Perry's Music Blog

The Push Stars

2008-11-19T16:06:00.001-06:00

I've written about The Push Stars before, claiming they are the best pop/rock band you've never heard of. I just went back and listened to After the Party during a 3-mile run and yet again reached the same conclusion. Best pop/rock band you've never heard of. I can't figure it out.

Go out and buy an Push Stars album. I'm not sure if they're actively touring still, but if they are definitely see a show. I would imagine they are awesome live. Oh, and if any one from the group sees this, can I get you to visit Lawrence sometime??

Jamie Lidell is what??

2008-11-13T13:07:00.001-06:00

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention in my review of Jamie Lidell's Jim that he's a white, British guy. At least the accent sounds British to me - maybe my British friends can help me out here. Anyway, how a white, British guy can channel 60's and 70's Motown so well is completely beyond me. The man surely pulls it off though and my hat's off!

Jamie Lidell - Jim

2008-11-13T12:52:00.001-06:00

Do you like that good ole' soul/funk sound from the 70's? I love it. Jackson 5, Aretha, Marvin Gaye, with all the horns, bass lines, nasty sounding synths. I can't sit still for any of that stuff.

If you're in that camp with me, then Jamie Lidell is definitely worth your time. I picked up Jim from eMusic based on the first track, Another Day, and discovered that the album does not disappoint. A tour de force of funk, with touches of modern production and sounds.

As noted, Another Day, is a great track and probably the best on the album. Think old-world soul, cleaned up just a bit. Then there's Figured Me Out with the 70's feel that makes you think Earth Wind and Fire or the Jackson 5. (Yes, Michael Jackson is insane and I really did not care for his solo work, but the Jackson 5 is another story completely.) That's followed by Hurricane, a track that could pass for something by Ike Turner. Vocals are male, so you won't mistake it for Tina, but the feel is there. Green Light feels like it invokes a bit of Marvin Gaye. I know, nothing will equal Marvin Gaye, but Jamie definitely payed attention during his Marvin Gaye lessons.

If you're in the mood for some retro funk (translation: You were before 1975) this is an album for you.

Marco Benevento - Invisible Baby

2008-11-02T01:07:00.001-05:00

I discovered Marco Benevento and Invisible Baby while perusing the editor's picks for jazz on eMusic. I listened to the online samples and jumped quickly to the conclusion that it got lumped in the jazz section because the songs don't have words. Unfortunately, that is one common definition of jazz. The first track, Bus Ride, is not what I would put in my jazz bin. At least the first part with banjo working over what was more a pop figure than a jazz figure. Towards then end when the piano kicks in with some nice solo work, I'm hooked and I will reluctantly put it in the jazz bin.

The second track, Record Book, is an equally excellent contribution. Not as driving by any means, but with a very nice feel. I had flashbacks to slow, ambient music. A drone with a constant piano and drums moving in the background so it stays just this side of ambient. Then suddenly the drone ends and a fantastic jazz riff kicks in on the piano. Nothing complex, but man is it ever catchy. I can't stop the head bob whenever this track kicks in. I almost wish the drone wasn't there, but either way it's an excellent track.

Skipping forward, Ruby is my next 5 star track. It starts quite oddly with some electronica wierdness, but then moves into a nice jazz waltz feel. Much more straight ahead jazz than earlier tracks. Nice, clean work with simple chords and progressions. Once again it really grabs me.

Finally, Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody? closes the album with yet again another song that starts outside with ambient noises and then veers right back into more mainstream jazz. This track stays a bit farther out than Ruby or Record Book, but is every bit as enjoyable.

It's always nice to find new tunes. I will definitely be checking out other work by Benevento and learning more about where he comes from. Invisible Baby is definitely recommended, but beware if you only like mainstream jazz.

Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza

2008-10-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

While perusing eMusic's list of best albums so far this year I ran across Esperanza in the jazz list along with an album by Bennie Maupin and a new album from Marco Benevento. (More on the latter album sometime later.) I was not familiar at all with Esperanza Spalding and discovered that she is a vocalist/bassist from South America. Certainly the influences of latin culture are all over her music and finding jazz musicians from South America is nothing new. However, a female bassist is rare and a female bassist that sings is yet rarer. So, I gave Esperanza a listen.

First, let's ditch the female bassist/vocalist novelty - this is not a novelty album. What I found is a fantastic modern jazz album heavy with latin influences. It may lean a bit too far towards "smooth radio jazz" for some, and I guess I hear that, but there is so much more there to pay attention to. Fantastic musicianship, particular on the piano and bass, and some excellent performances.

The album opens with Ponta De Areia, a cool, latin influenced number. I say latin influenced because this song more than any other leans toward the cool jazz side of things. Still, it's a nice number that is nicely performed. I Know You Know and Fall In follow and wander somewhat further along the cool jazz path, but again are quite nice. I Know You Know is uptempo with a subtle style change moving to an electric bass sound and a more modern feel. Fall In is a ballad that I'm not quite sure what to do with. I like it quite well, but somehow I didn't rate it as highly as I might have if it appeared somewhere else.

Now the album really starts to cook. Track 4, I Adore You, is an up-tempo latin piece that takes off with some wonderful vocals and piano work in the classic kind of latin scat style. The ensemble work is again outstanding with nice piano work in between vocal passages. Cuerpo Y Alma (Body and Soul) follows much in the same vein as I Adore You, but swings bit harder and brings the tempo down a bit. A little of the latin feel is lost for classic jazz and the ensemble again shows its stuff.

Two more nice tracks follow before we get to Mela and Love in Time. Mela moves back to the more latin-influenced style and brings in some horns. I'm not too fond of the trumpet solo towards the beginning of Mela, but I really enjoy the feel of the song and where the ensemble is heading. The trumpet solo just seems sloppy in places to me. However, the piano and bass work is again top notch. Love In Time brings the tempo back down again in a classic, jazz ballad style. The latin influences are again gone and replaced by a sound that one might associated with Ella or Nina Simone.

All in all, Esperanza is a great debut album from an exciting new talent. It does lean a bit towards the smooth/pop jazz style, so be forewarned. However, if you like that style or at least can see past it to great musicianship, this is a must buy album. I will be waiting for Spalding's next album and looking for work featuring her as a part of the ensemble. Highly recommended and worth your dime.

The Submarines - Create a New State!

2008-10-20T21:30:00.000-05:00

I read several nice reviews of The Submarines and decided to give

Create a New State!

a try. In summary, excellent dreamy folk-pop that is more pop than folk. Wonderful vocals with nice instrumental work. I really like the album even though it doesn't seem to make it on the iPod that often. I think I'm going to try and correct that. My favorite tracks are

Brighter Discontent

and

Clouds

. However, the entire album is consistently good and I rarely find myself skipping tunes.

New Lambchop

2008-10-13T00:28:00.000-05:00

New Lambchop album, OH (ohio), just hit the streets. Very good news indeed. More on it when I've had a chance to listen - I downloaded it from eMusic without listening to a single track...

Adele - 19

2008-10-05T22:10:00.000-05:00

Just downloaded this yesterday based on a review, comparison to Amy Winehouse and listening to a brief snippet online. If you like sounds like Joan as Police Woman, Leslie Feist, and the current wave of incredible female vocalists, add Adele to your list. What an amazing voice.

This month's downloads

2008-10-05T16:59:00.000-05:00

Downloads (so far) this month from eMusic and iTunes:

Adele - 19
The Born Again Floozies - Street Music
Marco Benevento - Invisible Baby
The Week That Was - The Week That Was

Radiohead - In Rainbows

2008-10-05T09:56:00.000-05:00

In Rainbows is the album that Radiohead made available from their website for whatever you wanted pay for it. I avoided all the hype around that whole thing for a long time until I saw the album available on eMusic. In a moment of weakness, I gave the samples a listen and immediately downloaded the entire album. It is, in my opinion, a masterpiece of popular music. Forget the free download and the hype, this is simply an incredible album. Of particular interest are 15 Step, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, and of course Reckoner. The latter song seems to get the most attention. Excellent album.

