American Singer Songwriter from Dallas Texas Andrew Combs, After a session withCaitin Rosetwo years ago, the country singer-songwriter and his band for a vocal-heavy performance of ‘Pearl’, taken from his latest album ‘All These Dreams’. Also here a little video of “Pearl” we did last year at the wonderful End of the Road Festival in England. Andrew Combs will be supporting Justin Townes Earle at the Nottingham Glee Club on the 4th February, he is also performing at the Rough Trade record Store in Nottingham on the same evening around about 5-30 pm
Hiss Golden Messenger’s fifth album, ‘Lateness Of Dancers’, was one of 2014’s most under the radar gems: “an Americana record of immense spiritual and musical grace”, It was also MC Taylor’s first for fabled North Carolina indie label, Merge Records. Clearly wanting to make the most of their new signee (known to his folks as Mike), next week they’re releasing the gorgeous ‘Southern Grammar’ EP: with the version of the title track (originally on ‘Lateness Of Dancers’) taken from a session for the Philadelphia radio station WXPN, while ‘Brother, Do You Know The Road?’ and ‘He Wrote The Book’ were both orphan songs.
Four years ago, Jack Savoretti quit making music. He’d had enough – of scratching a living as an independent artist, of business bust-ups, of being touted as a soon-to-be star. He’d spent two years (and all of his savings) in legal dispute with a former manager and seen the release of his second album so botched it barely came out. He was 26 and recently married, with a baby on the way. “I thought that was my run, I’d had fun and now it was time to get a proper job,” says Savoretti. “I was done with music and, honestly, I didn’t mind.”
What happened next couldn’t have surprised the singer more. “As soon as I said, ‘screw this’, I couldn’t stop writing,” he recalls. “I wrote out of anger, although the songs were more of a cry for help. It was the best, most personal music I’d ever made. I realised I had really learnt how to write, how to express exactly what was in my head.”
That album, 2011’s critically-acclaimed ‘Before The Storm’, saw Savoretti turn a corner. That he was an exceptional singer was never in dispute – those gorgeous, gritty, soul-soaked vocals that caused such a fuss when he first emerged. ‘Before The Storm’ reignited Savoretti’s passion, taught him how to put himself in his songs and, crucially, led him to the musicians who helped him helm ‘Written In Scars’, his impressive new album and his first to be released by a major label, with whom he signed earlier this year. “A lot of the songs were written with Sam Dixon, who is Adele’s musical director and Sia’s main co-writer”, says Savoretti. “I also wrote with Matt Benbrook who has worked with Paolo Nutini, Jake Bugg and Faithless and finally, of course, with my guitarist Pedro Vito and Seb Sternberg (Pedro’s production partner). I drew inspiration from them all.
What Savoretti didn’t spot until ‘Written In Scars’ was underway was the influence of music from his family past. “Most of my musical influences come from my parents,” says Savoretti, “My mum was into The Eagles, Crosby Stills & Nash and Motown. My dad played mostly Italian music from the ‘60s and ‘70s. In the past I suppressed that as an influence but, for the first time, on these songs, it appeared.
Savoretti’s reliance on rhythm is at its most obvious, and most glorious, on “Tie Me Down”, the first single to be released from the album, leading an EP out. A recurring acoustic guitar riff, tribal bass drum beats and a galloping groove back an instantly infectious, near hypnotic vocal on a stompalong of a song that couldn’t spell out Savoretti’s new sound more clearly.
Live session with Hiss Golden Messenger. Recorded May 24, 2014 in Hilversum. Setlist: Lucia (0:54), Jesus Shot Me In The Head (5:44) and Brother, Do You Know The Road? ft. Amsterdam Klezmer Band (12:10).
Hiss Golden Messenger’s fifth album, ‘Lateness Of Dancers’, was one of 2014’s most under the radar gems: “an Americana record of immense spiritual and musical grace”, It was also MC Taylor’s first for fabled North Carolina indie label, Merge Records. Clearly wanting to make the most of their new signee (known to his folks as Mike), next week they’re releasing the gorgeous ‘Southern Grammar’ EP: with the version of the title track (originally on ‘Lateness Of Dancers’) taken from a session for the Philadelphia radio station WXPN, while ‘Brother, Do You Know The Road?’ and ‘He Wrote The Book’ were both orphan songs.
