s the Lemon Twigs looking the part, but the brothers D’Addario are far more beholden to Gram than Glam . The original American glam rockers of the late 60’s and early 70’s were always different from their UK counterparts anyway, with acts like the New York Dolls and the Stooges more like a kind of proto-punk .
That all said, Nashville’s Savoy Motel do share more DNA with the early 70s glam rock stylists of the UK – such as Roxy Music than most of their contemporaries. They look terrific in a mannered, retro-futuristic kind of way, their schtick is conceptual and erring towards pretentiousness (the bio on their website runs with the idea that they’re a hotel rather than a band), their music has a lurid and sometimes kaleidoscopic quality that’s as strong as their visual aesthetic, and they’re unabashedly ambitious.
Official video for “Souvenir Shop Rock” by Savoy Motel Directed by Dylan Carver
The opening staccato strokes of ‘Souvenir Shop Rock’ are delightfully out of time, and they start as they mean to go on. Interestingly, and probably coincidentally, the track listing appears to nod to Roxy’s masterpiece “For Your Pleasure” . There are five punchy tracks on the a-side, and three elongated and experimental numbers on the flip, with the nine-minute ‘International Language’ reminding one of ‘The Bogus Man’, even if it’s not quite as good.
The aforementioned ‘Souvenir Shop Rock’ is actually reminiscent of Roxy’s debut, with its wild horns, wig outs and plastic funk. Mastermind and songwriter Jeffrey Novak’s distinctive falsetto takes it to someplace else though, and while there are comparisons to be had with Portland’s Unknown Mortal Orchestra, that too is surely coincidence only. ‘Western Version Boogie’ and ‘Sorry People’ are both assured on the whole, but both also feature strumming of a laissez faire nature. ‘Everyone Wants To Win’ includes analogue computer noises that are pleasing, but breaks now and again into conventional rock ‘n’ roll. And ‘Doctor Cook’ meanders around like a funked up stoner, feeling the groove while threatening to fall over any minute. While the timing issues occasionally jolt if you’re sensitive to those types of things, the overall impression is charming. The fact they’re accompanying a drum machine no doubt adds to the overall DIY aesthetic.
‘Mindless Blues’ on the second side is a highlight with its funk chords and driving soul groove and its mix of vocals from within the group (there are three vocalists on Savoy Motel); even the slide solo – slipped into the middle of the track – comes off. The final songs are the most experimental, with ‘Hot One’ a kind of computer funk track inspired by the European interpretation of disco in the latter part of the 70s, and the gigantic ‘International Language’, at 9.18, is not without its virtues, but it could be a bit of a slog if you weren’t in the right mood. If one applauds the ambition then it would be remiss to criticise the lack of focus.
Savoy Motel’s eponymously titled debut has a lot going for it, full of interesting ideas, some of which come to fruition and some that could do with some development still. The next one might just be great.
Savoy Motel are not a post-punk band or a retro glam revival group. We arent trying to revive anything. SavoyMotel play southern rock in a modern tradition.
If you’re here now, months before the release, you are likely a fan already and for good reason. If you are just finding out about these guys keep in mind that they represent one of the most original and compelling sounds in the new wave of the heavy psychedelic blues rock realm. I watched them a storming set live recently at the Bodega after seeing them earlier in August at Green Man Festival . A real gem in the scene.
The Nashville rockers All Them Witches gear up for the release of their fourth studio album, ‘Sleeping ThroughThe War’, due February 24th 2017 – the follow-up to last year’s ‘Dying Surfer Meets His Maker’ – with a psych rock taster in lead single ‘Bruce Lee’.
Watch the Jason Staebler-directed clip for the track, above.
“‘Bruce Lee’ is about anxiety taking hold of and following you indiscriminately,” explains Staebler. “The video is meant to represent that idea, the consuming nature of your worries, and the magnification of them in your mind. The creature in pursuit is the personification of your anxiety, who can overcome and control your fate if you let it.”
Releases February 24th, 2017.
All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr. – Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Mellotron, Percussion
Ben McLeod – Guitar, Bass, Mellotron, Percussion
Robby Staebler – Drums, Percussion
Allan Van Cleave – Rhodes, Organ, Piano, Mellotron
On the heals of a successful set of EPs, the debut full-length album “Midnight Waves” was released September. 9th of 2016, further defining an immersive sound of finger-style guitar, harmony & minimalism in the context of conversational storytelling. A contemporary return to pure songwriting. Launched in 2015 & paying homage to musical roots in folk along with modern indie influences, Canyon City is a decidedly independent entity dedicated to making honest music from the heart.
