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Archive for the Emerging Songwriters Category
It’s awkward, right? I just sit here and listen to new music and tell you what I dig and why. Usually, it’s nothing more than I hear something and I just want to hear it over and over again for a while. I’m not a complicated dude, really. In the case of Ivan Colón, I’m thrilled in the discovery of another wonderful little song that is just peeking up over the ground. You see, there’s welcome hints of Donovan and Sufjan Stevens shining through every note of the song “Gabriel”. I don’t mind that this song is performed by neither of those artists, really. I’m just thrilled to have found another song that I hope will carry me into the autumn singing as happily to myself as I am right now, trampling my way through the fallen leaves.
Ivan’s EP Despite The Atlantic appears July 15th on Milan Records. Visit him on MySpace by clicking here.
I normally shy away from reviews of artists whose sound follows so clearly in the paths of (and occasionally closely resembles) those of others whom I enjoy — namely Bruce Springsteen, Conor Oberst, Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg, Damien Rice and the like. I was sent a press reminder about David Ford’s terrific release Songs For The Road and had a chance to listen through the album. While I was listening I was stopped dead in my tracks by the next-to-last song on the record, entitled “Requiem” — a completely appropriate companion to the annals of historically great protest songs. “Every administration blames the one from last year,” Ford sings to us as if we should know he is right, “so when consequence calls, there’ll be nobody here.”
It’s more than simply a wonderful piece of work, fierce in its delivery and angry in its resonance — “Requiem” strikes me as a important and necessary piece of songwriting for the times in which we are currently living. It bespeaks and bemoans the tragedy of our excesses as a people, shames us (as good protest songs should) for being the victims of our own gluttony and fear. It paints a picture of the kind of fear that grips us for refusing to accept our part in the way things have become. This is a song whose time is right now, for better or worse. We’d all better start learning the words.
BONUS: David Ford performing live at legendary Sun Studio in Memphis.
Visit David on MySpace at http://myspace.com/davidford. Buy Songs For The Road from Amazon by clicking here.
The seaport city of Boston, rich in musical tradition and heritage, has a legacy of turning out notable songwriters and musicians dating back generations. If you’re a follower of that long-standing tradition (or you happen to be one of the lucky ones who live there and get to experience it on a regular basis), you might have occasioned to stumble into places like Club Passim or The Middle East without expectation only to stumble back out deeply impressed with what you’ve just seen. This legacy has given root to Meg Hutchinson, a songwriter whose angelic voice, extraordinary lyricism and powerful delivery keeps us singing long after the music has. Ms. Hutchinson, who instantly won me over at this year’s Folk Alliance Conference, has released a new album entitled Come Up Full on Red House Records this year which, it is to be hoped, will help continue to garner her much-deserved accolades and gain a foothold of new fans.
Coming from a creative writing background helps to bolster the warmth layered throughout these twelve songs. It is a document of a woman who appears to have traveled around herself to become whole again, finding in her footsteps pieces of her personal mystery. It is a journey that this listener was able to relate to on a deep level of consciousness, making a connection in the desire to recover from the disasters laid upon us — the desire to find extraordinary beauty from ordinary things. On “Home”, she gives us reasons to count our many blessings; on the songs “Whole Bird” and “Seeing Stars”, she delights in the ironic dichotomies of what brings people together. Crit Harmon’s production values don’t ever become overbearing; they allow us to listen to and enjoy the songs in the simple way it seems they were always intended to be heard.
With Come Up Full, Ms. Hutchinson has catapulted into an upper echelon of songwriters. Seeing her placed along side names like Shawn Colvin, Natalie Merchant or Patty Griffin seems more than reasonable, ones for whom legacies and longevities seem pre-destined.
In spite of the many accolades laid upon Ms. Hutchinson and her work in this article, the simple fact that I can’t ignore is how drawn into the album I have become and, further, how I hope that others will begin to recognize her singularity as performer and songwriter.