Hopefully this is the beginning of your foray into the depths of the Hiss Golden Messenger catalogue – an easy amble for fans of Bon Iver, Kurt Vile, Jake Bugg, The War On Drugs and Sun Kil Moon. After you’ve streamed ‘Southern Grammar’, I’d recommend starting with ‘Devotion’ from 2013’s ‘Haw’,
“Rock & Roll is Cold”, the first single from Matthew E. White’s forthcoming “Fresh Blood” dueout 10th March on Domino Records , is vibrant and playful. Taking inspiration from legends like Randy Newman, the Richmond, Virginia native manages to be reverent but not beholden to his retro influences. The song’s a meta-commentary on music, with lines like, “Rock ’n’ roll? It don’t have soul” and “Everyone likes to talk shit,” which music writers everywhere will probably think is about them. As he proved on 2012’s album the excellent “Big Inner“, White and his Spacebomb Records crew have a knack for producing orchestral ‘70s-inflected arrangements and making them feel wholly relevant and delectable.
Award-winning singer and songwriter singing haunting howl-ballads, twisted lullabies and joy-toy-pop. Kate Daisy Grant and Nick Pynn have managed an incredible feat; capturing the dynamic DIY spirit of the Fringe, while concomitantly appearing amazingly well rehearsed and professional. Performing in a converted office space, using unique and home-made instruments this pair create some of the most electrifying music to be found at this festival.this is bombastic and beautiful music, deep, delicate and slightly demented – the perfect soundtrack for an offbeat evening.’ ****
‘Mesmerising…with natural talent and fearless creativity..
Blackbirds, despite its dark soul is a seemingly endless trickle of loveliness… Jubilee will break your heart, sniffing and sobbing over her piano ballad, again evoking family, and what it’s like to be older. It sharpens your focus that you are now your parents, “I’m an orphan at 30”, it’s one of the saddest, yet most beautiful things I have ever heard.”
…it’s the ageing process that has us all in its grasp, yet in Gretchen Peter’s case it seems to have sharpened her pen all the more, as Blackbirds wears its dark heart on its sleeve and Gretchen draws on a grand tradition of documenting these noirish tales and the fragility of life in the most compelling
It’s been almost two years since Jason Molina of Songs: Ohia and MagnoliaElectric Co. passed away due to organ failure, but since then we’ve heard a number of tribute covers by his peers and admirers. Marissa Nadler recorded a cover of Molina’s song “It’s Easier Now” for a new tribute album titled Through The Static And Distance: The Songs Of Jason Molina. All of the album proceeds will go to Molina’s family. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard a cover of this track; Mark Kozelek recorded his own version shortly after Molina’s passing, which was released on a benefit record alongside Molina’s friends and collaborators
2014 was an incredible year, I’m so grateful to anyone who came to a show, bought/listened to “Post Tropical”, stopped me on the street to say hello and take a photo, or generally just made my life better.
We had some great people come down to my last show of the year, at the Theater at the Ace Hotel, Los Angeles. They recorded the entire show, it came out great, free to download for everyone who wants it. I’m incredibly proud of this show that we took all over the world for the last 12 months, and I want as many people to hear it as possible.
On a pecan farm half a mile from the Mexican border, ‘Post Tropical’ was born – a collection of sounds and ideas brought to life in rooms where the low frequencies of passing freight trains vibrated in the studio, briefly disturbing the birds in the rafters. And like most new ideas, ‘Post Tropical’ is hard to describe. It requires attention and engagement. It seduces you towards hidden depths.
McMorrow’s acclaimed debut album, ‘Early in the Morning’, reached number 1, went platinum and picked up a Choice Music Prize nomination upon its release in 2010. Along the way, there were shows everywhere from the Royal Festival Hall to Later…with Jools Holland, and a breakout hit in the charity cover of Steve Winwood’s ‘Higher Love’. McMorrow’s first record was the formative sounds of a songwriter who suddenly found people giving a damn. “I’m so proud of that album, but I never longed to be a guy with a guitar. You play these songs live as best you can, and suddenly you’re a Folk musician. But the texture of this record is completely different. This is the kind of stuff I actually listen to.”
The elusive neo-classicist Agnes Obel performs an ethereal live session at Berlin’s Heimathafen Neukölln, captured by artist and filmmaker, Alex Brüel Flagstad. “Words Are Dead” is taken from the Danish artist’s critically acclaimed sophomore record “Aventine”, with the album’s shadowy, baroque orchestration currently on tour, around the recital halls and opera houses of Europe, the US and Australia. “I am still learning about what it is to perform music—especially something you feel connected to and responsible for,” says Obel, understating her captivating live performances. “One thing I’ve learnt is that you can’t really hide anything on stage. The reality is that you are super exposed when you are performing. Her breakout single “Riverside.” “I wanted to respond to how lingering the track is,” he says. “It has a real 1970s vibe. No cutting, no noise in the background; just prolonged shots and all on film.”
The Fat Angel Sings 