So how did they get along giving the record to people for whatever they wanted to pay? I hear they made quite a bit of money. That's great. I also hear that the majority of downloaders payed nothing for it. So, stop with the high and mighty, Robinhood-esque justifications for illegal downloads. All the crap about helping the artists and hurting the evil labels and distributors is bullshit. If people could download toilet paper and Fritos for free, they would. Illegal or not. I am highly disappointed.

Roger Eno - Flatlands

2008-10-05T09:32:00.000-05:00

Imagine having an album sit lost in your music collection since 2004 and accidentally finding it to discover a beautiful classical classical album. I've got about 45G of music on the Mac, plus about 3000 CDs that I've not had a chance to rip. It's easy for things to get lots. Really easy. I don't remember where I got this copy of Flatlands, but it's been a wonderful surprise. The MP3 tags associated with the files say it's a rock album. Hardly. It's a classical album in the style of Debussy - slow, quite, filled with wonderful sounds and harmonies. If you don't believe people make classical music anymore or that the classical music that is made is too outside, this is an album worth a listen. I don't know how the classical music community views Flatlands, but I really don't care. Like the jazz community, the classical community mercilessly eats its young.

Oh yes, Roger Eno is Brian Eno's brother. They've made a couple of albums together and Roger appears to enjoy defying classification. He's done some alternative rock work as well as soundtrack work over the years.

Brendan Canning - Somthing for All Of Us...

2008-10-04T15:32:00.000-05:00

If you're like me and can't get enough Broken Social Scene, Something for All of Us... by Brendan Canning will be a real treat. Very much in the Broken Social Scene style, but with a bit more edge throughout. I was a bit put off by the opening title track, Something For All Of Us, the first time I listened to the album. Pretty straight up gloomy sounding rock-n-roll. Not quite shoe-gaze, but in the same vein. So, I put the album away for awhile and came back to it during my long trip to Germany. While I didn't like the first track, the second two Chameleon and Hit The Wall are excellent and put me in a good mood for the rest of the album. Chameleon is a slow, poetic song with nice horn work and vocal harmonies. You might not her Broken Social Scene in the opening track, but you will definitely here them here. Hit The Wall is much edgier and driving. Again with subtle vocals, but with a more traditional instrumental lineup.

Skipping ahead, the first song that really grabbed me on this album is Antique Bull. Up tempo, but still with nice harmonies and vocal work and a poetic, lilting feel. I'm not sure who the female vocalist is (Leslie Feist maybe?) but they are nicely done in a latin, vibrato-free style that I really like. Definitely a keeper along with the song that follows, All The Best Wooden Toys Come From Germany. Again very much in the Broken Social Scene style.

If you like your Broken Social Scene with an edge, this is the album for you. It definitely varies form the standard Broken Social Scene feel, but not so much that you'll forget where it came from. Definitely worth your dime.

Bill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian - Bill Frisell

2008-10-04T15:27:00.000-05:00

Bill Frisell (along with Pat Metheny and Jon McLaughlin) is among my favorite guitarists. Is sound is unique, which is tough to do on an electric guitar. The man is a musical chameleon - he can play any style he can here from straight ahead jazz to country. Bill Frisell is a collaboration with two of his most frequent sidemen - Ron Carter on bass and Paul Motian on drums. Given the lineup, the sound is quite predictable, mildly outside jazz. Don't interpret that negatively as that predictable style is pretty nice. Having said that, this is a straight up Bill Frisell album. If you like Frisell, you'll love this.