Listen to Meg Hutchinson - “Home”
Listen to Meg Hutchinson - “Seeing Stars”
You can purchase Come Up Full
The field of American songwriting, at least the kind we like to remember, never seems to grow too crowded. There’s always room for one more, particularly if the delivery and style can be likened to a heritage of memorable works. I remember being dragged to Joel Plaskett’s hotel room the second night of Folk Alliance 2008 where an impromptu songwriter’s circle had formed. I had this sense that I was smack in the middle of some of the best songwriters going — Colin Gilmore, Peter Case, Cory Branan, Adam Levy, Rose Cousins — and I was told to pay special attention to a woman named Rachel Ries. When we walked in, everyone was sitting on beds or floor or chairs, probably 15 people crammed into a small hotel room, and within a few minutes, Rachel began playing the song I’m featuring today, “Hands To Water”. — More after the jump –
I think it must be damning on the soul to never recognize the potential for greatness that lies just under the surface of each of us. I mean, we toil endlessly at these jobs, these relationships, these goals we set for ourselves, and some of us never figure out how good we really are at what we are until the years have slipped by us. Anthony da Costa is in no danger of being struck by this curse. At the tender age of 17, da Costa has quietly made a name for himself throughout the Northeastern U.S. playing coffee shops, bars, schools, and music festivals big & small. As an observer, I’m struck by the casual observation that da Costa’s songwriting and performing is wise far beyond his years, and I’m definitely not alone. His appearances at the 2008 Folk Alliance reassured those familiar with his resume while earning him a large audience of new fans.
People are quick to make comparisons between da Costa and Conor Oberst because of the relative ages in which the two began their songwriting and performing careers. I think that the comparisons pretty much end there; where Bright Eyes is the posterized emotionally distraught poetic anti-hero of disaffected youth, da Costa’s poetry and passions lack the relative bleakness of Bright Eyes, offering the protagonist in his songs hope. In da Costa’s world, our hero’s emotional reactions to what is happening will always leave him a real chance at achieving the life and love he seeks. On his latest CD, Typical American Tragedy, we are offered a clean window into da Costa’s exceptionally complex understandings of love and hope, an unflinchingly moving portrait of a love we’re often curious how da Costa could know about at so young an age.
Regardless of why or how, the combination of spare arrangements and consistently solid songwriting place his current achievements in a class with some of our greatest American songwriters. One has to believe, upon hearing his work, that Tragedy is only the beginning for da Costa on a long string of accomplishments as a performer. Personally, I couldn’t be more excited to see where the future leads or more fortunate to have seen him so close to the beginnings. I sincerely hope and believe that ten years from now, we will all still be talking about Anthony da Costa.
Anthony da Costa - Ain’t Much of a Soldier
You can purchase Typical American Tragedy (CD or MP3’s) from CD Baby by clicking here. 
Hailing from the music-rich town of Halifax, Nova Scotia, songwriter Joel Plaskett has been through multiple incarnations as a songwriter and a performer. As a member of ’90s alt-rock band Thrush Hermit, Plaskett first came to Memphis to record the band’s Elektra Records release, Sweet Homewrecker, at the original Easley Recording Services. Returning to Memphis proved to be a bittersweet yet joyous homecoming for Plaskett; Easley Recording Services burned down a few years ago, but Plaskett had the good fortune to record a couple of tracks at Doug Easley’s newly-built (and just opening) recording studio while he was in town for the Folk Alliance 2008.
Joel’s newest album, La De Da is full of quirky songwriting gems and gently skewed observations that provoke conversation as they invoke singalongs. This song, “Love This Town”, was enamored by everyone who heard it at Folk Alliance 2008 including your author. Enjoy.
Joel Plaskett - “Love This Town”
You can purchase La De Da from CD Baby (CD or MP3) by clicking here.
I really want to share a video with you to help you fully understand and embrace the classic American songwriting style and unencumbered delivery of songwriter Graham Weber, one of many young up-and-coming folk artists whose presence at Folk Alliance 2008 is everywhere. However, the obviously purposefully overpriced and spotty internet service at the Downtown Marriott (along with the cold water in the bathroom sinks and other cost-cutting signs of Marriott’s unhinged corporate greed which are not the fault of the Folk Alliance) prevent me from sharing. For now, check out this song from Weber’s newest album, The Door To The Morning.
Graham Weber will be appearing tonight at Otherlands in Memphis as part of a stellar lineup including Cory Branan, Colin Gilmore, and John August. Showtime is 7:00pm. Click here for more details.
