Posts Tagged ‘singer songwriter’

The JAPANESE HOUSE – ” Face Like Thunder “

Posted: December 14, 2016 in MUSIC
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Amber Bain’s work as the Japanese House has left an undeniable, lasting impression; it’s been nearly a year since we’ve heard any new music from the British Singer Songwriter, but both Clean and Pools To Bathe in remain collections of songs that resonate deeply.

Bain has broken her prolonged silence with Swim Against the Tide, her third ep, Which came out to support her November UK tour. lead single “Face Like Thunder” checks any outwardly melancholic tendencies at the door, instead offering up what’s arguably the most pop-oriented, clear-eyed Japanese House track to date. still, the listlessness of Bain’s lyrics persists underneath pristine synths and crisp drum programming, with forlorn verses folding into nostalgic, yearning hooks. take a listen to “Face Like Thunder”, we see the singer-songwriter, a.k.a. Amber Bain, drive through the picture in a pickup truck in the middle of a sunset. She walks symmetrically in the middle of the road, and as we get an overview of the roads, we see her body strategically placed for a quick glance. With this visual, she shows that even if you’re telling a melancholy story, your surroundings can still be beautiful.

ANDY SCHAUF – ” The Party ” Best Albums Of 2016

Posted: December 14, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Andy Shauf’s The Party is one of the most criminally underrated albums of 2016. Truly beautiful in its production alone, The Party focuses on orchestral arrangements that vary between grandiose and understated, while its upfront vocal crispness gives Shauf a quiet confidence. The Party serves as the ultimate outsider’s guidebook. It focuses on an array of situations you never want to find yourself in: being the first person to arrive to a party while visibly annoying the host, counting on someone to stick with you throughout the night and having them ditch, and pining over painfully unrequited love. His second single, “Quite Like You” focuses on overstepping the boundaries between friends and lovers, and asks the listener to choose between allegiances with friends or with potential romantic conquests. Andy Shauf’s 2015 debut, The Bearer of Bad News, announced the arrival of a new talent possessing more than a passing fancy for the darkened pop chime of Elliott Smith and Paul Simon. But on the Saskatchewan-based musician’s 2016 ANTI–Records debut The Party, his subtle and gorgeous tunes capture the characters, ebbs, and ending of a run-of-the-mill suburban fete with all the mature songwriting sensibility

The final track, “Martha Sways,” is a simple tune accompanied by hushed vocals, heart wrenching orchestral lines and lightly plucked guitar. It asks the listener to confront the ghosts of his or her own past within the prism of new love. Ultimately, if you ever want to get misty about the past, feel your feelings, and have a good cry: this is the record for you

CLAIRE CRONIN – ” Black Legs “

Posted: December 8, 2016 in MUSIC
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Claire Cronin is an artist from Los Angeles (currently living in Athens, GA) who makes poems, songs, and performances.
For Over And Through cassette on Ba Da Bing Records: this EP was recorded at my parents’ house in Pacific Palisades, California, except for “The Moon” which was recorded in my apartment in another part of LA.

viola and mixing/mastering by Ezra Buchla.

Claire Cronin’s beautifully brooding collaboration with John Dieterich (Deerhoof), “Came Down a Storm” is now available through Ba Da Bing Records. It reaches Jason Molina-like levels on the sadness scale, but Cronin’s raw, unwavering vocals soar amongst Dieterich’s arrangements, creating a folk-like album that’s as wondrously hopeful as it is dark. You can catch Claire touring the release this May with Ezra Buchla, playing alongside the likes of Palehound, Chris Cohen, Katie Von Schleicher, Cassandra Jenkins and TALSounds (Good Willsmith).

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NEIL YOUNG – ” Peace Trail “

Posted: December 7, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Neil Young has shared a new song “Peace Trail,” the title track off the rocker’s upcoming 38th studio album due out December 9th.
“The world is full of changes/ Sometimes these changes make me sound,” Young sings on the slow-burning, angst-filled track. A second Young vocal – lightly coated in voice modifying software like Auto-Tune creeps in the background: “I think I’ll hit the peace trail/ I know that treasure takes its time/ I think I’ll hit the peace trail/ I think I like my chances now.”
Although Neil Young has spent the past few years on the road performing with his band Promise of the Real, the rocker recorded Peace Trail alongside a stripped-down outfit featuring drummer Jim Keltner and bassist Paul Bushnell at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-la Studios. The album also features the previously released Dakota Access Pipeline protest song “Indian Givers.”