Marla Hansen - Wedding Day

2008-09-29T23:53:00.002-05:00

I first learned of Marla Hansen from one of the many sampler CDs that I listen to. I believe it was a Paste discovery, but I'm not completely sure. Wedding Day is more an EP than a full LP with only 6 tracks, but they are all pretty decent songs. It took me awhile, but I finally figured out that the primary accompanying instrument is a banjo, played very slowly. I though it might be a nylon string guitar, but it definitely is a banjo. All of the songs are pretty quiet, with sparse accompaniments. However sparse they may be, the accompanying instruments are beautiful and fill the space nicely.

If I had to compare Hansen's sound with anyone, I think it would be the Be Good Tanya's. Imagine their lead vocalist doing a solo album and you have a pretty good idea of what this sounds like. Good stuff and worth your money.

Joni Mitchell - Blue

2008-09-29T23:44:00.003-05:00

When you get to sit on an airplane for 9.5 hours with just an iPod for entertainment, you end up reaching towards music that you don't play that often. My personal experience with this last week was finding Joni Mitchell's Blue on the iPod.

Blue is often referred to as Joni Mitchell's classic, all-time-greatest album. Personally, I'd throw in Don Juan's Reckless Daughter as well, but that may be my admiration for Pet Metheny and Jaco Pastorius speaking. Regardless, Blue really is that good. This is basically a woman, her piano and guitar, and a bunch of songs that she wrote. Simple music at its best. Yes it is a bit dated and definitely feels like a folk album from the '70s, but it is iconic and a prototype that many, many singer/songwriters followed. If you're wiling to shell out a bit of cash for this album, you'll be the proud owner of a true classic that deserves all its associate hype.

The Duhks - Migrations

2008-09-25T08:50:00.000-05:00

This is my first exposure to The Duhks, but I recall listening years ago and being turned off. I have no idea why, I just didn't hear what I wanted to hear. Migrations, however is a nice album that presents what I would call old time music. There is a bit of bluegrass in there as well, but this is definitely not a bluegrass album.

Ol' Cook Pot is a classic old time tune done in a traditional style, but with modern sonics and sound. There's also not much twang in the vocals here or elsewhere on the album. Good tune, nothing amazing. Mountains O' Things is more interesting to me. Much more modern, but with traditional old time instruments like fiddle and banjo. I think this is a Tracy Chapman tune, but I'm not sure. I need to check that out. Regardless, it's a very nice song where I really started paying attention to this album.

Skipping forward to The Fox and The Bee we have a traditional pair of instrumental reals in the Irish tradition. Wonderfully performed - the guitar is particularly nicely recorded. I really like this musical form - two folk instrumentals played back-to-back - and it takes us back into a more traditional folk feel. It is followed immediately by Down To The River, the first song featuring a male vocalist. This is an awesome song in the true old-time, bluegrass tradition. Simple percussion, banjo, fiddle with a definite cajun sound - complete with French vocals in the middle. Nothing fancy here, but really nice music.

The mood definitely changes with Who Will Take My Place. This has the feel of an old spiritual or protest song. Very simple and moving lyrics, quietly performed. The mood continues with Moses Don't Get Lost.

Three Fishers changes gears completely again moving to an upbeat, Irish ballad followed by what I think is an Irish reel called Domino Party! Both very much in the Irish tradition adding whistles and a dobro (sp?). Again the style changes back to traditional old time American music for the closing two tracks Out of the Rain and Turtle Dove.

After listening a few times, The Duhks start to remind me of The Fairport Convention. Exceptionally strong female vocals backed by exceptional musicianship that adds a touch of modern sounds and instruments to traditional music. The big distinction is The Duhks inclusion of American old time in addition to the Celtic style of Fairport. Regardless, Migrations is well worth your music dollar. Enjoy!

Barclay Martin Ensemble - Dawn

2008-09-25T08:27:00.000-05:00

I love jazz and it makes me sad at times that the music industry provides virtually no means to become familiar with the genre. It's tough to discover music initially and tough to keep up with what's currently happening. If you want an excellent introduction to vocal jazz with a bit of a pop feel, the Barclay Martin Ensemble is your group. If you just love jazz and your tastes stretch beyond Miles and Bird, then this is fun album to have.