Silver Tears is a collection of songs that offer a glimpse through the eyes of one gifted songwriter and versatile musician. Whether playing guitar in the late incarnation of riotous glam-rock innovators the New York Dolls, the gender-bending, envelope-pushing sleaze ‘n’ tease arena rock band Semi Precious Weapons, the Neil Young-signed alt-country act Everest, British roots rock band Alberta Cross, Southern rock stalwarts Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ or even as frontman of the devilishly cleverly-named Heartbreakers-meets-Replacements rockers Madison SquareGardeners, East Nashville-based musician Aaron Lee Tasjan has always considered himself a songwriter first and foremost, writing his own off-kilter folk-inflected songs since he picked up his first acoustic as a teen guitar prodigy. An inspired and confident set of songs, Silver Tears careens from woozy pot paeans to brooding, cinematic observations to laid back ‘70s country-rock and galloping anthems to introspective folk and rollicking honkytonk.
Sammy Brue began his music career busking at age 10 during the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, he has been mentored by some of Nashville’s finest songwriters, and t age 14, Brue released his 2015 EP, I Don’t WantYou to Leave. His songwriting is incredibly sincere and beautifully crafted, while his voice conveys his old soul. Let’s be clear about one thing though—Sammy Brue is not just impressive for his age, he’s impressive, period. He just signed with New West Records and was recording his debut album in the studio in June, so keep an eye out for a full-length album coming soon!
All Them Witches are giving away their new live album, Live In Brussels, for free. The album has been issued as a thank you to loyal fans, many of whom helped raise $4800 inside 24 hours when the band’s money was stolen on their recent US tour supporting latest album “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker” . It was recorded at a sold-out show at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.
“This was right in the middle of our first European tour,” recalls drummer Robby Staebler. “The AB club is seriously badass, great crew members and incredible hospitality. I remember we were late to the load in and soundcheck because we were driving ourselves around and tour managing everything on our own – which was stupidly stressful. We missed soundcheck totally and were unable to set up our gear.
“Also, I had a runner go and get me drumsticks, but they ended up being totally different than what I use. It was a stressful beginning to the show! Once the opening band were done we had to go set up everything and soundcheck for the crowd as fast as we could. That is never awesome. But the show felt great.
“Aside from the general exhaustion of being one of our drivers and not getting any regular sleep, the show felt great. You really feel it at the end of a performance, and I remember we were all pretty happy with the show – great stage sound and a great first time crowd. We stayed in a hostel that night and danced to the Spice Girls. I slept well that night.”
The instruments and voices that you hear in All Them Witches:
Ben McLeod
Robby Staebler
Michael Parks, Jr.
Allan Van Cleave
Recorded live at AB – Ancienne Belgique, in Brussels, Belgium on 03.03.2016. Remastered from the original recordings, and presented here in separate tracks.
‘Bob Dylan’s Grandma’ is a title that in itself is enough to gauge interest, and when the band behind it is called Diarrhea Planet, it might well leave you scratching your head as to what it’s all about.
Take a listen, is what we suggest. The track comes from the Nashville-based sextet’s
upcoming second album, ‘Turn To Gold’, directed by Grammy-winner Vance Powell, and which is released on June 10 via Infinity Cat Recordings.
We don’t know what the fixation is with Mr Zimmerman’s gran, but the track is a vibrant blast of post-punk, that from its opening guitar through the next three minutes of fierce drums and serrated riffs, will be certain to get even Grandma up out of her chair and moshing in that pensioner pit.
All Them Witches‘ third studio album, about to be released on October 30 via New West Records.
Psych-rock can mean many things in 2016. The spin Nashville-based quartet All Them Witches has applied to modern psychedelia is unique yet somehow classic sounding. The band has taken the best elements of blues-rock and doom-metal, and a penchant for Grateful Dead-informed jamming, and filtered them through a distinctly Southern musical patois to create a sound and focus that is hauntingly original.
All Them Witches’ third album, Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, is an exceptionally satisfying trip through a hazy world of deep, meditative grooves. Its nine songs are laced with delicate acoustic guitar and fiery salvos of electric 6-string and 8-string that will satisfy the needs of any Peter Green fan, plus crushing, fuzz-riddled explosions of darkness that never trample the Southern Gothic vibe—which embraces not only free-ranging guitar and bass, but an unexpected bed of Rhodes piano. After signing to New West Records, All Them Witches also re-released Lightning at the Door this past January—an album which they originally recorded in 2014.
Tracklist:
1.Call Me Star 00:00
2.El Centro 03:54
3.Dirt Preachers 12:19
4.This Is Where It Falls Apart 16:03
5.Mellowing 23:04
6.Open Passageways 26:14
7.Instrumental 2 (Welcome to the Caveman Future) 29:28
8.Talisman 32:00
9.Blood and Sand / Milk and Endless Waters 38:07
The Fat Angel Sings 