“Peace Trail” was released as an instant download to fans that pre-ordered Young’s new album. Peace Trail is available to purchase now through Young’s site in a variety of formats, including a vinyl version that’s accompanied by a “100% organic hat.” The new track also marks Young’s return to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music 16 months after he pulled the vast majority of his catalog from non-Tidal and Pono streaming services due to “devalued” sound quality.
“AM radio kicked streaming’s ass. Analog cassettes and 8 tracks also kicked streaming’s ass, and absolutely rocked compared to streaming,” Young wrote in July 2015. “Streaming sucks. Streaming is the worst audio in history. If you want it, you got it. It’s here to stay. Your choice.” Young has not yet commented on why he allowed his music back on Apple Music and Spotify.

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Tracklist:

1.Peace Trail
2.Can’t Stop Workin’
3.Indian Givers
4.Show Me
5.Texas Rangers
6.Terrorist Suicide Hang Gliders
7.John Oaks
8.My Pledge
9.Glass Accident
10.My New Robot

JULIEN BAKER – ” Sprained Ankle ” Best Albums Of 2015

Posted: December 6, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Julien Baker is only 20 years old, but the songs on “Sprained Ankle” sound like the stories of someone who has lived hundreds of lives before this one, which is to say: It’s an impossibly sad album. Fortunately, Baker’s heartache runs as deep as her faith, and that dichotomy is parsed over the course of these nine songs, all of which stand alone in their beauty but offer a sense of relief when bundled together. “Sprained Ankle” might make you melancholic, but it will also remind you of the lasting, saving power of music. It’s one that you will return to when you find yourself in crisis. It’s impossible to worry about the future when a 20-year-old college student effortlessly produced one of the best albums of the year. Well, even if it wasn’t effortless the stark effervescence of Sprained Ankle is as gripping as a single candle burning in the dark. Each song flickers, frisson and fear dance in shadows, but Baker herself never wavers. As perfect a debut as I’ve ever heard.

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Recorded at Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, VA
Mastered at Bonati Mastering in Brooklyn, NY, these guitar notes that enter here just blew my mind. incredible vocal performance, and the restraint in the instrumentals / production is just perfect for this. amazing track.

LUCY DACUS – ” No Burden “

Posted: December 6, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Virginia singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus’s No Burden is astounding for two reasons. First off, this is the young artist’s debut album, but it is surprisingly genuine and mature. Second, she reimagines the indie folk and rock scene because she does not fall victim to the one-dimensional melancholic trope and rather opts for a frank and beautiful style. With her warm, dreamy voice, Dacus has an artful swagger and constructs wry and acute observations about her experiences. Accompanied by her mesmerizing guitar, Lucy Dacus bravely traverses and articulates the inner workings of her self in songs like “I Don’t Wanna Be Funny Anymore” and “Map on a Wall.”

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A self-described restless soul, Dacus is on a quest of endurance, “how to survive the bendin’ and breakin’.” With a breezy attitude, Dacus’ drops the “g’s” from “-ing” verbs in a charming manner, but she still maintains a modern elegance. All the while, No Burden has a tinge of optimism and hope, making it a gorgeous and insightful work.

Such a great voice, great songs. The album starts with more upbeat numbers but what makes the album so great are the ballads and lower-key songs

 

To be clear, Lucy Dacus’ No Burden was originally released by the small Richmond, Virginia-based label Egghunt earlier this year, and was just reissued by venerable indie Matador following much critical acclaim and a few successful cross-country tours. The extra push is nice, but Lucy Dacus’ songs possess enough timeless vigor that it’s tough to imagine them having been kept a secret for long. You will appreciate the quality of Lucy Dacus’ confessional songwriting, culled from acute observation and sleek homage to a universal truth on this sleek debut.