I had never heard of the Barclay Martin Ensemble prior to discovering this album on emusic. I'm not sure what lead me to it - likely Paste or an online review - but it's been a wonderful find for me. When I say above that it is jazz with a pop feel, please don't assume that it is a pop album or something horrible like Kenny G. Far, far from it. All of songs feature wonderful piano and vocal work in a very traditional style. I also enjoy the bass work quite a bit, but it is more subtle.

The first two tracks, Queen of this Town and Stay With Me a While do an excellent job of introducing the album. Both are quiet, jazz club songs with cool vocals from Barclay Martin. Queen of this Town has a very interesting waltz feel to it that is quite subtle, but definitely there. Stay With Me a While is more a traditional jazz vocal with nice piano riffs working in the background. There's an exceptionally nice piano solo a few minutes into the song.

Pretty Green Eyes is one of my favorite songs on the album. It's a bit more traditional, sounding like a Cole Porter or Johnny Mercer arrangement. Very sweet vocal harmonies towards the end of the piece. Speed of the World seems a bit of a departure from the rest of the album. It's very much a pop song - much more so than previous tracks. I still like it, but it does feel a bit out-of-place. Come Back takes us back to jazz with a wonderful latin feel borrowing from Antoine Carlos Jobim. Are You Listening is another of my favorites, also with just a hint of latin feel, but leaning towards pop. This series of songs - Pretty Green Eyes, Speed of the World, Come Back, and Are You Listening - tells a wonderful musical story moving between pop and jazz styles. All the songs are nice, but together they work wonderfully.

Skipping forward a bit, Close the Door is another of my favorites. It's almost two songs in one. The first half is a very quiet ballad. Nicely done, again with just a hint of pop working in concert with the jazz basis. At about the 4 minute mark it seems to end - I thought it did end the first few times through. Then a piano solo comes out of nowhere. What a piano solo it is! Nice latin feel with a real display of chops. I really love this song.

I think the reference to Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer reflects the entire album and suggests wether you'll like this album. If you can stand the "classic pop" side of jazz from the 40's and 50's, this is probably not for you. If you just like good music, you should definitely pick this up.

Kudos to Etymotic Research

2008-09-25T08:18:00.000-05:00

I have owned Etymotic Research earphones for quite a long time and have always loved their sound. Particularly when traveling - the in-ear design blocks out everything but the music. (Quite useful on my current flight from Stuttgart to Atlanta.) When the ety8 bluetooth model came out, I ordered a pair immediately believing correctly that they would sound great. They are the first decent, much less great sounding wireless phones I have owned.

When my faithful first generation iPod Nano gave out and I upgraded to an iPhone 3G, I discovered the adapter that delivers signals to the ety8s no longer worked. New generation of iPods implies new interfaces - can't blame Etymotic for that. So I dropped them an email and they said to send the earphones back and they would pair them with a new adapter. I was thrilled and send them in without giving a throught to the cost. I figured $100 or less would be well worth it.

So I got my earphones back and the bill was $0. No shipping cost, no charge for the new part, no charge for the labor. This is way beyond what I expected. I was happy just not to buy new headphones much less pay nothing for the upgrade! etymotic will definitely continue to get my business and I hope if you're in the market for in-ear phones, you'll consider one of their products. You may spend a bit more up front, but you will get a substantially better pair of phones and you'll deal with an incredibly classy company.

Ingrid Michaelson - Girls and Boys

2008-07-18T23:28:00.000-05:00

I discovered Ingrid Michaelson awhile back and have consistently had a difficult time keeping her work out of my playlists. Girls and Boys is most definitely a masterpiece in the singer/songwriter genre. Wonderful, smart lyrics, great performances, and wonderful recording. It really doesn't get much better than this. I guess one of the tunes, The Way I Am, was on an Old Navy commercial. I wasn't aware of that until I started reading about Ingrid. Don't let that stop you - the song is great and The Hat and Die Alone are at least as good. Staring Now and Highway are also most definitely worth your time. Heck, the whole album is worth your time - I rarely skip a track.

The Way I Am is kind of a smokey, jazz song with wonderful upright bass working in the background. The recording captures the nuances of that sound perfectly. It follows The Hat, an up tempo pop/folk song that I can't help but sing along with. Much in the same vein as Lucy Kaplansky or Kris Delmhorst - two of my favorite folk artists. Definitely folk, but more on the urban side. Not much twang working here. I also dig the opening track, Die Alone, another nice urban folk song.

I hear Ingrid is opening for Dave Matthews - great for her - but she would work equally well at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. Definitely a rising star here that I'm rooting for. How in the world she went so long without being discovered is beyond me...

So long echolocations

2008-07-16T23:57:00.000-05:00

echolocations (formerly inRadio) is no more. I've subscribed to echolocations for several years and have found it to be a great source of indie music that is farther outside the mainstream than what I learn about through Paste and the review websites I frequent. Thankfully Pitchfork and Metacritic are still around and seem to be thriving. I guess I'll be on the lookout for a new sampler CD service to support. So long echolocations - it was nice while it lasted.

Bonny Prince Billy & Tortoise - The Brave And The Bold

2008-07-15T10:01:00.000-05:00

I spent part of my evening last night listening to Tortoise and Bonny Prince Billy's collaboration called The Brave And The Bold. Excellent collaboration on the experimental side of rock and jazz. Highly recommended if you like this kind of stuff. Not a typical Tortoise album in my mind, but excellent none-the-less. The album is worth getting just for the opening track, Cravo E Canela, a cover of the classic Daniel, and a Pancho. The latter is a wonderful reference to Pancho, the Tonto character from the Cisco Kid. A bit before my time, but I remember watching the reruns when I was a kid.

Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight

2008-07-08T15:25:00.000-05:00

Wow. I don't run into new things very often that make me this happy. The Midnight Organ Fight is a rare treat and I definitely agree with Pitchfork's 8.1 rating, although I think I would have gone even a bit higher. I was unfamiliar with Frightened Rabbit prior to hearing this album and I'll definitely be on the lookout for more of their work. I suppose this work falls in the alt-folk or folk-rock genre, reminding me of the local Lawrence band, Old Canes. As Pitchfork points out, Frightened Rabbit, like Belle and Sebastian is from Glasgow. However, Frightened Rabbit is much more a traditional indie rock band than Belle and Sebastian. Plus, you'll definitely hear their accents push through now and then. A great thing in my opinion.

The album opens with two 5 star tracks, The Modern Leper and I Feel Better. The first is a classic, upbeat indie rock anthem. Excellent song and excellent performance. The second is also excellent in a similar vein - upbeat indie rock, but with a bit more playing around with rhythms and a few more strings at work. Where The Modern Leper has a few folk twinges here and there, I Feel Better is a straight up pop/rock tune. Again, excellent song and excellent performance.

Good Arms vs. Bad Arms slows things up a bit and throws in what sounds like pedal steel guitar and acoustic guitar replacing the electric stuff. (I won't swear that it's a pedal steel, but it would seem that's the sound their looking for.) This song and Fast Blood tend to give a nod to Dave Matthews, but they certainly are not Dave Matthews clones. Old Old Fashioned is the folkiest track on the album and is what really reminds me of Old Canes. Somehow it fits perfectly in the song sequence. Finally, The Twist begins to move back towards traditional indie rock sounds, but still with a twinge of folk or old time sounds. When the chorus kicks in we're definitely back to indie rock, but in a gentle way. Bright Pink Bookmark is the first song on the album that I did not get 4 or 5 stars. It's a short instrumental filler, but I don't skip it. Head Rolls Off puts things back on solid, indie rock footing. Nice organ work leading again to a folk-tinged indie rock song.

The remainder of the album stays true to form and quite excellent. Floating in the Forth is the remaining five star song on the album. Once again, a kind of indie-rock anthem. Big, full sounds nicely put together.