SOPHIE JAMIESON – ” Stain “

Posted: December 4, 2016 in MUSIC
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When Sophie Jamieson began writing songs, she began sketching out her thoughts, what emerged was just like any other aspiring artist. An absorbing style, formula, cliche, the young singer quickly realised that what counted, what stood out in the long run was her own voice, Driving her material in a stark, deeply affecting direction, Sophie Jamieson has quickly matured into something quite special.

Darkly noir pop music crafted on acoustic guitar, comparisons have been made to Daughter in her ability to make the turmoil of the soul appear hopelessly glamorous.

The single ‘Stain’ is lyrically bleak, with Sophie Jamieson’s vocal performance being unusually direct. Musically, the arrangement is sparse, with the emphasis on space almost as an instrument in itself. Its completely beguiling, deeply involving songwriting, ‘Stain’ came out via Luv Luv Luv.

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COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS – ” Honest Life “

Posted: December 2, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Courtney Marie Andrews Honest Life

Courtney Marie Andrews is possibiy the best songwriter you’ve never heard of. If you have heard of her, you’ve likely heard her name mentioned in the same breath as another, more iconic songwriter: Joni Mitchell. Andrews’ breakout album Honest Life, which, despite the assumption that it’s her debut (after all, what a shame that an artist of this level of talent has flown under the radar since 2008), is her sixth solo album. The Joni Mitchell comparisons are apt, both for Andrews’ nimble, expressive vocals and her way with a turn of phrase. What makes Andrews so special, however, is that her influences never verge on the derivative. Single “Irene,” with its percussive piano and pointed, progressive lyrics

(“The heart is funny, Irene/ You can’t control who it wants to love/ So let it love, Irene/ Man or woman or anyone it wants”), is unlike any other song released this year; Andrews herself is unlike any other artist.

Since “Honest Life” was released. This record has changed my life in so many ways. A lot of these songs were written while I was living in Belgium and processing a very painful breakup. I’d eat half a croissant a day, drink wine in the cafe across from my apartment, and write every crazy line or thought that popped into my head. I felt young and old, wise and dumb, all at once. Songs were pouring out of me, and when I was dry I’d wander aimlessly down the cobble stone streets until another song came crawling out. It was a dark time, but writing those songs saved me.
Before living in Belgium, I sent my demos to many producers whom all felt that I either needed lots of production or a co-writer to make a good record. One producer pissed me off so much when he brought in a co-writer without telling me. I was so insulted that I wrote “Rookie Dreaming” “Honest Life” and “Put The Fire Out” in one night just to prove to him I didn’t need help writing songs. It was after that, I knew I needed to have my friends on the record. I needed to make something real, the exact way I wanted it. So I went back to Seattle, got my friends together and produced a record that I was proud of, on my own terms. Intuition is magic, and I’ll continue to try and follow my instincts whenever it comes to matters of art and the heart.
I truly don’t know where I’d be without songs, music, and the brilliant people who help and hold me and my work up every day. I’m eternally grateful to be writing, and living a life I’ve always felt I was made for. Thank you.

NADIA REID – ” Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs “

Posted: December 2, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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New Zealand songwriter Nadia Reid’s debut album begins with the kind of Zen-like certainty that only comes after taking stock. “When I hit the ground in all my glory/ I will know where I have come from,” she sings on “Runway”, its opening track. Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs finds the 24-year-old Aucklander dissecting a relationship whose end illuminates new layers of failure and hidden motives with each re-examination. Reid’s outlook on love may be hopeless, but her blunt words are cocooned by the warmth and unusual hookiness of the varied arrangements.

Listen is a soothing, folky Americana album that recalls the work of Laura Marling and Gillian Welch. Reid isn’t reinventing anything, in other words, though Listen is itself more inventive than many records of its ilk. Its main mode is a kind of glowering hush made up of gentle acoustic guitar, glints of pedal steel from Sam Taylor, and Richie Pickard’s glacial double bass, very occasionally chased by Joe McCallum’s spindly drums. The band changes the pace with waltzing rhythms that evoke rural dance halls (“Just to Feel Alive”), or pare back the already-ghostly instrumentation to let Reid’s nimble voice come to the fore (“Ruby”).