I really do like The Midnight Organ Fight and would have to include it on my top finds of 2008 list. As you might gather, I put in squarely in the indie rock genre. Some albums are difficult to classify properly, but this one certainly is not. That's not a bad thing as this is indie rock at its best.

wall*e

2008-07-04T23:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this blog is supposed to document my music addiction. However, my family saw the movie WALL*E today and I just had to add something here. One of my favorite parts of the movie are the references to Hello Dolly, so I guess this is at least somewhat consistent with the blog theme...

WALL*E is, in my opinion and my wife's opinion, the best Pixar movie to date. I admit that I had my doubts going in, but it really is amazing. There are no words spoken for about half the movie, yet much is communicated. The story is simply fantastic and has a wonderful message. The animation is stunning, yet you will no doubt forget you are watching an animated movie. I know this is a kids movie, but you need to see this whether you have kds or not. Like all great kids movies, there is much going on at many different levels. My kid did not move for the entire movie. Lots of references to Apple, lots of references to Hello Dolly, and lots of references to things that ail our world today. All this in a G rated movie. Oh, and the animated short before the main movie is as good as the movie. Go see this.

The Weepies - Sam I Am You

2008-07-01T15:13:00.000-05:00

The Weepies are a folk/pop at that is rather new to me. Imagine people sitting around swaying, singing, and making goo-goo eyes at each other wearing tie dye and loafers. The music they would be listening to in 1970 might be Peter, Paul and Mary or Simon and Garfunkel. In 2008, the music they would be listening to would be The Weepies. By the way, I mean that in a very positive way - I really like The Weepies. Honest! The album that I'm listening to is Say I Am You, which is not their most recent but worth a listen anyway.

I'm not sure quite what to say about Say I Am You other than it is a killer folk/pop album. Superb production and sound. The Weepies are a married couple and their songs are musically sparse, but sonically rich. I'm not sure if that makes much sense, but there is a great deal of space in their songs but they are not quiet. Deb Talan's voice, featured on most of the songs, is a classic folk voice. Light on vibrato and somewhat airy. I'm trying to think of someone from my folk background to compare her to and really can't. I assume that her husband, Steve Tannan, is doing the nice guitar work in the background. Fingerpicked in the true folk sense and done very nicely. There are some other sounds working - strings here and there, a bass appears from time to time along with very minimal keyboards and no percussion to speak of. By the way, when Steve Tannan does take the vocal lead, his work is also excellent.

The opening track, Take It From Me, sets the bar very high for the rest of the album. Nice lyrics with a little reverb working. Guitar and drum work is wonderful. Take It From Me could get play on any modern folk radio show I've ever heard with a sound similar to The Neilds, Lucy Kaplansky or Ellis Paul. At the same time, it could also play on an AAA station or even a pop station. Very nice song.

Also of note are the third track, World Spins Madly On and the fifth track, Riga Girls. World Spins Madly On is a song that I end up listening to often. The title accurately suggests the song's theme and it features both artists vocals, guitar, strings (predominantly a cello I think). Wonderful folk tune. Riga Girls is cut from the same cloth with some percussion and a bass thrown in for good measure.

This is an album without a bad track. I gave most songs 4 or 5 stars in iTunes. Well worth your dime, particularly if you enjoy modern folk music.

Today's eMusic downloads

2008-06-30T16:51:00.001-05:00

What a wonderful day it is when the eMusic monthly download count resets to 90. Here are some of today's downloads:

Ashleigh Flynn - Chokecherry
Birdie - Some Dusty
Joan as Police Woman - To Survive
Matt Pond PA - Green Fury
Mystery Jets - Zootime
Shearwater - Rook
The Instruments - Dark Smaland

I am particularly excited about the new Joan as Police Woman and Shearwater. Joan as Police Woman's last album is wonderful. Shearwater is described as "opera", but it is definitely a pop album. More on these later...