The stormy weather of “Reaching Through” is broken up with sparkling, ascendent layers of Reid’s voice and strings; the bowed guitars and clanking metallic chords of “Seasons Change” .  The gorgeous “Call the Days” marries the poppier sensibility of Reid’s heavy songs with the grave palette of her more candlelit numbers. Throughout, she shapes her words into characterful, sticky hooks, which feels rare for this genre of music.

Not to underestimate the experiences behind Reid’s lyrics, but the loss of faith that unravels throughout the record comes off a little grave, reminiscent of those fogged post-heartbreak moments where it’s impossible to believe you’ll ever be happy again—the kind you look back on and laugh. And some of these songs are seven years old, written in her teens, which may explain why love is a “fiery black disease” and delusion, marriage is a convenience, and she can’t even believe other people’s happiness. “Bittersweet I am when it comes to young love,” Reid sings on “Ruby”,

But there are also beautiful, revealing turns of phrase: on “Reaching Through” Reid admits, “If I am bound for something, honey won’t you know, that I always take the shortest fucking road.” “Seasons Change” sneaks a crushing truth into the lifespan of a relationship: “It’s good to love a heart who surely understands/ The coming of the day/ The beauty of the land/ The act of being sorry/ The breaking of a man.” “Call the Days” feels like the resolution to all the heartache and anger, Reid declaring, “I threw out my winter coat/ I cut the sleeves off all I’d known.” Although by no means the finished article, Reid’s acute understanding of where she’s been sets her up nicely for what happens next.

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Listen to formation, Look for the Signs was recorded in July 2014 at the Sitting Room in Lyttelton, New Zealand. Players on this record were Richie Pickard, Sam Taylor, Joe McCallum and Anita Clark.

BILLIE MARTEN – ” Teeth / Emily ” The Mahogany Sessions

Posted: December 1, 2016 in MUSIC
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Now that Laura Marling has announced Semper Femina – her sixth studio album due in March . Billie Marten seems like her protégée-elect. Many critics, when reviewing Marten’s debut album, noted the comparisons to Marling – in terms of age, sound and stunning lyrics. “Emily” a track from her debut album Writing Of Blues and Yellows could easily have featured on Marling’s finest albums but is doggedly the work of the seventeen-year-old Yorkshire native. Its lyrics talk of burdensome stones (being tied around the heroine’s throat) and rivers “too wide” – the song’s heroine feeling the strain and battling against harsh forces (either physical obstacles or personal demons).

Whilst the lyrics immerse the listener in; the mind wonders as to the origins. Marten has stated, in interviews promoting Writing of Blues and Yellows, Emily was inspired by the forename-sharing Brontë sister. There is that literary edge and sense of impending tragedy: one wonders whether the song’s heroine will be able to traverse all before her. What stuns me about the song – and has kept it in my brain for weeks – is the phenomenal composition. Unlike anything else on Writing’, there are wave-crashing, sensual electronic strings; piano flourishes and aching cello. If some has made comparisons with early-career Laura Marling: it is Nick Drake’s masterpiece, Five Leaves Left, that spring to mind. Similar to his peerless string-and-voice sermons River Man and Way to Blue – you get a little of both in Emily. Marten’s voice is pure and resolute but, in the background, transmogrifies into a metaphysical, spectral things: aching and yowling like an ill-fated figure standing atop a wind-strewn cliff-top. It is impossible to listen to the song uninvolved: it drags you in and cements its heart in the hippocampus. By the final tremolo-affect guitar you are stunned and awed by what has come before – all from an artist still making her first steps. Audacious, spellbinding dramaturgy, at times beautiful, at others devastating: a clear reason – if one were needed – to investigate Writing of Blues and Yellows. Let’s hope Marten considers the song for single release as, not only would it reach a wider audience, but is sound/composition provokes a truly staggering music video.

As cars pass by in the background Billie Marten peforms Teeth for Mahogany Sessions in Ripon, Yorkshire

In the gorgeous Ripon Cathedral Billie Marten performs Emily for Mahogany Sessions

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